   |
| |
College Sports BLOG |
|
May 2008
Monthly Archives
Categories
 RSSRecent Comments
More PE.com Blogs
|
December 2007 ArchivesReserve guard Michael Roll re-ruptured the plantar fascia ligament in his left foot during Monday’s practice, and will be out indefinitely. An MRI has been scheduled for Wednesday. It didn't look too good for the 1-2 Pac-10 in bowl play today when a completely disinterested Cal jumped out behind 21-0 to a bunch of tough, disciplined little guys from Air Force. But playing as if the USC Trojans were on the other side of the ball, darned if the Bears didn't come flying back for a 42-15 comeback the rest of the way for a 42-36 win in the Armed Forces Bowl in Ft. Worth. Then the Dennis Dixonless Oregon Ducks scored 28 quick points after halftime to go up 46-14 over South Florida in the Sun Bowl with QB Justin Roper firing four TD passes to give the Pac-10 a leg up on a 3-2 bowl season going into the Rose Bowl with USC having a chance to make that an impressive 4-2. Not bad after a disappointing 0-2 start after UCLA and Arizona losses to open postseason. Inching up and holding place. That's how it's going for USC and UCLA in the basketball polls the last coule of weeks. USC went from No. 24 to No. 22 in the AP Poll this opening week of Pac-10 season but still remains unranked in the ESPN-USA Today Coaches Poll. UCLA stays at No. 5 in both. The AP has five Pac-10 teams ranked with the coaches just four. In addition to UCLA and USC, Washington State is No. 4 in both with Arizona and Stanford both ranked by each poll. Here are the polls: AP Top 25 Here's my Week 8 Top 25 men's basketball poll vote: Not much change at the very top although Texas, after losing at home to Wisconsin, and Pittsburgh, after losing by 25 at Dayton, both drop. Tennessee's win over Gonzaga in Seattle elevates the Volunteers and drops the Zags out. Wisconsin and Dayton deservedly move up to the Top 25 with the wins as losers Miami (Fla.), BYU and West Virginia drop. USC foe Oklahoma, with its two-overtime win at WVU, gets itself ranked. So does Ole Miss as the Rebels stay unbeaten. Keeping USC where the Trojans were although their inability to run much offense, if any, through the post and the disappearing act of DaVon Jefferson gives one pause with Pac-10 games at Cal and Stanford this week. Guess we'll see. UCLA 76, UC DAVIS 48 And here is something from Seattle Weekly, just after the man known as "Slick Rick" was hired. It's even more about his violations and shady past. Here is the link: http://www.seattleweekly.com/1999-02-17/news/the-coach-fumbles.php This is from a U of Washington press release several years ago regarding Rick Neuheisel's violations while at UW. Interesting stuff. Here is the link: http://gohuskies.cstv.com/genrel/030499aab.html UCR hung with USC for most of the second half, trailing 57-53 with more than seven minutes left. But the Trojans scored 12 straight points and turned it into a rout. The final was 70-57, with O.J. Mayo finishing with 20 points and Taj Gibson and Daniel Hackett 13 apiece for USC. Larry Cunningham finished with 19 for UCR. Just spoke with UCLA LB Reggie Carter, who was among the most vocal advocates for DeWayne Walker to get the head coaching job, and Carter admitted he was disappointed in the decision. Carter had met with athletic director Dan Guerrero regarding Walker several weeks ago and made the pitch on behalf of the entire team, most of whom were strongly in favor of Walker becoming their new head coach. “I’m disappointed because I really wanted Walker to get the job,” Carter said. “But I’m not going to pout about it. I guess that’s what the athletic director felt was the best fit so I will ride with him.” How difficult will it be for Rick Neuheisel to win at UCLA? Well, it hasn't been done in a long time. Since the start of the 1999 season, UCLA has finished third or better just once in the Pac-10 (a 10-2 season in 2005 put them in third place). Over the past nine years, UCLA has averaged 6.6 wins and a fifth-place finish in the Pac-10. It makes the 1998 Rose Bowl and the 20-game winning streak seem so long ago. No mystery how the Highlanders have been able to stay in this one. UCR is six of 10 from three-point land but just six of 22 from inside the arc. On the road against a big favorite, no better way to hang in there than to step back and fire it