Last Chance U - General Discussion

[Uncle JUICE]

5 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

OMG did you guys see that there is one more new episode? You have to click on the season dropdown menu and go to the newest "season" called EMCC & Life After. It's a one hour episode about what Miss Brittany, Buddy, and the the football players are doing now.

THat's about the first half hour, the rest is the arraignment (or whatever legal term it is) of the two dipshits who were involved in murdering that kid after season 2. It's like a proto-true crime trailer, except there's little mystery to it. 

7 hours ago, hula-la said:

I looove marching bands, so am going to see if it’s on Canadian Netflix. Thanks for the recommendation! One positive of such short episodes is that you wouldn’t feel too guilty binge watching the series in one go (because I have never done that, ever). 

What is strange about it is that there seems to be a really rich cast of characters there, but you don't get to know a whole lot of them at all in such a short time. You're talking about 300 kids in the band, and that includes the flag corps and the dancers. It's so ready for a show! And seriously, you don't have to tell me about loving marching bands. I can literally get weepy whenever a large group of people is synchronized so well and working together. I don't know why!

[hula-la]

10 hours ago, Uncle JUICE said:

THat's about the first half hour, the rest is the arraignment (or whatever legal term it is) of the two dipshits who were involved in murdering that kid after season 2. It's like a proto-true crime trailer, except there's little mystery to it. 

What is strange about it is that there seems to be a really rich cast of characters there, but you don't get to know a whole lot of them at all in such a short time. You're talking about 300 kids in the band, and that includes the flag corps and the dancers. It's so ready for a show! And seriously, you don't have to tell me about loving marching bands. I can literally get weepy whenever a large group of people is synchronized so well and working together. I don't know why!

So, Mr. Hula-la and I just watched the entire series. This is why my clothes don't fit.  I totally agree with you that it should be a full series, and I'd much rather watch and hear the stories of these students and their band leader, than "coach" Brown (I put that in quotations, because I'm not really sure what he is. He seems like a coach in name only). The students of ICC I care about, their coach--not so much. 

[Rlb8031]

I really liked this version of LCU. Coach Brown isn't a great coach, but I do believe what his offensive line coach said which is that he really does have the kids best interests at heart and he has "cracked the code" in terms of how to be a successful JUCO program - bring in talented kids who are physically mature enough to play at higher levels (D-I and NFL), get them invested in the program, teach them a modicum of discipline and get them enough playing time that they can get scouted and recruited.

The problem with this team was twofold - first, most of the kids are just that - children who lack the emotional maturity to either be on their own or engage in enough self-control to do what is best for them in the long run and two, in order for the program to be successful both the kids and the coaches need to buy into the fiction that football is better for them as individuals than college is. Coach Brown's grudging acceptance of a D and four Fs on a kid's report card was telling. If you won't take football away from these kids they are never going to get it. 

One of the biggest things I think that comes through all of these shows is that some of these kids are just unprepared to undertake the "work" of sports. Malik was a perfect example. Tons of talent, but a kid who couldn't get through a game without a temper tantrum. His dad needed to spend more time with his emotional maturity (how to deal with adversity, how to accept failure and move on, how to work well with others) rather than trying to raise him as some hothouse flower. When they revealed in the later episodes that he "wasn't into school" as the reason for his failing classes, it was a huge red flag. Here is a kid who clearly has an educational foundation, who could do college level work, but chose not to. Contrast him with someone like Bobby whose ability to actually do college level work seemed questionable, but who showed up in class, participated, and did the work (albeit with a great deal of prodding from his professor). It was interesting to see the follow-up show with Ollie who had similar issues, and is just now getting to the point where he understands that.

[Rlb8031]

On 9/14/2017 at 2:41 PM, healthnut said:

Isaiah Wright and brother charged in homicide

The articles don't make it clear that there is a really questionable linkage between the brothers and the crime. In the update to the show, they showed the court proceedings. The story was that the brothers and the two other men drove to one of the men's grandmother's house. The two men left with the victim to go buy weed. The brothers stayed at the house waiting in their car. The two men then robbed and stabbed the guy stealing his money. When they returned they got back in the brothers car and drove back to their town. The case hinged on whether the brothers knew about the robbery and were part of a conspiracy to participate in the crime, or whether they were unaware of what happened. In the preliminary hearing (and on the tapes of their interviews) the older brother made a pretty impassioned defense of himself saying that he had no idea what was planned and had never willingly participated in any crime. Isaiah on the other hand says things like 'we didn't know what they had planned, but we figured it out'. Its unclear whether Isaiah is talking about before or after they came back. The charges against the older brother were dropped. Isaiah was held over for trial with the other two defendants

[ElectricBoogaloo]

FYI - it looks like the next season will be available on Netflix on Friday, July 19!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S4.E1

I love that no one was fooled by Coach Brown’s bull shit explanation that he was bringing Malik back just to be on the practice team. They all knew that he was going to have him play the first excuse he had and no surprise that as soon as Jay was injured in the first game, he mentioned having Malik play. Let’s see how long before it actually happens. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S4.E2

I root for most of these kids to succeed, even after they do knuckleheaded things, which is why I was so disappointed in Bobby Bruce. Stealing stuff from a dorm room and getting kicked out was just such a stupid way to go. No, he probably wouldn't have gone on to play in the NFL but I was hoping that he would get to transfer, play a year or two more of football, and get his degree. Now he's going home with nothing. I hope he doesn't do anything stupid out of desperation to feed his baby.

