May 2009 Archives

UC Irvine loses to Virginia, 4-1, and is eliminated from the college baseball playoffs.

Mike Gillespie's UC Irvine Anteaters defeated San Diego State 14-3 and are now playing Virginia. The Anteaters must defeat the Cavaliers tonight or be eliminated.

There is a lot of chatter right now in college basketball circles that point guard Lamont ``Momo'' Jones will ask for his release from his letter of intent this week.

Taj Gibson is part of a group of prospects working out tomorrow in Oakland for the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix Suns. Daniel Hackett will be part of a second group working out for the same three teams on Tuesday.

Time for more questions for the stragglers who did not ask a question in the Open Forum. One per person please.

UC Irvine falls to Virginia 5-0 on Saturday night. But the game of the day (year) is Texas-Boston College, where the Longhorns defeat the Eagles 3-2 in 25 innings.
Remember Texas baseball coach Augie Garrido got kicked out of a USC scrimmage at the Coliseum last August amid fears of aiding the Longhorns in case the teams played in a bowl game.

USC's men's track team continued its hot streak by winning the West Regional title today with a comfortable 16.25-point victory over host Oregon. This is another example of getting it done despite having only 12 scholarships.

UC Irvine defeated Fresno State 4-2 in the first round of its baseball regional and hosts ACC champions Virginia today in Irvine.

Maybe we're ahead of the curve again. A poll of 3,000 men named Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole as the top choice they would like to see as the ultimate fantasy cheerleader.

The men's golf team lost to Michigan today in an NCAA quarterfinal match.

USC's in fourth place after Day 1 of the West Regionals track meet in Eugene, Ore., as high jumper Manjula Wijesekara won with a jump of 7-04.5. Corey White finished third in the javelin (237-07).
The women are in seventh place thanks to Eva Orban's victory in the hammer throw (220-05).

The track team competes in the West Regionals at Eugene, Ore., while the rowing and men's golf teams are in the NCAA championships.

I've heard the excuse in some circles that baseball's struggles are directly due to the fact private schools cannot put together a large roster with the 11.2 scholarship limit. It's obviously a big burden for USC or other private universities.
But a quick check of the top 25 polls shows Rice, TCU, Gonzaga and Elon (Elon!) seem to be doing something right. And USC did make the NCAA Tournament in 15 of Mike Gillespie's 20 seasons.

Is this the current starting lineup for basketball next season?

PG Lamont Jones
SG Dwight Lewis
SF Marcus Johnson
PF Leonard Washington/Nicola Vucevic
C Alex Stepheson

Any one envision a different lineup? And who's helping off the bench?

The SEC will distribute approximately $132.5 million to its schools at the end of the current fiscal year. The average amount distributed to each school was $11.1 million.
The league made $52 million from football television, $25.4 million from bowls, $14.3 million from the SEC Football Championship, $13.6 million from basketball television, $4.1 million from the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament and $23.1 million from NCAA Championships.

Girls Aloud continues its streak of songs for the men's basketball program with, ``Whole Lotta History.''

North Carolina State football and Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald are the latest to start twitter pages.

Remember to follow us on twitter.com/InsideUSC.

You know the drill. One question per person please.

We're heading toward the finish line of answers.

Or should it be retitled the Girls Aloud Forum? One question per person please.

The swingman was granted another year of eligibility by the NCAA with the condition he be withheld from the first two games of the 2009-2010 season.

Shocked that Tim Floyd would not answer any questions last night regarding the NCAA investigation?

Maybe we can combine two ideas here. Jolt Cola, which will sponsor the basketball program because you never know when the next jolt will come, agrees to supply free drinks at the season-opener against San Jose State. What a concept!

``No Good Advice,'' by Girls Aloud, once again dedicated to the basketball program.

Remember to follow us on twitter.com/InsideUSC.

There's a full segment here of football questions. OK, mostly football questions, but at least they are interesting ones.

Who's making a field trip to Nadine's Irish Mist in Sunset Beach?
Also, a special surprise inside this segment that answers a current reader obsession.

The Big South Conference becomes the latest victim of twitter.

USC jumps 14 spots into third place in the latest standings. Final results come out June 9 with a few championships still left to be determined.

With Noel Johnson gone, there are seven players off the expected basketball roster for next season.

Forget paying the $85 in Irvine tonight now that Noel Johnson's release is official.

It's official: Here's what a USC spokesperson just said regarding basketball recruit Noel Johnson.
``Yes, he asked for his release ... and USC is in the process of granting it ... there isn't a timetable, as there is some paperwork involved.''

If you are wondering why USC has not commented on whether top basketball recruit Noel Johnson received his release from his letter of intent, the official explanation is that no one has been in the compliance office for the past two days.
Perhaps Tim Floyd will clear it up when he speaks at the $85 per ticket event in Irvine tonight.

