Carroll works room as two Trojans win Morris Trophies - Seattle P-I
USC football coach Pete Carroll knows how to work a room, even when that room is deep within Husky Nation.

With former Huskies greats such as Marques Tuiasosopo, Rick Redman and Chuck Nelson in attendance, Carroll spoke to a crowd of about 150 at the Washington Athletic Club on Thursday as the Morris Trophies were awarded to two of his Trojans.

Center Ryan Khalil and nose tackle Sedrick Ellis won the awards, granted annually for the past 27 years to the Pac-10's best offensive and defensive linemen.

Defensive linemen vote for the best offensive lineman and vice versa...

Also, Ellis and Kalil Named 27th Morris Trophy Winners - Official Pac-10 Website

[Waldner] Carroll's Miami odyssey just part of coaches' crazy world - Daily Breeze
...at USC they do love and support him without conditions.

But he's a coach. So he has to wonder. How long will it last?...

...History tells us USC athletic director Mike Garrett does not have a lot of patience with coaches who are not living up to his expectations. How high they rank on the respect meter does not matter. His firing of Chris Gobrecht in women's basketball and Jim Milinder in women's soccer are two such examples, as was his easing Mike Gillespie out as baseball coach.

This has to leave other USC coaches with a lack of trust and perhaps a touch of paranoia...

[Ratto] As usual with Davis, we'll know when we know - SF Chron
...Sarkisian is so much the conventional wisdom now that his fellow USC offensive assistant, Lane Kiffin, was in Oakland on Thursday to talk a little business with His Al-hood. Kiffin calls the plays for Pete Carroll at USC, but Sarkisian is Carroll's assistant head coach and a former Raiders assistant, so the logic du jour is that Sarkisian has or is about to have the job and Kiffin will be his offensive go-to guy, either as coordinator or with some other title.

Except that this isn't the way it's playing out, either. Yes, Kiffin spoke with the Raiders. Yes, Sarkisian has interviewed twice and is on the record saying that he would love the job. And yes, the interest from the Raiders is mutual.

But it isn't exclusive. At least not yet...

Also, Another USC coach visits Davis - SF Chron
Al's sights on Sarkisian? - Oakland Tribune
Raiders, Sarkisian chat again - Oakland Tribune
Sarkisian could be headed to the Raiders - LA Times
Raiders closing in? - SJ Merc

Art Buchwald, 81, Columnist and Humorist Who Delighted in the Absurd - NY Times
Art Buchwald, who satirized the follies of the rich, the famous and the powerful for half a century as the most widely read newspaper humorist of his time, died Wednesday night in Washington. He was 81...

...Mr. Buchwald’s syndicated column was a staple for a generation or more of newspaper readers, not least the politicians and government grandees he lampooned so regularly. His life was a rich tale of gumption, heartbreak and humor, with chapters in Paris, Washington and points around the globe.

But perhaps no year of his life was as remarkable as the last. It became something of an extended curtain call. Last February doctors told him he had only a few weeks to live. “I decided to move into a hospice and go quietly into the night,” he wrote three months later. “For reasons that even the doctors can’t explain, my kidneys kept working.”...

Also, Video Obituary - NY Times
[Henican] Art Buchwald left all of us laughing - NY Newsday
Buchwald v. Breslin: The Telegrams - NY Sun
The Vineyard weeps: Buchwald, beloved islander, dies at 81 - Boston Herald
Art Buchwald ends final chapter - Cape Cod Times
A question for Alfie as humorist's sun sets - Cape Cod Times
A Modern Mark Twain - Hartford Courant
Art Buchwald - Washington Post
[Cohen] The Living Legacy of Art Buchwald - Washington Post
Buchwald hit mark with smarts, humor - Fredericksburg Freelance-Star
Pulitzer columnist laughed at life, death - Baltimore Sun
Humor was just Buchwald's introduction - Daily Trojan
Art of the Column - Inland Empire Press-Enterprise
Buchwald was legend - Contra Costa Times
To Buchwald, D.C. was funny - Portland Oregonian
Art Buchwald - The [London] Times
Satirist Art Buchwald dies at 81 after 'lap of honour' - The Independent
Art Buchwald, R.I.P. - International Herald-Tribune
Art Buchwald: His life and legacy - International Herald-Tribune
Dave Barry: I'll Miss Art Buchwald's Calls and Friendship - Editor & Publisher
Remembering Art Buchwald - Time Magazine

Two Backs, One Ball, No Problem for Saints - NY Times
...Payton was busy studying the 2005 U.S.C. Trojans, who managed to split one football among Bush, tailback LenDale White and quarterback Matt Leinart. At the end of the season, the players were all still friends, and they all became high draft picks...

...N.F.L. coaches do not generally copy college teams, but the 2005 Trojans were no ordinary college team...

Also, Backs share best of times - Denver Post

[Hansen] In City of Angels, USC's Floyd working miracles - Arizona Daily Star
...On Floyd's first day as USC's basketball coach, he said he was going to build a program based on Lute Olson's model at Arizona.

"I am going to use Arizona as the measuring stick," Floyd said on that April 2005 day. "I think you look at what's going on right now, and the team to beat is Arizona. In my opinion, that is the team that everyone should be concerned with...

..."They have been doing a lot of their work here in Southern California. It makes a lot of sense for a young man who is thinking about the next four years of his life" to go to Arizona.

