WeAreSC

Congratulations to all of the USC Trojans who were drafted in this weekend’s NFL pickings! Four first rounders for the first time since we had 5 in 1968, the first time we’ve had more than three since a run of 4 straight years from 1980-83.

Sed Ellis goes #7 and makes a lot more money than he would have made if he went out as a junior last year. He goes to New Orleans, where he is reunited with Ed Orgeron. Those two got along famously at SC. I’ll bet Eddie was licking his chops when Sed was still on the board!

Keith Rivers, who was such an asset to his University, community, family, friends and team goes to the Bengals. Ugh for him. But he will immediately class up the joint. #9 overall, see above note about going out early.

Baker to the Falcons at #21, and they traded up to get him, love it! They get a fine man and fine football player who ought to play in the league for many years.

Lo Jack, everyone thinks it’s a stretch. Smart, fast, great player good ticker. He deserves every dime. What a nice guy, too! Oh yeah, see above mention of money they made above what they might have had by staying put.

Perhaps it was not such a bad idea for Chilo to go out. I thought he might be over rated, but when you go in the high second round, that’s not the case.

Fred a steal at #48. Any team that took another tight end first is flat out stupid. The Skins were very smart.

TT last guy in round two to the Super Bowl champion Giants. I don’t think they’ll win back to back, but TT will be an asset to that team.

John David Booty only 5th round!!?? I thought he was better than that, particularly groomed for some pro team that likes the west coast offense. That’s the Vikes, who traded up to get him, a steal in the 5th.

Thomas Williams might be the biggest steal in the entire draft in the late 5th round. A former Trojan went and got him, thanks Jack!

Same for Chauncey in the 7th round. Jack comes through again. I’m sure it’s all about concern for his health over the years.

Whoever now signs Collins, Milone and Dennis—Radovich and Dale Thompson will get some really quality free agents who will be playing in the league before too long, too.

That gives SC 71 first round picks, 7 ahead of next best Ohio State (see you real soon!), 440 all time picks not counting the minor leagues, ten picks this year, one of the best crop in history of the school.

Good luck to all of our guys, we are all sure you will make us proud. Come back and see us sometime! And, oh yeah, maybe we can send you another ten next year!

Just no one early. It appears, based on the numbers from last year’s picks and the money they got, our guys who stayed put made something like 45-50$ million more aggregate than they would have picked up a year ago.

Do you hear that guys who will be juniors? Can you use an additional $4 million each for staying in school, getting your degree one more year?

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How about men’s and women’s tennis? The men: all four singles semi finalists, and therefore the finalists at the Pac-10’s. For the women: singles runner up Amanda Fink who lost only to a number one player (Fink is a #2 behind the injured Lindsey Nelson who will be back for the NCAA team playoffs) in the conference final.

There’s more: Senior Kaes Van’t Hof, son of former Trojan standout Robert, beats team mate Robert Farah, the nation’s #7 player going in, for the Pac-10 singles championship! We’ll have Kaes on the show later this week. He and Farah then shook hands, and went out and won the men’s doubles title!

Fink and Gabby Niculescu won the women’s doubles Pac-10 title. One of those two, likely Amanda will come on the show this week.

Jack Levis and Jason McNaughton advanced to the invitational final in doubles before falling, a portent of good things to come for the men’s team.
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The women’s water polo team is in the NCAA final 8, securing their spot certainly finishing third in the MPSF, then beating Stanford in overtime in the conference tournament semi final Saturday. That set up a match with undefeated #1 ranked UCLA on Sunday for the conference title, and the top seeding in the NCAA tourney at Stanford in two weeks. UCLA won again, and will likely continue unbeaten right into the NCAA final, where they might meet USC for a 4th time this year. The last two have been one goal games. Intrigue upon intrigue. The Bruins clinch the 5 Lexus Gauntlet points for women’s water polo, leaving SC still 5 short of winning it all. That could happen this week when men’s golf participates in the Pac-10’s beginning tomorrow, or perhaps next Saturday when the men’s and women’s track and field teams go to Westwood, and the women’s rowing team hosts the Uclans Saturday morning at hoe in San Pedro.

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Baseball got shutout at Stanford Friday, and then gave up their second 20 spot in two weeks on Saturday before salvaging the finale today. They felt that had to get just one up there, and then win two of three in their final three conference series to make the post season tournament.

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I sat at the beach on this hot weekend, stuck my legs in the water for a few minutes, and while I Could have gone in all the way, it’s still 60 degrees in there, and it would not have been a long stay, or much fun. The day is coming though!

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I am thinking of running one of the xterra trail run series at Malibu State Park in early May. I have been laying down miles getting back into shape after getting “fixed” a while back. Feeling pretty darn good.

They painted the facade of Hinano’s, one of our four favorite hole-in-the-walls in Venice; I hope they put the woodwork front back up. The other night we went back to Big Dean’s, last night The Shack.

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As I suggested to you around a month ago, Taj Gibson is coming back to play another year for the men’s basketball team. I had that on a VERY reliable source, one who asked me not to tell until he told you himself.

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Darren Collison is coming back next year for UCLA. He thinks that move might have a bearing on having some of the guys who have said they will be leaving, not doing so. The Bruins could be okay, or not very okay, depending on what happens in the draft.
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Pat Cowan out for the year, he’ll get a 6th year of eligibility. Olson is hurt, too. Jeez. Norm’s got his hands full already.

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For the first time in 30 years the Hereford Bulls have advanced out of the lowest English football league that is not known as the conference, and into league One! Now if we can just get Chelsea to whip those whiners at Man-U for the Premiership, and perhaps again in the Champions league final. Maybe Barcelona will get in the way anyway.

Hail the mighty Bulls!

