WHEN YOU CLOSE YOUR EYES DO YOU DREAM OF BRANDON SPIKES
We remain astonished that after a weekend when USC, the team o’ the decade and A plus rated stock of all stocks in college football, took one of those epochal losses marking the beginning of somethng and the end of something else, that we spent most of today talking about eye-poking. The real news this weekend was the end of the automatic Pete Carroll credit line, the moment when the USC Trojans experienced the Osborne/Solich downshift. (Or in terms more geographically proximate, the Spurrier 92-97/Spurrier post-’97 shift.)
We’ll have to talk more about that tomorrow. In the meantime, after a heated Monday, let’s just all put on some Night Ranger and have some Champale. No coincidence in the song choice. Nope. Not a bit. #lyingassoff
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1
zzgator says:
Mmmmmm Champale.
November 2nd, 2009 at 5:09 pm
2
zzgator says:
No lie…I wore a dress almost EXACTLY like the one at the beginning of that video to the homecoming dance in 1981.
My date did not, however, have the soft-metal mullet.
November 2nd, 2009 at 5:12 pm
3
Cocky Scar says:
i don’t really think it is the end of anything… it will be forgotten by next year and they will be preseason top 5 because barkley will have some experience under his belt… musberger will still sploog his pants when he calls their games because ‘like sand through an hour glass, these are the days of our lives’.
November 2nd, 2009 at 5:18 pm
4
Stacy Kiebler Luvs Me says:
Mark Twain was a USC Fan Dept:
To steal from Mark Twain:
“The reports of USC’s death are greatly exaggerated.”
USC’s Defense may not exactly be the in same class as the mid-80’s Chicago Bears….but…
…as long as Pete Carroll is around there is no panic over the state of USC affairs….
…Here are some truths (to steal from that other great American – Jason Whitless):
1. USC won at the homes of three of the top 25 BCS currently ranked schools (tOhio State, Notre Dame and Cal)
2. Barkley is showing glimmers of greatness
3. Recruiting might actually get easier (because some great high school players might actually see opptys to play sooner rather than later at USC)
November 2nd, 2009 at 5:35 pm
5
ShaneTCU says:
Im just waiting for the “Hitler Reacts to…. USC losing”
November 2nd, 2009 at 5:39 pm
6
Stacy Kiebler Luvs Me says:
Calling Dr. Lou, Calling Dr. Lou Dept:
I would love to see Holtzy do a Dr. Lou bit, with Pete C asking how to get his D back on track.
November 2nd, 2009 at 5:52 pm
7
Tim James says:
Barkley is showing glimmers of beautiful highlights in his hair.
November 2nd, 2009 at 5:54 pm
8
ESMjr. says:
Phil Hartman has seen this exact level of heinous violence before.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmFVeeLL01c
“Now here’s something the OTHER tour guides won’t tell you…”
November 2nd, 2009 at 6:05 pm
9
Wes says:
Orson… Seriously just quit posting your drivel over this incident.
You’ve obviously never had some @$$ try to poke your eyes out when you can’t get a hand up to protect them.
It is absolutely 100% positively more important than USC getting blasted…
If you weren’t such a donkey you’d know better.
November 2nd, 2009 at 6:57 pm
10
wfguiteau says:
It’s hard to discount a head coach that puts up twelve win seasons like most of us masturbate in the shower to get ready for another day at work.
USC isn’t as good as they were last year, and last year they weren’t as good as a few years earlier, but part of this might simply be other programs catching up on the talent curve. Florida’s been stellar, Nick Saban’s new Death Star is fully armed and operational now, Texas is as good as they ever were.
If we should have learned anything from the past few years, it’s to give up on consensus #1 national champions existing, which was even built into the system prior to the BCS. Just because someone came up with a formula, chugged numbers into a computer, and it spit out rankings doesn’t mean the formula is even a reflection of reality, never mind being good at picking the A! primo team in the country. Every year from here on out there are going to be undefeateds left out due to preseason polling and national champions with one, possibly two losses. There never was that much clarity in the national championship picture, and with this era of relative parity we should abandon the notion of seeding even the top eight in any meaningful way and just accept the relative equanimity of granting split titles in cases of extreme wtf-ness.
