Por (Dan Alatorre) on December 15, 2009 (Suggest removal)

Scott, let me tell you something about the Tampa area and Brett McMurphy. The sports radio guys around here constantly gripe about how the Tampa fans hate the head coach (of whatever sport) and hate the starting QB; they root for the backup QB and want the head coach canned. I don’t think that’s true, but the SPORTS WRITERS sure do those things. “Why isn’t Sims starting?” etc., for months and months. I guess it’s easier than writing good articles, but who knows. So this is part of that twisted psychology our writers have. They seem to create a story if there isn’t one. I don’t see other towns do this to their teams. It has cost us dearly on more than one occasion.

Por (Dan Alatorre) on December 15, 2009 (Suggest removal)

As for McMurphy, many blog commenters were very critical of him being so down on the home team. I recall an article from that trash website which said there was a problem with a USF basketball kid who was supposedly getting preferential deals when he was documented as being at home with his parents. McMurphy supposedly got thrown out of a USF football practice, got the media banned, there’s youtube videos of him getting into it with Leavitt - hey, did the Trib fire him? the Trib won’t let you say but he left a good job for a trash website on his own? I doubt it. BUT HE WINS - YOU CANNOT UNRING THE BELL! Waiting until the height of recruiting season - nice touch. Yeah, he has no axe to grind.

Por (Hector Jimenez) on December 15, 2009 (Suggest removal)

I don’t know that any of us know the truth, if you weren’t in the locker room you don’t know. 

Things might have happened and then when they come out all parties involved may regret what was done and said and then they take back their actions and words….further mudding the waters.  Or it could be that nothing unusual happened and an event was taken out of context in anger, told to outsiders and then taken back because they understand the severity of their actions.

Either way, the university should investigate and report to the program (coaches & players), students, faculty, alumni, donors and fans.  If that is not done then a the university, program and coach may face an even bigger problem…..perception.

Por (Bull Martin) on December 15, 2009 (Suggest removal)

Scott,

Your a welcome relief to the Tribune family.  Your predecessor has a real ax to grind with the program.  He never learned to write to his audience and always tried to make more a national splash with stories.  Unfortunately he managed to alienate the USF fanbase in the process.  He believes USF is to blame for his own poor decisions and not himself.  It’s unfotunate.

Por (lenbone) on December 15, 2009 (Suggest removal)

I’ve know Jim Leavitt for 35 years and he is a very intense competitor. There would be no USF football without his dedication and commitment. I don’t believe for a second that he slapped a player in the face.  I don’t know who this McMurphy clown is, but it’s obvious he has it out for Leavitt and the USF football program. No head coach in the country works harder or cares more about his school and program than Jim Leavitt. Hopefully the administration and USF fans will see this for what it is… sour grapes from a disgruntled former Tribune writer.

Por (rashad) on December 15, 2009 (Suggest removal)

dan…i understand your disappointment in the report…and you don’t want to think that it might have happened because you don’t think much of mcmurphy…and only time will tell if it did occur or was an erroneous report….but…mcmurphy never called cjl captain prozac…that was me…and it looks like he forgot to take his pill that day….

Por (rizman) on December 15, 2009 (Suggest removal)

Glad he is no longer working for the Tribune he is a very very negative guy.

Por (USF99) on December 15, 2009 (Suggest removal)

Possibly the biggest story in the history of the program, all over the national news, and not a single update to the blog all day.

What’s the latest? What is the athletic departments time-frame and process for the investigation? What are other players saying that you’ve contacted? Are they being instructed not to comment, if so, by whom?

Have you talked to McMurphy? What’s his reaction to Miller’s latest comments?

Por (Dan Alatorre) on December 15, 2009 (Suggest removal)

I thought Brett mcmurphy was fine for a long time, and he was fun to post back and forth with. Then I noticed the articles had a more negative slant, and then he was gone and trashing the school. I kept/keep being surprised by some of the things he has said and done, especially stuff that ended up on youtube. It was disappointing because I really think more of him than that. But something has happened to that guy, for him to be writing such unsubstantiated stuff after losing his job. This is going to turn out that it was a couple of guys griping and it got some attention and then it got totally out of control. Everyone gets hurt, nobody benefits.

Por (Dan Alatorre) on December 15, 2009 (Suggest removal)

Not 1 writer, TV or radio pro that interviewed players that day thought there was anything amiss, and it surprised them to hear the story. Not a one said, “yeah, I thought something was wrong that day…” I think the discussion was taken out of context and twisted with the intent to hurt USF & Leavitt as a desparate act by someone with nothing to lose. Come on: USF & Leavitt have $$$. If this happened, the kid sues and there are plenty of court witnesses and he gets a pile of cash.  If it was true and you were the dad, would you EVER back down? Your kid can go to UCF or anywhere else. You wouldn’t back down and neither would an ex-cop. Never. None of that happened because the story is wrong. It was hyped and twisted to hurt Leavitt.

Por (USF99) on December 15, 2009 (Suggest removal)

McMurphy has an update:

http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/12/15/usf-walk-on-has-everything-to-lose-says-brother/

Por (Dan Alatorre) on December 15, 2009 (Suggest removal)

I heard that call. There was ABSOLUTELY NO VERIFICATION that the person calling was actually the brother. None. He just said he was and that was that. What would be the protocol on a live-remote radio show to ensure that the caller is who he says he is? It could have been ME calling and saying I was his brother, for Pete’s sake. So now McMurphy (it could have been him that was the caller - who knows?) can report that his story is supported… but is it? Come on, do some journalism! The caller had to offer no proof that he was who he said he was! And he wasn’t in the locker room anyway! What do you think he’s going to do, call his own brother a wimp? Is there NO journalistic integrity? Fanwhorehouse can just do whatever they want?

