Sure, the site is unapologetically anti-USC, but it is rather alarming to see how deep and descriptive this list actually is. Here are some of the highlights from the 46 incidents the blog has pulled together just from a little Google-searching:

• On March 3, 2004, Winston Justice was arrested on suspicion of felony assault with a deadly weapon. On June 15, 2004, Justice pleaded no contest to exhibition of a replica firearm. Justice was sentenced to 60 days of electronic monitoring and three years' probation. Justice was also suspended for two semesters by USC's student affairs committee after his arrest.

• On December 4, 2006, former USC stand-out, and former Rams rookie, tight end Dominique Byrd was arrested for allegedly hitting a bar patron in the face with a drinking glass. Byrd was charged with second- and third-degree assault and armed criminal action. He was released shortly after posting a $25,000 bond. In early May, 2008, Byrd was scheduled to go to trial in St. Louis Circuit Court on felony charges of assault and armed criminal action stemming from the nightclub scuffle in December 2006. In March 2007, he was charged with DUI in California. In October 2007, he pleaded no contest to the DUI charge and received three years' probation. In May 2008, Byrd was released by the Rams.

• On May 6, 2008, it was announced that USC's men's basketball team was the only major athletic program in the Southland penalized with scholarship losses as the result of a poor performance in the NCAA's academic progress rate. The Trojans were penalized in part because Lodrick Stewart, Nick Young and Gabe Pruitt stopped attending class after the 2007 season, and because three players transferred within the same season. USC's APR score of 804 was 121 points below the minimum-acceptable mark, and stemmed from various academic problems, including Gabe Pruitt's academic ineligibility for the fall 2006 semester, and his ineligibility again following the spring 2007 semester. USC served the penalty during the 2007-08 season.

And so on, and so on, and so on...

Maybe Charlie Weis was actually referring to USC when he made his questionable remarks at that Notre Dame alumni dinner a few weeks ago. If so, well, he might have actually had a point.

Pete Carroll, Tim Floyd, USC And Scandal [Bruins Nation]

PHOTO: LA Times blog

It's becoming even more apparent that the kid was manipulated, but how complicit he was in the whole ordeal remains to be seen. Unless, you count this little nugget from ESPN's follow-up coverage of their "Outside The Lines" report:

Mayo, who talked to ESPN.com using the same cell phone number that Guillory had provided for him (according to T-Mobile phone records and independent verification by "Outside The Lines"), said he didn't speak with anyone from USC on Sunday and reiterated that he had no knowledge of money going from BDA to him. Attempts by ESPN.com to reach USC were unsuccessful Sunday.

That's right: He called ESPN from one of the illicit phones.

Yeah, maybe O.J. Mayo would benefit from a couple more years of college. Or junior high school, really. Also, it's probably time USC imposed a school-wide "No O.J.'s" rule for for their athletic programs.

By the way, Pro Football Talk points out that Gregg Doyel has been all over this for a while.

Mayo denies ex-confidant's claims of gifts, including tv, cash [ESPN.com]
O.J. Mayo , Agents, and basketball [True Hoop]

By comparison, in looking over past results, The Wizard of Odds points out that Terry Bradshaw scored a 15 in 1970. Ouch. This did not scare off the Vikings however, who chose Booty in the fifth round. Kentucky's Andre Woodson (Giants, sixth round) also scored a 14. Domer Law, a Notre Dame blog, looks at other positions:

The highest score listed was our very own John Carlson, who sported an impressive 40. Second was Frank Okam, DL fom Texas, with a 39. Third was another Notre Dame grad, John Sullivan, who scored a 35. King Dunlap, OT from Auburn was next with a 32. To round out the top 5 test takers is our very own Trevor Laws (tied with Mike Humpal, LB from Iowa) with a 30. The lowest score belongs to (Michigan's) Mario Manningham, with a 6. He was the only player to score in single digits.

There's also that rumor out there of a guy one year who scored a 1. That man of course went on to invent the BCS system.

Booty, Woodson No Wonderlic Wonders [Wizard Of Odds]
Wunderlic Scores! [Domer Law Blog]

If they aren't frolicking at Lake Tahoe, they're stripping down for Will Ferrell. And their latest escapade was a bikini-clad free-for-all for the Swim With Mike Charity, which provides scholarships for athletes who have become physically challenged. The event, held on Saturday at McDonald's Swim Stadium, raised more than $1 million for the charity. Photo gallery right here.

And more photos here.

The organization was founded in 1981 when USC swimmer Mike Nyeholt broke his neck in an accident. What started as a fundraiser for one man turned into a program that is funding 27 scholarships this year alone. The latest recipient is an LAPD officer who was shot in the line of duty.

Not to get serious here or anything, but that's pretty cool.

Are You Trying To Reduce Me, Mr. Robinson? [BeatSC.com]
Swim With Mike Breaks More Records [Los Angeles Times]
Swim With Mike

So the OJ Mayo era at USC ends with a first-round tournament loss to the other heralded freshman. You may remember the famous tale of Mayo calling coach Tim Floyd to inform he was coming to USC even though the two had never chatted. Many felt that it was a dangerous precedent, allowing the players to pretty much run amok in the name of big recruiting splashes.

And what did the Trojans gets out of it? A first-round playoff exit and, so far, four years of Lil Romeo. On scholarship. At least it's better than what Indiana got out of Eric Gordon.

OJ Mayo's End Of An Era [Rush The Court]

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TROJANS

1. At Guard, Super Dave Osborne. One of the keys to last season's surprising Sweet Sixteen run was then-freshman Daniel Hackett's aggressive tournament play: He was all over the place, grabbing boards, causing turnovers, ending Kevin Durant's college career earlier than expected. The dude doesn't know how to turn it off ... which has caused some problems this year. In late September during a pretty physical pickup game, he took an elbow to the face from O.J. Mayo (or did Mayo deck him?), which resulted in his jaw being broken in three places and having to be wired shut. He came back six weeks later, happy only to need a protective mouthpiece. ("A mask, it shows weakness," Hackett said, sounding like an ancient kung-fu master.) Then at the end of January, he suffered a stress fracture in his lower back while diving for a ball in a game against Arizona. He was supposed to be done for the year, but he was back playing a month later.

