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A Rose Bowl by any other name

2006-08-25T13:43:00.000-07:00

In addition to the changes in nomenclature of certain schools with Native American nicknames is coming another change: the BCS national championship game has chosen to become anonymous. Though the game will be played in the metro Phoenix area this year, it will not be the Fiesta Bowl (that bowl will, as JoePa notes below, still be a BCS bowl, and will take place a week before the title game). It will simply be called "the BCS National Championship Game."

In a sport that is so rich in tradition, this change should be very unwelcome. Names like Rose, Sugar, Orange, Cotton, Sun, and Gator have long been a part of the college football and New Year's Day lexicon. To make the biggest college game of the year a game without a name is a tragedy of epic proportions. The 2 for 1 in the same city was workable: just let each city come up with a new name for a new bowl. Now, college football is without a moniker even to match "The Final Four" or "The College World Series." The sport that invented tradition has now abandoned it.

If the BCS persists in wanting a single name for its title game regardless of city, then I have a modest proposal: call it "The Orrin Hatch Bowl." As JoePa mentoned below, the primary reason for the creation of the 5th BCS bowl game was the fear of Congressional intervention, and Hatch, the meddlesome Mormon from Utah, was the primary agitator in support thereof. So, if we're going to wreck a century of tradition, let's at least pay homage to the man who made us wreck it.

In Memoriam: Cecil Pryor, DE, 1968-1969

2006-08-15T18:55:00.000-07:00

Cecil Pryor, one of the mainstays of the defense of Bo's first team in 1969, passed away 11 months ago on September 13, 2005. He played Defensive End and started all 11 games during the 1969 season. One thing I'll always remember about Cecil is the story that his teammate Jim Brandstatter recounted in the book he authored, "Tales from Michigan Stadium." Brandstatter recounted that as Michigan prepared for the 1970 Rose Bowl that the NBC television network came to campus to tape the player introductions. Back then the starters were taped at their home campus and they would stand in front of the camera and state their name, year in school, hometown, and major area of study. When it was Cecil's turn in front of the camera, Brandstatter recounted that Cecil looked directly into the camera and with a serious look said, "Cecil Pryor, defensive end, Corpus Christi, Texas, senior, majoring in nuclear physics." The thing is Cecil was not a nuclear physics major nor had he ever been to the physics building during his four years in Ann Arbor. The team did not find out about the joke that Cecil had pulled until they had returned from Pasadena after the game had been played. After graduation, Cecil went on to co-own a Ford dealership in southeast Michigan. One of his three daughters followed him athletically as a Wolverine as she was an outside hitter on the Michigan volleyball team in 1997 and 1998. Cecil's memorial service was held at the U of M Golf Course in October, 2005. He was 58 years old at the time of his death. Go Blue.

Rose Bowl loss to Texas all but forgotten by USC

2006-08-11T13:14:00.000-07:00

Ivan MaiselESPN.comLOS ANGELES -- So where are the grief counselors? The hollow-eyed looks? What happened to lying awake at nights, counting how many times Vince Young jumped over their beds?

It has been three months since the USC Trojans lost the chance to win a third consecutive national championship, three months since they lost after 34 straight victories. They lost a game they had been expected to win. They lost with 19 seconds to play. They lost after some national network wondered aloud, and incessantly, whether they were the best team ever.

It wasn't just that USC lost 41-38 to Texas in the BCS Championship Game. It was the way it lost. No one put more athletic talent on the field than the Trojans -- that is, until Young made Southern California look like a directional school. The Longhorns' quarterback threw for 267 yards, rushed for 200 yards and broke about 200 tackles.

USC had a 12-point lead with 4:04 to play. It had a five-point lead with 20 seconds to play. Twenty seconds, not even the length of a Dick Vitale sentence. And with one Young stutter step, it all vanished in the right front corner of the end zone.

The Trojans had history in their hands, and they let it slip through. A victory in the Rose Bowl would have raised the possibility of a challenge to Oklahoma's record of 47 consecutive victories, the Holy Grail of college football records.

That's the kind of loss that would stick with most people. After Penn State lost to Alabama, 14-7, in the 1979 Sugar Bowl, Nittany Lions coach Joe Paterno blew the following season while mourning the loss.

"I have talked about getting angry with myself when I lose. Nothing of the kind ever compared to this loss," Paterno wrote in his 1989 autobiography. "I beat up on myself not only immediately but for months afterward, halfway into the next season."

Lose a game like that, and the coaches are liable to remind you for the next eight months. Coaches have been known to post losing scores in the weight room as a motivational ploy. They want their team to be so sick about what happened that the players will do whatever it takes to get that damn score out of their heads.

It doesn't take long to figure out the toll the Rose Bowl loss took on USC. You don't have to be around the returning Trojans very long to measure it. Watching one spring practice at Howard Jones Field lays it out.

Nothing.

Not a trace.

"I actually just watched it on TV the other day for the first time," junior linebacker Keith Rivers said. "I was sitting around and decided to take a look."

And?

"I didn't watch the last couple of minutes," Rivers said.

Denial -- always a good tool. But Rivers said that's not what he meant.

"We just missed a lot of tackles and plays we should have made," he said. "Instead of 2 yards, they were getting 4 or 5 or 10. … Sometimes, the game doesn't go the way you want. Everybody played hard. I guess you can kind of rationalize it. You just put it behind you. We're still a good team. If we're going to lead next year, we got to get back to work."

There's not a trace of anguish in Rivers' voice. The history major might as well be outlining the Compromise of 1850 for one of his professors.

"You gotta bounce back," offensive tackle Sam Baker said. "You can't dwell on the past. That happens in the Super Bowl, too. All the [losing] teams in the Super Bowl struggle the next year. That's not going to be us. We're going to go back and work just like we've always worked. It's really not about one game."

And that is where the mark of Pete Carroll can be seen on these Trojans, as clear as the lightning bolt on Harry Potter's forehead. The Rose Bowl, as big as it was, amounted to one game, same as the previous 34. USC did the best it could do, and for the first time in nearly three seasons, it wasn't enough.

"The way we handled that fits right hand in hand with our philosophy," Carroll said after practice the other evening. "I think our system, the way we do stuff, the way we talk, from day one, A to Z, prepares us to deal with whether you win or whether you lose that game. Not that we accept it, any of it. Not that we would think we were the greatest thing in the world if we won. To me, I think the mark of a great championship player, or a great championship program, is the ability to continue to show who you are and not be affected by what's going on around you, or in the past, or what you're heading into."

Carroll has made the Trojans think like recovering alcoholics -- one day at a time. Get better today. Compete today. Win your job today. His players have bought into it.

