Athlete (2001-2003) Michael Southall

[CrazyCajun]

Sounds like a poor excuse for a school who wishes to be second rate.

no sounds like a fan facing the facts and not living in this fantasy world your in. WE DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY, NO ATHLETIC DIRECTOR AND A PRESIDENT WHO WAS HERE WHEN WE PLAYED WITH LEATHER HELMETS. We have to do the best with what we have until this university puts out the money to hire someone that knows what they are doing and a way to get money in this program.

[DaddyCajun]

Sounds like a poor excuse for a school who wishes to be second rate.

Since when LSU wizzes second rate???? State is a first rate wizzer, FIRST RATE!!!! ____ their colors are Purple from holding it too long and yellow in action!!!


Take a look in your own back yard, showdog!!!


DaddyCajun
LOUISIANA STATE LEGISLATURE 60+% STATE GRADS, NOW YOU KNOW THE REST OF THE STORY!!!!

[ShowDog]

Since when LSU wizzes second rate???? State is a first rate wizzer, FIRST RATE!!!! ____ their colors are Purple from holding it too long and yellow in action!!!

Take a look in your own back yard, showdog!!!

DaddyCajun
LOUISIANA STATE LEGISLATURE 60+% STATE GRADS, NOW YOU KNOW THE REST OF THE STORY!!!!

We're not talking about LSU we're talking about UL...You can't build a program with felons.

[Jeaux]

Why the bashing on Southall? It's not like he got caught for double plagerism and was recently reinstated. He's on the team and is doing fine. Ya'll can't leave it at that. It just seems like some of you want him to fail. For what? What would get out of it. That's pretty pathetic. I sure wish some of you would take a deep look at yourself.

[NewsCopy]

Even in the wide expanse of the Cajundome, Michael Southall's absence from the UL basketball squad in Thursday's first half was still obvious. Southall did not play until the second half of Thursday's 61-51 Sun Belt Conference loss to South Alabama. He had eight points on 4-of-4 shooting, seven rebounds and four blocks in the second half, but the Cajuns never got a 14-point halftime deficit to under nine in the loss. UL coach Robert Lee said Southall was benched until halftime because of a poor performance in Thursday's shoot-around practice. The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

[Mineshaft]

Im telling yall he wont last the entire year. Letting him back on the team will come back and bite Robert in the azzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

[Rebel02]

I'm not buying this excuse one bit. You don't sit out a star player for the entire first half because he had a bad practice that day. There's more to this story.

[NewsCopy]

After nearly a year in jail, center Michael Southall is putting up all-conference numbers for Louisiana-Lafayette. Louisiana-Lafayette must be proud. This week's Ten for Tuesday went looking for some long-forgotten players and found them ... still playing college basketball. Who knew? 1. Michael Southall: Southall has a rap sheet you wouldn't believe, but there he is, playing for the Ragin' Cajuns. It's probably a coincidence that he has an NBA body (6-foot-10, 236 pounds) and is averaging 14 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.6 blocks. Here's his rap sheet: Arrested in May 2000 for delivery and possession of marijuana. Arrested in April 2001 for violating his bond by running away from police. (Those two mistakes cost Southall scholarships at Kentucky and Georgia Tech and landed him on three years of probation.) At ULL in 2003 Southall played well but then was suspended for academic reasons and went afoul of his probation by testing positive for alcohol and marijuana, and skipping meetings with his probation counselor. That earned him a sentence of one year in jailLouisiana Là took him back, but the Ragin-Cajuns are just 4-11. To which I say: good. The source of the opinion By Gregg Doyel CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer Tell Gregg your opinion

[DestinCajun]

Let me see now -

In this thread we have the comments of our coach whose character is impeccable and whose career is dependent upon his decisions and ability to manage players. On the other, we have some writer guy who probably knows as much about the UL athletic program as I know about rocket guidance systems.

You know what, fans, I'm sticking with Coach Lee on this call.

[NewsCopy]

Mr. Doyel,

I know your editorial requirements force you to fill space on your website on a regular basis and this sometimes translates into less than stellar comments. This is one of them.