2. Kids These Days. USC's six main contributors are freshmen and sophomores. Not surprisingly, this season has been an abject lesson in what it's like to root for a young team that's all enthusiasm and inexperience. They looked awesome beating UCLA on its home court in January and Stanford on March 8, but their thin bench and inability to keep their poise resulted in two tank jobs against Washington State and tough losses to Memphis and Kansas early in the season. After getting embarrassed in their season opener against lowly Mercer, the Trojans have mostly avoided playing down to their competition, but they're only 3-7 against Top 25 teams. So what does all that mean? Don't pick the Trojans to be the victims of a first-round upset special, but don't have 'em going too far in your bracket, either.

3. Get Me Outta Here. Depending on whom you ask, freshman O.J. Mayo (20.9 ppg), freshman Davon Jefferson (12.0 ppg) and sophomore Taj Gibson (11.0 ppg, 2.5 blocks/game, 7.7 rebounds/game) are all likely to be leaving for the NBA after this season. A lot of that will shake out once their tournament run ends, but there are also reports that Romeo-loving coach Tim Floyd could be out the door, too. Floyd keeps insisting USC will be his last job, and Mayo talks about enrolling in summer classes, but this is life in L.A. in the shadow of the UCLA Bruins, Los Angeles Lakers and Trojan football team: Ultimately, nobody's paying attention to the USC basketball program and you're always looking for a better opportunity somewhere else. — Tim Grierson

KANSAS STATE WILDCATS

1. Beas-who? One wonders how Kansas State University, a school that has lacked a dominance on the hardwood in recent years, manage to resurrect Jesus Christ himself in the form of a 6-foot-10, 235-forward from the Washington D.C. area. Well, Michael Beasley was coached by in an AAU summer league and originally committed to Charlotte for Dalonte Hill. Hill was offered an assistant job under Bob Huggins prior to last season which, in turn, brought Beasley to Kansas State. After Huggins' departure, Kansas State was quick to hire Huggins' second-in-command Frank Martin, who left Hill on staff. In related news, the two favorite teams to cheer for in Manhattan, Kans., are the Kansas State Wildcats and whoever West Virginia is playing. With that being said, Bob Huggins is still a raging alcoholic asshole and wildcat nation is still a little bitter about his departure.

2. A Favorite Tradition Is A Song About A Fictional Train. Without being redundant, the Wabash Cannonball is a song about a fictional train and one of the best parts of Kansas State athletics. It's important to Kansas State fans because in 1968 Nichols Hall, the music building, burned to the ground and the only piece of music left was "The Wabash Cannonball." The following day the Wildcats had a game against Syracuse and using borrowed instruments, the band played this song, and only this song. Since then it has been a staple of all sporting events and includes a dance where the students rock back and forth to the beat, but each person alternates direction... oh screw explaining it, just watch it yourself.

3. Who Know Coaches Were Artistic? The current visual representation of Kansas State University is the purple powercat logo. Kansas State has seen a lot of visual changes over it's years, but the biggest celebrity in Manhattan, Kans., Bill Snyder, was partially the mastermind behind the purple powercat logo that now adorns everything relating to Kansas State. He helped design the logo with local Tom Bookwalter and made a permanent impact in the Little Apple worthy of having the two highways leading to the city renamed in his honor, oh, and it helped that he turned around the worst football program in Division I at the time. — Travis Hudson

Join The Deadspin Pool.
Download The Deadspin Printable Bracket. (PDF)

2. Kids These Days. USC's six main contributors are freshmen and sophomores. Not surprisingly, this season has been an abject lesson in what it's like to root for a young team that's all enthusiasm and inexperience. They looked awesome beating UCLA on its home court in January and Stanford on March 8, but their thin bench and inability to keep their poise resulted in two tank jobs against Washington State and tough losses to Memphis and Kansas early in the season. After getting embarrassed in their season opener against lowly Mercer, the Trojans have mostly avoided playing down to their competition, but they're only 3-7 against Top 25 teams. So what does all that mean? Don't pick the Trojans to be the victims of a first-round upset special, but don't have 'em going too far in your bracket, either.

3. Get Me Outta Here. Depending on whom you ask, freshman O.J. Mayo (20.9 ppg), freshman Davon Jefferson (12.0 ppg) and sophomore Taj Gibson (11.0 ppg, 2.5 blocks/game, 7.7 rebounds/game) are all likely to be leaving for the NBA after this season. A lot of that will shake out once their tournament run ends, but there are also reports that Romeo-loving coach Tim Floyd could be out the door, too. Floyd keeps insisting USC will be his last job, and Mayo talks about enrolling in summer classes, but this is life in L.A. in the shadow of the UCLA Bruins, Los Angeles Lakers and Trojan football team: Ultimately, nobody's paying attention to the USC basketball program and you're always looking for a better opportunity somewhere else. — Tim Grierson

USC coach Tim Floyd, who was famously recruited by OJ Mayo (rather than the other way around), isn't even pretending, really, that Romeo's any good.

Tim Floyd, USC's basketball coach, makes no apologies about Mr. Miller's potential to sell tickets. "We may have more 11- to 17-year-old girls in the stands than we've had in the past," he says.

Heck, even Michael Jordan's kid didn't get a scholarship from Illinois (and he can play defense, at least). We're not sure the long-term benefits of Miller's scholarship — seriously, Master P can't afford tuition? — but hey, Tim Floyd must know what he's doing, right? Success just follows that guy around.

