Pac-10 Media Day - A photo essay in two parts (Part I)
July 25th, 2008, 7:00 am · Post a Comment · posted by ADAM MAYA, OCREGISTER.COM since 2006
LOS ANGELES — Ah, Pac-10 Media Day. The day we, the media, gather with each of the conference coaches and decide which ones we like. The luncheon, held inside the Hilton LAX hotel, began Thursday at 9:35 a.m. and I’m limping through it with a badly sprained ankle. (Please bear with the pictures, courtesy of my BlackBerry.)
Maybe five minutes had passed when this lady (middle) walked past me and stepped on my foot. That’s when I knew today was going to be a good day.
In his opening statement, Washington State coach Paul Wulff made sure to mention he is no longer single. Let’s hope he can keep it that way, seeing that the Cougars were picked to finish last in the conference.
Cal coach Jeff Tedford called conference offensive lineman of the year, Alex Mack (above), his No. 1 recruit this spring because he decided to return to school. I thought that was pretty cool.
Later, when Mack was asked to assess the other teams in the conference, he said, “Every team in the Pac-10 is a great team.” OK, so he might not be an Academic All-American.
Oregon coach Mike Belotti (above) said losing quarterback Dennis Dixon to injury last season was “the straw that broke the camel’s back.” Whenever I hear that phrase I’m reminded of a certain “When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong” skit from “Chappelle’s Show” — the one where Brenda Johnson goes from eating popcorn in the comfort of her own home to eating fruit cocktail off of a prison floor.
For being a cliche, “the straw that broke the camel’s back” isn’t used enough. Give credit to Bellotti for also being first coach this morning not to pump up how good his team will be. That must mean he has a good team.
UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel (right) began his interview by telling us he knows there has been a lot said about him in the last five years. “It is what it is,” he said. OK, there’s a cliche that needs to go. NOW.
The first question Neuheisel was asked concerned USC. Neuheisel would field three Trojan-related questions, but to his credit, he embraced them.
Best moment thus far: when AP writer John Nadel asked about the Bruins’ quarterback situation, Neuheisel asked Nadel if he had any eligibility.
Bruins defensive tackle Brigham Harwell, who missed 11 games last season with a knee injury: “It was hard to watch UCLA last year.” … Nah, too easy. 
Arizona State coach Dennis Erickson (left), 61, worked wonders with the media. “It’s good to be anywhere (at this age),” he said. When asked about having the nation’s top kicker, Thomas Weber, Erickson said,” I usually don’t coach kickers, but I coached him last year.”
Erickson also didn’t talk about how good his team is going to be. Mark down the Sun Devils, picked to finish second, for a good season.
“I woke up in the middle of the night last night,” USC coach Pete Carroll (right) said. “I was so excited about coming to Media Day.” Hey, me too!
As for his excitement for the start of fall camp (Aug. 5)? “Cushing and I are going to go one-on-one in the hallway,” he said. You wonder who wins that one. He is also excited about this.
In breaking down the running backs, Carroll said C.J. Gable is the most well-rounded and the best blocker, Joe McKnight is a better route-runner than Reggie Bush, and Stafon Johnson is instinctive.
The USC session went about 30 minutes, or, about three times longer than every other team.
Maybe this is because hardly any of the players in attendance said anything. Cushing might have said the most, including this gem when asked about last year’s loss to Stanford: “It was a little bit of an upset.”
I guess 41 points just ain’t what it used to be.
