Les Miles receives some ribbing about his comments over the summer from his wife by getting a special gift.
I just read a article from USC's newspaper and what journalistic standards they have at the University of Southern California!!!!! I am so glad that Louisiana High School Football stud from last year Joe Mcknight is going to be learning true standards from the USC journalism and communication school.
First some background.
Football fans know that Les Miles has come under some criticism for his comment on the PAC 10. What most people don't know is that these playful comments were made at was suppose to be a private off the record function as reported by the Advocate Sept 4th. Dubois in the Advocate wrote:
Miles could also tell Musburger how he came to say the following:
“I would like nothing better than to play USC for the title. I can tell you this, that they have a much easier road to travel. They’re going to play real knockdown drag-outs with UCLA and Washington, Cal-Berkeley, Stanford — some real juggernauts — and they’re going to end up, it would be my guess, in some position so if they win a game or two, that they’ll end up in the title (game).
“I would like that path for us. I think the SEC provides much stiffer competition.”
Miles, speaking to employees of New Orleans radio station WWL and their prospective clients, did what former LSU coaches Gerry DiNardo and Nick Saban did before him: have a little fun at what is essentially a meeting of LSU supporters.
A luncheon on the fifth floor of the LSU Athletic Administration Building in late July was the setting. The LSU athletic department invited WWL, a longtime radio partner, to attend an annual “Thank you” function before the season.
Miles said he was trying to be entertaining, and he was unaware he was being recorded.
“When you talk to a radio station somebody has got to stick a microphone in your face to get it on the radio, don’t they?” Miles told the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge days later.
“Well, apparently not.”
The room burst into laughter, well aware Miles’ comments were reported and analyzed nationally for days and, now, weeks.
The context of Miles’ comments is barely known.
At that July luncheon he stepped to a lectern after an introduction from a WWL employee who guaranteed LSU would be in New Orleans to play USC for the title. Miles joked that he would take off and go fishing after being promised such an outcome to the season.
The subject of USC was on the table, among friends, and Miles ran with it.
“I would like nothing better than to play USC for the title,” he said. You know the rest.
Miles later told the Rotary Club he didn’t mean to belittle the Pac-10.
“I really respect competition,” he said. “I respect it when my sons and daughters play it. I respect it when I’m not involved and I’m watching it. Any young man that was participating in the Pac-10 Conference that heard that and felt like that was a reason not to work hard or that I in any way demeaned his conference, that was not meant in any way to do that.
“It was more a barbershop opinion, and one that should certainly not have been taken too seriously.”
With perfect comedic timing, Miles continued.
“Now that I’ve said that — more laughter — “… this is the finest conference in the country.”
Enthusiastic applause.
Miles thinks the champion of the 12-team SEC, by having to win its division over eight games and beat the winner of the other division — perhaps for the second time — has a tough road.
He thinks the champion of the Pac-10, after an equal number of games against league competition — but no potential rematch against is second-best team — wins a league that isn’t as physically demanding and difficult as the SEC.
When he said as much to WWL employees, trying to have the kind of fun Steve Spurrier used to have at offseason booster functions while coaching at Florida, he didn’t know his comments would be heard by WWL listeners and visitors to the station’s Web site.
That podcast has long since been removed from the site. Its impact remains.
Now you know the whole story. You and Brent.
Anywho lets return to the standards of sports reporting at the Daily Trojan. In a that appears today called Bye week unfairly hurts Trojans this budding "journalist" writes:
While the Trojans were out of sight this weekend, they were also apparently out of mind to those in the media.CBSsportsline.com senior writer Dennis Dodd wrote: "LSU and Oklahoma are the best teams in the country right now." ESPN.com senior writer Pat Forde chimed in before the clock even turned to Sunday: "LSU should be the first-ranked team. By a mile. That's the only conclusion to be drawn."And, the always discreet head coach of LSU, Les Miles, could not resist from adding to the rhetoric: "We're so far away from being the second-ranked team, it isn't even funny."No one is laughing, Les. And Pat, here are some other conclusions you could draw.
Of course the context here of Les's comments is so taken out of context it is just bizarre. The writer of this piece would have to have some indication of this since he references the Pat Forde article!!! Let us look at that the into of that article where Forde says:
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Les Miles has spoken.
He has declared a moratorium on praise for his LSU Tigers. He says he will not let the kingmakers in the media "bestow anything" on his team.
"We're so far away from being the second-ranked team, it isn't even funny," Miles said Saturday night.
Wow, I guess the "journalist" at the Daily Trojan is doing a little misdirecting here or some might call it "lying" I suppose they have access to google at the University of California. If they do then they could have this as to his statement after the game:
“I can tell you that we are not there yet. You can save the accolades for later in life because we have only won two games. We have a lot of football to play. I am very excited about how we prepared and I can tell you that this team knew that this was going to be an emotional game. They got a victory from us a few years ago and the opportunity to even that score was upon us. We understood that they are a quality team that could play well and they did. I can promise you this, don’t make too much of this win.
From another Baton Rouge Advocate article: "LSU coach Les Miles wasn’t ready to talk about such things.
“We have to play like that week in and week out and for an extended period of time,” Miles said.
“I like what we did. I certainly understand it, but I’m not letting anybody bestow anything on us.
“Again, I understand where we’re ranked in the country, but we’re so far away from being a second-ranked team, it’s not funny. We’ve got a ways to go, weeks to go before we start thinking about things like that.”.
Les Miles has got too much humility for his own good. In many ways he is a throwback to Coaches of old. In this age he does not defend himself or ask others to clarify misconceptions. Les is always shifting focus on the "team" and not to himself. The lack of ego has taken LSU fans ,used to the egos of SEC coaches, some time to get used too. He is more than a good coach he is a good man. Arrogant and Les Miles never belong in the same sentence.
Geaux Les!!!
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