Fans love Trojans - Washington Times
...Arizona, long the NFL's poorest draw, sold out for the season -- aside from the 3,000 seats that will be sold on a single-game basis in new Cardinals Stadium -- after drafting Leinart.

Meanwhile, the Saints, who took Bush No. 2 overall, have set a franchise record with more than 55,000 season tickets in their return to New Orleans after splitting the post-Katrina 2005 season between Baton Rouge and San Antonio. That's amazing with a fan base still reeling from the hurricane and in the wake of a 3-13 season...

Northeastern's choice - Boston Globe
"URBANE" is not a term usually associated with Northeastern University, but that word fits Joseph Aoun, its president-elect, who was introduced to the university community yesterday. His selection promises to move the university toward its goal of becoming an outstanding center of learning...

...a decade or two ago, someone with Aoun's talents and experience would have stayed far away from the commuter campus on Huntington Avenue. His selection and his acceptance of the presidency show that Northeastern is developing a worldwide reputation.

USC Plans 45,000-SF Credit Union - GlobeST.com
The University of Southern California has broken ground on a new 45,000-sf headquarters for its credit union. The building is the first branch of the USC Credit Union that is not located on campus, according to CB Richard Ellis...

...The site for the new Italian Romanesque style office building is on the east side and across the street from the USC campus at 3720 S. Flower St. in Downtown Los Angeles. This will be the third location housing the nonprofit, member-owned financial cooperative, which maintains its other offices on USC's University Park Campus and its Health Science Campus...

Gillespie may be retiring - LA Daily News
USC could announce as soon as today that baseball coach Mike Gillespie is stepping down after 20 seasons, according to sources.

The move may come after the Trojans lost 19 of their final 22games this season, including their last 10 and finished with a 25-33 record.

Gillespie, a Saugus resident, revitalized a USC program that grew dormant in the 1980s, with just one postseason appearance in the eight seasons prior to his arrival.

He won a national championship in 1998, made four appearances in the College World Series, five trips to the Super Regionals and won five conference titles. Overall, USC reached the postseason in 15 of his 20 seasons.

Gillespie was a left fielder on USC's 1961 championship team...

Athlon's 2006 All-America Defense - Athlon Sports
...Defensive Line
Lawrence Jackson, USC
6'5", 265, Junior

As a redshirt freshman in 2004, Jackson started all but one game and was a first-team Freshman All-American. Last season, he registered 13 tackles for a loss, including 10 sacks, and made first-team All-Pac-10 and third-team All-America. Over his two-year career, Jackson has racked up 24 tackles behind the line and 16 sacks...

Justice getting the hang of things - Trenton Times
...The Eagles have to hope he will be in a much nastier mood on the field when training camp officially begins July 20 at Lehigh University.

"It's good for a player like me, who fell in the draft and had some off-the-field issues, to come here," Justice said after yesterday's light workout designed for younger players and those returning from injury. "Because now it's all about playing football. It's only natural as a player when people tell you that you are a first-rounder and you slip that far in the draft. But that's in the past, and it doesn't matter what I've done in the past. It matters what I do now, and I think the better I play the more people will forget about all that. Being drafted is only the beginning and I intend on having a great career."...

Lawyer: FBI probes firm that tried to sign Bush - San Diego Union-Tribune
The attorney for Reggie Bush and his parents said the FBI has contacted him to request interviews with his clients as part of a federal investigation into New Era Sports and Entertainment...

David Cornwell, the Bush family attorney, said the FBI didn't specify which potential crimes it was investigating but said yesterday the thrust of the inquiry was “certainly the activities regarding (Brian) Watkins' clients' threats against my client and his family.”...

...The NCAA and the Pac-10 are investigating the case to determine if the Bush family received impermissible benefits from a prospective agent, which could cause USC to forfeit games...

Also, FBI Looks at Firm That Courted Bush - LA Times
Prime Numbers - LA Times

Rookie corner trying to defy odds - Arizona Republic
...While Leinart and Lutui carry higher profiles, a third USC player, cornerback Justin Wyatt, has flown into camp under the radar. He is among a group of undrafted rookie free agents hoping to defy the odds.

Coach Dennis Green always is looking for that extra edge, and if a player like Wyatt can provide it over a draft pick or perhaps a veteran, so be it. The team had seven undrafted rookies on its roster during the 2005 season.

Wyatt smiled when reminded of Green's vigilance.

"I've done my homework, believe me," Wyatt said. "I feel that this would be the best situation for me. I think I have a chance to make it. This team is going to be good."...

