The Displaced Trojan

Game Day: Oregon State 2008

2008-09-25T08:01:00.004-04:00

Wait a minute … it’s game day today? With all the stupid stuff going on, not to mention the fools continuing to make fools of themselves, it's easy to lose track.

I forgot it was a short week, until Beano sent me a little reminder. It was a handwritten letter – Beano doesn’t type – which made it a little hard to read. But apparently he is very excited that USC will again be featured on national prime time television for a game that promises to require many shots of the sideline in order to keep viewers entertained during the second half.

Here’s what I could decipher from Beano's note:

Dear Mr. Displaced Trojan,

May I remind you that your Trojans of USC are scheduled to play a football game against the Oregon State Beavers on ESPN tomorrow night? As tomorrow is Thursday, I am very excited to know that the Song Girls will be in attendance. I’m hoping for a blowout, which would ensure maximum sideline coverage. You know, I live for this stuff, so I’m hoping you will post some good stuff, if you understand my meaning.

Sincerely,

Your Friend Beano

So, there you have it. Thursday night. USC Football with all the trimmings. Have fun with it, Beano.

Fight On! Beat the Beavers!

Game Week: Reality Update

2008-09-23T08:01:00.001-04:00

I know we're back in game week mode, but I can't help but be entertained by the "nation" and its musings about reality. Reality this ... Reality that ... Reality there, there and there … the "nation" is indeed attempting to soothe its wound – this open, bleeding, puss-filled gash – that is ucla’s 2008 football season. And as a Trojan enjoying yet another year of football greatness, Slick Rick’s “believers” are an amusing sideshow.

I know, I know. There is plenty of other stupid stuff to entertain Trojan fans.

But there’s something about the "nation" falling all over itself in an attempt to validate Slick Rick in the face of 59-0 – that’s fifty-nine-to-NOTHING. The way they squirm while trying to protect what they think is a football heritage – with a twisted “I told you so” delusional validation – is incredibly funny. For example, we get this from Nestor:

… the “optimistic” projection for our first three games was a record of 1-2 while 0-3 was the “conservative” one. […] I think it is becoming clear to everyone at this point that the appropriate measuring stick to judge whether this season is a successful one is not going to be based on W-L record.

LOL. Success “not … based on win-loss record”? What’s so funny is this comes from someone who claims to “deplore moral victories.” Of course, anyone who isn’t biting reality – that is, anyone not part of the “nation” – recognizes this for what it is. Just like our old friend Tydides:

If you believe that what happened today [59-0] is a result of something that we did or did not do, then yes, these are excuses. If you believe that what happened is a result of what BYU did and didn’t do, then these are just realities that we have to accept.

I think it’s easier for Bruin fans to believe the former, because at least that way we have a chance at “fixing” it and still having a great season. The reality is some mixture of both …

Now that’s profound. But, of course, it comes down to that pesky win-loss thing.

Sure, it points to a higher probability of a lesser season by W-L standards, but as has been said many times, I do not judge this season on Wins and Losses.

Right. Let’s forget about wins and losses. Perhaps, if this “nation” tells itself that it just doesn’t matter and “I told you so” over and over and over, it might lower expectations just enough to convince the rest of college football to subscribe to its delusions. But everyone knows this kind of “strategery” only works in the movies.

BTW, what's with all the names from Greek mythology at the "nation"? Menelaus, Telemachus. Tydides. Nestor. Are USC Trojans supposed to be intimidated by the names of mythological characters who defeated the fictional Trojans in the Iliad? It seems ironic – not to mention idiotic and sad in a D&D geek kind of way – that the "nation" uses fiction to get their digs on USC. Why use a name based on anti-Trojan sentiment, when they could just as easily create monikers that express allegiance to ucla? Why can't they just use their real names? But I digress …

Those of us who are actually dealing with (and enjoying) reality – rather than just talking about a biased version of it – are seeing signs that there are very few people buying what the “nation” and, more significantly, what Slick Rick is selling. We saw it earlier this year with the No. 1 recruit in the nation, and we saw it again this past week. Greg Biggins of ESPN’s West Recruiting Blog, gives us the kind of reality the “nation” doesn’t want to hear:

The "soft" commitment from Inglewood (Calif.) receiver Shaquelle Evans to USC is huge on several fronts. Not only are the Trojans getting one of the elite receivers in the West, it puts a dagger in to the heart of their cross-town rivals at UCLA.

Evans, 6-1, 205 pounds, told us just a few weeks ago UCLA was the leader for his signature. He grew up a Bruins fan and the coaches at UCLA were making Evans their top offensive recruit. While USC is loaded at receiver, the Bruins have lacked a big-play threat at the position for years and Evans was/is really the only elite national receiver they're currently in on.

Things changed dramatically with Evans following USC's demolition of Ohio State last weekend. The talented athlete was on the sidelines for the game, and the fact that the big win coincided with UCLA losing to BYU 59-0 pushed the Trojans over the top.

If you don’t think 59-0 – that’s fifty-nine-to-NOTHING – is something that can be explained away by a bunch of “I told you so” blog posts, you’re not paying attention to reality. We're talking about the actual reality, as opposed to the “nation” reality. Sure, Evans’s commitment is “soft,” but as Biggins points out …

… it's difficult to envision Evans signing with anyone else other than USC. The receiver has developed a relationship with several of the Trojans commitments, including quarterback Matt Barkley. He said he likes the idea of staying close to home and the team on the field appears to be rolling toward yet another BCS Bowl.

The irony is as good as Evans is, USC has several players just like him on the roster plus two other big-time receiver prospects already committed. For UCLA, Evans would have made its class.

Now we're not saying Pete Carroll and company recruited Evans just to keep him away from UCLA. We are saying the impact of his commitment to USC could have a greater impact on the Bruins than the Trojans in just how damaging it is in their desire to end the recruiting monopoly in Los Angeles Troy currently owns.

Now that’s what I call reality! We Are SC!

Fight On!

Bye Week: Speaking of Reality

2008-09-17T12:41:00.007-04:00

As we’ve mentioned here before, a bye week is a respite from the hype and anticipation of a regular game week. It also allows us to thoroughly enjoy the previous week’s win, and there is certainly much to enjoy coming off our domination of Ohio State.

Over the last few days we’ve had the pleasure of reading and hearing about the confirmed greatness of USC Football … how this year’s team could be Pete Carroll’s best, how our talent runs so ridiculously deep, how Mark Sanchez is a leading Heisman candidate, etc., etc.

Honestly, it gets kind of boring after a while. Not that we take anything for granted, but the greatness of USC Football is something we’ve been enjoying for years now – Win Forever – and there does come a point when it all starts to sound the same.

So, we remind ourselves that a bye week is also good for catching up on what’s happening on the other side of the tracks. Again, we must always remember to know thy enemy.

Now, I’m not pretending that we didn’t notice how ucla was stripped of its manhood during a 59-0 – that’s fifty-nine-to-NOTHING – reality check by the Mormons in Provo. How could we not?

But we didn’t bother to thoroughly investigate the details of 59-0 – that’s fifty-nine-to-NOTHING. And we certainly haven’t bothered to enjoy – that is, laugh and point at – all the PR spin and attempts to insult our intelligence during the post-game back-tracking from Slick Rick and the “nation” per Murshed. We haven’t taken the time, while basking in our own post-game glow, to notice the fools making fools of themselves again … until now.

The thing is, the funny stuff written about all the stupid stuff was easy to spot. No need to make up a catchy line or a play on Slick Rick’s words coming back to make him look silly. Chris Foster of our beloved Los Angeles Times did it for us:

Relentlessly optimistic ran into harsh reality Saturday.

There may come a day when the football monopoly in Los Angeles is over, but for now UCLA has enough trouble passing "Go."

An embarrassing 59-0 loss to Brigham Young was a big indication of that, and left first-year Coach Rick Neuheisel offering up his favorite catch phrase in a different light.

"We're going to test 'relentlessly optimistic,' " Neuheisel said after UCLA's worst loss since 1929. "But we knew it would be tested."

It was Saturday.

Tested and failed.

Ouch … or rather, LOL. Of course ucla’s even worse loss in 1929 was a 76-0 annihilation by USC. But I digress …

Notice the words “we knew” in that quote from Slick Rick. They “knew” this kind of thing – that’s fifty-nine-to-NOTHING – would happen. Just ask Nestor at the “nation.” He’ll tell you all about what ucla “knew” until he’s baby blue in the face, as if “knowing” ucla was going to get beat 59-0 – that’s fifty-nine-to-NOTHING – somehow lessens the disgrace.

We talked about the doses of reality we were going to have to deal with this year during the off season with a team with two injured QBs, a ravaged OL and an inexperienced defense with new starters sprinkled all over its lineup.

Oh, and did I mention all the excuses that apparently go along with “knowing” you’re going to be humiliated 59-0 – that’s fifty-nine-to-NOTHING – when you’re a member of the “nation”? But, I digress …

It’s not a surprise that we took one in the chin. […] This will be not be the last time we are going to take it in the chin either. There will be lot more tough moments rest of this season.

“This will be not be”? Anyway, it is obvious Nestor is trying to rally the “nation” to believe in its football program … I mean, brace for more embarrassment and disgraceful outcomes this season. That’s fine with me.

What I don’t get is how the “best coaching staff in America” allows 59-0 – that’s fifty-nine-to-NOTHING – to happen on their watch. It would be one thing if DeWayne Walker struggled during a 59-42 barn burner. And it would be somewhat understandable if Trader Chow offensively coordinated a close 17-13 defeat. But to get beat down to the point of humiliation on both sides of the ball – for Walker to allow five (5) TDs in the 2nd quarter and for Chow to put up a pathetic goose egg – well, I would hate to see what the second best coaching staff in the country can do ... or can't do, as it were.

All I know is, our man Pete Carroll lost by more than 11 points only once – 27-16 to the Domers during his first season in 2001 – the only double-digit defeat during his tenure.

That’s the reality of USC Football. We’re No. 1.

Meanwhile, we’ll let the “nation” and Slick Rick talk about filling a “passion bucket” and remaining “relentlessly optimistic” in order to declare that this “monopoly is over.” And, we’ll occasionally remind ourselves of the public promises “the best coaching staff in the United States” has made:

Know thy enemy.

We Are SC!

Post-Game: Ohio State 2008

2008-09-16T09:33:00.002-04:00

I work with this guy who grew up in Columbus, OH, but didn’t bother to go to “the” Ohio State University. He’s a graduate of one of those little eastern schools with a name that sounds like all the others – you know, Williams or Hamilton or Middlebury or Leland. Of course, Leland isn’t a real school but the fictional place where Alex P. Keaton went off to college after growing up in Columbus. Of course, Columbus is a real place, but we can’t be sure about the college football team that plays there. It can be kind of confusing sometimes when reality is mixed with fiction. But I digress …

Even through my colleague went to a school in the northeast, he remains an ardent Buckeye fan. So, early last week he offered to bet me on last Saturday’s game.

“I know the Buckeyes are 10-point underdogs, but I want to make this a straight up bet, because I know we’re gonna win,” he told me. Of course, I respected his delusional allegiance to Ohio State, but more than anything I didn’t have the heart to tell him it really didn’t matter what he thought.

“Sure,” I said, because I was, in fact, sure of the outcome. “What are you thinking in terms of stakes?” I figured he could come up with whatever it was he was going to pay, since there was no risk to me. It only seemed fair.

“Well,” he said, “how about the loser has to wear the jersey of the winner for week.”

“OK.”

“And, you have to wear a hat of the other team,”

By “you” I figured he meant him, of course. So, again I said, “OK.”

He continued, “And you have to sing the other team’s fight song.”

“Sounds good. I’ll take that bet. Anything else?”

“Hmmm. And the jersey needs to be two sizes too small.”

Now, this guy is not a small guy, and since I’m not one to intentionally embarrass my work colleagues undeservedly, I thought I’d try to let him off the hook a bit.

“Are you sure you want to bet all this?” I asked earnestly.

“Absolutely,” he said with a knowing chuckle. “My wife has an OSU jersey that will look great on you.”

I laughed along as I began to realize that this bozo actually believed Ohio State would … not just could, but would … win the game. So, I decided to take the gloves off just a little.

“You know, on second thought, I think we should raise the stakes a bit,” I said. “I won’t enjoy hearing you butcher USC’s fight song, so why don’t we decide that the loser has to sing the fight song of their hated rival.”

“Oh, that’s a great suggestion,” said the sucker … I mean, my colleague.

Of course, we all know what happened Saturday. And I’m sure many in the Trojan Family enjoyed the spoils of friendly office bets similar to mine. It was great to see my broken colleague (right*) singing in honor of USC in front of the whole office: “Hail to the Victor.”

Indeed, it’s fun when reality – that is, the current greatness of USC Football – is mixed with the fiction of our opponents’ delusional self-confidence. For us there is no confusion, whatsoever … We Are SC!

* Buckeye's face obscured to protect whatever dignity he has left.

Game Day: Ohio State 2008

2008-09-13T16:18:00.007-04:00

Too much hype. Too much talk. There’s nothing left to it but to do it. Beanie or no Beanie, it doesn’t matter.

We are SC!

Win Forever!

Who Says 'To Hell' These Days?

2008-09-11T21:54:00.004-04:00

This is a great week. Not only is USC at the center of the college football universe leading into our “biggest game of the season,” but people are saying stupid stuff all over the nation, which of course I find inspiring.

Sure, we’ve already seen some really stupid stuff before this week, but you tend to appreciate it more when the stupid stuff comes from a hated, albeit respected enemy.

Again, we’ve been away for a while, so I’ll clarify the Displaced take … USC has two primary enemies: Notre Dame, which is hated but deserves a level of respect, and ucla, which is hated and deserves no respect, at all. But I digress …

Not only is Charlie Weis (above) still struggling to figure out this head coaching thing, he remains clueless about how to keep his foot out of his mouth. It’s bad enough that his reputation as an offensive genius is turning out to be merely offensive to Domer fans, but his messed up sense of humor is dragging the Domers down further.

The AP serves up the backstory and the ensuing stupidity:

[Weis] was talking about his expectations for this season, saying his team would make a statement in its opening game against San Diego State.

"Then we'll listen to Michigan have all their excuses as they come running in and saying how they have a new coaching staff and there's changes. To hell with Michigan.” …

Weis said he knew his comment would come up this week. ...

"Anyone who is a Michigan fan should know and understand that that comment pays respect to Bo and his mentality versus when playing an opponent," he said. "So take it for what it's worth. But I think that's a very respectful comment toward Coach Bo's 'To hell with Notre Dame.'"

Actually, anyone who is a college coach should know that Michigan’s players (who weren’t more than four years old when Schembechler retired after the 1990 Rose Bowl) couldn’t care less about the Crew Cut’s historical tribute. “To hell with Michigan!” That’s all they’ll hear.

So, I have to ask: How can this stupid stuff continue to happen after more than three years? I ask only because I want USC’s wins over the Domers to mean something again. We can’t have our storied rivalry be tarnished like this by a loud mouth who does so little (three wins) with so much talent.

I can hear my anonymous Domer friend now … “To hell with Charlie Weis!” he says.

Anyway, I can’t wait until Saturday, and I’m hoping against all hope that Beanie Wells will play. We want no excuses.

Speaking of Beanies, I got a note from Beano this week. He said he noticed that we were posting here again and that Thursdays weren’t the same for him while we were out.

I apologized for the long break and said, “Well, Beano ... We’re Back!”

Beano’s response? “That’s awesome. To hell with Scott Wolf!”

Win Forever!

Southern Inferiority Complex: 2008 Edition

2008-09-10T10:23:00.009-04:00

This college football season is not yet three weeks old, and already we see the Southern Inferiority Complex emerging from yet another highly-ranked SEC team. I guess the whining and crying, while beating up on 1-AA programs, isn’t exclusive to Tommy Tuberville and Les Miles. Mark Richt is getting into the act, as well.

Again, we’ve been away a while, so let’s review:

The Southern Inferiority Complex is a second cousin to the Domer Hype Machine, which is of course closely related to the east coast bias. Together these three subversive movements make up the larger Axis of East Coast Bias. But, I digress …

Apparently stunned and feeling under-appreciated in the wake of Georgia’s fall to No. 2 – following its home field 45-21 practice game versus Georgia Southern, and in comparison to USC’s road win at Virginia – Richt began monitoring SportCenter highlights looking for reasons to blame others, in case the Bulldogs do not fulfill their “destiny.”

Andrew Dasher of UGASports.com gives us the scoop:

Running back Knowshon Moreno was a hot topic of conversation during this week's teleconference with Georgia coach Mark Richt.

Moreno's 18 carry, 168-yard, three-touchdown effort in Saturday's 56-17 win over Central Michigan obviously wowed the sellout crowd at Sanford Stadium, but it was his hurdle of Chippewa safety Vince Agnew to complete a 29-yard run that dropped jaws.

OK. Let’s stop it right here. Who the hell is Knowshon Moreno? And, more importantly, who are the Central Michigan Chippewas? Oh, that’s right. They’re another no-name school against which Craig Sheppard could complete a “three-touchdown effort.” Who is Craig Sheppard? Exactly. But, I digress …

It was a play that Georgia fans will no doubt be talking about for quite a while, but it was one that many in the country watching ESPN did not get to see except for a brief glance during a quick preview of the Bulldogs highlights to come following a commercial break. Knowshon Moreno's hop over Vince Agnew wasn't the highlight fans thought it should be.

When the network did its Top 10 plays, Moreno's highlight was not included. Richt was asked about the omission.

"I think they missed the boat or didn't do their homework or something," Richt said. "Normally they do a good job with that, so it looks like somebody would have noticed that. It didn't make their highlights, but it's going to make ours for a long time."

A representative from ESPN's local online affiliate claimed that FOX did not put the highlight in its highlight package to other networks.

"You're kidding me," Richt said. "OK, so you're throwing FOX under the bus. I threw you under the bus now you're throwing FOX under the bus. That's the way it works."

If anybody should be thrown under any bus (figuratively, of course), it’s Richt. Who does he think he is … Roone Arledge? Perhaps if he did his “homework or something” he’d knowshon that much of the sports media knowshons that hurdling a Chippewa is hardly a challenge. Try hurdling this … or this … or this … then we’ll talk about highlights.

And while you’re at it, try doing it more than once, in a big game, against a rival program, on national primetime television. Then maybe we’ll all see Georgia’s highlights on ESPN, and we’ll knowshon who Knowshon is.

Until then, Richt should concentrate on the task at hand, rather than trying to make a mountain out of a Chippewa. Trust us, we know.

Beat the Buckeyes!

Ohio State Week: Transferring Hate

2008-09-10T00:25:00.006-04:00

Like everyone else, I can’t wait for this Saturday’s game. I can’t wait to see USC on college football’s center stage in prime time, once again. I can’t wait to see how well our man Pete Carroll has prepared the Trojans for a classic match-up against an iconic program.

Still, I also can’t help but feel like something is missing this week. Maybe it’s the feeling that Ohio State won’t be bringing its best without a fully healthy Beanie Wells (above). Maybe it’s the Buckeyes’ lackluster win over Ohio last Saturday, and their slide in the rankings to No. 5. Maybe it’s the 10-point spread that tells us the magically accurate experts in Vegas feel the same way.

The thought crosses my mind that perhaps this isn’t the supreme challenge we all thought it would be … and that scares me. USC can’t afford to think Ohio State isn’t anything but “the” Ohio State.

Then again, what the hell do I know? According to Paul Peszko of the Bleacher Report, any hint of complacency among the Trojan Family was erased when Slick Rick and Trader Chow out-coached Rocky Top's Phil Fulmer – I know, that’s not saying much – in Pasadena last Saturday night. Here’s Peszko’s take:

Last week, Ohio State lost any psychological advantage they could possibly muster when UCLA came back in the second half to knock off Tennessee in OT, 27-24.

Even though USC was named No. 1 in both polls, they were no longer the media darlings of L.A. football. All week long, it has been a continuous procession of UCLA Bruins before the media.

The usual hype over USC’s 52-7 pasting of Virginia and the rise to No. 1 has been eclipsed by the media’s fascination with a team given up for dead pulling off the upset of Week One. …

For the Trojans, the game with Ohio State is not a springboard to a National Championship. It is not even to maintain their ranking at the top of the polls. It is not to show that the Pac-10 is better than the Big Ten. It is not even to prove that Trojans are better than Ohio State.

For the Trojans, the game with Ohio State is much, much bigger than all that. This game is for one thing and one thing only: to take back the City of Angels.

Hmmm. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I think Peszko is on to something. As I watched Slick Rick’s “relentless optimism” – a.k.a., the classless behavior that will no doubt lead to his third set of violations sometime during this, his third head coaching job – I began to feel the proper hate that fuels the motivation it will take to beat the Buckeyes.

If allowing ucla and its Slick Rick to get under our skin a little bit gives us an edge this Saturday, that’s fine with me. I’m in.

Fight On!

Ohio State Week: It's a Matter of Class

2008-09-09T00:11:00.005-04:00

I love it when people talk trash. It's part of what makes sports in this country so great. Anyone can say anything they want, but it all comes down to performance on the field. And more times than most, when someone talks trash to the USC Trojans, we make them pay.

Just ask DeShaun Jackson, a Displaced favorite whose considerable athletic gifts on the field were surpassed by the speed of his mouth ... until we shut him up on the field, twice.

So, while much of the hype-makers were quick to jump on Ray Small (above) for his words of "wisdom" following "the" Ohio State's "dismantling" of the Ohio Bobcats last Saturday, it's all old news to us.

To review, in case you haven't seen Small's words on the bulletin board inside Heritage Hall:

As I took my visit to USC, I'm like, 'How are they successful? They're not even serious about the game.' Before the game, they're all going crazy. Me and [Buckeyes defensive end] Rob Rose was on the visit and I'm looking like, 'Wow.' And then the coach said, 'You better get out of here. It's 'bout to get hectic.'

And then I come [to Ohio State] on the visit and before the game, it's all quiet, everybody getting taped, coaches talking. It's the total opposite. ...

It's more of a class thing ... Here at Ohio State, they teach you to be a better man. There, it's just all about football.

How is USC successful? This is how we do it, Ray. We read books about tennis! Of course, this can be a bit puzzling to those who mistake conventional wisdom and sweater vests for "class."

Still, I suppose Small is right about one thing: USC is certainly a different kind of football program. Small will find this out first hand on Saturday afternoon.

We are SC!

Once Again ... We're No. 1!

2008-09-07T16:48:00.010-04:00

And now for our second "displaced" act ...

Back to No. 1 where we belong?! As any true, 21st century Trojan Football fan knows, the only polls that matter, during the only week that matters, are the ones at the end of the season that get us into the BCS Championship Game. But the fact remains that it is indeed more fun when we're No. 1.

It's even more fun when USC Football takes over the top spot after thoroughly dominating a team from a BCS conference on its home field, while the Ohio State university -- that's "thuh," not "thee" -- and Georgia beat up on 1-AA teams.

Perhaps it will be all-time fun in a few weeks, if/when we take over the No. 1 spot for being No. 1 more than any other program in the land. Certainly, being No. 1 was easy fun this past Saturday, as we enjoyed an extra week to prepare for the Buckeyes.

That said, we here have a particularly good feeling about being No. 1 this season. The last time USC opened the year on the east coast against a team from Virginia, the Trojans won a national championship in Miami adjacent. We'll see what happens this coming Saturday and in the weeks to come, but we'll go ahead and say it now ... I'm feelin' some No. 1 fun come January in south Florida.

If it happens, I can link back to this post and say, "I told you so!" And, if not, I can always erase the link like our revisionist friend Murshed "Nestor" Zaheed. It's gonna be a fun ride, regardless.

Fight On!

Slick Rick Gets Tricked

2008-01-24T22:03:00.000-05:00

So, Matt Barkley - the No. 1 recruit for the class of 2009 and the first junior ever to be named National Gatorade Player of the Year - announced his commitment to USC last night. I suppose this latest recruiting coup by our man Pete Carroll sets our world straight after all the angst Traitor Chow seemed to be causing this week.

But the take here is that Barkley's commitment sheds new light on a few quotes sprinkled throughout the Traitor Chow coverage - quotes from "experts" that were like flies on Traveler's ass, until Barkley made his commitment public.

