SB Nation User Blog: Fox 71

Stephenson to Cincy

Fox 71 — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:26:35 -0000

Yahoo sports has link to an article in The Dagger which talks about Stephenson going to Cincinnati. The article rightfully chides the Bearcats for taking this guy. It says: "Throw in the usual risks you take with one-and-done players -- they don't show up for class in the spring at best; they aid in a complete and utter breakdown of your program at worst -- and you can see the stakes here." That link reminds me that Timmeh has yet to address the $1,000 question.

I don't see a lot of kids with the Stephenson/Mayo baggage heading toward UCLA, which is just fine with me.

From the "Don't worry honey, we did it all the time in college" Department.

Fox 71 — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:58:16 -0000

Here's a little quote from "Shutdown Corner" about Ocho Cinco's housing plans: "During his time on stage with Michael Irvin, Ochocinco said that he was planning on moving in with Carson Palmer's (notes) family in July. Yes, Ochocinco is going to live with the Palmers so he and his quarterback can get on the same page."

Let's see. A just$c* quarterback living with a teammate. That sounds familiar.

(I don't have the skill to post the wonderful Palmer hotdog ad, and wouldn't if I could.)

Two completely off topic items which I feel constrained to share.

Fox 71 — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 05:47:06 -0000

First is a Yahoo News report on a Chinese village with lots of people over a hundred. The article purports to explain their secret. I don't think it's very difficult to figure that one out. They were all gymnasts on the Chinese Olympic squad. They're 102 on their driver's licences, but chronologically, they're all about 60 (perfect for my retirement community.

Second is a joke from the local paper. I'll re-name the players to make it relevant. Let's choose, oh, how about Nestor and Class of 66.

Nestor: Hey 66, wnat to play "Bobbing for Seeds?"

66: What's that?

Nestor: You hold a watermelon and suck as many seeds as you can out of it in one minute.

66. Oh, yeah. Lemme try. (Chomp, chomp, chomp, spit, spit, spit.)

Nestor: Not bad, not bad. Alright, now we try a new game called 'Farce." It's like "Bobbing for Seeds," but here, instead of a dry watermelon, we make it harder by oiling it up.

66: It'll be too hard to hold.

Nestor: Yeah, that's why we call it "Farce." It's just a huge comedy of errors.

66: What if I can't do it with the oily one.

Nestor: We go back to the other game.

66: (Wait for it, wait for it) So if at "Farce" I don't suck seed, try dry again?

Thank you. I'll be here until Thursday. Make sure to try the veal, and tip your waitress.

Happy Birthday to Coach Howland

Fox 71 — Thu, 28 May 2009 12:18:21 -0000

Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

Continuing the tradition began by one of our former great players, Karl Dorrell (who disappeared off the face of the earth for several years, only to re-emerge as an assistant to someone in the NFL), it's time to recognize a birthday:

Photo Credit: freesia39 (flickr)

Happy Birthday to Coach Howland. The birthday present I would give to him if I could is a large box of patience with Bruin fans who expect his teams to win every game 140-0, and always go undefeated.

The fishwrap's motto: See no evil, hear no evil, publish no evil

Fox 71 — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:36:26 -0000

As I recall, a fairly big story broke on Tuesday, May 12, ten days ago. Something about just$c*'s basketball coach paying OJ2's runner. The fishwrap published a story which was subtitled "The Emperor's New Clothes," but nothing else.

I googled "tim floyd usc payment" again, and there are still 100 pages of hits. There is still no statement from Garrett or Floyd. There is still nothing but silence in the fishwrap.

Bruins, I now officially declare the story to be dead. just$c* has won the battle for the minds and hearts of America by ignoring the SCandal. You have to hand it to them. (Actually, you don't - they'll take it whether you hand it to them or not, but I digress.) They have weathered the storm simply by ignoring it. Nothing is going to happen. In fact, I think they're giving themselves another national championship in football.

The biggest scandal in Los Angeles is the fishwrap.

Fox 71 — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:42:13 -0000

The suspension of Ramirez was a big scandal. just$c* is always a SCandal, but when something like the Johnson allegations hit, the scab on top of the festering wound is scraped off and the filth below is exposed.

