Jacked Up For the Rose Bowl

The Rose Bowl is only one day away and I'm looking forward to see the match up between Pete Carroll and Ron Zook.

They are by far, the two best coaches and recruiters in college football. It's going to be a shame to root against Coach Zook since he's a favorite here at USC Sports Talk. ESPN's Mark Schlabach had a good write-up comparing the two coach's journeys. Despite the apparent mismatch on paper between the teams, Illinois should present a challenge to the Trojans given our recent trouble against running quarterbacks. I still wake up in a cold sweat some nights thinking about a certain No. 10 (who will remain nameless) running into the endzone untouched in a Rose Bowl a few years back... (thank you very much, Frostee "Cunt" Rucker for breaking containment). Hopefully this year's speed on defense can neutralize Juice Williams and the rest of the Illini attack.

I hope it's a competitive game tomorrow and that we come out victorious. Even though it's not the arbitrarily arranged national championship game, a win in the Rose Bowl would definitely salvage this disappointing year and start the new year on a good note. Enjoy the game boys and girls and Happy New Year!

Fight On!

OUCH

I think this guy meant to say John Wooden...

Happy Holidays

Finals are over and the USC Sports Talk contributors are enjoying the time off from school. Updates have been scarce now that we're all back home celebrating the holidays, but we'll be posting soon enough on the upcoming Rose Bowl match up with the Fighting Illini. Until then, enjoy the holidays boys and girls. Here's a jingle from the baddest mofo to ever lace up his boots and play the soprano sax, Mr. Kenny G. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night...

Arthur Brown Commits to the U

Arthur Brown, ESPN's #1 rated outside LB prospect and #6 overall prospect, has chosen to attend the University of Miami (Fl). The U is getting a player that will undoubtedly make a big impact as true freshman next fall. This is the scouting report on him:

Brown possesses a great blend of size and speed, but it his explosiveness in the short-area that is rare and a component of his game that you just can't coach. When this fast-twitched athlete zeroes in on a ball carrier, he generates velocity so quickly that he hits with the power of a 230-pound 'backer. That rare ability allows him to blow up plays at the point of attack with strength or burst through the small, backside run crease underneath the cutoff block for five-yard losses. Not many spots between the white lines that Brown can't make plays from; he can attack downhill between the tackles, chase sideline-to-sideline with great range or make an athletic play in coverage with the hips and fluidity of an elite skill player.

Brown will be graduating early from his high school in Kansas, and plans to enroll at Miami this upcoming Spring. Here's the excerpt on his decision from ESPN Insider:

Outside linebacker Arthur Brown committed to Miami-FL over USC, LSU, North Carolina, and Florida Monday night on a televised news conference, ESPN affiliate InsideTheU.com reports.

"Really, in the beginning, I said that it would come down to how I feel and that is why I chose the University of Miami. My visit was great and I met with a lot of the players, coaches, and we really had a good connection."

This is another major blow to USC's recruiting class, as it appears that the Trojans have also lost the services of the nation's #1 CB prospect Patrick Johnson (as reported in my previous post). All the recruiting efforts and focus will probably now shift to ESPN's #2 rated CB prospect T.J. Bryant, who, like Johnson, is also from the state of Florida.

Fight On!

Is Patrick Johnson No Longer Considering USC?

ESPN's Recruiting Insider has an update on USC's Most Wanted recruit Patrick Johnson, the #1 rated CB prospect in this year's recruiting class. Apparently, Johnson has narrowed his list down to 4 finalists, and USC isn't one of them. Here's the excerpt:

Patrick Johnson's father, Patrick Peterson, said that Miami (Fla.), Flordia, Georgia, and LSU are the finalists in the rollercoaster-ride pursuit of 2008's top cornerback, the Sun-Sentinel reports.

