Only 12 days remain until Spring Practice 2010 begins, but Howard Jones Field still sits as a blank slate of pristine green turf. Workers will begin painting the legendary practice field in roughly one week.
Only 12 days remain until Spring Practice 2010 begins, but Howard Jones Field still sits as a blank slate of pristine green turf. Workers will begin painting the legendary practice field in roughly one week.
We'll be on vacation through next week, though the Blog won't stop. Not only will the nine-part Spring Practice Primer be published during the coming week, but we'll also post other pertinent news and information as it happens, so stay tuned to the Blog as Spring Practice 2010 approaches.
Normal blogging activity will resume March 29.
Normal blogging activity will resume March 29.
We've received many questions about the start time of the Trojan Huddle on May 1 at the Coliseum, but unfortunately, it has not been set yet. In years past, USC's end-of-spring scrimmage has traditionally begun in the late morning or early afternoon. We'll announce the time as soon as it's set.
Spring Break whispers on at USC, as campus is lifeless and Heritage Hall could be classified similarly. Players continue to enjoy their nine-day break from workouts, while coaches are taking advantage of a lull in the schedule by spending time with their families away from the office.
Everyone will return to work on Monday, and Spring Practice 2010 starts March 30.
Everyone will return to work on Monday, and Spring Practice 2010 starts March 30.
Sign up now on the newly launched CampKiffin.com website for the USC/Nike Coach of the Year Clinic on April 9-10 and the Trojan Football Summer Camps. Here are the dates of the summer kids camps:Kicking camp • June 11 (9th-12th graders)
Offensive and defensive linemen camp • June 12 (9th-12th graders)
Skills camp • June 13 (9th-12th graders)
Football 101 • June 16 (clinic for adults who want to learn the basics)
7-on-7 camp • June 19 and 20 (9th-12th graders)
Youth camp • June 21 (3rd-8th graders)
Rising stars camp • June 23-24 (11th-12th graders)
Join Coach Lane Kiffin and his entire coaching staff for golf, a dinner and exclusive access to USC football items at the 2010 Lane Kiffin Heritage Golf Classic on April 26 at the Coto de Caza Golf and Racquet Club.
Registration will start at 8:30 a.m., golf will get going at 10 a.m. and dinner will begin at 5 p.m. An awards ceremony, live auction and a talk by Kiffin will follow the meal.
In addition to the live auction during dinner, a silent auction will run throughout the day. Among the auction items will be travel packages to the 2010 USC football games at Hawaii and Minnesota, a trip on the USC team plane to a road game and sideline passes to all of USC's 2010 home games (including the Notre Dame contest).
The tournament is hosted by the Trojan Board of Directors.
For registration information, click here or call 213-740-4155.
Registration will start at 8:30 a.m., golf will get going at 10 a.m. and dinner will begin at 5 p.m. An awards ceremony, live auction and a talk by Kiffin will follow the meal.
In addition to the live auction during dinner, a silent auction will run throughout the day. Among the auction items will be travel packages to the 2010 USC football games at Hawaii and Minnesota, a trip on the USC team plane to a road game and sideline passes to all of USC's 2010 home games (including the Notre Dame contest).
The tournament is hosted by the Trojan Board of Directors.
For registration information, click here or call 213-740-4155.
The countdown to Spring Practice 2010 is now at just 12 days, with the first workout set to begin on March 30. Here's the full practice schedule, and be sure to purchase your tickets to the May 1 Trojan Huddle at the Coliseum.
Throughout next week, we'll be posting our annual Spring Practice Primer, a position-by-position preview as the Trojans head into their March 30 start date for Spring Practice 2010. The special capsules contain each position coach's thoughts on various hot topics for their players and groups this spring. Here's the publication schedule for next week:
- Monday: Offensive line and linebackers
- Tuesday: Quarterbacks and defensive backs
- Wednesday: Running backs and defensive line
- Thursday: Wide receivers and tight ends
- Friday: Special teams
The No. 9 USC women's swimming team is competing in the 2010 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships at Boilermaker Aquatics Center in West Lafayette, Ind., beginning today and going through Saturday. You can watch the events and get live results on the NCAA's swimming and diving home page.
