USC Trojans (Football)

Brian Banks, Jailed On False Rape Charge, Sees Dream Come True As Atlanta Falcons Sign Him

Brian Banks, the former Long Beach high school football prodigy falsely accused of raping a classmate, today got a second chance at his NFL dreams. After spending nearly a decade fighting the charge unsuccessfully, the 26-year-old was released from jail and hit the field last year in an attempt to ... More >>

5 Reasons to Cancel the Lakers Championship Parade

There are some crazy-ass Lakers expectations floating around town. The last time expectations were this high, USC had a No. 1 pre-season ranking and Matt Barkley had a premature Heisman coronation. How's that working out for Trojans fans? No doubt the new-look Lakers will win a lot of games and go ... More >>

USC Football Billboard in UCLA Territory Torn Down by Regency Outdoor Advertising

Looks like Regency Outdoor Advertising, one of the biggest billboard companies in this land of 10,000 billboards, is choosing sides in the epic beef between USC and UCLA. At first, it appeared that Regency (which is reportedly co-owned by Brian Kennedy, a prominent USC donor) had sided with the Tro ... More >>

Brian Banks, Ex-L.A. High School Football Star, Has NFL Tryout With Seahawks After Rape Exoneration

Pete Carroll, the same football coach who recruited Los Angeles High School football star Brian Banks to the USC team one decade ago, is reportedly giving the 26-year-old a second chance after 10 years fighting a false rape conviction. Carroll coaches the Seattle Seahawks now, and has granted the N ... More >>

The Jocks of L.A.

Los Angeles loves its sports as much as any city does; there's no shortage of folks who will begin seething at a misspoken word about a favorite team or player. Say hi to the jocks of Los Angeles, who inspire that fervent brand of rage and rapture that can only come from a glance at the scoreboard.

Junior Seau Dead of Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound in Oceanside

Updated at the bottom with the San Diego County coroner confirming suicide as the cause of death. First posted at 12:27 p.m. Wednesday. Junior Seau, the hometown hero and onetime USC player who became a star linebacker for the San Diego Chargers, died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound thi ... More >>

The Scandal Roiling the L.A. County Assessor's Office Suggests Your Tax Bill Is All About Who You Know, and How Much You've Donated to Assessor John Noguez

Mark Sanchez Called a 'Shaky' Chihuahua by Boomer Esiason

Former USC quarterback Mark Sanchez has been the NFL's Great Brown Hope for a Latino nation not so used to seeing Hispanic surnames on Monday Night Football. Frankly, Latinos come in 250-pound sizes, but rarely in the 6-foot range required by the hard-hitting league. So Sanchez (6 feet, 2 inches, 2 ... More >>

Matt Barkley Loves In-N-Out, Not Five Guys

​After actor Jason Segel launched last week's short-lived but brutal sandwich vs. burrito war (Segel's a staunch sandwich man), USC quarterback (though maybe not for long if he goes pro) Matt Barkley (@mattbarkley) launched a Twitter food fight. Though the junior QB has remained mum about not ... More >>

USC: No Party for Young Men, Especially if it Involves Vegas, the Super Bowl, and Everson Griffen

Everson Griffen wants you to party in Vegas with him for Super Bowl weekend.​The party pooper administrators at USC's athletics department are telling USC footballer players they better not be attending a Super Bowl weekend party in Las Vegas organized by NFL pro and Trojan alum Everson Griffe ... More >>

Minnesota Vikings' Everson Griffen Tased, Arrested By LAPD Following Crotch-Grab and Foot Chase Near His Alma Mater, USC

Everson Griffen in his USC days.​NFL players are amazing athletes. They run through workout routines that would make the average mortal cry uncle after three minutes. So bravo to the LAPD for catching up to Minnesota Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen, a former USC star who police allege r ... More >>

USC Coach Kiffin Target Of 'Shoot Coach Lane's Bobble-Head Day' Event In Tennessee

Lane Kiffin in action.​Way too soon after the Tucson massacre, some fans at the University of Tennessee are marking the one year anniversary of football coach Lane Kiffin's move to USC with "Shoot Coach Lane's Bobble-Head Day." What a country. Because when you're unhappy with a personnel move ... More >>

Chris Brymer: Head Case

Ex-football players with head injuries often end up in the criminal-justice system. The former USC lineman is Exhibit A

Was Reggie Bush's Return Of Heisman Trophy A Cop-Out?