I'll defer to Barry Glendenning of the London Guardian, who predicted Barcelona's victory over Manchester United in the Champions League final. And neatly summed up his feelings to fans if he got it wrong.

``By all means crow if I get it horribly wrong, but bear in mind it's only an opinion that's no more valid than that of anyone else ... except you, obviously. Yes you, sitting there in your office or bedroom, reading this on your PC monitor, possibly with several other screens open, each of them showing something that's probably illegal in several American states.''

Is it possible Arizona, which hired basketball coach Sean Miller less than two months ago, will end up with a better recruiting class than USC?

Dedicated to the basketball program, it's ``Long Hot Summer,'' by Girls Aloud.

If you want to actually hear Tim Floyd speak in June, maybe you paid $85 to hear him at the coaches' tour stop in Irvine tonight. It's the second year in a row where Floyd keeps a low public profile due to NCAA allegations but does speak on a pay-per-view basis.

Jolt Cola has signed up to sponsor the basketball team because you never know where the next jolt of stunning news will come from.

Will Noel Johnson's apparent departure cause USC to re-enter the recruitment of highly touted guard Lance Stephenson?
USC stopped recruiting Stephenson last year because Johnson did not want to play with him. Of course, the 6-5 guard is currently awaiting judgment in a sexual-assault case. He and a teammate were charged with allegedly groping a 17-year-old female student outside their high school on Oct. 3.
That wouldn't stop USC from being interested, but the administration might step in a la Renardo Sidney.
Stephenson is supposedly looking at Arizona and Memphis.

The coaches' top 25 poll announced some changes today. As expected the coaches will not make their weekly ballots public and will not even release their final ballot anymore, although they will not implement that until 2010.
Here's the other changes:

Noel Johnson might not be coming to USC but another basketball player decides to return next season after all.

Back to answer mode.

If Noel Johnson did indeed get his release from USC, it's noteworthy just how quickly it happened. Schools usually resist when an athlete seeks a release from a letter-of-intent and at best, the process takes time.
But if USC acted this quickly, it says people are skittish about the on-going NCAA investigation and do not want any extra adverse publicity for the basketball program.

The legendary Julie Bescos, who not only played three sports but coached three sports at USC, died on Saturday. He was 97.
Full release after the jump.

USC officials say they are currently unable to answer reports that guard Noel Johnson, the top incoming recruit, was released from his letter of intent and will attend another school.
However, Johnson's father told scout.com that his son's departure was ``official.''
Lynbert Johnson also told scout, ``"Anytime you have a kid that is starting his freshman year you want him to go into a calmer setting, rather than having a cloud over your head.''

Just another quiet Tuesday. Uh huh.

USC baseball coach Chad Kreuter will return for the 2010 season. Kreuter is 83-85 in three seasons with no postseason appearances.

Girls Aloud and GMTV. Does it get any better?

Football Forum answers in this segment.

The GA stands for Girls Aloud for the unitiated.

Who's likely to leave after this season?

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

Today we will answer football and non-football questions.

Following up on yesterday's post, Taylor Mays was named national defensive player of the year by Lindy's magazine, which is starting to hit the newsstands across the country.

I'm sure you all followed the Formula One results Sunday as Jenson Button won the Monaco Grand Prix and proved there is more to life than soccer WAGs.

Rhode Island played its first 25 games on the road and only 16 home games this season and still won 37 games. USC played 19 of its first 23 games at home and played just 23 road games all season.
When considering the Trojans' 28-28 record this season, it's even worse when you play 33 of your 56 games at home.

Linebacker Brian Cushing is now blogging (infrequently).

USC forwards DeMar DeRozan and Taj Gibson will attend the NBA's Pre-Draft Camp, which begins Wednesday in Chicago.

No. 1-ranked UC Irvine inexplicably got the toughest regional in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. The Anteaters host the best second-seed, ACC champs Virginia, San Diego State featuring the nation's best pitcher (Stephen Strasburg, 13-0) as the third seed and defending national champs Fresno State as the fourth seed.
As expected three Pac-10 teams got into the field (Arizona State, Washington State, Oregon State).

Since it's a holiday, here's another chance to ask questions if you didn't in the Open Forum. One per person please.

The NCAA announces its 64-team field for the baseball tournament and only three Pac-10 teams (Arizona State, Washington State, Oregon State) are expected to earn bids. This used to be a big day around USC.

Meanwhile, Mike Gillespie's No. 1-ranked UC Irvine Anteaters could be the NCAA's top overall seed when the tournament pairings are announced tomorrow. UC Irvine (43-13, 22-2) became the second team in Big West history to conclude the season with just conference losses.

