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UCLA Week - Thursday

We have two days before kickoff. Beat the Bruins! Unlike some other places where I worked, the Bruins in our current office have none of that little powder blue crap strewn about, and there is surprisingly little talk in the office except among other Trojans Here's some other information we are chattering about today.

Latest Weather: Right now, it is cold (overnight lows in the 30s) and windy (up to 58 mph) in Los Angeles County. Saturday's weather, however, is projected to be sunny, with a high of 76°F, after an overnight low of 48°F. There is no rain in the forecast.

Injuries - USC: USC has lost nine starters (or projected starters) to injury this season for at least one full game, including DT Chris Barrett (2), WR Dwayne Jarrett (1), DT Sedrick Ellis (3), CB Kevin Thomas (7), OG Chilo Rachal (1), FB Stanley Havili (8), FB Ryan Powdrell (9), S Josh Pinkard (10), FB Brandon Hancock (11) and TB Herschel Dennis (11). Leading subs have also missed several games, including TB Emmanuel Moody (2), LB Kaluka Maiava (1), WR Chris McFoy (6), DT Travis Tofi (8), OG Jeff Byers (10) and S Will Harris (11). WR Steve Smith, S Taylor Mays and LB Oscar Lua all missed parts of games with nagging injuries. Chauncey Washington (sprained knee) might play but will not start. Chris Barrett is considered likely. Rey Maualuga (fractured wrist) will play. Moody is questionable. Other players out for this game include TE Anthony McCoy, TE Gerald Washington, WR Jamere Holland, LB Joshua Tatum, CB Jerry Williams, DE Rashaad Goodrum, DE Lawrence Miles, LB Lou Ferrigno, Jr., and OG Matt Spanos. QB JD Booty rolled his ankle against Notre Dame but has missed no practice.

Injuries - UCLA: UCLA is without FL Joe Cowan, S Robert Kibble, FB Jimmy Stephens, TE Ryan Moya, WR Dominique Johnson, TE JJ Hair, CB Michael Norris, and DE Kenneth Lombardi. QB Ben Olson is expected to return, but will not start. Chase Moline (back spasms) and OT Aleksey Lanis (ankle) are also expected to play.

Ticket Demand: StubHub has been tracking demand for NCAA rivalry games among buyers and ranked them. USC v. Notre Dame finished first, just ahead of Michigan v. Ohio State. USC @ UCLA came in 7th. On eBay, the cheapest seats are selling for about $100 each. Oddly enough, end zone seats (translation: the USC sections) are selling for a higher price than many yard line seats. We are still searching for the perfect tickets.

Team Stats: UCLA is 73rd in rushing offense, 54th in passing offense, 63rd in scoring offense and 70th in total offence. The Bruins are 75th in passing defense, but first in the Pac 10 in yards allowed per carry (2.84).

The Top Two: If USC wins, they will finish the regular season ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the AP Poll for the fourth consecutive season. Prior to this streak, USC had only finished in the top two four other times, most recently in 1972. UCLA has never defeated a USC team ranked in the top three. In 1958, UCLA beat a USC team ranked No. 4.

Gambling: (For entertainment purposes only). USC opened as a 14 point favorite on the earliest online handicapping report. The opening line in Vegas, however, was 12½, and has since creeped up to 13½. How have the teams done in 2006 against spreads? USC is 7-1 in USC last 8 games on grass. Until the Stanford game, USC had beaten the spread only against Arkansas. Since Oregon State, the Trojans are 4-0 against the spread. UCLA is 7-1 their last 8 games on grass. They are 8-2 against the spread in their last last 10 home games. In the last 10 USC UCLA games, the home team is 8-2 against the spread. In UCLA's first 11 games, the over/under line has been crossed just twice. Bet the under.

Television and Radio: USC's 44-24 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday night on ABC got a 9.6 national overnight rating, making it the top-rated game among the network's 5 p.m. telecasts this season. UCLA will be playing on TV for the 27th straight time. USC has been on TV for 65 straight games. Local radio will have the game on KLAC AM 570 (UCLA) and KSPN AM 710 (USC).

Newspapers: For the first time in a long time, OC Register sportswriter Steve Bisheff will have nothing to say about the game, except for what he mentions to family and friends. His final column appears in today's Register. His last football game was the USC Notre Dame match last week. After 42 years, we won't have Bisheff to kick around anymore.

20 Talking Points: Some of the curious facts and figures you might see pop up on the screen during the broadcast Saturday:

Pete Carroll is 20-0 in November.

This is only USC's 5th day game of 2006.

The Trojans were 37-35 from 1996 to 2001.

Since 2001, USC has posted a 58-5 record. The average margin in those five losses? 3.6 points.

USC has not surrendered a pass play of more than 45 yards since 2004.

USC scored 80 unanswered points during a stretch that began in the second half of the Oregon State game and ended in the first half of the Cal game.

USC has outscored its last four opponents (3 ranked) by a cumulative score of 144-43.

USC backup linebacker Lou Ferrigno Jr. (injured, will not play) is the son of actor Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk).

USC LB Kaluka Maiava is the nephew of wrestler Dwayne Johnson ("The Rock").

Dwayne Jarrett is USC's career leader in touchdown receptions.

USC's out-of-conference foes include 3 teams still in the running for BCS bids: Notre Dame, Arkansas and Nebraska.

USC and UCLA played 9 common opponents this year -- Notre Dame and the other 8 Pac 10 teams.

USC's starting offensive linemen weigh 299 pounds each, on average.

Oregon State, which defeated the Trojans in October, finished third in the Pac 10 with an 8-4, and is likely headed to the Sun Bowl.

USC has three different receivers (Smith, Jarrett and Patrick Turner) who have caught more than 11 passes in a game this year.

USC has scored 20 points or more in 63 straight games.

USC is 33-0 under Carroll when they have given up less than 300 yards in total offense.

USC has kicked off to open each of its 11 games this season.

USC has six players who graduated early from high school. Booty graduated a year early. Brandon Hancock, Fred Davis, Michael Coleman, Kevin Ellison and Antwine Perez all graduated a semester early to play spring ball.

USC lost the only game in 2006 in which it surrendered more than 100 rushing yards to the opponent's leading rusher.

Fight Songs - UCLA:

"Sons of Westwood" (played after a good play)

We are Sons of Westwood
And we hail to Blue and Gold
True to thee our hearts will be
Our love will not grow old,
FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!
Bruins roam the hills of Westwood
By the blue Pacific shores
And if we chance to see
A man from USC
Every Bruin starts to roar.
U...C...L...A...
UCLA, fight, fight, fight!

"Mighty Bruins" (played after a score)

We are the mighty Bruins
The best team in the west!
We're fighting on to victory
To conquer all the rest.
We are the mighty Bruins,
Triumphant ever more,
And you can hear
From far and near
The mighty Bruins roar!

Fight Songs - USC:

"FIGHT ON!" (after first downs and touchdowns)

Fight On for ol’ SC
Our men Fight On to victory.
Our Alma Mater dear,
looks up to you
Fight On and win
For ol’ SC
Fight On to victory
Fight On!

"ALL HAIL"

All hail to Alma Mater,
To thy glory we sing;
All hail to Southern California,
Loud let thy praises ring;
Where Western sky meets Western sea
Our college stands in majesty.
Sing our love to Alma Mater,
Hail, all hail to thee.

TRIBUTE TO TROY: this stanza of pounding drums and blaring horns is played when the band takes the field and again after every defensive stop.

CONQUEST: This battle cry, from Alfred Newman's score to the 1947 film "Captain from Castile," has been played after every USC score and victory since the Trojans adopted it in 1950.

FANFARE: This introduction to Tribute To Troy is played when the band takes the field.

Go Trojans!

UCLA Week - Wednesday

It's the third day before UCLA. So far, I've really only talked about the history. Here's a little more of that, with a lot more about this year's teams and some video for your viewing pleasure, in lieu of my normal Lex TV posts.

Head-to-Head Records: No team has beaten UCLA more times than USC. Notre Dame. No team has beaten Notre Dame more times than USC. USC leads the series 41-27-7. During the recent 7 game winning streak, USC has averaged 39.42 ppg against the Bruins. USC's average margin of victory over that time has been 21.4 points. However, at the Rose Bowl, their margin of victory was only 13. In UCLA's 8 game winning streak from 1991-1998, the Bruins outscored USC by 7.1 ppg. Last year, USC defeated the Bruins 66-19 at the Coliseum on the strength of Reggie Bush's 260 rushing yards and LenDale White's 154 rushing yards.

Bye-Bye: UCLA is 3-7-3 against USC when coming off a bye week. The last three games in the series have been played after UCLA byes.

All-Conference: The all-Pac 10 teams were announced yesterday. Pete Carroll was coach of the year (he won in 2003 and 2005, too). USC had 8 players on the first team and 4 players on the second team. UCLA players put two players on the first team and two on the second team. A 3-way tie for freshman of the year included one Trojan and one Bruin. For USC, QB John David Booty, WR Steve Smith, WR Dwayne Jarrett, C Ryan Kalil, OT tackle Sam Baker, NT Sedrick Ellis, LB Rey Maualuga and LB Keith Rivers were selected to the first-team. For UCLA, DE Justin Hickman and PK Justin Medlock were on the first-team. Second team selections included USC OT Chilo Rachal, DL Lawrence Jackson, LB Brian Cushing and CB Terrell Thomas, plus UCLA DL Bruce Davis and DB Chris Horton.

R.I.P. During the bye week, UCLA players attended the funeral of Marcus Cassell, who died last month from injuries suffered in an automobile accident in Santa Monica on November 17. Cassell, who graduated last year, was on the Carolina Panthers scout team. Cassell started all 12 games last year at cornerback for the Bruins. USC fans will remember him as the player Reggie Bush hurdled over in the 2005 game. He was the leading tackler for UCLA in that game.

Another Rudy: USC receiver Ben Malcolmson, a walk-on who once covered sports for the Daily Trojan, finally made it into a game last week. Malcolmson lined up at receiver for the final play of the Notre Dame game.

Brothers: USC TE Jimmy Miller is the brother of UCLA DE Jeff Miller.

Late Start: Traditionally, in even-numbered years, UCLA and USC played at the Rose Bowl on the Saturday before Thanksgiving ("Rivalry Week"), and the Trojans ended their season the following week at home against Notre Dame. However, a few years back, the teams agreed to move the game to "Championship Saturday", to give it national television exposure on the day conference championship games are played. They have now played December games seven times (USC won four, UCLA won one, and there were two ties). All-time, USC is 37-22-7 in December games.

Rebuilding: This is supposed to be a rebuilding season for both teams. A total of 15 USC freshman have played this year. UCLA has played 8 freshman. UCLA's surprising 10-2 record last season was built upon experience. Much of that experience left after the 2005 season, including QB Drew Olson, TE Marcedes Lewis, C Mike McCloskey, OG Robert Cleary, OT Ed Blanton and TB Maurice Drew-TB. The Bruins also lost linebackers Wesley Walker, Justin London and Spencer Havner, as well as CB Marcus Cassel and SS Jarrad Page. The Bruins returned just 5 starters on offense and 7 on defense. The current starting lineup has one senior on offense (C Robert Chai) and one on defense (LE Justin Hickman). A total of 15 junior start, so next year could be a good one for the Bruins. Across town, USC lost 17 players to the NFL, including six drafted seniors (Matt Leinart, Deuce Lutui, Frostee Rucker, Dominique Byrd, David Kirtman and LaJaun Ramsey) five drafted juniors (Reggie Bush, Winston Justice, LenDale White, Darnell Bing and Fred Matua) and six undrafted senior free agents (Justin Wyatt, John Walker, William Buchanon, Scott Ware, Tom Malone and David Kirtman). USC returned 4 starters on offense (Dwayne Jarrett, Steve Smith, Sam Baker and Ryan Kalil) and six on defense (Lawrence Jackson, Oscar Lua, Keith Rivers, Thomas Williams, Josh Pinkard and Sedrick Ellis.) Williams has not started, and Pinkard was injured at the start of the season. USC's current starting lineup includes just three seniors on offense (Jarrett, Smith and Kalil) and one on defense (Dallas Sartz). The Trojans are 10-1 and still in the hunt for the BCS title. Some rebuilding year, eh?

Celebrities in the House: Spike Lee visited USC yesterday and told the Trojans to do the right thing. Naturally. As always, there will be plenty of recognizable faces in the crowd this week, but I can't find a list of them anywhere.

Memorable Anniversaries - 5 years (2001, USC 27, UCLA 0): Five years ago, the Trojans won the first shutout in the series since 1954, defeating the 20th ranked Bruins 27-0 at the Coliseum to become bowl eligible for the first time in three years. Trojan fans remember this as the game in which Antuan Simmons intercepted a pass between his legs and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown.

Memorable Anniversaries - 10 years (1996, UCLA 48, USC 41 2OT): Ten years ago, in the only overtime contest ever between the Bruins and Trojans, UCLA made the most remarkable comeback in the history of the series. For the first time in 13 years, neither team was ranked. UCLA trailed by 17 points with seven minutes to play. With three minutes left, UCLA trimmed the lead to 7, but failed to recover the onside kick. USC tried to run out the clock, but Lavale Woods fumbled and UCLA went on to score and send the game into overtime when USC's last second field goal attempt was blocked. UCLA outscored USC 10-3 in overtime to win.

Memorable Anniversaries - 20 years (1986, UCLA 45 USC 25): Twenty years ago, with a 24 point lead and just seconds to play in the first half, UCLA used a trick play -- faking the QB taking a knee to end the half -- to score on a touchdown pass from Matt Stevens to Karl Dorrell. The Bruins held on for a 20 point victory.

Memorable Anniversaries - 25 years (1981, USC 22 UCLA 21): Twenty-five years ago, USC won 22-21 when George Atica blocked Norm Johnson's 46-yard field goal attempt with four seconds to play. The field goal would have sent UCLA to the Rose Bowl. With the win, USC earned a trip to the Fiesta Bowl, the Bruins went to the Bluebonnet Bowl, where they lost to Michigan, and Washington ended up in the Rose Bowl, where they shut out the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Webcams: USC has Tommy Trojan on a webcam. UCLA has Royce Hall on a webcam.

Some highlights of previous Trojan victories: Here is a short video clip of USC UCLA highlights from 1999 to 2003. And I've finally learned how to embed a YouTube video into my posts. Here are some favorites I found this week:

2003: USC 47 UCLA 22

2005: USC 66 UCLA 19

The halftime entertainment for the Notre Dame game:

[Hat tip: USC FanHouse]

Typical Postgame Celebration

If you need to know the words to Tusk, you can find them here.

FIGHT ON!

Tuesday Travel Photo (No. 103)

I took this picture in the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2004. The photo was taken before the game, during on of two consecutive card stunts that preceded a flyover. It was awesome.

It was the single coolest card stunt I had ever seen, and remains my second favorite of all time, trailing only the CalTech card stunt at the 1961 Rose Bowl, which I am not old enough to have experienced.

UCLA Week - Tuesday

I just love USC v. UCLA week. There are many other great rivalries in college football: Harvard & Yale, Army & Navy, Stanford & Cal, Michigan & Ohio State, Auburn & Alabama, Florida & Florida State, and so on and so on and so on. But there are no two strong rivals in college football who share the same city. USC-UCLA is unique in that regard. What makes it so great?

