Countdown to Kickoff: Memorial Day Edition

Our 2007 season countdown (which is now at 95 days) takes a back seat today to honor the brave men and women who have served in the United States Armed Forces. I want to take this time to say thank you! Happy Memorial Day to you all!

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Robot Chicken Presents.....

On June 17, 2007, Adult Swim and the producers of Robot Chicken will release a 30 minute short entirely dedicated to Star Wars. This production has been approved and produced with George Lucas and if it's as funny as the other Star Wars parodies, then I will no doubt chunk my shorts in laughter. Enjoy.


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The First President

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Countdown to Kickoff: 96 days

The 2007 season opener is almost 3 months away, so I thought I'd start a daily countdown. Who better to represent 96 than All-American candidate DE Lawrence Jackson. Here's Lo Jack on the regional cover of last year's ESPN The Magazine's College Football Preview...

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Steve Smith Impressing New Team

Here's a nice article on former USC receiver Steve Smith and his new team, the New York Giants. According to the article Smith might be counted on early to help the offense as veteran receiver Amani Toomer recovers from season-ending knee surgery. The Giants picked up a very talented receiver in Smith whose great hands, quickness, and toughness will provide quarterback Eli Manning with an excellent third option. Read More......

Countdown to Kickoff: 97 Days

As we continue on our countdown to the 2007 season, Senior DE Alex Morrow represents #97. Morrow, along with incoming freshman Everson Griffen, will add quality depth to the DE position behind starters Lawrence Jackson and Kyle Moore.

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Hooters - Costa Mesa

It's no secret that I am a big fan of the Hooters Restaurant chain. I enjoy their tasty wings and of course, their scenery. Some Hooters establishments employ very attractive waitresses and the Hooters standard issue uniform is pretty tight. The Hooters girl tank-top and those orange shorts will give anyone with a pulse a giant chubby, unless you're a bitch. That being said, today I visited the best fucking Hooters restaurant I've ever been to. I've been to a couple of locations throughout my career, including Santa Monica, San Diego, Orlando, El Paso, Las Vegas and a few others. The one in Costa Mesa, CA was by far, the best one in terms of waitresses, ambiance and service. This place was FUCKING SICK! Our server, Ananda (not a typo), was friendly, courteous, and smoking hot. She took her break and she was relieved by an even hotter server, Reis. This girl looked like Kim Kardashian, (pictured below).

She had it all, a coke bottle figure, delicious curves and bright red, glossy lipstick. I was greatly impressed with the Hooters girls at this place. There wasn't a single one that wasn't packing a punch. While other Hooters restaurants have a couple of pretty waitresses and then a slew of titless freaks hanging around, the Costa Mesa Hooters had an All-Star cast of girls. All of the waitresses were fine and absolutely beautiful.

I highly recommend this place. In the words of one Razor Ramon, if you're looking for "good food, good drink, good chica..." then this is the hot spot. You won't be disappointed. I guarantee it. Read More......

Countdown to Kickoff: 98 Days

98 Degrees... enough said there...

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UFC 71: ICEMAN vs RAMPAGE

The weekend is almost here and besides the wine festival I will be getting smashed at on Saturday morning, UFC 71 on pay per view is hands-down the event of the weekend. Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell will try to avenge his previous 2003 loss to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson this Saturday in Las Vegas. The undercard for this event is also solid with appearances by Josh Burkeman, Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine, and the hidden gem Thiago Silva. Silva is one of my favorite fighters and brings the Muay Thai style to the Octagon with some flat out ridiculous strikes. Also, Jardine is a beast to be reckoned with after his demolition of Forrest Griffin this past December. Liddell has already avenged his other 2 losses to Randy Couture and Jeremy Horn with a KO and a TKO, respectively. The first Pride Fighting match between Liddell and Jackson was not even close as Liddell got his ass kicked in every phase, including the ground game and stand up. I still cringe seeing the world's baddest motherfucker get waxed by Jackson.Quinton executed his gameplan and flat out dominated Chuck. Well, a lot has changed since then as Liddell hasn't lost since and has been flat out killing people in the Octagon. Saturday's showdown will feature Chuck's sprawl n' brawl style of stand up fighting versus Quinton's solid stand up to complement his monstrous ground game. No fist packs more kinetic energy than Chuck Liddell's and he is on a mission, which, honestly, is fucking scary. PREDICTION: Chuck Liddell by KO in the 2nd round. If this video doesn't make you want to watch this fight, then you might want to check yourself for tits and a hairy cooter.
[Update: 5/26/2007] ESPN is now covering Mixed Martial Arts. Read More......