I really felt for KD and Miss P. They clearly love Bobby and were disappointed in what he did but they didn't want to kick him while he was down.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S4.E3

I am so much more interested in learning about these kids, their lives, their families, etc. I would gladly watch episodes about each of the players instead of Coach Brown cussing up a storm* and bragging about his stupid boat. I enjoy the human side of the sport and getting to know the athletes.

Seeing how KD grew up makes me appreciate his sweet and sunny personality even more. Some people would come out of that kind of situation angry and resentful but he is very positive and so kind to people like Bobby and Miss P.

I totally understand Chase's mom's concerns. I would be afraid to have my son play football due to all the injuries too. Aside from getting banged up physically, we know that multiple concussions are really dangerous. It's clear she's worried he will get hurt but that she is biting her tongue because she wants to be supportive of him. It was also nice to see that even though his dad wanted him to have the same experience he had (playing football at ICC), he isn't a pushy football dad who is trying to live through his son.

* I am no prude. I swear a lot but listening to Coach Brown use some form of the word FUCK every other word makes me cringe with secondhand embarrassment. It's like listening to an adolescent who finally got the nerve to start swearing so 90% of his words are now swear words. He knows not to do that in front of non-football players so clearly he has the ability to have a conversation without 57 F bombs but apparently he thinks it makes him sound cool to say fuck all the time.

[4Sibes Redux]

23 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

* I am no prude. I swear a lot but listening to Coach Brown use some form of the word FUCK every other word makes me cringe with secondhand embarrassment

To paraphrase my favorite quote by Kurt Vonnegut *swearing gives people an excuse to ignore what life & death information you may be trying to deliver.*

I’ll be back, when I catch up. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S4.E4

High five to whichever player predicted in the first episode that Coach Brown would have Malik playing by the third game.

It's really embarrassing to see grown men acting like toddlers having temper tantrums. Whenever these huge fights break out, it's always interesting to see who runs straight towards it and who is trying to hold people back. I totally cracked up when tiny Raechel (the PT girl) grabbed two players and hauled them away, saying that she wasn't going to lose her job because they wanted to do something stupid.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I found Coach Brown's repeated use of the word pussy really unnecessary during his pep talks with the team. I mean, seriously, "Let's go get that motherfucking pussy"?

[4Sibes Redux]

Briefly I was “for” the Garden City coach. I think mostly because he wasn’t Indy’s coach. But then soon he actually was acting like a bigger ass.

Before the game began, I was embarrassed for humanity that Indy’s coach was yelling about the stadium smelling like “motherfucking pussy.” It didn’t offend me; it was just so stupid. 

And then at the end of his half time speech, he encouraged his players to finish the game so everyone could get pussy. 

I can’t remember which episode had this idiot bragging about how he’d gotten an email from a porn star who wanted to move in with him. 

I can show off my English degree again by paraphrasing a Shakespeare quote *Me thinks you have never been laid before.*

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, 4Sibes Redux said:

Before the game began, I was embarrassed for humanity that Indy’s coach was yelling about the stadium smelling like “motherfucking pussy.” It didn’t offend me; it was just so stupid. 

Same here. As I said before, as someone who swears, I am not a prude who clutches my pearl every time someone says "hell" or "damn it." I'm not offended by swearing but it's so embarrassing to watch a grown man (let alone a coach who is supposed to be mentoring students and molding them into men) speak the way Coach Brown does. It makes him sound even more ignorant and immature than he already does.

I rolled my eyes when he told the Garden City reporter who requested a pregame interview "you guys talk about me behind my back." You mean they write articles about you in their publications aka do the job they're paid to do?

[4Sibes Redux]

I really liked Heather Mydosh, the English instructor. I appreciated her demeanor and way she worked with KD and also described him to “us.” Probably as a result, I also really liked KD. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

S4.E5

Learning about Markiese's life made me so sad. His old coach taught him to play through his injuries which led to him insisting to Raechel that he was okay, even when he knew he had a concussion.

When Markiese talked about how the spacing for the letters of his sister's name weren't that great, I thought well, that's probably one of the reasons that 12 year old kids aren't supposed to get tattoos. They don't always have the best decision making skills or taste in graphic design.

The less said about JB, the better. I mean, feel free to keep complaining about him. I am just so tired of his petty immature attitude.

Was anyone surprised when the off screen interviewer told Malik that Coach Brown  told the entire team that he was bringing Malik back only to be on the practice squad and then Malik said that's not what Coach Brown told him? Shocking that he lied to the entire team! Hilarious that everyone saw through his big fat lie from the beginning though.

Also hilarious - Coach Brown saying that the reason they lost the Garden City game was because he had too much integrity to put Malik in for the entire game. Yes, he truly believes that they lost because of his integrity. Talk about delusional.

This week's opponent has been giving up 46 points per game, yet Indy somehow lost by 30 points. That really says a lot.

