FOOTBALL

If It’s Friday, It’s Time For A USC Notes Column

Florida offensive tackle Michael Tarquin, who started seven games in 2022, is transferring to USC.

Tarquin missed four games with an injury. He started two games in 2021.

  • Steve Sarkisian is 59-47 in nine-plus seasons as a head coach and he just made $5.4 million this season. What an amazing story he is for failing upwards.
  • When USC plays Oregon State tonight in women’s basketball, it will face Shalexxus Aaron, who spent four years as a Trojan, transferred to Texas Southern and is now at Oregon State.

And now for some history:

  • This week I learned USC used to have a place to eat called The Scellar. It was located in the basement of Stonier Hall. Looks interesting. This basement eventually became the headquarters of the USC band and for more than 20 years was where Art Bartner had an office. They should have kept The Scellar.

Stonier Hall was privately built in 1927 as a men’s dorm. USC acquired it in 1956. It was converted into offices in 1975.

  • Did you know USC had its own U.S. Postal Service office in the 1950’s?
  • Look at all the Homecoming activities in 1957! And let’s appreciate a homecoming game that kicks off at 2 p.m.

The Homecoming dance featured Frank De Vol and his orchestra. De Vol is best known for his TV theme songs for The Brady Bunch and My Three Sons.

  • Here is a less-known version of George Tirebiter in 1957. They would have never gotten the original to agree to this pose.

Here is an example of when the USC student group “Squires” sabotaged a UCLA card stunt with the words “Hi” and “SC” snuck into the card stunts during the 1957 Crosstown Rivalry.

  • USC’s one season wearing gold helmets was in 1957. Rex Johnston goes 13 yards vs. Cal behind right guard Frank Fiorentino (62). The player in the middle is right tackle Mike Henry.
  • With USC in Texas, it’s a reminder the Trojans stopped in Dallas to visit the Texas Centennial Exposition in 1936.

In the picture below, USC coach Howard Jones (in suit) sports a 10-gallon hat with his players. The guy without a hat is Braven Dyer, who was a Los Angeles Times columnist and eventually became a radio play-by-play/analyst for USC football games.

  • It is fitting Penn State is in the Rose Bowl, because 100 years ago the Nittany Lions faced USC in the 1923 Rose Bowl (pictured above).

Penn State left State College on Dec. 19, taking a train that stopped in Chicago and the Grand Canyon before arriving in California on Christmas Eve.

For some reason, Penn State stopped at the Rose Parade before kickoff and hit a traffic jam. According to Penn State Athletics, the team took taxis to the stadium, with drivers steering onto residents’ lawns to avoid the trafffic. Penn State arrived 15 minutes late, which infuriated USC coach Gloomy Gus Henderson.

Henderson accussed Penn State coach Hugo Bezdek of intentionally being late as a ploy. Bezdek hotly refuted that, which the Pasadena Star-News corroborated. The paper reported Pasadena police chief permitted Penn State’s taxis to drive on sidewalks to get to the stadium.

Henderson and Bezdek had to be separated during a pregame argument before things calmed down. It’s probably for the best there was no fight because Bezdek was a boxer in college. USC won the game, 14-3.

PICTURES OF THE WEEK

  • Marilyn Monroe drinks a coke and Jane Russell fixes her makeup during a break while filming “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” in 1953. At the time, Russell was married to her Van Nuys High School sweetheart, UCLA and Rams star QB Bob Waterfield.
  • The lines are long at the See’s Candies on Broadway and 4th street in Los Angeles duing the 1940’s.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

It’s time for New Year’s Rockin’ Eve in 1977 with Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. Also featured: Bachman Turner Overdrive, KC and the Sunshine Band and Donna Summer.

34 thoughts on “If It’s Friday, It’s Time For A USC Notes Column”

  1. hi john,sum of the poeples heer wunt u to ansur qwesschuns frum the smartir poeples on this blahg,so my qwesschun too u iz wut ethnick groop of poeples do u like the leessed,thanx alot

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Hey Ed.G, how about you learn how to spell bitch, your shtick is getting old, and it ain’t funny. 😂. Tell the Misus big daddy “D” says hello 😂

      Liked by 1 person

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  2. Most here are probably rooting, if only a bit, for 7 win Sark.
    The reason is that he actually was a pretty good QB at BYU back in his day–so he played, and he played well.

    For some reason, “we” always want to root for the reforming alcoholic (or maybe drug addict also–Marinovich?). Nevertheless, I was rooting for the dawgs last night. Pac 12 looking pretty sporty in 2022. Two eleven win programs already (USC and UW) and three ten win programs.

