There's a wave of funny sports videos that are really starting to take advantage of the online platform. What's striking about them is the production value. We aren't talking about any knucklehead with a webcam.
Global Sports Fraternity (one of its BCS videos can be seen above) launched this month and has some great characters -- including real monkeys.
Ditto for Mayne Street, available on ESPN.com. OK, no monkeys, but it has actual ESPN on-air talent and a hairy cameraman who won't take off his sunglasses.
Then you have road trip videos. It all started with Dan Rubenstein, who was independent for a year before being picked up by Sports Illustrated as the SI Tour Guy. It may be impossible to top the original, but ESPN and Fox are trying. The former has launched its own Road Trip, while the latter was casting in Hollywood a few months ago (I haven't seen videos yet, but they have a Tales From the Tailgate blog).
USC, of course, has done a few things in-house. Will Ferrell teamed up with the Trojans for a Halloween prank video, and I hear there's some other funny stuff in development for All Access subscribers.
If you're looking for a good laugh, you should also check out this webisode of "A Season in the Stands." The show doesn't always try to tickle your funny bone, but Emily Nerland does.
-- Adam Rose
The phrase "expert from USC" conjures thoughts of film, business and engineering ... but what about conjuring itself? Or cemeteries and monsters?
As we head into Halloween, it's good to know USC has the subject covered. Engineering professor Geoffrey Spedding has studied the aerodynamics of bats. Philosophy professor Edwin McCann is an expert in magic and occultism in the 17th century. Other faculty members can tell you about spook culture ranging from 19th century Gothic lifestyles to modern horror films.
The school's PR department prepared for some scary media inquiries (unrelated to Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo) with a roster of ghoulish gurus. Here's one professor who sounds like fun: "Leo Braudy, professor in English and American Literature, has taught a course for many years called 'The Monster and the Detective.' The monsters include Wolfman, Dracula, Freddy Krueger and Jason. He's also a contributor to the newly-published book, 'The Book of Lists: Horror.'"
They may even have a cadre of cadaver experts ... but can any of them dance the Monster Mash?
-- Adam Rose
In the court of public opinion, Lou Holtz has been treated unfairly.
A lot of noise was made when he invoked the name of Hitler in a discussion about leadership. Some simply stated that Holtz was wrong while others were pretty perturbed. Holtz later apologized for what he said and ESPN plans to take no disciplinary action. That raised eyebrows, because the network suspended another employee who made a Hitler reference earlier this year.
What's really disconcerting is how poorly some people understood Holtz's comment and context. Holtz was broadcasting with fellow ESPN analysts Rece Davis and Mark May, who had been talking about the need to have strong leaders on your team to turn around a program. Here's a quick transcript, as provided by ESPN:
Holtz: "Let's remember Hitler was a great leader, too."
Davis: "You're saying he was a bad leader."
Holtz: "Yes, he was a bad leader. What I am trying to say is some people are
going to lead your team the wrong way and complain ... some will lead down the
right way."
I'm really disappointed in the indignant, knee-jerk reactions to these words. While the other Hitler reference (made by Jemele Hill) was a risky analogy, Holtz was making a sincere attempt to remind people that leadership, administered incorrectly or maliciously, can cause harm. Obviously Hitler was the embodiment of evil. But he was undoubtedly effective.
Hitler and Nazi Germany are touchy subjects, but we should never make open discussions taboo. That would be Hitler-like. Completely avoiding references to Hitler even runs counter to the wishes of Holocaust survivors. They've asked us to never forget.
I'm not sure who we're worried about offending when we discuss things openly, earnestly, and with good intentions. Coaches serve as role models and can transform lives. There's no shame in saying that their leadership should take their communities in a healthy direction. And that's all Holtz was saying, though he wasn't very glib about it.
Obviously Holtz never meant to compare anybody in the modern day to Hitler. He certainly wasn't saying Hitler was a great person. And we all know his real prejudices are obvious and mildly endearing: favoring Notre Dame and whatever team his son Skip is coaching.
-- Adam Rose
 Believe it or not, there is a cool freshman at USC. His name is Michael Balzary.
