Updates: Commentary & Analysis

David Baker, the father of Trojan senior offensive tackle Sam Baker, has posted an open letter at WeAreSC describing what it means to be a Trojan in the Pete Carroll era, based on his and his son’s experiences over the past five years. It’s worth a read.
To Be A Trojan (WeAreSC)

“Anything short of a national championship will be a failure for the team this year,” said freshman guard OJ Mayo on a day filled with more USC basketball coverage than normal, thanks to the Pac-10’s annual Media Day event, which was held in the morning. The consensus among sportswriters seems to be that the Pac-10 […]

Ben Bolch of the LA Times again profiles the very young Trojan hoops team with high expectations and a brutally difficult schedule - a schedule which was constituted with the thought that either Gabe Pruitt or Nick Young (both NBA rookies) would return for his senior season. OJ Mayo sums up the predicament:
We’ve got a […]

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)

ESPN has posted Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook’s detailed, player-by-player preview of USC’s 2007-08 men’s basketball squad. (Note that while the content is indicated as being available to ESPN Insiders only, it appears to be viewable by non-Insiders as well, at least for now.) Their analysis predicts this year’s team to finish with similar results […]

Scott Wolf, venturing beyond the veil of his notorious blog, discusses some sacred cows of the USC football program (including Pete Carroll’s coaching, the use of Stafon Johnson, and Joe McKnight’s lack of impact) in his latest video practice report for CBS and KCAL.
Trojan Insider Wolf Reports SC Practice 10/10 (CBS2.com)

Although the Trojans benefited from an extra week of practices before Labor Day as a result of their exhibition trip to Mexico, USC kicks off practice for the 2007-08 season for real this Friday night in a “Midnight Madness” event at the Galen Center. (Friday’s event–which includes a scrimmage, introduction of the men’s and women’s […]

Fox Sports columnist Randy Hill makes it clear in a column posted online today that the national championship game he would most like to see this season is USC vs. LSU. He notes that the two teams “have the greatest balance between explosive offense … and roughhouse defense” and that the Trojans and Tigers also […]

In its ongoing rundown of the top 64 teams in the country, Rivals has posted a profile of USC’s men’s basketball team–which the service has ranked at #9 in the nation. Rivals projects a starting lineup of guards OJ Mayo and Angelo Johnson, swingman Dwight Lewis, and forwards Davon Jefferson and Taj Gibson, which seams […]

Phil Collin of the LA Daily News profiles USC’s surprising 2008 interception leader junior DE Kyle Moore. A guy many thought would be beaten out in short order by heralded freshman Everson Griffen, Moore has become a zone-blitz specialist (who drops into coverage when a linebacker or defensive back blitzes) in Carroll’s complex schemes devised with Nick Holt. […]