Por (Jon McKee) on January 06, 2010 (Suggest removal)

hearsay, whinning, and revisionism. There’s disgruntled kids (and their parents) in every program.  I suspect every coach is guilty of something. Do we fire them all. come’on…

Por (Hector Jimenez) on January 06, 2010 (Suggest removal)

The Erskin situation only compounds the problem….as I have said before, I think CJL will be asked to leave.

Dan, what is your take on this?  Do you still think he will stay?  Not arguing just wondering what your opinion is now with the new info.

Por (Dan Alatorre) on January 07, 2010 (Suggest removal)

What has changed? Erskin didn’t see anything. Erskin is saying what Joel Miller supposedly told him. It doesn’t change the fact that the two people who absolutely know what happened both say it didn’t happen: coach Leavitt and Joel Miller. After a month, the best the disgruntled formet Trib writer could do is produce 1 guy who repeats hearsay. That’s pretty thin.

I think Miller whined to some friends about being grabbed by the coach, and it suddenly went out of control. He saw lives being ruined by what he thought in retrospect wasn’t a big deal, but he couldn’t put the genie back in the bottle. He exaggerrated in the first place; that’s what I think happened.

Por (Dan Alatorre) on January 07, 2010 (Suggest removal)

So far, what I think happened is fully supported by what has been reported. My theory is completely plausible and most likely what actually happened if everyone involved is correct. Think about it: how can EVERYONE be right? If the kid got grabbed by the pads, got embarrassed, griped only to people who were not there; his dad flies off the handle and calls the press, then the kid steps up and says it didn’t happen and that he exaggerrated to his dad and coach and friends because he was embarrassed. But it’s too late now. The kid recants. The dad recants. And only disgruntled people come forward - coincidentally, the disgruntled ones are the only ones Miler told… It’s still America and Leavitt’s still innocent until proven guilty.

Por (Dan Alatorre) on January 07, 2010 (Suggest removal)

One more wrinkle for you: in my opinion, the ONLY person that appears to have LIED - is Joel Miller. He either lied to his friends about what happened or he lied to ESPN. Both stories cannot be true. One must be a lie. So we know Miller is lying.

Why are we listening to the one person in all this that we know has lied?

That’s just food for thought.

Por (Dan Alatorre) on January 07, 2010 (Suggest removal)

Steve Dumig certainly has had a lot of fun blasting coach Leavitt during all this. He came in on his day off to do it. Funny that a guy who got blasted by the media for getting a DUI which he fought and supposedly beat it - THAT’s the guy blasting another person who may have been wrongly accused. Dumig must have no soul. Dumig says that Leavitt earned all this because Leavitt treated the media badly. Insane. So the media can act in a nonprofessional manner and spread gossip without facts just because they are angry at the coach. It’s important to know that about our local media.

Por (rashad) on January 07, 2010 (Suggest removal)

IF the allegations are proven to be true what should happen?

Por (Dan Alatorre) on January 07, 2010 (Suggest removal)

If he grabbed a kid by the throat and violently slapped him hard 3 times, he’s gone. I would think that would have left a red mark. If he gave an Italian cheek clap like you see in mafia movies (similar to when your grandma pinched your cheeks) then I think nothing. Both would be “putting your hands on a player” and both would be a “slap” but one deserves no punishment. These guys smack each other on the butt all the time - that’s a slap, too. I’m just saying there’s NOT a fine line but you can sure cause trouble even if nothing happened, which is what the player says - that nothing happened.

Por (Hector Jimenez) on January 07, 2010 (Suggest removal)

If proven true, then there is no other choice but to fire him. 

I believe the allegations to be true and that he has trouble contolling his temper, as shown by the Erskin incident…...the longer this takes the more it seems to be me that he will be let go.

It’s to quiet….and that’s never good.

Por (Crosschecker) on January 07, 2010 (Suggest removal)

St. Pete Times has story that invalidates Erskin’s credibility.  So does TBO.

Leavitt never called his high school coach

Leavitt did not throw stuff in garbage

Read the whole thing and you’ll see McMurphy is full of it again. 

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/college/usf-bulls-senior-receiver-colby-erskin-tells-investigators-teammate-joel/1063652

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/jan/07/sp-erskin-speaks-about-incident/sports-colleges-bulls/

This ERskin kid sounds like a real team player (sarcasm).

Por (Dan Alatorre) on January 07, 2010 (Suggest removal)

I really don’t like picking on the players, but if they make a public statement and they are over 18, well, they have thrown themselves into the fray and deserve what they get. But I don’t think they should be called cowards for not recanting their public statements. WDAE’s Dumig said that the player was a coward because he would not make a statement against Leavitt. Meanwhile, the only public statement that the kid DID say was that Leavitt did nothing - I guess Dumig didn’t hear that, he only wants blood. Leavitt’s blood. Because Leavitt doesn’t kiss the media’s @ss (makes their jobs harder), that makes it okay to lie and smear the guy. I guess they figure they’ll get a coach in who WILL play ball. Petty, isn’t it?

Por (Dan Alatorre) on January 07, 2010 (Suggest removal)

Well here is what everyone’s been waiting for! A current USF player, not even a senior, who SAW what happened, who was right there in the locker room right across from the kid.

“I speak for most of the team (except) a couple of BITTER players” emphasis added

“He didn’t grab the throat or slap”

Thus endeth the lesson.

Por (Hector Jimenez) on January 07, 2010 (Suggest removal)

Anyone can say whatever they want….we will not know who is telling the truth until the end, that is the true lesson.

Por (Dan Alatorre) on January 08, 2010 (Suggest removal)

Looks like I was wrong. Hope we can get past all this.

Wonder who the new head coach will be?

Por (Don G) on January 09, 2010 (Suggest removal)

Dan, glad you admitted to not reading the Leavitt issue correctly.  Sorry that Leavitt let you down, but maybe now you’ll understand what many of us have been saying based on what we were seeing and felt in our gut that this guy was not what he wanted people to believe. Not sure why some people see things that others do not, but it’s obvious that that’s the case in many areas of human life - especially when it comes to politics? To me and some others, Leavitt was a poor coach and a bad public spokesman and example for USF. Obviously, we all want what’s best for USF, so let’s hope they make the right hire for HC and can do so quickly to salvage recruiting?

Por (Dan Alatorre) on January 09, 2010 (Suggest removal)

do you guys really see USF hiring a big splash coach like Skip Holtz (who isn’t all that big of a splash but would be acceptable to me) or Tuberville (who I never really thought we had a chance at; thanks again Dumig for your sources who said we did) or Fulmer (he would be a big splash all right, in more ways than one)? I see USF mucking about and hiring some nobody who posts 2 losing seasons before getting run out of town, likely taking Woolard and Genshaft with him. They screw this up and there will be no end to the line of people screaming for their jobs; most aren’t too happy with them anyway.

Scott, any idea on any splashy guys we actually have a shot at?