Weekend Forum

What is being planned to celebrate the first anniversary of Mitch Mustain's enrollment at USC?

Why have the number of USC Song Girls increased in number this year to 14 members? In the 1980s and 1990s, there were only seven or eight members of the squad and they ranged from very pretty to beautiful. Then by the dawn of this decade, the squad increased to 12 members and they became rather unattractive practically overnight. Now, there are suddenly 14 Song Girls and they quite poor in physical quality. So are the people in charge of Song Girl selection thinking that if the quality of the squad is quite poor, they should try to distract everyone with overwhelming quantity? Does this mean we'll be up to 50 Song Girls in a couple of years?

Hey Scott-

Have you thought about perhaps getting some new sources in the athletic department? You've totally dropped the ball on this Radovich situation and are showing that maybe you don't know everything you think you know about what goes on with the SC football team. If you think the NFL made a mistake when they investigated Radovich, then maybe you should start digging a little deeper. Questions about his character were raised by the NFL even before the draft and mentioned during their telecast; it was not, as you claim, made only after the draft to justify why he was not drafted. Young Mr Radovich was no saint at SC and some of your readers have even provided you with hints of where you should start before you get scooped on this story by another reporter...

Regarding the apparent disappointment (by you and supposedly some other people at SC) about the walk-on football tape, is it because you think the tape should not have been released or is it because some assistant coach dropped some F-bombs?

If it's the former then I can somewhat understand. But if it's the latter then it is utterly ridiculous. It would mean you (and these other dudes) probably didn't attend a practice with the late great Marv Goux, a coach I wouldn't trade for any other. There is nothing wrong about using some profanity on the practice field.

Pedalgate vs. Walk-ongate. Which is the bigger scandal?

espn says mcknight might not finish his career at usc?

Why did John David Booty drop in the draft was it because of his wonderlic test?

Here is my preseason Top-10, 1.Ohio State
2.Georgia 3.Oklahoma 4. Florida 5. West Virgina 6. LSU 7. Missouri 8. Texas 9.USC 10.Virgina Tech and sleeper picks Texas Tech and Arizona State. Also Notre Dame will bounce back next year with 9 wins. The pick to win it is Georgia beating Ohio State in the championship. Do you agree with my rankings, I feel USC has to replace many starters on defense and has many issues on offense such a young offense line, wide receivers, tight end, quarterback and no clear running back as number 1. The team is too young. I am a USC fan, but I am realistic in my picks. What is your thoughts on next year for USC and your top 10 including national champion pick?

Maybe I missed it, but does Caesar have any comment on Walk-ongate and all that it entails?

SW, what does the coaching staff expect of the players during these next months, before the start of fall practice? I mean, PC is hitting the waves right now, so what does he expect his players to be doing to prep for 2008? Fight On!

anything new on malik storey and how likely is it that he qualifies? apparently the guy is a top notch shooter which this team desparately needs to replace OJ, along with dwight lewis neeeding to step it up among other things

Hey Scott! What if anything do you know about the JUCO DT Hebron Fangupo? Do you think he will be a part of USC's 2009 recruiting class?

Were you ever able to get to the bottom of CELL PHONEGATE?

I heard directly from someone in the basketball program that a lost/missing/stolen cell phone of a significant player caused major distractions before the Trojans tipped-off in March Madness. Players were fighting over the phone instead of focusing on the game. At one point Coach Floyd was pulled into the mix and allegedly asked the victim "If he tried calling the phone."

I guess it shows the priorities of 19 & 20 year old kids.

HI SCOTT:

About how many scholarships did we have available last Feb. that were not given out and thus saved for future use? Thanx in advance.

I have noticed that you have been quite evasive the past two or three open forums when readers have asked you questions about Mark Sanchez's off the field activities. I am not sure whether this is due to legal reasons or fear of retaliation/fallout, so let me ask you a question where there could only be one answer - Other than his arrest for sexual assault by the LAPD, how many times has Sanchez been handcuffed or detained by law enforcement agencies, whether it was USC's Department of Public Safety, the Orange County Sheriff, LA County Sheriff, or any other entity, since coming to USC?

What were the red flags that were raised by the NFL for why they did not draft Drew Radovich?

