SB Nation User Blog: frak

Brian Scalabrine and Gabe Pruitt are now World Champions with the Boston Celtics. Gabe lucks out...

frak — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 06:47:47 -0000

Brian Scalabrine and Gabe Pruitt are now World Champions with the Boston Celtics. Gabe lucks out in his 1st season in the NBA. Brian Scalabrine finally gets a championship after making it to the finals 3 times. Way to go guys.

2008 Rose Bowl Final Scoreboard

frak — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:49:52 -0000

2008 Rose Bowl Final Scoreboard

2008 Mens Basketball Final Scoreboard at Pauley Pavilion

frak — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:48:14 -0000

2008 Mens Basketball Final Scoreboard at Pauley Pavilion

ucla's Pat Cowan out for the '08 season

frak — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 13:08:27 -0000

Well this is sad news. While Pat Cowan plays for our arch-rival, he has my respect as a true warrior out there on the field. The kid just absorbs punishment, and I'm sure if he could be out there, he would want to play through the pain and sacrifice his body for his team.

Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. The task of rebuilding the bruins is going to take a couple seasons. The offensive line is average at best, and whoever plays QB is bound to be taking a lot of punishment. Ben Olson will probably return to the starting job after losing it to injury last season. It remains to be seen if the injury prone Olson can make it through an entire year without getting hurt.

I'm very sorry that he won't be taking the field with the bruins this coming year. Good luck and get well Pat Cowan.

Trojan Huddle

frak — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 03:06:49 -0000

Bumped...Thanks for the review Frak! - Paragon

Well I have now seen all 3 QB's play in the scrimmage, and what was funny was that Corp seemed to be the fan favorite.

Corp was very efficient moving the ball when he was under center, completing several passes to Damien Williams, and Travon Patterson. I look at it a bit differently since Sanchez was up against the 1st string defense, and Corp was not.

Here are some of the highlights for the day:

Sanchez

First play for the day is a 30 yard completion to Ausberry. Sanchez rolls out to the right and hits him in stride for a big gain.

Sanchez stalls before finally scoring in his second series.

Sanchez throws an interception after a flea-flicker that seemed a little clunky.

Sanchez's play of the day was a 40+ yard touchdown pass down the right sideline to Ronald Johnson. Johnson was double covered, and Sanchez hit him perfectly in stride. The pass was right on the money.

Mustain

Mitch Mustain had a bad day in my opinion. He overthrew a lot of his receivers, but was never picked off. His big play was a 60+ touchdown pass to Brandon Carswell. The pass was low and the receiver had to dig it out of the dirt. The touchdown was all the receiver reversing his field and turning the right corner of the defense. Mustain hit Garrett Green for a touchdown in the first overtime period that was very nice.

Corp

Corp did very well hitting Patterson, and Williams for touchdowns, but his biggest play came at the end of the day. Coach Carroll decided to play 2 overtime series at the end of the day since the scrimmage ended in a 27-27 tie. After Mustain and Sanchez each scored a touchdown in the 1st OT, Sanchez returned in double OT and scored a field goal. Corp came in, and on the 1st play threaded an absolute needle of a pass through 3 defenders to Travon Patterson for the game winning touchdown.

My overall impression is that USC has 3 very capable quaterbacks. I honestly would be comfortable with any of these guys under center.

OK now for the bad part, the turnovers.

Sanchez- 1 INT on a blown flea flicker play

Ronald Johnson- Stripped for a fumble on a kickoff return.

Marc Tyler- 2 very costly fumbles. 1 fumble on his own 3 yard line, and 1 fumble on his own 20 yard line. Both fumbles resulted in touchdowns.

Defensive hit of the day came from Taylor Mays who completely leveled Patrick Turner in the 1st OT period. The good news is that Patrick walked off the field on his own, however he walked off gingerly. The even better news is that he held on to the ball after the crushing hit.

The running game

Stafon Johnson was by far the most impressive to me. Bradford did well, and CJ Gable had a few impressive runs. Marc Tyler needs to take care of the ball though. Broderick Green had an impressive run in a series led by Corp. Its hard to tell how our running game is going to be without Joe McKnight in the scrimmage, but he will be back in the fall. I think we are going to see large doses of Bradford, Gable, and Johnson this year.

Sorry forgot my camera in the car, so no photos.