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Took a walk on the Venice Boardwalk to escape the heat in the house. Man are there a LOT of interesting and cool people out there. Jenny and I are thinking of getting a license and using one of the vendors spaces now and then for her to teach art to kids and others who want to paint or draw pictures of their visit to the beach and our area. I am trying to come up with something to do in a similar space, just for fun for the great people who visit our place in the world. Stay tuned.

Hey gang! Here’s to hoping you have a great weekend. For the Trojans, plenty going on certainly.

We’ll all be watching the NFL draft to see where our guys go, and find out soon thereafter which players who are not snapped up sign free agent contracts.

The current Trojans were out working hard this morning again, as they do all day long with strength coaches Yanchar and Carlisle on various fields, doing interesting-to-watch drills with all manner of equipment, and generally doing other interesting things to their bodies in terms of exercise.

A great start on day one for the men’s and women’s tennis teams at the conference individual singles and doubles tourney in Ojai. You can follow it at www.ojaitourney.org

Four of the final 8 men are from SC, two women, with SC favored to face each other in the men’s final, one woman and a man’s doubles team also favored to get to the championship match.

Women’s water polo opens its quest for a conference title today at San Diego State in the conference tournament quarters. They take 8 to the nationals, so it appears the Trojans, ranked #3 in the nation, are a lock to get in. I wonder why they don’t take 8 to the men’s NCAA’s.

Baseball hits the road to Stanford this weekend trying to steal at least one.

I’m heading to watch my brother, the head coach of Track at Marshall Hi, as they go for a rare league title in Track and Field at Lincoln this afternoon. It’s been a LONG while since I went to a Marshall track meet. In the days when I participated (pole vault, high jump, 2 mile) the meets would sell out like football games. Gone are those days.

This weekend, some geocaching, maybe a fish fry. We’re planning a trip to my dad’s in Mariposa up near Yosemite soon.

Pete was his usual fun self on the show yesterday, a show that included Pac-10 champ golfer Paola Moreno, who said she didn’t even know she had won until she holed out on 18! This morning, last year’s men’s national champ golfer Jamie Lovemark and football man Jared Blank join us on the show. We have one more week of Monday through Friday shows, then, as classes come to an end, we’ll go just Monday and Friday through the end of the athletic year, as long as there are Trojans competing we will bring it to you.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

I hadn’t time to write yesterday; in fact I missed worked entirely tied up with a court date, the first day of work and Heritage Hour show missed in 2008, dating back to January 14 when we came back on after winter break, 60 straight.

What I would have said, in short, is that Tuesday’s practice was the most ferocious of the spring, and they were only in half pads.

Rey is going to kill someone, hope it’s not one of his own, like last year with PT.

Lots of big timers out at practice after a meeting with MG in HH. A surprise visitor was John Robinson, who I always feel inclined to re-introduce myself to as I never think he quite knows my face. I called the games for the first years of his second go-round, but due to work constriction at KNX (at the time the USC radio flag) I could seldom make practices as I was on the air doing sports updates at the time. At any rate, he was his usual jovial self, and quite popular.

Back at it today, but some other obligations keep me out of the area shortly after noon today, so it’s the first pad practice I will miss this spring.

I talked to and congratulated Mark Sanchez after practice Tuesday on being named the presumptive starter at QB. While I really think Mustain is continuing to look better and better, it’s Mark’s job to lose. Now let’s see if the OL can continue to gel and give him enough time to hand it off and deliver it both long and short. It’s all up to them.

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Another great win for baseball, make it 8 out 10, and the boys take 7 of 10 in 10 straight vs top 25 teams. There are five college baseball polls, only one of which mentions USC, despite their reasonable standing in the Pac-10 and recent string of said wins. Included are 2 of 3 over then #5 Cal, two wins over #15 Fullerton, 2 of 3 over then #2 Arizona, 2 of 3 over #39 (formerly #1) UCLA. This week it’s 3 games vs #41 UCSB. Take 2 out of 3 against the Gauchos and we’ll be out of the rankings altogether!
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The men’s volleyball season is over. They lost to UC Irvine on the road last night in the first game of the league post-season tourney. Back to back trips to that event and the most wins in 7 years. Things are most definitely on the rise. They led 2 sets to 1 and were up in game four before it fell apart against a team that had beaten the Trojans badly earlier in the season twice.
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A reminder to get out early to even get a seat at the men’s tennis match for the Pac-10 title tomorrow at Marks Stadium vs UCLA.
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I am amused at the UCLA tradition of “Over the Wall Day” each spring at practice. It reminds me of “Senior Ditch Day” in high school, and for that matter junior high over at Thomas Starr King. Each year, it was just about the worst kept secret ever, and each year we were threatened with expulsion or some other horrible penalty. Each year the seniors did it anyway, congregating mostly at the beach about a week before graduation in June.

The administrations were always impotent to do a darn thing. It’s just good clean All-American fun. So you miss a day of practice. Big deal. I really like that Skippy is all upset. his old coach Terry Donohue says he was the biggest instigator of the tradition when it was in its infancy.

That being said, our guys seem to have their sights set on a bigger prize than a day off from spring practice.

Due to the baseball webcast on Saturday, it was difficult to spend too much time watching the football scrimmage. I have read about it, heard about it, and watched a little bit. It seemed to me that a LOT of regulars sat this one out. The other major thing that jumped out is that Mustain is looking much better, continuing his improvement gets him closer to the starting spot. Both QB’s are good, and as everyone keeps saying, “it’s a good problem to have”.

This is the final week for spring ball, with the Coliseum the site for the Trojan Huddle on Saturday. Let’s hope it cools off a little bit.

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A truly fine weekend for the baseball team, which flirted with taking over first place in the Pac-10 for a few minutes Sunday, losing a chance to sweep the Bears when the bats went quiet all of a sudden. After scoring 39 runs, with nearly 50 hits heading into the 5th inning leading 11-5, things fell apart as Cal’s bats finally got going and their relief pitching shut SC down. The Trojans did not execute several key plays that cost them the third win.