The best example is Bill Plaschke's over-reaction to Slick Rick's moves since becoming head PR guy at ucla. With Murshed "Nestor" Zaheed and the "nation" of idiots masturbating over our used goods, Plaschke (who has been among Murshed's enemy journalists at the Times) waxed unpoetically about how Slick Rick is more than just a liar executing "cheap parlor tricks."

Plaschke quoted sources to provide insight into how college football recruiting works, and to suggest that perhaps the Three Stooges (aka Slick Rick, Trader Chow and Dwayne "One Trick" Walker) would now be the "it" thing for five-star high school players.

"Norm Chow has just looked USC in the eye and said, 'Here we come,' " said Steve Clarkson, local quarterback guru. ...

"A kid like that is looking for the best opportunity to get him to the NFL," Clarkson said. "Norm Chow gives him that." ...

"Kids no longer go to the school that they rooted for as a kid, they look at it like a business," said Clarkson, whose celebrated quarterback academy has helped spawn three current NFL starters. "And to say that Norm Chow won't make a difference is to make a serious error in judgment."

If you don't know Steve Clarkson, he is the private quarterback instructor who worked with Matt Leinart. He also tutored Jimmy Clausen, and some "experts" thought he steered Clausen away from USC and toward Notre Dame, following an argument with Pete Carroll at USC's "Pro Day" in 2006. Clarkson has been working with Barkley, so reading the quotes above, you could see how the "nation" of idiots might begin to think that Slick Rick's tricks have already won six straight Pac-10 titles, three Heisman Trophies, five BCS bowls, and two MNCs.

Add to that this quote in Plaschke's piece from Bruce Rollinson, Barkley's head coach at Mater Dei:

"We tell our athletes, marry yourself to your future position coach, that's the guy you'll live with. And now, if you're a quarterback going to UCLA, you're getting the real deal."

Hmmm. If Barkley's personal QB coach and the head coach of his high school are saying things like that, you'd think Traitor Chow would be a lock to put the kid in powder blue. But it turns out that Clarkson and Rollins were pulling a fast one to protect a secret.

Said Clarkson in today's Times: "(Barkley has) had a silent commitment (to USC) since last October. It was a decision he felt good about but never announced until now."

I love it. While Barkley was touring ucla during an unofficial visit with Slick Rick over the weekend, Clarkson and Rollins were getting slick with Slick Rick, with the "nation" of idiots following along.

Now, when Barkley recruits his 2009 classmates to come to USC he can tell them that he's heard Slick Rick's lies and b.s. up close and in person. He can tell them that he could hardly stop himself from throwing up (or laughing out loud) while in enemy territory, knowing that he was, is and will forever be a member of the Trojan Family.

And if you don't think Pete Carroll wasn't having a little chuckle about all this - and a little "this is how we do it" high-five with Ken Norton and Steve Sarkisian - then you don't think like a true Trojan ... and, apparently, you don't think like Matt Barkley.

Congratulations, Matt! Fight On!

UCLA’s “100” Championships

2007-05-18T01:10:00.000-04:00

I thought I could make it to August without a single Displaced post. I was content to slumber through March and April without a care during Florida’s run to another basketball championship, not to mention USC’s Sweet 16 showing. I was thinking I could let USC Spring Football and the NFL Draft slide by as I continued my rest until the Trojans begin another season atop the college football world. But, I was wrong …

Instead, the “nation” and its fearless (read shameless) leader Mr. Zaheed … I mean, “Nestor” … thought they could make a big deal out of ugla supposedly winning its 100th national collegiate championship in a team sport.

At least two things struck me about this.

First, ugla won its “100th” championship in women’s water polo. That’s right, women’s water polo. Like many of its other championships -- 22 in men’s and women’s volleyball, 16 in men’s tennis -- the “nation” stakes claim to a “national” title in a secondary sport that no one really cares about.

However, since we here know enough to give credit where credit is due, a “national championship” as recognized by the NCAA is, in fact, a national championship. So, we’ll give the Lady Bruins water polo team as much as they deserve.

That said, what also struck me about all this was how -- in typically hypocritical and convenient ignorance -- “Nestor” and his “nation” forgot the fact that this win by the ugla women’s water polo team was actually the 101st time an ugla team had raised a “national” championship trophy.

As “Nestor” continues to post disparaging, biased remarks about the integrity of USC Football, he somehow forgets that ugla’s softball team was actually stripped of the national title it “won” in 1995. This for enrolling a ringer -- named Tanya Harding (above), of all scandalous monikers -- for one half season and one academic quarter, which she never finished. “A lack of institutional control” was how the NCAA officially described it.

Not only was the ugla softball team stripped of its title, it was also stripped of scholarships, placed on probation for three years and disallowed from playing in the 1997 post-season.

We’re not talking about alleged violations, about which the coaching staff or the school knew nothing. These are violations proven as fact, which resulted in near-death penalty punishment of a celebrated ugla sports team.

Typically, all this happened in 1995, while “Nestor” was a student at ugla. Just another example of the master of selective memory and hypocrisy at work. Speaking of work, what does “Nestor” do for a living? Does anybody know?

Anyway, I wouldn’t have had to write this post had anyone else remembered in any significant way that the 1995 UCLA softball team was, in fact, a fraud and a lousy bunch of cheaters.

But, perhaps this Displaced Trojan was never meant to sleep through three straight months. Maybe it’s time to get ready for the 2007 USC Football season. So much for the summer slumber …
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Song Girl Natalie Says: Farewell

2007-02-22T23:59:00.000-05:00

WeAreSC.com does a nice job conducting what it calls “exit interviews” with outgoing senior football players. I like reading them because they help fill time between Signing Day and Spring Football, while also confirming that current student-athletes are learning what it means to be part of the Trojan Family.

However ... WeAreSC took a detour yesterday to interview (so to speak) Natalie Nelson about her thoughts (so to speak) regarding her career as a USC Song Girl. It was titled: “Exit Interview: Natalie.”

Of course, Beano read the article and cried. Me? I just about fell asleep.

No disrespect to the interviewer David Chung, but this is the fluffiest fluff piece that has ever been fluffed. In fact, the piece is so fluffy that Chung never mentions Nelson’s last name, as if she’s some sort of character in a reality TV show.

Not that we should expect much in the way of hard hitting issues here, but Chung could have asked Nelson at least a few questions that incorporate the words "bad timing” or “wedgy” ... just to keep things interesting.

After all, Nelson has been the quintessential (if not stereotypical) USC Song Girl for the last couple of years. She’s been a co-captain of the squad. She dated a captain of the football team, linebacker Dallas Sartz. She’s the daughter of Song Girl coach Lori Nelson. She's performed through injuries. She was on the cover of Los Angeles Magazine (left), and she’s posed toward the center of most Song Girl group photos, because -- let’s be honest -- she’s a strikingly beautiful blond who looks great in a Song Girl sweater and skirt.

However ... she is also responsible for this, ...

... and she is the inspiration for this ...

... and this, ...

... which subsequently led to these, ...

... the production of this, ...

... and the over-exposure (so to speak) of this ...

Not to mention her attendance in Senora Ross’s “Spanish III” class.

Yes, we know Nelson isn’t directly responsible for the “wedgy,” but she certainly set the precedent for the college football blogger geek frenzy that resulted from it.

Of course, we’re not complaining about this stuff. We always laugh with the Song Girls, not at them. So, again, you’d think Chung could ask at least one question that doesn’t read like a double pompom over the head waving thing (so to speak).

Instead, to her credit, Nelson mentioned her “bad timing” in response to Chung’s 31st fluffy question. This created the only part of the Q&A worth reading:

WEARESC: What are the toughest parts of being a Song Girl and what will you take out of it after you leave USC?

NN: One of the toughest things was definitely the Photoshopping. It was hard to see myself that way because none of the referees hands are up and I’m just there trying to get the crowd pumped up because everyone in the stands was nervous we were going to lose because they were right in front of us. What’s disappointing for me is that I really know football, maybe even more than anyone on the squad. I’ve grown up around football and I know the sport. It was hard because I know the sport and the picture was just taken at the wrong place, wrong time, and then Photoshopped.

“Photoshopped.” It almost makes you feel sorry for Nelson, if not for her other answers about focusing on a modeling career, doing charity work -- and anything else she might have said before I fell asleep -- all of which tells us that she’ll never have to hold down a real job … ever.

“Such is the life” (as Nestor puts it) of a infamous USC Song Girl. Just another thing to make the jealous “nation” more jealous … and bring Beano to tears.

Fight On!
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USC Hockey: It's All Fun and Games ...

2007-02-22T00:31:00.000-05:00

Part of the fun of writing a blog is pointing out stupid stuff. Of course, it's funny when that stuff is perpetrated by the domers or the bruins. But, we’re by no means above (or below) mentioning any funny/stupid stuff that happens within the Trojan Family.

Take the curious case of USC hockey goalie Mickey Meyer. I say “curious” not because “USC” and “hockey” seem to form an oxymoron, but because Meyer, apparently playing out some sort of Slap Shot fantasy, decided it would be funny, if not appropriate, to show his bare ass to everyone during a 6-4 loss to BYU.

Now, if you’re in shock upon hearing this, you’re not alone … I too had no idea that USC had a hockey team. Turns out the “Ice Trojans” have their own Web site, play in the hockey Pac-8, and have won the league championship two years running. In fact, USC Hockey has won seven Pac-8 Championships, including four in a row, 2000-2003. But, I digress …

For an account of Meyer’s behavior there is a second-hand report from the AP or Utah’s Herald-Journal:

Mickey Meyer, the Trojan’s starting goalie, pulled his hockey pants down and exposed his buttocks during the final period of an afternoon game against BYU, according to reports.

Meyer, a junior from Clinton, N.Y., was ejected from the regional tournament game and cited by police. North Park Police Sgt. John Italasano said the County Attorney’s Office will now decide whether to criminally prosecute Meyer.

“To be honest with you, I really don’t know (why I did it),” he said. “I had my fill of these refs. ... I thought I’d take a little more control on our side.”

Of course, this stupid stuff is tailor-made for a site like Deadspin, which came through with a nice take.

Meyer is also the goalie who stopped a puck with his head in a 5-3 win over UCLA on Jan. 19. The Trojans play in the Pac-8 Conference, which they won this year, and from what we understand each player is required to put up more than $1,000 of his own money to participate. So we think Mickey earned his little moment.

Surprisingly (or not), ugla “nation” regular “Menelaus” chimed in, jumping at the chance to make some hay. But he, like Deadspin, missed the opportunity to point out the truly funny and/or disgustingly embarrassing element of Meyer’s stunt.

Thanks to the Sports Column blog, which took the time to read through comments left on the Herald-Journal post, we get this:

While the antics might have played well in Socal […] the folks in Utah are upset over the incident. Here is the last reader comment from the article:
“I've read a few of the comments since I explained that my little girls were shocked by what he did. When he "mooned" us, he showed us more than his behind (every one who was there knows what I mean). We're going to make sure that he is prosecuted and that he pays for what he did.”
Yikes. On everyone's parts.

Now, that’s offensive, inappropriate and something to be embarrassed about. Leave it up to us to point this out to the likes of “Menelaus” … but what the hell? We’re talking about freakin’ hockey … club-sport hockey … at USC.

As Allen Iverson says, “We talkin’ about [USC Hockey], man. I mean, how silly is that? … We talkin’ about [hockey], man. What are we talkin’ about, [USC Hockey]?

Fight On!

UPDATE: Ramona Shelburne of the L.A. Daily News adds this: "After Meyer skated off, he was replaced by - no joke - Matt Buttweiler."
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The Jealous "nation" Attacks

2007-02-21T09:28:00.000-05:00

As we’ve said here before, it’s funny when fools make fools of themselves, but perhaps it’s even funnier when they simmer in their own jealousy for everyone on the internets to see.

Apparently, it wasn’t enough last week for the “nation” to criticize its own amateur student “journalists.” They had to attack a sports writer from USC, as well. The difference being Arash Markazi is a professional journalist for SI.com, and he was writing about the emergence of USC “basketball.”

As usual, whenever anything threatens to expose its blind paranoia, the "nation" takes offense.

Never mind that Markazi is one of many, many journalists to notice the “Trojan Uprising” in hoops, the ever articulate “Tydides” decided to jump all over Markazi, accusing him of writing a biased piece.

There's another trOJan apologist on the loose, and he needs to be set straight.

As some of us are aware, SI.com's Arash Markaz is a trOJan alumnus, so it should come as no surprise that he is doing his best to turn lemons into lemonade, doing what he and his school does best: spin. […]

It's embarrassing that these writers try to devalue the only aspect of the game that truly matters: the final score.

As we all know, everyone is entitled to an opinion … but for the ugla “nation” this only applies when the opinion is in line with Nestor’s internal reality. But, I digress …

Actually, the most embarrassing part of the post by "Tydides" is classic “nation” stuff -- you know, the fool making a fool of himself sort of thing -- the kind of moronic humor that can only be delivered through the ironic hypocrisy that occurs at the “nation” on a daily basis. Quoting Markazi, our buddy “Tydides” writes:

Seriously, our conference is full of morons, from Marcus the Mouth, all the way to these two trOJan jackass (to borrow a term from N) "surrender monkeys".
"That's having more of a winning mentality," says Aaron [sic] Afflalo. "We know we have to do what we need to do to win a game."
The name's ARRON, Jackass [sic] Markaz. He's a Wooden award finalist, and probable favorite for Pac 10 POY. But his words are the bottom line. We know how to win a game. SUC does not. Spin that.

The funny part? While “Tydides” is attacking “Markaz” for spelling Arron Afflalo’s name incorrectly -- although one could argue that Afflalo misspells his first name every time he writes it – "Tydides" is also showing himself to be the fool he is by misspelling Markazi’s name … all this in a single five-word sentence.

Really, you can’t make this stuff up. It’s almost unbelievable, and yet it’s right there in the blogosphere for all to see. Sure, “Tydides” might tell us that misspelling Markazi’s name was intentional, but we know he’s not that smart. He even misuses a parenthetical “sic” in an apparent attempt to add sarcasm to his tired name calling. Pathetic.

Why all the hate for Markazi? Pure bruin jealousy is the guess here. Not only is Markazi free to write articles about his alma mater for a major publication and get paid for it, he also leads the kind of life the “nation” can only dream about.

We know this because the “nation” continually attempts to convince itself that ugla is “cool” by posting photos suggesting that bruins (even a sorry juggler) get “mad action,” as Nestor puts it. An example is a picture of Lorenzo “Pretty Boy” Mata sitting poolside among women with a certain “don’t-touch-me” body language

Again, we’ll let the “nation” speak for itself:

Yes this is our Mata. The Dude is so money. And look at him. He knows it:
Such is the life of a Ben Ball warrior.

Look at Mata, indeed. The “nation” gives a hat tip to Insomniac’s Lounge, which has a slightly different take on the poolside Mata. Regardless, if this is Nestor’s idea of “action” … well, who knows what kind of life the “nation” leads?

USC on the other hand has a full photo spread of the Trojan Marching Band with SI swimsuit models who aren’t afraid to touch them, in the most popular magazine issue of the year, no less.

And it wasn’t just a band geek thing. Back in August, when the Swimsuit photos were shot at USC, Markazi chronicled his “action,” as Nestor calls it, for SI.com. AOL’s Fanhouse over the weekend reminded us of Markazi’s account of the shoot.

Having graduated from USC two years ago and being the lone Trojan in the group of about a dozen photographers, assistants, make-up artists and editors, I lead the crew down from The Standard to campus, still somewhat surprised that there will be an SI Swimsuit shoot a few feet away from Chano's Drive Inn and the 901 Club as I drove down Figueroa Street. […]

There are probably a laundry list of reasons why hanging out with models is good way of passing the time (I highly recommend it if you have the means).

Obviously, Markazi has the means … or rather the luck. Either way, the point here is that if hanging out and taking photos with hot women is the measure of cool, USC has ugla beat, hands down. We know this criteria is trivial, but we’re not the ones overcompensating for shortcomings. We know it’s all fun and games.

Nevertheless, “such is the life,” as Nestor phrased it, of USC Band geeks and a graduate of the USC journalism program. Of course this, combined with the national attention of the “Trojan Uprising” in hoops, doesn’t sit well with the “nation,” which explains its attack on Markazi. (Note the correct spelling).

We know thy enemy … and they’re just so jealous.

Fight On!
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The ucla bruin Instinct

2007-02-20T08:12:00.000-05:00

As we’ve stated here before, it is important to know thy enemy. Of course, this doesn’t mean that we must always engage in debate with our enemies, especially when they don’t want any.

But, we should know what they’re up to at all times, if for no other reason than the comedic value and general entertainment it provides us. Besides, you never know when they'll do something stupid, however frequently that may be.

Such is the case with the bruin “nation,” which continues to show a proclivity for attacking its own.

As it turns out, this ugla instinct is true to the nature of actual bruin bears, which -- according to at least one hunting Web site -- attack their own in the wild as a way of “population control.” An entry on “Calling and Hunting Bears” tells us that "adult male bears will kill cubs if given the chance ..." But, I digress …

Sure, we’re used to seeing the “nation” personally attack its head football coach and anyone else (especially fellow bruins) who don’t subscribe to its narrow points of view. But, last week, Nestor -- no, I will not post his real name again -- and his clan decided to attack a young bruin cub named Ben Azar, an ugla student who writes for the Daily Bruin.

Azar’s offense? He dared to disagree with dumpdorrell.com:

The dumpdorrell.com Web site has criticized Dorrell for every reason imaginable, including poor in-game coaching, failure to take responsibility, inability to recruit and insincerity. It makes some ridiculously baseless, LaRouche-like assertions that should serve as red flags to the people that actually put stock in the Web site. One assertion that really has me chuckling is that the assistant coaches that have left have mostly been forced out by Dorrell, who is using them as scapegoats to deflect responsibility from his “horrible” beginning as a head coach.

It won’t happen, but let’s say this movement actually got what it wanted and a new head coach was hired for this season. How ludicrous would it be to implement a new system and revamp the whole program in a season where they are prepared to be an elite team? It would make a rebuilding year out of what should be a great year for the program.

True to their nature, the bruin “nation” and dumpdorrell.com sought to discredit Azar -- as if an amateur journalist for the ugla student newspaper requires discrediting -- by pointing out and inflating the kid’s questionable reference to Lyndon Larouche.

The assclowns over at Daily Bootlickers are now comparing Dorrell critics over at DD to a known anti-semite and fascist. […]

That is, of course, just uncalled for on the part of these amateuer [sic] idiots at the Daily Bootlicker. Keep in mind though that this is not something new coming out from this so-called joke of a sports section from UCLA's student newspaper.

This from Nestor, who thought it appropriate to compare the buzz about USC “basketball” to opinions about the Iraq War and weapons of mass destruction. As much as Nestor protests the Larouche reference, perhaps the hullabaloo over the "accusation" is designed to distract from the other adjectives Azar used to accurately describe the dumpdorrell "movement": "ridiculously baseless" ... "red flags" ... "has me chuckling" ..."ludicrous."

Not to be outdone, dumpdorrell.com gives us this “not at all verbatim” account of its “conversation” with the Daily Bruin editor Jeff Schenck, during which “dd” professes not to care what Azar thinks … in the midst of demonstrating just how much “dd” cares what Azar thinks.

DD: Will you be printing a retraction or an apology for the piece?
JS: No.
DD: Why not?
JS: It was Ben’s column and Ben’s opinion and we don’t think he called you guys racist.
DD: We don’t care what he thinks about us. Anything printed in the DB reflects on the community. He equated us and critics of Dorrell with a nazi racist criminal. You don’t think LaRouche is racist?
JS: Ben never made that equation. You are reading into that. He said your arguments were like LaRouche’s arguments, silly and extremist.

Clearly, it's the Daily Bruin that couldn't care less what dumpdorrell.com thinks. Nevertheless, the “not verbatim” dialogue continues in a “silly and extremist” manner.

JS: We are sorry if you are offended but we don’t agree with you.
DD: It’s not about us, we could care less what the DB and Ben Azar think about us. Its the larger community that we are concerned about, and allowing this poisonous perception to exist is wrong.
JS: We are sorry if you feel that way. But it is Ben’s opinion and his piece.

As Nestor says, “this is not something new.” The “nation” also has been harassing another bruin student “journalist” named David Woods.

Apparently miffed that Woods wrote a piece criticizing ugla coach Ben Howland, Nestor went all Mike Krzyewski on Woods, comparing Woods to the great Bill Plaschke.

It's pretty clear that this student version of Bill Plaschke is as clueless about the sport as the one the Trojan Times subjects us to every week. […]

The clown ought to look at himself in the mirror, and he would discover that he is not capable of writing a concise, well thought out sports column.

Of course, we’re not above commenting on a student reporter’s bad journalism occasionally, but while it’s one thing to criticize a young student for writing something that the “nation” considers stupid (that is, anything that doesn’t fall in line with Nestor’s narrow point of view), it’s another thing to label Woods an “assclown” in a sincere attempt to embarrass the poor kid. True to form, Nestor goes even further, calling for Woods’ proverbial head:

If you want to write Daily Bruin about this idiot, I'd suggest you contact/email Daily Bruin's Editor-in-Chief Jeff Schenck at jschenck@media.ucla.edu (and at editor@media.ucla.edu). In addition, email sports editor Bobby Gordon at bgordon@media.ucla.edu. Fill up their email boxes folks.

It is just embarrassing that a "senior" sports writer of the student newspaper of the best public university in the country, featuring one of the greatest athletic program in college sports, can write such a misinformed, ignorant article on its hallmark sports program. Time to let them know how they have become a joke. Perhaps they can be chastened before they move on to real jobs. Maybe this could be a wake up call for them before they completely evolve into (it may be too late) the Bill Plaschke of next generation.

Now that’s what an alumni network is all about! LOL.

Of course, like Pavlov’s dogs, the usual suspects followed, led by typically abusive comments from our friend “Tydides”:

I've said it before and I'll say it again: David Woods is an embarrassment to UCLA. I hope he reads BN. I'd like to direct this comment at him: Find A New Career Path. […]

I'll say this right now: Howland did a much better job as a basketball coach last night than Woods did as a writer. […]

Adding his two pennies, “bluestreet” describes Woods as “a shitty sports writer who is clearly asking the wrong questions.”

Geez. It seems like common sense that a head coach of an esteemed basketball program would do a “much better job” at his profession, relative to an aspiring student sports writer … that is, an amateur without benefit of an actual journalism program!

Of course, USC Trojans don’t have these issues … one, because the Daily Trojan is produced by students who attend a real journalism school and who write articles even the ugla "nation" deems "intellectually honest" and "brutally accurate" … two, because we would rather support members of the Trojan Family, particularly our young student journalists, rather than kill them off.

Then again, perhaps we shouldn’t be so hard on these bruins and this “population control” their supposed “nation” employs. It’s all instinct for them, after all.

Fight On!
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USC Song Girls Are Lovely, But ...

2007-02-15T08:44:00.000-05:00

So, it’s Thursday, and while Beano may be expecting the usual twirl, today we’re going pro. Turns out Sports Illustrated paid a visit to USC recently to take a few photos of the Trojan Marching Band for SI’s 2007 Swimsuit Issue.

Who's to say why the photo editors at SI decided to combine skinny (albeit beautiful, bikini-clad) women with gee ky (albeit lucky as hell) USC Band members … on FieldTurf, no less.

But who are we to wonder about such things?

We ...
Are ...
SC!
We ...
Are ...
SC!

Fight On!.

USC Football: Better Than It's Ever Been Done?

2007-02-13T14:58:00.000-05:00

A funny thing occurred to me last night as I posted a take (on Conquest Chronicles) about the latest in a string of “controversies” to threaten the reputation of USC Football …

I’m getting tired of this crap.

Certainly, I understand it all comes with the territory. I know that unprecedented success on the field and on the recruiting trail, in a major metropolitan market with no NFL team, has created a “perfect storm” of heightened media attention and acute scrutiny of USC.

No doubt, I understand the fact that high-profile athletes and successful college sports programs are primary targets for muckraking journalists, jealous rivals and other gold-digging elements.

