PHOENIX — With Tostitos products as far as the eye can see, coverage of the Fiesta Bowl here in Arizona is off and running.
Monday is Media Day, held in a huge ballroom here at the Camelback Inn. Four or five marquee players from each team are given their own stage along one side of the room. Near the back, the head coaches sat at the largest stage, and all through the middle sat players at individual tables. The whole thing is a little overwhelming, especially for some players unaccustomed to the media attention. Then again, with teams this good, few players haven’t been cornered by a sports journalist at one point or another.
The coolest aspect is how laid-back everything is. Players got the chance to clown around and faux-interview each other. Oregon punter Jackson Rice was especially good at quizzing his teammates. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=204773841@@
By the end of it, I’m sure some players were sick of the standard questions — What do you think of Oregon’s uniforms?, What does this game mean to you?, etc.
I caught a good shot of junior defensive back Carl Miles ogling Oregon’s flashy helmets. He picked up the thing like it was buried treasure and mouthed “Wow” to me after setting it down. @@http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/_/id/483036/carl-miles-jr@@