The Thrill of Victory: The prize for this game is the Victory Bell. The winner keeps the Victory Bell for a year and paints it their team's colors. Since 1942, the Victory Bell has awarded to the winner of this game. The bell originally rang atop a Southern Pacific locomotive. It was donated to the UCLA student body in 1939 and it was used to proclaim each UCLA touchdown for two seasons. In 1941, six USC fraternity men heisted the truck that was taking the bell back to Westwood, and it was hidden away for more than a year. A series of retaliatory pranks ended with a badly needed truce, in which the student body presidents signed an agreement to make the bell a trophy given to the annual winner of the football game. It now traditionally comes out only for the first three quarters of thisgame (although USC rang the bell during the Cal game two weeks ago). This year, the Victory Bell is painted crimson and gold. The winner of the game also gets 10 points toward winning the Lexus Gauntlet.

The Agony of Defeat: Despite the loss to the Ohio State University, Michigan fans can still wear Wolverine gear around Ann Arbor and face little ridicule from Buckeye fans. But the loser of the USC-UCLA game can't wear their colors around town without somebody popping off. For eight long years, we were up to our necks in Bruin shit, but for the past seven years, the Bruin fans have had to put up with the same from the Trojans. It's all about this game. A win in basketball season doesn't ease the pain.  A College World Series title doesn't absolve you. Volleyball? Water polo? Tennis? Track? Fuggedaboudit. The winner of this game can have their fans openly dig their team for the next year. The loser and its fans are losers for the rest of the year, at home and abroad. Seriously. When I was in London wearing my USC sweatshirt, I had a Texas fan give me some crap, a Notre Dame fan laugh and tell me he wished he had a Texas hat to wear on the boat (we were cruising down the Thames River), and I had a guy in a UCLA cap who went out of his way to avoid eye contact with me. True story.

The Glory of National Titles: In all of college sports, USC and UCLA are numbers one and two in national championships among all college athletic programs. In football, USC has won 11 mythical national championships: 1928, 1931, 1932, 1939, 1962, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1978, 2003 and 2004. UCLA's lone championship team won the UPI title in 1954, when the Bruins shared the MNC with Rose Bowl winner and AP champion, Ohio State. Sadly, UCLA could not lose to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl that year because the Rose Bowl then had a rule against team's making back-to-back appearances. For the fourth time during the short nine-year BCS history, the game will have a clear impact upon the BCS title game.

The Glory of Pac-10 Titles and Bowl Berths: As the Pac-10 Champion, USC has qualified for the BCS and will play in the Rose Bowl or the BCS Championship. As a result, this game has BCS bowl implications for the fourth straight year. In 2002, USC went to the Rose Bowl and won, 52-21, to set the stage for their Orange Bowl-sealing win over Notre Dame the following week. In 2003, the Trojans beat UCLA, 47-22, to clinch the Pac-10 title and set up their move to the top of the polls the following week. In 2004, a 29-24 win at the Rose Bowl sent the Trojans back to the Orange Bowl for the BCS title game. Last year, a 66-19 victory clinched USC's 30th Rose Bowl appearance. USC has now won 36 conference titles, more than twice as many as any other school. Its 30 Rose Bowl appearances are the most by any team in any bowl. USC's 21 Rose Bowl victories are the most for any school at any bowl. Its 28 overall bowl win total is second only to Alabama's 30. UCLA has been to bowl games for three straight seasons -- the Silicon Valley Classic, the Vegas Bowl and the Sun Bowl -- making Karl Dorrell the only Bruin head coach to take his team to three bowls in his first three seasons. This season, the Bruins are likely headed to the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco, to face 6-6 Florida State.

The BCS Implications: When UCLA last beat the Trojans in 1998, they were atop the BCS standings and finishing off just the 4th perfect 8-0 conference record in Pac-10 history. (They lost to Miami the next week in a hurricane postponed game that was supposed to have been played in September.) In 2004 and 2005, USC beat the Bruins and went on to the BCS title game. This year, USC is ranked #2 in both polls and is expected to play Ohio State for the championship if they can get past their crosstown rivals. Off note: in the eight years the BCS has determined college football's champion, a dozen undefeated teams have held one of the top two spots in the standings with three weeks to go or less, and only one of those teams -- that UCLA team of 1998 -- didn't play in the BCS title game. Should the Bruins lose on Saturday, Michigan will join them as the second such team.

The Uncertainty: The last five games ended with expected victories by a heavily favored USC. But over the past 20 years, there have been several huge surprises:
• 1987: USC, unranked in Larry Smith's first season, beat fifth-ranked UCLA, 17-13, and went to the Rose Bowl.
• 1989: 8th-ranked USC, already having clinched a third straight Rose Bowl appearance, manages only a tie against 3-7 UCLA.
• 1992: Unranked, 5-5, UCLA defeats No.15 USC, 38-37.
• 1994: Unranked, 4-6, UCLA defeats No.13 USC 31-19.
• 1995: Unranked, 6-4, UCLA defeats No.11 and Pac-10 champion USC, 24-20.
• 2001: Unranked, 5-5, USC defeats No.20 UCLA, 27-0.

The Unlikely Heroes: This series is known for having superstars carry the day with big games, but it is also known for lesser known players having big games, e.g.,
• 1992: Senior walk-on John Barnes, the fifth-string QB for UCLA, leads the unranked Bruins (see above) to a 38-37 win on a 90-yard TD pass to J.J. Stokes with 2:04 left. Barnes threw for 384 yards.
• 1993: UCLA avoids the come-from-ahead loss when safety Marvin Goodwin intercepts a pass in the end zone on a 3rd-and-goal play in the final seconds of the game.
• 2000: USC's third-string placekicker, David Bell, who had missed all three field goal attempts that season, lined up for a a 36-yard field goal with nine seconds to go. It barely cleared the crossbar.

The Heisman Trophies: USC has seven Heisman Trophy winners: Mike Garrett (1965), OJ Simpson (1968), Charles White (1979), Marcus Allen (1981), Carson Palmer (2002), Matt Leinart (2004) and Reggie Bush (2005). Four Trojans have been runner-up: Simpson, Anthony Davis, Ricky Bell and Rodney Peete (who finished just ahead of UCLA's Troy Aikman). UCLA has had one winner: Gary Beban (1967). The last Bruin invited to the Heisman Trophy presentation was Cade McNown in 1998 -- the last season in which UCLA beat the Trojans. This year's Heisman implications: none. USC's QB John David Booty is the best candidate in the game, and he is likely to receive fewer votes than needed to earn an invitation to New York.

Tomorrow, I'll discuss some specifics about this year's teams.

UCLA Week - Monday

Notre Dame week was fun, and I'll be enjoying that one until at least next October, but Notre Dame week is over, and now it is UCLA week! Some call it 'Troy Week". After a day to enjoy the post-Irish the USC football team returns to practice today to prepare for the annual cross-town rivalry game against the Bruins. As usual, much is on the line in this game Here are a few details about the game.

Starting Time: The game Saturday at the Rose Bowl will be broadcast live nationally at 1:30 p.m., PST on ABC ("presented by Best Buy"). The kickoff will follow the conclusion of the ACC Championship Game. The Big XII Championship Game will follow. (The SEC title game will be on CBS starting at 3:00 p.m.)

Records: USC is 10-1. UCLA is 6-5. USC's 7-1 conference record is best in the Pac 10. UCLA's 4-4 record has them in 4th place, a half game ahead of four other teams tied at 4-5. Both teams are coming off victories. The Trojans beat Notre Dame 44-24, right after winning an unprecedented fifth straight Pac 10 title by defeating California. UCLA comes in having beaten Oregon State and Arizona State.

Streaks: USC has won four straight since its loss at Oregon State. The Bruins have won two since ending their four game skid in November. With a win, USC's 5th year seniors would be able to boast that they never lost at home, never lost to Notre Dame, never missed a BCS bid, never lost the Pac 10, and never lost to UCLA. USC hasn't lost a November or December game since the 2001 Vegas Bowl. USC has also won seven straight games against the Bruins.

All-Time Series Streaks: The USC-UCLA series is really streaky:
• From 1929-1941, USC went 5-0-3.
• From 1943-1949, USC went 8-1-1.
• From 1950-1955, UCLA went 5-1.
• From 1960-1964, USC went 4-1.
• From 1967-1979, USC went 10-2-1.
• From 1980-1984, UCLA went 4-1.
• From 1986-1990, USC went 4-1-1.
• From 1991-1998, UCLA went 8-0.
• Since then, USC is 7-0.

Current Streak: The last seven games, won by USC, were:
• 1999: USC 17, UCLA 7
• 2000: USC 38, UCLA 35
• 2001: USC 27, UCLA 0
• 2002: USC 52, UCLA 21
• 2003: USC 47, UCLA 22
• 2004: USC 29, UCLA 24
• 2005: USC 66, UCLA 19

Schedules: The Trojans have defeated #8 Arkansas (SEC West Champ), #12 Notre Dame, #19 Nebraska (Big XII North Champ) and #22 Cal. They also knocked then-21st ranked Oregon from the polls. Their only loss was at 8-4 Oregon State (3rd in Pac 10, AP "also receiving votes" list at #28). Nine of USC's twelve opponents currently sport a winning record, and at least nine of the twelve will go to a bowl. The Sagarin ratings call USC's schedule the nation's 3rd toughest, after Stanford and Cal. UCLA owns the nation's 6th toughest schedule, with opponents including Oregon, Cal, USC and Notre Dame. Actually, the teams play almost the same schedule, playing all other 8 Pac 10 opponents (plus each other) and Notre Dame. USC added Arkansas and Nebraska, while the Bruins added Rice and Utah.

Rankings: USC is ranked 2nd in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll, the AP Poll, the Harris Interactive Poll, and the BCS rankings. UCLA is not ranked, but is listed at #34 on the BCS rankings. USC been ranked in the AP Top 10 for the past 56 weeks.

Odds: USC has opened as a 14 point favorite. I'll probably go with the Trojans and surrender the points.

Tomorrow, once all the fish wraps have started talking about the game, I'll have some more.

Narnia = Satan Worship

Remember how a bunch of atheists were bitching about Narnia and how it was just a front for the story of Jesus dying on the cross? (See "'Narnia' Seen as Chance to Fill Churches") Well, it turns out, the Christians don't all think so. Oh, no. Some think the story is really just an excuse for the glorification of the child molesting satanic god of perversion.

Looking Back at Week 13

Another exciting weekend is behind us. I did well with the picks this week, going 5-2 with my recommended games, and 9-6-2 overall:

L Texas A&M @ 11 Texas -13½ (Texas-)
L *9 LSU @ 5 Arkansas +2½ (Arkansas+)
W *Colorado @ 23 Nebraska -13 (Nebraska-)
P Virginia @ 17 Virginia Tech -17 (Virginia+)
L *Florida @ 4 Florida St. +9½ (Florida-)
W *South Carolina @ 24 Clemson -5½ (S.C.+)
L South Florida @ 7 West Virginia -21½ (WV-)
W *Syracuse @ 15 Rutgers -15 (Rutgers-)
W Kentucky @ 19 Tennessee -20 (Kentucky+)
P 13 Oklahoma @ Oklahoma St. +6 (OU-)
W 8 Louisville @ Pittsburgh +11 (Louisville-)
W 21 BYU @ Utah +10½ (Utah+)
L 16 Georgia Tech @ Georgia -2 (GT+)
W *12 Boise St. @ Nevada +3 (Boise-)
L 20 Wake Forest @ Maryland -1½ (Maryland-)
W *6 Notre Dame @ 3 USC -7½ (USC-)
W Purdue @ 25 Hawaii -17½ (Purdue+)

Texas losing did not break my heart. Arkansas losing bummed me out, but it could be a lot of fun if Arkansas has the traditional bounceback week and Florida gets the traditional letdown after big games. I thought South Carolina would win straight up at Clemson. I did not think West Virginia would lose. How big would this upset have been if the Mountaineers had beaten Louisville? USC, Arizona State, Oregon State, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Virginia Tech, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, BYU, Georgia and Ohio won their rivalry games.

Next week, we will see USC v. UCLA, Stanford v. Cal and Army v. Navy, plus conference title games that include Arkansas v. Florida, Wake Forest v. Georgia Tech and Oklahoma v. Nebraska. The Big East championship will come down to two games. Rutgers wins at West Virginia and they are in. If they lose, Louisville is in unless they lose to U.Conn. If those both happen, the BCS rankings determine the championship, and West Virginia is probably in. I'll root for Rutgers, Wake Forest, Arkansas, Nebraska and Cal.

Regardless of how I want it to end up, here is how I believe the bowl games will shake out:

Orange Bowl: Georgia Tech v. Louisville
Rose Bowl: LSU v. Michigan
Fiesta Bowl: Nebraska v. Boise State
Sugar Bowl: Notre Dame v. Arkansas
BCS Title: USC v. Ohio State

USC Notre Game Game Report

I don't know how to actually do a liveblog, but this is close. My notes and comments from the game.

