An important member of the Trojan family passed away last week.
Ryan Davidson had been battling cancer for 9 1/2 years. He lost the battle on his 16th birthday but will be remembered around USC for winning everybody's heart.
For the last four seasons, Davidson would visit USC's locker room even though he lived in Wisconsin. He served as an honorary team captain and developed a close relationship with several players, notably Matt Leinart -- who would later host the Davidson family at Arizona Cardinals games and at his home in Arizona.
Throughout his battle, Davidson maintained an upbeat attitude that was downright contagious. He was an inspiration to players and coaches for his spirit, not simply in fighting his illness but because he reached out to help others in his situation. He set out to raise $15,000 for the American Cancer Society, but more than doubled his goal.
In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that contributions be made to one of his favorite organizations: the American Cancer Society, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, or the Matt Leinart Foundation.
National letter-of-intent day, when high school football recruits pledge their services to college programs around America, was last week -- but there's still plenty of buzz.
We kept most of our recruiting coverage over on the Fabulous Forum, so if you haven't checked out the football signings category you should take a look.
If you need more, here are the top 10 links that will make you sound like an expert on any L.A. sports talk radio show:
It's not easy being a freshman, and it's especially hard to make an impact as a freshman football player. These five could do it. [Rivals.com]
USC, as usual, signed the best class in the Pac-10. UCLA, unexpectedly, was right on its heels. Find out how the conference stacked up. [ESPN]
Manti Te'o's going to Notre Dame was the biggest news of the day, but did UCLA's Norm Chow make a last-ditch effort to keep him from USC? [Orange County Register]
What's it like inside Rick Neuheisel's office on signing day? Bruce Feldman went in as an embedded reporter. [ESPN]
Bryce Brown, the nation's top unsigned recruit, has, well, a very close advisor. Sounds more like a ticking time bomb. [NY Times]
A lot of hype becomes official and a few surprises are sure to be in store ... today is National Letter of Intent Day. It's the first chance that high school recruits have to formally commit to their new school.
For updates throughout the day, keep an eye on the Fabulous Forum, where we've created a special football signings category so you can get your fix.
You know the ol' joke about the only two seasons in America? There's football ... and spring football.
USC has picked out a practice schedule for the spring, though dates and times are always subject to change. Each practice will be open to the public except April 11 and held on Howard Jones Field unless otherwise noted.
Also, USC's pro day (closed to the public) is April 1. Don't be surprised if Pete Carroll has a practical joke up his sleeve.
Announced practice dates:
March 28, Saturday, time TBA
March 31, Tuesday, 4 p.m.
April 2, Thursday, 4 p.m.
April 3, Friday, 4 p.m.
April 5, Sunday, TBA
April 7, Tuesday, 4 p.m.
April 9, Thursday, 4 p.m.
April 11, Saturday, Coliseum (CLOSED to the public)
April 14, Tuesday, 4 p.m.
April 16, Thursday, 4 p.m.
April 17, Friday, 4 p.m.
April 18, Saturday, TBA (Swim With Mike day)
April 21, Tuesday, 4 p.m.
April 23, Thursday, 4 p.m.
April 25, Saturday, Trojan Huddle at the Coliseum (Time TBA)
USC has experienced problems with sports agents in the past. As a safeguard, staff now checks visitors' identification outside the gates of the team's open practices.
Apparently, they couldn't keep one suitor away from their star quarterback.
Mark Sanchez has reportedly hired his brother, Nick Sanchez, as his agent. Nick was a quarterback at Yale, earned his law degree at USC, and works as a business litigator for Theodora Oringher Miller & Richman in Costa Mesa. According to the Orange County Business Journal, "Mark is the first client of Nick's new sports consultancy at the law firm."
Nick Sanchez knows about college football and has a solid legal resume, but no known experience as an agent. Earlier this month, his brother announced that he would forgo his final year of eligibility at USC and enter the NFL draft. With projections placing Mark at anywhere from the first overall pick to somewhere in the second round, it's stunning that he would pick a rookie to guide him through the process. It's unknown if he will seek additional representation.
Mark Sanchez has been very quiet about his decision to turn pro, taking just a few questions during the news conference held to announce that he was leaving for the NFL. He hasn't been seen much in public since then, but was at the L.A. Sports Awards on Friday. He declined to discuss the matter at that time.
Hiring within the family is often considered risky business, a concern being expressed at SportsAgentBlog.com.
UPDATE: Nick Sanchez confirmed the arrangement to LA Times reporter Gary Klein. He does have some experience in the sports world, as his firm represented the Angels in their fight with Anaheim over the Los Angeles name issue. David Dunn, an experienced agent who represents Carson Palmer, will be retained as an adviser.
