Pac-10 Media Day, Part III: "We're Not Sustaining a Gosh-Darn Thing!"

In Part I we looked at the first five press conferences, in Part II we obtained a wealth of information from Tedford and Mohamed, and today we wrap up with the final five press conferences: USC, Stanford, Oregon St, Arizona, and Oregon.

It was hot out, my laptop was melting, and I had already heard from Tedford and Mohamed.  My enthusiasm, as much as I hate to admit it, had fallen to levels known to mankind.  That is, until Jim Harbaugh took the stage and provided some comedic relief.  That raised my enthusiasm levels and helped get me through the day, as I did a favor for our friends at Building the Dam, managed not to say anything inappropriate in front of Chip Kelly, and even had a chance to say hi to Ted Miller.  After I finished the day by talking with Mohamed and Tedford, the Pac-10 Media Day ultimately proved to be a success, even if I didn't get a chance to talk to the elusive Jim Harbaugh.  Next year we'll find out what his deal is...

If three days' of CGB coverage hasn't been enough, check out Conquest Chronicles' coverage of the first five press conferences.

After the Cal press conference we were given a fifteen minute break and a chance to get out of the sun for a bit.  I grabbed a gatorade that the Rose Bowl staff provided for us and then looked around for someone interesting to talk to.  Ted Miller was nowhere to be seen.  Tedford was hiding.  Mohamed was gone.  But I did happen to run into Joey Kaufman and Julio Nievas of Conquest Chronicles.  We conversed a bit about the media day, our expectations for our teams this season, and, of course, we made some Masoli jokes.  Speaking of which, with breaktime coming to a close, we had to return to our seats where our laptops may or may not have been waiting for us.

Much to my delight, no Oregonians had stolen my laptop.  Even better, they put up a few more wireless networks and moved some umbrellas to our tables.  The wireless networks were unbearably slow and the umbrellas could only fit a few people, but at least they tried.  When the umbrellas couldn't cover everyone, they handed out Rose Bowl Game hats!

USC: Lane Kiffin and QB Matt Barkley

• The only coach who wore sunglasses, Lane Kiffin was exceptionally well prepared for the event.  Let's hope he doesn't put that kind of thought and dedication into preparing for Cal this year.

(As usual, click each image for a larger version)

• Kiffin could not talk about the ongoing lawsuit filed by the Tennessee Titans.
• Apparently he couldn't talk about much of anything to my interest, as my notes from the USC press conference are woefully inadequate.  Instead, let's look at some notes I wrote from what Barkley was talking about during the luncheon.
• Someone asked if Barkley thought cheerleading is a sport.  He didn't seem to provide a straight answer, but he did acknowledge the number of injuries cheerleaders sustain each year.  He says that has to give it some credit.
• Although USC lost several players to transfers, Barkley says the team's leadership is intact this year.
• His playing time last year gave him great experience, but he believes he could have performed better.  In the offseason he's been working on improving his decision-making.  He specifically mentioned that it is much better to pass for a short gain than to toss an incompletion if a play breaks down.  He intends to try to make more use of those small, positive gains.
• When Carroll left, Barkley knew he was going to stay, regardless of who would be named as the replacement coach.
• Kiffen is much more subdued than Carroll, but he still keeps players disciplined.
• Kiffen's reputation doesn't seem to have a big impact on the players.  They know what others say about Kiffen, but they don't see him in the same light as his critics.
• He's considering a mission trip, not unlike Tebow's offseason mission last year.

• This was the most entertaining press conference of the day, by far.  It had more metaphors than English 1A! Not surprisingly, he also had the longest opening statement.
• The first words that came out of his mouth indicated that this press conference was going to be a comedic gold mine: "A lot of people who espouse Catholicism and Christianity call Jan. 1 as the New Year.  But for football players like Owen and me, that's Aug. 9, when we get back on the football field."
• Refuting the "finesse conference" stereotype from the SEC, he referred to the Pac-10 as a "strong-man" conference.  Strong-man.  
• He may use a committee of running backs to replace Toby.
• He referred to Owen Marecic as "the perfectly engineered football player."  He repeated Owen's name about 20 time throughout the conference.  Harbaugh really likes saying people's names.
• Marecic kept talking about how he plays on offense and defense, but he and Harbaugh kept referring to it as "going both ways."  Owen talked about "going both ways" in high school too.  It was...awkward.  He and Harbaugh said the phrase about ten times.
• Harbaugh is convinced that Luck is the best QB in the country.
• He said something about how a good QB, a good defense, and a good kicker are the key ingredients for a championship.  We'll see about that...
• Asked if he'll leave Stanford anytime soon, he said "God-willing and the creek don't rise, I'll be at Stanford."
• Asked how he'll sustain the success from last year, he burst out "We're not sustaining a gosh-darn thing!  We despise the word 'sustaining' and we despise the word 'satisfaction'!"  PURE GOLD.
• Best of all was when someone asked if Mohamed's pick stalled their late-season momentum.  Harbaugh danced around the question a bit, said it was a great play, and said he was disappointed to walk off the field with a loss.  I don't remember who asked it, but it was the best question of the entire day.
  
  

  Pained looks accompany painful memories as Harbaugh and Marecic recall Mohamed's game-sealing pick.

