usc

[JoeB]

Smazza you're off base on this one.  ND has more Heisman winners and titles.  Hands down the IRish are America's team.  They are really the World's team when you look at a national following.

[Apis Bull]

Hey smazza, why don't you go to these and talk about South Florida?

http://usc.rivals.com/forum.asp?sid=995&fid=521

http://mb25.scout.com/fuscfansfrm1

[___ Eats It]

USC drinks pee.

[Velcro]

Overrated (clap clap... clap clap clap)

[smazza]

fight on

[smazza]

A Bush Precedent

Eleven years ago, then-USC tailback Shawn Walters was accused, and punished, after allegations similar to what the Trojans' 2005 Heisman winner now faces

By Gary Klein, Times Staff Writer

October 13, 2006

Shawn Walters reaches into his pocket, pulls out a jangling set of keys and places one on the table.

"Look at this," he says, pointing to a cardinal-colored house key emblazoned with "USC" in gold letters. "I love USC. I have no qualms with USC and I never will."

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It's been 10 years since Walters carried the football for the Trojans, and a little more than a decade since his career was derailed by scandal.

In 1995, USC suspended the running back for taking money and other benefits from a fledgling sports agent  allegations similar to those currently faced by Reggie Bush.

Back then, the school took the unprecedented step of suing the agent, an action USC officials privately say they might consider taking again if the football team were to face sanctions in the Bush case.

Like Bush, Walters faced allegations that he accepted money. Unlike Bush, who has said repeatedly that neither he nor his family did anything wrong, Walters acknowledged during a recent interview that members of his family did accept money.

If agents "can't get you directly, they're going to go to the next best thing," he said. "Your family."

When allegations were reported this spring that Bush's family had accepted extra benefits from an aspiring sports marketing agency, it spurred memories for Walters. He sees many parallels. With one more major difference:

While Bush is a multimillionaire, having been chosen second in the NFL draft, Walters was only briefly in an NFL camp and never played in a game as a professional.

"It totally destroyed my career," he said.

Until he was derailed, Walters was considered a potential pro prospect. At 6 feet and 225 pounds, he led the Trojans in rushing his freshman and sophomore seasons.

"I was in the best shape of my life," he said, recalling the prelude to the 1995 season. "I had worked out all summer, had a little hype coming behind me, and I just felt that I was going to have a breakout year."

Then, in September, the allegations hit.

According to a ledger that was obtained by The Times, Walters received nearly $16,000 in airline tickets, concert tickets, pocket money and other items from Oxnard-based Pro Manage Sports Agency. USC officials determined that $9,000 of that had been given to Walters.

Walters said then, and maintains today, that he never accepted anything more than money for hamburgers or haircuts from his roommates, who, unbeknownst to him, were recruiters working for Pro Manage. He agreed, however, to pay about $3,400 in restitution with hopes that his eligibility would be restored.

The NCAA initially refused, but USC appealed on Walters' behalf and, after sitting out the final nine games of the 1995 season, he was reinstated with the condition that he also sit out the first three games of the 1996 season.

As a senior, Walters never did get going, finishing with 164 yards in 51 carries. He said he went to training camp with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1997 but got hurt and was released. He tried to get into NFL Europe or the Canadian Football League but found no takers.

"That stigma from SC was following me," he said. "I don't think anybody wanted to deal with something like that."

The case also brought to a close the hopes Ventura County attorney Robert Troy Caron had of becoming a sports agent.

A personal injury lawyer, Caron said Pro Manage was the brainchild of his "clerks," friends and semipro football teammates who itched to stay close to the sport.

"They convinced me to open a sports agency and they would run it," Caron said recently. "My mistake was I didn't supervise very well."

USC sued Caron, alleging Pro Manage had interfered with the school's contractual relations with its athletes and had interfered with prospective business advantages for the university.

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Caron said his attorneys wanted to subpoena USC coaches and administrators, "and show what's really going on with student athletes."