Fan taunting Jones gets earful from player's mom - Chicago Tribune
It has been a tough first two months at Wrigley Field for new Cubs right fielder Jacque Jones...

...In Friday's game, Jones lost a ball in the sun during the seventh inning that ruined Carlos Zambrano's no-hitter. In the bottom of the inning, Jones was called out on strikes and a fan allegedly yelled, "The sun must have gotten in your eyes."

According to witnesses, the fan was berated by a finger-wagging woman wearing a replica of Jones' No. 11 jersey. It turns out the woman was Jones' mother, Linda Faulk, sitting two rows away. Jones admitted the incident happened but was reluctant to go into details.

"She took care of it," he said. "She took care of it how every parent should...

US moves into fast lane with first full-time head coach - The Australian
The thing that the sport in Australia has always dreaded has happened.

The world's No.1 nation, the US, has realised that it is an under-achiever at international level.

The historic appointment of highly regarded University of Southern California coach Mark Schubert as the first full-time head coach of the US team should sound warning bells in Australia's ranks...

...Schubert's job, as he sees it, is to mobilise his coaches to access the untapped power of the American system.

"It's really difficult for the US to have a head coach from the point of view of dictating a program, so I see my role as creating competition opportunities and consistency in the national team...

[Carucci] Vic Carucci's Tuesday Huddle - NFL News
...It makes sense that Tom Coughlin would give Rob Johnson, whom he brought into the league at Jacksonville, a shot to be a backup quarterback with the New York Giants. Something tells me that, although he hasn't played in two years, Johnson will look good enough during offseason and training camp workouts to land a spot on the roster. Johnson always looks good in the perfect conditions of the practice field. He has superb mechanics and a great understanding of the technical aspects of playing quarterback. It is his inconsistent performance during games, where perfect conditions rarely exist, that has kept Johnson from making his mark as a top-flight starter...

Former NFL Player Heading Local Mortgage Firm - The Chattanoogan
A former pro football player living in Chattanooga has been tapped to head the local office of a major mortgage lending firm.

"I actually managed my own investments while I played football and worked in the financial industry during the off-season," said Bradford Banta, who heads the newly established local office of JP Morgan/Chase...

...Mr. Banta played with the Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets, Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills before suffering a broken shoulder in December, 2003...

...Although the former tight end and long snapper has a new job, he's not new to Chattanooga. He and his wife Amy and their two girls moved here from Detroit two years ago...

Let the Chips Fall Where they May - Edmonton Sun
..."That is how we pass time," said wide receiver Ed Hervey, one of the poker ringleaders.

''It is part of our bonding. Most people who see it would probably question it (because) of the gambling.

"But usually it is just a couple of dollars thrown in a pot. It is just a chance for all of us to get to know each other and talk."

The ante is actually $20 to get in the game - and Hervey is definitely one of the card sharks in the group...

Top 50 players: Fleeting moments of glory - CBS Sportsline
...5. Carson Palmer, QB, Bengals: He's coming off knee surgery, which is a concern, but he has made big strides in his recovery. He had an amazing season in 2005 and we can expect many more...

...23. Troy Polamalu, S, Steelers: He became a force for the Steelers defense in 2005. He seemed to be all over the field. He does need to improve in coverage before he moves higher up this list...

He gets a kick out of Europe - Inland Empire Press-Enterprise
An all-expense-paid, three-month trip to Europe: That would have been one way to look at it.

But that wasn't how Norco's Ryan Killeen looked at his first season in NFL Europe, a year removed from his record-breaking -- but somewhat under the radar -- three years as a USC kicker.

"It's 11 game films," said Killeen, now a free-agent signee with the Seattle Seahawks after first signing with and then being released by the Detroit Lions last spring...

New Bird content to wait in wings - Philly Inquirer
LaJuan Ramsey is used to being on a stage with stars...

...It wasn't until his senior season that he finally moved into the starting lineup for the Trojans.

"I was behind three first-rounders," Ramsey said.

Actually, it was two first-rounders (the Eagles' Mike Patterson and Minnesota's Kenechi Udeze) and an early second-rounder (Detroit's Shaun Cody), but you get his point...

NU is set to appoint USC dean as president - Boston Globe
Northeastern University's next president will be a dean from the University of Southern California who helped the school vault into top national rankings, a move Northeastern aspires to make, sources familiar with the university's decision said yesterday.

Later this week, Northeastern's board of trustees plans to announce the selection of Joseph Aoun , a linguist and dean of USC's College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, the sources said yesterday.

Professors and community leaders in the Los Angeles area describe the 53-year-old Aoun as a savvy and dynamic leader of the university's largest school...

