Updates from August 28th, 2007

Former USC pitcher Ian Kennedy is scheduled to make his major league debut on Saturday for the New York Yankees, with a start against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in place of the struggling Mike Mussina, the Yankees announced today. A first-round draft pick in 2006, Kennedy began this year in single-A ball, but quickly […]

Several sources are reporting that starting center Matt Spanos sustained a possible triceps strain during Tuesday afternoon’s practice. Jeff Byers would get the start against Idaho if Spanos cannot play, although it is too soon to tell if that will be the case. One factor to consider: the Trojans have had numerous problems with fumbled […]

In a brief interview with Ben Malcolmson of USCRipsIt.com, Pete Carroll once again reiterated what he’s been saying for about six years now in response to critics and opposing coaches (yes, you, Harbaugh) who have essentially dared him to leave SC for the NFL:
I don’t know how many times I have to say it: I’m not […]

In his first weekly press conference of the season, Pete Carroll indicated that RB CJ Gable would likely get the start against Idaho. As for the injured backs:

Freshman Joe McKnight is practicing in pads today for the first time in over a week, and will get some playing time on Saturday.
Freshman Marc Tyler has been […]

USC’s trio of starting linebackers–Brian Cushing, Rey Maualuga, and Keith Rivers–have been named to the preseason Butkus Award watchlist, presented annually to the nation’s top linebacker.
View all Trojans on watchlists

Bud Withers of The Seattle Times postulates that like the Ming Dynasty and the Roman Empire (which reportedly “got complacent and had some lousy recruiting classes”) , the question is not if the Trojans’ death grip on college football will end, but when. Fair enough. But unlike many pundits and opposing coaches (hello, Harbaugh) who predict Pete […]

On Monday at the Galen Center, the Trojans’ held their first practice of the year to include their full roster (save for freshman PG Angelo Johnson, who still awaits word from the NCAA Clearinghouse), as the incoming freshmen participated for the first time. Naturally, all post-practice attention was on freshman OJ Mayo, and his new […]