"He does a great job, always in the mind-set of a positive direction," senior center Ryan Kalil said of Carroll. "We came back, and he called a meeting. You would have thought we won that game, the way his attitude was, just kind of the way he was glowing about it. There's nothing we can do about it. It's over with, and the only thing now we can do is go back to our basics, starting with our offseason."

That philosophy might be easier to instill in Los Angeles. All the distractions that might tempt a player also tempt the fans. The city, much less the entire state, didn't go into mourning the way an Oklahoma did a year ago. The Trojans don't run into disappointment everywhere they turn. The spotlight is diffused. That helps Carroll achieve his goal.

But even if it didn't, Carroll is adamant that one night won't disrupt what he hopes to accomplish.

"I'm not going to let that game affect us, if there is anything I can do about it," he said. "We were about two inches away from everybody thinking the opposite of what happened. It was just a lunge here, a lunge there, this or that, that separates the difference. They're [Texas] great champions. We played our tails off. We had plenty of chances to win the game. We made a team play great. That's what I've always said, if they are going to beat us, make them play great. If that's what it took, we'll move on."

It takes enormous willpower to quiet the competitive juices and not run those missed tackles over and over again on the video. Carroll said he waited several weeks to cue up the loss.

"I was real disappointed in the game," he said. "We had plenty of chances to win the football game. It could have happened a million ways. I didn't like what we did on defense in the game in general. I was just disappointed we didn't handle them better. And I certainly think their quarterback had a great deal to do with it. He was awesome, and he looked like he looked in a lot of other games. Normally, we take great pride in making people looking normal. He looked extraordinary.

"All that?" Carroll summed up. "We're up by 12 with a few minutes left and didn't win the game, you know?

"That's the part that would drive most people nuts," I said.

Carroll looked at me for a moment, and his one-sentence reply revealed how, for all the big-picture thinking, there's a part of him that understands exactly how Paterno felt.

"So you're saying you can't tell if it is or not, huh?" he asked.

Maybe a few of those nights have been sleepless after all.

A Rose Bowl by any other name

2006-08-03T18:47:00.000-07:00

Looking Back: 2005 Season, Part III

2006-07-31T22:39:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the third and final part of Looking Back. In this edition of Looking Back I've featured the 2005 season. In total, I attended five games during the '05 season. Part I featured the disappointing collapse against Ohio State and a big win on the road at Northwestern. Part II featured the most exciting game all year; a last-second victory against an undefeated Penn State team. That brings us to part III. Part III will feature a very tough loss to Notre Dame and also the home opener against Northern Illinois. Let's not waste any time and get right into the reviews.

**September 10, 2005 - #3 Michigan: 10 vs. #20 Notre Dame: 17
Every year there's an early game in a season that will tell you how your year will turn out. Sort of a swing game you could say. Year after year Michigan hasn't come out on top in these swing games, mostly because they're against great teams and are on the road. Mind you, that's no excuse, but finally a chance to prove themselves at home.

Even though it was at home, Michigan's own mistakes was just too much. Notre Dame took advantage and came out on top with a 17-10 win. Michigan had their opportunities all day long. Two plays on the 1-yard line ended up just becoming a fumble. With that fumble and also two other blown redzone appearances, Michigan couldn't comeback and prevent the upset.

Notre Dame came out to a fast start. On the first drive the Fighting Irish marched right down the field without even having to convert one third down. The explosive drive ended on a 5-yard touchdown reception by Rhema McKnight. Michigan didn't answer back until early in the second quarter when Garrett Rivas converted a 38-yard field goal. Notre Dame padded the lead with a touchdown pass to Jeff Samardzija. At the half, Michigan was probably lucky to just be down by eleven points as the game was definitely one-sided.

Nobody scored in the third quarter, which meant that Michigan would need a late comeback. Notre Dame didn't help that cause as Notre Dame added three points after a field goal with fourteen minutes remaining. With six minutes to go Michigan had a brief look at success. Jason Avant took a reception on fourth down all the way to the ND 1-yard line, and probably would've scored if it wouldn't have been for a missed block by Doug Dutch. This is when everything just crumbled down.

Chad Henne tried a QB sneak on first down and was stuffed, or it appeared that he was. The officials reviewed the play and nothing changed. Stop me once, shame on you; stop me twice, shame on me. Henne came out and did the same exact thing, except this time fumbled the ball into ND hands. The play was reviewed, but nothing changed. The student section proceeded to throw water bottles onto the field in disgust, which didn't help at all.

Michigan was just way too over matched when it came down to the bottom line. A late 25-yard touchdown pass to Mario Manningham got the Wolverines within seven, but didn't mean much as Michigan failed on a fourth and long at the very end of the game to give Notre Dame the ball and the win.

**September 3, 2005 - #4 Michigan: 33 vs. Northern Illinois: 17
Ahh, the first game of the 2005 season. The time when everyone's hopes were high, and the expectations were for a great season. This is the only time when everyone is as good as each other. Michigan had the now traditional matchup with a MAC opponent who was not one to look down on. A Northern Illinois team came in, and although they would not come out on top, they caused some minor worries with the Michigan fans.

Jason Avant opened up the scoring on the first drive with a 4-yard touchdown reception from Chad Henne. Northern Illinois answered back with a short field goal before Michigan got on the board again with a 34-yard screen pass to Mike Hart for a touchdown.

The biggest play of the game for NIU came soon after in the second quarter when running back Garrett Wolfe took a 76-yard run to the house. But, that would be all that NIU could get. Even though the game quickly turned into a 33-17 blowout in Michigan's favor, some questions were raised. The game was actually closer then the score reveals because of five costly NIU turnovers. Michigan allowed over 400 yards of total offense, which caused some concern. Even though it didn't show a week later when Michigan came out pretty strong after a rough first half against Notre Dame, it was a hot topic on the post game radio shows.
This wraps up the 2005 season. Tomorrow will kickoff Looking Back at the 2004 season, which will all be started off by possibly the most exciting loss ever. A game with such bad defense that the holes in Michigan's defense may still be there. Of course, I'm talking about the Rose Bowl, against the now national champion Texas Longhorns. Stay tuned for the review.

For All the Daughters Who are Their Father's Sons

2006-07-24T13:51:00.000-07:00

In honor of Father's Day, I'm sharing the following essay with Latina Lista readers. It was written several years ago after my father died and published in local newspapers. I soon discovered that there were mas hijas (more daughters) like me.

A lot has been written about the father-son bond. Documentaries have been produced, books have been written, academic papers have been published, and talk shows even have devoted full hours to discussing the topic.

Yet hardly anyone discusses the father-daughter relationship - at least in a positive light. The only time you hear about the father-daughter bond, it seems, is when it has been violated.

Maybe that is why those of us who have had good relationships with our dads have come to regard them as very special attachments.

Being my father's daughter, and the oldest of two girls, meant juggling my mother's demand for lady-like manners with my dad's desire to share his keen appreciation of sports.