Weekend Recap

Looks like Joey won't be back in L.A. until next week, so I'll recap the weekend for you fellas. I'm a few days late, but I was busy watching Hustle & Flow, which was the inspiration behind the new video post by PCbestever. It's a great video remix to his original "Third Coming" post. Be sure to check that out and show some love. Here's what went down last weekend:

1) NBA Playoffs: The stupid Spurs beat Phoenix (thanks to Robert Horry) and have now moved on to the Western Conference Finals. This was a bullshit series. I expected the Spurs to get every call like they always do, but there were too many things for the Suns to overcome. To not have the REAL MVP Steve Nash at the end of Game 1, and then not have Boris Diaw and Amare Stoudamire for Game 5, is what ultimately cost them the series, and a probable berth in the NBA Finals. The Spurs-Jazz series isn't exactly Kings-Lakers, Knicks-Pacers, or Bulls-Knicks, and the Eastern Finals, featuring LeBron "I can't close out games" James against an experienced Detroit Pistons team have pretty much left me counting down the days until NFL Training Camps get underway.

2) Shrek the Third: This movie was f***ing sick. If you liked 1 and 2, you'll love this one. Go watch it!

3) Dodgers @ Angels: A total disaster. The men in blue got swept by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Orange County of Southern California of the United States of America.

4) Entourage: Vince seems to have found someone to fund Medellin, but the guy's wife wants to fellate him. Johnny isn't as big a star as he thought, since he was mistakenly cast for a part in Rush Hour 3 and Turtle seems to be getting closer to Kelly. No show this upcoming Sunday, so we'll have to wait for the week after. Read More......

France Sucks Ass.

Contrary to what millions of tourists that visit France each year believe, France sucks. The people are rude, cocky and to put it bluntly, the French are assholes. How can anyone take France seriously? I'm talking about a country that has been invaded by countless warlords and empires throughout history. This short list includes Julius Caesar, Germanic tribes, Nazi Germany and more recently, stuck-up pricks. France criticizes the U.S. over most of our foreign policy, most notably, the War on Terror and the invasion of Iraq. While I'm the first to admit that our president is a bonafide idiot and a complete moron, the French should stop being such cry-baby whiny pussies.

One of the main reasons I can't give France any respect is the futility and character of their military. This country gave rise to one of the biggest douchebags in history (forgive my play on words), Napoleon Bonaparte. Despite his diminutive size, Napoleon is one of the most spectacular assholes the world has seen. We can all thank this clown for all the annoying short guys who try to act all hard and aggressive to make up for the fact that they are nothing more than short pieces of shit.

Another fine example of the French military tradition occurred during World War II. Nazi Germany and that douche Hitler (with some help from Italy) invaded all of France in a little over a month. Let me repeat that, a country that is about 12 million square miles and who was a supposed "world power" was conquered, bitch-slapped and gagged in a little over a month. I mean come on, France, at least put up a fight. Defend your capital, launch some grenades, fire a couple of rounds at the bad guys at least. Don't just bend over and take it. That has to rank as one of the most embarrassing defeats of any world power in history.

Try looking up "French Military Victories" on the Google search engine. You'll get this search result: "Did you mean: French military defeats?"

I don't know why France is such a joke. It might be the years of military embarrassment, or the fact that the most recognizable landmark in Paris is this:

The French consistently hate on the U.S. about everything we do. This can be seen by the way they villianize American heroes and do everything possible to undermine American achievements. Lance Armstrong survived cancer and won a record 7 straight Tour de France competitions. Winning one was amazing enough, but seven is just remarkable. The French have been accusing Armstrong of blood doping and steroid use for years despite any concrete evidence. They're just jealous that an American dominated their shitty competition. The French are notoriously stuck-up pricks and they think they're better than everyone. I'm really glad that Italy won this past World Cup instead of France. The French team is full of assbags. They have some guy nick-named "Scarface". That alone is pretty bad. Then you have their captain, Zinedine Zidane, showing the attitude of the team with this little display of character:

France is just plain shitty. I'll give them some credit though. The only good thing to ever come out of France is Grey Goose vodka. It's so smooth and delicious. Besides that, France contributes nothing to this world. They can keep complaining and crying about the U.S. but you can be sure that the next time some evil warlord attacks France, they'll run away with their tail tucked between their legs and ask the U.S. and Great Britain for help. In short, France sucks ass.

Oh yeah, and Tony Parker is a douche.

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Mayo Jumps Love

The college basketball season is still 5 months away and OJ Mayo is already jumping over UC Los Angeles' K-Love. Rivals just recently released their newest and final rankings for the 2007 class in which Mayo jumped K-Love to take the number 4 spot. This is something that Love and UC Los Angeles fans can look forward to at least twice this coming season. I cant wait for all the fans booing in Pauley Pavilion to be silenced when OJ throws down a monstrous dunk over K-Love or anyone of UC Los Angeles' soft players.

I know rankings don't mean anything but they're fun to discuss and they keep college sports fans entertained during the summer. On that note, Scout.com still ranks OJ Mayo as the #1 player in the 2007 class.

FIGHT ON! Read More......

Brandon Jennings Commits to Arizona

After opening up his recruitment a few weeks ago, Brandon Jennings gave another verbal commitment to the University of Arizona on Monday night. This is not a big surprise to me. After reading quotes from Jennings in various interviews it seemed all but certain that he had dropped USC out of consideration. You can read more about his commitment here.

