usc

smazza · October 4, 2006

CROWE'S NEST

Carmichael goes extra yard in autobiography

By Jerry Crowe, Times Staff Writer

October 3, 2006

It's debatable which is more remarkable, the life lived by Al "Hoagy" Carmichael or the hard-bound, photo-filled, 399-page, eight-pound autobiography he wrote to celebrate it.

In a wondrous example of the star-touched symmetry that typifies his life, the former Gardena High, Santa Ana College, Marine Corps, USC, NFL and AFL running back lived as a young boy in a home where Jim Thorpe had once lived, and as an adult stood in for Burt Lancaster in the 1951 film, "Jim Thorpe: All American."

Carmichael, who will turn 78 on Nov. 10, was never really a star after he left junior college, but you would never know by leafing through the book. Nor by the way he always seemed to be in the right place at the right time Ã¢â‚¬â€ all of it documented by his late wife, Jan, who kept voluminous scrapbooks.

A ruggedly handsome man, Carmichael posed for publicity shots before the 1953 Rose Bowl with a young actress named Marilyn Monroe. Then he scored the only touchdown in the Trojans' 7-0 victory over Wisconsin, flying off to New York afterward to appear on "I've Got a Secret" with Zsa Zsa Gabor, among others. He even met his namesake, songwriter Hoagy Carmichael Ã¢â‚¬â€ part of another publicity stunt.

Teammate Frank Gifford introduced him to the woman he later married.

With the Green Bay Packers, Carmichael played in the first game at Lambeau Field and forged lasting friendships with such Packers legends as Bart Starr, Paul Hornung and Ray Nitschke.

Less happily but no less memorably, he later was cut by a rookie coach named Vince Lombardi, though he proudly made it through what he called a "hellacious" training camp.

With the Denver Broncos, he scored the first touchdown in American Football League history. During his down time, he appeared in more than 50 movies and television shows as an actor, extra or stuntman.

And 50 years ago this week, on Oct. 7, 1956, Carmichael set an NFL record that still stands, returning a kickoff 106 yards for a touchdown in the Packers' 37-21 loss to the Chicago Bears at Green Bay.

Carmichael is so fond of the twice-matched-but-never-bettered record that he titled his autobiography "106 Yards." And judging by the reception that greeted him when he set it, he's not sure the record will ever be broken.

"When I came off the field, none of the coaches congratulated me," he said. "They were all mad because I ran it out from so deep. That's a no-no."

It wasn't until the next night, when Carmichael appeared with Coach Lisle Blackbourn on television, that Blackbourn finally acknowledged him.

"He put his arm around me and hugged me," Carmichael said. "He told me he was sorry that he hadn't come over and shook my hand at the time."

Lombardi, who arrived three years later, was a less apologetic sort.

"One time," Carmichael said, "he was drawing up plays on a chalkboard and he said, 'When I've got my back to you and I'm writing up here, I don't want any talking behind my back.' He says, 'That's disrespectful and I won't put up with it.'

"Well, somebody was talking behind us and, I'm not kidding, Lombardi swung around and threw that chalk eraser about 90 miles an hour, hit this guy who'd been talking. Lombardi says, 'I don't know who you are, a rookie or a veteran, but it doesn't matter; you're no longer on this team,' and he directed his assistants to escort the guy out. You don't think that got our attention? Everybody snapped to."

Carmichael, who played six seasons with the Packers, sensed that glory days were in the offing at Green Bay, but unfortunately they didn't include him.

Slowed by an ankle injury, he was cut early in the 1959 season.

"I felt like my world had ended," he said.

A year later, on Sept. 9, 1960, Carmichael and former Notre Dame quarterback Frank Tripucka hooked up on a 59-yard scoring pass in the Broncos' 13-10 victory over the Boston Patriots at Boston Ã¢â‚¬â€ the first touchdown in AFL history.

"It was kind of ironic," Carmichael said, "a USC man catching a touchdown pass from a Notre Dame quarterback."