Instead of being called "Daddy's Girl," I was lovingly referred to as "Moose." And while my friends spent Saturdays sprawled in front of a blaring television, enjoying music dance shows, I adjusted the volume on play-by-plays crackling from the radio while Dad switched from muted TV channel to muted TV channel, watching snippets of all the televised games.

Being my father's daughter, I learned how hellish the Korean War was. I heard how a 19-year-old left his studies at the University of Michigan and his dreams of playing one more time in the Rose Bowl as a Wolverine to enlist in the Air Force and fight in a battle that has become known as the "Forgotten War."

While my friends enjoyed lazy sun-soaking afternoons, I trekked up blistering metal ladders to get a three-minute peek into the cockpits of parked jets at the annual air shows at the local Air Force base.

Summer evenings were reserved for my dad's makeshift detachment, composed of my sister and me, marching around the neighborhood block, following my dad's lead and keeping step with boot camp tunes.

Being my father's daughter, I learned that the sun wasn't always your friend. It was a hard lesson to abide by when we lived in Florida.

Fair-skinned, Dad would erupt with fever blisters if he challenged the noonday heat. So, before dawn, we all piled into the family car and cruised the deserted bridges until we came to our private, palm-tree-framed stretch of beach. With blankets, towels, shovels, snorkels and goggles in tow, we shuffled through the cool sand until we found the perfect spot not too far from the surf.

Once we laid out the blanket, we donned our snorkels and goggles and screamed as we dived into the icy water- just us, the fish and the seagulls.

Being by father's daughter, I learned that big men do cry over the silliest of things. When I was little, the theme music from the TV show Lassie could make me unleash a flood of tears. The picture of that collie, with her paw hanging in midair, struck a sensitive chord in me - and my dad. We would point and laugh at each other as tears streamed down our faces.

Being my father's daughter, I developed an appreciation of fresh Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Weekends were special when Dad drove us across town just to get a fresh batch of those glazed delicacies.

When the first outlet of the popular doughnut chain opened last year 25 miles from us, I was excited. Neither my husband nor my kids could understand why I would be so thrilled to have yet one more temptation to break my diet, but Dad did.

Being my father's daughter, I learned never to stop believing. Dad was an entrepreneur who put gusto and faith into every one of his endeavors, even when they didn't pan out.

But he never stopped believing.

His last project was putting all of his faith into a stock that hadn't risen more than 3 points from when he bought it more than a year ago. He kept vigil on the company as diligently as my mom, sister and I did at his bedside when he passed away in April.

The week after Dad died, the stock began climbing steadily. It continues to gain.
I believe it will go even higher.

I am my father's daughter.

Thoughts Regarding the Recent News from USCland

2006-07-20T22:49:00.000-07:00

Of everything I have read or heard, I think that USC's biggest concern is not Reggie Bush. I think they should be most concerned about Winston Justice's possible ties to the alleged sports agents at New Era.

That's not to say there will be nothing there on the Reggie Bush investigation, but my guess is that the NCAA will have a difficult time tying the University to what happened with the Griffin House, for a number of reasons.

First, keep in mind that Reggie Bush actually interned at a Sports Marketing Rep's office last summer -- coincidently, the office of Mike Ornstein, who currently is Bush marketing rep (as opposed to his sports agent). While that might raise eyebrows, one thing it tells me is that there is no way Ornstien would have let Bush get himself into a situation where any sports agent (particularly a Hobo Show like "New Era Sports") could claim that Bush had signed with him prior to his declaring himself for the draft. Of course, anything is possible, but I seriously doubt that there is any kind of paper trail tying Bush to the New Era guys. What you will then have is a swearing contest between Bush, who'll say he knew the guys, one of whom was a friend of his step-father, but never had any agreement with them and knew nothing about the financial arrangement with respect to the house, and the New Era guys who have said they did have a deal with Bush. On the swearing contest, though, the guy from New Era who claims to have had the deal with Bush has a criminal record, and has millions of dollars in incentives to lie. If you can't show Bush signed with an agent, and you can't show he had any knowledge of the financial arrangement with respect to the house, you won't be able to tie the University with knowledge of the arrangement, barrinig some unexpected connection (like a direct communication with a coach regarding the situation).

You can see the defense already. Bush has denied knowing anything about the financial terms of the hosue. His spokesman went so far as to say Bush had only been to the house once in the 13 month period his mother lived there. While it seems hard to believe that a son who lived only a few hours away would only visit his mother's house once in 13 months, Bush is not a typical college kid, and spent much of that time in school and having practice, working in Santa Monica in the summer, and getting ready for the Rose Bowl over the Holidays, so it is plausible. On another level, there is more "plausible deniability" built in if he stayed away from the house, and again, he had very good advisors who might have suspected something and advised him to stay away.

Pete Carroll has stated he had no knowledge of Bush's mother and step-father's living situation. Again, on its face, that seems plausible. However, considering the level of agent interest that had to have been swirling around Bush and his family, and considering Carroll's public comments about how careful he to advise players to stay away from agents, his radar certainly had to be way up. It will interesting to see if Carroll was aware that the Griffin's had moved into a new house, or if there was other evidence of significant lifestyle changes in the family that were apparent to others. However, that alone would not prove he knew (but the NCAA could impose minor sanctions for SC not investigating the matter further).

Overall, though, considering the credibility problems of the New Era guys, the plausible deniability on the University's part, and the likely lack of any paper trail, I do not expect anything serious to come from HouseGate.

However, the bits of information about Winston Justice's possible dealings with the same New Era people may turn out to be a different story. I have not seen much focus on those in the news, but I expect more to come. I'm not sure that Justice would have been as careful as Bush in his dealings. Further, although there is still a credibility issue regarding the New Era guys, Justice could have credibility issues as well. Further, the benefits allegedly provided to Justice (although much smaller than living rent free for a year in a $700,000 house) will likely be verifiable via records and other witnesses, and there is no "plausible deniability" regarding his knowledge of the benefits, as he allegedly received them personally. Who knows how it will shake out.

With respect to today's reports regarding an arrest of a USC player for sexual assault, we'll have to wait and see what happens. People should not read too much into the bail amount. At this stage, no formal charges have been filed, so the bail amount is not so much a reflection of the weight of the evidence, but rather is fixed from the nature of the arrest (suspicion of rape) and possible enhancements pursuant to the LA County Felony Bail Schedule. It does not mean that the DA's office has even looked at the case, and in fact, in this situation, it is unlikely that anyone from the DA's office had anything to do with the bail amount. What can be read into it is that the potential charge is very serious (I think that the bail amount for rape is $100,000, so if the amount was indeed $200,000 there may be some potential additional charges or enhancements). However, because the player made bail, charges will not have to be filed immediately, and may never be filed.

