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I’ve been bombarded with inquiries of Stafon Johnson and his potential leap into April’s NFL draft.  The root of those questions stem from an NFL.com blog that made it appear that the senior running back’s decision had been set in stone.  The blog, written by Steve Wyche, was based on statements made by one of [...]

Pete Carroll and his third ranked Trojans took the trip to Seattle fully aware that his team was on upset alert. And after a fairly easy opening drive, there seemed nothing to fear and all talk was for naught.  But it didn’t take long to realize that the hosting Huskies were ready to make true [...]

It wasn’t long after the hiring of Lane Kiffin that my speculation over future meetings between USC and Tennessee began.

After working as the understudy for arguably the greatest coach of the 21st century, Kiffin welcoming a challenge and opportunity to defeat his former boss sometime in the future appeared obvious.

With the opening kickoff just a litte more than a week away, Pete Carroll and his staff have finally ended the suspense and named Matt Barkley the Starting quarterback for the season opener.  For the moment, Barkley can claim victory in a competition that that lasted several months without a clear cut favorite.  In naming [...]

Although the Trojans earned a national championship share in 2003, the pain of not playing in the BCS title game still lingers. It’s a situation that was equally painful for a 2004 Auburn squad that managed to finish their season without a blemish and not collect any hardware in doing so.

Of all the stories published about athletes and abrupt ends to their playing careers, I think this one hits home more than others. Frankie Telfort was just one of several gems in the 2009 recruiting class. Hailing from Miami, the linebacker surprised many with his choice to attend USC and become a part of Pete Carroll’s program. Today we learn that a genetic heart condition will prevent the 17-year old from running through the historic Coliseum tunnel and onto the playing field.

Without knowing him personally, I can understand the emotion that accompanies this medical finding. My brother was a teammate of the late Hank Gathers, who succumbed to a heart condition while playing in a conference tournament game. It was the death of Gathers and others like him that sparked a move for more extensive examinations of athletes to prevent a tragic repeat.

The Big 10 has taken its share of knocks on the field and in the press. Over the last six seasons, the conference has developed a reputation for being slow, overrated, and lacking in talent. But these are merely assumptions, and far from truth, when you consider their overall record against BCS conferences and the number of selections in the NFL draft. But they still take a media clubbing, and continue to be the butt of jokes told by your average college football conversationalists.