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November 2007 Archives* Darren Collison's sprained left knee felt fine after Wednesday's game. The junior point guard will start on Sunday against Texas "provided there are no issues in the next couple days," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. USC's Sunday game against No. 3 Kansas is sold-out despite the 11 a.m. start. But that's apparently a really good time for the 27 NBA scouts who have requested credentials to cover the game. With No. 1 UCLA hosting No. 8 Texas across town in the evening, the timing is plenty good for the pro guys. As is the talent. It looked at times like a football game. USC won the basketball contest Thursday but the hard-hitting Sooners extracted a bit of revenge otherwise. Three Trojans came out of the Oklahoma game a bit under the weather. Daniel Hackett, who lost 22 pounds with a wired jaw after he broke it in preseason, got kicked in the calf but said he was mostly in need "of more weight. It was me,'' he said after hitting the deck a half-dozen times. "I've got to get the weight back.'' Angelo Johnson was limping after knee-to-knee contact and Kacey Cunningham draped a towel over his head and face to protect his teammates from his flu-like symptoms that had him feeling ill. Asked by a Kansas reporter if the Galen crowd will help Sunday against Kansas as much as it did Thurssday, O.J. Mayo said "I hope so.'' But then the freshman skillfully turned the focus elsewhere. "It's a tremendous week for our school, playing UCLA in football here Saturday and then bringing in the No.3 team in the nation Sunday.'' The loud, late-arriving crowd of 9,288 at Galen Center Thursday got more praise than any Trojan for USC's 66-55 win over Oklahoma. From Tim Floyd to O.J. Mayo to Davon Jefferson, the constant was how big a factor the USC crowd was in the win for the 6-1 Trojans. "The fans gave us great support,'' the 6-foot-8 Jefferson said, after 23-point, nine-rebound effort. "We appreciate it.'' Can't say USC will be surprised with UCLA naming Patrick Cowan as the starting Bruin quarterback Saturday. That's who the Trojans expected to see. Cowan's mobility, cited by UCLA Coach Karl Dorrell, as the reason for picking him, is much appreciated by the Trojans who were beaten basically by Cowan's 60-yard scramble on a broken play leading to UCLA's lone touchdown last year. Here are the exact numbers. USC has held Oklahoma to 25 percent from the field the first half on seven-for-28 shooting. Godd thing the Trojans have. They're knocking down just one of three shots -- 10 of 30. But that's how it's going to go when O.J. Mayo opens with a one-for-eight first half from the field. Hard to imagine this USC team that's holdng Oklahoma to 18 points at the half is the same team that gave up 96 to Mercer here 2 1/2 weeks ago. Only it's not really. No Daniel hackett that game. And no Davon Jefferson. And no defense, either. But they're playing it now. Interesting to see if they can keep it up with Taj Gibson picking up three fouls in five minutes. *Senior wide receiver Marcus Everett, who will redshirt this season, will have ankle surgery on Dec. 14. *Running back Craig Sheppard will be a game-time decision based on how his groin injury feels. UCLA senior center Chris Joseph was selected a first-team Academic All-American for the second consecutive season. He is the first Bruin to be a two-time selection since Cormac Carney in 1981-82. Joseph has a 3.95 GPA and is a geography major. Always a comical moment to watch, UCLA's seniors were carried off the practice field in their final regular-season practice by the underclassmen. Most of the seniors had two or three youngsters carry them. The most entertaining, however -- and maybe most interesting in the four years I've been on this beat -- was safety Dennis Keyes. Instead of the others doing a fireman carry or holding him piggyback, Keyes was standing up on two players' shoulders as he was carted off. Karl Dorrell yelled at him to get down and not hurt himself, but Keyes yelled back "I can't think of a better way after five years." Another great moment was when Chris Markey was carried off piggy back by trainer Debbie Iwasaki, as the two have grown close over the years, given all of Markey's nicks and bruises. UCLA coach Karl Dorrell said that quarterback Pat Cowan will start on Saturday against USC. It will be Cowan's first game back since sustaining a partially collapsed right lung against Arizona on November 3. Dorrell said that the decision was based largely on Cowan's mobility, as opposed to Olson's, but that both quarterbacks would likely see playing time in the game. USC defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis from Chino and Boise State offensive tackle Ryan Clady from Rialto were named to the American Football Coaches All-America first team Thursday. Here's the full team. 2007 AFCA Coaches’ All-America Team UCLA 83, George Washington 60 This one is hard to gauge because the Highlanders look good - sharing the ball, everyone getting involved, good balance, ect. - but they're playing against a not-very-good NAIA Hope International team. UCR up 35-29 at the half. Best sight so far: Forward Benoit Bekono, who hasn't played since suffering a severe knee injury a year ago, is back and has four rebounds in just three minutes. The worst sight so far: Severin Gates stole a ball near midcourt and cruised in for what looked like an uncontested dunk. He decided however to lay the ball in and it rolled out for an embarrassing moment that had coach Jim Wooldridge off the bench. * Darren Collison is in uniform and participating in pre-game shootaround, albeit wearing a bulky brace that stretches all the way down to his ankle. This is from the Rose Bowl, regarding its agreement with UCLA and the potential of USC playing its home games at the Rose Bowl. It is from Darryl Dunn, General Manager of the Rose Bowl: We have been approached