There are likely only two people who know what really happened regarding the assault allegations and I have no insights whatsoever and the allegations in and of themselves do not tar USC any more than similar allegations that have been made against other students at other Universities tar those Universities. On matter of note, however, will be how the University handles the situation. When Notre Dame had four players facing sexual assault allegations a few years back, the University proceed with its own investigation, separate and apart from any criminal investigation. The University held hearings at which the players accused were required to give statements. If they refused to do so (by asserting their Fifth Amendment rights, as they had a privilege to do), that assertion would be used against them (unlike a criminal proceeding) and they would be expelled. Thus, they faced the Hobbesian choice of potentially incriminating themselves (even if they denied wrongdoing, simply admitting presence at the location is incriminating and could be used in a subsequent prosecution) to tell their side of the story, or remain silent and face certain expulsion. Some did tell their side of the story, they were all expelled nonetheless, and in the one criminal prosecution that went to trial (which resulted in an aquittal of all felony counts and a conviction on a misdemeanor, resulting in probation), the player's statements to the University in the disciplinary hearing was used against him by the State in the criminal trial (as I recall, all other criminal charges against the remaining three players were dropped due to insufficient evidence, but they remained expelled).

I don't know USC's procedures. However, I do recall an incident last year where the LAPD found over 100 ecstacy pills in an apartment shared by two USC players. No charges were filed because the police could not determine which of the two the pills belonged to. I don't know how USC handled the matter internally, but I don't recall reading that the players were required to answer questions about who's pills they were (on penalty of expulsion if the refused to answer). I recall one of the players did face some repercussion (he also faced allegations of assault) and transferred to UNLV, and the other player is expected to vie for a starting position in the fall.

All in all, a difficult situation for everyone involved.

Move Those Chains

2006-07-18T13:15:00.000-07:00

Erik McKinney
Scout.com

After speaking with Chilo Rachal numerous times over the spring as we put together something of a Spring Ball diary, he has become my new “favorite player.” I have to admit that this was only partly due to his play on the field.

I thought that the end of Spring Ball would be the end of Trojan football until the fall, when the boys would hit the practice field again with hopes of gearing up for another National Title run. Silly me. Apparently the kids in cardinal and gold wanted to keep the spotlight shining on the USC campus throughout the summer. Normally, that would be great news as any information about USC football affects me like insulin to a diabetic. But this week, each mention of Trojan football brought negative story after negative story and has bathed the USC football program in some very unflattering light.

Forget that thing about bad apples and bunches: The recent incidents of Reggie Bush and Mark Sanchez have caused many people around the country to question the state, mentally and morally, of the USC football program. But those same people forget the other 60-some-odd guys who make this one of the true good-character teams in the nation.

With guys like Dwayne Jarrett and Brian Cushing displaying the mental toughness to overcome cross-country moves, Hershel Dennis fighting back from past, unfounded personality questions, and simply all-around good guys like Ryan Kalil and Ryan Powdrell (among countless others), this team doesn’t deserve the bad rap it’s getting right now due to the recent stories. In fact, the funny thing is that if this Mark Sanchez story turns out to be unsubstantiated, the team that heads into fall practice really won’t have anything hanging over its head, except of course, the Rose Bowl loss.

Not Funny “Ha Ha”: When it comes to the Mark Sanchez situation, I, like many others, am subscribing to the “wait and see” approach. That is, when it comes to the sexual assault allegation. In regards to the fake ID/9-0 situation, there’s no need to wait and see. Now, I understand that more USC students have gained access to the 901 club with fake IDs than with real ones. The place usually loses it’s “charm,” if you want to call it that (the 9-0 has the charm of a back-alley dumpster), by the time most people are 21. So is it rare that underage students are drinking in there using a fake ID? No. But, are most of those students preparing to battle for the starting quarterback job on the USC football team? I’ll go ahead and say no again.

Collegiate student-athletes simply must abide by different rules than the rest of the population. So many people are counting on them, some more irrationally than others, that they truly do represent a team, a university and a “family” every time they are seen in the public eye.

Nearly every athlete, collegiate and professional, will thank God for blessing them with the talent and ability to play their sport at a high level, but so few of them actually realize the pressure that talent places on them when it comes to everyday life. It’s fine for them to appreciate all the good that comes along with excelling in a sport, but they can’t refuse to accept the bad. Collegiate athletes simply cannot live the same life that other students are granted, but than again, most students don’t get to call the Coliseum locker room “home.”

Speaking of homes: From the very beginning, this Denise and LaMar Griffin housing deal stunk worse than the Kansas City Royals. I’ve been guardedly optimistic about everything that Reggie Bush has been saying about the situation, but I haven’t been able to shake that feeling that I’ve always had about LaMar Griffin.

People who have known Reggie since his Pop Warner days claim that LaMar has always treated Reggie like his little project, intent on molding him into a superstar and, eventually, cashing in. Now, that isn’t to say that LaMar wasn’t also a good father figure (as evidenced by Reggie’s Heisman acceptance speech), but it is to say that there was always some extra motivation for LaMar to get Reggie to where he is today. This was obvious, to me at least, when LaMar gave that sideline interview during a game and claimed that it was time for Reggie to “take it to the next level.” Way to put a little emphasis on a college degree, LaMar.

And after all, who’s to say that was even the correct decision. Don’t pretend that you think I’m saying that Reggie wasn’t talented enough to go pro, but LaMar obviously has something of a track record of making pretty careless decisions.

Look at the characters involved in this housing situation. Michael Michales? David Caravantes? Lloyd Lake? Would you ever choose to associate with people like this while your child was a collegiate athlete? Maybe to point them out in a line up.

Putting aside all discussion about the cost of the house or the rent that they did or didn’t pay, the root question is why would the Griffins make the choice to go along with these people? I can see LaMar now, thinking about his plans for the future. “Well I’d like to go into business with somebody. But I’d like it if they had no experience with anything whatsoever. And it’d be a huge plus if we could do it in as shady a way as possible.” Look, I’m not saying that anyone is guilty or innocent. I’m just saying that eating top ramen and taking the bus to work for 12 months before cashing in a multi-million dollar lottery ticket isn’t such a rough thing to do. I mean, I did it for four years and never even got a shot at the lottery.

Of course, the worst part of all this is how their poor judgment will, not might, will affect so many other people. Sure, the Broadway plays “Rent” and “Movin’ Out” will probably take on new meaning for the Griffins, but in reality, they’ll have their new house and their new life and the NCAA collegiate-athlete conduct code will be just a memory. But for the team and the family they leave behind, the consequences are just ahead. Forfeiting games, losing scholarships, probation. Those punishments are all long shots and shouldn’t really come into play for this situation. But when it comes to perception of the program and the future actions of any player on this USC football team, the Griffins have affected them in a major way.

