March 2009 Archives

Martin Coleman is back from Tonga and back with the football team after more than a week's delay.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo defeated USC 7-5 tonight in the Trojans' first road game since March 8. It was not an upset, however, because Cal Poly is ranked No. 23.

Jeremy Bates on the QB competition after two spring practices: ``It's still wide open.''

As a former student and someone who spends quite a bit of time around campus, I continue to wonder why USC will not build a pedestrian bridge at the intersection of Jefferson and Hoover where freshman Adrianna Bachan was tragically killed by a hit-and-run driver.
And it's not just there. What about on Figueroa, where athletes cross daily to go to the Galen Center. Not to mention fans who attend basketball games.

There was a gas leak today at the Lucas Cinema Building. Even the new buildings are not immune from problems.

A mixed day for Matt Barkley, who had two passes intercepted by Drew McAllister. Mitch Mustain threw an interception at the end of practice. Both quarterbacks also had some good moments.
Right now, Barkley looks a lot like he did at Mater Dei. He makes some very impressive throws and also throws some interceptions.[EP
``He made a statement to after practice that he needs to learn to check the ball down (and throw to the running backs),'' quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates said. ``You've got to take what they give you. He's very hard on himself.''

A question about Chris Claiborne in this segment.

Tim Floyd's name is already popping up regarding the Memphis job. My first thought is he would not want the stress of following John Calipari and expectations from going to three of the past four Elite Eights.

Washington opens spring practice today. Is this the true test of the Win Forever philosophy?

Finally a question about the Euro rankings.

An interesting question here about the QB competition.

Back to the football questions.

Basketball questions in this segment.

Here's more reaction on the hit-and-run that claimed the life of student Adrianna Bachan from Celeste Fremon's WitnessLA website.

I talked to Amanda Pflugrad yesterday and she said she looks at the blog and is very flattered by the readers' support. She also reports her father is currently volunteer coaching at Montana. I will once again suggest to Pete Carroll to make the necessary hire.

How much will the offense really change under Jeremy Bates?

Mitch Mustain talks about this year's quarterback competition and his frustration with last season.

There's really no other Pro Day like USC's, apparently, even after it got switched to a week day amid NFL teams complaints about the circus atmosphere for the 2006 version. The NFL Network is bringing its top guns, Mike Mayock and Charles Davis, while ESPN is bringing Todd McShay.

I'm thinking of having people hand out sheets of paper with this blog's address on it after seeing Pete Carroll used a similar strategy for his web site at Saturday's practice. Win Forever!

No word yet if there will be an encore performance of last year's youtube production of the walk-on tryouts.

I'm always impressed with football players who run track (unlike Pete Carroll). Tailback D.J. Morgan of Taft High in Woodland Hills, who committed to USC already, ran a wind-legal, state-leading 14.46 to set a meet record in the 110 hurdles at Percy Knox Invitational last weekend.

Oregon State plays UTEP tonight in the College Basketball Invitational's best of three championship series. By the way, nine different Pac-10 teams have competed in the NCAA Tournament over the past two seasons.

Since spring practice is a time for experiments, how about putting Taylor Mays at linebacker to see how it goes? Mays wants to make more plays in the box and is as big as any linebacker. And with Drew McAllister and Josh Pinkard avaliable at safety, you could give the linebacker corps a boost and still have quality at safety.

This segment includes a question about position changes.

USC is off today but returns to practice tomorrow.

More questions about the receiving rotation.

If USC does not make the postseason in baseball, it will mark the sixth time in seven years the Trojans do not advance to the NCAA Tournament.

Remember you can follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/InsideUSC.

It's time to answer questions after a two-week hiatus from one of our most-popular features.

A USC football player has still not returned from spring break.

USC defeats Arizona State 8-2 as Robert Stock wins his first college start. The Trojans are 11-12 overall and go on the road for the next four games after playing 19 of the first 23 at home.

A hit-and-run occurred at one of the most-used intersections for pedestrians at USC this weekend, killing one student and injuring another.

Former Butkus Award winner Chris Claiborne is back in Southern California and attended yesterday's practice. Claiborne said he has spoken to the coaches about helping out in some capacity and is interested in coaching one day.

Outside linebacker Malcolm Smith appears bigger than last season but he said he is the same size.
``My jersey is cut tighter,'' Smith said. ``That's why.''

If you did not ask a question in the Open Forum, here's another chance. One per person please.

The word at yesterday's practice was that tight end Xavier Grimble of Las Vegas was actually considering committing to USC during his weekend visit.

Here's the story in today's paper on yesterday's practice, which includes how Everson Griffen and Anthony McCoy were held out of practice for missing a 6 a.m. workout.

The Trojans scored the first run but No. 3-ranked Arizona State had too much quality to be held down. USC catcher Robert Stock makes his first career start as a pitcher tomorrow as the Trojans try to avoid a sweep.
That 13-game homestand intended to rig the season ends Sunday with the Trojans 6-6 on it. USC is 10-12 overall and 1-4 in the Pac-10.

Tight end Xavier Grimble (6-foot-5, 245 pounds) of Las Vegas attended practice. Grimble lists USC as one of his top choices and is expected to make his college choice before the season.

Today was not exactly a rousing start for the kickers. Joe Houston had a kick blocked, missed another and made one field goal. Jordan Congdon made his first attempt than missed his next two.

Here's some reaction from Matt Barkley:
``I was having a blast out there. I thought I did OK. I didn't think it was too bad for a first day. The timing (is something to work on), I'm still trying to get used to the individual receivers and routes.
``I have to get used to checking down to the running backs and letting them do their thing. We've got some great running backs.''

We continue our tradition of ranking the quarterbacks during open competition. Despite the recent resurgence of the dollar, we still use Euros here with 4 Euros being excellent and 1 Euro meaning it's time to transfer.
Here's today's rankings:

Aaron Corp €€€ (three Euros)
Mitch Mustain €€* (2.5 Euros)
Matt Barkley €€* (2.5 Euros)

Also in attendance today: Cleveland Browns coach Eric Mangini, who is here for a Nike clinic. Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops was also supposed to attend but had not arrived yet because of transportation problems.

The longest practice is spring is finally over. New QB coach Jeremy Bates said it was one of the fastest practices he's ever been in (of course). No earth-shattering developments at quarterback although Matt Barkley was first up in the rotation during the team scrimmage portion.
Among those in attendance: Chris Claiborne, Keary Colbert, Chilo Rachal, Rey Maualuga, Patrick Turner, Brian Cushing.

As spring practice opens today, it's clear the quarterbacks like a coaching change.

The quarterbacks are also happier with the new coaching setup because Jeremy Bates is focused exclusively on the quarterbacks even though he calls plays because wide receivers coach John Morton is technically the offensive coordinator.
``He's a lot more focused on us because he's not technically the offensive coordinator,'' Aaron Corp said. ``I really like it. It will help me and the rest of the quarterbacks.''

Pete Carroll on choosing a quarterback.
``If I had my druthers, I'd rather have it settled by the end of the spring. I don't know that it will take place.''

