Ted Lilly: A veteran lefty who was originally drafted by the Dodgers, Lilly is the kind of deal the Dodgers, and especially Ned Colletti, enjoy making: acquiring a pitcher at the end of his contract who could provide some veteran leadership.  The Dodgers acquired Greg Maddux from the Cubs in 2006, so the two teams do have familiarity with each other.

Ben Sheets: The oft-injured Sheets could be the ace in the hole LA needs, but he could also be another body in need of a stretcher.  His latest injury is bad news for Oakland, as Sheets looked like the most prime pitcher to be traded entering the season.

Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang:  The Dodgers tried to swing a deal with the Reds during the offseason and add a starter in exchange for Juan Pierre.  Colletti could still want one of the two, already having done extensive research on them.

Kevin Millwood:  Millwood has been battered this season, but a veteran pitcher with a nice sinker is always in demand.  The Dodgers might hope taking him out of the AL East and plugging him into the pitching-heavy NL West could yield favorable results.

Javier Vazquez:  Another starter who could use a change of scenery, Vazquez is notorious for his no-trade clause for teams in the west.  However, with his contract expiring this year, the clause could be waived.  The Yankees are looking at Dan Haren, and if they can acquire him, they become much more flexible.

UPDATE: The Dodgers are also looking at the possibility of outfielders.  According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, the Dodgers might be inquiring on Scott Podsednik, a veteran outfielder known for his consistent .300 batting average and speed.  If the Dodgers are looking for outfield depth, there are many other men out there, including:

Austin Kearns: Putting together a solid season for Cleveland.

Jim Edmonds: Not the same as he used to be, both in the field and at the plate.  All depends if Milwaukee feels it’s out of the race.

Coco Crisp: Defensive wiz, though Oakland might be reluctant to give him up due to an option for 2011.

Rick Ankiel: Pitcher turned outfielder could yield interest if the Royals feel like moving him.  Also has an option for next year.

Carl Crawford: While the Rays are making a big push, the club might face facts and admit they can’t keep the speedy outfielder and try to get something out of him besides two compensatory draft picks.  All depends on what the Dodgers feel they have in Manny, and if Tampa Bay can acquire Jayson Werth for the stretch run.

Aside from Crawford, imagine all of the above being available into the waiver deal period.

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According to the article, Hasiak is going to be redshirted by coach Rick Neuheisel and will have three years of eligibility remaining.

I’m sorry, but in my humble opinion it has been one thing after another for this young man…

First this top-notch recruit from Hawaii gets into fights with teammates and gets suspended more than once by UCLA coaches for insubordination and attitude problems, now this.

It’s getting fairly clear that this kid is the proverbial square peg in the round hole as far as the Bruins are concerned. Anyone who has that many problems at a school and in its football program after only one year on campus is simply too ill-fitting for that school and team.

I fully understand that Hasiak has a world of talent and all the potential in the world at a position where UCLA desperately needs the help. However…

It may be best for everyone involved if he transferred to a non-BCS school or a school in the FCS (formerly Division 1-AA) like Montana or Cal Poly. If I were Hasiak and was having all the problems that he is having, I would at least consider that option.

The bottom line here is that it is not working out with Hasiak and the Bruin program. It’s a real shame and sad to say, but perhaps they both need to cut their losses and make a mutual agreement to part ways; if I were Neuheisel I would discuss that with Hasiak and his family.

Hopefully this kid will ultimately work things out, but at this moment, transferring may not be the worst idea, as UCLA is not a good fit for everyone.

We’ll see what transpires with this.

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And like some kind of bizarro world revenge for having a committed Trojan spending time in enemy territory, I silently and painfully watched a slow exodus of players streaming from USC.

First there was Seantrel Henderson, a fabulous talent whose physical prowess may not overcome a woeful lack of integrity (and a very strange father to boot).

Then Malik Jackson was next. A nice player whose career at USC appeared destined to hold down the bench, as he was mired in a numbers game that included players far more talented than he.

Finally, there went DJ Shoemate, a special player who was being counted on to supply rest for fullback Stanley Havilli, and whose star was just beginning to shine for the Trojans.

Though Henderson stands a chance to be great simply on physical talent alone, and to be sure, USC desperately needs offensive linemen, it is hard to miss someone who had never stepped foot on the playing field for the Trojans.

As for Jackson, he simply wasn’t good enough to make a difference for the Trojans. Seeing the writing on the wall, he left for what I am sure he believes are greener pastures.

Good luck, Malik.

However, the defection of Shoemate will be more difficult to overcome.

Shoemate had shown flashes of brilliance and he will be missed. The Trojans now have to accelerate incoming freshman Soma Vainuku’s timetable in the backup fullback role.

I have also read, with some amusement, the predictions of some of my fellow pundits demise of the Trojans.

Not so fast, haters.

Amid the doom and gloom, a shining light for Trojan fans has come from the opposite side of the country, in the form of four-star (as rated by Scout.com) linebacker Kent Turene from Boyd H. Anderson high school in Florida.

Supremely talented and filling a position of need for the Trojans, Turene’s verbal to USC means much more than finding a special player at a position that desperately needs to be re-stocked.

No, the pledge of Turene, who had more than than two dozen offers from major programs from across the country, gives the Trojans a national high profile recruit and once again signals that USC doesn’t plan to let their recent woes keep them down.

As for Turene, he had nothing but great things to say about the Trojans.

According to a recent article by Scout.com, Turene said, “I have been talking to the coaches for a very long time now. I have just been doing all of my research and found out that USC was the right school for me. I got a great feeling from the coaches.”

The feeling is mutual, Kent.

Turene, 6′3″ and 225 pounds, had 120 tackles, 10 sacks, and a couple of fumbles recovered to his credit as junior last season in high school.

Oh, and Turene plans on graduating early and enrolling in January which means that his scholarship will not count against the reduced amount available to USC. This, of course, being due to the NCAA laying the hammer down on the program for perceived violations connected to the Reggie Bush scandal.

All in all, this is a very fortuitous verbal pledge for the Trojans who desperately needed some good news.

So, Trojan haters, lets put away the shovels you planned on using to heap dirt on USC’s grave

USC is far from dead.

Kent Turene says so.

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Hong-Chih Kuo came on to pitch the fifth, but it was an outing better left forgotten for the lefty.  He walked Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria after getting ahead 0-2 to start the inning, and after Joe Mauer hit a soft grounder back that could not get past the mound, Kuo’s throw to first sailed over the head of Adrian Gonzalez of San Diego.  With runners on second and third and nobody out, a deep sacrifice fly by the Yankees’ Robinson Cano was enough to score Longoria, giving the AL a 1-0 lead.  Kuo managed to coax a grounder out of the Rays’ Carl Crawford, which shortstop Hanley Ramirez of the Marlins used to turn a fielder’s choice, nailing Mauer at third.  That was all she wrote for Kuo.

Rafael Furcal had a key at-bat for the National League.  After Atlanta’s Brian McCann hit a bases-clearing double to put the Senior Circuit up 3-1 in the seventh with two out, Furcal, who had already entered the game as a defensive replacement, worked the count full against Andrew Bailey of Oakland before drawing a walk.  However, Brandon Phillips struck out to end the inning, and the NL could not tack on some insurance.

Furcal got some attention again when Jonathan Broxton came in to close the ninth.  After giving up a leadoff single to Boston’s David Ortiz on the first pitch, Broxton looked like he had a lot of trouble ahead of him.  However, he struck out former Dodger and current Red Sox third-baseman Adrian Beltre on three pitches for the first out.  The next batter, John Buck, hit a dunker to the Cubs’ Marlon Byrd in right-field that looked to give the AL the tying runs on the bases.  However, Ortiz hesitated, not knowing if Byrd would make a catch, and with his slow speed, Byrd was able to gun him down at second for a force play, connecting with Furcal for the outfield assist.  Broxton then forced Ian Kinsler to fly out on the first pitch to end the game, securing the burly righty of his first All Star save.