In my opinion, the fishwrap's treatment of payogate is a much bigger and more far-reaching scandal. The 'wrap is making a deliberate attempt to kill this story by non-reporting. It is the exact opposite of what we have been trained since childhood to believe is the reason journalism exists - to ferret out the truth. After all, who are the icons of our generation? Woodward and Bernstein, of course. Who is lauded for their courage? The reporters who go into combat and make sure that the American people get the truth about what's going on.

Maybe the fishwrap doesn't think the payogate story is significant or interesting. Well, I googled "tim floyd usc payment" and got one hundred pages of hits. A few of the things on page 100 weren't about the allegations made by Johnson. Heck, even "OJMayoOnLine" (OJ2's blog) had a reference to his meeting with authorities. It was deemed newsworthy in Cincinnati, New York, Green Bay, Manhatten, Kansas, Seattle, Baltimore, Denver, and Chicago, among other places.

If the 'wrap happens to be reading this, here are the first few pages:

sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=ys-floyd051209&prov=yhoo&type=lgns -

ballhype.com/ncaa_basketball/tim_floyd

usatoday.com/sports/college/.../2009-05-13-o-j-mayo-tim-floyd_N.htm

www.kansascity.com/472/story/1194391.html

youbeenblinded.com/tim-floyd-paid-for-oj-mayo/3117

sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=4162444

ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2009/05/13/usc-coach-tim-floyd-accused-...

faniq.com/article/Tim-Floyd-made-a-direct-payment-to-OJ-Mayo-associ...

rss.usatoday.mlogic3g.com/Sports/320540/full

www.lakewyliepilot.com/429/story/354668.html

content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=azcentral&...

sports.espn.go.com - /espn/columns/story?...&id=3390757&sportCat=ncb

digg.com /basketball/Breaking_Tim_Floyd_gave_cash_to_O_J_Mayo_handler

abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=7572186

blogs.usatoday.com/gameon/2009/05/eye-opener-did-uscs-tim-floyd-pay... sonsofsamhorn.net/index.php?showtopic=45

content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/People/.../NCAA/Tim+Floyd -

newsfeedresearcher.com/data/articles_s20/guillory-johnson-mayo.html

www.newstin.com/tag/us/121123505

tigerforums.com/.../84899-usc-basketball-tim-floyd-going-down.html

topics.cnn.com/topics/tim_floyd

latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/usc/index.html [Note - this is the Penrose imitation of Sgt. Schultz.]

nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/30711496

www.ketv.com/cbask/19446686/detail.html

bleacherreport.com/articles/174086-the-best-athletes-that-money-can-buy-go-to-usc...

usc.freedomblogging.com /2009/05/13/inside-the-ncaas-investigation-into-usc...

The BN didn't show up until the fourth page. I got tired of looking at all this after page 20 or so, and the only fishwrap thing I found was the one whitewash job by that loveable Stalag 13 guard, Sgt. Penrose, who "SAWWWW NOTHHHHINGGGGG."

The 'wrap's obvious attempt to manage and create news is shameful. There is no reasonable justification for its "hear no evil - see no evil - speak no evil" policy about just$c* It is this sort of behavior which in my opinion is hastening the demise of print media. In my opinion, the demise of the fishwrap couldn't come too soon. Of course, the last edition of the 'wrap would probably not have a word about its going out of business.

OT - Ex Bruin Ben Francisco torments the Rays

Fox 71 — Sun, 17 May 2009 18:34:10 -0000

Ben just hit a three run homer off Andy Sonnenstine. Ben is now 5 for 6 with three homers and 7 RBI's lifetime against Sonnenstine.

Andy Sonnenstine was deemed to be the next Greg Maddux by the Rays. Mediocre stuff, but able to hit the corners, etc. The problem is that his stuff is so mediocre that guys tee off on it if its anywhere near the plate, as his 8-plus ERA this year indicates.

Yet Sonnenstine is in the majors and David Price is in the minors. I guess I don't understand things.