• The Thundering Herd hung around near Doheny Library this week. The food this week was hamburgers and potato salad. But for the free beer and the fun of hanging around with the craziest old Trojans around, we'd have opted for an on-campus burger at Carl's Jr., with bottomless Diet Coke and some Captain Morgan's in an apple juice bottle brought from home.
• Our favorite parking spot is $70 today.
• So these guys roll in and park right at the corner of Vermont and Menlo, get out and declare, "This is a great spot. I can't believe it was still open." Then the cops tell them they can't park there.
• I've seen very few scalpers with tickets in hand. Lots of "need tickets" signs, though.
• I kicked the flagpoles in Pardee Plaza. We never lose when I kick the flagpoles.
• Worst pregame sign: "Charlie Weis is so fat, when he stands at Four Corners Monument, he's in six states at the same time."
• Best pregame sign: "U S & C. Is Nice." With huge photo of Borat.
• Saw Darrell Rideaux before the game. He seemed to enjoy the attention from all the fans who recognized him.
• Someone turned the fountain red. Don't know if that was official or unofficial.
• Tommy Trojan is already covered in duct tape. George Tirebiter, too.
• The Coliseum Peristyle area features a stone from the Colosseum in Rome and another from the Altis Olympia in Greece, as well as tributes to Olympians, such as Jesse Owens and the slain Israeli athletes, and great Coliseum performers, including John McKay, Howard Jones and Knute Rockne.
• Free Anthony Munoz cards for everyone!
• The national anthem tonight sounded awesome. The best singing by the crowd all year. Unlike other visiting teams' fans, the Domers get it.
• We ended up sending about 15 guys out the tunnel on Senior Night. I don't know half of these guys. The friends and family are on the bandwagon. Tonight's senior gauntlet stretched from the tunnel to the opposite corner of the opposite end zone.
• Thought Steve Smith would be last out of the tunnel. He was next-to-last. Ryan Kalil was the last one out. Not a bad call.
• USC kicked off to start the game again. That's 11 times in 11 games.
• Charlie Weis went for it on 4th & 9. That seems psychologically unsound. He just couldn't resist. Sadly, his team couldn't convert. Brady Quinn is no Matt Leinart.
• Has any Irish QB lost more than 2 games to USC? Quinn might go 0-4 tonight.
• Will this be Dwayne Jarrett's last home game as a Trojan? It sure could be. If so, it's off to a good start.
• Desmond Reed's first quarter punt return for 45 yards was poetic justice. It's amazing how different things work out when the grass gets mowed.
• It was the right call, but Steve Smith's catch at the "six-inch line" sure looked like a touchdown from my seats!
• Weis: 4th & goal from the 10? Coach resists temptation and gets 3 points.
• At 21-3, Notre Dame fans are getting annoyed. "I'm so damn sick of USC quarterback sneaks."
• The Domers keep saying "OJ" every time they flash Anthony Davis on the big screen. Yes, now that he's lost all the weight, AD looks a little bit like the Juice, but if anyone should know AD when they see him, it's Irish Fan.
• Washington's fumble was not a fumble, but the funniest part was how a couple of Irish players who had not a damn clue whether ND recovered it started jumping up and down and indicating Irish ball right before the refs gave it back to USC.
• Okay, a pick is not as bad as a fumble. At least the pick turns it over downfield. I'll think of it as a short, early punt. We'll be fine. The jackass behind my regular seats must be going nuts right now.
• Notre Dame gets a first and goal inside the USC 5. USC has a punt blocked and recovered inside the USC 10. USC fumbles the return, but recovers the ball. Booty throws a pick. USC gets the ball back and Booty promptly throws another pick. What did all that yield Notre Dame? 7 points, a few yards and some time of possession. They will come to regret not turning those turnovers into points.
• Weis: 4th & 3, no good
• Weis: 4th and 6, no good
• Weis: 4th &1. How many times is this guy going to go for it on 4th down?
• On the 4th & 1, watching it live, I think the spot is crap, too, and I like it that Carroll challenged the spot. Notre Dame got it by, what, a quarter of an inch? The challenge is no good though. The asshat behind our regular seats is probably having a cow, "Jeeeezuz Ka-Riced! Wasted a timeout. WASTED IT!" is what we figure he's saying.
• Kevin Ellison got another big hit.
• At 37-17, some of the Domers around us are still expecting to win.
• That personal foul on David Rivers for a "high hit" was bullshit. The only call I've booed all night.
• That late touchdown drive by Notre Dame was less than impressive. A clock-killing drive that burned several minutes when Notre Dame had no time to waste. How many downs did they spend inside the ten? The pass to Samardjiza got them to first and goal with 5:30 to play. They scored at 3:39. The pass interference and 12 man penalties weren't much fun, were they? We damn near broke the next huddle with 12 yet again. And a facemask? What a momentum shift. Tough penalty, too. It looked on the replay like he hit the facemask, rather than grab it.
• At 37-24, the blue and green freaks are hopeful again.
• The only rude Irish fan I met all night -- some asshat flipped off the band when they came up into our section, then her grabbed the end of the trombone. Eject that guy!
• Charlie Weis really is absurdly heavy, and he dresses like this is a closed practice. Someone tell that guy that there are TV cameras in the house.
• The onsides kick is going to the right. Jarrett is there. McCoy is there. Cushing is there. Turner is there. Reed is there. Sartz is there.
• Touchdown, Cushing! (BoiFromTroy must be loving it.) Cushing must not be second-guessing his decision to go to USC instead of Notre Dame. How often does a defensive lineman get a kickoff return for a touchdown? [Update: Yeah, Boi dug it.]
• Da! Da! Beat! ... the Bruins!
• Mark Sanchez is in the game. Who's the player of the game? Ya think maybe Dwayne Jarrett?
• Desmond Reed gets the game-ending first down. Poetry!
• Rudest game sign: "The Suck of the Irish"
• Memo to the fanatics. Wigs and signs are cool. If your team lays an egg, you can take them off or put them down. Face and body paint, smart-ass shirts (unless you brought a jacket) and goofball costumes are all big risks. Walking out of the stadium after a devastating loss is ten times worse when you are wearing something studid.
• Oh, and I thought hanging around outside GameDay after the game would be a blast. It sucked. It's the only thing that was not fun all day.

Notre Dame Week - Game Day

It's kind of embarrassing, but I actually had trouble sleeping last night, waking up thinking about today and this football game. I'm ready to go. Kickoff can't come soon enough. ABC is in the house. ESPN is in the house. The parking lot hedgehogs are drawing $100 per car. The beer is getting cold and the coals are getting hot. I'm ready for some football. Outside the Coliseum is a much crazier place when Notre Dame comes to town. I do not entirely get it. It is always a sellout, so the crowd is large, but the other games were sellouts, too. And 92,000 people is 92,000 people, regardless of the opponent. Maybe a lot of people come without tickets just to hang around outside. Whether you are going to the game, watching it at home or listening to it from outside the Coliseum, here are a few more fun details about the game:

God's Favorites: Personally, I think God has more important things to care about than who wins a football game, but to my fellow Catholics who seem to think that it is unholy for a Catholic to root against Notre Dame, let me remind you that Notre Dame's famous Touchdown Jesus should properly be referred to by His full name:

TOUCHDOWN JESUSCHRIST

Kickoff: Officially, it's a 5:00 p.m. start time. However, that's just when they start with the pregame promo video on ABC. The actually anticipated moment for the kickoff is 5:13 p.m.

Celebrities in the House: If you are a celebrity watcher, keep your eye out for some of these likely attendees: Will Ferrell, Nick Lachey, Vanessa Minnillo, Donald Trump, James Caan, George Wendt, Charlie Sheen, Dennis Haysbert, Josh Duhamel, James Lesure, David James Elliott, John Seda, Robert Patrick, Duane Davis, Shari Headley, Joe Maloof and Michael King. Famous athletes expected to be in the house include Ronnie Lott, Sam Cunningham, Charles White, Mike Williams, Marshall Faulk and Ken Griffey Jr. Oh, and Anthony Munoz, who will be honored at halftime and will be featured in a sports card that will be distributed to fans before the game.

Do The Right Thing: Bring an unwrapped toy to the game. Champions for Children will collect new, unwrapped presents for needy children. There will be donation centers accepting unwrapped toys at several locations around the Coliseum.

Possible TV Facts: Some of the curious facts and figures you might see pop up on the screen during the broadcast today.

The Irish are 9-0 on the road under Weis.

Notre Dame's last road loss was at USC (2004: 41-10).

Notre Dame thinks a big win could put them in contention for the BCS title game. The last team to beat USC by 10 points or more was Notre Dame (2001: 27-16).

Pete Carroll is 19-0 in November.

Charlie Weis is 7-0 in November.

Since the loss at Oregon State, USC's defense has given up just 6.3 points per game.

Since the loss to Michigan, Notre Dame's offense has been putting up 36.1 points per game.

Against other Division I-A teams, North Carolina (1-10) is scoring 11.1 points per game. At Notre Dame, the Tar Heels scored 26.

Pete Carroll is in his sixth year at Southern California, has compiled a 63-11 record. Since his first season, Carroll has posted a 57-5 record. The average margin in those five losses? 3.6 points.

Notre Dame's 41-9 victory over Army last Saturday broke a four-game losing streak when wearing green jerseys. Road teams, however, wear white.

The Trojans were 37-35 from 1996 to 2001 and have gone 57-5 from 2002 to 2006.

USC has outscored the Irish by 62 points in the last two games at the Coliseum.

Brady Quinn is 49-of-98 for 537 yards against USC in his career with three touchdowns and one interception.

USC has not surrendered a pass play of more than 45 yards since 2004.

Irish running back Darius Walker averages 4.5 yards a carry in his career against the Trojans.

USC backup linebacker Lou Ferrigno Jr. (injured, will not play) is the son of actor Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk).

Jeff Samardzija is Notre Dame's career leader in touchdown receptions.

Dwayne Jarrett is USC's career leader in touchdown receptions.

Since 1987, Notre Dame is 12-9-1 when ranked in the top 10 and facing another top 10 team. The last four such matchups, however, were losses.

USC's out-of-conference foes include 3 teams still in the running for BCS bids: Notre Dame, Arkansas and Nebraska.

Notre Dame's schedule included 3 teams still in the running for BCS bids: USC, Michigan and Georgia Tech.

USC's defense is first in the Pac 10 in every defensive category: scoring defense, pass efficiency defense, rushing defense, total defense.

Oregon State, which defeated the Trojans in October, finished third in the Pac 10 with an 8-4, and is likely headed to the Sun Bowl.

The expected attendance of 92,000 will push USC over the existing Pac 10 season attendance record, which was set last year by USC.

USC has three different receivers (Smith, Jarrett and Patrick Turner) who have caught more than 11 passes in a game this year.

USC has scored 20 points or more in 62 straight games.

USC is 33-0 under Carroll when they have given up less than 300 yards in total offense.

USC has kicked off to open each of its 10 games this season.

USC has six players who graduated early from high school. Booty graduated a year early. Brandon Hancock, Fred Davis, Michael Coleman, Kevin Ellison and Antwine Perez all graduated a semester early to play spring ball.

USC lost the only game in 2006 in which it surrendered more than 100 rushing yards to the opponent's leading rusher.

Since 2001, nine members of Pete Carroll's USC coaching staff have left for NFL jobs.

At the start of the 4th quarter, USC presents the Lighting of the Torch, which, obviously enough, results in the Olympic Torch being lit at the Coliseum (site of the 1932 and 1984 Olympic Games).

David Buehler is a fullback who can kick 50 yard field goals. His last name does not sound like Ferris Bueller's last name. It rhymes with "Steeler."

Where to Go, What to Do: If you are here from out of town, here's a little help:

Directions: From the North - Take the 110 Freeway south, exit Exposition Blvd., turn left on Flower St., follow the directional signs to Coliseum and parking. From the South - Take the 110 Freeway north, exit Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., turn left on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., follow directional signs to Coliseum and parking. From the East - Take the 10 Freeway west, exit Los Angeles St., turn left on Broadway St. or Hill St., follow directional signs to Coliseum and parking. From the West - Take the 10 Freeway east, exit Hoover St. and turn right, turn left on Jefferson St., turn right on Figueroa St., continue past campus and follow directional signs to Coliseum and parking.

Parking: General parking is limited around the Coliseum on Game Days. The stadium seats 92,000, but the lots fit only 8,200 cars. However, there are many different parking options available for those who don't want to pay $50 to park on someone's lawn in the 'hood. The options include:

USC Campus Parking - USC owned parking structures will open at noon. The costs will be $20 for PSA, PSB, PSD, PSX, $25 for PS1 or PS2, and $20 for the USC Parking Center and shuttle to the Coliseum (starting around 2 p.m.). Expect long waits for the return shuttle after the game.

Coliseum Complex Parking - All Coliseum parking lots will open approximately 11 a.m.. The only General Public parking lot available is on the South Lawn of the Natural History Museum. To access the South Lawn, enter on Menlo Ave. and Exposition Blvd. All other lots are reserved for USC Athletic Department Donors. Prices for all lots: Cars (South Lawn) - $25, RVs & Buses (Lot 2) - $125 per day.

Off Site - There will be expensive parking near the Coliseum. Our favorite spots include the lots on Figueroa near the carpool lane exits at 39th Street, and the parking structure at the corner of 39th Street and Vermont.

Heritage Hall: If you have never been to USC's campus before, the must-see sights include Tommy Trojan and Heritage Hall. The USC Athletic Department is headquartered there, but visitors are welcome to come inside and view USC's seven Heisman trophies (Mike Garrett's is currently in South Bend, on loan to the College Football Hall of Fame), the 2004 Football National Championship trophy, the seven retired football jerseys, the Lexus Gauntlet, and a variety of other awards and trophies.

Tailgating: Tailgating is permitted on game days on campus, around the Coliseum and in the Coliseum parking lots (many of the private off-site lots do not permit tailgating). Drink all you want, but don't expect a refresher once you get into the stadium. The Coliseum does not sell alcohol, nor does it permit alcohol to be brought in using any container other than your stomach and bloodstream.

Trojan Walk: About two hours prior to kickoff, the team arrives at the east end of Christmas Tree Lane and walks into the Coliseum through the Peristyle. Yellow ropes mark the team's path, and every inch of the path will be surrounded by Trojan fans. The players do not have time to stop and sign autographs, but high fives and shout-outs are not discouraged.

The USC Marching Band: About 90 minutes before kickoff, the USC Marching Band starts making its way from Heritage Hall to the Coliseum, marching through the heart of campus, past the flagpoles at Hoover and Exposition (kick them for luck), and around Exposition Park to the Colisum.

The USC Bookstore: The USC Bookstore is located in the center of campus just south and west of Tommy Trojan. The second floor has all the good stuff. If you just want t-shirts, footballs, jerseys and common merchandise, you can also shop at Trojan Fan Fest or merchandise tents set up outside the Coliseum.

Trojan Fan Fest: The Trojan Fan Fest opens four hours prior to kickoff. There are inflatable games for kids and free giveaways for fans. Did you miss your tailgater? Come to Fan Fest and get all kinds of grub and grog.

Tickets: None are available. This was sold out last summer. If you already have tickets, but need to get them at will-call, the general will-call booth is located outside Gate 4. Will-call opens 3 hours prior to kick-off and remains remain open until the end of the 1st quarter, when the last six or eight tickets are sent to Gate 33. Don't forget your photo ID.

Gates: They open at 3:00 p.m. You can enter at Gates 1, 4, 11, 16, 19, 23 or 28A, unless you are a student. Student tickets get you into gate 28, which is limited to student entrance, only with a valid student ID. Watch out for scalpers selling student tickets and telling you it's no big deal to use a student ticket without student ID. They lie. Student IDs are scanned electronically and can only be used once per game, so you can't even flash a quick ID for someone who looks slightly similar to you, as we did in the old days. And don't count on re-entry, either. Once you leave, you are gone.

Prohibited Items: Any items deemed a security risk will be sent back. These include knives or other weapons, cans, bottles (except non-reusable sealed water bottles), umbrellas and video cameras. For a complete list of prohibited items and stadium policies, please visit www.lacoliseum.com.

ATMs: Located at Gates 6, 14, and 23.

Elevators/Escalators: Escalators are located adjacent to sections 4, 11 and 19. They take you to the second level, which starts at Row 68. An elevator for handicap access only is located at tunnel 6.

There you have it, your Game Day Guide. Enjoy the festivities.

Media Takes: Here's what various publications are saying about the game:

ESPN reports: the key to the game is whether Notre Dame's defense shows up.

CNNSI's Stewart Mandel picks the Trojans by 17.

USA Today calls it USC 31, Notre Dame 20, and says USC's defense will be the key.

Fox Sports is discussing how this is Brady Quinn's last shot.

CBS Sportsline has a countdown to game time on its college football front page and openly roots for Desmond Reed to have a big game for the Trojans.

Locally, the L.A. Times notes that this has become the third most popular ticket in StubHub's history.

The Orange County Register says USC's secondary is better than in years past.

The L.A. Daily News says, with 18 starting seniors, this might be Notre Dame's big chance.

The Chicago Sun-Times focuses on the receivers.

The South Bend Tribune thinks this season looks a lot like Notre Dame's 1977 championship team.

Video Clips: Here's the USC 2006 Flash Animation. Highlights from the 2005 game can be seen here and here and here. Coca-Cola honors the rivalry with this commercial. Watch a Notre Dame cheerleader get popped by the Irish flag.

FIGHT ON! And again remember, His full name is

TOUCHDOWN JESUSCHRIST

(I love this game!)