Por (Dan Alatorre) on December 15, 2009 (Suggest removal)

Turns out that folks who know McMurpy don’t like him much, and don’t think much of him as a journalist.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/308768-usf-leavitt-strikes-player-or-media-strikes-leavitt

Por (Dan Alatorre) on December 15, 2009 (Suggest removal)

Last Friday - 3 days before the BM negative story came out - Leavitt and the rest of the coaches gave out awards at a banquet in Tampa. Miller won one of the awards, a Golden Bull, for dedication and hard work. For his name to be on it, the information needed to go to the trophy company at least a few days earlier… that’s how much of a jerk Leavitt is: he gave the kid an award. A walk on, no less, which means no other school wanted the guy.

Por (USF99) on December 16, 2009 (Suggest removal)

That’s interesting… possibly given an award as a reward for keeping his mouth shut about the incident?

As Scott Carter reported earlier, Miller had a scholarship to The Citadel, so it clearly isn’t the case that “no other school wanted the guy.”

It’s also pretty telling that even today Leavitt refused to say that a coach should lose his job if he strikes a player. The administration needs to get this guy in check; he is not a god, he’s a state employee.

Por (Hector Jimenez) on December 16, 2009 (Suggest removal)

We can speculate both sides of this all day and night but the truth is we have to wait until the university conducts its investigation to realize the truth in this matter.

To do otherwise, without any concrete information, would make us as bad as the person/people we are accusing (on either side) on the issue.

Of the two links presented, neither is credible.  One cites a brother but many won’t believe because anyone can say that behind a telephone and none of us know how the station identifies callers and vet them.  The other is an opinion column and has no merit in reporting news.

Lets wait and see what the university review finds and then pass judgement.

Por (rashad) on December 16, 2009 (Suggest removal)

dan…you keep saying mcmurphy got fired….do you know THAT for a fact??  or are you speculating???  and these kinds of articles don’t come up out of someone’s imagination…there has to be a grain of truth for it to be germinated….i am not going to comment on whether it actually happened until all the facts come out and it is either substantiated or buried…..i just think captain prozac in a bad head coach who has reached the highest level of his incompetence.

Por (Dan Alatorre) on December 16, 2009 (Suggest removal)

I have seen it from three different soucres that mcmurphy was fired; that’s enough for me to believe it’s the truth. Add to that the abrupt departure before an important game, with no explanation, no sign off, no nothing, that’s what one could expect from an involuntary termination. But for lawsuit reasons, the Trib will not say so; ironic, since they would definitely report it if Leavitt were fired. Well I think mcMurphy ws a public enough personality for the Trib to give the reasons for his departure, and not some legally safe version of “to pursue other interests.”

Por (Dan Alatorre) on December 16, 2009 (Suggest removal)

I believe McMurphy took the dad’s quotes out of context, as the dad says he did, used them selectively, as the dad imples that he did, and wrote a hatchet job hit piece against USF, which he has tried to do before. Unfortunately, it appears that neither time did McMurphy have the facts on his side. If you read ALL that has been reported, that’s how it appears - that the facts tell a different story than McMurphy wrote.

Por (rashad) on December 16, 2009 (Suggest removal)

so you are holding mcmurphy to a different standard than captain prozac because you saw it from 3 different sources and that makes you believe it….by that logic since i heard from the trib and espn and the times that cjl hit this player i should believe it….he did not get fired….he quit….got a better job offer….so what are your sources??? i am sure they are very credible…

Por (rashad) on December 16, 2009 (Suggest removal)

AND…since you are spinning things to how you want to see them i will spin them the other way…i belive that the kid tried to talk to leavitt and leavitt shunned him, as reported….i believe he threatened to not let the kid play football if he went further….the kid begged his father to recant because he was scared to death he would not get to play football anymore or they were compensated in some way to keep quiet and the kid was given an award at the banquet as further compensation…so see…it can be spun either way…so let’s just wait for the facts

Por (lenbone) on December 16, 2009 (Suggest removal)

Dan… I don’t live in the Tampa Bay area anymore but it’s refreshing to see Leavitt has at least some local support. After the USF investigation Jim will be cleared of everything, however like you said the damage has been done. Rashad congratulations on your nickname for Leavitt. Your obviously very proud.  My guess is you’ve never played a down of football in your life.

Por (rashad) on December 16, 2009 (Suggest removal)

oooh…bad guess len…not proud just setting the record straight….

Por (Dan Alatorre) on December 16, 2009 (Suggest removal)

This is a sad day for USF. I am listening to Duemig and an anonymous female caller go on and on about Leavitt. “Mary” says she has inside info and that USF will try to sweep it under the rug. She says she has seen Leavitt put his hands on players and coaches. Duemig says he is 100% convinced that Leavitt did it (hit the kid) based on off-the-air calls he has received.

It’s sad, because if it’s true, we are about to lose our coach and receive a huge setback for our program.

If it’s not true, it’s sad because there is no justice in this town.

Basically, I’m sad.

Por (rashad) on December 16, 2009 (Suggest removal)

i am sad that anyone would listen to deumig and not question his credibility….don’t believe all the naysayers and pundits…they don’t know any more than we do…let’s wait for the facts and hope they are not true….while i don’t think leavitt is a very good coach for this level of athletics, i don’t want to see his rep besmirched for no reason…and if he did do it, i feel sorry for both him and the kid