R.I.P. Uga VI

A tragedy occurred on Friday, June 27, 2008. The world was robbed of one of the best live mascots in all of college sports. Uga VI, the Bulldog mascot for the University of Georgia died on Friday due to heart failure. Uga VI served as mascot from 1999 to 2008. Our heartfelt condolences go out to the University of Georgia and all those who cared for Uga.

Uga V lunging at Auburn receiver.

Uga VI chilling balls.

Uga loved children.

R.I.P. Uga VI

Countdown to Kickoff: 66 Days

With 66 days remaining until we kickoff the 2008 season... representing #66 on our countdown is former Trojan offensive guard Chilo Rachal. Rachal played a huge role in solidifying the offensive line the past two seasons. This past April Rachal was one of seven Trojans selected in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft, going to the San Francisco 49ers in the 2nd round, 39th overall. Rachal decided to forgo his final year of eligibility at USC to help pay for his mother's medical expenses, who is suffering from a stomach tumor. USC Sports Talk wishes Rachal the best of luck in his rookie campaign and our prayers are with his family.

2008 NFL Combine


49er Off-Season Workouts


49ers Rookie Mini Camp

This season the #66 will be worn by 4-star freshmen guard Matt Meyer from Stockton, CA. Meyer, you may recall was the subject of Pete Carroll's latest April Fool's joke.

Fight On!

Countdown to 2008 Kickoff: 69 Days

We are 69 days away from the 2008 season,... That means we're only 69 days away from seeing these too...

Fight On!

Countdown to 2008 Kickoff: 75 Days

As we continue our countdown toward the 2008 season, we are 75 days away from beginning the march to Miami. We'd like to honor another real beast on the team, Mr. Fili Moala. This guy is a monster. Fili started all 13 games last year and was harassing quarterbacks and opposing linemen all season long.

Fili was recently named to Phil Steele's Pre-Season All-American First Team and is on the "Watch List" for the 2008 Outland Trophy and Bronko Nagurski Award.

We are all expecting Fili to unleash his fury on opponents and help lead USC to the BCS Championship game in Miami. Whether it's watching Fili make a crucial sack or just watching him play with his grey pitbull "Harry", Mr. Moala is a favorite here at USC Sports Talk and we wish him well this season.

Fight On!

Countdown to Kickoff: 77 Days

Enjoy this Friday, the 13th of June, by knowing that we are now 77 days away from kicking off the season against the University of Virginia. And if you're bored or don't go out tonight, be sure to watch one of the horror or slasher flicks that are sure to be on TV tonight.

Fight On!

Countdown to Kickoff: 79 Days

With the 2008 season just 79 days away, it is time to pay homage to a Trojan legend who wore #79 and just ended his great career at USC in 2007, Sam Baker. A 4 year starter, Baker was a steady player for USC, opening up running lanes for USC's glutton of running backs and protected Matt Leinart and John David Booty from large defensive linemen. Sam will now be suiting up for my Dirty Birds down in the A-T-L where he will protect another high-profile QB and fellow 1st round pick in Matt Ryan. Thank you Sam for your hard work here at USC and for representing the university well. We will definitely miss his experience on the offensive line this upcoming season, but I'm sure Coach Carroll will find someone to step up. Congratulations again on being a 1st round pick Sam, we all know that you will do us proud with the Falcons.

Baker, getting up to speed a Falcons mini-camp


With the boss, Falcons owner Arthur Blank

Fight On!

Countdown to 2008 Kickoff: 84 Days

As we continue our quasi-daily countdown towards the 2008 season, we are only 84 days away from seeing the Trojans march into Charlottesville, VA and taking on the Cavaliers. We threw the term "beast" around pretty loosely during last year's countdown and this year will be no exception. The first true beast on the team as we countdown this year is none other than senior defensive end, Kyle Moore.

Coming off a solid junior season where he started 11 games and had 2 interceptions, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery along with 35 tackles. Moore's presence on the field disrupted several of the offenses we faced last season and his uncanny athletic ability allowed him to wreak havoc along the trenches. Moore is expected to start at defensive end this coming season after recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery before the start of spring practice. Here's hoping to a speedy recovery to Kyle so he can be a part of a flat out nasty duo of defensive ends for USC. Coupled with Everson Griffin, USC will suit up two of the most athletic defensive ends in the country.