Notre Dame Week - Friday

We are less than 24 hour away from game time. Here are some more tidbits about the Trojans and the Irish:

Team Stats: Here are the Trojans' season stats. And the season stats for the Irish.

Coaches: Both coaches are unbeaten in November. Pete Carroll is 19-0 in the month, Charlie Weis is 7-0. Carroll is 63-11 (85.1%), and Weis is 19-4 (83.3%). However, Weis is 15-1 against unranked teams, and only 4-3 against ranked teams. They are not friends. Charlie Weis on Pete Carroll: "We're friendly, not friends." Carroll, at the start of his weekly press conference Tuesday: "Sorry I'm a little late. I was reading Charlie's [2,500-word] press-conference [transcript]." Last season, before their first matchup, Weis was said to have remarked, of Carroll: "I never lost to that f****r in the pros and I don't plan on starting now." There is little doubt that both coaches have been working on their game plans for many months. Weis openly admitted that most of the prep for the Army game was actually intended as preparation for USC. Some reporters have noted that Carroll and his staff took offense to the notion that the Trojans were outcoached in South Bend last season, and they are looking to this game for vindication.

Recruiting: In 2002, Reggie Bush was among the high school talent in the house when USC soundly beat the Irish in Carson Palmer's Heisman-clinching game. In 2004, USC had nine recruits at the Notre Dame game, and two of them are now in the starting lineup: linebacker Brian Cushing and safety Kevin Ellison. Last year, current Trojan freshmen Terrence Austin, Allen Bradford (starting fullback) and Butch Lewis (OL) were in South Bend on their official Notre Dame visits. According to Rivals.com, there are 11 undecided seniors with scholarship offers from USC and Notre Dame. Some of them will be at the game Saturday. Notre Dame recruit Jimmy Clausen will not attend the game, reportedly because he didn't want to attend without best friend and teammate Marc Tyler, who broke his left leg. Tyler has verbally committed to USC.  The players known to be making official visits this week include:

#1 WR Terrance Toliver (Hempstead HS) Hempstead, TX    6-4.5/190/4.50
#1 C Kristofer O'Dowd (Salpointe Catholic HS) Tucson, AZ    6-4/312/5.00
#1 DT Marvin Austin (Ballou HS) Washington, DC    6-3/300/4.90
#1 DE Everson Griffen (Agua Fria Union HS) Avondale, AZ    6-4/265/4.55
#1 MLB Chris Galippo** (Servite) Anaheim, CA    6-2/230
#2 OG James Wilson** (Nease HS) St Augustine, FL    6-5/305/4.90
#2 DE Martez Wilson (Simeon Vocational HS) Chicago, IL    6-4/228/4.50
#5 WR Deonte Thompson (Glades Central HS) Belle Glade, FL    5-11.5/186/4.28
#6 RB Broderick Green** (Pulaski Academy) Little Rock, AR    6-1/230/4.60
#27 DT Cameron Heyward (Peachtree Ridge HS) Suwanee, GA    6-6/280/4.90
** = gave USC a verbal commitment.

Seniors: This will be the final game for USC's seniors, none of whom have ever lost to Notre Dame or UCLA, and none of whom have ever finished worse than tied for first place in the Pac 10. Notre Dame starts 18 seniors on offense or defense, and have seniors kicking and punting. USC has three seniors starting on offense, with one senior starting on defense.

Milestones: Brady Quinn has 11,340 career passing yards and needs just 49 Saturday against USC to pass former Trojan quarterback Carson Palmer for 12th on the all-time NCAA list. With a win, Quinn would become the first Irish starting quarterback to lead the team to 30 wins, breaking the 29-win mark set by Tom Clements (1972-74) and Ron Powlus (1994-97).

Awards: Brady Quinn is a finalist for the Davey O'Brien Award (best QB) and Maxwell Award (most outstanding player). Samardzija is a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award (best receiver). Weis is a finalist for the Munger Award (coach of the year), while Carroll was named a semifinalist. John David Booty is a finalist for the Manning Award (best QB) and was a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award and the Davey O'Brien Award. Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith were semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award. Rey Maualuga was a semifinalist for the Butkus Award (top linebacker)

Injuries: USC has lost nine starters (or projected starters) to injury this season for at least one full game, including DT Chris Barrett (1), WR Dwayne Jarrett (1), DT Sedrick Ellis (3), CB Kevin Thomas (6), OG Chilo Rachal (1), FB Stanley Havili (7), FB Ryan Powdrell (8), S Josh Pinkard (9), FB Brandon Hancock (10) and TB Herschel Dennis (10). Leading subs have also missed several games, including TB Emmanuel Moody (1), LB Kaluka Maiava (1), WR Chris McFoy (6), DT Travis Tofi (8), OG Jeff Byers (9) and S Will Harris (10). WR Steve Smith, S Taylor Mays and LB Oscar Lua all missed parts of games with nagging injuries. USC starting offensive linemen Kyle Williams (flu) and Drew Radovich (foot contusions) missed practice this week but will play. Chauncey Washington (strained knee) will play. Rey Maualuga (broken wrist) could play. Dwayne Jarrett (concussion) will play. Chris McFoy might return after missing six games. Moody is questionable, as is Barrett. Other players out for this game include TE Anthony McCoy, TE Gerald Washington, WR Jamere Holland, LB Joshua Tatum, CB Jerry Williams, DE Rashaad Goodrum, DE Lawrence Miles, LB Lou Ferrigno, Jr., and OG Matt Spanos. For Notre Dame, tight end John Carlson suffered a knee injury in the first half of the Air Force game and will miss the game. WR D.J. Hord and FB Asaph Schwapp were lost for the season. Ambrose Wooden, Travis Thomas and Tom Zbikowski have recovered from earlier injuries. I'm sure there are more, but I can't find them (I'm not really looking that closely). If you are a domer who knows, feel free to comment.

Blogs and Info Sites For the Trojans:

USCTrojans - USC athletic department site

TributeToTroy - Trojan football news and information

TrojanWire - news

USCFootball - Rivals USC Football site (news, forums, recruiting info)

WeAreSC - Insiders USC Football site (news, forums, recruiting info)

Altadenatrojan - Local fan

ValleyTrojan - usually has a bunch of photos

FightOn - More Trojan football links

TrojanFB - video, photos, more

The Irish Trojan - a USC grad who went to Notre Dame for law school

Boi From Troy - the gay Trojan perspective

Scott Wolf's Inside USC - LA Daily News Trojanblog

It's a Definite Maybe - featuring this great list of 50 reasons not to root for the Irish

Brandon Hancock's blog

Conquest Chronicles

Displaced Trojan

According to USC Trojan

AOL Fanhouse: USC

Blogs and Info Sites For Notre Dame:

USAToday Notre Dame Pages

Irish Sports Report

South Bend Tribune info

Fans Only Notre Dame Page

The Irish discussion boards

The House Rock Built

Blue Gray Sky

Her Loyal Sons

Rakes of Mallow

Kanka's Sports Page

AOL Fanhouse: Notre Dame

Kelly Green

NDCHOOCHOO

Irish Insights

Classic Ground

Irish Round Table

Awesome stuff.

College Football Week 13

It's Rivalry Week, the Sequel. So far, I missed one game. Miami saved Larry Coker's job and became bowl eligible by upsetting Bostn College upset 18th ranked Boston College 17-14. I'd have never picked that one correctly. There are three games inthe top 25 today, and another 14 games tomorrow, with ranked teams on the road for the second week of rivalry week. I like *seven games, but I'll be rooting to lose money on Florida and Boise State.

Texas A&M @ 11 Texas -13½ (Texas-)
*9 LSU @ 5 Arkansas +2½ (Arkansas+)
*Colorado @ 23 Nebraska -13 (Nebraska+)
Virginia @ 17 Virginia Tech -17 (Virginia+)
*Florida @ 4 Florida St. +9½ (Florida-)
*South Carolina @ 24 Clemson -5½ (S.C.+)
South Florida @ 7 West Virginia -21½ (WV-)
*Syracuse @ 15 Rutgers -15 (Rutgers-)
Kentucky @ 19 Tennessee -20 (Kentucky+)
13 Oklahoma @ Oklahoma St. +6 (OU-)
8 Louisville @ Pittsburgh +11 (Louisville-)
21 BYU @ Utah +10½ (Utah+)
16 Georgia Tech @ Georgia -2 (GT+)
*12 Boise St. @ Nevada +3 (Boise-)
20 Wake Forest @ Maryland -1½ (Maryland-)
*6 Notre Dame @ 3 USC -7½ (USC-)
Purdue @ 25 Hawaii -17½ (Purdue+)

Last week, we had North Carolina v. NC State, Ohio St. v. Michigan, Iowa v. Minnesota, Indiana v. Purdue, Kansas v. Kansas State, Alabama v. Auburn, Washington v. Washington State. That's was "Rivalry Week" has become.

This week, we have USC v. Notre Dame, Arizona v. Arizona State, Oregon v. Oregon State, Texas v. Texas A&M, Colorado v. Nebraska, Virginia v. Virginia Tech, Florida v. Florida State, North Carolina v. Duke, South Carolina v. Clemson, Oklahoma v. Oklahoma State, Mississippi v. Mississippi State, Utah v. BYU, Georgia v. Georgia Tech, and Ohio v. Miami Ohio.

Next week, we will see USC v. UCLA, Stanford v. Cal and Army v. Navy.

Notre Dame Week - Thursday

It's Thanksgiving for most of America, but for USC fans (on even numbered years), it's also the second day before Notre Dame. Unlike the rest of the week, today it's not the only thing we're talking about around here, but it's close to it. Am I thankful? Oh, yes. I am thankful for a lot of reasons too personal and boastful to blog about, so I'm going to focus my appreciation on the things USC fans are thankful for during Notre Dame week.

Weather: The Trojans do not like inclement weather. Since 1959, the Trojans have insisted on playing the games in South Bend during October. Since then, the only very cold game was in 1994, in Los Angeles, when the Trojans snapped an 11 game losing streak with a 17-17 tie. That night, temperatures were around 48 degrees at kickoff, but the wind-chill factor was in the 20s. (And I was sick as a dog) The current forecast for Saturday is "Mostly Sunny," a few clouds early, otherwise mostly sunny; winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph; daytime highs around 65°, overnight lows around 45°. n other words, it sounds a lot like the Cal game forecast. I can live with that.

Streaks: The 32 straight home wins; the 19 straight November games; the 5 straight BCS bids; the 5 straight conference titles; the 7 straight over UCLA; the 4 straight over Notre Dame; the 62 straight with 20+ points.

Bowls: I've been to two Rose Bowls, two Orange Bowls, which also included two BSC championship games and a game for the AP championship. All in four years. In my first two seasons on campus, I went to two Rose Bowls, neither of which meant anything to the natinoal championship picture. After that, it was a Rose Bowl every 7 or 8 years, with lousy Sun Bowls and Freedom Bowls mixed in every couple of years. In the five years before Pete Carroll took over, USC went to one bowl -- a Sun bowl in which they lost to Texas Christian -- in five years. I'm not taking this all for granted.

Upsets: Once again, going into the end of the season, we are still clinging to national title hopes. Kansas State, Rutgers, Louisville, Auburn, Arkansas and several others helped along the way by winning games that Vegas expected them to lose.

Recruits: Talent leaves and talent replaces it. Carson Palmer graduates and Matt Leinart takes over. Leinart goes and Booty is waiting. When Booty goes, Mark Sanchez will be set to shine. Mike Williams hires an agent and Dwayne Jarrett starts making one-handed catches. When he goes, Patrick Turner or Videl Hazelton win replace him. In 2006, USC scored another top recruiting class. So far, 2007 is looking good, too.

Tickets: I sold mine and improved my spot in the stadium by 25 rows and half a section. For only $10 more for the second pair. Now I don't have to listen to that insufferable jerk behind me.

Notre Dame Week - Wednesday

Some more fun information about USC and Notre Dame:

Webcams: USC has Tommy Trojan on a webcam. Notre Dame has the golden dome on a webcam. Actually, Notre Dame is full of webcams, including the Clark Memorial Fountain, the South Quad, the North Quad and DeBartolo Quad.

Catholics v. Protestants: Sure, everyone knows that Notre Dame was founded as a Roman Catholic university. Did you also know that USC was founded as a Methodist university? When Notre Dame first came to Southern California, the Trojans were a Methodist campus. In fact, the Trojans were once known as the USC Wesleyans or the USC Methodists. Despite a reference on wikipedia, tumors that USC athletes were ever referred to as the "Fighting Methodists" are unsubstantiated.

Home Ties: USC has no players from Indiana. Notre Dame has 12 from Californa.

And with a series this great, that has last this long, ever year there is an anniversary to remember. Consider these:

Memorable Anniversaries - 10 years (1996, USC 27, Notre Dame 20): Ten years ago, the unranked Trojans beat 10th-ranked Notre Dame 27-20 in the first and only overtime game in the series. The victory ended Notre Dame's unprecedented 13 year unbeaten streak. I was at that game with my brother. Nursing a two point lead, Notre Dame scored a late TD and lined up for an extra point that would have made it a nine-point, 2 possession lead. Jim Sanson's kick was wide left, and USC went on to score a game-tying touchdown and 2-point conversion to send the game into overtime. In the extra period, played on the peristyle end, right in front of my section three seats, Brad Otton connected with Rodney Sermon for a touchdown. For the Irish, Ron Powlus had his fourth-and-nine pass swatted down by Trojan linebacker Mark Cusano, and we all rushed the field. The win improved USC to 6-6, while the loss kept Notre Dame from a Bowl Coalition bid, making this Lou Holtz's final game for the Irish. announced that he was retiring before bringing the Fighting Irish to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for one final game.

Memorable Anniversaries - 20 years (1986, Notre Dame 38, USC 37) This was my first ever USC home game. It was also Lou Holtz's first trip to the Coliseum. We had nearly the worst seats in the house, up high, dead center of the goalposts. We were wearing shorts and t-shirts, because it was clear and warm when we left for the game. By halftime, USC was up 20-9, and the weather was cold and rainy. When USC took at 30-12 lead early in the third quarter, we left, cold and wet, but happy. As warmed up on our drive home, Steve Beuerlein (a Servite grad I had hated from my days at St. Paul) warmed up on the field. After three TD passes, Notre Dame cut the lead to 37-35, and John Carney kicked the game-winning 19-yard field goal with two seconds left.

Memorable Anniversaries - 35 years (1971, USC 28, Notre Dame 14): The brawl bowl. The game was interrupted twenty minutes by an on-field fight. After the fight, USC went on to upset the 6th ranked Irish Onceby USC his  USC 28, No. 6 Notre Dame 14 Notre Dame Stadium The game was interrupted for 20 minutes as everyone on the field got involved in an on-field fight. When the game resumed, the Trojans proceeded to upset the sixth-ranked Irish 28-14.

Memorable Anniversaries - 75 years (1931, USC 16, Notre Dame 14): USC won in South Bend for the first time ever. USC scored all 16 of its points in the fourth quarter, capped by Johnny Baker's 33-yard field goal with one minute left. The win ended defending national champion Notre Dame's 26-game unbeaten streak. Afterwards, USC coach Howard Jones took his team to the grave of Knute Rockne, who was killed the previous spring in a plane crash. USC went on to win the 1931 national championship.