Cal defeated USC 6-0 in the series finale and the Trojans finished the season 28-28 overall and 13-14 in the Pac-10.
USC finished in a four-way tie for fifth in the Pac-10 with Washington, Stanford and Arizona. Coach Chad Kreuter's career record is now 83-85.

Offensive lineman Kevin Graf of Agoura, who enrolls in the summer, advanced to the Southern Section Masters' track meet with a throw of 58-10.75 in the shot put in the division finals yesterday at Cerritos College.

USC safety Taylor Mays is going to be named the national defensive player of the year by at least one of the pre-season magazines released next month.

USC beat Cal 14-4 today to improve its record to 28-27 overall and 13-13 in the Pac-10.

``It's definitely a grind. I worked out for Miami (on Wednesday), flew to Indiana for a workout (Thursday) and I'm going to Chicago next. It's pretty vigorous, but I have to get used to it. I'm going in each day and playing hard and showing coaches what I can do.''
-- USC forward Taj Gibson in the Indianapolis Star

Notre Dame's omitted losing seasons from Charlie Weis' bio in the media guide.
USC is hardly clean itself on this issue. For eight years, the basketball guide media guide intentionally deleted nine losses from Henry Bibby's record when he was the interim basketball coach.

Time for questions again. One per person please.

Lane Kiffin gets rid of his strength coach after a whole six months.

Whew!

Arizona State wins the women's golf title today finishing eight strokes ahead of UCLA and nine ahead of defending champion USC.

It's definitely time to do another live chat. Reader suggestions for when are welcome here.

Answers away!

Notre Dame wants to play at Yankee Stadium? Is Charlie Weis going to show up as Babe Ruth?

It's been a long week of answering questions but we hope to finish today.

Remember to follow us on twitter.com/InsideUSC.

Today's answers are brought to you by Jolt Cola, which is willing to participate in our free-drink giveaway for the San Jose State game, provided Caesar and Co. agree.

One story going around USC is that Tim Floyd flew to Arizona and interviewed for the job because his original USC contract was supposed to automatically renew every season and had not with only a year remaining on it.

``Good for him getting in GQ and putting his name out there -- not that he needs it -- and just exploring the marketing world. But at the same time, I don't know if white jeans go over so well in America; maybe in Europe and other places, but they weren't sitting well with me.
``But at the same time he's in GQ and I'm not.''
-- Former USC defensive end Clay Matthews discussing Mark Sanchez's GQ photo shoot on the Dan Patrick show

New York Jets kicker Jay Feely said his teammates are making fun of quarterback Mark Sanchez's photo shoot in GQ magazine.
Feely's twitter page said, ``Should be another fun day for our boy sanchez today...gq photo shoot came out and he is taking heat!!!''
Meanwhile, the tabloids are also making the most out of the shoot.

While on assignment Tuesday, Carmen Trutanich cruised to victory in the L.A. City Attorney's race. Who will represent the next USC player who needs an attorney?

No Girls Aloud today, but the song, ``It's my time,'' from last weekend's Eurovision finals, dedicated to those who recently graduated.

Washington State will unveil its new 2009 uniforms at a June 12 Broadmoor RV/Towne Crier Tri-Cities Tailgate in Pasco, Wash.

Twitter proves hazardous for Lane Kiffin.

Colgate and the Mountain West Conference are the latest additions to Twitter.

Remember to follow us at twitter.com/InsideUSC.

We're baaaaack.

After being on assignment for the past day-and-a-half, we're back to normal blogging.

Surprisingly, Girls Aloud questions continue to bounce around the forum.

Back to answer mode!

There's still time for those who have not asked to submit a question in the Open or Weekend Forum.

Twitter it at twitter.com/InsideUSC.

C´mon, let´s keep the pressure up on giving out 55,000 free drinks at the Coliseum for the season-opener against San Jose State. Twitter Caesar, he has the power.

A reader compares Tim Floyd to Jimmy Carter in this segment. I think Carter might take offense by that.

You ask, we answer.

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Remember when I said a Girls Aloud song can fit every USC situation? Here's today's song of the day, ``Money.´´

Remember to follow us on twitter.com/InsideUSC.

I think we will have a song of the day around noon.

USC finished a strong second in the Pac-10 track championships on the men's side. The women were fourth. As expected, Oregon swept both, a testament to the financial resources Phil Knight is putting into the Ducks' program.

It's time to answer some questions.

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

One of the most interesting, OK, the only interesting thing about Stanford and USC playing baseball at Dedeaux Field this weekend is watching the Cardinal's star tailback/left fielder Toby Gerhart.
Can you imagine a starting tailback playing baseball at USC?
Actually, USC baseball was interested in Gerhart when he was a high school recruit at Norco but football famously passed, content with its tailbacks.

USC recruit Simione Vehikite, who signed in February, is currently on track to graduate from high school. This is significant because there were concerns over his status when he committed.