[4Sibes Redux]

I rewatched the Garden City game. The editors did a wonderful job of mixing everything that was going on throughout the whole game. I think it started with this game that I noticed shots of the ICC President looking unhappy/embarrassed. 

[SayMyName]

It is enjoyable to see coach B lose. Such an unlikable guy. As coaches say, you recruit your own problems. Everyone but the self proclaimed brilliant coach knew how the Malik situation would turn out.

So Ms P. has shirts with her face and saying now. TV changes everything.

The female trainer letting the receiver back in after obviously being concussed and out cold right in front of her is unforgivable. He couldn't squeeze her hand when asked and then a quick eye check and his word that he is fine is not good enough to let him back in.

The money spent on athletics in these community colleges is ridiculous. Having teams is fine but cutting the music programs that will actually benefit the community and local students to instead spend 600k on a practice field for a bunch of hired guns makes zero sense.

[Uncle JUICE]

Hey, I just realized this was back this week, so I watched up to the Garden City game. COuple of observations!

• Brown is a terrible human being and an awful role model for anyone, especially these kids. SAying "that field smells like pussy! let's go get that pussy motherfuckers!" is not how a grown up acts around young people. I wasn't a huge fan of the Garden City coach but I can absolutely not begrudge him for being a little over-exuberant in their win. He could have comported himself far more professionally, but compared to Brown wanting to apparently fight him on the field, he was basically Tom Landry.
• Brown's act of how aggravated he is by all the attention is absolutely hilarious. Does anyone believe that either (a) he's getting SOOOOO much attention when he's away from the show, he can't live a normal life! or (b) he doesn't live for the tiny attention he DOES get (like when the Garden City school paper called him for that interview)? Please. 
• He is a person who creates tee shirts for his staff with quotes on the back that are inane, artless, unimaginative and impact-free, and then credits HIMSELF WITH THE QUOTE on the back of the tee shirt. What level of asshole is this, it's like unprecedented.
• He actually tries to sell us on the idea he thinks it's great for his young 30-something year old coordinator, that coordinators wife and two daughters, to be living in a dorm suite on campus. He's like 'Shit, I'd do that if I could!' That is fucking misery dude. 
• The fucking radio announcer guy is an absolute loser. Maybe the least amount of perspective in the bunch, and that's saying a lot. At least the kids get to leave eventually. He thinks he's Keith Jackson of the Podunk Conference. 
• STOP SAYING WE'RE GOING TO GO WIN A NATTY. Fucking idiots.

It really does still make me sad to think these kids are laboring under the delusion they have a legitimate chance to make it to a D1 school. If you fuck up your D1 chance, you are now behind about 5 other kids for that spot. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

3 hours ago, Uncle JUICE said:

He actually tries to sell us on the idea he thinks it's great for his young 30-something year old coordinator, that coordinators wife and two daughters, to be living in a dorm suite on campus. He's like 'Shit, I'd do that if I could!'

OMG when he said that, I was shocked at the audacity of such a blatant lie (I don’t know why I was surprised since he’s told even more ridiculous lies than that one). If you think he’s sooooo lucky to be living in a cement dorm on campus, feel free to trade with him. He can stay in your house for free and you can go live in a concrete block. 

[4Sibes Redux]

11 hours ago, Uncle JUICE said:

Maybe the least amount of perspective in the bunch, and that's saying a lot.

The fact that he continued to call ICC “Dream U” spoke volumes about his lack of perspective. 

[Uncle JUICE]

7 hours ago, 4Sibes Redux said:

The fact that he continued to call ICC “Dream U” spoke volumes about his lack of perspective. 

My favorite part of this is that everyone in the show is trying to make this a phrase. I believe early on at one point that loser radio guy is like "well, now it's a household name, Dream U, and we've got a target on our backs!" Will. You. PLEASE. Are you talking about households strictly in Independence KS? Because generally, that terms means like "The U." "The Fighting Irish." "Crimson Tide." In other words, households around the country. Not around THE COUNTY. Asshole. 

I loved the radio show "LIVE" from the bar, where it was literally the announcer dumb ass, the coach, the bartender and some barfly. I wonder how many prank calls they get in one show. 

[Uncle JUICE]

16 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

OMG when he said that, I was shocked at the audacity of such a blatant lie (I don’t know why I was surprised since he’s told even more ridiculous lies than that one). 

You mean like "I've been contacted by porn stars"? Or "I care about getting these kids an educatoin?" "Academics is so important"? "I would rather coach at a 2 year school than a 4 year school?"

And please stop saying "This is not a two year process, people gotta remember, building something like this takes five years." Buddy, you're just angling for more seasons of this show. Give me a break.

[Uncle JUICE]

I wish the show showed more of the stands like it did in the first game of the season in season 4. Granted it was a road game, but there were literally more people on the field than in the stands by at least a 3:1 ratio. I want this place to stop pretending Juco ball is any bigger deal than it actually is, and those fans showed it. 

[4Sibes Redux]

I find it hard to believe that a small  town would care more about Juco football than its own high school team. 

[SayMyName]

It's hard to be Dream U when you are not in fact a university.

