Stipends problematic for collegiate athletes


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Nobody cares about Lonnie White. Nobody cares that as a former USC wide receiver from 1982 to 1986, White pocketed roughly $14,000 in extra benefits. Nobody cares that he sold his season ticket allotment. Nobody cares that, in doing so, he violated NCAA rules. We’re numb to this now. Unless Yahoo! Sports were to learn […]

Vucevic proving doubters wrong


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The “one more year” chants echoing throughout the Galen Center on Senior Night and the smile breaking across Nikola Vucevic’s face as he prepared himself at the foul line told me everything I needed to know. Vucevic leading the Trojans as a junior was merely a pleasant wish; his final home victory was the perfect […]

Storm clouds hanging over USC athletics


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Heritage Hall, by most standards, is a decorated facility. Six Heisman trophies line the entrance, championship banners hang from the upper balcony, and if you venture outside the building, you’ll spot several hundred plaques on a patio floor commemorating members of USC’s athletic hall of fame. It’s a fitting display for a program with 92 […]

Johnson, Trojans ready for another title run


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Junior Steve Johnson has accomplished what very few have been able to do. With strong play  and impeccable will and stamina, he walked away victorious from the NCAA singles championship match in Palo Alto, Calif., just a week after he led the Trojans to the NCAA team title. Johnson’s achievements could not have come at […]

Suing NCAA not a viable option for USC


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Well, that was exhausting. Five years, one month and six days later, and the final chapter to the Reggie Bush era officially closed Thursday morning with the NCAA once again giving USC the cold shoulder, announcing the school’s appeal of last June’s sanctions had been denied. And it’s about time. For a case dating back […]

Foundation for men’s volleyball set in place


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Four of the country’s top prep volleyball players — Tyler Cundiff, Ben Lam, Robbie McKnight and Austin Rysyk — will join USC for the 2012 season, USC coach Bill Ferguson announced on May 19. The new class features state and club champions, players selected to be part of the national team’s pipeline of talent and […]

Enforcement exercise condescending in tone


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The criticisms have snowballed. Over the past year, since the words “lack of institutional control” and “failure to monitor” became ingrained into the mind of the average college sports fan, the NCAA has been under intense scrutiny. That’s no surprise. From USC’s two-year bowl ban to Ohio State’s “Tattoo Five” and, most recently, Boise State’s […]

USC’s top five sports moments of the year


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It’s been a crazy year in college athletics. Scandals ran rampant across college football and college basketball. The NCAA tournament certainly defined madness. But amid all of this, it was clear the cardinal and gold still boasts some, if not most, of the top teams in the nation across all sports. So as the year […]

Onus falls on us to protect USC spirit


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When the year began, I was warned that, despite any attempt to put a positive spin on a controversial situation, one truth would remain: The Trojans’ athletic program is fatally flawed. People near and far continued to tell me this year would be the first of a long, dark period for USC athletics. Nine months […]

The harsh realities of collegiate football


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I’ve been coming to USC football games for as long as I can remember. I’ve been to games as a giddy kid, a drunken student and a dispassionate journalist. I don’t have to tell you which setting was the most fun. As I look back on the three years I covered the team and the […]