FOOTBALL

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

Linebackers coach Roy Manning bid farewell to USC on Thursday. Why did it take so long? Well, Manning was a key recruiter on the staff. So maybe USC wanted to wait until after Signing Day and the transfer portal closed.

Now the question is who will USC hire to replace him? And will that person necessarily coach linebackers? What’s the status of defensive line coach Shaun Nua?

  • Former USC tailback Darwin Barlow has transferred to North Carolina. Hopefully, he gets the opportunity to play he never got with the Trojans.
  • Freshman wide receiver Zachariah Branch won the Jet Award, which goes to the nation’s most outstanding return specialist.
  • Point guard Isaiah Collier is expected to miss the next 4-6 weeks due to a hand injury sustained in the game against Washington State on Wednesday. Will Collier return? Is there a point? What exactly did Andy Enfield get out of him?
  • Navy defensive back Elias Larry has transferred to Colorado State. He is the son of former USC defensive end/linebacker Lawrence Larry, who is a permanent member of my all-name team.

And now for some history:

  • I knew Steve Grady as the long-time (and often gruff) football coach at Loyola High School. But he was also a running back at USC, gaining 240 yards in 1966 and 279 yards in 1967 (not bad considering O.J. Simpson was on the team).
  • I’ve mentioned Dorothy Dandridge a few times in this column, including when she appeared as a singer at the 1951 USC Homecoming variety show at the Shrine Auditorium.

She had to be familiar with USC. Dandridge attended William McKinley Junior High School (now known as George Washington Carver Junior High School) in Los Angeles. The school is just 2 miles from USC.

When Dandridge sang at the Shrine, it was probably a big deal since it was so close to where she grew up.

  • Here’s a record that might never get broken. On Dec. 14, 1956, Anaheim played Downey for the CIF-Southern Section championship at the Coliseum before 41,383.

The actual crowd was believed to be 50,000-60,000 because there were only eight ticket-takers and at one point a vehicle entrance was opened and started taking cash instead of tickets.

Anaheim was coached by the legendary Clare Van Hoorebeke while Downey was coached by first-year coach Dick Hill, who went on the become the winningest coach in Orange County at Santa Ana and Santa Ana Valley.

The game featured the “Touchdown Twins,” Anaheim tailback Mickey Flynn and Downey tailback Randy Meadows. Flynn gained 134 yards in 17 carries while Meadows gained 112 yards in 10 carries. They were both named CIF player of the year.

Seven months later, Flynn and Meadows played at the Coliseum again in the Shrine All-Star game before 85,931.

  • You never know what kind of stories you might come across about how seriously USC students took football games back in the day. The Student Senate introduced a resolution in 1949 to ask the administration to ban NBC broadcaster Bill Stern from broadcasting future USC games.

It all stemmed from Stern’s work on the 1949 USC-Notre Dame game.

“This is a sore point with me,” student senator Larry Bub said. “Not only was Stern’s broadcast obviously biased against SC, but he continually messed up the players’ names. It was the worst interpretation of a game I have ever heard.”

The resolution was eventually watered down to a letter of censure, in part because USC lost to Notre Dame, 32-0.

“If the motion is passed, it will give SC a bad name,” senator Howard Kotler said. “Especially in view of the fact we were resoundly beaten. When all this gets out it will make us look like bad sports. Let’s wait until Stern broadcasts a game we win before we attempt to ban him from our broadcasts.”

  • Stern was known for his creative radio broadcasts. He once misidentified a Notre Dame running back who scored a touchdown, so he invented a last-second lateral. He claimed on his radio show that that inventor Thomas Edison’s deafness was the result of his being beaned in a baseball game by . . . Jesse James!

It didn’t hurt his career. Stern had a role in the 1942 film, “The Pride of the Yankees.”

  • How’s this for a late tipoff: In 1958, there was a Saturday night basketball doubleheader at the Pan-Pacific Auditorium. USC played Iowa State at 7:30 p.m. and UCLA played Kansas at 9:30 p.m.

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

A movie that combined the 1950’s and 1980’s gave “Streets of Fire” a unique and stylish look, and this scene is always worth watching, especially with Diane Lane as the herione. It was filmed at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles. The movie flopped but they got a good music video out of it.

  • Unlike Lincoln Riley, Nick Saban doesn’t need a driver.
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131 thoughts on “If It’s Friday, It’s Time For A USC Notes Column”

  1. Scott: Unlike Lincoln Riley, Nick Saban doesn’t need a driver.

    Unlike Nick Saban, Lincoln Riley doesn’t need campus cops escorting him around the campus

    Liked by 3 people

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      1. You clowns thought that one of those idiots Kiffin or Sarkisian were going to get the Alabama job…LOL!

