Thursday, October 26, 2006

Thursday Twirl III

For the third straight Thursday in a row, we’re taking a Twirl. Again, no promises on how long we can keep this up, but since the demand has been so great, the request for repeated encores so overwhelming, we feel compelled to deliver. But first, we must digress …

What’s with all these southern schools calling themselves Tigers? A quick search of the Google, turned up this list of college nicknames, which shows that more than 45 schools are Tigers, no less than half of which are in the south. This includes Clemson, Memphis and even two in one conference: LSU and Auburn of the creatively challenged SEC. Maybe this is part of that population distribution thing, but it does make you wonder why so many schools fancy themselves as Tigers. Of course, USC Trojans know the story behind our nickname.

Another less trivial question: Where does Lou Holtz get his information? It seems as though Holtz’s brain is shoved pretty far up the Axis of East Coast Bias. Reading through last week’s ESPN The Magazine, a piece on college football’s overrated players included this curious quote from the lispy one.
Nobody’s more underrated than USC’s Rey Maualuga. He’s the next great Trojans linebacker – very physical, always lining up big hits. He reminds me of A.J. Hawk. Maualuga’s athletic ability is similar to Hawk’s, but the infectiousness of his free spirit make him even more valuable to his team.
Interesting how everyone in the west knows that Rey is the next Junior Seau, but Lou has no clue. Granted, Maualuga may also be known for being required to attend anger management classes, but he’s been getting more hype than anyone on USC’s defense. This includes accolades from various places in the blogosphere, among the voters of the Butkus Award, and in the preview issue of ESPN The Magazine, no less. In fact, at least some of those out west – including Pete Carroll, apparently – think Keith Rivers has performed best on defense so far this season.

Obviously, Holtz has been spending too much time with Beano Cook. Which reminds me …

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