ChantRant.com

Oh, it's the MEDIA that's the problem, not the players. Nice spin, Urban

Urban Meyer speaking in Central Florida earlier this week:

"I know in the media, we've had some issues and as long as it's manageable," he said. "If it's a bad person, we're going to eliminate the bad person. If it's someone that made a mistake like everyone else, then we just have to make sure they don't make mistakes."

Um, we're confused, coach. First you say reptile players are "The top one percent of one percent, " now they're "like everyone else?"

Asked what he looks for in a recruit, Meyer said:

"I think we're just keeping an eye on the target and that's high quality character of people we get into our program."

Former Noles find a home up North

Every year you'll find at least a few familiar names on the rosters of Canadian Football League teams. This year, only four former Seminoles made CFL squads, and six weeks into the Canadian season they aren't exactly tearing up the 12-man, 110-yard league. They include:

Shannon Boatman - The big tackle from Texas is in his first CFL season. He signed in February with the Toronto Argonauts and is biding his time as a backup on the 'nauts O-Line.

Adrian McPherson - Though A.D. wouldn't win many Mr. Popularity votes from FSU fans, he clings to a pro career after brief stints with the New Orleans Saints and various Arena League teams. Suiting up for the Montreal Alouettes, McPherson is behind one of the top QB's in the CFL, which explains his total lack of stats.

Stanford Samuels - Another Alouette who hasn't seen the field in '09, except for special teams. The former Nole DB has become a CFL journeyman and is now on his third team in five years.

Craphonso Thorpe - Drafted by Kansas City in 2005, Thorpe bounced around the NFL for a few years, ending up with the Colts in 2007. He signed this month with Winnipeg and this week moved from the practice squad to the Blue Bombers' regular roster.

A former Nole great tells how players learn what the fans really think about them

James Colzie was good enough to star as a freshman in Mickey Andrews' secondary. After his playing career (1993-96) he came back to FSU as a grad assistant (2004-06). So he's seen the good days and the down days at Doak.

He talks about both in his interview (Parts 1 and 2) on our sister website, Garnet & Great. And he confirms what many fans suspected: that players check up on what fans are saying on internet message boards.

"You always see guys on Warchant.com trying to find out what they're saying about them..."

Now the Defensive Coordinator at Div. II West Georgia, Colzie is upbeat about the Noles returning to their glory days. And at the rate he's moving up the coaching ladder, who knows -- he might even find himself at Florida State for a third time.

Atlanta Journal's Mark Bradley names his Top 15 college coaches (a living legend didn't make the list)

One of the most-read college football writers has a twisted take on the top college football coaches. Downright perverse, actually.

Why? Because he ranks the coach of a certain school to the South with a reptilian mascot as his number one choice. But to Mark Bradley's credit, he says he doesn't much care for the guy. (You can check out Mark's Top 10 here, and his 11-15 picks.)

Bobby Bowden? He didn't make the list. But then neither did Steve Spurrier, Chris Peterson Rich Rodriguez and other high-priced coaches.

Obviously, we had to get in touch with Mark to learn what the heck kind of list this was and what happened to Bowden. 

"He'd be in the top five all-time. But I don't think Florida State is one of the five or 10 best programs now, and this was...more of a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately ranking."

Oh.

Don't think we have to read between the lines to figure that Mark sees Bobby as more of CEO and not the hands-on kind of coach that earns a spot on his Top 15.

"Why I Oughta...": One final whack at the insegrevious Aubrey Phillips affair

As ChantRant and Scalp 'Em milk the Aubrey Phillips mess for another day, we risk looking like Curley and Moe with Larry on summer vacation. But bear with us for one last blast to clarify a point: Why the woman who sued McDonald's for hot coffee and big old Aubrey renouncing his FSU agreement are birds of a feather.

- Both agreed to a "contract" (the woman to a coffee purchase; Phillips to play at FSU).

- Both accepted the terms of the contract (the woman to the fact the coffee was "hot" as stated on the menu board; Phillips that he would be coached by one nasty S.O.B.)

