Bleacher report: Pete Carroll has a new enemy: Jim Harbaugh

From the Bleacher Report:

If you grew up in Ohio, chances are you still reserve a good deal of hatred for Bo Schembechler; it's Woody Hayes if the tables are turned.

These days, the Red River Rivalry brings the collective Oklahoma and Texas blood to a boil hotter than their chilies, with Bob Stoops and Mack Brown hanging over the pot.

This past weekend, Pete Carroll and USC fans found a new Public Enemy No. 1: Jim Harbaugh and his Stanford Cardinal.

USC fans will surely have Harbaugh firmly held in a special cold, dark place in their hearts after making the classless decision to embarrass Pete Carroll and the USC Trojans.

With a victory clearly in hand after a fourth-quarter thumping of USC on both sides of the ball, and on the heels of a pick-six, Harbaugh sent his Cardinal offense back to the ball for a two-point conversion with the score 48-21.

Bleacher report: Who's better, Kobe or LeBron? It's no debate at all.

From the Bleacher Report

In the same manner in which Kobe Bryant was unfairly compared to Michael Jordan in the late '90s, the debate continues with LeBron James being similarly compared to Kobe.

Some fans and pundits have even had the temerity to go as far as saying that James has already surpassed Bryant as a player.

They reinforce their arguments with statistics and the many milestones that James has accomplished at such an early age. Many of these same milestones are marks that Kobe held until James surpassed them.

There are areas of the game where James holds an advantage over Kobe, most noticeably the physical specimen department, but most arguments are based on the potential of James and not his current accomplishments.

The only problem with gazing into the crystal ball is that sometimes the present intervenes and renders all predictions useless. It's much better to live in the present, and based on that, the James argument doesn't hold up.

While James and Bryant are great players, there are some areas that James has yet to catch up, and in some cases, never will.

Bleacher report: Could LeBron James be heading to the Lakers?

From the Bleacher Report:

Now I've never been one to spread gossip, but this particular item deserved a little attention.

Sam Smith of Bulls.com wrote an article today speculating that LeBron James could be headed to the Lakers next summer.

Smith acknowledges that the Lakers, owners of the NBA's highest payroll, do not have the sufficient cap space to sign LeBron outright. His rationale is that if LeBron has his heart set on going to the Lakers then the Cavs would have no choice but to accommodate his majesty, or risk getting nothing for him in return.

To make matters even more complicated, Smith writes, "I’ve heard this scenario from some NBA people, though I’ve heard every other one as well..."

Well, that last part I agree with. If James did plan on leaving town the Cavs would be much better off at least getting one building block for him.

Here's what Smith writes about the particulars of the deal:

If [the Cavs] don’t accommodate him, he’s going to New York or Miami and they get nothing. But if they do in a sign-and-trade to save the franchise, they get a young, potential All-Star center in Andrew Bynum. Maybe Lamar Odom as well or Ron Artest. Draft picks, some pieces like Jordan Farmar.

Bleacher report: Lakers' options for shoring up a thin frontcourt

From the Bleacher Report:

One of the greatest misconceptions about this Lakers team is that they have incredible depth.

I don't know if it's because people forget that they made two-for-one trades like Maurice Evans and Brian Cook for Trevor Ariza or Kwame Brown and Javaris Crittenton for Pau Gasol or that they traded Chris Mihm to the Grizzlies last February for just a conditional second-round pick.

The Lakers did add to their bench last season when they made a one-for-two trade — moving Vladimir Radmanovic to the Charlotte Bobacts for Shannon Brown and Adam Morrison.

But because Morrison probably won't factor into the Lakers rotation without an unforeseen injury, you can consider that one a one-for-one trade.

Since the Ariza trade back in Nov. 2007, the Lakers have increased the quality of their starting lineup at the expense of their bench.

Sure they have a Sixth Man of the Year candidate in Lamar Odom, but the rest of their bench is a bit suspect.

Bleacher report: A letter from an Oregon fan to Matt Barkley

From the Bleacher Report

Dear Matt,

Wow! What a year for you so far! Rarely do we see true freshman quarterbacks such as yourself play so majestically, especially under pressure.

We love the fact that you are a 19-year-old kid from California making national news on the gridiron. Way to represent the West Coast, kid!

We have been watching you for quite some time now. Your first performance (vs. San Jose State) didn’t particularly wow us, even though you went 15-of-19 with 233 yards and one touchdown. We all pointed out that it was against San Jose State, and that Pete Carroll himself could have put up those numbers.

The big thing we were all waiting for was your first away game, which was at the Horseshoe in Columbus, Ohio, no less. We all wanted you to fail miserably and prove to the nation that you were just a fluke, and that the University of Southern California would be garbage in the Pac-10 this year. 

Boy, were we wrong!

Not only did you keep your poise, but you came out the victor over Ohio State and the hated Terrelle Pryor and really proved your worth nationally as well.

