USC Football sanctions: some donors point to Mike Garrett and Pete Carroll

In the wake of the NCAA's sanctions against USC for alleged violations in its football and basketball programs, and as USC's athletic administration led by USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett, digs in, circles the wagons, and prepares for an appeal, some USC donors who talked to this blogger are not pleased at all with the situation, and are using it to speak their displeasure with not just USC's Garrett, but former USC Football Coach Pete Carroll.

One donor who's met Carroll several times, has had a major role in giving to the USC program, and has been a visitor to the USC Football practices on several occasions said on Sunday "I could just walk into the practices and no one asked who I was. I could have had a $1,000 cash and no one would know."

The USC donor says that while Pete Carroll claimed disappointment with the NCAA action, and lack of knowledge of how the actions that were the focus of the punishment could have happened, on some level it was hard to see how he could not know or have some idea that something was going on with Reggie Bush. After all, he was the head coach. "This puts a cloud over everything that's happened in the past," my USC donor friend said.

Another USC Donor friend, in a conversation Saturday in San Francisco's Marina District, said "I think Mike Garrett should go" but focused more on their dislike for Garrett's style rather than any substantive argument. Still, it's clear the NCAA sanctions against USC have given Mike Carrett's enemies reason to strike, and they're doing so.

Mike Garrett, for his part, is fighting back, according to ESPN's Diamond Leung. In a blog, Diamond Leung noted that Garrett "had this to say when I approached him before the start of the event: “No comment. Don’t bother me. The world is great.” Then Leung noted "While walking away with associates, he (Garrett) said, 'Don’t talk to that guy. He’s the press.'"

Mike Ornstein

Garrett's best action is openness - with his friends, his enemies, and the press. It's not fair that Garrett's left to fight the USC battle alone while Pete Carroll escapes scot free. The word that's coming in here is that Mike Ornstein (currently working with 49ers Legend Joe Montana), may have been asked by Pete Carroll to work with his football program.

The possible smoking gun rests in the USC Public Infractions Report that you can download here and which reads in part:

There was information in the record that the former head football coach encouraged sports marketer A to hire student-athletes as interns. A current NFLPA certified agent ("sports agent B") is the chairman of a sports agency and a colleague of sports marketer A. He reported that the former head football coach asked sports marketer A to consider hiring football student-athletes as interns in his agency. Sports agent B reported:

(Sports marketer A) was like, „yeah, here's (the former head football coach) and the year before, he, he's tryin' to get me to hire, you know, three players, you know.‟

...How many players, I don't even know, maybe he tried to get him to hire ten....but it was totally agreed upon between (the former head football coach) and (sports marketer A) that there was an internship program for that summer. That's all I do know.

At the hearing, the former head coach denied that he asked sports marketer A to hire football student-athletes as interns, although he acknowledged that he knew sports marketer A and that he (sports marketer A) had "something about his past the years before that had gone wrong . . . (and) it was related to the NFL.”

[Note: At the hearing the institution's general counsel reported that, in 1995, sports marketer A had "pleaded guilty to mail fraud for defrauding the NFL."]

The "sports marketer" referred to is Mike Ornstein, as revealed in a 2007 SPORTS by BROOKS blog post.  Mike told this blogger he was working on behalf of Joe Montana on the Red Carpet of The 2010 NFL Draft in this video at the 26 second mark:



In retrospect, it did not occur to me to ask Mike about the USC issue at the time and until three hour later after the NFL Draft started when it fully dawned on me that Mike Ornstein was the Mike Ornstein. But then, there were a number of "seasoned sports journalists" there, who didn't ask him any questions at all; I asked about sports marketing in this economic climate.

I digress.  Seattle Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll should come out and say what he knows, because its clear he knows something and time will reveal what that is.  By not saying anything, Pete Carroll places Mike Ornstein in the position of being able to "out" Carroll if he wants to.   If Ornstein denies that Carroll asked him to participate in the football program, the question is "If not Pete, then who did?"  

This story gets more complicated with every turn.

Jimmy Dean dies at 81 | Jimmy Dean Sausage was excellent

Sadly, Jimmy Dean passed away Sunday evening in Varina, Virginia at 81 years of age. Media accounts, like the one at CNN.com, focused most on his legendary songs like Big Bad John, and barely note the sausage that bears his name, Jimmy Dean Sausage.

But as a kid, all I ever wanted for breakfast with my scrambled eggs and cheese (which my Mom made to perfection) was Jimmy Dean Sausage. I'm serious, and this is not a sponsored endorsement. Jimmy Dean Sausages were bigger, beefier, and yummier than any other kind of sausage. I could actually smell the difference.

I never knew that Jimmy Dean was a singer of anything until after I'd developed a love for Jimmy Dean Sausage.

Jimmy Dean, RIP.