Blowouts of 17-1 on Friday behind Tommy Milone, the largest EVER margin of victory in the series dating back to 1923, and another rout of 11-5 Saturday behind Brad Boxberger gave SC a streak of beating 6 of the past 7 top 25 teams they faced.

They have another one Tuesday night, their 10th in a row vs a ranked squad, at Fullerton. It’s good to see the pitching is coming around and getting deep (Ryan Cook had been sick with the flu all week and it showed Sunday at times), and the sticks are really going! The coaches have done well to get this team to a spot where they can play with just about anyone and contend for a spot in the NCAA’s. Impressive.

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Volleyball coach Bill Ferguson gets the same praise for getting his team from the dregs of the conference a year ago to a spot in the post season tournament this year. Next year this team ought to compete for conference and national championship honors.
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The women’s water polo team whipped Hawaii, and will likely get another shot at Stanford in the conference tourney. A win in that game might secure a spot in the national final. This week what an honor to welcome the US women’s national water polo team, en route to the Olympics, as they play USC at McDonalds.

The same afternoon, a must see event, as SC and UCLA meet for the men’s tennis Pac-10 championship at 3pm at Marks Stadium.

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The men’s and women’s golf teams and women’s rowers are favored for conference championships and in the top few teams that can win the national championships.
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Random notes:

Running is getting better after being out of action for too long a while. Back to laying down a base through the end of the month.

Despite the warm weather at the beach, there is no way to get in the water for more than a few minutes. No body surfing yet.

How bout them Lakers!!??

What’s wrong with the Dodgers?

It’s April, I can tell because the Kings are rebuilding.

I must have filled out an entry form somewhere for some super bowl thing, because Pepsi sent me a barbecue, cooler some chairs for winning first prize. Cool.

The student that did the baseball game with me Sunday, Grant Tunkel, who also appears regularly on the Heritage Hour, has talent and potential enough to warrant some attention from minor league teams a year from now.

Daughter Veronica has passed her driver’s written test and can now take lessons and is close to getting her permit. Everyone be warned. (Way to go kid!)

I went to a birthday party for one of Jenny’s friends last night and talked at some length to a guy who used to be in the UCLA band. His knowledge of sports was impressive. You’d have enjoyed the angst he carries as a result of recent years of UCLA vs USC football games.

I didn’t have the heart to tell him his band reminds me of those high school show bands that no one really, outside of parents and friends, wants to see at half time. Is there really any comparison between the two bands at SC and UCLA? Simply: no.

He thinks that not only will Love and Collison go, but so too will Westbrook. And he hears Aboya is leaving school after graduating this spring.

Butch Lewis will be on the show with us Tuesday, he missed last week due to illness. Coach McNair is on this week, too.

I watched a heavy set man use a large marker to write some graffiti on a trash dumpster on Speedway yesterday, a very very busy day on the Venice Boardwalk. I calmly and politely asked the 25 year old, who was holding up his rather girthy wife and young daughter while he tagged some indecipherable letters on a trash can, to please not do that sort of thing in the neighborhood in which I, and others live, and that if he wanted to do such things he should perhaps do them on his own garage door or side of his house.

He continued until he was done, and I told him it wasn’t cool. He then threatened me: “do you want a beating?” I replied that I did not, that I only wanted him to stop making the world an uglier place.

He left. I asked a cop what could be done. She said that I could file a report and it would eventually be investigated, but, ultimately, there is no jail time, no fines, and no penalty whatsoever for taggers. She said that this man was affiliated with a gang on the east side of Los Angeles.

It is out of control, and there’s nothing to be done, except to paint over the letters and move on, over and over again.

If one complains too loudly, or tries to turn in the gang bangers, they run the risk of being killed.

By the way, this comes on the heels of a similar family coming to the beach a week or so ago and parking all day in one of the spaces reserved for residents of our apartment complex. When asked to not do so in the future, the portly fellow with very short cut hair AND his large wife flipped several of us off and sped away yelling curse words out the window as they left. And we asked nicely!

We are all pretty impotent to stop this sort of behavior. Hopefully these guys will grow up someday and do something useful to make up for this sort of activity. Let’s hope.

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All that being said, let’s all try to do the right thing for each other as often as possible. And oh yeah, Fight On!

Notes on a yellow legal pad (with apologies to Mud):

Arrived at 10:15 with the crowd already starting to grow. Woidneck is the first guy out and he’s already stretching.

Food for sale, somebody’s thinking! 5$ for a dog, chips, soda combo. Nice overhead.

The managers wearing all yellow throw together a mock game. Some of them look green. It’s warm and partly cloudy. A perfect day.

They start to experiment with the loudspeakers blaring out the fake crowd sounds at 747 levels. Every student who was sleeping in on this fine Sunday morning is now awake.

The hot topic of conversation is UCLA’s loss to Memphis. No one here, unlike Bruins who wore Texas stuff the day after that fateful Rose Bowl, is wearing anything with Memphis on it. Good for us.

Several people want to engage me on the topic of bodysurfing. It’s still too cold in there, maybe late May.

Sanchez and his dad take over for Paul and Mike McDonald playing catch before the big game on the sideline.

I go upstairs and sit in a chair, the spot I usually have to myself in the fall is full of media and fans. I like to practice play by play up here during the last few practices prior to the season opener. It’s important to say a few football words in broadcast style before a game just to warm up. I do some before each game, too, a trick learned from Chick.

11:30 and It’s scrimmage time. Beuhler kicks off into the end zone, Congdon does not.

Herring is at RG, Parsons at RT. Where’s Butch? Sanchez rolls out but there’s a coverage sack. Charles Brown at RT. KeTo and Gallippo are working with the first string as several regulars sit it out. That’s fine.