But Caron, a lifelong USC fan  "I was named for USC. My father misses a game once every 10 years"  quickly settled the case for $50,000.

"They filed a lawsuit as a way of making a strong statement, which I agreed with because they did establish institutional control," Caron said.

Players from USC, UCLA, Arizona and Utah were punished by the NCAA for allegedly receiving pagers, telephone credit cards, groceries, cash and other items from Pro Manage.

In August 1998, the State Bar of California put Caron on probation for a year and suspended him for 60 days. The suspension was stayed, allowing him to continue to practice law.

Now 47, Caron said his memories of Walters remain clear. They met through Melvin Nunnery, a former Hueneme High and Moorpark College player.

"He was a naïve Texas kid out in the big city for the first time and his eyes were open in wonderment," Caron said of Walters. "He had nothing in the refrigerator, no clothes to wear. He was a college kid struggling.

"A lot of athletes you come across are takers, they want everything. Shawn never asked for anything."

According to Caron, the ledger was "more reflective of money Pro Manage had spent for expenses," rather than benefits received by Walters.

Caron said he tried several years ago to contact Walters but could not reach him.

Asked how he feels when he thinks about Walters, Caron said, "My heart drops."

As for how Walters feels, he seems more philosophical than bitter.

Last January, about three weeks after Bush played his final game for USC in the Rose Bowl, Walters stood before a crowd during a local Trojan Club dinner at nearby Brookside Golf Course and told most of his story.

Walters, 32, talked about the allegations that led to his suspension, saying for the first time publicly that he had incurred the wrath of fans and teammates without revealing that he later learned a family member had taken money.

But during an interview last month, Walters said his mother and stepfather had accepted about $5,000 from Pro Manage representatives.

"For a while I couldn't talk to them. I couldn't even look at them," he said of his parents.

"I never told anyone because I felt that I was stronger than my parents to handle the situation. I felt, 'OK, I'll be suspended a couple games, maybe two, maybe at the worst three. They'll find out I have taken nothing and that will be that.' "

Walters, citing the Bush situation, discounts the notion that he should not have protected his parents.

"Anybody can say what they want to say  'This is your folks. No, you wouldn't,' " he said. "Like Reggie, he would live and die for his parents. I don't know anything about whether what has been said is true. But I think he would protect his family just like I did."

Walters said his mother and stepfather eventually divorced.

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"My mom and I rebuilt our relationship," he said. "My stepfather I had not spoken to till about a month ago for the first time since 1997. Do I want to talk to him about it? Yeah. Will I? Probably not."

Reached by phone in Texas, Walters' mother, Joyce, politely declined to comment.

"I tried to put that stuff behind us and go on with our life," she said.

In 2002, six years after he left USC, Walters returned to the school and completed his degree in public policy and management.

He remains an ardent fan of the football program.

"The Notre Dame game last year? I screamed like a little girl," he said, chuckling loudly. "I'm SC through and through."

Married and living in Pasadena, he works as a construction supervisor and is in his first year as a part-time football coach at Maranatha High. He also volunteers as a youth football coach in Burbank.

Last month, Walters received his first modest paycheck for coaching.

"My wife looked at my face and saw how happy I was," he said. "It felt good to do what you love."

USC Coach Pete Carroll has been lobbying the NFL Players' Assn. to prohibit agents from contacting athletes until they have declared for the draft. Walters supports the idea, as well as increased education of players.

"When I was in school, we didn't get anything other than 'Don't talk to agents,' " he said.

Walters will monitor Bush's situation and plans to continue sharing his own story with youngsters and their parents. Especially parents.

"Whatever you have to do to avoid any contact [with agents]; get a restraining order if you have to," he said. "Just make sure you don't mess up your son's opportunity to have a very fruitful career.