Fight On!

Countdown to 2008 Kickoff: 89 Days

Greetings from USC Sports Talk. We've been idle here on the blog for weeks now, but we had all sorts of stuff going on. Semester projects and finals got in the way of everything so we apologize for the lack of updates. We also had graduation spring up out of nowhere. Now that we've entered the lull of summer, we can keep our focus on chilling and counting down to the 2008 college football season.

As we start our daily countdown towards the 2008 season, we begin with the number 89. USC doesn't have anyone on the roster wearing that number, so I'll just throw a few select pics from the summer workouts going on at Howard Jones Field.

The Wizard of Aus

Rey on the prowl

It's also never too early to start the hating...

Fight On!

2008 NFL Draft: Final Mock

My favorite day of the year has arrived! The 2008 NFL Draft is just a couple of hours away, and it's time to unveil my final projections. We know who is going #1 overall, but picks 2,3,4, and 5 remain a big mystery and will generate plenty of interest from teams wanting to trade up. These trades are impossible to predict, so we'll see how far off my picks are. There are some notable changes from my last projection, but I still believe that Sedrick Ellis and Keith Rivers will USC's only first rounders, but they will be among the top 10 players selected. Here's my final mock, excuse the lack of color, minor software malfunction...

Here is the spreadsheet

Pick Team Selection School

1 MIAMI (1-15) OT Jake Long Michigan

2 ST. LOUIS (3-13) DE Chris Long Virginia

3 ATLANTA (4-12) DT Glenn Dorsey LSU

4 OAKLAND (4-12) RB Darren McFadden Arkansas

5 KANSAS CITY (4-12) DE Vernon Gholston Ohio State

6 NY JETS (4-12) QB Matt Ryan Boston College

7 NE* from SF (5-11) OLB Keith Rivers USC

8 BALTIMORE (5-11) DT Sedrick Ellis USC

9 CINCINNATI (7-9) OT Ryan Clady Boise State

10 NEW ORLEANS (7-9) CB Leodis McKelvin Troy

11 BUFFALO (7-9) WR Devin Thomas Michigan State

12 DENVER (7-9) OT Chris Williams Vanderbilt

13 CAROLINA (7-9) OT/G Branden Albert Virginia

14 CHICAGO (7-9) OT Jeff Otah Pittsburgh

15 DETROIT (7-9) RB Rashard Mendenhall Illinois

16 ARIZONA (8-8) CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie Tennessee State

17 KC* from MIN (8-8) CB Mike Jenkins South Florida

18 HOUSTON (8-8) RB Jonathan Stewart Oregon

19 PHILADELPHIA (8-8) S Kenny Phillips Miami

20 TAMPA BAY (9-7) WR DeSean Jackson California

21 WASHINGTON (9-7) DE Derrick Harvey Florida

22 DAL* from CLE (10-6) CB Aqib Talib Kansas

23 PITTSBURGH (10-6) WR Jeff Hardy Indiana

24 TENNESSEE (10-6) DT Kentwan Balmer North Carolina

25 SEATTLE (10-6) WR Limas Sweed Texas

26 JACKSONVILLE (11-5) DE Phillip Merling Clemson

27 SAN DIEGO (11-5) OT Godser Cherilus Boston College

28 DALLAS (13-3) RB Felix Jones Arkansas

29 SF* from IND (13-3) LB Jerod Mayo Tennessee

30 GREEN BAY (13-3) CB Antoine Cason Arizona

N/A NEW ENGLAND (16-0) **Pick Forfeited**

31 NY GIANTS (10-6) LB Dan Connor Penn State

2008 NFL Draft: Mock#1

Well, believe it or not, the 2008 NFL DRAFT is only one week away. Though I usually have about 4 or 5 mock drafts done by this time of year, I've been a little side tracked this spring and have only been able to do 2 of them. This is my 2nd projection, but it's the first that I have published on this blog. A lot has changed since my first mock (which you can enlarge and see below), and a lot will change up until posting my final mock on the eve of the draft. The only thing that does seem certain is that the Miami Dolphins will make Michigan OT Jake Long the #1 selection. The bottom line is that they just have too many holes on both lines, but they need to protect last year's 2nd round pick, QB John Beck, so that they can get a fair evaluation of him and his future. Jake Long can anchor their offensive line for the next 10-12 years, allowing them to address other needs next off-season. Good news for Trojans fans is that DT Sedrick Ellis and LB Keith Rivers have seen their stock rise recently and are shooting up the draft