Round 5

Q: What are your thoughts on Bruce Feldman's book "Meat Market" and Yeager/Cunningham/Papadakis' "Turning the Tide"

A: Never read the first one. And I’m still trying to figure out how Petros Papadakis’ family ended segregation in the South. Next we’ll hear they helped bring down the Berlin Wall. Maybe Petros can end U.S.-Canadian tensions by hosting a Degrassi marathon. Preferably in Toronto. Far, far away.

Q: Have you seen the cardinal and gold LA Dodger caps that were sold at the LAD-BOS game at the Coliseum last Saturday night? I'm told they were selling like hotcakes at the game even with the $42 price tag.

A: No, I haven’t. But at $42, I figured USC was selling them. If you want a real SC baseball cap, the players always sell them at their booth on campus on homecoming.

Q: You frequently report on the specific interceptions that occur during practices, and seemed displeased when a QB throws one or more. I'm curious how the practice format / repetitions work. Is it not typical for the defense to intercept the offense? My conception is that more snaps are taken in practice than in a game, and with the familiarity of players and systems, an interception or two would be expected. Maybe you are focusing on specific drills? Enlighten me.

A: I don’t normally focus on interceptions but this is supposed to be a quarterback derby, so I’m giving the reader one of the more noticeable measureables. That said, remember in training camp, John David Booty did not throw an interception (or maybe had 1) and that’s with some two-a-day workouts. It’s not unusual to throw interceptions but there’s been more than normal the past week.

Q: Would it be a fair evaluation to say that the "quarterback battle" has turned into a "quarterback whimper"? How did something that started with such hype and expected to be the most ferocious battle in the history of college football turn into one of the worst displays of ineptitude and blunders? Each day all I hear about is how awful the quarterbacks were, having replaced the talk that it was a battle for the best. At this point, I actually long for the days of Booty and his reliable consistency.

A: Yes, it’s been a blunderfest at times. But the fact is, the ``competition’’ is really non-exisitent, at least in the eyes of those who matter. The coaches want someone with experience in the system and that is Mitch Mustain’s weak spot. So it looks like we won’t get much drama after all. But going back to Booty, after watching his Pro Day workout, I think the coaching staff longs for him too.