by the University of Southern California related to playing its home games at the Rose Bowl on a short-term basis but we have made no commitments in any fashion. Our primary tenant at the Rose Bowl is UCLA and we have an excellent relationship and working agreement with the university. UCLA has exclusive college football rights as part of its long-term agreement with the Rose Bowl and would have to approve USC playing its home games in the Rose Bowl. The governing body of the Rose Bowl is the Rose Bowl Operating Company and our board of directors will be meeting next Thursday evening. We plan to hold a limited discussion of any potential lease negotiation in closed, executive session at the meeting. In accord with California’s open meeting laws, there would be an announcement in open session of any reportable action taken. However, at this time it is highly unlikely that any final action will be taken or reported. We have kept UCLA informed of any and all discussions we have had with USC related to its plans for home games in the near future. Our discussions with USC have been at a preliminary stage of negotiation. We are open to assisting USC on a short-term basis if this meets with the desires of UCLA and our board of directors of the Rose Bowl Operating Company. UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero just released this statement regarding the Rose Bowl and USC having early discussions about the Trojans potentially using the facility as its home venue: "First, there is no agreement in place. At the request of USC, UCLA permitted USC to have preliminary discussions with the Rose Bowl regarding the possibility of temporary usage while it continues to negotiate with the Coliseum Commission. This is where the matter presently stands. "Any possible agreement would be for one year and subject to approval by UCLA. No long-term arrangement between USC and the Rose Bowl would even be considered by UCLA. Our position as the primary tenant is protected by our long-term lease, which runs through 2023. "Any temporary usage by USC at the Rose Bowl would have to be non-impactful on UCLA, our football program and our fans. Any such arrangement would have to ensure that the integrity of the UCLA football experience for our team and fans would not be compromised in any way. The Rose Bowl is UCLA’s home venue and the occupancy of any additional tenant on a temporary basis, if approved by UCLA, must be clearly secondary to that concept. "I feel that it is in the best interest of college football in Southern California for each institution to have its own home stadium and I remain hopeful that USC and the Coliseum Commission can reach a satisfactory accord." UCLA defensive tackle Brian Price was selected a second-team freshman All-American by scout.com and rivals.com on Wednesday. Price was also selected to the All-Pac-10 freshman team by The Sporting News. For every part of USC's position in the pursuit of a long-term lease with the Coliseum, here's the link to all the documents, letters, proposals, evaluations and the history of the 84-year relationship that has, according to USC, come to a dangerous impasse that forces the school to approach the Rose Bowl for a two-year deal to play football games in Pasadena. Here is is: http://www.usc.edu/about/coliseum/ USC led The Sporting News Pac-10 All-Freshman football team five selections Wednesday. End Everson Griffen was named the outstanding defensive player while tailback Joe McKnight, center Kris O'Dowd, guard Zack Heberer and tackle Butch Lewis were named to the offensive team. UCLA defensive tackle Brian Price was the lone Bruin named to the team. 2007 SPORTING NEWS PAC-10 ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM * denotes redshirt > WR Delashaun Dean, Arizona*
L (E) Everson Griffen, USC
K Thomas Weber, Arizona State*
>DEFENSIVE FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Everson Griffen, E, USC Here are a few more UCLA tidbits that didn't make it into my story in today's print edition: STATEMENT FROM UCLA REGARDING USC DISCUSSIONS WITH ROSE BOWL
Kendall Williams, a 6-foot-3 sophomore guard from Rancho Cucamonga Los Osos High, announced Tuesday he'll attend UCLA. Here's the transcript from a brief interview I conducted with Williams this afternoon: On why UCLA was a good fit for him: On how he got on UCLA's radar: On the excitement of the scholarship offer: On the pressure to snap up the UCLA offer quickly before someone else took it. On taking visits to other schools in the future: On the other schools he considered. On what UCLA fans can expect from him: On whether he's worried about playing time at all given the guards UCLA has signed in the class of 2008 (Jrue Holiday, Malcolm Lee and Jerime Anderson): Running back Craig Sheppard did not practice because of a groin injury but should be ready by the weekend, coach Karl Dorrell said. Quarterback Pat Cowan practiced for the first time on Tuesday since sustaining a partially collapsed lung in the Arizona game and said that despite being winded, he felt good. Cowan worked mainly with the first-team offense and said that he should be ready by the weekend. UCLA quarterback Ben Olson missed most of Tuesday's practice after tweaking his previously injured right knee and complaining of soreness, but is expected to be back at practice on Wednesday. Olson and coach Karl Dorrell said the injury was not too serious, but it was enough to keep him from getting team reps, something he desperately needed after missing most of the past 2 months due to injury. In an amazing development Tuesday, USC announced that the school is beginning negotiations with the Rose Bowl for a two-year lease agreement to play home games in Pasadena after negotiations with the Coliseum Commission on a long-term deal have reached what USC has called an "impasse.'' Here's the announcement from USC. Nov. 27, 2007 The University of Southern California confirmed today that it |