83 Comments

Re Arizona & de Laura’s sex assault charges: disgusting, despicable……two big athletes gang up on a girl and force her to perform sex acts on them. Shame on Arizona and a pox on the judge who let the sex predators off with no jail time!

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May 8, 2023Liked by John Canzano

I do not necessarily disagree but do you recall the Duke lacrosse team fiasco?

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Yes, and…..?

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May 8, 2023·edited May 8, 2023

I think what Jon joseph is trying to say is that things are not always as they appear. The Duke lacrosse team was crucified in the media's rush to judgement way before the trial against them because they were white and the accusers were black females, So much so that there were lawsuits won against the media, Later it was found the entire thing was a hoax and the sexual marks were from sex with her own boyfriend. Trial Judges as a rule DO NOT let sexual predators off scott free.

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Except deLaura and his teammate plead guilty.

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Exactly, Chip.

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You got it right the first time. Disgusting and despicable.

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Yes, an interesting take on this by JC. Reported to be similar to other alleged incidents in the past involving college athletes that JC chose to

make an issue of. JC’s condemnation towards past athletes accused of this sort of thing is curiously missing in his commentary. Just sayin’ it seems a bit inconsistent.

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Not an ‘alleged’ incident, Jim. They were charged and convicted. These dirt balls are convicted sexual predators.

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Thanks Charles, I think you missed my

Point. JC’s past aggressive condemnation of these incidents, as was the case in the Luke Heimlich story several years ago is now apparently “crickets”. In no way am I defending these thugs, merely pointing out a puzzling lack of interest by JC in this case. It does make one take note.

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author

You think me leading this piece with that is now apparently "crickets." You know better Jim T.

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May 9, 2023Liked by John Canzano

Well, the list is in alphabetical order, so...

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author

Everyone else... tickets, spring ball, renewals... and Arizona was all about de Laura, campus safety and the statement.

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You’re right. I misunderstood. Apologies. I do know, without doubt, that JC (a father of daughters, like me) is not thinking along the lines of “crickets”.

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May 8, 2023Liked by John Canzano

Don’t recall seeing this as a recurring feature. It must be!!!

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author

You think i should? Mondays? I did it often during football season. I guess I missed it.

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May 8, 2023Liked by John Canzano

Monday seems perfect to me. Predictability matters. Hoops schedules are more variable than football, but by Jan. it settles down. And early in the week just seems right for digesting the past week and looking ahead.

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May 8, 2023Liked by John Canzano

John it is always a great story when there is no mention of the TV deal.

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author

Noted.

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The Pac-12 Conference is experiencing a significant revenue shortfall due to its television deal. As a result, football teams across the conference are resorting to creative measures to raise funds, including car washes.

"I never thought I'd be washing cars to raise money for football," said Arizona quarterback, Alex Martinez. "But we're all in this together, and we'll do what it takes to keep our program going."

Head coach of the UCLA Bruins, Jim Collins, added, "We understand that times are tough, and we need to do what we can to support our program. If that means washing cars, then that's what we'll do."

Even parents of football players are getting involved to support their teams.

"As a parent, it's tough to see our kids having to do this to raise money," said Linda Thompson, a parent of a football player at USC. "But we're all rallying together to support our teams and help them through this difficult time."

The car-washing fundraiser is becoming a bonding experience for players and coaches alike. They are working together, raising funds for their programs while building a sense of camaraderie.

"It's not ideal, but we're making the best of it," said Stanford head coach, Brian Johnson. "We're grateful for the support of our community, and we're determined to keep playing the game we love."

As the car wash fundraiser continues, Pac-12 football teams are demonstrating their resilience and commitment to their programs.

"We're all in this together," said Martinez. "We're going to do what it takes to keep our program going and continue to play the game we love."

As the football season approaches, teams are hoping that their car-washing efforts will pay off and help support their programs through these tough times.

"It's a challenging situation," said Coach Collins. "But we're determined to make the best of it and continue to provide opportunities for our players."

In the face of adversity, Pac-12 football teams are coming together and doing what it takes to keep their programs going.

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May 8, 2023Liked by John Canzano

If an athlete enters the portal and is not selected by anyone, what happens?

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author

Not on a team. Nowhere to go. They can try to go back to their old school.

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USC has to win 10 games to cover the over/under. I see them losing to Notre Dame and Utah and then a loss to either Oregon or Washington. UCLA being a rivalry game anything could happen. I think USC wins 9 games next year.

Oregon State has to win 9 games to cover? I think they will win 9. We will beat Utah in what is effectively the coming out party for the new West Side so the stadium will be amped. After that our toughest games are against Washington and Oregon. Washinton is at home so advantage Oregon State and then the Civil War is a rivalry game so anything can happen.

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Chip, with getting Utah and UW in LA and IMO being better than Notre Dame I can easily see 11 wins for Troy in 2023.

The offense will be lights out and if the D marginally improves SC will be a tough out for any opponent.

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Sorry. I failed to mention that the week Oregon plays Oregon State USC is idle.

This is also a scheduling boon for SC.

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Beavs are part of the top 5. The top 5 all could be rearranged, but there is no way Beavs should be under ucla... Ucla is lucky to clear 8 games.

Utah is the most toss up, teams about equal, home advantage means a lot here, Beavs win.

UW shouldn't be difficult. Reser, with its crowned field, terrorizes heavy pass teams, expect Penix to struggle. Beavs should win no problem.