All four quarterbacks are expected to receive snaps with the first team before any decisions are made on who gets more.
``They said we all would get a chance the first few days,'' Aaron Corp said. ``And that we'd all take reps with the 1's, 2's and 3's.''

Quarterback Aaron Corp will start spring practice at 206 pounds, which means he gained about six pounds since the Rose Bowl.

Offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates never recruited before because he's always coached in the NFL.
``All the assistant coaches are helping me out,'' Bates said. ``It's important because in recruiting it's like you're trying to sign 22-25 first-round draft picks.''

Offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates is purposely keeping his distance from the Jay Cutler controversy in Denver. Cutler wanted Bates retained and subsequently demanded to be traded when he learned the Broncos brought his name up in trade talks.
``I've kept my nose down and my head in the playbook,'' Bates said. ``I can say I had a great experience with Denver and Jay.''

This is the first time offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates has owned a cell phone. He needs one at USC for recruiting purposes, of course.

One thing that will help Matt Barkley is spring practice is a similarity between USC's offense and the offense he ran at Mater Dei.
``We ran some of the same concepts at Mater Dei,'' Barkley said. ``The playcalling won't be foreign.''

Defensive tackle Armond Armstead will start the first couple weeks at defensive end to see if he is fast enough to play on the outside. Why switch someone who enjoyed a nice freshman season at tackle?
It's viewed as a chance to see if the four best players on the defensive line might be Armstead, Christian Tupou, Jurrell Casey/Averell Spicer and Everson Griffen.

Linebacker Chris Galippo, who had mononucleosis but is now recovered, will undergo an ultra sound today on his spleen as a precautionary measure to make sure he is 100 percent before spring practice starts.

Although the Denver Broncos were primarily a shotgun offense, offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates said today he expects USC to only use the shotgun on t hird down if the quarterbacks prefer it. Bates said the quarterback will remain under center on first and second down.

Tailback Joe McKnight's dislocated toes are feeling better and Pete Carroll said he expects McKnight to return about a week into spring drills.

It's still way too soon to tell officially, but sources say as of right now, DeMar DeRozan is leaning toward turning pro.

It's time for another one of these too. One question per person please.

Oregon State plays UTEP in the CBI championship, which is a best two-of-three final. That means the Beavers, if they win the title, would actually win 18 games this season. Isn't it great to have 100 different postseason tournaments?

Aside from the QB battle, what's the biggest question of spring practice?

We've got a lot to catch up on, especially with spring practice starting Saturday. One question per person please.

USC's dropped from third to 12th place in the latest directors' cup standings for the nation's best overall sports program.

Here's another picture of the blog's No. 1 cheerleader, Amanda Pflugrad, at the Pac-10 Tournament. Photo by Mario Villegas.

We hear women's basketball coach Mark Trakh's expressed interest in the Long Beach State job, which is currently vacant. That should tell you where things are headed regarding Trakh's future at USC.

USC entered today's doubleheader with Brown ranked No. 262 out of 287 teams in fielding percentage. And with an RPI of 102, between Pacific and North Florida.

USC trailed lowly Brown 3-2 in the eighth before it scored four runs to take a 7-3 lead entering the ninth. But the Trojans have committed five errors.

Larry Scott was apparently the fourth choice to be Pac-10 commissioner (sound familiar USC fans?).
He certainly doesn't seem to have the same background as Greg Shaheen, who turned down the job twice.
By the way, this wasn't the ideal scenario for Pete Carroll. His buddy, former Stanford athletic director Ted Leland, was at one time a frontrunner for the job.

The Pac-10 might have flamed out in the NCAA Tournament (except Arizona), but look who is dominating the mighty College Basketball Invitational: Stanford plays Oregon State tonight in a semifinal.

Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez is the latest to succumb and add a twitter feed (http://twitter.com/UM_CoachRod). As usual, every day is a great day so far.
What's going to happen on these twitter feeds when some of these guys start losing?

USC coach Tim Floyd said forward Taj Gibson needs another year to get stronger before going to the NBA. But no one is mentioning that Gibson turns 24 in June, so how much weight would he really gain at that age if he waits to turn pro? And how much will it hurt his NBA stock if he waits and becomes a 25-year-old rookie a year from now?

The Pac-10 hired Larry Scott, the chief executive and chairman of the WTA, as its new commissioner. This will either be one of those brilliant outside the box hires or prove the Pac-10 doesn't get it (again) as it brings in someone with no experience dealing with college football.
It's certainly a hire the SEC would not make.

ESPN reports that none of its 5 million entries for its NCAA Tournament brackets picked all of the first two rounds correctly. Eight brackets picked 46 of the 48 games correctly.
And only 382,802 entries (8.3 percent) predicted USC would defeat Michigan State in the second round.

One thing that caught my attention a couple days back was the Chicago Tribune story on Wonderlic scores: Clay Matthews scored a 27, Brian Cushing a 23 and Rey Maualuga a 15.
Did NFL teams really need a test to figure this out?
The Tribune reported, ``Maualuga's score is slightly troubling considering he likely will be a middle linebacker who is asked to call the defenses.''

These are the rest of the last forum that I didn't get a chance to answer.

A UCLA baseball team that had won only five games this season came to Dedeaux Field and outscored USC 36-7 in three games while winning two. USC is currently 8-10 overall but relief comes today as the Trojans host a doubleheader today with 2-8 Brown.

I want to thank Jill Painter and Ramona Shelburne for doing a cracking job while I was away. So let's get things off to a flying start by giving away a Rose Bowl DVD. This week's question: If USC retired the jersey of a non-Heisman Trophy winner, who would deserve it most? Email answers to scott.wolf@dailynews.com. Answers must be 20 words or less. Deadline is Friday at 4 p.m.

Thanks for letting me keep you up to date here on this USC blog. You guys have been great. Scott will return shortly.

It's becoming kind of fun to follow Pete Carroll's twitter feed. He's not Shaqtastic just yet, but I gotta say his posts are getting better.

Today we learned that the defensive coaches beat the offensive coaches in a little pickup hoops game at the Galen Center 46-41. That's pretty high scoring for pick up ball, they must've been playing for a while to score 87 points.

How did PC fare?

``My jumper was off today but I'm just glad to be a part of the winning team!''

Seeing as how they are the last Pac-10 team left, I was curious if you all were rooting for Arizona in its Sweet 16 matchup with Louisville.

For those who've always wondered about the infamous Wonderlic test, here's a link to a sample test. Post your scores in the comments. The real scores.... not whatever embarrassing score you got, plus 10, divided by 3 and then multiplied by 4.

For those who need a warmup, take that equation I just made up, make 11 the embarrassing score you got. The answer will be in the comments....

Here's today's story on what USC's basketball team will look like next year. Too many question marks to tell!

Matt Stafford is ranked by most analysts as the No. 1 QB in the draft. Mark Sanchez No. 2 and Kansas State's Josh Freeman No. 3.