If you are an Arkansas fan, are you telling me that the paint isn’t already dry on your, “This is Our House. (But you can stay here rent free.)” sign? If you’re a parent of a player on the team, will you be checking your Ralph’s receipt a little more closely? Making sure they didn’t give you a little too much in the way of preferred-card savings? And if you’re a player on the team, you better get signed up for that Accounting 101 class, and your parents better be your first case study.

I hope the Griffins have a great life in whatever house Reggie bought for them, because when they tried to find one on their own, guilty or not, they messed up. Big time.

Maybe we should close the window: Well, it’s Draft Day. Finally. This draft has come with the longest, most overblown buildup of any draft in the history of the world. Even Vietnam protestors think this is the most annoying draft ever.

The problem, of course, is that the draft is a week late this year, which gave NFL personnel an extra week to fry their brains and come up with boneheaded decisions at an astounding rate.

The closest thing I can think of when it comes to this year’s draft is when you either see or say a word over, and over, and over, and over again until it loses all meaning, becomes just a series of letters and you’re not quite sure if they’re actually supposed to go together.

When the season ended, Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and Vince Young were the consensus first, second and third picks. But throughout the combine process, Chris Mortenson and his NFL cronies, at one point, decided that Jay Cutler was a better quarterback than Matt Leinart. Jay Cutler’s team won 11 games in his career at Vanderbilt. Matt Leinart won 11 games in his worst season as a starter. This is why there are so many crappy teams in the NFL.

And now the Texans are set to pick Mario Williams with the number one pick, replacing Chevy Chase’s decision to leave Saturday Night Live as the worst choice in recent memory. I can’t even discuss this rationally. It’s like a baseball team needing a starting pitcher and signing a mascot.

You know who else has good mechanics? Midas: Let’s just say that the best thing about Jimmy Clausen’s decision is that the whole thing is over. Let’s also say that I hope someone can put him in touch with a South Bend barber.

And after residing in the world of collegiate recruiting for the past year, I can pretty well assure you that your college coach should be about reason number 15 for choosing a school, just ahead of the school’s fight song and just behind its proximity to an In-N-Out.

Whoa, Nellie: When it comes right down to it, Keith Jackson’s departure from the press box ranks up there with Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart and the rest of the juniors and seniors leaving USC. He is and probably will be the best college football announcer I’ll have the privilege of listening to. Sure, he got a little disoriented and confusing at the end, but that just made him all the more endearing. ESPN and ABC should put up a challenge to the Baby Einstein craze and release videos of Keith Jackson talking about anything. College football, fishing, politics, a splinter he got while whittling a piece of wood. There’s something about his voice and the way he calls a game that always made college football even more enjoyable to watch.

“It’s great to learn. Because knowledge is power”: After speaking with Chilo Rachal numerous times over the spring as we put together something of a Spring Ball diary, he has become my new “favorite player.” I have to admit that this was only partly due to his play on the field.

What I was most impressed by was that nearly every time I’d reach him on the phone, he was just finishing up an essay or some other assignment for school. I realize that there are many players on the team who are in great academic standing, but in this era of academic ineligibility, it was refreshing to see, firsthand, a player staying on top of his responsibilities.

Each year that I’ve written for this website, one unsung player has really stood out and become “my guy” for that particular year. Past recipients of this award include Eric Wright and Josh Pinkard. Just thought you’d all like to know that. Of course, it helps when they actually stay on the team.

And finally, not just another case of “boys will be boys”: So many people have offered so many suggestions of how Pete Carroll can keep his players in line, but when it comes down to it, the players themselves need to take responsibility for keeping themselves in line. Pete Carroll has his own life. He has his own kids. He doesn’t need 85 more of them.

Can you imagine having to parent 85 extra kids every second of every day? This isn’t Monty Python’s Meaning of Life. What’s Carroll going to do? Build a Bio-Dome to house his players during all the time they aren’t practicing, working out or going to school? I’ve seen that movie. It doesn’t work.

These kids need to realize that all you have to do in order to get through college and keep your eligibility is not get caught breaking the law. It’s seems like a pretty easy task: Don’t be a felon. But college-athletes seem to have more problems with that than an O-Chem final.

Now, granted, it was probably easier of me to follow the rules during school because I was what some people might call a “nerd” (Please oh please don’t tell Ricky Manning Jr). But when it comes down to it, each player knows the rules and it will be, and should be, up to each individual player to keep themselves in line.

Hopefully at this point, USC football and all of its players can finally start fading into the background for the remainder of the off-season before coming back for fall practice as model citizens.

Rose Bowl Upcoming For UW!!

2006-07-17T13:24:00.000-07:00

At least that's the rather rosy picture you hear if you talk to Coach Ty Willingham and his "star" quarterback, Isaiah Stanback.

Willingham: "My thought is that we will have a 13th game."

Reporter: "Um..... you are guaranteeing a bowl game for UW?"

Willingham: "Not guaranteeing..... just stating that the expectation of this team should be a bowl game."

Stanback: "I see myself in a BIG bowl this year."

Your UW Huskies, ladies and gentlemen! Now, what has happened since a horrific last few seasons that have turned the frowns upside-down for the good folks at Montlake?

Wait, I know! It's an incoming terrific recruiting class, right? Coach Ty got those blue-chippers that we knew he was going to get! In your face, Oregon! Eat our dust, USC!

Nope. 6th best in the Pac-10, 35th in the nation. Now, I can't really fault him for that; you try recruting awesome athletes to play at a recently terrible program. But there is definitely no cause for optimism here.

Hmmmm. Ooh, ooh! A revamped offensive line, right? We'll win the battle of the trenches up front to bust out with our improved running game!

Well, maybe, but we are replacing virtually our entire offensive line and our best running back from last season. It conceivably COULD be better, but it also could be a lot worse. That's not to mention the other hit to our offense in losing Craig Chambers, our one deep threat, while including Stanback as our quarterback, a man who has never really inspired game-changing performances in anyone around him while getting some major hype from various media outlets. Props to Stanback for being the one Husky that opposing Pac-10 coaches will bring up in trying desperately to say something nice about UW and trying to make sure their team doesn't believe they can just coast through the game and still win.

OK, so that's a crock. What about some love for our defense, huh? Our team will be built around tough, hard-nosed players who hit you early and often!

Again, that is a possibility, but our secondary still might really suck eggs (like worst in the country sucking of eggs), we lost our two best linebackers from last season, and there are no real incoming defenders who make you sit up and take notice.

Colin, stop being so pessimistic. Surely if you could just WATCH the Huskies during spring practices, you could see why Coach Ty and Stanback are so optimistic about their chances!

True, there is a chance that my optimism could rise if I, or anyone else, could watch the Huskies during those spring practices. However, Coach Ty has forbidden anyone from attending those practices for reasons that can only be described as "Hargrove-ian" or "Radmanovic-ish".