boards. Ellis and LSU's Glenn Dorsey are the by far the best DT's in the draft and will both be coveted by many teams. Expect someone to trade up into the top 6 because teams like the Ravens (#8), Bengals (#9), Saints (#10), and Broncos (#12) will not be able to sit and land Dorsey or Ellis at their current spots. As far as Keith Rivers goes, he is clearly the best LB in this year's class. Rivers is NFL ready, having played for Coach Carroll for 4 years, and would be an excellent fit with the New England Patriots at #7 overall. These are the only 2 players from USC that I see going in the 1st Round, but I expect a number of Trojans to go in rounds 2-4 (F. Davis, L. Jackson, S. Baker, C. Rachal, C. Washington, J.D. Booty, T. Williams). As for my lowly Atlanta Falcons, please don't draft QB Matt Ryan!! The Falcons are rebuilding and as bad as their current QB situation is, Matt Ryan (or any other rookie QB) will not be any better in his first year than Joey Harrington or Chris Redman. This team needs to solidify the offensive line and bolster the defensive front seven in this draft, and then make a push for next season's playoffs during the 2009 off-season. Draft fever has hit me, let the countdown begin!

Here is my projection, you can click on the image to enlarge...

This was my first projection of the year from late February, click on the image to blow it up...

Tailback-Who

Here's a great article from WeAreSC discussing USC's 6-headed competition at tailback.

Tailback Queue

It appears as though Stafon Johnson and Joe McKnight are the favorites to occupy the 1 & 2 spots. However I love the fact that Allen Bradford is out there competing for playing time, consistently making his presence felt.

I'm also happy that CJ Gable is 100% healthy and looking to regain the form he displayed his freshman year. However, If he plans to remain healthy I suggest he avoid #58 and hits like this on the practice field....

Rey stalks his prey...



Attacks...

R.I.P

Fight On!

Ellis and Krumrie: The Perfect Duo

Above: Ellis works with Tim Krumrie, the greatest position coach in NFL history, at USC's Pro Day. [Photo: courtesy of NFL.com]

Sedrick Ellis is on his way to being a top 10 pick in this year's NFL Draft. He was truly one of Troy's all-time greats and will have a very long, productive career in the pros. Whether it's been through his play on the field, his individual workouts or his interviews with NFL coaches and personnel, he is definitely one of the most valued and coveted prospects in this year's draft. Every team picking in the top 10 of the draft has enough of a need at defensive tackle to select Ellis, but the question remains, how high will he go? As much as I love my Atlanta Falcons and that I would just be overcome with joy if Ellis were to go #3 overall to the Falcons, I really want Big Sed to go to the Kansas City Chiefs at #5.

If he goes to Kansas City, Ellis will develop into the greatest DT ever under the guidance of the greatest defensive line coach ever, Tim Krumrie. For those of you that watched HBO's Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Kansas City Chiefs series last August, you know exactly what I mean. If you missed the show, here's a little bit of what Krumrie is all about:


And finally, here's a video of Big Sed's Pro Day Workout, you'll see Krumrie working with him towards the end of the video:


As the draft approaches, Ellis' stock will only grow. I haven't really had a chance to analyze this year's draft and its prospects, but I'll get to that soon. School work and college basketball have taken away from my draft time, since I usually have about 7-8 mock drafts done by this time of year. I'll unveil my first mock next weekend.

Fight On!

"cuz da ball playas know me"

Tennessee Titans' running back, and former USC tailback, Lendale White makes a brief (very brief) cameo appearance in Snoop Dogg's newest music video, Life Of Da Party.

Check out Lendale at the 01:16 mark... (don't blink)



Hopefully Lendale has left Vegas and has started preparing for the Titans' mini-camp.