Thin and Empty

Today's newspaper was the thinnest of the entire year. I guess it makes sense. Who would waste their advertising budget on the paper one day before Thanksgiving. Tomorrow's should be thicker, I guess. Oh, and the parking lot at Best Buy was pretty empty, too. Coincidence?

BCS Possibilities

The BCS now looks like this:

Pac-10 - USC has clinched the Rose Bowl, but could qualify for the BCS Bowl with wins over Notre dame and UCLA. No other team is likely to get a BCS bid.
Big 10 - Ohio State is in the BCS Bowl. Michigan is going to the Rose Bowl or maybe even the BCS title. Wisconsin is out, because only two teams per conference.
Big 12 - Texas is likely in as at large or champ. Nebraska needs to win the Big XII title game to get in.
Big East - With Rutgers losing, its a 3 way tie between them, Louisville and West Virginia. West Virginia will probably beat Rutgers and send Louisville to the Orange or Sugar Bowl.
ACC - Georgia Tech will probably play Maryland for the title. There are scenarios that could send Boston College or Wake Forest to that game.
SEC - Florida or Arkansas is in. The loser is a strong at large candidate, assuming they both win next week.
Mid-Majors - Boise State is a likely at-Large team, possibly headed for the Fiesta Bowl.

My BCS bowl projections, based upon Georgia Tech, Texas and Arkansas winning conference title games, USC, West Virginia and Boise State winning out:

Orange Bowl: Georgia Tech v. Louisville
Rose Bowl: Florida v. Michigan
Fiesta Bowl: Texas v. Boise State
Sugar Bowl: Notre Dame v. Arkansas
BCS Title: USC v. Ohio State

Notre Dame Week - Tuesday

I've posted about this before, but the history of the USC Notre Dame series is incredible. This year marks 80 years of great tradition between the two schools. The series began in 1926, when Knute Rockne took his team to the West Coast, reportedly because his wife wanted a warm-weather holiday. Though they had just one national title between them then, USC and Notre Dame were already powerhouses, and in the first seven seasons of the rivalry, the winner of the game ended up as national champions five times! Notre Dame hosts the games in odd-numbered years at Notre Dame Stadium. USC hosts games in even-numbered years, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. No other intersectional rivalry is as old, as intense or as meaningful as this one.

Head-to-Head Record: No team has beaten USC more times than Notre Dame. No team has beaten Notre Dame more times than USC. Notre Dame leads the all-time series 42-30-5. The series is streaky. USC has won the last 4 games. The Irish won the 3 before that. USC won the 3 before that. Notre Dame won 12 of the 13 before that. USC won 11 of 13 before that. In the past 10 games, USC holds a 7-3 lead. In my lifetime, aka since 1967, USC leads 19-17-3. USC is 12-6-1 against Notre Dame when the Trojans are ranked higher than fifth. When both are in the top 10, USC is 9-7-1. At the Coliseum, USC leads 19-17-4.

The Prize: The winner of the game keeps the Shillelagh, a club made of Irish wood, for a year. This Shillelagh adds an emerald-studded shamrock for each Notre Dame win, and a ruby-studded Trojan head for each USC win, right next to the engraved score of each game. The original Shillelagh was filled up after the 1989 game and is on display at Notre Dame. This year's game is a battle for the current, second, Shillelagh.

Great Players: USC has had 141 All-Americans, 27 College Football Hall of Famers, 10 Pro Football Hall of Famers and 5 NFL #1 overall draft picks. Notre Dame has 178 All-Americans, 41 College Football Hall of Famers, 10 Pro Football Hall of Famers and 5 NFL #1 overall draft picks.

Heisman Trophies: USC has seven Heisman Trophy winners. That's the most of any college. Notre Dame has seven, which is also the most. USC's last winner was Reggie Bush in 2005. The Irish last won with Tim Brown in 1987. Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn is a leading candidate for the 2006 award, but is likely going to lose out to Ohio State's Troy Smith. USC's quarterback, John David Booty, is a longshot for an invitation to New York.

Bowls: USC has won 28 of the 44 bowls in which it played. Notre Dame has won 13 of the 27 it played. Both teams are likely BCS bowl teams this year. USC, which has won 3 of the 4 BCS bowls it played in the past four seasons, is in the Rose Bowl or BCS Championship Bowl. Notre Dame is probably headed to the Sugar Bowl or Orange Bowl with an at-large bid, but clings to a slight chance at the BCS Championship Bowl if it beats USC on Saturday. Notre Dame last won a bowl game in the 1994 Cotton Bowl. USC last won a bowl game in the 2005 Orange Bowl.

National Titles: USC has won 11 national championships in football: 1928-31-32-39-62-67-72-74-78-2003-2004. Notre Dame also claims 11 national titles: 1924, 1929, 1930, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1966, 1973, 1977, 1988. Notre Dame is the second winningest program of all time, both in wins (821) and winning percentage. USC is 8th in winning percentage and 10th in wins (741). This year marks the fifth straight in which the game is relevant to the hunt for the national championship.

Tuesday Travel Photo (No. 102)

I took this picture in South Bend on the morning of October 15, 2005.

The message remains relevant. Here they come!

Notre Dame Week - Monday

It's Notre Dame week! As usual, much is on the line in this, the 78th game in the greatest cross-sectional rivalry in college football. USC is fighting on for the chance to play Ohio State for the national title. The Fighting Irish are fighting for one of the coveted four at-large BCS bowl bids, as well as an outside shot at stepping past Michigan to play in the championship game. Here are a few details about the game.

Starting Time: The game will be broadcast live nationally at 5:00 p.m., PST.

Broadcast: ABC will be broadcasting the game nationally. Like last year’s game in South Bend and the 2004 game at the Coliseum, ESPN's "College Gameday" will also be setting up shop outside the stadium.

Records: USC is 9-1. Notre Dame is 10-1. Both teams are coming off victories. The Irish are coming in after a big win over Army. The Trojans come in having just clinched their unprecedented fifth straight Pac 10 title and a BCS berth in the Rose Bowl (it would be their 31st Rose Bowl Game) or better, by defeating California 23-9. Among Pac-10 schools, USC's 7-1 conference record is tops. Among the (four) independents, Notre Dame's record is best.

Streaks: USC has won three straight since its loss at Oregon State. The Irish have won eight since their loss to Michigan. USC has won 32 straight games at the Coliseum. In fact, no current player, including the fifth year seniors, have ever lost a home game. USC has won 19 straight November games under Pete Carroll.

Schedules: The Trojans have defeated #5 Arkansas (SEC West Champ), #22 Cal and #23 Nebraska (Big XII North Champ). They also knocked then-21st ranked Oregon from the polls. Their only loss was at 7-4 Oregon State (in the "also receiving votes" list at #32). Nine of USC's twelve opponents currently sport a winning record, and at least nine of the twelve will go to a bowl. Notre Dame knocked off #16 Georgia Tech and sent then-19th ranked Penn State from the polls. Their only loss was at home against #2 Michigan (then ranked #11). The Sagarin ratings call USC's schedule the nation's 3rd toughest, after Stanford (1) and Cal (2), and just ahead of Arizona (4), Washington (5), UCLA (6), Washington State (7) and Oregon (8). Notre Dame's schedule is the 30th toughest.

Rankings: USC is ranked 2nd in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll and the Harris Interactive Poll, but sits 3rd in the AP and BCS rankings. Notre Dame is ranked 5th in the AP and coaches polls, but 6th in the Harris and BCS rankings. This is the 31st time that both teams enter the game ranked by AP, the 18th time both came in ranked in the Top 10, and the 5th time both were ranked in the top 6. USC been ranked in the AP Top 10 for the past 56 weeks.

Odds: USC has opened as a 7½ point favorite. I wish that line would sneak down a point, but I'll probably go with the Trojans and surrender the points.

This is all we're talking about in Southern California. There will be more tomorrow.

USC Cal Game Report

My brother and I got to the game about two hours before game time. We had four tickets for the game, but I really got tired of that one dude behind us who bitches about every other play, and these tickets were selling for a decent premium, so I sold both pairs and decided to pick up comparable tickets from another alumnus. One of the pairs was sold the day before the game, but the other was sold by arrangement to meet at the Coliseum for cash. So when I got to the Coliseum, I called the guy (who I had never met before) from my cell phone and when the guy answered, it was like I was hearing it in stereo. So I looked around me for a guy on a cell phone, and sure enough, there he was, not 10 feet away. We had not arranged a time and place to meet, so the coincidence was pretty remarkable. Some fun points for the evening:

• We went around to the peristyle and watched the team enter the Coliseum. That really is a neat tradition, and I hope it continues for 100 years.
• We made it over to the campus to hang out with some friends, including my buddy the priest. I caught some sh*t for teasing him about what he does with alter boys, but I don't think he was mad, because he gave me a free beer.
• We heard someone on the radio say that Cal doesn't have games this big very often, and suggested that this was the biggest game for Cal since their 1959 Rose Bowl. I happen to think this isn't even the biggest game for Cal in the last two years.
• Heard another person on the radio call this a major rivalry game. Most Trojan fans don't see it like that. Cal hasn't been to a Rose Bowl since 1959, and USC beat them 11 times in a row after that season. Currently, USC has won 4 of 5 from the Bears. At best, Cal is USC's third biggest rivalry, but even that will change once UW gets a good team again.
• We kicked the flagpole on our way back to the Coliseum. USC is unbeaten, all time, in games that were played after I kicked the flagpole.
• Ohio State won just as we were entering the stadium. A lot of USC fans got excited about Michigan almost winning. Personally, I think USC would be a lot better off if that had been an 11 point tOSU victory.
• The pregame included honoring two Trojans who won World Series rings this year with the Cardinals. People sometimes forget that USC's baseball program has the greatest legacy of any college baseball program ever. Basically, USC and its rivals have the top programs in all the major sports: USC in college baseball; Notre Dame in football; UCLA in hoops.
• We were pretty happy with our seats, which were a bit high, but with a nice corner view. The only problem with fans around us was that they yelled really loudly all game long. But screamers better than whiners.
• In the house: Will Ferrell, Ronnie Lott, Marcus Allen and Bait & Switch, the carpet-cleaning twins.
• DeSean Jackson popped off a bit before the game. He called himself the only "Reggie Bush type player" on either team. He said he gets a special thrill playing USC, because he spurned them on signing day two years ago over some alleged or perceived slight. Reality: he was not sure whether he could compete at USC.
• Before the game, a lot of people were expecting big things from Steve Smith. We would not be disappointed.
• Jackson was not much of a factor. Kevin Ellison laid quite a hit on him in the first quarter. Of USC's five punts, Jackson -- the nation's leading punt returner -- got zero yards on two returns.
• CJ Gable and Allen Bradford started, but Chauncy Washington got the first carry.
• Both teams got zero points for their first trip to the end zone. USC had a TD pass negated by a false start -- a slight hand movement -- by Patrick Turner, and Cal returned an incomplete pass for a TD that didn't count for anything.
• We saw a bizarre interception/safety pair of plays that left the early score at 3-2 USC. Pitcher's duel? The under was looking really good at the half. It stayed good, too.
• It really got foggy for a while. The fog was rolling in so thick it almost looked like smoke from a fire. It cleared a little bit in the second half.
• The game-tying 49-yard field goal by our fullback was awesome. David Buehler is known to make 'em from beyond 50 yards in practice. It wasn't that long ago that USC would go for it on 4th and 10 from the 15 because our kicker was unreliable from beyond 30 yards.
• That 4th and 2 play felt like the season was depending on it. Biggest play of the year? So far, yes. And Steve Smith was so wide open we couldn't believe our eyes.
• We had a Cal fan in front of us. About 3 or 4 USC fans gave him grief with some juvenile taunts. He was polite. We didn't give him any crap ourselves. If all Cal fans were like that, I wouldn't hate Cal fans.
• For a change, the plays under review turned out well for USC, and were decided correctly. Go figure. The last one was really weird. After Lynch's knee hit the ground, not only did USC stop defending, but the clock stopped. I thought, "Damn, the clock stopped. He must have gotten the first down." Next thing we knew, the dude was back up and running to the end zone.
• The home winning streak is up to 32. That's never happened before.
• USC clinched at least a share of its fifth straight Pac 10 title (USC shared the title with Washington State in 2002, but lost the Rose Bowl tiebreaker and went to the Orange Bowl instead). That's never happened before either.

I still don't know what bowl game we'll be going to, but we know it will be a BCS bowl and it will be in January. For the fifth straight year!

Looking Back at Week 12

I got off to a bad start, losing 9 of my first 12 picks, but I won the last four, including three of my recommended picks. Thus, for the week, I was 4-3 in recommended picks, but 7-9 overall, Here's the ugly list of my blown picks:

L *8 West Virginia @ Pittsburgh +11 (Pitt+).
W *21 Maryland @ 20 Boston College -7 (BC-)
L Buffalo @ 12 Wisconsin -38 (Wisconsin-)
W 16 Oklahoma @ Baylor +20½ (Oklahoma-)
W 22 Tennessee @ Vanderbilt +8½ (Tennessee-)
L Duke @ 18 Georgia Tech -25½ (Duke+)
W 5 Arkansas @ Mississippi St. +14½ (MSU+)
L Army @ 6 Notre Dame -31 (Army+)
L Utah St. @ 13 Boise St. -37½ (Utah State+)
L 15 Auburn @ Alabama +3 (Alabama+)
L *2 Michigan @ 1 Ohio St. -7 (tOSU-)
L New Mexico @ 23 BYU -26½ (BYU-)
L *19 Virginia Tech @ 14 Wake Forest +2 (Wake+)
W South Florida @ 10 Louisville -16½ (Louisville+)
W *7 Rutgers @ Cincinnati +7 (Cincy+)
W *17 California @ 4 USC -6 (USC-)
W *Mississippi @ 9 LSU -27½ (Ole Miss+)

Next week will be like another playoff week. Ohio State is in. Michigan is done. USC plays the Irish. Florida plays Florida State. Arkansas plays LSU. West Virginia draws Rutgers. Anything can happen, eh?

And for whatever it's worth, here are the lines on the other Pac 10 games and how the favorites I picked did:

Oregon State @ Stanford +14½ (OSU covered)
L Arizona @ Oregon -13 (Oregon lost big)
L Washington @ WSU -8½ (WSU lost)
L UCLA @ Arizona State -4 (ASU lost)

UCLA and Arizona winning means that the Pac 10 will have just two teams finish with a losing record. Stanford and Washington. If the Bears had won and gone to the Rose Bowl, it would have been their first Rose Bowl since 1959. That's the longest dry spell of any team in the Big Ten or Pac-10. Minnesota (44), Oregon State (41) and Indiana (38) have the next longest dry spells. Arizona doesn't count, because, although the Wildcats have never played in the Rose Bowl, this is just their 29th year in the Pac-10.

Say It Ain't So, Bo!

During my three years at USC, the Trojans played in two Rose Bowls. The first was a bitter loss to Michigan, coming on the heals of a bitter loss to Notre Dame. It was first first year at USC, and the Trojans went 9-0 before facing UCLA, Notre Dame and Michigan, all highly ranked. USC first won the "Measles Bowl", a victory over Troy Aikman and UCLA at the Rose Bowl, then came home to play the Irish in a #1 v. #2 matchup that was every bit as big as today's game in Columbus. I fully expected the Trojans to win and go to the Rose Bowl and take the national championship, but it didn't happen. Instead, Notre Dame won convincingly and went on to win the MNC, while USC went to the Rose Bowl to face Bo Schembechler and the Michigan Wolverines. Bo was 1-7 in Rose Bowls to that point, and I fully expected USC to win. They did not. It was a controversial game, with UM either taking the lead or pulling away with a Leroy Hoard one-yard touchdown run on a bad call ("hey ref, there's no continuance baskets in football") that prompted USC fans to throw about 10,000 free seat cushions onto the grass. Final score, Michigan 22, USC 14.

