Updates from October, 2007

In a subscriber-only article, Rivals has capsule updates on each of USC’s redshirting football players, including the latest addition to that list: freshman running back Broderick Green, who decided to redshirt just this week after missing the first half of the season with a foot injury. Some of the highlights:

The players making the most impression […]

Rankings in the preseason ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll for men’s basketball were revealed today, with USC sitting in the #18 spot. North Carolina edged out UCLA for the top spot in the poll, with Trojan nonconference opponents Memphis and Kansas at #3 and #4, respectively. Other Pac-10 teams landing in the top 25 include #10 […]

How can you resist an article entitled “The Worst Football Coach in the Universe,” especially when it is about Charlie Weis? And we quote:
“In the entire history of American sports hype, has there ever been any fraud more grossly fraudulent than Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis?”
The Worst Football Coach in the Universe (Slate.com)

On a day when Pete Carroll satisfied fans’ expectations–and, judging from our poll results, their wishes–by naming Mark Sanchez the starting quarterback for USC’s matchup with Oregon, one-time starter John David Booty sat out of practice to rest his injured finger. Booty is capable of playing if needed on Saturday, but the plan now is […]

The Trojan men’s basketball team will hold a free, intrasquad scrimmage this Sunday (October 28) at the Galen Center at 1:00p. Prior to the scrimmage, at 9:00a, the team is also sponsoring the second annual “Dribble for the Cure” charity event.
More info on scrimmage and Dribble for the Cure (Official USC Site)
Some other basketball tidbits […]

Pete Carroll announced Thursday that sophomore Mark Sanchez would make his third consecutive start at quarterback for the Trojans on Saturday against Oregon, despite some improvement in the condition of injured John David Booty this week. We’ll have status updates on some of the other Trojan injuries later this evening.

If the emotional side of the Trojan football team was given a lift with Saturday’s win at Notre Dame, the team’s physical state has followed suit this week. Wednesday saw the remarkable improvement of two key offensive linemen and steady progress by one of the Trojan quarterbacks. Read on for details.

USC sophomore forward Taj Gibson was named one of the 50 preseason candidates for the Wooden Award All-American Team on Wednesday. Ultimately, ten players are selected annually for the team, which is announced during the NCAA Tournament in March. While freshmen are not considered for the preseason watchlist, they can be added as candidates during […]

Former USC wideout Johnnie Morton was in attendance as the Trojans spent another day under smoke-filled skies preparing for Saturday’s matchup of top-ten teams in Oregon. Nothing changed on the quarterback front, meaning that (a) no decision was made about the starter, and (b) it still looks like it’s Mark Sanchez’s job for now. Here […]

Ben Block of the LA Times reports that last year’s freshman sensation Taj Gibson, who wore down toward the end of the season as the team’s only consistent frontcourt option, is benefitting from 15 additional pounds of muscle and 5 legitimate big men (Keith Wilkinson, RouSean Cromwell, Kasey Cunningham, Davon Jefferson, and Mamadou Diarra) as the team […]