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Football USC-Alabama in 2020 is official

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The 2020 AdvoCare Classic will feature a rematch between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the University of Southern California Trojans at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Saturday, September 5, 2020. Today’s announcement will mark the ninth faceoff between these two powerhouses bringing great college football history to AT&T Stadium on Labor Day weekend.

The revived rivalry between Alabama and USC occurred in the 2016 AdvoCare Classic with the Trojans falling to the Crimson Tide 52-6. The 2016 game was the first meeting between the teams in more than three decades. The majority of the schools’ football history dates back to the 1970s due to the friendship between head coaches John McKay (USC) and Paul “Bear” Bryant (Alabama) where each team won a game on their opponents’ turf.

Welcoming back one of the largest crowds in the game’s history, the 2020 rematch will mark the 12th annual AdvoCare Classic. “We believe the AdvoCare Classic is one of the most prestigious kickoff games in college football and we are excited to continue to build on the great history with this matchup,” said Stephen Jones, Chief Operating Officer of the Dallas Cowboys. “This game gives both teams an opportunity to show their dominance early in the season and we look forward to welcoming them both back to Arlington.”

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to open another season at the AdvoCare Classic in 2020,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. “Our team and our fans have always enjoyed playing in North Texas and AT&T Stadium is a fantastic competitive environment. This event has always been first-class with the intensity of a bowl game. We are also pleased to have the chance to once again face USC, and we look forward to a great game.”

"We are excited to be able to compete in an event that is so attractive to the nation's college football fans," said USC head football coach Clay Helton. "The 2020 AdvoCare Classic will once again bring together two programs with strong and successful traditions. Playing as many outstanding non-conference opponents as possible is an experience our players and fans want. The Trojans versus the Crimson Tide will be such a game and playing in AT&T Stadium only adds to the big-time atmosphere."

Information on ticket sales and kickoff time will be announced at a later date.
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OT: Japanese college football scandalized after coach orders shocking late hit

They play football???

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mo...-shocking-late-hit/ar-AAxD6h8?ocid=spartandhp

Japanese college football scandalized after coach orders shocking late hit

Matt Bonesteel
7 hrs ago



AAxDdfz.img
© Provided by WP Company LLC d/b/a The Washington Post
Japanese college football isn’t nearly the cultural phenomenon it is in the United States, with the sport far behind baseball and sumo wrestling on the athletic landscape. Nevertheless, a player’s egregious late hit during a game, and his public apology on Tuesday, has become front-page news.

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During a May 6 game, Nihon University defensive lineman Taisuke Miyagawa launched himself into the back of Kwansei Gakuin University quarterback Kosei Okuno well after he had thrown a pass, resulting in knee and spinal-ligament injuries that will sideline the quarterback for three weeks, Agence France-Presse reported.

As you can see, it was the cheapest of shots. According to Kyodo News, Okuno has filed an official complaint with police in Osaka Prefecture.







Miyagawa apologized during a news conference Tuesday that was televised live across Japan, bowing to a 90-degree angle and holding it for several seconds, a sign of deep remorse, according to the Associated Press. He added that he made the tackle to curry favor with Coach Masato Uchida and assistant Tsutomu Inoue, who had kept him out of practice because he did not show “drive and fighting morale.”

“After the practice [on May 5], Coach Inoue said to me, ‘I asked head coach what you would need to do to play in the game, he said if you squash the quarterback on the first play, we would let you play. So go tell him, ‘I’ll squash the quarterback, so use me,’ ” Miyagawa said, per the Japan Times.

“I thought it was an implication that I needed to do it with a strong mind-set, as if I would smash [the quarterback], but I really did need to do it,” Miyagawa added. “So I felt like I had no choice and was in anguish.”

Miyagawa was ejected from the game after committing two more personal fouls, retreating in tears to a tent near the field where he said Inoue berated him, calling the player soft. On Tuesday, Miyagawa said he has quit the sport.

“I have no intention of continuing to play American football in the future,” Miyagawa said. “I don’t even know what I should do from now on.”

Uchida resigned in the wake of the incident on Saturday.

Adam, question regarding

the latest podcast. I know you mentioned somewhere during the podcast about the 9 years Saban has been there that they did something about scheduling and we should follow suit. Do you remember what you said? I can’t seem to find it again!!!! Thanks and great job. Cut the grass and trimmed the bushes and made it fly by. Thanks to you and Chris for such informative news.

