Contrary to his usual practice, USC football coach Pete Carroll told the press that players wouldn’t be available for interviews after practice on Thursday. How come?
“We’re leaving in 44 minutes,” he said, referring to a row of buses waiting to take the Trojans to the airport. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
Part of his concern stemmed from an NCAA rule that prohibits teams from leaving more than 48 hours before a competition. Because kickoff at Ohio Stadium is scheduled for 5 p.m. PDT, the team plane was not scheduled to leave the ground until 6 p.m. on Thursday, with an estimated arrival at the hotel past 1 a.m. ET.
Hmmph. That’s completely unfair to West Coast teams traveling east. Why not have a rule that says you can’t arrive more than 48 hours before kickoff instead? It’s not as if coaches would leave really early and then schedule long layovers at O’Hare, would they?
