USC

USC Wins Gauntlet

2006-05-25T21:57:43Z

The USC trojans have once again defeated the UCLA Bruins. This time the trojans brought home the Lexus Gauntlet. The Gauntlet is a head to head competition between USC and UCLA which takes into account every athletic contest played between the two schools. This is the third time that the trophy will be housed in Heritage Hall in the five year run of the contest. USC won the Gauntlet with a 60-50 score. The trophy was presented to athletic director Mike Garrett this Tuesday.

Women 's tennis knocked out

2006-05-22T21:59:48Z

The third seeded USC Women's Tennis Team was knocked of the NCAA tournament this morning by the Miami Hurricanes. The Women of Troy lost 4-1 to the seventh seeded Canes, and finished their season with a 21-4 record. USC won the point in the doubles match on sunday, however rain washed away the rest of the singles matches. This morning the Trojans lost 4 straight singles matches to end their great season.

Collegiate Nationals

2006-04-26T18:50:17Z

Think the national championships for college sports stop after the BCS and the Final Four? Think again. The 2006 CSTV Collegiate Nationals in Reno-Tahoe, America's Adventure Place, showcased the largest gathering of college sports championships taking place at one time.
The event featured nearly 1,000 collegiate athletes competing for National Collegiate Championships in Snowboarding, Wakeboarding, Beach Volleyball, Boxing, Whitewater Kayaking, and Triathlon. Dont miss your chance to see the best college athletes in the country compete for the national championships in their sports. Coverage begins Sunday April 30th at 6:00 (PST) and continues every night that week at 6, exclusively on CSTV. Check out http://www.cstv.com/thecollegiatenationals/ for more information.

Think you know USC sports?

2006-04-26T18:25:30Z

Today at 5:00 sharp test your trivia knowledge of USC sports. CBS Sportsline is doing a special USC version of their trivia tower contest. Do you have what it takes to be the best? http://cbs.sportsline.com/triviatower

LenDale White has a torn hamstring

2006-04-14T02:43:24Z

MRI results show that LenDale White has a torn hamstring which will prevent him from running the 40 yard dash for any teams prior to the NFL draft. White recieved considerable criticism for not running the 40 at USC's pro day, and it remains to be seen how this will affect his draft status.

USC holds its Pro Day

2006-04-03T20:45:58Z

While most college football athletes showed their stuff at this years NFL combine in Indianapolis, the stars at USC held off until their annual Pro Day to perform their speed, strength, and football drills. In what could best be described as a circus of fan and media attention coach Pete Carroll hosted this years pro day, to put it in his terms, "bigger and better than it has ever been done." Carroll has started to use the day not only as an aid to help Trojans work their way up the draft board, but also as a recruiting tool. This years Pro Day drew around 200 junior recruits, all of which had to be impressed by all of the NFL coaches, scouts, and media. For some players the Pro Day elevated or maintained their draft status, while the day's events didn’t help others.

Reggie Bush- Bush cemented his status as the number 1 pick in the draft by running a blistering 4.33 in the 40 yard dash and followed that up with an impressive 24 reps of 225 pounds. He looked good in his on field drills as well. Reggie told EPSN.com, “I feel like I came in here today as the No. 1 guy, and I think I'm leaving the same way.”

Matt Leinart- Matt didn't run the 40 or do the bench, but he did throw. He was accurate and threw well, but wasn't dazzling. He didn’t have tremendous zip on his throws but that shouldn’t affect his draft status as it looks as though the Titans and Jets are the most interested parties with a high enough pick to grab him. Leinart will throw in a private workout for Tennessee today, in which the Titans brought their own receivers to throw to.

Lendale White- Lendale White did not participate in running or field drills citing a sore hamstring as his reason for keeping his sweat suit on. He weighed in a little heavy and his only drill was the bench press where he turned in only 14 reps. White hasn’t been timed in the 40 and has shown scouts very little to warrant him as a first round pick since declaring for the draft.

USC's Mens season comes to an end

2006-03-15T07:42:10Z

The up and down season for USC hoops came to an end against California in the Men's Pac-10 tourney this past weekend. USC needed to win the tourney to gain a berth to the NCAA tournament, but was unable to get past Cal in the first round. USC could not stop Cal's forward Leon Powe who scored 22 and grabbed 20 rebounds. The undersized Trojans couldnt keep Powe or the rest of the Bears off the glass which led to their 82-67 defeat. The Trojans finished the season with a 17-13 record, but looks forward to next season as the team will play in the new Galen Center. The team will also have the majority of its point scorers back as well as another year under the system of Tim Floyd, so expect big things.
However USC hoops fans shouldn't be too dissapointed as the woman's team made their second straight NCAA tournament and will play South Florida on Sunday.

