Weekend Forum

Competition at receivers and at QB. Do coach Pete Carroll follow the best win.

Last year at this point USC was focused on both the 2008 and 2009 football recruiting classes, this year it seems it is more focused on the 2009 players and not the 2010. Besides Dillon Baxter are there no commitments for the 2010 class, and people like you have said the 2010 class is better than 2009 in players. So why has USC started slowly with the 2010 football class and who are the main targets?

Could the dissatisfaction that USC alumni have over the Song Girls be due to a backlash on the political correctness that has prevailed over the squad during this decade? It seems like great lengths have been taken by the selection committee to shift the focus of the Song Girls from the image of the beautiful Southern California Barbie doll types of the 1970s-1990s to an all-inclusive "unity" approach that has to do with a politically correct/Kumbaya image, where girls are no longer selected based on their physical beauty but rather what they represent. The United States goes through shifts, back and forth, in political ideology every few years and this could just be a backlash on what people perceive to be political correctness taking over an institution that should be free of such restraints. As a result, could it be that the alumni have had enough and want to go back to the old model that was not broken and was actually considered to be the role model for all other universities?

Are tryouts for the Song Girls well publicized throughout campus other than on the Song Girls' website and a lone flier at the Lyon Center? Could it just be that most of the pretty girls on campus simply do not know about the tryouts so the available pool of talent that audition is so small, we have been left with a lower quality of Song Girls this decade?

Other schools in the Pac-10 are often referred to as "conference foes," but how could we ever consider Oregon to be a foe when they have such beautiful cheerleaders? It is impossible to ever have negative feelings towards such beautiful and perfect cheerleaders who provide all of us with such joy, always putting smiles on our faces? Doesn't that mean Oregon are our friends? Henceforth should we not refer to Oregon as our "conference friends"?

How much did Henry Bibby's negative influence and aura contribute to the decline of the Song Girls in the 2000s?

The next time a Trojan football player gets arrested -- which, let's be perfectly honest here, we all know is inevitably going to happen again sometime soon, the only question is which player? -- won't those employees of the athletic department who are opposed to any Song Girl discussion actually wish at that point that the topic of conversation would revert back to the Song Girls rather than the criminal activities of the football team?

After reading the very scathing article by Celeste Fremon on the selection process for the USC Song Girls, is it not rather appropriate that Ms Fremon has now dedicated her life full-time to uncovering injustice in Los Angeles?

If the tryouts for the Song Girls were opened up to the public like the ones for the UCLA Dance Team, don't you think that both the IM-Rec and athletic departments would be all for it as they would also be able to sell food and drinks, other concessions, and have even a margarita stand on site? They could move the tryouts to the Galen Center and it seems like they could actually make money off a public Song Girl tryout process and also get some media coverage, too.

Vanzandt get a life and go back to your Notre dame or ohio state board

Scott great answer to my last question, thanks...I saw that you posted you think USC should be favored vs. Ohio st. this year. Let's move ahead to 2009...in Columbus with cushing rey rey and Maiava gone, not to mention jeff byers kyle moore and fili moala and patrick turner (not that he has ever really done anything) also..could you see this as the first lopsided loss of PC's USC career? Would he be "pumped" and "excited" the week after that?

You suggested a while back that Petros Papadakis should join the selection committee of the Song Girls in order to shake things up, but aren't products of Peninsula High School as much a part of the root problem as anything?

RickyIrvins:

I am actually a Trojan but I know you are not. Did you even go to college? Judging by how you often write, I am guessing no. Did you finish high school? Since I am a Trojan, I can ask anything I deem fit.

Thank you.

When Paul Hackett was fired as the head football coach of USC in 2000, it capped an entire decade of futility but it also left a great void for one of USC's institutions to underperform and embarrass the rest of the university, while every other department throughout USC was soaring to new heights. As a result of Hackett's firing and the return of the USC football team to prominence, do you think the two women in charge of the Song Girls felt it was their duty at the time to make sure that the institution they had control over should then become the one weak link at the university throughout this decade -- just living off past reputation and prestige, representing the USC Song Girls in nothing but name only -- so they made sure to drive the squad into the ground and embarrass the Trojan Family in the process?

