HOOVER, Ala. - "...You never -- anybody that's a parent or want-to-be parent, you never catch a son, pitcher, or female fast-pitch softball pitcher in flip-flops. Let me take it back. Flip-flops and a can. Because when you sit on the can, you put your feet on the can, and it's an obvious position to be hit. So I broke two toes in my right foot catching her. So I went to Cuba, and Cuba is a communist country, and that was kind of the reason that I went."
Les Miles ladies and gentlemen...
I had watched LSU's football coach, erstwhile supreme entertainer, from afar many times, but Thursday provided me with my first glimpse of this inimitable man up close.
And, boy was it worth the trek to Hoover, Ala.
In a 32-minute appearance on the main podium at SEC Media Days, Miles rambled on about topics both hilarious (intentional or not is the question) and serious, and still managed to squeeze some information about his team in besides -- the Tigers have plenty of talent, including perhaps the best running back in the nation in Leonard Fournette (though a healthy Nick Chubb is certainly in that conversation).
They also hope for improved quarterback play from Brandon Harris.
"I think for a guy that's throwing for 2600 yards, 19 touchdowns in two years is kind of a nice position to be in going into the season," Miles said.
But it was everything else that made for a fascinating half hour.
Miles actually led his podium appearance in a serious tone, discussing the unsettling events around the nation and, in particular, Baton Rouge, where the death of Alton Sterling whilst engaged with police prompted outrage from citizens.
"If you look to see change and if you watch the representation of our country on live TV, you realize that change is necessary. And it comes through all of us, everybody in the room, certainly me. It's an inclusive," Miles said. "You reach for others. You need to be respectful of their life and their opinion and who they are. You need compassion for people. You build them up and you train them and you give them the best practices, and we change as a team and as a community and as a society.
"What I'd like to do is have them, our guys, have a platform where they could affect change. I think they're wonderful men. I think they're constantly involved in roles -- they're a student, they're a football player, they're role models. Society chases them. They want them at the party. They want them in front of the magazine. They want their autograph. And so then they're constantly barraged with what's the answer, what's the answer, what's the answer?
"And the reality of it is just hope to put them in the position to allow them to have the greatest possible impact, because they're our future."
Miles was also prompted to discuss the death of Sid Ortis, a Mountain Brook teen in Alabama, who lost a battle with cancer but had developed a very close relationship with the coach.
But even amidst the earnestness, Miles' zany side could not help but escape -- as the flip-flop comments revealed.
Miles also joked that as the new "dean of SEC coaches" thanks to his 12 years in charge in Baton Rouge, maybe he should get a new wardrobe.
"I think really being called a dean, I should probably get like a robe, right, and maybe a hat that maybe sits to the side and maybe my hanging cloth could be, you know, kind of dressed up some," Miles joked. "That would be nice."
There was also this exchange with one reporter:
QUESTION: Coach, you talked about Brandon Harris. You also got guys like Malachi Dupré and Travin Dural in the offense for a while. Can we expect to see the offense open up a little bit this offseason?
COACH MILES: (Aside) Did you get that? I didn't get it. Now, it may well be that I didn't listen hard enough. So, if you'd like give me a little bit more space in between your words, it would help me a little bit. Okay? I am really listening hard.
Q: All right. Coach, you got guys like Malachi Dupré and Travin Dural who have a little more years in offense --
COACH MILES: Are you talking about Travin Dural --
Q: Travin Dural and Malachi Dupré.
COACH MILES: Okay. Got you.
Q: And Brandon Harris. Should we expect the offense to open up a little more this season?
COACH MILES: Open up a little more this season. Good. I didn't mean to -- you know, this was nothing personal. I was just trying to get to it, and the -- I think we could expect more from our quarterback play and our receiver play.
The reporter in the spotlight could not help -- like all of us -- to laugh at the situation.
And in light of Miles earlier comments, and the hard news facing our nation and world, it is a relief most appreciated and very much worth taking in.
We sometimes lose sight of the fact that, after all, it is still a game -- and it is a better game in the SEC when Miles is around.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/7/423094/opinion-miles-zaniness-worth-its-weight-in-gold-and-purple