When it comes to recruiting, you really have to take everything you hear in the press with a grain of salt. With that being said, if this is true, than it will be a devastating blow to USC's 2008 recruiting class. Yes, Coach Carroll is stockpiling talent offensively with all of those offensive linemen, but it is a relatively thin class on the defensive side of the ball. Again, nothing is for certain until Johnson signs that Letter of Intent, but if the Trojans miss out on him, there will be added pressure to sign Arthur Brown, the nation's top outside LB recruit. Brown will make his decision later today, and USC is very much in the running for him.

Check back later updates on these two big time recruits.

Fight On!

Vick Sentenced to 2 Years in Jail

The NFL has quite possibly lost one of its all-time greatest athletes today after Atlanta Falcons QB Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison today for crimes involving dog fighting. I am a die hard fan of the Atlanta Falcons, always have been, so this situation has been pretty difficult to deal with. I remember, watching Deion Sanders dominate football when I was growing up, which is what led to me liking the Falcons. Ironically, Vick is the greatest athlete that the NFL and the Atlanta Falcons have seen since Prime Time, but this jail sentence will most likely end his NFL playing career. After sitting out the 2007 and 2008 seasons, Vick is likely to face a 1 year suspension from the NFL for his actions and probably won't be able to suit up again until the 2010 season. There is a chance that teams like the Raiders and Broncos will give him a look (just ask Mike Williams or Maurice Clarett), but at age 30 and being 3 years removed from playing QB, the odds appear to be slim to none.

Vick has taken a mighty fall after being selected #1 overall in the 2001 NFL Draft. At the time, the Atlanta Falcons organization (and myself) believed that they had found their franchise QB. After 4 seasons in Atlanta, it appeared as though Vick would indeed become the team's savior. He guided the Falcons to the playoffs in his 1st year (2002) as a starter, only his 2nd year in the league, and instantly became a star. He helped Atlanta become the 1st team in NFL history to win a playoff game in Lambeau Field when they defeated the Packers 27-7 in the Wild Card Round. Unfortunately, they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Divisional Round the following week, but he energized the fans and resurrected a franchise that had been struggling since making the Super Bowl during the '98-'99 season. In 2003, Vick broke his leg and missed most of the season, and could only watch as the Falcons finished 3-13 and the man that drafted him, head coach Dan Reeves, was fired. In 2004, Atlanta hired Jim Mora, Jr. as head coach and Vick returned with a vengeance to lead the Falcons to the NFC Championship game. Again, they lost to the Eagles, but Vick was only one game away from the Super Bowl, and for his efforts, he was rewarded with a $130 million contract that offseason. At the time, he was one of the league's most marketable players and had the richest contract ever.

Times were great right? He was at the peak of his career at age 24, but it did not last very long. Jim Mora's coaching staff did not seem to fully develop his talents, and the Falcons sputtered into mediocrity the next 2 season with records of (8-8) and (7-9), respectively. Dan Reeves was well on his way to grooming Vick into one of the greatest QB's of all-time, but his untimely injury in 2003 caused Reeves his job. This proved to be the turning point in Michael Vick's career. Mora brought in Greg Knapp as his offensive coordinator, and together, they tried to mold Vick into a West Coast Offense QB. The playcalling was questionable and often times conservative. Vick just needed to unleashed, but instead he became frustrated and received constant criticism from the media about his abilities as a passer. The 2006 season and this past offseason were filled with numerous off the field incidents, culminating with this dog fighting fiasco, and now he's left to ponder what to do with the rest of his life.

It is a truly sad story, such a waste of talent. One can only imagine, what if...what if he hadn't broken his leg in that meaningless preseason game in 2003? It's unfortunate what happened to those dogs, but I'm still 100 % behind you Mike. He never accepted credit during those very successful playoff runs, and never threw a teammate under the bus after a loss. He was a great teammate and did a lot for the City of Atlanta. Here's to you Mike, I wish you the best.