I will refrain from hating on Jennings because I don't want to seem bitter. However, Jennings' comments when he opened up his recruitment made me doubt whether or not I really wanted this guy on our team. Jennings' stated that his top two schools were UConn and Arizona because they have a reputation for producing great point guards and that they let they point guards play. It sounds like Jennings wants to go somewhere where he can freestyle and showoff his And1 streetball skills. (I apologize in advance for the clips of the awkward looking big man in this video) I wish Jennings the best of luck at Arizona and I look forward to playing against him. We'll see how good he is against Marcus Simmons' shutdown defense.

How do you feel about this Joey? Read More......

Real Recognize Real

The original USC Sports Talk video, The Third Coming, which highlights/hypes the 2007 Trojan defense just got re-energized. It's only fitting that highlights of the Trojan defense, the hardest defense in the nation, be played-back to one of the hardest hip-hop tracks. I'm sure Desean Jackson will appreciate the precisely timed lyrics.



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Update

Fellow bloggers, I am enjoying my time off here in Texas following last week's USC graduation ceremonies. I am looking forward to coming back to Los Angeles later this week and getting back to normal. I'll try and squeeze in some updates this week, although USC football is pretty quiet this off-season. Later this week, I will have a full preview for this weekend's UFC 71: Chuck Liddell versus Rampage Jackson.

However, I wanted to address one thing. I keep getting asked by people why Reggie Bush isn't being punished for his "supposed" accepting of gifts from various agents. Simple. There is no participation in the investigation from various parties and the NCAA does not have the ability to issue subpoenas. I'm just as tired of talking about this as Bush is. I think this is a dead subject until someone breathes life into it, which in most opinions won't happen. So I think I speak for most here on USC Sports Talk that we won't discuss any matters in "BUSH-GATE", as they call it. At least any time soon. However, I find it very funny that the strongest supporters of these charges against Reggie are Bruin fans. While I feel sorry for their "joke" football team and the irony that their pee-wee squad has to play home games in a stadium built for winners, I don't feel sorry for this. FIGHT ON !!! Read More......

Derozan's on FIRE

We here at USC Sports Talk, myself especially, have been hyping Derozan ever since we first saw this highlight video created by Ball Is Life. Derozan was recently upgraded to a 5 star recruit on Rivals, 17th overall, and is proving that he is one of the best high school basketball players in the country. On Friday Derozan delivered an all-star caliber performance against some of the nations best talent in the Cactus Classic in Arizona.

In a game featuring Brandon Jennings, Jrue Holiday, and Larry Drew, Derozan delivered a standout performance and lead his team, Belmont Shores, to a 98-91 victory. Derozan finished with a game high 29pts shooting 11-18 with 7 rebounds and 2 assists. Here's what Justin Young from Rivals had to say about Derozan and his performance...

Derozan, a USC commitment, was outstanding and looked every bit the five-star prospect in the victory. The 6-foot-5 guard scored a game high 29 points on 11 of 18 shooting from the floor. The term 'pro' was tossed around quite often after his outstanding showing. That kind of compliment was clearly justified.

Derozan is a big time scorer and is establishing himself as such nationally this spring. This might be his signature game of the year and certainly gave the pro Pac-10 crowd something to think about for the future, especially with his second half outburst. What a night for the five-star guard.

USC fans can look forward to years of excitement in the Galen Center. Gibson and Mayo will provide the majority of the excitement this season and Derozan and the rest of the 2008 class will keep things rolling the following season. My hat goes off to Tourney Tim. His coaching and his recruiting continue to impress me. Keep up the good work Tim. I also want to give props to the players, Taj Gibson and Dwight Lewis, I saw this last week heading over to the Galen Center to get their swoll on.

Fight On! Read More......

End of School Year / Weekend Preview

Sorry for the relative inactivity on our blog, but we've been caught up with graduation celebrations and vacations and what not. Congratulations to my fellow contributor Joey, who graduated from the Marshall School of Business, as well as the rest of the USC Class of 2007 graduates.

With the school year behind us, we can reload this summer and get some R&R before football season kicks off. Our readers can expect plenty of material throughout the football season, but until then, we'll keep you guys entertained with plenty of fucla banter and Joey will share some of his thoughts on UFC.

Here's what I'll be watching this weekend (in chronological order):

1) NBA Playoffs: The Eastern Conference Finals matchup is now set, Cleveland will take on Detroit. I'm tired of seeing the Pistons, let's see LeBron grow as a player and live up to his expectations by delivering a berth in the NBA Finals. In the West, hopefully Phoenix can recover from the suspension of Diaw and Stoudemire to take out the crybaby Spurs.

2) Shrek the 3rd: All good stories have a trilogy (see Star Wars and Lord of the Rings), and who can't get enough of the big green ogre, donkey, and puss in boots.