White remains patient while rehabbing hamstring - Nashville City Paper
The Tennessee Titans might not see the real LenDale White until training camp begins in late July.

White, the team’s second-round pick out of Southern Cal, should be able to do some limited work in June, but chances are he won’t be fully ready. White is still recovering from the torn hamstring that cost him being able to run a 40 time at his pro day and ultimately contributed to his falling out of the first round of the NFL Draft.

“He’s going to be behind physically when he gets to camp, only because of the setbacks,” Titans coach Jeff Fisher said. “Hopefully, we can close the gap and get him going.”

While White is at a physical disadvantage for the time being, he does have an edge in that he should be up to speed on the Titans’ offense. With the exception of a few tweaks here and there, it is the same system he ran under Norm Chow at Southern California...

Another tight end signs contract with Rams - St Louis Post-Dispatch
The Rams have added to their growing stable of tight ends by signing free agent Alex Holmes, who played in eight games for the Miami Dolphins last year as an undrafted rookie. Holmes, who suffered a shoulder injury in the preseason, had one catch for 2 yards. The Dolphins released him earlier this month.

Holmes, 24, is a 6-foot-1, 265-pound native of Sherman Oaks, Calif. He was used mainly as a blocker at the University of Southern California, where another Rams tight end, third-round draft choice Dominique Byrd, played his college football...

Athlon's 2006 All-America Offense - Athlon Sports
...Wide Receiver
Dwayne Jarrett, USC
6'5", 210, Junior

The big, athletic Jarrett is a mismatch for any defensive back. His 61-yard catch and run on 4th-and-9 against Notre Dame last year, keeping the Trojans’ winning streak and Rose Bowl run alive, is an immortal moment. He set the Pac-10 on fire as a freshman in 2004, and last year he caught 91 passes for 1,274 yards and 16 touchdowns. In only two years at USC he has 146 catches for 2,123 yards and 29 TDs...

...Offensive Line
Sam Baker, USC
6'5", 305, Junior

After redshirting his first year at USC, Baker has been the Trojans’ starting left tackle ever since. He was a consensus first-team Freshman All-American and second-team All-Pac-10 in ’04; first-team all-conference and third-team AP All-America in 2005...

Ex-Wilson star Perez knows what is important - Cherry Hill Courier-Post
It's not the prom, really. It's not the graduation ceremonies.

Antwine Perez is home for a few days after beginning his college football career at USC...

...Here's what he describes as "important" during his homecoming: Perez took the time to speak on Wednesday at a local community center, talking to kids who've had scrapes with the law or seen trouble in their young lives. He used to do this sort of thing fairly regularly when he lived here, and he returned to it when he came home...

Pirates' Cousins tackles his hearing impairment - Port Huron Times-Herald
For John Cousins, bouncing around to different colleges before finding the right fit was a challenge.

Playing professional football, that's a challenge.

Overcoming severe hearing issues to be able to excel on the football field? No sweat.

"Until (I was) just reminded, I forgot that I'm hearing impaired," Cousins said. "I don't really think about that. ... I take all the challenges the same way, and overcome them."...

Representatives fail to serve best interests of Reggie Bush - San Diego Union-Tribune
For someone so proficient at running to daylight, Reggie Bush seems hopelessly trapped in the dark when it comes to the performance of his agent, Joel Segal, and his marketing rep, Mike Ornstein.

The last time a top-five draft choice received worse representation was 1999, when fellow San Diego County Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams signed with rapper Master P's fledgling sports company, then agreed to an eight-year contract with the Saints that was short on guaranteed money and long on incentives.

It's now starting to look as if Team Bush is equally negligent when it comes to protecting the client's best interests...

Prior a loser in rehab start - Chicago Sun-Times
Mark Prior said his strained right shoulder is starting to feel closer to normal after a rehab start Monday for the Class A Peoria Chiefs.

The 25-year-old right-hander threw 44 pitches, 28 for strikes, topping out at 90 mph in two innings against the Oakland Athletics' Midwest League affiliate, Kane County, on a 95-degree day at O'Brien Field.

Prior, who took the loss in the 8-2 decision, had three strikeouts and gave up three runs, two earned, and four hits.

"It got loose obviously pretty quick out there," Prior said of his throwing shoulder.

Rossier ends undergrad program - Daily Trojan
The USC Rossier School of Education has decided to phase out its undergraduate teaching program, instead encouraging students interested in becoming teachers to enroll in its recently implemented 13-month Master of Arts in Teaching program.

The decision was made in response to changing federal laws governing teacher training requirements, as well as the relatively late point in their academic careers at which many students decide to become teachers...