Tag Archives: USC Trojans

You know what else is downright scary?  My ability to make decent college football picks!  Going into this past weekend, I had a 5-7 record, and eagerly devoured and dissected the smorgasbord of  big games on the schedule in anticipation of leap-frogging over the .500 mark and then some.  The final result of my efforts resulted in 2 wins and 5 losses, bringing my "expert" pick tally to a deplorable 7-12 (.368).  A few of the teams I picked did cover the spread (Tennessee nearly pulled it off over Bama, but got beat by the SEC refs, and Mississippi State got a little of the same against Florida...SEC officiating worse than my picks this year!), but I've been basing the record on straight up W's & L's, and must take my medicine and hope the Halloween Gods will be in my corner this Saturday.   DON'T FORGET TO ENTER CODE HWEEN AT CHECKOUT AND RECEIVE 25% OFF ORIGINAL RETRO BRAND GEAR FOR OUR FEATURED TEAMS (Florida, Georgia, USC, Oregon) FOR GAMES/PICKS OF THE WEEK!!

GAME # 1: Surely an easy way to improve my record will be to forget betting with my heart, and pick the Florida Gators to rout my beloved Georgia Bulldogs in the world's largest outdoor cocktail party.   Let's face facts: The Dawgs just ain't SEC great this year.  The running game does not have the usual breakaway threat, and Joe Cox at QB is likeable enough, but he's just not Matthew Stafford, David Greene, Eric Zeier, Mike Bobo, or Fran Tarkenton!  They did step up and open the season out of conference on the road, but lost a tough battle against a very strong # 10 ranked, Big 12 Oklahoma State Cowboy squad.  Certainly they got ripped off against LSU (reference SEC refs in first paragraph), but still should have taken care of business between the hedges.   The Gators are ranked # 1 for a reason: They find a way to win no matter what.  They are favored by 17, and why not?  They own the Dawgs in Jacksonville, having taken 16 out of the last 20 meetings.  I love coach Mark Richt, but his mellow persona seems to have rubbed off on his team, and being mellow does not cut it in the SEC:  Florida  42,  Georgia 21.     That was painful....and so will the trip home from Oregon for the USC Trojans......

GAME # 2:  Certainly this is the Pac-10 marquis game of the year (since USC clobbered CAL).  The # 10 Oregon Ducks are flat out rolling, outscoring their last 5 opponents 192 -62.  They crushed the same Washington Husky team that gave USC their only loss of the season handily on the road in Washington, 43-19.   At the same time, the # 5 Trojans were not able to cover the spread in their last two victories over Notre Dame and Oregon State.   Both teams are basically neck & neck in all statistical team categories in the Pac-10, but I think the home field advantage will lift Oregon to victory.  USC QB Matt Barkley does lead the conference in passing, but Oregon QB  Jeremiah Mesoli is not far behind and has 7 touchdown on the ground.   Can't wait to see what quacky uniform the Ducks will wear as they continue to roll in big upset:   Oregon 28, USC 21.

Tricks and Treats:  I thought # 3 Texas would have a tougher time against Mizzou last week, but they routed them, and will do the same against # 14 Oklahoma State in Stillwater: Longhorns 38, Cowboys 17.....# 25 Ole Miss has to travel to Auburn who has dropped 3 straight after opening 5-0.  The Tigers will rise to the occasion: Auburn 28, Mississippi 24.....Both # 13 Virginia Tech and North Carolina lost brutally hard fought games to ACC rivals Georgia Tech and Florida State respectively last week.  The Hoakies must win out to have any shot at the ACC Championship game and the Tarheels are looking for their first conference win:  VTech 35, North Carolina 14.....Purdue has proven they are much better than their 3-5 record after shocking Ohio State, and Wisconsin has lost 2 straight after busting out 5-0.   Wisconsin nearly ended # 11 Iowa's dream season and will not drop another at home:  Badgers 24, Boilermakers 14.

One last prediction for this week:  The Yankees will beat the Phillies.....in Game # 1.  Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

I do believe I am not alone when I say Kim Kardashian is drop-dead gorgeous.    We all know she falls into the "famous for doing absolutely nothing but look drop-dead gorgeous, have a splendidly spherical & wonderful bottom, make sex-tape, pose in Playboy, star in guilty pleasure can't watch/can't turn away from hit reality show, date/break-up/get back with high profile former USC Trojan & NFL football star Reggie Bush relationship,  have famous lawyer as father from OJ Simpson murder trial of the century, and have an Olympic decathlon gold medal winner Bruce Jenner as your step-dad," category.

I would rank her # 1 in the famous for being famous department, barely nudging out Paris Hilton, and any one who is the lead story on Entertainment Tonight, The Insider, Showbiz Tonight, Access Hollywood, TMZ, and E! News.

On the serious side however, one has to give Kim her props.  Why not take advantage of what God has given you?   The entrepreneur has parlayed all of the aforementioned silliness into an empire.   She owns and operates her own successful women's fashion boutique called D-A-S-H, with her sisters Kourtney and Khloe.  They have stores in California and Miami and recently went online.   She will be starting her own perfume line, and has also released the DVD, Workout with Kim Kardashian,  which you can find on her official website which also sells calendars, posters, photos, shot glasses and panties among several other items, each with Ms. Kardashian's name and image emblazoned on all.

