Friday, July 26, 2013

Pac-12 Football Media Day: A View From The Twitter Feed

Posted By on Fri, Jul 26, 2013 at 4:47 PM

The travel budget here at Weekly World Central isn't what it is at other media outlets. We can't afford to send a reporter, let alone two, to Culver City to spend the day following around Arizona's and other schools' coaches, player reps and media relations flaks for mostly canned responses to the usual questions.

So that means, in order to provide our readers with the kind of comprehensive UA coverage they so desire, that meant spending the day monitoring the Twitter feeds, live streams and various Web pages of those from Tucson who were able to make the trip to the Sony Pictures studios for a day of pomp and circumstance. Which, apparently, included a luncheon of spaghetti and potato salad.

Not much of any substance came out of the day, from what I've seen/heard/read. Arizona has been picked by conference media members to finish fourth in the Pac-12 South Division, behind (in order) UCLA, ASU and USC and head of Utah and Colorado. Which means, if things go as predicted, the Wildcats could get either the sixth or seventh bowl slot from the league, meaning a late December road trip to either ... Las Vegas or Tempe, home of the (!!!) Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl.

Other bon-mots culled from the interwebs:

* RichRod does good banter. Whether it's from the podium, in one-on-one interviews or swarmed by beat writers and TV guys watching him eat, Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez is engaging. He didn't hesitate one bit when, after being asked a Twitter-fed question from an ASU fan how much the loss to the Sun Devils still weighed on the minds of his players, simply stating "none." Followed a few moments later by "next question."

* Ka'Deem isn't ready for prime time. Beat writers noted that RichRod probably wouldn't have brought Ka'Deem Carey along for Media Day (instead, seniors Jake Fischer and Terrence Miller were the Wildcat reps) even if he hadn't gotten in a mess of trouble during the offseason. Apparently, RichRod doesn't think Carey wouldn't been the best fit for a massive nationwide marketing campaign, such as would be the case with the nation's leading rusher and a viable Heisman Trophy candidate.

* Brace yourselves for more mini-movies. Expect 'Hard Edge III,' the third installment of UA football's Western-themed cinematic shorts, to hit YouTube soon. It could include ... outtakes. If that means a Harlem Shake, I may have to ask for a refund on my season tickets.

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