RoJo with some nice yards after catch.

Malcomn Smith injures his Hami or right hip, takes ice. He’s done for the day. CJ with some good moves after breaking through the line. Bradford hesitates and pays the price.

Broderick Green at TB is bigger than FB Havili.

Green may never lose a yard in his entire college career. Big Fili Moala has to struggle to bring him down. Havili with a good second effort for a TD.

Cooper Stephenson nice snap to Green on the PAT. So far so good.

Aha, Butch, who has been banged up, is earning back his stripes perhaps with the second OL.

Mustain throws a bomb of 70 to RoJo for 6, let the games begin! Another good snap for Coops.

Carswell very smooth after making a catch. Tupou smacks Tyler. Clay shoestrings Broderick or he goes 20, nice job by the #2OL vs the #2 DL.

Corp good rollout under pressure, but it’s inc. Ellison rocks Damian Williams on a 3rd and 7 pass for a first down.

John AND Tom Papadakis are BOTH here. Who’s minding the store? JP tells me the much balleyhood sale of the Taverna is not gonna happen. Not now anyway.

#4 McKnight takes a pop after the play at #4 Ellison.

Cooper a nice snap on the punt, Woidenck with a long high one. Where are the “I rage for Woids” bumper stickers?

McKnight fakes Shareece out of his jock. He won’t be the last one that happens to this year.

Putnam is long snapper #2, the first one is blocked. Woids hurries the next.

Broderick reminding me of Ricky Bell. He’s the biggest, fastest runner for SC since the Trojan Horse.

Tyler a superior couple of moves vs the 2’s ran over one guy and around and by another, making two miss along the way. Nice.

A well designed and executed pass from Mitch to Goodman for a TD after the fake to Broderick, everyone bit on the misdirection.

Damien tweaked that ankle, he’s done for the day.

We see Sanchez vs 1’s and Mustain vs 2’s, I hope they switch it up in the second half, just for a fairer comparison.

Clay Mathews has been in on a sack or near to it every time they let him rush. Pro scouts take note, never mind the blood line, this guy has taken himself from scout team walk on with a good last name to a quality college football player. Someone will steal him about this time next year.

Copr looking calm and cool in the pocket under duress, just side stepping out of trouble, and runs when he has to.

An easy sack of Mustain by Everson, which prompts Jeff Byers, the captain of the OL, to immediately start coaching the other guys up as to what went wrong. Still a work in progress, but it’s coming along.

McKnight—what a run!! I am going to have to find a lot of new ways to describe the things he does this year.

Kyle Moore playing some at DT. Interesting.

David Ausberry (the Wizard of Aus?) has perhaps the makings of a new nickname—Mr. D.A.

Beuhler kicks a 32 yard FG, good snap for Stephenson who has the job TFN

CJ: nice initial move for a long run

A LOT of patience for Mustain to wait for RoJo to get open for another long TD. He had to double pump, the line held up, and that’s a good sign.

The offensive line is looking more comfortable, so is Sanchez behind ‘em.

SECOND HALF

McKnight goes 84 with a KOR, he moves like a grunion.

6 to 86. McCoy is not going to be much of a fall off (if any) from Fred Davis. Mays pops McCoy at the end, and Taylor takes the worst of it, as Russ Romano the trainer takes away Tay’s helmet, he’s done for the day.

Brod goes another 20, yikes!

Mustain IS in behind the 1’s, good to see some of that. Bradford looks smooth and goes for 6 points. Where has Stafon been during all this? I think he might have carried once.

My tailback rankings right now: 4-13-29-21-2-26…but they are ALL really looking good.

QB rankings unchanged. 6, close behind 16, then 15.

Andrew Weiss hurts his hand, a 5th year senior transfer from JC then UC San Diego.

Three horns. Nice work fellas! Bring on the Buckeyes.

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Fun to watch step son Leo on Brian Kennedy Field (did you know he wrote the check for that field to be made ten years ago!!??) as he and about 50 kids tired of watching, and decided to put together an impromptu game, featuring kids from 5 to 15 it looked like! Some touch, some tackle, some fun!

Leo recently gave up (retired) from baseball and has joined a wrestling team at his junior high coached by the guys from SamoHi. After two days, he seems pretty pumped about it, and it will certainly help his physical well being and his preparation for football. Cool to watch his transformation.
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Women’s water polo routed San Jose…we could watch the scoreboard from the football practice. How about men’s volleyball just about sewing up a post season playoff spot with a win in five (after being down 0-2) at mighty Pepperdine? Nice job to coach Ferguson and the boys!

Womens’s gold getting ready for the upcoming Pac-Tens with a big win in Tempe. SC entered ranked #4 in the nation, UCLA was number 2, but finished third, 22 strokes behind. Dewi Schreefel, a former NCAA individual champ, tied for top honors. This team is peaking at the right time.

So much to look for in tomorrow’s scrimmage, the spring’s first. Of particular interest will be how well the offensive line has come together, inexperienced or not, in it’s abilities to hold off a particularly nasty defense front 7.

Keep an eye out for guys who are generally considered backups when the season gets started in the fall, as they will get bigger looks right now in their effort to impress coaches, especially those who are playing with the first string now due to injuries above them on the depth chart.

How well will the three QB’s be able to read and deliver to what is arguably the strongest receiving corps in the country? Has one taken the lead already—it appears so at least a bit, in that Sanchez would start if the Virginia game were tomorrow. But having a back up like Mustain and another in Corp can only be a good thing.

Which running backs are going to be in the “rotation” once the season presents itself? How well will the replacements for Lo Jack and Sed play? I’m guessing really well in the first case, and we’ll see in the other.

What of the long snapper position?

That’s one of the great things about college sports, maybe the best…questions and more questions, and maybe, every once in awhile, some answers. Eventually we’ll have all the answers, perhaps some tomorrow morning and afternoon.