A Hot Prospect? [Wall Street Journal]

The book's case against Bush is built heavily on the testimony of one man, Lloyd Lake, who is at the center of the controversy. Lake, a convicted felon whose past in examined in the book, allegedly provided or arranged for hundreds of thousands of dollars in benefits for Bush and his family, much of which went directly to into the hands the USC football star. Lake goes so far as to claim that Bush was the one lobbying to further the partnership in clear violated of NCAA regulations. He says Bush had to convince him to follow through, urging, "Let's do it," in a face-to-face meeting.

I would suggest picking up a copy just so that you'll have something to read to your kids at bedtime.

YOU: "In February 2005, Bush asked for and was given $13,000 — by Lake — for the purchase of a car, a 1996 black Impala SS."
BOBBY: "Was it a fast car, daddy?"
YOU: "Yes. And Reggie wanted to upgrade the car and received another $4,000 from Lake for a new stereo, tinted windows, and high-performance tires and rims."
BOBBY: "That's called 'pimping,' right, daddy?"
YOU: "Yes."
BOBBY: "Will you read it to me again?"

Coincidentally or not, the Falcons chose the same day to say that they'd like to talk with Pete Carroll about their coaching vacancy. At any rate, it's all a lot more interesting than the BCS title game.

Carroll reportedly has no interest in the Falcons' job. Huh. Can't imagine why not.

First Glance At The Dreaded Bush Book [Los Angeles Times]
AP: Falcons Want To Interview Pete Carroll [USA Today]

The last time Illinois made the Rose Bowl, in 1984, they were destroyed by UCLA. (They should have made the Rose Bowl in 2002, actually, but they were using Pasadena to host the national title game that year. Instead, they were destroyed by LSU in the Sugar Bowl.) We will always remember that game. We remember that game, and that achievement, far more vividly than Jeff George's vivisection of Virginia in the 1990 Citrus Bowl. The Rose Bowl does mean something more, even if it's just, for the layperson, a prime-time beating of your team on national television.

There was a brief second, right before wide receiver Jacob Willis fumbled deep in USC's zone, that the Illini looked like they were going to make a game of it. After that play, it was over. But that was a moment of genuine excitement, in the Rose Bowl. When it got out of hand after that, it was easy to turn it off; that "Twilight Zone" marathon was still on.

The power of Zook, nevertheless, continues to compel us. So, for the last time until September ...

Tough Lesson, But A Necessary One [Decatur Herald And Review]
Why God Why? [Foul Balls]

We're fully aware that Illinois doesn't particularly deserve to play in the Grandaddy, and that they're probably gonna get killed. No matter! We like to pretend that the bowls still have any segment of legitimacy and tradition, so the Big Ten vs. the Pac-10, that's what we get. Which means in a season where a slot in the Motor City Bowl would have made us happy ends up in Pasadena. Ron Zook truly pisses intensity.

By the way, we're not making the trip to Pasadena, but for the first time in recent memory, we might actually be up on New Year's Day by 5 p.m.

Well, he's making some bad bets with Rodney Peete. (Oh, hey, look: Rodney Peete!) Apparently Brady, quite wisely, wagered that Notre Dame would beat USC last weekend. Smart! His penance: Wearing a USC jersey. As usual, Brady's just worried about his smooth, smooth skin.

So, for the day's interview, the Browns QB pulled the #10 cardinal-and-gold item out of his locker, and slipped it on. But Brady did come prepared: "That's why I've got extra layers on, so it doesn't actually touch any part of my body.

So does this mean he always makes bets with former NFL quarterbacks? If so, the above picture is easily explained by a failed bet with Kordell Stewart.

Brady Quinn Wears USC Jersey After Losing Bet [Sports By Brooks]

• What was George Washington's wife's name?
• Which are blood vessels? A. Tibias, B. Scalias, C. Capillaries.
• Bavaria is a state in what country? (Chris said Poland)
• How many pounds in a ton?
• True or false: The official language of Australia is English.

The show's format allows actual fifth-graders to bail out the contestants, which they did with Chris up until the final question, where he dropped out ... with winnings of $175,000. Miss Teen South Carolina would be proud. And the Iraq, such as.

Rockies-Diamondbacks? That's started already?

Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? [Fox]

Appalachian State over Michigan. Syracuse over Louisville. Last weekend's upheaval of the unbeatens. All were mere prelude to the mother lode:

Stanford beat USC: The poster child of college football in the 21st Century lost to its red-headed step-sibling.

Thinking back over the decade's Trojan Dynasty, there have been a few priceless moments of schadenfreude: The 2006 Rose Bowl. Reggie Bush's scandal. The 2007 BCS implosion. Matt Leinart's life.

This tops them all: USC — mighty, dominant, loaded USC — losing at home to a 41-point Stanford underdog that was so sorry, the Cardinal scored all of 3 points a week ago in a 41-3 loss to Arizona State (and might as well have not even shown up for a shutout blowout at home a year ago to USC.)

This isn't simply about USC flushing away any hopes it had of competing for a national title this season. Like many, I would argue that this is the single most humiliating loss in modern college football history.

Michigan lost to a two-time defending 1-AA champion. Louisville doesn't play defense. So what's USC's excuse?

Maybe USC wasn't as good as its preseason No. 1 ranking (or even last week's No. 2 ranking) would have suggested. That might explain a loss later this season at Cal or other would-be Pac-10 contender.

No: In the end, this USC team was so vastly (and, in hindsight, obviously) overrated that they couldn't hold serve at home against the worst team in the West, playing with a thoroughly inexperienced emergency starting QB and no expectation of victory, let alone the expectation of a last-minute come-from-behind game-winning drive.

I come not to haze the Trojans but to bury them: The USC dynasty, running from an October 12, 2002 win over Cal through October 6, 2007 is dead.