That's how they lined up on the Wonderlic intelligence test too. Stafford scored a 38 out of 50 possible points, Sanchez a 28 and Freeman a 27. All of those are considered pretty good scores, though some skeptics might think Stafford's is a bit too high. That's right, too high.

Mark Sanchez has private workouts lined up with the Jaguars, Colts, Jets and Redskins. There could be more, but those are the only four that are public right now.

The Detroit Lions, who hold the No. 1 overall pick, are planning to watch him at USC's Pro Day on April 1. That's a day after the Lions are scheduled to watch Georgia QB Matthew Stafford in a private workout.

In other news, Pete Carroll tweeted this afternoon that he's been talking with ``NFL scouts about some of our seniors who are heading to the League...''

Wonder if that includes Sanchez, who left after his junior season, but fourth year on campus?

I asked DeMar DeRozan if he felt for Taj Gibson and if he figured the end of his season would affect his decision to come back.
``There's no telling what Taj will do either, especially being in that same predicament the last few years (fouling out in the NCAA Tournament),'' DeRozan said. ``I really feel for him.''
Gibson said one of the reasons he returned for his junior season was because of USC's loss to Kansas State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year.

DeMar DeRozan said he hasn't decided when he'll make his decision about returning to play at USC for his sophomore season or making the jump to the NBA.
``There's no timeframe,'' he said. ``I want to get a chance to sit down with my coach and my family and see how I feel from there.''

Spring football starts Saturday. Beside the quarterback competition, what are you most looking forward to about spring football? Any particular player or battle at a position other than quarterback?

In case you're still mulling over USC's loss, here's the transcript from the press conference last night.

Here are today's stories on USC's loss to Michigan State last night. Check out the game story and column.

USC's loss to Michigan State is probably still stinging. I asked DeMar DeRozan last night when he would watch the film, and he said it might be a while because it would be too tough. I'm traveling on my way back today, but I can't wait to watch the game again as well. Officials sure don't have the benefit of replay when it comes to calls, but I'd love to check out Taj Gibson's final two fouls as well as the play in which Daniel Hackett lost the ball with under two minutes left.

Mike Garrett was at the NCAA Tournament games and in the locker room after today's game.
Asked what he thought of USC's performance, Garrett said: ``We are 'SC. We played like Trojans.''
Asked to expand on that, Garrett said: ``Courage and diginity. Everybody knows what that means.''

I'll have more on this tomorrow, but DeMar DeRozan and Taj Gibson said they haven't made a decision on whether they'll return to USC next year or jump to the NBA.

Taj Gibson scored only three points and fouled out of the game for USC, which hung in there most of the game. It was tied with 3:53 left. Travis Walton scored 18 points. Dwight Lewis scored 19 and DeMar DeRozan added 18. Arizona is the only Pac-10 team to make the Sweet 16.

Join the chat room during USC's second-round NCAA Tournament game against Michigan State. The game starts approximately 30 minutes after the Kansas-Dayton game. Should be around 4 p.m.

I was on a hotel elevator with some USC fans earlier, and one lady was gushing about USC's win over UCLA in the Pac-10 Tournament. She was proclaiming it was the best win of the season. Really? I would think USC fans would be gushing over that first-round NCAA Tournament win over BC. Wonder if she'd say the same thing if USC beats Michigan State to get to the Sweet 16.

Do you think USC can upset No. 2 seed Michigan State? Michigan State is a four-point favorite.
As per usual, I'll have a live blog chat from Minneapolis this afternoon.

Here's a story I worte on Tom Izzo and Tim Floyd and a notebook previewing today's game.

Tom Izzo is quite a personality and popular among fans, media and coaches. ``He's one of the good guys,'' Tim Floyd said yesterday.
I'm staying at the same hotel as Michigan State, and Izzo just walked through the lobby. A couple of kids ran up to him and he gave them high-fives, then posed with another fan for a picture.
I heard one assistant telling a couple of players that he heard many college basketball experts were picking USC - a 10 seed - to beat No. 2 seed Michigan State.
The player said it wouldn't be the first time.

Taj Gibson's perfect night from the field, in which he made all 10 of his shots, was close to an NCAA Tournament record but not quite. Kentucky's Kenny Walker went 11 for 11 against Western Kentucky on 3/16/1986. Gibson is one of three players to have a perfect 10 for 10 performance in an NCAA Tournament game. The others are:
Marvin Barnes, Prov. 10-10 Penn. 3/15/1973
Christian Laettner, duke 10-10 KY 3/28/1992
Taj Gibson, USC 10-10 BC 3/20/2009
Also, Gibson's 10-for-10 performance was a USC single-game record for best shooting percentage in a game with at least 10 shots. The previous record of 10 of 11 shots happened four times, the latest by Lorenzo Orr in 1993.

USC and Michigan State both have dealt with injuries this year, although the Spartans played better through injuries. USC's injuries haven't gone unnoticed by Tom Izzo.
``I heard USC has had even more and maybe doesn't have as much depth, so maybe that's a big reason why they weren't as good during the year,'' Izzo said last night. ``Now, with everybody back, they looked awfully good. I didn't see the last eight minutes when they really pulled away.''

Cal might have lost its first-round NCAA Tournament game, but the rest of the Pac-10 won. The conference was 5-1 in first-round games with wins from USC, UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State and Washington. And everyone, right up to the President, said the conference was down.

Michigan State was complimentary of USC after its first-round victory over Robert Morris last night. USC played before Michigan State, so the Spartans had a chance to watch some of USC's victory. I'll have more on the matchup today from the Metrodome as both teams host news conferences. Stayed tuned.

Here's my game story and notebook on USC's 72-55 win over Boston College last night.

USC will play No. 2 seed Michigan State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday in Minneapolis. Early predictions?

Taj Gibson made all 10 of his shots and scored a game-high 24 points while Dwight Lewis had an unbelievable defensive game against Tyrese Rice, holding him to nine points. Oh yeah, Lewis scored 20 points to boot. USC moves on to the second round. More later tonight.

Join me live from Minneapolis for a chat for the USC-Boston College first-round NCAA Tournament game.

Is this a good omen for the Trojans? Who knows. At least it's not snowing. A colleague of mine who lives here in Minneapolis was beyond happy that it wasn't snowing and that there's no trace of snow on the ground. She figures this is good for tourism.

Here are the transcripts of BC's news conference from yesterday.

Here's the transcript of USC's news conference from yesterday. Enjoy! It should keep you busy until the 4:20 p.m. tip.

OK, what's the final score? I'll be hosting a live chat during the game as well.

Just an FYI. Spring practice starts next Saturday. Here is the schedule. All practices are open to the public unless it's noted.

March 28, Saturday, 10:30 a.m.
March 31, Tuesday, 4 p.m.
April 2, Thursday, 4 p.m.
April 3, Friday, 4 p.m.
April 5, Sunday, TBA
April 7, Tuesday, 4 p.m.
April 9, Thursday, 4 p.m.
April 11, Saturday, Coliseum (CLOSED to the public)
April 14, Tuesday, 4 p.m.
April 16, Thursday, 4 p.m.
April 17, Friday, 4 p.m.
April 18, Saturday, TBA
April 21, Tuesday, 4 p.m.
April 23, Thursday, 4 p.m.
April 25, Saturday, Trojan Huddle at the Coliseum (Time TBA)

Here's Jill's preview story on today's game as well as a view from the other side, courtesy of my buddy Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.