up from downtown, as Larry Cunningham has, hitting four of his five attempts from distance on the way to 13 first-half points. USC has hit just two of six threes. The last time Tim Floyd and Jim Wooldridge faced off as coaches was in 1992. Floyd's New Orleans team defeated Wooldridge's Texas State squad 76-67 in the opener of a tournament hosted by New Orleans. The tournament gift was a bottle of Louisiana hot sauce. More than the bottle of hot sauce, Wooldridge said he remembered the type of defense Floyd's team played. "I remember being so frustrated during the game that we couldn’t get our best shooter any shots, and we couldn’t do what we wanted to do because they just (beat) us defensively. I got the first-hand taste of his defensive abilities and how he can make adjustments. That game really stands out. We had a pretty good team." UCR goes into the half tied with the 24th ranked team in the country, 34-34. This, despite shooting 37.5 percent and getting almost no offense inside. Larry Cunningham (13 points on 4 for 7 shooting) has a game-high 13 points, with Jaloni Diggs adding seven for UCR. Taj Gibson has a team-high 10 for the Trojans. The idea that UCR is still in this thing at halftime, regardless of what happens in the second half, has to be a positive development for the Highlanders, and a great way for Jim Wooldridge's team to enter Big West play -- where, presumably, they'll be picking on people closer to their own size. As for USC? Maybe another lesson for the young Trojans about the necessity of being ready for everybody they play. Rest assured, Tim Floyd is pounding that one home during the intermission. It took USC a 13-point run, inspired by UCR maybe, to get back in this one. Not good. But better than not making a 13-point run. It's 29-28 UCR, after Dwight Lewis' three-pointer with 3:34 left. Something tells me the Highlanders have had their moment in the spotlight. Just got off the phone with UCLA WR Terrence Austin, who learned of the Neuheisel hire while watching the ticker on ESPN with his family on Saturday. Austin said he did not know much about Neuheisel, but that he was looking forward to meeting with the new coach so the two could both learn about one another. “From what I hear, he’s a really exciting coach and he’s passionate with the game and he’s into winning,” Austin said. “As far as I know, he’s a good coach. I’m happy we got somebody of that nature in the program.” As for Neuheisel being a former Bruin? "I would think that because he was a former Bruin he will have a lot more passion about being the head coach at UCLA. I think that it’s a plus by him being a former Bruin." On a 16-point run, UCR has just jumped out on the listless Trojans 26-12. OK, make it 26-15 as O.J. Mayo, who's had trouble finding the twine, knocks down a three. 26-15 UCR with 7:39 until halftime. Not good. USC's got nothing off the bench and the starters seem relatively disinterested in this one. UCR is leading 26-15 with 7 1/2 minutes to play, having scored 16 straight points. They'd more than doubled USC's cscore after Larry Cunningham's four-point play (three-pointer and free throw) with 8:12 left in the half, but O.J. Mayo responded with a three-pointer. Still, and even though it's early, this was unexpected. You think Tim Floyd is maybe re-thinking doing old buddy Jim Wooldridge any favors? The full USC band is back preparing for the Rose Bowl and with the USC football team having just walked in, that fills up maybe half of the student seats. Put that together with the regular USC fans who keep coming no matter who the Trojans play and it's not a bad atmosphere here as the Highlanders open with four high-arching shots from the floor that either bounce or bank off the backboard in a gaining a 15-12 lead after 7:30. Not a bad thought for UCR after getting the first two drives to the basket knocked back into their faces. One advantage of a USC home basketball game not being televised by ESPN or FSN: They can open the Galen Center shades. They did so tonight for the game with UC Riverside, and the view of downtown Los Angeles at sunset was pretty striking even with the reflection of the four-sided scoreboard against the glass. The TV networks don't like the shades open because of the glare (in the daytime) and, presumably, because of that reflection from the scoreboard (at night). But this game