Historic stadium in need of upgrades


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Stadiums don’t get much more historic than the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Host of two Olympic Games, two Super Bowls and the 1959 World Series, the Coliseum could make a strong claim to the title of America’s most storied sporting backdrop. It’s also true, however, that stadiums don’t get much more rundown than the Coliseum. […]

After two full seasons, Barkley has seen it all


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So much has happened since Matt Barkley first stepped onto USC’s campus years ago, when he was just an 18-year-old with a million-dollar smile and championship promise in tow. First came the losses of 2009 — four in a season for the first time since 2001 — as a team in flux tried to live […]

Academic rise has boosted water polo


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The USC men’s water polo program is easy to compliment. It’s become, more or less, the pretty girl at the bar. And it’s easy to see why. Over the last three seasons, the Trojans have compiled an overall mark of 83-4 en route to three straight NCAA championships. With the 2011 season slated to begin […]

Loss of volleyball star not serious


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It happened in a flash — almost unexpectedly. Sophomore outside hitter Falyn Fonoimoana, who appeared to be the future of an already bright USC women’s volleyball program after being named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year in 2010, was gone. There was neither a news conference nor an in-depth explanation given. A simple, almost mundane, 95-word […]

Support now missing for football program


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It’s late August on USC’s University Park campus. Must mean it’s time to get psyched up for Trojan excellence in the 2012 Summer Olympics, right? That’s what the athletic department would have you think. The east side of Heritage Hall was recently adorned with a smattering of banners celebrating the amazing feats of USC athletes […]

Tough hill to climb for Trojan basketball


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They happened five months and more than 6,000 miles apart. First, there was the late March press conference at the Galen Center in Los Angeles where first-team All-Pac-10 center Nikola Vucevic declared he was skipping his senior season at USC to enter the NBA draft. Just last week, in a nondescript gymnasium outside Sao Paulo, […]

Receiving group focal point for USC in 2011


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Despite many major moments of the 2010 season being dominated by obvious growing pains and missed opportunities, there remained a constant staple in the Trojans’ offense fans could always get excited about — the exhilarating connection that junior quarterback Matt Barkley shared with then-freshman wide receiver Robert Woods. Quickly getting time as a starter alongside […]

Continuity should help USC in 2011


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What a difference a year makes. Last summer it became a daily ritual to digest a smattering of national headlines regarding USC football along with my morning cereal. This summer, however, it seems the only buzz surrounding the team is senior tailback Marc Tyler’s well-documented night on the town. Though some teams would do just […]

Amnesty would be good gesture


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Football is fast approaching, and there is, as always, plenty of NCAA administrative nonsense to gripe about. This season, USC will reprise its role as the governing body’s redheaded stepchild, sheltered from postseason play and short a handful of scholarships. Meanwhile, the NCAA continues to sniff out problems at North Carolina, Ohio State and Oregon, […]

USC’s top stars shine off the gridiron as well


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With 11 national championships and six Heisman Trophy winners, USC has become synonymous with football, and for good reason. The football program, however, can sometimes cast its Coliseum-sized shadow over the other members of what is one of the country’s deepest and most successful athletic programs. The “other” USC sports teams have combined for 93 […]