You probably know him as Flea, the bassist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The legendary group has sold more than 50 million albums, won six Grammy Awards and topped the Modern Rock charts a record 11 times.
The 45-year-old is listed as an "undergraduate visitor" in USC's Thornton School of Music. Balzary probably has a leg up on most of his classmates, considering he founded the Silverlake Conservatory of Music and, oh, yeah ... is a rock icon. Although he's on campus several times per week, don't expect any dorm sightings -- Flea's a commuter student.
Besides collaborating with legendary artists such as Jane's Addiction, Nirvana and Alanis Morissette, Balzary has appeared in "The Big Lebowski," "My Own Private Idaho" and two of the "Back to the Future" movies. His latest "appearance" was at USC's football practice -- he stopped by after class because he heard a commotion. The Trojans were playing simulated crowd noise to mimic their upcoming road trip to Oregon State, and the practice field is adjacent to the music school.
You may know that Balzary is a huge sports fan and blogs about his beloved Lakers on NBA.com.
No word if the team will try a flea-flicker this season in his honor.
Of course, Balzary isn't the only music celebrity starting his undergraduate studies at USC this year. Percy Miller, better known in his rap career as Romeo (a.k.a. Lil' Romeo), is on scholarship to play basketball for the Trojans.
Update: Margaret Wapler of Soundboard just posted this interview with Flea where he talks more indepth about his musical goals at USC (which includes the jazz trumpet?), the status of the RHCP, and much more.
-- Adam Rose
Photo: Kristian Dowling/Getty Images
This may be a sports blog, but I've got a message for Apple if anybody's listening:
What did you do to iTunes?!?
Version 7.7, which has been out about a month, no longer imports .wav files. That means things that might be of interest to this crowd -- like Pete Carroll's post-practice press gaggle -- will be on hold until we can figure out a fix. A bit of Googling shows that other people are experiencing this problem, but there are no solutions on apple.com/support.
If anybody (perhaps in Cupertino) can shed some light, it would be appreciated ...
-AR
The last year has yielded two of the Internet's most guilty pleasures: the Rick Roll and Stuff White People Like. Both are amusing and, on some level, awkward and disturbing.
With a nod to EDSBS's recent post on Stuff Black and Gold People Like, we present Stuff Cardinal and Gold People Like (not to be confused with the alumni organization by that name, which primarily likes football and tailgating) ...
Numbers - The nine-oh. The two-nine. The three-two. These all mean something to Trojans (though younger ones might now know the latter as "Superior"). Area codes fall into this as well. The 949 carries a different social meaning than 909 or 818. Those new to the area claim to be "still reppin' 213" when they get their new digits. And nobody knows what the Harbor freeway is anymore. It's the 110.
Whoever Is Playing UCLA/Notre Dame - When the Bruins and Irish face each other, USC fans will be satisfied only if both lose. Longtime Trojan broadcaster Pete Arbogast coined the term "The Perfect Day" for any time that USC wins and both of its archrivals lose. Trojan fans have been reported to have a toast outside of the Coliseum whenever a perfect day occurs.
Orange County - If they aren't from there, cardinal and gold people have usually watched their fair share of Laguna Beach or The Real Housewives of Orange County. And don't forget that The OC was produced by a USC alum. But mostly, cardinal and gold people are either from Orange Country or dated somebody from there.
Read on »
 You may have read stories over the last week about the tragic and senseless killing of Jamiel Shaw II. The story first ran in the L.A .Times on March 4 and a follow-up was in yesterday's paper. LAist posted a number of video tributes. If you missed it, try to take a couple of minutes today to learn about what happened. It's a stunning reminder that life is precious -- and sometimes all too short.
Even if you heard about the what happened, you might not have realized that Shaw was part of the Trojan Family.
Shaw was a cousin of Audrena Goodie, a longtime staff member of the USC Leventhal School of Accounting. He was also a candidate for a USC Summer Leadership Program. People in Leventhal are trying to get the word out about a fund that has been established in his name (to support the family, including a younger brother that he helped care for) as well as a number of memorial services that are starting today (more information is available after the jump).
Our condolences go out to the entire Shaw family.
Yesterday, Kurt Streeter wrote a column about the violence. In it, he implored readers:
"Volunteer. Find a charity and send money. Call your congressman. Do something."
