Sports in Stilettos

USC QB Matt Barkley

Good game, gotta get better.

But my goodness, he’s adorable.

Syracuse vs. USC: The Gus Johnson Theorem >> Link »

“By introducing Gus Johnson into a fixed equation that involves a superior X and an inferior Y, the properties of X and Y become inverse to the point where the equation’s outcome is unpredictable.”

I’m pretty confident USC can beat Syracuse this weekend. Both teams are barely 2-0, but USC is 2-0 over arguably (slightly) better competition and has a lot of impressive young players who are constantly improving.

But apparently all bets are off when Gus Johnson’s in the booth.

According to the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician, “When Gus Johnson announces a sporting event, exciting things happen and underdogs make history.”

And that Gus Johnson Theorem is why the blog predicts a big late TD pass for Syracuse to win the game.

Here’s hoping USC can disprove it this weekend!

“

In the end, USC fans are not angry this isn’t the 2005 Trojans. They are proud the core of the 2011 Trojans didn’t transfer when the NCAA unfairly threw the book at them while throwing a couple pages at Ohio State and Miami and you name it. USC fans are proud that in a year with nothing to play for, they qualified for a bowl and finished 3rd in the Pac-10. They are proud of their quarterback who could have gone anywhere and didn’t.

And whatever you think of Kiffin, he took a job the media called cancer and he recruited. He’s fighting the fight in a majestic white visor and riding out the storm. Maybe he’s an interim coach. I don’t know, but he’s the guy we gave the lantern to and told us to guide us through the fog. Pardon me if I don’t go bailing overboard or lamenting a loss where we gave the ball up 4 times on the road and lost. It’s football, it happens.

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Lost Angeles Blog - Arrogant Game Recap: Arizona State

No one likes losing, but Lost Angeles recaps after USC losses usually ease the sting with humor and bourbon and bear meat.

USC’s loss to ASU on Saturday was really, really tough to watch, but this week’s recap kills it. It’s serious for once, and it’s a wonderful reminder of everything good about the program and the team, all the reasons why we USC fans continue to watch and cheer and Fight On.

I needed this.

Just came across the following posts and realized I didn’t give yall the full rundown of my USC game day experience, although, truth be told, you’re not missing too much.

bruinsofboston:

iwannatakearideonyourhockeystick:

When you guys go to B’s games do you get the feeling that it’s not even real that you’re there and you can’t believe that the team you love is right in front of you in person? And the next day it doesn’t seem like you ever went to that game because it feels like a dream? This sounds pathetic but I always seem to feel this way when I go to a Bruins game.

We must be the same person.

——

That’s how I hoped I’d feel when I went to my first USC football game this weekend.

Expectations were definitely different than reality.

It’s partly my fault - I was jet lagged and 100% in watch-football-in-bed-all-day mode, rather than in SUPER AMPED UP GAME DAY mode. I inexplicably wore pants on a disgustingly hot afternoon in L.A., so I was sweaty and dehydrated long before kickoff, and I didn’t give myself enough time to tailgate, find and buy cooler clothing, and track down tickets since mine fell through sort of last minute.

BUT I was at the Coliseum for USC football. It was a gorgeous day (when there was a breeze). The field looked gorgeously vibrant (fresh coat of paint‘ll do that, I guess). The view was amazing - directly across from the Song Girls - and the band was, as usual, fabulous.

Those 468 passing yards Matt Barkley racked up looked pretty darn good, too (but please, please don’t get me started on the defense). Robert Woods’ 82-yard touchdown in the first series really got me in game mode, and T.J. McDonald’s interceptions were awesome.

It just wasn’t, I don’t know, as magical as I expected. I mean, I’d been waiting to get my booty in a Coliseum seat for years, and I was finally there, and it wasn’t too much different from any other football game (except it was the only football game I’ve ever been where temperatures were above freezing at game time - gotta love late Nov-Dec Terps & Ravens games!)

I rocked the Arrogant Nation “You Can’t Sanction the Endzone” shirt and posed for photos with Tommy Trojan, but all in all, I sort of feel like I missed out. I didn’t make the most of a not-too-frequent-in-an-East-Coaster’s-lifetime experience.