2008 Rose Bowl aka BOREFEST 2008

We never thought we'd end up here, but its USC's 6th straight conference title and BCS appearance. No other coach or team in America can say that. Unfortunately, the Rose Bowl and its band of white-coat wearing, Lexus driving douchebags decided to choose Illinois to represent its at-large pick against USC. Don't get us wrong, USC Sports Talk has a chubby for Arrelious Benn and an affection for the Zooker. But these guys aren't in the same ballpark as USC, hell, probably not even the same fucking sport. USC is on a plateau by itself, while Illinois is a promising program on the rise. Nevertheless, the BCS spits it out, and we must force ourselves to watch this shit. We should have some posts on the game coming soon, including everyone's biased opinion. But for now, we have finals and other things to do. We'll get stuff up ASAP.

So for our faithful readers, forgive the lack of content and opinion. We appreciate every one of you who continue to check our site and read up on USC and its ownage of Los Angeles.

Sean Taylor Remembered

Funeral services were held today in Miami for Sean Taylor, who passed away a week ago from injuries sustained after getting shot in his home. This story has been hanging over sports this whole week and this tragedy has been hard on Taylor's family, friends, the Washington Redskins and entire football community. Thousands of people attended the funeral today, including some of the greatest collection of NFL athletes, namely Miami Hurricanes alumni. Here a select few images from today's services:

Antrel Rolle

Jeremy Shockey

Clinton Portis

LaVar Arrington

Ex-Miami Hurricane coaches Butch Davis and Larry Coker were also in attendance as well as the entire Redskins organization, Edgerrin James, Devin Hester, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and even OJ Simpson. The Juice's kids went to the same high school that Taylor had attended.

O.J. Simpson

A moving tribute occurred in tonight's Monday Night Football game between the Ravens and Patriots. During a moment of silence, Ray Lewis was fighting back tears. We all know Ray Lewis is an absolute beast and for him to be choking back tears, then something isn't right. During pre-game warmups, Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Willis McGahee, all ex-Miami Hurricanes, huddled up and Lewis told them to "play their hearts out for No. 21 tonight." Times like these make everyone pause and take a look at what's important in life.

I'm a Dallas Cowboys fan and I am usually a Redskins hater, but Sean Taylor was probably the only Redskins player other than Portis that I cheered for. This tragedy has been difficult for many but hopefully Taylor's family and friends can find the strength to deal with their loss.




R.I.P. Sean Taylor
1983 - 2007

Rose Bowl Bound

It wasn't the bludgeoning that we all had hoped for, but USC restored some order to the universe with a 24-7 victory over UCLA yesterday. USC clinched a record 6th Pac-10 conference title and a bid for the Rose Bowl. The game was actually pretty fucking boring with a slew of turnovers. The USC offense looked sloppy and could have made the final score a lot uglier if it hadn't wasted so many opportunities.

The defense showed up to play and harassed Patrick Cowan all game. Props to Cowan though for getting up each time he was leveled by the USC defense until he finally went down with a knee injury late in the game. That guy can take a hit. Anyone who isn't dead after that hit by Rey in last year's game earns my respect. Kudos to UCLA WR Dominique Johnson for making a badass one handed catch too. Unfortunately, UCLA still LOST so no one gives a shit.

We're far from over though with the 2007 season. We'll be awaiting word as to who we'll play in the Rose Bowl since shitty West Virginia lost and even shittier Missouri lost too, which means Ohio St. will go to the BCS championship game. Needless to say, the BCS is FUCKED and a playoff would definitely be nice this time of year. If only the douchebag university Presidents and Chancellors weren't so fucking gay...

But I digress. Pete Carroll was spotted today at the USC-Kansas basketball game with several recruits at hand. Hopefully they'll make the right choice and commit to play for the Trojans. I was surprised Carroll wasn't sleeping off a hangover. I'm sure he had quite a celebration after being so "jacked" about the Rose Bowl.

We'll find out soon who we'll play in the Rose Bowl, but until then we'll enjoy this victory over UCLA. Cheers.