Clock Strikes Twelve for USC Trojans

Keep moving moves, nothing to see here. Nothing special about this team other than an inexperienced TRUE freshman quarterback, an overrated defense, and throw in a lovable players coach.  I’m not dogging on USC’s history, but I’m gonna hammer the present.  The Trojans got their asses kicked by the Oregon Ducks.  The same Ducks that lost their starting running back to suspension after the first game.  What the hell is going on here?  Many people said that the Trojans weren’t prepared, they didn’t come to play.  The truth of the matter is that this team isn’t the team they used to be.  Matt Barkley hasn’t arrived yet.  He hasn’t had a jaw dropping game this season. He missed receiver after receiver.  The defense has allowed at leat 27 points in each of the last 3 games.  Frankly, the playmakers aren’t there YET, on both offense and defense.  Sure they have a bunch of blue-chip talent on the field but these guys aren’t gelling.  Watching the Ducks yesterday, they moved the ball anywhere they wanted.  It’s gonna be at least another year before Barkley plays 1/2 as good as people have been hyping him up.  As for the rest of the Trojans, sad. Wasted loss in the beginning of the year at Washington.  I knew this was gonna be a tough game for SC.  They’ve had problems winning in Oregon, whether it be the Ducks or the Beavers, for the past 3 years. Anyhow, looks like the “whogiveacrap” bowl for the USC Trojans this year, whoopdittedoo!

Heisman Snubs

So the Heisman Trophy is awarded this Saturday and by now we all know the four finalists. All four are well deserved, but what about the others that weren’t invited to New York? Dennis Dixon of Oregon was my frontrunner before he was injured, and if anything his injury showed us how vulnerable the Ducks are without him. The team was ranked number two at one point, then completely collapsed losing three in a row. What might be even a bigger slight is not inviting Kevin Smith of Central Florida. This kid, in relative obscurity, has rushed for nearly 2,500 yards and is 150 yards away from the record held by Barry Sanders. He has put together one of the finest seasons in college football history with 29 touchdowns, a game of over 300 yards, and five games of over 200 yards. How this guy was not invited to New York is beyond me, but then again I’m not suprised. The media are always starf*%#ers and the voters probably have never seen one of his games. So at the end of the day h  e will probably have the second best season in college football history for a running back and no one will know. This reaks of Bo Jackson, Hershel Walker, and Jim Brown being snubbed. I refuse to vote for a Heisman winner again.

If it Looks Like a Duck…

And there go the Oregon Ducks’ chances of a National Title. On Thursday night, the Ducks became another victim of the cursed #2 ranking, falling to the Arizona Wildcats. No more BCS argument, as long as LSU wins and the winner of Kansas and Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game.  And who ever said the BCS doesn’t work? What college football playoffs? With Oregon going down, there go their title hopes, but their Rose Bowl hopes are still alive. Bad news for USC though.  Oregon owns the tiebreaker and if they win out, they should be in line for a Rose appearance, as long as USC beats Arizona State on Thanksgiving day.  Good news for SC is that heisman hopeful Dennis Dixon re-injured his knee and might be out for the season.  Chances are the Ducks will drop one of the next two (either at UCLA or finale against rival Oregon State).  As for the Trojans, if they win out, I gotta feeling you’ll be seeing them at Pasadena.

NCAA FOOTBALL Rumble Out West: Arizona St. @ Oregon

The spread is 7.5, but there’s a lot more on the line than just the game, Pac-10 bragging rights, and heisman votes: the loser will most likely forgo any chance to play in the National Title game. On Saturday, #4 Arizona State travels up north to Autzen Stadium to face the #5 Oregon Ducks. The Ducks already have 1 loss while the Sun Devils are still perfect. Both teams have studs at quarterback, Rudy Carpenter for the Devils and Dennis Dixon for the Ducks. The problem for the Devils is that Carpenter has a sprained thumb and hasn’t thrown the ball this week in practice. I’m sure Carpenter’s not going to sit this game out, but he’s gonna have to be as close to 100% as possible to beat a sizzling Oregon squad that’s coming off a huge win courtesy of the Trojans. My pick, Ducks to win, but not to cover. 7.5 is way too large for 2 solid teams. One *, if Carpenter doesn’t play, then Ducks to cover and win in a big way. Remember, Autzen stadium is quite possibly the loudest place to play in the country (no offense to the Swamp in Florida), so the 12th man will definitely play a role. Damn you Ducks for beating my Trojans and knocking them into mortality and mediocrity…

