Start SpreadingThe News!!!

Hey Trojans:

Well, it is NEVER too early to start planning a road trip! Looks like the USC/Syracuse game in 2012 has been moved to the NEW Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands. No offense to the city of Syracuse, but a weekend in the Big Apple is more appealings. Is "Cats" still playing? =P

http://blog.syracuse.com/orangefootball/2009/08/su_to_play_three_games_in_the.html

USC Practice Report...

From Ben Malcolmson at USCRipsIt.com (who has the world's best job behind Pete Carroll, following USC Football 24/7. Lucky SOB! =P):

Dispatch from Howard Jones

By Ben Malcolmson on August 16, 2009 6:22 PM

Thoughts from Sunday's practice, through the eyes of USCRipsIt...

- An incredible deluge of big plays and a constant flow of sharp execution turned Sunday into an offensive masterpiece, as the offense became nearly unstoppable throughout the full-pads practice. The offense won every period, including scoring four touchdowns in four tries during sudden change period (a situational drill featuring a short field after a turnover) and three touchdowns in three goal-line situational drives. "That's the execution we need," Coach Carroll said in the post-practice huddle. "Today was the offense's day -- no doubt about it."

- Matt Barkley produced another on-the-money performance Sunday afternoon, mixing long crowd-rousing touchdowns with short, smart passes that pleased the coaches. Though Barkley completed several nice balls, his most impressive play might have been an incompletion during a passing-focused team period. Hurried by the defensive line's rush, the freshman quarterback threw the ball away instead of forcing a risky screen pass. "Good, good, good!" quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates exclaimed. "That's a great play!"

- In the practice-concluding team period, the offense scored touchdowns on seven consecutive drives -- six of which came on the ground by the tailbacks. Joe McKnight and Allen Bradford scored twice, while Marc Tyler and Stafon Johnson each ran for one. Mitch Mustain threw a perfect bullet to wideout Brandon Carswell in the front right corner of the end zone for the seventh touchdown of that period.

- Not only was the offense producing a downpour of touchdowns, it was also handing out punishing hits. During team run, ball-carrier Allen Bradford powerfully ran through linebacker Chris Galippo, setting off a wild celebration by his fellow running backs, who playfully teased one of the Trojans' most vocal and hardest-hitting defensive players. "That play is over now!" linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr. said, coming to the defense of his player. Replied fullback Stanley Havili: "There's still an echo!"

- Mitch Mustain had yet another sharp day with the second-unit offense, even completing four straight high-difficulty passes during team period.

- The highlight-reel play of the day came when Matt Barkley tossed a 50-yard touchdown-scoring bomb to freshman wideout De'Von Flournoy during 11-on-11 drills.

Help Build "George Tirebiter's House."

Hey Trojans:

I hope you are enjoying the last few weeks of summer as we head into "the most wonderful time of the year" (for me at least). Kickoff against San Jose State is a little over 3 weeks away, so I wanted to share with you something that is important to me.

My wife, Sylvia and I are on the Board of Directors of a wonderful organization called Carolina Veterinary Assistance & Adoption Group. We help neglected, abandoned and abused dogs and cats return to good health, and aggressively try to find loving homes for them. I am involved with a very important part of this organization called the "Garden of Life for Pets" a no-kill animal sanctuary where we rehab the pets and house them until they can be adopted.

Recently, we had a wonderful anonymous donation of over $3,000 which helped us build four kennel runs for the dogs. However, they need proper housing to help protect the animals in the winter. So I have made it my mission to ask my USC friends to help sponsor "George Tirebiter's House" by raising $500 so we can build the house shown below.

George Tirebiter's House

The is a fully lined well-built structure that has a removable wind guard for winter which creates a warm area inside for the dogs to rest. In the summer, the guard is removed to allow better air flow and keep the house cool. The center window would NOT be included as that is where the "warm zone" is inside.

EVERY DONATION COUNTS! $25, $50, $5, it doesn't matter. NO DONATION IS TOO LITTLE. Rockingham county where our sanctuary is located has a euthanasia rate of 75% - 95%! The animals are only given 3 days to live in the Rockingham animal shelter before they are put down, we are trying to change that and with your help we can.

Please send your donation (made payable to CVAAG) to:

CVAAG
% Mayon
1 Boxelder Court
Greensboro, NC 27405

Please memo the check "George's House."