It was a fast-paced All Star Game that reflected the dominance pitchers have had this season.  Kuo did not even surrender a hit during his outing, and because of the error the lefty was not even charged with an earned run.  The two leagues combined for 18 strikeouts and only 5 walks.  Wright was the only player with multiple hits, while he, Derek Jeter of the Yankees, and Longoria were the only players to reach base twice.

National League fans walked away happy, knowing that their favorite team will have home field advantage in the World Series.  It also broke the NL’s 13-year winless streak; the last win for the Senior Circuit came in 1996.  The AL has won every game since, except for 2002 when the game ended in a tie.

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THIS TIME, IT COUNTS: Every baseball fan will tell you that making home-field advantage for the World Series up for grabs in the All Star game is one of the worst ideas baseball has ever conceived.  In a joint venture between FOX and Bud Selig, MLB brass decided that the All Star game needed some kind of incentive to remain marketable.  The idea that the AL and NL would compete against each other for the right to home field in the championship was not the right idea.  Now managers have to play the game as though it’s a must-win, and not an exhibition.  Pitchers are used much more conservatively.  Pinch hitters become valuable pieces that cannot be wasted.  Every at-bat holds importance.

REPRESENTATIVES FROM EVERY TEAM: Each and every team sends a representative to the All Star game, giving the American League a huge advantage, one that has been working for them since 1998 when the league expanded to 30 teams.  With 14 teams in the American League, Joe Giradi doesn’t have to spend two roster spots on undeserving players like Charlie Manuel must do for the National League.  Giradi gets to use the very best of the AL, while Manuel has to find space for someone from Pittsburgh, Arizona, and Houston.

STARTERS AS RELIEVERS: The most frightening aspect of the All Star game for baseball execs is the use of starters as relievers.  Since the legitimate starters only pitch for two innings, All Star pitchers must warm up in the bullpen to make their appearances.  For a pitcher like Strasburg, who would have every Washington executive wincing after each pitch, warming up in the ‘pen and then going onto the field is very different from starting the game.  Relievers get used to it; starters become unraveled by it.

HOME RUN DERBY:  The Home Run Derby rivals the actual game in popularity, as it features the one thing fans want to see more than anything: home runs.  But for some players, participation in the derby could mean problems with their swing and a second-half decline in power numbers.  Alex Rodriguez famously backed out of the derby held at Yankee Stadium two years ago, fearing the effects it might have on his stroke.  Brandon Inge participated last year, and after failing to hit a single homer during the event, has hit just 12 in his career since.

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Now coach Baxter’s efforts have paid off.

Andre Heidari, from Stockdale high school in Bakersfield, Ca., gave his verbal pledge to the Trojans on Saturday and with it USC’s kicking saga has come full circle.

Last year, Matt Darr, the highly regarded punter/place kicker from, yes, Bakersfield, Ca., had given his verbal pledge to the Trojans only to change his mind and sign with Fresno State, whose coach, John Baxter (yes, that John Baxter) had been amongst the most highly regarded special teams coaches in the nation.

A few weeks later, Baxter accepted Trojan coach Lane Kiffin’s offer to come to USC and heal what had been long time sore spot in the shoddy special teams play.

Trojan fans chuckled at the irony of it all, first having Darr jilt the Trojans only to have the coach young Matt wanted to play for leave him at the alter by coming south to USC.

Now a strong-legged kicker from the same area has given his verbal promise to restore what had recently been a suspect kicking game into a strong point a la the David Buehler era.

And why did Heidari decide to ply his trade for the Trojans?

It was because he wanted to kick for John Baxter.

Andre Heidari is a 5′11″, 185 lb. kicker who is known for a strong leg.

As reported by Scout.com, Heidari, much like Buehler, has been known to carry a prodigious touchback ratio on kickoffs.

How does a 92 percent touchback rate as a junior in 2009 grab you?

Although scholarships are at a premium for USC now that the NCAA has stripped an average of 10 per year from the Trojans as punishment for the Reggie Bush fiasco, coaches Kiffin and Baxter apparently had no reservations about offering Heidari one.

He readily accepted.

It should also be pointed out, as stated in the Orange County Register, that if Heidari enrolls early in January, he won’t count against the limited scholarships available for distribution in 2011.

Unless this is a redo of the Darr episode, the Trojans should be in pretty good shape in the placekicking department starting in 2011.

And Matt Darr can go on kicking himself (pun intended) for the fate he resigned himself to when he spurned the Trojans for a coach that is no longer there.

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But the bullpen has been in tatters.  Broxton has been pushed to the brink, pitching in 13 different games without rest.  Troncoso has faced more batters than the recently DFA’d Charlie Haeger.  That overuse has not translated into effective pitching.  Troncoso has surrendered 15 inherited runs so far this season out of 24 inherited runners.  Broxton has an opposing OPS of .626 when pitching on zero days of rest, compared to his season average of .565.  Five of the eight runs he has given up this season have come on days without rest.

Of course, nothing is as startling as the rapid decline of George Sherrill.   The former Baltimore closer had an ERA of .65 last year with the Dodgers.  In all but two of his 32 appearances did he surrender an earned run.  But 2010 has been a very different year for Sherrill.  In nine of his 30 appearances this season Sherrill has given up at least a run; five of those nine times it has been multiple runs.  His leash has also been much shorter; Sherrill has 20 appearances in which he does not record three outs.  He has seen his role been reduced from set-up man and spot-closer to situational lefty.  His woes forced the team to put him on the disable list at one point, hoping he could solve his problems without taking innings away from the major league club.

To continually turn to Broxton or Troncoso at every sign of danger, like the last two games against the Yankees which were non-save situations, the key cogs of the ‘pen will gain more and more wear as the season progresses.  The team either needs to add another reliever, be it through trade or dropping a bench player like Garret Anderson, use men like Jeff Weaver or Justin Miller much more loosely, or face the consequences.

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Of course, this is to be expected from a program that now has only 15 scholarships to offer for the 2011 season, instead of what normally would be 25.

However, despite the assurances of Trojan head coach, Lane Kiffin, and recruiting coordinator, Ed Orgeron, who insist that nothing has changed in terms of recruiting strategy, the facts don’t quite mesh with the bravado.

Prior to news of the sanctions, the Trojans had been their normally active self, averaging scholarship offers to prep players somewhere in the neighborhood of four to eight players per week.

In the roughly nine or so days since the sanctions were announced against the Trojans, only one player, cornerback Dondi Kirby from Pennsylvania, has received a scholarship offer from USC.

To be fair, this may be a case of there simply not being many attractive players for the Trojans to offer at this particular time of year.

And while this may be true, it should be noted that many players the Trojans had previously offered have come off the table as they have verbally pledged their services to other programs.

In fact, just this week, linebacker James Vaughters, defensive end Jabrian Niles, wide receiver Charone Peake, and running back Mike Bellamy, players the Trojans have offered, all have committed to someone else.

Couple this with other recepients of USC scholarship offers such as defensive tackles Michael Bennett, Kris Harley and DJ Pettway, offensive tackles Matt Hegarty and Jordan Prestwood, tight end Ben Koyack, and running back Herschel Sims all having recently committed elsewhere and the question is, are the Trojans running out of players to offer or are they holding back offers simply because they don’t have any to give?

Perhaps it’s a combination of the two.

Whatever the case, it is fairly obvious that the Trojans’ strategy has changed since the penalties were imposed.

Regardless of comments made by the coaching staff to the contrary, the facts suggest that USC will shift tactics as they go forward with the reduced scholarships they have to work with.

Logically, the Trojans must now scrutinize the prospects they offer much more closely, offering only those they are sure will have an impact on the program.

And hopefully those players will have an immediate impact for the Trojans’ sake, because they will need them to see the field as soon as possible.

Make no mistake about it, the recruiting brain trust will also have a fine line to walk as more and more players come off the board.

The sooner they offer players left over, the better their chances are of landing those players.

Yet these players may not be worthy of an offer.

Whether or not the players can contribute to the Trojans and help them get over the debilitating loss of scholarships over the next three years remains to be seen.

What is very apparent is that Kiffin and Orgeron will have to do a masterful job if the Trojans plan on remaining relevant in college football.