        Deboer to replace Saban

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      1. But Saban was wasting seconds all those decades of backing out of parking spaces that could have been devoted to planning strategy for the next big game.

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  2. Anaheim versus Downey for the CIF Championship. And 50,000 attend the game. My how things have changed. These public schools have no shot at fielding superior teams today and most public schools are lucky if they get 500 people to watch them play.

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      1. Its a simple equation to solve. Its because most public schools do not care about football. A vast majority of these public school administrators, especially those who pollute L.A.U.S.D., feel that football is nothing more than a symbol of toxic masculinity, and therefore do not place any importance on fielding a quality high school football team, despite the fact that having such a program will be a huge positive for the school. This attitude towards football has a lot to do with the fact that a majority of these admins are of the liberal pathogen and feel that athletics, football in particular, are nothing but a waste of time and money. If you look at the rosters of Mater Dei and St. John Bosco, there are a majority of players who have transferred in from public schools because they are getting better coaching and these schools have better facilities.
        The states of Texas and Ohio have some of the best high school football programs. In these states it is the responsibility of the Principal and the Head Football Coach to have a quality program. If the program is not up to speed, then the Principal and Head Football Coach are fired. Simple as that.

        Liked by 3 people

      2. WRONG, it’s the demographics of So Cal and California in general. Where once you could get some very good OL & DL from Estancia, El Dorado, Whittier, Downey, El Modena, Edison, Fountain Valley, etc, you now get NOTHING. Asians and Latinos don’t play football. How many kids are Carson and Banning supplying to colleges these days ?

        Liked by 1 person

      3. I think trojnfn4 and Buddha are both right. The SGV was once largely white and fielded some good sports teams. Now there are over 640,000 Asians. Asians don’t have the size or desire to play big time high school football. The remaining population base is largely Latino. They like sports but are undersized. On that rare occasion when you have an elite athlete from this area, he transfers to a private school like Bosco or Mater Dei. (Bryce Young from Pasadena) But it is also the sports culture or lack thereof. Of the 30 boys in my son’s 6th grade class, only two played little league. The others could not throw or catch a baseball or football. His public elementary school did not have a football on campus, or any softball equipment, and the basketball courts were not used as part of the PE program. They did have a soccer field and that is what was predominately played if the kids wanted to run around which was optional. The schools are largely run by leftist women who do not value sports and fear that a child may get physically hurt or picked on if they lacked muscle strength and/or coordination.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. That “new” morality dates back to …um…. let’s see…..Cain & Abel….
        #”AmIMyBrother’sKeeper?”
        #[btw,John&ISay”Yes”]

        Liked by 2 people

    2. I assume he was aware of the situation and agreed to it. Probably got a good severance, dont cry for him, he will be fine.

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      2. Ha! [Doc was actually quite a guy. According to the Tombstone Gazette, when he saw the Earp brothers heading toward the O. K. Corral he asked what was up —when they told him, he just said “Can I come?”]….
        #NotOnePersonInToday’sCongressWouldSayThat

        Liked by 2 people

      3. Supposedly, “Doc” starring Stacey Keach in 1971 was the most accurate depiction. Not only of his role in Tombstone, but the overall environment of homes, bars & restaurants of the time. I watched it a couple of years ago. Worth a watch, to anyone who hasn’t seen it.

        Faye Dunaway as Kate Elder and Harris Yulin as Wyatt.

        Liked by 2 people

      5. Wyatt was a cop. “Doc” was likely a more accurate portrayal of him, than the knight in shining armor most think he was.

        Yes, “Tombstone” was very entertaining. The cast incredible! But it was amusing how clean everything was, especially their all-black attire.

        Liked by 2 people

  6. SC’s Z-Branch is selected as the No. 1 return specialist in football
    which is one of those valuable yardage gains that is not included in the
    ‘total yards gained’ statistics

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      2. I can recall one return where he found the seam and would have broken it open, except Lake McRee had turned around and was running the wrong way and knocked him down.

        He would have done MUCH better with decent blocking on special teams.

        Liked by 2 people

      5. It’s not just returning punts, it’s all aspects of the kicking game, like ” Hey dumbass, fair catch the kick off so we can get the ball in better field position, or hey, don’t field a punt at our own 3 yard line, let it go into the end zone. ” At least SC had 11 guys on the field for FG’s and extra points.