It is hard to believe that they had about 2 total scholarships. The majority of the football players can't afford it. I assumed they were almost all on scholarship. The throwing money at football makes sense if the majority of paying students are in fact football players. I think it's wrong and they are really using the players but now the colleges desire to try to become relevant in the football world makes sense.

The interview with the Garden City coach in the last episode was bizarre. So now he and coach B. are best friends and he has great respect for him? Wow.

I do hope they can have some success now. The other coaches seem like good people.

I am now happy that I will never hear about coach B. again.

I wonder if Last Chance U will be filming there again? If not, the school is going to lose a bunch of sponsor money. The ring company and Adidas will bail as soon as the cameras are off.

[SayMyName]

"Jason Brown, the former Independence Community College football coach, is facing eight felony counts for allegedly stealing the identity of a lawyer in an attempt to silence local newspapers.

Brown, who gained notoriety for being featured on the Netflix documentary series “Last Chance U,” is charged with four counts of blackmail, four counts of identity theft, all felonies, as well as two counts of criminal false communication, both misdemeanors. The Montgomery County Attorney’s Office filed charges Friday."

http://www.parsonssun.com/sports/article_1cb23fe8-9a0b-11e9-a18f-2769e5bc1d9e.html

[SayMyName]

But hey, at least he can hope the book sales pay for his attorney.

The book is titled Hate Me Now, Love Me Later. (Might I suggest changing the title to Hate Me Now, Love Me In Prison?)

"Earlier this month, Brown announced the title of his forthcoming book.

My book cover has been finalized! Stay tuned for release date! pic.twitter.com/pE1RGdKn1s

— Coach Jason Brown (@TheRealCoach_JB) June 14, 2019"

Edited July 27, 2019 by SayMyName
typo

[4Sibes Redux]

I’m watching “QB2: Beyond The Lights.” It’s nice seeing coaches who understand that leading a team is more than just saying “fuck.”

[Stan39]

Season 4 was interesting. It’s sad that so many people are essentially held hostage by coach Brown. When they interviewed the assistant coaches, you could tell they were measuring their words in case it came back to Coach B. Was surprised how much the president and athletic director coddled Coach Brown instead of trying to reign him in. I guess they just saw dollar signs. 

Speaking of which, I liked how this season dove into the complex issues of the CC and the town, what the residents think of the school and football team, and how Independence is struggling to survive. I could have watched more of that. Was also curious once they started talking about the fact these athletes don’t have scholarships. How does that work? They made it seem that players who got kicked off the team got bills and denied transcripts, almost shady?

Felt bad for the receiver who got kicked off the team the last week and then was trashed to other schools by Coach Brown. Maybe there’s another side to it, but that just seems extremely petty by Coach Brown. He’s a grown adult who will land another job, why go out of your way to ruin these kids chances for a future? Unless the kid had a serious problem, but then he should try to work with them. 

Instead, we found the “solution” to all of Coach Brown’s problems was just to fire/cut people. Surprised he didn’t start winning after that 🙄

Last thing, after everything I’m kind of surprised the “Hitler” remark got him fired. I say that because there’s a practice in an earlier episode where he says the same thing out loud “I’m gonna be your Hitler”. At the time I didn’t understand it, but now with context it makes sense. Obviously, it was something “funny” he thought up when he brought in a German player and said it regularly. 

I’m not a PC guy, but this coach needs sensitivity training or lessons in motivation. He has zero self awareness if he doesn’t understand why his players trash everything, don’t care, and are slobs. Hopefully his network of coaches dries up and nobody hires him because he can’t add any value. But, I’m sure somebody will hire him and he’ll do everything the same. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

FYI - there is one more episode in addition to the eight listed for S4 aka Indy: Part 2. I only saw it because I let episode 8 keep playing through the closing credits and the bonus episode automatically started playing. You can also access it by going to "trailers and more" and selecting Bonus: Where Are They Now: The Football Life." It's an hour long and gives updates on a few of the players. Brittany and some of the coaches discuss college football, the struggles that the student-athletes have, etc. It's definitely worth watching. It reminded me how much I loved Miss Brittany!

[Uncle JUICE]

3 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

FYI - there is one more episode in addition to the eight listed for S4 aka Indy: Part 2. I only saw it because I let episode 8 keep playing through the closing credits and the bonus episode automatically started playing. You can also access it by going to "trailers and more" and selecting Bonus: Where Are They Now: The Football Life." It's an hour long and gives updates on a few of the players. Brittany and some of the coaches discuss college football, the struggles that the student-athletes have, etc. It's definitely worth watching. It reminded me how much I loved Miss Brittany!

And if you watch really closely, when they talk to the Garden City coach toward the end, and they show off the various trophies and plaques he's apparently won (again, this is like being the fastest fat kid), one of them has the word COMMUNITY, you know, of the phrase "Community College," which is kind of important, spelled wrong on it. I'm not kidding. My wife spotted it. Communtiy. I'm not sure which I think is funnier:

• the person who made it misspelled it, then Garden City didn't check the proofs, Garden City took it and never noticed it to this day and Netflix subtly shaded them by capturing THAT specific trophy, or
• That coach got the trophy and said "eh, whatever, I don't give a shit, no one is ever going to see this trophy but me, it'll be in my office." BANG, on television.

