FOOTBALL

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

USC director of football recruiting operations Zaire Turner has been hired by SMU, where she will be senior director of recruiting.

She was brought to USC by Chad “Charmin” Bowden.

  • The USC-UCLA dual track meet is Sunday at Cromwell, uh, Felix Field. The USC women are favored to win while the men’s meet is a toss up.
  • The USC men’s volleyball, beach volleyball, men’s and women’s tennis teams all compete in the NCAA Tournament this weekend.
  • And now for some history:

I wrote about USC presdident John Hubbard a couple times in the past week and could probably write about him every week.

Here’s another gem: Hubbard used to have his own private cubicle in the USC football locker room at the Coliseum, even after he was no longer the university president.

In 1984, USC played No. 1-ranked Washington at the Coliseum with a Rose Bowl-bid at stake. During the game, Hubbard unleashed a torrent of invectives at the officials from his spot at the 25-yard line on the west end of the field.

A USC assistant coach noticed the out-of-control Hubbard and yelled at a staffer, “Get that old man off the field!”

The staffer replied, “Coach, I can’t! That’s Dr. Hubbard, the former president of the university!”

  • Look how important the USC-UCLA track meet used to be. Papers would print a “dope sheet” before the meet to predict the results like this dope sheet from 1957.

This meet featured UCLA star Rafer Johnson and USC discus thrower Rink Babka. Both set several world records in their events (Johnson in the decathalon and Babka in the discus).

The meet drew 15,000-30,000 at the Coliseum in the 1950’s and this particular meet was broadcast by KNX radio with Chick Hearn doing the play-by-play.

USC won this meet, 68-63.

  • The relationship between the media and USC was much different in the 1960’s. In 1963, the USC spring game featured an alumni team with NFL players against the Trojans.

John McKay picked media members to “coach” the teams. USC radio broadcaster Tom Kelly coached the alumni team, with help from fellow broadcasters Tom Harmon, Bob Kelley, Bill Brundige, Gil Stratton, Elroy Hirsch and Jim Raser. That was an all-star staff of the day and these guys were stars in Los Angles, between play-by-play duties and doing radio and TV shows and newscasts.

I could write something on all of them but here’s a couple who are less remembered today:

Raser did play-by-play for USC football and the Rams and was the weekend sports anchor for Channel 2’s “The Big News” in the 1960’s. He was also the public-address announcer for USC basketball games at the Sports Arena in the 1970’s.

Brundige did USC and UCLA football and hosted sports shows locally for three decades. You might also remember his auto glass shops in Orange County.

Bill Brundige
  • The actual Trojan team was coached by sports writers with L.A, Times sports editor Paul Zimmerman, legendary columnist Jim Murray, Bud Furillo, Charlie Park of the Los Angeles Mirror, George T. Park of the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, Harley Tinkham of the Times and Hank Hollingsworth of the Long Beach Press-Telegram.

Let me just tell a story about one of the writers listed in the story. He covered several USC games on the road in 1962 and drank so much, he didn’t even attend the game and no one knew his whereabouts. USC’s public relations director, or a fellow sports writer, would write his game story and send it in to his newspaper via telex. His editors were none the wiser about the benders.

The 1963 spring game was the final one that included an alumni team because

  • And here is the lineup for a 1957 luncheon honoring USC athletic director Willis Hunter. Among those who attended were UCLA athletic director Wilbur Johns. Imagine that.

Johns was actually UCLA’s basketball coach from 1939-48 and then became athletic director. He hired John Wooden to succeed him. The story goes that Minnesota and UCLA were talking to Wooden and he preferred the Gophers’ job.

The Gophers were supposed to call Wooden at 6 p.m. to offer him the job and UCLA would call at 7 p.m. A snowstorm delayed Minnesota’s call and Wooden took the UCLA job before Minnesota could get in touch. But let’s be honest, would he have the same success at Minnesota? Doubtful.

  • Jeanne Hoffman ws the first female sports writer in Los Angeles, covering Los Angeles Angels games at Wrigley Field when she was 17 years old. She wrote for the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, New York Journal American and eventually the Los Angeles Times.

