Contrary to reports, Majerus did not back out of USC job because the hotel nearest the arena doesn't have room service. Whether it was solely his health, or the realization that all the good parking spots, athletes, and University focus are given to the National Champion Football team, it was Rick's choice to make. This is another situation where its unfortunate that these high profile coaches must conduct their interviews and make their career decisions under such a microscope. Even for a guy who seemingly loves the media attention, this couldn't have been fun. Away from the sports world I've watched friends struggle and fret over new job decisions, and despite what the media has us thinking, these coaches aren't the only people on the planet who flip-flop on what job situation is best for them. Is Majerus nuts? Only in a good way. Did USC get burned? Somewhat, but he wasn't taking over the team until next season anyway, so they have plenty of time to fill the position. Do USC Fans feel burned? I think so. More importantly through all this we learned they actually have a few fans or a few potential fans if the program goes in the right direction. In conclusion, ESPN's loss, is USC's loss, is ESPN's gain. All is well, until Indiana comes calling.
The University of Utah men's basketball team is now 8-3. The overall impression I get from fans is that they've underachieved. I must admit they layed an egg in Logan to Utah State a few weeks ago, but as it looks now USU is a pretty good team that is going to do a lot of damage this season. The other two losses, on the road to Washington and Arizona are respectable. I also hear opinions that Utah has played a bunch of powder puff teams that had no business being on the court with them. It is true that Utah has played Stony Brook, High Point, Furman, Montana Western, No. Colorado, and Coppin State thus far. I agree that if you play a school that 9 out of 10 people cannot name either the State they play in or the team mascot, that the competition may leave something to be desired. However, I think its common practice for quality Division I programs to play patsies early in the season. Last night (12/22/04) for instance, there were 9 games involving teams ranked in the top 15 in the country. Opponents in seven of those nine games were: Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Centenary, Central Connecticut, William & Mary, Char. Southern, Rice, and Wisconsin Milwaukee. This doesn't mean that you should forget who the Utes have played and be enamored with their record. Definitely, they are a young team and have yet to adjust to new coach Ray Giacoletti's offense and defensive schemes.
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