3) MLB Interleague play: most notably, Dodgers @ Angels, Fri-Sun. Go Blue!

4) Entourage: Vince has gone back to Ari, and has now bought the rights to Medellin. Johnny Drama is now a star after the impressive debut of Five Towns and Turtle is looking to hook up with Kelly. Good season so far... Read More......

Final Destination for Jackson

If you're familiar with the Final Destination trilogy, then you're well aware of the significance of this photo. In the film, a photo of someone in which their face appears blurry signifies that they have escaped death.

In this photo taken last weekend of the 2007 Playboy All-Americans you can clearly see that UCB receiver Desean Jackson's face is blurry and distorted. Did Jackson escape death? What near death experience did he escape? I think we all know the answer to this question. See Kevin Ellison.

People who have seen the film also know that no one is capable of escaping death. Death has a plan and once that plan is set in motion there is nothing that can be done about it. I believe death's plan is going to come to fruition November 11th when Desean reunites with Kevin Ellison and the rest of USC's defense. Bye-Bye Jackson.

(Attention Tight Asses! I am in no way wishing death upon Desean Jackson. Just anticipating another game in which he is shutout and physically dominated by the Trojan defense.)

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Booty 2 Hazelton

According to USC Sports Talk's latest poll, the leading receiver for the upcoming season will be Vidal Hazelton. Hazelton played in 11 games last season, recording only 1 reception for 8 yards. With the dynamic duo of Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett on the field, Hazelton got very little playing time his freshman year. Hazelton looks to receive a lot more playing time and footballs as he competes for the starting receiver spot opposite junior Patrick Turner.

Hazelton had a great spring, displaying excellent hands and agility, and has positioned himself as the man-to-beat for playing time. He managed to hold off talented sophomores Travon Patterson and David Ausberry to finish the spring #2 on the depth chart. Nothing is set in stone and Hazelton will have to work hard this fall to hold off the competition, including incoming freshman Ronald Johnson.

Here are the complete results...

Vidal Hazelton (39%)

Patrick Turner (35%)

David Ausberry (12%)

Joe McKnight (5%)

Travon Patterson (4%)

Ronald Johnson (3%)

Jamere Holland (2%)

Fred Davis

Brandon Carswell

Good luck to all the receivers. The competition this fall should be great.

FIGHT ON!

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Predator

Did anyone else notice during the post-fight interview that Floyd Mayweather Sr. looked a lot like the Predator from the 1987 blockbuster film? Mayweather had those creepy dreadlocks just like the Predator himself. The resemblance was uncanny. I was expecting Arnold Schwarzenegger to jump out of the crowd and try to fight that guy. Here's what I'm talking about...




That guy looked creepy as fuck.

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NBA Draft Update

The 2007 NFL Draft is in the books, so now it's time to switch my focus to the 2007 NBA Draft. The deadline for underclassmen to declare for this year's draft was on April 29th, so let's take a look at where the two draft eligible Trojans stand. Those who have hired an agent (Nick Young) or are declaring for the second time (Aaron Awful-0) have terminated their eligibility and must remain in the draft. Those who have not hired an agent (Gabe Pruitt) can "test the waters" of the NBA to see where they stand and will have until June 18th to withdraw their name for the draft and return to school. Click on the following link from NBADraft.net for the complete 2007 Official Early Entry List.

USC knows that it will need to replace "Noodles" Nick Young, but more and more I get the feeling that "Smiling" Gabe Pruitt will need to be replaced as well. In case you missed it, Pruitt announced his intentions to enter the draft in late April. That "early entry" link from NBADraft.net lists Pruitt as a "bubble first rounder" and projects him as the 2nd pick of the 2nd round (#32 overall) to the Boston Celtics. NBADraft.net updates their mock draft on their home page regularly so check back every couple weeks or so. ESPN Insider has a more detailed scouting report of him here, and ranks him as the 24th best player in this year's draft. If you don't have an insider account, here's what it says about Pruitt:

Draft Projection: Mid to late 1st Round
Notes: Pruitt announced on April 26th that he will declare for the 2007 NBA Draft. Pruitt hasn't hired an agent to preserve his college eligibility.
Positives: Big-time athlete and scorer with great size for the position. Can break down his defender or hit the jumper. Excellent range on his 3-point shot. Has strong leadership qualities. Good defender.
Negatives: Injuries gave him a slow start to the season. May be a little more of a combo guard than a pure point guard.
Summary: A sleeper. A number of NBA scouts commented that they were very intrigued with his play toward the end of the season. If he can show that he's a legit point prospect, he's going to get a lot of love. He has all of the rest of the tools. Should be a mid to late first round pick.