There was foreshadowing: Getting overrun by Vince Young, losing to Oregon State and UCLA last year, unwanted pregnancies, shady alleged Heisman-sized payoffs, consistently uninspired 2007 performances.

But it wasn't until the Trojans lost ... at HOM E... to STANFORD ... that the "USChadenfreude" reached the critical, blissful moment where everyone else can stand up and cheer:

Every team that USC plays from now on can think - they can know - that they can beat the Trojans. Beat them in the Coliseum. Beat them late in the 4th quarter. Beat them when they are undefeated. Beat them with a backup QB. Beat them without any sort of winning legacy.

USC's aura of invincibility - its reign of respect - is over. It's so hard to feel superior when you're losing ... at home ... to Stanford.

This Week's Bandwagon: Ron Zook. If, like long-suffering Illinois fans, your season's expectations are "bowl eligibility," there might not be a better coach than Ron Zook. The guy recruits for a Top 10 program, then coaches the actual games like a Bottom 10 program. The result is perfectly decent, if you have no aspirations beyond the "Any Bowl."

At Illinois, he was off to a typically Zookian start: 4-19 in his first two seasons, including a solitary win in the Big Ten. But, as promised, the guy started reeling in these spectacular recruiting classes, stocking the pipeline with talent that could overcome whatever shortcomings Zook might have as, y'know, a coach.

This season has blown past any expectations: With the foreshadowing of a season-opening near-miss against a still-unbeaten Top 10 Missouri team, Zook has led Illinois to five straight wins, including three Big Ten wins, including back-to-back wins over ranked teams, including then-No. 5 Wisconsin, in a game in which Illinois went into the game favored. In five weeks, he has eclipsed his previous two seasons.

That preseason goal of bowl eligibility could come as early as this weekend at Iowa. Astonishingly, a 10-win season is not inconceivable. However, a word of caution to any Illinois bandwagoneers: Remember the original expectations, and remember this is Ron Zook we're talking about.

My BlogPoll Ballot Top 10:
1. LSU
Rallied like a team of destiny.
2. Cal
The Pac-10 is there for the taking.
3. Ohio St
Good news: Big Ten down (Bad news: B10 down)
4. South Florida
Why the trouble with Florida Atlantic?
5. Cincinnati
You scoff, yet just wait...
6. Boston College
Matt Ryan for Heisman?
7. Oklahoma
Now wait for stumbles ahead of them
8. Oregon
Well if Stanford can beat USC...
9. Missouri
All of a sudden, the Big 12's best
10. Florida
Like LSU '06: CFB's best 2-loss team
My complete Top 25 ballot.

Ranking Ranting: Let me get this straight: Michigan was ranked No. 4, lost to the two-time-defending 1-AA champion, yet was dropped completely out of the rankings. USC was ranked No. 2, lost to one of the five worst teams of any BCS conference (at home!), yet only dropped to No. 10 (No. 7 in the Coaches' and Harris polls. No. 7!) To save you the trip, I put them at No. 25 in my BlogPoll ballot, and I think that's totally reasonable.

Looking Ahead to Next Week's Schedule

Missouri at Oklahoma: Forget the Red River Rivalry. All of a sudden, this is the de facto Big 12 Championship. (No offense to Kansas.)
Pick: Oklahoma

LSU at Kentucky: After the Tigers' emotional win at home against Florida, will they suffer a let-down in Lexington? If South Carolina's tough D can stifle Andre Woodson, then I cringe at what LSU's D can do.
Pick: LSU

Boston College at Notre Dame: The Irish's jubilation at finally winning a game this season will be short-lived after B.C. swamps them in South Bend.
Pick: BC

The Bandwagoneer at Home: Just to find a little closure from last week's post about Florida's season being over, OK, now it's REALLY over. But when the Gators win the national title next season, we will point to this near-miss at LSU as the moment the run began. (Damn it.)

As always, direct any comments or questions to me at danshanoff-[at]-gmail-[dot]-com.

That guy in the glasses, the "O," he didn't even intend to be a part of this "protest." He had just been wandering around campus like that until the other guys grabbed him and whispered in his ear, "Hey, man, wanna join us on a super secret mission?" He was like, shit, dude, yeah, whatever, where am I again?

USC Displays Its Full Arsenal [The Wizard Of Odds]

The details of McNair's situation seem as bad, if not worse, than Michael Vick's.

In March 1994, police in the New Jersey Borough of Paulsboro shot and killed a pit bull for biting and locking onto a neighborhood dog. They suspected the dog belonged to McNair, and discovered six more chained in his yard. He agreed to move them. On March 30, 1996, McNair was charged with cruelty to animals, failure to obtain licenses and keeping animals for the purpose of fighting on his property in East Greenwich, N.J. Animal control officers found up to 22 pit bulls, including 17 adults and five puppies. "I've never seen anything like it," Gloucester County officer Charles Barone told the Philadelphia Daily News in a story dated April 4, 1996. Police Chief William Giordano told the newspaper: "These conditions are deplorable."

The Rocky Mountain News reported later that year that the dogs were attached to heavy automobile towing chains. Some of the dogs were found in standing water, and many were scarred. Several had fresh wounds and one had a broken leg.

McNair has already paid his fines and served his probation, so we don't quite understand the notion of firing him, as some have called for. But we certainly have a better idea now how that whole USC running back logjam resolved itself: Halfback fights!

Southern Cal Now Engulfed In An Ugly Dog Cruelty Scandal [Bruins Nation]

He was busted for drug possession for the fourth time in 10 years over the weekend.

He was found hiding in a carport about 1:30 a.m., police Sgt. Evan Sailor said. After searching Marinovich, police found about one gram of methamphetamine, a metal spoon and a hypodermic needle, Sailor said.

