Basketball tips off with double dose of do-gooding

USC men's basketball is holding two charitable events this month and is looking for your support.

On Oct. 21, the team will host Tip Off With the Men of Troy, allowing fans to watch the Trojans practice, participate in a silent auction, meet the players and Tim Floyd, and attend a reception. Tickets start at $15 and benefit the Ryan Francis Endowed Scholarship Fund. Francis would have been a senior this year but was killed during a random shooting in 2006 while visiting his mom in Louisiana.

On Oct. 26, USC will host its third annual Dribble for the Cure, in which participants collect pledges and join the team in dribbling basketballs across campus. A number of prizes will be given to people who raise money for the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Afterwards, fans will be able to attend the Cardinal and Gold intrasquad scrimmage to see what the team will look like this season.

Like a couple of the players, last year's Midnight Madness event was a one-and-done. This is your only chance to see the Trojans before actual game play in 2008-09. There's an exhibition against Azuza Pacific on Nov. 3 and the regular season tip-off against UC Irvine on Nov. 15.

-- Adam Rose