[Dienhart] I wish I had these BCS coaches' job security - Sporting News
Job security. Who wouldn't love it? Me? Heck, I'm day-to-day -- like most of you. However, there are some coaches who have that all-elusive job security many union guys think is a God-given right. In fact, if these coaches wanna go fly-fishing or catch up on "Oprah" during spring ball, they have my blessing...

...Pete Carroll, USC. You know he has a hotline to the school president. "Uh, Prez, baby ... add a couple extra zeros to my salary. Oh, and pick up my dry cleaning on the way home, capice?"...

Cowboys change course, release tackle - Ft Worth Star-Telegram
While the rest of the sports world is waiting for wide receiver Terrell Owens to land in Dallas, the Cowboys tended to other business on Friday.

Topping the list was the release of right tackle Jacob Rogers, which is a reversal of a reversal of sorts for the Cowboys.

Rogers was expected to be released after going against the team’s wishes last August and having season-ending microfracture surgery on his right knee...

Ready for Her Close-Up - LA Times
The next time Duwayne Dunham is looking to direct a movie, maybe he should look no further than his daughter, Hailey, for a story line.

Small-fry basketball player, filled with self-doubt by a critical father and coaches, grows 10 inches in a few short years. She earns a scholarship to USC.

She leads her team to its first Southern Section title...

New deal and bigger role for 49ers' Moore - SF Chron
...The 49ers also re-signed wide receiver Jason McAddley and safety Kris Richard, both longshots to make the regular-season roster...

[Harris] McGinest is just what Browns need - Toledo Blade
Willie McGinest has all the intangibles the Cleveland Browns are looking for, the intangibles of a three-time Super Bowl champion joining a rebuilding NFL franchise looking to make its way back to the playoffs...

...Cleveland overpaid McGinest with the understanding he will command the respect of the entire team. Browns management is counting on McGinest's veteran savvy and winning qualities rubbing off on his new teammates...

Keyshawn would play for Giants - Newark Star Ledger
..."I know exactly what I'm worth," Johnson said, "and it's not $2.5 million a year. I know what I bring to a team, and if somebody comes calling who is willing to compensate me accordingly, I'm available."

Keyshawn Johnson keyed up for Hawks? - Seattle Times
He has a good history with Seahawks president Tim Ruskell. His representative says he has always admired coach Mike Holmgren, in part because Holmgren is also a USC alum.

Oh yeah, and the Seahawks could certainly use a big target at wide receiver with good hands and the ability to block downfield, too, now that Joe Jurevicius has moved on.

The signs seem to be pointing Keyshawn Johnson north to Seattle...

[Ratto] Raiders seem set to draft QB despite abysmal track record - SF Chron
...we can now clearly identify their quarterbacking future, in the simplest terms imaginable. If they trade up in the draft from their current position of seventh to second, they want Jay Cutler of Vanderbilt. If they trade from 7 to 5, they want USC's Matt Leinart. If they stay where they are, they want Vince Young of Texas...

A draft made in dawg heaven - Akron Beacon-Journal
They had little in common, the earnest Alabaman and the laid-back Southern Californian. But NFL Draft day in 1978 forever linked Ozzie Newsome and Clay Matthews. The Browns selected Matthews, the USC linebacker, with the 12th overall pick, then nabbed Newsome, the Alabama tight end, at No. 23.

Then-general manager Peter Hadhazy pulled off arguably the best first-round draft in franchise history. Matthews went on to play 19 years, 16 with the Browns...

...Matthews is now the defensive coordinator at Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village, Calif., where his son Casey was a junior linebacker in 2005.

Oaks Christian, with an enrollment of about 600, has gone undefeated the past two seasons, largely thanks to Jimmy Clausen, the top quarterback prospect in the nation and the younger brother of Tennessee's Casey and Rick Clausen. At running back is Marc Tyler, son of former Rams star Wendell Tyler...

Brees ready to put doubts behind him - Biloxi Sun-Herald
...the Saints will weigh their options with the second pick in next month's NFL Draft.

"We can't rule anything out," Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said. "Obviously, we've got our quarterabck right here. I don't want to leave out any option, I don't want to take anything out of play."