The next season, USC was not as dominant. They lost to Illinois and Notre Dame, then tied UCLA at the Coliseum with the Bruins bouncing a field goal attempt off the crossbar as time expired. In the 1990 Rose Bowl, USC faced Michigan again. This time, I wasn't so confident. It would be Bo Schembechler's final game as Michigan's coach. The football gods seemed to be in agreement. USC was going down. Instead, the Trojans sent Bo out (as they did a few years later to Lou Holtz) with a painful loss. Still, Bo ended his coaching career with a 194-48-5 record, the winningest coach in Michigan football history. That's quite a feat, given that Michigan is the winningest program in college football history.

Anyhow, that's what I remember about Bo Schembechler. May he rest in peace. May the Wolverines pummel the Ohio State University in his memory.

UCLA Student Hires Twice-Suspended Attorney To Cash In.

That UCLA student who made a loon of himself and got tasered like he deserved on Tuesday has gone out and hired himself a civil rights attorney -- a guy who has been suspended by the California State Bar twice, once for six months and once for a year.

He's filing a lawsuit, of course. His lawyer told the Los Angeles Times that he declined to provide the requested ID because he thought he was being singled out because of his Middle Eastern appearance. He eventually decided to leave the library, but when an officer refused his request to take his hand off him, he fell limp to the floor, again to avoid participating in what he considered a case of racial profiling.

In other words, it was a setup. He provoked the officers on purpose.

Proof That You Are An Idiot: You Bought Your PS3 on eBay

PS3 prices on eBay make no rational sense whatsoever. Moments ago, I watched an auction close for $3,532. Less than one minute later, the same system sold for $2,550. Three minutes later, some idiot paid $5,100. Go figure.

[Update: Some random moron bid $15,000 on a bunch of these things and has been banned from eBay.]

CAIR Supports Stereotyping People According To Their Muslim Sounding Names

Here in SoCal, one of the hottest stories is this one, about a UCLA guy refusing to show his student ID in the library after hours, when only students, faculty and staff are allowed in the library. He got beligerent and screamed at the cops and started claiming that him being compelled to obey an order to leave was somehow the fault of the "f*cking Patriot Act."

All the dweebie Bruins stood around wondering why the cops were forcing this guy to comply with their lawful instructions, and they suddenly decided as a group that watching a cop using non-lethal force to secure compliance with a suspect somehow entitled them all to demand that the cops pause to give the onlookers their badge numbers. Too funny. So far there is at least one video of the incident on YouTube. I expect more, as you can see a bunch of unlookers breaking out their camera phones during the six minute event. The Daily Bruin is all over the story.

I have a bias, of course, in that I have no particular objection to even peaceful UCLA students being tasered. Even if they don't deserve it now, they probably got away with something earlier. This asshat, however, was not peaceful at all. He was shouting like a lunatic. I wouldn't be surprised if he was trying to get tasered as part of a plan to get attention or money or both.

On KFWB this morning, a representative of CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, went on the radio to demand that UCLA launch a full investigation into the matter. The interviewer asked if they thought the student was targeted because he was Islamic and the CAIR rep said she did not know, and that was why she was demanding a full investigation (as if there would be no such thing absent a demand by CAIR). Then the reporter asked if she knew whether the student was indeed Islamic. The response almost made me spit out my breakfast juice:

"Well, he has an Islamic sounding name."

Wow. After all this time telling us we shouldn't make assumptions about a person based upon their dress, or appearance or name, this woman says CAIR is coming to the aid of this person solely because Mostafa Tabatabainejad was "an Islamic sounding name." Cool. I guess I don't need to feel guilty next time I make assumptions about a person based upon his name. I feel so unburdened. Meanwhile, I eagerly wait to find out whether this guy is an infidel.

College Picks, Week 12

Rivalry Saturday is here. For four teams. Rivalry week is now three weeks long. I hate that. There used to be two truly great days for college football: the Saturday of rivalry week, when 90% of the best rivalry games were played every year on the last week of the season; and January 1st, when the best bowl games were on back-to-back-to-back-to-back. Cotton, Sugar, Rose, Orange. Now the bowls are spread out over a month, and even the top bowls are on three different days, not even counting the BCS title game. As for rivalry week?

This week, we have: Auburn v. Alabama and Michigan v. Ohio State.

Next week: Florida v. Florida State, USC v. Notre Dame, Oregon v. Oregon State, Colorado v. Nebraska, Virgina v. Virginia Tech, Oklahoma v. Oklahoma State, Ole Miss v. Mississippi State, Georgia v. Georgia Tech, Arizona v. ASU, BYU v. Utah.

In two weeks: USC v. UCLA, Stanford v. Cal, Army v. Navy. Plus conference title games.

It's all about TV revenues. Money. Speaking of money, here are the spreads for the top 25 this week, along with my non-expert, but above-average choices in each game. I like seven of them enough to do you-know-what with the picks.

*8 West Virginia @ Pittsburgh +11 (Pitt+)
*21 Maryland @ 20 Boston College -7 (BC-)
Buffalo @ 12 Wisconsin -38 (Wisconsin+)
Western Carolina @ 3 Florida (no line)
16 Oklahoma @ Baylor +20½ (Oklahoma-)
22 Tennessee @ Vanderbilt +8½ (Tennessee-)
Duke @ 18 Georgia Tech -25½ (Duke+)
5 Arkansas @ Mississippi St. +14½ (MSU+)
Army @ 6 Notre Dame -31 (Army+)
Utah St. @ 13 Boise St. -37½ (Utah State+)
15 Auburn @ Alabama +3 (Alabama+)
*2 Michigan @ 1 Ohio St. -7 (tOSU-)
New Mexico @ 23 BYU -26½ (BYU-)
*19 Virginia Tech @ 14 Wake Forest +2 (Wake+)
South Florida @ 10 Louisville -16½ (Louisville+)
*7 Rutgers @ Cincinnati +7 (Cincy+)
*17 California @ 4 USC -6 (USC-)
*Mississippi @ 9 LSU -27½ (Ole Miss+)

And for whatever it's worth, here are the lines on the other Pac 10 games:
Oregon State @ Stanford +14½
Arizona @ Oregon -13
Washington @ WSU -8½
UCLA @ Arizona State -4

I like the favorites in all five Pac 10 games, including USC against Cal. I know I won't get my wish, but here's how I'm rooting this week: Pitt over UWV, Arkansas over MSU, Army over Notre Dame, Utah State over Boise, Alabama over Auburn, Ohio State big over Michigan, Wake over VT, South Florida over Louisville, Cincy over Rutgets (thanks, Scarlet Knights, but your work is done here), and, of course, USC over Cal by 213. In the Pac 10, I don't expect any upsets, but if Arizona and UCLA win, that would assure 8 of 10 Pac 10 teams finishing with at least 6 wins. Oh, and I'll root for Western Carolina over Florida if they are close in the 4th quarter, but that ain't happening.

Fun wagering stat of the week: In the four games it played against its toughest opponents (Penn State, Minnesota, Clemson and Louisville) Temple has been outscored 234-9. That is an average beatdown of 56 points. This week, they are mere 31½ point dogs to 7-3 Navy.

The Real Reason Famous Dudes Go For Scientology

It has been reported in several newspapers and online magazines today that Tom Cruise's upcoming wedding my include an exchange of traditional Scientology vows that include the bride acknowledging that young men are free and may forget their vows. Now that's a religion that Hollywood playas can follow.

Lex TV 101

Here are a dozen more video clips:

Some amusement park in South America completely ripped off Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean.

Sure, you can ride your bike in a straight line, but can you do it on a bridge?

Kid-on-the-street interview. How would you execute Saddam?

Tom Green interviews a Spanish speaking sailor in English.

The miracle channel.

[Commercial break No. 1] If you use cheap ceiling tiles, this could happen.

What if the real Calvin thought Hobbes was real?

Dude says he's the guy who mailed the Inverted Jenny says it ain't an Inverted Jenny. [This story suggests he's a liar.]

This might be the best rap video ever made.

Disney World Fireworks.

Urban Sprinting. Try this at home.

[Commercial break no. 2] Losticil, for those who don't know WTF is happening on that stupid show.

FedEx Show Cancelled

Oh snap! K-Fed Fed-Ex has had his concert cancelled for the 20th of November at the House of Blues in Anaheim. Apparently, very few of the 6,500 people who bought his CD live in Orange County.

Tuesday Travel Photo (No. 101)

As Trojan fans get ready for the invasion of Raider Fan Cal Fan for this Saturday's game against the California Golden Bears, I find myself thinking back to last year's game, which would have been our big road trip weekend of the year except for the fact that I made it to the Notre Dame game in South Bend for the first time ever. Last year, the Cal game was not necessarily going to decide the Pac 10 title, but it was a big game. With the victory last year, USC clinched a share of the conference title, which they won outright a few weeks later against UCLA.

This year's game will decide the Pac 10 title. The winner clinches at least a share of the conference, and the winner will also have the tiebreaker, based on head-to-head play.

The bridge in the background is the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge This was one of the photos I included in my Cal Road Trip photo album.

Weirdest News Story of 2006

According to Yahoo News:

LOS ANGELES - Fox plans to broadcast a two-part interview with O.J. Simpson in which the former football star discusses the slayings of his former wife and her friend, for which he was acquitted.

The interview, titled "If I Did It, Here's How It Happened," will air Nov. 27 and Nov. 29, according to the network's Web site.

Simpson, who now lives in Florida, was acquitted in a criminal trial of the 1994 killings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. Simpson was later found liable in 1997 in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the Goldman family.

Messages left with Simpson and his attorney Yale Galanter were not immediately returned.

I checked my calendar when I read that to make sure it wasn't April 1st.

The Election News That Made Me Smile

Rick Santorum, the tort reformer who wants to cap lawsuit damages for Americans who aren't his wife, is gone. Here it is, almost a week later, and I'm still giggling about that.

Looking Back at Week 11

I won with 4 of 7 of my *picks, going 6-6-1 in the rest. It was a great week of college football. Upset Saturday, I heard it called. The best upsets of the day: Kansas State over Texas (don't blame McCoy's injury, the Texas defense gave up 45 points to the 'Cats). Arizona over Cal (it must have been Wildcat Saturday). Georgia over Auburn. Wake Forest over Florida State (not for the outcome, but for the location, the margin and the shutout). And the upset of the day: Stanford over Washington. My inside information from the Stanford athletes was hogwash apparently. And here I was thinking that Stanford over De la Salle High School would have been a big upset.

Anyhow, here's how my picks turned out:

L 9 Georgia Tech @ North Carolina (+13) - GT
W Cincinnati @ 10 West Virginia (-17½) - WV (barely)
W *16 Wisconsin @ Iowa (+2) - Wisc. (barely)
W Georgia @ 5 Auburn (-12) - Georgia (straight up!)
L *8 California @ Arizona (+13½) - Cal (I can live with it)
L Kent St. @ 20 Virginia Tech (-30½) - VT
L Miami (FL) @ 23 Maryland (-3½) - Md.
L 2 Michigan @ Indiana (19½) - Indiana
W *South Carolina @ 6 Florida (-13) - S.C.
P Nebraska @ 24 Texas A&M (+1) - Neb.
W *1 Ohio St. @ Northwestern (+23½) - tOSU
W *9 Notre Dame @ Air Force (+11½) - ND
L *14 Boise St. @ San Jose St. (+13½) - BSU
L Texas Tech @ 17 Oklahoma (-9) - Okla.
L Duke @ 22 Boston College (-29) - BC
W 13 Tennessee @ 11 Arkansas (-6) - Ark.
W Alabama @ 12 LSU (-18) - 'Bama
W 18 Wake Forest @ Florida St. (-8½) - Wake
L *4 Texas @ Kansas St. (+16½) - Texas (I can live with it)
W 21 Oregon @ 7 USC (-8) - USC

Among teams I rooted for, Georgia, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Arizona, Arkansas and Kansas State all won. Hurray. Next week, USC v. Cal will be a winner-take-all Pac 10 title game, giving the winner a one-game lead plus the tiebreaker with one conference game to play. Notre Dame will come into the Coliseum in two weeks with a 10-1 record. If the Trojans get past Cal, that game could determine who plays the winner of the Ohio State-Michigan game. It will almost have the feel of a Final Four game.

Of course, Florida and Arkansas will have something to say about all that. I doubt the Florida will get much of a fight from Florida State, so the winner of the SEC title game will have a very good argument that they belong in the BCS championship game, but less so if USC is 11-1 and the winner of that game is Arkansas.

So to review, next week, at the top of the BCS rankings, #1 Ohio State plays #2 Michigan for the Big Ten title. #3 USC plays #15 Cal for the Pac 10 title. After that, it drops off a bit. #5 Notre Dame plays Army. And #4 Florida plays Western Carolina. The Catamounts (WTF is a Catamount?) go into Swamp with a 2-8 record, riding an 8 game losing streak, and dead last in the Division I-AA Southern Conference. If Florida finishes 12-1 as SEC Champs and goes to the Orange Bowl instead of the BCS title game, don't blame the computers. Blame the jackass who scheduled a November game against one of the worst teams in Division I-AA.

What USC Still Needs

The weekend's developments clarified what USC needs for a shot at the BCS title. Here's the update on what USC probably needs to happen in November for the Trojans to play for the national championship:

West Virginia loses at Louisville (check)
USC beats Stanford (check)
Tennessee loses to LSU (check)
Louisville loses at Rutgers (check)
Auburn loses to Georgia or Alabama (check)
Texas loses (check)
USC beats Oregon (check)
USC beats Cal
USC beats Notre Dame
USC beats UCLA
Ohio State beats Michigan or Michigan clobbers Ohio State
Florida does not dominate Arkansas in the SEC conference title game

It could be that to fend off one team above and the few teams just below them, the Trojans need only win out, but it's still too early to tell. The best thing for USC would be for the Michigan - Ohio State game to be a blowout (thus dropping the loser out of the title game), for LSU to beat Arkansas (#7), and Arkansas to beat Florida (#4). Even if they win at West Virginia, which I don't expect, Rutgers (#6) is not going pass USC except in the computer rankings, and even that will be close if USC beats Cal and Notre Dame. A win over the Irish (#5) would end their run, and West Virginia, Wisconsin and Louisville won't make up enough ground unless all those other teams and USC all lose.

Aside from the obvious -- that USC must win out -- the potential pitfalls include: (i) Ohio State losing in a close, or worst, controversial finish against Michigan, and dropping to no worse than #2 or #3 in the Harris and coaches polls; (ii) Florida demolishing Florida State and then doing the same to Arkansas in the SEC title game; and maybe (iii) Arkansas dominating LSU and Florida, proving that early losses hurt less than late losses.

For now, one thing is clear: Saturday is the Pac 10 Championship Game!