Fight On!

Final Four Preview

Well, I've finally moved past USC's early exit from the Tournament (returning from spring break and going back to studying and paying bills will do that to you), and still dealing with the fact that fucla is still in it, but there's been some nice moments in this year's Big Dance that have helped me get through it.

There was that nice cinderella run by Davidson that led to a star being born in sophomore guard Stephen Curry.

There were some fantastic finishes in first weekend games:

San Diego over UConn (which derailed my bracket)

Western Kentucky over Drake

Stanford over Marquette

and fucla over Texas A&M (with a little help from the refs)

The second weekend provided us with an NCAA Tournament first...all four #1 seeds advanced to the Final Four. Due to my personal bias, I picked only 3 of the 4 correctly in my bracket (Unfortunately, I had UConn beating fucla in the Sweet 16), but my championship game prediction is still intact and I'll stick with my projections.
In the Roy Williams Bowl featuring North Carolina against Kansas, I like Roy to lead his Tar Heels to victory against his former team. How do you pick against a team led by Psycho T? Tyler Hansbrough is by far the most impressive and inspirational player that I have ever seen. He is the definition of a leader and just wills his team to victory. Kansas is probably the best team in the country, but Bill Self is a joke, and he'll have no answer for the AP National Player of the Year.

In the other game, I like Memphis (surprised?) to end fucla's very fortunate run towards another banner. Unfortunately for them, John Wooden and those previous banners won't factor into the scoreboard. I picked Memphis to win it all because they are a complete team, very athletic and really get after it on both ends of the court. Sound familiar? Yes, they remind me a lot of the back to back champion Florida Gator teams that embarrassed fucla two years in a row. I think the only team that can beat Memphis is Kansas, which features a tough duo inside in Arthur and Jackson, whereas fucla offers nothing in the frontcourt after Kevin Love. I hate to admit it, but Love is an incredible player and will give Memphis all they can handle. The only problem for the bruins is that Love's backups (Keefe, Mata, and Dragovich) pack very little punch offensively. Expect Josh Shipp, who has been ice-cold all season, to continue his slump and take himself out of the game with a 20% shooting night. All the pressure will be on Darren Collison, Russell Westbrook, and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute to provide some assistance for Love. Offensively, Memphis has only two minor concerns: their free throw shooting and their tendency to settle for jump shots. If Memphis plays aggressive and breaks down the bruins off the dribble, they have the athleticism and the muscle to finish at the rim. I guarantee that Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts won't back down from Love and will take it strong to the rack. Go get 'em Tigers!

Like I said earlier, I picked Memphis over North Carolina in the Championship. Regardless of this weekend's outcomes, I just want to see some good games and some fair officiating. Oh and by the way, Kansas and fucla, you both suck!!

Go Memphis!!

A True Beast

Saw this over on TrojanWire...



Trojan fans are in for a treat in 2008.

Fight On!

Spring Ball

Pete Carroll is probably the only person capable of coaching Rey Maualuga. Not only does Rey own the police, he's capable of inflicting pain, and even more pain... For Coach Carroll to approach Rey, let alone yell at him in practice is admirable. I can't wait for the 2008 season to begin and for Rey to unleash more suffering to opposing players.

Double D, My Favorite

No, I'm not referring to the bust size of a former bruin Las Vegas cocktail waitress... I'm referring to incoming freshman Demar Derozan (Double D). Derozan recently participated in the McDonald's High School All-American game, where he scored 10pts in 17 minutes while also claiming the crown at the Powerade Jam Fest. Here is the latest mix tape from BallisLife.com highlighting a spectacular senior season for Demar...

Mayo's iPod

I doubt he has any Beach Boy tracks on his iPod, but I have a feeling this song made its way into his iTunes...

I heard it in a Dream

I can hear it now....

Petros:

And now the starters for your USC Trojans!

At forward, a 6'8" sophomore from LYNWOOD, California. Wearing the #5... Daaa-von Jefffferson!

At the other forward position, a 6'6" freshman from COMPTON, California. Wearing the #24... Demar Deroooozan!

At guard, a 6'5" junior from Pesaro, Italy. Wearing the #13... Daniel Hackett!