Amen. You don't have to start a charity like Pete Carroll, but at least you can give to one. And remember that time is often more valuable than money (just ask Randy Pausch -- check out his "Last Lecture" and "Time Management Lecture" if you've got a couple of hours).
Read on »
Congrats: LA Times columnists Bill Plaschke and T.J. Simers were both honored by the Associated Press Sports Editors this week.
Get Well Soon: UCLA superhero John Wooden was hospitalized after a fall today. We all wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him courtside at a USC-UCLA tournament game in the coming weeks.
Two USC alumni went to Rio last week for Carnival and wound up lost in a Brazilian rain forest. They hacked their way through the dense foliage for 26 hours until a rescue crew found them. Local reporters jumped on the story, eager to talk about these young men from the land of movie stars (the most outlandish articles, sadly, are available only in print).
They didn't catch any tropical diseases but maybe the media circus was contagious.
Since their return, bizarre outbreaks have been cropping up all over Troy.
USC and the Coliseum Commission tentatively agreed to keep the Trojans playing on their home field for two, 25 or 47 years. The announcement was complete with the Trojan Marching Band, an appearance by Pete Carroll, and, in the middle of everything, a surprise proposal by a private equity firm to take over the Coliseum for $700 million. If none of that works out, state lawmakers might just offload the property.
Reggie Bush was scheduled to give a deposition on the 25th in response to accusations that he called "cowardice." The case took another strange turn when Lloyd Lake stormed out of his own deposition. Allegedly, somebody accompanying Bush's legal team flashed a gun at him. Lake's attorney told ESPN, "Come on, we're lawyers. I don't threaten people, I sue them."
As ugly as it may get in civil court, things couldn't get much worse for another Trojan on the hard court. Cyberspace is running out of room to list all of Daniel Hackett's injuries. At last count, he's suffering from a fractured spine, partially torn oblique, bruised pelvis and sprained ankle. At least the broken jaw is healed. Another guard -- Marcus Simmons -- is hoping to hobble out against UCLA on his own sprained ankle to help USC's depleted roster.
OK, maybe that last one isn't a media circus -- but it should tell you something when a USC-UCLA rivalry game fades into the background of all this other news. Don't worry, O.J. Mayo is still getting ink.
At least nobody in the Trojan family has their mugshot on TM ... nevermind. Don't tase me JDB's bro!
With so much going on at USC, the Old Gray Lady found it fit to print a feature on a young blond boy. Yup, high school junior Matt Barkley's commitment to USC is even big news in the New York Times.
One of Troy's most popular figures, Will Ferrell, is stepping it into high gear to promote his latest movie. Ferrell appears in Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition with Heidi Klum and can be seen on billboards for "Semi-Pro" rocking short-shorts. He spoke with Arash Markazi about his old job in USC's sports information office, where they could probably use an extra hand right about now.
The Trojans may add some more international (or at least multi-lingual) hubbub when the women's soccer team plays the Mexican women's national team next week.
If the Trojans were playing Brazil, maybe the circus could come full circle.
The same day nine USC students were arrested on suspicion of public intoxication during an event some are describing as a riot (reports are that 1,000-2,000 were involved), O.J. Mayo's dad was arrested for "possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver."
Ben Bolch will have a story up about Mayo's dad shortly.
There are a lot of rumors about the "riot" at USC, but eight years ago this would have been called a typical Thursday night, with no need for riot gear. That's just my gut feeling after seeing some limited video footage on YouTube (warning: expletives used at the end). Another difference? A few years ago, people wouldn't ask for trouble by posting parties on social networking sites like Facebook (that was apparently behind last night's events, and also led to a USC fraternity getting the ax for a party on 4-20 last year).
On the topic of crime (or at least criminally inept), we haven't said much yet about the Lane Kiffin vs. Al Davis feud (if you haven't heard about it, the San Francisco Chronicle's Ray Ratto has a great take on the situation). This is a PR debacle for both former Trojan coaches, but far worse for Davis. Angelenos already consider him a criminal for stealing pro football from L.A., and then there are his frequent crimes against fashion.
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