How's the game playing in Beantown?

Bulpett writes that guard Tyrese Rice and the Eagles ``are used to fighting for attention, even in their hometown.''

"I pretty much got used to it," Rice said. "I got used to playing and being like the fifth- or sixth-ranked team in Boston. So flying under the radar, we try to use that to our advantage. When we come out and play against schools like the Carolinas and the Dukes who have 20-30,000 people who follow them, I mean, flying under the radar is what makes us who we are. We're just trying to keep it that way."

USC guard Daniel Hackett was asked if BC's Tyrese Rice reminds him of anyone in the Pac-10?

``Not really, because well, maybe Taylor Rochestie from Washington State. But Tyrese, I think he has more talent them him. It kind of reminds me of my AAU teammate Brandon Jennings a little bit, playing overseas right now.''

USC practiced at Concordia today in Minnesota for about an hour and a half. No injuries to report. Also, the Trojans had their news conference and mandatory practice at the Metrodome. They'll have a shootaround tomorrow morning at Concordia before their night game against Boston College.

Linebacker Michael Morgan recently ran a 4.3 in the 40.

Morgan, Chris Galippo and Malcolm Smith are the favorites to start at LB heading into spring practice.

Cal just lost to Maryland.

Washington and Mississippi State are just underway.

Will President Obama prove correct in his prediction that the Pac-10 won't win a game in the NCAA tournament?

Demar DeRozan is currently 10th in the latest nbadraft.net mock draft. Taj Gibson has moved up to the beginning of the second round after his stellar Pac-10 tournament.

Here's a column by Mike Waldneron Tim Floyd deserving credit for the Trojans' success.

On Friday, I'll post an entry for your predictions for the final score of the USC-Boston College game. For now, tell me who your pick is to win the NCAA Tournament. State your case. By the way, this is a reminder to finish your office-pool brackets. They're due early tomorrow morning.

I didn't see this, but a reader e-mailed to tell me that Mark Sanchez picked Aaron Corp to win the quarterback competition in an ESPN chat. Thoughts?

This is from Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel on President Barack Obama picking Syracuse to upset Oklahoma in the Sweet Sixteen.
``I'll let the President stick to running the country, and I'll stick to coaching my team,'' Capel said from Kansas City.
Obama's bracket is one hot topic today.

No. 10 seed USC is a 2 1/2-point favorite over No. 7 seed Boston College.

Here's what sophomore Malik Jackson said about the competition on defense in some of the spring workouts.

``I don't know what it is about this year, but everybody has been looking good. it's going to be hard for the coaches to choose starters.''

USC is playing in the NCAA Tournament for the 15th time in school history and fifth time since 2001. The Trojans lost to Kansas State in the first round last year - how could we forget because Tim Floyd mentions it all the time? In 2007, USC beat Arkansas and Texas to get to the Sweet Sixteen, then lost to North Carolina as a No. 5 seed. USC is 11-16 all-time in NCAA Tournament games.

In case you missed it, Pete Carroll is back with another edition of USCRipsIt. This time he gives a lot of general sounding quotes previewing spring practice.

There is some pretty good stuff in there, including the preliminary plan to move Jeff Byers over to center while Kris O'Dowd recovers from shoulder surgery.

"The biggest thing Kristofer has to do is make sure he stays involved around the players and in meetings because we're going to move Jeff Byers in there at center and all of a sudden, competition is created and next thing you know, you could have a first-team Pac-10 guy fighting to get his job back,'' offensive line coach Pat Ruel said. ``That's the great part about competition. I think it's really important for Kristofer to stay involved because he's just around the corner from getting back. If he doesn't stay involved, you never know what can happen."

USC just started its practice today, then the team leaves for Minneapolis this afternoon. The Trojans will arrive just before 9 p.m. (local time) in Minneapolis. USC plays Boston College on Friday.

President Barack Obama filled out an NCAA bracket, and he didn't picked USC to win a game. Of course, he didn't pick UCLA to win a game, either. No love for the Pac-10! Click here to see Obama's bracket.

Lane Kiffin and Tennessee ended up being the winner in the Bryce Brown sweepstakes.

But were they a winner by default?

Just had a funny conversation with sophomore DL Malik Jackson, who wowed the coaching staff last year and got onto the field as a true freshman.

What's his biggest challenge this spring? Gaining weight.

Last time I saw him on campus Malik was up around 255. Now he's back about 248.

``I lost it. I didn't mean to. It just comes and goes,'' he said, with a laugh. ``I have to eat a lot to keep it on. I'm not used to eating so much. I gotta get my body used to it.''

Jackson said he'd like to play at around 250 next year, so that he has the option of playing on the strong side too. Right now he's behind Everson Griffen on the weakside.

Jackson said he gets into the weight room all the time, trying to increase his strength and gain weight. But the biggest issue is just eating enough to pack on the pounds.

``I eat, but you have to eat all the time,'' he said. ``I just have to get used to it.''

Hey all,

Seems like one of the most popular topics in the comments the last couple of days is speculation about Wolf's whereabouts. It's really not that complicated, though some of your theories have been pretty creative and amusing.

Scott's just off this week. He'll be back next week. Myself and Jill Painter are filling in. Jill is traveling with the basketball team so expect a lot of updates from her. I'm here in LA and will be keeping an eye on football, baseball, women's hoops, etc. Though it's unlikely you will get many cheerleader posts from either of us...

Mark Kriegel has an interesting take on the practice of coaches hiring assistants whose sons have committed to play at their university. USC leads the story.

Here is an extensive scouting report on Boston College that I wrote for today's paper, which includes more information from coaches who played the Eagles this season.
There are three scouting reports on this page, so scroll down to the second game. If you can't get enough of the tournament read up on the matchup between UCLA and Virginia Commonwealth as well as Cal State Northridge and Memphis.

In keeping with a Wolf tradition:

It might be quite a bit easier to score football tickets next year thanks to the poor economy.

I know most of the focus the next couple of weeks will be on the Trojans basketball team, but it's also one of the most important times of the year for the dozen football players hoping to make the jump to the NFL.

12 Trojans were invited to the NFL combine last month and at least 10 are expected to be drafted. Mark Sanchez, Rey Maualuga, Brian Cushing and Clay Matthews are all projected as first round picks.

In the last 10 years, SC has had 56 players drafted, including 13 first round picks. In the last three years, USC has averaged almost nine players drafted a season.

Here's an interesting quote from a recent Yahoo Sports story on the top football factories in the America:

"We could have someone in there anytime we want to see a player. They are about as open with the whole deal as you get," an AFC general manager said. "Pete [Carroll] embraces that the NFL is part of life in his kind of program. Maybe that will change with [Mark] Sanchez leaving earlier than he expected."

