Arrogant WWL "Journalist" Ted Miller Takes Shot at Well-Informed Fan

As the regular readers of BN know, we don't put a whole lot of stock into the "analysis" that ESPN's "journalist" Ted Miller puts out there on the Pac-10.  Like Nestor has pointed out before, Miller is just a hack who is more than happy to sell out for a desperate corporate media company and pump up the teams playing in his bosses' featured telecasts.

Nestor highlighted some of Miller's more blatantly stupid comments of late, specifically (emphasis added:

USC fans should take solace in this: After all the symbolic slings and arrows are thrown, everyone knows that USC walked away from the 2004 season as the consensus national champion, at least in terms of the football part of football. Nothing it did wrong -- by any measure -- gave it a competitive advantage.

And while Nestor and other BN regulars have had fun with Miller's disingenuous "analysis", another fan took the shot to Miller himself. Says one fan ("Mike from Sacramento"):

You are being disingenuous when you state that USC's violations were off the field and didn't impact its success on the field. The constant presence of agents and runners around the program on top of the well-known fact that blue chip players could essentially operate with impunity as they compromise their amateur status, directly impacted how they performed on the field. This information has been whispered about for nearly a decade on the recruiting trail and it is well-known in NFL locker rooms. This conduct directly leads to recruiting success. By any measure, USC stockpiled talent through its recruiting which was the main reason for its run. So, yes the violations of USC directly impacted their success on the field.I get that you disagree with the NCAA's rulings but your attempts, at every opportunity, to color the violations of USC as anything but plain old cheating does a disservice to your readers.

Hmm, couldn't have said better it better myself.  Sort of a shortened version of a lot of the talking points we've heard from Nestor and other folks from around the Pac-10.

But Miller couldn't take the high-road and admit fault.  Nope.  Being the arrogant, corporate hack that he is, he went into full attack mode:

I'm sure that you're not saying that the NCAA was justified in hammering USC due to "whispers." So please send me the list of recruiting violations the NCAA found at USC. Further, beyond Reggie Bush, please list the "blue chip players [who] could essentially operate with impunity as they compromised their amateur status" as revealed in the NCAA report.

You can almost see Miller sneering at this poor fan who dared speak up with a voice of reason.  Miller is so quick to defend his U$C overlords, he misses the forest for the trees.  Sure, the NCAA report that brought down the hammer on those cheating jack-holes from across town only talked about Bush, Mayo, and a woman's tennis player.  But, three does make a pattern, and Miller conveniently forgets that.

Miller also conveniently forgets that the NCAA report only touches on the tip of the iceberg.  One need look no further than the list that Menelaus has put together on the repeated, consistent, over-the-top criminal, cheating behavior of the scumbags from across town.

So, Teddy-boy, since you're too lazy to be a real journalist and investigate the facts (you can visualize that buffoon pulling out the ol' Merriam-Webster and trying to find these crazy words, investigate, facts, and intellectual honesty), let me give you some of the recruiting violations (but I'll keep it to the highlights only) that the NCAA didn't even need to include to bring U$C behind the woodshed (from Menelaus' list):

• On January 1, 2006, reporters from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and CBS Sportline reportedly told the USC football team about potential recruiting violations stemming from visits by USC recruits to Papadakis Taverna, a Greek restaurant owned by former USC linebacker John Papadakis.  As of July 2007, the investigation by USC compliance officials continued.
• On April 30, 2006, it was reported that USC compliance officials were investigating whether an NCAA rule was violated because receiver Dwayne Jarrett failed to pay approximately $10,000 for his half of the rent for an upscale apartment he shared with former quarterback Matt Leinart.  USC claims that no rules were violated, though it was initially reported that Jarret may have to sit out a portion of the 2006-07 season.  Jarrett ultimately avoided punishment and was the 45th pick in the 2007 NFL draft.  After a disappointing season, Jarrett was arrested on March 11, 2008 and charged with driving under the influence.
• On October 16, 2006, it was announced that then 14-year-old high school freshman Dwayne Polee Jr., who had yet to even play a game at Westchester high, had verbally committed to USC’s basketball team.  Though not improper, the early commitment was unconventional, and was repeated in June 2007 when USC announced the verbal commitment of 14-year-old middle school player Ryan Boatright, who, at the time, had not yet even decided upon where he was going to high school.  Further eyebrows were raised in June 2007, when USC hired Dwayne Polee Sr., father of Dwayne Polee Jr., as Director of Basketball Operations, amid charges of nepotism.
• On February 9, 2007, USC compliance officials announced they were investigating whether an NCAA violation occurred during the Trojans' pursuit of Louisiana prep star running back Joe McKnight.  The investigation followed reports that McKnight had told reporters that USC coach Pete Carroll had set up a conference call so he and high school coach J.T. Curtis could be assured by ex-Trojan running back Reggie Bush that USC would not be punished for a separate NCAA investigation into improper benefits allegedly taken by Bush.  Carroll later denied that any call took place, and Curtis said that McKnight misspoke.   According to NCAA officials, if USC got Bush's help in recruiting McKnight, it would be considered a "secondary violation" of recruiting rules.
• On April 14, 2007, it was announced that Percy Romeo Miller, also known as Romeo (and formerly Lil' Romeo) had been offered a basketball scholarship to USC.  The scholarship offer, to a 5-foot-10 point guard with a bad knee who had never played a full season of high-school basketball, was roundly criticized by national commentators as a thinly veiled attempt by USC to obtain the commitment of Miller's friend, prep star and NBA prospect Demar DeRozan, while ignoring Miller's mediocre at best talent.

Oh, and that list doesn't even include the other shenanigans that Nestor took note of subsequent to Menelaus' list:

• Allegations of Tim Floyd of serving up cash to OJ Payo (which parties might have denied by ultimately conveniently led to Mike Garrett throwing Floyd under the bus in a transparent attempt to save the football program)
• Joe McKnight riding around his shiny SUV coming from United States of China (this allegation was not part of NCAA's original investigations]
• Pete Carroll employing a former NFL tactician' help in an arrangement that may have violated NCAA rules that prohibit consultants from coaching.
• Trogan assistant Ed Orgeron contacting several members of Tennessee's recruiting class after announcing he was leaving school to a position at Southern Cal. Tennessee is also looking into other potential violations involving Orgeron
• Sources from Rutgers hinting at tampering charges against the Trogan basketball program involving Mike Rosario

So, "Mike from Sacramento" if you're out there somewhere, don't worry, you're not the only Pac-10 fan tired of Miller's pattern of selling out for U$C in a desperate attempt to suck up to Heritage Hall and please his corporate masters at WWL.