November 2nd, 2009 at 7:12 pm
11
Jason says:
USC was never going to be 12-1 this year with a true freshman at QB or a bunch of new pieces on defense. Yes, they’re immensely talented, but they’re still young. A lot of the hand-wringing is a bit pre-mature, methinks. Barkley’s only going to get better and that defense is going to mature.
Again, if I were a USC fan, I’d be more concerned about the (now) yearly occurence of USC losing to a vastly inferior team. If not for that UDub game, USC would be 7-1 and we’d be talking about “Yes, USC just got smoked by a good Oregon team, but they still are going to a BCS bowl.” As is, they’re now relegated to the Holiday Bowl, unless Oregon finds some way to lose 3 of their next 4 Pac-10 games.
Of course, talking to an Oregon alum in the office today, he was seriously spouting “Well, it could all go wrong just like it did in 2007 when we played Arizona.”
My response?: “Yeah, well, you only lost that game because Dixon’s knee snapped in half during the middle of the game.”
“Don’t jinx us!”
These are the thoughts of pretty much any Duck fan. Abject paranoia of continued success, and a feeling of encroaching doom.
November 2nd, 2009 at 7:30 pm
12
Tim James says:
Not that I want to give SKLM a foot in the door, but I’m sure USC is just a victim of its own success in terms of losing coaches and recruits looking for playtime. Florida will be there soon enough, and it could begin (slowly) as soon as next year if they go undefeated this season.
November 2nd, 2009 at 7:56 pm
13
Farsider says:
Worm’s gonna turn sooner or later, Orson. I know the mutts have only won a few games in your experience, so you’ve only seen one side of this “rivalry” I hope you’re as blithe of a spirit when it finally reverses. 100 cocktails in advance to that day.
November 2nd, 2009 at 8:07 pm
14
ESMjr. says:
@9:
Please die in a fire as soon as possible.
kthxbai
November 2nd, 2009 at 8:55 pm
15
Big Head says:
Washaun Ealy winks in approval.
November 2nd, 2009 at 9:09 pm
16
gamedaytribe says:
Jason@11,
Had to laugh, you captured us so perfectly. I”ve had exactly that same conversation a few
times in the last few days. Them’s there true words, dude, very true words.
November 2nd, 2009 at 9:16 pm
17
Crabapple Buck says:
In addition to no SC discussions, I missed anything regarding the Zookification of Michigan. As a not so passive observer, I was amused at the demise of RichRod vs. [Name Redacted]. RR now is 0-2 and not getting better and better vs. the Illini.
SC will be back. Barkley is a keeper and they are very young. tOSU blew their chance to get them before they knew what they were doing. It seems the Bucks are in the same boat though with too many young ones that will jell next year.
November 2nd, 2009 at 9:50 pm
18
Mich-Placed Gator says:
….Spikes gets a half game for brushing grass off some puppy’s cheek.
FUCK YOU MIKE GOLIC, precedence was set in 2003 but that hard ass Jim Tressel and the Big 10….
Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Robert Reynolds chokes Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Jim Sorgi, injuring Sorgi’s trachea, after the play had been whistled dead. Sorgi was unable to play for the remainder of the game, struggling to breathe and unable to speak.
Midway through the third quarter, Sorgi scrambled for an eight-yard gain before being brought down by a convergence of OSU tacklers. After the play was called dead, Reynolds crushed Sorgi’s throat with his hand as Sorgi lay on his back. Sorgi’s vocal cords were bruised, he had a hard time breathing, and he was unable to speak. He would not return to the game. Reynolds was not whistled for a foul. The Badgers came back to win the game.
After the game, Big Ten commissioner James Delany commented, “(Reynolds’ actions) have no place in our game.” Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel said “Robert’s conduct was totally unacceptable and has no place in intercollegiate athletics.” Ohio State suspended Reynolds for one game and Reynolds issued a public apology
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEZw_aZBuPY
November 2nd, 2009 at 10:03 pm
19
JimHalpert says:
When I close my eyes I dream of Jevan Snead completing a pass. To an Ole Miss player.
November 3rd, 2009 at 12:24 am
20
Rockytop85 says:
Wasn’t this the Blog that posted various GIFs and videos of LeGarrett Blount with nary a peep on the significance of the mid-major beating a ranked BCS school? I realize this wasn’t as visible or embarrassing as Blount’s rage fest in Boise, but on the classy scale they’re both somewhere between professional wrestling and Bob Knight.
