COLUMN: Obama’s departure is sad day for sports


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Yesterday was former President Barack Obama’s final day in office and — regardless of where you fall in the political spectrum — a sad day for sports fans across the country. Of the few presidencies I’ve lived through, no commander in chief has been as involved and as knowledgeable about the world of sports as […]

COLUMN: Tiny fan sections ruin game experience


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Attendance issues at sporting events aren’t a new topic at USC. The problem was further magnified when the football team got off to a slow start last fall. There were swaths of empty seats in the Coliseum throughout the season, and it hurts my soul to know that one of the smallest crowds in the […]

COLUMN: Chargers’ move to LA won’t solve problems


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Too much of a good thing is a bad thing. Last August, I ended a column about the St. Louis Rams moving to Los Angeles with this precaution: “Ninety-one thousand people may pack the Coliseum for a preseason NFL game just to check out the shiny new toy, but how many will actually show up […]

COLUMN: Rose Bowl still tastes sweet one week later


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It’s now over a week since it happened. The college football season also officially ended Monday, after Clemson completed a comeback that rivals even ’SC’s. We’ve even had a couple of Trojans declare for the NFL draft already, adding a bittersweet touch to an otherwise perfectly rosy season. It’s now perfectly acceptable for Trojan fans […]

COLUMN: Let’s thank JuJu for the catches and the drops


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I’m certain that I was just one of the thousands of people who were fervently refreshing junior Juju Smith-Schuster’s social media accounts Saturday afternoon in search of an answer to the question: “One more year?” When the standout receiver tweeted that a decision on his senior season would be announced in “a couple hours” Saturday, […]

For Trojan fans, seeing is believing


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Before my first Stanford game, a senior gave me a warning. “I know you’re getting excited about the team, but they’re probably going to let you down.” She was right, of course, and I nursed the sting of that fourth-quarter loss for days. The unfurling mess of Sarkisian’s dismissal and the brutal Pac-12 championship loss […]

Rose Bowl appearance solidifies USC’s resurgence


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The first football practice I covered as a staff writer at the Daily Trojan was the one after head coach Steve Sarkisian showed up to a booster event inebriated, went on a drunken, profanity-laced tirade and later apologized for in front of a horde of cameras. This, I learned as a wide-eyed freshman, was just […]

Trojans still have a shot at greatness


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I still have lingering disappointment from the 2006 Rose Bowl. I probably always will, as will any lifelong USC football fan. With maybe the best team ever in college football, USC couldn’t cap its reign of dominance with the national championship it deserved. The loss almost overshadowed the previous two national championships. But it was OK, […]

Committee has tough decisions to make


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College football is obsessed with records. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it isn’t a good one either. At times, it can cloud someone’s vision and allow one to overlook the talent and current play of a team just because of its record. Other times, focusing on records completely makes sense. I know what […]