Football

• Dennis Dodd wrapped up his series of position coach evaluations by naming Pete Carroll top head coach in the land. [CBS Sports]
• The Matt Barkley hype is up to another unprecedented level. USC's future quarterback is the first junior ever to be named high school athlete of the year -- out of all male sports. No pressure, kid! [LA Times]
• Thomas Williams inked his first NFL contract. [AP]
• Chilo Rachal signed as well. [RF365]
• Hey ladies! Taylor Mays is a football star, funny, and apparently single. Check out this interview. [Video on USCFootball.com]
• USC is an early 18 point favorite over Virginia. [Vegas Insider]

Hoops

• DeMar DeRozan is good to go. [LA Times]
• O.J. Mayo made the US Select team to prep for international competition. [AP]
• SI dubbed O.J. Mayo the #8 breakout freshman of 2007-08. [Sports Illustrated]
• Davon Jefferson says he has no regrets. [Riverside Press-Enterprise]

Elsewhere

• Another publication tried to re-rank the top school in all sports from last year. USC was seventh. [Sports Illustrated]
• A trio of Trojans made Sports Illustrated's gallery of best college photos from 2007-08: Desmond Reed, Vidal Hazelton, and Janessa Currier.

It's never too early to promote the upcoming NFL season, even overseas.

This week, two of the NFL's most recognizable faces, LaDainian Tomlinson and Reggie Bush, were in London to promote October's game between Tomlinson's Chargers and Bush's Saints.

The Chargers and Saints will continue the NFL's new yearly tradition of playing a regular season game on foreign soil. While some players groan about the idea of having to fly across the pond during the season, Tomlinson is looking for lightning to strike twice.

The Giants played against Miami in London last season on their way to a Super Bowl winning season.

Thankfully, LARRY BROWN SPORTS doesn’t let us fall too far behind, as the Saints RB and L.A.’s booty queen could soon be strutting down the aisle together - at least according to Kimmy: (more…)

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What's in a name?

Are USC football players destined for greatness at birth? Some of their names seem to imply it. The Trojans have had some real humdingers in their 120 year program. Here's a list our favorites in a Trojanwire yearbook of sorts.

The McGeiver/McGreuber Award. Most likely to save your life with a paper clip and rubber band:

Marlin McKeever, DL
Mike McKeever, G

Most likely to kick your ass and steal your milk money:

Morris Badgro, E

Most likely to become a comic book superhero:

Winston Justice, OT

• Thomas Williams is learning what life is like as an NFL rookie. [Times-Union]
• Recruit #12: USC signs 4-star wide receiver out of South Carolina. [SC Playbook]
• USC is a popular bet to win the national championship. [MR. SEC, h/t Da Wiz]
• Somebody's taking a really, really early look at USC-Virginia. [RF365]
• Oregon State could be the big sleeper game of the year. I couldn't agree more. [Coaches Hot Seat]
• With Pac-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen joining a couple other key college football figures in retirement, could the BCS change? Not likely. [NYT Quad Blog]
• If not the BCS, could expansion be on the table? Probably not, but here are the contenders. [Fanblogs.com]

Hoops

• Ready for another mock draft? Here's O.J. Mayo at #3 again. [ESPN]

Elsewhere

• The NCAA track and field championships start today. [Daily Trojan]
• Football player Ron Mix and swimmer Lenny Krayzelburg were inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. [NJSHOFAM]
• Oregon State is bigger, meaner, oranger. They might want to have that looked at. [Building the Dam]
• Los Angeles is TitleTown, obviously! [ESPN]
• Are Bush and Tush hearing wedding bells? Run, Reggie, run! [Larry Brown]

• Reggie Bush is proving to be as elusive off the field as he is on it. The trial has been postponed. Again. [LA Times]
• However, Bush's side is seeking arbitration and that could involve a serious admission. [Yahoo!]
• In case I forgot to mention it earlier, a USC commit is officially the fastest in the state at the 100m and 200m. [LA Times]
• John David Booty is getting solid reviews. [NFL]
• Jeff Tedford has joined the blogosphere. It's less "bells and whistles" than Pete Carroll's, but also a bit more personal in tone. [Cal]
• Looking to get in a flame war with USC haters? Here ya' go. [Bleacher Report]

Hoops

• O.J. Mayo may sign with an agent from CAA. [Draft Express]
• Tim Floyd had a lot to say about O.J. Mayo, though nothing new to regular readers of this blog. [Timeberwolves]
• Kentucky transfer Derrick Jasper is looking at USC. [SLO]

Other Sports

• Another reminder that USC allegedly gave a really good baseball coach the boot. [LA Times]
• Basketball isn't the only sport struggling to hang onto talent. High school phenon Tim Beckham had signed to play baseball at USC, but was the #1 overall pick in yesterday's MLB draft. Don't expect to see him play an inning of college ball. [ESPN]
• Ditto for #14 Aaron Hicks. [MN Star Tribune]
• And #56 Jay Austin. [Houston Chronicle]
• And #110 Jon Pettibone. [News Journal]
• The women's tennis team had two All American nods, while the men equaled that and had the ITA Doubles Team of the Year. [USC]

Now there's a new name on that list. USC's 11th addition to its already stellar '09 class is Tongan native Hebron Fangupo. A JC transfer out of Mt. San Antonio College, the 6-2, 330-pound defensive tackle has the raw size, speed and talent to become the next Polynesian super star. As reported on Scout, Fangupo had this to say of his new-found home:

"I like the tempo. I just like the coaching environment. I like coaches that get a little crazy because I like to get crazy....As a Polynesian, we have a scream that we do before we go into battle, and he (Coach Watson) just kept doing it. I liked that because he has been around a few Polynesians and knows how we work."

By the time you hear that war cry...it will already be too late.

Stephanie Stradley of NFL FanHouse has provided a very personal and helpful account of what Vikings defensive end Kenechi Udeze will face over the next year in his fight against Leukemia. In case you hadn't heard, Udeze's brother was a bone marrow transplant match, which is very fortunate since only about 30 percent of patients find a related donor.

Stephanie's sister was diagnosed with Leukemia in October 2005, and she's gone through a long and often painful recovery process. Kudos to the Vikings for doing the right thing and putting Udeze on the reserve non-football illness list, which will guarantee his $807,500 salary for 2008.

"He can focus on getting well," said Vikings head coach Brad Childress. "He's done a great job with that so far. He's been positive. He's been upbeat."

The Vikings said they will revisit Udeze's contract status following the 2008 season, when he's set to become a free agent.

The NFL has discussed moving the draft around to different cities, and LA seems like a great choice. ESPN covers the draft and they plan to open a new studio at LA Live next year. The NFL Network also broadcasts the draft and they're located in Culver City. Aside from the proximity for the event's two broadcast carriers, LA could bring a new Hollywood feel to the draft. And while Jets fans may bemoan the lost opportunity for booing their draft pick, SoCal would represent a neutral location for NFL teams.

This doesn't necessarily mean LA is getting a team, but holding the draft here would certainly generate more NFL-to-LA discussions. With Ed Roski's new stadium plan being introduced to the public and San Diego Chargers fans seemingly concerned, it appears there is some bit momentum behind an NFL return to LA for the first time in a while.