The debilitation of USC stands as called by the NCAA...
Appeal rejected...
USC must serve the second year of its two-year postseason ban. USC also will lose 30 scholarships over the next three years, giving them just 15 scholarships per season until 2015. Most schools get 25 unless you're Houston Nutt or something...
A lot of the NCAA world is saying that life under Lane Kiffin couldn't be any more karmically correct...
SC's seniors are still allowed to transfer to another school without sitting out a season. Lane Kiffin is referring to that part of the ruling as "free agency."
And, for some strange reason, laughter continues across the country from a boatload of other campuses that have had to see Kiffykin's shenanigans firsthand...
Every year there is the argument, team A should never had made the tournament and team B should have. But the NCAA Basketball tournament selections are done by people, not machines. That's what makes it the great event that it is.
And like every year, there are several teams sitting at home right now, palms upraised and shoulders shrugged saying: WTF!
And they wouldn't be wrong.
Teams such as: UAB (Alabama-Birmingham), 22-8 overall, 12-4 in their conference. They lost their only game against a Top 25 team, Duke blew them out 85-64. Really, there isn't a signature win here, they won their conference games(Conf. USA) and that's about it.
Clemson. 21-11 overall, 9-7 in the ACC. Face it. The ACC outside North Carolina and Duke, sucked this year. This is an average Clemson team. In fact, if you look at their history. This about where they normally finish every year. Again, no stand out wins...against anyone.
USC. 19-14 and 10-8. They won some games against Top 25 teams unlike the teams above, but lost some stinkers too. They are slightly above average in an average PAC 10. But they are in.
VCU. 23-11 and 12-6. One win vs. the Top 25. One of the worst rebounding teams in Division 1 (301st). Yeah, they beat a mediocre UCLA and George Mason in the conference tourney. Nothing else jumps off the page. But they are in.
And the outs. Or as you can call them "NIT Top Seeds":
Colorado. 20-13, 8-8. Yeah, they didn't play a great non-conference schedule. But they have a slew of Top 25 wins. Including 3 wins versus Kansas State. Did they lose a couple of games they shouldn't have. Maybe, but its hard to explain how they didn't get in. They did everything needed it seems.
Alabama.21-11, 12-4. A little weaker of an argument, but they have one. Another crappy non-conference schedule did them in. Along with a really bad SEC West. Only 1 Top 25 win (Kentucky), probably didn't help.
Va.Tech. 21-11, 9-7. They are pretty much a carbon copy of Clemson. And yes, they should've been better, but this is always what they are. Every year. The perennial bubble team. A good win vs. Duke in Feb. but nothing else jumps off the page. Yes, they underachieved, and ultimately that probably did them in.
Boston College. 20-12, 9-7. Yeah. Um. Well. They, Va.Tech and Clemson are pretty much the same teams...with similar results. Nothing this team did jumps off the page at you. But since they are in the ACC, the talking heads assume they should be there. We don't really by that and wouldn't consider this team on the Snub List.
Again, this is the reason we love the NCAA Basketball Tournament. It's subjective. They don't always get it right. But that is ok. We don't have a problem with that. Is the NCAA field the best its ever been this year? No it isn't. But this may be a good year for that very reason.
Here's a discussion on the Snub List from the boys at ESPN. Jay Bilas gained some respect with his argument. He's not wrong. You can argue either way...for any of these teams.
And Tournament Chairman Gene Smith explains the process to our friends at CBS Sports right here:
This can't have been a good thing in public or private...
Southern California coach Kevin O'Neill has been suspended for the rest of the Pac-10 tournament after getting into a verbal confrontation with an Arizona booster.
Yeah, there's not bad blood there or anything...
The school announced the suspension before the two teams played each other in the conference semifinals. Assistant Bob Cantu would take over.
O'Neill has already apologized for what he said was a "confrontation" involving himself, his wife and the Arizona booster the night before at the team's hotel after the Trojans' quarterfinal victory against Cal.
Wake Forest/Boston College Over 143.5 -- These two teams take the court against each other just four days after closing out the regular season against each other. Boston College won in Chestnut Hill 84-68 in a game that really wasn't even this close. The Demon Deacons will need a lot of work on defense in the offseason considering they allow 77 points per contest. Wake Forest has given up at least 70 points in 15 of their last 16 games which all occurred in conference. The team has struggled to score at times, but as long as they are allowing this many points, the over is always in play. The Demon Deacons have four players who average at least 10 points per game led by Travis McKie (12.9 ppg). Boston College also has multiple offensive weapons in Reggie Jackson (18.3 ppg), Joe Trapani (14.4 ppg) and Corey Raji (12.7 ppg). The Eagles are averaging 72.1 points per game while giving up 69. They have scored at least 70 points in two straight games against Wake Forest and Virginia Tech. This one has shootout written all over it.
