NFL Usc Football

An eight foot birdie putt stopped just short of the hole Friday morning, giving a momentary pain we all have felt, but also foreshadowed a rough sports weekend that was ahead. Honestly, when missing a birdie putt is the highlight of your sports weekend, then you know it was a rough one.

This weekend was so bad, it beat the previous worst sports weekend in SoCal history which occurred in June, 1981 when the Red Sox eliminated the Angels in the ALCS, the Rams moved to St. Louis, Magic Johnson contracted HIV, Steve Garvey went to the Padres and A.C. Slater lost in a wrestling match to that dude from Valley High.

Alright, maybe all of those things didn't happen in the same weekend (or at all). And in this internet age, we are so quick to proclaim anything as the best or worst weekend ever (blame Dan Shanoff). But make no mistake, this weekend, like, totally sucked, dude.

What is it about the SEC that compels folks to regularly combine a fetid brew of boastfulness with ignorance? The latest example Via The Wizard of Odds provides all kinds of quotable outward contempt from LSU coach Les Miles towards count 'em 1)USC, 2)the Pac-10 and 3)the Big 12/everyone else. The following comments were made during an interview with New Orleans radio station WWL as reported by Carl DuBois of The Advocate.

Let's go through this piece-by-piece, shall we? Analysis after the jump.

It took only hours before the Pete Carroll to Arizona rumors were stirred up again. Following USC's 32-18 Rose Bowl victory over Michigan the L.A. Times printed an article claiming that this was quite possibly Carroll's final game with USC and perhaps his best yet. They indicated that while he says he's not leaving, the Cardinals remain a very real possibility.

"I'm here, I'm back, I have no plans to leave," Carroll said.

The Times had a good point following that quote as they said that is probably as realistic as the Cardinals public assurance they were not going to fire Dennis Green. The fact is that people always say things and truly believe them at the time, especially when they are emotionally attached. The same applies to Carroll but when the Cardinals approach him with a major offer and the chance to control a majority of decisions that may change.

The Cardinals also have a major bargaining tool; Matt Leinart. There is no secret that these two are very close and that they would love to be side-by-side once again. As a matter of fact Leinart even made it a point to attend yesterday's game and congratulate Carroll when it was over.

"This was awesome," said Matt Leinart, watching from the sidelines. "This was unbelievable."

Despite the constant "shoot downs" this rumor is not going away. It will continue until two things happen; one, the Cardinals hire a different coach or two, Pete Carroll is hired in Arizona.

Talk about a slap in the face! Yesterday during an episode of "Rome is Burning" the possibility of Pete Carroll going to Arizona next season came up. After flat out saying that is impossible because "it's Arizona," Jim Rome said that the Carroll led USC Trojans could [right now] probably beat the Cardinals straight up.

Sadly I would not dispute that. As a matter of fact if I was to bet on that game I would probably bet on USC. All that said it's really sad that it has come to these kinds of comparisons. It's sad that the media believes the Cardinals are so bad that the #2 college team could beat them.

I'll tell you what though, that's certainly a game I would pay to watch. I imagine that USC would walk away with a 27-13 win in Southern California and a 24-17 win in Arizona.

I wonder what chances Rome thinks the Lions would have against Ohio State. Now in the words of Mr. Rome - "I am out."

With his ex-wife now dating the Dallas Cowboys' quarterback and his former "roommate" throwing passes for the Arizona Cardinals, former boy-bander Nick Lachey is remaining loyal to the USC Trojans, leading a long list of celebrities who will be at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Saturday when the Notre Dame Fighting Irish come to town.

Lachey will be joined on the sidelines by Sacramento Kings scion Joe Maloof (who also attended last week's game against Cal), reality television star Donald Trump, Britney Spears' father Jamie and the legendary Ricky Bobby, Will Ferrell, who will no doubt remind the players on both teams that, "if you ain't first, you're last!"

Former USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow may return to the Pac Ten after all. Spurned by the Stanford Cardinal, who chose Walt Harris over Chow (who said everyone was smart in Palo Alto?), Chow left the Trojans for an assistant coaching position for the Tennessee Titans, despite his head-coaching aspirations.

Expected to be the fourth-best team in the Pac Ten this year, the Arizona State Sun Devils must beat rival Arizona just to qualify for a Bowl Game. Sun Devils Head coach Dirk Koetter has been on the hot-seat since losing institutional control early in the season and the wheels have come off the Sun Devil bandwagon since they played USC close in early October.

Now, rumor has it that despite his contract extensions, Koetter may be on his way out and that Norm Chow, who worked with ASU athletic director Lisa Love when they were at USC, is in line for the top job at Arizona State.