Carmichael, who never made more than $14,000 in pro football, retired after the 1961 season and continued working in Hollywood until moving to Palm Desert in 1983. In 1974, he was inducted in the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. Starr, his former teammate, called him "the most gifted multiple-back" of the 1950s.

A father of three and grandfather of 10, Carmichael began writing his memoirs in 1997, at the urging of his wife, who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. His son, Chris, who owns a publishing company, found her old scrapbooks in storage and couldn't believe the treasure trove he'd stumbled upon. He published the book, which is chockfull of old stories and photos offering a fascinating glimpse into a bygone era, calling it "a labor of love."

It shows.

One tidbit that wasn't included: Of his touchdown reception in the 1953 Rose Bowl, delivered by substitute quarterback Rudy Bukich, Carmichael said, "It was a rising pass and, just between you and me, I almost dropped it."

But of course he didn't.

He's got photographic evidence.

smazza · October 5, 2006

Coliseum Officials Weigh Options

Change in tactics comes amid little progress by NFL; giving control to USC is a possibility.

By Sam Farmer, Times Staff Writer

October 5, 2006

Recognizing that little progress is being made on the NFL-to-Los Angeles front, members of the Coliseum Commission on Wednesday said they need to explore other options for the stadium, among them handing control of the venue to USC.

If that were to happen, it could effectively end the NFL's interest in that stadium.

"We can't just extend this indefinitely with no promise of a future that includes the NFL," said David Israel, one of three state-appointed members of the commission. "The stadium's almost 84 years old and in dire need of improvements. Maintenance has been deferred. We need new seats, we need new scoreboards, we need to rethink how the concourse works. And every year we wait, it gets more expensive to do."

In considering alternatives, Coliseum officials are following the lead of their Pasadena counterparts, who are exploring non-NFL options for the Rose Bowl, and those in Anaheim, who are entertaining other offers for a 53-acre parcel once earmarked for a football stadium.

"I'm not sure deadline is an appropriate word," said Bill Chadwick, another commission member. "But I wouldn't wait until the end of October," when NFL owners will convene in New Orleans for their fall meeting. "I think we need to aggressively pursue a Plan B so we have more than one viable alternative."

The NFL, which has been in sporadic negotiations with the Coliseum for the last decade, apparently was caught off guard by the development.

"This is the first we've heard of it," league spokesman Brian McCarthy said, declining to comment further.

It was a somewhat surprising turn for a commission that in recent years has aggressively pursued an NFL deal, with some members regularly attending Super Bowls and owners meetings.

The future of the Coliseum is an especially significant issue now because the commission, whose 50-year lease agreement with the state recently expired, is poised to begin new contract negotiations. USC leases the stadium from the commission, and that two-year agreement ends after the 2007 football season.

In the commission's traditional monthly meeting Wednesday, Chadwick introduced the concept of entering into a "master lease" with USC, which would effectively transfer the day-to-day operations of the stadium to the university, much like the agreement the commission has been negotiating with the NFL. Chadwick said he discussed a similar idea with USC President Steven B. Sample a few years ago.

"I think we should revisit it," Chadwick said, "and I think we should revisit it aggressively."

Todd Dickey, a USC senior vice president, said the school would be "very interested" in a long-term lease agreement because "we're going to be playing there 100 years from now."

The Coliseum Commission, the joint state-county-city body that manages the state-owned facility, annually pays $80,000 to the state as rent for the Coliseum and the adjacent Sports Arena. That cost might rise dramatically under a new lease. The commission, in turn, rents the stadium to USC, its biggest tenant, and other teams. The current lease caps USC's rent per game at the Coliseum at 8% of gross ticket revenue based on a maximum of 70,000 tickets sold.

Under a master-lease agreement, USC would become the landlord and set the terms, dates and rent for every other event at the stadium.