Oregon leads the men's and women's results after one day at the Pac-10 championships but USC's done well in the sprint prelims so could finish strong today. The Trojans were in fifth place on the women's side and seventh on the men's side entering today's finals.

The baseball team's lost 10 of its past 13 games following Saturday's loss to Stanford and is now 24-27 overall.

Time for questions about the song girls, the Oregon cheerleaders, Girls Aloud or whatever else fits here. One question per person please.

''(O.J. Mayo) knew (Rodney) Guillory from at least his junior year in high school on. It's funny, he was in San Diego during his junior year or just before his junior year in high school, he went to something called an ABCD camp... He filled out a form while there and one of the questions was, "Who is the most influential person in your life?" And, the answer to that question as junior in high school was Rodney Guillory... This became the most influential man in his life because Rodney Guillory could basically make things happen in his life and continue to do that and continue to maintain control until the story came out."
- Yahoo sportswriter Jason Cole on the relationship between Mayo and Guillory on XTRA-AM.

The Pac-10 is holding championships in track and field and women's rowing this weekend. The track teams will try to follow up on their surprising performance in the dual meet but host Oregon and Arizona State are formidable opponents.

As I mentioned last week, the Olympic Stadium in Berlin handed out free beers, soft drinks and water to the first 55,000 fans at today's soccer game between Hertha Berlin and Schalke 04. Now, since Caesar cares so much about the masses (and twitter), how about arranging a similar deal at the USC-San Jose State game for the legions?
Or does twittering take up all free time?

Stanford edged USC in baseball 8-6 last night at Dedeaux Field in a key series as the two storied programs fight to finish .500 in the Pac-10. Stanford is 28-21 and 11-11 in conference. USC is 24-26 and 10-12.

Here is the complete college football bowl schedule for the 2009 season.

"It's way beyond USC. We're talking about the FBI is involved, the IRS is involved, the U.S. attorney is involved in this one. The FBI wants to know about fraudulent use of a charitable foundation, we're talking about the IRS wants to know about the $200,000 or so that went from Bill Duffy sports agency to Rodney Guillory and how much that went to O.J. Mayo - so there's income tax issues that go with this. There are a lot of federal people involved in this. This goes way beyond USC and whether they're going to get in trouble with the NCAA."
-- Yahoo sportswriter Jason Cole on XTRA-AM in San Diego, discussing the Tim Floyd allegations.

OK, it's much more fun answering Girls Aloud questions. I admit it.

Remember to follow us on twitter.com/InsideUSC, where we do not profess to be the unique combination of Giants/Dodgers/Red Sox fan.

Oregon wide receiver Aaron Pflugrad is going to transfer. Fortunately, no word yet that his sister, Ducks cheerleader Amanda Pflugrad, would follow suit.

Yes, it's time to dive back into questions and answers. One per person please.

Here's my appearance on the Petros-Money show where I get to take two shots at Petros.

Army, Duke, Notre Dame, Patriot League, South Carolina, and Western Kentucky are the latest to join Twitter.

Twitter us at twitter.com/InsideUSC.

You can find a Girls Aloud song relevant to all issues USC. Here's the video for ``Untouchable.''

Pretty soon the title of the forum will be longer than the questions.

The tradition of both teams wearing their dark jerseys was not just a USC-UCLA practice. Here's a picture of the 1951 USC-Cal game with both teams in dark jerseys. USC's wearing the striped jerseys and helmet with a stripe, which would be a major breach of tradition today.

The attorney for Louis Johnson makes a prediction about whether USC receives NCAA sanctions in the O.J. Mayo case. Note: He happens to be a USC graduate.

The Terminator wants to sell the Coliseum

Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood told the Associated Press he spoke to Tim Floyd about the NCAA investigation when he interviewed for the Wildcats' job.
``I asked him the question,'' Livengood said. ``He said there's nothing to that. So end of question. We didn't go any farther. We didn't need to go any farther.''

I'll be on the Petros Papadakis radio show (570-AM) at 5:30 p.m. to discuss USC basketball.

USC forward Taj Gibson is currently working out at the Impact Sports Academy in Los Angeles with other players preparing for the NBA draft, including Austin Daye (Gonzaga), Demarre Carroll (Missouri),Tyrese Rice (Boston College) and Antonio Anderson (Memphis).

Here's a column that will warm Lane Kiffin's heart.

Unfortunately, I already ran ``The Promise,'' which would have been appropriate with the Yahoo! Sports allegations.
But instead, it's Girls Aloud v. the Sugababes.

No questions about Girls Aloud in this section. Are you guys slipping?

And now, a non-NCAA, non-basketball related post. Remember to follow us on twitter.com/InsideUSC.

Here's a recap on the Tim Floyd allegations from last night.

