Shot Across the Bow??

by Paragon SC on Dec 31, 2007 12:54 PM PST in USC Football Comment 4 comments

OK I'll Bite...

Someone emailed this to me from College Football News and it reinforces what I wrote earlier.

Two Rose Bowl games, played 24 years apart, will now be forever linked in the history books by the looming presence of Neuheisel and the coincidental presence of Illinois. When Neuheisel played the Illini in the first hours of 1984, a bloodbath ensued; nearly two and a half decades later, another news story involving Neuheisel is likely to cause even more carnage for Illinois on a New Year's Day afternoon in Pasadena.

Why? It's not that hard to understand: if USC was bored about the prospect of playing Illinois, the Trojans--awakened by this shot across the bow from their archrival--should find a fresh sense of urgency as they play the Illini in a few days. Mike White's 1983 team received a pounding from an L.A.-based school, and Ron Zook's 2007 crew now figures to encounter a similar fate against the other pigskin presence in the City of Angels.

I was listening to Colin Cowherd this morning and he made an interesting observation that Pete Carroll was essentially responsible for the hiring of Slick Rick. His reasoning was that because Pete Carroll is so charismatic and held such a tight grip on all the good press when it comes to CFB in L.A. that this forced ucla to play catch up to try and balance the scales.

Hiring a good coach is a necessary first step but I won't be impressed, as Slick Rick needs to win something first before he can be anointed the new King of L.A. RN's making a lot of noise already but it is just that noise and that is what he has done in the past and in order to shake his past he needs to deliver solid results in the future. The bigger question is will he revert to his old ways in order to hit a home run. I tend to think he has learned his lesson and will extra careful as to not tarnish the good name of his alma mater but in the end until he either goes back to his old ways or leaves ucla closing that chapter in his life we won't have that answer until one of those two things happen. I also think that he will make ucla more competitive but to what level I won't speculate on. he still has some hurdles to overcome like low pay for assistants and those pesky academic standards that ucla prides itself on.

This article actually helps prove my point that SC needs to stay focused and that the future is more important now than it was a month ago. Slick Rick will give PC a run for his money and that is a good thing for us so that we don't get complacent. SC has already proven itself time and again on the local and national stage its up to those in Westwood to find their own glory and they seem to have a decent choice but it is early yet and they have a long way to go. So, as I said before this hire doesn't scare me but it will kep us on our toes and that is a good thing.

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All Talk Right Now

I have to tell you though, I am extremely excited about Rick coming to UCLA. I think he'll be much better pick than most people realize.

Just think about this for a second:
Carrol vs. Neu and Howland vs. Floyd

There's an obvious favorite in each match-up, but they're good to great match-ups. I honestly think with all those coaches, UCLA and USC have a very good shot of meeting each other in both football and basketball ranked either in the top-20 or top-15. That would really put our schools in the lime light until MARCH, elevate the play of both our teams, and shut up the crazies.

This is good for everyone.

by BruinFan1 on Dec 31, 2007 1:20 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

don't let you know who

hear you say that, no one is on the level of St Ben.

by Paragon SC on Dec 31, 2007 1:23 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Inevitable, really

I am not surprised at the hiring, given the fact that a) he's a former Bruin b) he's had some reasonable measure of success (with some bad fallout at both Colorado and Washington) and c) the job apparently was not high up on anyone's list (when potential hires from the likes of Boise State and Temple say "no thanks", that's what I'd call a serious reality check).

Having said that, I laughed out loud today listening to his first press conference. No, not at his numerous attempts at polishing his apparent sideline stand-up act. Instead, it was when he was responding to a reporter's question and described the UW/NCAA scandal as "an interesting time and an interesting facts situation." One can only assume Guerrero and Company will keep him on a short leash.

I'm all for greater competition, both for the rivalry and for the conference as a whole. Here's hoping the supposed maturing he spoke of today has really taken place. BTW, if any one wants to hear the press conference, it's archived at the 570AM site - http://www.xtrasportsradio.com/main.html

by Defender90 on Dec 31, 2007 6:34 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

An simple act of attrition

Reality check indeed Def90. Was this a hiring? Or was it a "Pick the Straw" contest, as in. . . the last straw wins? It's difficult to believe Dan Guerrero has what it takes to be an AD. His head was so far up his arse on this one, he couldn't even call Chow to tell him where he stood after the initial interviews were completed. Chow may be a number of things, but every man deserves common courtesy- especially one as old and gentlemanly as Chow.

Wastewood sure likes attention. For all the wrong reasons. Neuheisel was the last man standing after all else jumped from the obviously burning wagon heading straight into hostile territory. THEY HIRED A DUDE who currently coaches one of the worst offenses in the NFL ??? I'm scared alright. Scared of losing interest in the USC - UCLA lovefest. But then again hey! There's always the women's soccer and volleyball intensity which abounds!!!

by tapoutstylist on Jan 1, 2008 9:13 AM PST reply actions 0 recs