"If it helps one family, I'm good."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

gary.klein@latimes.com

*

(INFOBOX BELOW)

Declining numbers

Shawn Walters' career rushing statistics with USC:

YEAR CAR. YDS. AVG. TD

1996* 51 164 3.2 1

1995+ 25 168 6.7 3

1994 193 976 5.1 11

1993 156 711 4.6 7

Source: USC

*Missed first three games of 1996 season

+Missed last nine games of 1995 season

[smazza]

Hey smazza, why don't you go to these and talk about South Florida?

http://usc.rivals.com/forum.asp?sid=995&fid=521

http://mb25.scout.com/fuscfansfrm1

they dont know who south florida is?

usf can learn alot from usc

[smazza]

USC REPORT

Smith Is Doubtful He'll Play

By David Wharton, Times Staff Writer

October 13, 2006

Having played the last few weeks with a patchwork receiving corps, USC quarterback John David Booty is excited by the prospect of having Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith back in the lineup together.

"Oh yeah, I love when those guys are on the field," Booty said. "It just makes me feel so much better, my confidence level."

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But it might not happen Saturday against Arizona State.

While the USC coaches have been optimistic about Smith's returning from an ankle injury, the receiver wasn't so sure after Thursday's practice.

He went to the sideline about halfway through drills to have the ankle rewrapped and said afterward: "It's doubtful, in my mind."

At least Jarrett said his injured shoulder feels significantly better.

"It still aches slightly," he said. "But I've got range of motion."

After catching 11 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns in the home opener against Nebraska, Jarrett separated the shoulder at Arizona the following week. He said he caught a short touchdown pass with the joint still out of place, then popped it back himself.

Missing the rest of that game and the next was so frustrating that he tried to return too soon against Washington at the Coliseum last week.

Several times, the All-American failed to reach passes he might usually have caught. He finished the afternoon on the bench.

"It wasn't about me being rusty, it was painful," he said. "I couldn't get my arm up to get the ball."

If nothing else, Coach Pete Carroll said his absence gave sophomore Patrick Turner a chance to step up. And Turner did, catching a career-best 12 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown against the Huskies.

This week, Jarrett will play with a special pad to protect the shoulder he said feels about 80% healed.

That's enough for Booty.

"As long as he's in there," the quarterback said, "I'm going to try to get him the ball."

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Carroll seemed equally excited about the health of tailback Chauncey Washington.

Washington battled a hamstring injury in training camp and has been able to practice at full speed only the last two weeks.

Alternating in the backfield with freshman Emmanuel Moody, he led the team in rushing the last two games against Washington State and Washington and has rushed for 292 yards and two touchdowns this fall.

"It's like we've been through preseason with Chauncey and now he's ready to go," Carroll said. "He feels so much better."

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Carroll said that offensive lineman Chilo Rachal, who participated in the early part of practice, would start against Arizona State if his injured ankle does not flare up today…. The offensive coaches have spent this week experimenting with ways to make use of Allen Bradford, the tailback who has also practiced at defensive back and fullback this season…. Kevin Thomas and Cary Harris continue to battle at the cornerback spot opposite Terrell Thomas. Coaches said both would get significant playing time on Saturday.

[smazza]

Larry Stewart:

TV-Radio

Hancock gets a big break after even bigger letdown

October 13, 2006

This was supposed to be Brandon Hancock's big year. After a number of sprains, strains and surgeries, he was all set to be USC's starting fullback.

But during practice on Aug. 14 he twisted his knee awkwardly and suffered torn ligaments. The injury ended his USC career and possibly his football career.

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Making the pain he felt that day even worse was the realization that even though he would still attend practices and meetings, he would not be a part of the team.

That pain was soon eased somewhat.

USC sports information director Tim Tessalone suggested there might be a job for Hancock on the school's new flagship radio station, KSPN 710. Associate athletic director Jose Eskenazi made a call to program director Larry Gifford, who brought Hancock aboard to work on the station's pregame coverage and also do a midday segment every Tuesday.

Hancock is working toward a master's degree in communications and the nonpaying job fits him well. For one thing, Hancock is very bright. He was valedictorian at Clovis West High. For another, he is a good speaker.

