TRC Unleashed would like for you to believe they talked to Trey Dyson about the upcoming NCAA regional this weekend, but there’s no proof it actually happened. You’ll just have to trust us, and instead of hearing Mr. Dyson listen to us talk about:

• Rage Against the Machine
• The NCAA Regional (with Trey Dyson’s real thoughts)
• Frustration and/or excitement over having Clemson in our regional
• Shawn Elliott media guide photo (!!!)
• If we had 24 hours with Steve Spurrier…
• Gamecock traditions we could live without
• Our Twitter followers who have injured themselves during games (thanks to all who participated!)
• TRC walk-up songs
• THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA

It’s a technically unsound, raucous and classy time all rolled into 30 odd minutes.

Click the graphic to listen, and enjoy!

There is a familiar refrain from the Steve Spurrier era at South Carolina that has become much less familiar recently:

“Don’t worry, Spurrier ain’t going to be there long.”

When the HBC took over at USC in 2005, conventional wisdom said he would stick around 5-7 years and then head off into the sunset for endless rounds of golf. Now, as he prepares to start his ninth year as the Gamecocks’ head man, the end of his tenure is nowhere in sight.

Maybe the greatest evidence has come in the last week, with the commitments of DJ Neal and Shamiek Blackshear – kids who will not finish high school until 2015.

Why is this important? Because since the start of Spurrier’s reign at USC, those who have gone against him have continually whispered in the ears of young recruits, “he won’t be there.”

And around 2007-2008, not only was it believable to recruits, it was believable to fans like us as well. Success did not come quickly or easily for the South Carolina program under Spurrier. He built on the  mediocre seasons of Lou Holtz with only slightly more mediocre seasons.

Spurrier himself admitted after both the 2009 Outback and 2010 PapaJohns.com bowl disasters, the latter after a breakthrough win over Clemson, that he considered calling it quits.

But since the start of the 2010 regular season (not coincidentally the same time Marcus Lattimore arrived) the Gamecocks have gone 31-9, won their first SEC Eastern Division Championship, have had back-to-back 11-win seasons and two top-10 finishes.

When Tbone and I saw Spurrier at FanFest in Atlanta two weeks ago, he looked as energetic and happy as we’ve ever seen him. Tbone speculated that maybe an SEC Title in 2013 would be the perfect time for Spurrier to exit the program. I told him I’m not sure if we won a NATIONAL championship he would leave. He’s having too much fun right now, and I’m really not sure what he would do with himself outside the game.

This passage from a recent Charleston Post and Courier article spoke volumes:

Yet both he and Jerri still maintain their own lives, independent of the kids and grandkids. Jerri coordinates activities like the team’s parents association breakfast on the morning of the spring game. Jerri teaches a fitness class at USC’s student gym. She has two courses remaining for a second bachelor’s degree, in psychology, and hopes to work with depressed and suicidal youths.

“(Taking classes) kind of gets me where I get to be somebody else,” Jerri said. “I do it for me, and I think everybody needs to do something for them.”

For Spurrier, that is football, forever football.

“I dread the day that we’re not doing this, because it’s my life,” Jerri said. “It’s what I do, too. It’s what we do.”

Doesn’t sound like Jerri’s ready to give it up any time soon, and that tells me Steve is probably not ready to give it up either.  

So is Spurrier telling recruits Neal and Blackshear that he’ll still be around when they finish their college careers in 2019 or 2020? I have no idea. But at this point it wouldn’t surprise me at all.

Spurrier loves football, and he loves South Carolina. I think he might stay a while.

The TRC triumvirate take to the airwaves once again to try to make a podcast out of thin air. Lots of shout outs in this podcast, so be sure to listen to see if you get a mention. Perhaps our most special guest? Siri drops in to take a shot at Dabo and Clemson.

Other topics:

• Atlanta FanFest – what we learned
• Drew Barker and the cult of the insider
• Which out of conference games frighten us in the fall
• Open mic – we take questions from our followers
• Baseball been very, very good to me
• Are there too many podcasts of course there are too many podcasts

Click the graphic to listen, and ENJOY!

 

(via CFB Reddit)

If you are a Gamecock fan this photo is just funny. Unless you have a stick up your butt.

I was surprised to see the reaction of some Gamecock fans to this photo, calling it rude and disrespectful. As a father of two kids, without the photo’s proper context I can see that. Mocking an adult the way these kids are is a little disrespectful, no doubt. 