Scott

What are you thoughts/concerns about the defense in 2009?

I know it's a little early, but looking at the depth chart..

Moala, Moore, Cushing, Maualuga, Pinkard, Ellison, cary harris and (probably) taylor mays will be gone..that doesn't leave much..Griffen, Averill Spicer, S. Wright and alot of guys with little/no experience. (M.Smith, Mike Morgan, C. Tupou, M.Jones, etc.)

I have no doubt they will be good since the USC coaching staff is so awesome. But...we do have a big date in Columbus, Ohio..and away games at ASU and Oregon..how will they hold up?

No problem Lawyer john. I am too critical..hahah

If the only issue preventing the sequel to "Mitch and Me" being named "The Electric Boogaloo" is the copyright, then have you thought about licensing the name? Let's be perfectly honest, "The Electric Boogaloo" is the best title ever for a sequel. Does licensing the name cut too deep into the huge profit margin that is to be expected for anything Mitch related?

RI:
Since you know how to read and use a computer how about checking rivals.com? You'll find out that Vontaze Burfict from Corona HS committed to USC. Guess what? He's considered one of the best LB's in the nation if NOT the BEST! How about that? Surf>Read...
The rest of the Mark Sánchez usual bashers: GIVE IT-UP>Mark is the starting QB>end of the story>FINITO...

Did Don Ludwig's job reassignment have anything to do with how he had jurisdiction over the song girls and allowed the group to fall into the pathetic and ugly mess it is now?

Where are they now Department question ...

Where are Joe Jares, Dennis Kirkpatrick, Ricky Jackson and Lon Rosen?

Could the character issues and concerns that prevented Radovich from being drafted by the NFL have anything to do with the fact that he went to high school with Sanchez?

Scott:

What do you know about Michael Jackson telling the women in charge of the song girls, in about 2000 or 2001, that they either had to make the song girls racially diverse or they would have their funding cut or significantly reduced? Subsequently, that was the reason why the number of song girls increased in number, due to having to every girl who was a racial minority that tried out making the squad, regardless of whether they were qualified dancers or not, often at the expense of more talented Caucasian candidates. So wasn't the decline of the song girls, which many people seem to be mentioning, have more to do with political correctness and the threat of their fundings being reduced/cut than simply a lack of beautiful girls on campus? Also, wasn't it Jackson that also demanded in 2004 that the number of blonde song girls had to be reduced, due to what he claimed were "complaints" from alumni, so several of the girls had to color their hair back to their natural darker shades between the basketball and football seasons?

Scott, don't you think this Mayo thing is overblown? It sounds similar to the Bush situation, where people outside of USC have provided economic benefits. Should USC be held responsible for monitoring their athlete's bank accounts?

Scott,

Sorry about the second question. Will this Mayo episode and the Bush drama, will this hurt USC Sports for the next few years. Will recruits be frightened of penaltie and not wish to come here( just like in the 2008 football recruiting class). Also will USC basketball and football stop recruiting one man shows like Bush, Mayo, Jefferson, and others who will cause more harm than good for USC sports? Also, will Pete Carroll leave because of a penalty to the programs and what will happen to Mike Garrett?

What's the likelihood that Drew Radovich is behind Mayogate so he could take the heat off himself?

When SC conducts an investigation of a prospective or current student-athlete for rules violations, what resources do they have at their disposal? Do we have investigators on staff in sports admin, or university admin? Or, does the university contract out investigations to a third party PI firm? And, I wonder if the Pac-10 has investigative resources, or is it just sports admin staff trying to dig up dirt on scumbags like the Guillorys and Lakes? Sadly, living in the limelight in LA, there seems to be one of these scumbags hiding under every rock trying to prey on young athletes . Who is scummier, a runner for a sports agent or the paparrazzi? Trying to enforce these guys is about as much of a losing proposition as the law enforcement of marijuana. I feel sorry for the naive kids and families that these guys prey on.