But this supposed residue of USC’s college football greatness is starting to wear the Teflon of success a little too thin for my taste.

I know that Hershel Dennis and Mark Sanchez were exon erated of sexual assault. I know Rey Maualuga has taken anger management courses and did community service to pay for his outbursts during a tough time in his life. I know Dwayne Jarrett catching a break on rent from Matt Leinart’s father was really a small issue in the overall scheme of things.

But after a while, this crap starts to become a burden.

Really, I understand that the NCAA won’t come close to proving that USC knew or should have known anything about Reggie Bush and his idiotic family’s dealings with crooked sports agents. I know that phone records will prove that Pete Carroll never set up a conference call between Bush and No. 1 recruit Joe McKnight.

But I have to ask … when is this crap going to stop? However alleged, non-factual, inaccurate, unwarranted, and flat-out-stupid it might be … is all of this completely out of our control?

Even if we can explain it all away with common sense scenarios, absence of fact, and third-party validation, we still have to acknowledge this crap and deal with it.

No doubt, I know that USC Football will emerge unscathed from all of this, and our national championship trophies are safe in Heritage Hall. I know there is every reason to believe that we will be adding more hardware to our historic collection.

But how many measured statements out of Tim Tessalone’s crisis communications handbook do we have to hear on our way to another BCS bowl game? How much fuel do we have to give the “nation” of hate and the inferiority-complexed south, while we defend another No. 1 ranking?

Don’t get me wrong. I believe in our man Carroll. I believe in his unique approach and his player's-coach style and the evolved philosophy that has brought unprecedented success to USC Football. I believe in the Magic Tennis Book!

But, I also know that Carroll's stated mission is to "do things better than it's ever been done before." I know it’s difficult, maybe even unrealistic. As Caroll has also said, “That stuff, it is kind of nasty. You just don't know where it's coming from and people are out to get you. It can get kind of hard.”

But if USC Football is to get there, if we really do believe as true Trojans that we will do this better than it’s ever been done before, we should acknowledge that perhaps we are falling short of that mission today.

It’s a noble thing for Carroll to aim higher than mere mortals. And we embrace the opportunity and added responsibility to transcend the common pattern of other highly successful programs like Miami … or Notre Dame … or U.C.L.A. Really, no disrespect to other college programs -- again, it’s tough -- but we think we can do better.

After all … We Are SC! Now, more than ever, this should mean something to us.

So, rather than explain away these minor issues with our common sense and the reassurances of non-haters, perhaps it’s time to ask our man Carroll -- however unfair it may be -- when will we stop having to deal with all this stuff in the first place?

Maybe it’s time to tell him we’re getting tired of this crap.

Fight On!

NOTE: There is a very slightly "cleaner," guest-blogger version of this post on CC.
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Designing Keyshawn Johnson

2007-02-09T08:50:00.000-05:00

Ever since the 1995 season – the lone bright spot of the second John Robinson era – we’ve known Keyshawn Johnson is a true Trojan. The stories about Keyshawn growing up around the USC campus and serving as a ball boy for the Trojans during the Marcus Allen and Ronnie Lott years is the stuff of Trojan Family lore.

Say what you want about his mouth, his book, or his run-in with John Gruden … Keyshawn walks the walk.

Besides, wouldn’t any proper Trojan have issues with a Notre Dame-loving supposed genius coach, whose only claim to fame is winning a Super Bowl with Tony Dungy’s players? The contrived “Chucky” facial expressions and pseudo tough-guy mannerisms would drive any self-respecting player nuts. But, I digress …

As we should all know, Keyshawn won the 1996 Rose Bowl for USC (despite horrific play-calling by then USC offensive coordinator Mike Riley) and for that, Key will always get every benefit of the doubt from me. The thing is the man deserves props, regardless.

Keyshawn has always been more than just a football player. In fact, relative to other bozos, he’s a freakin’ renaissance man.

For starters, Keyshawn graduated from USC with a degree in history, and upon receiving his first pay check from the Jets -- after they took him first overall in the ’96 draft -- he opened a successful restaurant in Beverly Hills. He’s done all the standard charity/scholarship fund/community work in L.A. and the cities where he’s played (New York, Tampa, Dallas, Charlotte), but he’s also made a point of improving and maturing as a person.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the piece the Los Angeles Times ran yesterday about Keyshawn’s interest and flat out sophisticated know-how in the design of his various homes and other real estate.

"When you're an athlete, most people think you don't know or care anything about design," Johnson says. "That's like saying all actors are on drugs and crazy."

Having invested in spec homes and decorated personal residences in New York, Florida, North Carolina and multiple spots in L.A. since he went pro in 1996, Johnson has become as confident in a furniture showroom as he is on the gridiron. He developed an interest in design when he first became a homeowner, he says, and life experiences have since shaped his tastes.

"I've stayed in some of the best hotels in the world. I read House & Garden and Casa Vogue," says Johnson, adding that he's a fan of Fendi's and Armani Casa's home collections. "I spend hours at Hennessy + Ingalls in Santa Monica looking at architecture books like some weirdo."

Richard Landry, a Los Angeles architect working on a mansion for Johnson in Calabasas, refers to his client as not just an athlete but an aesthete and an entrepreneur, one who has a solid understanding of how design can enrich lives and bank accounts.

"Keyshawn can actually read architectural plans and see the finished work," Landry says. "He strikes me as a guy with a vision who is open to the process."

Other athletes may invest in cars, clothes and diamonds, but Johnson has developed a real estate portfolio — and acquired a hands-on education in design along the way.

Who knew back when Keyshawn was shagging footballs for Marcus and Ronnie that he’d turn out to be this fine example of a 21st century aesthete "metrosexual" dude … so to speak? As Key himself once said, “Talk about your damn Rudy stories!”

Sure, the ugla "nation" might call this a fluff piece initiated by Keyshawn’s PR team (which it is) but what’s wrong with that? It’s not like anyone wants to read a feature about the linoleum and Ikea entertainment center Cade McNown chose for his double-wide trailer in Hollister.

So, we end with the inevitable: Just give Keyshawn the damn ... wallpaper ... or color palette ... or whatever it is designers use for designing stuff! And, Fight On!

We Are SC!
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ESPN Loves USC

2007-02-08T11:43:00.000-05:00

Word out here near Bristol, Conn., is that ESPN.com wasn’t about to have a CBS-affiliated SEC school named No. 1 in recruiting yesterday … at least not without a fight.

So, the World Wide Leader -- perhaps with help from Beano Cook -- stacked the deck for its favorite ABC/ESPN-affiliated Pac-10 school (aka conference TV ratings darling USC Football), conveniently placing Trojan signees Joe McKnight, Chris Galippo and Mark Tyler at the very top of its ESPN 150 player ranking.

The result? Yet another top recruiting class secured for our man Pete Carroll. Of course, as we anticipated yesterday, Rivals and Scout have USC’s 2007 class ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. But who are we to argue with the World Wide Leader?

Just another No. 1 to add to the USC collection. Indeed the future is bright. Thanks, Beano …

We Are SC!
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USC Signing Day Update: McKnight is a Trojan

2007-02-07T14:21:00.000-05:00

Depending on who you talk to Joe McKnight is the top-ranked running back in the nation. Catching him on video, he runs more like Adrian Peterson than Reggie Bush. Either way, there's no doubt he looks great in cardinal and gold.

Welcome to the Trojan Family, Joe.

Fight On!

UPDATE: Bring it on, Dan Wetzel ... you stinkin' Yahoo!
UPDATE II (2/9/07): I thought this sounded funny:

McKnight said he was not at all worried about the prospect that USC may be penalized because of an investigation of whether Reggie Bush or his parents took improper payments from agents while Bush was playing there.

McKnight said USC coach Pete Carroll set up a conference call so he and Curtis could talk to Bush and ease their worries that USC might wind up under sanctions.

Not good.

USC Football Recruiting: Quality is No. 1

2007-02-07T09:45:00.000-05:00

If you take a look at the rankings for college football recruiting today, you probably won’t see USC Football ranked No. 1. But don’t fret.

USC’s recruiting class of 2007 is all about quality, and on that scale we’re looking like an undisputed champ. Based on projected commitments (as of 9:45 EST this morning) the incoming Trojans have the highest average “star rating” -- based rival.com’s one to five scale -- at 4.25. The next highest is Florida at 3.88, followed by Texas at 3.75. No other school has an average above 4.00.

Looking at it another way, USC will welcome five-star players at virtually every position, including studs ranked at or near the top at defensive tackle, defensive end, linebacker, safety, cornerback, running back, quarterback, offensive tackle, and center

But for whatever reason, USC doesn’t have as many scholarships to award this year, compared to other schools ranked among the Top 10 in recruiting.

Scout.com, Rivals.com and any other measure of the best recruiting classes, all take into account quantity as well as quality, which explains the “disadvantage” USC is facing this year in terms of overall ranking. In fact, Florida, the projected recruiting No. 1, has at least 10 more scholarships for the 2007 class than USC, for example.

No matter. Having less scholarships to give means that the Trojans remain stockpiled with the talent our man Pete Carroll assembled over the last four years. It means that USC’s very young team in 2006 is maturing and ready to start the 2007 season as the pre-season No. 1. And, it means we’re welcoming athletes who have supreme belief in themselves, kids who are willing to compete on Howard Jones Field with the best this game has to offer.

Of course, top-10 recruiting classes are no guarantee for success, but as Dennis Dodd of CBS Sportsline points out, it certainly helps.

CBS SportsLine.com went back to 2002 and added up rankings of the top classes from Rivals.com and Scout.com through 2007 (as of Tuesday). Each year the No. 1 class got 10 points, No. 2, got nine points, etc.

Not surprisingly, the list is topped by Southern California. Since 2002 (Pete Carroll's second year), the Trojans have had six of the 12 No. 1 recruiting classes. They had consensus Rivals/Scout No. 1s in 2004 and 2006.

It isn't even close. During that time period, no coach or program has done more with its recruits than USC, which has a record five straight Pac-10 titles, five BCS bowls and two national championships (and played for another).

The other nine teams combined for three national championships, 13 conference titles and 18 BCS bowls since 2002.

Proof again that Carroll is college football's reigning alpha male when it comes to recruiting. Yes, I know: Water is also wet and the sky is blue. USC already is everybody's preseason No. 1 (on the field) in '07.

Dodd also quotes Steve Sarkisian, who provides a little insight into what gives USC a recruiting edge … and perhaps why he chose to remain a Trojan, rather than become a Raider.

"One is [Carroll’s] energy," USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian said. “He’s not afraid to get on the road and recruit. He wants the kids to see him. No. 2, it's our history of playing freshman players. It's not just talk. Not only are guys playing, they're playing significantly. Those are the two areas where it really stands out."

In one three-year period (2003-05) Carroll bragged of playing 40 true freshmen. How many teams have done that? The same amount that developed one Heisman winner (Carson Palmer) and recruited two others (Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush) in a five-year period. […]

Nothing fazes Carroll […] He has lost Heisman winners and All-Americans only to replace them with more Heisman winners and All-Americans. […]

Nothing stops Carroll, not even turnover. Only two coaches remain from his original staff. He has gone through three offensive coordinators and produced three head coaches off his staff. The Trojans went 11-2 and won the Rose Bowl in '06 -- a rebuilding year.

Again, this is how we do it.

So, no overall recruiting title for USC this year? Not a problem. It’s all about quality in 2007 … and the positive hype and good vibes of the Trojans’ pre-season No. 1.

We Are SC!
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Beano Missed The Song Girls

2007-02-01T09:34:00.000-05:00

Well, we took a little break from the usual routine last week to chronicle an important issue, and old man Beano got all upset.

So, we're back to the "twirling" business today, this being a Thursday.

Not that I give a darn what the east coast biased, Domer Hype Machine influenced Beano has to say. I just want him to leave us alone ...

Hmmm ... maybe USC "basketball" really does deserve some attention.

Fight On! Beat the Beavers ... in hoops!

Judge Says: Pass the Mayo

2007-01-31T08:15:00.000-05:00

Although we’ve had our gripes about east coast bias and the Gray Lady in particular, it’s clear that the New York media know their basketball.

Rather than jump the gun on this O.J. Mayo matter, the New York Times waited for the story to develop and, as we did here earlier, allowed the inevitable video evidence to appear, in an effort to ensure accuracy in its reporting.

Even better, Pete Thamel provided the proper context in the lead of his story on Mayo in yesterday’s Times, along with some quotes from people who actually know what they’re talking about:

O. J. Mayo, a West Virginia high school senior considered the country’s best guard prospect since LeBron James, has been suspended and is not expected to play tonight in a national showdown game.

Mayo’s team, Huntington High School, ranked No. 2 in the country by USA Today, will play No. 11 Artesia High School of Lakewood, Calif., in the Hoophall Classic in Durham, N.C.

More than 5,000 fans are expected at [Duke's] Cameron Indoor Stadium. The game is part of a tripleheader featuring some of the best high school teams in the country. […]

“It’s an amazingly bizarre story,” said Dave Elkins, the director of marketing partnerships for the Basketball Hall of Fame, which is putting on today’s event. “This is the team that’s making so much history in that region.

“To have something like this come up, it’s intriguing.”

Most importantly, Thamel relies on his own eyes, rather than second-hand accounts, using the video to help provide an objective interpretation of what happened.

Mayo picked up his first technical foul for taunting after a dunk late in the second half of Friday’s victory against Charleston’s Capital High School, the No. 2-ranked team in the state. Mayo caught the ball after it went through the net and strutted toward the free-throw line still holding the ball.

After being whistled for the technical, he walked to midcourt, where players from both teams had gathered and were jawing. Mayo then walked away, tucking in his shirt and looking at the sky.

The second technical was called after Mayo walked back toward the players gathered at halfcourt. On the video, he did not appear to say or do anything.

But when the official Mike Lazo walked over to the scorer’s table to report the technical, Mayo followed him. Mayo appeared to make subtle contact with Lazo, his shoulder brushing up against Lazo’s back. Lazo then dropped suddenly to the ground. On the video, it appears that little contact was made and that Lazo’s fall was exaggerated.

Apparently, Thamel isn’t the only one who thinks the ref’s fall was “exaggerated,” as a circuit court judge in West Virginia yesterday ordered an injunction that allowed Mayo to play in the HoopHall Classic at Duke.

According to USA Today’s Christopher Lawlor, Mayo, “considered the nation’s top player,” drove with a family friend for six hours to get to Durham, just in time to “spark” his team to a 73-66 win. Combined with a loss yesterday by the nation’s current No. 1 team (St. Benedict’s of Newark, N.J.) the win should give Mayo’s Huntington High the No. 1 spot next week.

The funny thing is Mayo fouled out of last night’s game with 2:40 left and the score tied at 63. So, we can’t be sure what Lawlor means by “spark,” but I’d say Mayo must be one helluva good player if he can “spark” his team to a win against another nationally ranked team without even playing in the game.

Then again, I don’t know a lick about hoops.

Fight On!

UPDATE: Insomniac's Lounge has yet another take, not to mention a second and third camera angle, pulled from ESPN's PTI. The best part of the clip is Michael Wilbon's comments about Mayo's behavior. Again, we'll see for ourselves soon enough.
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O.J. Mayo: Not So Fast My Friend

2007-01-29T12:05:00.000-05:00

As we concluded yesterday, none of us really know what the hell happened when USC's top-ranked basketball recruit O.J. Mayo was ejected from a high school game last Friday night.

But now we have video -- worthy of another Zapruder film reference -- which brings into question the "thug" label being placed on Mayo by those who are supposed to know their hoops.

Take a good look at the clip, from WSAZ Channel 3, the local Huntington, W.Va., TV news station.

Do you see Mayo taunting and jawing excessively with the opposing team and their fans? And, how in the world does a grown man fall to the ground as a result of the supposed contact Mayo made with the ref?

Judging from what we see in this clip -- and again, we don't know what was said or what else happened at this game -- it appears that Mayo may have a right to be upset about the double-technical called on him. In fact, one might conclude from this video that Mayo showed restraint, given all that was going on around him, and that perhaps he deserves the benefit of some doubt.

Make no mistake. The the opinion here remains that Mayo could be coming to USC for the wrong reasons, but perhaps everyone should step back and see this kid first-hand, in action on and off the court, before we fully form our conclusions.

In the meantime, we've got this highlight clip of the game in question, which shows us what all the on-court hype is about.

I guess they don't play much defense in West Virginia.

Fight On!

Hat Tip: AO via Conquest Chronicles.
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USC Hoops: One Year Wondering

2007-01-28T10:46:00.000-05:00

Again, I have to ask: Is this how we're supposed to build a basketball program?

Apparently, USC's prized basketball recruit O.J. Mayo got himself caught up in a little on-court, two-technical foul incident that may put him on his high school team's bench for a couple games.

Here's the second-hand account in today's Los Angeles Times:

USC signee O.J. Mayo faces a two-game suspension after being ejected from a game Friday night involving his Huntington (W.Va.) High team in which he received two technical fouls and reportedly initiated contact with an official.

Mayo received one technical foul for taunting after scoring on a breakaway dunk, then a second technical for a verbal confrontation with players from the opposing team.

Mayo reportedly followed an official to the scorer's table to dispute the call and made contact, after which the official dropped to the court.

The opposing team's local paper has a slighly different account, but the The Huntington Herald-Dispatch (W. Va.) reported this:

Mayo received the first technical foul for taunting Capital player Tyrone Goard after a breakaway dunk that gave Huntington a 61-43 lead with 5:15 left in the game. Mayo did not react to the call and walked to the opposite end of the court but was followed by Capital players. A verbal confrontation escalated between Mayo and Capital players before Lazo assessed the second technical foul to Mayo but none to a Capital player. After the second technical foul, Mayo followed Lazo to the scorer's table to object. When the referee stopped, Mayo bumped into him from behind, and then Lazo fell to the ground.

Whatever. We weren't there, and the newspaper and radio accounts of what actually happened are supposedly varied, so who's to say what actually happened. We don't know whether or not Mayo had a legitimate reason to jaw with the opposing players and fans, and we don't know to what extent he made contact with the official.

What we do know is that Mayo will most likely be one-and-done after next season ... a year in which he supposedly thinks he can bring USC to national prominenance the way Patrick Ewing did at Georgetown.

We also know that USC head coach Tim Floyd didn't actually recruit Mayo. The kid decided that he wanted to become a Trojan, thinking that Los Angeles would be a good place to market himself for his entry into the League.

As Tom Purfield of the Pueblo (Colo.) Chieftan pointed out recently, Mayo appears to be a basketball mercenary.

Scanning the wire every working day in this profession reveals many eyebrow-raising stories. But every once in awhile, something small emerges that sheds light on a larger issue in the world of sport.

When Mayo signed his letter of intent to attend USC in November, his comments in an Associated Press story were striking, not so much for their arrogance but for the role he expects USC to play in his life.

"Coach (Tim) Floyd has been an NBA coach and the city of Los Angeles is a great marketing city," Mayo said. "Hopefully if everything goes well, I can market myself for the next level.

"I plan on making a living at this," Mayo said in another AP story. "I feel that's why I was born and put on this Earth, to be a leader, to be one of the greatest basketball players to ever play and to be a great example and role model for the kids and for different people out there who look up toward me."

[...] No excitement about becoming a part of the Southern Cal community. Not even a hint of plans to major in political science or economics.

It's all about making this one year of exclusion from the millionaire club of the NBA as productive as possible - not for the Trojans, mind you, but for O.J. Mayo's pro hoops future.

Leave it to someone who "scans the wire" for news because there is none in his own town to point out what many of us seem to be missing ... this Mayo kid may not be worthy of our Trojan Family.

Remember when Harold Miner (aka Baby Jordan) left USC early to begin his ill-fated career in the NBA? Remember Dwayne Jarrett's presser a few weeks ago announcing his early entry into the NFL?

They were crying, torn up emotionally because they were leaving USC. And we've seen it in other Trojans who understood what it meant to be part of the Trojan Family, what it means to be a Trojan for life.

We'll see what Mayo does, if and when he gets to USC. We don't know him well enough to pass judgement on him just yet. But something ... a few things actually ... tell us Mayo won't be crying when he leaves.

Fight On!
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Yahoo Report: Trust in Reggie, Part III

2007-01-26T08:49:00.000-05:00

We've been critical of Scott Wolf here in the recent past, but the Los Angeles Daily News' USC beat writer showed his non-hack chops yesterday.

First, Wolf didn't bother to file a story about the new Yahoo! report. Then, he posted this on his "blog":

There's a lot of focus on the Reggie Bush investigation right now. But what does it mean? The existence of tapes does not necessarily hurt USC because the university could challenge the veracity of them if the NCAA used it to punish the football program. Not to mention that taping conversations like that is illegal.

Even if the tapes are correct, without USC's knowledge or complicity, it would be hard to hold the university liable. That doesn't mean USC is off the hook regarding the chance of getting stripped of a national championship, but we're referring more to probation for the program.

Exactly.

Also, in response to a few emails I received about yesterday's Displaced take on Reggie, I'll again reiterate the position here regarding the validity of the Yahoo! "reporting."

Yahoo! Sports is trying to make a name for itself. It sees this “story” as its Woodward and Bernstein moment.

The problem with [commenting on the Reggie Bush issue] is that [doing so] inadvertently gives too much credit to the Yahoo! reporting. As Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso [...] said on College GameDay outside the Coliseum [in September]: “IF … IF … IF.”

One of the reasons why none of the established, reputable news outlets are investigating this story is that many of the sources involved are scheming sleaze balls, several of whom have already been convicted of white collar crimes.

The other aspect of the story is that all the parties involved are in some form of litigation against each other, which brings into question whatever statements they make. Never mind what that says about the judgment of Reggie and his family in picking their associates, but no real news outlet is going to push this story … unless it is seeking to make a name for itself.

To say it another way, we go to TrojanWire's Rory MacDonald, who further illustrates the point:

[...] the Keystone Kops of investigative journalism continue to treat the testimony of known extortionists as perennial fact, conjuring up retroactive repercussions for USC [...]

Back to those jokers at Yahoo! [...] may we suggest refocusing your efforts on I don't know, technology? Congratulations on finally getting your much-delayed ad targeting software (Panama) done. It's probably every bit as good as Google's (heh), making your stock well worth paying over 2 times growth for (YHOO currently has a PEG Ratio of 2.10).
(Full disclosure: dumped all my YHOO stock yesterday.)

Perhaps someone should investigate the journalism skills (if not the ethical practices) of Yahoo! Sports and its reporters. We've seen the ugla "nation" do as much, when Yahoo! ran a story the bruins didn't like.

Funny how ugla's belief in the reporting at Yahoo! Sports is a matter of convenience. I suppose that's typical of Nestor. (Again, I will not post Nestor's real name, no matter how many times you ask.) But, I digress ...

Regardless of the motive and journalistic quality of the Yahoo! hacks, the fact is that neither the would-be agents involved nor Reggie Bush's family have shown us much in the way of quality, either.

A comment on yesterday's Displaced post from Jonathan Tu of 82 Sluggo Win, sums it all up:

I put my faith in Reggie back in April. An entire season later I feel that my trust can now be withdrawn as the evidence mounts. I don't consider the evidence in the area of "completely, utterly damning" yet, but I do consider it pretty overwhelmingly in favor of the Griffins doing bad things. I'm not sure where I stand on Reggie but it appears he had knowledge.

It's pretty obvious to me that USC had nothing to do with it. The Griffins may be that dumb to cavort with a guy named Michael Michaels (wearing a bolo tie, no less) but Carroll, Garrett and the rest are definitely not. In that sense I'm not worried about sanctions. Some idiots (i.e., Bruins Nation) will probably toss around terms like Death Penalty but if Alabama of the late nineties/early millenium wasn't hit with the Death Penalty no one will be. I doubt USC even gets a slap on the wrist unless the Todd McNair connection has more meat to it.

Frankly, the worst thing about this whole ugly ugliness is thinking back to Reggie's acceptance speech at the Heisman ceremony. He pointed out LaMar and thanked him (LaMar) for teaching him (Bush) how to be a man. I won't lie: that got me a little teary eyed. To think that these infractions were going on at the same time as this speech makes me want to throw up.