Bleacher report: Trojans' report card

From the Bleacher Report:

In a game that demanded repairs to a Trojan offense that stalled badly in Seattle where they lost yet another game they should have won, only partial answers were supplied. Meanwhile, new questions arose and in some ways, a much larger sense of vulnerability prevailed.

Going into Berkeley next week to face an angry Bear team, the Trojans needed to find themselves in a hurry in this game and for the most part, what they found was still left wanting.

Here is the Trojan report card for this highly uneven performance:

Offensive Coaching:

Jeremy Bates needed to open up the passing game and to his credit, he did. Even with a sore shouldered Matt Barkley, the Trojans threw down field often and with success. It was apparent that young Mr. Barkley was not throwing at full strength but overall, the game plan will give the Bears something to chew on for next Saturday. The running game was effective, except for inside the WSU five yard line on fourth downs but more on that later. Sustained drives were an issue and WSU actually had more first downs than the Trojans (18-14).

Grade: B

Quarterbacks:

Barkley, under the circumstances, was outstanding. Though obviously not at full strength, the true freshman still found receivers down field and showed great touch. At least three passes were dropped and one taken away when Travon Patterson went out of bound and came back in to make a catch. Barkley had a career high 247 yards on 13 completions. Meanwhile, Aaron Corp, in mop up duty, managed a fumble and little else.

Grade: B+

Bleacher Report: Hey Mr. Bates, Ohio State is waiting for USC

From the Bleacher Report:

On Saturday, the USC Trojans amassed 620 yards of offense,  342 rushing and 278 passing. They did it with mostly straight-up power runs, short screens, a few hitch passes, and a couple of mid-range passes.

There were no double reverses, no end-arounds, no tailback or wideout passes, no shovel passes, no flea flickers, not even one long fade route.  All in all, the offense was a conservative one, or what some might call vanilla.  The Trojans showed nothing new, nothing unusual.  And nothing to complain about.

Maybe that is what’s so unusual.

In years past, sportswriters and fans would criticize any Trojan offensive coordinator who was not named Norm Chow for coming up with a vanilla game plan.

It happened in Matt Leinart’s final season when....

Bleacher Report: Manny Ramirez really is to blame for Dodgers' offensive woes

From the Bleacher Report:

Before we get started, I want to note that this is a legitimate response to Eric Karros’ comments on my article about Manny Ramirez’s lack of production.

On his Wednesday afternoon show, ESPN Radio host Colin Cowherd addressed the arguments I asserted in regard to Manny’s inability to drive home runs and his poor average against off-speed pitches.

Later in the show, former Dodger and current FOX baseball analyst  Karros joined Cowherd to discuss the recent struggles of the Los Angeles offense.

(Listen to the entire podcast here; Karros comes on in the 11 a.m. segment.)

Karros argued that Rafael Furcal and the top-of-the-order production is the real culprit for the run-scoring swoon and the poor Dodgers record that accompanied his downturn.

This goes against what I argued, that the second-half troubles of the Dodgers are due to Manny’s slump.

As Karros was about to get off the air, he made a snide remark that specifically caught my attention.

Karros said, with Cowherd chuckling in the background, "I don’t know who wrote that thing on Manny, but I’d go redo that report."

Bleacher Report: Why Chone Figgins, not Ichiro, is baseball's best leadoff man

From the Bleacher Report:

What is the job of a leadoff hitter? He should be able to do three things: get on base, steal bases and look at a lot of pitches.

It's pretty basic. A leadoff hitter has to get on base so the batters behind him can drive him in. He should be able to steal bases to not only get in the pitcher's head, but so the following batters can more easily drive him in. A leadoff hitter also should look at lots of pitches so the rest of the batters on the team can see what's in the pitcher's arsenal.

So, keeping that in mind, let's compare the three statistics of Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners and Chone Figgins of the Angels:

1. On-base percentage -- Ichiro and Figgins have an extremely close on-base percentage, with Figgins (.397) just beating Ichiro (.391) out by a minuscule .006 points. On-base percentage is a better tool to evaluate a leadoff hitter because their job is to get on base and it doesn't matter how they do it.

Bleacher Report: Is USC the new Miami?

From the Bleacher Report:

USC was never much of a factor on the college football stage.

Until 1921.

The 20th century Trojans were one of the greatest programs in college football, boasting an astonishing array of national championships, Heisman Trophy winners, and a 25-14 bowl record.

Two of the greatest coaching geniuses in the history of the game, Gus Henderson and Howard Jones, graced the Trojan sidelines.

Henderson won 45 and lost seven during his time, Jones won 121 and lost 36.

Later in the century, Jess Hill, John McKay and John Robinson combined for 276 victories against 92 losses during their coaching tenure.

The reputation of the Trojans preceded them onto the field. They were talented, fearsome, well coached, and pure dynamite in a big-game situation. They did not need any further chapters in school history to solidify their place in college football history. They could rest on the laurels of 1920 through 1990.

And then came Pete Carroll.