Some Observations From USC-Oregon

Last night, we didn't get home from the USC game until almost midnight. I think 7:15 p.m. is a ridiculous time to start a football game, especially on the west coast. As usual, we sat in our upper level end zone seats, right in front of that one guy who is totally unsatisfied with anything less than a 52-0 drubbing of every opponent. Among the crap I heard last night, when the score was 14-0 late in the second quarter: "This game is way closer than it ought to be." Yes, a first half lead of 14 points in a game with an 8 point spread is a bitter disappointment to this guy. Then, later in the game, he actually bitched about how many people were at the game, and in the parking lots, and said he wished the Trojans would go back to losing three or four games a year so he could park his car for less than $60. I could have turned around and told him about the covered parking lot practically right outside our section of the stadium for $40, but I figured, this guy sucks. Why help him.

We had some Oregon fans popping off before the game. They kept mentioning Oregon State. That's pretty pathetic smack when you have to focus on an upset win by your rival. You never here USC fans popping off to another school's fans about how UCLA beat them. Never.

That loss to Oregon State might have been a good thing in retrospect. It reminded the players that not every deficit can be made up; that athleticism, in and of itself, is not enough, and that they need to focus on every play, in every game, if they want to win a national title or even a conference title. Since falling behind 33-10 at Oregon State, USC has outscored their opponents 98-10, including 77 straight points leading up to Oregon's field goal in the third quarter.

The loudest cheer of the night came after a touchdown when, for some odd reason, the officials announced to the crowd that "there will be no media timeout." The game was already getting long in the tooth, due in large part to the strangest set of reviews I've ever seen. Oregon scored on a 4th and goal from the 8 yard-line, where Leaf's pass was tipped and caught at the back of the end zone by Jonathan Stewart. The play was ruled a TD on the field. Then the officials reviewed it, and declared that Stewart had stepped out of bounds, unforced, and that made it a no-catch with loss of down. Then Oregon challenged the review and they re-reviewed it. After 15 full minutes, they reversed the prior reversal because a USC player tipped the ball. WTF?

When I got home, I watched it, and it looked like (i) Stewart did step out; (ii) Jordan Kent tipped it, not the USC defender; (iii) Kent stepped out before he tipped it; and (iv) Stewart's heal came down on the line when he caught the tipped ball. I guess none of that was supported by "conclusive video evidence". It also looked like Pete Carroll looked over at the refs after the reversal of the reversal and yelled "Vacuum, vacuum, vacuum" at them. It might have been something else, though.

Say, that was our 61st straight game with at least 20 points of offense.

When Oregon scored, they ran around in our end zone with their big green flag with the bright yellow "O" on it. We yelled out, "Get that yellow zero outta our end zone!"

We had a lot of fun watching that Texas on our Internet-enabled cell phones during the first half. When they announced the score on the big screen right before the start of the 3rd quarter, everyone in our section already knew.

A few times, we had people around us scold us for watching that score, telling us to "focus on the game at hand." Yeah, whatever dude. I'm not on the field. If I'm distracted by the scores of teams ahead of USC in the BCS, it won't affect the Trojans' play on the field, so don't sweat it.

I think he was just jealous that he doesn't have an Internet-enabled cell phone.

College Football Week 11

Three of the top 25 have already played. Rutgers won. Louisville lost. BYU won. Of the other 22 ranked teams, 21 are in play today. Here's how I see 'em. There are seven games I like. For the record, my *picks for the season are 33-26-1, with 7 of 10 weeks' picks in the black:

19 Georgia Tech @ North Carolina (+13) - GT
Cincinnati @ 10 West Virginia (-17½) - WV
*16 Wisconsin @ Iowa (+2) - Wisc.
Georgia @ 5 Auburn (-12) - Georgia
*8 California @ Arizona (+13½) - Cal
Kent St. @ 20 Virginia Tech (-30½) - VT
Miami (FL) @ 23 Maryland (-3½) - Md.
2 Michigan @ Indiana (19½) - Indiana
*South Carolina @ 6 Florida (-13) - S.C.
Nebraska @ 24 Texas A&M (+1) - Neb.
*1 Ohio St. @ Northwestern (+23½) - tOSU
*9 Notre Dame @ Air Force (+11½) - ND
*14 Boise St. @ San Jose St. (+13½) - BSU
Texas Tech @ 17 Oklahoma (-9) - Okla.
Duke @ 22 Boston College (-29) - BC
13 Tennessee @ 11 Arkansas (-6) - Ark.
Alabama @ 12 LSU (-18) - 'Bama
Wake Forest @ 18 Florida St. (-8½) - Wake
*4 Texas @ Kansas St. (+16½) - Texas
21 Oregon @ 7 USC (-8) - USC

In addition to the Trojans, I'm rooting for Cincinnati, Georgia, Indiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Arizona, Arkansas and Kansas State.

Stanford, which is 1-8 against the spread this season, is a 19 point dog at Washington. Take the Huskies and give the points. I have information from Stanford athletes that lead me to think Stanford will tank. Here, by the way, are my weekly results for my *picks:

Week 1: 6-3
Week 2: 4-1
Week 3: 4-2-1
Week 4: 2-5
Week 5: 3-2
Week 6: 3-2
Week 7: 2-3
Week 8: 1-4
Week 9: 4-1
Week 10: 4-3

Total: 33-26-1

Three of the top 25 have already played. Rutgers won. Louisville lost. BYU won. Of the other 22 ranked teams, 21 are in play today. Here's how I see 'em. There are seven games I like. For the record, my *picks for the season are 33-26-1, with 7 of 10 weeks' picks in the black:

19 Georgia Tech @ North Carolina (+13) - GT
Cincinnati @ 10 West Virginia (-17½) - WV
*16 Wisconsin @ Iowa (+2) - Wisc.
Georgia @ 5 Auburn (-12) - Georgia
*8 California @ Arizona (+13½) - Cal
Kent St. @ 20 Virginia Tech (-30½) - VT
Miami (FL) @ 23 Maryland (-3½) - Md.
2 Michigan @ Indiana (19½) - Indiana
*South Carolina @ 6 Florida (-13) - S.C.
Nebraska @ 24 Texas A&M (+1) - Neb.
*1 Ohio St. @ Northwestern (+23½) - tOSU
*9 Notre Dame @ Air Force (+11½) - ND
*14 Boise St. @ San Jose St. (+13½) - BSU
Texas Tech @ 17 Oklahoma (-9) - Okla.
Duke @ 22 Boston College (-29) - BC
13 Tennessee @ 11 Arkansas (-6) - Ark.
Alabama @ 12 LSU (-18) - 'Bama
Wake Forest @ 18 Florida St. (-8½) - Wake
*4 Texas @ Kansas St. (+16½) - Texas
21 Oregon @ 7 USC (-8) - USC

In addition to the Trojans, I'm rooting for Cincinnati, Georgia, Indiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Arizona, Arkansas and Kansas State.

Stanford, which is 1-8 against the spread this season, is a 19 point dog at Washington. Take the Huskies and give the points. I have information from Stanford athletes that lead me to think Stanford will tank. Here, by the way, are my weekly results for my *picks:

Week 1: 6-3
Week 2: 4-1
Week 3: 4-2-1
Week 4: 2-5
Week 5: 3-2
Week 6: 3-2
Week 7: 2-3
Week 8: 1-4
Week 9: 4-1
Week 10: 4-3

Total: 33-26-1

Any Garbage Can Pass For Art These Days

So you think you could be a professional painter? Hell, yes, you could. If this Thomas Rossi guy can do it, any monkey with a paintbrush and a few words from the newspaper can do it.

[update] The dude must not have made a fortune at it. He didn't even renew his website when it came up on June 4.

What The Trojans Need

Right now, USC is not the best football team in the country, but maybe they will end up like the 2002 or 2003 teams, both of which were playing superior football by season's end. Still, even if USC wins out with another great November run, we'll need almost all of the following to happen in and after November:

USC beats Stanford (check)
USC beats Oregon
USC beats Cal
USC beats Notre Dame
USC beats UCLA
Ohio State loses at Northwestern or at home against Michigan
Michigan loses at Indiana or Ohio State
West Virginia loses at Louisville (check)
Florida loses to Florida State or the SEC East champ
Texas loses to Texas A&M or the Big XII North champ
Louisville loses at Rutgers (check)
Tennessee loses to LSU (check)
Auburn loses to Georgia or Alabama (preferably not in the SEC title game against Florida)

That's four down, and nine to go. Tonight's win for Rutgers was perhaps the most critical for the Trojans' fate, other than USC's own games. A loss for Rutgers (at W.Va.?) or Boise State (at San Jose State?) probably wouldn't be necessary, but I wouldn't cry if they lost.

P.S. How would you like to be the kid who jumped offsides on the hooked field goal attempt? Without that penalty, Louisville gets one or two cracks at victory in regulation, and then takes the game to OT. Instead, they give Rutgers a second chance at the go-ahead field goal and lose the game. One mental slip is sometimes the difference between playing for a national championship on January 8 and playing in the Meineke Car Care Bowl in December.

Lex TV 100

Here are a dozen more video clips:

Remember the butt sniffing monkey video? This is 10 times more disgusting.

The only rapper alive worse than Kevin Federline.

Borat on CNN. This guy is everywhere.

An amazing close call with a high speed train.

Women, know your limits.

[Commercial break No. 1] One of the outrageous political ads you don't have to watch anymore.

The Torn Mime gets a little help from Natalie Imbruglia herself.

The Crocodile Hunter meets Ross, the gay intern.

You ever see a guy jump into a pool from the roof of a 5 story building and almost make it?

SouthPark on evolution.

You know how sometimes you see the trailer, and the movie is nothing like that? This could have done the same thing to Office Space.

[Commercial break no. 2] The beverage for the well-intentioned man.

Psst. You Wanna Watch K-Fed Get Destroyed?

Kevin Federline is an idiot. His album is a joke. His rapping skills are almost nil. Asked to rap freestyle for an interview during his Playing With Fire release party, he couldn't come up with anything, he just pounded his drink and let the interviewer rap some garbage for him. His popozao, or whatever the hell it was called, sucked, and when people made fun of his apparent self-satisfaction over the track, he claimed it was all a setup to lower expectations for when his "real" rap came out.

His wife recently humiliated him at a party by screaming that he was "useless", and that he was "nobody," and he went off into a corner to cry. Literally. To make matters even worse, she broke up with him by text message, while he was filming a segment of MusicMatters in Canada. You can watch him as they film the first part of the show, as he talks about how he and his wife are just fine and all, then, over a meal, you can watch him get a text message that probably says something along the lines of "Hey useless, I'm divorcing you, you loser." It's must-see TV.

The Register just ran an article on him this week, and I loved this quote that says it all about why Britney would want to dump his sorry ass:

Promoting the album means spending a lot of time away from home, away from his wife and children. But Federline says it's worth it.

"It's a sacrifice that you have to make. I want my children to look up to me. I don't want them to be like, 'Oh, Daddy's around all the time, you know, he's not doing nothing ever.' I want them to know what it's like to have to work hard and get the big payoff at the end."

He's supposed to be playing the House of Blues in Anaheim on November 20, but I doubt he'll show up. Many of his gigs are being cancelled for lack of interest, and even if he is still willing to show his face in public, there might not be enough people, even including hecklers, to warrant the HOB keeping the date.

This guy is the biggest poser since Ashlee Simpson. Say, wouldn't those two make a cute couple?

Tuesday Travel Photo (No. 100)

This photo shows one of the more colorful hot spring mounds on the upper Terrace of Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park. I took this picture from the car as we drove the loop.

My initial impression of it was that it looked like the world's largest bird dropping. A fresh one, too.

OAN and Enhanced Services: Scammers, Crammers and Slammers

My business almost got ripped off by two unscrupulous companies last month. It's been taken care of already, but they tried to scam $13 a month from us for a phone service described on my bill as "Nationwide Assist Emergency Vmail Fee." This company is called Enhanced Services Billing, Inc., and you can call them on their dime at (888) 298-3724 and give them a ration of shit for me.

The other thieves are with OAN Services, Inc. They claimed to have had an Amy Nguyen take my order for Yellow Pages Directory Billing, at a cost of $50 per month. We don't do Yellow Pages ads, nor do we cash those BS one dollar checks that come in the mail unsolicited and have the contract for yellow page listings in small print. Fortunately, they too have a toll-free number where you can call them on their dime at (800) 295-3933 and give them a ration of shit for me. They have a second number, too. (800) 944-9646.

If you google search "OAN Services" before you get to their website (if they have one) all you get are listings that say scam, scam, scam, scam. The same goes for Enhanced Services Billing.

Keep an eye on your phone bill. Cramming is becoming more and more prevalent all the time.

Sea Life on Mars?

There are people who look at this NASA photo of the surface of Mars and see seashells. Do you?

Looking Back at Week 10

The big upset of the morning was Clemson, a 20 point favorite at home to Maryland. Michigan barely beat Ball State, and Florida barely beat Vandy. Ohio State barely beat Illinois. They are all lucky they don't have a road game against Oregon State coming up.... My real money picks went 4-3. Overall, I went 10-8:

L Maryland @ 19 Clemson -20 (Clemson-)
L Ball St. @ 2 Michigan -34 (Michigan-)
W Penn St. @ 17 Wisconsin -6½ (Wisconsin-)
W *7 Florida @ Vanderbilt +17 (Vandy+)
W Arkansas St. @ 6 Auburn -31 (Auburn-)
W North Carolina @ 11 Notre Dame -25½ (NC+)
L *Washington @ 24 Oregon -16 (UW+)
W *13 LSU @ 8 Tennessee +5 (Tennessee+)
W 1 Ohio St. @ Illinois +24 (Illinois+)
L Arizona @ 25 Wash St. -16½ (Wazzu-)
L 16 Boston College @ 22 Wake Forest +3½ (BC-)
L 20 Georgia Tech @ N.C. State +4½ (NC State+)
L *Oklahoma St. @ 4 Texas -18 (Ok.State+)
W *9 USC @ Stanford +27½ (USC-)
W *12 Arkansas @ South Carolina +31½ (S.C.+)
W UCLA @ 10 California -17 (UCLA+)
L *18 Oklahoma @ 21 Texas A&M +3 (Oklahoma-)
W 23 Virginia Tech @ Miami +2½ (VT-)

USC had a nice bounceback win. Nothing soothes the pain of an upset and failed comeback bid quite like four quarters against Stanford. Mark Sanchez played in a couple of 4th quarter drives and looked pretty good. That will be even more fodder for the fair weather Trojan fans who have been demanding John David Booty's benching. The Trojans offense, which looked anemic for most of October, has erupted for 63 unanswered points in the last 5+ quarters. But for some freak turnovers and a botched punt coverage, the talk at USC would be how the Trojans, 8-0, have turned the corner and look ready to face the meat of their schedule. Instead, people are wondering whether a big win over Stanford means anything. The best news, however, is that USC has no real road games left. Three games at the Coliseum come next, followed by UCLA at the Rose Bowl, USC's home away from home.

Will a Poorly Designed Rule Change Decide The National Title?

Did you catch the Wisconsin - Penn State game? As the first half wound down, Wisconsin drove to take a 10-3 on a touchdown with 23 seconds left. Not wanting to give the Nittany Lions time to drive for a tying score, or even a lead-narrowing field goal, Wisconsin decided to run the clock out. How?