Precisely.

Now, let's move on ... or rather, Fight On!
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Yahoo Report: Trust in Reggie, Part II

2007-01-25T12:56:00.000-05:00

Once again Yahoo! Sports breaks a bit of “news” about supposed Reggie Bush improprieties, and the majority of USC bloggers hesitate to comment, let alone acknowledge the piece. We’re quick to jump all over the “good news,” but bad news … not so much.

As I wrote back in September, this less than punctual response is understandable. And, really, when you read the new Yahoo! “story” there isn’t much to say in response, except to assess the actual impact this may have on USC Football, all of which was stated several months back. For a quick re-take on this we’ll try a less partial source in the blogosphere, The Wizard of Odds:

What does this mean to USC? The NCAA would have to show USC either knew or should have known about the alleged wrongdoings. At the moment, that's a longshot.

A “longshot.” Not reassuring enough you? Me neither.

Perhaps the most telling element of the Yahoo! piece is the last two paragraphs, which includes quotes from a radio interview Pete Carroll did with T.J. Simers one day after the Rose Bowl.

According to a report first published by Foxsports.com, Bush requested a sideline pass from his alma mater for the 2007 Rose Bowl but USC declined, stating that it had already distributed its allotment of VIP passes.

USC coach Pete Carroll was questioned about Bush's absence from the Rose Bowl on a Los Angeles radio program on Jan. 2, the morning after the game. Radio host and Los Angeles Times columnist T.J. Simers asked Carroll: "You saw the reports that Reggie was told not to come to the Rose Bowl, to stay away from USC. Do you buy that? Do you have anything to do with that?"

Responded Carroll: "No. I know that through this investigation, because he's not cooperating the way they'd like it, there's some issues about that. Reggie gets to do whatever he wants to do. He's not part of us anymore and we can't control any of that. But there's some, I think some opinions from the NCAA that they're mad at Reggie. And, you know, they would not like him to be associated with us. But I don't know what's going on with all that. But there is some stuff.

"I did call Reggie and he didn't hear from anybody about any of that kind of stuff. We're just going to keep working along the best we can and try to keep our head above water and do the right thing and stay out of that stuff. But that stuff, it is kind of nasty. You just don't know where it's coming from and people are out to get you. It can get kind of hard."

“Reggie gets to do whatever he wants to do. He’s not a part of us anymore.” Now, let’s not take this out of context or over-examine the words, but these two sentences say a lot.

Indeed, it is hard. Hard to get to the truth. Hard to know what it all means for USC Football. Hard to trust those allegedly involved, including Reggie.

But, until this thing plays out fully, what else can we do? What else can we say that hasn't already be said …

We can over-think this thing and convince ourselves that it doesn’t matter. Or, we can circle the wagons and trust in Reggie:
I'm not worried about any of these allegations or anything like that, because I know what the truth is, like I said from day one. Once the smoke clears, everybody's going to see we did nothing wrong.

Obviously it does affect you just because it is out there. But at the same time I know there's nothing to worry about. It makes you want to go out there right away and tell your side of the story. Show everybody the facts, the truth. But you can't do that. That wouldn't be the right way to do it

I told [USC] the same thing, don't worry about anything. If there was something to worry about, then I would tell you. But there's nothing to worry about.

Okay, Reggie. We’ll trust you. Just like we did at South Bend last year. Just like we did versus Fresno State in the Coliseum. Just like we did when you pitched a lateral to no one in the Rose Bowl … ?
We’ll trust you, Reggie. We’ll trust you ...

... but we have to admit, it may be harder to do so today.

Fight On!
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Lane Kiffin to Raiders

2007-01-22T22:25:00.000-05:00

Steve Sarkisian turned down the opportunity to be the Raiders head coach last week, so crazy Al Davis took the next best thing ... Lane Kiffin (left). Just saw this "scoop" on an ESPN update.

The early take here: USC got ... or rather kept ... the better coach.

Fight On!
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USC Song Girls vs. 'Every Man, Woman and Child'

2007-01-18T17:07:00.000-05:00

If you’ve ever had the misfortune of sitting too close to the ugla alumni section during a bruin football game, you’ve seen him. His name is Geoff Strand, and he’s an idiot.

Strand is the annoying guy (if you can call him a guy) dressed like an ugla clown, commanding the bruin alumni (“every man, woman and child”) to cheer on his cue, as if ugla grads are too stupid to know when to make noise for their team. I’m certainly willing to give bruin alums more credit than that, I suppose.

As for the fact that Strand is a fool, the evidence is irrefutable:

The funny thing is this video was posted on the “nation” in reaction to a post by Orson at EDSBS, who used Strand as evidence that ugla fans are apathetic Republicans … or did he really mean Nationalists? I’m not sure what to make of Orson’s point, but the comments it spurred are hilarious (and telling), and the cannibalistic thread that followed the “nation” post illustrates the nature of the ugla fan. Rather than defend their man Strand, the bruins give us this:

If I didn't go to UCLA or was not a Bruin football fan, I'd be clowning that freakinsh show too.

And I would also hurl all kinds of insults.

This is just pathetic. I can see some arguments about having a juggler as part of the band show. But this dude is just a clown. He doesn't belong in a college football game.

Go Bruins!

Never mind the comedic value of comparing a “freakinsh show” to a “juggler” at your own college football game, the irony in this post by “bluestreet” is classic. He says his bruiness prevents him from insulting and making fun of Strand, and yet that’s exactly what he does.

Anyway, “MIMBruin” led off the comments with this:

Do we need some new blood? Abso-freakin-lutely. Student yell leaders of recent years haven't been all that creative or distinctive in their style. I think the last good shtick I saw was the crew that brought a toilet lid with the words "FLUSH 'EM!" or "FLUSH IT!" to spur the crowd onto noise.

Hmmm … I don’t know about you, but toilet humor never got me to cheer at a college football game. Then again, I didn’t attend ugla. Someone else who presumably did is “razksig,” who restored my understanding that at least a few people with brains call themselves bruin fans.

Strand bugs the hell out of me
I just think that the crowd is somewhat apathetic anyway, but having a guy up there saying "don't cheer now, wait till I say to cheer" is so bush league. Fans should be on their feet screaming the entire time our defense is on the field, not just after the opposing team's offense breaks its huddle. Football is one sport in which the home crowd can have the greatest effect on the outcome of a game, and this geriatric clown is one thing holding back an already tame crowd. […] I hardly remember Strand leading our section during the SUC game, which was not the case for every other home game I attended. I appreciate his intentions, but he is terrible.

“Bush league” … “terrible” … that’s a good way to put it. But “bluestreet” was even more to the point in his second go around.

[Strand] is a nice guy and all. I am sure he is a good guy.

But he dresses like a freak. He looks creepy along the sidelines. Frankly I think its kind of embarrassing.

He should limit his little routine to alumni gatherings. But even then, his routine is just silly and embarrassing.

“Freak” … “creepy” … “silly” … “embarrassing” … LOL. Of course, you can’t have a thread at the “nation” without some Trojan bashing, and “babyblue98” delivers on cue:

That guy [Strand] has always kind of annoyed me. i've always said who's to say he gets to be the voice who represents the bruin fan? but whenever that guy gets on my nerves, which is every game i attend, i just think that at least he's not as gay as that trojan wearing a skirt riding that white horse around the coliseum.

We know being gay has nothing to do with this, but really, who is this “babyblue” trying to kid? Anyway, “abby8065” gets the thread back on track, attempting to kill two birds with one stone … or tomato, as it were.

pathetic!
I am sorry but that guy is pathetic! I don't need someone to tell me when to cheer or not; and I never cheer when someone tells me to!

He looks like a circus clown and his voice is too damn annoying. I couldn't even watch the entire video, because I wanted throw something at him.

Now he could definitely get the crowd excited if he wore a Trojan t-shirt and let people throw tomatoes at him!

I would just go to the games to get a chance to peg him.

The fun goes on for a few more comments, until the aptly named “True Blue and Gold” points out the truth (if not correct spelling) to fellow ugla fans …

It's really embarassing the way you go after your own. Geoff hasn't done any harm to anyone. If anything he promotes spirit and entusiasm. I don't know if you've noticed but he manages to get the press box side to yell Bruins while the student yell crew doesn't even tell us that it's going on.

Whether or not Strand “hasn’t done any harm” is certainly up for debate, but it is interesting to see how these bruins turn on one of their own.

USC Trojans, on the other hand, don’t have such issues. We’ll have fun here at the expense of our spirit section any day of the week, especially Thursdays.

But rather than use words like pathetic and freak and creepy when presented with video evidence, USC fans use words like lovely and hot … and wedgy.

Fight On!
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USC: We're No. 1 (Early 2007 Edition)

2007-01-17T07:52:00.000-05:00

Being true to my fair-weather fandom of USC “basketball,” I’ve been making an effort to learn more about college hoops in preparation for our impending Trojan Uprising. One thing I don’t quite understand is why everybody cares so much about mid-season rankings.

Nestor of the “nation” tried to explain to me the importance of ugla’s recent No. 1 ranking in basketball. “Exposure” … “recruiting” … blah, blah, blah, he said. But common sense tells us that rankings really don’t mean a damn thing in hoops, especially when a 5th place team out of the Pac-10 can win a championship.

Regardless of this season’s rankings, ugla already has its big recruit secured, as does USC and virtually every other program. And ultimately, everything will be played out on the court. So, what does it matter?

In college football on the other hand, rankings are everything. And lucky for us, USC Football is once again top-ranked.

Just ask ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Rivals.com, and Scout.com … We’re No. 1.

You can also ask msnbc.com’s John Walters, another writer we like, who has USC ranked No. 1 for an important aspect of USC Football that also matters: the Trojans’ play-anybody-anywhere attitude when it comes to scheduling non-conference games.

Thank you, USC. […] While most head coaches and athletic directors concur (be it privately or publicly) with Florida's Urban Meyer, who last week said that he considers a 60-0 win against a I-AA opponent "fun", you […] made a date or two with danger on your schedule. Your non-conference, free-to-date-whomever-you-please schedule. […]

As a college football fan, I say thanks. Thanks […] to always fearless USC, who this year travel to Lincoln, Neb, and South Bend, Ind., to face two of the three winningest programs of all-time (having just smacked around the winningest, Michigan, two weeks ago).

Walters goes on to rank the top 10 non-conference games for 2007, and again, we’re No. 1.

1. USC (11-2) at Nebraska (9-5), Sept. 15
Carroll's Conundrum: The Trojans return ten starters on defense, and that's before Pete figures out how to get super stud freshmen Chris Galippo (LB) and Everson Griffin (DE) into the rotation. Nice problem to have. The Maze Unsheathers will likely toss Pac-10 party boy transplant Sam Keller behind center. It's like "Tommy Lee Goes To College" without the horticulture tutoring sessions. In 2005, while the QB at Arizona State, Keller led the Sun Devils to a 21-3 halftime lead versus the Trojans before imploding in the second half.

While we’re at it, USC is also currently No. 1 in several rankings for football recruiting, having already received verbal commitments from 10 of Rival.com’s revised Top 100 high school players (including nine 5-Star studs in the top 50), with a few more who could commit by Signing Day.

The best part of all this is that we don’t play a single snap against any team until September 1. That’s more than seven full months of unadulterated “USC is No. 1” hype, including the covers of season preview publications, features on ESPN, and all sorts of props throughout these internets. How’s that for an impact on exposure, recruiting, blah, blah, blah? Sweet!

No doubt the only rankings that really matter are at the end of the season. But it’s still more fun when we’re No. 1.

Fight On!
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USC Hoops: It's Getting Funny

2007-01-16T07:23:00.000-05:00

Took a few days off, figuring that things were once again back to normal in the world of USC Football … that is, by all accounts, the Trojans are No. 1 heading into next season. Then, I realized that perhaps there was something strange (maybe even funny) going on.

It seems as if people who call themselves basketball fans … as well as some who cover the sport for a living … can't wait for this b-ball thing at USC to get going. Last I heard, we were supposed to wait until next season for some one-year wonder to make people notice USC hoops. Apparently, that’s not the case …

Even after the bruins earned a 65-64 victory Saturday, it appears all anyone wants to talk about is how the Trojans “basketball” program is improving … or how USC’s new Galen Center is a great venue that gives the Trojans a boost … or how the perennially presumed basketball gap between USC and ugla – whose position, as we know, is pre-ordained by history – is supposedly closing.

Beating USC in basketball always is a Bruins priority. If not an expectation.

But the stakes have gotten higher. The task is getting tougher.

USC finally has a serious coach in Tim Floyd, who took New Orleans and Iowa State to the NCAA Tournament, and coached both the Chicago Bulls and New Orleans Hornets.

Floyd is making inroads into recruiting blue-chippers. The sort of players USC used to go decades without landing.

In two years at Troy, Floyd has added 6-9 center Taj Gibson and a pair of athletic, 6-5 guards, Dwight Lewis and Daniel Hackett. Three of his top six players, that is.

The Trojans already look like better athletes than the Bruins. And that's before uber-recruit O.J. Mayo joins the USC show next season.

UCLA can hear the footsteps. The challenge to its SoCal hoops hegemony is overt.

Suddenly, Pauley Pavilion seems less like a basketball cathedral ... and more like an old, primitive facility. (What, no luxury boxes? Galen Center has 'em.)

What once seemed a huge talent gap in UCLA's favor ... now it's more like Ben Howland and the Bruins winning on guile, character and institutional memory.

USC certainly can't be penciled in as a pair of "Ws" on the UCLA schedule.

Their game Saturday could have been a tipping point.

Even sports media out here in New York, the mecca of basketball and the birthplace of one Lewis Alcindor, are eager to see the Trojans challenge the bruins’ hegemony in Los Angeles. Dick “Hoops” Weiss, a columnist for the New York Daily News, wrote last week about a “Trojan Uprising” …

[Tim Floyd] inherited a major rebuilding project from Henry Bibby, who was fired at midseason in 2005, but Floyd won 17 games his first year and beat three ranked teams - UCLA, Arizona and North Carolina. This season, he has transformed the Trojans (13-4, 3-1 Pac-10) into a major player in the best league in the country. Expect USC to make the NCAA Tournament and eventually make a run at competing with the Bruins on an equal basis in Los Angeles within three years. […]

The Trojans might not be ready to make a run at Florida and UCLA this season, but Gibson is right - the battle is on. Floyd has signatures and commitments from enough blue-chip prospects in the next two classes to make the Trojans a Final Four contender. In addition to Mayo, Floyd has signed Davon Jefferson, an athletic 6-8 forward from Los Angeles who is taking a prep year in North Carolina. Floyd also inked 6-8 forward Leonard Washington, the best prospect in Louisiana.

Final Four contender … blue-chip prospects … making the Tournament … And, what’s this about USC beating Arizona, North Carolina and ugla last year … in hoops? I find that incredibly difficult to believe. But, I digress …

Certainly, unlike the state of USC Football, this “basketball” stuff is not normal. But it’s funny, nonetheless. And, like other things we’ve found “funny” recently, all this attention being paid to USC “basketball” has the bruins’ proverbial panties in a bunch.

True to form, the “nation” showed its colors after sweating out ugla's one-point win. Attempting to draw parallels with lies told about “WMDs Found In Iraq” of all inappropriate things, Nestor [no, I won’t reveal his real name again no matter how many times you ask] worked himself into a lather, posting one of his grammatically lacking rants to complain about the Los Angeles Times:

Today it is Robyn Norwood's turn to pimp a basketball program, which hasn't sniffed the NCAA tourney in half a decade an elevate it to the level of Duke, North Carolinas of the world. Ms. Norwood writes up an article saying somehow the gap between UCLA and Southern California basketball program is closing despite the fact this year Trojan lost to UCLA in their brand new gym against a Bruin squad that was playing without its second leading scorer. Riddle me this. How can you claim a program is closing gap with the defending champion of the conference after it loses to the same program it beat on its home floor last year?

“hasn't sniffed the NCAA tourney in half a decade an elevate it” … ? “despite the fact this year Trojan lost to UCLA” … ? “a program is closing gap with the defending champion” …?

"Riddle me this." What’s with the broken English?

Anyway, as if on cue, “Tydides” went out of his way to stroke himself with this:

Here's the bottom line (addressed to the excuse-making whiners):
We won. We are UCLA. We are relevant, you are not. We beat you on YOUR homecourt, in front of YOUR fans, WITHOUT one of our best players. You might think you played well enough to win, perhaps even think you "outplayed" the Bruins, but you know what? You didn't, and the scoreboard shows it. It hurts to have to actually have to care about basketball, doesn't it? Will you still care about it now? I doubt it. You are losers. Thank you and good night.

Not surprisingly, “Tydides” still doesn’t get it. There’s no need to hate. Even if real USC fans actually did care about basketball, he needn't waste his limited capacities to write (if you can call it writing) something like this, all full of misplaced anger.

Why isn’t a bruin win on USC’s shiny new floor enough for the “nation”?

I suppose “Tydides” is trying to put USC “basketball” in its place, where new arenas and top recruits and supposedly good coaching don’t threaten to threaten the righteous present and history of ugla basketball. But why address USC fans in this way … unless the threat is real?

I wouldn’t know. As a tried and true traditional USC Football fan, I honestly couldn’t care less about USC “basketball.”

Obviously, the same can’t be said for ugla. They know their basketball … and they know USC is coming. Funny isn’t it?

Fight On!
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USC Song Girls: The Afterglow

2007-01-11T07:33:00.000-05:00

So, I guess we're back to the normal routine.

The stress and confusion of Pete Carroll's future has apparently subsided. All of our 2006 juniors are supposedly accounted for, and we're free now to turn our attention fully to the 2007 recruiting class.

Oh ... and now that the blogosphere is smoking its proverbial cigarette, after a few days of Song Girl insanity came to a climax last week -- although some bloggers are a little slow to the take -- we can return to our usual fare ...

Fight On!

ADD: In case you missed it among all the actual football coverage, Austin Murphy of SI spent some time with our lovely Song Girls for a Q&A that outlines their hectic New Year's Day schedule and other "interesting" details. Surely, if any of us had to wake up at 3:00 am to start curling our hair, before marching in the Rose Parade and fronting the USC Trojan Marching Band with dance routines for something like 10 straight hours, we'd end up with a wedgy at some point during the day, too. Thank goodness Megan could handle it all.
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Pete Carroll Going or Staying ... You Decide

2007-01-10T10:41:00.000-05:00

As we’ve stated before, this multimedia stuff on these internets are a wonderful thing. It used to be that sports fans were at the mercy of journalists telling them what’s what, but the Internet and the blogosphere has changed all that.

These days, with everything online, we can easily compare and contrast the difference in perception and interpretation from one writer to another, one paper to another, one region to another. Back when newspapers were purely cellulose this comparative insight was nearly impossible.

More importantly, today we are able to see how quotes can be recorded not quite accurately and presented out of context … how a journalist with supposed “professional” standards can (sub-consciously or otherwise) allow a personal agenda to get in the way of objectivity.

Still, most journalists are capable of presenting a balanced take on an issue. But rather than trust that a reporter is recording and presenting information in context, fans now have the opportunity to hear a story from the source in full. Of course, we too apply our own biased filters, serve our own agendas, and make up our own opinions about stuff for posting on the blogosphere. But we don’t pretend to possess the professional objectivity of a traditional journalist.

Obviously, all this is a set up for Pete Carroll’s statements upon his return from Costa Rica yesterday. We see the usual suspect(s) are playing their roles.

Luckily, AM-570 has the wherewithal to post in its entirety Carroll’s press conference* and what he said about his meeting with Miami Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga.

And, again, for the multimedia challenged, here are the key statements, transcribed verbatim …

Question: “Would you leave [USC] if [Huizenga] offered you the job?”

I’ve never even come close to thinking that. I’ve never come close to thinking that for every year I’ve been here, every opportunity that’s come along, the stuff you know about, and the stuff you don’t know about. I’ve never been close to doing that, and I’m not close to that right now. […]

I think what’s really important is what I do, and it will speak volumes. You’ll all see. I love this place, and I’ve given everything that I have to this program, and I will continue to do that. And I think, if anything, if anybody can understand it this way, that kind of an interaction for me [meeting Huizenga], only strengthens my resolve about being here and knowing what I have and how lucky I am to be in the situation that I’m in. […] I know how it’s going to end. [...]

I absolutely expect to be here next year.

Question: “Coach, you do understand the tremendous amount of interest now, because this is the very first time that you have even admitted talking to someone in the NFL?”

Yeah, well, I think it’s because it’s the only time I ever have. It’s the right thing to do. I’m not going to hide from the fact that I talked to those guys. […] I had a chance to figure something out and understand something further with greater depth. […] For anybody that’s interested in me staying at USC it’s a good thing.

Carroll said that he didn’t think there would ever be a situation in which an NFL owner would allow a head coach to have full control of an organization, like he has at USC. Apparently, Huizenga is willing to grant that level of responsibility to Carroll, which prompted the last question at the presser:

“So, all things being equal, full control there, full control here, you’d stay here?”

I love the Trojans. Yep. I love being here. I love everything about what we’re doing here. I love being in California. We’re in the middle of something that’s really special. We’ve got a bunch of direction that we’ve got going here, with great kids coming in, great kids part of this program, with a commitment to something really special, and I don’t want to take any steps away from that. I think this is an awesome opportunity for me and for everybody that’s involved with our program to keep charging forward and do things that are very, very unique and that we’ll all take great pride in and feel great about our efforts.

That’s it. Listen to it. Decide for yourself if you think Carroll is seriously considering a move, or if he’s jockeying for a pay raise, or if his statements should be taken purely at face value.

I’ve decided to trust our man Carroll for now. He hasn’t given us a reason not to, so far.

Too bad the same can’t be said for every “professional” journalist who covers the Trojans.

Fight On!

* Download the audio recording of the press conference.
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USC Football: You’re Welcome Florida

2007-01-09T11:30:00.000-05:00

The way I see it, the Gators owe us one … make that two. First, USC laid an egg (with a tail) during a 13-9 anomaly to put Florida in the BCS Championship game, albeit controversially over Michigan.

Then, the Trojans dismantled the Wolverines in the Rose Bowl to erase any doubt that the Gators should have been in Glendale, Ariz., for the chance to play Ohio State.

You’re welcome, Gator Nation.

Of course, Florida did a pretty good job erasing any doubt all by themselves last night, but the Gators can thank USC for the opportunity.

One plus resulting from the Trojans’ favor to Florida is that ugla can now stop waxing un-poetically about the bruins’ supposed missed opportunities to hold simultaneous national championships in football and basketball … way back in the 1960s.

Listen to ugla fans, and they’ll tell you they would have done it, if not for USC beating the bruins on the gridiron in ‘67 and ’69 when John Wooden and his partner in crime were stacking hoops talent at ugla:

While there are not exact parallels between the current college football landscape and the previous setup (expecially in the 1960s), it is fairly certain that had UCLA defeated USC in the 1967 Cross-Town Rivalry (a game billed as "The Game of the Century" at the time), Tommy Protho [ugla’s head coach] would have successfully completed the unthinkable: UCLA, that 'basketball-only' school, would have held both the football and basketball men's national titles in 1967. Additionally, UCLA had much the same chance again in 1969 - again losing to USC in the Battle for the Victory Bell. […]

So, just in case you're curious about an earlier team that had just as close a chance as Florida as holding both the basketball and football titles in a given year, that team was UCLA.

We know now that Florida didn’t just come close; it closed the deal last night. Although the Gators didn’t accomplish the feat in the same school year, they did get it done in the same calendar year (sorta), giving the media a chance to crown Florida as the first to take the dual titles. And it’s all thanks to USC.

Maybe the Trojans can be second to pull off the feat next year. (Ha!) I laugh, but with the if-we-build-it-Mayo-will-come Galen Center up and running, who knows? Certainly, ugla won’t have to worry about getting “as close a chance” any time soon. But, I digress …

It was nice to see Chris Leak (above) get his due. I’ve made it a semi-point to follow his career since the time he was a major recruit for USC. He had a diary on ESPN of his recruiting process, and he described in one entry his official visit to Los Angeles:

The thing that stood out the most is how so many different USC players pulled me aside to explain to me what a joy it is to play for Coach Carroll. That really stuck with me. […]

Overall, the visit to USC was great. Though I visited California for Elite 11, this was my first time in L.A. And I have to be honest: It was my best visit. I saw the Staples Center, the Hollywood sign, Beverly Hills and the neighborhood where Shaq lives.

