NFL Draft Diaries with Darnell Bing - Foxsports
...more NFL team feedback has come in from the Combine. It seems like several teams really like me, including the Falcons and the Steelers. Of course, I would love to play for either of these two teams. I would love to play for any NFL team!

However, it is early and all I can control is how hard I work, so I continue to train non-stop...

Another Pyramid Scheme Derailed - LA Times
...Reggie Bush told NFL Network's Rich Eisen that he is a trash talker. "Do you talk to linebackers and everybody?" Eisen asked.

"Cornerbacks, defensive linemen, everybody," Bush said.

"As you pass them by, or after the game?" Eisen asked.

Bush: "A little bit of both."...

USC Students Spend Spring Break 'Giving Back' - KCAL-TV
...about 250 students will travel within the United States and abroad on special trips designed for students to lend a helping hand and learn about social issues.

This year’s contingent will be its largest since the program began in 1991. Trips are planned to about 10 different places such as Guatemala, Mexico, Death Valley National Park and the Gulf Coast region, where students will assist on post-Katrina recovery efforts.

"USC students have always shown a strong commitment to social causes but we are seeing more and more students who want to volunteer during Spring break," said Melissa Gaeke, director of the USC Volunteer Center...

[Glauber ] Fourth pick isn't high enough - NY Newsday
...Follow Ken Berger's plan, and it'll be Same Old Jets for years to come.

1. Trade up for Matt Leinart

The Jets have the fourth overall pick in next month's draft, and there are three franchise-caliber quarterbacks for the taking. But if you want to get the right one, it's going to take some doing. For our money, Leinart is the class of this year's quarterback group. He did himself a world of good by returning to USC for his senior season, and any concerns about his arm strength shouldn't be a factor. He's good enough to throw the deep out, and that's all any scout cares about...

SaberCats sign OL/DL Van Brown - OurSports.com
...The former junior college All-American began his collegiate career at Pasadena City College in 2000 prior transferring to USC. He played two seasons with the Trojans recording 11 tackles in 17 games before playing his final collegiate season at NAIA Northwestern Oklahoma State...

Getting to know Matt Leinart - NFL News
...If you had to change positions tomorrow, what position would you like to play and why? Wide receiver. I have great hands.

If your team made the Super Bowl, and after taking care of all your family and friends you had one extra ticket, who would you invite? My grandfather who died while I was in high school and never got to see me play in college...

Late debut no problem for Roberts - Salem News
...Peabody's Frank Candela said he was "disappointed, but had no complaints" after Italy's 34-man final World Baseball Classic roster excluded the 27-year-old outfielder...

..."It was a life experience. I had 10 great days in the camp and I'll always look back on it," Candela said. "Football (at USC) didn't work out, but this door (for baseball) opened. I know I can't play sports all my life, but I'm not ready to go out in the real world."...

2006 Preliminary Lombardi Watch List - Official Rotary Lombardi Award Site
[A player should be a down lineman on either side of the ball or a linebacker who lines up no further than five yards deep from the ball. - Æ]
...Sam Baker, OT, USC...Lawrence Jackson, DE, USC...Ryan Kalil, C, USC...

Generous boost for USC's art school - LA Times
USC will announce today that it has received a $23-million gift for its fine arts school from trustee Ed Roski and his wife, artist Gayle Garner Roski. In honor of the donation, which will increase the art school's $5-million endowment more than fivefold, the school will be named the Gayle Garner Roski School of Fine Arts...

..."We were looking to see what we could do to make a difference," said Ed Roski, a 1962 USC graduate who made a fortune in real estate development and is part-owner of the Lakers basketball team, the Kings hockey team and Staples Center...

Clinton House gets big name to kick off speaker series - Northwest Arkansas Times
...The Clinton House seemed enough of an attraction to book nearly 200 boosters and alumni from the University of Southern California.

The Trojans’ game in August against the Razorbacks provided the primary reason for the group to come to Northwest Arkansas, but they plan to maximize their trip by visiting the Clinton House...

The 75 biggest games of 2006 - College Football News
...71. USC at Washington State, Sept. 30
USC has to be very, very careful. The Cougars won this game 30-27 in Pullman in 2002 and have just as much firepower this year...

...56. USC at Arkansas, Sept. 2
USC will be favored, but this is a dangerous road trip for the season opener. The Hogs will look to avenge last year’s 70-17 pasting...

...46. USC at UCLA, Dec. 2
UCLA is still in therapy over what Reggie Bush and the boys did last year...

