Jul 9th, 2010
USC is sort of the Lindsay Lohan of college football. It just can’t stay out of the news, and usually it’s not the kind of publicity a marketing firm recommends.
Lindsay Lohan is afflicted by the same ailment as USC football -- neither can stay out of the news
It’s easy to pile on the Trojans these days, and because we always follow the path of least resistance, we will jump on top. Besides, the term “USC” seems to generate a lot of traffic toward a website, so we will milk that cheap tactic for all it’s worth. It’s the same reason we will inject LeBron James’ name into the fray periodically for no particular reason.
So we are presenting the LeBron James Memorial USC Newsworthiness List, dedicated to LeBron James and LeBron James supporters everywhere.
– USC is banned from postseason play for two years. Yes, it’s old news but we can’t dismiss its existence. It’s sort of like that BP thing in the Gulf of Mexico.
– Pac-10 expansion celebration is interrupted by the realization that six teams will be put in a different football division from USC, which would be a marketing catastrophe for those six schools. The Trojans are innocent bystanders in this one, but somehow they are the story.
– Jordan Campbell transfers to Louisville, which is not that big a deal in terms of talent loss, but provides an interesting manipulation of the rules. Campbell, a junior, was not even on the USC roster coming out of spring because he reportedly had violated coach Lane Kiffin’s no-tolerance policy. But instead of being forced to sit out the 2010 season with the Trojans, Campbell can play immediately for Louisville because players who transfer from schools penalized by the NCAA are not required to sit out a year.
(By the way, have you heard that LeBron James will sign with the Miami Heat?)
– The contract of USC running backs coach Todd McNair was not renewed. Dismissing an assistant coach is not newsworthy – except when the assistant coach was allegedly involved in the Reggie Bush-related violations that were national news for about a decade.
– Reserve linebacker Malik Jackson leaves USC. Again, not earth-shattering news, except for one caveat – he transferred to Tennessee. There is a word used in the sports bizz to describe that turn of events: priceless.
– USC accused five schools, including Alabama and Florida of the Southeastern Conference, of illegally contacting a USC player, then USC A.D. Mike Garrett had to send apology notes when the accusations were determined to be inaccurate. We can almost hear Urban Meyer giggling.
– Offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson, rated the nation’s No. 1 recruit for 2010 by many analysts, has been granted his release form his letter of intent with USC. Henderson waited until March to sign with USC, apparently after Kiffin had assured Henderson the Trojans would not be sanctioned. One star for Kiffin, though, for granting Henderson’s release. He could have made things awfully difficult for Henderson by rejecting his release request, which would have been well within Kiffin’s rights. Henderson reportedly will transfer to Miami, who about two decades ago was afflicted by that Lindsay Lohan condition although the Hurricanes seem to have found a cure.
– Kiffin approached Tennessee officials about the Vols meeting the Trojans in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Classic in 2011. Cheeky stuff from Kiffin, although he may have figured Tennessee would turn it down (which it did), because it did not make economic sense for the Vols. USC and Tennessee have a verbal agreement to meet in 2021 and 2022, a mere 11 years away. Let’s see, in the past 3 ½ years, Kiffin has had four different coaching jobs, so the odds of him being at USC in 2011 are . . .
– USC is ineligible to be ranked in the coaches USA Today poll. So the Trojans theoretically could win a national championship in the Associated Press poll of sports writers (they have no scruples) and not even be ranked in the other. The only thing that would have been sweeter is if the AP poll were still part of the BCS standings formula, a scenario that could thrown the whole BCS ranking system into chaos. Luckily for the BCS, the AP folks refused to be part of the BCS after the 2004 season (see, we told you, sports writers had scruples).
– D.J. Shoemate, who had a good chance to be USC’s starting fullback this season, has transferred to Connecticut, not because of the sanctions, he claims, but because he wanted to play running back and did not think he would get that opportunity at USC. But Connecticut? Shoemate is from Anaheim, and all Orange County stars dream of playing in Storrs, Conn., right?
That’s our top 10 for the moment, and training camp has not even opened yet, much less the regular season. So, you may ask, “What’s going on?” Marvin Gaye asked the question 40 years ago, in circumstances a bit more sobering. It is being asked of USC football — in a far more superficial context, of course.
And now back to the insignificant world of college sports, where coaches make $4 million a year.
Oh, by the way, LeBron James is leaving Cleveland if you hadn’t heard, and LeBron James, LeBron James, LeBron James, LeBron James. And did we fail to mention LeBron James?
(Classic line by Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper reacting to this headline updating James free-agent tour: James Visits Cleveland — “I thought he lived in Cleveland.”)
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