A total of 12 former members of the USC baseball program have been nominated for the College World Series Legends Team, commemorating the final year that the CWS will be played at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb. The Legends Team will represent those players and coaches with the best performances in the last 60 years during the time the CWS has been held at Rosenblatt Stadium.
The former Trojans nominated include: Rod Dedeaux (coach), Bill Seinsoth, Stan Charnofsky, Wes Rachels, Bob Lillis, Bud Hollowell, Jason Lane, Ron Fairly, Geoff Jenkins, Fred Lynn, Russ McQueen and Roy Smalley.
Fans, along with media and baseball head coaches, will factor into the voting. All fans are invited to go online at ncaa.com/cwslegends to vote for the Legends Team. Voting will end at noon on April 16.
The former Trojans nominated include: Rod Dedeaux (coach), Bill Seinsoth, Stan Charnofsky, Wes Rachels, Bob Lillis, Bud Hollowell, Jason Lane, Ron Fairly, Geoff Jenkins, Fred Lynn, Russ McQueen and Roy Smalley.
Fans, along with media and baseball head coaches, will factor into the voting. All fans are invited to go online at ncaa.com/cwslegends to vote for the Legends Team. Voting will end at noon on April 16.
Coach Lane Kiffin is doing his best to make light of an awfully silly situation.
Currently leading in his matchup against golfer Natalie Gulbis in Esquire's "Sexiest Woman Alive" tournament, Kiffin sent a message to the attractive professional golfer -- and top-seeded woman in their quadrant of the bracket -- via his Twitter account tonight.
"Hey @natalie_gulbis I apologize for this early lead; please finish strong like a 1 seed should," a playful Kiffin tweeted. "Tell evry1 u know 2 vote for u ASAP!!!!!"
Kiffin, the No. 16 seed and only man in the 64-person tournament, currently leads by a resounding amount. If he "wins" this round, he'd face the victor of the Danica Patrick-Erin Andrews matchup.
Currently leading in his matchup against golfer Natalie Gulbis in Esquire's "Sexiest Woman Alive" tournament, Kiffin sent a message to the attractive professional golfer -- and top-seeded woman in their quadrant of the bracket -- via his Twitter account tonight.
"Hey @natalie_gulbis I apologize for this early lead; please finish strong like a 1 seed should," a playful Kiffin tweeted. "Tell evry1 u know 2 vote for u ASAP!!!!!"
Kiffin, the No. 16 seed and only man in the 64-person tournament, currently leads by a resounding amount. If he "wins" this round, he'd face the victor of the Danica Patrick-Erin Andrews matchup.
On a heavenly afternoon in L.A., the USC baseball team, fresh of three wins in four games in Hawaii over the weekend, conducts an intrasquad scrimmage on Dedeaux Field. The Trojans will next travel to Stockton to face Pacific in a three-game series this weekend.
In the Varsity Lounge this afternoon, Coach Lane Kiffin goes through a photo shoot for the USC athletic department. The pictures will be used on the poster and other promotional materials.
In light of LaDainian Tomlinson's move from the San Diego Chargers to the New York Jets, ESPN.com's Adam Shefter published this Insider feature about the top five tailbacks who "excelled with one team, only to play out the final years of their careers excelling with another."
Of the five players, two are Trojans -- Marcus Allen, who went from the Raiders to the Chiefs, and O.J. Simpson, who went from the Bills to the 49ers. The other three tailbacks on the list are Marshall Faulk, Corey Dillon and Thomas Jones.
Thanks to RipsIt reader Bryan Swearingen for sending in the link.
Of the five players, two are Trojans -- Marcus Allen, who went from the Raiders to the Chiefs, and O.J. Simpson, who went from the Bills to the 49ers. The other three tailbacks on the list are Marshall Faulk, Corey Dillon and Thomas Jones.