No, it's the first one, that's funnier. 

[GoGamecox]

I thought it was interesting of the producers to show the pre-game and halftime "pussy" filled pregame and halftime speech and then cut to the team running out as the female AD is standing there alone by the field entrance. In my mind I thought if that I were her in that scene I would be so upset and disappointed in myself to see the juxtaposition of those scenes. There aren't a lot of female ADs in the field; she probably had to work her ass off to get that job. 

Edited August 6, 2019 by GoGamecox

[Stan39]

4 minutes ago, GoGamecox said:

I thought it was interesting of the producers to show the pre-game and halftime "pussy" filled pregame and halftime speech and then cut to the team running out as the female AD is standing there alone by the field entrance. In my mind I thought if that I were her in that scene I would be so upset and disappointed in myself to see the juxtaposition of those scenes. There aren't a lot of female ADs in the field; she probably had to work her ass off to get that job. 

Did you watch her the whole season? She’s a complete schill. She completely enables and coddles that coach and seems just as sleazy as he is. That one resident was right when he said the school sold its soul to the devil when it hired that coach. She and the president both should have lost their jobs for bringing in Brown and empowering him the way they did. 

[Uncle JUICE]

7 minutes ago, GoGamecox said:

I thought it was interesting of the producers to show the pre-game and halftime "pussy" filled pregame and halftime speech and then cut to the team running out as the female AD is standing there alone by the field entrance. In my mind I thought if that I were her in that scene I would be so upset and disappointed in myself to see the juxtaposition of those scenes. There aren't a lot of female ADs in the field; she probably had to work her ass off to get that job. 

I believe this was one of Tom Landry's halftime speeches, talking about how he smelled pussy and they should go out and 'get' said pussy. In all seriousness, who talks like this??? Is being a decent human being role model really that hard? SPoiler, it isn't. 

Fuck that AD. Enabler. 

Edited August 6, 2019 by Uncle JUICE

[ElectricBoogaloo]

What has really annoyed me is how JB's supporters brush off any complaints or inappropriate/unprofessional behavior as "she's just being Miley." They're completely willing to overlook what a pompous blowhard he is and ignore his pettiness, his vindictiveness, his short fuse, and everything else that makes him a terrible role model/mentor/leader for young student athletes as long as the team wins.

Even worse was seeing the sad state of the music room (which is shared with the choir and band) juxtaposed with the multimillion dollar stadium with brand new turf. I don't care if they're the last school in the conference to get a turf field or that JB got it at a discount because it was measured incorrectly for another stadium. This is where you really see the disparity in sports versus other activities.

At a D1 school, they can justify spending money on football because it brings in a lot of revenue from ticket sales, concessions, broadcast rights, etc. and that money can then fund football as well as other stuff on campus. But I don't know how a school like Indy justifies spending that much money on football when it's not going to bring in a millions of dollars every year.

[GoGamecox]

23 hours ago, Stan39 said:

Did you watch her the whole season? She’s a complete schill. She completely enables and coddles that coach and seems just as sleazy as he is. That one resident was right when he said the school sold its soul to the devil when it hired that coach. She and the president both should have lost their jobs for bringing in Brown and empowering him the way they did. 

I haven't finished the whole season yet. Didn't say I admired her -- I'm saying that it may be that the way that scene transition was set up could be a sobering wakeup call to her about her role in that whole mess.  I saw her as more complex than you all did -- someone who probably had to work her ass of in a male dominated field to get that job, and who probably desperately wanted to be part of a big winner (and a very popular Netflix show) and use that opportunity to catapult herself to an even better job/situation. Yes, Coach JB is a clear dick, but her situation is more grey than black and white, in my opinion. 

[Stan39]

1 hour ago, GoGamecox said:

I haven't finished the whole season yet. Didn't say I admired her -- I'm saying that it may be that the way that scene transition was set up could be a sobering wakeup call to her about her role in that whole mess.  I saw her as more complex than you all did -- someone who probably had to work her ass of in a male dominated field to get that job, and who probably desperately wanted to be part of a big winner (and a very popular Netflix show) and use that opportunity to catapult herself to an even better job/situation. Yes, Coach JB is a clear dick, but her situation is more grey than black and white, in my opinion. 

I don’t know. She reminds me of Kellyanne Conway. I don’t think she’s all that complicated. She doesn’t add nuance or thought in her talking head segments. She just grins and justifies everything JB does. Whatever her motivations are (money, power, fame) it’s pretty clear she’s just driven by greed

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

Just an FYI: Ronald Ollie was signed by the Oakland Raiders a month or two back, but was cut the second day of Training Camp. Why? He showed up overweight, then half-assed the first practice of camp, then left that practice early claiming his Achilles tendon was hurting, THEN never visited the trainer for treatment. His excuse was that nobody told him to go.

Defensive line coach Brentson Buckner read him the riot act, explaining this is the NFL where no one should have to tell you to go to the PT (Physical Training) staff if you can't finish a practice because of pain. He should have visited the trainer immediately after leaving the field.

