Pieces are in place for a USC victory


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Plenty of hand-holding harmony occurred in the soon-to-be Pac-12 over the weekend, with the divisional split and revenue-sharing agreement set to take effect next season. California has been split in two, but the rivalries have been maintained. Your annual Weekender plans are safe. It was also decided that revenue from television contracts is going to […]

Bye week came at perfect moment


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This has been a rough year for USC football. Sure, the Trojans are 5-2 and just decimated a Cal team that, until two weeks ago, looked like decent competition in the Pac-10. But don’t be fooled. The temporary happiness that USC is currently experiencing only masks the lingering damage that it withstood to get to […]

A desperate plea to our visiting President


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Dear President Obama, I know you’re a busy man. Leading our nation is no small task. With midterm elections, two wars and a struggling economy on your plate, you could be forgiven for not grabbing a copy of the Daily Trojan today. But here’s guessing you’re the type of guy who picks up a newspaper […]

California budget woes hurt athletics


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Everyone knows it. The state of California is a mess. Voters can’t decide if they want to legalize same-sex marriage, pot or both; the only news I hear about Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown comes from slanderous negative advertisements; and it has rained for the last week. I forget what the sun looks like. Oh […]

Computer-led BCS will always miss the mark


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The BCS rankings were released Sunday, and you know what that means: The controversy has begun. It may be a blessing for college football, it may be a curse, who knows? Whatever your take is, the Bowl Controversy Series rankings surely make for the kind of midseason drama that is not possible in any other […]

Rout of Cal shows USC is not irrelevant


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Prior to Saturday’s game, the month of October had not been kind to the Trojans’ status in the collegiate football world. Between two heartbreaking field goals, a plethora of missed opportunities and all of the lost hype, the Trojans found themselves tied for seventh place in the Pac-10 and sitting on the national media’s back […]

As challenges loom, Cal is a must-win test


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When I wrote my last column, USC was 4-0. Undefeated. The fans were happy. Now, just two weeks later, USC is 4-2, the Trojans having lost two consecutive games for the first time since 2001. The fans, as you might guess, are not happy. What’s changed? Two things: one, a sad-but-true realization and an incredible […]

NCAA made a point with Trojans


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USC is the first case of a school receiving major penalties because of illegal activity regarding agent-player relations. But as the SI report shows, this activity has been going on for at least 20 years, most likely longer.

Defensive woes with new scheme expected


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Let me start off by dispelling the notion that patience is a virtue when it comes to following sports. In fact, I am convinced that whoever came up with that thought-provoking proverb never had to experience the agony of watching his team lose on gut-wrenching, last-second drives two weeks in a row. We live in […]