The baseball team just won back, for the time being (and until at what time, if any, they meet again in post season play) 2 1/2 Gauntlet points in taking the first two of a three game series in Westwood, with the finale on Sunday. Another great thing about college sports: just when the naysayers get the loudest, things switch around just like that! All Hail!

Maybe the Bruins had their minds on some championship event down south. Thank goodness that’s over with! By the way, did you happen to catch Billy Packer declare the NC-Kansas game over with 7 minutes to go in the first half? Wow!

The men’s tennis team sweeps the bay area schools, and just about assures itself of a home showdown for the Pac Ten championship at home in a couple of weeks against UCLA.

The women got swept up north. And the women’s water polo team lost a heartbreaker against Stanford in the home pool. Those two will quite likely meet in the conference semi final with the winner going to the NCAA final four.

Women’s golf in front at ASU in the final regular season tournament before hosting the Pac Tens. One round to go tomorrow.

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I went to the Kings finale today, a loss at home to the Ducks. Hadn’t been to see the Kings for a couple of years. Very expensive to go to Staples for just about everything, and when they are not doing well, who can afford it? It was fan appreciation day, but was about as quiet as 16,000 people can be throughout the game, despite ear splitting sound levels urging fans to clap and cheer and listen to music, and watch overly dramatic intros for a team that finishes with the worst record in the NHL. But I still have my sweaters-both the old gold and purple, and the new black, white and purple, and look forward to the day…when the Kings win the Cup and SC wins the final four. It ought to happen in the same year. The first one would have already happened if it weren’t for Marty (expletive deleted) McSorley.

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I went to a Marshall HS baseball game the other day, they went extra innings against a team that had no business being in the game, save for 7 Marshall errors. Franklin took the lead 14-11 with three in the top of the 9th and I decided I’d had enough. Read in the Times the next day: Marshall 15 Franklin 14 in 9 innings. If it takes leaving to help out, I do what I can do for the boys!

We’re putting the finishing touches on a documentary about the school’s improbable run to the Coliseum in football a couple of years ago. One of the key players, Moses Gilchrist, who I think is the best to come out of the school since Mike Haynes, has enrolled to play at Santa Barbara City College. He’s a sure fire DI talent at wide receiver. I said so then, I say so now, and what a good story for the local high school writers.

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My dad turned 81 on April First. Happy birthday, again, Dad!
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Be kind to each other in these trying times, fellow Trojans (and others) let’s try to be kind and make things better, instead of seeking out ways to make thing worse, and make people sad or angry. Concentrate on the good in others, and our world gets better.
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See you at the scrimmage tomorrow. Fight On!

I thought several guys really impressed yesterday at Pro Day: Chauncey’s 4.35 time in the 40 really wowed ‘em.

Hershel Dennis will make someone a better team probably as an undrafted FA. Same for Dale Thompson, Tommy Malone, maybe Alex Morrow. Will Collins is getting bites from several teams as a possible post draft signee.

Among them, the Jags, who need a snapper, have Kennedy Pola there, not to mention Del Rio. I spoke with a good friend of mine who coaches there, Mark Duffner, about Will and he said they are definitely interested. Collins says he will buy me a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue if he signs with Jacksonville.

The guys who are going to go high generally solidified their places. Thomas Williams assured himself of being drafted now. The later he goes, the better the bargain for any team that lands this outstanding player of high character and fiber!

Good to reconnect with several old friends from my days in Cincy. Glad I am not stuck on old smelly Spinney Field at ANY time of year watching another practice leading to another loss. Man, it’s great to be back home!

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Good win for the baseball team on the road at #17 San Diego. That’s two in a row against the world, two in a row against teams from So Calif. Scrappy bunch, trying hard, hopefully they can get one, if not two across town now.
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Some great news, the doctor checked me today and for the first time, there is no recurrence of the wild pre-cancerous cells in my nose after he treated me over a month ago. He’ll check again in two months, but it looks like, for now, it’s all cool!

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I am looking forward to watching some of pro day on campus today. It’s great to see many of last year’s players around, and some even a bit older than that, who have been working hard to try and make an impression to either get drafted in a few weeks, or even get signed as a free agent after the draft.

It was also great to see BOTH Ed Oregon and Brian Kennedy at practice yesterday!

The offensive lines sticks around long after everyone else is gone to work on technique and more with coach Pat Ruel. Good thing, too, as they are behind the defense in significant ways. The OL has tons of talent, not a lot of experience (although some by virtue of injuries last year) and the one thing I always hear is that they need to learn to work together to thwart the attacking defense. So far, the defense is winning; not giving the QB’s much time to do anything back there.
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A much needed win for baseball last night, albeit against a sub par team, one for which I used to call games on the radio, UC Riverside. “We” won the NCAA division II championship back in the day. Their head coach was an assistant with the team then, and we exchanged fond memories of those days last night, and he coaches a kid I used to coach in little league, who is good friends with son KC. Justin Shults, whose name is mis spelled even in the UCR press guide. Oh well.

Off to U San Diego and a much tougher test tonight before the three game weekend set in Westwood.
**
Men’s tennis gets a boost with #1 singles man Robert Farah coming back for Stanford and Cal this weekend after falling off his bike an hurting his wrist.
**
Hope you got the chance to see our interview with Damian Williams earlier in the week on Heritage Hour, all episodes of which are archived, and FREE at usctrojans.com. Corp today. Mustain last week.

**

By the way, as I said on the show yesterday, highly credible sources have corroborated each other to me directly (now that’s the way it is SUPPOSED to be done) so don’t let anyone else say they broke the story: OJ Mayo is going to leave school after the spring semester is over, and will shortly be making himself eligible for the NBA draft. Done.

Taj Gibson is most likely staying at USC.
**
Looks like it might rain, bring out the brellies if you are coming out.