However, head coach Jon Gruden overruled Buckner and cut him, deciding Ollie wasn't interested in putting in the necessary work. The Raiders signed a replacement lineman within a few hours and he was on the field the next day, wearing Ollie's old number.

Moral of the Story: Idiots will be idiots.

Second Moral of the Story: When you get a shot at your dream, don't get lazy: you can lose that shot just as fast as you got it.

If anyone's interested in watching what happened, it's documented in the first episode of this season's Hard Knocks on HBO.

Edited August 8, 2019 by Sir RaiderDuck OMS

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Mr. EB was just talking about what happened with Ollie the other day and I was imagining Miss Brittany's reaction to his boneheaded decisions.

[Racj82]

Here is the episode.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Last Chance U will move to Laney College in Oakland for S5

Quote

“We feel fortunate to be picked up for a fifth season and feel equally lucky to be able to tell the story of the California JUCO system through the stories found at Laney College and in the city of Oakland, California,” said Last Chance U director Greg Whiteley in an email. “Coach Beam has had a Hall of Fame career, and as he begins his 40th year coaching we’re thrilled at the chance we’ll get to tell the stories found on the team, the school, and within the city of Oakland itself."

After what happened to Independence in Season Four, it looks like we’ll be back to following a powerhouse program, like East Mississippi Community College in Seasons One and Two. Under Beam’s leadership, Laney has produced over 20 NFL players—not to mention the Eagles are coming off a championship season, as the 2018 CCCAA winners.

And thankfully, it looks like Coach Beam is the supportive type—a little more Lombardi than what we’ve seen in past seasons. The Mercury News, a daily newspaper based in San Jose, spoke with Beam, who recounted his first address in front of Netflix’s cameras to his 2019-2020 squad.

“I told them we’re not Last Chance U… We’re your first chance. We’re your Best Chance U,” he said. “I said you’re not [rejects]. All those kids from the other shows either left school, got kicked out from a four-year school or something. Well, that’s not us. You’re the kids who came here for a reason. To better your grades or better you football outlook. We’re your best chance.”

[Rlb8031]

On ‎7‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 5:40 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

S4.E2

I root for most of these kids to succeed, even after they do knuckleheaded things, which is why I was so disappointed in Bobby Bruce. Stealing stuff from a dorm room and getting kicked out was just such a stupid way to go. No, he probably wouldn't have gone on to play in the NFL but I was hoping that he would get to transfer, play a year or two more of football, and get his degree. Now he's going home with nothing. I hope he doesn't do anything stupid out of desperation to feed his baby.

I really felt for KD and Miss P. They clearly love Bobby and were disappointed in what he did but they didn't want to kick him while he was down.

Bobby Bruce self-sabotaged, out of fear. Home and everything negative that came with it is easy - he knows the rules and can navigate. Being a responsible adult with a long view is hard and scary. It was easy for him to go home because he had the excuse of the baby. But he, like Ollie and some of the ECU kids, wasn't mature enough to self-discipline, and no matter how much love he got from his teacher, he didn't believe in himself. Its sad because he probably won't understand or appreciate how impactful this one decision was until its too late.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

According to this review of the upcoming season, S5 will be the final season of Last Chance U. It premieres July 28. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I've only watched the first three episodes so far, but I am really enjoying the marked difference between this season and the others. I wonder if any of the players from the previous seasons will watch this and realize how much easier they had it (living in the dorms, having meals provided, not having to work) compared to these kids who are working shitty minimum wage fast food jobs, sleeping in their cars, watching their two kids while their wife is at work to support their family, driving two hours from Stockton just to get to practice, etc.

While there's still the requisite amount of swearing, it seems like there was a lot less than previous years.

Coach Beam has a noticeably different attitude than, say, Coach Brown. I liked that after the team lost, he approached every Laney player coming off the field and said positive things instead of screaming at them about what a bunch of fuckups they are. It's obvious that his priority is helping these kids as much as he can. He certainly doesn't have the obnoxious ego of Coach Brown who makes everything about himself. As someone mentioned, he's had offers to coach at bigger teams but he has stayed in Oakland for his entire 40 year career because he wants to help these kids.

Poor Dior. I can't blame him for not wanting to talk to his dad after being beaten and kicked out. I'm guessing that what bothers him more than even more than that was his dad forcing him off the football team his senior year so that he couldn't get any college offers. He took away a HUGE opportunity from his own son just to be a dick. When he said his chest hurt and Coach Beam called his therapist wife to help talk him down, I couldn't help but think what Coach Brown would have done in that situation (I'm guessing it would have been along the lines of telling him to stop being a fucking pussy and get out on the field).

[chabelisaywow]

I am glad the other students and the teacher recognized that the players are "pampered pussies." No other students receive as much help as the student athletes do.  How someone manages to plagiarize a paper and not receive any repercussions is beyond me. (HE LITERALLY JUST PUT HIS NAME ON SOMEONE ELSE'S PAPER)  Stanford received criticism for cutting a lot of their sports. Maybe this whole new world "normal" will be a start to ending all of it. Watching this show made me think - what is the use of educating these men who obviously could not be bothered. So Murray State is going to pay to educate Nu'u and support his family - for what? What will be become of Nu'u after he receives a degree from Murray State? Will he really be more prepared to do something than check receipts at WalMart?  He came across as very lazy and stupid.  I laughed out loud when he talked about putting his nuts on the opposing team's faces. He wanted to humiliate them in front of their "children." I am sure he's not the first - but do other junior college football players have children? He was clearly my least favorite story.

