Trojan Excuses Are B.S.

I just have to get something off my chest about the USC Trojans.  Living in Orange County, we get a lot of Trojan talk.  All Trojan talk, all the time.

In the wake of USC's humbling loss at Stanford on Saturday, Head Coach Lane Kiffin was not very subtle in blaming the lack of offensive production on the fact that USC's starting center Khaled Holmes was not available to play due to an injury.  Kiffin said that Stanford was the worst team on their schedule to play without their All-American center.

I call bullshit.

1.  All teams have to deal with injuries.  Half of Notre Dame's starting defensive backfield is now lost for the year due to a couple of blown Achilles tendons, just to name one random example off the top of my head.  Losing one offensive lineman hardly seems adequate explanation for the utter ineffectiveness of what the media were proclaiming just a week ago to be the greatest offensive football team of all time!  "Nine players from USC's offense will be playing football on Sundays" declared one pundit.  If USC was really as awesome as everyone says (Pre-season #1!), the loss of one lineman wouldn't be that big of a deal.  So maybe USC isn't as great as everyone says?

2.  Holmes' injury wasn't a surprise.  He didn't get hurt during the coin toss.  The Trojan coaching staff has known for at least week that he was hurt and probably wouldn't be able to play.  The media asked questions about Holmes' status all week.  So Kiffin & Co. had plenty of time to come up with a plan to deal with the situation.  The problem is, whatever plan Kiffin came up with didn't work.  The plan, assuming they had a plan, failed miserably.  That's a coaching failure.

3.  Kiffin and Trojan Nation have been quick to note that Holmes was replaced at center by "a freshman."  That's baloney.  The backup center is Cyrus Hobbi, who is a red shirt freshman.  In other words, he is really a sophomore.  Graduated high school and started college in 2011.  And he's no slouch.  Hobbi was a 4-star recruit on both Rivals.com and Scout.com, just like Khaled Holmes (who was a 5th-year senior).

4.  Hobbi wasn't playing alone out there.  The tackles on the Trojan O-line are Aundrey Walker (Sophomore, 4-star recruit) and Kevin Graf (red shirt Jr., i.e., a Senior, 4-star recruit).  The guards are Marcus Martin (Sophomore, 3-start recruit) and John Martinez (red shirt Junior, i.e., a Senior, 4-star recruit).  It must be noted that Martinez, who was playing right next to Hobbi, was rated by Scout.com coming out of high school as the #1 prospect in the country AT CENTER.

So Kiffin, faced with the loss of his starting center, is able to pluck yet another 4-star center off the shelf and plug him in among the rest of his 4-star offensive line.  He has at guard an experienced 4-star player who was at one time considered the top center prospect in the country.  But Kiffin can't crack the code of how to get the line calls made against Stanford.  I'm not a genius like Kiffin, but maybe, just maybe, USC could have slid Martinez over to center once Holmes got hurt.  Or maybe leave Hobbi at center, but let Martinez (or even Graf) make the protection calls from the guard (or tackle) position.

That doesn't seem so hard.  So what happened?  Hubris happened.  Despite the fact that USC was 0-3 in their previous three games against the Cardinal, Kiffin didn't respect Stanford enough to think that he needed to change anything to compensate for the loss of Holmes.  He just thought USC would roll into Palo Alto, throw their jocks onto the field, and the Cardinal, playing without Andrew Luck, would roll over.  Kiffin has gotten a lot of mileage about his "prep versus hype" mantra.  But he started reading his own press clippings and he bought into the hype.  He and his staff failed to properly prepare his team and they got whipped.  He can't blame one injury.  He can't blame Matt Barkley.  He can only look in the mirror and blame himself. 

       

OC Summer

No posts since June 1st? Shameful. But, what has happened since my last post that really deserved comment? My fellow ND bloggers have done an admirable job for the past few weeks of generating content out of even the most trivial bits of news, but nothing since June 1 has excited me enough to elicit a post. Commitments from kickers? NBC stays on the Notre Dame bandwagon? Prominent alumni are (or aren't) offered the A.D. job and do (or don't) turn it down? Please.