As I was walking away from campus after the game, it actually did feel like a dream, like it sort of passed by without me fully realizing it or soaking it in, and waking up before I could really grasp what happened.

I guess that just means I’ll have to go back so I can really enjoy the total experience every second of the day and appreciate how lucky I am to be there, rather than focusing my tunnel vision solely on the game. Bacon-wrapped hotdogs, I’m coming for ya.

(Source: milanlucheck, via poupouhead)

Enjoying a little bit of shade on a swelteringly sunny Saturday at the USC-Arizona game.

USC 48, Arizona 41

L.A. Coliseum, October 1, 2011

SMILE FRIDAY!

USC Song Girls, LA Coliseum, 10/1/11

Arik Armstead Decommits From USC Football (Link) »

Shocker.

I mean, who didn’t see that one coming?

I’m not the only one speculating that it might have something to do with Arik’s older brother Armond, a senior, redshirting after being hospitalized in the winter.

(If you missed it, Armond and his family said he was cleared by doctors, but USC wouldn’t clear him to play, which led to Papa Armstead taking a trip to campus to get to the bottom of things.)

The above article also suggests it might have something to do with USC potentially balking at Arik Armstead’s desire to play both football and basketball, but I don’t buy it. Kiffin’s gone on the record many times saying he supports two-sport athletes on his team, and I don’t think it would be that big of an issue even for a guy as valuable as Armstead would be.

Armstead is the #1 ranked prospect for 2012, so not getting him, especially considering the connection to ‘SC, is a pretty big blow to a program that can’t really afford big recruiting blows right now.

GAMEDAY. USC-Notre Dame tonight at 8 on NBC. GET EXCITED.

Little known fact: In addition to being a USC fan, and a sports nut, I’m also a TOTAL history nerd. I once wrote a term paper on the history of my college’s football program (“Undefeated since 1950” because that was the last year we fielded a team) and the old newspaper articles and photos were just fascinating.

I was beyond excited when the above photo popped up in a Google Image search for USC-Notre Dame, from the 1931 game.

That game, played 80 years ago, was also in South Bend, just like tonight’s. And USC won, 16-14, the first time they ever beat Notre Dame on the road. It’s on an ABC Sports list of the greatest games in the rivalry.

That’s gotta be a good sign, right? Right???

It’s not going to be an easy game, but I have a good feeling about this. (Sort of)

___

More: USC-Notre Dame preview for isportsweb

Of the USC Trojans in the Heisman trophy discussion, sophomore receiver Robert Woods, known on Twitter as “HeismanWoods,” might be the most prominent.

But who’s throwing all those TD passes he’s catching?

Could it be….HeismanBarkley?

Probably not this season, but Trojans fans like myself are holding out hopes that he sticks around for 2012 so we get a shot to see MB7 holding the trophy.

Also, can we talk for a sec about his slick Notre Dame diss?

Chris Galippo and Marc Tyler got in trouble for saying the Irish quit, and then Kiffin had to call up B. Kelly to apologize…and then Matty B goes on the radio and says they quit. And he sort of gets away with it (at least more than the other two).

As my mama ~~always said~~ still says, “It’s not what you said, it’s how you said it.”

Barkley didn’t just come out and say the Irish are quitters. He waited until he was asked, then politely said, “I would agree with that,” before adding that it was “uncharacteristic” of them, and very shockingly un-Irish to just give up and accept defeat that the hands of Troy.

Are insults less insulting when they’re chased with a (sort of) compliment?

Smooth, Matt. Very smooth. They almost didn’t catch that.

Stanford’s celebrating a “victory for the ages” over a team that was ranked 16 spots behind it in the AP Poll, ineligible to be ranked in the others, that can’t play in the conference game or a bowl game and that wasn’t even supposed to be that good for awhile?

Don’t get me wrong, it was a great game, but shouldn’t a team that’s just a spot or two from the national championship aim a little higher? Ok, it’s a “rivalry,” but if you’re confident going in, and you expect to win that game, it’s not a “Victory for the Ages.” It’s just getting the job done.

Guess that’s why “You Can’t Sanction the Endzone.”

— (Photo above links to the article in question, in case you’re interested)

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