Here's more material on BC in an article from today's Boston Globe.

I was talking to Drexel coach James Flint about some NCAA Tournament matchups today, and during our conversation he said he really liked USC to win some games in the tournament. Even though Drexel is in Philadelphia, Flint said he stays up really late and watches a lot of Pac-10 games. Anyway, here's his scouting report on the Trojans.
``I've been pumping them up,'' Flint said. ``I like (Daniel Hackett). I think he gets it done. And I think (Dwight) Lewis is going to play better. He's been up and down. (DeMar) DeRozan played well in the tournament. With them, people don't realize they got upset in the first round. A lot of guys are back, but not O.J. Mayo. I don't remember that. I've always liked their athleticism. I know they're up and down. A lot of that had to do with Lewis being injured. Sometimes, they can't get into their rhythm.''

Jay Cutler asked to be traded from the Denver Broncos yesterday, and Denver might be interested in trading up to draft Mark Sanchez. Josh McDaniels liked former USC QB Matt Cassel so much he tried to trade for him and alienated Cuter. Could another USC product be McDaniels' answer?

USC received 24 votes in the latestESPN/USA Today poll but is not ranked.

Here's the article Phil Collin wrote on USC earning the 10th seed in the Midwest Regional and a game with No. 7 seed Boston College at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. The Trojans are saying they'll bring a good fight in this year's first-round matchup, unlike their debacle against Kansas State in the first round last year.

USC women's hoops coach Mark Trakh has reached the end of his contract with the school and no word has come from the administration about whether he will be offered a new contract.

Trakh was 90-64 in his five seasons, with two NCAA tournament appearances, but none since 2006. In those three years, his teams have been wracked by injuries to key players like Jacki Gemelos and Stefanie Gilbreath, but still won 17 games each season.

Who would coach the Women of Troy if Trakh does not return?

One name I've heard more than once is former USC star Cynthia Cooper, who is now the head coach at Prairie View A&M.

Early this morning - about 12:30 a.m. - I checked ESPN's bracketology page as I was curious to see where it had USC. Strangely enough, USC wasn't on the bracket anywhere (I checked about four times). And this after it had won the Pac-10 Tournament and earned the automatic NCAA Tournament berth that came with it. To add insult to injury, ESPN already had Cal State Northridge on the bracket even though it had barely put the finishing touches on its 11:30 p.m. Big West Tournament victory.

USC - the Pac-10 Tournament champs - received a No. 10 seed and will play No. 7 seed Boston College in Minneapolis on Friday. Sorry didn't get this up earlier, folks. I was at the other team's Selection Sunday party...but probably not who you're thinking! I was at Cal State Northridge. Anyway, what do you think of the No. 10 seed and the Trojans' chances against Boston College? If USC wins, it would play Robert Morris or No. 2 seed Michigan State in the second round.

Here is the column I wrote Tim Floyd's decision to install the fullcourt press in the second half for the first time this season. Also, here's the gamestory on USC's 66-63 victory over Arizona State in the Pac-10 Championship. USC won its first ever conference tournament title.
The selection show starts at 3 p.m. on CBS.

There won't be a viewing party for fans at the Galen Center since the Pac-10 Women's Tournament final is there. The USC women's team plays Stanford at 6 pm. at the Galen Center.

Want to know how the selection committee works and what it's thinking? Read this Q&A with UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero, who's a member of the selection committee. Guerrero has been on the committee in the past and will be the chair of the committee in 2010.

Tim Floyd has talked many times this week about how disappointed he was that USC lost to Kansas State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year. He mentioned it again Saturday.
``We'll have the opportunity to clean up what we messed up last year losing first game,'' he said.

DeMar DeRozan was named the offensive player of the tournament. He scored 25 points and added four assists in the championship game.

USC is in the NCAA Tournament, thanks to a big block by Taj Gibson on James Harden. You knew it all along, right? Riiiiiight.

USC has its work cut out for it in the second half. What happened to USC's defense? The Sun Devils shot 59 percent in the first half.

If USC beats Arizona State today, it earns an automatic bid to the tournament. A few days ago, USC was out and looking at hosting an NIT game at the Galen Center. If USC loses, do you think the Trojans have done enough to earn an at-large berth in the tournament? State your case.

As promised, it's the world-famous Oregon cheerleaders direct from the Pac-10 Tournament. Thanks to the girls for an encore to last fall's Coliseum photo. Photo by Mario Villegas.

USC beat UCLA, but again USC allowed a typical late rally. UCLA cut the deficit to five points at 60-55 with 65 seconds left. So why was the game so close?
``(Because) we didn't make free throws, and we had 24 turnovers,'' Tim Floyd said.
USC made just 16 of 30 free throws.

Marcus Simmons held Darren Collison in check and held him to four points on 1 of 9 shots. The Trojans played great team defense, holding UCLA to a 27.1 field-goal percentage. Jrue Holiday was 0 for 8. Alfred Aboya was 2 for 9. The list of UCLA's offensive woes goes on and one.
``We put one of our best defenders on (Collison), and he did a great job,'' DeMar DeRozan said of Simmons' perfromance. ``That was one of the best performances I've seen.''

DeMar DeRozan had 21 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Trojans to the upset over the Bruins. It's the first time USC has a win over UCLA in basketball since January of 2008. DeRozan had a brilliant game on defense, too. Taj Gibson had 13 points and 11 rebounds.

The winner of this game faces Arizona State in tomorrow's Pac-10 Tournament championship game.

At least one NFL mock draft has Mark Sanchez projected as the first overall pick in the draft next month. Wonder what Pete Carroll thinks about this. By the way, this is from the Sporting News Today. What do you think? Laughable? Right on?

Had a chance to ask Mike Garrett about women's hoops coach Mark Trakh's contract situation.

I asked, that is, but didn't get much of an answer.

Trakh's contract is up at the end of the year and there has been no word about a new one.

``That's something we'll discuss after the season,'' Garrett said after watching USC upset 16th-ranked Arizona State on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Pac-10 women's tournament at the Galen Center.

Hey folks...I will be one of the people filling in for Scott while he's away for a few days. I guarantee I will not be posting any cheerleader pictures.

It's a final, USC 70-ASU 65

Minor upset brewing for your Women of Troy over here at the Galen Center. 15 minutes to go in the second half.

Sparse crowd on the weekday afternoon, but actually a bit bigger than I'd anticipated. One notable fan: Mike Garrett sitting courtside.

During the postgame news conference, USC's Taj Gibson was asked about the atmosphere at Staples Center, and here's what he said:
``Our fans did a great job and stuck behind us when (Cal) made that run,'' Gibson said.
Later in the news conference, Tim Floyd responded to Gibson's statement, even though he wasn't asked about it.
``I disagree with Taj,'' Floyd said. ``It's nice to say, but about half of the building was UCLA people, and they were not pulling for us, I can tell you.''