​While some have called Reggie Bush's return of his 2005 Heisman Trophy the honorable thing to do after USC was handed a two-year bowl-game ban in June for it's special, rule-breaking treatment of the star running back, at least one sports pundit thinks the move was phony. Fox Sports columnis ... More >>

USC Football Slapped With Two-Year Bowl-Game Ban

​USC's football team will be handed a two-year ban from bowl games and a loss of 20 scholarships as a result of NCAA rules violations likely stemming form special treatment for former player Reggie Bush, now a pro, and his family, according to the Los Angeles Times. The sanctions are apparentl ... More >>

USC To Challenge NCAA Sanctions On Football Program

Reggie Bush.​A USC senior vice president on Thursday said the school would challenge the severity of the NCAA's sanctions against its football program, admitting the school did violate the rules but arguing that the punishment, including a two-year ban on bowl game appearances, was too severe. ... More >>

Pete Carroll Decries NCAA Sanctions Against His Former USC Football Team

​Former USC Coach Pete Carroll on Thursday decried the recently announced NCAA sanctions against his former football program, saying via YouTube that he's "shocked and disappointed" by the body's findings in regards to the team he ran, findings that included possible special treatment -- inclu ... More >>

Seahawks Player Takes Love of Donuts Too Far

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mmmfruit/364153965/​ Last Friday was National Donut Day, and while we can't think of a better time to abandon our diets, sometimes the love for donuts can be taken too far. Case in point: ESPN reports that Seattle Seahawks rookie wide receiver Golden Tate apologiz ... More >>

Is Cooley Too Moderate to Win?

In the fight for attorney general, opposing prison for sock stealers is a liability

Pete Carroll Leaves USC For Seahawks

petecarroll.comPete Carroll.​If it wasn't official, it sure sounded like it Sunday as several news outlets reported that USC football Coach Pete Carroll was leaving town to take over the top coaching job for the NFL's Seattle Seahawks. It wasn't the reported $32.5 million that likely sent Car ... More >>

USC Basketball Team Declares 'My Bad,' Slaps Own Wrist

nba.comO.J. Mayo now plays for the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies.​In one of the more bizarre attempts at putting a lid on bad news, USC announced over a sleepy holiday weekend that a booster gave under-the-table gifts to a basketball player and, as a result, the school would be issuing sanctions aga ... More >>

USC Football Player Spotted Driving Businessman's SUV

USCJoe McKnight.​Joe McKnight, a star tailback at USC, has been driving an SUV owned by a Santa Monica businessman, an arrangement that would be against NCAA rules, the Los Angeles Times reports. The paper states that a reporter has seen the player behind the wheel at least once, and that the ... More >>

Commenter Denies USC Player Was Provided SUV

USCJoe McKnight.​A commenter who says he's the Santa Monica businessman who registered an SUV that the Los Angeles Times reports has been driven by USC star tailback Joe McKnight denied providing the vehicle the player in a post responding to to LA Weekly's own item on the matter Saturday. T ... More >>

Trojans Pick Freshman as Quarterback

Orange County high school graduate Matt Barkley has been picked by USC Trojans footballcoach Pete Carroll to be the team's next quarterback. Barkley, who will follow in the immediate footsteps of Mark Sanchez, is believed to be the first freshman QB in Trojan history, reports Associated Press. While ... More >>

School's Out: Mark Sanchez to Turn Pro

As was widely expected, USC Trojan quarterback Mark Sanchez is skipping his senior year to join the National Football League, according to unidentified sources who have spoken to several news outlets, including the L.A. Daily News and L.A. Times. According to these stories, the Rose Bowl Offense MVP ... More >>

Boi From Troy Rose Bowl Headline Beats L.A. Times'

The gay, USC-themed blog known as the Boi from Troy decisively trounced today's L.A. Times when it came to headlining the Trojans' impressive 34-24 Rose Bowl victory over Penn State. "Friday Morning QB: Three-Pete Edition" quipped BFT's blogger, alluding to the third consecutive Rose Bowl title ... More >>

2008 Wind-down: Free and Sundry Activities

As 2008 hobbles to the finish line and telephone calls to offices across the city go unanswered, here are a few quick freebie activities to engage in.Rose Parade Route Stakeouts Beginning at noon you can start marking your territory along the Tournament of Roses Parade route. Before that time cops w ... More >>

Trojan's Stanley Havili to Miss Rose Bowl

USC fullback Stanley Havili will not suit up for Thursday's Rose Bowl face-off between the Trojans and Penn State. An Associated Press report said coach Pete Carroll made the announcement after Tuesday's practice, citing Havili's "academic ineligibility." USC Athletic Department spokesman Tim Tessal ... More >>

Mark Sanchez: Latino Role Model or Not?

Yesterday's L.A. Times was all over USC's star quarterback, Mark Sanchez, hailing him as "a role model for many of L.A.'s Latinos." Sanchez, with cinematic good looks and impeccable gridiron instincts, figures to be the center of attention in his team's national face-off with Penn State at the Rose ... More >>

The Strange and Disturbing Trial of Anand Jon

What we talk about when we talk about rape

Remembering Bo Taylor

Death of a street sentinel

Brent Shapiro’s Final Hours