Mailbag: Controversy and scandal galore!
[Do you] think USC would actually move to the Rose Bowl? -- Scott
I doubt it, especially after seeing one of the ploys the school used last week. Remember that this is just about dividing up money and power. Regardless of who "wins" on that end, everybody will lose if USC winds up in Pasadena. The school, Coliseum Commission, local community, Rose Bowl, and even UCLA are united behind keeping the Trojans in Exposition Park.
What ploy caught my attention? After the Coliseum Commission meeting, a USC representative promised to sign an offer from the Rose Bowl as soon as it was on the table -- potentially the following day.
But the next day, a different USC representative acknowledged that they were aware the offer needed UCLA's approval. Translation: "This isn't possible for another few weeks."
Suddenly the threat wasn't as serious. But in the few hours the elapsed between those statements, USC forced the Coliseum Commission to begin negotiating from a weakened position. Talk about shrewd tactics!
Even if this backfires, USC would only be gone for a year. UCLA won't agree to more than that (they have the right of first refusal at the Rose Bowl), and USC can't find anywhere else that seats 90,000+. After one season, USC will have made its point and the parties will have figured out how to return the Trojans to the Coliseum.
Any word on why the Coliseum lights went out so early after the UCLA game? The band was still playing and I was just outside (only 20 minutes after the end of the game) when half the lights were turned off. -- Bobak
No conspiracy theory necessary. When the lights go down in the city ... it's frequently a car hitting a transformer. We're not sure if that's exactly what happened in this case, but a representative for the Coliseum confirmed that the lights went off early due to a local power outage. It started somewhere well outside the perimeter of the stadium and affected a lot of Exposition Park and the surrounding neighborhood. The Coliseum's sign off the 110 Freeway went down, too.
Some lights were powered by backup generators, so there was ample lumination for people leaving the area. Though stadium officials haven't dealt with a situation like that mid-game, presumably they could get backup power turned on fast enough to finish playing. If not, maybe that's one of the renovations that should be done.
Which Hollywood starlet reportedly slept with the entire USC football team? -- David
This seems like a Matt Leinart joke in reverse. Anyway, Kenneth Anger's "Hollywood Babylon" reportedly said Clara Bow was the Trojans' biggest, um, fan back in the 1920s. Snopes says it's not true. I'm inclined to believe the latter.
Plenty more after the jump, including Reggie Bush and the NCAA Death Penalty, Mark Sanchez vs. Mitch Mustain, the Sears Cup and Lexus Gauntlet, and Hershel Dennis and Championship Streaks ...