With 23 seconds to go, the Badgers lined up for the kickoff and sent 10 players downfield at least two seconds before the kicker got to the ball. Most were more than 10 yards downfield by the time the ball was kicked. Penn State had no chance to return the ball. The officials, of course, called an offsides penalty and Badgers had to rekick.

So they slid the ball back five yards and forced Wisconsin to rekick it. But almost half of Penn State's time in the half was gone, since the clock starts to run when the ball is kicked, and doesn't stop until the officials call it dead to talk about the penalty. As Wisconsin lined up for the second kick, you couldn't help but wonder if they would try it again.

Sure enough, the coverage started sprinting downfield well ahead of the kick. Penn State's return team again had no chance, and by the time they sorted it all out again, there were just 4 seconds left in the half. The ball got placed yet another 5 yards back and Wisconsin kicked a third time. This time, they squib-kicked it and the half quickly came to and end.

Joe Paterno, who had not yet left the game with a freak injury, was clearly furious. Imagine, however, what will happen later in the season when someone does this at the end of a game, with, say, 45 seconds to go in a one point or two point game. Picture this ending to the Ohio State/Michigan game:

Trailing 20-14, Ohio State spends one of its last two timeouts setting up a touchdown to go up 21-20 with just over two minutes to play. A celebration penalty forces the Buckeyes to kick from their own 20 yard line and Michigan returns the kick to the Ohio State 45. After two incomplete passes and two first downs, Michigan gets inside the Ohio State 25 with 1:20 left. Michigan throws incomplete on first down. On second down, they get to the Ohio State 15 to face a 3rd & 1. Ohio State burns its last timeout.

On 3rd &1, Mike Hart gets stopped at the line of scrimmage and Michigan lines up for the go-ahead field goal. When the ball gets placed, the game clock shows 1:05 to play. At 42 seconds, Michigan snaps the ball. When the clock stops again, Michigan leads 23-21, with 36 seconds to play.

Michigan sends its players downfield, and the kick is made after they cross the 50 yard line. Ted Ginn has no chance to catch the ball before he gets plowed into by the coverage team. The ball pops loose, Michigan recovers. Ohio State has no choice but to accept the penalty. The clock stops with 24 seconds to play.

They set the ball back at the 30 yard line. Michigan runs the same play. Ohio State fans start chucking stuff onto the field when a similar outcome results. The only consequence to Michigan is a five yard offsides penalty that requires them to kick again from the 25 yard line, this time with 12 seconds to play. Would they dare try it a third time?

For a third time, Michigan jumps ahead of the kick, this time from the 20 yard line. This time, the Buckeye return man catches the ball, but gets tackled quickly at the Ohio State 35. There are 3 seconds left. Do they take the penalty, or throw a 65-yard Hail Mary? Buckeye fans think it's bullshit that they have to make that choice. They decide to take the penalty. Michigan kicks again, this time from the 15. The kick is a high and short one. By the time it is caught at the Michigan 45, the coverage is there. There is no return. The clock reads 0:00. Ohio State has lost, without ever getting a chance to snap the ball. A riot follows.

At the season's end, Louisville is unbeaten. Texas wins the Big XII and finishes 12-1. USC ends the season with blowout victories over Cal, Notre Dame and UCLA. Auburn defeats Florida in the SEC championship game. Who plays for the national title? Who should?

College Football Week 10

Boise State already beat Fresno State. Fresno is now 1-11 since losing to USC. Boise is likely to end the season 12-0 and catch an invite to a BCS bowl. Louisville plastered West Virginia. Scott Wolf will have to find a new #1 team for his AP ballot. Now we need Louisville to lose to Rutgers, Rutgers to lose to West Virginia, Texas to lose to the Big XII north champion, Michigan to lose to Ohio State, Florida to lose to Florida State, and maybe Auburn to lose to Alabama. It could happen, but I'm not holding my breath. For now, I'm just going to enjoy this weekend's games. Here are my picks, including *real money picks:

Maryland @ 19 Clemson -20 (Clemson-)
Ball St. @ 2 Michigan -34 (Michigan-)
Penn St. @ 17 Wisconsin -6½ (Wisconsin-)
*7 Florida @ Vanderbilt +17 (Vandy+)
Arkansas St. @ 6 Auburn -31 (Auburn-)
North Carolina @ 11 Notre Dame -25½ (NC+)
*Washington @ 24 Oregon -16 (UW+)
*13 LSU @ 8 Tennessee +5 (Tennessee+)
1 Ohio St. @ Illinois +24 (Illinois+)
Arizona @ 25 Wash St. -16½ (Wazzu+)
16 Boston College @ 22 Wake Forest +3½ (BC-)
20 Georgia Tech @ N.C. State +4½ (NC State+)
*Oklahoma St. @ 4 Texas -18 (Ok.State+)
*9 USC @ Stanford +27½ (USC-)
*12 Arkansas @ South Carolina +31½ (S.C.+)
UCLA @ 10 California -17 (UCLA+)
*18 Oklahoma @ 21 Texas A&M +3 (Oklahoma-)
23 Virginia Tech @ Miami +2½ (VT-)

USC is 1-5-1 against the spread this year. Stanford is 1-7 against the spread. Take your pick. Obviously, I'm rooting for Ball State, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma.

Looking Back at Week 9

Okay, the hangover has passed. This will not be another championship year for USC. There was a bright side to last weekend. My picks did well. I went 4-1 on the special picks, 12-6 overall. Here's how I did:

W *Northwestern @ 2 Michigan -30 (NW+)
W Illinois @ 17 Wisconsin -21 (Illinois+)
W *19 Oklahoma @ 23 Missouri -1½ (OK+)
W *11 Notre Dame @ Navy +13 (ND-)
W 7 Auburn @ Mississippi +18½ (Ole Miss+)
L Buffalo @ 18 Boston College -33½ (Buffalo+)
L Georgia @ 9 Florida -13½ (Florida-)
L *3 USC @ Oregon St. +10½ (USC-)
L 24 Wake Forest @ North Carolina +8½ (Wake-)
W Miami (FL) @ 21 Georgia Tech -5 (GT-)
L 20 Nebraska @ Oklahoma St. +6 (Nebraska-)
W Minnesota @ 1 Ohio St. -27 (OSU-)
W Portland St. @ 25 Oregon -28½ (Oregon-)
W LA Monroe @ 13 Arkansas -36 (LA Monroe+)
W 5 Texas @ Texas Tech +10½ (TTech+)
W *22 Texas A&M @ Baylor +4½ (A&M-)
W 8 Tennessee @ South Carolina +3½ (UT-)
L Connecticut @ 16 Rutgers -19½ (Rutgers-)

USC's Pac 10 winning streak was 27 games. It was fun while it lasted. Matt Moore became the first UCLA quarterback in 8 years to lead his team to victory against USC. The last one to do it while still with the Bruins was Cade McNown. Silver lining: last time Oregon State beat an undefeated USC team, the Trojans recovered to win the national championship. Shocking thought of the week: Temple won, and USC did not. As Forrest Gump would say, "that's all I have to say about that."

Bad Ads

I'm not sure which political ads annoy me the most this year, but the two that keep coming to mind are the No on 87 ads featuring a fireman talking about how gas prices are going to go up, and the one with Cruz Bustamante for insurance commissioner saying "Boy was I fat. I promised my family I would lose 70 pounds. I kept that promise. And I'll keep my promise to you to lower your insurance rates."

WTF? Not to be mean-spirited like John Kerry, but what makes a fireman such an expert on oil prices, gas taxes and economics? And since when does mixing in a salad make you an honest insurance commissioner?

I am getting so annoyed that I'm running out of issues and candidates to not hate. The only candidate I know I'm going to vote for is Tony Strickland, but only because he played college basketball with my brother. And the only ad I like is the anti-Bustamante ad "You Cruz, You Lose."

Lex TV 99

Here are a dozen more video clips:

The full video of Depeche Mode's Suffer Well.

Deleted scenes from Borat's movie.

Girls Fone Wild? Try Girls Gone Monkey.

When SNL was great: Colonel Angus.

The trailer for the Bridge to Terabithia.

[Commercial break No. 1] What would you do to drive the "good car"?

Top ten film scenes with famous songs.

In case you forgot what an idiot O'Reilly has always been, check this vintage footage.

Borat on the Daily Show.

Jon Stewart on Letterman 12 years ago.

Borat on Letterman.

[Commercial break no. 2] Want to buy a possessed camera that prints horses than look like moths?

The October DemiBlog

Some are probably dead already, and many more will be gone soon, but here were the Demi-Blog links for October:

Tale of Two Brothers: Brother Succeeds, Causes Brother to Fail. Failed Brother Ends Up Pitching New Team To World Series Title.

No Halloween for Paroled Sex Offenders, Especially The Ones Who Got Drunk Last Halloween and Peed Against an Alley Wall

Ban on Black Cat Adoptions Thwarts Satanists. In Related News, Adoptions of Goats, Pigs, and Chickens Enjoy Temporary Bursts of Activity

Republicans Get Ready To Have Michael J. Fox Humanely Destroyed

David Eckstein Wins Series MVP. That 2002 Angels Team Just Keeps on Winning.

Nicole Richie, Having Never Heard of Pizza Hut or McDonald's, Checks Into Hospital To Gain Weight

Man Molests Girlfriend's Dead Decomposing Dog. As In, He Had a Girlfriend, But Chose To Do Her Dead Dog.

Cremation of 600 Pound Guy Causes Grease Fire

Just When You Thought Rush Limbaugh Couldn't Be a Bigger Dick...

Ohio Executes God's Prophet

Student Newspaper Distributed With The Part About Low Test Scores Cut Out

Bad North Korea Sent To Bed With No Supper.

New Style Atheists: "Religion Is Evil."

Suicide Bombers. In It Mostly For The Afterlife Trim?

Meet The Singerl Twins. One's Dark. One's Light. Same Mom. Same Dad.

Seriously, Who Thought That Those Pro-Wal*Mart Blogs Weren't Paid For By Wal*Mart?

School Suspends Students For Bringing Spicy Hot Sauce To School

God Proves His Existence Again By Dropping Two Limbs onto a Jesus Statue and Busting Its Fingers. But It Looks Like a Cross, Folks.

China's Yellow River Turns Red, Makes Appointment to See Urologist

Go Ahead and Commit Any Sin. If Jeff Dahmer Can Get Into Heaven, Anyone Can

Death Row Inmate Kills Self 15 Hours Before Execution. Officials Wonder Why, Since He Had So much To Live For

Police Say 2 Year Old Girl Wasn't Molested by Neighbor. Findings Come Too Late For Neighbor, Who Was Promptly Killed by Angry dad

Lineman Writes Funny.

Raping 10 Women: Russian President Wishes He'd Have Thought of It First

The Ultimate "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished" Story

Bitter Green Bay Fan Charged With Making False Dirty Bomb Threats

Priest Admits He Molested Foley. Bonus: He's Still an Active Priest

Chest Stabbings by Stingrays Increase Another 100%

Coming Soon to a County Fair Near You: Deep Fried Coke

Pics From the Crocodile Hunter's Last Stingray Hunt

50 States, Ranked From Smartest to Dumbest. Southwest States Make Up 3 or 4 Dumbest. Coincidence?

It's Official. Dying Got Ken Lay Out of His Felony Record. No Word on Whether OJ Is Considering Such Options

Constituent's Letter To Senator Paul Sarbanes (D. Maryland)

Roofer Nails His Own Balls To The Roof

Another Reason LA Doesn't Care About Getting an NFL Team

PSA: Your Teen Is Waaaaayyy Sluttier Than You Think S/He Is

Being Rich Does Not Necessarily Mean You Are Not An Idiot. Exhibit B

May It Please The Court: My Ass Is Too Fat For You To Let Them Put Me To Sleep

Jagshemesh! Kazakhstan Misspells "Bank" On Bank Notes

In New Jersey, Not Even The New York Mayor's Car Is Safe From The Carjackers

Lawmaker Tells Students She Wouldn't Kick Arnold Out Of Bed, Then Blames The Parents For Not Stopping Her

PSA: When the Game You Are Announcing Turns Into The Ugliest Brawl in College Football History, "That's What I'm Talking 'Bout!" Is Not The Commentary Your Bosses Are Looking For.

Cardinals Kicker Chokes, Giving Cardinals One of the All-Time Worst Chokes in NFL History

Tara Reid Seeks to Repair Her Nasty Teets

Orange County Grand Jury Indicts Azzam The American for Treason

Rod Bernsen is a Pedophile, Allegedly.

Old and Busted: Yankees Crash and Burn Against Detroit. New Hotness: One Yankee Crashes and Burns Against a NY City Highrise.

PSA: Don't Use Poolsticks in Shallow Water. And If You Do, Don't Jump in Anus-First.

The Religion of Peace Complains That Apple's NY Fifth Avenue Store Is An Insulting Immitation of Mecca Because Feature a Cube-Shaped Structure

Police "Protect" Car Owners From Car Burglars By Putting Bright Stickers on Cars With Good Stuff In Them

"I Would Totally Trade My Kid for This Wedding Dress"

That Crazy Azz Wisconsin Professor Says Comparing Bush to Hitler "Would Be An Insult to Hitler."

You Can't Fight City Hall, But You Can Put Up A Sign Along The Freeway Calling Your Councilwoman a Whore

Someone Needs To Tell This Chick That Napkins Are Used While Eating a Meal, Not as a Cover for Your Bony Chest Plate

When You're Drunk, in a Fight With Your Man, and Can't Find Any Weapons Other Than Your 4-Month-Old Baby, What Would You Do?

Cheap Solution to Prison Violence: Pink

Captain & Coke Will Get You Drunk, But Captain & Diet Coke Will do It Faster

Now She Can End a Story With "And Then Lightning Came Out of My Arse" and It Won't Be Bullshit

This Cop Knows Marijuana Burgers When He Tastes Them

Now Any Jackass Can Be on a Bobblehead

Coming Soon To a Conflict Near You: Flying Killer Robot Insects

Could Your Kids Be Taught By This Tatted Freak?

Congress Getting Ready To "Probe Foley." Foley Responds: "So, You Got, What? Seven and a Half?"

Old and Busted: Disneyland's Tom Sawyer Island. New Hotness: Some Sort of Piratey Crap.

Billingsley Report on College Football, Your Top 5: Ohio State, USC, Oregon, Michigan, Auburn

Immigrant Activists Say Companies Are Racist If They Fire Workers With Bogus Social Security Numbers

Washington Huskies, #11?

God Smites Mishawaka Methodist Church

Pope To Third World Recruits: "Okay, Fine. Your Dead Newborn Won't Be Banished To Limbo. Now Join Our Church."

Freedom Means You Can Bag on Any Religion, As Long As It's Not Islam

The God Hates Fags Group Accepts Bribe of Radio Airtime In Exchange For Leaving the Grieving Amish Families Alone

Police Protecting "Mystical Tree" From Attacks By Skeptical Muslim Youths

What To Do With Teacher Who Yells "Who is your God? Jesus Christ? God is not your God - it is Allah" At Christmas Concert? Why, Promote Him to School Inspector General, Of Course.

PSA: Don't Go Around Telling People What Poison They Should Use To Commit Murder If Your Wife Is About To Turn Up, Poisoned To Death. Some Folks Might Notice.

Dateline NBC Catches a New Batch of Kiddie Chasers. Don't These Guys Watch TV?