This is a pretty classy blog, you hold Florida to a higher standard and that tone usually carries over to our readers. If the comments made here and by fans here reflect the higher standard, it’s not hard to imagine what’s got the Dawg fans so riled up.
Now, where is the LSU Freek: Brandon Spikes / Kill Bill art?
November 3rd, 2009 at 12:56 am
21
TampaGatorGal says:
oh my. oh dear. rockytop comes rushing in to defend Boise! horrors! I do declare- there’s inherent bias in how a fan sees their own team versus how they see their conference opponents!
come on y’all- this post was snarky. and mocking all the hysteria that follows a FL-GA game
not to mention pointing out this is a Monday “story”- and indicative of how post-game “controversy” goes. (am i defending Spikes’ action? no. do i know if it was “payback” for other pile behavior? no. Must we spout bible verses over “eye-for-eye”?- please Lawd, No! could we deduce this from the overall “chippy” game play lots of distasteful, low, shitty, crappy behavior went on? uh, yeah, thinking so)
I would suppose some very good, valid posts go down over @ http://loserswithsocks.com/ – and you’d see it that way, if you are a die-hard Vols fan. I don’ know- don’t bother to read his blog- I have no inherent interest. would it surprise me in the least if every diehard Vols fan LOVED his stuff? uh. nope.
Many, many comments here reflect a love of the game, and general discussion of the entire college football scene- but to expect something out of this-here-blog that wouldn’t reflect an SEC focus, and a Gator focus- huh?
Holly reps for her team just fine, thank ya.
To be sure- it’s a hoot-an-a-holler idea of an LSU Freek piece on a Brandon Spikes / Kill Bill theme…but isn’t it all over with already, really?
Frankly, LeGarret Blount isn’t as big a deal to me, as opposed to the suspending Dez Bryant deal – that’s an over-reaction, big time (give the information made available to us, the college fuwtball fans to assess).
It’ll be awright, kids. y’all come back now, ya hear!
November 3rd, 2009 at 3:57 am
22
Triceratops says:
I guess Florida really is the new Miami, and Meyer is the new Jimmy Johnson. Not that that is going to disappoint anyone.
November 3rd, 2009 at 9:20 am
23
Tommy says:
It’s Tuesday, and so far, no evidence of all that “context” for Spikes’ actions has made it to the YouTubes.
Face it, it was a spectacular display of poor sportsmanship in a season that has proved beyond any doubt that refs, announcers and coaches have lost all fucking idea of what that word might mean. The half-game suspension and the SEC’s mewling non-response cements what world we’re living in.
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:33 am
24
ESMjr. says:
@23:
A world full of lying liars like you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnPj3aeAzZU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDvFbD7wIAg
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:53 am
25
Claws says:
UGa played a guy who was arrested a mere three days before the Cocktail Party. I’m outraged. And the SEC refs suck too for having done nothing about it.
November 3rd, 2009 at 11:25 am
26
JIMatUA says:
@24 I’ll give you the second one but the first video just shows a normal block if you ask me. You can argue hands to the facemask but that happens pretty frequently and as far as poor sportsmanship you are really reaching. (note: not a FL or UGA fan)
November 3rd, 2009 at 12:15 pm
27
Tommy says:
@24 The Chapas clip shows precisely nothing, except that Spikes can’t be troubled with petty things like buckling his chin strap. That all happened in the span of a microsecond, as opposed to Spikes’ attempted ocular extraction, whihch was slow and deliberate.
I’ll grant you Nick Williams’ hit was late, but so what? Spikes gouged Ealey to avenge Tebow’s honor? And a late hit fro an LB who weighs 20 pounds less than Tebow is the same as reaching into a prone, already tackled player’s face mask and attempting to permanently alter his vision?
Thanks for proving my point.
November 3rd, 2009 at 12:26 pm
28
ESMjr. says:
@27:
You asked for “context,” and that’s what those clips are: context. The idea that Spikes’ act was some kind of unprovoked act of savagery is ridiculous on its face. The whole game was a chippy affair to say the least.
I don’t think the cheap shots UGA was taking during the game absolve Spikes of responsiblity for what he did (although it’s certainly not clear what he was doing at all), but the point is that the play certainly didn’t occur in a vacuum. The first clip is notable not for the first player tearing off Spikes’ helmet, but the second player who comes in late and hits him in his unprotected head with his helmet.