And if they can pull this off, they should be charter members in the college football recruiting hall of fame.

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And it was evident that the ghost of the late great John Wooden was in their corner this weekend, as UCLA’s baseball team won a spot in the College World Series for the first time since 1997 by beating Cal State Fullerton 8-1 at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Sunday night, in the third game of a best-of-3 NCAA Super Regional.

After the Bruins were one out away from being eliminated before defeating the Titans in 10 innings on Saturday, 11-7, Rob Rassmussen threw his first complete game as a Bruin on Sunday to clinch the team’s ticket to Omaha, as he struck out nine CSUF batters while giving up just two hits in winning his 11th game of the year.

UCLA’s bats came through as well, with the Bruins (48-14) scoring three runs in the third inning to take a lead they will not relinquish, and Beau Amaral getting three RBIs on the night, two of them on a home run in the eighth inning that put the final nail in Cal State Fullerton’s (46-18) coffin. 

The win certainly exorcised some Titan demons, CSUF having beaten UCLA 19 times in their 24 previous meetings since John Savage became the coach in Westwood in 2005. “…we needed to do this as a program”, he said. 

This World Series berth will be only the third one in Bruin history, the first one coming in 1969 with Chris Chambliss, who would go on to stardom with the Reggie Jackson / Billy Martin “Bronx Zoo” New York Yankees of the 1970s, leading UCLA that year.

Though they have never won a game in Omaha, having an all-time record of 0-4 there, the Bruins, who will start the Series with Florida either this Saturday or Sunday, have a chance to make some noise for one important reason: Pitching. 

It has been pitching, particularly the starting staff of Rassmussen, Garrett Claypool, Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer that has carried UCLA all season, and since good pitching beats good hitting and is the key to any team, I do not expect the Bruins to go home winless this time around.

It goes without saying that regardless of what happens in Omaha, this has been a dream season in Westwood – the question now is will the Bruins triumph at Rosenblatt Stadium and bring home the school’s 107th national championship (and the baseball program’s first)?

Time will tell, but I think they have a shot.

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Let’s see, the NCAA has found the University of Southern California guilty of “Lack of Institutional Control” in regards to their men’s basketball and women’s tennis teams, and especially their football program.

In case you were living under a rock this past week, among the sanctions imposed on the school were:

A loss of 30 football scholarships over the next three seasons.

Vacating 14 victories in football earned from December 2004 through 2005, which means the stripping of their 2004 BCS championship, and…

A ban from post season bowls in 2010 and 2011.

Quite the harsh punishment, this is; certainly harsher than what I would have given them.

The thing that angers me in all of this, and the reason why I feel USC’s sanctions were as harsh as it could get short of the death penalty, is the arrogance that the entire Trojan community, from athletic director Mike Garrett to the fans, has shown throughout the four year NCAA investigation.

From what Garrett, coach Lane Kiffin and the countless number of USC supporters that frequent the various fan web sites have said, the “Trojan Family” has shown no remorse for what they have done.

They are, as one blogger put it, “the most spoiled, obnoxious people in college sports.”

According to Garrett, the NCAA has “…nothing but a lot of envy. They wish they were Trojans (yeah, sure).”

Kiffin also effectively gave the NCAA the finger when he stated, “SC is more powerful than anything else. The university, the football program…no matter what they try to do to us, it won’t matter.”

If that is not extreme arrogance, than I don’t know the meaning of the word.

Then again, what else do you expect of a school where a member of their marching band has stated that “…arrogance is part of the image that we exude.” Even the Daily Trojan, USC’s student newspaper, said in 2005 that “an arrogance has taken over the program,” in regards to their pigskin.

Indeed, the University of Southern California is seen by many as an institution built on snobbery, conceit, and a sense of untouchability. Not to mention a lack of humility, sportsmanship, and remorse, which ultimately earned them the punishment that they got.

This Trojan arrogance is so pronounced that rather than just admitting their wrongdoings and accepting their fate, their community and fan base fully expects the NCAA’s rulings to be overturned in the appeal that they are currently filing.

Their attitude, for the most part, seems to continue to be “screw you”, and you certainly can’t get more arrogant than that.

Having said all of this, here is what USC needs to do in order to clean things up and regain the NCAA and the rest of the country’s respect:

ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY AND SHOW REMORSE FOR WHAT HAS HAPPENED.

Given their nature of conceit, this will undoubtedly be very difficult for the Trojan community to do as a whole; I certainly don’t expect a formal apology to come from Heritage Hall or any of their student, booster or alumni groups.

GET RID OF MIKE GARRETT

C. Max Nikias is replacing Steven Sample, who is retiring, as USC’s president for the upcoming school year.

The first thing Nikias must do upon taking office is to call Garrett, who has shown a very arrogant attitude throughout all of this, into his office and offer him a substantial retirement and pension package, as being the Trojan athletic director he is ultimately responsible for the “lack of institutional control”.

This will enable ‘SC to start fresh, which is what desperately needs to happen.

If Garrett refuses the retirement / pension offer, then he should be asked to resign. And if he says no to that, the next six words from Nikias must be:

“Clean out your office, you’re fired!”

HIRE PAT HADEN AS THE NEW USC ATHLETIC DIRECTOR

This former Rose Bowl hero while the Trojan quarterback in the mid 1970s and L.A. Rams star is exactly what USC needs right now.

Being a prominent lawyer and a Rhodes Scholar, he is as clean and straight arrow as Trojans come.

‘SC’s athletic department would show improvement right away, because Haden would immediately clean house and not stand for the incidents that occurred under Garrett’s tenure.

LANE KIFFIN AND HIS STAFF MUST BE WATCHED EXTREMELY CLOSELY

And need to be given absolute zero tolerance in the running of the football program.

If even the slightest thing happens under their watch that’s against the rules, Nikias and Haden need to tell Kiffin the same six words that Garrett needs to be told:

“Clean out your office, you’re fired!”

Should Kiffin and his staff need to be let go because of any violations, the next thing Haden should do is something that Garrett should have done in January when Pete Carroll left to coach the Seattle Seahawks:

HIRE TYRONE WILLINGHAM

Forget how he was fired at Notre Dame, and DEFINITELY forget his 0-12 record at Washington in 2008 — Willingham is a very good coach.

Not only that, he is also, like Haden, as straight arrow as they come in college sports, which is precisely what the Trojans need.

Being the clean, upstanding coach and human being that Willingham is, he will not tolerate stunts such as players punching folks in fraternity houses and crowing “I own the police!” (Rey Maualuga), or trying to pick up hookers who are undercover cops (Winston Justice).

They would be immediately and permanently dismissed from the team under Willingham’s watch.

I’m positive that if Garrett had hired Willingham in January instead of Kiffin, USC’s sanctions would not have been as harsh, because the NCAA would have seen by hiring a straight arrow like the former Irish, Husky, Michigan State and Stanford — who he took to the 2000 Rose Bowl — coach, the Trojans were doing something to improve their image and clean their house.

By following these five suggestions, the University of Southern California would gain from the college sports world something that their arrogance has denied them from getting for far too long: respect and admiration.

Otherwise they will continue to be seen as the most arrogant and hated entity in intercollegiate athletics.

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Only a day after the NCAA lowered the boom on USC, the vultures are attempting to circle the carcass.

ESPN’s Joe Schad is reporting that USC mega-recruit, running back Dillon Baxter, has notified the Trojans’ compliance office that five schools have illegally contacted him, apparently attempting to woo him to their programs.

Alabama, Florida, Fresno State, Oregon, and Washington are the teams identified as making overtures to Baxter, the 2009 five-star (as rated by Scout.com) quarterback/running back who set a California state record by scoring an eye-popping 79 touchdowns, including 50 on the ground.

Baxter, whose spring practice with the Trojans routinely featured spectacular runs that were celebrated far and wide on “Youtube,” is generally considered a “can’t miss” prospect by most who see him, so it’s not surprising that he would be coveted by other programs.

What is surprising, or perhaps I am gullible, is that so many programs who should know better took a shot at contacting a student-athlete whom they had no chance of getting.