Oregon St: Mike Riley (looking 20 years older than usual without his hat) and RB Jacquizz Rodgers

 

• One highlight of their brutal non-conference schedule (@TCU, @Boise St, Louisville) is that the Rodgers brothers will be able to play in front of their family and friends.  For a team that has started off 2-2 every year since 2005, a OOC schedule like that is either a brilliant or a ridiculously misguided move.  We'll have to withhold judgment until September.
• Losing Victor Butler and Slade Norris to the NFL was tough on the team last year and losing Keaton Kristick to the NFL this year ought to be problematic for a team that had trouble pressuring the opposing QB last year.  Riley says transitioning from guys like that is "a process," but he's confident that they'll still be able to get pressure with guys like Steven Paea, Taylor Henry, and Gabe Miller.  Since I asked that question on behalf of Building the Dam, the CGB community will have to come up with a creative way for them to return the favor.
• He had high praise for Sean Canfield's replacement, Ryan Katz.  He described Katz as "unflappable." With help on offense from Quizz and James, Katz should have a smooth transition into the starting role.

Arizona: Mike Stoops and QB Nick Foles

Mike always looks much more dignified without that stupid visor.  And Nick Foles has the same haircut as Justin Bieber.

• Their season ended with a 33-0 thud against Nebraska.  Stoops said the team learned from that incident, though.  He said it helped demonstrate what happens when the team loses its focus and makes mistakes.
• Losing a playmaker like Delashaun Dean is tought, but Stoops singled out Juron Criner as someone who can fill that void.
• Stoops believes the team can improve on last year's mark, but that will be contingent on the defense.  We'll see how the unit fares under new defensive coordinator Greg Brown.
• Of course, someone asked about the possibility of playing his brother Bob Stoops and Oklahoma under that Pac-16.  Mike was relieved that he will not have to play his brother in the foreseeable future.  He was also concerned with the possibility of playing them during the bowl season.  The only circumstance when he wouldn't mind playing his brother is if it's the Rose Bowl or the National Championship Game.

Oregon: Chip Kelly and DE Brandon Bair

If you've been paying careful attention, you'll notice that the purple gatorade by Chip has been there in the last several photos.  Someone left it there during a press conference and no touched it after that.

Chip was happy to be at the Rose Bowl for media day (he was in the shade, of course).  He said if his team plays the best it can, the worst that can happen is that they will end up in another Rose Bowl.  He's aiming for the National Championship Game this year.

Brandon Bair talked about how the defense does not get the same credit and attention given to Oregon's prolific offenses.  He says he doesn't mind, as long as the defense is successful.  He says the two units feed of one another's success.

Although Oregon is the first non-USC team to be picked #1 in many years, Kelly said such rankings do not matter to him or to the team.

By now (and most of the time when the final five teams were on stage), many people were no longer watching press conferences.  They found shade, drank beverages, went inside the Rose Bowl facilities, or interviewed coaches/players.  Incidentally, they managed to get to the food first when it arrived for the luncheon.  They also happened to take all the tables with shade.  Like last year, each team had its own table.  But unlike last year, most players and coaches were nowhere to be found at the start of the luncheon.  This made interviewing them...a bit more complicated.

I met up with Joey again and grabbed some food.  He planned on going to the USC table and I planned on going to the Cal table.  The abundance of LA media filled up the USC table way before we even got our food.  Thankfully, the Cal table had a few seats.  When I went to take a seat, I was told that they were all reserved.  Great.  Joey and I looked around for a place to sit and had to settle on the one table with a few open seats: Oregon.  Naturally, this table was in the sun.  All the shaded tables were full (even Wazzu).

Not five minutes after I sat down, none other than Chip Kelly pulls up a seat and sits next to me.  Any member of Addicted to Quack would be delighted by this turn of events, but I was not quite prepared to talk to him.  I simply didn't have anything interesting to say to him or to ask him.  He asked me how I am and I think I said something about how it was hot out and that Oregon probably doesn't get weather like this.  Anyway, my stream of thoughts is no longer in "ask-reasonable-questions-about-generic-topics-such-as-season-outlook" mode.  Instead my every thought is something like "I bet Masoli would have had a field day with all these unattended laptops here!" or something else that would have been wildly inappropriate.  Thankfully, someone else at the table got Chip talking (he seems like a quiet, reserved guy).  I finished my lunch and left the Oregon table without incident, and looked to find Tedford or Mohamed.

Tedford and Mohamed were nowhere to be seen.  In fact, most coaches were still in hiding.  Kelly, as I was all-too-aware, was there, as was Harbaugh.  I wanted to talk to Harbaugh, but his table was full.  He was deep in conversation with someone.  Mike Stoops was talking to someone and Nick Foles was busy eating.  To pass time, I joined the throng of reporters gathered around Matt Barkley.  "When in LA..." I suppose.  

A little while later, I noticed Mike Mohamed had arrived at the Cal table, but Tedford wasn't there yet.  Harbaugh was still talking to that same guy, so I couldn't talk to him.  I figured I'd talk to Mohamed until Tedford arrived, after first verifying from Herb Benenson that Tedford would actually show up.  On my way, I noticed Ted Miller was the only one at the Oregon State table!  I took a brief detour to say hi to him.  He was trying to upload a video, but the miserable wireless network was making that all but impossible.  If I didn't know any better, I'd guess that he's still there trying to upload it.  He seemed quite happy to hear that I was from CGB.  He praised the site and said that he really appreciates the work we put into the site (as well as our sense of humor).  That he consistently links to us is an indicator of how highly he thinks of the site.  He also mentioned that he spoke to Yellow Fever in NY (he remembers you, YF!).  I thanked him for linking to us so often and wished him luck with the unbearable wireless network.  Happy to have been able to catch Ted, I headed over to the Cal table.

As we saw yesterday, I gathered a wealth of information from Tedford and Mohamed.  In fact, by the time I was finished with the Cal table, most coaches and players looked like they were getting ready to go...except Harbaugh who was still talking to that same guy (why was he talking to him for so long?).  It looked like I wasn't going to be able to talk to Harbaugh after all.  I couldn't talk to him about his twitter account, I couldn't coax him into saying "hubris," and worst of all, I couldn't ask him "What's your deal?"

There's always next year...