Justin Bieber syphilis: anatomy of an Internet smear campaign

Justin Biber victim of smear campaign

First, singer Justin Bieber does not have syphilis. Bieber is the unfortunate victim of an Internet smear campaign that started with an ugly Facebook page created a month ago, and where the creator wrote they hoped Justin Bieber died of syphilis.

Why? Apparently, the maker of the Facebook page had nothing better to do and believed it was funny. It's not funny at all; to harass Bieber in this way is against the law.   Because Bieber's a public figure, more liberties can be taken than with a normal person; Bieber has to prove intent to commit malice, let alone find the person who did it. That's the price of fame.

Second, the ugly smear engineers apparently used a February TMZ.com blog post with the title "Justin Bieber's Sweet 16 -- Possible Risk of Death" as the basis for "evidence" of the claim. Then the Facebook page surfaced stating the awful wish, and then a Twitter hashtag was created on Sunday that was simply #syphilis, and that became a trending topic on Twitter.

From that, a flurry of blog posts surfaced, some reporting Bieber had it, most others not, and still other bloggers asking if the rumor was true. It's not and it's sick.

Media observers will point to the need for better news verification, but the blogsphere did its job in evaluating and then rejecting the information. Remember, this is a complicated set of developments that has no obvious single person at fault. Assigning blame is hard to do, but Justin's fans are in the process of doing it.

Does Justin Bieber have a defamation of character case?  Yes.  It's obvious the people who did this intended to harm him.  But because the Facebook page does not state Bieber has syphilis, rather says that they wish he got it, the maker of the page can't be successfully prosecuted for defamation.  

In the end, Justin Bieber's best and least expensive course is to let his legion of fans protect him, and let the whole deal blow over.   There are people who aren't happy unless they make someone they perceive as "more important" than they are unhappy.  Why this is, I do not know, but the growth of the Internet has given rise to the work of this kind of sick person.

True Blood Season 3 opener winner by Suzannah B. Troy

I just watched the season opener and it's a winner. I can't wait for next week to find out what happens. As usual the acting is super but as usual I can't stand the gore.

Of course there was a lot of nudity and no big surprises except the additions of werewolves,  an ever expanding cast of excellent actors and an improved story line.  The story telling has regained some humor which made the season opener  so much more fun.

A note on the nudity.  It seems like the returning cast knew they were going to spend a lot of time naked and devoted the off season to working out and dieting.   I regretted not working out today and eating all those chips and salsa before watching this new installment.  Why do I want to go eat more chips and salsa now?

Brian Buckner wrote this episode and Daniel Minahan directed.

Here is the HBO link with expanded site catering to the huge fan base.

I really could not handle the last few episodes of last season, mostly closing my eyes but wanting to find out how the season would end.

One of my favorite characters is the teenage vampire played by Deborah Ann Woll.  Being an a teenager for eternity is a true nightmare.   By the way Deborah, a red hair beauty is a New Yorker!


HBO even has a live conversation fans can join in right now....enjoy!


By the way for "Eric" fans, The New York Post has a piece on  Swedish Alex Skarsgard and his famous acting family.   I instantly adored his Dad the first time I ever saw him in a film...like father, like son.   He has some gorgeous brothers in the entertainment business as well.

Alan Ball continues to work his magic while addressing complex and politically issues he infuses in to the story line.

Season three  is going to be an exciting.  I hope not so gory although I hear otherwise and I hope some more humor and sweetness...

Angry, Violent, SF Luxor Cab Driver update

As readers of this space will recall, last week, Tuesday night, this video-blogger, after riding BART (San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit) to Embarcadero Station, encountered a cab driver who seemed quite upset that he got an African American passenger and not a white passenger.

When the cab driver realized I was the person who yelled "Hey taxi," after I got into the Luxor Cab #1046, CA License # 8L46060, the cab driver said "no it was the other guy." I said there was no other person who wanted a cab, and the person the cab driver pointed to wasn't the least interested in getting a cab; the White Guy in A Suit was texting on his iPhone.

Agitated, I said "I think you're just upset that it turned out to be this Black Guy and not that White Guy," to which, after turning on to Spear Street from Market Street, the cab driver said "Get out of the car." I activated my video camera; this is what happened:



As you can see, the cab driver committed an assault. Later in the week, I filed a complaint with the San Francisco Taxi Commission. My frank desire is to see that the cab driver is not allowed behind the wheel again. But what I did notice in the process of filing the complaint are two things, one bad and one good.

The bad is that if one does a search in Google, for " San Francisco Taxi Commission" the result that appears first has a "non-working" phone number, (415) 553-1447, according to the recording, which does not provide the new number. You have to do more searching to learn that the Taxi Commission is now a part of the San Francisco Transportation Authority.

The good news is once you do get the right number, 415-553-1115, the person who answers and takes your report is very patient and helpful. But again, the phone number is not one that's listed online; I found it completely by accident.

At first, I called 415-553-0123 at the San Francisco Police Department which is how I was directed to call 415-553-1115. The recording reports that the number belongs to Sgt. Charles Mahoney of The San Francisco Permits and Taxi Section, but on the weekdays, the number takes you to a person who can take your complaint.