The allegation that Tim Floyd paid Rodney Guillory is not new but apparently just came to the NCAA's attention. Anthony Salerno, the attorney for Louis Johnson, said Johnson told federal authorities about the allegation last May but did not tell the NCAA investigators.
The NCAA contacted Johnson's attorneys last week to discuss the alleged incident for the first time.

Anthony Salerno, the lawyer for Louis Johnson, said today's revelations regarding an alleged cash payment from Tim Floyd to Rodney Guillory raise the stakes for the NCAA considerably.
``Instead of being a lack of institutional control, it's a directly blatant violation of NCAA rules,'' Salerno said. ``A booster is one thing but a coach?''

O.J. Mayo-related allegations against Tim Floyd courtesy of Yahoo! Sports.

More nonsense regarding the coaches' poll

Recruiting and offensive line. What else is there?

College Football Live - Regis from ESPN Communications on Vimeo.

All clear. No Girls Aloud questions in this segment.

The answers keep rolling in.

Due to the overwhelming response in the Open Forum, it's Girls Aloud performing, ``I'll Stand By You.''

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

Nothing about Girls Aloud in this segment.

Who needs Twitter? In 1951, USC fans simply went and met coach Jess Hill (center) and the Trojans at the airport after big victories.

Straight sports questions here. Promise.

A question in this segment about drug tests.

Here's proof I didn't read the Open Forum comments until today. I never anticipated the groundswell of Girls Aloud questions. But don't worry, there's football here too.

In this segment, questions about Girls Aloud and Lane Kiffin. Which would I rather answer? Twitter it at twitter.com/InsideUSC.

Actually reading the Open Forum comments made me realize how just how many Girls Aloud comments there were here. So they get the Song of the Day with James Morrison.

A question here about the APR, where USC basketball finished 10th.

I encourage you ask questions in the Weekend Forum if you have not done so yet because I'm in an answering mood. Girls Aloud questions are encouraged.

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

The first question this week is about Girls Aloud. Is a Girls Aloud Forum on the horizon?

Do you remember when USC always opened its season against the Dodgers in an exhibition at Dodger Stadium? Here's a picture from the 1986 game, attended by about 17,000.

"With Mark (Sanchez), it's the first time the Jets have a quarterback they went out and drafted early and there are a lot of expectations on him. There's a lot of hype going around him and people are going to want immediate results. It might happen and it could, but it's hard.
``You've got to go through some of the challenges of being a young player. There are going to be some low points. It's a matter of getting through those lows.''
-- New York Giants QB Eli Manning in the New York Post

Mark Sanchez's New York Jets jersey ranked fourth in NFL sales for April, behind Jay Cutler's Chicago Bears jersey along with Troy Polamalu and Ben Roethlisberger's Pittsburgh Steeler jerseys.

The men's tennis team advanced to the Sweet 16 with a sweep of the Golden Gophers. Next up is Stanford on Thursday.

The No. 1-ranked Trojans are upset in the NCAA championship game. It was 5-3 at halftime and neither team had any offense in the second half. To make matters worse, the women's tennis team was upset today by Washington in the NCAA second round at Marks Stadium.

Cal State Northridge scores two runs in the ninth to tie the game at 4-4 and one in the 11th to sweep the weekend series. USC falls to 23-25 overall.

USC did not do the usual post-spring Pro Day competition but instead ran timed 40-yard dashes before spring practice. Taylor Mays, who ran a 4.25 two years ago and 4.31 last year did not run this time.

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

The Trojans led 2-1 but Irvine rallied to win the final two games and claim its second title in three years. Maybe Mike Gillespie can win another title for the Anteaters in June.

The correct answer to the DVD question was that USC women's sprinters won the 100 meters 8 straight times in the dual meet. The first person to answer correctly was reader Vince from Cypress.

The women's water polo team advanced to the NCAA title game with a victory today in the semifinals.

Bayern Munich, the largest soccer team in Germany, moved into a tie for first place today for the first time all season, two weeks after the team fired Caesar crony Jurgen Klinsmann as its coach. Klinsmann visited USC last summer and studied Pete Carroll's methods.
More impressively, next week the soccer team Hertha Berlin will give out 55,000 free beers, sodas and waters to its fans as a show of appreciation for the large crowds the team drew this season.
Wonder if the Coliseum would ever pull that off?

The visiting Trojans scored four runs in the first but Northridge scored the go-ahead run in the fifth and two more in the seventh inning to pull away for the victory. USC drops to 23-24 overall.

USC golfer Lizette Salas is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation? And on the men's side, Matthew Giles is ranked No. 2?

Here's the Pacific-10 Conference breakdown on returning starters for next season, which plays into the theory the conference could not possibly be worse next year.