Until you consider who the “adult” is. He’s the guy who did this:

We’ve been on the wrong side of this rivalry in football for way too long. And for too long we’ve had to deal with unimaginative name calling and scoreboard pointing. Now the shoe is on the other foot, and I’m not opposed to stepping on few orange tinged fingers along the way.

Now, I’m not condoning vandalism by any stretch of the imagination. But I’ve never been opposed to a little low brow humor or clever trash talk.

Or kids, unbeknownst to Dabo, throwing up the four-peat sign during a photo-op. That’s just genius.

High four kids, nice work.

Hi folks, I’m Fred Thompson.

Boy, times are sure tough nowadays.

And I understand how unpredictable and unpleasant conference realignment can become.

If you are like many American football conferences, you may be looking for a simple solution to help ease your financial worries.

Well, I may have a solution that is right for you:  A Grant of Media Rights.

A Grant of Media Rights is a government insured* program that allows you to make use of your hard-earned equity in your own conference.

It could help you get much-needed cash, right now, to:

–  upgrade your facilities

–  renegotiate inequitable television contracts

–  keep other expansion-minded conferences at bay

Or simply improve your conference’s brand and give you the football lifestyle you so richly deserve.

I’m extremely proud to be associated with the ACC, a regionally recognized sports leader in many non-revenue sports (plus basketball).

That’s why I want to send you this free DVD, about how to sign away your unneeded future self-determination in exchange for a sense of security in the here and now.

Its safe*.

Easy to understand.*

Effective* tool.

That can give you peace of mind in an uncertain world.

Why don’t you give ACC a call today?

Just pick up the phone, and call me at 1-800-ACC-BROKE.

______________________

* claims are not representative of actual facts, rights, or other legal representations, but represent only the anecdotal opinion of the spokesperson depicted.

The TRC Unleashed trio returns in a foul mood. Age and  frequent prostate exams are obviously getting to the guys, but they manage to trudge through another edition of your fifth-favorite Gamecock sports-related podcast with topics such as:

• Spring games are way overrated
• Spring tailgates are way underrated
• Who impressed at the Garnet and Black game
• @bclickclack
• This Week in Dabo
• The baseball sadness

We also have a kicking new opening thanks to [name redacted because we’re not sure if she wants us to reveal it].

Anyway, we’re grumpy, but still lovable. Enjoy.

Click the graphic to listen.

 

 

Or something – other submissions welcomed.

This has been a disappointing baseball season. I know that sounds silly considering we entered this weekend series with Florida with a 27-7 record and ranked 8th or 11th, depending on the poll. But after getting swept by a good Gator team with a mediocre record, the problems with this team are glaring like the noonday sun – terrible defensively, lacking in quality at-bats, no bullpen with the exception of Adam Westmoreland, and yes, there have been some questionable coaching decisions.

The way we lost these games to Florida only exacerbated the frustration:

• Thursday – Trailing by a run in the top of the 9th, we get a clutch 2-out hit from Chase Vergason with T.J. Costen at second. Costen trips and falls rounding third and is thrown out to end the game.
• Friday –  The Gamecocks take a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the eighth only to see the Gators score 3 and secure a 4-3 victory.
• Saturday – Chad Holbrook’s squad claws back from a 4-1 deficit to tie the game at 4-4. The Gators then put up a 10-spot in a horrific bottom of the sixth, and cruise to a 14-5 victory to complete the sweep.

They were all hard games to watch. When you lose games like that the fan frustration boils over, and people start tweeting and Facebooking and blogging. Some complaints are reasonable to point out (like the above) and many go over the top. People can get stupid in times like these, but I understand. If you don’t like it you can ignore it or not respond to it.

Or, you can be Andy Demetra:

It’s no secret this guy gets under our skin, and this is a prime example of why.

First, the “clever” play on words, a Demetra trademark – “Win Anyway”, “Whine Anyway”. I felt like I was experiencing his wordplay again for the first time. Yuck.

Second, the finger-wagging. As a representative of USC and the athletic department there are ways to respond to fair criticism and unfair criticism alike that don’t make you sound like a condescending a-hole. People say stupid things, and people respond in kind with stupid things. The play-by-play guy for a major university sports program doesn’t have to lower himself into that conversation, and if he does there’s a proper way to do it. The proper way is not to insult your fan base.

Finally, as a guy who covers this team day in and day out, it’s ok to point out some shortcomings. Not only is it ok, we should demand it. Otherwise he just becomes the Baghdad Bob of Gamecock sports.

“All is well!”

I got news for you, it ain’t. And it’s ok for us to talk about it. Really.