Congress probing BCS as illegal enterprise?

frak — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 21:59:15 -0000

Heres a link to the story:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3351626

The gist of it is that the non-BCS conferences get the shaft for a chance at the championship game because they don't compete in the premeir conferences. I guess this has gotten a few people in congress, notably from Hawaii, Idaho, or Georgia, to look into possible anti-trust violations since only the most prestigious teams seem to get a chance at the big bowl paydays.

Its hard for this argument to stick after the trouncing that Hawaii received by Georgia this past season. However Boise St. showed that a non-BCS team can play, and win against an elite program like Oklahoma. I'm wondering just how much of the motivation for this probe is coming from a bunch of congressmen that want to see a playoff. For that reason alone, I say scrap the BCS. I can't think of anything more exciting than a 8 or 16 team college football playoff after the regular season.

Rodrick Stewart breaks his knee cap

frak — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 03:00:23 -0000

I've been watching the Kansas-NC game, and was wondering where Stewart was. It turns out he broke his kneecap dunking the ball during a light workout on April 4th, just 1 day before his final 4 debut. I'm sorry to see Rodrick end his career this way. I know he's not a Trojan anymore, but his brother was, and they share the same DNA so I guess I still finding myself rooting for him.

It's been a tough year for the Stewart family. They endured the murder of Rod and Lod's brother a few months ago, now Rod's incredible run with Kansas gets cut short.

Good luck with your bball career Rod. Best wishes.

Taj and Davon are back

frak — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 05:08:45 -0000

My parents just left the basketball banquet, where they were loading up my basketball with autographs. Here is the news:

Taj, after hesitating a bit, announced that he would return for his junior season.

Davon Jefferson's mother said that he wasn't going anywhere.

I realize this is hardly official, but its something.

As for OJ, he was mum on whether he would be coming back. I think everyone there assumed he was gone, but coach Floyd at the podium publicly stated that if he wanted to return next season, that he would be welcomed with open arms.

Come on OJ, call Matt Leinart and ask him if winning the ND game was worth 2 million dollars. He probably would say yes.

Team mom appears at Staples

frak — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 04:38:20 -0000

There's a great article in the LA times today about Paulette Francis. Here is that story Team Mom. Its very nice to see that the players who knew Ryan personally are still doing what they can to keep his memory alive and well. I'm sure that the players are very appreciative that Ms. Francis made the time to visit with them, and root them on at Staples center. I can't think of any greater motivator than to try to win for Ryan's mom.

This would have been Ryan's junior season. I still miss watching that kid play. Thank Paulette for coming out for Ryan's friends and fans. Your son wont be forgotten by this Trojan.

Ryan Francis facts:

Ryan's jersey #12 is emblazoned on the hard wood at center court in the Galen Center.
Ryan's locker in the Galen Center contains his jersey, and his photo. The locker will continue to be his as long as Floyd is coach, and perhaps even after that.
USC established The Ryan Francis Endowed Scholarship in honor of Francis. Donations to that scholarship can be made to:

The Ryan Francis Endowed Scholarship, Heritage Hall 203A, Los Angeles, CA 90089.

Ryan's nickname was "Franchise", and fans still wear their "Franchise" shirts with pride.
Ryan's high school team went 36-0, and were state champs his senior year.
Paulette Francis was at the opening of the Galen Center, and the NCAA tournament in 2007.
D'Anthony Norman Ford was convicted of murdering Ryan, and sentenced to life in prison last year.

Dwayne Jarrett charged with DWI

frak — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:59:19 -0000

From S.I.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Carolina Panthers receiver Dwayne Jarrett was arrested and charged with driving while impaired while in town for the team's offseason conditioning program.

He was taken to Mecklenburg County jail and released on $1,000 bond.

Jarrett was pulled over in suburban Mint Hill at 3 a.m. Tuesday, police spokesman Lt. Sergio Carrera said. An officer spotted Jarrett's car cross the center line and run a red light, Carrera said. The 21-year-old player failed field sobriety tests before he was given a breath test.

"Our players know these kinds of situations are unacceptable," Panthers spokesman Charlie Dayton said. "We have talked to Dwayne and expressed our feelings on this matter and are gathering all the information we can."

Jarrett's agent, Darin Morgan, declined comment.