So, let's review. There is optimism because..... 1. Lackluster recruiting class, 2. New offensive line, running back, deep threat, and same quarterback, 3. No real bright spots on defense, and 4. No one to watch the so-called improvement.

This optimism sounds strangely familiar to the type of garbage I hear spouting from the mouths of certain politicians during a certain "war-ish" engagement..... (ed: political viewpoints might not represent the entirety of the Crushed Optimists editoral staff, the entirety of Colin's warped sense of humour, or the remaining 79% of people who live inside King County who still believe that the last gubernatorial race was "fair" and the magical votes that were found were "an act of the fairy-people" (ed: this political viewpoint AS WELL might not represent the entirety of the Crushed Optimists editorial staff)) In conclusion..... no real reason for optimism if you are a Husky fan, and if I offended anyone on either side of the aisle, I recommend a humour transplant and a severe intake of Doritos, Mountain Dew, and at least one season of "Family Guy".

NL secretly tape records Fresno Falcon blogger about their ...

2006-07-10T18:34:00.000-07:00

It's on. Yes, the biggest sports rivalry the Central Valley has seen in years is in a region of washed up football memories. No, Frank Gifford won't be around to talk about the cracked and weathered old Bakersfield Memorial Stadium or his aged football tales of the Bakersfield Junior Rose Bowl Renegades. Forget Bakersfield-Taft. That's ancient history. There won't be any Fresno State Bulldogs doing any pissing and moaning about their big tackling of the PAC-10, unless it's squirting on newspapers on their own turf.

This is a hockey rivalry that doesn't show off local talent, but international talent in two premiere ice hockey teams from the ECHL: The Bakersfield Condors against the Fresno Falcons. Local Fresno chicken bird blogger, Mike Seay, who deleted an entire interview with me over this seasonal rivalry is already talking smack. Yes, Mike, I know you have been deleting all my calls to Dorktown because you're a Bakersfield hater. In a secret taperecorded meeting I have clear audio of Mikie saying, "I would be surprised if the Fresno cluckers could win the second round. All the Fresno players have been drinking Vodka like Kool-Aid, and sleeping with the mascot. Why? Because they fear the Central Valley's true hockey predator, the Condors. In fact, we can't even get the ruts out of the ice in our big carnival side show Save Mart Center... and our coach is really a woman... hey, is that a recorder pen??"

"Oh no. This is just a regular old pen."

"By the way, stop calling in to my show, Nick."

"Why, so you can keep deleting them you dirty rotten Fresno of the big NO!?"

"Hey, quit calling us the 'NO' you armpitville fag."

"Piece of farmtown shit! You're in the armpit too!"

"Heehaw hick!"

"Fresno Famous butt licker!"

"That's it! It's on!"

"OH you know it, asshole!"

Condors in 7.

bump

2006-07-06T18:47:00.000-07:00

Woohoo back here blogging! I procrastinated blogging for so long though so many things happened.. all wonderful of course! Actually im usually lazy to do punctuations here but im typing it all out on word first! Phew expect it to be quite large haha better be safe than sorry! This shall be the official bumper edition of my blog entries yay! Such a fun period for me.. it’s a good post-block test period.. yet it ushers in another period of intense mugging for a levels. Admittedly I was still in holiday mood during block test.. o well results shall jolt me awake possibly!

So…. Ok my mind is quite blank now.. just blog abt what happened recently! Last fri was pulau ubin hike wheee!!! It was 9 of us with yeehwee being nice to join us for dinner allll the way at tampines and shop for miss lim’s present! (u will see why later!) 9 of us was lenny celeste joelyn mingseng jingsheng wenxi yauchuen dengsi and me (in order of increasing….. nevermind… ^^””) yeah it was a 1 hour trip there from tampines… fun bumboat ride.. with the wind in ur face.. mmmm.. I love traveling in boats and planes!
I remember my first and only overseas trip… at the return trip I was damn as excited as going.. to china.. all because I could still be on a plane back to Singapore! Liftoff is exhilarating. So reached ubin got our bikes.. cycled tandem with mingseng! Tandem is soooo fun… and I think we looked funny on it! Competition on pulau ubin is so fierce man.. its like occupying the same niche. Like 5 bicycle shops there.. and 1 outright winner who was a newcomer with all new bikes.. pity on those with the old bikes almost impossible to rent out even if its cheaper.. I mean ppl will still go for the newer ones with WORKABLE gears haha… like celeste said its just life. And then when we were finished biking.. encountered the drink/souvenir stalls side by side.. competing to sell coconuts (delicious!) haha.. and the bumboat operators who got into a verbal skirmish when we were returning.. thus having to wait for more ppl to come so that both boats could have like an equal no. of passengers… hmm bumboat ride seems very cheap.. considering the frequency of passengers also dunno how they earn money.. but nevermind the ppl on pulau ubin seem to have simple life. Like the scattered villagers (if I may call them).. one even owns a boar! How cool.. speaking of boar we encountered some.. quite a highlight of the day. Was cycling with mingseng tandem.. and some guys ahead and behind us. Then suddenly there was some commotion I stopped.. the ppl in front dismounted and came back to watch! Actually one boar already crossed the path behind them. The path was sort of raised and there were trees beside.. basically there were 4 wild boars altogether so cool! So we managed to see 3 DASH right across our path.. didn’t even notice us .. dunno what was the rush but luckily they were not chased by something EVEN bigger which might hunt us haha! So it was an adrenaline pumping moment being so up close to them.. their sound is so damn cool too.. I remember the last boar is like half the size of the others like a little kid.. so it had to catch up with them. But damn were they fast. They did not even travel up the slope on our path.. they just jumped right across the path like wow… from then on nerves were a bit wrecked we just quickly moved along in case they came back hahaha.. evidence of nerve wrecking moments was our climb by foot up a hill to oversee the quarry. Apparently celeste and joelyn saw a frog/toad? Then they were like screaming or smth.. and the leaves beside them started to rustle like violently which led to even more screaming and joelyn falling down. Poor thing because it was all because someone (I think yauchuen who was in front of me) stepped on this long branch that shook the leaves. And there was our first casualty of the day.. apparently joelyn fell on her way down again =X poor thing. One time near a beach there was this cute stray dog. It was so darn thin that it could bend itself to smell its butt. Ok so everyone was very amused about it.. cos they always think dogs chase their own tail. Yeah it was quite funny.. until it started sniffing us randomly. Ok maybe not so randomly just joelyn and cel who were quite unnerved about it. Such a cute dog mah??!Next bigger casualty was poor wenxi who got “punctured” by a stone.. haha funny the way the word is used. Everyone claimed it was a puncture not an abrasion or what cos it wasn’t bleeding.. witnesses say it was a deep hole which showed some white flesh? I didn’t even know cos I didn’t really want to crowd around him.. darn.. oh and I forgot to mention who did it! We were actually skipping stones on the water at chek jawa… and that yauchuan threw it right at wenxi’s arm hahahaha! Comical… it flew off tangent or something! Poor thing. Chek jawa was our last destination at ubin! Quite a hazardous trail.. got past a construction barrier cos a worker nicely let us through! Too bad it was the right place at the wrong time.. high tide lol.. but we still spent lots of time there.. it was quite peaceful and a nice place to hang out.. picking shells .. crapping.. exploring the shore (which was limited haha) and of course skipping stones. The other activities in the day were like lunch at the restaurant (which is really not bad! Too bad no photos of the food) and of course climbing of the hill overlooking the quarry.. basically exploring every road in ubin.. seems big but its actually small haha