-- Adam Rose Photo credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport
The 2008 LA Sports Awards were held Friday, bringing together some of the biggest names in the Southland. Mark Sanchez was on hand, and while he kept mum about the NFL, he did pose for a picture with Phil Jackson. Sanchez was also spotted last week at a Lakers game.
A media panel selected by the LA Sports Council named the top 10 moments of the year, and the Trojans' continued dominance of Pac-10 football -- a seventh straight conference title -- was selected as Los Angeles' seventh greatest moment of 2008. Ken Norton Jr. was there to pick up the hardware. When asked if the Trojans will experience a drop-off on defense next season, he said they might surprise everybody and be even better.
Every local team was honored for its greatest moment, based on an Internet fan poll. USC's top moment was its athletes or alumnis winning 21 medals in the Beijing Olympics. If the school were a nation, it would have been 13th in the world in overall medals and eighth in the world with nine gold medals.
Curiously, the media's favorite USC moment (winning the Pac-10 in football) wasn't even among the three choices that fans had: the Beijing Olympics, the NCAA women's golf championship and the NCAA men's water polo championship. Those three nominees were selected by the school.
The Dodgers' acquisition of Manny Ramirez and the subsequent "Mannywood" craze was the top winner. Staples Center stars dominated the individual awards, with Kobe Bryant being named sportsman of the year, Candace Parker sportswoman of the year, Phil Jackson coach of the year and Mitch Kupchak executive of the year.
A presentation of the awards ceremony will air on PrimeTicket this Friday, with several repeats in the following days.
-- Adam Rose Photos by Jon SooHoo, courtesy LA Sports Council
For the second year in a row, USC had the most players in the Senior Bowl, the annual all-star game featuring some of college football's brightest stars.
Maualuga had the best showing out of his former teammates, with three tackles (one for a loss) and a forced fumble. Wide receiver Patrick Turner led the South with three catches for 30 yards. Defensive end Kyle Moore made a sack for a 6-yard loss. Matthews assisted on a tackle and broke up a pass play. Cushing and defensive tackle Fili Moala were both credited with one tackle.
The biggest performance on Saturday was from West Virginia's Pat White, leading the South to a 35-18 win over the North. That could affect Mark Sanchez. The early-entry redshirt junior seems to yo-yo in draft predictions from No. 1 overall to somewhere in the second round.
Apparently, the Trojans aren't getting bored with the Big 10.
USC has announced a home-and-home football series with Minnesota. The first game will be played on Sept. 18, 2010, in TCF Bank Stadium, the new home of the Golden Gophers as of this fall. The teams will play in the Los Angeles Coliseum on Sept. 3, 2011.
Minnesota features Tim Brewster's run-based spread offense, which will probably still be popular when it meets USC in a year and a half. The schools haven't faced each other since 1980, when USC won, 24-7, at Minnesota. Overall the Trojans lead the series, 4-1-1, with the loss coming in the snow in 1955.
Though fans still long for a classic showdown with USC and the SEC (not that Auburn or Arkansas put up much of a fight earlier this decade), the Big 10 really hasn't fared well against the Trojans in recent history:
Carl Smith was hired as USC's quarterbacks coach and assistant head coach for offense -- then left less than two weeks later when he found a more attractive opportunity with the Cleveland Browns. They must pay better, because it's currently 18 degrees in Cleveland and 81 degrees in Los Angeles.
Denver Broncos quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates has been hired to replace Smith (transitively, Steve Sarkisian). On game days, Bates will call plays from the sideline while newly promoted offensive coordinator John Morton will work from the press box. Despite this shift, USC still returns six of nine assistants and one of two graduate assistants. And some guy named Pete Carroll.
Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler, one of the references on Bates' resume, issued the following statement about his former coach:
"Jeremy is one of the best offensive minds in football. He was extremely innovative with our offense and took our playbook to the next level with some of the things he did, keeping defenses off balance and changing our look but at the same time keeping it simple for us players. Some of the things he did were amazing to watch. He was always watching other teams and coming up with new ideas for our offense. He helped me grow into my third NFL season and helped me reach the Pro Bowl along with some of the other goals I set for myself. As a unit, our offense became one of the most productive in the league with Jeremy calling plays. He brought a lot of excitement to the meeting room and on the field. He made me want to come to work every day and get better. Jeremy will do great things in his new role, and USC couldn’t have picked a better guy."
USC will have a lot of blue-chip recruits to choose from, including three players who spent time as Sanchez's No. 2 and three who were All-Americans coming out of high school. How upset can Pete Carroll really be?
We've got a long way until the 2009 season kicks off in the Coliseum against San Jose State, but let's peer into the future ...