Southern California -3 -- USC and California meet in the PAC-10 conference tournament on Thursday afternoon. The Trojans have won five of their last six games including a 78-75 triumph at California. USC also knocked off Arizona and Washington during that stretch and has the size and speed to compete in this conference. They are the 29th ranked defense in the country giving up only 62.9 points per contest. They are led by Nikola Vucevic (17.7 ppg) and Jio Fontan (10.5 ppg) with three others averaging exactly 9.9 points per game. California's defense is on the other end of the spectrum allowing over 71 points per game. Sure, they score a lot (72.9 ppg), but they can't afford to get into a shoot out. The Golden Bears are a jekyll and hyde squad winning four straight after losing four straight during the season. Their win streak wasn't as impressive as USC's. We'll take the Trojans who will be fresh for this game.
A weightlifting accident more than a year ago nearly ended the life and college career of former USC running back Stafon Johnson. Now, he's suing the school.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.
In September 2009, an accident in the weight room crushed his larynx when a bar loaded with 275 pounds fell on Johnson's neck during a bench press exercise.
The running back eventually recovered, but he was out the rest of the 2009 season.
He was picked up by the Tennessee Titans last April as a free agent, but his action in 2010 was limited because of an ankle injury he sustained in the preseason.
ESPN's Shelley Smith discusses...
"What we say occurred is that the bar was basically knocked out of his hand, causing it to fall on Stafon's neck, almost causing him to die," Johnson's attorney, Carl Douglas, said at a news conference Monday afternoon. "We think for that, those that are responsible should be held responsible for their actions."
Here's your refresher from our friends at MyFoxLA...
It's early Friday morning and I'm still licking my wounds from an evening of recreational dodgeball. I'm sure we all have fond memories of dodgeball from gym class in elementary school. Some of us used the sport to flex our muscles while others used it to pick up the girl of their dreams. I couldn't have been the only person to peg the woman he most wanted to go out with. Surely someone else thought when they were little that it was the way to a woman's heart.
Dodgeball hasn't changed much despite the fact that our age has. One would think the older we got, the more mature and refined the game would be. Unfortunately, that's not the case. There's still rampant cheating and the same problems we had when we were little. The only difference was the throws were faster and harder and the taunts were more then "nanny nanny boo boo." Tonight, we played a team of guys who were trying to impress someone yet I don't know who. Patches O'Houlihan wasn't there to sign us up for the Ocho ((pictured, thanks blogs.seattleweekly.com)).
One player on the other team was THAT guy who wanted to make sure you knew he got you out. The only problem with that is he became our personal target and was someone we all wanted to get out.
The rules for adult dodgeball are rough in certain places. There are out of bounds lines and places you can't get hit at all. There's also two referees who attempt to keep order. Only problem with that is that it's hard to do. No one is honest...even yours truly stayed in longer for a game or two then he should have. Why should I be truthful when the team we played wasn't? In the end, we lost more games then we won and now I'm home licking my wounds over a game that never seemed to hurt this much when I was little. Oh yeah, I still didn't get the girl even though I didn't try to hit her.
The Wednesday gospel went 3-1 for the readers. Let's hope I can continue the good vibes with these winners. Oh yeah, we'll return to basketball in the next blog post although Friday's usually aren't the best for gambling.
Florida International -2 -- It seems like Vegas cannot give the Golden Panthers much credit especially at home. They continue to give short lines for arguably the most talented team in the Sun Belt. FIU welcomes Arkansas-Little Rock to town on Thursday. Florida International is 7-2 at home this season with their losses coming to Sam Houston and Florida State. They are coming off a pair of tough road losses to North Texas and Denver, but they were in both contests. They average almost 73 points per contest while giving up 75. If this team played even a little bit of defense, they'd be a whole more deadly. Eric Frederick (15.2 ppg), DeJuan Wright (14.3 ppg), Alex Legion (12.1 ppg), Marvin Roberts (10.9 ppg) and Phil Gary (10.4 ppg) are deadly weapons right now. That doesn't even account for freshman Dominique Ferguson who has been a nice guy to bring off the bench. The Trojans are 11-9, 3-2 in the Sun Belt. They have a weaker offense scoring just 68.2 points per contest. UALR relies an awful lot on Solomon Bozeman who averages 15.7 points per contest. They have five other guys who average six points or more per game. The Trojans have lost seven straight road games with most of them coming by double digits. To me, I will continue to play FIU at home until they give me a reason not to.
