And The Beat Fights On

For those enjoying "I Love USC," you might like these tracks by another member of the Trojan family. Local artist ty.Eli has three USC songs for you to enjoy and download. You can check out his Myspace site for more info.

Download "Leave No Doubt"

Download "I'm a Trojan"

Download "USC Reloaded"

You may also be familiar with ty.Eli from his day night job as producer for sports talkshow host JT the Brick, where he goes by the name Michael Pearson.

Speaking of music about colleges, USC isn't the only place producing original songs. USF has a rap about their quarterback (sorry, "Booty, Booty, Booty Rockin' Everywhere" is great, but not original). A couple years ago, Miami added to their "Thug U" reputation when a crude rap surfaced involving performances by former players.

It's not right to talk about rap and USC without mentioning a certain performer (no, not Snoop Dogg or Suge Knight).

Marvin Young left USC in 1989 with an economics degree. A year later, he picked up a Grammy for "Bust A Move." You know him today as Young MC. Yes, that was him on last season's Celebrity Fit Club. He's still a pop culture icon.

I Love USC (And I Hate UCLA)

Did somebody say it's rivalry week?

USC alumnus Aloe Blacc is a campus hero this time of year, though a lot of people don't know that he's the man behind this classic song (a parody of Biz Markie's "Just a Friend"):

I e-mailed him a while back, and here's the story behind the refrain popularized at tailgates, frat houses, and the 9-0:

I wrote the song in 1999 for a talent show called "Showtime at the Bovard" ... I think Program Board produced the event. I won the $500 grand prize. When I performed the song, I had a big 2-sided sign that said "I Love USC" on one side and "I Hate UCLA" on the other so people could sing along ... as if they really needed the sign to catch on!

Later that year or in 2000 I released a compilation CD with 10 songs submitted by USC student musicians. I put the "I Love USC" song at the end of the disc (credited to Tommy Trojan). I think I have a few discs left in storage. This is how it initially made its way around campus. Program Board asked me to perform the song at a big rally for the USC vs. UCLA game, which is when it became more popular.

Aloe graduated with honors in Communication and Lingustics/Psychology and was a Renaissance Scholar in 2001.

He released an album with DJ Exile (the duo is known as EMANON) in 2005 called "The Waiting Room" and a solo album in 2006 entitled "Shine Through." Today, he performs all over the world (recent tours include Australia, Asia, and Europe). His Myspace site has some great stuff (I've had one of his songs on my own profile for a while) and you can see his videos on YouTube. He was interviewed by LAist earlier this year.

The USC Team You Don't Know Enough About

USC isn't known as a soccer school.

They have no national championships.

There is no men's team.

McAlister Field doesn't even have lights.

If there's any sport that's under-appreciated at USC this year, it's women's soccer. The Women of Troy just set a school record with 17 wins on the season. They finished the regular season as a unanimous top 10 pick in the various national polls, despite not even making the top 25 in some eyes before the season.

Right now the Women of Troy are in the finest accommodations available in West Virginia (whatever that means). They're gearing up to play in the Elite Eight on Friday against the Mountaineers, a team seeded two spots lower than the second-seeded Trojans.

USC might have hosted the quarterfinals in their alternate home -- the L.A. Coliseum -- but that facility needs to be ready for a football game a few hours later. It's only a regular season game against UCLA, but the way some people are acting, you'd think it's the last time they'll ever play there or something.

Meanwhile, the Women of Troy are invading Morgantown without a goal scored against them in the first three rounds of the NCAA Tournament. You probably don't know Kristin Olsen. She wears number 0. She's allowed that many goals in 13 games this season, despite standing in the net behind a defense that was ravaged by injuries early in the year.

You probably can't pronounce Ali Khosroshahin. Don't worry, Mike Garrett struggled with it, too. But you should know that the first-year coach came from Cal State Fullerton and found a way to create harmony. When asked about that process, he acknowledged, "You bring a new coach into a program, a new coaching staff ... the kids didn't pick you, you didn't pick them. It takes some time to build some chemistry and some trust with one another."

"If you woulda' told me at the beginning of the season that we'd be in this position, I would have asked you what kind of drugs you were on. We just weren't a very cohesive unit in the beginning. There were a lot of people with their own ideas of how things should be."

There's a chance you've heard of Amy Rodriguez. She came to USC a couple of years ago as the national high school player of the year. She's stood out this year along with Ashley Nick (#16, pictured), who made All-Pac-10 and Janessa Currier, who garnered an honorable mention for the Top Drawer Soccer All-American team.

You might want to learn the names Megan Ohai, Alyssa Dávila, Ashli Sandoval, Kasey Johnson, Karter Haug. These freshmen headline a promising class that came up clutch for USC all season and provide the foundation for a strong future.