Nick Young has hired an agent an will remain in the draft. Most experts believe that Young will be a 1st round pick. The aforementioned link on NBADraft.net says that Young is a "likely mid to late first rounder" and projects him as the 16th pick in the draft to the Washington Wizards. ESPN Insider ranks Young as the 18th best player in the draft, and here's what it says about Nick Young:

Draft Projection: Lottery to mid first round
Notes: Young announced on April 18th that he was declaring for the 2007 NBA Draft.
Positives: A smooth, scoring swingman who does a little bit of everything. Good athlete with long arms and explosiveness. Skilled in just about every area of the game. Nice form on his jump shot, both the long and midrange jumper. Good rebounder. Game looks like it comes easy to him.
Negatives: Intensity. Young doesn't always seem to possess that killer instinct on either end of the floor. Disappears at times. Work ethic has been questioned. At times in the past, he has played out of control. He also needs to hit the weight room.
Summary: Young has the potential to be a lottery pick with his skills. But scouts are still waiting for him to put it all together consistently. The skills wow you, and his consistent play for the Trojans this season have moved him solidly into the first round.

Good luck to both of our guys, and Gabe, I hope whatever decision you make is the right one. Either way, you've got my full support. Be sure to catch the NBA Draft Lottery on May 22nd, as well as the playoffs.

Fight On! Read More......

FROM THE ASHES.....

Well, this weekend is finally over much to the sadness of everyone here at USC Sportstalk. Here is a recap of everything that went down these past few days.



Friday- "END OF THE YEAR BASH": 5 gallons of jungle juice, 5 gallons of long-island iced tea, 2 kegs, 300 jello shots, a margarita machine, and 31 bottles of liquor, along with random alcohol that people donated. Nothing more needs to be said, but we'll say it anyway. Well over our 175 expected guests arrived, and I am sure we cracked 300 by 12:30 A.M. We guaranteed enough alcohol to last us over 12 hours and boy we almost made it. The USC Sportstalkers went out in style for the semester and we echo what was said at the USC campus over the past month, something which the Bruins know all about: "We are gonna do it big. All day, all night, you all have no idea what I'm talking about..." From RG3 making it rain in the middle of the dance floor to Mel Kiper taking beer bongs like a fucking champ, to seeing some SC footballers (I won't mention names) show up and celebrate why we are so fucking badass, the good times kept rolling. Jesus, it was sick. In fact, I think the Messiah himself took some Absolut shots with me. After all, Jesus is a Trojan.

SPIDERMAN 3: Thursday- RG3, PCBESTEVER, and I headed down to Universal City Thursday to see the midnight IMAX showing of the most anticipated blockbuster of the summer. The Good- good story plot, very complex movie, special effects justify this as the most expensive movie ever made. The fight scenes were intense and very comic-book like. Venom was represented very well costume-wise and Topher played a quality Eddie Brock. Hayden Church was great as Sandman, while James Franco delivered a great performance as well. The Bad-Corny lines and "EMO" Peter Parker really downed this movie. The reporter scenes screwed up the flow at the end of the movie. Really, was that shit needed? The ending left me feeling unsatisfied, unlike Spiderman 1 and 2. Many would also argue that there was too much plot. The Verdict- Great entertainment, but this movie DOES NOT live up to the hype of 1 and 2, but is still a great view and one you should not miss.

Mayweather-De La Hoya: This fight did not live up the the hype, but when does boxing ever? This fight was solid, but Mayweather clearly outsmarted De La Hoya with precision shots. However, I applaud De La Hoya for taking the fight to Mayweather, because if he didn't, this would have definitely been the most boring boxing match ever. Mayweather backpedaled the entire fight, but his hand speed definitely influenced the fight. People keep saying "Why did De La Hoya go away from his jab? Why didn't he do this, or do that?" Fuck man. Did you actually think De La Hoya was gonna admit that he went away from his jab because of Mayweather's quick right hand? Fuck no, because thats exactly why he did it. When you throw a left jab, you expose your face to the quickest right hand in all of boxing. De La Hoya was outmatched, but proves he is quality and had heart. And proves he is ready for another payday in a rematch. By the way, the 24/7 show on HBO was quality and will be back. Guaranteed. You will see these guys in the ring one more time before the end of the year. Count on it.

Entourage: Medillin is gone now along with Amanda. Vince fucked up and he knew it. I hated Amanda from the beginning, but I guess she did have Vince's best interests in perspective all along. I am looking forward to the premiere of 5 Towns and Johnny's reaction. A good episode, but not a great one. My buddy Mike says that Entourage will film in downtown LA this summer at his new loft. Very interesting.

We are all finishing up finals this week and I am the only one to actually walk on Friday morning. But the good times will keep rolling. Count on it. Count on more football news. Count on more Bruin hating. And count on some fucking concussions administered by REY. But most of all. Count on some good blogging from your USC SPORTSTALKERS. Read More......

LETS FUCKING RAGE !!!!!

This weekend will be packed full of events.....and without further delay....here is the list

547 Bash at "The JUNGLE": Margarita machine, kegs, shots, bombs, and jello jigglers. The party of the semester is going down Friday night. Wish us well because we might not be back here to post a recap.