Let's face it. June is a tough month for college football fans. In Orange County we watched as the Lakers surprisingly made it to the NBA Finals, then lost when the Celtics made them look surprisingly inept. Who is this Pau Gasol guy, and why were Laker fans so excited to have him?

June also saw the Detroit Red Wings defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Stanley Cup. WooHoo.

Can anyone explain to me why they're still playing basketball and hockey in June?

In baseball, the Anaheim Angels are 16 games above .500 (49-33) yet hold only a 4 1/2 game lead in the A.L West, a division in which three of the four teams sport records better than .500. Up in Los Angeles, the Dodgers are five games BELOW .500 (38-43) and yet are in second place only 2 1/2 games behind the Diamondbacks, who lead the division with a 41-41 record. That's right - the NL West has exactly ZERO teams with a winning record right now.

Speaking of baseball standings, can anyone explain to me how it's fair (or even sensible) that the American League West has only four teams, while the National League Central Division has six teams? All things being equal, teams in the A.L. start the season with a 1 in 4 shot at winning the division (25%), while the Astros, Pirates, and Brewers have a 1 in 6 shot (16.66%). Maybe it's my inner engineer talking, but shouldn't one N.L. team move to the A.L. so the divisions can be balanced out? Maybe move the D-Backs into the A.L. West and let the Astros slide into the N.L. West? As an Angels' fan it's a sweet deal for us, but I would think the owners and fans in the N.L. Central would be screaming for a little more fairness.

The biggest story of June has to be the Fresno State Bulldogs' win at the College World Series. With the Notre Dame baseball team nowhere near Omaha, I really had no dog in this fight, but it's fun to see an underdog show up the big dogs in any sport, even during the dog days of Summer. (Sorry about all the doggone dog references. Help, I can't stop!) College baseball in the West has had many traditional powers, including Stanford, UCLA, USC, Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon State, Long Beach State and the mighty Titans of Cal State Fullerton. It must have been very humbling for all those high-profile programs to watch Fresno State win it all. And any day that USC and UCLA can be humbled is a good day in the OC Domer household.


The biggest Notre Dame story of the month, in my opinion, is the repair work that has finally commenced on Sacred Heart Basilica. I wrote briefly at the time about the May winds that knocked a spire off the Basilica just days before the 2007 graduation ceremonies. What we didn't know then, of course, was how significant that wind storm really was. When it happened, we thought the storm was just an interesting story that the Class of 2007 would be able to tell their grand kids someday. Looking back on it now, of course, the question we all have to ask ourselves is: Was the fallen church spire merely an omen of the 3-9 football season that was looming on the horizon, or was it a curse? Was it just a sign of future trouble for Notre Dame? Or was it, like Samson's haircut, a cause of Irish misfortune? Call me crazy, but I am totally comfortable with blaming Notre Dame's 2007 football season on "the curse of the fallen spire." Likewise, I am morally certain that once the repairs to Sacred Heart are completed, the Fighting Irish will likewise be restored to their former glory.

Can we just skip July?

Orange County is Fred Thompson Country!

Most voters know that we will be electing a new President in November. What many don't realize is that the primary election season which began in Iowa on January 3rd will be over for all practical purposes when the polls close in 22 states (including California) on February 5th. By then, if not well before, the two major political parties will have chosen their nominees and a ridiculously long nine-month general election campaign will have begun. To this point, only three of fifty states (Iowa, New Hampshire, and Wyoming) have held their primaries (or caucuses) and some prominent candidates have already thrown in the towel or are on the verge of doing so due to a combination of poor performance and dwindling cash.

What does this mean for you? It means that if you don't hurry up, do your homework, and get behind the candidate of your choice (with your support and your cash) you won't have any choices remaining by the time the primary campaign rolls into your state. Your candidate may already be out of the game when you get ready to go to the polls.

For instance, the following Democrats have already called an end to their campaigns: Bill Richardson, Joe Biden, and Chris Dodd. John Edwards maintains a slim hope that he can pick up some momentum, and Dennis Kucinich is technically still in the race, but he is just a sideshow to the Clinton/Obama act taking place in the center ring.

