Answers, Part XVIII

Do you get as tired of the USC band as we do?
No, because I don't listen to them. But I hear they play Conquest an awful lot.

Is your addiction to Rutgers sports worse than our addiction to UCLA sports? Let the record show you paid good money to travel to the middle of nowhwere (Alabama?) to watch a nameless and meaningless bowl (Papajohns.com Bowl). I rest my case.
Rutgers invented the darn game of football, playing (and winning) the first contest in 1869. Before the 2005 season, the Scarlet Knights played in one bowl game, the 1978 Garden State (yes, that is New Jersey's nickname) Bowl. So, to me, there is no meaningless Rutgers Bowl.
Second, I don't see my family very often, and we use bowl games as a family reunion. There were 13 members of my family there, so I view it as more than just going to a football game.

178 Questions and none from VB, what gives?
The cat must have clawed out his eyes and bloodied his hands beyond recognition.

What are the chances that RN is able to flip another SC recruit? Will there be another SC meltdown?
I'm hearing there is a good chance to get another USC commit (yes, Randall Carroll), but I don't know if there will be a meltdown over this one.

Will SC be able to steal Stan Hasiak or another UCLA recruit with its RN bashing campaign?
I think Hasiak winds up at UCLA, and let's not pretend USC is the only school out there saying bad things about another school. It happens all the time in recruiting.

Will new defensive assistant HC (giggle) Norton be getting a christmas card from RN next year?
Depends how many points the Bruins score on the Trojans to kick off the holiday season next year.

Are you taking us all out to Chick-fil-A as a show of gratitude for making this the DN's most popular blog?
What? You didn't get the message? We already had that meeting. Dang, perhaps next time.

If your colleague Scott Wolf is the "scourge of the Internet chat forums," as one local radio dweeb calls him, then what does that make you?
I'm just an average joe trying to earn a living.

Seems like every time UCLA plays USC after a week off, the Bruins come out really flat and end up losing. What to your knowledge is Howland doing to prevent this?
Nothing. I'm yet to hear him talk about coming out flat, mostly because he views that as a reflection on the staff not getting the players ready.

Do questions about football recruiting annoy you the most?
No. hypothetical questions are the ones that stick in my craw. By the way, what's a craw?

Do you think the Rose Bowl is the best college football experience--from tailgaiting to stadium to setting etc--in the nation?
No, not even close. Oregon is pretty great inside the stadium, and Oklahoma was unbelievable. I'm thinking LSU and Alabama and some of those places are pretty darn good, too. And if you want setting, go watch a game from Army's stadium in the fall, when the leaves are changing colors and the backdrop the vast Hudson River.