Denver University -2.5 -- The Pioneers are 5-0 and atop the Sun Belt west conference. They host Arkansas State on Thursday. Denver isn't going to wow you on offense scoring just 61.8 points per game. They play good defense allowing 64.2 points. After a 2-9 start to the season, the Pioneers have won seven straight including five straight home games. Denver is led by Brian Stafford (13 ppg), Chase Hallam (12.9 ppg) and Travis Hallam (9.4 ppg). Arkansas State is 10-10, 4-2 in the Sun Belt. They score a little more putting up 71.4 points while giving up 66. The Red Wolves lean on Martavius Adams (13 ppg) and Donald Boone (10.6 ppg). Arkansas State is 1-9 on the road losing five straight away from home. They haven't been blown out in any of those games, but we don't need a victory by much. I'll take the Pioneers who are playing the better basketball at home.
USC -6.5 -- The Trojans return home after a rough trip thru Oregon against the Ducks and Beavers. They now welcome Stanford to LA for a late tip on Thursday. USC has been a tough team at home knocking off Texas and Washington State while losing to the Huskies by six points. USC lives and dies by their defense which gives up only 63.3 points per game. The team is deeper now that they've added Jio Fontan who has played eight games and averaged 13.1 points per contest. He complements Nikola Vucevic (16.4 ppg) and Maurice Jones (10.3 ppg). That doesn't even take into account Alex Stepheson (9.9 ppg) and Donte Smith (9.7 ppg) who also contribute heavily. Stanford is an inconsistent bunch. They have lost two of their last three in conference and have put up some real eggs on the road this season. They lost by 33 at Butler, 11 at Oklahoma State and 10 at Arizona. The Cardinal are another defense first team as they have given up just 59.8 points per contest this season. I think in this defensive struggle, the Trojans will come out on top.
Okay, so you score with 72 seconds left, and you think you have it made...
As someone on Saturdays says: Not so fast my friend...
Stanford's Andrew Luck set up Nate Whitaker's game-winning 30-yard field goal, giving the Cardinal a 37-35 victory and giving USC its second straight last-second defeat.
The HQ can't help but chuckle...
The loss dropped USC's record to 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the Pacific 10 Conference.
"We're at the lowest of the lows," USC quarterback Matt Barkley said, "and it's very tough because we were at the highest of the highs just two weeks ago."
It marked the first time since 2000 that Stanford defeated the Trojans at Stanford Stadium. And it marks the first time since 2001 that USC has lost two games in a row.
"We are so close to being good," Coach Lane Kiffin said, "but we are not there yet."
Mike Patrick had the pleasure of calling this one...
The HQ especially likes the Death Glare From Lane at, about the :30 mark...
Washington QB Jake Locker engineered a last-minute drive to set up Erik Folk's 32-yard field goal as time expired, and Washington upset the 18th-ranked Trojans 32-31 beating USC on a last-minute field goal for the second straight season. "It feels awesome to have the team compete like that for four quarters and then win it in the end," said Locker. "The reason I stuck around was to play for this team and these guys."
Folk's kick was the Huskies' first win at the Coliseum since 1996, and the Trojans had won 47 of 48 games there before losing three of their last five.
Reggie Bush and his Heisman/Courtesy: Stephen Chernin/Getty Images
Quite possibly the biggest talker story of the day (no, not stalker) is the meandering story of what might or might not happen to the 2005 Heisman Trophy won by Reggie Bush.
Yahoo Sports came out with a report early this morning which quoted sources as saying that the folks behind the Heisman were preparing to take the award back from Bush. Not only take it back, but wipe mention of him from the record.
Read the whole story from Yahoo Sports, RIGHT HERE
We didn't report it early today, because we weren't sure how much of it to believe. We say that despite generally being big fans of Yahoo Sports reporting.
Later this afternoon, in an interview with a producer for the Dan Patrick show, comes word that Rob Whalen, the executive director of the Heisman Trophy Trust said that the Yahoo story is completely false.
Hmmmm....
This is getting pretty interesting. We should note the statement at the bottom of the DP Show story, that being a statement from the Heisman Trust. In that statement, they don't deny at least discussing the issue. Now, they don't say that they are or aren't considering doing something...in fact they just say they are still considering it.