UPDATED: The Silence is Deafening

Fox 71 — Fri, 15 May 2009 03:10:41 -0000

Bumped. Here we are on a Sunday morning. Still no word/commentary from the Trojan Times on the biggest story in college athletics this week. Too busy concern trolling about Phil Jakcson apparently. Meanwhile, we have heard nothing official from Tim Floyd either. GO BRUINS. -N

Apparently no one at Inheritance Hall looks at the internet or TV. It appears that everyone missed whatever paragraph the fishwrap devoted to the malicious lies being spread about that wonderful, totally honest guy, Timmeh. I come to this conclusion because it has been over two days since Yahoo broke the story (again scooping the fishwrap), and there has been nothing but silence from justsc. There was the obligatory "no comment" from justsc's house counsel. But so far, there has been nothing at all from Timmeh. Is he vacationing in the wilderness of Neptune? I doubt it.

I think its far more likely that he and his consigliore and his capo regimes are running various explanations past focus groups, trying to come up with something that sounds half way plausible and will not cause the listeners to burst into laughter. Think about that for a second - how tough would it be to be Timmeh's adviser or Garrett's adviser at this point. Given that you can't advise them to simply tell the truth, what can you possibly tell them? Other than Deny - Obfuscate - Accuse, the main defense being offered by the trOJies who have made their feelings known.

Come on, Timmeh. Give us your own answer to all the questions. The entire sports world wants to hear from you, but so far all we have heard is silence.

And in a related story, the fishwrap is being silent, too. It appears to me that the one and only story by the Daily trOJan (aka the fishwrap) was not about all the scandals, but that Yahoo had reported on the scandals. The spin from the 'wrap is plain - its reporters make it clear that they're skeptical of the whole thing. The absence of follow-up reporting by the fishwrap is not just deafening silence, but damning silence. They don't just not report. They actively refuse to report.

justsc in general and Timmeh in particular should be talking, but they aren't. The fishwrap should be demanding answers from justsc and Timmeh, but it isn't. You can hear a pin drop in the corridor between Inheritance Hall and the LAT building. I can understand why justsc wants to pretend all this isn't happening, but one would think that someone at the fishwrap might think this subject is worth discussing. But no. All we get is silence from justsc and from its lapdog.

UPDATE: (Actually not an update since nothing has happened.)

According to the Yahoo article, it was published on May 12, 2009, at 8:04 pm EDT. It's now May 15, 2009, at 10:42 EDT. The only noise you hear are pins being dropped at Inheritance Hall and at the fishwrap. It has been 74 hours since the story broke, and not one official word from justsc or an unofficial word from Timmeh or Garrett. It's unlikely that the parents of any of his players will say anything since it appears that most of them work for justsc in some capacity.

In the 72 hours since Yahoo broke the story, the fishwrap (which I confess I have not read) has mentioned that a story was published on Yahoo, and has given it a little text in some little column. No one at the fishwrap seems to have had the idea that a reporter or two could actually travel the mile or so from the fishwrap building to justsc and ask a question or two. There is just no interest at the fishwrap in delving any deeper into the story.

So we go into the weekend, 74 hours after the story came out, and the silence still reigns. We need one of those voices from NFL Films (John Facenda or the late Harry Kalas): "The absolute silence lingered over unfrozen tundra of the cesspool on Figueroa as justsc and its propaganda arm, the fishwrap, conducted business as usual."

Rivals BBall recruiting rating

Fox 71 — Sat, 09 May 2009 16:17:40 -0000

Yahoo has a story from Rivals saying Kentucky has the number one recruiting class, followed by the usual suspects. We are ranked number 8. The only other Pac 10 teams in the top 25 are Washington at 20 and Oregon State at 21. Mississippi State got to number 25 by getting Sidney, so I guess they took justsc's spot.

Yawn. This is about as important as any other pre-season ranking. I again give thanks that we have a Coach who can do something with a good recruiting class.

My exchange with OC Bruins re their invitation to CHP

Fox 71 — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 04:49:04 -0000

I thought the BN might be interested in my exchange of e-mails with the guys in charge of the Orange County event in which several "Bruin Greats" will be speaking. Also speaking will be CHP. Someone recommended that we e-mail Michael Rorabaugh, and I did. My e-mail was forwarded to Shawn Heilbron, who was not only took the time to answer, but also gave me permission to publish the exchange of messages. I don't think Mr. Heilbron actually responded to the main points I tried to make, but I'll let the BN be the judge of this. I also give him high marks for not just ignoring criticism, which would obviously have been the easiest thing to do.