The BCS championship.....

Is that a good thing? I wonder. certainly it is for a few teams who get in all the time like Alabama and Clemson. Not so much for those left out which is realistically about 10 others.

It does affect thinking. Every time a head coaching job opens up fans clamor for Nick Saban and Urban Meyer. And if this were done some decade ago likely Pete Carroll. So how exactly good are these guys in attaining the BCS championship game?

Actually not as good as one thinks. Lets start with Pete Carroll. He was here 9 years and appeared in 2 BCS championships and can be said to likely have been shafted in 2003 where the AP said USC was #1 despite the Coaches poll and cockamamie formula saying they weren't. So he had 1 1/2 titles, so to speak and lost one (Dang Texas!). Urban Meyer had exactly 3 Championship appearances and won all. Lord Nick Saban has had 5 championships and lost one in the BCS.

So that is:
Pete Carroll 9 seasons: 1 AP (2003) and 1-1 in BCS finals (*28%). He missed that 2003 and with a 1 loss team in 2008.
Urban Meyer has 17 seasons and is 3-0 in final games (18%). 2 with an SEC team.
Nick Saban has 22 seasons and is 5-1 in BCS finals (27%).And has appeared in the last 3 college playoff games, even when he was #2 in his division and #3 in conference last year.

Its tough to get there. Even Urban in his Ohio State gig is seeing that (2 of the 3 Meyers BCS came while at SEC's Florida)...get the picture?

LA Times - a tale of the pot meeting kettle?

http://adage.com/article/media/la-times-frat-boy-executive-scandal/311997/

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE L.A. TIMES 'FRAT-BOY EXECUTIVE' SCANDAL
By Simon Dumenco. Published on January 19, 2018.

iStock8155681242017082232.jpg

The Los Angeles Times headquarters in Los Angeles. Credit: tupungato/iStock
"Accusations Of 'Frat House' Behavior Trail 'LA Times' Publisher's Career." It begins,


ADVERTISING
The Los Angeles Times has given prominent coverage to recent revelations of sexual harassment of women by prominent men, particularly in entertainment and media. Yet a review by NPR finds that the newspaper's own CEO and publisher, Ross Levinsohn, has been a defendant in two sexual harassment lawsuits and that his conduct in work settings over the past two decades has been called into question repeatedly by female colleagues. ... This story is based on a review of court documents, financial filings and fresh interviews with 26 former colleagues and associates. ... The portrait that repeatedly emerges is one of a frat-boy executive, catapulting ever higher, even as he creates corporate climates that alienated some of the people who worked for and with him.

[paste:font size="3"]Just how bad is this?



Read NPR's story in full for all the details—but for now you can get the quick gist courtesy of an angry statement released by members of the Los Angeles Times Guild organizing committee. Titled "Not fit to lead the Los Angeles Times," it's worth quoting here in full:

We are appalled by the findings in the NPR story. Ross Levinsohn should resign or be fired immediately. A man who sexually harasses women, engages in "slut-shaming" and refers to gay men as "fags" is not fit to lead our newspaper.

Tronc and its board of directors must be held accountable for their failure to properly vet Levinsohn for one of the most important positions at the company and in American journalism.

We demand an independent investigation to examine how Levinsohn was hired given his documented history of misconduct; whether he acted inappropriately toward Times employees during his tenure as publisher; and how the company and board have responded previously to allegations of sexual misconduct by newspaper leaders.

Chicago-based Tronc is the L.A. Times' parent company. Levinsohn is a veteran media executive who's worked at companies including CBS, News Corp. and Yahoo—ultimately rising to interim chief of the latter (he was ultimately passed over for the permanent job when Marissa Mayer was poached from Google). Folkenflik's NPR story covers various portions of Levinsohn's career, including his time at Yahoo. One key passage:

According to a half-dozen former Yahoo colleagues, Levinsohn's approach to selling ads —a huge component of his job—involved throwing parties to entertain. In 2011, Levinsohn arranged the lease of a boat by Yahoo off the coast of southern France to entertain business partners and clients at the Cannes Lions Creativity Festival. Paid models mingled with participants as they downed drinks while the yacht made small loops in the Mediterranean Sea, according to three former Yahoo executives. One attendee from another company recalled that she got onboard, having been invited by Levinsohn to talk business. She told NPR she got off the boat as quickly as possible, saying she shouldn't have to strike deals in a setting where men were gawking at bikini-clad women.