We think that eventually the Trust will do something, though it may take awhile. We don't necessarily agree with it, what's done is done in our opinion. While we don't condone what happened at USC and with Bush, the fact remains he was pretty darn good player during his time with the Trojans. Perhaps it should be considered more of an indictment on the either ignorance or non-chalance of the administration there. Either way, it sets a really, really dangerous precedent.
Here is some video of Mr. Bush from his days in Trojan Land. Courtesy: 11 Prodigy/YouTube:
What's the old saying cheaters never prosper. The University of Southern California is finding that out.
The Football Writers Association of America revoked the Trojans of their 2004 National Championship and the FWAA declined to name a replacement for the vacated title.
This is the first time a national championship has been vacated in a major college sport.
In a release by the FWAA, the organization reserves its right to pick a substitute national champion and a majority of the special committee reviewing USC's case during their recent scandal could not agree on a replacement for USC as the FWAA national champion.
"There was a thorough discussion of all the possible scenarios involving all the appropriate teams," FWAA President Tim Griffin said in a release. "The FWAA reached a very fair conclusion based on careful consideration of the strengths of all the teams. We realize there are numerous opinions on this question.
"Nonetheless, this group – which has more than three collective centuries of experience covering college football and has members representing all geographic regions in the nation – came to a decision we feel best serves the sport."
This decision will have Auburn Tiger fans ticked off. All that team accomplished was an undefeated season, 13-0. The Tigers were ranked #2 behind the Trojans in the final FWAA poll that year. That 2004 Auburn team can't even catch a break with this move.
You can read the release from the FWAA clicking below.
Future-Incoming, and Currently Interim, USC President Max Nikias said the school will return Reggie Bush's trophy to the Heisman Trophy Trust next month.
The HQ thinks, along with most conventional wisdom, that the trophy may be vacated and that this is a move to extend what goodwill USC has left in the college football community.
The school also said that it will take down anything, and the HQ means anything, with Bush or O.J. Mayo on it, the other major figure in the four-year NCAA investigation that ended about a month ago. "The Trojan Family honors and respects the USC sporting careers of those persons whose actions did not compromise their athletic program or the opportunities of future USC student-athletes," Nikias said.
This is all setting up the idea of a house-cleaning in the USC Athletic Department. OSG Sports reported earlier today that Pat Haden is taking over for a "retiring" Mike Garrett in early August as AD, and that JK McKay will be given the newly-created role of a university "liaison" between the Athletic Department and the individual teams themselves.
More when we know more...
Here's some highlights of Bush, that might have to be vacated or turned into "un-highlights..." by the time the NCAA is done... ((HT: NCAA/kneekeel8))
In a move a lot of people thought was a long time coming, former USC quarterback Pat Haden is set to replace current Athletic Director Mike Garrett as soon as August 3rd. USC President Steven Sample is retiring on that date, and it has been targeted and otherwise circled for the same transition in the Athletic Department.
Haden will, obviously, have to give up his role as NBC analyst for Notre Dame football, but the magna-cum-laude/Rhodes Scholar/Phi Beta Kappa-current private investment firm guy wants to restore the program to its past glory and reputation.
From Dwyre:
"This is not something I thought about doing, nor something even on my radar," Haden said. "But I began to see it as a challenge, as something new. And when my wife agreed — and she really doesn't follow sports closely — I took a closer look."
An announcement of an official nature is anticipated sometime Tuesday in Los Angeles. In addition, former Trojan JK McKay is also figured to be hired as some sort of compliance "liaison" between Haden and Lane Kiffin- presumably to keep Kiffin's head screwed on straight in recruiting and eligibility issues.
As Ol' JR used to say... Business just picked up...
More when we know more... But, here's what USC will be trying to avoid with Haden... Ed Laskos explains from Los Angeles from, about, six weeks ago... ((HT: KTTV/Fox 11- MyFoxLA))
We knew this was coming, just nobody knew when. The USC (Southern Cal) Football looks like they will be at home for the next two bowl seasons.
According to a plethora of reports, Lane Kiffin and his boys will be feeling the effects of following Pete Carroll for at least two years. They apparently will be banned from post-season bowl games, lose some games they won, lose 30 scholarships and various other restrictions including probation.
Here's Pete Carroll's understandable response from Seattle... ((HT: PeteCarrollTV))
That all stems from issues primarily surrounding two players; Reggie Bush and OJ Mayo. By the way, we don't mention the basketball team, because they self-imposed a post-season ban on themselves this past season.