West Coast Bias: Pac-10 Respect

Let’s give some love to Pac-10 football. All we’ve heard over the past god knows how many years is how the Pac-10 is weak. All the critics around the country (mostly east coasters) kept saying how the Trojans have a weak conference schedule, a walk through the park… Well, last time I checked, Arizona State and Oregon are ranked 4 and 5 respectively in the country. Not only that, but powerhouse SC is no longer in the runnings for a National Title. Cal just fell out of the top 25. UCLA, well, they’re still UCLA, beating teams they shouldn’t be beating and losing to teams they should be pounding (see Notre Dame). So aside from the SEC, I don’t want to hear any more East Coast Bias about how the Pac-10 is weak blah blah blah…Give them the credit and the respect they deserve dammit!!!

Ducks Rip Trojans

Season over, thanks for coming… The Oregon Ducks handed the USC Trojans their 2nd loss of the season, and this one burns the most. Oh how the might have fallen.  No more National Championship talks for the Trojans, the first time in 5 years.   Not only will the Trojans not appear in the title game but they also won’t be in the Rose Bowl either.  With a 3-2 conference records and a 6-2 overall record, a lot of things have to go right for the Trojans to even be able to tailgate at the Rose Bowl, let alone be play in it.  With a poor running and passing game, the Trojans have A LOT of retooling to do to compete next season. Their quarterback play is their biggest question mark and needs to be answered before they can get back to the top.  But for know, time to put the Trojans to rest, it’s time for a new king in the Pac-10, Hail to the Ducks? (I don’t know, just doesn’t sound right). It’s a sad day in collegiate sports today…

My Name is James and I’m a Sports Groupie

Seen any athletes in person other than at games? There’s a restaurant called Le Slam up in the northwest…I think in Washington State that I went to a few times as a kid. Co-owned by Mychal Thompson and Kermit Washington, it’s got pretty good food. I had the Jordan Burger, how catchy… Anyways, I met Mr. Washington and had a small convoy with him. I went back to watch the Tyson v. Holyfield II fight and as I walked in, a very large man stamped my hand, Kevin Duckworth baby. Remember him? He was the size of a baby elephant (that’s pretty big). Off topic, but do 95% of retired players have a daily diet of 7 trips to a buffet? Ahhh, now it makes sense! Remember Sprewell when he needed a bigger contract to feed his family? Buffets are pretty expensive, 7 trips on a daily basis will cost you. T-wolves management was too cheap to give him ummm….30 million+. C’mon McHale, feed the hungry.

Anyway, I went to South Eugene High in Oregon (yeah it sucked). I had an English class with Blake Step, remember him? He played at Gonzaga for 4 years. Never asked him for his autograph and where did that get me? It save me from looking like an idiot and saved my 20 cents in EBAY fees for his autograph which I probably wouldn’t have sold. At U. of Oregon (2 years) I saw Luke Ridnour, Luke Jackson and Fred Jones walking around campus. Hard to miss 3 giants with a group of blondies following them. At the campus sub shop called Big Town Hero, I had lunch with Joey Harrington and it was awesome. OK, it was lunch next to him,about 2 tables away but I overheard him talking about his piano playing skills. The difference is he was with a hot chick and I was with a dude. I ran into Fred Jones again and after a night of partying, I ran into him at a 24 hour diner called Shari’s. I walked in and saw Fred, who was a rookie in the NBA, sitting with a couple of friends. I looked at him with a blank stare for what seemed like 2 mintues. Funny thing is, he stared right back. Funnier thing is, I saved myself from another 20 cents on EBAY.

This article was contributed by James.