Arizona 13 6 offense, 7 defense
Arizona State 13 7 offense, 6 defense
Cal 15 7 offense, 8 defense
Oregon 10 5 offense, 5 defense
Oregon State 9 6 offense, 3 defense
Stanford 16 8 offense, 8 defense
UCLA 16 9 offense, 7 defense
USC 12 9 offense, 3 defense
Washington 18 8 offense, 10 defense
Washington State 13 8 offense, 5 defense

USC's defeated Cal Lutheran 22-2 in women's water polo today to advance to the Final Four round against Hawaii tomorrow at 1 p.m.

A member of the football staff will go to Columbus, Ohio, next week to visit Ohio State and make preparations for the September road trip.

We hear the Sparks tried in vain up until last week to convince Michael Cooper to remain with them and turn down the USC women's basketball job.

OK, here's this week's question for the right to win a USC-Penn State Rose Bowl DVD.
Question after the jump.

One of the big questions of the spring was whether quarterback Matt Barkley would go to the prom? Barkley said he is not going to the Mater Dei prom but might go to his girlfriend's prom at another school.
Barkley is going to participate in graduation ceremonies at Mater Dei.

Wide receiver Brandon Carswell said Thursday that he has no intention of transferring and will remain at USC. I've received emails from several readers on this subject, so I thought I'd update everyone.

The DVD contest is at noon today.

``Manny, Manny, Manny.'' Pete Carroll's response when I asked him about today's 50-game suspension for Dodger Manny Ramirez.

Safety Taylor Mays said he currently weighs 235 pounds.

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

With no winner last time, the DVD contest will be at noon tomorrow. And this time a winner will be guaranteed.

More questions and more answers.

Maybe the bookstore can have a sale on these USC Dodgers hats in honor of Manny Ramirez.

Western Kentucky, Kentucky and the Appalachian State football programs and both the Mid-American and Southland Conferences have been added to the growing international Twitter community.
Hail Caesar for being ahead of the Bluegrass State! (And North Carolina).

Remember you can follow us on twitter.com/InsideUSC

Can Taj Gibson pull himself out of the second round for the NBA draft?

Will Caesar give Manny Ramirez a shout out on twitter today?

We hear Lexus is pulling its sponsorship of the ``Lexus Gauntlet,'' the competition between USC and UCLA for sports supremacy and perhaps the ugliest trophy in Los Angeles.
The Gauntet could of course continue without a sponsor in these tough economic times although the schools would obviously prefer to sign someone up. Any suggestions?

I didn't even know colleges were ranked for Ultimate Frisbee until this segment.

Yesterday we mentioned that former Washington athletic director Barbara Hedges would be inducted into the National Association of Collegiate Athletic Directors' Hall of Fame. One of our memories of her tenure as an administrator at USC (1973-91) was her emphasis on proper appearance for female athletes.
Here's a 1979 photo where a representative from Avon cosmetics instructs USC athletes at Heritage Hall. Quite a photo, isn't it?

"Mark Sanchez will experience a few difficulties in the beginning of his career. He will experience not being embraced and 'well, he is really not Mexican' or 'he is from the U.S. and really doesn't speak Spanish.'
``(But) he can exceed beyond expectations of what I accomplished. Mark Sanchez has embraced his culture, and I feel that the sport that he is in and the visibility he gets can be a huge crossover. Here in the States, Hispanics and Latinos, we love American football. Now it makes me proud to know that Mark Sanchez has Hispanic roots and I'm definitely supporting the man.''
-- Boxer Oscar De La Hoya in the New York Daily News.

Another website co-opts one of our founding ideas.

Mark Sanchez's New York Jets jersey is the fastest seller among NFL draft picks, according to the league office.

OK, Chelsea and Barcelona kick off in about an hour. Will the Champions League be another all-English final? I suspect Petr Cech will play a large role in answering that question.

Aaron Corp threw 20 interceptions in his junior and senior seasons at Orange Lutheran. Matt Barkley threw 18 interceptions in his senior season at Mater Dei.

Another website co-opts one of our founding ideas.

Freshman quarterback Matt Barkley on what determines which quarterback ultimately wins the competition.
``All of it is mental,'' Barkley said. ``Physically, we're all at the top of our games, Every play is more mental than anything else.''

USC leads Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 3-0 in the top of the second inning at Dedeaux Field. Ricky Oropesa hit his 12th homer of the season.
UPDATED: USC leads 5-0 in the 7th inning.
UPDATED: It's a final as USC wins 5-0.

Former USC assistant athletic director Barbara Hedges, who became athletic director at Washington and controversially hired and fired Rick Neuheisel, will be inducted into the National Association of Collegiate Athletic Directors' Hall of Fame.

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

Did Arsenal show up today? I guess they don't follow the Win Forever philosophy.