On the Republican side, five major candidates are still very much in the mix, and that doesn't even count Ron Paul, who has garnered a lot of attention lately (both positive and negative) and who has been very successful raising funds and gathering grass root support.

The OC Domer blog comes to you from the Orange County, California. This is Reagan Country. Yet, when I look at the crop of candidates running for the opportunity to carry the torch for the GOP, I am very disappointed to see that flame of Ronald Reagan conservatism has been nearly extinguished in today's Republican party. After looking at the field, I have concluded that the ONLY candidate who can make a legitimate claim to being Ronald Reagan's political heir is Fred Thompson. Reagan conservatism combined (1) traditional American family values (social conservatism), (2) with fiscal conservatism and federalism (lower taxes, smaller Federal government), and (3) unapologetic belief in American strength and virtue (strong defense and promotion of Democracy abroad). Today's crop of Republican candidates seem to think that if you check off any of those three boxes you qualify as "conservative."

Mike Huckabee is undoubtedly a social conservative. But quite frankly his brand of social conservatism worries me. As a Baptist minister Mike Huckabee doesn't just tolerate or respect religion, he believes that his religion should "drive" the decisions he makes in his professional life. He believes that Government policy should reflect his religious beliefs. I would be much more comfortable with a President that allowed his decisions to be "driven" by the Constitution rather than by Baptist religious teaching. Huckabee also lacks critical experience in foreign policy, and his credentials as a fiscal conservative remain in doubt. And of course, it worked out so well the last time we elected a former Governor of Arkansas.

Rudy Giuliani is very strong on "law and order" issues and has shown some ability to operate as a chief executive. But his record on lower taxes, smaller government, and social issues makes it abundantly clear that he is not a "conservative" candidate. He's still far superior to any Democrat, but not a worthy GOP nominee.

Before Thompson entered the race, Mitt Romney held some interest for me. When he ran the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City I was very impressed by him and I thought he had the presence and the charisma to be a good Presidential candidate. Those things are still true. But it seems that Mitt is working very hard to manufacture conservative credentials that aren't really there. For example, he came into California and stole the endorsement of the California Republican Assembly, the state's oldest and largest Republican volunteer organization that was once called the "conscience of the Republican Party" by Ronald Reagan. How did they do this? In the run-up the CRA's November endorsing convention, Romney supporters established (and funded the membership of) numerous brand new CRA units, each of which then sent five Romney delegates to the convention, enough to garner the important and difficult-to-obtain CRA endorsement. Of course, those CRA units never existed before, and they aren't expected to exist after this election cycle. Legal tactics? Sure. Hardball? Sure. Honest? No. Combine this underhanded campaign style with Romney's dubious conservative credentials as Governor of Massachusetts, and Romney has lost my support. By the way, the candidate who was the (honest) second place finisher to Romney at the CRA endorsing convention? Fred Thompson.

John McCain is an American hero. As a captive of the communists in North Viet Nam he made great sacrifices for this country. But today he is a captive of the entrenched Washington DC establishment, and thanks to McCain-Feingold, it is my Constitutional right of free political speech that has been sacrificed. John McCain is no conservative. How do I know? Name for me please one true conservative politician in Washington DC who is as beloved by the mainstream media as John McCain? You can't. True conservatives are torn down, ridiculed, and ignored by the media in Washington, not celebrated. McCain is loved in Washington because he is good for a sound bite, and because he is only too willing to embrace liberal causes in the name of bipartisanship. John McCain is not the solution to our problems in Washington - he is part of the problem in Washington.

Fred Thompson is the only true conservative in this race. He is the only candidate willing to stand up to special interests and say "No, I will not spend Federal dollars on your pet project, because that is not the proper role of the Federal government." Fred Thompson is the only candidate that seems to understand, let alone embrace, the idea that the Federal government should not be all things to all people but should instead carry out the limited roles assigned to it by the Constitution. Here are the "First Principles" of Fred Thompson's campaign, as set forth on his web site:

Individual Liberty . As Jefferson spelled out in the Declaration of Independence, our basic rights come from God, not from government, and that among these inalienable rights is the right to liberty. We must allow individuals to lead their lives with minimal government interference.