ALL the UBIN photos with captions here!!!!!!! http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=1Qbt2bFsyYuTA

So after such a shagged day had to wake up early for miss lim (gp tutor) wedding! Super exciting.. I think its one of our class outings with the most turnout.. everyones excited at attending the church wedding. It was actually very short contrary to what ppl thought it to be! It was really sweet. Our class turned up in class man.. everyone was dressed smartly with class! Really an event to remember. Except when we were 10 mins late cos we couldn’t find our way to Wesley church. After that was a brilliant reception where we took photos… and which I did not partake cos already had a stupid egg mcmuffin… supposed to have the rose tossing thingy but it was not carried out last minute. So excited for all the girls.. to think we were rooting for miss tang (math teacher) to get it! Woohoo! Her wedding will be the next one for us to attend yay! After the wedding was just a slacky recreation session (if I may call it that) at the arcade/pool. Spent a few hours and a bomb there so yeah. Was spamming this o2jam-like machine which uses buttons and a pedal instead of steps like DDR. Oh yes also played DDR but MALUed. Then at nite was an outing with yh jing and some seniors.. meant to celebrate yh and enoch’s birthday! Dinner and bowling.. lost to jing… vow to revenge.. nuff said! Haha… argh. Actually I sort of went back to the bowling alley this time with bryan.. yay managed to bowl consistently after a 3-game warm up. I would say im quite confident at bowling now woohoo.. don’t have to lose face anymore! I love triple turkeys! Maybe next time I should get a birdie or eagle at golf too. I love birds.

Tues after end of that stupid physics p3 the sista club met in afternoon for kbox! Yes yes it was helluva fun.. I think the thing I can confidently say I have developed this year is a thick skin! Make a total crap out of myself in other words… especially singing in kbox haha.. but its alright with the warm and ever-loving sistas.. =) yunting dajie, jing erjie, yeehwee sanjie, liangcheng sidi and mingseng wudi! I can be whoever I want to be.. whenever.. they are always there! Lots of love yay… took our first neoprint too.. which is my second one in my life haha so sad. And I don’t have my first neoprint with me. Harmoc one. Apparently someone wanted to scan then never distribute hor. If u reading this u mite be the one haha.. I noe who hor.. I shall demand it from u one day

2day was a miniclass outing to watch SUPERMAN!! WOOHOO!! Hm quite rare to have an outing on a weekday.. but what the heck since everyone is like so free! Hurray! Altogether 9 of us.. me and Elijah yh cel lenny shymin christine mich wenxi. At cathay yeah! Terribly amazing place.. tho the shops are closed. Thank goodness for the nice nice adidas shop with that spanking new xbox 360 where me n lenny played world cup. Wooo so tempting to have an xbox360.. but not that I want one. It is a joy playing on it. The theatre is brilliant like business class seats.. somemore I was in the first row ahhhhhh so relaxed.. can slouch nicely too without fear of erectile dysfunction. Superman is quite brilliant.. the effects are whoaaa stunning and cool… esp the choppy ocean and the many many earth-shaking moments… not forgetting the scenes at high altitudes and all hahah u have to watch it urself to take it all in! the plot is ok I guess… a lot of loopholes in the physics of the movie.. haha .. we were discussing about parts of the movie that defied physical laws.. tsk tsk they couldn’t bluff hwa chong students lah. Nevermind hes superman anyway! Considering superman is like totally invincible.. speed of bullet.. body of steel. Superelephant strength? Ok more than that.. enough to carry away an entire continent lah. What could possible defeat him so that there can be at least a plot? Can u imagine every superman episode having a bad guy plotting to destroy the world .. or some serial murderer.. then superman just goes up at lightning speed to kill the baddie even before you can say “it’s a bird….” Thankfully theres green kryptonite to continue the story! I wouldn’t say the plot is very strong.. no spoilers here.. but a lot of movies are like that.. strokes of luck are needed to keep the story going =)

theres this amazing thing about superman about its undertones! Rite after the movie me and cel were already nodding away furiously about what we realized liao. Its so simple.. similar to chronicles of narnia (obviously) this movie has undertones of our christian faith! Its just so beautiful too. The story of superman probably doesn’t have christian links but then this movie sure does. Probably by a christian director… yeah cos it seemed very obvious to me and cel. Maybe I shld explain further. Basically many lines just lead to the idea that superman was in a way depicting Jesus as mankind’s one and only saviour. Already at the beginning was superman’s father’ pep talk to him.. or rather the talk before his death or smth.. something which superman remembers whenever he is about to die geez… its abt the father begetting the son and the son begetting the father. Something to this extent I couldn’t really make out the word. But isn’t so strikingly similar to Jesus and God part of the holy trinity? Ok maybe not so convincing. Then another line came that said roughly that “mankind need a LIGHT to guide them” referring to superman. Then the catalyst which led me to realize it was when superman brought lois up to the sky for a heart to heart talk of sorts. As they flew up to see the breathtaking scenary of the city and all.. what superman said really struck a chord with my heart… he said this exact same words.. “the world needs a saviour”. Who can the saviour be but our Jesus? I was welling with tears for a second or two haha.. honestly.. I was like very light and light-hearted that I could just fly away like superman! Hurray praise God! And then shortly came another touching part where superman asks lois lane up there in the sky.. “what do you hear?” lois says nothing of course (except maybe superman’s breath which is like turning her on) superman promptly replies that he hears EVERYTHING.. cos basically he relies on this hearing to go to the rescue of random ppl like everywhere in the world. With the sound effects of the troubled world.. and like all the different languages and stuff (hard to describe).. it was just so splendid. I imagined Jesus looking down on this pathetic world with love.. to think he died for all of us. I could see that amazing character in superman. But of course Jesus is infinite times better.. with power over death.. but his power of love is the best that he died for us. One similar thingy was when there was this thing said that superman’s father sent his son to save the world(or earth). Yeah isn’t it amazingly similar. Amazing. To think superman also had to sacrifice himself to save the earth from the ________(spoiler haha)… Jesus made an even bigger sacrifice!