You now the program at USC and how it is run. Do you know of a better one that they could emulate to build a stronger program with greater success?

The Sports Information office has pictures of all past USC athletes and former Song Girls. I take it that they will refuse to hand over even one of the many pictures they have of the great Tricia Pillsbury to be posted on this blog?

Has the leadership and administration of the USC Song Girls ever tried to justify the decline of the squad during this decade by saying "Well at least we're not as bad as the Cal cheerleaders or the Stanford Dollies"?

Isn't one of the benefits of the Song Girl controversy that the term "Song Girlgate" has been introduced into the American lexicon?

Could the opposition to images of Tricia Pillsbury by those in the athletic department be due to the fact that she represents the "old" Song Girls and that the "new" Song Girls are not supposed to be about glamor and unattainable beauty but rather are considered to be your average female student that every coed on campus could think that she could be a part of?

Did you ever find out why the number of Song Girls this year increased to an unprecedented high of 14 squad members?

The song girls subject has to go. USC is a football school-carefully stated-that is.
Thank you

As usual, the captain proves why he is an idiot who never went to USC, has no affiliation with USC, and knows nothing whatsoever about USC.

USC is not "a football school." USC is a world class research university that encompasses many entities, with the Song Girls being one facet. But since you have nothing to do with USC, you wouldn't know that, would you?

Go support whatever "school" you went to, but are too embarrassed to reveal the name of to the Trojans who look down on you.

Idiot in DC:
I am aware of ALL your "arguments" dip$#*T. I am also aware that USC according to the last US News article USC is rated #27 academically. I am also aware of all the sports championships(94 the last time I checked) by USC. Stanford 100 and UCLA 96.
Now you damn coward stupid son of a female dog cool your fecal content down, OK? This is FREE country and I Say what the hell I want and root for whatever sports team I care to choose and YES MORONIC CLOWN that includes USC. It does NOT matter whether I attended USC or NOT. NO, I did NOT attend USC. So damn what! Is that a blipping crime you rectum hole?
Finally I simply meant the song girls subject is out of hand period and the football talk should prevail. Is that clear? The fact that I did NOT attend USC doesn't mean that I have done less for this country than a buffoon like you. I will tell you that to your blipping face anytime. I am sick and tired of that childish possessive BS:
"You did NOT attend USC". Am I an inferior citizen because I did NOT? Get off that false superiority pedestal chump... You didn't say that when I bought an USC mini helmet or the USC Football history DVD, etc.?
Thank you

The ridiculous captain needs to drink some warm milk and calm down. He also needs to learn some English.

One more thing, just because you bought a USC mini helmet, I most certainly do think I am superior to you! I think everyone else does, too.

Thank you.

Will Ted Tollner be at Salute To Troy?

Although I am a proud alumnus (way back in 78-82), I am in no way a football historian or trivia buff. So this is most likely a ridiculously obvious question for the true believers in the audience. Still, I'll ask it because I couldn't find a convenient research source online.

Has USC had quarterbacks who started for the team from their first day as an incoming freshman until they graduated as a senior?

Allowed... Missing a game or two because of injury. Not starting in a pre-season game.

Not allowed... Leaving early to go pro. Any kind of technicalities that let them delay their status as a freshman (they had to come straight out of high school and start leading the Men of Troy on the gridiron).

Do you think Tricia Pillsbury set the bar so high for the beauty we expect from the USC Song Girls, that inevitably any Song Girl who came after her would be considered ugly, no matter how attractive she would be on her own non-Tricia Pillsbury merits?

I read where Song Girlgate has been covered by Sports Illustrated and ESPN, among many other media, making it a national story. Is the goal now to have it become an international story? Since the French consider women to be works of art, once Song Girlgate hits Paris, how ruthless do you think the people of France will be by what they observe to be women who should not be paraded in public?