USC Says Goodbye to the Sports Arena

2006-02-28T02:34:00Z

The Trojans said goodbye to the Sports Arena in style with a 89-84 victory over the Oregon State Beavers this Saturday night. On Senior night, and the last night that the team will play in the Sports Arena, Nick Young scored a career high 33 points to go with a career high 14 rebounds to lead the Trojans to victory. Young delighted the crowd of 5,350 by making shot after shot and pulling a number of tough rebounds down over taller players. Despite the victory coach Tim Floyd wasn't pleased with the performance. "They cut us up every way we could get cut up, and we contributed to it by inviting them back in the game by fouling late, running through passes, putting guys at the line and not concentrating," Floyd said. "We were our own worst enemy (and) that has everything to do with me - I should have done a better job with those guys." Despite Floyd's concerns about the defense he was pleased to get an unexpected contribution from center Abdoulaye N'diaye who set two career marks by scoring 13 points and 10 rebounds while shooting a perfect six-for-six from the field. The victory brings the Trojan's record to 8-8 in the Pac-10 and 17-10 overall as they head to the Bay Area to finish their season against Cal and Stanford.

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USC Upsets #14 UCLA in Rivalry Game

2006-02-22T01:46:24Z

By Ted Bergeron

In the last match-up at the USC Sports Arena against cross-town rival UCLA, the USC Men’s Basketball team put on a show Sunday. Led by sophomore leader Nick Young, the Trojans really played their hearts out in a close 71-68 victory over the 14th ranked Bruins. Coming off a season-high 3 game lose streak and the loss of second leading scorer Gabe Pruitt, the Trojans looked to their bench for support late in the game.

]]> Dwayne Shackleford, who averages 11.8 minutes and 2.9 points, came up big in the second half shooting 4-4 from the field and 4-5 from the line giving him 12 points, 3 assists, and 2 steals in the game. Young led the Trojans with 15 points and 6 rebounds, and freshman guard Ryan Francis added 12 points. Also, Junior Lodrick Stewart put up 13 points to lead the Trojans in a victory over the Bruins. UCLA star Jordan Farmar led the Bruins with 21 points and 5 assists, but was not enough to overcome the Men of Troy in the end. This victory further embeds the USC and UCLA rivalry as one of the best in college sports, and exemplifies the true colors of rivalry competition.

The Trojans look ahead to this week as they face two must-win games against Oregon on Thursday and Oregon St. on Saturday. The Trojans currently sit 6th in the Pac-10, 3 games behind leaders UCLA and California. As the Pac-10 tournament rapidly approaches, the Trojans look to finish their remaining schedule with a 4-0 statement.

Hard Times Fall on USC Hoops

2006-02-13T22:57:53Z

It was only a few days ago that the Trojans were riding high after a home win against Arizona and there was actually talk of the Tournament. Not the NIT but the actual NCAA Tournament. There was an excitement back around the USC program that hadn't been felt in the last few years. However the excitement was short lived after USC played one of their worst games of the year losing at home to Pac-10 bottom feeder Arizona State. The loss took away the significance of the Arizona victory, yet Monday's news was even worse. With a trip to the Washington schools coming up USC lost its best player when guard Gabe Pruitt fractured his knee when he landed awkwardly at practice. The injury will sideline him for the rest of the regular season, and maybe for the Pac-10 tournament as well, which appears to be USC's only remaining option for making it into March Madness. USC traveled to the Washington schools without Pruitt and without much of game plan either. After losing 87-73 against The University of Washington USC was beaten again by Washington State by the score of 60-47, in what can only be described as a very ugly performance. USC shot a season-low 28% and Nick Young shot just 2-for-16 from the field to lead USC with 10 points. The loss drops the Trojans to 15-9 on the season and 6-7 in the Pac-10 after dropping their last three games. The Trojans host cross-town rival UCLA on Sunday the 19th.

Yes, USC does play other sports!

2006-01-30T02:44:57Z

By Ted Bergeron

Although losing the Rose Bowl on January 4th may seem like the end of excitement in Trojan sports, the University of Southern California’s basketball teams have been performing better than expected. The men’s squad, led by sophomores Nick Young and Gabe Pruitt, has supplied Trojan fans with a promising new beginning to a new era in USC Basketball.

Caption: Nick Young throws down against Oregon's Adam Zahn in the Trojans 84-78 victory over Oregon Saturday.