From my heart I thank you for your help, and more importantly every pet we save from being killed will thank you.

Fight On!
Andrew

Fall Camp Begins....

Today is the day, our beloved Trojan football team begins Fall camp in preparation of their assault on the 2009 schedule. This should be a very interesting season with an experienced OL, WR and RB, but fresh new faces at QB, LB and some DL.

This could very well be a 2003-esque season with all our tough games on the road, but winnable games against every team we play. If Aaaron Corp, the new QB can just "manage" the games, the skill players will make their plays and the O will be just fine. Corp is USC's most mobile QB under Pete Carroll's watch, and I have great confidence that he can manage the games well. He didn't throw a single interception all of Spring practice, which bodes well coming into the Fall.

The OL is the best in the country, with experience, skill and depth. They will give Aaron time to find his receivers and open holes for the stable of outstanding players in the backfield.

As for the D, replacing 4 LB's, all of who were drafted, and 3 of whom were the defensive MVP's of the last 3 Rose Bowls is a tall order. Howerver, the players that were waiting have enjoyed some quality minutes and are reportedly faster than their predecessors. The secondary, led by Taylor Mays, is also arguably the best in the nation, so the Trojans will be tough to score upon.

If there is a loss to be had on this schedule, I see it being at Eugene on Halloween night, and at California where Bears' running back Jahvid Best is one of, if not the top RB in the country.

Here are some links to enjoy:

ESPN Video Preview of USC
WeAreSC.com Fall Camp Cram Sheet
WeAreSC.com Rollover Depth Chart
"Hey remember us? We're UCLA. We play college football in Los Angeles" - Rick Reilly

Enjoy your weekend and Fight On!

Join Us On Facebook...

Hey Trojans:

If you are on Facebook, and who isn't these days? Why not join the TTC on Facebook and become a "fan?" Just look to the right and click on "Become A Fan." That will give you access to TTC update son FB.

5 Weeks Until Kickoff...

Hey Trojans:

We're heading into the dog days of summer, and this being the first Saturday in August, I have hung my Trojan flag with pride and joy. This is an annual rite for me since I moved to North Carolina 5 years ago (today!).

Here is my flag flying, if anyone else wants to send me a photo of their Cardinal & Gold pride, send it to GSOTrojan@aol.com, and I'll put it up on the blog.

Todd J. sent me a pic of his flag...

In the meantime, here are some recent articles about the Trojans' upcoming season:

College Football News
Pac-10 Preview
USC Preview
Pac-10 Unit Rankings
Should the Pac-10 Expand?

ANOTHER Trojan Found in the Triad...

Ahhh...Facebook! I was able to find another Trojan in the Triad by random chance on Facebook. I was cruising one of the USC sorority pages looking for some old friends when I saw one of their alums lived in Winston-Salem. So, I contacted her just to make sure she was still in the area and found out that she is!

So, welcome to the Triad Trojan Family Kirsten G.!

She says she is excited to know their are other "real" USC alums out here and will be sure to take in some of the games this season.

6 Weeks Until Kickoff!

Ahh, the dogs days of summer, and that can only mean one thing, football is just around the corner! Next Saturday continues an annual tradition at my house, the hoisting of the Cardinal & Gold Trojan flag. The first Saturday of August is always my "flag day," and I always look forward to it!

NEW Sports Bar Coming to Greensboro...

A NEW sports bar is coming to Greensboro, "REFS Sports Bar and Grill" is moving into the Westridge shopping center behind Village Tavern. Some of you may remember a really nice sports bar there a few years ago called "Cheap Seats" which then became an Italian restaurant. Well, that one died and a friend of ours is one of the managers at this new venture, so it may be our new home in Greensboro. I like the fact it is centrally located for most of us in the G-S-O, but don't worry you Twin City Trojans, we'll still have games in your neck of the woods.

The restaurant is scheduled to open around August 17-24, just in time for football season.

Trojans Get Commitment From QB...

On the recruiting front, Pete Carroll landed an up and coming QB prospect named Jesse Scroggins from Lakewood H.S. in CA. Though not as highly rated as last year's #1 QB and Trojan freshman, Matt Barkley, Scroggins won't have much pressure on him out of the gate. This sets him up perfectly to by a "system" QB and learn for about 3 years before taking over the reigns like Matt Leinart, John David Booty and Mark Sanchez.

Here is the story from WeAreSC.com

Scroggins Commits to Troy