Sure, its an easy target to pick on kids who've had brushes with the law, but your comments are full of bias and yes, prejudice. No I'm not going to pull the race card, I'm pulling the "non-BCS" card. More and more, those in the national media are perpetuating a prejudice between the haves and havenots of the NCAA. BCS schools, the "elite", are shown to be intrinsically better than the "mid-majors". Their kids, schools, fans and opportunities are perceived by you as being better and hence more worthy of praise and forgiveness. This is bunk. Look at all professional sports for verification of the equality of athletes regardless of school attended.

But in your zeal to add to the cyberspace junk circling this earth, you condone the sophomoric idea that its okay for BCS schools to pick up and use these "defective" kids, but when they get in trouble its also acceptable to dump them as left overs. Further, you coveniently condemn a "lesser" school which picks them up giving them a second chance (and give the school a fighting effort to overcome the NCAA sanctioned obscenely extravagant recruiting powers of the BC$ schools).

How convenient for you to split hairs so blindly: bad kids are only in non-BCS schools.

The billions of TV dollars showered on the BCS schools allow them to cherry pick what are initially perceived as the "best" student athletes in the nation. The perception is that non-BCS schools are relegated to grabbing the crumbs which fall from the BCS table. Obvious to everyone outside of the national media, this is patently not true.

Ironically, if you look you'll find the best amateur athletic venues, fans, players and schools are not solely BCS blessed. Non-BCS schools are too often overlooked by you in the main media because its so convenient for you to only follow a couple of dozen or so BCS money behemoths rather than to try to cover the rest of the nation's schools as well.

Too bad you're missing out on what the rest of the nation enjoys: true amateur athletics. Because of TV revenue, the BCS has created a new, disparate class of professional sports. True amateur sports are found elsewhere, warts and all, in the non-BCS schools.

Shame on you for taking the easy road of prejudice. Try doing real reporting and take an honest look at the plight and successes of the "lesser" (read: non-BCS) schools which make up the richest of the fabric which we call NCAA athletics.

Oh yeah, as to Southall at UL: The BCS used him until he was of no use. Obviously he is a troubled kid, but that is not moral justification for a school to throw him away because he is expendable. Life is tough, yes, but the NCAA claims to pride itself in bettering its student athletics. Its certainly admirable for UL to not only give him a second chance, but to support him when he is in trouble instead of dump him again. Obviously, that's not the BCS way, but it is the right way. How many chances are enough? Who knows, he may make it into the NBA or not, but either way, if he becomes a productive citizen, that is the ultimate goal of college anyway. I say you're opined examples are actually not of failures but of what is right in college (non-BCS) athletics. Too bad you probably don't see that.

Money, championships and big schools shouldn't be the only, or main, reason for college athletics. Look at the non-BCS schools and their successes against the BCS odds. Many people are fond of playing the race card in today's society, but in college athletics the main prejudice is about the monopoly of the "elite" members of BCS: the haves versus the havenots. Why don't you write about that?

[MiamiCajun32]

It may be my fault that Doyel noticed Southall. A few weeks ago he wrote an article about how rare it is for a college basketball player to have a triple double and he listed 10 players that could possibly do it this year. After Southall hit the triple double, I emailed this writer to tell him about it and also mentioned to him that Mitchell is as good a candidate as any in the country for this rare accomplishment.

Here is the article:

http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegebas.../story/9092604

Doyel seemed very interested in this topic when he recently wrote the article, so maybe this is how he noticed Southall and then looked up a few articles on him and jumped to conclusions, just as the national media does about everything now. It is really just entertainment, loosely based on actual knowledge and news. It is much more interesting for most people, unfortunately, to read about a thug / gangster / drug dealer playing D-1 basketball than it is for them to read about a nice kid who has made mistakes and is now getting a second chance and using it to become a productive adult...

Anyway, I just have a feeling that Doyel noticed Southall because he is fascinated about the college basketball triple double...

What a joke this writer is! I have lost all respect for him...

[Turbine]

It may be my fault that Doyel noticed Southall. A few weeks ago he wrote an article about how rare it is for a college basketball player to have a triple double and he listed 10 players that could possibly do it this year. After Southall hit the triple double, I emailed this writer to tell him about it and also mentioned to him that Mitchell is as good a candidate as any in the country for this rare accomplishment.

Here is the article:

http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegebas.../story/9092604

I don't know when (if ever) I have ever seen a more fascinating tracking of sequential (hip bone connected to the thigh bone) story writing decisions.

I am certain you are correct.