There has been speculation about two new members of the Pac-10 for a long time now. I remember when they were supposed to be Texas and Texas A&M, when the old Southwest Conference was breaking up.
New commissioner Larry Scott, a marketing guy who says “going forward” a lot, seems receptive to the idea of a Pac-12.
And Channel 4 in Salt Lake City thinks the extra pair will be Utah and Colorado. No Brigham Young.
ESPN’s Bruce Feldman reports USC will consider New Orleans Saints receivers coach Curtis Johnson in its search for an offensive coordinator.
Johnson is a former assistant at Miami and San Diego State and, according to Feldman, is recognized among his peers for developing receivers and for recruiting.
Johnson has been with the Saints the past four years. His team bio says he helped San Diego State land Marshall Faulk.
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In an interview with KTSP-TV, offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson indicated that he wouldn’t follow through on his commitment to USC if the coming NCAA sanctions are too punitive.
The Star Tribune reports that Henderson and his dad are a little wary of what might befall the Trojans.
The 2010 recruiting classes for UCLA and USC were ranked in the top 10 by both major recruiting services. While USC had the advantage in five-star athletes, UCLA had more players sign and added depth at more positions.
We offered our breakdown on which school won the crosstown showdown.
Now we ask:
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Considering that he hasn’t said much since becoming USC coach, and just about everything he said or did at Tennessee caused a ruckus, it’s amazing that this flew relatively under the radar last week:
Lane Kiffin suggested there’s a deep-down difference between players who want to play for USC and those who prefer UCLA.
The difference is so obvious, Kiffin said, that it takes almost no time for him and his staff to recognize it.
“We know within the first 10 minutes,” Kiffin said, “whether they’re the type of guys that want to play here or there.”
Whoa! Them’s fightin’ words!
So what exactly is the difference?
Kiffin said it had a lot to do with “the questions that they ask,” the way the recruits carry themselves and a certain “feeling” he gets about them from having worked this area so long.
For example, in discussing his new group of defensive backs, Kiffin said: “One of the things I like is not one of these guys asked about a depth chart or who was here or how much can I play or worried about being able to beat people out. Those are the guys that we want to come to ‘SC. Everyone was like that, but especially this group.”
After he received what amounted to a hard slap on the helmet for his DUI conviction, former USC linebacker Rey Maualuga makes a positive move by promising to check into the Betty Ford Clinic, according to this ESPN.com report.
Nikola Vucevic made a tip-in to put USC ahead with 20.6 seconds left, and the Trojans held off Stanford, 54-49, on Saturday at Galen Center.
USC (14-9, 6-5 Pac-10) overcame a monster performance from Pac-10 leading scorer Landry Fields, who had 27 points and 11 rebounds.
Vucevic, who missed a tip-in that could have won the previous matchup at Stanford, had 18 points and 14 rebounds.
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Nikola Vucevic has 10 points and six rebounds as USC leads Stanford, 27-26, at halftime of their game at Galen Center.
Playing lockdown defense from the opening tip, the Trojans shot out to a 21-7 lead. But a subsequent lapse — coinciding with Marcus Johnson getting his second foul and leaving the game — led to a 16-1 Cardinal run.
Stanford’s Landry Fields, the leading scorer in the Pac-10, leads all scorers with 14 points. He also has a game-high nine rebounds.
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Hitting four free throws in the final nine seconds against Cal on Thursday was USC forward Nikola Vucevic’s be-like-Mike moment.
As a youth, the sophomore from Montenegro remembered watching Michael Jordan hitting countless winning shots.
“You want to do that one day,” Vucevic said after those foul shots helped clinch the Trojans’ 66-63 victory.
Vucevic did it despite an injured pinkie finger on his shooting hand. He had a Velcro strap keeping his ring finger and pinkie together, and he’s wearing it again during warmups for today’s game against Stanford at Galen Center.
The injury obviously didn’t bother him.
Channel 10 in San Diego reports that two Helix High students are wondering what happened to the scholarship money that Heisman Trophy winner and second overall NFL draft pick Reggie Bush promised them.
Just a wild guess: Legal fees?
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