USC is the NCAA darling?

[Buckeyeskickbuttocks]

Thomps, I'm not mad at ESPN or USC for Clarett. It was the NYT that ran the story I've referenced re: Clarett and his test taking.

I do think, however, as I tried to allude, that IF ESPN wanted to (or the NYT, or the LAT for that matter) could EASILY say "Carrol goes to far, pulls "sick" prank" Which, frankly, is what that "prank" was.

My reference to Knight is with regard to the "media darling" thing. Knight was no media darling, and when he did a "prank" of fake whipping calbert chaney all hell broke lose. I don't even like Indiana basketball or Knight, for that matter.

Now, I'm not saying PC should lose his job, or that the NCAA needs to go snooping around. I'm saying if Phil Fulmer had pulled this [censored], ESPN would not be talking about how "loose" UT practices are. The media is willing, in my view, to give USC the benefit of the doubt on these things. That is what makes me say they are, in fact, a "darling."

I can honestly say, if Tressel was behind a similar thing at OSU, I would not be saying, "It's all in good fun." There is a line, and this one crosses it. Plain and simple, Mo C or no.

If faking a player suicide is OK, what's not? Can Spurrier pull a gun on his QB as I asked above? AS I've said several times now, it wasn't OK for Knight to "whip" Chaney, but it's OK to fake jumping off a building? I guess if this was simply LenDale being a goof, that's one thing, that it was orchestrated by a coach (as I understand it was) then that's quite another.

Finally, maybe I'm sheltered, but I've never even heard of a Halloween prank, much less do I consider it routine to fake deaths in celebration of the candy holiday. (save for maybe a guy laying in a fake coffin to scare trick or treaters, or other "Campy" Halloween type crap. In my feeble mind, that's very different than pretend to jump off a roof because you're "fake" disgruntled about practice.)

[crazybuckfan40]

Originally Posted by methomps

I think you are assuming that Pete Carroll didn't consider the personal lives of all his players and their family situations. He's recruited most of these players to USC, so he's sat down with them and has pretty good knowledge of their backgrounds.

Pete Carroll didn't do this for some hypothetical team. He knows his players.

I know what you are saying, but there it doesnt always have to be someone that the coach would know about. Are you saying the coach knows how many deaths there have been in everyones family and why.

Also I am sure there are also many fans out there of USC that believe suicide is not something to joke about. I know you are thinking, they are just fans, but you just never know.

I think suicide is just one of those subjects you just stay away from. I am in a way that some people have not jumped on this.

I know he is just trying to keep them lose, but I just feel it was a little over the top.

[methomps]

As with most news stories, key facts sometimes come out later. Turns out it wasn't a spoof suicide. One of USC's equipment managers was on the roof scuffling with Lendale, and it was made to look like Lendale accidentaly fell during the altercation.

[Buckeyeskickbuttocks]

And, I guess back in the 80s/early 90s we were too stupid to realize that Knight might have known his players too. Again, media darling. Benefit of the doubt. USC has it.

[Buckeyeskickbuttocks]

Originally Posted by methomps

As with most news stories, key facts sometimes come out later. Turns out it wasn't a spoof suicide. One of USC's equipment managers was on the roof scuffling with Lendale, and it was made to look like Lendale accidentaly fell during the altercation.

So, he really did have a [censored]ing contest with Carrol and storm out of practice? or was that just bad intel?

I don't know, man... that doesn't add up to me.

And if it truely is just LenDale's idea, then I wonder about that kid.

[scooter1369]

Do you think that Pete considered the fact that a running back from Penn aced himself just a few weeks ago? He has to know that such a prank would be all over the national sports news beings every writer not from Blacksburg or Austin is swinging from USC's jock. Now, as the mother of that kid that killed himself opens the sports page to see if her surviving son is mentioned from Saturday's game, she sees USC is making light of a running back killing himself.

Congrats. Now she has to relive the worst moment of her life. A moment no one saw coming.

[methomps]

No, they did have the [censored]ing match, but it was all staged

[Buckeyeskickbuttocks]

So, after arguing with the coach, LenDale is supposed to get in a "spoof" altercation with the waterboy .... on a 6 story rooftop........ Well, gosh, that is funny... but in a What the [censored]? lack of story continuity kind of way...

