FRIDAY'S THIS & THAT
This firestorm that Lane Kiffin created when he dumped Tennessee to move to USC just rankles me. I am amazed at the depths Kiffin & company will stoop to without regard or respect to anyone but themselves. While Kiffin was doing his "Welcome to USC" press conference, he was asked if he or his staff had called any of the Tennessee recruits trying to flip them to USC, Kiffin said "no." It has been reported by the parents of several Tennessee recruits that while Kiffin was giving his 70-second farewell to the press in Knoxville the other night, assistant coach Ed Orgeron was on the phone to recruits explaining to them how they could get out of there commitments to the Tennessee program & possibly recommit to Southern Cal. Orgeron admitted this moments after Kiffin's news conference in L.A. Several of these parents were appalled by the actions of this coaching staff & have come forward asking for some sort of NCAA investigation. Well here's some bad news for those folks & everybody who bleeds Volunteer Orange, the NCAA isn't going to do anything about Lane Kiffin & his gang raping & pillaging your beloved football program. Ain't gonna happen. It's really sad to see this side of college football, it's truly ugly, I hate the hypocrisy, the dishonesty & lack of integrity shown by not only Kiffin & some of his assistants that are moving west with him, but by many of the people involved in the Texas Tech debacle & the USF dismissal of the only coach the program has ever had, Jim Leavitt. It's so sad to see how power effects some people, usually in a negative way & the extreme measures those people will employ to protect that power. When people trust you with their sons, they have a certain expectation that you're going to teach them some integrity, some respect etc. Don't think this is going to happen under Lane Kiffin. Winning, power & money are much more important. One surprising positive out of this scandal is that UCLA offensive coordinator, Norm Chow, is staying at UCLA. He was being enticed by Kiffin to return to the Trojans, but in the end, Chow stayed put.
Leavitt was fired for grabbing a player by the throat & smacking his face. He denied it ever happened, the father of the kid in question denied it ever happened. But when the university began questioning assistant coaches & players, their denials fell apart. Now the player's dad wants both an apology & a settlement. What credibility does this father have to his own son much less to the South Florida community?
Craig James was questioned by a reporter at an Austin speaking engagement about Mike Leach's claim that he constantly called Leach to complain about his son's playing time. James response was telling, "That's a matter that Texas Tech & the coach are dealing with right now & it would be inappropriate for me to say anything about it." He did it, he badgered Leach about his kid. Tech QB Taylor Potts was asked if he was treated differently from Adam Craig when he suffered a concussion earlier in the season & I thought his response was interesting. Potts said "Well my concussion was during a game, everybody actually saw it. There was never any doubt it happened." Is he speculating about the legitimacy of Adam Craig's claim of a concussion or is he stating that Mike Leach had to treat him differently since everyone saw Potts get injured? By the way, new Red Raider coach Tommy Tuberville also canned Ruffin McNeill, interim coach & defensive coordinator, thereby cutting all ties to the old regime. McNeill was ultra popular with his players, who lobbied for him getting the head coaching job & Red Raider nation. Another good man cast aside.
One coach with real credibility, Skip Holtz, son of Lou, took the vacated South Florida job. Holtz had been with East Carolina where he led them to 4 straight bowl appearances & helped revive that program. If you watched their bowl game last month when they lost to Arkansas in overtime, you saw what makes Holtz special. His kicker missed 4 makable field goals, two in the 4th quarter & one in overtime. Every time that kid came back to the bench Holtz stopped him, put his hands on the kid's shoulders & spoke quietly to him. I think the Nick Saban's of the world would have slammed his headset on the ground & left the counseling session up to his special teams coach. I've seen that scene too many times. Holtz may never win a national championship, but his kids won't hate him, fear him or distrust him.
Some good news for Pierre Garcon, the Haitian born Colts wide receiver. His mother has been able to contact many of their family members in the earthquake ravaged island nation. There are still a couple unaccounted for, but most are alive & well. Hopefully they will be found in good shape as well. The scope of this tragedy is truly beyond belief.
Cardinal wide receiver Anquan Boldin may not be able to play in tomorrow's game in New Orleans. The same ankle & knee injuries from 2 weeks ago haven't allowed Boldin to practice at all this week & he's listed as a game time decision. I don't think he'll play. Early Ducet & Steve Breaston filled in nicely catching 3 Kurt Warner touchdown passes.
I'll have my playoff preview for this weekend's games later tonight, be sure to check back before tomorrow's games.
Leavitt was fired for grabbing a player by the throat & smacking his face. He denied it ever happened, the father of the kid in question denied it ever happened. But when the university began questioning assistant coaches & players, their denials fell apart. Now the player's dad wants both an apology & a settlement. What credibility does this father have to his own son much less to the South Florida community?
Craig James was questioned by a reporter at an Austin speaking engagement about Mike Leach's claim that he constantly called Leach to complain about his son's playing time. James response was telling, "That's a matter that Texas Tech & the coach are dealing with right now & it would be inappropriate for me to say anything about it." He did it, he badgered Leach about his kid. Tech QB Taylor Potts was asked if he was treated differently from Adam Craig when he suffered a concussion earlier in the season & I thought his response was interesting. Potts said "Well my concussion was during a game, everybody actually saw it. There was never any doubt it happened." Is he speculating about the legitimacy of Adam Craig's claim of a concussion or is he stating that Mike Leach had to treat him differently since everyone saw Potts get injured? By the way, new Red Raider coach Tommy Tuberville also canned Ruffin McNeill, interim coach & defensive coordinator, thereby cutting all ties to the old regime. McNeill was ultra popular with his players, who lobbied for him getting the head coaching job & Red Raider nation. Another good man cast aside.
One coach with real credibility, Skip Holtz, son of Lou, took the vacated South Florida job. Holtz had been with East Carolina where he led them to 4 straight bowl appearances & helped revive that program. If you watched their bowl game last month when they lost to Arkansas in overtime, you saw what makes Holtz special. His kicker missed 4 makable field goals, two in the 4th quarter & one in overtime. Every time that kid came back to the bench Holtz stopped him, put his hands on the kid's shoulders & spoke quietly to him. I think the Nick Saban's of the world would have slammed his headset on the ground & left the counseling session up to his special teams coach. I've seen that scene too many times. Holtz may never win a national championship, but his kids won't hate him, fear him or distrust him.
Some good news for Pierre Garcon, the Haitian born Colts wide receiver. His mother has been able to contact many of their family members in the earthquake ravaged island nation. There are still a couple unaccounted for, but most are alive & well. Hopefully they will be found in good shape as well. The scope of this tragedy is truly beyond belief.
Cardinal wide receiver Anquan Boldin may not be able to play in tomorrow's game in New Orleans. The same ankle & knee injuries from 2 weeks ago haven't allowed Boldin to practice at all this week & he's listed as a game time decision. I don't think he'll play. Early Ducet & Steve Breaston filled in nicely catching 3 Kurt Warner touchdown passes.
I'll have my playoff preview for this weekend's games later tonight, be sure to check back before tomorrow's games.
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