When you were a student at SC in the 1980s and you first met a then-young Tim Tesselone, who was also barely out of college himself, do you think the Tesselone of the 1980s would have been qualified to have served on the selection committee of the Song Girls? Is it possible that he would have cut Tricia Pillsbury and gone down in history with the GM who picked Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan in the 1984 NBA Draft?

Since UCLA is copying everything our #1 football team does, why doesn't SC copy UCLA and Oregon's Song Girl programs to restore our decrepit Song Girl program?

I know the athletic dept. has given you a lot of threats to shut Song Girlgate when all we want is transparency, fairness, and the elimination of corruption and nepotism, but why do you think this topic really brings out the paranoia in the dept? Are they really trying this hard to protect the people in charge? If so, why? It can't be just because the athletic dept. is stubborn. There's gotta be a reason why the athletic dept. refuses to give any concessions to the incompetence of the leadership of the squad and their insistence on shutting everyone up with this topic. If you can be candid, what do YOU think is the main reason for all this refusal for change? The paranoia is so baffling.

People came to USC games for the Song Girls depsite teams losing. If you could have your all star team of USC Song Girls over history who would you select? Please have names, years of Song Girl tenure and image of each.

Scott,

Your pick for a non-BCS team to bust into the BCS games was South Florida. South Florida is from the Big East, which, last I checked, was a BCS conference (though some might argue otherwise). Could you give us a team non from a BCS conference that could be a potential BCS buster?

Thanks,
TFL

Scott,
Don't listen to RickyIrving insults towards you, I think he's just an unhappy guy taking it out on you for no reason...
On to the forum questions:
Pete Carroll usually refers to several books he has read that have shaped his philosophy. He mentioned some a while back in a TV interview. Do you know what some of his favorites might be? I'd like to finish the summer reading picking up a couple of books from his selection.
Also, although the Song Girls topic is definitely getting blown out of proportion, it makes for summer fun while we wait for more important developments when training starts.
Keep up the good work!

Why haven't you apologized for jumping the gun on Alex Stephenson's situation..

Howard Cosell gained fame and fortune due to his work on Monday Night Football, and also his extended and unmatched relationship with boxing great Muhammad Ali.
What current sports TV forum would be perfect to amplify and showcase the many multimedia gifts of Scott Wolf? Which USC athlete do you see yourelf forging a special business and personal relationship with for many years? One that benefits both you and the athlete in publicity and mutual admiration.

JamesUSC99:
1. Do you think your thread is Pulitzer type material? Does it have that flawless masterpiece quality? Does it have perfect sentence construction, punctuation, etc., UHM? Really?
2. This individual blatantly and undauntedly had the audacity to proclaim himself better than me because I did NOT attend USC and he did. Trojans do you share that feeling like he unequivocally stated? Does he speak for ALL the masses?
3. Trojans aren't you embarrassed by that? This is a character that is supposed to be a mature adult that graduated from the great academic institution called the University Of Southern California...
4. Trojans does his thread writing quality reflect that from a person that graduated from the University Of Southern California? Please keep in mind his godlike superiority syndrome and his eloquent message:
"I most certainly do think I am superior to you!".

Hey Scott,

I have a solution to the transparency issue regarding Song Girl Gate and the Athletic Department's obsession with squeezing out every last dollar from the fan base...open the Song Girl tryouts to the public and charge $10.00 for admission. Bam! How's that for creative marketing and public relations! The Athletic Department could print up some commemorative t-shirts (size XXL and larger, of course) and sell them to rabid fans in attendance. Boom! Mo Money, Mo Money, Mo Money!

How's that for an idea?

Dear El Capitán,
I hereby declare on behalf of all USC alumni, students, and faculty that JamesUSC99 is far superior to you in every way -and so is everyone else including Miguelito. Relax compadre, you just need to have some Metamucil so you can go poo-poo. Tomorrow everything will be fine!
Thank you.

Let me chime in on this issue:

Every single USC student, alumnus and alumna is superior in each and every way to El Capitan. This is an unequivocal statement.