At center, a 6'9" junior from Brooklyyyyn, New York. Wearing the #22... Taj Gibsooon!

And at the other guard position, a 6'5" sophomore from Huntington, West Virginia. Wearing the #32...... OJ Mayooooo!!!

The Trojans are coached by Tim Floyd!

Assisted by Bob Cantu, Gib Arnold, and Phil Johnson.

What a starting lineup that would be. The Trojan faithful cannot help but hope that freshman sensation OJ Mayo decides to return to for his sophomore season. The Trojans would field the most talented starting lineup in the conference, if not the entire country. The lethal combination of Davon Jefferson & Demar Derozan would cause tremendous mismatch opportunities, leaving opposing teams searching for defenders athletic enough to keep up with these two high fliers.

The ball however rests in OJ Mayo's hands. According to a recent LA Times article fellow freshman Davon Jefferson is planning on returning for his sophomore season. And Taj Gibson made his intentions clear at the Trojans award banquet, where he announced his plans to stay for his junior year. The Trojans will also get back 6'7" redshirt sophomore Kasey Cunningham and 7'0" redshirt freshman Mamadou Diarra both of which spent the 2007-2008 season recovering from injury. The Trojans also add Donte Smith, a 5'11" sophomore transfer from Mt. Sac Community College.

If Mayo does decide to declare for the NBA draft, the loss will be softened by the addition of Derozan, Rivals #2 ranked player in the country. However I'd much rather see Mayo dishing out alley oops to Derozan than have to dish out $200 for an authentic OJ Mayo NY Knicks jersey.

Fight On!

#6 USC vs. #11 Kansas State - Preview

Much has been made about the battle of freshmen between O.J. Mayo and Michael Beasley, or Mayo's life-long friendship with Bill Walker, but all that stuff won't matter once the ball is tipped-off. We don't have much time to get a full preview in, as RG3 said in the previous post, we're off the Vegas to get our gaming on. I have seen Kansas State play a few times both this year and last season, so I have some sense as to how they play the game. However, I don't know much about Kansas State's supporting cast. Nevertheless, if USC is to win tomorrow and advance to the 2nd round, they must accomplish these 3 goals. Do that, and we can expect to see Wisconsin on Saturday, one win away from consecutive Sweet 16's.

3 Keys to Victory:

Defensive Rebounding -- The #1 priority for the Trojans will be defensive rebounding. Kansas State led the Big 12 Conference in offensive rebounds per game with a staggering 16.32 average. Coach Tim Floyd's teams are always tough defensively, USC is 14 in the nation in field goal percentage defense and will force a lot of missed shots, which will create opportunities for Beasley and Walker to gain 2nd chances. Floyd and his staff understand that the Wildcats pick up a lot of garbage points on easy put backs and will have to look no further back than that Sweet 16 game against North Carolina last season where the Trojans got absolutely hammered on the offensive glass. Davon Jefferson and Daniel Hackett need to box out their guys and help Taj Gibson down low.

Taj Gibson -- Gibson needs to have a strong all-around game offensively, defensively, and rebounding, but his biggest contribution will have to come on the offensive end. The Wilcats will have to defend Gibson with Beasley since he is their biggest player inside. Taj is going to have to win this individual matchup and make Beasley work hard defensively. If he can get going early, Kansas State will be forced to double which will open things up for Mayo, or Beasley will be in foul trouble.

Turnovers -- The Wildcats do not want to play in the halfcourt against USC's tough defense, so they'll look to run and get easy fastbreak points whenever possible. Kansas State tends to stand around and just watch Beasley when forced to play slow, so look for them to pressure the Trojans and speed up the game. They are at their best when they are out in the open court getting others involved. Dwight Lewis must make strong, accurate passes and not give one away like he's done against tough defensive teams like ucla. Mayo and Hackett need to take good care of the ball and play under control.

USC has all the intangibles in this game. They have toughness, NCAA Tournament experience, and a brilliant coaching staff. They played against Kevin Durant's Texas team last year and proved that one player cannot win games in March. For these reasons, I like USC in this one. Prediction: USC 66, Kansas State 60.

Fight On! Beat the Wildcats!