De La Hoya- Mayweather: Again, if we survive, the most anticipated boxing match will happen on Saturday Night. The bad guy Pretty BOY FLOYD will use his lightning fast handspeed to counter De La Hoya's left hook and big fight experience. I believe this fight will go the distance and will not be a $54.95 snoozer. Look for Floyd's added weight to support the body shots he is gonna receive and we'll see if De La Hoya can really handle the speed and footwork of boxing's best pound-4-pound fighter. My prediction: De La Hoya by decision. I can dream, right?

NBA Playoffs: Well, the Mavs have finally been taken down much to the delight of the rest of the Western Conference. Hopefully, the Warriors can sustain their "other worldly" 8th seed play. Because it would be a shame if they went belly-up after taking down the league's top team. The Suns-Spurs should make for an interesting match-up and hopefully we'll see a good Bulls-Pistons matchup.

SPIDERMAN 3: We already saw it Thursday night on IMAX at Universal City. GO SEE IT. I'll wait till Monday for an official write-up so I can give proper analysis on my favorite superhero.

Random Shit: There will probably be shit going down on Sunday here at the launch pad as well. So we'll see.

Have a great weekend from your fellow USC Sportstalkers.... Read More......

Jennings Out of the Mix

TrojanNYC is reporting that USC is no longer in the running for Brandon Jennings' commitment. According to TrojanNYC Jennings list of schools includes Arizona and UConn as co-leaders and Kansas as his number three. If this is true USC will have lost out on the top point guard in the country. However this doesn't dramatically hurt our 2008 recruiting class. Tourney Tim is still bringing in one of the best and most athletic shooting guards in the country in Demar Derozan. It also appears that Floyd did an excellent job securing the point guard spot in the event that Jennings didn't come through on his verbal. Rivals has nice video on Trojan commit Angelo Johnson from Stoneridge Prep. He appears to be an extremely talented point guard that can shoot from beyond the arch, distribute, and take it to the rim.

USC is still in the mix for Greg Monroe, but no news from the Monroe camp. Floyd is also going after another Louisiana big man, Terrance Henry. Henry is underrated by most recruiting websites, as he is only a three star prospect on Rivals. Nonetheless the 6'9" power forward is being recruited by all the major schools including Kansas, Kentucky and Florida.

Athlete Sighting of the Day: Dwight Lewis at the local barbershop waiting to get his hair cut. Read More......

Pacman in Court

Never before seen footage of pacman "makin it rain," at a strip club.

Caution: Mature Content (SFW) Read More......

End of the Year Bash

This weekend is set to be one to remember. Highlights should include the midnight showing of Spiderman 3 Thursday night and the De La Hoya vs. Mayweather fight on Saturday. Besides these events, the much anticipated End of the Year Bash is going down this Friday hosted by all of the cool cats here at USC Sports Talk. This party is going to be FUCKING GROSS.

The party will be highlighted by two kegs, 5 gallons of jungle juice, 5 gallons of Long Island Iced Tea, Patron, Grey Goose, Hennessey, Hpnotique, Goldshlagger, Jager Bombs, Bacardi rum, Malibu, wine, champagne, gin, a margarita machine and so much more. We also have special effects for the party. There's a high chance of showers inside the apartment for that night. This event will be epic. People will be writing stories about this party for generations. People will be telling their grandchildren about how their parents were conceived at this party. It's going to be sick. With almost 150 confirmed guests, this party is going to be bumpin'. We'll let you know how it all goes down Sunday assuming no one has been arrested. We'll see how it goes.

All I know for sure is that the Palisades cats are going to rock some tits.
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Official UCLA Football Memorial T-Shirts

I know its only May, but its never to early to start mourning/preparing for the inevitable. Read More......

Keyshawn Feeling Salty?

Ever wonder how a woman feels when her husband divorces her and leaves for a younger woman? Or how a woman on Jerry Springer feels when she finds out her husband wants to be with her sister? Well I can only imagine these women feel a lot like Keyshawn Johnson feels right now. Keyshawn was recently cut by the Carolina Panthers when the Panthers decided to move forward with fellow Trojan family memeber Dwayne Jarrett, one of the top receivers in the draft.

During the draft Keyshawn expressed how excited he was that the Panthers drafted Jarrett. He went on to say how the two receivers are very similar and that he would teach Jarrett "how to be physical and how to play at the point of attack." The live interview between Keyshawn and Jarrett was extremely awkward. The week preceding the 2007 Rose Bowl Keyshawn publicly criticized Jarrett's lack of toughness and said that he wasn't ready for the NFL. Similar criticisms coupled with Jarrett's slow 40 times are the primary reasons Jarrett dropped into the second round. Let me sum up the interview in a few words...

I told you so. How does that make you feel?

Keyshawn, no longer a draft analyst and no longer a Panther, finds himself teamless. One likely destination for the former 1st overall pick is the Tennessee Titans where the Titans look to build around rookie quarterback Vince Young. As for Jarrett, he now has the opportunity to compete for starting time opposite Steve Smith, the NFL Pro Bowler.