Personal Responsibility . The corollary to liberty is responsibility. No society can succeed and thrive for any duration unless free people act in a responsible way. All of us must take responsibility for our actions and strive to improve our own lives and to contribute to building a better society.

Free Markets . Free people are best equipped to order their own affairs, and the common interest benefits from and is improved by the aggregate success of all. We must reform our tax system, encourage investment, support entrepreneurial spirit, open markets abroad to American goods, and minimize burdensome government regulations to continue to expand the economy and bring increased wealth to all Americans.

Limited Government . Government must be strong enough to protect us, competent enough to provide basic government services, but limited by the delineated powers in the Constitution.

Federalism . Our Constitution innovatively guarantees our liberties by spreading power among the three branches of the federal government, and between the federal government and the states. In considering any action by the government, we must always ask two questions: is the government better equipped than the private sector to perform the task and, if so, what level of government (federal or state) ought to do it. Washington is not the seat of all wisdom. (More on Federalism)

Protecting our Country . The first responsibility of the federal government is to protect the nation and the American people. There is no more important task. We must have a strong and effective military, capable intelligence services, and a vigorous law enforcement and homeland security capacity.

Traditional American Values . A healthy society is predicated on belief in God; respect for all life; strong families centered on the institution of marriage—the union of a man and a woman; and self-respect and tolerance of others. While we are all free to live our lives in the pursuit of our own happiness, the government has a responsibility to respect the right of parents to raise their children and to promote the values that produce the strongest society.

The Rule of Law . We protect our liberty, secure our rights, and promote a just and stable society through the rule of law. We owe to ourselves and our fellow citizens our own adherence to the rules, but tough law enforcement and punishment for those who do not. A free and independent judiciary that interprets the law by adhering strictly to legal text and respects its limited role in our system of government is essential to our security and freedom, and we need judges who understand that role if we are to preserve our republic and freedom.

Conserving Our Nation’s Resources . Each of us is put on Earth for a limited period of time. We must always strive to ensure that the resources we use to lead our lives are here for future generations to enjoy and use as well.

Those are core beliefs that would do Ronald Reagan proud, and they are why OC Domer endorses Fred Thompson for President, and why you see the Fred08 button at the top of the right-hand column on this page.

If you care about politics and elections, the time to get involved with supporting your favorite candidate is now. If you plan to wait until Summer, or even until next month, you will find that your choice of candidate has already been made for you, by people in Iowa, South Carolina, or Florida who may not see things the same way you do.

If you are a true Republican, then I hope you'll visit Fred Thompson's web site to learn more about his candidacy and to offer him your support. It's crunch time for Fred right now, as he didn't fare too well in Iowa or New Hampshire. He has set up camp in South Carolina and has targeted the January 19th primary there as the one that will either be the springboard for his campaign or the end of the line. He is finally starting to gain some traction there. By almost every account he dominated the recent GOP debate, and the endorsement he received from Human Events magazine has greatly elevated his profile in the race. If conservatives don't get active right now, they're going to be left to chose between the liberal candidate and the more liberal candidate in November.

[ADDED 1/18/2008: Welcome to our RealClearPolitics.com readers! If you enjoy your visit, I hope you'll vote our article onto the front page over there.]

Road Trip for a Home Game (USC)

I'd like to write a comprehensive preview of this Saturday's Notre Dame - USC tilt, but time is short. An old and dear friend of my wife's family called about a month ago and said he had some USC tickets with our name on them. (He's a fairly prominent Alum who lives in South Bend). Some quick work with Orbitz.com revealed that if we were willing to fly at strange hours we could actually make the trip happen within the OC Domer family budget. So we take off tonight from LAX at around midnight and get to Chicago tomorrow morning, then we fly home from Chicago at about 6:00 a.m. Sunday. Factoring in the drives between Chicago and South Bend and spending as much time as possible on campus Friday and Saturday, it looks like we might be able to get a little sleep Friday night, but that's about all.