Add to that the positive things that so many had to say about Coach Carroll and Coach Chow, as well as the fact that Coach Chow has flown twice from California to visit me in Charlotte and I must say, USC is quickly becoming a very inviting option.

Too bad Leak thought L.A. was too far from home, but when he committed to Ron Zook and Florida, the Trojans turned attention to John David Booty, and that was that. Leak got to play right away, but apparently a black drop-back passer is a concept for which the south isn’t ready, and Leak never got the love he deserved.

After adjusting to Urban Meyer’s “spread option” offense last year, Leak was supposed to be a Heisman candidate in 2006, but when his Bizarro World twin Tim Tebow – a running QB who is white – was inserted to run for first downs and TDs in short yardage, Leak’s role and perceived stature was reduced.

Still, Leak handled the immediate and fervent endorsement of Tebow by Gator fans and the subseqent media-created controversy with class. As Leak said at the post-game presser last night, “When you work hard and you do the right things … eventually your time will come. We’ve been very blessed.”

Blessed, indeed. The Gators got their “dual championship” and Leak’s time came last night … thanks to a rare slip by the Trojans.
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Finally ... 2006 Ends Tonight

2007-01-08T12:25:00.001-05:00

Wait a minute … it’s still college football season?

With all the media hype anointing USC Football No. 1 for 2007, after the Trojans’ dismantling of Michigan in the Rose Bowl one week ago, it’s easy to forget that the 2006 season didn’t end on Jan. 1. It’s been an interesting week …

As predictable as the Sugar Bowl was – what with the “Irish” losing their record ninth straight bowl game – the GMAC and International “bowls” this weekend were not predictable at all … like a tree falling in the forest, how can we make a prediction about something no one saw, let alone cared about in the first place.

Perhaps we were distracted from this last part of the bowl season by our lovely Song Girls … that is, one in particular who had every blogger’s panties in a bunch, so to speak.

Maybe we’ve been pre-occupied trying to get our heads around Boise State … Boise State … playing David to Oklahoma’s Goliath in one of the most exciting and imaginative bowl games in recent memory.

It could be that USC fans have been anticipating another No. 1 recruiting class, with at least eight Trojan commits playing (and shining) in the high school U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Saturday.

And even I know it’s possible that USC Basketball took our attention away from the bowl season? I hear the team is worth watching, even as we wait for this O.J. Mayo kid.

Of course, I can’t be sure about that, since again I don’t know jack about round ball. But, any time the basketball Trojans win two games, while historically tainted ugla is forced to explain away a loss, that’s got to be good, right?

Whatever. One game left, before USC Football can officially move on to 2007. As for me, I’m already there …

Fight On! Beat the Vandals!
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Mario Danelo Found Dead

2007-01-06T23:45:00.000-05:00

Shocking news that rocks the Trojan Family tonight, according to ESPN.com News Service, just posted about half an hour ago ...

Mario Danelo, a kicker for the USC football team, was found dead Saturday in San Pedro, Calif.
Danelo's body was found at the bottom of White Point Cliff in San Pedro, according for a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department. Police did not release further details.
Danelo, a redshirt junior, walked on with the Trojans in 2003 and earned a scholarship in 2005, according to the USC athletic department's Web site.
He was 15-for-16 on field goals this season and made 44 of 48 PATs, leading the team in scoring with 89 points.
Danelo is the son of former NFL kicker Joe Danelo.

All condolences to the Danelo Family.

Sugar Bowl: What Can ND Say?

2007-01-05T12:40:00.000-05:00

So, we gave the domers a break yesterday. Instead of making note (or fun) of their 41-14 embarrassment versus LSU in the Sugar Bowl, we decided to comment further on USC’s statement in the Rose Bowl and continue our fun with “Wedgygate.” It was a simple choice, actually.

It’s all old news for the “Irish.” A humiliating 27-point loss on national television. Nine … nine … straight bowl game losses – a new NCAA high (or low). An all-time losing record in bowl games, 13-15.

Perhaps worse, ND’s 10 victories in 2006 came against teams with a combined record of 57-70. In its three losses (Michigan, USC, LSU – the only good teams on the schedule) the “Irish” were outscored 132-69. And still, Charlie Weis has no significant wins in two years as “Irish” head coach.

In a backward way, ND’s season also reminds us of Pete Carroll’s second year as our man at USC. As we mentioned, he ended 2002 with a Heisman-winning QB and a BCS Orange Bowl win.

Of course, "Irish" QB Brady Quinn didn’t win the Heisman, and the domers didn’t win a BCS bowl game. But more to the point, while USC was “just getting started” entering Carroll’s third season in 2003, ND and Weis appear to be just starting over in 2007 …

ND is heading into a re-building year, having to replace at least six starters on defense and seven on offense, including Quinn, the team’s best player. Even worse ND will probably start the over-hyped incoming freshman Jimmy Clausen at quarterback.

To be honest, watching the Sugar Bowl, I almost felt sorry for the “Irish” … almost. But posting about their sorry loss seemed like piling on … not that there’s anything wrong with that when it comes to debunking the work of the Domer Hype Machine.

Still, there really is no need to take shots at the second-class state of ND football, since even the east coast biased media is doing that already. As for ESPN.com, a sarcastic and caustic Mark Schlabach wrote this:

Even after Notre Dame lost its ninth consecutive bowl game Wednesday night -- yet another one in ugly fashion with a 41-14 loss to No. 4 LSU in the Allstate Sugar Bowl -- there is hope for Fighting Irish fans.

Even without record-setting quarterback Brady Quinn, receiver Jeff Samardzija and many more of its best players next season, Notre Dame will finally end its postseason drought, now the longest in NCAA history.

The Fighting Irish will end the postseason losing streak that dates back to 1994 because next season they'll be playing in some second-tier bowl game in a nondescript place like Shreveport, La., which is where they should have been playing during much of the last two decades.

Ouch.

Against LSU, Notre Dame once again proved it doesn't deserve to play in BCS bowl games, which have become its birthright because of the school's national stature and ability to draw high TV ratings.

And by shutting out the Fighting Irish in the second half and erupting for 577 yards of offense in the game, the Tigers again proved Notre Dame is no longer capable of beating teams like LSU. Or Ohio State, Michigan and Southern California, which also handed the Fighting Irish lopsided losses in the past 12 months.

Ugh. Talk about piling on. Before the Sugar Bowl, Schlabach quoted Quinn:

"I get tired of hearing how bad we are," Quinn said. "I mean, that's all people seem to be saying sometimes. Notre Dame is one of those universities where it's kind of like either you love it or you hate it. It's tough because you've got to deal with the criticism all the time. So [if] we win a big game against a great team like [LSU], you can't really say a whole lot."

And if you don’t win … which ND hasn’t … there really isn’t much to say, either.

Fight On! Beat the Vandals!
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USC Football: Video Says It All

2007-01-04T11:53:00.000-05:00

Whether we’re on the internets, the ebays or the google we’ve all noted the majesty of video in the blogosphere. At no time was this more evident to us college football geeks than over these last few days of “Wedgygate” at the expense of the lovely USC Song Girls.

But the multimedia aspects of the Internet can also enhance and provide context for the written word as it is captured on blogs and in traditional newspapers. A case in point is Pete Carroll’s post-Rose Bowl comments about the importance of USC’s New Year’s Day win versus Michigan.

As we’ve seen and read, Carroll’s press conference statements are like streams of his consciousness, thick with run-on sentences and multiple thoughts within a single breath that can make it difficult to capture in written words the depth and meaning of what he says.

Reading three different newspaper accounts of his post-game presser, we see one of his statements quoted three different ways. Sure, each account records the essence of what Carroll says, but none do so with the emphasis and inflexion that captures his statements completely.

Video from NBC Sports on the other hand, does just that. You can see the relief, determination and pleasure in Carroll’s eyes as he rambles. You can see the energy and charisma that gets his players and recruits excited about the future of USC Football. You can fully understand what he is telling us. It’s subtle, but it’s there.

(For those video-challenged readers, here’s the transcript, which is the third best thing, audio being the second.):

"This is very important. You know, a young team wondering about what it feels like to be a great team and what that sense is. We’ve had that sense over the years at times, and when you feel that strong about your teammates and what we’re doing and the program, you’re really hard to beat. And we almost captured it. You know we almost had it this season. We didn’t quite get it done, and we missed our opportunity to take it all the way to the top. But it doesn’t matter. It’s all over with, you know. We won a Rose Bowl, had a great night, and did capture the feeling as we go into the off-season.

"The fact that we had our issue the last time we were here, our guys know that wasn’t us. That was the game out of the last 65 games that stood out because it was so unusual and so different, and we put it there for that reason and left it behind us. And charged on and started this, really, this is an opportunity – I don’t mind telling you – this was an opportunity to kick start what’s going on for this football team for the future, and I think we captured the night."

And, this exchange with a reporter:

“Pete you alluded to next season a little bit on the field. Is there any question where you’re going to be next season?”

“No. There’s no question. I have no question.”

No question. Video on the Internet is a wonderful thing.

Kind of like there was no question that our wonderful Song Girl "in question" is the lovely Megan. Although we already featured her yesterday, as did virtually every other college football blog, Beano tells me we have a tradition to uphold here.

So, true to this post and today being Thursday, we go to the video* …

Not sure what I like better … the free-form dancing or the standard not-quite-precisely-coordinated choreographed numbers. Then again, it doesn’t really matter.

*Hat Tip: The Wizard of Odds.

Rose Bowl Twirl: Third Time's the Charm (Sorta)

2007-01-03T07:09:00.000-05:00

Last week, the “twirl” was a day late. This week it’s a day early, for no other reason than the post-Rose Bowl blogosphere yesterday was awash in Song Girl lovin’ … actually it’s more like Song Girl objectifyin’, but either way …

As we mentioned earlier, USC’s last two appearances at the Rose Bowl were rather embarrassing for our darling Song Girls, and we were dreading a “three-peat.” But the third time was the charm: The Trojans came away with a meaningful victory in our “second home,” and there was no “double pompom over the head waving thing” (which we all like) happening at the wrong time.

And yet, lo and behold:

More importantly, our lovely Song Girls (one in particular) put a smile on the face of more than a few Michigan fans who didn’t have much to smile about following USC’s Rose Bowl win. And, if there are fans of college football who deserve a pick-me-up after a loss, it’s the Wolverines. I’ve now been to four USC-Michigan Rose Bowl games, and once again the maize and blue showed their knowledge, class and general respect for USC and the game.

Apparently, the sentiment is mutual:

Since I was at the game, I have a few things to add...

First off, all the credit in the world goes to USC. They won the game. Plain and simple. This wasn't about a call, a play or a bad bounce. This was a good old fashioned ass-whipping.

Also, SC fans were nothing but class. And, not surprisingly, they were loud, making the game sound like it was at the Coliseum at times.

And this from another Michigan fan: "USC fans... thanks for your hospitality. Great game... see you next year."

Now that’s what college football is supposed to be about. But, I digress …

One thing’s for sure: When our precious Song Girls twirl, college football bloggers pay attention. Some of them, maybe too much … like “Yost” and “Benny” at the MZone, who received props here last month for a particularly excellent production of “Song Girl: The Sequel.”

They were at it again yesterday, this time with some excellent (over)analysis:

Returning from the Rose Bowl, I was feeling pretty bad about the game...until we got emails […] with the picture of the USC Song Girl […] Needless to say, I smiled for the first time all day...and haven't stopped.

And the pic's the real deal. We checked.

Since Benny had the game on TiVo, he went to the 4:09 mark in the 2nd quarter to make sure the picture above was authentic and not Photoshopped. Because that's what we do, folks. We study (closely) the pictures of naked women so you can count on the MZone Seal of Authenticity.

Of course, sometime afterward the guys received an HD image of the shot, which showed our dear Song Girl was in fact wearing underwear, albeit tucked away thong-style, presumably after a Rockette-like kick.

This apparently ruined the fantasy (or supposed reality) for many a reader, not to mention Yost himself: “If that's what HD TV does -- spit on a man's fantasies - then I'd rather live in an analog world.”

The funny thing is our classy Song Girls not only wear their modest version of “tighty whiteys,” they also wear “nude” stockings, which surely ruin the mood even further. Somehow, a wedgy jammed between pantyhose just doesn’t have the same appeal, I suppose.

Either way, it doesn’t matter. I’m just thankful that our beloved Song Girls kept themselves in line long enough to ensure a win for USC at the Rose Bowl.

Just three days in and 2007 is looking so good … especially in HD.

UPDATE: The "analysis" and "research" continues ...
NOTE: The Song Girl in question is definitely Megan.
ADD: Megan (left, top photo) and Alli were already identified as suspects here.

UPDATE II: Boi From Troy has the definitive answer:

An anonymous, but well-informed source writes us with the most convincing evidence:
It’s Megan….here’s how I know. Alison and Ali are first years so they wouldn’t be second in the ’step-off’ line that’s reserved for older members…kim and natalie (the two song girls behind the twirlers are the captains. Also I know know them all, and from the pics I know who it is…

Rose Bowl Post-Game: USC is Back!

2007-01-02T12:32:00.000-05:00

We’re back …

Four weeks is all we needed. To repair broken psyches with the Magic Tennis Book and to realize that maintaining an emotional peak through a “rivalry month” gauntlet of Oregon, Cal, ND, and ugla is perhaps too much to ask of a developing young team.

This is how we do it. A defensive struggle in the first half, turned into a second-half blow out by smart adjustments on offense and an aggressive Trojan defense that forced the opponent into a one-dimensional game plan. We imposed our will, and we didn't let up until a 32-18 Rose Bowl victory was secured.

Order is restored. USC brought home a BCS Rose Bowl trophy on its way to securing another ridiculously talented recruiting class and an off-season of anticipation and hype.

In many ways this win felt like the 2003 Orange Bowl championship: USC playing like the best team in the nation, fighting through the first half of what was billed as the second-best bowl match-up of the season, followed by a dominant offensive explosion in the second half. And Pete Carroll at the post-game celebration yelling to all of us: “We’re just getting started!”

Indeed, it feels like we’re just getting started … again.

Stewart Mandel of SI.com captured the new, new conventional wisdom:

Mostly, the Rose Bowl was the culmination of a season-long maturation process for the Trojans. If anything, it was more indicative of what's to come than what just passed.

"We talked about that in the locker room [afterward], that this is the start of [2007]," said Carroll. "We're grateful for the guys that helped us, the seniors that leave, but really excited about the young guys coming back to get this thing going again."

So, the aberration is truly over. It was more like an anomaly, really. A freak accident exposed by the pathetic performance of an ugla team (not to mention an ugla “nation”) that couldn’t handle a miracle win. But more importantly, it was proven emphatically on the first day of 2007 by the genius of a coach who knows how to lead his team through think and thin.

Said Carroll: "It was important for us to reconnect with who we are and what our program is all about."

Exactly.

WE ARE SC!
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Rose Bowl Pre-Game: Auld Lang Syne

2006-12-31T15:35:00.000-05:00

What does “auld lang syne” actually mean? I have no idea … something about not forgetting old stuff.

It’s one of those things for which everyone has an explanation and each one seems to make sense, especially when you’ve had a few to drink. In the end, it doesn’t matter much once the New Year comes … we’re singing (or mumbling) any “auld” version of the song.

Of course, what does matter is USC Football, and when 2007 comes, the Trojan Family will know the words and what they mean … Fight On!

No doubt, tomorrow is an important day in the history of USC Football. It’s another Rose Bowl, another BCS bowl game, another classic match up with Michigan, our brethren of college football tradition and national status.

There have been lots of “consolation bowl” psycho-babble and X’s and O’s analysis over the last week (since the 13-9 tragedy, really), but one piece by Bruce Feldman at ESPN.com gets to the heart of the matter:

Make no mistake, there are some internal concerns about whether the USC program is on the brink of a downward spiral.

The loss to UCLA not only ruined the Trojans' bid to win their third national title in four seasons, but it also marked the end of an amazing NCAA-record streak of 63 games in which they had scored 20 or more points. It was the low point of a very inconsistent season for a team that was supposed to be carried by its defense. However, the defense just didn't make a lot of big plays. […]

The offense was nowhere near as dangerous as 2005. Of course, that had to be expected, right? [...] Still, no one expected the Trojans to lose to two unranked teams, Oregon State and UCLA. USC lost games it had been finding ways to win.

No wonder the Trojans' matchup with Michigan in the Rose Bowl presented by Citi is so vital to USC. There is also plenty of talk that this game is a battle for No. 1 … in 2007. […]

The Trojans figure to return seven starters on offense and 10 on defense to play a road-heavy schedule. Plus, we keep hearing about all of these great No. 1 ranked recruiting classes USC has stockpiled. And yes, the Trojans appear to be on their way to another ballyhooed recruiting class again this February.

It all sounds fantastic, but it would become a very long offseason if the Trojans can't stand up to Michigan. This is a crossroads game for USC. The Trojans must finish this season off on a strong beat. They have to snuff out any lingering doubt that grew from the UCLA debacle, which was indicative of a very un-Trojan-like season. […]

Of course, maybe it was just inevitable. USC had won 34 consecutive games and back-to-back national titles before its loss to Texas in the 2006 Rose Bowl. […]

Some former Miami coaches [who also had a 34-game winning streak from 2000-03] say it is virtually impossible to sustain that level. Great players jump to the NFL early. Assistant coaches move on. Younger players don't know what it took to get to that level. Worse still, they say, it takes a whole lot of great breaks to win 34 straight and eventually the breaks start going the other way. It is all such a delicate mix.

USC Football is indeed at a crossroads, and perhaps 2007 will define the Pete Carroll Era more than any other year. Forget about the first six years, it’s the next one (and however many following) that will tell us if this beautiful run is truly historic.

As we’ve said, the future is bright, and if a 10-win season with a Rose Bowl berth during a re-building year is the worst that Pete Carroll will give us, I’ll take it.

We’ll just have to see what 2007 shows us. It all starts tomorrow.

Happy New Year!

Fight On! Beat the Wolverines!
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Sun Bowl: Riley's Guts? USC Knows Better

2006-12-30T11:58:00.000-05:00

A few places around the blogosphere are lauding Mike Riley for his “game-winning” decision to go for two, rather than settle for an over-time-ensuring extra-point in the Sun Bowl yesterday. Guts they call it. But USC fans know better.

Never mind that Riley wouldn’t look so “smart” or “gutsy” if the Beavers had failed to convert two points ... or that OSU running back Yvenson Bernard barely made it into the end zone. USC fans experienced Riley’s “smarts” and “guts” when he was calling plays for the Trojans, and we know it’s just dumb luck.

We saw Riley's "guts" for nearly an entire season in 1995 when he was the offensive coordinator for the Trojans. Anyone who thinks Lane Kiffin’s performance this season is something to complain about doesn’t remember (or wasn’t around) for Riley’s debauchery 11 years ago …

Coming off a demolition of undersized Texas Tech at the Cotton Bowl (in which USC passed for 435 yards) to end the 1994 season, the Trojans were supposed to bring USC Football back to glory in ‘95. SI’s college football preview issue featured Keyshawn Johnson on the cover and ranked USC No. 1. Johnson was a leading Heisman candidate, and L.A. was abuzz with anticipation for the season.

Adding to the hype, 1995 was the third season of John Robinson’s second tenure as USC head coach, and the “experts” were drawing parallels to Robinson’s first stint at SC in which the Trojans won the national championship in 1978. All the pieces were in place, supposedly.

As we know now, Robinson Part Deux was a bad retread, and Riley as OC was a big part of the problem. First, USC decided to go with a two-headed quarterback – Brad Otten and Kyle Wachholtz. Then, Riley decided to use Johnson as a decoy (in a literal attempt to turn USC back into “Tailback U”) rather than throw to the proven prototype 6’ 4” receiver that nobody could cover.

The results, given the hype and expectations, were not good. USC lost to Notre Dame 38-10 and listlessly tied Washington the following week. Sure the Trojans locked up a Pac-10 title, but then USC lost 24-20 to ugla at the Coliseum.

In what may be the worst example of clock management in the history of USC Football, the Trojan offense, needing two scores late in the game, took its sweet time, repeatedly running the ball to score a single touchdown … which left no time for another score. Pathetic and useless.

It wasn’t until the Rose Bowl that Riley got some brains (or guts) … he stayed with Otten for the entire game and got Keyshawn the “damn ball.” As a result, USC came back to beat No. 3 Northwestern … No. 3 Northwestern … 41-32.

It was a great bowl win, but USC fans were left wondering what might have been if Riley had displayed more guts (or brains) throughout the ’95 season. Instead he waited until the last quarter of the Rose Bowl to find his “cajones.” (And, of course, it was all down hill from there, until lightning struck and Mike Garrett won the Pete Carroll Lotto.)

No doubt the Sun Bowl was a nice win for Oregon State. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than smart.

Fight On! Beat the Wolverines!
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Holiday Bowl: Tedford Knows How to Win

2006-12-29T07:44:00.000-05:00

What a difference a day makes.

Wednesday night we witnessed a Pac-10 coach who doesn’t know how to win … last night we saw a coach that does.

Sure, Cal’s Jeff Tedford represented the conference well, notching the Pac-10’s first win after three bowl-season losses, with an emphatic 45-10 beat down of those weirdos … I mean, Aggies … of Texas A&M. Tedford proved once again that he is indeed the Pac-10’s second best coach.

But perhaps more importantly Tedford showed an ESPN audience how to win with class. When the Bears scored their last touchdown with 28 seconds left in the game, Tedford could be seen on the sideline visibly upset because his back-up quarterback Steve Levy called a running play for back-up running back Bryan Shutte, instead of taking a knee as he was instructed.

Tedford was yelling, “What are you doing? What are you doing?,” while the rest of the Cal sideline celebrated, and as Levy came off the field, Tedford grabbed Levy’s facemask and let him have it. Afterward he presumably apologized to Aggie coach Dennis Franchione, then explained his animated conversation with Levy to Erin Andrews.* Excellent.

Of course, no one can say Karl Dorrell doesn’t have enough class to pull off a move like Tedford’s … but we’ll never really know, because he lacks the coaching prowess to build a 35-point bowl game lead in the first place.

Fight On! Beat the Wolverines!

* A gratuitous mention of Erin Andrews as a bonus, since we missed our typical Thursday fare yesterday …

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Emerald Bowl: End of the Aberration

2006-12-28T00:50:00.000-05:00

Florida State 44, ugla 27. Not sure if this should make us feel better or worse about 13-9. At this point, probably neither.

Still, it was enjoyable to see ugla in a sorry “bowl game” played in a baseball stadium with empty seats all over … and both teams on the same sideline … with what looked like a set of 20-row bleachers behind them … and ESPN’s “C” team doing the telecast.

A perfect setting for a second-class football program.

The self-described “nation” is bound to tell itself that the embarrassing loss in a crappy bowl game makes 13-9 worthless. We know that’s not quite the case, but it’s nice to see the doubt back in ugla's eyes … and surely in the minds of top high school football players throughout Southern California.

Congrats to Lorenzo Booker.

The Rose Bowl, Baby!

Beat the Wolverines!
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CSTV: USC vs Michigan "Battle of the Blogs"

2006-12-27T17:00:00.000-05:00

CSTV asked this Displaced Trojan, along with several other USC blogs, to go head-to-head with our Michigan counterparts this week in a “Battle of the Blogs.”

Kyle from TrojanWire led off the festivities yesterday, taking on Michigan Against the World. The question: What makes your school’s fan base so special? Of course, in true TW style Kyle delivered a lesson in fun and sarcasm – while also dropping some knowledge – that couldn’t be matched.

The DT is up second for USC versus the Wolverines’ UMTailgate. Luckily for us, the question is loaded: What makes your school’s bowl tradition so special?