The Trojans won't play at USC again this year. If they make the final four, all the remaining games will be played in College Station, Texas. It's a shame if you missed them. The experience of a game at McAlister Field is unique. Athletes from other sports make an impressive showing. The field is intimate, and good-natured hecklers can be seen making referees laugh.

There's only one #1 seed among the eight teams left in the NCAA Tournament -- UCLA. The cross-town rivalry could potentially be renewed in the semifinals. USC lost this season in Westwood, 2-0, after the Bruins buried two far-post shots and the Trojans seemed to lose a step against the nation's top team. After the Florida game, Khosroshahin was asked about the team's improved fitness and said, "We ran 'em, and we ran 'em, and we ran 'em. We had three days off right before conference. We brought 'em into the Coliseum and they ran the stairs ... Fitness is key. You run so much in this sport that if you're not in shape, it makes the game extremely difficult. If you ask me, our fitness level still isn't very good, but it's a lot better than it was."

Nobody expected the Trojans to last this long. Now, they hope to be fit enough for just three more games.

Photos by Jeff Sipsey

Bad News Bears. Good News Trojans.

Bad: Bruin Bear displayed prominently on campus.

Good: Bear burned on giant pyre. Video coming.

Bad: Pep rally scheduled during basketball game.

Good: Dispatching Oklahoma, 66-55, with Davon Jefferson getting 23 points and O.J. Mayo taking over the game in the closing minutes as if to say to the Sooners, "My game. Not yours."

Bad: Death threats to members of the Coliseum Commission. Are you kidding me? Not cool! Bad fans! No! That's no way to treat your employees. Do that again and you're spending a long timeout in Pasadena.

Good: Writing a polite and considered response to the people entrusted with running the Coliseum. Ultimately, they work for you and will listen when you ask nicely. Remember, happy employees are productive employees.

Pete Carroll Previews UCLA

Coach Carroll talks about the revenge factor and the awesome feeling of leaving the stadium with a victory.

Carroll Wants a Playoff

Pete Carroll isn't sure of the perfect system, but he knows one thing -- the BCS doesn't determine the best team.

USC Goes on Hunger Strike

The revolution will not be fed.

The executive leadership of USC's student government (both undergraduate and graduate) is spearheading a boycott of concessions at this week's USC-UCLA game to take a bite out of profits. According to the organization, 100% of concession sales benefit the Coliseum.

That could send a message, and give the Coliseum Commission a taste of what it would be like without the Trojans.

The move is in response to stalled negotiations between the University and the Coliseum over a long-term lease. USC is threatening to move its games to the Rose Bowl.

The Coliseum is a public facility and, as such, is owned by the people (i.e., you). If you want to voice your concern to the people responsible for managing the facility on your behalf, USC has set up a website.

Visiting Bruin fans not inclined to share their home stadium in Pasadena are encouraged to participate in the boycott. Word is being spread via online networking sites, e-mail and public announcements (potentially at upcoming rallies and other sporting events before the football game).

Remember that bacon-wrapped hot dogs sold outside the stadium are still kosher safe ... let's just say that's not crossing the picket line.

Sadly, Daniel Hackett may go an entire year without eating solid food at the Coliseum.

Direct from the ...

Ben Bolch, who covers USC basketball for The Times, sat down to talk about an exciting stretch of the season for USC, with games against Oklahoma, Kansas and Memphis. Get a preview of the coming week and an update on key injuries by clicking play:

For Thursday's article about the Oklahoma game, click here.

Flex-Off Between Sedrick and Davon?

When Sedrick Ellis did this against Arizona State last week, it was a 15-yard penalty (photo actually from a game last season -- he does it a lot).

When Davon Jefferson did this against Southern Illinois three nights later, it was just a cool photo-op.

Actually, the penalty against Ellis was pretty ridiculous and Pete Carroll made it clear yesterday that he wasn't happy about it:

"I challenged the officials about the call because I thought it was out of line and it was too quick and without warning ... I was told that it was in the rules and written that way. So I went right to the source ... and it wasn't written that way, so they were misunderstood a little bit about that. It doesn't say you can't flex your muscles."

He later added, "That was an extremely significant play in the game. Look what happened after that. They went bang, bang, bang, we get 15 yards on a face mask and they are in the end zone ... that's a huge, huge decision to be made right there."

Carroll spoke to the league about the situation and got an explanation. He was "satisfied with what they said -- almost."

Photo by Wally Skalij / LA Times

BCS Coordinator Answers Questions

Mike Slive wears two hats. In addition to being the commissioner of the SEC, he also serves as BCS coordinator.

He held a press conference today addressing a lot of questions that people have about the BCS, this year's selection process, and future changes.

Though USC didn't come up in any of the major topics, the transcript may be of interest to anybody interested in how this crazy thing works.

Pete Carroll addressed the idea of a playoff in his press conference yesterday, and we'll have video of that up later today (we got delayed after that lil' Coliseum story broke).

The full transcript of Slive's conference is after the jump.