...39. Oregon at USC, Nov. 11
The Trojans tagged the Ducks with a 45-13 loss for the only blemish up until the Holiday Bowl defeat to Oklahoma...

...18. California at USC, Nov. 18
Cal has usually been a thorn in USC’s side. It’s possible this could determine the Pac 10 title, and even more if Cal starts the season hot...

...15. Arizona State at USC, Oct. 14
Shootout, shootout, shootout. Expect lots of fireworks as the Sun Devils try to take the next step up in the Pac 10...

...6. Nebraska at USC, Sept. 16
It’s the first time these two have played since a 21-21 tie in 1970. A win for the Huskers would be a jump-start to national title hopes, while a USC win would show that it hasn’t slipped...

...2. Notre Dame at USC, Nov. 25
Notre Dame has lost its last two games at USC by a combined score of 85-23. Just imagine the hype if both teams are unbeaten. It might be better than the national championship...

Leinart reunion with Titans' Chow unlikely - USA Today
...The Titans probably stand at least one pick too late to land Leinart, who isn't likely to slide past the Saints with the second overall pick.

"I'd absolutely love it," Chow says of a Leinart reunion. "I told Matt to pretend he didn't know what he was talking about in his interviews with teams so they'd wonder about him. Then, we'll be able to draft him."

Chow laughs. Anything is possible...

Bush to Houston should be a no-brainer - RealFootball365
...Not only is Bush an incredible running back, but he also ranked among the best receivers and return men in college football. He led the nation in '05 with 222.5 all-purpose yards per game. In the Trojans' national title game loss to the Texas Longhorns, Bush was pulled from the game for reasons unbeknownst to everyone who watched the game live or on television. Despite that, Bush still amassed 175 total yards...

Patriots cut ties with McGinest - Boston Globe
Only minutes after the NFL's owners voted 30-2 to extend the collective bargaining agreement six years, the Patriots ended their 12-year agreement with all-time postseason sack leader Willie McGinest...

...McGinest carried a prohibitive salary cap figure of more than $7 million for next season, a number he told the Globe a week ago he felt would surely result in him becoming a free agent unless the team chose to rework his deal...

Colbert has surgery on right ankle - Rock Hill Herald
No one's offering it up as an excuse, but news that Keary Colbert played much of last year on a bad ankle may help explain some things...

...the doctor who performed the surgery said he was surprised the second-year wideout was able to perform as well as he did, considering the pain the injury must have caused. There was no ligament damage, as originally thought...

2006 Pac 10 Team Schedules - College Football News
...USC...
Realistic best case record with this schedule: 12-0
Barring total disaster worst case record: 8-4
Realistic record: 11-1
The September schedule would be a major problem for just about anyone other than USC playing an improved Arkansas on the road before facing Nebraska and road games to Arizona and Washington State...

Pruitt seeks revenge on Cal pranksters - Daily Breeze
...In the frank vernacular of our times, Pruitt got "punked" in the week leading up to the Trojans' final regular-season game Saturday at California.

"Yeah, it was a little bit embarrassing, but I kind of got a laugh about it," Pruitt said. "It just seemed so real."

During the week leading up to the game, an enterprising member of the Cal student rally leaders picked up Pruitt's screen name from Facebook and started up an instant message conversation posing as "Victoria." The chat got as far as exchanging phone numbers. Then the Trojans got to Berkeley...

Here are a couple of Spring Training articles on MLB Trojans.

Brian Bannister remains in the picture [Westchester Journal-News] and Jason Lane adapts to meet his challanges at the plate [Houston Chronicle].
Also, one on Jeff Clement [Official Mariners Website].

Future rookies eagerly await NFL decision - LA Daily News
...The implications of a labor impasse were hardly a consideration for Bing when he was among 47 underclassmen who applied for the draft. But for those at the top - such as USC tailback Reggie Bush, one of five Trojans to leave early, or Texas quarterback Vince Young - they could be costly...

...USC tackle Winston Justice, projected as a mid-first round pick, said he carefully weighed all the pros and cons of leaving school. But he never knew about collective bargaining.

"Before I made the decision to leave or pick an agent, it never came up," Justice said. "I didn't even think about it...

[Lawrence] AD's big return - CNNSI
Thirty years ago, Anthony Davis was quite the specimen: 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds, a two-time All-America tailback, a standout centerfielder and four-time national champion at USC. Today, in his early 50s, he is "Bobo the Butt": nearly 300 pounds, racked with pain and afflicted with sleep apnea, a condition that may have played a part in NFL great Reggie White's death...