Admittedly, our style here is a little less "funny smartass" than the guys at TrojanWire, but no need for that here anyway. This one is no contest. Here’s an excerpt for the link-challenged …

When it comes to tradition in bowl games, very few schools compare to USC Football … and Michigan doesn't even come close.

The Trojans have appeared in 44 bowl games and are second only to Alabama in total bowl victories with 28 (the Crimson Tide have 30). USC's nine consecutive bowl wins (1923, '30, '32, '33, '39, '40, '44, '45 Rose Bowls, and the 1924 Christmas Festival) is second only to Florida State's streak of 11.

But when it comes to the "Granddaddy of Them All," USC is second to none. The Trojans have 30 total appearances and 21 victories in the Rose Bowl, by far more than any other school. Yes, Michigan has played in its share of Rose Bowls, but the Wolverines' record is a losing one (8-11), and the Trojans enjoy a 6-2 edge in Pasadena versus the maize and blue.

Check out CSTV for the whole Displaced take, as well as the UMTailgate side of the coin. We don’t know who’s up third, but good luck to both sides nonetheless.

Fight On! Beat the Wolverines!
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Bowl Season: Rooting Only for USC

2006-12-26T23:42:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine who happens to be a fellow Pac-10 alum told me recently that he roots for all Pac-10 teams during bowl games. My reaction: Why the hell would you do that?

Why would any fan of any college football team root for other teams in their conference during bowl season?

I can understand pulling for conference mates against non-conference opponents during the regular season, when the perception of conference strength plays into the human polls and computer rankings. But there really isn’t any reason to do so in bowl games. Seriously.

Do you think Oregon’s crude and vulgar fans will be throwing up the “V” for USC on New Year’s Day? No. Is anyone from ugla planning to hand over their parking pass for us Trojans in Pasadena? Not a chance. Can you honestly tell me that any one of Cal’s fans want USC to win any game, let alone the Rose Bowl? No way.

Even if the feelings weren’t mutual, I would still root against every Pac-10 school during bowl season. It isn’t enough to simply win five consecutive Pac-10 championships. If USC wants to continue its conference dominance and enjoy its position as the national power of this new millennium, the Trojans must win the recruiting war in California. The bowl game results play an important part in doing so.

What do you think sounds worse to an ugla recruit: Karl Dorrell after a win versus perennial power FSU, or Karl Dorrell after a loss in a crappy bowl game in a half-filled baseball stadium? Of course, we’re talking about Karl Dorrell, and only a few ugla recruits are on Pete Carroll’s list, so perhaps that’s a bad example … but you know what I mean.

I’m glad that BYU embarrassed the Oregon Ducks in Las Vegas, even though Mike Bellotti should have already been ashamed for letting his kids wear those garish uniforms.

I’m happy Hawaii’s Colt Brennan spanked ASU in Dirk Koetter’s last game.

I hate ugla, and ugla hates us. So what if it’s just the Emerald Bowl. Go, Florida State!

Cal in the Holiday Bowl versus Texas A&M? Forget it. I don’t hear DeSean Jackson talking this week, but I’d love to see him get shut up and shut down again.

Oregon State against Missouri in the lowly Sun Bowl is exactly right. The Beavers should get something for beating USC, but they don’t deserve another reason to celebrate on national TV.

It’s pretty simple really. USC Football is a nationally recognized program. Every team in the Pac-10 wants what we have, and a bowl game victory could get them that much closer to the Trojans. Why in the world would any USC fan root for that?

We Are SC!

Fight On! Beat the Wolverines!
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Scott Wolf "Maybe" or "May Be" a Bad Reporter

2006-12-22T11:47:00.000-05:00

A few college football reporters, including USC troublemaker … I mean, beat writer … Scott Wolf of the L.A. Daily News, told us that Norm Chow (right) made a disparaging comment about Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian, the two “young guns” who together hold what used to be Chow’s job as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at USC.

Wrote Wolf in his “blog”:

Former USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow was interviewed on 570-AM today.
Here's a couple quotes: […]

On offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin and assistant coach Steve Sarkisian:

"I know (UCLA defensve coordinator) DeWayne Walker may be better than both of those guys.''

USC fans who don’t know any better might consider this an outstanding piece of reporting by Wolf. The problem is there are those of us who do know better … like anyone who heard the interview with their own ears.

Listen* to Chow’s statement, and it is very clear that Chow is actually attempting to articulate only that he knows Walker better than Kiffin and Sarkisian, not that he thinks Walker is better than USC’s “dynamic duo.”

At least one reader of Wolf’s “blog” accurately interpreted the meaning of Chow’s statement:

"I [personally] know DeWayne Walker MAYBE better than [either] of those guys [know DeWayne] (as Chow coached a year w/ him), and DeWayne's one heck of a football coach, and that's why it wasn't too surprising when Dewayne did what he did with UCLA".

Perhaps, Wolf could learn something from his ugla counterpart, Brian Dohn, who also writes a blog for the Daily News. Unlike Wolf, Dohn occasionally responds to his readers' comments. And apparently, unlike Wolf, Dohn checks multiple sources before writing a post.

All I can do is speak for myself and my philosophy. I treat my blog like an extension of a newspaper story. I do not run items without multiple sources confirming the story. I never did, and never will, deal with rumor in a newspaper story I write, or a blog entry I make. I will get beaten on a story before I will write something I did not confirm to be accurate. That is my approach. It always has been, and always will be.

Of course, in the case of Chow’s radio interview, the only sources Wolf had to check were his two ears and perhaps his brain. Not very reliable, apparently.

Anyway, all this points to a possible reason why Division I athletic directors continue to pass on Chow for open head coaching spots. Perhaps he doesn’t speak definitively enough … that is, with enough authority and clarity. Chow’s careless use of an ambiguous word “maybe” doesn’t sound like someone willing to make tough, program-altering decisions.

Take out the “maybe” and Chow’s words can’t be misconstrued, even by a beat writer with an agenda:

"I know DeWayne Walker ~~may be~~ better than both of those guys.''

Sure, this is nitpicking, but sometimes the little details make all the difference. Certainly, good reporters understand this. It’s too bad Wolf isn’t one of them.

Fight On! Beat the Wolverines!

* Download the interview.
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USC Football: Reading Wonders

2006-12-21T07:57:00.000-05:00

We heard from the L.A. Times yesterday that Pete Carroll used his Magic Tennis Book again to improve the spirits (and presumably the play) of another Trojan who was down in the dumps.

This time it was Kyle Williams, who was apparently so distraught and depressed following his three-false-start performance during the 13-9 tragedy that he couldn’t bring himself to practice on Monday. Quoted the Times:

"That week after the game was pretty hard," said Williams, who was called for three false starts. "You try to forget about it but it seems like everywhere you've turned you're just getting reminded of it.

"I just had to get my head on straight."

Williams, a fifth-year senior, said Carroll on Monday gave him a copy of "The Inner Game of Tennis," a book that shaped Carroll's coaching philosophy. Earlier this season, Carroll gave the book to defensive lineman Lawrence Jackson when the fourth-year junior was putting too much pressure on himself.

"I wish I had known about it sooner," Williams said. "I'm about halfway done and it's really helped me be not so critical and just relax."

Now, I’m no magician, and I’m certainly no “genius” like our man Carroll, but I can’t help the feeling that this Magic Tennis Book could be doing more for USC Football. Am I missing something here … ?

Why does Carroll wait until after his players screw up before he gives them the magic book to read? Why didn’t Williams hear about the book sooner, if not from Carroll then from Jackson, the latest beneficiary of its magic?

Why doesn’t Carroll give every Trojan player a copy of the book? Couldn’t all his players benefit from its powers … or is it just one special dog-eared copy that is blessed with game-improving mojo?

And even if it is just one particular magic copy, couldn’t Carroll have his players gather around a table in groups of four or five so they can read the thing together? According to Williams, you only need to read half the book for it to start working, anyway!

I don’t get it. But then again, I’m not a “genius.”

Happy Holidays!

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Stanford Football: Not Even Trying

2006-12-20T08:52:00.000-05:00

As we mentioned, ASU’s hiring of Dennis Erickson last week tells us that Sun Devil A.D. Lisa Love is all about winning, never mind the quality of the student-athletes Erickson will bring to Tempe.

This week we see the other side of the coin, as Jim Harbaugh was officially introduced yesterday as head coach of the Stanford Indians … uh, Cardinals … I mean, Cardinal.

In case you weren’t paying attention, this tells us that Stanford A.D. Bob Bowlsby (above) is not about winning, never mind the quality of the student-athletes (especially the athlete part) Harbaugh will not bring to Palo Alto.

By all accounts, Harbaugh (right, with his dad) is a great guy. He did go DUI last year, but we’ve read “violin” stories about his love of coaching, which grew when he tagged along during his father’s coaching career, like Harbaugh’s young son is doing now. And, he knows Stanford, having graduated from Palo Alto High around the time his dad was an assistant coach for the Cardinals in the early ‘80s.

It’s all touching, and it warms your heart. The problem is it don’t mean jack when it comes to resuscitating an occasionally proud program at the bottom of what could be the strongest conference in college football next year.

So, we have to ask …

Does Bowlsby seriously think Harbaugh has a chance to compete on the field or on the recruiting trail with the likes of Jeff Tedford, Mike Bellotti, Ty Willingham, and even Karl Dorrell?

Is Bowlsby seriously not aware that Pete Carroll, Charlie Weis, Bob Stoops, and Lloyd Carr are chuckling right now … if not scratching their heads?

If Bowlsby is serious, then he is an idiot. If he’s not serious, then he’s … an idiot.

Simply put, this hire is embarrassing for the Pac-10, and an insult to the many D-1 and NFL coaches and assistants who are significantly more qualified than Harbaugh (like Lane Kiffin.)

Josh Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News* breaks down the facts:

For the past three seasons, Harbaugh has been the head coach at the University of San Diego, a I-AA school that does not offer scholarships. He has never coached at Stanford, never been a I-A assistant, never recruited I-A players, couldn’t get the Tulane job [which went to former UCLA head coash Bob Toledo] and a year ago was nailed for DUI. […]

The reasons for Stanford fans to be nervous are many:
Here are the teams [San Diego] beat this season: Azusa Pacific, Dixie State, Yale, Davidson, Butler, Valpo, Drake, Morehead State, Jacksonville, Dayton and Monmouth — mighty Monmouth! The only loss was to the best team on the schedule, UC-Davis.
Harbaugh was 29-6 at USD, but he repeatedly refused to schedule the best I-AA teams in California. He did not play Poly, he did not play Sacramento State, and his only tango with Davis was a loss. Instead, he feasted on the lowest of the low in I-AA.
Harbaugh, according to sources in the coaching industry, has tried to get a handful of jobs in the past two years and failed each time. Forget what you might have read about him turning down the Tulane job — he didn’t get offered. Good thing for him that Stanford took the bait.
There’s also the not-insignificant matter of Harbaugh’s DUI arrest in Nov. ‘05. What kind of message does that send to the players? What kind of example does that set?

Who knows? Maybe Harbaugh will shock the world in a few years. Maybe Bowlsby will win Stanford’s version of the Mike Garrett Lotto … which for the Cardinal would mean a trip to the Emerald Bowl in three years.

Then again, who are we to complain? Harbaugh seems like a good guy, and an extra bye week on our schedule is always nice.

Fight On! Beat the Wolverines!

* Hat tip: The Wizard of Odds
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USC: Future is Bright, No Hype Needed

2006-12-19T09:01:00.000-05:00

It may have been raining in L.A. this past weekend, but the outlook was bright for USC Football.

According to the buzz-makers over at wearesc.com, USC enjoyed a "huge recruiting weekend," fresh off the buzz of a verbal commitment from Kristofer O’Dowd, who is listed as the nation’s No. 1-ranked center at Scouts.com and a few other “expert” sites.

Still, it was on the field where the Trojans’ future shown brightest Saturday night in the CIF high school “bowl” games at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. According to the Los Angeles Times:

In separate games Saturday, the best high school football team in the state and the best high school football quarterback in the nation supposedly were on the field […], but those focusing on Concord De La Salle and Westlake Village Oaks Christian's Jimmy Clausen might have been watching the wrong games.

Orange Lutheran and quarterback Aaron Corp [above] turned the Division II CIF State Championship Bowl Game against Palo Alto into a showcase event, resulting in a 42-28 victory.

Corp, headed for USC, repeatedly burned Palo Alto's defense. He rushed 11 times for 136 yards, including touchdowns of 31 and 52 yards, and passed for four touchdowns […]

Meanwhile, Clausen had his worst performance of the season, throwing three interceptions in a 27-20 sub-par victory over Santa Rosa Cardinal Newman in the Division III game.

Ever since Clausen fanned the flames his own over-hyped existence to announce (at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, no less) his commitment to Charlie Weis (and by “commitment” we mean … well, we can’t be sure what that means), several “experts” have said that perhaps USC got the better player.

Apparently, Clausen’s own teammates are thinking the same thing. Oaks Christian running back Mark Tyler, who took over Clausen’s spot as the No. 1 prospect in the nation earlier this season, and safety Marshall Jones, a top-10 recruit in his own right, who took over at running back after Tyler was hurt a few weeks ago, are both heading to USC.

As for Corp, it turns out his Orange Lutheran team could have dominated its game even more if fellow USC-bound teammate Michael Reardon, a “four-star” defensive end (with a 3.9 GPA and a 1510 SAT) hadn’t been injured the previous week.

We know that none of this stuff is a science, and there are no guarantees for USC Football three or four years down the line. But something tells us that the Trojans will be in good hands when the likes of Corp, Tyler, Jones, et al., get their chance to compete on Howard Jones Field.

No doubt, the future looks bright, even in the rain.
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USC Vote: Let's Try This Again

2006-12-18T08:52:00.000-05:00

So, maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to assume (i.e., ass u me) that Nebraska fans had anything better to do than vote for their three teams in ESPN’s "All-Time Greatest College Football Playoff."

Apparently, we weren’t alone in thinking that perhaps the voting smelled like rotten corn, as Kirk Herbstreit made abundantly clear while the College GameDay crew revealed the results. “This is ridiculous,” he said.

Herbstreit’s take was that the final should have matched USC 2004 versus Miami 2001, and he wasn’t alone. Todd Blackledge tapped the ’04 Trojans for the final, as well as the Lispy One, who said: “The [2004] Southern Cal team […] I thought was maybe the best team of all time.” No kidding ... Holtz actually said that.

But it was Herbstreit who was most adamant:

Rece Davis: So, you’re calling into question the entire process.

Herbsreit: I am. … My goal is for next year to try to make sure that South Florida somehow gets ESPN Classic, and that Southern California gets ESPN Classic … because the ’04 ‘SC team and the ’01 Miami team are the two best teams in this.

So, now we know better, and maybe ESPN’s College GameDay crew does, as well.

Still, this doesn’t mean we should give up on other pre-bowl-season, dead-zone-filling voting things. Sure, we know now that these greatest team or playoff scenario brackets are “ridiculous.” But perhaps we can stack the deck in another type of contest … maybe in a category in which even an east coast biased idiot like Beano Cook could lend his support.

As luck would have it, we found just the ticket over at CBS Sportsline, which is in the midst of its Cheerleader of the Week Playoffs. As we join the fray, our beloved USC Song Girls (don’t call them cheerleaders) have already survived a first-round match-up as the No. 9 seed versus Michigan’s eighth-ranked cheering squad.

How our lovely Song Girls could possibly be ranked ninth, let alone one spot behind Michigan, I’m not sure. But, one look at the top seeds tells us that the bracket has the look of southern inferiority complex all over it. Our No. 9 seeding means we’re up against No. 1 LSU this week.

No matter, though … at the time of this writing, our pristine Song Girls lead those sweaty Bayou babes by six percentage points with 10,491 votes counted.

For sure, there is a long way to go (voting is open until Friday), but clearly, we can do this! So, let’s stuff some ballot boxes, and spread the word throughout the Trojan Family, again.

This time we may get some help from non-Trojans, too. Even though it’s not Thursday, we know Beano is good for at least 500 votes.

Fight On! Beat the Tigers!
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USC 'Denial': One Scott Got It Right

2006-12-17T08:19:00.000-05:00

Scott Olin Schmidt, aka the original Boi From Troy, was the first to point out the “surreal denial” of USC Football at its annual awards dinner Thursday night. Not only did the team not present the Marv Goux Award, given annually to the most outstanding player in the ugla game, but the rest of the festivities, according to Schmidt, included no mention of 13-9 whatsoever.

The complete denial that USC even played UCLA in 2006 -- let alone the outcome -- was apparent when guests sat at their tables and thumbed through the evening's program. […] As dessert was served, fans and football players were treated to video-highlights of the season -- well most of it. After featuring the first nine games of the season, the highlight reel showed the best plays from the November 25 USC-Notre Dame rivalry game, set to U2's "Saints Are Coming," followed by the greatest hits from the November 18 "Pac Ten Championship" game against California ... then it ended.

Schmidt also tells us that Pete Carroll presented plaques to the service team and special team captains only for the Trojans’ first 11 games. He points out too that “denial over a big loss is nothing new at Heritage Hall. USC has yet to update its banner of Rose Bowl appearances to include their 2006 loss to Texas in last year's BCS Title Game.”

A nice bit of insight from the Boi From Troy.

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said of Scott Wolf of the L.A. Daily News, the USC alum and beat reporter who seems to take pleasure in provoking over-reactions from Trojan fans who read his “blog.”

Ironically, Wolf was caught cleaning up some “sloppy seconds” Friday after phoning in a post that merely listed the awards given out on Thursday night, without mention of the “missing” Goux Award or the feeling of denial at the dinner. Attempting to make up lost ground, Wolf followed with a post the next afternoon, asking a leading question in typical fashion:

Did you notice last night's football banquet did not give out an award for the UCLA game, even though it's been a tradition to honor players for the UCLA and Notre Dame games.

Of course, Wolf’s answer to his own query is “no.” (Never mind that he didn’t actually end his question with a question mark.) We note here that Wolf posted this on his “blog” at 2:36 pm PST, hours after Schmidt posted his AOL Fanhouse piece at 12:13 pm EST. Hmmm … does Wolf owe the Boi From Troy and "hat tip"?

The original version of Wolf’s “daily notes” for the online version of the Daily News made no mention of the “missing award” (although the article was later updated, after Wolf's "blog" entry.) And in a move that smacks of guilty over-compensation, Wolf attempted to add some insight to the matter at 10:56 pm PST with a follow up post listing players who were given the Goux Award during years in which USC lost to ugla.

Sometimes it’s funny when (through the beauty of time stamping) we get to see the tail waging the dog. Actually, that might be the wrong analogy ... but either way, it’s even funnier to see the dog licking up his own mess. But, I digress …

Schmidt’s take on the “missing” awards includes an interesting question: “I find the denial at Heritage Hall over that game troubling, since if we cannot acknowledge our failures, how can we hope to avoid them in the future?”

I tend to agree, except that presenting awards for individual performance during a losing cause seems at least somewhat counter-intuitive to the team concept, and it might be flat out wrong when that loss is unquestionably the most devastating defeat of the Pete Carroll era.

As we’ve stated here before, our man Carroll has proven that he learns from his mistakes. Perhaps we should trust that he and his staff have learned from 13-9, and a decision was made that this “denial” is just part of the healing process. I say denial is okay, if there is a method to the madness.

Either way, we’ll find out starting January 1.

Fight On! Beat the Wolverines!
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Charlie Loves Brady

2006-12-15T00:01:00.000-05:00

Sometimes a picture is indeed worth a thousand words ... and given Charlie Weis's penchant for over analysis, maybe more.

Hat tip: jbox at A Choad's Guide to USC Football.

Rose Bowl: Nerds, Freaks and USC Song Girls

2006-12-14T09:01:00.000-05:00

As we’ve pointed out before, the Force is strong in the Trojan Family. I am not embarrassed to say so … no, I’m proud to say it, damn it … because I am an admitted USC Star Wars nerd.

Still, that’s not to admit that I’m a Star Wars freak. There is a difference, which will be abundantly clear on January 1.

I’ve been to USC’s last six Rose Bowls, but I’ve never been to a Rose Parade. And even though one of my heroes, Star Wars creator and USC alum George Lucas, is the Grand Marshal of the 2007 parade, I refuse to waste good tailgating time to go see it.

The same can’t be said for 200 Star Wars freaks … I mean, “superfans” … who will dress up and march as Stormtroopers (or “clones” depending on your pre- or post-Empire perspective) along with Lucas in the parade. I would never do that.

Sure, I’m nerd enough to want to catch the two Star Wars-themed floats on someone’s TV after parking on the Riverside Golf Course. But I’m not freak enough to want to be in the parade … unless I could grab a spot next to the Song Girls, who will also be marching.

I know I’m not alone. There are other college-football-loving Star Wars nerds in the blogosphere, including Brian Cook, who runs the outstanding Michigan blog mgoblog and whose double-duty post on AOL’s Fanhouse brought this matter to our attention. (Props, or “hat tip” as it were, to him.) I don’t know Cook personally, but only a fellow Star Wars nerd could write this:

Let's say you're a big Michigan fan from Alderaan with earmuff hair, kind of a pouty thing going on, some droids, and a destroyed home world. You're probably in a bad mood. Things have not gone well of late, what with everyone you know and love evaporating as you watched from the Empire's ultimate weapon of terror, not to mention Florida going to the national championship game.

So what's the last thing you probably want to see when you roll into Pasedena for the Rose Parade? Hundreds of Stormtroopers. So let this be a public service announcement for anyone who finds themselves in this situation: skip the parade and go tailgate, because George Lucas is the Grand Marshall and wherever he goes he brings a phalanx of laser-toting bodyguards for protection from uppity Jedi Knights.* Just FYI.

*Probably something of an exagerration.

Obviously, Cook knows that Lucas is a USC alum, because he presumes that Lucas will be on the dark side on New Year's Day. Light side … dark side … it doesn’t matter to me, as long as our Song Girls behave themselves and give USC Football a chance to win the game.

USC Football: A Vote for MNC

2006-12-12T16:58:00.000-05:00

Just as we posted a request for votes on ESPN.com, up popped another, perhaps more urgent need for the Trojan Family to stuff the ballot box.

This time it’s over at SI.com, which this afternoon put up The Ultimate Playoff to promote the proposed playoff format for college football that SI published in last week’s print edition.*

Here’s how it works:

Teams were seeded according to their final BCS ranking, with the six conference champions and the next two highest-ranked teams receiving bids. A maximum of two teams per conference were allowed. Your vote determines the winner of each round. Check back each day and vote. The champion will be revealed on Friday.

So, given the “final” BCS rankings, No. 5 USC is set against No. 4 LSU. Here’s SI.com’s take on the match up:

No. 4 LSU vs. No. 5 USC: The most explosive athletes in the West meet their Southern counterparts. USC has struggled to consistently run the ball all season, and it doesn't seem like the Trojans will fare any better against LSU, the nation's No. 2 overall defense. USC will rely on John David Booty, a Shreveport, La. native whose two older brothers played for LSU. The Tigers will also need a solid performance from their signal-caller, junior JaMarcus Russell. Naturally talented, Russell must stay away from the mental mistakes that have plagued him his entire career. The Trojans can be beat through the air, but USC safeties Taylor Mays and Kevin Ellison must be respected. In an evenly matched game featuring a number of freakish burners, watch for the smallest guy on the field -- LSU's Trindon Holliday, who is 5-foot-5, 159 pounds of pure speed -- to make an impact returning kicks.

Perpetuators of the southern inferiority complex, like that obsessed freak at LSUoverUSC must be drooling … and he must be voting every five seconds, because as of this writing, LSU leads USC by 20% of the vote.

Come on, Trojans! We can still win ~~the~~ a national championship!

Fight On … and VOTE!

*You'll need an SI print subscription to see this link.
east coast bias
UPDATE: The Trojan Family is coming through. As of 9:24 eastern time, USC is only 4 percentage points down with 82,112 votes in. "LSUoverUSC" must be freaking out! LOL.

UPDATE: The first round results are out now (12/13/06), and all four top-seeds advanced, meaning that "LSUoverUSC" can enjoy a mythical win over the Trojans in his mind, while we retain claim to our 2003 national title and No. 1 ranking in both pertinent polls after the '03 regular season. LSU received 66,228 votes (54%) to USC's 56,890. So, obviously, SI's idea for a playoff sucks!