Damn. Hey, Levinsohn hasn't even been around that long at the L.A. Times, has he?


Correct. You can catch up on the dawn of the Levinsohn era at the paper in this Aug. 22, 2017 Ad Age post: "Making Sense of the Dramatic Purge at the L.A. Times." Quick summary: Several executives at the paper were shown the door when Tronc appointed Levinsohn publisher and CEO. As I noted at the time, reflecting on the paper's own coverage of the leadership changes,

Two lines tucked in the L.A. Times story pretty much sum up what's happening here: "Levinsohn becomes The Times' 17th publisher and the fifth in the last decade. He has spent more than 20 years in media—though never in newspapers." In other words, the Times has been rapidly cycling through leadership with inky credentials, but no one's been able to fix the paper's problems—so now a newspaper-industry virgin gets to try his hand at saving the day.



When Levinsohn got the job, a spoof L.A. Times front page calling him a "digital savior" made the rounds on Twitter:

How are Levinsohn and the L.A. Times responding to the NPR report?


As the paper's Meg James reported last night,

Los Angeles Times' parent company, Tronc, said Thursday that it had opened an investigation into past conduct of Times publisher Ross Levinsohn following a detailed report by National Public Radio. ... "This week, the company learned of allegations of inappropriate behavior by Ross Levinsohn," Tronc Chief Executive Justin Dearborn said in a note to employees. "Tronc is committed to creating a culture of diversity and inclusion, and we will take appropriate action to address any behavior that is inconsistent with this culture. We are conducting an independent review into these matters. Once that review is complete, we will take swift and appropriate action to address any behavior that falls short of our expectations."

As for Levinsohn, James writes that he "didn't respond to a request for comment." Levinsohn's Twitter account, @rosslevinsohn, currently serves up an error message ("Sorry, that page doesn't exist!").

Speaking of Twitter, in a tweet last night Folkenflik called attention to a private response Levinsohn had before the publication of the NPR exposé:

So what happens next?


We wait for Tronc to complete its investigation. Meanwhile, journalists at the Times are speaking out:

As L.A. Times Multiplatform Editor Jared Servantez notes,

OT: FU, CA!

https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/fact-sheets/californias-clean-air-decals

Are there income eligibility requirements for the new decal if I’m applying for a plug-in hybrid or battery-electric vehicle?
No. However, starting on January 1, 2018, if a consumer’s gross annual income is above the thresholds provided below, they are only eligible for the Clean Air Decal and not a rebate through the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP).

Are there income eligibility requirements for the new decal if I’m applying for a fuel cell vehicle?
Yes. Starting January 1, 2018, if a consumer’s gross annual income is above the thresholds provided below, they have to choose between getting a Clean Air Decal or a CVRP rebate.

OT: USC Now Has Their Own Version of Dr. Nassar...

5 Women Sue USC Over Alleged Sexual Misconduct by Campus Gynecologist
USC_k8rvto_qmw9lw

USA TODAY SPORTS/REUTERS



Five former students at the University of Southern California filed lawsuits against the school on Monday, alleging they were abused by a former campus gynecologist while they were receiving medical treatment. One of the women said Dr. George Tyndall, who’s been accused of inappropriately touching students over the course of nearly 20 years, put his hand into her vagina during a 2003 exam and made vulgar comments about her genitalia, the Los Angeles Times reported. Another woman said he groped her breasts and told her she “likely had AIDS,” when she didn’t, according to the newspaper. USC has come under fire for not suspending the doctor until 2016, after multiple misconduct reports had already been made against him. “The president and the board at USC have created a culture and attitude of dehumanizing people and devaluing decency,” said John Manly, who is representing four of the women. Manly recently scored a $500-million settlement from Michigan State University for victims of Dr. Larry Nassar.

How can Max Nikias not be fired over the latest scandal?

There are simply no excuses for allowing the Tyndall scandal to happen the way it happened. There is no ignorance Nikias can plead over this one. If you have a campus gyno who is accused of harassment by multiple women, you report that asshole! So what if he threatens to sue you? USC could have handled that a lot easier than it will be to handle a mass lawsuit from his victims.

This one scandal is going to wipe away years of progress we have made toward becoming an ultra elite academic institution. I guess this is what happens when the university is run by people who thought it would be appropriate to designate Jamie McCourt to be a trustee. How can you have appropriate oversight with over 50 trustees? It's as if trustee seats are handed our as favors. Crazy.