Coliseum officials, in hopes of landing an NFL deal, have signed only short-term agreements in recent years to make a potential transfer to the league as clean as possible. If stadium officials were to engage in any long-term business relationships, it would clearly demonstrate they have moved on.

"We have to send a message to the league that if we don't get some sort of affirmative progress out of the October meeting, we may have to go in another direction," Israel said. "We just can't wait indefinitely."

smazza · October 5, 2006

USC REPORT

Johnson Reviews His Performance

By Gary Klein, Times Staff Writer

October 5, 2006

Seeing is believing.

That's what freshman tailback Stafon Johnson found out early last month in USC's film room when he dissected his daily performance.

Since that lengthy session, Johnson has slowly progressed from the bottom of the depth chart. On Wednesday, with C.J. Gable out again because of a groin strain and Allen Bradford working with the scout team, Johnson returned kickoffs and took numerous repetitions with the first- and second-unit offenses.

"You've just got to be patient and let things come to you," Johnson said.

Like most freshmen, Johnson was in a hurry to play when he arrived from Dorsey High as one of the Trojans' most prized recruits.

While fellow freshmen Gable, Bradford and Emmanuel Moody worked with the regulars and scored touchdowns in the Trojans' season-opening victory over Arkansas, Johnson donned a black shirt for the scout team.

"I was like, 'What is going on? What did I do? Am I good enough?' All those thoughts go through your head," Johnson said.

USC coaches told him he was plenty good enough.

"They just wanted 110% every play," he said. "No laying back, practicing like you play the game."

Johnson thought he was delivering until one of his high school coaches advised him to get into the film room and review every one of his plays from the first day of practice.

"I went in there and looked at the film and started kind of seeing, 'Well, I could have finished right here. I could have done this right here, done that right there,' " Johnson said. "There wasn't room for excuses anymore."

After four games, Moody and junior Chauncey Washington are regarded as the Trojans' top tailbacks. But Gable's groin problem and Bradford's multiple switches from defense to offense could put Johnson on track to carry the ball or catch passes for the first time Saturday against Washington.

"As long as you do the things that you're supposed to do, you should have no problem," he said. "Everything else will fall into place."

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Steve Smith sported a large purple bruise over his right eye immediately after the Trojans' victory over Washington State last week. The senior flanker thought of it as a badge of honor, a reminder that he caught a career-best 11 passes despite multiple body blows.

"I felt surprisingly good the day after. It wasn't till Monday that I started feeling it," Smith said Wednesday.

All-American split end Dwayne Jarrett, who didn't play against Washington State because of a shoulder sprain, participated again in a few drills and was fitted with special pads. Jarrett's status for Saturday could be a game-time decision.

"I don't know if he's going to be back this week, but he's looking good catching the ball," Smith said. "That shoulder stuff is tough. You don't want to come back too soon and aggravate that injury."

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Kicker Troy Van Blarcom was limited for much of practice and said he might have suffered a strainÃ¢â‚¬Â¦. Nose tackle Sedrick Ellis said he would play against Washington. "At this point, it's just mentally getting over the fact that I was hurt," Ellis said. "The knee is physically fine."

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gary.klein@latimes.com

smazza · October 6, 2006

more stadium issue for southern cal

smazza · October 6, 2006

Coliseum Officials Weigh Options

Change in tactics comes amid little progress by NFL; giving control to USC is a possibility.

By Sam Farmer, Times Staff Writer

October 5, 2006

Recognizing that little progress is being made on the NFL-to-Los Angeles front, members of the Coliseum Commission on Wednesday said they need to explore other options for the stadium, among them handing control of the venue to USC.

If that were to happen, it could effectively end the NFL's interest in that stadium.

ADVERTISEMENT"We can't just extend this indefinitely with no promise of a future that includes the NFL," said David Israel, one of three state-appointed members of the commission. "The stadium's almost 84 years old and in dire need of improvements. Maintenance has been deferred. We need new seats, we need new scoreboards, we need to rethink how the concourse works. And every year we wait, it gets more expensive to do."