What separates Laney from the other seasons is not only that they do not pay for housing, etc.  At the very least the players are trying to get somewhere.  The other schools were made up athletes, that already squandered what was given to them. 

I admire Coach Beam - having been born and raised and in the Bay Area - I had never heard of him.  I didn't even know Laney had won any kind of championship.  Looking at his biographical information - I realize, this has no tie to the point of this show, but I wish they had mentioned his daughters.  They are very accomplished - the older one has athletic league ties and the younger one is a Stanford grad and has a masters and PhD from Northwestern. That is something to highlight and admire.  

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Wow, things really took a turn in episode 4. I never read The Mists of Avalon so I just learned about the Marion Zimmer Bradley/Walter Breem scandal last year and needless to say, I was AGHAST. At the time, I fell down a google rabbit hole and learned more than I ever wanted to know about them. I can only imagine how shocking it must have been for RJ to find out that his grandparents were so abusive.

Marion and Walter physically and sexually abused their daughter Moira (RJ's mother). Moira's brother Mark (formerly known as Patrick) corroborated her story and said that he was abused as well. Moira said that their older half brother David (Marion's son from her first marriage) was also abused but he died from heart failure in 2008 before Moira went public with the abuse allegations in 2014. Moira said that of her two parents, her father was far kinder because he was *only* a serial rapist (he first raped her when she was 5 years old) while her mother was also physically and emotionally abusive on top of the sexual abuse. Moira and Mark changed their last name to Greyland to distance themselves from their parents.

Some excerpts from Wikipedia:

Quote

In 2014, [Marion Zimmer Bradley]'s daughter, Moira Greyland, accused her of sexual abuse from the age of 3 to 12. In an email to The Guardian, Greyland said that she had not spoken out before because:

Quote

I thought that my mother's fans would be angry with me for saying anything against someone who had championed women's rights and made so many of them feel differently about themselves and their lives. I didn't want to hurt anyone she had helped, so I just kept my mouth shut.

Greyland also reported that she was not the only victim and that she was one of the people who reported her father, Walter H. Breen, for child molestation, for which he received multiple convictions. By her own admission, Bradley was aware of her husband's behavior although she chose not to report him.

In response to these allegations, on July 2, 2014, Victor Gollancz Ltd, the publisher of Bradley's digital backlist, began donating all income from the sales of Bradley's e-books to the charity Save the Children. Janni Lee Simner donated advances and royalties from her two Darkover short stories and, at the request of her husband, Larry Hammer, payment for his sale to Bradley's magazine, to the American anti-sexual assault organization Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.

Additionally, she enabled Breen (her husband at the time) to have access to and abuse multiple unrelated young boys, knowing he was a pedophile who was engaging in sexual contact with children as young as eight. She and her live-in female partner both admitted to knowledge of the abuse and purposefully avoided investigating, questioning and notifying any authorities. She even attempted to adopt a child that Breen was interested in sexually.

Grandpa Walter:

Quote

Breen also spent considerable time compiling information on the history of homosexuality and pederasty. His research, unprecedented in its extensive treatment of the history but not adhering to the standards of scholarly research, formed the basis for his 1964 book Greek Love, which he published under the pseudonym "J.Z. Eglinton". Breen collaborated with Warren Johansson in researching the book. He dedicated the book to his wife, Marion Zimmer Bradley, who edited it. He also published a journal, The International Journal of Greek Love, under the same pseudonym. As "Eglinton" Breen made an appearance and spoke at the founding convention of NAMBLA in 1978.

Breen was initially convicted of child molestation or lewd behavior in Atlantic City in 1954, resulting in a probationary sentence. During science fiction fandom's "Breendoggle" of 1963–1964, Breen was banned from attending Pacificon II and briefly blackballed from the subculture's main amateur press association after allegations of further sex crimes surfaced. Nevertheless, prominent fans of the era such as John Boardman, perhaps unaware of Breen's prior conviction, dismissed the allegations as hearsay and "character assassination," and the scandal blew over. Shortly thereafter, Breen married Bradley, who was cognizant of his behavior but chose not to report him. A further molestation conviction may have occurred in 1964.

Breen was again arrested on child molestation charges in 1990. He accepted a plea bargain, which resulted in three years' probation.

A year later, he was charged with eight felony counts of child molestation involving a 13-year-old boy. Though diagnosed with liver cancer in 1992, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He died in prison in Chino, California on April 27, 1993.

In 2014, Breen's daughter Moira Greyland revealed that she was one of the people who reported her father for child molestation

Although Walter was convicted, the case was linked to only one boy. Moira said that when she reported her father to the police she gave them the names of 22 children who she knew he had molested/raped.