is only being seen by webcast on the school's "Trojans All-Access TV" site, which presumably has no problem with it. USC Coach Pete Carroll had nothing but good things to say Satyrday about UCLA's hiring of Rick Neuheisel. Said he was glad the "smoke has cleared at the Vatican'' and UCLA has made a good move. A good hire for the Bruins, according to Carroll. Even a new football coach isn't enough to shake the doldrums out of today's sleepy UCLA basketball crowd. When Rick Neuheisel's hiring was announced midway through the first half, it was met with a polite round of applause. ESPN college football analyst Mark May was just asked about the Rick Neuheisel hire and he described it as questionable and said that the NCAA would keep a strict eye on UCLA because of Neuheisel's past and the fact that he won a lawsuit against the NCAA for wrongful termination in relation to being fired at Washington. Here is what May just said: "The NCAA does not like to give up money. They are going to scrutinize every move Rick Neuheisel makes. Within the next three years, I predict that this will be the cleanest program in the country or they will be on probation in the next three years." Just talked with Corona Santiago cornerback Tony Dye and he said that he is glad UCLA found a head coach, but said that his commitment to UCLA still hinged on defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker. Dye said that a large portion of the class would stay if Walker is retained. If not, he said he expects many players -- most of whom have Plan B's in place -- to jump ship. Dye said he is Oregon State-bound if Walker is not retained and that he would take his trip to Corvallis in January. He has not spoken with Walker since mid-December but hoped Walker would call him once this is all sorted out. “I’d like to meet him and see what he is all about, but it all still depends on Walker with me,” Dye said. “If Walker leaves depends on if I stay or not. I can’t speak for everybody, but a large portion of the class thinks that way.” Just talked to UCLA WR Dominique Johnson and asked him about the hiring of Rick Neuheisel as head coach. Johnson said he was just happy that the school finally made a hire, but was not shocked that it took this long to complete. "I think its great they found somebody," Johnson said. "I don’t know much about the guy or anything, but I am sure I will." Johnson said he spoke earlier with cornerback Alterruan Verner and the two were reading up on Neuheisel's past at Washington and Colorado and he said he liked the fact that he was a successful coach. Johnson did say that the feeling within the program was that DeWayne Walker would get the job and some players were surprised that Walker is not the new head coach. "That goes to show what I know," Johnson said. * Darren Collison is in uniform during warm-ups and will start despite his sprained left ankle. UCLA hired Rick Neuheisel as head football coach on Saturday. Neuheisel, a former Bruin quarterback, succeeds his former receiver Karl Dorrell, who was fired Dec. 3 after five seasons. "Rick has enjoyed great success throughout his career and we believe he is the coach who can take our program to the next level," athletic director Dan Guerrero said. "His teams at Colorado and Washington continually challenged for conference championships and national rankings, and that is what we are looking to do at UCLA." SATURDAY’S GAME With Illinois the first-ever Big Ten runnerup with three losses invited to the Rose Bowl, the question this week is whether the Pac-10/Big Ten tradition is upheld, as the Rose Bowl Committee folks contended it was, by sticking with the traditional conference matchups? Is it tradition when only one league champ is available. USC vs. Ohio State, now that would have been the tradition. But the 14-point spread for USC over Illinois, making the Trojans the biggest favorites of all the bowl matchups, would not seem to warrant staying with tradition even if the Illini are a great story and have a half-dozen really good players. Not providing USC an opponent that would allow it to move up with an impressive win would seem to be a disservice to the host school. Too bad someone (the Pac-10 or the Rose Bowl people) didn't protect the Trojans. Clearly someone (the Big Ten) was battling for the Illini, who will have a chance to make a big move up. |