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USC is the NCAA darling?

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AS I said above, its all in the presentation -

"Clarett didn't have to take the same test as everyone else"
"Struggling Clarett helped by special teacher"

"USC gets loose by fun halloween prank"
"Pete Carrol goes over the line by having player fake suicide"

Yeah, SC isn't media darling at all.
 
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osugrad21 said:
I'm not throwing out any accusations and I explained as much to Thomps via PM, but the latest LeSean McCoy Rivals$ update threw up a flag for me:

Now, maybe Leinarts parents took out a major loan ala Lebron's mom based on his future, but wouldn't this type of flamboyance raise speculation at most programs?

Again, I am not accusing USC of anything here...I thought I remembered hearing that ML's parents were loaded, but Thomps said they are middle class.

I don't want to see USC come under any fire as I previously in this thread, but I do think the amount of media scrutiny needs to be fair. Hell, MoC was crucified and the program lead to the gallows for a damn Monte Carlo...
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even if they did get a loan through the parents, if they capitalized on his "fame" or even his potential its a violation.
 
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ESPN posted an article in the college football section that was solely about the osu women's basketball team getting free dental work, which at most benefited the insurance company. they spun everything possible, and rehashed old stories constantly to appear as new revelations.

Outside of gameday, I don't think there is a single TV analyst that has appeared on ESPN who thinks USC can lose. Barely beating ND only strengthened that viewpoint.

When I see them stop sucking up to your team at every turn, I'll believe that there isn't a bias.

This has nothing to do with your actual talent or ranking. I think you are a top team. However, espn analysts have been trained to say "29 straight wins" every time they talk about USC, and it is often used when discussing who should be #1.

Texas and VTech have to be much more impressive than USC to have a shot. It's the same as with OU in 2003 (and to a lesser extent 2004).

What doesn't make any sense is that your team is far from unbeatable. Three close calls makes that very evident. These same analysts worshipped the feet that Larry Coker stood on... saying that they would beat OSU by 30+. ESPN analysis is a joke.
 
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Buckeyeskickbuttocks said:
Make light if you want, Thomps and Bruins board folks, but the fact that it's Halloween is a bullshit excuse. Should I wait til April Fools before I convince my family I'm dead in the tub having slit my wrists? I'm sure it'd be big fun for them when I get up and say, "Nah, just fuckin with ya, to keep you loose."
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I can't really speak to that because I don't know your family and family dynamics. However, people fake deaths at Halloween and April Fool's all the time, with fake blood and everything. I think you are working from the perspective that this prank is either appropriate in all situations or no situations. I disagree with that premise. I think the appropriateness of this and most pranks depends on the people. Would it be appropriate to jump out behind the curtains and scare a person recovering from a heart attack in the hospital? No. Does that mean it would be inapprorpriate to do it to your friend at home?
 
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scaring someone with fake blood, and actually making someone think someone jumped to their death are two drastically different pranks. The gunshot one is a much better example.

Would it be appropriate for Pete Carroll to hire a bunch of fake gangbangers to break into the locker room and shoot blanks at Lendale (who grabs his chest and explodes the blood packet).
 
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Buckeyeskickbuttocks said:
AS I said above, its all in the presentation -

"Clarett didn't have to take the same test as everyone else"
"Struggling Clarett helped by special teacher"

"USC gets loose by fun halloween prank"
"Pete Carrol goes over the line by having player fake suicide"

Yeah, SC isn't media darling at all.
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I think the two stories are completely different. I get the impression that you are more mad at ESPN for the Clarett situation and are channeling that anger at an innocent 3rd party (USC).

I'm not seeing the media darling angle, really. Whenever our players get in trouble, it makes the front page of ESPN.com. ESPN made a front page story out of Lendale White possibly being in academic trouble a full month before finals started. It was a story about the potential for a story, and it was front page news.