Nikias needs to go. I don't care what his explanation is, we are now in the same conversation as PSU and MSU. Time to go Max.

Recruiting Debate of the Day: Does USC have too many 3-star commits?

USC currently has just five commits from a 2019 class that will ultimately include between 20-25 members. It's still a bit early -- although, with the new signing period in effect, it's no longer that early.

Three of the five commits are three-star prospects while a fourth is an unrated punter. For the sake of comparison, not one of USC's 18 commits from the 2018 class was less than a four-star, though a few of the early commits that later de-committed were.

As most of you know, USC's average star rating for signees was a national-best 4.28 in 2018, and the Trojans have ranked in the top five in six of the past seven years (with Sark's initial, 11th hour class being the lone exception). This staff, like the ones before it, have proven to be great recruiting finishers, if not always good starters.

***
Most players who sign with USC are obviously four-stars. But I was surprised to see that USC had more than three times as many three-stars (26) as five-stars (8) from 2014-17. In 2018, USC brought in five five-stars and no three-stars. While each of the five-stars has been productive (albeit, to differing degrees), only about a fourth of the three-stars has made a notable contribution on the field.

Here’s the list of three- and five-stars from the previous four signing classes who have spent the majority of their careers playing for Clay Helton.

Five-stars:
JuJu Smith-Schuster
Adoree’ Jackson
Rasheem Green
John Houston
Biggie Marshall
Porter Gustin
Jack Jones
Tyler Vaughns

Three-stars:
Jordan Austin
Malik Dorton
Uchenna Nwosu
Ajene Harris
John Plattenburg
Don Hill
Jalen Greene
Deontay Burnett
Kevin Scott
Christian Rector
Cole Smith
Isaac Whitney
Daniel Imatorbhebhe
Matt Fink
Jordan Iosefa
Liam Jimmons
Cary Angeline
Jamel Cook
Keyshawn Young
Josh Fatu
Jalen McKenzie
Erik Krommenhoek
Jacob Lichtenstein
Tayler Katoa
Je’Quari Godfrey
Brandon Pili

***
Out of the 53 4-stars that USC signed between 2014-17, only 17 of them (32 percent) have been productive to this point. Granted, a lot of the ones that haven't are from the 2016-17 classes, so it's still very early in their careers. Several of these players, in fact, are projected to have a bigger role this upcoming season. But the large amount of four-stars that either fell out of the program or haven't produced from the 2015 class was probably a big reason why the Trojans were better two years ago than they were last year. It's been a feast-or-famine group that includes the likes of Darnold, RoJo and Cam.

The data suggests USC has a) done well with its five-stars -- there hasn't been a bust in several years, b) hit big with a handful of three-stars, though it's signed three times as many that haven't made an impact, and c) needs to get more out of its four-stars. I suspect most people will point to player development, which I understand, but evaluation, usage and a player's work ethic are also important factors in the equation.

***
So my question is, do the Trojans currently have too many three-star commits for your liking? Which commit is your favorite at this point?
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Recruiting Is Rivals250 ATH Jake Smith now a USC lean?

I spoke to a couple sources about the recruitment of Rivals250 ATH Jake Smith.

In case any of you are unaware, Smith is a product of Notre Dame Prep in Scottsdale, Ariz. He’s being recruited to USC to play receiver and the coaches are also scheming other special packages to include even more in the offense. There’s also hope he becomes a punt returning weapon if he commits to USC.

Smith is down to USC and Texas and recently took an official visit to see USC on May 18. I spoke to two different sources after that trip about where his recruitment is trending. Before visiting USC, many felt Smith was leaning towards the Texas Longhorns. There seems to be more confidence in USC’s chances now.

One source close to the situation acknowledged Texas was the assumed leader for Smith entering the USC visit. He now believes this USC official visit was enough to tip the scales in favor of the Trojans.

“I think it changed his mind,” the source said of the visit. “I think he’ll pick (USC).”

Another source close to the situation isn’t as confident Smith will sign with the Trojans. But he acknowledges the USC official visit seemed to change the landscape of Smith’s recruitment.

“I think Texas definitely led going into the weekend but (USC) made it interesting,” the second source said.

Smith plans to take an official visit to Texas on June 1 and make a commitment shortly afterwards.

Here's our interview with Jake Smith following his trip to USC: https://usc.rivals.com/news/rivals250-ath-smith-is-delighted-by-his-usc-visit

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