I'm taking my camera, so I'll take about a thousand pictures and put the best of them up here in a slide show like I did after the UCLA game. I won't be able to post normally until Sunday night at the earliest, but I hope to make some remote posts (including live pictures!) using my cell phone throughout the weekend, so check back in with OC Domer to see how the weekend is going.

The Domer Law Blog has a nice USC preview up, and I pretty much agree with his analysis, including this:

This is the granddaddy of them all, the greatest rivalry in college football.

It's become cliche, but it is often true that when these two teams meet, you can throw out the records.

[...]

Despite the fact that the matchups appear to favor the Trojans, I simply refuse to allow myself to believe that we will lose this game. It means too much to the players and coaches for them not to come out and play the game of their lives on Saturday morning.

I'm hoping that a couple years from now, when we are celebrating our 12th national championship, I'll be able to say that I was in Notre Dame Stadium for the turning point in this program, when the Irish started something special that woke up the echoes, not just for a fleeting week or two, but for good.

This week could serve as the foundation for the building of a dynasty. It's that important.

I can't add much to that.

As a resident of Southern California, the USC game is always huge. Neighbors, co-workers, friends are all USC grads and/or fans. My wife's family is littered with USC alumni from her Dad, to her aunt, to her brother. Radio and television is saturated with Trojan coverage year-round. For a Domer in the OC there is no bigger date on the calendar than the date of the USC game - it means an entire year of bragging rights or humility depending on the outcome.

Notre Dame heads into Saturday a total mystery. Instead of numbers on the awful green jerseys they will be wearing they ought to be wearing question marks. Youth and inexperince all over the field. At quarterback we're trotting out the third guy this season to make his first-ever collegiate start. The defense is steadily improving, and shows flashes of brilliance, but they are still giving up big yards.

The offense has been woeful, despite glimmers of potential. Everyone is hoping that Evan Sharpley can be Evan Spark-ley and get the Irish on the board early so we aren't playing catch-up in the second half, again.

USC comes in proud but banged up. They had their pride tempered significantly by the loss to Stanford, but the fact is that their fans are really looking past this game. They see Oregon and Cal on the horizon, and don't think the Irish present any sort of an obstacle. USC will feature at QB an experienced John David Booty playing with a broken middle finger on his throwing hand, or an inexperienced Mark Sanchez making his second career start. Radio reports here are saying that Sanchez is the likely starter, but there is no way of knowing if Pete Carroll is blowing smoke. The Trojan offensive line is really banged up and may present some real opportunities for our D-line to make some plays, as USC has been prone to both turnovers and penalties this year. USC has other guys injured all over the field, which has led to erratic and un-inspiring play for much of this season (including the big loss to Stanford).

Bottom line: Both of these teams are a snake-bit this year. They are not playing at levels that they are accustomed to historically. They are making mistakes and feature youth and inexperience on both sides of the ball, albeit talented youth and inexperience. The way I see it, the home field advantage for Notre Dame is huge this week, especially if Sanchez is at QB for USC. If Notre Dame stadium can present a truly hostile environment for the Trojans, I think this year's team can be rattled. And if we can rattle them, anything can happen.

I can't even remember what year it was, but a few years ago my wife and I went back for the USC game with her brother, his wife, and another USC couple. It was a cold, drizzly, miserable day in Notre Dame stadium. It was clear early on that neither the Trojans nor their fans had any interest in playing a football game in those conditions. USC was flat and uninspired and the Irish won in workmanlike fashion in front of a bunch of happy home fans and miserable Southern Californians. The weather forecast right now is calling for cool weather and some showers on Saturday. I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but as far as I am concerned, the colder and wetter the better. Think snow!

Go Irish! Beat the Trojans!