USC doesn't have a basketball win over UCLA since Jan. 19 of 2008. USC most recently lost to UCLA 76-60 at Pauley Pavilion in February. UCLA beat USC 64-60 at the Galen Center in the first meeting this year. Last year, USC and UCLA met in the Pac-10 Tournament semifinals, and UCLA won, 57-54. Think tonight will be different?

Of Shaquille O'Neal's twittering prowess that is.

``Yo Shaq when are you coming to hang out with us here at SC? I just want to twitter as good as you,'' Carroll tweeted yesterday afternoon.

No word yet on whether THE REAL SHAQ, as he is known on the trendy social networking site, wrote him back or plans to drop by campus.

But in terms of numbers, there's no contest between the former LA hoops icon and Carroll. Shaq currently has 293,773 followers. Carroll has 2,934.

Of course Shaq's tweets are a bit more entertaining than PC's.

Compare/contrast:

THE REAL SHAQ:
A loss on my birthday, hong kong fuey, aghhh, agggh , agggh

I'm n the mia on the beach whoever touches me gets 2 ticket u have 30 min

shaqntifficaly iimpossible, I just googled it

haven't been sleep yet. Shaqsomnia

the movie push, ok I admit I gotta bootleg version, shhh dnt tell anybody

PETE CARROLL:
Liking my new iPhone... This is sweet!!

Heading out to Staples for the Pac-10 tourney... let's go Trojans, beat the bears!!!

Loving The Doors' "Back Door Man" today...

Manny's officially back!! Now the baseball season can truly begin!!!

Any USC student can get a $10 ticket for tomorrow's game against the UCLA-Washington State winner by showing a valid student ID at the Staples Center box office. The teams play at 8:30 p.m. in the semifinals.

This was a wild one, but USC prevailed. Will have more later. And by the way, Pete Carroll is here.

Cal just went on a 13-2 run to pull within five points at 54-49. After a steal and emphatic dunk by Patrick Christopher, Tim Floyd called a timeout to stop the bleeding. But has the damage already been done? USC had a 16-point lead early in the second half.

Do you think USC will hold on? Taj Gibson has 14 points and eight rebounds.
Already, words were exchanged near the end of the first half when Nikola Vucevic was knocked down on a play. Cal's Jorge Gutierrez stood over him for a few extra seconds, and then players converged. Nothing happened, however.

Back to the Tings.

The Song Girls Forum continues.

I highly going to the Galen Center tonight for the Oregon-Washington game. Where would you rather be? Staples Center?

If you want updates on the Pac-10 Tournament, here's a good blog to read.

The Oregon cheerleaders will be at the Galen Center tonight at 6 for the Ducks-Washington women's basketball game.

I'm sorry to report that the MTV series featuring the Oregon cheerleaders did not proceed because the university prevented it for legal reasons. MTV instead used the Arizona cheerleaders.

We hear ESPN conducted a very contentious interview with a USC coach last week for its ``Outside the Lines,'' program. It will be interesting to see if the video actually airs.

I got a chance to speak to Amanda Pflugrad several times last night and can happily report that she will be a member of next year's Oregon cheer squad. I also talked to her about her popularity on this blog, which she thought was quite a compliment. The whole Ducks squad was very polite and generous, as usual, and we hope to have some pictures soon.

Former USC star guard Gus Williams at L.A. Live. Former USC coach George Raveling in his usual courtside seat. USC guard DeMar DeRozan at the Oregon-Washington State game. USC assistant coaches Gib Arnold and Bob Cantu at the same game. And, of course, the Oregon cheerleaders.

If you are near Staples Center, Amanda Pflugrad is in attendance at tonight's Oregon-Washington State game.

USC coach Tim Floyd said today if the Trojans win two games in the Pac-10 Tournament they could make the NCAA Tournament. That would leave USC with a 20-13 record, which seems quite a stretch for an at-large bid.

I'm starting to think we might need a Tings Forum with all the questions.

One scenario being considered for spring practice is having Marshall Jones practice at both cornerback and safety.

Details of our next DVD Giveaway.

ESPN will air Georgia's spring game on April 11 and televise Alabama's A-Day spring game the following weekend on April 18. USC's spring scrimmage from the Coliseum will be on TrojanTV.

Former USC defensive end Trey Henderson threw the hammer 210-feet, 4-inches last weekend at Cal State Fullerton. For some perspective, that would have been the fourth-best mark in the Pac-10 last season.

Even more answers to more questions.

Besides Shaun Cody, another interesting choice for most important player in the Pete Carroll era was cornerback Kris Richard for his interception against Arizona that started the winning streak at the end of the 2001 regular season.

That statue of former Syracuse great Ernie Davis commissioned by athletic director Daryl Gross that somehow ended up wearing a pair of Nike cleats even though Davis played before existed finally got fixed.

If Lane Kiffin told recruit Alshon Jeffrey he would pump gas the rest of his life if he went to South Carolina, what did he say about Tennessee? Come here and you'll be able to hire your father and brother-in-law? Or USC? Go there and you can take credit for the big-time recruits?

USC's team batting average is .224 through 11 games.

Mike Gillespie's Anteaters pulled out the victory in extra innings. USC led 5-4 with two outs in the ninth and an 0-2 count but UC Irvine got a game-tying hit and then scored in the 12th. USC dropped to 4-7 in the first of its 13-game homestand.
Gillespie is 3-0 against USC.

Oakland (not the Raiders) is leading North Dakota State 55-46 with 10:50 left in the Summit League Tournament. North Dakota State is USC's best non-conference victory.

OK, we've got the first winner to our DVD Giveaway. Here's the winning entry to who was the most important player of the Pete Carroll era.

This segment is brought to you by the NIT/CBI, which hopes to host a game at the Galen Center next week.

I'm going through the DVD emails and I'm pleasantly surprised to see Shaun Cody is the overwhelming favorite as the most important player of the Pete Carroll era, far ahead of Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush.

I hope this letter was typed correctly so that no one got fired afterward.

A reader asked earlier in the forum why USC is not being mentioned like Arizona regarding the NCAA Tournament?
Here's a few reasons: Arizona has a better RPI. Arizona beat San Diego State, Gonzaga and Kansas in non-conference play. Arizona beat Washington and UCLA.
Arizona won 8 of its past 12 games. Arizona is 5-9 on road/neutral courts. USC is 3-10.

Who's going to the big Mike Gillespie-Chad Kreuter tilt tonight?

Here's my fake twitter update: ``Does it get any better than Answer Tuesday? What a great day!''

More questions, more answers.

Which players need to make improvements for next season to be a success?

Quite a few participants complained about the chat format last night. So I'll make this spot available for comments on whether it was better or worse than the format we've used the past few weeks.

A question here about whether the Galen Center's affect on basketball attendance.

One question per person please.

Lane Kiffin's comments to former USC commit Alshon Jeffrey were a topic in our five-hour chat.

``Kiffin told Jeffrey that if he chose the Gamecocks, he would end up pumping gas for the rest of his life like all the other players from that state who had gone to South Carolina.
``Jeffrey was doing his best to stay awake at that point, but that comment from Kiffin woke him up. He clearly hasn't forgotten it, either. `He said it, but it's not worth talking about,' Jeffrey said.''