Hmmm that basically sums up the superman story and my story these two weeks. Shall look forward a lot to tomorrow’s class guy’s soccer game! Then Sunday will be gathering for yau chuan’s farewell (sniff sniff) and ice skating in the afternoon. I don’t want all these to end! Most importantly don’ want school to end.. I would hate for the study breaks to come now.. school itself is boring but it’s the people who make the difference =)

Hm finally about superman it was quite surprising that… oh ok nevermind I realize I mite spoil the story. But I just have to say that lois lane is such a lucky gal, to have had such an EVENTFUL passionate night with superman, the man of STEEL. Wow. Sorry to say that wasn’t shown in the movie haha. Bye bye!

Go France.

(shall update pics on Friday july 7 =))

Rose Bowl

2006-05-09T19:53:00.000-07:00

The Rose Bowl at West End, Southampton, has been chosen to stage five matches, including a semi-final, in the forthcoming season’s ICC Champions Trophy, to be played in September. And England’s mouth-watering clash with Sri Lanka is one of the four qualifying matches booked for the county’s headquarters.

2006-04-10T22:30:00.000-07:00

krosebowlopportunities new articles for Tuesday, April 11, 2006Rose Bowl Swap Meet
I lost my Rose Bowl Swap Meet virginity today and I can honestly say, like my first loss of virginity, it didn't go too well. It's all kinda hot and sweaty and I ... So really, the Rose Bowl Swap Meet is just like losing your virginity. ...

Reggie Bush vs Vince Young
Because Vince Young came into my radar when I watched him dominate Michigan in the 2005 Rose Bowl and then the ESPN saying that USC was the best team ever really pissed me off. In my opinion what is happending to Vince Young is similar ...

Rose Bowl loss to Texas all but forgotten by USC
A victory in the Rose Bowl would have raised the possibility of a challenge to Oklahoma's record of 47 consecutive victories, the Holy Grail of college football records. That's the kind of loss that would stick with most people. ...

#152: Rose Bowl, Pasadena
Rose Bowl, Pasadena.

Testing, testing
His stock skyrocketed when he lit up Southern Cal in the Rose Bowl and beat the unbeatable team pretty much single-handedly. But his stock fell when he didn't score well on the NFL's version of the SAT, the Wonderlic. ...

AN ABSURDLY PREMATURE ASSESSMENT OF: SOUTHERN CAL
PAST FIVE SEASONS: 54-10 (35-5 PAC Ten) / 2005: 12-1 (8-0 PAC Ten, Champions), Lost Rose Bowl STARTERS BACK, ROUGHLY: 11 (4 Offense, 7 Defens e) WHAT'S CHANGED: Several hundred pounds of hardware is gone en route to the NFL, ...

Farewell to Taco Tuesday...for a while.
He will be taking classes at the School of Visual Concepts, and if all goes well will lead their football team to the Rose Bowl this fall. Now the bad news, the classes will take place on Tuesday meaning that Taco Tuesday will be put on ...

Where are the USC championship t-shirts?
When USC played Texas in the Rose Bowl, both sides had freshly minted championship t-shirts and hats ready for on-the-field celebration. But what happens to the loser's merchandise? In the case of USC's incorrect merchandise, ...

All good things must come to an end, but not all good things have ...
It's the 1997 Rose Bowl, at No. 66. Two notes on this game: I got so trashed the night before, my pancreas shut down for a week. (I haven't touched a drop of alcohol on a New Year's even since.); and my VHS tape of this game is labeled ...

God of the miraculous. God of the breakthrough. No limts...No ...
In the first half of the 1929 Rose Bowl game between Georgia Tech and the University of California, UC player Roy Reigels dealt the Georgia Tech tailback a bone-crushing tackle. Roy scooped up the ball and sprinted toward the goal. ...

The weekend that never ends
I finally got to eat at Lawry's on Saturday as I had told everyone I refused to eat there until Michigan made it to the Rose Bowl and I just hadn't gone because we had lost the two Rose Bowls and I didn't want to be reminded of it but I ...

Things to do before leaving LA
Attend a Dodgers game; Attend an LMU basketball game; Attend a UCLA basketball game at Pauley Pavillion; Attend a UCLA football game in the Rose Bowl; Attend a Notre Dame/USC football game in the Colliseum; Attend the Grand Prix of Long ...

[Maisel] Rose Bowl loss to Texas all but forgotten by USC - ESPN ...
The Rose Bowl, as big as it was, amounted to one game, same as the previous 34. USC did the best it could do, and for the first time in nearly three seasons, it wasn't enough. "The way we handled that fits right hand in hand with our ...

And Life Has Slowed Down...
But someone may go after him because it's just hard to completely ignore what he did in the Rose Bowl. In the later rounds, good picks would be: Kellen Clemens from Oregon, Paul Pinegar, Fresno St., Charlie Whitehurst, Clemson, ...

The End of March Madness
An open letter to UCLA fans who rooted for the Trojans in the Rose Bowl against Texas:. I feel your pain. Your team was a great team, and had a great year, and but for one great performance by one great player, you would have been ...

Bush is better RB candidate
I'm not knocking White's ability on the football field - he scored more touchdowns than anybody in the history of Tailback U and had a great performance in the Rose Bowl - but didn't have the right mentality on Pro Day. ...

Soaked in Training
Yesterday we covered 14 muddy miles in and around the Rose Bowl. As I drove to practice, I saw other groups coping with the morning's downpour. The Korean-American Running Club — most noted for their lime, day-glo jerseys that can be ...

Baked Potato Omelette Casserole
Preheat oven to 350 Lightly grease 13x9x2 baking dish. Place hash browns in prepared dish pressing gentlt. Layer sausage,bacon and cheese on top. In meduim bowl whisk together eggs and remaing ingredients. Pour evenly over casserole. ...

CBS Sportsline: Notebook: Tedford ready to unleash spread offense ...
The Rose Bowl. The nation watched Vince Young run one of the most lethal spread offenses in college history. Tedford and others in the Pac-10 have ... Until Texas did it in the Rose Bowl, Tedford's Bears were the last team to beat USC. ...

Easy way to remember football practice schedule
Monday at 7:45 PM (Rose Bowl)Wed and Fri at 4PM (Rose Bowl)Sat at 11AM (BDSHGF) Thru Sat 4/22...

krosebowlopportunities

2006-02-27T18:30:00.000-08:00

Built in 1922 and known mainly for the New Year's Tournament of Roses Football Game, the Rose Bowl Stadium has also earned its World-Class Reputation by hosting five NFL Super Bowl Games, the 1984 Olympic Soccer Matches, the 1994 Men's World Cup, the 1999 Women's World Cup, the 2002 BCS National College Football Championship Game and numerous other memorable events over the past eighty plus years.