Wow. File this under "friends don't let friends listen to Lane Kiffin." INTERVENTION!
Y'all may wonder why the semi-regular noon posts here at RTT include links only from the SEC, Big 10, and ACC. Well, it's because the SB Nation college network includes something like 70 blogs, and two of us split them up and share responsibility as co-league managers. My half keeps me busy, so, as much as I'd love to, I don't often get to the other blogs. Today, though, not a whole lot was going on, so I wandered over to Conquest Chronicles to see what my good friend Paragon SC was saying about the Seantrel Henderson story. He and I have talked, and I've told him that I sympathize with him because he's in the same place we were a year ago. I've also said that I was going to try to remember to distinguish between Lane Kiffin and the fans of the team he now coaches. I think I've mostly succeeded at that.
Today, though, I'm going to fail because Lane Kiffin is turning Joey Kaufman's brains into mush, and although I don't know him, I like Joey. Any friend of Paragon's is a friend of mine.
Joey's one of Paragon's co-authors, and he's . . . well, he must be ill. Listen, we know from experience the dilemma a fan experiences when Lane Kiffin takes the reigns of your beloved program and that it can drive you to the edge of insanity, but hopefully you come to your senses before walking off the cliff.
First, on the release of Seantrel Henderson, we have this:
Coachspeak aside, this remains a small victory for USC. Even more so in the wake of the NCAA sanctions, USC remains a "big boy" program reserved for athletes with killer instincts and intense competitive spirits, who are driven and motivated to become the best players possible. The right players for this program are not, however, motivated by the possibility of playing in one or two bowl games, as Kiffin echoed the other day.
Kiffin's quite busy washing brains, apparently. First, the NCAA sanctions are minimized to "playing in one or two bowl games." Scholarship limitations and the multi-year impact on the team's ability to compete? Never you mind about those, son.
With that premise established, they move on to the logical conclusion: anyone who wants to flush their entire career down the toilet out of spite for missing two little old meaningless games is soft, passive, and unmotivated. Yeah, that's why everyone in the country, including Kiffin, wanted Henderson. And I bet if we looked really hard, we could find a quote from Kiffin saying a few things about the goal being a championship team.
And what about Derek Dooley faxing USC a list of all of the juniors and seniors that Tennessee wanted to talk to under the special rule triggered by the sanctions? A pathetic move:
Faxing this list over to USC, means two things. One, Tennessee is not aware of the transfer rules, which is a little disheartening from a group that was so critical of Kiffin for his NCAA violations. Secondly, they know the rules, yet are so caught up in the whole post-Kiffin drama that they sent the thing as a big "F.U." to 'SC. It's one thing for fans to be better [sic], but it's another thing when actual administrators within the athletic department behave this way.
It's pathetic whichever way you look at it. At the end of the day, it'd just be nice for this [sic] people to get a grip.
[SIC]
Or, he could actually have read the rule and just be following up on a whole new group of players who have suddenly become available to shore up a team that will be at a ten-scholarship disadvantage against every team they play this year.
Friends, we've been there. We feel for you. But you're talking crazy.
This has been a public service announcement.