NCAA gets it wrong yet again


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June 10, 2010 is when it all started. That was the day the NCAA handed down some of the stiffest and most stringent penalties of all time in its sanctions against the USC football program. That was when I became skeptical about the integrity and questionable motives of the NCAA as an institution. Looking back, […]

Coach Hubbs tasked with rallying program


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Most of the excitement in USC sports has been in anticipation of the start of Trojan football. But there was some big news this week for a different men’s sports team —one with arguably more prestige than those guys who play in the Coliseum. On Tuesday, USC announced that baseball coach Dan Hubbs, who took […]

First game couldn’t arrive sooner for USC


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It’s here. It’s been eight months since USC last played a football game — 241 days, to be exact. It’s actually been about 10 months since USC played a game that was enjoyable to watch, but I digress. The wait is over. This is a team, a fan base and a program all too eager […]

Football program stays out of trouble


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I’ll admit that heading into the football season, USC head coach Lane Kiffin doesn’t have a lot going for him. USC’s dive from preseason favorite to unranked with six losses last year was unprecedented, and Kiffin’s chilly public persona only fuels his detractors. If he wins fewer than nine games this upcoming year, there is […]

Kiffin’s indecision is blessing in disguise


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When USC head coach Lane Kiffin announced on Saturday that, after months of evaluating redshirt sophomore quarterbacks Cody Kessler and Max Wittek, he was still unable to name a starter for the season opener, my initial reaction was to brace myself for the immediate, Twitter-induced backlash that predictably followed. Fans and media members alike were […]

Fall, spring at USC filled with highs, lows


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As the 2012-13 school year comes to a close, it is only natural for students to reflect on their time at USC. For seniors about to embark on the next phase of their lives, the most common thought is most likely along the lines of “where did the time go?” For underclassmen, time might not […]

Collins coming out is big-time sports news


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When news broke on Monday that Jason Collins was the first active athlete to come out as gay in a major sports league, there were three basic reactions on television, social media and elsewhere. Reaction one: Overwhelming support. Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, David Stern, even President Barack Obama congratulated Collins for coming out. Reaction two: […]

Writing as Mom’s eyes, ears


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Mom didn’t react well to the adriamycin, or the cytoxan. This was Jan. 4, 2005, a Tuesday. My dad was carrying my mother as they slammed through the front door of our Burbank home. She was having difficulty even standing alone, and so he walked her through the house and onto the bed. This Tuesday […]

Sports fans gain from shared experiences


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As I stand on the precipice of never writing another sports article, I can’t help but sense an important part of me slipping away, never to return again. It’s not that I’ve ever considered myself an actual sports journalist, more just an opinionated sports fan with patience for the writing process. Now that a mass […]

Moving ahead along with Barkley, Trojans


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It’s far too fitting that I’m writing my last column for the Daily Trojan on the first day of the 2013 NFL draft. As I watch Matt Barkley, Robert Woods, T.J. McDonald and others hear their names called over the next few days, I can’t help but remember all the times I interviewed them on […]