Great aunt Diana, who RJ now lives with, is not a blood relative. Like Marion, Diana is an author. They cowrote some of the later Avalon books (after Marion's death, Diana took over the series). Diana's husband Don Studebaker (who writes under the name Jon de Cles) was unofficially adopted into the Zimmer family so Diana says she considered Marion to be her sister in law (Moira also considers Diana to be family - she refers to Diana's son Ian as her cousin). Diana and her family bought the Greyhaven house in 1971 and for a time, Marion's mother and Marion's younger brother Paul (and his wife and daughter) lived with them. Marion and her children never lived at Greyhaven, but Moira said that she and Mark often spent time there after school because it was close to their elementary school. They also spent holidays at Greyhaven and came over for weekly Sunday tea. Moira has explicitly stated that Diana did not know about the abuse.

Many years later, Mark had what Moira described as "poorly managed diabetes." Mark moved in with Moira but after he suffered two diabetic comas, she suggested that he move into Greyhaven due to the fact that she often traveled for work and she didn't want him to be home alone if his health failed. Mark died in 2019.

Moira is currently estranged from Diana because of more family scandal. Moira, who is a voice teacher, heard two of her students talking about Uncle Don (Diana's husband) sleeping with "his ex-boylover’s children" (Moira's words). She and her students reported this to the police. Diana, Don, and their son Ian took Don's side, as did Moira's brother (who said he had to take Ian's side). Moira said that the people at Greyhaven still defend her father too.

As scandalous as all of this is, I wish I could tell RJ that he has nothing to be ashamed of. He didn't do anything wrong and he wasn't involved in any of it. Everyone has relatives ranging from weird to unbelievably shitty, but it's not your fault if someone you're related to did terrible things.

But what RJ IS responsible for is running routes correctly. I've only watched five episodes and just as Coach Beam said, he keeps making the same mistake in practice. He keeps running to the sideline over and over. After the first few times, even I was yelling, "COME ON, RJ, DAMN IT!" And then he had the nerve to get mad that he wasn't getting put into the game. Well, if the coach can see that you're going to fuck up and run the same simple route incorrectly EVERY SINGLE TIME during practice, why should he put you in?

It's not surprising that his mom ended up getting involved with someone violent (abuse victims sometimes subconsciously don't believe they're worthy of love and end up with people who don't treat them well). I'm glad she left her husband when he abused RJ but I wonder just how much abuse was happening in their house before the straw that broke the camel's back when he was 5. And what kind of jerk father takes in one son but not another? RJ clearly has a lot weighing on him. I'm glad he has drawing as an outlet. I knew someone who grew up in an abusive household (nothing nearly as crazy as this family) and drawing was how he self soothed. He wasn't very good at it but it was a way to calm himself and forget about all the yelling and screaming.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

It was sad to hear how many of the boys had fathers who were addicts/in prison/simply abandoned them. I'm glad that Rezjohn and his brother were able to reconnect with their dad before he died, but it made me wonder if he only came back into their lives because they were playing football. I also wonder if he ever apologized for just not showing up so many times when they were kids. It's great that he finally started being a part of their lives, but that does NOT make up for being an absentee father when they were younger.

I was shaking my head over Dior's father claiming that he was concerned about his son needing to be taken care of and how he wanted him to go to college and play football. Where was that concern when he forced him off the football team his senior year in high school or when he kicked him out? I can't blame Dior for not wanting anything from his father after that. Part of me wishes that he wouldn't have been so quick to dismiss going to a college in California since he could get free tuition due to his dad being a vet. There are a lot of campuses so he could have moved pretty far away from his dad and still attended college for free. I totally get why he doesn't want to be beholden to his father, but it was an option worth considering. To be honest, I don't know exactly how the free tuition for a vet's kid works so if it requires his dad to provide certification every semester/academic year, I can understand Dior's reluctance to need that because there's no telling if his dad would hold that over his head (or even refuse to submit the paperwork if Dior didn't do XYZ).

[chabelisaywow]

Quote

Part of me wishes that he wouldn't have been so quick to dismiss going to a college in California since he could get free tuition due to his dad being a vet.

I felt that part of the story was bs.  To be eligible for cal vet "free" tuition - the vet in question has to be 100% disabled.  The dad looked like he was employed (wearing company shirt).  The other option is to be the dependent of a medal holder - maybe he falls under that category.  Regardless, if he was eligible, it would have covered his stay at Laney too. I think he just said that to try and "control" Dior.

[juno]

Just finished episode 5 in season 2. Some thoughts; some of the "stories" of the players/coaches are really not that interesting so I was fast forwarding through a lot. Bream seems to be a decent person (better than Brown and Buddy) but seems to enjoy reminding his players and everyone else every 10 minutes of his 40 years coaching and how awesome he is. His ego is getting tiresome and the stories are a bit more boring this year.

[Oregonrain]

I finally had a chance to watch this and enjoyed it. I graduated from Laney and proud to have done so. I was especially happy to see them smack DVC so hard.I went to both schools and hated DVC. DVC had a lot of upper income kids who only went to school because their parents made them do so. Laney had older students who chose to go there because they needed a change in their life. I was one of those people. In my early twenties, I partied and didn't take school seriously. I dropped out, worked for a while, and realized I had to go back in order to not have a life of dead end restaurant jobs. It is small and had limited resources but everybody wanted to be there from teachers to students.