Before I go any further, it should be noted that this is a preliminary report and when everything comes out, perhaps this contact was not illegal at all.

If so, then the question becomes one of decorum.

Is there a “waiting period” before another college football program attempts to steal from a weakened foe?

Can one call Dear Abby to see if any college gridiron etiquette has been violated?

For the five programs identified by Baxter, apparently that grace period lasted all of 24 hours.

If that.

In a sad commentary on the state of college athletic ethics, USC hadn’t even yet picked itself off the floor after the NCAA hay-maker before opposing programs began to swoop in hoping to pick clean the Trojans of a high profile prospect.

To Dillon Baxter’s credit, it appears that he wasn’t having any of that, and by reporting these programs to his compliance office, Baxter said in no uncertain terms that he plans on remaining a Trojan.

Take that you blood suckers.

Before any other programs start looking to speed dial Seantrel Henderson, Robert Woods, or any of the other highly regarded incoming USC freshmen trying to sweet talk them into a back door transfer, they may want to revisit what happened with Dillon Baxter.

It may save them the embarrassment of what at worst could be illegal contact and at best an emphatic “no” from the player in question.

Where this goes from here is anyone’s guess but it seems as though there is a bit of karma at play here, especially if this contact was indeed illegal.

And while it won’t soothe the open wounds of a reeling USC football program, maybe it will give them something else to think about for awhile.

Lord knows they could use that right about now.

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And if he was watching (which I’m sure he was), John Wooden would have very pleased.

Led by an outburst of hitting that broke records for most runs and hits in a Women’s College World Series game, the UCLA Bruins won their 12th national championship over Arizona in Oklahoma City last night, 15-9.

Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez, who won her first title as a head coach after winning six rings as a Bruin player and assistant, said, “This was about being able to bring back the pride, history, and tradition of a great softball program and what it feels like to be on top.”

Megan Langenfeld, after hitting  four home runs in the series, including three in the two games with the Wildcats, was named the series’ Most Outstanding Player. Andrea Harrison, Julie Burney, and Samantha Camuso also slugged homers for the Bruins (50-11), with Harrison hitting a grand slam in the second inning after Arizona’s Kenzie Fowler intentionally walked Langenfeld to load the bases, staking UCLA to a 6-0 advantage and never being really threatened after that.

Wearing black wristbands with the letters “JW” on them in tribute to the late great coach during the series, this marks the nation-leading 106th NCAA title for UCLA, which continues to be the only school with triple digits in that category.

On the men’s side of the diamond, the Bruins have a chance at an invitation to the College World Series in Omaha as they host Cal State Fullerton in a best-of-three Super Regional this weekend, starting this Friday at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

Coach John Savage’s UCLA team was much impressive in winning their NCAA regional, blowing out Kent State and beating defending national champion LSU and U.C. Irvine to earn a spot in the Super Regional against a tough Titan squad from Fullerton, who beat the Bruins in both of their head-to-head contests this season. 

However, with the pitching staff that  UCLA has, led by Trevor Bauer and Gerrit Cole, the Bruins have a good chance of punching their first ticket to Omaha since  the Troy Glaus-led 1997 team. If they and the rest of the Bruin pitchers perform on the mound like they do all year, Westwood may see both of their diamond programs reach their perspective College World Series, which is truly a rarity as I doubt that has happened before in the same season.

I certainly wish John Savage’s crew the best of luck.

And congratulations to Kelly Inouye’s band of Bruin sisters!

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Summary: With above-average to plus stuff across the board — fastball, slider, changeup — good command and tremendous athleticsm, Lee should be one of the high school arms being mentioned up close to the top of the Draft, or at least on a short list of top high school arms. If he’s not, it’s largely because of one thing: signability. As a quarterback recruit, he’s committed to play two sports at LSU next year, and many think he’s unsignable as a result. That said, there’s bound to be a team with deep pockets that will take a shot at luring him away from the gridiron and life as a collegiate athlete.

Any team drafting Lee would need to scrap together a lot of money to convince Lee of choosing baseball, and that’s a lot more than what any team would like to spend.  The Dodgers certainly don’t want to spend that, and rather than taking someone likely to sign, or at least someone of top potential, they chose to prevent any possible chance of paying for a prime pick.  At least they will get two picks next year.

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In the piece, I listed all of the qualities that young Mr. Kessler possessed, including a rocket for an arm and a tough running style that produced a dozen touchdowns last year.

Make no mistake about it, Cody Kessler is one impressive quarterback.

However, the Trojans had just recently received another verbal commitment from Mater Dei’s Max Wittek, another four-star quarterback (as rated by Scout.com).

Like Kessler, Wittek is a very impressive young QB, and his verbal helped bring teammate and wide receiver Victor Blackwell into the Trojan fold. This would eventually lead to five-star cornerback DeAnthony Thomas giving his verbal pledge to USC as well.

Because of Wittek’s already deep ties to the Trojans and the players he has brought along, not to mention Wittek’s talent as a quarterback, I suggested that the smart money would be on Cody Kessler pledging to the Washington Huskies, whom he was also considering.

Okay, no one ever accused me of being smart.

Last week, Cody Kessler announced his decision regarding who he would play for. Lo and behold, he chose the Trojans.

Despite Kessler making me look really stupid, you have to love the fact that this kid is not shy of competition and believe me, unless Wittek changes his mind, he will get all he can handle from young Max.

With “competition” always being the Trojans’ mantra, you know that these are the kind of kids that the departed Pete Carroll would love, and no doubt Lane Kiffin is digging it as well.

But the saga of Cody Kessler is just one facet of the Trojans recruiting efforts in the last week.

In the same article that highlighted Kessler, I also wrote about Aaron Green, a very talented five-star (again rated by Scout.com) running back who had suggested that he was no longer interested in the Trojans after they had failed to produce a timely scholarship offer.

I even had the temerity to mock Green, offering him advice something to the effect of it was time for him to just move on and not pine for an offer from the Trojans that wasn’t ever to come.

Except that the offer did come.

In a splendid bit of timing to make me look really silly, the Trojans have offered Aaron Green and the young running back can now choose to do what he will with the Trojan offer I said was destined never to be.

That will teach me to play it fast and loose with my smug assertions.

Okay, now that the embarrassment of my feeble prognostication efforts are behind me, there is other news to report on the Trojans recent recruiting efforts.

In addition to the offer to Green, the Trojans have also offered six other players, including two JC prospects.

Lane Kiffin and company appear to be in overdrive right now in terms of offering players and here is the latest round of these prospective Trojans:

Jesse Williams

Wiiliams is a huge (6′4 1/2″, 340 lbs.) defensive tackle from Arizona Western junior college. Interestingly, Williams hails from Brisbane, Australia, not necessarily a hotbed for American rules football.

Despite the talent and size of this huge d-tackle, it doesn’t look as though the Trojans have much of a shot as Williams has narrowed his choice to five schools and USC in not among them.

Brennan Scarlett

This 6′4″, 245 lb. defensive end from Portland, OR holds offers from most of the major programs in the country. Rated a four-star player by Scout.com, Scarlett blends speed and power into a powerful package that is complimented by a never ending motor.

At this point, Brennan Scarlett lists no favorites among his suitors but it is interesting to note that he has camped with USC, which can’t hurt.

Malcolm Mitchell

You would think the Trojans have enough wide receivers, but when you have a chance at an “under the radar” player like Malcolm Mitchell, you make room if he accepts.

Mitchell, who goes 6′1″, 190 lbs., is a rare blend of power (he says he can bench press 265 lbs.) and speed (4.4 forty). But that’s not all. Last year, Mitchell scored touchdowns six different ways, which means he is very versatile as well.

Right now, Mitchell holds several scholarship offers from most of the major programs and lists them all as “medium” in terms of his interest.

Kent Turene

Turene is an intriguing player who plays a position (outside linebacker) that the Trojans have a real need for. In addition to displaying great ball hawking skill, Turene also has the size and speed to be a force on the outside.

Though only rated a three-star by Scout.com at this point, expect Turene to rise quickly, especially if he improves on the ten sacks he recorded last year as a junior.

