Friday, April 27, 2007

[Dienhart] Ranking the BCS coaches - Sporting News
You've checked out my conference-by-conference BCS coach rankings, now check out my overall ranking of the 66 BCS coaches.

1. Pete Carroll, Southern California
9. Dennis Erickson, Arizona State
17. Mike Bellotti, Oregon
22. Jeff Tedford, Cal
25. Mike Riley, Oregon State
42. Charlie Weis, Notre Dame
48. Karl Dorrell, UCLA
51. Mike Stoops, Arizona
53. Bill Doba, Washington State
54. Ty Willingham, Washington
61. Jim Harbaugh, Stanford
SEE HOW RYAN KALIL PREPARED FOR NFL DRAFT - Official USC Website
USC All-American center Ryan Kalil is projected as a possible first round draft pick in this weekend's NFL draft, thanks in large part to the recent off-season training workouts he conducted with legendary strength and conditioning coach "Chuck Barry."...
Also, Ryan Kalil at the 2007 combine - YouTube
USC Song Girls Boot Camp - YouTube
USC's Kalil is making his move - LA Times
Some people light up a room. Ryan Kalil rearranges one...

...Impossible-to-ignore performances at the Senior Bowl and NFL scouting combine have boosted him from a likely first-day pick — which encompasses the first three rounds — to a possible first-rounder. He is considered by many experts to be the most technically sound offensive lineman in the draft.

The last time NFL teams went the first two rounds without picking a center was 10 years ago...

Also, USC’s Kalil has strong bloodlines - KC Star
BUSH TO GIANTS: JARRETT'S A PLAYER - NY Post
...The Giants could use a big, strong target to complement the deep threat of Plaxico Burress. Amani Toomer...is coming off surgery for a partially torn ACL...and second-year receiver Sinorice Moss is still unproven...

...Wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett of USC has been mentioned as a candidate for the Giants' 20th overall pick. Reggie Bush, last year's No. 2 overall pick, played with Jarrett at USC and said he knows the receiver's strengths and weaknesses.

"The guy's a great player," Bush said of Jarrett yesterday at a press conference for Shutt Sports. "He's not necessarily the fastest guy, but he's definitely a guy who's going to go out and make plays for you...

Also, Here's the Key to ESPN's coverage - LA Daily News
Hard to separate Smith, Jarrett - OC Register
WR: Dwayne Jarrett, USC - Minneapolis Star-Tribune
[Prisco] From prolific Pats to lonely Leak, you'll view these 10 things - CBS Sportsline
IN A VALLEY, NOT FAR, FAR AWAY - SF Chron
After he left the University of Southern California's film school in 1968, George Lucas says, he would have been content to make a living pursuing documentaries, educational projects or industrial movies. He was even willing to work on films for the United States Information Agency while creating small avant-garde pictures on his own time.

But there was no way he was going to work in Los Angeles.

The Modesto native decided to succeed or fail as a filmmaker in the Bay Area, which at the time had no film studios, almost no support structure and few commercial moviemaking prospects. Lucas remembers he was working on Francis Ford Coppola's "The Rain People" when his colleague and friend came up with a possible solution...

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Spring look around the Pac-10 - ESPN
...USC Trojans
Here's poetic justice...: Mostly due to an outbreak of injuries -- none terribly worrisome -- the Trojans finished spring practices with a lack of depth at tailback...Come August, however, a 10-deep and ridiculously glittering array of stars will scrap and claw for playing time. That list, perhaps surprisingly, includes Hershel Dennis, the previously forgotten man...whose solid effort this spring raised at least a few eyebrows. Dennis earned a sixth year of eligibility after missing the previous two seasons due to injuries. Nonetheless, if a pecking order were to be established, Chauncey Washington and C.J. Gable likely would get the first nod, though more than a few USC fans are curious about what incoming freshman Joe McKnight -- aka, the next Bush -- can do. Patrick Turner and Vidal Hazelton finished spring as the top two receivers, with David Ausberry and Travon Patterson providing depth...

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

[Mandel] Rights of spring - CNNSI
...NCAA Football Power Rankings
Rank: 1...USC Trojans...

...Key returnees: QB John David Booty, T Sam Baker, DE Lawrence Jackson, LBs Brian Cushing and Keith Rivers

Spring star:
C Matt Spanos. Academically ineligible last season, Spanos emerged as the surprise replacement for departed All-America Ryan Kalil.

Spring recap: As expected, Patrick Turner and Vidal Hazelton established themselves as the new starting receivers. Former starting CB Josh Pinkard, injured all of last year, has moved back to safety and will rotate with returning starters Taylor Mays and Kevin Ellison...

Monday, April 23, 2007

Parry O’Brien, Pioneer in Shot-Putting Technique, Dies at 75 - NY Times
Parry O’Brien, who revolutionized shot-putting technique, won three Olympic medals (two gold) and became the first man to reach 59, 60, 61, 62 and 63 feet, died Saturday...

...When O’Brien’s shot-putting career began, athletes would stand at the rear inside the seven-foot-ring. Then they would hop, turn 90 degrees and propel the 16-pound iron ball.

At the University of Southern California, O’Brien could not surpass 55 feet. In 1951, after losing to Otis Chandler in the Fresno Relays, he returned home to Santa Monica, Calif.

At 3 the next morning, by street lights on a vacant lot next door, he experimented with a 180-degree turn...
Mustain's move is good for him - Arkansas News
...In Los Angeles, Mustain will not be part of the everyday Razorback picture and that's a good thing for all concerned. If he had gone to Tulsa, there would have been Mustain-this or Mustain-that regularly.

Looking ahead, Mustain will have a first-hand view of a Heisman Trophy candidate in action. More importantly, he will see a quarterback who was on the hurry-up-and-wait track...

...No wonder Booty and Darren McFadden are the first names mentioned in the 2007 Heisman speculation.

Even after Booty departs, there is nothing greased for Mustain...

Also, Mustain transfer official, joins Williams at USC - Arkansas Traveler
Mustain chooses Trojans - Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Jarrett, Smith out to downplay USC WR jinx - USA Today
During interviews with NFL personnel at February's Indianapolis combine, two prospects were asked the inevitable question: Why haven't celebrated Southern California wide receivers made more of an impact in the NFL in the last few years?

Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith had the same answer: We're not Mike Williams."...Williams sat out 2004 and has struggled in his first two seasons in the NFL.

"I told them the only thing we have in common is we went to the same school," says Jarrett, who left USC after his junior season...

Also, USC WR Jarrett traveled the long road to reach NFL - Asbury Park Press
USC wideouts: We're not like Mike - Detroit Free Press
FORTUNATE SON - New Brunswick Home News Tribune
Jarrett plans on having last word - Newark Star-Ledger
Jarrett tries to distance self from Mike Williams - St Louis Post-Dispatch
Wide receivers on teams' lists - Biloxi Sun-Herald