With the OJ Mayo scandal now breaking nationally and adding to other instances where USC student-athletes, notably Reggie Bush, having taken items of value from agents while enrolled at USC, at what point do you think the term "lack of institutional control" will start being used and will it be time for Mike Garrett to be held accountable and step down? Clearly the Mayo incident is not a surprise to anyone, so should changes be expected at the top with Garrett taking responsibility and resigning for allowing so many agents to wander around Heritage Hall, USC locker rooms, practice facilities and athletic events?

Scott,
This has turned into a real SCHMATAGATE! Should we be upset with the bunglers at the USC Dorm Police for not discovering that pile of cheap schmatas from Men’s Land in Mayo’s laundry? Don’t they check each and every one of USC’s FIVE STAR dorm rooms for illicit GIANT SCREEN TV’s?

Have you noticed that no new viewer comments have appeared on the YouTube video for Walk-ongate in several days, despite getting thousands of hits every day (over 41,000 views as of this writing)? That's because viewer comments are now being monitored by PeteCarrollTV (Ben Malcolmson) after being submitted and he has not approved any of the comments to appear publicly on the site in several days. I wonder why he will no longer allow comments to be posted and has implemented a screening policy regarding the discussion of that one specific video but not the other videos on PeteCarrollTV......?

Considering that Tim Floyd was in direct contact with Rodney Guillory from before OJ Mayo's enrollment at USC, as well as throughout his tenure on the basketball team, do you think that once the dust has settled, Floyd will still be the head coach at USC? Could he be used as the scapegoat by the athletic department administration, especially Mike Garrett, who needs to have the heat taken off himself by the other off the field issues caused by the football team?

There seems to be a trend of three off the field scandals breaking during a short period of time when it comes to USC.

April-May 2006:

1) News breaks that Reggie Bush took money from would-be agents.
2) Mark Sanchez gets arrested for sexually assaulting a student.
3) Matt Leinart and Dwayne Jarrett live in the expensive Medici apartments while Leinart's father pays most of Jarrett's rent.

April-May 2008:

1) Drew Radovich not drafted by the NFL due to off the field character concerns.
2) An embarrassing video regarding walk-ons.
3) OJ Mayo taking money during the time he was at USC.

So is three the magic number? Does this mean there won't be any more off the field scandals breaking anytime soon that you are aware of?

How can USC justify allowing Guillory on campus (and in Floyd's office!) after his involvement with Jeff Trepagnier that led to him being ruled ineligible for receiving extra benefits? Did Floyd know about Guillory's past when he let Guillory have the run of the place? If not, didn't other "long-timers" at USC (e.g., Mike Garrett, Tim Tessalone, etc.) know of Guillory's past with Trepagnier? To me, there seems to be no proper justification for allowing Guillory to set foot on campus. Has USC provided one yet? It reminds me of the old adage: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Where is the institutional control?

I still do not understand the big problem with the Mayo Gate. The NCAA checked up on him before he entered USC, Guillory met with Tim Floyd to ask Mayo before he even visted, it is not like USC boosters bought Mayo with money. Guillory was never affliated with the program, so will USC still be penalized by the NCAA despite the NCAA checking on him. Also it is not USC fault that he accepted money without them knowing ot is just like Bush gate?

ESPN needs to check on other big name recruits like Michael Beasley, who Mayo tried recruiting to USC, Greg Oden, Mike Conley, Derrick Rose, Bill Walker, a friend of Mayo in high school when Mayo commited with BDA before USC, before they only expose Mayo. It is not fair that other recruits who are the same as Mayo not be exposed. Myles Brand a Big Ten won't like at Ohio State(Oden, Cook, and Conley) and it feels like ESPN is picking on USC for no reason when others are doing the same. Why is it not that other college NBA stars are given that much of attention?

After Sports Illustrated posted a link to the walk-on video on Monday, did you notice that PeteCarrollTV has now removed said video from YouTube? Do you think they're getting scared and/or embarrassed by the behavior of Brennan Carroll and the national fallout that's resulting from it?

Could the staff of the USC compliance office be held accountable rather than Tim Floyd for failing to monitor the situation with OJ Mayo and Rodney Guillory? If that is the case, could any of the compliance office staff be fired?

Do you know anyone who wants to buy a new OJ Mayo jersey from me?
I can throw in a slightly worn Harold Miner jersey as well.

How did Adam Rose get to be an ESPN correspondent?