Turene, who is from Lauderdale Lakes, FL, has dozens of scholarship offers and he lists them all as “medium” interest wise.

Jacob Fahrenkrug

Another player at a position of need (offensive tackle) for the Trojans, Jacob Fahrenkrug is a massive young man. Standing 6′4″ and weighing 315 lbs, Fahrenkrug also is mobile and can “pull” if necessary.

Hailing from a good junior college program, North Dakota State, Fahrenkrug holds many offers and lists them all as “medium” on his interest list.

Lemar Dawson

Lemar Dawson is a fast-rising, four-star middle linebacker from Danville, KY, that everyone would love to have. Big (6′2″, 230 lbs.) and fast (4.6 forty), Dawson is just now coming into his own as a linebacker as evidenced by his eye-popping 160 tackles last year as a junior.

Coveted by many programs, expect Dawson, beleive it or not, to sign with his hometown college, Kentucky.

Okay, thats enough for one week.

More offers are on the way and when they come, I will bring the news as it becomes available.

But don’t look for me to make anymore predictions regarding either Trojans offers or prep players accepting.

I’ve embarrassed myself enough already . . .

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If such is the case, then at least five libraries were torched this past Friday, because we lost a man who was not only the greatest coach in the history of sports, but one of the greatest all around human beings ever, a person whose life and influence transcends athletics.

John Robert Wooden, first and foremost, was a teacher – I believe he preferred to describe himself that way.

I won’t go on about his 620 wins and ten national championships in 12 years, including seven in a row from 1967-1973, during a 27-year tenure as coach of the UCLA basketball team. Nor will I go into detail about his iconic Pyramid of Success, a Ten Commandments for the 20th century that tells people how best to live life and conduct oneself, or the various maxims that he espoused such as…

“Be quick, but don’t hurry.”

“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”

“It’s what you know AFTER you know everything that counts.” 

“Make each day your masterpiece.”

I’ll leave those statistics and other obvious things for those who will inevitably review all that stuff for the newspapers, sports channels, and the internet.

Coach Wooden’s – I prefer to call him Mr. Wooden because he was much more than a coach to me – impact on UCLA was a very simple one: He put it on the map.

Before he arrived from Indiana State in 1948 to coach the basketball version of the Bruins, the University of California at Los Angeles was a nice, sleepy little college in a quaint, sleepy little community called Westwood, considered on the outskirts of L.A.

Although they had a few successes in football, including a Rose Bowl appearance in 1943, people thought of UCLA as a commuter school, a twiggy little brother off the U.C. Berkeley tree that was a shadow dweller to well-established crosstown rival USC.

By the time Mr. Wooden retired as the Bruins’ coach after winning his tenth NCAA title in 1975, UCLA was no longer anyone’s twig or in anybody’s shadow.

That quaint little brother of Berkeley had become one of America’s elite institutions of higher learning, am place that would eventually claim more national championships than anyone else and become the nation’s most popular university, with more students applying there than any other school.

And on top of everything else, Mr. Wooden’s success led to the building of the legendary Pauley Pavilion. Just as Yankee Stadium was “The House That Ruth Built”, that on-campus icon was “The House That Wooden Built”.

I had the extreme personal privilege of meeting the man when I was a student at UCLA and played the saxophone in the Bruin Varsity Band at the basketball games in the late 1980s. Mr. Wooden regularly attended the contests; he would always sit just across from me and the band.

Needless to say, it was a thrill just being thirty feet from him, but I felt that I just had to meet the coaching legend. That chance came after a game just before Christmas of 1989.

Wearing my blue mock-turtleneck band shirt and with the game program I hand, I walked up to where he was sitting, my knees virtually knocking like crazy, and said while shaking like the proverbial leaf, “Excuse me Mr. Wooden, sir, may I have your autograph?”

The man had a reputation as being very generous with fans, and he did not disappoint with me. Right there under the championship banners that his teams put up, not only did he sign my program “Merry Christmas, John Wooden”, he also shook my hand and gave me a warm smile. To say that it was quite the thrill would be an understatement of the highest order.

To this day I still have that game program, as well as a book written by Mr. Wooden that he signed for me a year or two ago; to sell those mementos on Ebay or to give them away will always be completely unthinkable. How could I possibly dare to do that to the greatest coach that ever lived?

For practically all of my adult life, I have tried to follow the tenets of the great coach’s Pyramid of Success. I’ve done okay in applying some of those tenets to my own life, but have failed miserably in others, which continues to disappoint me because I feel that I have let Mr. Wooden down, as well as the rest of the UCLA community.

I still have copies of that pyramid on my bedroom walls, as a reminder to always strive to achieve the standards that he set when he first started the pyramid as a high school teacher and coach in Kentucky and his native Indiana in 1934.

It goes without saying that the whole world, in and out of sports, will dearly miss this coaching and teaching legend.

Like Elton John when he sang about being in the 22nd row in his ode to Marilyn Monroe, “Candle in the Wind”, I’m just a guy in the 222nd row when it comes to John Wooden, but I will forever that man just as much as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton and the countless others whose lives have been touch so greatly by him.

Mr. Wooden has often said that he did not fear death because he would be with his beloved wife Nell, who passed away in 1985.

Since that’s the case, I’m sure that he is happy wherever he is, because he’s with her now.

And I’m more than positive that this inspirational teacher, coach, and human being will rest in peace.

“Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”  – John Wooden  (1910-2010)

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It was a bad call.

A really bad call.

One of those no-doubt-about-it, safe-by-a-mile, how-could-you-possibly-miss-it calls.

It’s a call that will change the very course of baseball itself.  Remember where you were on June 2, 2010, when a seemingly innocuous decision sent the sports world into a tailspin: Jim Joyce called Jason Donald safe.

Armando Galarraga had retired all 26 batters he had faced up to that point.  With a 1-1 count, Donald hit a grounder speared by first-baseman Miguel Cabrera.  Cabrera tossed the ball to Galarraga who covered first.  Galaragga stepped on the bag, and with that, he made history.

Sort of.  Okay, not really.

First-base ump Jim Joyce ruled Donald safe.  Nobody could believe it.  Not even Donald.  Replay showed he was out.  It wasn’t even close.  Everyone saw it.  The Detroit broadcasters could not believe it.  They could barely contain their sheer shock at the missed call.  And with that bad call, the world was set ablaze.

First it was anger towards Joyce.  His Wikipedia page had to be locked due to immense vandalism.  He became a trending topic on Twitter.  People called for his firing.  He became the most hated man in Detroit.

Then the focus turned to the one vehicle that could conceivably eliminate such a horrendous ruling: instant replay.  Many determined that this game would be the tipping point in the argument over expanding replay, which is currently in place for only home run calls.

Let this game be the final straw on the camel’s back: Baseball needs instant replay.  It needs to review calls and plays.  Accuracy should not be set aside for the comfort of the “human element.”  Umpires are not perfect, nor will they ever be perfect.  Joyce is not the first one to botch a call, nor will he be the last.  But when these poor decisions occur during what could be a momentous occasion, there needs to be a safety net.  We can’t just rely on the “human element.”

My solution is that, if a play is to be challenged, a manager asks for a replay.  All four umpires (in the playoffs that would be six) convene and must reach a unanimous decision to review what occurred.  If they do, the crew chief notifies someone who would be watching the game to look at the play in question from all possible angles, and determine if it stands or if it is overturned.  Once the decision is reached, both teams are notified immediately.  It should not take more than seven minutes.

But there was a third and equally important subject that people discussed after the issue of replay.  A call went out to Bud Selig to repeal the call and rule that Donald was out.  This is where I draw the line.  Replay is one thing.  Asking for a mea culpa is another.  Asking the commissioner to squeegee a play off the record books creates a slippery slope that would create a precedent for anything and everything that could be considered questionable from henceforth.  What happens to Trevor Crowe, who had an extra at-bat as a result of Donald’s “single?”  What about Galarraga’s numbers? Will his WHIP be subsequently changed? How about his FIP, or his batting-average-against?  What if a game-changing play is incorrectly called? Couldn’t a team make the case that their botched call is more important, seeing as how it directly affected the outcome of a game?  Baseball can’t just make a special case for this.  As much as people are outraged by it, Galarraga still walks away with a win, as do the Tigers.