Jim Brown Played Lacrosse

Jim Brown, considered by many to have been the greatest running back in NFL history, is also considered by most to have been the greatest lacrosse player of all time. A year ago that bit of trivia constituted the sum total of my knowledge about lacrosse. But I figured if all-time bad-ass Jim Brown played the sport, it must have something going for it. Then last Summer, my son came home and asked if he could sign up for a two-week lacrosse clinic with his buddies. Then he tried out and played for the 7th grade team at his school. He played club lacrosse this Spring, and now we're figuring out which league to put him in for the Summer. Yeah, he likes this new sport. And what 13 year old boy wouldn't? They get to wear cool gear and run around the field smashing into each other and beating on one another with titanium poles. Cross-country running appears to be a thing of the past in the OC Domer household.

A confluence of somewhat recent events has raised my level of consciousness about the Notre Dame lacrosse program. A little over a year ago Freshman Will Yeatman (from California) committed to play football at Notre Dame, and it was announced that he would play lacrosse as well. I didn't even know at that point that Notre Dame had a lacrosse team. Then my son started playing the game. The last glorious piece of the puzzle to fall into place was that my cable company started carrying ESPNU! So it was that I sat glued to the television last Saturday as the unseeded Fighting Irish took the #3 seed Johns Hopkins University Blue Jays into overtime before finally losing in the first round of the 2007 NCAA mens lacrosse championship tournament. While the overtime loss was disappointing, I was very impressed by how competitive Notre Dame has become in a sport that has been dominated by east coast schools for more than a century.

If you look at the sixteen teams that qualified for the 2007 NCAA tournament, Notre Dame is the westernmost school by a long shot. Notre Dame won the Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) to qualify for the NCAA tourney largely on the strength of a win over traditional midwestern power Ohio State. But the sport is moving west. Will Yeatman played high school lacrosse in the San Diego area. My son and his buddies are part of an explosion of youth lacrosse in Orange County. Our local high school (Beckman) just won its first league championship in varsity lacrosse, while another Tustin high school (Foothill) just won the CIF Southern Section Championship.

Lacrosse at the college level in California is dominated by the Western Collegiate Lacrosse League (WCLL), which has 30 member schools grouped into six divisions. The final 2007 standings for "Division A - Los Angeles" features the University of Southern California Trojans mired in fifth place out of six teams, behind such powerhouses as Chapman University, UC Santa Barbara, Loyola Marymount, and Claremont College. In fact, my son and I attended the game between Chapman University (from Orange County) and USC earlier this year, and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the whipping that Chapman put on the Trojans, beating them by a score of 13 to 2. It was 10 - 0 at halftime.

Which brings me in a roundabout way to the three points of this post:

1. Congratulations to the Notre Dame mens lacrosse team on a great season!
2. Lacrosse is a really great sport. If you have kids who are looking for a fun sport to play, you really ought to check it out.
3. Notre Dame was one 16 teams to qualify for the NCAA championship tournament in lacrosse, while USC has a club team that can't hang with Claremont College. How does that taste, Tommy Trojan?

Are the Irish playing in Orange County?

Bumping around the web I came across a great page that collects in one place the combined schedules for all Notre Dame sports teams. With one look you can tell if any ND teams are playing near you any time soon. The Notre Dame women's softball team has spent a lot of time in Southern California recently. On March 11 they split a couple of games in Long Beach, and this past weekend they had a rough go of it (winning one and losing four) at the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton.

The next Irish team to venture into our area is the track team, select members of which will be in Northern California at the Stanford Invitational on March 31st, and at the Mt. SAC Relays here in Orange County on April 13, 14, and 15.

Not everyone enjoys a good track meet, but if you do, the Mt. SAC Relays is one of the best meets in the world. If you go, be sure to "Cheer, Cheer for old Notre Dame."

I've added the link to combined Notre Dame sports schedule to the blog roll here at OC Domer, so you can check back often.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day has long been among the most important of Holy Days for Domers everywhere. The OC Domer wishes all of you a Happy St. Paddy's Day, and I even got you a present - Ms. Marissa O'Malley, who is from right here in the OC. I don't know Marissa, but I wouldn't object to meeting her.