PICTURES OF THE WEEK

Belinda Lee

Claudia Rivelli

Edina Ronay

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

  1. YESTERDAY, HEGSETH WAS ON CAPITOL HILL AND BY THE TIME HE LEFT, HIS NOSE WAS OVER A FOOT LONG.

    (IT CAUSED MAUI FRAUD TO BLUSH AND SOLA TO DROOL)

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  2. CONSUMER SENTIMENT IS AT THE LOWEST LEVEL SINCE 1957.

    MILLIONS OF MAGATS REGRET VOTING FOR THE 34X CONVICTED FELON

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    2. KAM: WCHD shooter Cole Allen and Coawrdly Gabby suffer from “main character syndrome”..

      DON: They all think they’re the hero of a movie.

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  5. Sybil is gonna weep & freak out again [what else is new?] but I gotta say Scott’s Friday column keeps getting better and better….

    #ThisOneIsTops

    P.S.

    CLAUDIA RIVELLI MAY BRING GEORGE TIREBITER BACK AGAIN!

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    1. She already has. That’s why she has added “crazee angrey reetardid laydee” to her very long and very well deserved list of names.

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      1. Ha! Here’s how I see the Barstow fight [with any one of us] going: Sybil takes one punch to the eyeball and starts weeping…. then he goes poop…and starts screaming like a girl about “millions regretting their votes”…..

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    2. Internet trolls frequently exhibit a “Dark Tetrad” personality profile, combining narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism to derive pleasure from causing distress. They are characterized by low empathy, high antagonism, and a tendency to use online anonymity for malicious provocation. Research shows they are often motivated by the amusement of causing pain, known as schadenfreude.

      Key Psychological Traits

      • The Dark Tetrad: Trolls often display high levels of four distinct antisocial traits:
        • Sadism: Enjoyment of inflicting pain or discomfort on others.
        • Psychopathy: Lack of remorse, empathy, or guilt, allowing them to engage in harmful behaviors without emotional consequence.
        • Machiavellianism: A manipulative, cold, and calculating nature.
        • Narcissism: An inflated sense of self-importance and entitlement.
      • Cognitive vs. Affective Empathy: Trolls often possess high cognitive empathy—meaning they understand exactly what will hurt or provoke a victim—but lack affective empathy, which is the ability to feel or care about the pain they cause.
      • Low Agreeableness: They are typically highly antagonistic, argumentative, and enjoy conflict, often manipulating others for amusement.

      Motivations and Behaviors

      • Schadenfreude: A primary motivator is deriving joy from the misfortune or distress of others.
      • Trolling for Amusement: Research suggests trolls are not necessarily unhappy; they often feel good about themselves and enjoy the “game” of distressing others.
      • Digital Disinhibition: The anonymity of the internet lowers social barriers, allowing them to act without fear of real-world consequences.
      • Master Manipulators: They view the internet as a playground for tearing down, provoking, and bullying users

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      1. YOU JUST DESCRIBED FAKE GABBY, AKA SCOTT WOLF, PERFECTLY

        THANKS FOR SHARING.

        PS……PT SAID HE CAN HELP OUT WITH THE GOATS.

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  6. KAM: It still does not feel right that Wiley catches ALL the blame

    DON: So far his best just isn’t good enough but what soothes the critics’ pain is how the money keeps rolling in

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    1. I agree —I expect USC to win it’s home games….and not lose by more than 3 to Penn State and Indiana on the road….

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  9. Scott, thanks for the trip down memory lane. We did have great sprots writers in Los Angeles in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. Wasn’t Bill Brundidge also on Dodger radio broadcasts. One of his glass shops was in downtown Brea. Track was a very big deal in the 1950’s with the Coliseum Relays drawing capacity crowds and featuring the best college athletes and the City High School championship relays. I used to take the street car on Whittier Blvd. to Vermont Avenue; the the V car to the coliseum. Fight on, Dan, Class of 1962

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    1. Love it –I walked to Wilshire & took RTD a few times —can’t even remember where I got off [Hoover maybe]…. After a couple of games I can remember walking back to Wilshire and taking it to Westwood Blvd to get home cuz I overdid it on hotdogs and cokes & didn’t have any money left….. lots of miles there…but it was fun…I still dream about it…

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