All Trojans feel and know that El Capitan is inferior to them.

I want to declare for all the world to see that every single USC student and graduate throughout history is superior to El Capitan.

Allow me to reiterate that - every single USC student and graduate throughout history is superior to El Capitan. Every single one.

The pets of all USC students and graduates are superior to El Capitan. That includes every dog owned by a Trojan. Even a very sick dog owned by a USC student and graduate, who is on his last legs and will be dying soon, is superior to El Capitan.

Goldfish owned by USC students and graduates are superior to El Capitan.

Bottom line - every single USC student and graduate, as well as their pets, are superior to El Capitan and always will be.

I have a wet towel on the floor of my bathroom that is also superior to the captain.

I heard Traveler was recently ill and threw up. His vomit was superior to El Capitan!

Last night, I ate Indian food and what I flushed down the toilet this morning, that was superior to El Capitan!!!

Loca pendeja:
Forget that compadre BS. I don't know WHY you insist...
You sell yourself to anybody...

I came across this entry you wrote the day before the Stanford game, entitled "Lights Out":

"It's safe to say you can judge an opponent by what time the lights go out in the football office. And the week of the Idaho and Stanford games, the lights went out earlier than Nebraska and Washington State."
http://www.insidesocal.com/usc/archives/2007/10/lights-out.html

Wow, that’s pretty damn significant. How much earlier did the coaches leave the week before Stanford? How did you predict the staff’s lack of preparation would affect the game? Talk about taking an opponent lightly…

Dear El Capitán,
Call me Loco; but I think JamesUSC99, SC'09, javors, TrojanAnnenberg2001, The Voodoo Walk, Manhattan Beach Trojan, and JasonSC, would agree that no USC graduate, student, faculty member, employee, or fan should ever be your compadre.

Thoughts on ESPN rating USC as the 132nd most prestigious basketball team to play for in the last 24 years, behind such traditional powerhouses as Iona (MAAC), Ohio (MAC), and Northeastern (Colonial)?

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3481843

Scott, with the ongoing decline of newspapers, how do you see the future of sports print journalism? Thanx.

Loca:
Quit your damn rear-end kissing. If they have something to say let them. Your hypocritical Bool$#*T stinks. Humiliating another person because that person didn't attend USC is not an excuse. I dislike a lot of people including you. Is that a reason for me to humiliate you? NO. Yet you joined their [humiliation crusade]. Don't insult my intelligence with that crap that your so called friends don't want to be my "compadre". That is way different from stating that they are "better" than me. According to you you are a Mexican, to them another Mexican to be disliked. Smell the roses you ignorant payaso and quit selling yourself to them as well as you kissing their A$$*S. You will always be a Mexican to them, period.

El Capitán,
Still here? Here’s a little advice: When people say horse vomit is better than you (see above) it means you need to work on your people skills.
Listen fool, I have always been treated respectfully because I respect myself and others, and I know how to take a little joke. Mexico is the land of my parents, but I am a Red Blooded American first and a Trojan second. You are neither.
If you don’t like it here go back to whatever banana republic you came from.

LOCA:
You are a coward with a big mouth. You will NOT say any of that garbage to my face: NEVER.
I was born an American citizen. I did NOT have to cross any borders or work in any farm to become an American citizen. I regret to throw that in your face. You deserve it because you forced the issue. Open your fat mouth when you have evidence to support your fecal content OK tortilla face? I don't come from any banana republic that means NO green cards or anything else. That is a battle you'll lose before it starts fajita!

Just so everyone can understand the effect Tricia Pillsbury had on the male gender while a USC Song Girl, I had this exchange with her when our bicycles were locked next to each other outside Doheny...

Me: "Hi, you're Tricia, the cheerleader?"
Tricia: "Yes, that's right" (smiling but wary)
Me: "So, are you going to the football game this Saturday?"
Tricia: "Uh, yeah..."
Me: "Great, maybe I'll see you there!"

Stupidest thing I've ever said while weak in the presence of beauty. So here's hoping the whole issue makes sense now.