Pete Carroll's Pranks Involve Fire, Speedos

Pete Carroll is known for pranks. In 2005, LenDale White chucked a dummy off a nearby parking garage for a side-splitting fake suicide. (Really, you had to be there. Also, LenDale White ate the dummy afterwards, which was funny, albeit in a equally horrifying way.) He has also had mock arrests, busted a fake internet piracy ring, and once put his hand through a man without killing him.

Actually, that last one was Criss Angel, but they're essentially the same person in many respects. (Pete Carroll: MINDFREAK!) Carroll's latest prank begs the question of how much more elaborate they can get at USC:

Thursday's stunt began as the Trojans gathered after their final drill ... Offensive line coach Pat Ruel began yelling at a man atop a mechanical lift used for filming practice. The man fell from the lift, on the street outside a fence that surrounds Howard Jones Field, and landed on a cushion out of view of those attending practice ... A few seconds later, Ferrell burst through the gate carrying the unhurt man ... As Ferrell addressed players, most of whom were laughing, another man emerged from behind the end zone engulfed in flames. After the flames were put out, Ferrell doused the man with water.

Past this point, they're going to have to start parachuting people in, setting up elaborate sets, or using CGI to top past years' pranks. Mark Sanchez and Sean Penn star in ... The Game 2: It's For Real This Time! Pete Carroll didn't mean to nearly suffocate you in a trunk and leave you in the desert bound in duct tape without any ID. It was all just part of a prank, you see ... OR WAS IT?

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.