Tag Archive for: jovanelly

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 […]

Establishing a backup quarterback is crucial


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Backup quarterbacks live by this mantra: It’s just a play away. Just as the vice president is a heartbeat away from the presidency, the No. 2 signal-callers are one snap away from going from relative obscurity to having all eyes looking at them. There are those who never get the chance, those that history relegates […]

Future still bleak for USC football program


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I woke up yesterday to an email from USC football announcing Tuesday’s “Trojan Day” at L.A. Live. USC coach Lane Kiffin, his father Monte and Ed Orgeron will be there signing autographs. Season tickets will be available for purchase. But the most promising part of the email was written in all capitals at the top: […]

March still trumps the BCS chaos every time


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Every college football season for the past 10 years has featured a thunderstorm of complaints about everybody’s favorite whipping boy, the Bowl Championship Series. When fans, coaches and sports writers complain about the lack of a playoff system in college football, they immediately point to March Madness as the gold standard for determining a true […]

Uncertain future for Trojans’ athletics


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For all you underclassmen Trojans fans, a word from the wise: brace yourselves. I know basketball season just ended and spring football practice is just beginning, but recent action in both sports are bad omens for next season. The most recent bad basketball news came over the weekend when junior forward Nikola Vucevic decided to […]

Spring rings in hope for Kiffin and Trojans


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The torrential rains of the last few days have not been a coincidence. They are a clear message from the college football gods, who know spring practice begins today: “We’re watching you.” USC is near the midway point of paying for its “sins” — and I use that word loosely, considering all the inconsistent rulings […]

Cheating pervasive in college athletics


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When I heard Oregon had paid scout Will Lyles $25,000 for recruiting services, I wasn’t even surprised. Whether within the rules or not, the Oregon situation is a stark reminder that the mechanism of college recruiting is corrupt at multiple levels.

Volleyball lessons for men’s basketball


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The USC men’s basketball team is struggling. The USC men’s volleyball team is not. Yes, the top-ranked men’s volleyball team lost its first game of what was a perfect season over the weekend, a five-set heartbreaker to Pepperdine. But the mild setback didn’t shake the college volleyball world. The Trojans are still the No. 1 […]

NFL can’t change L.A. sports landscape


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Sunday, like the rest of America, I arrived at a Super Bowl party. As I mingled with the other guests and wolfed down my second chili dog, the inevitable question arrived: Which team are you rooting for? I did what I do whenever I’m asked that question regarding an NFL game — I waffled. Yeah, […]