Lastly, you have to give Kim props for her great taste in apparel, as witnessed in the image above.   She is seen clubbing it in her USC Trojans 3/4 sleeve raglan Original Retro Brand shirt.

Be sure to check this post next week to see what other celebrity is rocking the Original Retro Brand!

With College Football season around the corner, I am finding it difficult to think of ANYTHING ELSE! …. Ok, I’m thinking NFL too, but I live in SEC country, and simply put, College is King in these parts.   So with that in mind, I will be posting a TOP TEN College list every week for the next ten weeks,  starting with the best College running backs of all time (Ok, it's my FAVORITE of all time.)   You can click on the highlited colleges to view the Original Retro Brand selection of apparel for that school.  So with all due respect to Red Grange of Illinois,  Emmitt Smith of Florida, 2-Time Heisman winner Archie Griffin of Ohio State, and countless other great College running backs, here is my list:

10. Eric Dickerson, SMU Mustangs:  Part of the famous "Pony Express," with Craig James, Dickerson ran for over 4,000 yards in his career.  He would go on to be an NFL Hall of Famer.

9. Greg Pruitt, Oklahoma Sooners: This all-purpose back was perhaps the most dangerous punt and kick returner in College football history.  inducted into College football Hall of Fame in 1999.

8. Earl Campbell, Texas Longhorns:  The "Tyler rose" won the Heisman Trophy in 1977 and finished his college career with 4,444 yards rushing.  He was ranked #12 on ESPN's Top 25 Players In College Football History list.

7. Mike Garrett, USC Trojans:  Sorry O.J, Charles, Reggie, Marcus and the rest of tailback U, but mighty Mike did it all:  Ran,  caught passes, returned punts and kicks, and even threw the ball on several occasions.  The 1965 Heisman Trophy winner would return to USC as the current Athletic Director.

6. Bo Jackson, Auburn Tigers:  Bo batted over .400 for the Tigers baseball team the same year he won the Heisman Trophy in 1985.

5. Jim Brown, Syracuse Orangemen: Brown should have been a lock for the Heisman Trophy in 1956, but sadly, the country  was still in segregation mode (Paul Hornung was the winner for a losing Notre Dame team).  Brown also kicked extra points and was All-American in Track and LaCrosse.

4. Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State Cowboys:  Ran for over 300 yards in a game FOUR TIMES and averaged 7.6 yards per carry for the 1988 Heisman Trophy winning season.

3. Gale Sayers, Kansas Jayhawks:  The "Kansas Comet" finished with over 3,000 all purpose yards and was a 2-time All-American and was considered the best open field runner in College football history by many experts.

2. Tony Dorsett, Pittsburgh Panthers:  led the Panthers to the National Championship in his 1976 Heisman Trophy winning season, and finished his career with a then record 6,082 yards (broken in 1998 by Ricky Williams of Texas -not on this list!)

1. Herschel Walker, Georgia Bulldogs:   1980 National Champion and 1982 Heisman Trophy winner.  Yes, I am biased for the Bulldogs, but Herschel's memorable pile-drive over Bill Bates of Tennessee makes him #1 in my book.   The dude STILL does 500 push-ups and sit-ups a day!

Look for the next TOP TEN LIST featuring the TOP TEN College Linebackers!

I'll admit it is hard for me to get pumped about College Baseball......until the College World Series.   Ok,it's not the Final Four, or the BCS Championship, but it is a great month of highly competitive baseball.   It has also produced some of the best (and not so best?) players to play in the bigs.   Outside of Texas fans (# 1 seed this year, most appearances in CWS history with 34), who would have guessed  that Red Sox 1986 World Series pitching goat (It wasn't Buckners fault!) Calvin Schiraldi, was the tournaments MOP (Most Outstanding Player) for the 1983 Texas National Champions.  Although not in the tournament this year, perhaps many don't know (maybe they do, and I'm just an idiot) that the USC Trojans are more than a perennial football powerhouse, with 12 National baseball titles (5 in a row from 1970-1974).    In the 1973 tournament, USC produced one of the greatest comebacks in NCAA history for any sport.  On the verge of elimination, down 7-0 in the bottom of the ninth, USC scored 8 runs against the Minnesota Gophers for the win. The pitcher on the mound for the Gophers was none other than future MLB Hall of Famer Dave Winfield.   Recent 300 game winning pitcher, The Big Unit Randy Johnson, Fred Lynn and Dave "Kong" Kingman also starred for the Trojans.  2 - time MLB World Series Red Sox Manager Terry Francona, was the tournament MOP in 1980 for the Champion Arizona Wildcats, and  you may call the Arizona State Sun Devils "Hot corner U.", producing such greats as the A's Sal Bando, and the Braves Bob Horner.   So with the Stanley Cup coming to a close and the NBA Finals a foregone conclusion, I highly recommend the crack of aluminum bats and the College World Series. Before I forget, check out the womens softball finals too - they are AMAZING!   What's also really amazing is the brand spanking new line of College World Series Original Retro Brand tees - for style, fit, comfort, and HISTORY!