Here’s what I saw at practice today, along with about 50 recruits, and tons of fans and others:

Woidneck is kicking the hell out of the ball.

Pinkard was taking part in drills!

Buehler and Congdon were putting kickoffs out of the back of the end zone consistently.

Rocky Seto was working so hard he actually got out of breath.

Christian Tupou is picking up steam with Spicer out and will challenge to start at DT and will play a lot.

I like WR Coach Morton’s drill where guys work on hand and footwork in separating themselves from their defensive opponents as their first movement off the snap.

Broderick Green (someone called him Broderick Crawford and I laughed out loud) is a beast, and can be used as the big back, in a big and little back package. A true fullback sized guy who runs like a TB.

Allen Bradford continues to look like a man on a mission.

We will soon enough find out about the OL vs the DL and LB’s, say, Sunday when they put the full pads on for the first time. Right now, it looks like the Defense is leading.

If you paid REALLY close attention to the Heritage Hour, earlier this month we interviewed a volleyball player named Matt Hillier. He is now football walk0on Matt Hillier. Played LB at Loyola High, but here might be more of a tight end. Great story.

USC has the deepest and most talented receiving corps in the nation. Everyone is catching everything thrown at them. Can and will the OL protect the QB’s long enough to allow them to deliver it? Stay tuned!

McKnight is better than last year, when he was already pretty good, now, wasn’t he. Look out!

Brennan Carroll has more hair right now than at any time I can recall in the time I’ve known him.

Brandon Hancock is really ripped. Looks great and is happy with his new gig, working with company in the health, sports and workout fields. A natural.

**
Mustain is a really good kid with a good attitude and interviews well. I had not talked to him much until today.

I also got to interview the SC women’s tennis volunteer assistant coach, who just happens to be Jim Buck, who played on the 58 men’s national champs’ team. He has been around LA Tennis scene for EVER!

Tim Sluiter of men’s golf, which won a very big tournament this week, is on tomorrow morning among others. Tim Floyd stopped by and we did a taped piece for next week. Sez we have UConn and Ga Tech on the schedule among others next year. The return of good guy and ex-SC assistant Paul Hewitt, and the first time since James F’ing Forrest threw in that damned half court shot to knock out SC in the second round in ‘92 to end Harold’s career that SC meets the Yellowjackets.

Easy win for women’s tennis today at home vs Fresno State. I went. Free pizza. I did not have any.

It was great to see everyone yesterday at the first day of spring ball. It’s so much like a celebration and a holiday all rolled into one, that some of us old timers greet each other as you might someone at Easter or Christmas “Hey, Happy First Day of Spring Ball, Buddy!”

Actually, the guys started coming out early, about 3:30 for some early work, so a couple of us hurried over to Marx to watch the women’s tennis team put away U. San Diego before getting back in time for the first horn.

There are so many people you see regularly from August through December, then you don’t see them again for a couple of months, so for those of us on the sideline, along with keeping an eye on the action on the field, we renew our friendships and acquaintances and spend most of the first couple of days just yakking amongst ourselves.

It was a day of no-pads, usually something I avoid during the regular season when I can. Lace ‘em and strap ‘em on, and I am there…this time though being FDOSB (see above), how can you NOT be there. No pads again tomorrow I am told. So what!?

Impressions? Sure—Damian Williams is going to be a key and impact player right away…no matter who is throwing to him. Fast, agile, athletic, and tough. He’s got the whole package.

The running back spot is well manned for sure. Stafon looking good, AB is really running with a renewed vigor. McKnight is just his normal unbelievable self (and it’s March!)

Mustain throws a beautiful ball. Sanchez looks great. Other teams should have such a problem.

McCoy is bigger than Fred Davis. He will be a tremendous weapon at Tight End. Unless it Ayles or Ellison.

Havili looks much bigger and stronger. Last year I though he looked like a tailback that they made play fullback. Now this is more like it.

Great to see guys like Galippo and Luthur Brown and Tupou taking advantage of their time on the field. Each will contribute mightily.

Josh Pinkard told me he’ll be in pads, but not get to hit a lot this spring. That worries me a little.

Was that Kevin Thomas actually playing football again??? All right!!

Long snapper and holder, big concerns—looks like a battle between Cooper Stephenson and Christian Putnam to take 50’s spot, and maybe Garrett Green to hold.

Paul told Mustain he’d better do 16 proud. Otherwise next son Andrew might grab it next year out of Newport Harbor.

Mitch will be a guest on the Heritage Hour show Thursday at 11:30. Monday next it’s Damian Williams, with new GA Kris Richard coming on next Thursday after he and his wife welcome their new son to the world Monday by miracle of induced labor. It’s his second; he has a two year old girl.

The show this morning, which you might like to see, featured NCAA swim champ Rebecca Soni and pitcher Tommy Milone.

Hats off to the men’s golf team, upsetting the field, mildly, to win the very tough US Intercollegiate’s in Georgia. They came from 10 down yesterday in tough, cold, windy conditions all week to beat the likes of formerly #1 Alabama. Bruins finished 18 back of SC, Stanford was down 33 shots. Jamie Lovemark missed by one shot of a tie for medalist honors, and he is the defending NCAA champ. Sc hosts the Pac-10’s in April. A chance at a national championship, but they might need some better play from the bottom of the roster.

More women’s tennis and football Thursday, it’s the time of year when I can’t wait to get up and get to work!
Fight On!

Trojan nose tackle Averell Spicer, who is expected to be the starter for the 2008 season, will miss spring ball due to a knee injury.

“Spicer is going to miss the rest of spring,” Trojan head coach Pete Carroll said. “He was doing fine in the workouts, but he may need arthroscopic surgery to remove a little something in his knee.”

Well, that was quick! The men’s basketball team is not very deep, nor very large of frame, and that usually spells disaster sooner than later in the NCAA tournament. K-State had too much of everything we didn’t have all night long.