        Liked by 2 people

      7. Oh yes, that special teams coach would have gotten USC into the NC. How has anyone gotten by without a ST coach hanging around. Oh ya, now they use the TE coach cuz he doesn’t have a lot to do anyway.

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  7. I keep reading that Riley is going to hire the Rams DL coach, not his assistant but the DL coach. One would wonder why he would leave the pro game for college but if Riley can get him and move Noa to edge coach or just jettison him, then it’s a total upgrade for the defensive coaches. Now, fire a WR coach and hire a special teams coach dumbass.

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    2. Sparrow,

      Steve Grady is the only person to be CIF player of the year and CIF Head Coach of the year. I know Steve Grady personally. Good guy. He played between to Heisman trophy winners. His wife was a SC cheerleader. He had twins, and one of the is in a wheelchair due to health conditions. He was my driver ed teacher at Loyola and we saw Red Asphalt. Great movie. He lives in Manhatten Beach and attends American Martyrs Church.

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  9. So SC’s hotshot freshman guard is done for the year which surprisingly might help the team since they have 2 fine guards in Ellis and ‘Brawny’

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. …add: there wasn’t a shitload of traffic in the lot Nick took off from either…
      Remember the sign off for the old Emperor Hudson radio Show?
      #”GetOffTheFreeway,Peasants….HisHighnessIsComing!”

      Liked by 2 people

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  12. Why being a college coach is so lucrative –

    College football generates huge revenues, but they dont have to pay the players from those revenues. NIL is totally from the donors and advertisers. What a great business model? You dont have to pay the main employees!

    No wonder the college coaches earn more than NFL coaches.

    And with consolidation into the haves and have nots, the competition for the top coaches pushes salaries higher and higher. Ten million a year, why not 15 or 20?

    Liked by 2 people

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      2. They call Alabama The Crimson Tide but now you can call them Deacon Blues. They’re going back to Gene Stallings/Mike Shula no matter who they hire. The ghost of Nick will always hover over Bryant Denny.

        Liked by 1 person

  13. Speaking of HS football. It gets worse for kids who want to play football in CA. Theres a Bill being formed or already moving into the bowels of the Sacramento assembly that will ban all CA kids 12 and under from playing Pop Warner football. Was on the radio (KFI) yesterday. Anyone can figure out what the ultimate plan is. Well not quite everyone.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. I heard the California senator discussing how he was one of the
      co-architects of the NIL creation and it seemed as if he favored the new legislation of not allowing kids to play tackle football until 13 years old

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    2. Can wrestling and any other contact sport be far behind ?

      Next they’ll dissolve cross country and track teams because kids might die from a heart attack or breathe in bad air, or …………………..

      Liked by 2 people

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      1. I ran cross country for a year at Saint Monica’s High School …and bad air and heart attacks were a constant threat……
        #Can’tCountTheNumberOfRunnersLost…
        #[I’mConfidentNewsomWillFindASolution]

        Liked by 1 person

      3. …Back in the day I think it was 2.3 miles… & of course, it wasn’t always even that….you could “cut” the course back then —there weren’t any CIF officials along the way.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Not unusual for young kids to suffer concussions playing soccer. Kicked ball hits them in the side of the head of collisions while running. But it is a favored sport of the left so don’t expect any change.

        Liked by 1 person

    3. That’s what you get when you vote democrat. You don’t get people in office who are pushing reasonable, logical programs. You get pure stupidity like a man can have a baby and there are not 2 genders but 50-100 and you can be a boy today and a girl tomorrow and if you think you are a girl just for the next 2 to 3 hours you can use the girls bathroom, locker room and showers and compete in womens sports. Keep voting democrat!!!!!

      Liked by 2 people

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      2. Dear Gabby,
        I respect the fuck outta the “truce”…but… “the voting democrat” thing is directly impacting my life….

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      4. btw, I’m going for a walk on the beach now so please don’t take my lack of reply to whatever you write [if you so choose] to be indirect evidence of capitulation….
        #AsBothTebow&ArnoldSay:”I’llBeBack!”

        Liked by 1 person

      6. The blog dunce hates being reminded of how he was waiting for the red wave and the blue wave came and crushed him like a tin can.