    So yes, I’ll be rooting for the 9-3 Bruins vs Pitt today.
    If the Pac 12 earns 6 teams with a ten win season, then it shows that the coaches and recruits are doing well. (Nevermind that the Pac has feasted on Non-Big 10/Non-SEC teams this year).

    Still a Pac 8 fan (and never a Big 10 fan), but only one year left on that.

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    1. Thank you, Scott, for our once a week journey back into better times. Marilyn, Gloomy Gus, Gold Helmets, Mike Henry…
      …And — speaking of better times — where is George Tirebiter?
      #George?

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    2. I root for anyone formerly associated with USC except those who sue the university and try to blame them for their own shortcomings. So there will be no rooting for Sark.

      I root for every Pac school BUT FUCLA. Go Pitt!

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      1. 100% agree. Wish Sark well with his continued sobriety (he looks much healthier on TV), but he apparently went “cafeteria style” with his application of the 12-steps in his recovery program.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. That quote he screamed at Haden when Pat called him to sack him “….I’m sick I need help!” Then Sarkisian spoke to his:
        wife, his parents, and then of course his agent. Then true character that was always there emerged – suit filed.

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  3. Here’s a funny thought, how about Lincoln Riley gets off his Azz, and go recruit a few 5 star offensive linemen, instead of grabbing washed up offensive Tackles out of the transfer portal? I know Kirby Smart , Jim Harbaugh, and Ryan Dey, and Nick Saban does it . 😂😂😂 I’ll patiently wait for a Trojans Ass Lick Fanboy to respond 😂

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  7. “The lines are long at the See’s Candies on Broadway and 4th street in Los Angeles duing the 1940’s.”

    Only bums and druggies on that corner now.

    Liked by 1 person

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  8. Agree with Wolf and commenter SoCal about Sark, who owes his entire career and earnings to others and not his own success. In chronological order: 1. Pete Carroll (coattails got him the UW job) 2. Ty Willingham (nowhere to go but up at UW after Ty) 3. Pat Haden (hired Sark when he was about to be run out of town at UW and no one else would’ve hired him) and 4. Nick Saban (rehabbed image & coattails for all subsequent jobs). The other coaches that have benefitted from Saban’s coattails have either had prior or subsequent success, in addition to the benefits of working with Saban. Most notably, Lane Kiffin, who has developed into a legit HC. Sark has never proven himself. Charlie Weiss (loss to USC in ’05) and Clay Helton (win vs. UCLA in ’15….thanks again Pat Haden) each parlayed one game into $20m, but they only pulled the wool on one school each. Sark has fleeced three big-time programs. I expect this will be his last top-tier job and the career decline will begin when Texas fires him in a year or two. In the interim, Sark remains the luckiest man in college football.

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    1. I agree with your assessment and what I can’t begin to understand is how does the Manning family, with their vast football experiences allow highly touted Arch to sign with Texas with Sark at the helm?

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  9. I was looking at some films of Michael Tarquin when he was a junior in high school. He was a 4 star. He looked like a real mauler with a mean streak. In high school he played left tackle. At Florida he played right tackle. Looks like a good addition. We could use one more on the O-Line.

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  10. I hear a lot of excuses as to why great players are passing on USC and nobody wants to say the obvious. To me it’s a no-brainer. It’s the money!!! Why wouldn’t a great player want to come to a football power with great tradition, excellent academics, great weather, the ocean for surfing, the mountains for skying, the desert for dirt biking. multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, a new great coach and it’s not a town up in the Ozarks where the most exciting thing to do all week is to go to the grocery store. They are passing on SC because they can make more money going somewhere else even if it’s 5-7 Miami. Carol, Mike……it’s the money….get with the program.

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  11. Damn UCLA , couldn’t have stunk worse in the 2nd half. The Bruin OC should be tarmac’d in El Paso.

    Bottom line: The Bruins lost, deservedly; I have no damn excuses for their stinking, piss-poor 2nd half performance.

    #Adios DTR finally.
    #Welcome E. Garbers

    Cue: “The Sound of Failure” – The Flaming Lips

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    1. DTR…..not very mature emotionally but a really good QB. Lose him and your chances to win are diminished. Bring in Garber and your chances to win go down even more.

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  17. You do want players who commit to the team and not a signing bonus. USC is being deliberate when they tell players no signing bonus or any NIL until after you make the roster. The Los Al players are different because they had their money lined up through a different connection.

    Sorry, MG but better days my arse. Simpler times? Yes, but drama was hidden back then. Each era is different, and nostalgia (like absence) makes the heart grow fonder.

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  18. Nice to see Roderick Pleasent coming to USC on official visit in January before he commits. That is his last official. Kid is Olympic quality fast and plays CB.

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