Marinovich was charged with possession of a controlled substance, which is a felony, as well as unauthorized possession of a hypodermic needle and resisting a police officer, both misdemeanors.

That's a four-time loser, and he could be looking at some hard jail time this go-around. We understand that every person is responsible for his own life ... but we imagine, late at night, the Marinovich household is dark, angry and guilty.

Todd Marinovich Drug Charge [Sports By Brooks]

To celebrate, Southern California sophomore running back Emmanuel Moody did what any kid would do: He announced that he's transferring.

Moody could not be reached for comment, but he said last week that he "felt forgotten" coming into training camp because of an ankle injury that forced him to sit out the Trojans' last four games and a hamstring injury that caused him to sit out nearly all of spring practice.

So, to repeat, a guy with 459 total rushing yards makes the cover of SI with a team he bolts on a week later. We'd almost call this the second worst SI cover of the last three-plus years.

Make The Cover Of SI One Week, Bail Out The Next [Signal To Noise]

It won't be quite as enjoyable for USC fans, but it's still worthy of a few extra glances in the Trojans' direction: Lil Romeo is now officially playing for USC this year. Well, "playing" maybe isn't the right word: Even his old teammates don't think he'll be very good.

"Being in front of his dad and his posse, if you will, seemed to add to him playing a little more selfishly," Park said. "Sometimes, it would be better if he passed the ball a little more. Other times, he'll try to do a little extra going to the basket when two points is two points. I think he needs to get that out of his system and focus on the game instead of what the crowd is telling him. ... A lot of my friends doubt he can be a Pac-10 player," Park said. "He can't really take over a game and doesn't have Division-I level skills yet. But he looks better every time he comes to play. As of right now, I don't see him prospering at the next level."

You know, in the old days of hip-hop, that would have gotten you shot. Now? Well, now you just don't get to sit in the luxury box.

Look Out USC, Lil' Romeo Is Coming To Campus [Lion In Oil]

And it's not some seven-foot-two behemoth manchild either; it's Ryan Boatwright, a 5-foot-10, 145-pound point guard. (Because you can totally tell how he'll run an offense five years from now.) He's from Illinois, and so far, he hasn't even decided where he's going to high school.

We won't take part in the ritualistic hang-wringing involved when something like this happens; recruiting's a tough game, and you gotta do something. But we're now officially a year or two away from the famous Mr. Show sketch.

We Get Older But They Stay The Same Age [The Sports Oasis]

Over the weekend, the University of Southern California athletics department hosted a fundraiser for physically challenged athletes. Ostensibly, the highlight was supposed to be a swim race between USC coach Pete Carroll and, uh, physically challenged athlete Will Carroll Ferrell, but it turns out the real draw were the bikini-clad USC Song Girls. (A full photo gallery is right here.

We apologize for leading this post with a picture of Ferrell rather than the Song Girls. It's irreverent, you see.

USC Song Girls Take It Off For Charity [The Wizard Of Odds]
Photo Gallery [Trojan Haters Club]

(UPDATE: Though we suspect Baseball Prospectus' Will Carroll is a physically disadvantaged athlete, he should not be confused with actor Will Ferrell. It's Monday morning; we're just waking up. Sorry.)

NORTH CAROLINA

1. Reyshawn, Reyshawn, Reyshawn. He's the one leftover from the Matt Doherty era. And for those who drink the baby-blue Kool-Aid, he at times can be just as frustrating as the former coach. But Reyshawn Terry also oozes athleticism and can produce jaw-dropping highlights. Terry, who pretended he was Scottie Pippen when he was growing up in Winston-Salem, N.C., is one of the few seniors on the team (joined by reserve Wes Miller and walk-on Dewey "Biscuits" Burke). When he was a freshman, teammates called the 6-foot-8 forward "Radio," after the good-hearted, mentally challenged character in the movie, because Terry was slow to catch on in practice. Roy Williams has even admitted that he didn't think Terry was good enough to play for him. But Terry's nickname faded away the next year, once he started scoring in double figures. And now, the senior is projected to go in the second round of the NBA Draft.

2. No NBA, But Still Pro. Carolina has long been a veritable farm club for the NBA. But there are plenty of guys who have Charlie Mc-Nairy-the-skills to make it in The League. Some go to Europe (Dante Calabria is on Italy's Armani Jeans Milano; Kris Lang is in Italy, too; and Ademola Okulaja has taken his skills to Germany). Others go on to coach (Scott Cherry, assistant at George Mason; Brad Frederick, assistant at Vanderbilt; and then there's Roy Williams, who, yes, did play JV ball for the Heels). Scott Williams (Roy's son, who held a spot on the 1998-99 team) worked as a bond trader in Charlotte. One of the more unusual, though, has to be Brian Bersticker, who went from a person people bought tickets to see to the person people bought tickets from when he joined the box-office staff postgraduation. He also had a stint as a politician: As a write-in candidate in 2000, he finished third in the race to be UNC's student-body president.

3. Some Duke Hate! There wasn't much more Tyler Hansbrough needed to do to endear himself to the Tar Heel faithful. But somehow, he pulled it off. According to a letter-to-the-editor printed Sunday in the Times-News of Burlington, N.C., a seven-year-old boy went to a game in Chapel Hill and asked Hansbrough for an autograph. He was told, "I don't give autographs to anyone who wears a Duke shirt." The boy's grandmother wrote the letter. "The next day, Duke player Gerald Henderson busted his nose," she wrote. "This is what grandmothers call poetic justice!" The act has spurred a lively discussion on the message boards over a player's duty to sign. "Tyler gave the kid more than an autograph," concluded PureJumper. "He taught him a lesson." — Matt Viser

USC

1. Fight Songs of Our Fathers. USC's fight song, "Fight On," is the jubilant, almost mocking victory tune you'll hear about 150,000 times during any Trojan game, especially when the Men of Troy do something even remotely good. Such a rousing charge could only have been created by a musical genius — or, maybe just a dental student. Back in 1922, wannabe tooth extractor Milo Sweet came up with the song (with lyrics by himself and Glen Grant) for a campus spirit contest. "Fight On" became synonymous with the university and started appearing in films soon after, but if the legends are true, it also helped propel America to victory in World War II. During the Aleutian Campaign, U.S. forces, who were preparing to storm an island in the Pacific held by the Japanese, were reportedly inspired by the thunderous strains of "Fight On" blaring from one of their ships and drove the enemy out. Less well-known tidbit about Sweet: He later went on to co-write a fight song for USC's hated crosstown rivals, the UCLA Bruins.