Thanks to RipsIt reader Bryan Swearingen for sending in the link.
USC will host its annual Trojan Invitational track and field meet on Saturday at Loker Stadium on campus, with events beginning at 9 a.m. As of now, 714 athletes and 31 schools will compete in USC's only home meet this season.
Sign up now on the newly launched CampKiffin.com website for the USC/Nike Coach of the Year Clinic on April 9-10 and the Trojan Football Summer Camps. Here are the dates of the summer kids camps:
Kicking camp • June 11 (9th-12th graders)
Offensive and defensive linemen camp • June 12 (9th-12th graders)
Skills camp • June 13 (9th-12th graders)
Football 101 • June 16 (fantasy camp for adults)
7-on-7 camp • June 19 and 20 (9th-12th graders)
Youth camp • June 21 (3rd-8th graders)
Rising stars camp • June 23-24 (11th-12th graders)
Kicking camp • June 11 (9th-12th graders)
Offensive and defensive linemen camp • June 12 (9th-12th graders)
Skills camp • June 13 (9th-12th graders)
Football 101 • June 16 (fantasy camp for adults)
7-on-7 camp • June 19 and 20 (9th-12th graders)
Youth camp • June 21 (3rd-8th graders)
Rising stars camp • June 23-24 (11th-12th graders)
Only 13 days remain until Spring Practice 2010 kicks off. Be sure to purchase your tickets to the May 1 Trojan Huddle at the Coliseum.
Here's a look at the schedule for Spring Practice 2010 (subject to change), with weekday practices beginning at 4 p.m. and weekend workouts starting at 11 a.m.:
Tuesday, March 30 • Practice #1
Thursday, April 1 • Practice #2
Saturday, April 3 • Practice #3
Tuesday, April 6 • Practice #4
Thursday, April 8 • Practice #5
Saturday, April 10 • Practice #6
Tuesday, April 13 • Practice #7
Thursday, April 15 • Practice #8
Saturday, April 17 • Practice #9
Tuesday, April 20 • Practice #10
Thursday, April 22 • Practice #11
Saturday, April 24 • Practice #12
Tuesday, April 27 • Practice #13
Thursday, April 29 • Practice #14
Saturday, May 1 • Trojan Huddle (Coliseum)
Here's a look at the schedule for Spring Practice 2010 (subject to change), with weekday practices beginning at 4 p.m. and weekend workouts starting at 11 a.m.:
Tuesday, March 30 • Practice #1
Thursday, April 1 • Practice #2
Saturday, April 3 • Practice #3
Tuesday, April 6 • Practice #4
Thursday, April 8 • Practice #5
Saturday, April 10 • Practice #6
Tuesday, April 13 • Practice #7
Thursday, April 15 • Practice #8
Saturday, April 17 • Practice #9
Tuesday, April 20 • Practice #10
Thursday, April 22 • Practice #11
Saturday, April 24 • Practice #12
Tuesday, April 27 • Practice #13
Thursday, April 29 • Practice #14
Saturday, May 1 • Trojan Huddle (Coliseum)
Most of the coaching staff is on vacation all week, leaving the War Room dark and empty today. Activity will pick up again on Monday and Spring Practice will begin on March 30.
The third in an occasional series, "From the Desk of the A.D." allows you to hear directly from USC athletic director Mike Garrett, who gives you his thoughts on several topical and hot-button subjects for the Trojans and college sports.
By Mike Garrett
USC Athletic Director
We have a lot of things to talk about this week, so let's get right to it in this week's "From the Desk of the A.D." blog entry:
You can follow Mike Garrett on Twitter here.