Got that?

So the San Francisco Taxi Commission needs to change the webpage with the wrong number on it, and put the right number in its place.

The other small complaint I have is with YouTube account holder RatedR7180, who wrote:

zennie62...you act like a little bitch. i live in SF. my fist will introduce itself to your face once you start rolling that video. face it. you're a cry baby.

When I first saw the comment I thought he was saying he wanted to hit me. So, I visited his YouTube channel but there was no real name or photo. People like that don't think and can be a menace to society; if I were to have hit the cab driver, then I would have been at fault as well. I have neither the desire or time to get into meaningless fights with psychotics; I'd rather have the guy arrested.

Fortunately the vast majority of people who bothered to comment or send an email seem mentally stable. People like RatedR7180 seem to forget that if the authorities wanted to find them, they could. Just ask the guy who threatened House Speaker Pelosi.

NYC round-up Albany to NYPD tickets by Suzannah B. Troy

Dear Blog Readers:

There is so much I have to report from New York City today.  I am so tired so please keep that in mind!

My YouTubes and blogging are my art.  Soho Journal picked up my YouTube questioning if Albany will actually have a historic shut-down and questioning if NYC will be thrown in to an official economic depression?

I have an amazing interview with a city council member, Dan Halloran that took over for Tony Avella when he completed his two terms on how NYC would be effected if Albany does not balance there 9.1 billion dollar budget crisis.

Today I posted two new YouTubes on Whole Earth Bakery and Kitchen which is part of an on going YouTube documentary I have been making about this Vegetarian health food store that existed way before the mega-store chain Whole Foods.  Whole Foods has two stores now in the Village and I had contacted them to please help Peter after his Mom died by literally taking the little store in to their new big store on Houston street, like Noah took 2 of each animal since our small businesses were sinking faster than the Titanic.  Needless to say, Whole Foods said no.


In the first YouTube we show talk about Mihoko Hakata, an deeply caring person devoted to research and work regarding a sustainable community where the community can define and cultivate what is important to the community.


She and her friends are working with people at Harvard University and I show you part of a letter that she submitted to a professor.  Also very moving is the art work she made so long ago of Peter and his Mom, Filomenia Silvestri who died at age 94 knowing her business she started with her son in 1978 would not be evicted and the community fought and won a small battle for this much loved Mother and Son small business dedicated to Mother Earth.



In the next YouTube You will see a community activist named Paul who tells us yet again how he help Peter fight eviction raising 800 dollars Peter so desperately needed.  This YouTube is short and superb and I mention the devastating long effects of the horrific oil spill in contrast to deed's like Paul's which I believe have long range positive effects.





Lastly I interview Karen who is part of another YouTube documentaries series of mine.  She has a table with flea market items and she worked outside of Love Saves the Day until they were forced to close.


In this YouTube she talks about the NYPD traffic division being out of control and apparently this is a hot topic with New Yorkers.





What do all of the above topics have  in common?


They are all about the people of New York being screwed for a lack of a better word.


No wonder Mike Bloomberg and the city hand out free condoms that say NYC on them!

World Cup Soccer 2010: Ghana beats Serbia; Germany clobbers Australia

Thomas Muller of Germany

Ghana's victory over Serbia 1-0 in World Cup Soccer play and on a penalty kick has signaled Africa's growth as a Soccer power.

Ghana's Black Star Team was the talk of World Cup Soccer until Germany opened Group D play with what can only be called sheer, utter, and total destruction of Australia 4-0.

But before we look at Germany's awesome display of powerful athletic dominance, we have to look back at Ghana's win over Serbia.

Ghana's win had observers talking about how South Africa was the perfect choice to showcase Africa's rise in The World Cup. With South Africa's tie with Mexico on Saturday and Ghana's win, Africa has just one loss (Algeria to Slovenia and that was just 1-0) among the six African teams in The World Cup as of this writing. Moreover, there are 53 teams in Africa, so the six in the World Cup have emerged from a very large and competitive field. Indeed, Ghana's play and South Africa's surprising win damaged bracket predictions, and created a wide open race.

Until Germany beat Australia.

It wasn't just that Germany beat Australia, Germany took Australia apart for the World to see. Germany's win was so complete, a FIFA poll reported that 86 percent picked Germany to win it all.

This space thinks it's too early to crown Germany the winner of The World Cup. There are a lot of matches left and we're just getting started. The star: Thomas Muller. This blogger is a casual fan of Soccer, but I don't have to be a rocket scientist to tell who the dominant player was: Thomas Muller.

Muller was a man playing with boys who could not keep the ball away from him or get it from him. It was, at points, silly. Muller scored a goal and made the assist on another, in addition to his between goals play.

Germany's Thomas Muller's the one to watch in the World Cup. But, again, there's a lot of match play to go.

Stay tuned.