2. December 21, 2005. Maybe USC fans shouldn't get too cocky, but the Trojans have beaten Roy Williams' Tar Heels recently — well, about 15 months ago, actually. The late-December 2005 game, which USC won 74-59 at home, caught two teams on very different paths. North Carolina, trying to repeat as national champions but without most of that winning roster, got an early indication that it was going to be a rebuilding year. ("It was a total breakdown for us at both ends of the court," a frustrated Williams said afterwards.) But for the Trojans, led by first-year coach Tim Floyd, the win was the first over a ranked opponent since March 2004, and an encouraging sign after starting off the season with two bad losses (including a defeat at the hands of Oral Roberts). If USC is going to make it two in a row over the Heels, they're going to need equally big performances this time around from Lodrick Stewart (18 points, including four three-pointers, in the '05 contest), Nick Young (18 points, only one turnover) and Gabe Pruitt (16 points, six rebounds).

3. Viva Italia! The tournament loves stories of surprise superstars, guys who come off the bench and out of obscurity and end up leading their team to victory. This March, the Trojans' feel-good MVP is point guard Daniel Hackett, a young man with one of those can-you-believe-it backstories that makes human-interest TV announcers like Dick Enberg positively swoon. Hackett, who grew up in Italy with his father, former '70s Syracuse star Rudy Hackett, was supposed to be a senior in high school this year, until the murder of USC point guard Ryan Francis and the later academic ineligibility of possible replacement Pruitt created a void on the team. Rudy, Tim Floyd's strength and conditioning coach, suggested to his son (who had already orally committed to USC for the 2007-08 season) the possibility of leaving high school early. So Daniel busted his hump in summer school, completed his necessary credits and ended up starting the first 13 games of the season, assuming a backup role once Pruitt returned. But in the tournament, he's been nothing less than awesome. Coming off the bench against the Razorbacks to provide a needed jolt, his eight points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals add up to a decent stat line, but it was mostly his hustle that impressed. "I was just knocked out by how he played," Floyd said after the 77-60 win. "I thought he really brought a tremendous amount of energy to the game." Floyd rewarded Hackett's effort by putting him in the starting lineup against Texas and assigning him to cover future NBA lottery stud Kevin Durant. In the 87-68 thrashing of the Longhorns, Hackett minimized Durant's effectiveness — if it's possible to score a quiet 30 points, Durant did it on Sunday — while contributing 20 points of his own. For his part, Hackett attributes his drive to a self-described "hatred of losing" he developed during his Italian childhood, playing pickup games with his dad at the age of 12. "I was too little to play with the big guys, so I wouldn't get on the court much," Hackett said. "When I did get in after three hours of waiting, I had to win at all costs or go home because the line was going to be too long to get back on." — Tim Grierson

First Three North Carolina Tidbits [Deadspin]
First Three USC Tidbits [Deadspin]

So on Saturday night, incoming star freshman O.J. Mayo, who was no longer in trouble over that marijuana business, played his final game as a high school player. How's it go? Well, he earned a technical foul and was thrown out of the game.

Considering how much he was cheered for it, it's difficult to argue it wasn't worth it. We guess.

OJ Mayo Ends High School Career With Dunk, Technical [AOL Fanhouse]

USC TROJANS

1. This is Hollywood after all. The Trojans play on Jim Sterkel Court at the new Galen Center. Who's Jim Sterkel? Some guy who played for two seasons at 'SC in the '50s and averaged fewer than 10 points a game. So who decided to name it after him? Only the university knows: The $5-million donation for the naming rights was sent by an anonymous high-school friend of Sterkel's who stipulated that his identity never be revealed. Schmaltz-meister columnist Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times tracked down Anonymous, who explained that Sterkel had been his role model for living a good life, his mediocre sports career notwithstanding. A friendly, churchgoing type, Sterkel developed testicular cancer in adulthood, which eventually killed him, but which didn't stop him from writing Anonymous to console him about his own son's losing battle with leukemia. ("I'll never forget that he took the time out of his own life during his final days to do this for me, to try to inspire my life even when he was losing his own life," Anonymous said.) Between the tear-jerking sentiments and mysterious nature of the donation, it's a miracle Fox Faith isn't developing a film about the whole thing right now.

2. It's the hard-knock life. Former mohawk-sportin' junior swingman Nick Young will almost assuredly be jumping to the pros after this season with his team-leading 17.5 PPG. But don't worry that the NBA will be able to throw anything at him that can compare with what he's endured thus far in his life. When he was five, a teenage gang member killed his brother and close friend Charles Jr., who was only 18. His brother John, torn up by Charles' death, suffered a mental breakdown and ended up in an institution, a possible NBA career up in smoke. His father, Charles Sr., coped through alcohol. While his family life has improved much since then, there's no question there's a certain weight of expectation resting on Nick's shoulders."I think a lot about what will happen if I don't make it [in the NBA]," he said.