Translated, if you don't want Norm Chow and the Tennessee Titans to get their grubby hands on Leinart, give Loomis a call. But that pick ain't gonna come cheap...

Keyshawn Johnson favoring the Panthers - Charlotte Observer
...The Panthers are looking for help at wide receiver and, at least, want someone to challenge Keary Colbert for the starting job opposite Smith...

Sprint phenom Olear looks to leave legacy - LA Daily News
Elizabeth Olear knows her legacy in track and field will not be written this year.

High school accomplishments make nice memories and fun stories to pass on to the next generation. But being the prom queen won't mean much come summer time. Nor will winning a state track and field title.

Olear already has bigger things in the works, such as running for the USC in the fall...

Westphal Out at Pepperdine - LA Times
Paul Westphal resigned as men's basketball coach at Pepperdine on Wednesday after being told the school intended to make a coaching change...

...Westphal, 55, was an All-American player at USC and a five-time NBA All-Star. He had a winning record — 76-72 in five seasons — as coach of the Waves but was 7-20 this season. He had one season left on his contract...

Staff Injection - Official Buccaneers Website
It was 10 years ago, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won’t soon forget the last time they turned to the University of Southern California to find a defensive line coach.

Hopefully, they’ll find the experience similarly rewarding this time around, in the person of new defensive line coach Jethro Franklin...

...On Thursday, the Bucs announced the hiring of seven new assistant coaches, including two who have left the USC staff to jump to the NFL. Ten years after hiring Rod Marinelli to coach their D-Line and shortly after Marinelli left to become the Detroit Lions new head coach, the Buccaneers have filled that position with the Trojans’ Franklin...

...The team’s new defensive backs coach, Greg Burns, is also fresh off that USC staff; he replaces Mike Tomlin, who is now the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings...

...If the Bucs were to turn to the NCAA again in 2006, it’s hard to imagine a better source for coaching talent than USC, which has been the closest thing to a dynasty college football has seen in some time...

SNUG AS A CUB - St Paul Pioneer Press
The sun doesn't shine any brighter in Arizona than Florida. It just seems like that at times to Jacque Jones.

"I'm where somebody wants me,'' said the Chicago Cubs' new right fielder, who spent the past decade in the Twins' organization before leaving as a free agent...

...wearing a new uniform while sitting in the middle of a new clubhouse, Jones seemed to bask in the security of his freshly signed three-year, $16 million contract with the Cubs...

Patriots Lose McGinest as Exodus Continues - NY Times
...Although McGinest is 34, he made the Pro Bowl as recently as 2003, and his six sacks last season was more than anyone on Cleveland's roster. McGinest, who signed a three-year, $12 million deal, is also familiar with the 3-4 defensive scheme of the Browns' head coach, Romeo Crennel, the Patriots' former defensive coordinator. McGinest and Crennel won three Super Bowls together with the Patriots, and Crennel hopes McGinest's leadership and talent will help create a winning atmosphere in Cleveland...

Spring look around the Pac-10 - ESPN
...While competitions at quarterback, tailback and linebacker will be sexier, one of USC's biggest areas of concern is special teams. The Trojans ranked 115th in the nation last year in net punting...

...Senior tailback Hershel Dennis felt like a forgotten man last year while he sat out after tearing knee ligaments before the 2005 Orange Bowl. He'll see lots of action this spring, mostly because his backfield mates won't be around to compete with him...

Reliving History Frame by Frame - National Endowment for the Humanities
...newsreels were shot on film made of nitrocellulose, the same material Thomas Edison and others used when first developing motion pictures in the 1890s. The film burned easily. Nitrate was sensitive to the slightest heat, even the heat of the film projector lamp. In the USC collection there are eleven million feet of film, seven million on nitrate and four million on more stable acetate. With support from NEH, the USC film library is transferring the nitrate film to modern polyester to retain the quality of the original stock...

Bush requires fitting - Official Jacksonville Jaguars Website
If you're looking for a pounder, this draft isn't for you. If, however, you're looking for a game-breaking, multi-purpose star running back, this is the year to find that guy.