- Both were unable to deal with the execution of the agreement as it was advertised (the coffee was hot; the coach was an S.O.B. -- especially when you provoke him by not holding up your end of the deal by showing up grossly out of shape.)

- Both showed lack of character by playing the victim card despite receiving precisely what they had agreed to (a pet peeve of ours).

So while their motives were different (greed vs. revenge), their actions were the same: "I've been horribly wronged."

At least Heather Dininch of ESPN gets it and agrees that "his method of telling it wasn't exactly wise."

While Heather didn't imply Phillips was a crybaby as we did (with a photo), we believe the term fits. That isn't hate speech, it's simply criticism of a man child who screwed up.

And if it's a crime to criticize an 18-year old, then Rick Trickett and every other college coach are in a lot of trouble.

Putting a P.S. on the persecution of young Aubrey Phillips

Our friends at Scalp 'Em think we and other Seminole sites might've been a little tough on Aubrey Phillips after his hasty exit from the program.

To clarify: We said yesterday we hope Aubrey and Auburn are very happy together (sans sarcasm). Damn shame it didn't work out at FSU.

Nobody has a problem with an 18-year old's sudden change of heart. No harm, no foul. Have a nice life.

But instead of taking the high road and moving on, Phillips portrays himself as a victim to a media eager for juicy stories about injustice. That's what burned our bacon.

Remember, Phillips signed the LOI. He alone chose to show up 40 lbs. overweight. He must have known it would provoke an Incredible Hulk-like response from his position coach (even ESPN's Heather Dinich agrees it wasn't a smart move).

Yet Trickett and FSU are the bad guys.

It's a spin you've seen before. Like the woman who ordered hot coffee at a McDonald's drive-thru, then sued and won because she burned her lip on -- yep -- hot coffee.

Character. Accountability. Perseverance. We hope all of those things are on the curriculum at Auburn.

What part of "Buyer Beware" does Aubrey Phillips not understand?

Aubrey Phillips finally opened up about his reasons for going over the wall at Camp Trickett. Monday he told the website Inside The Auburn Tigers:

"I was mistreated and cussed out for no reason every day. I was told I would never play and called an (expletive) every day. He (Trickett) told me I would never play for him. He said he wished he had never signed me and all of that. I tried to put up with it, but it kept going on. He kept calling me a stupid (expletive) and all of that. My leaving had nothing to do with football. I told them I came there to play football, not be mistreated as a person."

We hope Aubrey and Auburn will be very happy together. But Tiger coaches must know they have an unstable young man on their hands. And a pretty clueless one at that.

What part of "Buyer Beware" and "due diligence" didn't Phillips understand when he signed with FSU? How could he not know the fate awaiting him when he stepped on campus?

Even guys who arrive in top shape are destined to go through the 9 Rings of Hell. So Aubrey must have had a death wish to binge on Whoppers 'n fries and show up 40 pounds overweight and out of shape.

Most incredulous of all: Phillips obviously didn't listen when Auburn recruiters must've tried to scare him away from FSU by telling Trickett horror stories from the days the mean Marine coached on The Plains. The best one we've heard goes like this:

Trickett allegedly peed on a football twice before allowing a center to snap the ball because he was "pissed off" at the kid.

So maybe we should thank Aubrey for openly moaning about his brief FSU experience. Any hotshot high school lineman who didn't get the message before certainly will now: Rick Trickett ain't running any sensivity training institute here.

Even if Aubrey Phillips hits the road, there's more where he came from

Rookie OL Aubrey Phillips has reportedly put Tallahassee in his rearview mirror -- before ever putting on the Garnet & Gold

Phillips was the Noles top rated OL recruit (Rivals 4-Star), not that stars matter a toot to Rick Trickett. But then Trickett never had a chance to singe Phillips' eyebrows with his blowtorch bellowing.

Maybe that's what Phillips feared and why he bolted. Or maybe the big kid from Mississippi was just homesick for Mama's cornbread. And once he's wolfed down a pan full, his parents will remind him of the value of his word on a letter of commitment.