]]> Going into the regular season with a 9-2 record, USC’s young guns have really shown they can play. With a team packed full of youthful talent leaves opportunity for leaderships roles to be filled, and Trojans Sophomore Nick Young has done exactly that. Leading the team in points (17.2 ppg) and rebounds (6.3 rpg) is impressive, but the amount of leadership he has brought to the Trojans is a number that cannot be quantified. With the clock running down in overtime against the OSU Beavers three nights ago, Young wanted the ball in his hands. After hitting the 17’ game winner with .08 seconds left, the Trojans celebrated as Young was further established himself as a leader of the Trojan team. Currently sitting sixth in the Pac-10 with a 5-4 record, the Trojans look to move up in the rankings this week as they face a tough Arizona team on Thursday and Arizona St. on Saturday in Los Angeles. Check back each week as we will be following the Men’s Basketball team through the remainder of the season.
If the men’s team deserves notoriety for their accomplishments thus far, the Women of Troy deserve a round of applause. Climbing up through the ranks this season with some impressive wins, the women’s team broke through into the top #25 last week. After two close losses this weekend to the up-state rivals Cal and Stanford, USC’s record fell to 7-4 in conference and 13-7 overall. Coming into two road games against #18 Arizona St. and Arizona, the Women of Troy have a tough week of practice ahead of them. After losing the past two games, the women’s team sits tied for second in the Pac-10 with Arizona St. and Washington.
The Trojan Basketball programs are undoubtedly on the rise. As we watch both of these great teams mature into quality programs over the next couple years, the USC name will soon strike fear into its opponents not only on the football field, but on the court as well.

The Exodus Continues

2006-01-16T23:43:01Z

Three more USC underclassmen have declared for the NFL draft, following the lead of running backs Reggie Bush and LenDale White. The departures of offensive linemen Winston Justice and Fred Matua, along with safety Darnell Bing brings the total number of Trojan juniors leaving to five. The announcement of Matua comes as a major surprise, with family reasons being his rationale for skipping his senior season. Bing and Justice are both very physically gifted, but did not have the stellar seasons that would assure them a place at the top of the draft. Both players have the talent to make it in the NFL but probably would have benefited from one more year under Coach Carroll. All five of the underclassmen had great careers at USC, and should go on to have successful NFL careers.

Bush Exits as Well

2006-01-12T18:40:30Z

Running back Reggie Bush, this year's Heisman Trophy winner and human highlight reel, declared that he will enter the NFL draft along with fellow Trojan back LenDale White. In an announcement at USC this morning Reggie Bush made the announcement that has been expected for some time now, as he is the consensus number 1 pick in the upcoming NFL draft. Reggie Bush led the NCAA in all-purpose yards this season at over 220 a game, and leaves USC after three incredible years and 2 national titles.

Caption: Reggie Bush is walking away from the USC and heading for the NFL (photo by Brendan Meyer)

White Heading to Sundays

2006-01-11T22:54:28Z

By Brendan Meyer
In an announcement today from his home in Denver Colorado, USC tailback LenDale White announced that he would forgo his senior year and enter the NFL draft. White, who was a promising candidate for the Heisman Trophy next year, is the first of USC's juniors to declare for the draft, with an announcement from Reggie Bush expected to come tomorrow. White leaves USC after racking up 3,159 yards in his three year career, and is USC's all time leader in touchdowns with 52.

Caption: LenDale White has played his last game in a Trojan uniform and will head to the NFL next season (Photo by Brendan Meyer

USC Taken Down By the Lone Star

2006-01-08T21:31:10Z

Vince Young didn’t win the Heisman….but he won an even bigger prize as he led his Texas Longhorns to their first national title in 35 years, in what will go down as one of the most thrilling and well-played national championship games in history. Young ran in his third touchdown of the game with 19 seconds left to win the game for Horns. It was truly a one man show for Texas, as Vince Young ran for 200 yards and threw for 267 more. Simply put, USC’s defense had no answer for Vince Young. The Trojan defense couldn’t keep Young in the pocket and couldn’t bring him down once he got into the open field. The Trojans weren’t overmatched in this game and had their chances to win. The Trojans had a 12 point lead late in the 4th quarter and could have won the game by converting a 4th and 2 with 2:13 seconds, but they were stopped just inches short. Had LenDale White been able to carry the ball 6 inches further the USC Trojans would be celebrating their third straight national championship and college football immortality, but it wasn’t to be. USC had other chances that didn’t pan out including a similar 4th down play in the first quarter and an attempted lateral by Reggie Bush that resulted in a drive halting fumble in the first half. After going into the locker room down, the Trojans responded in the second half with an impressive offensive showing, scoring on all of their possessions before being stopped on the 4th down try. Leinart and LenDale White were the stars for USC, with White topping the century mark on the ground while scoring 3 touchdowns. The loss ended the USC winning streak at 34 games and two national championships. Vince Young was the clear choice for the Most Valuable Player of the Rose Bowl as he single handedly took the game over and carried his team to victory.

Caption: Texas Quarterback VinceYoung runs in the game winning touchdown at the Rose Bowl. (AP Photo Kim Johnson)