Everybody is upset over this call.  The people want instant replay, and they deserve it.  That alone would alter the course of baseball history.  But if Galarraga gets a mulligan from the commissioner’s office, baseball is changed for the worse.

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After a season in which they tallied their highest number of wins in over forty years and was ranked in the top 15 for the entire campaign, including achieving the #1 spot in early April, UCLA’s baseball team will begin their quest for the College World Series in Omaha this Friday as they host a regional for the first time since 1986.

Pundits have stated that the sixth-ranked Bruins (43-13) have the toughest bracket, as Mid-American Conference Champion Kent State, Big West power UC Irvine and LSU, who’s merely the defending national champion, come to Jackie Robinson Stadium for this double elimination regional to try and earn the right to go to the best-of-3 Super Regionals later on this month.

UCLA will begin with Kent State’s Golden Flashes this Friday night, after UC Irvine’s Anteaters and LSU’s Tigers do battle. With Gerrit Cole, Trevor Bauer, Rob Rasmussen and Garret Claypool all having outstanding seasons on the mound, Coach John Savage’s Bruins have as good a chance as anyone to make it to the Super Regionals and hopefully the ultimate prize, Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium – it would be their first trip there since 1997, and only their third appearance in Omaha overall.

Former major league manager Gene Mauch once said that if you don’t have good pitching, you don’t have a good team. Since UCLA has  had an abundance of good hurlers this season, success in this first step of the post season is not out of the question in the slightest – if the hitters, led by Dean Espy, come through, the Bruins will be in very good shape.

While the baseball version of the Bruins is trying to get to their College World Series, their softball counterparts are already heading to theirs.

After smacking around  and effectively owning Louisiana Lafayette with a combined score of 20-3 over two games, invoking the mercy rule in both contests, UCLA’s softball team (45-11) will be in Oklahoma City as they are playing  in the eight-team, double elimination Women’s College World Series this weekend.

Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez’s ladies, ranked #5, will take on Florida in their first contest this Thursday afternoon as they go for their 12th national championship and first since 2004.

The Bruin bats were absolutely on fire against Louisiana Lafayette’s Ragin’ Cajuns in the Super Regionals, which they hosted at UCLA, as home runs were flying out of Easton Stadium. ULL was no match for the Bruins as they lost by scores of 10-1 and 10-2,  with both games going five innings.

As college softball has achieved great parity in recent years, including having the top two ranked teams, Alabama and Michigan, lose in their super regionals, the field is wide open this year. Any one of those eight teams in Oklahoma City, which includes Georgia, Tennessee, perennial power Arizona and defending champion Washington, can take home the trophy.

With that being the case, UCLA, led by national player of the year finalist Megan Lagenfeld, will have to step up, play their best softball, and in the words of the immortal John Wooden, “Be at your best when your best is needed”, as they go for the school’s 106th NCAA title and join the women’s gymnastics team among this year’s national champions in Westwood.

They way the UCLA softballers have played as of late, a championship is more than attainable – we’ll see how it goes.

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But he has.  Monasterios has a 2.20 ERA and a K/BB ratio of 1.75 and a WHIP of 1.151 in just 28.2 innings.  Of his 13 appearances, all but three have been for more than an inning.  His most memorable showing so far has been the eight-out win he threw in extra innings against the Nationals when no arms were left in the ‘pen.  He has made two spot-starts, giving up three earned runs in nine combined innings, including five innings of work against Colorado on Friday which resulted in a win.  He has given the Dodgers everything they could hope for, and more.

But what does the young kid get as a reward?  A pat on the back and a hearty “good luck next time.”  Joe Torre told the press that he’ll likely look to soon-to-be-activated Charlie Haeger to fill the fifth-starter role for either Tuesday or Wednesday against Arizona.  Haeger, whose appearance record of 0-7 has earned him the nickname “The Haebinger of Doom,” will start over the rookie.  It’s difficult to embrace the move when one pitcher has pitch far beyond expectations while the other has been underwhelming to say the least.  And for a pitcher like Monasterios, the idea of having his appearances cut down to less than what he has had so far cannot be exciting news.  But when you’re a rookie who has spent hardly any time above Single-A baseball, it’s hard to complain.  Monasterios has just one option: pitch well.  As long as he can do that, even if it is at the slow rate it is now, he’ll have a job the next day.

UPDATE: Haeger’s foot is still bothering him.  John Ely will pitch on Tuesday, and Monasterios will get the ball on Wednesday.

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USC already has six pledges from highly regarded prep players including the star of the six, cornerback/running back DeAnthony Thomas.

With this kind of head start on the 2010 prep recruiting season, the class that Kiffin is putting together stands a chance to be truly special.

So please don’t construe this piece as any kind of indictment of coach Kiffin or the Trojan recruiting brain trust.

Having said that, there are still a couple of omissions to what is the beginning of a brilliant prep recruiting class for the Trojans.

For example, one player who is very highly regarded and who seems a natural fit for the Trojans is Ian Seau.

Young Seau, whose uncle is the legendary former Trojan Junior Seau, is a 6′4,” 245 pound monster of a defensive end who is ranked a four-star player by Scout.com.

Seau has the body and motor that will make him a future star and he lists the Trojans, of course, as “high” on his interest list.

Yet Ian Seau still awaits a scholarship offer from the Trojans.

Why the delay, Lane?

Meanwhile, another defensive end is just begging for an offer, and like Ian Seau, he is also a four-star prep athlete.

Todd Barr, who hails from Lakewood high school in Southern California, and who was a teammate of highly regarded 2009 USC quarterback recruit Jesse Scroggins, also has the Trojans “high” on his interest list.

All Todd Barr did last year was record 32 tackles for loss, 12 sacks and forced five fumbles.

And yet, even with close to two dozen scholarship offers in his pocket, Barr pines for one from his dream school, USC.

Why the delay, Lane?

Finally, with the Trojans in desperate need of linebackers, even with the recent commitment of Tre Madden, there is a fast riser, who, like Ian Seau and Todd Barr, has much love for the Trojans and awaits an offer from USC.

Jalen Jefferson, an outside linebacker who has the body (6′3″) to add more bulk to his current 205 pounds, has the kind of motor that coaches love.

Like Barr and Seau, Jefferson also lists the Trojans as “high” on his list of potential suitors.

And with the Trojans needing linebackers, the questions begs to be answered…

Why the delay, Lane?

However, this doesn’t mean that the Trojans are inactive on the recruiting trail.

Four more offers have been extended to some outstanding prep players and half of them reside here in the southland.

Lets take a look at these four potential future Trojans:

Stephan Nembot

This fast rising offensive tackle/defensive end from Van Nuys, Ca. is your prototypical “diamond in the rough.”

With a body (6′8″) that is just begging for more than the 245 pounds that he currently bears, Nembot is opening eyes throughout the recruiting world.

Now holding scholarship offers from the majority of Pac-10 schools, Nembot lists them all as “medium” in terms of his interest.

Bobby Hart

Hart, who hails from Ft. Lauderdale, Fl., has what the Trojans covet, and that is size.

Standing 6′5″ and weighing 295 lbs., Hart is a prototypical offensive lineman.

Though not fleet of foot (5.6 forty), Hart nonetheless has great drive and power and if utilized at the guard position, won’t be counted on for down field blocking anyway.

Hart, who is ranked a four-star player by Scout.com, has USC, like all others, rated as “medium” on his interest list.

Devon Moreland

The next two players that are being profiled, unfortunately for Trojan fans, appear to be heading to their crosstown rivals UCLA.

Devon Moreland, a fast rising player at a position of need, linebacker, is 6′3″, 215 lbs. and has a ton of potential.

Though coveted by many programs, Moreland, as suggested, lists UCLA as “high” on his interest list.

Paulay Asiata

Asiata, who hails from Hawaii, also would fit a need of the Trojans, namely offensive tackle, has great size (6′5″, 295 lbs.) and the power to be a dominating “big ugly” in the trenches.

However, Asiata also appears to be headed to UCLA who he lists as “high” on his dance card.

There you have it.

Some questions, some offers, and a whole bunch of me trying not to sound like I am questioning coach Kiffin and company, whose recruiting prowess I stand in awe of.

Nonetheless, I hope that the Trojans don’t wait too much longer to pull the trigger on offers to Seau, Barr, and Jefferson.

It would be a damn shame to lose any of those guys to another program who extended an offer that came with the ability to sway the player in question to their way of thinking.

Of course, there may be promises of offers that this humble reporter isn’t aware of.

For the Trojans’ sake, there better damn well be.

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Just three days after five-star (as rated by Scout.com) cornerback/running back DeAnthony Thomas gave USC his verbal pledge, Tre Madden, a 6’1,” 217 pound linebacker from prep power Mission Viejo high school has done the same.

Madden, rated a three-star by Scout, will wind up with a much higher rating by the end of the high school season as he matures and learns the intricacies of his position.

Last year as a junior, Madden accounted for 115 tackles and earned second team “all- underclassman” honors by GoldenStatePrep.com.

The Trojans need linebackers and Tre Madden is going to be a very good one.

With another year to hone his technique, Madden, who already shows an uncanny nose for the ball, will be counted on to contribute immediately—even if it is on special teams.

And the Trojans may not be done yet.

Despite rumors to the contrary, Greg Townsend, the very athletic four-star defensive end (as rated by Scout.com), may also pull the trigger soon for the Trojans.

Townsend has said recently that he will “take his time” in making a decision as to which team he will verbally commit. However, when a rash of players start giving commitments to a school, it often prompts other players to do the same.

Plus, Townsend lists the Trojans as “high” on his interest list.

If Townsend does indeed give the Trojans his pledge, look for USC to also give him a look at middle linebacker where Townsend’s size (6’4,” 240 pounds) would seem to be ideal even if he is a bit tall.

Now from the “Department of Laughs.”

Five-star running back Aaron Green recently went on record as saying he is no longer interested in the Trojans and won’t sign with them.

That’s fine except that the Trojans haven’t made an offer to Green and by all indications weren’t planning to.

Of the entire five-star recruits (as rated by Scout.com) available, the only one that the Trojans didn’t offer was Aaron Green.

Now with the feeling apparently mutual, Mr. Green can go on to other things instead of pining for an offer that was destined never to come.

Meanwhile, the Trojans have offered two more players, both of which can help them at positions that are lacking depth.

Marcus Martin , a huge (6’4.5,” 340 lbs.) offensive lineman from Crenshaw high school in the Los Angeles area has caught the eye of the Trojans who recently offered him a scholarship.

Martin, who helped open up huge holes for recent Trojan commit, DeAnthony Thomas, says the connection with Thomas will have no bearing on his decision but was quick to say that “USC was always a dream school” of his, according to Scout.com.

The Trojans need O-linemen, and a pledge from big Marcus Martin would go a long way to shore up an area that that USC is lacking in.

Also offered recently by the Trojans is Jason Gibson, another highly regarded linebacker.

Gibson, who is rated a four-star player, is big (6’2,” 210 lbs.), athletic and strong enough to play defensive end for his high school team (powerhouse Serra high school in Gardena, Ca.) but will be shifted to outside linebacker by whichever team is lucky enough to land him.

Right now, it appears that Cal is USC’s main competition for Gibson’s services.

That is it for now as far as Trojan recruiting news goes.

I had intended to wait a bit to file another USC recruiting report after last week’s big news of Victor Blackwell and DeAnthony Thomas committing to the Trojans.

However, Tre Madden forced me to guide my weary fingers back to the keyboard where I will gladly force myself to spread the news of another major Trojan verbal commitment.

Ah, the sacrifices I make for the good of Trojan nation…

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• Money – The ownership is still in turmoil, the payroll is stretched thin, and the room for a deal is slim.  Oswalt is owed $16 million next season, and that would be a sticking point for any team, not just the Dodgers.
• Prospects – It’s hard to tell right now what the Astros would want in exchange for Oswalt.  They are in a position to ask for a lot, especially since he is still under contract for 2011.  However, the price tag might make him somewhat cheaper in this regard since teams are already so scared to take on his salary, let alone trade high-end chips away.
• Injuries – Oswalt has had his share of injuries.  His medical record adds too many question marks.

The Dodgers will likely look for a starter once the market opens, and there are plenty of names that might become available (Kevin Millwood, Chris Young, Ted Lilly, Bronson Arroyo, Aaron Harang, Justin Duchscherer, and even Cliff Lee at the rate the Mariners are going).  Oswalt looks attractive right now, but the Dodgers would be better off waiting things out for better options.

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First, the big news.

Victor Blackwell, the multi-talented wide receiver from Mater Dei high school, home of 2010 Trojan verbal Max Wittek, has decided to join his quarterback teammate at the college level by giving his verbal pledge to USC.

Blackwell, a four-star (as rated by Scout.com) stud of a receiver, who goes 6′2,” and a rock solid 195 pounds, was offered by programs such as Notre Dame and Cal to go along with several others.

In Blackwell, the Trojans get a big, strong and extremely fast wideout, who compliments all that with great hands and athleticism.

Blackwell made it no secret that he longed to be a Trojan and when he was finally offered, he wasted no time in giving his verbal committment.

Of course, 2010 Trojan pledge, quarterback Max Wittek, was thrilled to hear the news that he would be paired with his favorite receiver at Mater Dei, a perennial prep powerhouse, at the college level.

But it goes even further.

There are also reports that both Wittek and Blackwell think they can play a part in bringing another player that the Trojans covet as well.

DeAnthony Thomas, the supremely talented five-star (as rated by Scout.com) cornerback, has the Trojans listed as “high” in terms of his interest and just to make it even sweeter for Trojan fans, he is very good friends with both Wittek and Blackwell.

Both Wittek and Blackwell have already suggested that they will be working Thomas to get him to verbal with the Trojans post haste.

Now for the “intrigue.”

As this piece suggests, Wittek, the highly sought after, extremely talented 2010 Trojan pledge, is a quarterback.

Bear in mind, Jesse Scroggins, the four-star quarterback from Lakewood High School in California, is coming in the fall.

For the Trojans to offer Wittek is no surprise. The kid is special.

When Wittek accepted the Trojan offer, this too came as no surprise.

After all, Mater Dei has been supplying quarterbacks for USC (Matt Leinart, Matt Barkley) on a regular basis for the last few years.

So it was generally assumed that USC had its quarterback needs covered for the next few years.

Not quite.

Recently the Trojans surprised everyone, including the recipient of the offer, by extending a scholarship offer to another quarterback.

Bakersfield, Calif. (Centennial high school), quarterback Cody Kessler was recently given an opportunity to become a Trojan and it not only took him by surprise, it has forced him to reconsider all of his plans in terms of recruiting.

Centennial has been a recent high school powerhouse in the state, and Kessler is a huge reason why.

Kessler passed for almost 2,200 yards last year with 14 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Along with that, Kessler possesses excellent size (6′2″, 225 pounds) to go with good speed (4.8 40-yard dash) to craft a running style that accounted for 12 rushing touchdowns.

To top it all off, the kid is athletic as well.

Playing basketball, Kessler averaged 29.5 points in high school, along with 11 rebounds, and five assists a game.

Quite a resume.

So where does this leave Wittek?

Squarely a Trojan, apparently.

The signing of Blackwell signals nothing other than the fact that Wittek is neither offended, nor afraid of a little competition from Kessler.

Not only was Blackwell offered by the Trojans after Kessler received his offer, but Wittek was a huge reason why Blackwell was so eager to get his offer.

And a huge reason why Blackwell accepted.

So a big week for Trojan recruiting heads into the weekend with possible big news looming on the horizon.

Should Thomas choose the Trojans, they will have an extraordinary jump on the 2010 recruiting season.

But even if they don’t, the signing of Blackwell should be paying dividends for years to come.

That Blackwell is a wide receiver also means that USC is literally stocked with excellent wide-outs for years in the future.

In addition to the trio of 2009 wide receivers, Kyle Prater, Robert Woods, and Markeith Ambles, the Trojans have verbal commitments from Blackwell and George Farmer, the excellent receiver from Serra High School is also thought to be a heavy Trojan “lean.”

And don’t forget about Jordan Payton, the 2012 receiver from powerhouse Oaks Christian High School.

All he did as a sophomore was break a 1,000 yards receiving to go along with 18 touchdowns in a fairly tough league.

Okay, that’s it for this piece but that is not all that went on in Trojan recruiting.

Other prep players were offered and some came off the board but that is a story to be told on another day.

In the meantime, let’s see if the Trojans offer another quarterback or something…

BREAKING NEWS!! According to Scout.com, DeAnthony Thomas has just given his verbal committment to the Trojans.

In DeAnthony Thomas, the Trojans get, without a doubt, the best prep lockdown corner in the nation.

Thomas, who is 5′11,” 185 pounds and is exceedingly fast (4.4 forty), is also an exceptional running back who can be a homerun hitter as a return man.

Lane Kiffin, Ed Orgeron and company are crafting a fantastic recruiting class for 2010 and with the addition of Thomas, this gives the Trojans five early pledges, all rated four-star or higher by Scout.com with Thomas holding the highest rating (five-star) of them all.

With the addition of Blackwell and Thomas, Trojan fans have plenty to smile about these days.

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After much wrangling and an intense fundraising effort, the Bruin Athletic Department officially began the renovation of Pauley Pavilion as a groundbreaking ceremony commenced on the north side of that iconic arena.

The plan is for the outside of Pauley to be worked on first as a new outside concourse will be added. That will allow the basketball, volleyball, and gymnastics teams to continue holding games, matches, and meets in that building for the upcoming 2010-2011 school year.

For 2011-2012, however, Pauley will be unavailable as the interior structure will be getting a complete makeover. The seating capacity will increase from 12,800 to 14,000 as more bathrooms will be added, the  locker rooms will be upgraded and the steps will be narrower so it will be easier for fans to navigate them, among other things.

In short, the house that John Wooden built will be a state of the art arena that will be worthy of UCLA’s longtime tradition of excellence on the field, court, and floor.

The volleyball and gymnastics teams will spend their 2011-2012 seasons in the  smaller John Wooden Center next door to Pauley, while the basketball team is planning to play their home games at the Great Western Forum, the former home of the Lakers – not a bad place to spend a year while your house is being rebuilt.

Meanwhile on the baseball diamond, the Bruins continued their winning ways, remaining in contention for a Pac-10 championship as well as being selected to host an upcoming NCAA regional, not to mention being ranked in the top 15.

Last week they swept USC at Jackie Robinson Stadium in an epic three-game set, which included an exciting 2-1 victory on May 16 when Cody Keefer slammed a two-run  homer in the bottom of the ninth with UCLA down to their last out.

The Bruins then beat UC Santa Barbara 6-2 this past Tuesday night. With only seven games remaining in the regular season, it looks good for coach John Savage’s bunch, particularly if the pitching holds up.

All things considered, it has been good times in Westwood as of late.

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By now you’ve probably heard about Brian Cushing, former USC standout and current Texans defensive star.  He tested positive for a performance enhancing substance and will be suspended for the first four games of the 2010 NFL season.  Cushing is not the first football player to use PEDs; the Chargers’ Shawne Merriman is the most famous due to the creation of the “Merriman Rule,” which bars players who test positive for steroids to play in the Pro Bowl.  But no other player experienced quite what Cushing just did.  The Associated Press had a revote on Cushing’s Defensive Rookie of the Year Award.  He ultimately retained his accolade, but it raises the question: Why has the issue of steroids in football received such little scrutiny as its use in baseball?

The reactions between the two sports are starkly contrasted.  MLB’s official policy is a 50-game suspension for a first-time offender.  In the NFL, it’s four games.  The emotional reaction is even more diverse.  Baseball is notorious for destroying players who have just a shadow of a doubt.  Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, they’ve all been turned into monsters by the media.  A positive result means a player will be ostracized for the rest of his life.  But in the NFL, it’s mainly a slap on the wrist with a sternly worded warning to not do it again.  Fans hardly even hear news about a player suspended.

The reasons for the double standard are varied.  First, football players are built much more differently than baseball players.  A lineman needs to be able to bear tackle after tackle from 300+ lbs. ends every few minutes.  A baseball player simply needs to stand on the field and make a play when needed.  From a fan perspective, steroids in football are about protecting oneself more than augmenting statistics.

Statistics also play a key factor.  Baseball fans are notorious stat geeks.  They and the media obsess over numbers, using it as the measuring stick for the greats and for the the not-so-greats.  Steroids and other PEDs alter those numbers, and the fans become irate over the apparent deception.  Numbers are not worshiped in football, especially with defensive and offensive linemen.  Can you name the league leader in sacks last year? How about pancakes?  Tackles?  Yards lossed?

Lastly, it’s the big names in baseball who get fingered, but in the NFL it’s mainly fringe stars like Merriman.  No names like Manning, Brady, McNabb, or Brees ever come up in conversations.  But in baseball, no name is off-limits.

The Associated Press is trying to make the issue of PEDs in the NFL seem like a serious issue, and it is.  But to take an arbitrary award away from a player when baseball can barely keep the lid on the whole can of worms comes off as immature, pathetic and worse.  Nobody cares about steroids in the NFL, and nobody should act as if otherwise.  The standard held to Major League Baseball cannot be applied anywhere else.

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• 9-14 record for April
• 4-10 record against the Pirates, Mets, Reds and Nationals during April
• Manny Ramirez, Jeff Weaver, and Vicente Padilla on the DL, with Padilla expected to miss all of May
• Rafael Furcal on the edge of going to the DL, with the offensively-stunted Chin-Lung Hu ready to be called up if need be
• Ned Colletti chastising Matt Kemp over the radio
• Matt Kemp’s agent implying that Colletti’s words will have an impact at free-agent negotiations
• Kemp’s declining defense and baserunning ability (Colletti did have a point, albeit voiced in the worst way possible)
• Use of seven different starting pitchers, including rookies John Ely and Carlos Monasterios
• Andrew Lambo’s positive test for a “drug of abuse,” giving the young prospect a 50-game suspension

This has not been the greatest start to a season for the Dodgers.  It’s been so horrendous that MLB Trade Rumors openly pondered what LA would do if the team fell out of contention.  So far, the prescription to pulling out of this tailspin has not been what many would call “orthodox” or “sensible.”  Padilla’s absence has forced the team to call up John Ely, one of two prospects acquired for Juan Pierre, and to use Carlos Monasterios, the Rule-5 pick who has two outings above Single-A to his name, as a starter.  Jamey Carroll is playing shortstop.  Reed Johnson and Garret Anderson are playing a platoon role for left field, with Anderson failing spectacularly (batting .156 with two walks and 13 strikeouts).

There are signs the Dodgers’ luck is changing.  Monasterios delivered a solid four-inning outing against Pittsburgh.  George Sherrill is slowly making his way back to the Sherrill of old.  Hong-Chih Kuo is becoming the Hong-Chih Kuo of old.  Ramon Ortiz has been decent as of late, and Jonathan Broxton still has yet to give up an earned run.

The brightest of the bright spots has to be Andre Ethier.  Ethier, one of three reigning NL Silver Slugging outfielders, has put his name in early MVP talk with nine homers, 26 runs batted in, a K/BB ratio of 1.0, a batting average of .365, and an OPS of 1.161.  Matt Kemp is cooling from his hot start, but Ethier keeps getting hotter and hotter.  His slugging percentage of .729 is third in baseball and first in the NL.  He is tied for first in Offensive Win Percentage, a statistic which measures how many games a team would win if it had nine Ethiers batting in the lineup.  He even has a walk-off hit against the Diamondbacks.

The season’s start has been a difficult one for Dodger fans.  But the tide is turning.  Manny and Weaver are making their way back, and with their return the Boys in Blue should find a rebirth by the time they stroll into Phoenix next week.

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