By Mike GarrettUSC Athletic Director
We have a lot of things to talk about this week, so let's get right to it in this week's "From the Desk of the A.D." blog entry:
- Our women's basketball players and coaches, and consequently many others at USC, suffered horrible heartbreak when we were left out of the NCAA Tournament on selection day on Monday. The feeling is even worse because there's no transparency with the whole system. The selection committee makes their educated decisions, but for USC, the 65th-best team and first one out of the tournament, there's no rationale for why we weren't included. We're just left wondering. We had a good strength of schedule, having played 10 tournament-bound teams and beating four of them. We were third in the Pac-10 and had 19 wins. We finished hot, having won six straight at the end of the season before losing in the Pac-10 tournament semifinals to a ranked UCLA squad. Our RPI is in the Top 40 and we had a number of what the NCAA calls "good losses" -- to Xavier in overtime and Duke on the road, both highly seeded tournament teams. People complain about the BCS all the time, but at least it's transparent all season, and you can criticize it and scrutinize it all you want because of that. This snub is just going to make our basketball program -- both the men's and women's teams -- hungrier for this upcoming season. We're going to be hunting bear with a switch next year, and both men's and women's teams will make the NCAA Tournament. That's what I love about being a Trojan -- when you face adversity like this, it makes you stronger and more determined to prove your case. It's my silver lining in this heartbreak. When you go through this pain, you've got to take something good from it, and our teams definitely will.
- It's a major disappointment that the Pac-10 has only two teams in both the men's and women's tournament brackets this year, and it bugs me that the conference has been getting belittled in the press like it has. We win more national championships than any other league, we cover the entire West Coast, we produce some of the world's best athletes and our weather is great, so maybe it's a little bit of envy from other people around the country. I think that's why we get no benefit of the doubt when our conference struggles. When we're down, many people jump all over us with both feet. It's disappointing that we don't get the same benefit of the doubt that other conferences get, especially when it comes to big-time postseason events like the NCAA basketball tournament.
- With the NCAA Tournament coming up, a lot of people will be participating in pools and brackets. Our student-athletes, coaches and staff members will not be, though. The NCAA forbids athletic department personnel and athletes -- regardless of sport -- from gambling on any sport in which the NCAA sanctions competition. Any involvement in gambling activities by USC student-athletes or staff members will jeopardize their eligibility or employment and damage the reputation of the university, and it doesn't matter how much the wager is, even if it's $1. Gambling is gambling. There have been several notable examples of college athletic department employees who have broken this rule, and we're fortunate we have those examples to teach us all that the only way to do it is the right way. So our athletes and staff must act like Trojans and do the right thing, because it's not worth jeopardizing eligibility or damaging reputations over a few dollars in a tournament bracket.
- One last note on the NCAA basketball tournaments: Many athletic directors sit on the tournament selection committees, but it's something I have never done, nor will ever do in the future. I'm here to win and be involved in the lives of our student-athletes, and for someone with tunnel vision like me, it's not best for our program if I sit on committees that consume such time and take me away from my No. 1 job. I'm into helping and educating our student-athletes -- not being a cog in a bureaucracy.
- Finally, I want to mention one of my favorite sports at USC. The Trojan Invitational home track and field meet is coming up this weekend, and I'm really excited for this annual event. Track and field (along with football, baseball and swimming) is one of the sports that makes up the core of USC because of all the national championships it has won and the rich heritage it has. As athletic director, my two main goals have been to educate and graduate our student-athletes and win national championships, and our track and field team has always been one of the most successful squads at accomplishing those two aims. Track is also close to my heart because I ran the 100, 200 and even one race in the quarter-mile when I was a student-athlete here. Throughout history, USC has been a great university because it's not just football that is successful, but so many other core teams as well, and track and field is right at the forefront of that. That's why this Saturday's home meet at Cromwell Field is a wonderful thing -- it allows the track supporters an opportunity to see our athletes compete and see how well we'll do against UCLA in the dual meet on May 1. After all, beating UCLA and winning the NCAA championship are what the whole track and field season is about.
You can follow Mike Garrett on Twitter here.
You can sign up now for the USC/Nike Coach of the Year Clinic and the Trojan Football Summer Camps on the newly launched CampKiffin.com website.