3. When I think of you, Baton Rouge. Considering how mediocre the Trojans have been since their unlikely run to the Elite Eight in 2001, losing to eventual champion Duke, USC should be thrilled just to make this year's tournament. But if they had their wish in terms of seeding, the team might prefer to avoid a visit to Louisiana. In the early morning hours of Saturday, May 13, 2006, Trojan freshman point guard Ryan Francis was shot to death while driving with some friends in Baton Rouge, where he was later buried (and where he grew up). Francis was the first recruit second-year coach Tim Floyd signed as part of his attempt to rebuild the floundering team. "It's difficult for me, because I loved the kid," Floyd said. "He never leaves my mind." DeAnthony Norman Ford, who has been charged with Francis' murder, will face trial in June in Baton Rouge. — Tim Grierson

ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS

1. The Name. The team was originally known as the Arkansas Cardinals until 1909, when football coach Hugo Bezdek declared that his team played like a bunch of "wild band of razorback hogs." The nickname stuck and became official before the 1910 season. The "hog call" of "Woo Pig Sooey!" came around several years later. The name has remained unique nearly 100 years later, as no other major college team has named itself after a feral pig.

2. Maybe You Should Try the NFL. Embattled Arkansas head coach Stan Heath most likely needed this NCAA berth to save his job. Had he been let go, he might have been wise to interview for a job as an NFL receivers coach. In his six seasons as a head basketball coach, Heath's basketball teams have produced two NFL receivers. He coached San Diego tight end Antonio Gates while at Kent State and Jacksonville wide receiver Matt Jones while at Arkansas.

3. D j Vu. During the SEC championship game, the Razorbacks played Florida at the Georgia Dome. Back in December, the Razorbacks and the Gators met at the Georgia Dome for the SEC football championship game. This was the first time since the SEC began playing its football championship game in 1992 that the same schools met in both the football and basketball championship games during the same year. — Chris Driver

Join The Deadspin Pool!
Deadspin Printable Bracket [PDF]
Complete NCAA Tournament Schedule

2. It's the hard-knock life. Former mohawk-sportin' junior swingman Nick Young will almost assuredly be jumping to the pros after this season with his team-leading 17.5 PPG. But don't worry that the NBA will be able to throw anything at him that can compare with what he's endured thus far in his life. When he was five, a teenage gang member killed his brother and close friend Charles Jr., who was only 18. His brother John, torn up by Charles' death, suffered a mental breakdown and ended up in an institution, a possible NBA career up in smoke. His father, Charles Sr., coped through alcohol. While his family life has improved much since then, there's no question there's a certain weight of expectation resting on Nick's shoulders."I think a lot about what will happen if I don't make it [in the NBA]," he said.

3. When I think of you, Baton Rouge. Considering how mediocre the Trojans have been since their unlikely run to the Elite Eight in 2001, losing to eventual champion Duke, USC should be thrilled just to make this year's tournament. But if they had their wish in terms of seeding, the team might prefer to avoid a visit to Louisiana. In the early morning hours of Saturday, May 13, 2006, Trojan freshman point guard Ryan Francis was shot to death while driving with some friends in Baton Rouge, where he was later buried (and where he grew up). Francis was the first recruit second-year coach Tim Floyd signed as part of his attempt to rebuild the floundering team. "It's difficult for me, because I loved the kid," Floyd said. "He never leaves my mind." DeAnthony Norman Ford, who has been charged with Francis' murder, will face trial in June in Baton Rouge. — Tim Grierson

The racist Facebook group was created by a USC football player and showed a graphic of a black baby in handcuffs. Junior linebacker Clay Matthews created the group, "White Nation," which featured a graphic with the caption, "arrest black babies before they become criminals." Teammates David Buehler, Brian Cushing, Dan Deckas and Dallas Sartz joined the group.

"This group is not for the faint of heart," read the group's description. "All members are athletes of Caucasion (sic) descent. DISCLAIMER: In no way are the following memebers (sic) intolerant of others, we are just doing our duty of protecting the Arian (sic) brotherhood."

You know, if they're gonna protect their heritage, the least they could do is spell it correctly. This should do wonders for USC's recruiting, by the way.

Facebook Group Lands USC Football Player In Hot Water [Daily Trojan]

Schadendfreude, baby! Just in the email, "Get Your Alamo Bowl Gear!" Ha ha ha ha ha!

But later, on their message board ...

I think Vince Young just scored again. Scoreboard. — Comment by Matt

Fortunately, cooler heads are prevailing in Michigan. They will brook none of this nonsense ... it's on to the Rose Bowl!

Still angry over Michigan's exclusion from the BCS national title football game, a pair of state lawmakers are calling for a playoff system. Sens. Mark Schauer and Mike Bishop, the incoming Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate, say subjectivity should be removed from a process that has financial and emotional repercussions. "The BCS system is clearly not working and consumers in Michigan and around the country are paying a very real price," said Schauer, D-Battle Creek.

Hmm. Wonder what's going on at Boise State? Potato riots?

Longhorns Ltd.: How The Mighty Have Fallen [Boi From Troy]
Lawmakers Call For Playoff System [Detroit News]

So says "Goal Setting Guru," motivational speaker and all-around-Douchey-McDoucherson Sean Smith, who put out a press release yesterday saying Carroll doomed his team to failure by talking up UCLA so much pre-game.

"As soon as Coach Carroll told the media early in the week that UCLA was going to be their toughest opponent of the year," says Smith, "he made the game much more difficult for his players. The Trojans had all week long to focus on how good the Bruins are and how hard the game would be. So as Saturday's kickoff neared, the team had been sufficiently programmed for defeat."

"What I wish more people understood is that whatever you choose to focus on in any arena, whether it's success or failure, your unconscious mind takes it as a command, as if that's what you're looking for. So by telling yourself what you want to avoid, or by holding onto any negative, limiting thoughts whatsoever, you will always attract difficulty into your life."