Editorial cartoonist Steve Greenberg offers his own take on the ``Coli,'' as Caesar calls it. Courtesy laobserved.com.

Here's the No. 1 prep prospect in the nation . . . in football. We discuss him in this segment.

Anyone know the spread on the Arsenal-Manchester United game that starts in about 40 minutes? Remember you can follow us on twitter.com/InsideUSC.

A few weeks ago, USC made a late run at recruiting Australian center Jordan Vandenberg. It seemed odd at the time but makes perfect sense in hindsight. It was about that time that USC cut loose Renardo Sidney.
Vandenberg (7-0, 230 pounds) signed with North Carolina State last week.

We went to a local high school Monday and saw coaches from Cal, Arizona, Alabama and Notre Dame had made their way through during recruiting stops.

Two days before USC played Cal on Jan. 31, Renardo Sidney said he wanted to commit to the Trojans. He would make the announcement just before the game at a press conference in the Galen Center. Everything was in place. Then something happened: Sidney never showed up for the game. Just another mysterious piece of the puzzle.

Here's the Pac-10 spring game attendances:
USC, 22,565
Oregon 12,400
UCLA 12,000
Washington 10,000
Arizona 6,850
Arizona State 5,000
Oregon State 5,000
Cal 2,000
Stanford 1,500
Washington State 400

I know for a fact USC did not get 22,000 and I've heard from others that UCLA did not get 12,000. Who else inflated their counts? Probably everyone except Washington State.

You ask, we answer.

We mentioned last week that fellow Win Forever follower, Jurgen Klinsmann, was fired by Bayern Munich, the largest soccer team in Germany.
Here's what the London Daily Mail reported: ``Despite installing an Italian coffee bar, a scenic patio and a children's play area, Jurgen Klinsmann has been sacked as coach of Bayern Munich.
``Apparently, when you are 4-0 down to Barcelona at half-time, inviting Franz Beckenbauer up to the new roof terrace to check out the froth on your cappuccino doesn't really cut it.''

So Les Miles wants to twitter during a game? You don't think Caesar will stand for that without some form of oneupsmanship do you?

Back to the grind. Remember to message us at twitter.com/InsideUSC.

Former USC kicker David Buehler was not the only Trojan in Dallas last weekend when the Cowboys' indoor practice facility collapsed Saturday. Former USC center Matt Spanos (69) was also in the Cowboys' mini-camp. Photo by Ronald Martinez (Getty Images).

USC volleyball player Murphy Troy was named the AVCA national player of the week after leading the Trojans to the MPSF tournament title last weekend.

Since it's time for finals, I need to contribute my part with a song who's lyrics include, ``What did you learn at school? I didn't go . . . It's cool to know nothin' ''
Plus it's officially Girls Aloud day today.

Still time to ask a question in the Weekend Forum.

In this segment, who's No. 1?

Some solid questions in this segment, and all on football!

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

A non-sports question kicks off this week's answer session. Imagine that.

Mark Sanchez talks to the New York media, which already believes he will be the Jets starter for the season opener.

I became an immediate fan of Calabasas forward Evan Smith two years ago when his defense gave O.J. Mayo problems during Tim Floyd's basketball camp. He proceeded to commit about 18 months ago but then seemed to disappear from recruiting talk.
One issue was grades but another was USC seemed to have a lot of bigger prospects interested, which pushed him to the backburner. But with Solomon Hill and Renardo Sidney out of the picture, Smith's back to the forefront and he scored 15 points Saturday night in an all-star at Cal State Northridge. He showed he can hit the 3-pointer and also make nice passes.
And he won't be a drama queen, like so many USC players the past two years.

If any stragglers have questions and did not ask one in the Open Forum, fire away. One per person please. And remember to follow us on twitter.com/InsideUSC

Washington pushed across a run in the 10th inning to complete its sweep with a 3-2 victory. USC is 22-23 overall, 10-11 in the Pac-10.

Columnist Ramona Shelburne weighs in on the hiring of Michael Cooper.

Does it matter that new women's basketball coach Michael Cooper does not have a degree?

Here's reaction on how USC's track teams pulled off a stunning sweep of UCLA at Cromwell Field.

Washington defeated USC today 3-0 to even the Trojans' record at 22-22 and 10-10 in the Pac-10.

Calabasas forward Evan Smith signed his letter-of-intent with USC two weeks ago, according to his father, former UCLA and Hawaii basketball player Gavin Smith.

Why is today's sweep at the dual meet so significant? Because USC should really never beat UCLA in track and field.
Because track scholarships are often split in half, it costs an athlete much more to go to USC and makes it much harder to sign recruits and field a deep team for meets like today.
USC defeated UCLA for just the second time in the past 15 years in the women's meet and third time in 15 years on the men's side.
``The dual meet was one of the things when I came here I wanted to rekindle,'' USC track coach Ron Allice said. ``I don't think we've ever had a team compete like this in the dual meet.''