There is much, much more in this story from NBC Los Angeles RIGHT HERE Some additional details from CBS2 in LA RIGHT HERE
According to the reports, the school was going to announce something along these lines in a press conference Thursday afternoon, that has now been scaled back to a Press Release. Hmmmm....does anyone think that Mr. Bush, Mr. Mayo or former coaches Pete Carroll or Tim Floyd will be commenting? Nah....us either.
ABC7 in LA has some campus reaction, check it out:
And here's coverage from "Good Day LA" and our friends at Fox11-KTTV ((HT: MyFoxLA.com))
The last few weeks I've been on a spring football tour however a trip to Southern Cal. wasn't in the itinerary. It would have been nice to be in L.A. on Tuesday for Lane Kiffin's first spring practice at USC as the "Trojan Man".
Yes Kiffykins is hanging with the beautiful people in L.A. practicing his craft. Along for the ride are his partners in crime, daddy Monte Kiffin and recruiter in chief Ed Orgeron.
This time a year ago Kiffykins was wearing Tennessee orange riling up the passionate fans of the SEC, calling Urban Meyer a cheater (adding to Meyer's off the charts stress level.) and telling a recruit if he wanted to pump gas for a living play for Steve Spurrier at South Carolina.
None of that rhetoric is needed at USC, if Kiffykins called Rick Neuheisel and pot head it probably would get some play on TMZ or if he told a recruit if he wanted to hold up a sign for a career as a political protester play for Jeff Tedford at Cal the Bear fans would react... "so that's our football coach."
In the college football world, the passion of SEC football fans is a 10, the Pac-10 its maybe a 2.
Now Kiffykins has brought a new attitude to USC, that according to quarterback Matt Barkley saying this coaching staff is big on discipline.
"I really want to focus on toughness and discipline,"Kiffin told the Los Angeles Daily News. "We want to make sure we play smart. That when you watch us we are a disciplined team."
Pardon me as I recover from laughter......
At Tennessee Kiffin was the immature little kid who tried to bully his way through the SEC slinging arrows at the established coaches in the league as if to say "look at me, I'm going to kick your ass."
Kiffykins admits Southern Cal is a different situation, one that he doesn't need to act like a jerk. What will be Kiffin's demeanor if the Trojans get off to a bad start?
Would anyone in the Pac-1o care.
Photos Courtesy:Andy Holzman/Los Angeles Daily News & AP
Apparently you can't keep Tim Floyd down for long. Floyd who has coached at 4 other schools in the NCAA along with 2 NBA teams now can add a 5th to the college resume'. Truth be told, he was an assistant at UTEP way back in his past before heading into the Head Coaching ranks.
According to our friends at the 4-letter word, UTEP is set to announce Floyd as the replacement to Tony Barbee who left to go to Auburn. The announcement is supposed to be today at 6pm El Paso time.
((Tim Floyd likes the 4-horsemen//Courtesy: John W. McDonough/SI))
Floyd left his last job at USC under a bit of a cloud. He was the coach while who got O.J Mayo to come play with the Trojans and there were a bunch of allegations regarding illegal recruitment. Floyd, according to the report, won't be in trouble for those issues (hmmmm?)
In the meantime, enjoy some video of the aforementioned Floyd playing peacemaker during a casino brawl. Thanks You Tube:
FOSG Steve Wrigley reports that the meeting between Jags owner Wayne Weaver and head coach Jack Del Rio is over. The end result is that Del Rio will stay and not walk away from the last three years and $15-million on the contract.
USC AD Mike Garrett will now continue his fishing expedition...
Here's Wayne Weaver's press conference talking about Del Rio's non-exodus... ((HT: FirstCoastNews/NBC12-ABC25))
Rory Markas, current Angels and USC basketball lead play-by-play guy, passed away at his home at the age of 54.
We're just going to let Steve Edwards and the "Good Day LA" crew talk about the impact he had in Southern California... Lauren Sanchez took the news a little tough...
Jimmy Clausen threw three incomplete passes into the end zone in the closing seconds as No. 6 Southern California held on for a 34-27 victory and its eighth straight win against No. 25 Notre Dame.
The Irish rallied back from a 34-14 deficit, but couldn't score into the same end zone where the Trojans famously scored four years ago on the Bush Push.
On Clausen's first pass into the end zone, Kyle Rudolph made juggling catch but was out of bounds. The second was knocked down by Josh Pinkard and the Trojans started celebrating thinking the game was over.
But the officials ruled there was 1 second left.
Clausen fired to Duval Kamara, who slipped and couldn't get a hand on it.
Here's Jim Hill's highlights from KCBS-TV's "Sports Central" program...
