FOOTBALL

USC Morning Buzz: The Good And Bad Of The Weekend

Did you go to the Salute to Troy on Friday night?

First, the good. USC ditched the campus hospitality food service and brought back the long-time restaurant/caterer that did previous Salute to Troys before last year. I wrote about this problem last month and a big mistake was fixed.

Second, former USC tailback Rod McNeil appeared for the 1973 reunion and answered some questions for the crowd. It’s always good to see players like this return to campus.

Third, Bob Chandler’s wife, Marilyn, came and talked about the Bob Chandler award and his accomplishments.

  • Now the bad: Clarke Stroud, the director of football operations (and Lincoln Riley’s guy) took over MC duties and went over like a lead balloon. The reaction was fully expected by insiders because Stroud is known for being “colorful.”

If you ever saw “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” you might remember the famous quote from Percy Garris: “I’m not crazy, I’m just colorful.”

Stroud tried to turn things into a WWE event with his bombastic style. At one point, he said, “As you can see,  I like a microphone.”

During the 1998 team introduction, he asked kicker Adam Abrams what it was like to be in the huddle with Carson Palmer? “Well, I was a kicker so I was not in the huddle,” Abrams replied.

John Robinson and Pete Carroll used to host the Salute to Troy themselves but I guess Riley doesn’t have the personality to handle it so everyone got “colorful.” There were a lot of eye rolls and sighs from within the athletic dept.

  • The assistant coaches were not around to mingle with the “fans” before the program started because they were handling a recruiting event.

17 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz: The Good And Bad Of The Weekend”

  1. I gave a eulogy last Saturday for my brother
    I told only gentle stories looking for a laugh
    I finally got one but only after I pointed out to them
    “That was a joke”

    Point is as comedian Jackie Gleason said, “You got to be riveting”
    when on stage. I can see extroverts Robinson and Carroll
    bringing it home, but introvert (ambiverted acually) Wiley,
    not so much

    Like

    Reply

    1. ‘Ol Mule Shoe can try and hype up his boyfriend Alex Grinch all he wants by saying how well the defense has practiced, but it’s all bullshit.

      If Grinch had a clue he wouldn’t need to have ‘Ol Mule Shoe hold his hand this season running the defense.

      After last seasons humiliating loss to Tulane, not to mention Utah and UCLA having their way against Grinch’s shit defensive play calling, ‘Ol Mule Shoe had to make a point about holding Grinch’s hand this season in order to quiet the calls for Grinch to be fired.

      Grinch has no shame, being such a shit coach to the point where the head coach announces to the media and fanbase that Grinch needs looking after running the defense is a joke. Grinch is that bad, fire him and hire someone who knows what he’s doing and who doesn’t need a babysitter.

      Like

      Reply

  2. Riley doesn’t get paid to MC an event. He coaches football. I read another review of the Salute to Troy that said the MC was quite funny and everyone was laughing. Guess it depended on your point of view or where you were sitting. If only Wolf could be somewhat positive once in a while. This schtick is so old.

    Like

    Reply

    2. ‘Ol Mule Shoe shouldn’t be getting paid to babysit his so called defensive coordinator either.

      USC is paying ‘Ol Mule Shoe over $110,000,000, that kind of money you would expect ‘Ol Mule Shoe to hire coaches that know what they’re doing.

      Grinch, Nua and the other idiot Donte Williams ain’t worth a shit. They’re so inept and pathetic that ‘Ol Mule Shoe has to babysit all three, none of those clueless clowns have any shame.

      Like

      Reply

  3. Is that it, “The Great 2023 Los Angeles Storm?”
    They’ll never turn this ‘moment’ into a movie

    Like

    Reply

  4. I don’t know what the Salute To Troy is it a recruiting or fundraising event? Or a administration ploy to show multiple players who could care less about the event. It’s a glorified HS pep rally that’s cost money to attend, our pep rally was free.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Couldn’t care less.

      And don’t let the Village Idiot catch you complaining about having to pay to attend. He thinks Scott & I are the only ones who mentions such things.

      Like

      Reply

  5. I was there. The food was better than last year. Sam King of King’s
    restaurant catered the event. One of his main locations is in
    Calabasas for those of you living in the outer regions. Stroud was
    too much in his delivery. Maybe sitting too close to the podium it
    was extra loud. Short speeches by a few x-players were good to hear.
    A few of the attendees wore all blue which should have called for
    their dismissal.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. Even when Scott Wolf writes something positive
    it is still tinged with ‘I was responsible for SC changing caterers

    Like

    Reply

  7. Well, at least Scott reported on the event. A bit surprised that he waited three days but I suppose the thread on “who is your favorite singer” was more pressing. It would be nice to know something about our upcoming opponent – San Jose St. I recall they beat Stanford a few years ago. Do they have a returning quarterback? Can they challenge our defense like some of these lesser programs have done recently.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment