Bye Week Blues - Lane Kiffin Tuesday Presser and other links

The team continues to prepare for Utah...

In other news...

Brian Baucham was sent to the hospital with Breathing Issues and was subsequently put on a ventilator.

USC senior cornerback Brian Baucham has been hospitalized due to a breathing issue, the Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday:

Baucham, from Torrance, was in intensive care and on a ventilator Saturday and Sunday, but he was removed from the device Monday and his condition was improved, said the person, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation.

Baucham apparently suffered an injury during USC's 27-9 win over California on Saturday, a game in which he had three tackles. He was carted off the sideline in obvious pain and then taken to the hospital by amubulance late in the fourth quarter.

Because of USC's policy of not talking about injuries, there's no further information on his status and a school spokesman declined to comment.

SOP from the school.

Lets hope that Baucham recovers without incident. Football doesn't matter in these cases.

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Pacific Takes has some thoughts on the Joe McKnight controversy.

The timing of these latest allegations is not so great for USC's image, which is still shaking off the Reggie Bush scandal, is just emerging from a two year bowl ban, and still has limited scholarships. Of greater concern to USC and Trojan fans is the potential for the NCAA to impose further sanctions on USC, especially in light of the proximity of these allegations to the Bush scandal. So is that concern warranted?

To begin, the allegations seem to be well founded. Joe McKnight is alleged to have received a plane ticket and a car from LA County Assessor Scott Schenter. Schenter is facing 30 years prison if convicted on numerous counts of falsifying documents related to giving illegal tax breaks to wealthy Los Angelenos. While investigating that scandal, the LA Times turned up a number of emails from Schenter's LA County assessor email account as a part of a public records request. In a twist of fate, one of those emails contained a plane ticket receipt that listed McKnight as the passenger and another email was from an auto insurance company that indicated McKnight was using a car registered to Schenter. When the LA Times confronted Schenter at a hearing related to his role in providing illegal tax breaks he admitted to providing McKnight (and basketball player Devon Jefferson) with cash and gifts in hopes the athletes would help him market a new business venture. Joe McKnight has remained quiet on the whole matter.

Meh...

Haden can deal with this and hopefully cash in on all the good will he supposedly built up with the clowns in Indianapolis. Frankly I doubt there is much that they can do as it was determined (according to Clown spokesperson Stacy Osborn) that the McKnight Issue was not a major infraction.

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Golden Blogs looks back on the USC v. Kal game.

All the lipstick in the world won't make this pig look any better. Or help our Oline block someone. Anyone. Let's just get right to the shiny pictures. Which aren't particularly shiny this week thanks to a certain greedy satellite provider who shall not be named.

'sc lines up with 22 personnel.(two tight ends, two backs) This spells doom on so many levels. Two tight ends!?!? That's just mean. Cal looks to be in a Cover One. Speedy Williams is left in solo coverage with Marquise Lee. To add insult to potential injury, Barkley declares the heart of the Cal defense to be Sanchez.

There are some decent screen shots of the game in the post.

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Here is an interesting thread on 24/7...did this happen?

Newspaper reporters skip practice in protest...

Fine with me...

Some in the press have been nothing if not petulant for years...and its not just Wolf. Some of these guys are just lazy and have an attitude.