Don't forget we'll probably do a chat tonight around 10.

After a break, back to the answers!

We will announce the winner of the Rose Bowl DVD Giveaway tomorrow morning.

We'll hold our first old-style chat tonight around 10 p.m.

More Ting questions. Go figure.

We're still waiting to award sponsorship rights for our podium.

Remember to follow us at twitter.com/InsideUSC.

How come the Pac-10 doesn't do this?
Eight Big West mascots, including reigning champ Peter the Anteater, will compete for conference bragging rights this Thursday at ESPN Zone in the Downtown Disney as they compete in the eighth annual Big West Mascot Mayhem.
Mascots will participate, fully costumed, in five events: tug-o-war, hula hoop, basketball free-throw shooting, horse racing, and arm wrestling.
By the way, what would USC use now that it fired the Trojan that used to attend basketball games? Submit suggestions here.
Full list of mascots after the jump.

.

In honor of the Pac-10 Tournament, it's the Oregon cheerleaders.

Forward Taj Gibson was named the Pac-10's defensive player of the year. Here's the other conference honors.

A football and basketball question for perfect balance in this segment.

UC Irvine comes to Dedeaux Field on Tuesday night as Mike Gillespie returns to USC and faces his son-in-law, Chad Kreuter.

I was prepared to offer a review of the new pub next to the Galen Center, ``The Lab.'' But it closed at 9 p.m. On a Saturday. On the night of a home basketball game.

It's a big week at USC. The basketball teams are playing in the Pac-10 Tournaments just a few miles apart on Figueroa Street and the baseball team is starting its 13-game homestand. That is not a misprint. Thirteen games. It's called a job-preservation schedule.

USC went 15-2 at the Galen Center this season, it's best winning percentage (.882) since going 14-1 (.933) in 1991-92.
But let's look closer at the numbers. Here's the RPI of the non-conference opponents the Trojans defeated at home this season: San Francisco (250), Oral Roberts (144), UC Irvine (230). Tennessee-Martin (141), North Dakota State (94), New Mexico State (120), Georgia Tech (153) and Pepperdine (275).
That's not a non-conference schedule, it's a non-schedule.
And in Pac-10 play, there was Oregon (168) and Oregon State (143). The Trojans defeated two teams in the top 50 at home: Cal (33) and Arizona State (34).

An NBA scout said today that DeMar DeRozan's draft stock remains high especially with the way he's played late in the season and the fact he will be selected more on potential than performance. It still seems more likely than not he will test the NBA waters.

``Manny's officially back!! Now the baseball season can truly begin!!!''

This is from Pete Carroll's twitter feed. And he is a lifelong Giants fan, so you figure it out.

From Steve Sarkisian's twitter: ``Washington's got some great dentists. My tooth feels much better''

The USC women's basketball team faces Arizona State on Friday at 11 a.m. at the Galen Center in the quarterfinals of the Pac-10 Tournament at the Galen Center. Like the USC's men's basketball team, the women were 9-9 in conference and finished sixth.
Here's the full schedule.

USC's strength of schedule dropped from No. 14 to No. 31 in three days thanks to a weekend against the Oregon schools.

Despite Keith Castillo's 3 RBI, the Trojans fall to Tulane in New Orleans. Chad Kreuter is now 4-6 overall.

This is for stragglers who did not ask a question in the Open Forum. One per person please.

USC defeats Oregon State and Tim Floyd offers some spin on behalf of the Trojans while Terence Green talks about his clutch 3-pointer at the end of the game in his final home appearance.

``USC is a very talented team,'' Oregon State coach Craig Robinson said. ``At least two of those guys are pros and will play in the NBA and at least two more will play either in the NBA or Europe.''
Comments like that might make Tim Floyd cringe because it sounds like more talent than a sixth-place finish. Or a 2-6 record against the top four teams in the conference. Or two road wins in conference play.

Here's the pairings for the Pac-10 Tournament with a possible USC-UCLA matchup in the semifinals.

Tim Floyd did not insert forward Leonard Washington until 2:10 remained in the first half. Asked why Washington was held out, Floyd said, ``I had my reason but I don't want to share it with you.''

Senior walk-on Terence Green hit a three-pointer at the end of the game as the Trojans pulled away in the second half. USC plays Cal on Thursday night at 6 p.m. at Staples Center in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

USC shot 30 percent and Oregon State 33 percent as the Trojans lead 18-14. Leonard Washington did not enter the game until 2:10 remained in the first half and then scored the final four points.

Tulane defeated USC 7-3 today in baseball so the teams split the first two games of their series with the finale tomorrow.

There's been quite a response to the DVD Giveaway. Remember if you want to submit an answer to the question (see yesterday's post), the deadline is 4 p.m. Sunday.

USC is currently 60th in the latest RPI rankings.

O.J. Mayo talks about what could have been at USC in the Morning Buzz.

Here's the latest odds from Bodoglife.com on who will win the national title next season.

Orson Charles signed with Georgia. Reaction: At least he didn't go to Tennessee.

And now, without further adieu, the rest of the song girl answers.

OK, it's time to give away a Rose Bowl DVD by Genius Products. I'm using a reader suggestion this week. This week's question is, ``Who is the most important football player the in the Pete Carroll era?''
The best answer in 20 words or less will be selected. Because posting comments can sometimes be a little dicey here, email your answer to scott.wolf@dailynews.com.
The deadline for entries is Sunday at 4 p.m.

I mentioned in my column on USC basketball yesterday that players do not seem to be able to compete for playing time like in football. Last night, guard Donte Smith came into the game in the first half, played five minutes and made a 3-pointer. He did not see any action in the second half.

I'll let you all discuss Orson Charles' college announcement and why he made his decision.

Former USC offensive lineman Jonathan Himebauch's been hired as the offensive line coach for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League.

Remember you can follow us on twitter at twitter.com/InsideUSC.

It's time to ask questions again. One per person please.

Joe McKnight's dislocated toes will have implications for spring practice in today's Morning Buzz.

``I really haven't looked at who we might play (in the Pac-10 Tournament),'' USC coach Tim Floyd said. ``Whoever we play will be a good team and will give us fits.''

``It feels good to win again. It feels like it's been three months. The crowd was very good tonight.''
-- USC coach Tim Floyd

Tonight's attendance was 5,853, the second-lowest crowd for a Pac-10 game this season at the Galen Center.

It was not a high-quality game but USC won for just the second time in eight games. DeMar DeRozan scored 19 points and Taj Gibson added 18 for the Trojans.

The razor-sharp minds once again populate the SG Forum.

We will be giving away our first USC-Penn State Rose Bowl DVD tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. The method will be announced at that time. This is just an advance notice so everyone gets a fair chance.

We'll probably do an in-game chat tonight during that all-important game against Oregon.

Now Digger Phelps is stealing our ideas?!?

Two sources said that when he visited USC, recruit Manti Te'o told them he punched a student during an off-campus party. The circumstances are sketchy with one source saying the student did not go to USC. Either way, it made for quite an official visit.