        By the way, I am not a supporter of transgender and it has no place in athletics…….@

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      1. I say let’s downgrade football at the high school level. Too dangerous. We can always replace it with checkers. Let’s hold the California state checkers championship game at the Coliseum. You shouldn’t have any problems getting one of the two tickets sold to the game.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. The greatest participation rate of any sport or game at most California public elementary schools – tetherball. Not joking. You will see lines 10 deep to play. None of the kids are playing basketball, baseball, or football.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Gabby
        To answer your question, I don’t know how much it will affect me. I’m kind of old. I don’t know how much longer I will be around. But for younger people, you bet it’s going to affect them. If you fail to teach kids in public schools how to think straight. The whole country is going to go downhill fast. You have a bunch of kids who think that america is the worst country in the history of this world and they grow up hating america, you don’t think that’s going to destroy the country? When Antifa and BLM have a charter(for years) that states that their primary goal is to destroy america and the american nuclear family and all of the pro teams are putting BLM(thereby promoting BLM) on their jerseys….that may not hurt me but anyone under 55 will see the destructive fruits of that kind of thinking. All of that thinking is coming out of the liberal, democratic states and California and New York lead the way. Will it affect the average guy on the streets. Of course it will. Ideas are more powerful than physical weapons. Bad ideas are more powerful than big physical weapons.

        Liked by 2 people

  16. Speaking of high school runners having heart attacks the only serious running I ever did was a couple of times getting out of harms’ way before the police arrived

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  17. William McKinley Junior High School was renamed George Washington Carver Junior High School in 1943. Seems this WOKE crap has been going on for a while.

    Liked by 1 person

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    2. This makes our 2024 schedule look a bit better —now if only Kelly [LSU version, not UCLA version] and Harbaugh leave too….
      #USCIsSoLucky –WeGetToKeepOurCoach…..MaybeForever

      Liked by 1 person

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    1. I have to believe Alabama knew what was coming and had already done their due diligence…..stuff like this is usually pre-planned by all parties…..

      Liked by 1 person

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  21. ‘De Bore’ goes from being a top dog at some obscure college,
    does well for 2-years at Wash
    and now has the No. 1 college football job in America

    Liked by 3 people

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      2. “Coach DeBoer–I knew Nick Saban. I worked with Coach Saban. And you, sir, are no Nick Saban.”
        #With Apologies To Poor Dan Quayle

        Liked by 1 person

    2. We’ll see how long the honeymoon lasts at Bama without a Michael Penix. The fans will want fast results. DeBoer rode the crest of that wave at UDub but it could be an ebb Tide in Tuscaloosa.

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      1. I think the guy is a great coach but he did have a lot of luck. In his 2 years at Washington, he won 17 games by 10 points or less.

        Liked by 2 people

      2. Actually the Alabama fans I have read are prepared to be patient, they know they have a very good coach coming in. It is going to be different looking Alabama offensively, which is a good thing. I think they made an excellent choice for a coach in DeBoer.

        Liked by 2 people

  22. No problem Sparrow! 1978 was along time ago (Loara Grad in ’78). Lots of notable alumni from Loara over the years…Gwen Stefani lived two blocks away-threw some amazing parties (She graduated the same year as my best friends youngest sister). Brother Eric and her were in No Doubt…and Eric was an animator on the Simpsons.
    If you were into skateboarding at all, Neil Blender lived two blocks away as well and his sister married my neighbor. Tim and Jeff Buckley also were Loara grads, too. Stacey Swain (Stacey Q) was at Loara but graduated from Anaheim) and two members from the band Save Ferris attended Loara too. Was a great high school back then

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    2. “Clay Dear? Shall I pick up the phone?
      “No, sweetness — it’s gotta be for me what with all these vacancies!”
      “Okay, you get it.”
      “I am?! What?! Well you can just go to heck fire!”
      “What happened, sugar?”
      “I just got fired from Georgia Southern. They’re bringing in Pete Carroll.”

      Liked by 3 people

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    1. I say it’s time for a rankings column [of the non sports variety]….. involving Dorothy Dandridge, Marilyn Monroe, France Nuyen, Vikki Dougan, etc., etc….
      #I’mReasonablySureGeorgeTirebiterWillParticipate..
      #CanIGetAnEarlyVoteInForJaneBirkin?

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. Dark haired beauties for me: Rita Moreno, Rita Hayworth, Raquel Welch, Natalie Wood, etc.

        Funny that Wolfman would include Diane Lane in today’s post, cuz she’s one of the few fair skinned ladies who has always done it for me over the years. Hubba, hubba!!

        Liked by 1 person

      1. Has there ever been a college football coach that has been more maligned than our Helton although Wiles is running a close second

        Liked by 2 people

  29. Scotty, the people over at wearesc have seemed to know for awhile that the rams dl coach was set to cover when the ram’s playoff run ended. You must have heard that, no? why no “hint” in you portion about the dline coach?

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