My first message:

I have heard via the internet that you invited Coach Howland's predecessor to speak at some function with other actual Bruins. I have also heard that you have billed Coach Howland's predecessor as "great." I assume that this is a practical joke on your part, but it isn't funny.

As you may have perceived from the first paragraph, I cannot bring myself to actually type the name of the man who single handedly ruined Bruin Basketball. This pretender destroyed what Coach Wooden created and what Coach Wooden's successors tried valiantly to maintain.

Coach Howland's predecessor now is ostensibly an expert. (I am an attorney by trade. In the law business, one becomes an expert simply by self-proclamation. It appears to be the same for Coach Howland's predecessor.) Because of his self-proclaimed expertise and the bully pulpit the louts at ESPN have given him, his denigration of UCLA and his insults to its fan base are take on an aura of legitimacy which is undeserved. He claims UCLA's fans had unrealistic expectations, but backs that with no empirical evidence. He somehow believes that he did not deserve to be fired. Apparently he has forgotten the 11 losses by more than 25 points (including three at Pauley) and has forgotten losses to Branch West, EA Sports, San Diego State and Northern Arizona at Pauley. He seeks to share in the credit for Coach Harrick's championship in 1995, but refuses to accept ownership for the first losing season in 55 years at UCLA.

This charlatan did not know the difference between a man to man defense and a zone defense. (Look it up - it's there.) His contribution to UCLA basketball was described recently by Baron Davis - "We might have put another banner up there if we had had a coach."

And yet you invite this total blowhard to speak at a UCLA function and include his name in a list of Bruin greats. Only one question - why do you think he qualifies as a Bruin after ruining the program? OK, I guess there are two questions - Was this announcement a just a cruel practical joke?

I am no longer in Southern California. If I were, I would pay whatever I had to pay to get a place at the luncheon so I could stand and walk out as soon as Coach Howland's predecessor's name is mentioned. By doing so, I would miss the questions from the real Bruins in the audience.

Frankly, Mr. Rorabaugh, I think you should be more than a little ashamed of yourself for linking yourself with a man whose name will always be associated with the destruction of everything Coach Wooden created. It is not too late to rescind your invitation to him, and I suggest you do so.

Thank you for taking the time to read this rant.

Fox 71

Here is the response (actually, a non-response, in my opinion.)

Thank you very much for your e-mail. We respect your opinion regarding our UCLA Athletics Club of Orange County Event. Our program for that evening will be extremely entertaining and our objective is to provide our supporters in attendance with a memorable experience. Our panel of Ed O'Bannon, Charles O'Bannon, Tracy Murray and Steve Lavin will deliver unique perspectives and insight. Ed, Charles, Tracy and Steve are all volunteering their time to help raise money for the athletic department by participating in this event. We are fortunate to have a storied tradition in men's basketball, and each of these men have been a part of that. They are proud to support the program and help in any way that they can.

Shawn Heilbron
Assistant Athletic Director - Major Gifts

My reply:

Thank you for your response. Although your message is not what I had hoped, I nonetheless appreciate your taking the time to respond. I also must note that I disagree with your characterization of all four speakers. While I agree that the O'Bannon brothers and Tracy Murray were and are proud supporters of UCLA in general and Bruin athletics in particular, the same cannot be said for your fourth speaker. He constantly disparages the UCLA basketball fan base, suggesting that it has unreasonable expectations. He also uses the "unreasonable expectations" excuse to explain his termination, but conveniently overlooks the fact that he generated the Bruins' first losing season in 55 years, and the fact that he presided over some of the most humiliating defeats in the history of the school.

In any event, I would like to share your message with the Bruins Nation, but will not do so without your consent. May I share it?

And his response:

I appreciate you asking for consent to post my response. You may share the information however you would like. Everyone is certianly entitled to their own opinion, but in the end we all share the same passion for UCLA and desire to see our program move forward. That is what I hope the focus can shift to regarding this event. Thanks very much.