"It has been great," he said. "I've always enjoyed doing interviews and speaking engagements, and talking about football comes naturally to me."

He said the job has given him more of a sense of being part of the team, despite not being able to play.

"I'm more attentive in team meetings because I need to know what is going on," he said.

The pregame coverage on 710 begins at 9 a.m. Saturday for the 5 p.m. game against Arizona State. Besides Hancock, the cast includes Steve Mason, Channel 7's Curt Sandoval, Suzy Shuster, Dave Denholm, Harvey Hyde, national radio talk show host Colin Cowherd, former Trojans Darrell Rideaux, Dave Newberry, Curtis Conway and sideline reporter John Jackson. For home games, the shows are done at the Coliseum. The location for road games is Dave & Buster's in Arcadia.

Papadakis update

Sources close to Petros Papadakis said it was the instability at KMPC 1540 that made him walk off his job there. He quit the station on Oct. 3, but news of his departure didn't come out until a week later.

Papadakis, who like Hancock got into broadcasting through Tessalone while still a student at USC, had been at 1540 for five years. The station, mainly because it couldn't solve its weak signal problems, lost the USC package to 710.

Then, last month, the Sporting News Radio Network, which owned 1540, was part of a package sold by Paul Allen's Vulcan Sports Media Inc. to American City Business Journals Inc. The station is now for sale.

Papadakis' contract with the station doesn't run out until the end of the year, so station and Sporting News officials are still exploring settlement options.

Arnie Spanier's national show will fill the void most of the time, with midday host Dave Smith sometimes doing a second show.

Roger Nadel, the station's general manager, said in an e-mail, "We have enjoyed Petros' show … and we're sorry that he has moved on to other activities…. We will continue to make KMPC the city's sports leader."

Said Papadakis: "I love radio. It has always been my passion. I feel a little naked without the show. It was my identity. Maybe one day down the road there will be another opportunity for me in radio. But for now I'm concentrating on television."

Papadakis' father, John, said, "Like everything else Petros does, he gave everything he had to his radio show."

Papadakis and the BCS

His TV obligations include two new Bowl Championship Series shows for the FSN network. One, airing tonight at 6 on FSN West, is "BCS Breakdown," which will look ahead to weekend matchups that feature possible BCS bowl teams. Besides Papadakis, the show includes host Tom Helmer and analyst Gary Barnett, the former Colorado and Northwestern coach. Rick Jaffe is the executive producer.

The other show is "BCS Ratings," which will air Sundays at 6:30 p.m. on FSN West.

With Fox now televising four of the five BCS bowls, including the national championship game, the network beginning this weekend will announce the BCS rankings each week during its Sunday NFL coverage, generally either after a 10 a.m. game or before a 1 p.m. game. Fox will televise the final rankings and the BCS bowl selections on Dec. 3.

Short waves

Former UCLA quarterback David Norrie, who recently signed a new three-year contract with ESPN-ABC, will be the commentator on Saturday's ABC telecast of the USC-Arizona State game, working alongside play-by-play announcer Mark Jones. Former Oklahoma basketball All-American and current WNBA player Stacey Dales will be the sideline reporter…. The ABC team of Dan Fouts and Tim Brant will work UCLA's 12:30 game at Oregon…. Another example of Brent Musburger's stature among his bosses is that on Thursday he was named the host of the NASCAR coverage on ESPN and ABC beginning next year. Handling the lap-by-lap coverage will be Jerry Punch. The lead analyst in the booth will be Rusty Wallace, who will be joined by Andy Petree, a former team owner and the 1993-94 championship-winning crew chief for the late Dale Earnhardt.

[Apis Bull]

Hey smazza, why don't you go to these and talk about South Florida?

http://usc.rivals.com/forum.asp?sid=995&fid=521

http://mb25.scout.com/fuscfansfrm1

they dont know who south florida is?

usf can learn alot from usc

And we don't care who USC is.