Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Comparisons to Leinart don't faze Mater Dei QB Barkley - OC Register
If Matt Barkley's been asked it once, he's been asked it a thousand times: “What's it like to be compared to Matt Leinart?”...

...The question comes as no surprise to Barkley or anyone else. The similarities between the two go far beyond the obvious shared first name, becoming somewhat eerie when laid out in order.

Both have played starting quarterback for Mater Dei, with Leinart leading his team to a CIF Division I co-Championship in 1999 and Barkley guiding the Monarchs to a No. 1 state ranking during the 2007 season.

Both will be Trojans, as long as Barkley...keeps his commitment to USC. Leinart helped lead the cardinal and gold to back-to-back national championships and captured a Heisman Trophy in the process...

Also, Barkley wins national award - OC Register
USC foes will be 'Maualugaed' - ESPN
...Maualuga is a uniter, not a divider. If a person appreciates football distilled to its most basic essence -- knocking the pooh out of another guy -- then it's simply impossible to not like Maualuga...

...That's why a Maualuga neologism found its way into the online Urban Dictionary: Maualugaed. Defined as: "In football, it is used to describe when a player is absolutely destroyed by a hit. A reference to USC linebacker Rey Maualuga. Pronounced: mao-uh-loo-guhd."

And as used in a sentence: "Dude, did you just see the Michigan QB get completely maualugaed? I'm surprised he can still walk!"...
[Burlison] USC won't play for title, Sporting News says - Long Beach Press-Telegram
...How dominant will Coach Pete Carroll's USC defense be this season?

Five members of the magazine's 11-player first-team All-Pac-10 defense are Trojans, the most notable of those, of course, being the conference's best player, linebacker Ray Maualuga.

How uncertain is the status of the USC offense?

Just one of the 11 players tabbed as first-team all-conference offense selections, sophomore Joe McKnight, is a Trojan...