I stand by what I've said above. It was over the line, no matter how ya slice it. And USC is, in fact, a media darling.

[Bucky Katt]

This is hilarious!!!

Carroll spooks USC players during Halloween practice
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Todd Harmonson
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
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LOS ANGELES — Minutes after Southern California tailback LenDale White stormed off the practice field with his coaches swearing at him, he stood on the roof of a neighboring building.
"(Forget) football!" White shouted Monday night.
His teammates had just been told they didn’t need distractions such as White and would continue to win without him. Then many watched in horror as equipment coordinator Tino Dominguez reached for White and missed before No. 21 fell from the roof.
Of course, the real No. 21 was flat on the roof while the dummy dressed in his uniform plummeted from a four-story science building in Trojans coach Pete Carroll’s Halloween prank for his team.
"Well done," Carroll said when White returned to the field. "We killed them."
Carroll has thrived at USC with planning, preparation and putting players in the right places to succeed. He used all those elements to give most of his staff and players their fright for the night.
He limited his co-conspirators to White, fellow tailback Reggie Bush, offensive line coach Pat Ruel and Dominguez, who threw a "spy" dummy off another building a few years ago. The plan came together just before practice, and the casting was appropriate.
Bush passed on the chance because he didn’t want to go on the roof. Besides, he said, "It was a lot more believable with LenDale."
White has a bit of a reputation for surliness, and he ran with it Monday the way he does with the ball on Saturdays. He complained to coaches about a lack of carries, said he was quitting, climbed on a cart when he left the field and hurled his gloves away to convince the reporters who followed him outside to the street.
"We had to get my teammates to really believe in it," said White, who had thoroughly convinced some teammates who were visibly shaken after Ruel played his role and pointed to the scene on the roof.
And for any Trojans who weren’t shaken enough, free safety Scott Ware added a little scare after practice when he put his 3½-foot lizard "Croc" in a shower full of players. Then he turned off the lights. "It’s one thing when you could see him but another when it’s dark," said Ware, who said nearly 20 players went scrambling.

[bucknut4life]

i watched it last nite on espn and they showed the whole thing, it was quite funny..

[Sport]

Funny?...... Yeah, but if it wasn't USC and was any other University the media would still be shouting about how inappropriate this prank was. The coach would be stoned with immaturity talk and should the coach still have his job. I don't try to understand or rationalize the intentions of the media but I'm pretty sure if it was anyone else sending a dummy of a roof in any situation there would be a big stink that would never end. Just image, even if Tres would, but if he did this same thing how would everyone react? Probably not be considered Funny...........

I don't approve of the prank but then again my opinion doesn't matter much.... I'm just curious how everyone else perceived the prank with the blinders off.

[ohiostate=life]

Yeah it's funny but if USC wants to play games let em. Sounds like the coaching staff has way too much time on their hands. Shouldn't they be working on football schemes at this time of the year. Life must be pretty laid back over there in that rough Pac 10. That's lack of focus. When they get beat by UCLA or CAL or both, we'll see who the jokes on.....again.

[BuckeyeNation27]

USC is the NCAA darling?

[kippy1040]

The question i pose is this. Does Pete Carrol need to do something like this to motivate his players or were they just trying to lighten up the mode of thier practice methods. Maybe they just wanted to add some comedy and to loosen things up abit. Everyone knows that USC is physical enough of a team. But how long can they keep up the mental aspect of the teams thinking. If this was his line of thinking then I think that is acceptable. But that part about "Croc/lizard being thrown in the shower room wasn't to cool. Just think of the things that could have happened if the team players or somebody spooking that thing and it ends up biting a player. Bad choice on that part.

[wadc45]

Rey Maualuga certainly isn't a media darling this morning...

Trojan freshman linebacker Rey Maualuga was arrested early Tuesday morning when he turned himself in at the LAPD Southwest Division Station. He was booked on suspicion of battery and is scheduled to appear in court on November 22nd.

"We're aware of it, and when we get more information we'll head forward with what we get," Pete Carroll told the LA Times. "As always, we're going to do our stuff in-house as we have in the past." The arrest stems from an off-campus incident where Maualuga is alleged to have hit another man. Maualuga declined to comment.