UO should easily be a Ducks win, however Smith has broken losing records every season, I have a feeling we break the record of losing at Autzen. Our loss? AZ. It's the perfect trap game and the desert heat will work its wonders.

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Beavs get UCLA in Corvallis but UCLA has the easiest in-conference schedule.

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“UCLA is lucky to clear 8 games”

Remind me of this in 6 months

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SCs offense will be better this year then last and they have completely turned over the defense adding some very talented players from the portal. Riley had the best recruiting class in conference AND the best portal class—something btw JC you have given a suspiciously low amount of credit/coverage to. D won’t be great but it will be better. They won 11 games last season. I think they are a playoff team this year and yes I know the schedule is tougher. ND only team that concerns me they’ll boat race Utah and UW in the coliseum. They won’t play Oregon because Oregon can’t beat UW or Oregon state, the latter of which I expect to face SC in the CCG as they are the current best program in the PNW with BY FAR the best head coach. Cue duckling hurt feelings and head explosions in 3….2….

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Colorado is getting ALL the attention in the portal. I wrote about Bear Alexander, though.

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Listen- SC was one of the most covered teams in CFB last season. This season will be the same and that’s great and all but I subscribe to your site for a reason- you are a great writer. Idc what Bruce Feldman passes along that he got from his SID connections at Heritage Hall or Bill P thinks- I want to read Canzano’s take (and of course your bud Wilner who is elite)

If Utah or Oregon had a 4-8 to 11 win turnaround that included a Heisman winner and the top recruiting classes AND portal classes in P12 all in 18 month timeline there would be multiple entire columns dedicated to that- as there should be. We don’t need the same level of coverage but dam# John give a little more due love it’s a BIG story. Only gonna get bigger- Caleb Williams is the best conference talent since Reggie Bush and the best conference prospect since Andrew Luck. Big big story. I just smell a tinge of the “SC is leaving us, we will reluctantly give credit where it’s due”

I get your demo is primarily PNW but as long as SC is technically in the conf…..I’m just saying brother

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USC schedule is tough next year. I see the potential for a sophomore slump under Riley.

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? SC gets Utah and UW at home. Oregon plays both on the road.

The Domers in South Bend will be a tough out but I don't see ND putting up enough points to win.

Oregon plays 5 games vs preseason top 25 teams in 2023 with 3 of the games on the road.

In the last season of the Pac-12 as currently assembled we are going to see a fist fight. The conference is as deep as I can remember.

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Of course, the wild card in all these predictions is the health of the quarterbacks for each school. Any one of them go down, all bets are off. And I'm talking especially USC, WA, OR, and Utah, who if lose their starter become instantly mediocre.

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Utah won a game last year with the backup QB .

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great post Scott.

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Factoring in the transfer class SC finished on top, no doubt. But Oregon won the recruiting battle. And in far too early results is ahead of SC to date in recruiting.

The game at Autzen should be one heck of a game.

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I really liked the format of this article. Nice to see what is happening around the league.

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Vegas I see has not bought into the primetime hype over at Colorado and the over under on wins is 3.

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Vegas is not stupid. They have to get action on both sides of that bet and they and the pro betters know Colorado will be bad this year. And, their schedule is pretty brutal as well.

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good point, i'm thinking the Buffalo Believers are going to push that line to 4 maybe 5? this from Fox Sports: "After top dogs like Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan and LSU, Colorado — with its long-shot title odds at +20000 — is the team with the most bets at Caesars Sportsbook to win the 2024 College Football Playoff"

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Good point. But CU has the 3rd most difficult schedule in the country according to College Football News and others.

Playing at TCU and versus Nebraska preseason is a big ask.

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Nebraska has been horrible since Riley's second year.

However, it did make the best hire in college football in the offseason. Matt Ruhle will coach Prime's pants off.

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"Playing at TCU and versus Nebraska preseason is a big ask." - specially when they have 1. basically half a team until recently and 2. What they do have has almost no experience playing together. I also question being able to learn a playbook in a couple months on top of all that. I just don't see them being good at all, but they will certainly be interesting. You never know what the crazy guy with nothing to lose is gonna do.

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Appreciate the shout out to OSU Baseball! Meckler is killing it.

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May 8, 2023·edited May 8, 2023

In 2022 OSU had a 6.5 over/under win prediction. Jonathan Smith has been overachieving all of his life. Contending in Corvallis is fun.

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USC should cover with their gains and what they already have. If they don’t, Coach Riley has some ‘splaining to do. OSU should also cover, and I agree, with hope, that the USC OSU championship game is a reality. But, I’m looking forward to seeing what the Ducks and Utes produce. Gonna be a fun season. Thanks John!

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By saying that USC and OSU will cover you are also saying that Utah and Oregon or Washington will not cover. Not every team can cover

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This time of year every team according to the fan base can and will cover.

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I think the volume of comments and the intensity speak to the quality of your writing John C. Keep up the good work.

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I can't understand why a county (LA) with 10 million people can't sell out

a stadium that holds 92K...

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Thanks John, Great job on this column.

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This PAC12 Football season looks to be a battle supreme - can’t wait!

GO DAWGS

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Thanks for the information on each of the Pac-12 schools. Very interesting!

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Bronny is overrated but happy that he didn’t end up in Eugene. SC will be better than last year and 10 wins is a no brainer!

Fight On✌🏼✌🏼✌🏼

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Ten wins for SC basketball?

😀

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