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USC Football: Four Chances to Win

2006-12-12T09:01:00.000-05:00

I’ve never been a drug addict (thank goodness), so I don’t really know what it’s like to go through serious withdrawals. Actually, I did take myself off caffeine a while ago. That experience included a few weeks of dull pain in my head, which I suppose is somewhat similar to true college football fans watching meaningless basketball games while waiting for the “bowl season” to start.

Luckily, ESPN.com understands withdrawals. To give us college gridiron junkies a fix, ESPN’s “experts” put together the All-Time Greatest College Football Playoff, a chance for us to vote for the “greatest team ever” in a 32-team bracket format. Here’s the hype:

How would John McKay’s 1972 USC Trojans fare against Herschel Walker’s 1980 Georgia Bulldogs? What about the national champion Texas Longhorns of 2005 against the 2000 Oklahoma Sooners? Which team would win head-to-head?

This is cool, but the really great news for USC Football fans is that we have four chances to win: USC teams from 1932, ’62, ’72, and ’04 made the “tournament.” Oklahoma has the most with five. As for USC’s rivals, ND has three, and alas, ugla has none.

Anyway, let’s spread the word throughout the Trojan Family and get the vote out. Apparently, we can only vote once per computer or IP address, so don’t bother to vote repeatedly, but do cast votes from every computer to which you have (presumably legal) access … seriously. The first-round winners will be announced tomorrow night, so let’s get cracking!

Certainly, I’ll vote for all four of our teams as long as they survive, but the favorite is clearly USC’s 1972 Trojans. Four years ago, ESPN’s Page 2 ranked the ‘72 team as the second best college football team of all-time, just behind Nebraska’s 1971 Cornhuskers. Said the “world wide leader”:

USC, coached by John McKay, finished the season 12-0 after blowing out Ohio State 42-17 in the Rose Bowl. In the process, the Trojans became the first team to be named No. 1 on every ballot of both the coaches and media polls. Keith Jackson, who's forgotten more about college football than we'll ever know, said the '72 Trojans were the best ever. He might be right, but we're giving Nebraska just a slight edge.

Of course, this was written before USC's "Leave No Doubt Tour" of 2004, but we know Keith Jackson is right! Not only were the ’72 Trojans the unanimous No. 1 in both polls, but USC’s strength of schedule and the dominance it displayed in plowing through its opponents was astounding, if not unprecedented.

The ‘72 Trojans beat their 12 opponents by an average of almost 28 points per game. Their schedule included six ranked teams -- No. 4 Nebraska, No. 15 Stanford, No. 18 Washington, No. 14 UCLA, No. 10 Notre Dame, and No. 3 Ohio State -- which USC beat by an average of 20.2 points per game. And, as ESPN pointed out, the ’72 Trojans capped the season with a 25-point victory over the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl.

In terms of pure talent, ’72 USC also had five first-team All-Americans: linebacker Richard Wood, fullback Sam "Bam" Cunningham, offensive tackle Pete Adams, defensive tackle John Grant, and consensus pick at tight end Charlie Young. In addition, 10 seniors were taken in the 1973 NFL draft, including three first-round selections: Young, Cunningham, and Adams.

But that’s just the seniors. The ’72 underclassmen included future All-American (not to mention NFL Hall-of-Famer) Lynn Swann, who was a junior that year, as well two standout sophomores: USC legend and “Irish” killer Anthony Davis and Wood, the Trojans’ first three-time, first-team All-American.

No doubt about it. Keith Jackson knows what he’s talking about. Then again, there's 2004 ...
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There Goes the Neighborhood

2006-12-11T12:01:00.000-05:00

Virtually every college football head coach deserves some respect. Dennis Erickson isn’t one of them. Scott Wolf mentioned on his Inside USC “blog” that “every Pac-10 coach just got a lot more worried about the Sun Devils than they were when Dirk Koetter coached the team.”

I say Wolf is right, if he means that we should all be worried about the general safety of our communities when Arizona State comes to town. Erickson has a history in the college game of jumping ship, while leaving a lovely “legacy” where ever he goes, and his reputation precedes him.

Ask ND and Bob Davie. They’ll tell you about the 41-9 beating the “Irish” took at the hands of the J.C.-transfer thugs Erickson assembled at Oregon State for the 2001 Fiesta Bowl. While it’s possible that the Domer Hype Machine may have helped to promote Oregon State’s negative image as “Boys Town Northwest,” it was Erickson who allowed the image to stick. Of course, he was gone to the League two years later.

At Miami, Erickson did his “finest” work, riding Jimmie Johnson’s momentum to two national championships before ultimately steering the Canes to the brink of death-penalty sanctions. Under his watch, “the U” had 57 football players falsify Pell Grant applications to steal more than $200,000 from 1989 to 1994 (the entire length of Erickson’s tenure). This, along with several other controversies led SI to conclude that Miami should shut down its football program in 1995.

Of course, Erickson left for the League before he had to admit any responsibility for his actions (or blind eye), leaving Butch Davis to clean up his mess and re-build Miami’s program, without a full compliment of scholarships and less-than-standard talent.

As for Erickson’s two-year stint at Wazzu in the late ‘80s, I can’t remember much about the ethical quality of his Cougars, but we do know that the ugla “nation” must not have fond memories of him. It was Erickson’s spread offense that confounded Terry Donahue in 1988, when the Cougars beat the Troy Aikman-led bruins 34-30, ending ugla's two-week run at No. 1. As the bruin “nation” would like us to believe, any team that beats ugla in any sport must be made up of thugs and academic underachievers … but in this case, they’re probably right.

Anyway, all this makes you wonder about Lisa Love’s decision-making process. Not only did she choose a proven job-hopping mercenary as ASU's coach, she was deciding from among two others who aren’t much better: Mike Price, formerly of “Stripper Gate” and responsible for idiots like Ryan Leaf, and current “Boys Town” coach Mike Riley, whose own fans are now calling him a “donkey.”

As for Pac-10 coaches being worried about Erickson’s spread offense, I doubt our man Pete Carroll is shaking in his shoes much. And, I’m sure good coaches like Jeff Tedford and DeWayne Walker will be fine, as well.

It’s our women and children I’m worried about.
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Maxwell Award ... No, Thanks

2006-12-09T09:31:00.000-05:00

The Axis of East Coast Bias continues to rear its ugly grey head inside a golden dome …

The New York Times ran a story by Bill Pennington on the front page of the sports section yesterday, attempting to replace general ignorance with some knowledge about the origins of the Heisman Trophy.

Of course, in its typical pseudo-aware, east coast biased way, the Grey Lady assumes there is ignorance to be replaced … and even worse, it illustrates the supposed ignorance by calling out a former Heisman winner from USC. In an obviously biased pull-quote, right next to a photo of the trophy, it reads:

‘The award is wonderful, but who’s Heisman?’
MIKE GARRETT, after being handed the trophy in 1965

Who’s to say that Garrett, now USC’s A.D., actually said this? And, even if he did, the guess here is that Pennington chose to use Garrett’s words because, as the first Heisman winner from California, Garrett was the one least likely to know anything about John Heisman. Then again, maybe Garrett’s quote was simply more articulate than those from other ignorant Heisman winners on their special night:

Eric Crouch (Nebraska) in 2001:
“The award is wonderful … Now I’m off to play QB in the NFL!”

Chris Weinke (Florida State) in 2000:
“The award is wonderful … It’s the coolest thing I’ve won in my life, all 38 years of it.”

Ricky Williams (Texas) in 1998:
“The award is wonderful … I can hide my stash in the base.”

Paul Hornung (Notre Dame) in 1956:
“The award is wonderful … I knew throwing ... er, I mean losing all those games would pay off.”

Nonetheless, Pennington does provide some decent information, describing John Heisman as the “conscience” of the game. According to the article, Heisman is responsible for legalizing the forward pass, as well as inventing the center snap, the “fumblerooski” hidden ball trick, and the scoreboard.

We all know the New York Times ran this piece as part of the Heisman hype before Ohio State’s Troy Smith picks up the trophy tonight. But if the paper was really doing its duty to replace ignorance with knowledge, Pennington would have written a piece telling us about Robert Maxwell, for whom the Maxwell Award is named.

I’d like to know more about the Maxwell Award, because like the Grey Lady, there is some explaining to do here. I’d like to know how in the world two awards can honor “college football’s most outstanding player” and choose different players so many times.

I’d also like to know how it is that USC has won seven Heisman Trophies (tied for most with ND, soon to be joined by the Ohio State tonight) but only three Maxwell Awards (Marcus Allen, Charles White, O.J. Simpson).

According to its surprisingly amateurish Maxwell Football Club web site, Robert “Tiny” Maxwell made his own “legendary” contributions to the game of football:

While playing guard for Swarthmore College, that Maxwell made a major impact on the game of football as we know it today. At the end of a savage contest with Penn, in which he turned in his customary stellar performance, Maxwell's nose broken, his eyes swollen nearly shut, and his face closely resembled steak tartare. According to gridiron historians, a newspaper photo of his face so shocked President Theodore Roosevelt, that two days later, in a meeting with major college representatives, the President demanded that they "clean up football," or he'd ban the game outright. Three months later, rules were changed to double the yardage required for a first down from five to ten, reduce playing time from seventy minutes to sixty minutes, add restrictions against roughing, establish a neutral zone on the line of scrimmage the length of the football, and to legalize the forward pass.

So, while Heisman was taking credit for inventing the forward pass, Maxwell was sacrificing his face for it. Nice story.

Still, it doesn’t explain why USC has only three Maxwell Award winners and ND has six, including this year’s winner Brady Quinn … Brady Quinn. Sure, he showed some profane toughness at the Coliseum last month, but Brad Otten could have won the Maxwell Award if USC played the three service academies and this season’s version of Stanford and North Carolina.

Who votes for the Maxwell Award? Like any biased voting process identities are semi-cloaked, apparently. According to last year’s press release:

Voters for all the Maxwell College Awards are NCAA Head College Football Coaches and SIDs, members of the Maxwell Football Club & sportswriters and sportscasters from across the country.

Right. I’d like to know how many of these voters are west of the Mississippi, let alone in a state without an Atlantic coastline. How could anyone watching college football this year vote for Quinn over Smith unless they were perpetrators of the east coast bias, which again is a close relative of the Domer Hype Machine?

Whatever. As the 1977 Maxwell Award winner Ross Browner of ND put it: “The award is wonderful … but I’ve never heard of it, and who really gives a damn, anyway?”

The again, who’s to say he actually said that.

Fight On! Beat the Wolverines!
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Thursday Twirl: Seriously

2006-12-07T18:01:00.000-05:00

When something stupid happens, most of the time we can laugh it off … chalk it up to experience … don’t cry over spilled milk … move on. But when a stupid thing happens twice, little sayings and over-used clichés don’t cut it. It’s time to get serious, if for no other reason than to make sure the stupid thing doesn’t happen a third time.

After last Saturday’s tragic loss, we know now that there is a small segment of the Trojan Family who could stand to learn a thing or two about college football. No, no, no … I’m not talking about our offensive coordinator. And, no … I’m not talking about the few USC bandwagon fans who bought baby blue No. 7 jerseys on Sunday, not realizing that “Southpaw Jesus” didn’t actually play in the game.

I’m talking about our national treasure (according to Beano Cook): The USC Song Girls.

While we were drowning in our sorrow after Saturday’s loss, our 2007 Rose Bowl opponent was fast at work pointing out some stupid stuff for which we have to account. No … not the toss sweep to the short side of the field on fourth down last Saturday.

I’m talking about the “indisputable video evidence” captured and produced (and done very eloquently, I must admit) by the Michigan blog, MZone.

I know this has been on the internets for a few days, and you may have already seen it. But I post it here in hopes of investigating the matter further. To get to the bottom of this … I’m serious.

When you consider that the two most devastating losses during the Pete Carroll era happened at the Rose Bowl, and that during each of those two losses one of our lovely Song Girls made a funny, we have to consider the correlation here. Think about it …

What’s to prevent another pompom feux pau from causing another loss at the Rose Bowl against Michigan on New Year’s Day? I’m serious.

So, we look at the film. I say “film” because as I observe the moving image (repeatedly zooming in on the Song Girl in question), I find myself mumbling, “up and shake … up and shake … up and shake” … like Kevin Costner in the movie JFK … “back and to the left.”

If the photo of last season’s incident was like a Zelig sighting, this video is like the Zapruder film. “Up and shake.” I’m serious.

The problem is, we can’t accurately tell from the video which one of our adorable Song Girls did the deed, so to speak. But, after searching high and low, conducting a few mock interviews, and sifting through hundreds of online photos (as we tend to do on Thursdays) … we find more “conclusive evidence.”

It turns out that Saturday’s mistake was due to an inexperienced coach. No … I’m not talking about calling another quick slant to the left resulting in another tipped pass to effectively end the game.

I’m talking about USC alumnus Will Ferrell, who unbeknownst to us (and anyone else) took over as coach of the Song Girls squad prior to Saturday’s game.

Trust me, he’s there, just out of the camera’s view. In fact, if ABC weren’t running that annoying ticker at the bottom of the shot, we would see him coaching our poor Song Girl to raise her arms: “Good!”

I love Will Ferrell. He’s funny as hell. But, making our beloved Song Girls look stupid on national television, just so he can have one of them do that double pompom over the head waving thing we all like … well, that is funny.

But if he does it again, and causes one of our darling Song Girls to cause the Trojans to lose on January 1st … then, I’ll be really pissed.

I’m serious.

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A Nation ... In Quotation Marks

2006-12-06T10:01:00.001-05:00

It’s so funny to see a fool make a fool of himself. It’s also sad. These days it’s exponentially funny and sad, because we’re watching a self-proclaimed “nation” of fools make fools of themselves.

You know what I’m talking about. All the f-words and other profanities spewing out from the bruin “nation” like a busted sewer line releasing seven years of raw frustration and inferiority complex.

We know the profanity is just a cover for their inability and unwillingness to compose a defensible point of view or engage in worthwhile debate. But it’s the lack of respect for their alma mater, let alone our rivalry, that is so foolish.

The latest case in point comes from a “nation” blogger named “Tydides” who attempted yesterday to take Erik McKinney of WeAreSC.com to task “for his whiny little rant about how the Big Bad Bruin fans bruised his ego on Saturday.”

We’ll let McKinney defend himself in full, if he cares to dignify “Tydides” with a response, but we only need a few paragraphs to illustrate the point here. Wrote “Tydides” (if you can call it writing):

I can see taking this stand if you were a guy who doesn't like the trash talking, and doesn't participate in it. Who attends the games to merely support his own team. But what do you say to a guy who cries about not only getting beaten and taking his lumps after what his own fanbase had been doing for the past 7 years, but then readily admits to this:
Now, I'm a huge supporter of taunting at athletic events. I hate Duke basketball with a passion, but I appreciate every single clever chant the Cameron Crazies come up with. The guy who got to Phil Jackson by reading aloud, during a game, from Jackson's basketball memoir, "Maverick," is one of my personal heroes. I even love the "Hey batter, batter" chant in Little League.
You heard it yourselves. This "humanitarian", and I don't mean that in the Pom Pom way, is a staunch advocate of taunting. And not just adults like Phil Jackson, but taunting Little Leaguers too apparently. 12 year olds. Yes, we should all take a lot of stock in what this asshole defines as being a "classy fan".

Unlike my buddy UCLA Jay, this “Tydides” character apparently knows a little something about purposely taking a statement out of context. Or perhaps, just like UCLA Jay, “Tydides” simply failed to understand the point McKinney was trying to make. Reading a better portion of McKinney’s piece provides that understanding:

I could honestly not imagine a fan base behaving worse than the Bruins on Saturday. I know that every team has its loonies and people who go a little too over the top. And I understand that this is a rivalry game, and a recently lopsided one at that. But seriously? Is this what the USC-UCLA game is going to turn into?

Now, I’m a huge supporter of taunting at athletic events. I hate Duke basketball with a passion, but I appreciate every single clever chant the Cameron Crazies come up with. The guy who got to Phil Jackson by reading aloud, during a game, from Jackson’s basketball memoir, “Maverick,” is one of my personal heroes. I even love the “Hey batter, batter” chant in Little League.

But for UCLA fans, apparently clever taunting is a foreign concept. It’s not like they were hurting for options. At the time, Reggie Bush was faring considerably worse in the NFL than Maurice Drew and he still has the whole housing thing hanging over USC. Matt Leinart wasn’t exactly lighting things up in Arizona. O.J. Simpson overdosed on crazy pills and wrote about it. The Trojan quarterback has an obviously anatomical last name. And they handily defeated the team who beat the Trojans. They could have gone after any and all of those.

Heck, they could have even gone after the question of back-to-back championships, explored the basketball angle or taken the academic superiority stance.

But they didn’t do that. Instead, they decided to learn all the various uses of the “F” word and how to raise only the middle finger on both hands.

Again, what kind of fans make up this “nation”? McKinney gives this “Tydides” person all the anti-USC material any bruin worth his salt could throw in our faces. And yet, “Tydides” chooses to end his post (without a single link or empirical reference to support his argument) like this:

You reap what you sow.
Fuck you, Erik.
Fuck southern cal.

GO BRUINS.

It’s a shame really that one of UCLA’s greatest moments of triumph should be dragged through the knee-deep crap continually dumped by a “nation” of idiots.

Make no mistake … we’re not talking about a group of renegade bruins on a bandwagon. This is a “nation” of UCLA graduates … so they claim. These aren’t gap-toothed [put any SEC school here] fans with 8th grade educations, who couldn’t spell “yooniversity” let alone get on the internets and start a blog.

These aren’t drunken or adrenaline-pumped fans getting carried away at a game or post-game party. The people of this “nation” are lucid and typing at their computers with a top-notch U.C. system education at their disposal … supposedly.

Just ask our friend UCLA Jay. He’ll tell you all about … or maybe not.

Turns out UCLA Jay is “UCLA” Jay, if you know what I mean. Turns out his real name is UNLV Jay … or maybe something different altogether. This he admitted when he thought no one was looking:

Few Things....

Joe Francis the "Girls Gone Wild" guy went to UNLV not UCLA. As a UNLV alum, I remember a frat there that everyone wanted to be in because of Joe Francis, problem is, they're all dorks. But from what I hear, he donates big time to the frat. And before everyone starts talking shit about UNLV, all the rumors are true. You have never seen paid athletes until you have been on campus at UNLV, and yes, anyone can get accepted, as I am living proof. Also, since a certain un-named SUCk website is calling me out as to when I became a UCLA fan, I was born and raised in LA, have had season tix for football since I was 10 years old and yes even as a student at UNLV I made the drive home for the games. […]

by UCLA Jay on Thu Nov 30, 2006 at 09:35:51 PM EST

Oh, no. Say it ain’t so, Jay! Did you really just tell us that you’re living proof of your own low standards. Did you really just brag to us that you have first-hand knowledge of cheating athletes at your true alma mater? Did you actually know Joe Francis, or are you one of those dorks?

We already know the answer to one of these questions, because we know that Joe Francis didn’t attend UCLA, and we know that he didn’t go to UNLV, either. He’s actually a USC alum. Not that we’re necessarily proud of this fact, but it is a fact … which is more than can be said for anything coming from UNLV Jay, apparently.

And, yes, I did question UNLV Jay’s fandom … thanks for the answer. LOL.

So, now we have to ask: What other lies, imposters and other idiots make up this bogus “nation"?

Keep in mind that this “nation” represents an institution that produced such dignified and respected sports figures as Arthur Ashe, Rafer Johnson, Karem Abdul-Jabbar, and perhaps the greatest athletic hero of the socially conscious 20th century, Jackie Robinson.

Keep in mind that this is a “nation” of fans who supposedly revel in the rich history of an unmatched basketball heritage, while properly honoring at every home game the living legend who created it.

And so, we have to ask this presumed bruin “nation”: What would John Wooden think if he read your “trash talk” in absence of thoughtful argument? What would Robinson or Ashe think of your simpleton profanities?

Do you really believe they would be proud to read the crap oozing out of your “nation” … or would they smack you upside the head?

You know the answer. It’s not funny, actually. It’s just sad.

Again, I ask … is there any dignity left?

WE ARE SC! Fight On!
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Who is Sean Smith?

2006-12-05T08:01:00.000-05:00

Apparently, Pete Carroll was wasting his time Saturday night when he went directly to his office from the Rose Bowl to figure out why the Trojans lost 13-9. Instead of reviewing game tape, he should have picked up the phone and called Sean Smith, according to Sean Smith.

Who the hell is Sean Smith? I don’t know. But he knows how to fix our man Carroll’s “blunder.” Just ask Sean Smith. He’ll tell you … and if you don’t ask, he’ll issue a press release:

USC Trojans' Head Coach Pete Carroll Programmed His Football Team to Lose, According to Sean Smith

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) December 4, 2006 -- The USC Trojan football team's national title hopes were squashed all week long by an unlikely suspect - their head coach Pete Carroll, who attracted defeat for his own players, says Sean Smith, a local speaker and recognized Goal-Getting Guru who teaches people how to Attract Results Now.

"As soon as Coach Carroll told the media early in the week that UCLA was going to be their toughest opponent of the year," says Smith, "he made the game much more difficult for his players. The Trojans had all week long to focus on how good the Bruins are and how hard the game would be. So as Saturday's kickoff neared, the team had been sufficiently programmed for defeat."

Who the hell is Sean Smith? I don’t know. But he says he’s a “Certified Master Results Coach” specializing in “neuro-linguistic programming.” We should listen to him, according to him:

"What I wish more people understood is that whatever you choose to focus on in any arena, whether it's success or failure, your unconscious mind takes it as a command, as if that's what you're looking for. […]," says Smith.

That blunder was one of the major contributing factors in the second-ranked team in the country being upset by their cross-town rivals for the first time in seven years. Carroll's comments set an expectation in the Trojan players' minds that the game would be tough, and at the same time bolstered UCLA's confidence.

Who the hell is Sean Smith? I don’t know. But according to Sean Smith, Sean Smith “teaches people how to erase all their inner obstacles and start attracting outrageous results immediately.”

Had we listened to Sean Smith (and presumably paid him money to impart his "recognized" goal-setting guruness), USC certainly would have won last Saturday, according to Sean Smith.

Never mind DeWayne Walker’s excellent defensive game planning. Never mind John David Booty tracking Steve Smith with his head and eyes before throwing the tipped interception with 1:10 left. Never mind nine momentum-killing penalties for 56 yards, caused by clever rushing schemes that USC’s O-line apparently never saw on film and to which it couldn’t adjust.

Surely, Sean Smith could have prevented all that, just ask him.

Who the hell is Sean Smith? Ask anyone but Sean Smith and they’ll tell you …

Sean Smith is an idiot.
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Rose Bowl: I'll Take It

2006-12-04T09:01:00.000-05:00

Less than 48 hours later, and the shock and disappointment are wearing off … I think. All is not lost … I suppose.

After all, if playing Michigan in the Rose Bowl following a 10-win regular season is the worst we can do -- during what was supposed to be a “rebuilding” year -- I’ll take it. (Props to my wife and kids for pulling me out of my post-game stupor yesterday.)

Many “experts” have told us it’s unrealistic to expect more. Even the Lispy One cut USC a break on ESPN, saying there is no way any team could maintain an emotional peak for four straight games, especially when USC destroyed ugla 66-19 the previous year. I tend to agree. Apparently, this “rivalry month,” as Dallas Sartz called it last week, caught up to us. Our supposed “lucky” schedule did us in.

Another “expert” (again, we use quotes to denote sarcasm) tells us that a lost relationship is to blame for our lost opportunity. If Scott Wolf of the Daily News is to be believed, Carroll’s presumably close friendship with DeWayne Walker, the bruin defensive coordinator who took Lane Kiffin to school (and put him in the corner with a dunce cap), is anything but.

Wolf says Walker, who was Carroll’s first outside hire when he became head coach at USC, was miffed after Carroll hired Nick Holt as the Trojans’ DC. Karl Dorrell, employing some “if you can’t beat ‘em, copy ‘em” strategy, subsequently made the most incredibly intelligent (or idiot savant) decision he’s probably ever made in his life and hired Walker.