Outside of gameday, I don't think there is a single TV analyst that has appeared on ESPN who thinks USC can lose. Barely beating ND only strengthened that viewpoint.

When I see them stop sucking up to your team at every turn, I'll believe that there isn't a bias.

This has nothing to do with your actual talent or ranking. I think you are a top team. However, espn analysts have been trained to say "29 straight wins" every time they talk about USC, and it is often used when discussing who should be #1.

Texas and VTech have to be much more impressive than USC to have a shot. It's the same as with OU in 2003 (and to a lesser extent 2004).
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If tOSU had a 30-game winning streak and ESPN analysts were calling that the Buckeyes were going to lose, how do you think the boards would take it? They'd be pissed.

Up until now, anyone who has predicted that SC would lose has been wrong.
 
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and Pete Carroll also receives great praise for winning despite all of the offseason troubles. I don't remember too much of that sort of praise when we did pretty well in 2003.

I'm not saying they shouldn't favor USC. But everyone has repeated the "USC is unbeatable" mantra so long that everyone else has bought into it.
 
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Well, my suggestion to you is this: If the media hype of USC gets to you, you might just want to leave the country because the Notre Dame media parade is just getting started. Notre Dame won't have to win 30 games in a row to reach the height of coverage and hype that USC has now.
 
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I see two separate questions.

1. Is bad news about USC being reported? IMO yes.

2. Is bad news about USC being actively sought? That is certainly not the case to the extent folks were trying to dig crap up about OSU at one point. But that doesn't make you a darling, it just means you are being treated fairly. I gotta believe there are a half dozen 'interesting' stories sitting in the parking lot next to the practice field of every major program in the country. But it isn't a story until someoby with the means and the motivation does the leg work.

All that said, it would not surprise me to fomd an inherent media bias towards USC. There is a strong bias in the media towards pro and amateur teams on both coasts and in particular those located in or near LA or NY. That is where the market is. Much better for the media and their ownership that USC win the NC than OSU or Oklahoma. May not be fair, but it isn't exactly cheating.
 
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ESPN analysis is a joke.
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No it's not...it's an oxymoron.

Grad is correct about pranks. However, I tend to think that there is at least one player who did not think it was funny since not everyone appreciates a prank. Personally, I couldn't care less what pranks are being pulled out in Trojanland or anywhere else. I am surprised that some suicide prevention type group hasn't complained about the prank yet. Key word is yet.

IMO, there is a slight media bias towards USC, but it isn't as large as the media bias towards Notre Dame. The media bias towards USC is, to me, more of a love-fest. That naturally comes with high powered offensive teams. The media, and many fans too, love high powered offenses. The larger media bias towards ND is, to me, more of a worshiping. Always has been which, in the spirit of Earl, is reason #137 why I detest ND with every fiber of my being.
 
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Hey Thomps and Grad I know you guys both feel the same way about the prank but chew on this one for a second.

Let's say player A had a cousin kill himself from suicide and now the coach is making a joke about suicide.

Suicide may not be anything that most people deal with, obvisiously it is no big deal to carrol, but when you don't make a joke on something that can be really close to somepeople, especially when you have a huge ass fan base and university to represent.

Here is a little analogy for you, Your mom just recently died of a heartattack b/c she struggled with obesity, and you are at work in a meeting and your boss says damn my mom is so fat....(Insert joke here) and then goes on to show a picture of his mom being 120 lbs. How does that make you feel. There are somethings you just stay away from.


As for the media darling thing, My only complaint is Espin made it a point to go out of their way to try and make a story out of nothing, they were here following NCAA people trying to find anything and everything. They had full tv broadcasts to try and tell why our program was dirty, we pay our players, we give them this and that, and the NCAA was here twice and found nothing.

Seemed like a witchunt to me and many of our fans, we just dont understand, why when someone else has things going on that they are not drilling them, looking at what kind of cars all the guys drive and seeing if they can dig something up on them.
 
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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.
 
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