Good luck to both receivers. Fight On!

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2007 NFL Draft: Winners and Losers

The big surprises of the weekend have all been dissected and discussed. Miami selected Ted Ginn, Jr. over Brady Quinn at #9, Quinn took an Aaron Rodgers like fall and went to the Browns at #22 overall, the Browns were able to land Joe Thomas and Brady Quinn in the 1st Round, and on the homefront, Dwayne Jarrett fell all the way to middle of the 2nd Round at #45 overall. After evaluating all the picks, I've selected the teams who had the best and worst drafts (on paper).

WINNERS
These are the teams who I think helped themselves the most, along with their notable additions (arranged chronologically by their 1st pick)...

Oakland Raiders -- QB JaMarcus Russell (1st Rd /#1 overall), TE Zach Miller (2nd Rd /#38 overall), DE Quinton Moses (3rd Rd /#65), OT Mario Henderson (3rd Rd /#91 overall), WR Johnnie Lee Higgins (3rd Rd /#99 overall), RB Michael Bush (4th Rd /#100 overall), QB Josh McCown and WR Mike Williams (Trade with Detroit Lions for a 4th Rd pick /#105 overall)

Cleveland Browns -- OT Joe Thomas (1st Rd /#3 overall), QB Brady Quinn (1st Rd /#22 overall), CB Eric Wright (2nd Rd /#53 overall)

Atlanta Falcons -- DE Jamaal Anderson (1st Rd /#8 overall), OG Justin Blalock (2nd Rd /#39 overall), CB Chris Houston (2nd Rd /#41 overall)

San Francisco 49ers -- LB Patrick Willis (1st Rd /#11 overall), OT Joe Staley (1st Rd /#28 overall), WR Jason Hill (3rd Rd /#76 overall), DE Ray McDonald (3rd /#97 overall), DE Jay Moore (4th Rd /#104 overall)

LOSERS
Now for the teams that had a sub-par weekend (also in order of their 1st pick)...

Tampa Bay -- Not because of who they drafted, DE Gaines Adams (1st Rd /#4 overall) and OG Arron Sears (2nd Rd /#35 overall) are solid picks, but they failed because of who they didn't get. The Bucs should have been more aggresive in its trade talks with Detroit for WR Calvin Johnson.

Washington -- Safety LaRon Landry (1st Rd /#6 overall) will be a phenomenal player, but the Redskins needed a dynamic pass rusher and probably should have traded down, since they didn't have a pick in rounds 2, 3, and 4.

Green Bay -- The Packers must believe that Brett Favre can still carry this team because they gave him absolutely no help in this draft. DT Justin Harrell (1st Rd /#16 overall) should help shore up the run defense, but TE Greg Olsen would have been a great value at 16. The hole at RB was filled by 2nd round pick Brandon Jackson (#63 overall), who doesn't have the big play capability of Adrian Peterson or Marshawn Lynch. The Packers also failed to trade for Oakland WR Randy Moss, a move that would have really rejuvenated Favre.

Tennessee -- The Titans chose S Michael Griffin (1st Rd /#19 overall) even though several quality players at positions of need were still on the board. Remember, the loss of Pacman Jones resulted in a need at both CB and KR/PR. They also failed to land a quality WR for Vince Young (3rd round WR Paul Williams and 6th round WR Joel Filani instead of Bowe or Meachem), an elusive RB to complement LenDale White (2nd round pick Chris Henry was a terrible pick), and a pass rusher (Jarvis Moss or Anthony Spencer were still on the board at #19).

NY Giants -- CB Aaron Ross (1st Rd /#20 overall) and WR Steve Smith (2nd Rd /#51 overall) are excellent picks, but they should have taken OT Joe Staley at #20, and then looked for a CB in round 2. QB Eli Manning was under constant pressure last year, and the Giants lost tackles Bob Whitfield and Luke Petigout in the off-season.

Kansas City -- The Chiefs are another team that passed on Joe Staley, they opted for WR Dwayne Bowe (1st Rd /#23 overall) instead. The drop off at tackle is significant after Staley, and they could have landed a quality WR in round 2. They did well by adding two DTs (Turk McBride and Tank Tyler), but they failed to draft a CB (Daymeion Hughes was pick #95 overall by the Colts). They also drafted a kicker from fucla who was involved in a DUI that almost killed his female passenger.

Philadelphia -- The Eagles traded out of the 1st round (#26 overall) and made QB Kevin Kolb (2nd Rd /#36 overall) their first selection of the draft. There may be some durability questions surrounding QB Donovan McNabb, but they have enough depth behind him with A.J. Feely and the recently acquired Kelly Holcomb (via trade with Buffalo). This pick doesn't provide an instant impact and may send the wrong message to McNabb. There were plenty of quality players available at the 26th overall pick, so the decision to trade down on a developmental QB is very questionable. Read More......

WTF??

