[Maisel] Opening up the mailbag - ESPN
...From Jon in Westport, Conn.: Ivan, with so many high school All-America running backs on the roster at USC, do you you expect an exodus to other schools by some of these kids or will Pete Carroll find a way to spread the ball around enough to satisfy everybody?

Maisel: We had a guy in California write about the ACC and a guy in Connecticut write about USC. Weird. Anyway, part of what Carroll does best is treat people well. His players love to play for him. If there are any disgruntled players in the USC backfield, they have kept that unhappiness in-house...

[Gimino] Chasing the Trojans - Arizona Daily Star
...Parts of the Pac-10 are easy to pick. USC is first (brilliant!). Stanford is last.

Cal, on the basis of a great offense and great coaching, is second. UCLA, with 10 starters returning from a defense that smothered USC last season, is third...

...Now, if you could combine Cal's offense with UCLA's defense, you might really have something. Actually, you'd have USC...

Assistant coach hurt in scooter accident - LA Daily News
USC assistant coach Dave Watson was hospitalized twice last week following a motor scooter accident in Mexico.

Watson said he crashed the scooter while trying to steer through some circular speed bumps during a coaches' retreat in Cabo San Lucas. He estimated his foot dragged under the scooter for about 30 feet, and he checked into a hospital for treatment.

"My foot looked like it got bitten by a great white shark," Watson said. "The front tire got twisted, and I hit my head, but luckily I had my helmet on. My foot was pretty mashed though...

IT'S NOT TOO EARLY TO PREDICT - New Orleans Times-Picayune
...No. 1 Southern California...

...Spring storylines: Who will be the next great wide receiver coming out of the Trojans' pipeline?...The interior of the line had to be addressed with the loss of Kalil.

Star of the spring: Herschel Dennis...showed himself capable of challenging Chauncey Washington and C.J. Gable for playing time.

Keep an eye on: Center Matt Spanos...

...The skinny: As usual, USC is loaded -- ridiculously loaded...

BC, USC close to renewing football ties - Boston Globe
...According to sources at USC and BC, the Eagles are close to signing on for a two-year series with the Trojans beginning in 2011...

...For BC...playing USC would represent another step by athletic director Gene DeFilippo in upgrading the Eagles' schedule and a chance to enhance their national reputation.

The Eagles...will pick up with what has been an almost nonexistent rivalry. The schools have played only twice -- in 1987 and 1988 -- both USC victories.

Adding USC, which again has become a national championship-caliber program under former Patriots coach Pete Carroll, would enhance a nonconference schedule that has been criticized by some...

Time for a bit of grooming - Washington Times
Dallas Sartz and H.B. Blades both are rookie linebackers, but they don't have much else in common when it comes to the basics.

Strong-side hopeful Sartz is a lanky former safety from Granite Bay, Calif. Middle man candidate Blades is a squatty son of a safety from Plantation, Fla. Sartz already has gone further in football than anyone in his family. Blades' father, Bennie, and uncles Brian and Al all played in the NFL.

Sartz and Blades now seem destined to be linked, however. They roomed together at the scouting combine in Indianapolis in February and were picked in consecutive rounds -- Sartz in the fifth and Blades in the sixth -- by the Washington Redskins in last month's draft...

Also, Redskins rookies to start schooling - Washington Times
For Sartz, NFL's Sunday call better than no call at all - Granite Bay Press-Tribune

Panthers get a kick out of Kalil - Charlotte Observer
Thanks to the influence of his Grandpa Rocco, Carolina Panthers rookie center Ryan Kalil has a soothing outlet when football or life gets too hectic: He reaches for his iPod and listens to Frank Sinatra songs.

"When everything is getting clustered or my mind is going 100 mph, pop on an old tune and everything is at ease again," Kalil said during a break this weekend from the first minicamp practices of his NFL career.

The Panthers hope Kalil, widely regarded as the top center in the draft, will be a stabilizing presence on their offensive line for years to come. They were surprised he was available in the draft nine days ago...

Trojans tap two Vanderbilt faculty for Law dean and scholar - Nashville Post
On Aug. 1, Vanderbilt University Law Professor Robert Rasmussen will become dean of the Gould School of Law at the University of Southern California.

Rasmussen told NashvillePost.com this morning that, despite invitations from other law schools over the years, the USC opportunity is the only one he has pursued during nearly two decades in Nashville.

Vanderbilt made no announcement of Rasmussen's departure. USC Provost C. L. Max Nikias said in a statement earlier this week that Rasmussen "is one of the most celebrated teachers in the 125-year history of the Vanderbilt Law School, having received its outstanding teaching award six times."...

Pac-10 football looking as competitive as ever - Seattle Times
...USC

Refresher: Trojans (11-2) won their fifth straight Pac-10 title and dominated Michigan in the Rose Bowl to finish fourth in national rankings.

Spring things: In a year when they were considered vulnerable, Trojans still led the league in total defense...and could be one of the all-time dominating units in '07, a prospect coach Pete Carroll isn't minimizing....USC has a ridiculously loaded backfield...QB John David Booty...will get early mention as a Heisman candidate...

On tap: Season-ticket holders are no doubt lukewarm about a home schedule of Idaho, WSU, Stanford, Arizona, OSU and UCLA...

Also, Favored Trojans will face multiple Pac-10 challenges - ESPN