This afternoon in Heritage Hall, assistant equipment manager Seth Svendsen pulls off the Trojan decal stickers from the helmets as the equipment staff cleans and refurbishes the helmets in anticipation of Spring Practice 2010, which will start in two weeks.
Registration for the 2010 Trojan Football Camps -- for kids ranging from 3rd through 12th grade, along with adults -- will open this week. We'll post the website address as soon as it goes live. Here are the dates for the various summer camps hosted by Lane Kiffin and his staff at USC:
Kicking camp • June 11 (9th-12th graders)
Offensive and defensive linemen camp • June 12 (9th-12th graders)
Skills camp • June 13 (9th-12th graders)
Football 101 • June 16 (fantasy camp for adults)
7-on-7 camp • June 19 and 20 (9th-12th graders)
Youth camp • June 21 (3rd-8th graders)
Rising stars camp • June 23-24 (11th-12th graders)
Kicking camp • June 11 (9th-12th graders)
Offensive and defensive linemen camp • June 12 (9th-12th graders)
Skills camp • June 13 (9th-12th graders)
Football 101 • June 16 (fantasy camp for adults)
7-on-7 camp • June 19 and 20 (9th-12th graders)
Youth camp • June 21 (3rd-8th graders)
Rising stars camp • June 23-24 (11th-12th graders)
The countdown to Spring Practice 2010 is now at just 14 days, with the first workout set to begin two weeks from today. Here's the full practice schedule, and be sure to purchase your tickets to the May 1 Trojan Huddle at the Coliseum.
With the staff off for Spring Break, Coach Lane Kiffin's office in Heritage Hall is undergoing a renovation this week. Workers are repainting the walls and new furniture will fill the cozy quarters, which will eventually look very different from when Kiffin arrived two months ago. Former coach Pete Carroll had a beach-type theme for the office, while Kiffin is going for a more businesslike feel.
USC's sailing team won the 2010 Harbor Cup this weekend, beating nine other schools for its first ever title in the San Pedro race.
Sailing, which was once an NCAA sport at USC, is now a club sport.
Sailing, which was once an NCAA sport at USC, is now a club sport.
Sophomore offensive lineman Abe Markowitz, who also competes for the USC track and field team, placed ninth in the shot put with a throw of 15.46 meters at Saturday's Northridge Invitational.
Versus, the network that broadcasts several Pac-10 football games each season, has returned to the DirecTV programming lineup as of Monday, following an agreement between the satellite provider and its cable competitor, Comcast.
Because of contract issues, DirecTV had not carried the Comcast-owned Versus since August 2009. The sports and entertainment network is now on channel 603 on DirecTV.
One USC game in each of the last three seasons has been televised on Versus. The Trojans' 2010 TV slate will be determined by June 1.
Because of contract issues, DirecTV had not carried the Comcast-owned Versus since August 2009. The sports and entertainment network is now on channel 603 on DirecTV.
One USC game in each of the last three seasons has been televised on Versus. The Trojans' 2010 TV slate will be determined by June 1.
The USC women's basketball team, currently projected by ESPN.com to make the NCAA Tournament as a No. 10 seed, will find out its postseason fate at 4 p.m. today. Watch the selection show live on ESPN to learn if and/or where the Women of Troy will be playing on in the tournament.
Just 15 days remain until Spring Practice 2010 kicks off. Here's the full practice schedule, and be sure to purchase your tickets to the May 1 Trojan Huddle at the Coliseum.
USC's Spring Break is here and campus has cleared out.
Heritage Hall isn't much of an exception.
Though many coaches will trickle in and out of the office this week to finalize Spring Practice preparations, they've technically been given the week off, their first significant break since being hired in January. Also, players have the entire week off from workouts and school.
Heritage Hall isn't much of an exception.
Though many coaches will trickle in and out of the office this week to finalize Spring Practice preparations, they've technically been given the week off, their first significant break since being hired in January. Also, players have the entire week off from workouts and school.