Now, the best recruiting job Tim Floyd can do is to see if he can keep this team intact for another year. Didja then see how Wisconsin dismantled the Wildcats today?

Has there ever been an easier draw to the Final Four than the one UCLA got? Then with upsets in their bracket, it became a cakewalk.

For the first time I can recall, I played not a single on line or office related NCAA bracket game of any kind. I would have gone way out on a limb and taken NC to beat Ucla.

I spent my last two days at Dedeaux Field calling the baseball team’s series win over previously #2 ranked Arizona. Chad Kreuter had a good young team that is just learning how to beat other good teams. When they play decent fundamental ball, and get the pitching they got from Tommy Milone and Ryan Cook, who tossed his first collegiate complete game and shutout (a 3 hitter this afternoon) and the team hits just a little bit and hustles to manufacture runs like they did this week, they can beat anyone.

Hope they keep it up against #1 ASU in Tempe next week.

I am feeling much more comfortable calling baseball after five games now. I wish all of our darn equipment would work; we have been calling games so far this season with headsets that do not allow us to hear even our own voices, let alone that of the color guy, or the director, or field announcer. It’s frustrating. That being said, listening back for a few minutes, you can’t really tell. Man, do I love calling the games for Dedeaux!

Hats off to Bill Ferguson’s volleyball team for coming up with a must win last night at home over Hawaii, now they need another, then a sweep of Stanford and Pacific next week to make it to the league post season tournament. That would be a big step in the right direction for the team, which has not fared well in the past few years but seems to be, like baseball, on the rise again.

Good wins for men’s and women’s tennis in Texas this week, too!

Just a couple of days till football spring ball, can’t hardly wait! Ran into a couple of players picking up sundries at the Ralph’s on Vermont last night on the way home from baseball, they said they are excited to get it going.

See you Tuesday at Ho-Jo/Beek! Fight On!

Wow, I sure know how to pick ‘em. Never much the prognosticator, I (just for fun mind you) chose three upsets in the quarterfinals of the Pac Ten men’s tournament. Looks now like there’ll be exactly zero in ANY rounds. Too bad the good guys couldn’t pull it off last night and OJ couldn’t hit that three to send it, and LA, into an OT Tizzy.

Seems like I watch another LA team come down to the last second with the same guy shooting, and mostly missing, to win a game. Should we have not been playing it like an NCAA tournament game and going for two, and fouling and not really taking a three until it was a necessity?

**
An ugly weekend so far, with the Bruins closing to within ten points in the once insurmountable Gauntlet lead. They stole back the five men’s hoops points we got at Pauley, take the women’s five in tennis (that we can get back at least half of later, but not the way it looked Thursday), fell down 0-2 to them in women’s water polo.

If nothing changes in those sports and we win as expected in women’s crew, it’ll be 50-40 SC with a chance to get back 2 1/2 in men’s tennis at home, good luck winning two of three in baseball at JR, so now let’s call it 52.5-40. You still have men’s and women’s golf, which seem to be very tight. And Men’s and women’s track, both at UCLA. Right now I will prognosticate (see above opening paragraph before putting any stick in this!) and say we will win one of the two golf competitions and maybe win back the 2.5 in men’s tennis and hold ‘em off, but it could easily fall back to westwood.

**
Baseball pitched and fielded well, but could not buy a timely hit in a 2-1 loss at LB State. Home tonight.
**
Talk about March Madness-how about the SEC having to move their games to Ga. Tech and only allowing families and cheerleaders into the games so as to not cause riots among the 20,000 fans who had tickets at the tornado damaged Georgia Dome but won’t be allowed to attend the last four games.

And Kentucky and Georgia play early today, the winner forced to play a second game later tonight. Before you feel too bad, remember these guys are used to, when they played AAU ball, playing two and THREE games in a single day with some regularity.

**
Oh I thought of a cool idea for some company to give away (or pretend to offer) ten million dollars to any person who, TODAY, could successfully name winners of every NCAA tournament game. Just pick all the winners advancing into the second round, then from that list all those heading into the sweet 16, etc etc. Anyone getting every single one correct would win the jackpot. Those naming the most correctly get some smaller prize split amongst them.

It’d be fun to try, how many can you get right now, TODAY. Beware the Ides of March.

Football guys continue to work out on and off the field as spring ball is sneaking up on us. Make it through spring break this next week, and we’re as good as there!

**
I called the top three seeds being upset today in the Pac 10 men’s tourney. Really anything can happen with any of the four games, I think SC will beat ASU, especially after what happened in Tempe, and that’s the best bet of the day. Do NOT bet the rent on it, as my buddy Fred Wallin used to say.

For me, I’m heading to Marx to watch SC-UCLA women’s tennis on free In-N-Out burger day, and tomorrow it’s SC-UCLA women’s water polo at 5, and maybe SC-UCLA men’s basketball at Staples.

The Gauntlet is anything but over, and could become a lot closer this weekend.

**
With spring break for students, our Heritage Hour show goes on hiatus starting tomorrow through the next show date of March 24.
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Bought my tickets for the Dodger-Red Sox game today. 115-000 at the Coliseum, the biggest baseball crowd ever, how can you not want to be a part of that??!!
**

I am looking forward to having Kris Richard on the show as soon as we get back. Good player, good guy, and I’ll bet he makes a good coach!

**

Had women’s coach Mark Trakh on yesterday, and he says that injuries or not, he and his staff are going into year five next year, and he expects nothing short of an NCAA tournament bid, one in which the Trojans make the sweet 16. Otherwise, he might be on the hot seat, and he knows it.

It has not been his fault, at all. Had the team stayed healthy, they might have done that sort of damage last year AND this!