All eyes are on the Houston Texans, who have the first overall pick and are expected to spend that pick on USC star Reggie Bush. It's not as easy as that sounds, however, because Bush is a player who requires fitting into a specific system and role.

"If you are willing to build an offense around him, yes, he's worth the first pick of the draft,"...

...The closest thing to a pounder in this draft is Bush's USC teammate, LenDale White, who is coming out as a junior. White, 6-0, 232, is the opposite of Bush. White is a big, strong interior runner who can carry the ball 30 times a game...

Best NFL coaches seem to grow on trees - USA Today
...Perhaps the greatest coaching tree in NFL history sprouted in San Francisco under Bill Walsh in 1979 and continued with his successor, George Seifert, through 1996. Including Seifert, the 49ers employed 10 future head coaches in that span, including some of the game's best over the last two decades. They are Dennis Green (Minnesota, Arizona), Bruce Coslet (Jets, Cincinnati), Pete Carroll (Jets, New England), Jeff Fisher (Tennessee), Holmgren (Green Bay, Seattle), Gary Kubiak (Houston), Rhodes (Philadelphia, Green Bay), Seifert (San Francisco, Carolina), Mike Shanahan (Oakland, Denver) and Sam Wyche (Cincinnati, Tampa Bay)...

Matt has Green dream - NY Daily News
Matt Leinart has told people in his inner circle that he's dying to play for the Jets. A door opened yesterday that could make it possible, but the Jets have their eye on another, less heralded Matt — Matt Schaub, the Falcons' backup quarterback...

Brian's Song is Sweet, So Far - NY Post
With three outings and nine spring innings now, Brian Bannister has pitched the equivalent of one complete game. And it's been a gem.

Bannister, the righthander who is bidding for the Mets' fifth starter job, continues to be the best pitcher in camp...

"Obvious" Hoax Befalls Ferrell - E! Online
Will Ferrell is not a graduate of the "University of California." He is not the "sonn" of Hubert and Mary Ferrell. He was not born in July 1968, and if he had been, he wouldn't be 36 years old.

And, no, he is not dead.

As hoaxes go, Tuesday's press release which purported to announce a fatal paragliding accident involving Ferrell wasn't a terribly convincing one...

A Conversation with George Lucas - Time
...Star Wars was one of the hits whose profits, shared by the theater owners, financed the multiplexing of America.

The light-saber epic changed Lucas too. A graduate of the USC film school who also felt a kinship with Bruce Conner, Scott Bartlett and other members of San Francisco’s vital avant-garde scene, he had made two features before Star Wars...

FSU's Booker makes bid - Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When Lorenzo Booker watched fellow Californian Reggie Bush run off with the Heisman Trophy last fall, it got him thinking.

"Why not me?" the Florida State senior-to-be wondered.

"I think it is every running back's dream for his team to use him the way USC used Reggie," Booker said. "A great back wants to run the ball, catch the ball, and make big plays for his team.

"I want to be that kind of back."...

USC head quits Getty trust - LA Times
USC President Steven B. Sample has resigned his relatively new seat on the board of the J. Paul Getty Trust, citing conflicting duties...

...A series of controversies in recent months — including a continuing probe by the state attorney general and the resignation of the trust's President Barry Munitz on Feb. 10 — have made being a Getty trustee a thornier job...

[Kirwan] The ripple effect of Brees and Culpepper - NFL News
...The first thing that comes to mind is the value of the second pick in the draft for the New Orleans Saints. They can entertain calls from the teams that want Matt Leinart. The Titans would love to have a shot at the former USC quarterback, especially since offensive coordinator Norm Chow coached him to a Heisman Trophy two years ago. Tennessee can't afford to sit pat at No. 3 and expect Leinart to fall to them. They can't take that risk...

Boone back in swing for Indians - AP via Akron Beacon-Journal
A fiercely loyal Man of Troy, Aaron Boone wears his love for USC football on his sleeve. He's even got an authentic Trojan helmet sitting on top of his locker in the Indians' clubhouse this spring.

