Pac-12 media days are full of gimmicks

Good Saturday morning, Coug fans. Pac-12 media days are all over, and nothing too earth-shattering resulted, unless you count Mike Leach’s comments on hot dogs.

I’ve always felt the conference’s media days have been a little gimmicky and hokey, but that’s just me.

Actually, it’s not just me. Austin Meek of The Register-Guard thinks the same thing.

This year they had players put on lab coats and play with slime. And what was with the donuts? In past years, they had a photo booth with goofy props, Cornhole and piñata-smashing.

The piñata-smashing could have been cool, except they had players and coaches smash their own logos, for some reason:

Just give me some analysis and insight into the season and call it a day.

But the best things about media days, to me, are the goofy photos we get to look at. Here we go.......

USC’s Cameron Smith talking about....something.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

What.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

I can only guess that they said, “Quick, point to ASU’s only good player.”

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

“We lost THIS many guys on defense!”

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The look he gets when he’s on the verge of unleashing on his punter, again.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

“I mean, come on. Who’s this John Ross guy people keep bringing up?”

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

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Links

Football

WSU’s Mike Leach hates hot dogs … and other amusing anecdotes from Pac-12 Media Day | The Seattle Times
Highlights from Mike Leach's appearance at Pac-12 Media Day on Thursday in Hollywood.

Pac-12 football coaches see problems with early signing period - LA Times
“Guy’s 18 and making a very important decision, and between him and his family needs more time to make that decision,” Washington State coach Mike Leach said.

Austin Meek: The science of promoting the game | Sports | Eugene, Oregon
I have no clue what the green slime was for, either.

Pac-12 coaches split on NCAA restriction regarding two-a-days | The Spokesman-Review When the NCAA voted last spring to eliminate two-a-day, full-contact practices, most coaches gave the decision a thumbs-up. Now they’re scrambling to adjust.

Picking Pac-12 dark horses: Oregon, UCLA trending toward surprising seasons - CBSSports.com
UCLA, Oregon and.....Arizona?

Soccer

Behind the Scenes: Soccer Media Day - YouTube
Futbol is just around the corner.

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Old YouTube Clip of the Week

• I honestly pick these mostly at random, and this week we’ll look at a fan highlight video from the 2005 season. I’m a sucker for fan-made highlight and hype videos.
• We all remember this as the time we went 3-0 to start the season, then lost the next seven games before winning the Apple Cup in Seattle. The Cougs lost five games by four or fewer points that season. "Snakebitten" was the chiche of choice, if I recall correctly.
• Why yes, that is a Nickelback song playing over the highlights. Remember, this was posted in 2006.
• We see a lot of Jerome Harrison highlights. Man, he was such a smooth runner. He was a lone bright spot this season, obviously.
• We also see a young Brandon Gibson when he was no. 86.
• Oftentimes, the best thing about old YouTube clips is seeing names from past teams. Like Greg Prator, who apparently scored a touchdown in the Apple Cup. I had completely forgotten about him until I watched this.
• Probably because Trandon Harvey is all most Coug fans remember from that game.
• There's a quick clip of Brady Leaf getting rocked by Matt Mullenix (again, old names are the best part of these clips).
• The video ends with that Hail Mary Jason Hill tipped to himself against Oregon right before halftime. Sadly, WSU lost that game by three on a last second field goal.
• Honestly, I think this is a terrific highlight video, especially from an artistic viewpoint. The highlights are all put together nicely. I could have gone for the "Harvey down the sideline!" clip from that year's Apple Cup, but overall this is solid.