I’m rooting for him, he’s a great guy, and the kids on the team are all well spoken, educated and nice. Plus he is a top flight recruiter. A difficult combination to replace.
**
The baseball team had better start fielding better. And maybe beating a team from the west coast. I know they’re young and all that, but these are the cream of the crop from local high schools, it’s not like they’ve never played the game before. I guess we all expect so much from USC baseball that even when they’re 9-5 it looks sub-par. With Long Beach State, Arizona and Arizona State coming up in rapid fire order, they’d better get solid in a hurry!
**
Have a great spring break, talk at ya when we get back and get going for spring ball. Go Trojans! Fight On!

Hey!! That was a pretty darn good weekend!

The Trojan men hold off pesky Cal in OT (yeah, I turned it off for the second straight OT this year, and they won, so you can be sure next time they go extra time, I’m outta there!)

Then, as I figured on the show Friday morning, we ran into an under-enthused Stanford team, played really well, and won that one too, solidifying a spot in the Big Dance. Maybe as high as a 6 seed right now and IF the Trojans can somehow manage a win in the Pac Ten tournament, maybe a four or five…well, a five anyway. To do that they’ve got to get by the Arizona State team that shot a world record number of free throws on their home court in Tempe last week. I imagine the Trojans have been seething about that one for some time, and the Devils might not get to the line quite as often.

Then it might be a matchup with the Bruins in the semi final. That could be a UCLA team that is fairly disinterested themselves having sewn up the top seed in the West. They might want to rest up for the big show…although it is SC, so I can’t imagine them laying down for that one. Gauntlet points at stake; winner takes the season’s ten points which are now split down the middle. Trojans beat ‘em over there, and with any kind of effort, might have swept ‘em. Verrrrrrry interesting. Then maybe Stanford again, but I think maybe Washington State, which seems to dismantle SC. Every time, except last year in the Pac ten tournament.

Ahhhhhh March Madness.

Great line in the Times from beat guy Ben Bolch—”no longer is it a matter of the seeds of doubt for USC, but a matter of the doubt of seed”. Classic.

**
Not so good, nor so unpredictable for the women, who got skunked by UCLA without Nadia Parker SC’s leading scorer and rebounder. Too much inside for the Trojans to handle and I think they’ve given up on their season just about the time Nadia went down. Forget the promising season that looked like a sure fire bid for the NCAA. They will almost certainly turn down a bid to any and all other post season games. Season over. Wait’ll next year when Gemelos, Gilbreath, and two other HS McDonalds’ AA’s come aboard.
**
Baseball-a sweep of Winthrop, who has a men’s basketball team going to the NCAA tourney. This proves, again, that SC is better than most small colleges on the east coast. Now let’s get to business taking care of some of the locals, like Irvine and Long Beach State this week. Not much time before the Pac 10 openers at home in two weeks vs Arizona.
**
Women’s water polo scores a huge win at Cal, a team they had lost to earlier this year. The rest of the MPSF schedule of any note is played at home, including a game with #1 UCLA this coming Friday. The Bruins won the first meeting 8-4. Sc has a 43 match home win streak on the line.
**
Men’s tennis disappointed with a 5-2 loss at UCLA, but it was a non conference match; three singles went three sets, so it could have been otherwise. Perhaps it will be like last year when SC won at home 6-1 in the non con, then lost 3-4 at UCLA for the conference title.

The team rallied to beat #11 Baylor 6-1 today. And face a good Duke team at Marx this week.
**
Men’s golf came up short but played well in finishing 4th in Vegas, Rory Hie tied for first.
The women are in Central Florida, and after one round trail #1 Duke by a shot, and lead #2 UCLA by 2. SC is ranked third. For now.
**
Junior Vanni Mangoni won the only USC individual or relay title at the Pac 10 swim championships, taking the 400IM. Several Trojans, both men and women have qualified for the NCAA swimming championships, but the Trojans are far from where they used to be. For now.
**

It was not good news for the men’s volleyball team, which got swept this past week.
**
I hear Fili Moala was not involved in the bar fight but got scared of what might happen to him and tried to flee the scene. Not wise to be there in the first place, to put yourself and your team in jeopardy, and then compound the problem. I hope he has learned a good lesson.

The recruit Simmons appears to be another story, perhaps. He has not yet enrolled at SC, and we’ll see what his fortunes turn out to be before too long.

That being said, the good news is that spring practice is 16 days away. I hope we’re still playing basketball by then.

**
Jenny and I participated in the Great Urban Race on Saturday. Using trains and busses, and about 3 miles of running from place to place from Hollywood and Vine through Echo Park, Dodger Stadium, and several spots downtown, we managed to finish in 3:47:40. Would have been a half hour quicker, we figure, were it not for three critical errors. We finished in the top 100, although final results have yet to be published, but came up short in a bid to make it to the nationals.

It was really a great day meeting so many fascinating people. We started at Hollywood Billiards, and had to make a puzzle in Echo Park, have a caricature drawn of us there as well, take a photo at Dodger Stadium, get a chili pepper from Grand Central Market, do a handstand (ugh) in front of a very tall building downtown, eat some pizza shortly thereafter, solve a crossword puzzle (did you know the Beverly Hills hotel on the cover of Hotel California is also called the Pink Palace?) Then race back to Hollywood for a photo at Hwd and Vine, and another next to Pat Sajak’s star on the walk of fame, plus find a four leaf clover depicted on any item, so long as you did not draw it…Jenny found a chocolate, I got a hat from a vintage clothing store.

Oh yeah, and pedal some little tiny bike a few yards to the finish line.

**
Step son Leo’s has begun baseball season, two games against Palisades. Which apparently has split its team into an “A” and a “B” team. The “A” team has a LOT of 15 year old 8th graders (??!!) and a pitcher who looks really really good.

The B team was not much. We split. I am not coaching for the first time in many, many years.

Time to go running on the Venice boardwalk and get ready for work.

Fight On!