By RANDY YOUNGMAN
COLUMNIST
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
USC's Lane Kiffin finished higher than Alabama's Nick Saban and South Carolina's Steve Spurrier in college football coaching rankings released this week by bleacherreport.com.
OK, now the fine print: Kiffin received the nation's top billing on a list of "College Football's Cockiest Coaches." (The judging criteria? "What we are looking for here are those men roaming the sideline that not only have that big ego, but will make a point to let you know about it at every opportunity.")
The list: 1. Kiffin, 2. Spurrier, 3. Georgia's Mark Richt, 4. Saban, 5. Arkansas's Bobby Petrino, 6. LSU's Les Miles, 7. Nebraska's Bo Pelini and 8. Arizona's Mike Stoops.
UCLA's Rick Neuheisel received honorable mention.
Columnist Matt Shetler of bleachereport.com called it a "no-brainer" that Kiffin topped the list.
"Unlike men like Saban and Miles that may have earned the right to be a little cocky, Kiffin certainly doesn't fit that category," Shetler wrote. "If there was a poster boy for coaches that have accomplished so very little in their career, yet have been given so much, Kiffin would be the guy.
"He's another who loves the spotlight. His act may be comical at times, but his lack of big-time wins has worn that act thin. Perhaps one day if his Trojans climb back to the top of the mountain, the majority of the country will cut Kiffin some slack, but even in that case he will likely make sure that he is the center of attention."
Ouch.
My 'cockiest' list: Here's my very subjective list of the cockiest and/or most arrogant and/or most condescending and/or most overrated coaches I've dealt with during my nearly four decades working in the toy department of life:
1. Phil Jackson, 2. Bill Belichick, 3. Bobby Knight, 4. John Robinson, 5. Bill Parcells, 6. Brian Billick, 7. Mike Martz, 8. Jim Harbaugh, 9. Rick Pitino and 10. Rex Ryan.
NBA dreaming: Those who attended Saturday's charity fundraiser at the Anaheim Hilton, benefiting The Eli Home for Abused Children, received T-shirts emblazoned on the front with the phrase "I (Heart) OC for NBA."
When I showed one to Sacramento Kings co-owner George Maloof, the dinner's major host, he smiled and said, "That's beautiful."
I'm told the T-shirts were produced by the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau, which obviously is holding out hope an NBA franchise (gee, I wonder which one) eventually moves to Honda Center.
The T-shirts also promote a Facebook site (facebook.com/OCforNBA).
Asterisk needed: The NBA just released its very tentative schedule for the 2011-12 season, which includes the Lakers' obligatory Christmas Day game, this year against the Chicago Bulls.
I wouldn't be surprised if the lockout ultimately turns the schedule into a collector's item.
Hossler update: Santa Margarita High's Beau Hossler Jr., 16, picked up where he left off after winning last week's Junior World Golf Championships by shooting 68-67 Monday and Tuesday to grab medalist honors at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship during the 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Wash.
Hossler's 9-under total of 135 was four shots clear of the field, which was reduced to 64 players after Tuesday's round. First round of match play is Wednesday.
Ryan ailing: Best wishes for a speedy recovery to Texas Rangers CEO and president Nolan Ryan, the greatest player in Angels history and stills perhaps the most popular.
I'm disappointed that Ryan's health scare this week prevented him from visiting Angel Stadium this week and throwing out a ceremonial first pitch, earning another deserving curtain call from longtime fans.
Ba-da-bing! From Jimmy Kimmel, noted late-night wise guy: "Even though our team lost in the finals, it was refreshing to see women competing for something other than a rose on television. The U.S. Women's World Cup soccer team lost a heartbreaker to Japan, which means we're now losing to Japan in math, science and penalty kicks."
Contact the writer: ryoungman@ocregister.com
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6 comments
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deuce2you
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LOL. Randy Youngman doing an article from the bleacerreport? The bleacherreport is blog based and does no scienctific research. Many articles on it are negative toward USC and Kiffin. What a waste of time!
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trojandude207
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Wow Yougman are you still with the paper? I had forgotten about you since your paper disappeared from the inland empire area and I have to look online to see what is happening in your neck of the woods. What will be next? a piece about who has the worst halitosis? Good to see you now pass me back to Lev will ya?
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ecgecg
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Kiffin is perfect for USC in everyway. They deserve a coach like this because he is one of them. Everytime I see a USC alumni license plate frame I throw up a little in my mouth.
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kevinoc
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Base on Kiffin at Tennessee I can see him high on the list. Since he has come home to USC and if you only base it on that time he isn't in the top 10.
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ocregguy
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Kiffin completely represents what usc is all about. Sad.
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Source: http://www.ocregister.com/sports/kiffin-308866-list-nba.html
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