As a kid, I preferred UCLA over USC. The Trojans were big and bad, but UCLA was little and lithe and a little smarter than your average oafs, and I liked that. Terry Donahue played defensive tackle at 205 pounds. Bob Stiles was 5-foot-9 and and 175 pounds, but he stopped Michigan State’s huge fullback […]

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First, the good news: USC 49, Hawaii 36. And now the bad: Matt Leinart released by the Arizona Cardinals. How the great have fallen. First the on-probation Trojans. Now Matt. It’s almost as if that whole mid-decade USC team is having its history rewritten, and not in a flattering way. Reggie Bush cheated. Pete Carroll […]

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Part 3 of the series in The National about the best sports venues in the world. Broken out by continent. In Monday’s editions: North America! Interesting, how the voting went. I will tell you who won: Augusta National. Even the Brits in the room know about “the course like no other” or whatever it is […]

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It is being reported that Pat Haden will succeed Mike Garrett as athletic director at USC, and let see if I can summarize my first impressions of that move. “Inspired … a perfect decision … a great guy … a very very smart man … a classy dude … absolutely the right man for the […]

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We again interrupt this travelogue to muse about sports events back home, this time the Day of Reckoning at the University of Southern California. Anyone who has been around the American college sports scene for any length of time could see this coming. To spend any time around Heritage Hall at USC was to pick […]

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USC fans probably would like to think Mike Garrett had this planned–  and reviewed and updated that plan at the end of every season. “When Pete Carroll leaves, and he will, whom do I want to be the next USC football coach? In what order of preference?” Because USC people probably would like to think […]

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Someday, perhaps as early as this fall, USC fans will look back at the Pete Carroll Era and … sigh. Let’s think about this: For most of a decade, USC fans didn’t just hope for a national-championship contender, they expected it.  And they got it. Seven consecutive BCS bowl teams. Seven consecutive No. 4-or-better national […]

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One of my half-dozen great regrets about living and working overseas is how difficult it is to see college football. It is by far the most important American sport that has zero exposure overseas. None. You can find some NFL, some NBA, some MLB … but college sports. Nope. Just not shown on “local” cable. […]

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It was a more eventful decade than my initial thoughts indicated. “Wow. I have to come up with 10 good sports events from the 0-somethings? I’m not sure I can do that.” Turns out, a few minutes of cross-referencing years and sports, and it’s no problem finding 10. The trick is limiting it to that […]

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The Heisman Trophy: I love that award. It has fascinated me since I was a child. I remember being very pleased when UCLA’s Gary Beban won it in 1967. And when USC’s Mike Garrett won it in 1965. Almost every time I was in Heritage Hall, at USC, I found myself standing on front of […]

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