The all-important Pac-10 Tournament play-in game is less than a week away.

Quarterback Mark Sanchez is expected to work out with the New York Jets later this month.

Here's my column on the current state of the basketball program.

USC guard Marcus Johnson practiced again today. Whether he plays against Oregon will be a game-time decision.

Looks like congresswoman Diane Watson's resolution congratulating USC on winning the Rose Bowl is drawing the ire of UCLA fans because she is a Westwood alumna.

Another player who looked sharp in the players-only drills was tailback Marc Tyler, who looks more confident than a year ago.

Yet another source told me today that Manti Te'o personally told them on his recruiting visit he would come to USC, only to change his mind a couple days later.

I heard the past few weeks that Taylor Mays has been a vocal leader during winter workouts and during yesterday's players-only drills, he also assumed a leadership role through the workout.

Orson Charles will make his college announcement on Friday at 1:30 p.m. (PST).

What do UC Irvine, Cal State Fullerton, Arizona State, San Diego, Pepperdine, Oregon State and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo have in common?

Answer after the jump.

It took awhile but we're finally polishing off the Open Forum.

Linebacker Rey Maualuga hired Gary Uberstine as his agent. Uberstine is Pete Carroll's agent and also represents David Buehler.

Still tackling all those football questions. It's now 48 hours away from Orson Charles' college announcement.

Former USC tight end Dominique Byrd working out at Howard Jones Field.

Linebacker Malcolm Smith looked physically impressive and tailback Curtis McNeal also looked fit during Tuesday's players-only drills at Howard Jones Field. There's no contact but freshman quarterback Matt Barkley got plenty of snaps. A few of his passes were dropped while a deep pass over the middle to an open Anthony McCoy was a little short and broken up. Mitch Mustain, recovered by laser-eye surgery, also participated in the passing drills.

Tailback Allen Bradford said he hopes to start running about a week before spring practice begins as he continues to rehab from hip surgery. Bradford said he is not allowed to participate in contact drills during the spring but should be able OK for training camp. He expects to be 100 percent by June.

Offensive lineman Butch Lewis is noticeably thinner than during the season and almost looks skinny right now. ``I've lost a lot,'' Lewis said.
On the other hand, freshman defensive end Wes Horton is up to 260 after weighing 248 during the season.

Marcus Johnson (strained rotator cuff) returned to basketball practice and looked pretty good but no decision's been made on whether he will play against Oregon on Thursday at the Galen Center.

The Morning Buzz item should be amended because we've now discovered the verbal altercation a reader asked about actually took place between Taylor Mays and Damian Williams, but as we said before, it was not considered a big deal.

Kinda crazy Texas already has 19 commitments . . . and makes it even more important that they evaluated properly.

Am I the only one who thinks its odd that Tennessee defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin is parading around here in USC gear?

Who snuck a soccer question in here? What's next, a question on where to buy a barber pole?

It's interesting to note that even this week Tim Floyd said that post-game ``argument'' between Daniel Hackett and Dwight Lewis was one of the most embarassing things that's ever happened in his coaching career.

The Pac-10 finally found a way to play in the Alamodome. Notre Dame plays Washington State at the Alamodome on Oct. 31. Knowing Notre Dame, it will count this as one of its road games.

Basketball assistant coaches Gib Arnold and Bob Cantu are both out-of-state recruiting right now.

And yet another Ting question here.

Did you know the USC band played at the Grammys and Oscars? And they didn't play a 70's song at either!

The College Football Hall of Fame just released its ballot for players and coaches. Sam Cunningham, Marlin McKeever and John Robinson are among those listed.

Time to ask all those witty questions on the world's most-pressing topics.

Following up on last week's post, Brandon and Ryan Ting are currently attending medical school at USC.

USC forward Marcus Johnson took part in a practice last week but did not dribble with his right hand, a sign that he was not confident using his strained rotator cuff There is still no timetable for his return.

A reader asked Monday about an alleged altercation during a football workout, so I looked into it. There was not a physical altercation, just a verbal exchange between Taylor Mays and Damian Williams. But it didn't last long. So in the end, it was not that big a deal.

Narbonne running back Melvin Davis (6-2, 225) committed to Washington today as Steve Sarkisian recruits the City Section like it's Seattle.

Here's the funeral information on former USC fullback Arthur Hemingway, who passed away last week.

Everyone wants to talk about the Tings.

Back to the answers.

A question about USC quarterbacks different paths to the NFL here.

A Ting Forum? One readers wants one.

USC's RPI dropped down to 58th this week. It will be hard to raise this week with lowly Oregon and Oregon State on the schedule.

USC volleyball player Taylor Carico will transfer to Minnesota, it was announced today. She is the second Trojan player to transfer to the Golden Gophers. In 2005, Sarah Florian left USC for Minnesota.

Back to a Fight Club question in this segment.

Follow us on twitter.com/InsideUSC. All updates are written by the author.

Back on Jan. 27 we asked who the best coach in the Pac-10 was and USC coach Tim Floyd drew 20 percent of the vote. A little more than a month later, Floyd's pulling 6 percent.

A source in Tampa said Tennessee is currently a ``slight favorite'' for the tight end, who announces his decision Friday. Apparently Lane Kiffin's told Charles he made the similarly sized Mike Williams into what he was at USC. I must have missed that when I covered the team during Williams' two seasons.

Our opening segment is brought to you by the special DVD re-release of the movie, ``Barbershop.''

USC center Kris O'Dowd makes the initial Lombardi Award watch list. Here's the full list.

If you watched Oregon State jump out to a 38-28 halftime lead on Oregon tonight and look like a team that loves playing basketball, you probably heard that the Oregon baseball team is 3-3 in its first season after a 26-year absence and won 2 of 3 this weekend over defending champion Fresno State. Of course Oregon hired George Horton as its baseball coach.

The men's and women's basketball teams went 0-4 against the Bay Area schools while the baseball team dropped 2 of 3 to Western Carolina.

The Trojans commit five errors and drop two of three to the Catamounts at Dedeaux Field. USC is 3-4 overall. The Trojans committed 19 errors in their first seven games.

If Oregon (1-14 in the Pac-10) defeats Oregon State tonight, the Ducks will actually have a better record (2-5) than USC over the past seven games.

One more reason you know why college coaches are not writing their twitter updates.
Here's one from Steve Sarkisian: ``Good luck to Coach Schmid and Sounders FC in tonight's friendly.''
Does anyone think Sarkisian would ever refer to a soccer game as a ``friendly.''

Reading a recent issue of the Sporting News brought about yet another article that said Washington State guard Klay Thompson wanted to attend USC but was not recruited by the Trojans.

The USC baseball team enters today's game against Western Carolina with a .209 team batting average.

One player who looks noticeably bigger right now is linebacker Michael Morgan. Since his weight usually is around 215-220 pounds and his durability is considered an issue, one of the main issues in the offseason is to see how much bigger and stronger he becomes.

If the Pac-10 Tournament started today, USC would play Stanford in the first round at Staples Center.