Whatever happens with Phillips, there's an even bigger catch out there. That's Damien Robinson in the picture above (on the left), a 6-foot-8, 330 pound OL at Phillips' alma mater, Olive Branch High School. FSU has offered Robinson, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal. But so have about 20 other schools so far.

Robinson's not only got the size and quickness (a Scout analyst said he moves like he's 250 or 260 lbs.), he's also got the brains. His goal is to study law and he wants to be a prosecutor. Really.

Ever heard a giant-among-men bluechip O-lineman utter these words? "My education comes first. Location doesn't matter. I guess the athletic program would come second, and then the coaching staff would be third."

Note to Jimbo Fisher: Time to dust off that persuasive academics-first pitch FSU used to land Myron Rolle.

Only you can prevent forest fires and scenes like this one

We borrowed Smokey the Bear's marketing theme to make a point: it's up to FSU fans to make sure tragedies like this one don't happen. Not this season or any.

Even with a lousy economy and unpredictable gas prices, it's time for anybody who calls themselves a Nole supporter to do exactly that.

Lord knows there are plenty of tickets left -- single game tickets are still available for every game -- as confirmed today in our interview with Patrick Martin, Asst. Athletic Director in FSU's ticket office.

So, Patrick, what's still available for this season?
"There are plenty of seats available for boosters and non-boosters, and that includes season tickets."

Where would non-booster season ticket buyers be sitting at Doak?
"Priority Three seats, which you can see on the seating chart at seminoles.com (and below)."

How about your three game packages?
"We have a defined three games -- Miami, Ga. Tech and Maryland -- ($160) or you can pick your own package (three of any of the six home games). Once we're through doing season ticket seat assignments we'll fill in three game packages in some of the areas where we haven't sold out in season tickets."

And single game tickets?
"They're available for every game except Florida (away). Only boosters and season ticket holders can order the Florida game right now."

How many single game tickets are left for Miami?
"I haven't even calculated that number yet. But we're not close to selling out on that one right now. And I need to find a number that Miami is going to end up taking."

How much are you down this year in season ticket sales?
"Probably about 13%. And I think that's primarily due to the economy."

How about game day sales? Can you still buy tickets before kickoff?
"Right up until kickoff and even after kickoff. You can come in the second quarter and we'll sell you a ticket if they're still available."

What are you telling FSU fans, both boosters and non-boosters?
"Get your tickets now. This team needs your support."

Bulls bringing some baggage to Sept. 26 game at Doak Campbell

While FSU adjusts to fewer players on scholarship, thanks to Tutorgate, the University of South Florida has the opposite problem: too many players for the allowed number of schollies.

The Sporting New this week slammed USF for signing 29 recruits when it had only 23 scholarships available and now "is in the process of deleting players it finds undesirable."

The story went on to brand the Bulls '09 recruiting effort as "a clear case of a school oversigning rampantly without caring what happens to the kids at the end of the class."

Even before signing day, the Bulls St. Pete Times beat writer sent a clear signal that the scholarship numbers just didn't add up.

Will the Big East now follow the SEC's lead? Ole Miss was dragged through the media mud earlier in the year for inking an amazing 37 kids. It was embarrassing enough to the conference that it recently issued a rule limiting SEC schools to a max of 28 football signees per year. The same story reveals that Troy went the Rebels three better, signing an even more amazing 40 players in February.

More troubling numbers for the Bulls. Out of 119 D-1 football schools, USF is last in the 2009 NCAA Academic Progress Report (APR) that measures eligibility, retention and graduation of jocks in each sport.

Don't hear much about this APR stuff? You will. The NCAA is serious about athletes staying in school and graduating. According to Brett McMurphy, who covers the Bulls for the Tampa Tribune, USF "avoided scholarship losses by applying for an NCAA waiver and received it for a second consecutive year."

And with friends like these... The last thing any teams needs is a hate site. And the Bulls have a doozy. Some blogger is so anti-USF he's posting every bit of bad news that could tarnish the program. For his own safety, he slings that mud anonymously.