Things are kind of quiet this time of year so there isn't a whole lot going on. It has enabled me to catch up on a few things at work and at home.
2007 Football Schedule
ABC's Saturday night football schedule has been announced and SC has a prominent role next season.
From the L. A. Times:
The Trojans' game at Nebraska on Sept. 15 will be nationally televised at 5 p.m. PDT and the Trojans' home game against Washington State the following Saturday will be regionally televised at 5 p.m.
...USC's other appearances on the series will be Sept. 29 at Washington, Nov. 3 against Oregon State and Nov. 10 at California. All those games will be played at 5 p.m. and one or more might be moved to ESPN or ESPN2.
Not a bad showing for SC.
Nick Young signed with an agent
From Matthew Kredell's Blog:
Bartelstein's client list includes Adam Morrison of the Charlotte Bobcats, Danny Granger of the Indiana Pacers and Antoine Walker of the Miami Heat. Young worked out with Morrison last summer when he was preparing for the draft.
Now that he's signed with an agent, Young's decision to enter the NBA draft is final. He cannot return to play for USC.
Challenge for Next Season
While there is a general consensus that SC will ranked Preseason #1 it should by no means be taken for granted that SC is just going to roll through the season. They have a number of games on the road both in and out of conference but the challenge will be facing a number of teams within the conference who may be sporting different looks.
But the conference won't just be nine satellites jealously orbiting a glorious star, which has been the popular perception since the Trojans began a streak of five consecutive top-four AP finishes. At least seven teams could make a reasonable case they are bowl worthy. Of the bottom three -- Washington State, Washington and Stanford -- only the Cardinal appear completely hapless.
SC has definitely raised the bar in the quality of play in the Pac 10 so while they have one of the top rosters in the nation they can't look too far ahead as everyone will take their best shot, as the cliché goes...one game at a time.
USC is off Jennings' List
Brandon Jennings has gone from decommitting from USC to completely taking them off his list. That's disappointing but I'm sure Coach Floyd is looking into it and has a contingency plan in place.
Now several weeks later, it appears that UA supporters can ratchet their excitement up a notch. The Kansas City Star reported today that the Wildcats are very much in the mix for Jennings.
It's been written before that Jennings had Arizona in his top three, but hearing from his coach that the UA is his co-leader (and that USC is apparently behind the pack), is certainly a noteworthy development.
Clearly disappointing to here but as we have seen in the past the recruiting process is a crazy one so I wouldn't get all worked up yet as there is a long way to go...
On a personal note, things will be quiet here on CC over the weekend as Linda and I celebrate a very special first birthday with family and friends. It was year ago on Saturday that we welcomed Emma into our lives and of course things haven't been the same since. Those of you who have kids know how great a feeling it is watching them grow and learn, as it is simply amazing to watch them figure things out.
Linda is simply a great mom and I have never seen her happier than she has been since Emma was born. I give her all the credit in the world for being a great mom and putting up my weird work schedule and me "always being on that site". This is as much her weekend as it is Emma's and for that I am grateful.
Thanks Babe!