"We are now going to sell that young man on a relationship with the Trojan family."...

Also, TROJAN HOUSE - Arizona Daily Star
New arena part of Trojan success - Daily Wildcat

Raiders may be on fast track - Contra Costa Times
Southern Cal assistant coach/quarterbacks coach Steve Sarkisian returned Wednesday for a second interview for the Raiders coaching vacancy, a person familiar with the search process confirmed.

There are strong indications that Sarkisian won't be leaving town without an offer to be the Raiders' next coach.

Sarkisian, 32, met with Raiders managing general partner Al Davis and other team officials throughout the day Wednesday and into the night. The parties are scheduled to pick up today where they left off Wednesday night, with the potential of the interview lasting until Friday some time...

Also, Raiders, Sarkisian chat again - Oakland Tribune
Is USC's Sarkisian the Raiders' man - SF Chron
Raiders interview USC aide again - Sac Bee

[Mandel] Early look at '07 - CNNSI
...1. USC Trojans (11-2 in 2006)

Who's back: QB John David Booty, T Sam Baker, DE Lawrence Jackson, LBs Keith Rivers and Brian Cushing.

Who's not: WRs Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith, C Ryan Kalil.

Skinny: All but one starter return from an already dominant defense, and Booty will have a new set of stud receivers, Patrick Turner and Vidal Hazelton, at his disposal.

...22. California Golden Bears...

...24. UC, Los Angeles Bruins...

Also, [Dodd] Preseason Top 25 - CBS Sportsline

[Waldner] Sarkisian could be Davis' next coaching find - Daily Breeze
...enter Raiders owner Al Davis, he who treads where others dare not go.

Clearly, Davis was listening when Carroll was singing praise of Sarkisian.

Davis is the NFL's all-time go-it-my-own-way owner. Experience? In a head coach? No problem. Davis, 79, the extremely rare owner who was a coach himself, will supply the experience.

So it was that Sarkisian became a genuine candidate to become a head coach. In the NFL, of all places.

Underline genuine...

Also, [Kawakami] Playing a guessing game with Al Davis - SJ Merc

Wedding ring-and maybe Bowl ring in Cassel’s future - Boston Herald
It’s shaping up to be a rather busy February for No. 2 QB/QT Matt Cassel. In addition to backing up Tom Brady [stats] at Super Bowl XLI (it’s destiny . . . .) Matt will tie the knot with his longtime galpal Lauren Killian in La-La.

Sorry ladies . . . .

Anyway, word from our pigskin snitches is that Stephen Gostkowski’s ever-reliable holder and his fiancee will do the “I Dos” after the football season is over.

Cassel and Lauren have been dating since college...

...File Under: Trojan Love...

Cubs notes - MLB.com
...Jacque Jones will miss the Cubs Convention this weekend because he is being honored by San Diego High School during their "Athletes of the Century" banquet on Friday.

Jones, 31, played baseball, basketball and football at the school. He graduated in 1993, and then attended the University of Southern California.

The Cubs outfielder has had a busy offseason, beginning with a trip to Japan as part of the MLB tour. He also took part in January in the two-day Players Trust Golf Tournament, held at Torrey Pines in San Diego. The Players Trust is a charitable foundation, and the first in professional sports to be established and administered by the players themselves...

[Dienhart] Assistant coaches who are on the fast track - Sporting News
...Here's a look at assistant college coaches who I think will be head coaches sooner rather than later...

...Lane Kiffin, USC co-offensive coordinator. He came close to landing the Minnesota job. The wunderkind already ranks as one of the nation's top recruiters...

...Steve Sarkisian, USC co-offensive coordinator. The former BYU quarterback is a young buck who has been given a lot of responsibility by Pete Carroll...

[Walters] Counting down to 2007 - MSNBC
...Top 10 [2007] Games...

...1. USC (11-2) at Nebraska (9-5), Sept. 15

Carroll's Conundrum: The Trojans return ten starters on defense, and that's before Pete figures out how to get super stud freshmen Chris Galippo (LB) and Everson Griffin (DE) into the rotation. Nice problem to have. The Maze Unsheathers will likely toss Pac-10 party boy transplant Sam Keller behind center. It's like "Tommy Lee Goes To College" without the horticulture tutoring sessions. In 2005, while the QB at Arizona State, Keller led the Sun Devils to a 21-3 halftime lead versus the Trojans before imploding in the second half...

Muñoz sets conduct standard for former NFL players - Hamilton [Ohio] Journal-News
We already knew Anthony Muñoz, the football player.

Muñoz, the No. 1 draft pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in 1980, played 13 seasons in the NFL, was named to 11 consecutive Pro Bowls, played in two Super Bowls and five seasons after retiring, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

He is the greatest Bengal, without question.

On Friday night, before a standing-room-only crowd of more than 400 at SouthBrook Christian Church in Centerville, Muñoz switched from player to preacher. From football to faith.

And he's equally as effective off the field...

Robo-builder threatens the brickie - The [London] Times
...Engineers are racing to unveil the world’s first robot capable of building a house at the touch of a button...

...robots will not only cut costs and avoid human delays but liberate the normal family homes from the conventional designs of pitched roofs, right-angled walls and rectangular windows.

“The architectural options will explode,” predicted Dr Behrokh Khoshnevis at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, who will soon unleash his $1.5m (£940,000) robot. “We will be able to build curves and domes as easily as straight walls...