It has taken a while, but Boone has gotten over his alma mater's heartbreaking loss to Texas in the Rose Bowl, where his celebrity status wasn't strong enough to get him a sideline pass for the national title game.

"Even Snoop Dogg got bumped," Boone said...

As good as gone -- McGinest to visit Browns
Linebacker Willie McGinest appears ready to begin life without the Patriots.

Having heard nothing from the Pats since they released him last week, McGinest will visit the Cleveland Browns today to start a process he believes will lead him out of New England...

...The 12-year veteran was the first draft pick of the Kraft family in 1994 out of USC. He blossomed as a leader during the last five seasons, helping the Patriots to three Super Bowl titles...

Ayodele signs with hometown team - Ft Worth Star-Telegram
...A backdrop to the moves is the decision the Cowboys must make today regarding the future of receiver Keyshawn Johnson.

The 10-year veteran, who turns 34 in July, is due a $1 million roster bonus Wednesday, and the Cowboys would have to release Johnson today to avoid paying the bonus. Because Johnson is in the final year of his contract, the Cowboys probably must decide if they want Johnson beyond 2007 before deciding if they want to bring him back for 2006.

"I assume I am getting my money," said Johnson, who led the team in receptions last season and has 141 catches and 12 touchdowns since coming to Dallas in 2004. "I haven't been told any thing different."

Johnson is expected to earn $2.5 million in Dallas next season...

Brees leaves; Dolphins sign Shelton - South Florida Sun-Sentinel
...Backup tight end Alex Holmes signed a one-year, $310,000 tender from the Dolphins...

Floyd Is Happy With Progression - LA Times
You might recognize a few of the opponents on USC's tentative schedule for next season.

Duke. Kansas. The names are synonymous with college basketball's elite.

Tim Floyd can only hope a time comes when one of his coaching counterparts scans his schedule, lets his finger rest on USC and feels his pulse quicken.

Truth be told, Floyd's Trojans might be closer to becoming a basketball blueblood than anyone envisioned...

Trojans snag another top wide receiver - RealFootball365
...The signing of Hazelton has given the USC Trojans the top recruiting class for 2006 in the eyes of many, signaling that Coach Carroll has no plans of slowing down after a disappointing Rose Bowl loss to end last season. Out of the twenty-five signings for the Trojans 2006 recruiting class, Hazelton was the biggest.

Following in the steps of Jarrett and Turner, Hazelton becomes the next top receiver recruit to cross the country to play college football for the Trojans...

Tuesday Question - College Football News
Give three non-conference games that should happen...
[Fiutak]...star programs that haven't played each other in a bazillion years like ...

...2. USC vs. Miami
It seems like these two have played for national titles for about 25 years, but they haven't faced each other since 1968 with the Trojans beating the Canes 28-3. The only other time they played was in 1966 with Miami winning 10-7...

[Cirminiello]...USC v. Ohio State – Don’t you miss those classic Big Ten-Pac-10 slugfests that used to be a given at the end of every bowl season? I do. And, as luck would have it, just as the Trojans made their way back to national prominence, the BCS system forced the Rose Bowl to periodically break from tradition. Oklahoma v. Washington State? Eh. USC and Ohio State would be an old-school mega tilt...

...USC v. Texas – No sequel is as delicious as the original, but who wouldn’t pay a scalper’s fee to see these two giants go at it a few more times in Austin and Los Angeles?...

[Zemek]...USC and Louisiana State...

Monday Morning - Washington Post
"No state income tax."

-- Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush, projected as the first pick of the NFL draft by the Houston Texans, on what he likes best about Texas.

USC's Schubert Becomes U.S. National Swim Coach - AP via KCAL-TV
Longtime Olympic coach Mark Schubert is the new national coach and general manager for USA Swimming.

Schubert will leave Southern California, where he coached for 14 years. He will give up his camps and duties with the Trojan Swim Club to focus full-time on his position with the national team, which begins in May and runs through 2013.

"Mark Schubert is the most respected coach on any pool deck in the world," said Chuck Wielgus, executive director of USA Swimming, on Sunday. "Hiring him is the equivalent of hiring the Mike Krzyzewski of basketball."...