As much as we love a good motivational speaker — Smith claims to be "a master at empowering his audiences to overachieve in all areas of their lives," which basically means he gets you shitbags to finally do something with your pathetic lives for through "Neuro-Linguistic Programming" — we have a feeling that Smith might be, oh, pulling random shards of nonsense from his anal canal. We nevertheless would like to see Smith get his hands on Eli Manning; "You must visualize victory through minimizing our Goal Setting Mistakes. Hey, Eli, wake up, would ya?"

USC Trojans Head Coach Programmed His Team To Lose [PR Web] (via Displaced Trojan)

Daniel Crowson, whose face was scraped and bruised, told reporters he lost an eye when he and a friend were set upon by as many as 10 UCLA fans simply they were "convenient" and "had the opposing colors on." "There certainly was no instigation," the Torrance man said.

Crowson said he was taking punches from as many as 10 attackers, then "out of nowhere, I just remember seeing a flash of a bottle come across my face." His wife also recounted seeing her husband's injuries. "I see my husband come around the front of the car, covered in blood and just adrenaline-pumped, and screaming and saying, 'They hit me with a bottle, they hit me with a bottle,'" she said. "The glass that hit his eye went through every layer of eye, severing it all, all the way to the jelly."

"All the way to the jelly." Jeepers. Way to go, UCLA fans; we honestly didn't think you had it in you.

USC Fan Loses Eye After Pro-UCLA Group Attack [CBS]

The M Zone takes a moment away from screaming at the heavens and cursing Allah to bring us this video, from the USC-UCLA game Saturday — way to step up, Trojans, by the way — and the famous Unable To Figure Out When Is, In Fact, The Correct Time To Cheer cheerleader. She has a tendency to strike during the most damaging Trojans losses, it appears; we fully expect to see this woman in straight-to-video movies, shot in the Valley, in which she shows up to jump and yell every time the hero's girlfriend dies or the villain unleashes one of his henchmen to terrorize a small, defenseless child. "Go Leatherface!"

And as always, the reactions of the other cheerleaders are the best part. "Gawd, Amber! Like, pay attention, jeez!"

Anyway, it's looking like it's going to be USC vs. Ohio State in the BCS Championship Game, though we think we're going to be more compelled by whoever Rutgers plays (if they can win next weekend) or the potential Texas-Boise State game in the Fiesta Bowl. We are enough of an undefeated purist — we repeat: Division I-A college football is the only sport on earth in which you can go undefeated and not have the opportunity to even be considered for a championship — that if Boise State were to win its title game and Ohio State were to lose to USC, we'd feel obliged to vote BSU No. 1. (Fortunately for humanity, we'd never be granted a vote.)

We are also intrigued by the constant rumors that our Buzzsaw That Is The Arizona Cardinals might be making a big push to hire USC coach Pete Carroll once they finally get around to firing Dennis "Unemployment Is What We THOUGHT It Was!" Green. We're not sure how Carroll would do back in the NFL, but we can say this: Don't do it, Pete. Seriously. Life is good in LA; transferring from the University of Southern California to the University of Phoenix is pretty much a downgrade in every respect, though the latter will provide you more useful woodworking skills.

Weekend Review [Every Day Should Be Saturday]

(The headline, by the way, is an exact quote from Brent Musberger this weekend. He's so great.)

Turns out, though, there's some pretty damning stuff in there, including actual credit card receipts from potential managers traced back to flights given to Bush's family; the ultimate estimate — if somewhat high, judging from the story — given to Bush and his family is about $100,000. If it's all proven true by the NCAA — and particularly if there's some sort of hazing involved — Bush could lose his Heisman and USC could even lose its national championship.

That's an explosive possibility, though we've never understood the idea of taking away titles retroactively, like they did with Michigan. We know Michigan lost one of its Final Fours, or something similar, but only in some book somewhere; we don't know who took their spot, and since we were watching, they won it in our memory, which is the only thing that really matters in the sports world. USC fans can scare themselves, but it's not real: Even if Reggie Bush received money and they take away hardware and fictional titles, it still all happened, and you still all enjoyed it. Honest.

Cash And Carry [Yahoo Sports]
A Trojan Talks Himself Through It [The Dar Speaketh]

That's curious, of course, because, uh, if they were to repeat their performance of last year, they, er, wouldn't win the title. Which is a strange goal to shoot for. Boi From Troy postulates what the poster might look like in the photo there. That sounds about right, though we might have used an old photo of Matt Leinart, just for fun.

USC Football Poster Says "Hook 'Em!" [Boi From Troy]
Matt Leinart's Big Post-Heisman NYC Adventure [Deadspin]

Setting the scene. California hosting USC last Saturday. Trojans guard Gabe Pruitt steps to the free throw line. The crowd starts chanting, "VIC-TOR-IA! VIC-TOR-IA!"

Cut to earlier that week. Two Cal fans had set up an instant messager account for "Victoria," a "fictional UCLA hottie," and had been flirting with Pruitt all week. "Victoria" was supposed to meet Pruitt after the game for a rendezvous in Westwood.

Cut back to the free throw line. Not only do the fans start chanting "Victoria," they start reciting Pruitt's phone number back to him.

He missed both free throws. Obviously. We would have too.

Victoria, Not Victorious [rangelife]

He will likely be the first overall pick to the Houston Texans, which will pretty much assure his every step, for the rest of his life, will be compared to Texas quarterback Vince Young's. Interestingly enough, Young is a better runner than Bush ... but a worse thrower. (We kid. It's what we do here.)

Part of us, frankly, is disappointed that Bush is going pro, because it's a lot more fun to watch him run like crazy through bewildered college defenses than it will be seeing him get flattened by Ray Lewis behind an offensive line that has the mass and consistency of Country Crock spread. You know what would be funny, though? If the Texans draft Bush and then, just for fun, draft fellow Trojan back LenDale White in the second round. White would be so pissed.