I like the way Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff analyzed the Pac-12 North when he was interviewed by the Salt Lake City Deseret News. “I was there for the UCLA-LSU game. I probably chose the right game this weekend. It was unfortunate how the North (Division) performed,” Kliavkoff said. “I think we’ll do better. We were coming off a COVID year. There are teams in our … Continue reading George Kliavkoff Let’s North Have It

A USC player from the early 1970’s sent me this: “If you want to know what a great guy Sam Cunningham was, he was the only teammate of Lynn Swann that was still friends with him.” The athletic department still wields plenty of influence to shut down major campus hubs and thoroughfares in the middle of a school week for a ribbon-cutting reception. The new … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Thursday Notes

USC said it will reduce campus tailgating density for Saturday to about 25 percent of a typical game day by limiting activities to those who have been permitted through its tailgating reservation system. You will still need to go through COVID-19 check procedures to be allowed on campus. I wonder if even 25 percent of the normal on-campus tailgaters even want to show up? Meanwhile, … Continue reading A New Wrinkle For Tailgating

I said I had a problem with how Sam Cunningham’s passing was treated and I wrote about it here. Continue reading More On Sam Cunningham

I’ll have a newsletter post later on how disappointing the death of USC legend Sam “Bam” Cunningham was handled yesterday. This segment of “Trojans Live” had an interesting start because it begins with the premise, “what is real, is of course, cranky USC fans out there.” It almost seems a way of diminishing any fan criticism before it gets started. And there wasn’t much criticism … Continue reading USC Morning Buzz: Cranky Fans Edition

Sam Cunningham, MVP of the 1973 Rose Bowl and a USC legend, died on Tuesday. He was 71. Cunningham scored 4 TD’s in the Rose Bowl victory over Ohio State and then became the career rushing leader of the New England Patriots with 5,453 yards. He was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001 and College Football Hall of Fame in 2010. … Continue reading USC Legend Sam Cunningham Dies