When I log onto Yahoo.com to check my e-mail, a picture of this thing shows up. This is why I now have a "G-mail" account. Christ. Read More......

Weekend Recap

Things that we witnessed this weekend:

1) NFL DRAFT: Full write up by Mel Kiper Fan. Disappointing day for Trojans named Dwayne Jarrett. Best wished to Steve Smith, Lua, Kalil, and Sartz.

2) NBA Playoffs: The Mavs are on the ropes (God help them) and the Bulls finished off the Heat. Pretty exciting first round so far. I am pretty sure the Suns and Spurs, even though they won't admit, are hoping for Dallas to lose because they want none of that 68-win team that has yet to show up.

3) 360: RG3 and I got plenty of Halo and Fifa in this weekend since there are no more classes. Also, since my buddy flaked out on Coachella, I was forced to drive around on the 91 listening to Rage Against The Machine while balling my eyes out.

4) Entourage: Vince needs to get rid of his psycho-bitch agent. Seriously. I liked Chuck Liddell gettting in Drama's face and the fact that Pauly Shore is still a loser. Ari also looks like he is back to himself. Good episode and will get VERY interesting.

April 30th sounds like a shitty day, but in reality, its not.
April 30th, 1945: Adolph Hitler and Eva Braun commit suicide after one day of marriage.
April 30th, 1966: The Church of Satan is born
April 30th, 1993: The World Wide Web is born.

Have a good day. Read More......

Two Trojans sign as undrafted free agents

WR Chris McFoy, who produced many clutch receptions in his career, has signed a free agent contract with the Oakland Raiders. McFoy will be reunited with his offensive coordinator at 'SC, Lane Kiffin, who is now the head coach of the Raiders, as well as former Trojans WR Mike Williams and RB Justin Fargas.

OT Kyle Williams has signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent. Williams should get a chance to compete in Baltimore because they need some depth at tackle. RT Tony Pashos was lost to free agency and LT Jonathan Ogden will probably retire at the end of the 2007 season.

Seven Trojans have now been claimed by NFL teams, after 5 were selected in last weekend's draft. The LA Times reports that FB Ryan Powdrell plans to sign with the Packers, which would then make the list 8. This was a successful draft for the Trojans when you consider the players who left USC for the NFL early last year. Last year's early entrants included RBs Reggie Bush and LenDale White, OT Winston Justice, and OG Fred Matua. Read More......

Recap of Trojans in the NFL Draft

After two days and 255 picks, the 2007 NFL Draft is in the books. This year's draft saw 5 Trojans selected, including three on Day 1, but none of them heard their name called in the 1st Round. This marks the first time since 2002 that a USC player is not selected in the 1st Round. Below is an overview of where our Trojans were selected...I'll post a picture of each player's introduction at his team's headquarters, if and when they become available...

WR Dwayne Jarrett -- Carolina Panthers, 2nd Rd / Pick #13 (#45 overall)

Of the 5 Trojans drafted, WR Dwayne Jarrett had to have been the most disappointed. Many considered him a 1st Round lock after his impressive performance in the Rose Bowl win over Michigan, where he dominated the All-American cornerback Leon Hall (who was drafted 18th overall). However, a slow 40 time and a perceived laziness raised question marks about Jarrett's work ethic. His stock plummeted from being the 2nd best WR (after Calvin Johnson) to a borderline 1st Round pick. Jarrett waited through the entire 1st Round and watched 7 WRs get drafted ahead of him, until finally hearing his name called as the 13th selection of the 2nd Round. This is a good fit for DJ though. He will learn the ropes from former Trojan greats Keyshawn Johnson and Keary Colbert, and should eventually succeed Keyshawn at WR.

WR Steve Smith -- New York Giants, 2nd Rd / Pick #19 (#51 overall)
Smith goes into a good situation with the Giants. He can compete for the #3 or possibly the #2 WR position (behind Plaxico Burress) and eventually replace the aging Amani Toomer.

C Ryan Kalil -- Carolina Panthers, 2nd Rd / Pick #27 (#59 overall)
Kalil will join DJ, as well as former teammate Keary Colbert in Carolina. Kalil has first round talent and can be considered a steal for the Panthers at pick #59 overall. Kalil should compete for a starting job, and will be at worst, a valuable back up next season.

LB Dallas Sartz -- Washington Redskins, 5th Rd / Pick #6 (#143 overall)
Sartz has a chance to make the team if he can contribute on special teams. He's a smart player, and was a captain on a great Trojan defense.

LB Oscar Lua -- New England Patriots, 7th Rd / Pick #1 (#211 overall)
Lua is a great fit for the Patriots, who employ 2 inside LBs in their 3-4 scheme. He has a chance to learn from two of the smartest, most instinctive LBs in the game, Tedy Bruschi and Mike Vrabel, and then eventually replace one of them.

** On a personal side note: Kicker Justin Medlock (5th Rd) was the only fucla player chosen in the entire draft. That's pathetic!

Fight On! Read More......