If this jilted protégé stuff is true, the chip on Walker’s shoulder sounds like this:

I knew we would have to play the best game we've played to win, but their offense was predictable in some aspects, especially in the passing game. They're very talented but in some respects it's not too complicated. ... As far as I was concerned, it was me against Booty. If I could get into his head, we could win. It wasn't me against Pete Carroll, Steve Sarkisian or Lane Kiffin. It was me against Booty.

Of course, nothing could sound more grating than the indecent, sophomoric, not-ready-for-prime-time behavior coming from the bruin “nation.” I won’t call it “classless” because we’re tired of making that point, because they make the point for us, and because their reaction goes way beyond a lack of class. Here’s a sample:

FU*K Southern Cal
By Nestor Section: Diaries
Posted on Sat Dec 02, 2006 at 09:33:55 PM EST

CHRISTMAS COMES EARLY TO BRUINS NATION.

Ding Dong Pom Pom, the "Humanitarian" is Dead. The Poodle is dead baby.

America's Team (at least for tonight) wins:
Fu*k Southern Cal.
Fu*k the Humanitarian er ... Pom Pom ... we mean the Poodle.
Fu*k Your Stupid Band.
Fu*k Your Stupid Song.
Fu*k Your Puke Colors.
Fu*k Your Bandwagon fans.
We fu*king own Los Angeles.

So just Go Fu*k yourselves and Go Jump Off the Fu*king Southern California piers from New Port Beach to Santa Monica.

Fu*k every single one of you motherf*cking TrOJans.

GO BRUINS.

Nice. Let’s just file this away for posting on the locker room bulletin board next year, and for years to come. Keep in mind this was up without asterisks, until someone (surprisingly) thought the better of it. If that’s how their “true” fans behave, you have to wonder what their bandwagon fans would do … if they were worthy of bandwagon fans.

Yes, we must admit that the rivalry is back on the football field. But the dignity … not really.

So, this is what we get for all of the unprecedented success that is USC Football. A biased, anti-USC Lou Holtz telling us we’re human, Carroll’s apprentice coming back with a chip on his shoulder, a “nation” of idiots drooling f-words all over themselves … and the Rose Bowl as a consolation.

This is what we get for expecting more, for believing that we can “do this better than it’s ever been done before” as our man Carroll has said many times.

If this is as bad as it will ever get … I’ll take it.

Fight On! Beat the Wolverines!
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USC Post-Game: Credit Where It's Due

2006-12-02T20:01:00.000-05:00

So, where is this rivalry? It's right here, apparently live and well.

As is our way, we give credit where credit is due: Congratulations to UCLA, in particular the Bruin defense under DeWayne Walker (a former USC assistant and Pete Carroll protégé, for crissakes!) and Pat Cowan, who did an excellent job managing the game for his team (see ya later "Southpaw Jesus").

If we can stomach it later, we'll examine a few things on the USC side of the ball, like the toss sweep on fourth down, nine penalties for 56 yards, the end of the Trojans' NCAA record for consecutive games scoring at least 20 points ... and of course, the re-emergence of the tipped pass, which effectively ended the game in both of USC's losses this season.

I'm sure we all have our different ways of dealing with things like this. I for one will let the shock sink in for a few hours, sitting motionless without blinking, while my wife points out all the good things about USC Football that remain. Hopefully, I'll be able to listen to her. Regardless, this wound is going to take a while to heal.

Fight On, Trojans!
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USC “Rivalry” Game Day: Let's Make It Eight

2006-12-02T08:01:00.000-05:00

Again, Pete Carroll insists that every game is a championship game. In other words, no game is more special or deserves more emphasis than another. All games require 100 percent effort. Unlike last week, I agree.

This “rivalry” used to be special, but since no one ... no one ... truly believes the other team can win -- as the grammatically challenged Nestor says: "we are not going accept nothing less than a victory" ... ? -- the word “special” shouldn’t come anywhere near the Rose Bowl today, unless we're talking about their "nation" on a proverbial short bus.

Certainly, USC Football has done its part, earning a national TV audience for the game by virtue of its No. 2 BCS ranking, while also spurring realism in the Midwest and more inferiority complex in the south. The other team … not so much. Their "nation" of idiots ... not at all.

Whatever. We win, we’re in. That’s all that matters.

Now, through the magic of YouTube we present a few moving images here to get us going. We’ve got highlights from the beginning of this victory streak, followed by more complete clips from the thrashing of 2003 and the pure domination of 2005.

Also thrown in (by way of The Wizard of Odds) is a projected preview of today’s Carroll-Dorrell post-game handshake, although we already know “Mr. Personality” lacks the comedic timing of Weis.

For all the Displaced Trojans who can’t be at the game in person, we have a little flavor from the band: a classic SoCal Spell Out / Conquest / Fight On medley in front of Heritage Hall, followed by everybody’s favorite (especially today), Tusk.

And, just for Beano, a clip of the USC Song Girls, recorded at this week’s pep rally.

Finally, as we’ve said all week* ...

WE ARE SC!

* Hat tip: It's a Definite Maybe.
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The Origin of Hate

2006-12-01T09:01:00.000-05:00

We’ve stated a few times this week that we’re disappointed with the condition of this “rivalry.” It’s so pathetic these days that even their “nation” helps to make our case for us.

Still, there is one thing we should make perfectly clear: Even though we may not recognize this “rivalry” anymore, we do hate them.

All Trojans share valid reasons for this hate, but each of us has specific reasons to hate, as well. These individual reasons are borne out of personal experience, perhaps a single moment in our lives when the hate was consciously confirmed and burned into our hearts so that it remains in our cardinal and gold blood for the rest of our lives. That’s right … I’m talking real hate.

For me that moment happened 20 years ago, when our beloved Trojans met that other team in the Rose Bowl. It was the first time I had ever been to a USC Football game in Pasadena, and it was a horrendous experience.

Somehow we ended up with incredibly horrible seats, two rows up right behind the goal post. If you’ve ever tried to watch a football game from low end zone seats, you know it’s damn near impossible. With no perspective or angle on the forward (or backward) progress of the ball, all we could see on the field was a frenzy of cardinal red, white, gold, and baby blue colliding and shuffling in and out from the sidelines. Even worse, we were at the opposite end from the USC student section, which meant no close up view of the Song Girls. Like I said … horrendous.

Actually, one thing we did see was the wide holes through which Gaston Green was running for what seemed like first down, after first down, after first down. We had to listen to the public address announcer tell us the yard line to which the first down markers were being moved. But, we could see very clearly, by the sheer size of the holes at the line of scrimmage, why everyone dressed in light blue was cheering so loudly. Like I said … horrendous.

As for my hate, I could feel it welling up in my chest as the other team scored touchdown after touchdown in the first half. The score was 24-0, while the baby blue crowd became louder and more obnoxious, feeding off the body language of their players on the field, who seemed to grow more arrogant and cocky by the minute.

I saw their head coach Terry Donahue, posing like he was actually in charge as he walked up and down his sideline without a headset. I heard that second-hand fight song over and over again. I saw their mascot as he walked behind the end zone, making a “zero” sign with one paw and pointing with the other paw at me in my USC sweatshirt. I heard the “eight-clap” … and I seethed.

And then it happened: Their team had the ball somewhere around mid-field. Again, we couldn’t see exactly where the ball was, but they were certainly out of field goal range. So, with just a few seconds left in the half and a 24-point lead, we thought their team would take a knee or call a running play between the tackles, which was the respectful thing to do. Needless to say, I know better now …

Expecting to see the referee blow the play dead after yet another confusing scrum of bodies colliding against each other, we caught a glimpse of their quarterback Matt Stevens dropping back to pass. “What the hell are they doing?” Then, out of the scrum like a grenade flung out of a bunker, we saw the football high in the air and coming down toward us.

It was like a movie cliché when a few seconds are stretched into slow motion as someone is about to be killed, “Nooooooooo …” USC defenders, including all-American safety Tim McDonald, went up to knock the ball away, but they missed as it was caught by the other team. TOUCHDOWN!

McDonald lay emotionally crushed, face down in the end zone. The baby blue crowd was at its loudest, most obnoxious peak as the second-hand fight song played yet again, followed by yet another “eight-clap.” Donahue celebrated as if there wasn’t anything wrong or insulting about the play he just called (or simply witnessed) … and running along the back of the end zone, holding the football in the air was the player who caught it. As he turned toward the sideline, I saw the name on his back: DORRELL.

This play, this assault against the Trojans, was the only thing we saw clearly that day, as if the location of our seats was meant to show me the crime up close, so that I would never forget it. It was as if the College Football Gods were teaching me a lesson: “USC Must Hate UCLA. And don’t ever forget it.”

Needless to say, I have never forgotten. Sure, I was born a member of the Trojan Family, and I knew I was supposed to hate the other team. But at that moment, when Karl Dorrell caught that pass – that merciless, arrogant, classless affront to USC – the hate did indeed burn itself into my heart where it will remain for the rest of my life.

Now, 20 years later we can talk about how this rivalry has become a “rivalry.” We can talk about how USC Football has regained is rightful place on a national level under Pete Carroll, and then some. And, if you believe in karma, we can talk about how Dorrell should know that what comes around goes around, after 66-19 last year and 0-3 versus USC, as head coach of his alma mater.

But, in terms of our hate for them, none of this really matters. I know this because I learned my lesson from the College Football Gods that day in Pasadena.

No matter what happens for the rest of my life, I hate UCLA.

WE ARE SC!
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Thursday Twirl: "Rivalry" Edition

2006-11-30T08:31:00.000-05:00

It's Thursday ... and again I ask:

Where is the "rivalry"? ... Is there any dignity left?

I guess Beano has a point.

WE ARE SC!
usc song girls

An Open Letter ... With 22 Links

2006-11-29T23:08:00.000-05:00

Dear UCLA Jay,

Thank you for your comments on my "masterpiece." It's good to know your "nation" is alive and well. As you know, we had our doubts. Of course, I use the word "well" knowing it's a relative term, because we understand that the truth hurts ... and we know it drives you nuts.

While I appreciate your point of view, it was presented in disappointing fashion, frankly. I'm not talking about your poor grammar, misspellings, words in all caps, or even your offensive language. That's nothing new coming from your "nation."

I'm talking about your inability to accurately interpret and fully understand my post, and the way in which you inadvertantly illustrate my point for me: This isn't a real "rivalry" anymore.

I suppose showing mercy is appropriate here, but before I do, let's recap to let the Trojan Family in on the joke ...

By UCLA Jay
Section: Diaries
Posted on Tue Nov 28, 2006 at 11:13:08 PM EST

I HATE them, I HATE them all, every single one of them. Especially all those "lifelong" fans they have now. You know, the ones that talk shit about UCLA because SC has won 7 in a row(even though they have only seen the last 3) that walk around town in their #8 "Free Rent", I mean Dwayne Jarrett jerseys that have never been to an SC game and are still trying to figure out why all the other SC "fans" keep giving the "peace sign" when the white donkey runs up and down the field at the Colliseum.

Here is a perfect example of the SCum, yes I'm starting to call people out, from The Displaced Trojan blog, by a poster by the name of "Boi From Troy"(I wouldn't use a name but one of the links breaks off to a post that our "Bruin Blue" posted over here, so all is fair). The copy and paste trick doesn't do this masterpiece justice. He has 21 links in his little writing, which link to everything from Dump Dorrell.com, to a link about OJ Mayo, to the score of last years game, to even a couple of our posts here at BN. Go to (LINK REDACTED - N) to see this thing in it's full glory. Caution: you will need a barf bag.

So, N is for Nestor, who "redacted" your link to The Displaced Trojan, because he says I'm trolling for traffic. But, just like he wouldn't engage in a little back and forth with us at Conquest Chronicles, we know Nestor doesn't want anyone from your "nation" exposed to the truth. Again, we know the truth drives you nuts. But, I digress ...

These idiots have their heads so far up the "Humanitarian" ass it's disgusting. All these SC "lifers" are loving the 7 straight, it's unfortunate that they never knew SUCk even played football before Carson Palmer won a heisman. And I love the line about OJ Mayo "stealing the spotlight in LA" I know that drugs run freely around the University of South Central, but can they at least make a post while they aren't under the influence of some illegal substance? And wasn't it nice of him to show that SC is envious of UCLA approaching 100 National Championships? I dont expect anything less actually, times are rough over in South Central between the middle of January and the end of August. But lucky for them they can still have their wet dreams about Pete Carroll during the off-season.

And how's this for a "swear word with an asterik".

FUCK SC!

I should probably put an asterisk (notice the correct spelling) in your f-word here, but like my links to your site, it makes my point for me. Thanks to your "nation" and the World Wide Web, there is no need to "call people out" for being classless, vulgar and lacking enough knowledge to state a coherent argument. It's right here on record, for everyone to see. But, again, I digress ...

Seriously. Your "nation" should know me better, especially Nestor. You should know that Displaced posts and comments give all respect where respect is due. You should know that I am critical of USC basketball, but I readily admit to being a fair-weather fan.

And you should know that I have, in fact, followed USC Football my entire life, which even you can guess started more than three years ago. Sure, there are quite a few Trojan fans who don't know much about what happened before Carson Palmer won his Heisman in 2002. So what? That's what happens when you re-establish a college football dynasty.

Were you complaining when baby blue No. 18 jerseys were popping up everywhere in the late 90s? Where were you back then, Jay?

I would think you'd have the wherewithal to point out that USC still needs one more win to equal the snowman Terry Donahue hung around Paul Hackett's sorry neck. I'm surprised you didn't take the chance to tap into that history as a way to dull USC's euphoria in this Pete Carroll era. What kind of a fan are you, Jay?

Here's the mercy part (or is it pity?): To be perfectly honest, a win Saturday will be a catharsis of sorts to true Trojan fans (read: non-bandwagoneers) who suffered through eight straight losses to your team from '91-`98. We know exactly what your pain feels like, and deep down, I'll take Troy Aikman vs. Rodney Peete in '88 over Karl Dorrell vs. Pete Carroll in '05 any day of the week. Your "nation" has stated (many times over) that Dorrell is a disgrace, and he has made this once great rivalry a joke. I can't agree more.

That said, USC's own eighth straight win in this "rivalry" will soothe the memories of `98, along with the giddiness that comes with knowing that this USC streak has no end in sight. The Trojans will not look past this game, because our coach is too smart to allow it. But, I digress ...

I know some members of your "nation" are afraid of the 22 links in this post. I know this new fangled thing called the internets can be scary to them, but please encourage them to try it. Tell them to click a link. It's how normal bloggers support points and expand arguments. Besides, they may learn something ... perhaps something more than the emotional, non-factual nonsense you throw around amongst yourselves.

Come on out and play. Ask ND, it's just fun and games out here.

Oh, that's right. You'd rather hide during this "rivalry" week, because you know ...

WE ARE SC!

Sincerely,

The Displaced Trojan

Note: A slightly different version of this post is also up at Conquest Chronicles ... you know, so I can troll for hits. LOL.

USC's Real Rival Reviewed

2006-11-29T09:01:00.000-05:00

We thought we’d have more to entertain us this week, since we’re supposed to have yet another “rivalry” game this Saturday. But, since that team’s “nation” took their proverbial ball and went home already, we’re free to direct our attention elsewhere.

It’s a good thing, too. While the usual suspects showed us their predictable east coast bias, it seems as though we missed a few examples of non-biased journalism popping up in surprising places on the internets.

Now, make no mistake, the game this Saturday is important in that it’s another stop along the Trojans’ march to continued greatness. A victory will guarantee USC a spot in its third BCS Championship Game in a row and our fourth consecutive shot at a national title. We trust our man Pete Carroll to ensure the focus necessary to deliver the win. But, I digress …

One of the most surprising places we found an objective take was at NBCSports.com. You know, the network that employs ND during every home game the “Irish” play. Apparently, the annual performance reviews are in, and the boss is not happy.

Using words like “appalling” and “outclassed” to describe ND’s 44-24 loss to the Trojans, John Walters of NBCSports.com (who just might be a “writer we like”) let the “Irish” have it:

… Notre Dame is not an elite team. [...] Was it all a mirage or did we fail to see reality through the tall grass? Last October in South Bend most of these same Notre Dame players battled a more talented, more experienced Trojan team to within one play of victory. […]

The fundamental supposition of the 2006 season is that such a team, with almost everyone returning would only get better. The lasting question will be how come they failed to do so. […]

[ND’s] seniors will leave South Bend never knowing what it feels like to beat the Trojans (well, that’s not exactly true; they experienced the feeling for a few seconds last year in South Bend, until the public address announcer said, “Please leave the field. The game is not over.”)

Ouch.* Of course, we can address Walters’ “lasting question,” assuming it wasn’t rhetorical. The answer is simple: coaching.

In a separate article, also written by Walters, the job review gets harsher:

There’s a 10-2 religious-affiliated university out there with a senior quarterback whose touchdown-to-interception ratio is 5:1, who has passed for more than 10,000 yards in his career, and whose name is all over his school’s record book.

And that school is not Notre Dame.

Brigham Young senior John Beck […] is headed to the Las Vegas Bowl […]

BYU is just one of many one- or two-loss schools that must be wondering how many bowl blazers Pope Benedict XVI has in his closet. It’s time to face the choir, Domers. After two 20-plus point losses to their toughest opponents this season, and after eight consecutive bowl game defeats, the last thing that the Irish […] deserve next Sunday during the BCS Selection Show is this: The benefit of the doubt.

Instead, it’s time for Notre Dame to pull a Wayne and Garth, look directly into the blinding blazers of the Sugar (or Rose) Bowl officials, and declare, “We’re not worthy!” […]

The haters have it right this season.

Ouch.* And some people get on me for mentioned the “r” word (which I never actually do in any Displaced posts.) I guess the folks at NBC figure if they can’t get their money’s worth out of the “Irish” they don’t want anyone else to either.

Back on the USC sideline, there is a new candidate for “writer we like” status … none other than Ivan Maisel of ESPN.com. Maisel gives much props to Pete Carroll, recognizing that perhaps it’s time to include his name in the same breath as coaches of college football’s greatest dynasties:

Pete Carroll is on the verge of achieving something that has not been done in many years, if ever. USC is one game away from playing for a national championship for the fourth consecutive season. […]

USC is 47-3 over these four seasons. The three losses have been by a total of eight points. One went to overtime. The other two, by three and two points respectively, came down to the final seconds.

USC has replaced two Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks and a Heisman-winning tailback. USC has replaced seven first-round draft choices. And still the Trojans win.

They have won five consecutive Pacific-10 Conference championships and 33 consecutive home games. Carroll has won with every type of team. He has built a winner. He has won with veterans. And this season, he has taken a team that most experts considered too young and beat-up to win and driven it to the brink of another national championship. […]

Carroll's four consecutive seasons are every bit as convincing as the best winning periods of coaches such as Bear Bryant of Alabama, Darrell Royal of Texas or Bobby Bowden of Florida State. [ …]

It wasn't that long ago that the power in college football seemed to have permanently shifted to the portion of the Sun Belt that stretches from Miami in the southeast to College Station in the southwest. Carroll has redrawn that map. He has made USC fashionable again.

No wonder the southern inferiority complex seems to be stronger than ever.

But, back to our real rival. In a sidebar that accompanied his piece on Carroll, Maisel also had a few words for ND:

Notre Dame is an inkblot and project on it what you will. The Irish finished 10-2, which is great. They played an easy schedule, which means they're phonies. They appear headed for a BCS bowl for the second consecutive year, which is great. They haven't beaten anyone they shouldn't have beaten in Charlie Weis' two seasons, which is not good. Two years in, Weis has turned around a program that appeared mired in mediocrity. Two years in, an athletic gap between the Notre Dames and the USC/Michigans of the world remains wide. We could go on like this all day.

Again, ouch.*

It’s almost not fair, extending this beat down on our real rival. But, what else are we to do with just one game left to play?

WE ARE SC!

*I say “ouch” out of respect for ND, but inside I really mean “LOL.”
usc trojans vs. ucla bruins

Together Again: Axis of East Coast Bias

2006-11-28T09:01:00.000-05:00

If there is one time of the year when USC embraces the Domer Hype Machine, it’s the week leading up to our annual rivalry game versus the “Irish.” As we’ve said before, we don’t mind ND hyping itself through a biased east coast media if it means that our subsequent victory over the “Irish” is equally hyped.

And, like clockwork, the Grey Lady played its part yesterday, featuring USC prominently in a full-page spread about college football on page 2 of the Sports section, an ode to the Trojans’ 44-24 beat down of ND last Saturday.

Still, we’re beginning to see that this east coast bias thing isn’t as simple as it used to be. Sure, the photo of Pete Carroll making a double victory sign at the top of the page is nice, and the brief about Dwayne Jarrett being a late Heisman dark horse is pleasant enough. But the New York Times is giving USC its props grudgingly:

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 26 — Last year’s game between Notre Dame and Southern California reminded the college football world how much luck is involved in the chase for a national title.

That game, won by U.S.C., 34-31, had the Bush Push, Dwayne Jarrett’s seeing double on fourth-and-9 and Matt Leinart’s late fumble, which conveniently bounced out of bounds. As the contenders to face Ohio State this season for the national title are whittled in the wake of this year’s U.S.C. victory against Notre Dame, luck has once again reappeared in the race for the Bowl Championship Series title game.

This time, the fortunate circumstances for the Trojans happened off the field, thanks to their aggressive scheduling philosophy, which appears to be the deciding factor in the Trojans’ probably outlasting Michigan and Florida for the right to play in the national title game.

What the hell? USC Trojans know better this. We know the Bush Push was smart, the Leinart-Jarrett hook up was pure nerve and skill, and while Leinart’s fumble out of bounds may have been fortunate, USC’s re-emergence at No. 2 this season is due to Carroll’s voodoo and magic tennis book. Nothing lucky about that! But, I digress …

Since when is USC’s “play anybody, anywhere” philosophy equal to luck? Since when is it lucky to be the only school from the six major BCS conferences not to schedule a game against a school from outside a BCS conference?

Sure, the fact that two of those opponents turned out to be conference division champions – Arkansas won the SEC West at 10-2, Nebraska took the Big 12 North at 9-3 – and the other is a nationally ranked independent may be out of our hands, but there will never be a Division 1-AA school on USC’s schedule, which is purely a matter of choice.

I make this last point because Florida’s Urban Meyer – apparently stepping up onto the SEC soapbox to replace the self-fulfilled prognosticating idiot at Auburn – is trying to tell us his Gators have played a tough schedule … as if we don’t see 1-AA Western Carolina on their list … at 2-9, no less.

Of course, playing its usual role as a primary conduit of the east coast bias, which as we know is related to the southern inferiority complex, the Grey Lady gave Meyer some ink to state his case:

Florida’s argument will be that the strength of the SEC, widely regarded as the toughest in the country, should carry more weight. And it is an argument that will rage on across the South for years, just as it did when Auburn was left out of the national title game two years ago despite an undefeated regular season.

“The only thing I get concerned about is that Auburn wasn’t here, I think, two years ago,” Meyer said. “Once again, when I hear our league compared against other leagues, I kind of shake my head. I am one of those guys who coached against a lot of those other leagues. There is no finer league in the country than the SEC.”

And, in tow the New York Times – which claims to be a “national” newspaper, while still purposefully serving its subway alumni – had to give voice to its favored “Irish”:

When told before Saturday’s game that U.S.C. was the only B.C.S. team that did not play a non-B.C.S. university, White called the statistic “compelling.”

“You have to give them an A-plus in intent to schedule,” he said. “It’s very, very impressive.”

Impressive indeed, but remember White made this statement before USC embarrassed the “Irish” on national prime-time television. Ask him the same question today, and his answer would probably be a little different. Maybe something like, “Who gives a crap. We’re God’s Team, damn it!”

So, there you have it in plain view. The east coast media bias, the Domer Hype Machine and the southern inferiority complex – all closely related factions of the Axis of East Coast Bias – laid out neatly on page 2 in the Grey Lady.

And yet the fact remains: We win, we’re in.

WE ARE SC!
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