I was quite interested to see the demeaner, body language, attitude and hear the choice of words Southern Cal Coach Lane Kiffen would use when facing the press following the Stanford-USC game. Kiffen did not disappoint.
A lot had been made of the 2012 Trojans, their high (overrated) preseason ranking and Heisman Trophy front runner. Matt Barkley himself led the mantra of "unfinished business" when speaking of the upcoming season. Those looking (hoping) for a challenger to end SEC dominance of the national championship crystal were hanging their hopes on USC. Following the total dominance the Cardinal displayed Saturday night Coach Kiffen began the press conference by stating he would not "point fingers" and then proceeded to call out both offensive and defensive line and his quarterback. So much for not pointing fingers.
If you don't think Kiffen is feeling the heat following Saturday's loss and the national implications, how about yesterday's press conference? 28 seconds. That's right, Lane walked out after 28 seconds. I know USC has a no comment on injury rule. Lane even had a reporter banned last week from practice for writing about an injury. (Wait he can't do that can he? An amendment or something about freedom of the press. No he can't do that.The writer was reinstated.) But yesterday started out so well. Lane gave an update, then it happened, an injury question and he was gone. Not "next question" or "no comment", just "I'm outta here."
Like I said, Kiffen does not disappoint.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Props to Big 10
I never thought I would think in terms of the Big 10 Conference as a leader in the world of college athletics but the recent move of Notre Dame to the ACC got me to thinking. In a Notre Dame perfect world their choice would probably be to compete in the Big 10 in all sports (sans football) and schedule a few games versus traditional opponents Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue, thus keeping in place their network TV deal and bowl agreement with the soon to be defunct BCS. That's why their initial conference move to the Big East was a head scratcher for me. Why would a conference want to have the Irish without their football commitment.
Today they announce their move to the Atlantic Coast Conference with a rotation of football games within the conference, but their not in the conference. I guess the ACC thought a little ND was better than none. How the Golden Domers still command this kind of attention is beyond me. It has been more than 20 years since they have had any impact on the national scene.
Which gets me to the point of the Big 10. My guess is the conference let it be known if you want in ND you must be all in! If that's the case, good for you Big 10.
So regionalism in college conferences is dying. At least every school in the SEC comes from a state that borders on another.
Today they announce their move to the Atlantic Coast Conference with a rotation of football games within the conference, but their not in the conference. I guess the ACC thought a little ND was better than none. How the Golden Domers still command this kind of attention is beyond me. It has been more than 20 years since they have had any impact on the national scene.
Which gets me to the point of the Big 10. My guess is the conference let it be known if you want in ND you must be all in! If that's the case, good for you Big 10.
So regionalism in college conferences is dying. At least every school in the SEC comes from a state that borders on another.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
NFL Season to Begin with Replacement Refs
Normally when they say its not about the money, its about the money. This time may be different. The nine billion dollar a year NFL is not as concerned about $160,000 official salaries going to $180,000 or even the pension issues the refs representatives brought to the table as they may be be about who holds the power. If a players strike did not stop league games from being played a few years ago, a work stoppage by officials had no shot at disrupting this season. The commissioner and owners are proving a point as to who holds the power.
Joson Whitlock on the Loose Cannons radio show yesterday said he saw bad calls all last season so he is not troubled by replacement refs. Another viewpoint is some players or teams will try to take advantage of inexperienced officials (Cheat? see Payton/Vilma). It seems after some checking there are some high school officials slated to call games this weekend. Mike Pereira Fox's NFL rules guy claims its difficult to find 100 qualified refs.
The reality is they only need 13 to 16 qualified rules experts. Put them in the booth with replay monitors and microphones to the field and proceed. They can direct field officials where top spot the ball, overrule bad calls and administer any 10 second runoffs everyone seems so concerned about. Actually, this may speed up the game since it would keep the referee out from under the hood!
Joson Whitlock on the Loose Cannons radio show yesterday said he saw bad calls all last season so he is not troubled by replacement refs. Another viewpoint is some players or teams will try to take advantage of inexperienced officials (Cheat? see Payton/Vilma). It seems after some checking there are some high school officials slated to call games this weekend. Mike Pereira Fox's NFL rules guy claims its difficult to find 100 qualified refs.
The reality is they only need 13 to 16 qualified rules experts. Put them in the booth with replay monitors and microphones to the field and proceed. They can direct field officials where top spot the ball, overrule bad calls and administer any 10 second runoffs everyone seems so concerned about. Actually, this may speed up the game since it would keep the referee out from under the hood!
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