|
Mike Bell's ACC Media Days blog
 Posted
7/27/2010 8:15:00 AM
The SEC may dominate the BCS Championships and have all the monster stadiums, but it comes up a little short when it comes to media access with its players and coaches. The SEC Media Days were three days of monkeying around, playing hurry-up-and-wait, trying to interview Nick Saban and Derek Dooley. Combine that with the fact it takes place in a shopping mall, so every few minutes, some toothless goober in a 'Bama shirt waddles by and asks "Where's Coach Saban?" while we're on the air. "Yeah Jethro, Coach is over at the food court, he's got a corn dog just for you, and I'm wearing a headset and microphone because I'm pretending to be an air traffic controller ..."
Some coaches don't do radio row; these being the Elvis' of the sport -- Urban Meyer and Nick Saban were a no-show. Even Les Miles, whose stock has fallen faster than Enron, gave radio row the Heisman. Right after the mandatory press conference and network tv interviews, he and his two players were on the plane back to Baton Rouge. Meanwhile, at the ACC meetings, we get guys like Frank Beamer and Jimbo Fisher for 10 minutes. Granted, nobody's lining up to talk to BC's Coach Spaz or Duke's David Cutcliffe (although he's one of the nicest guys we've ever met) ...
Not to mention, at the ACC event the booze flows like a river ... they had free beers at the SEC for an hour on Wednesday. The ACC had two days of top-shelf open-bar. Free beer on the golf course. Free liquor 'til midnight on Sunday night. It's like the commissioner is Dean Martin.
Some ACC tidbits ... the new UVA coach, Mike London, is gonna do some big things. The guy is loosening up the Hokies' lock on Virginia Beach and Newport News. Plus his story is unique: a former D.C. cop who was nearly killed on the job to becoming a recruiting whiz at UVA to coaching at Richmond. The dude is impressive.
For the first time in forever, Virginia Tech fans are concerned about defense. A lot of new faces for Bud Foster's lunch pail crew, but loaded on offense.
ESPN's newest smoking-hot sideline reporter, Jenn Brown, will make you forget about Erin Andrews. You may have seen her last year interviewing Colt McCoy -- she's hot and smart, plus she thinks like a guy. Did I mention she's hot? All of the ACC schools' interns and creepy bowl committee guys had her surrounded at the cocktail party last night like jackals around a gazelle on the Discovery Channel.
The ACC is helping to promote Christian Ponder as a Heisman candidate. Bad news, good news last year for FSU fans -- he busted his shoulder, but it meant he'd be coming back for one more year and not bolting to the NFL. Cool guy, no ego.
Speaking of cool guys, Mark Herzlich, Boston College's ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 who was lost all of last season while beating cancer is back. He still has to deal with rehab and a metal plate in his leg, but the guy is a badass and had every chick (and there are tons of hot UNC chicks interning this event) all over him ...
|
|
Mike Bell
|
|
|
|
I'm guessing the bowl committee guys aren't the only ones viewed as 'creepy.'
|
|
Posted By
k;lk
On
7/29/2010 2:46:10 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|