Morning Report

by Paragon SC on Mar 16, 2007 4:50 AM PDT in Quick Hits

A week that started out looking light turned into a pretty busy situation where I have worked all sorts of weird hours so I have not really been able to post the way I would have liked and it will be another crazy day today especially with some snow coming so I look to busy with some fracture work.

I was able to catch some games last night. I did get to see the Duke/ VCU game which was a real treat, not because Duke lost, I don't hate Duke like a lot of people do I'm just ambivalent, but because it is always neat when the underdog wins and VCU really played them aggressively and they were always scrapping for the ball, they never gave up.

Some news and notes for today:

A little trash talk by Beverly: It seems that Arkansas Guard Patrick Beverly thinks the Hogs can get into the Sweet 16. OK, I'll bite, even if they do get past SC tonight the still need to face Texas and that will be no small task. But I think it will be a moot point when SC beats them tonight.

Francis' mom in attendance: USC Coach Tim Floyd has never forgotten the importance of the Late Ryan Francis so much so that he wanted the late players mother in attendance when SC plays Arkansas tonight in Spokane. Even after her sons death she has been a strong supporter of the SC Hoops program and Coach Tim Floyd.

Ahead of schedule: An article to day in the LAT by Ben Bolch discusses this past season as a preamble to next season that also characterizes the team as ahead of schedule when top recruits May and Patterson get the team next year. I'm not sure if I agree with that assessment so we'll see if he's right next season. He also has a preview of tonight's game.

A showdown out in town: I saw this earlier in the week on Wolf's Blog It seems that a couple of players from both the USC and UCLA football teams bumped into one another out in town.

A True Story

A couple USC players, led by linebacker Brian Cushing, recently bumped into some UCLA players, led by offensive lineman Shannon Tevaga. After a few tense early moments, things eventually loosened up.

Cushing talked about the problems the defense had with some assignments while the Bruins talked about their respect for Cushing, because he did not talk trash during the game.

Not surprising as the proximity of the two institutions will allow that to happen from time to time but I would check out some of the comments in the threads. Yes, of course there is some trash talk but the third comment stood out to me- "Sometimes it seems the fans care more about the rivalry than the players do. Where's the hate?" - Posted by: uzair3_21

I couldn't agree more as most of us who blog and/or comment on these sites have never played at that level so it would be safe to say that we don't get it. In the end the players understand what's at stake and that bigger prizes could be ahead so they don't let some of the petty fan based crap get to them. Refreshing when you think about it.

The SBN Tourney Hub: Day one of the SBN Tourney Hub was a great success with Rakes of Mallow in the early session and Card Chronicle holding down the evening session.

Todays line up is as follows:

Early Session Session Burnt Orange Nation
Afternoon Session Carolina March
Evening Session Addicted to Quack

I will have some final thoughts on tonight's game and a game thread up later on today. If you're on the east cost batten down the hatches as it going to a weird weather day!

Catch ya later!

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And there, is the crux of the matter ...

Sometimes it seems the fans care more about the rivalry than the players do.

What a quote. The thing is, the players often do care as much about the rivalry, but they also have respect for their opponents, who have sacrificed and worked as hard.

The problem isn't lack of caring, but lack of mutual respect. I see it from fans everywhere, and when I was a stupid undergrad I suffered from it too. I guess undergrads could be excused, but once you graduate carrying the hate and letting it grow is just wrong.

Some folks get it. They understand that the opposing fans will poke fun, mock, and root against their team - just as they'll do to the opponents. But there has to be a limit.

Okay, end of rant. Good luck against the Hogs.

by SoCal Oski on Mar 16, 2007 1:55 PM PDT 0 recs

Ditto

The fans around my section at the Coliseum (Sec 10 row 90) are very respectful to the opposing teams fans. The friends I brought with me to the ND game from South Bend were very suprised to see the sportsmanship they were shown. I'm lucky I am in a good section where the people show respect. Alot better atmosphere at the Coliseum than at Qualcom where some Bolts fans would be mistaken for a Raider fan if it wasn't for the Charger gear they wear.

And that goes for the Michigan fans too, they were very decent at the Rosebowl. I wasn't sure what to expect being surrounded in the Blue and Maze Section, but it proved to be a good time. Though not for them with my louder than normal mouth. I seem to enjoy screaming my lungs out more when there are opposing fans nearby for some reason.

I wonder if all this would be different if they allowed alchohol to be sold there though.

-Tim uscfootballfan.com

by uscfootballfandotcom on Mar 16, 2007 3:16 PM PDT 0 recs

i agree with socal oski

some fans go too far in mocking or poking fun of opposing teams and fans to the point things turn violent.Most Sc fans i meet have respect for the bruins as i for Sc.

by bruin81 on Mar 16, 2007 4:09 PM PDT 0 recs