And if you really think that Spikes was attempting to pull Ealey’s eyes out of his skull, or “permanently alter his vision,” well, I can’t help you. You’re a kook.
November 3rd, 2009 at 12:55 pm
29
Tommy says:
Pardon me. I assumed all this “context” would eventually take us to the same area code as “justification,” of which it falls lightyears shy, if the examples you’ve provided are the most damning evidence of said context.
Spikes was still mixing it up after his helmet came off, so he’s got no complaint. Helmets come with chinstraps for a reason. Ealey’s helmet was still on. Is this distinction clear enough, or do you require a diagram?
I don’t have a precise idea what Spikes had in mind when he stuck his hand inside Ealey’s facemask and started digging around, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t something beneficent, like getting dirt out of Ealey’s eyes or keeping his mouthpiece from hitting the ground. So, yes, I’ll go ahead and presume malice on his part and somehow get through my day in spite of the fact that someone on the Internet called me a name.
November 3rd, 2009 at 1:18 pm
30
ESMjr. says:
The point is that there isn’t any “damning evidence” of anything here, YouTube footage notwithstanding. All the condemnation and purple-faced outrage of the digital lynch mob is based on presumption and speculation, like most other complaints about Florida this year.
Context and justification are always in the same area code, and the insistence on drawing a bright line between them regarding a situation that you’ve seen on television and YouTube a few times is bizarre.
But I withdraw. No one’s doing any convincing of anyone here.
Although I do extend my earlier request to include that you, also, die in a fire as soon as possible, preferably later this afternoon.
November 3rd, 2009 at 1:41 pm
31
Tommy says:
Call it what you will. Everyone who can claim 20 neurons working simultaneously saw an eye gouge. If that’s “speculation” and “presumption” to you, then please accept my sincerest wishes that you and Spikes are face-raped to death by the same AIDS-infected elephant.
November 3rd, 2009 at 2:29 pm
32
Otm Shank says:
Urban should just handle this the same way he handled the Moss suspention in 06, when the offender was allowed to play against South Carolina and then suspended for the pivitol Western Carolina game. Let Spikes play the next two games, maybe block a game winning field goal or two, then break out the disipline for the big FIU matchup on the 21st.
Fucking iron first that Urban has. Class acts, all around.
November 3rd, 2009 at 5:25 pm
33
Rockytop85 says:
@21
I’m not sure if you completely misread what I said, or if I wasn’t clear, but my comment really didn’t have anything to do with defending Boise State.
I like this blog a lot and I didn’t complain at all about the SEC focus. Tennessee is in the SEC so I kind of like the SEC focus here.
All I was saying is that there was also a landmark victory week 1, and this blog passed it up to talk about the extracurriculars. A similar landmark victory occurs this weekend and Orson is amazed that we’re talking about Brandon Spikes instead of said victory/defeat. I’m just pointing out that it isn’t really that amazing.
The rest of what I was saying was that if it wasn’t for Florida fans saying “this is not an issue,” it wouldn’t be an issue. The inability of some to admit that there’s a definite lack of sportsmanship in trying to rip an eyeball from the skull of an opponet is what made this into the shit show that it is.
November 3rd, 2009 at 7:24 pm
34
TampaGatorGal says:
@33, fair enough- and thanks for clarifying. i didn’t mean for my comment to be so much directed at you (but see how it reads that way, by starting out my post with it, and rolling on through the SEC, Vols bit; it was an assumption and liberty i took, given your chosen handle/identification)
Overall, it was more directed at the brewing shitstorm that was forming (in relation to this post, the entire Spike “controversy!!!”). Now, checking back in and reading all the rest of it (sitewide) since this post- well, wowza, the interwebs do move fast.
I caught your (i think) criticism of the content, but over-did it on “defending” this blog.
Having said all that for further clarity, I still think the larger snark and overall amusement of Orson’s material gets missed sometimes. Double edged sword- the overall quality of this blog shows up (as you pointed out), but the mirth, fun and just general understanding that it’s ONLY comments at a BLOG gets lost sometimes in that cb fan passion.
still, it’s his turf. and he directs the Circus Maximus. and i so love the “free beer and bread for all!” here.
I appreciate the consumption, and apologize for any personal offense to you. I’m just never THAT serious about it all; love it, but ain’t marrying it. eh, either way, we’re drinking (that is about as deep as it gets, in the final analysis, for me).
cheers.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:13 am