``They said the dual meet was dead. It's not dead.''
-- USC track coach Ron Allice following today's dual meet victories

The USC men's and women's track teams celebrate their dual meet victories over UCLA on Saturday afternoon at Cromwell Field.

USC won the men's and women's dual track meet over UCLA at Cromwell Field. The men won 92-71 while the women won 93-70. It's the first time in history USC swept the dual meet. USC also wins the Lexus Gauntlet with the victory.

As we mentioned yesterday, Donte Smith is transferring to Cal State San Bernardino and Mamadou Diarra might have a second option.

USC meets UCLA in the dual track meet today at Cromwell Field starting at 11 a.m. USC leads 8-1 after Friday's women's hammer results and trails 5-4 after the men's hammer throw.

USC recruit Evan Smith will play for the West team in the Battle of the Valley all-star game tonight at Cal State Northridge. Smith will wear No. 30 for the West team.

Ricky Oropesa hit his fifth homer in seven games but the Huskies scored two runs in the eighth to win the series opener in Seattle. USC is 22-21 overall and 10-9 in the Pac-10.

I'll have more on the set of events that led us to this long-anticipated Friday afternoon in my Sunday column, but here's a quick quote from Michael Cooper on his hiring at USC.

When asked about his lack of collegiate experience, he said: ``I'd never coached in the NBA Development League or the WNBA either. So this is just another opportunity to try something new and I'm very excited about it.''

As for his relationship with the Sparks, Cooper said he's still committed to winning a championship this season and he's on good terms with the Sparks.

``I still have the utmost respect for the Sparks,'' he said. ``And I hope the feeling is mutual.''

Sparks owner Kathy Goodman seemed to indicate it was.

``Coop has been a great coach for us and this is a great opportunity for him,'' she said Friday night. ``We certainly wish him the best.''

Eight of USC's football games now have set kickoff times.
Times listed after the jump:

When Pete Carroll named Aaron Corp the starter he said the interceptions thrown during spring drills were not part of the decision. Corp throw only one interception in 15 practices. But this follow-up quote since then shows it did have some influence.
``He's made mistakes but he's avoided costly mistakes,'' Carroll said.

The wait is over as USC officially hired Michael Cooper this afternoon. He joins the program after the Sparks season ends in late September or early October. Ervin Monier, the associate head coach at Rhode Island, will run the program over the summer as his associate head coach.
Here's the release:

We're happy to report that Amanda Pflugrad, Katelynn J. (second from right) and Kasey K. (far right) were among those named Oregon cheerleaders next year.

Last week's garage sale of athletic dept. gear at the peristyle end of the Coliseum during the football scrimmage made $22,000.

For the women's basketball team without its new coach.

Here's one reason USC and Tennessee are unable to play before 2020. This is Tennessee's non-conference schedule for the next 10 years: UCLA (2009), Oregon (2010, 2013), North Carolina (2011, 2012), North Carolina State (2012, 2013), Oklahoma (2014, 2015), Nebraska (2016, 2017) and Ohio State (2018, 2019).

Kris O'Dowd, recovering from shoulder surgery, said he is about a month away from being 100 percent.
``By June I'll be where I need to be,'' he said. ``My goal in the spring was to be a parent to the (offensive line). It was a chance for the other guys to step up and good for us to have versatility. The good thing is we all have experience now and no one will be uncomfortable.''

USC offensive line coach Pat Ruel said he finally got used to the idea of true freshmen getting the most reps at the beginning of training camp, or in the case of Matt Barkley, spring practice.
``I was shocked when I got here and all these freshmen were ahead of the varsity guys,'' Ruel said. ``I thought, `What the heck is going on?' But (Pete Carroll) gives everyone a chance. I think it's one of the most awesome philosophies now. He has done it because everybody on the football team is important.
``Sometimes freshmen are afraid of the environment. But we had 14 first-year guys on our travel squad last year who earned their place. It showed me we do what we say we do. (Carroll) says he gives you an opportunity to play and he follows through.''

USC quarterback Aaron Corp's overcome a lot of quarterbacks on his way to the starting job. He remained interested in USC despite the Trojans' preferred interest in Jimmy Clausen, who committed to Notre Dame.
He then ignored the commitment of Samson Szakacsy, who eventually signed with Arizona State. He then ignored the transfer of Mitch Mustain from Arkansas. And he overcame the arrival of perhaps the most highly touted incoming freshman quarterback ever, Matt Barkley.

USC point guard Donte Smith is transferring to Cal State San Bernardino. Smith averaged 2.6 points per game last season but was encouraged to go elsewhere in search of playing time after just one season with the Trojans.

We'll be doing a chat this weekend. Time and day to be announced.