LNA was rained out this morning, but we're back with a quick update ... #5 UCLA 76, #24 Stanford 67 - The Bruins sent a clear message about who's atop the pecking order in the nation's toughest conference. Josh Ship led the way with 21, followed by Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook with 15 apiece. The Cardinal came into the game with a 7 game win streak. Cal 92, #22 USC 82 - The Trojans......

While you were sleeping: There's nothing wrong with the ganj in California, as long as you've got a scrip to use. So decided the 4th District Court of Appeals in the case of a 22-year-old who had a quarter of weed confiscated in a traffic stop by LAPD, despite having a prescription for marijuana as treatment for severe back pain. Now, how exactly will LAPD go about "returning" weed to rightful owner 2.5 years......

One of the things that sports fans in Southern California should be grateful for as they warm up last night's left overs is the fact that ESPN.com's Eric Neel moved to LA this year from Northern Cal because now his excellent writing is being more focused on our teams. Yesterday he posted a glowing feature on the USC football head coach who appears every bit the Golden Boy that he looks in photos. In......

Yesterday was one of the toughest days in Los Angeles sports: - USC loses to Stanford 24-23. Yes, Stanford. The school with a tree mascot. The same school who went 1-11 last year, and lost their starting quarterback earlier in the week. Their coach, Jim Harbaugh, proclaimed that USC was the best team in college football history, getting some snickers from Pete Carroll throughout the week. The question before the game was whether Carroll......

How good is the USC football team? The AP poll says the SC is the second best team in the country... this week. Regardless of the polls, there is evidence that even while playing the worst possible game they could, SC is still pretty good. It might seem hard to defend their performance on Saturday, but I'm going to try. The Trojans were penalized 16 times for 161 yards, yet still finished with more than......

On a balmy 4th of July at the beach this week, LAist spotted USC football coach Pete Carroll playing catch in his front yard with his family. He looked relaxed and seemed to be having a good time. If it weren't so sandy, it could have been right out of a Norman Rockwell painting. We're not sure if Les Miles is bitter that his front yard is next to a swamp, but something big is......

Trojans 87, Longhorns 68 - USC earned hard court revenge against the school that ruined their bid for a third consecutive national championship on the gridiron. The Trojans trounced Texas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to advance to the sweet sixteen for the first time since their elite eight run in 2001. The upset means USC will play North Carolina this week. Lakers 109, Timberwolves 102 - Kobe almost stole the headlines......

The most exciting college sports action is going down this weekend in Los Angeles and this time there's no pigskin involved. The Pac 10 Men's Basketball Tournament is taking place Staples Center. It's a little like that awkward moment just before the Big Dance. It can be expensive to go, you wish you were with one of those cheerleaders, somebody already got upset (big time), and somebody hopes to get lucky. Come to think......

Pistons 92, Clippers 74 - The Clippers just want to go home. They wrapped a 7 game road trip with their fifth loss, this one at the hands of a rejuvinated Detroit squad. The Pistons are 11-2 since signing local college star Chris Webber, who had a game-high 19 points and nine rebounds in the game. Los Angeles shot just .324 from the field and was led by Cuttino Mobley with 17. The Clippers haven't......

Lakers 90, Hawks 83 - Kobe Bryant seems to be winning back the hearts and minds of America on this road trip. With three games to go until returning to Los Angeles, the Lakers are now 3-2 with many of those games showing major crowd support for the Laker's star. Bryant's 27 points against Atlanta weren't particularly impressive, but 11 came in the fourth quarter. College Hoops - USC exploded back into the men's top......

Surprising nobody, USC's All-American wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett announced that he will forgo his final year of eligibility and enter the NFL Draft. The 6'5" Jarrett had an especially strong second half of the 2006 season, after healing from a shoulder injury, and set the Pac-10 record for career touchdowns (41 touchdowns in 38 games) while becoming USC's all-time receptions leader with 216 catches for 3,138 yards. He crowned his college career by winning the......

TV commentators are hyping Ohio State vs. Michigan as yet another “game of the century," and celebrities are scrambling to find tickets. It's only the third time the top two ranked teams have faced each other in the history of 2006 (and it will happen again on January 8). Sub-headlines are going to traditional rivalries like Pit vs. West Virginia (a/k/a the Backyard Brawl) and Auburn vs. Alabama (college football + deep south =......

No, not that one. The Trojans have found a new, slightly less controversial OJ to lead the Trojans to glory, this time on the hard court. But yes, he wears the same #32. Teen phenom OJ Mayo (whose high school team, serendipitously, was the cardinal and gold-clad Trojans) started generating enormous buzz before he could shave. He is a two-time All American and two-time Mr. Basketball in Ohio. He is widely acknowledged as the......

Trojans make ritual sacrifice to please Lucas. AP Photo by J. Pat Carter. The flag of Troy flies over Hollywood today as members of the separatist USC Mafia celebrate a landmark day in their fight to become a sovereign nation. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General George Lucas donated $175 million from his personal war chest to outfit and supply the cinematic powerhouse. “The force is strong in Troy,” remarked Lucas. “And......

Tonight at Pauley Pavillion the UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans will take their rivalry from the gridiron to the hardwood. While some may say this version doesn't have the same intensity as in years past or that of the football game, it is a game that is of huge importance to both teams. No. 18 UCLA (14-3; 4-2), despite injury issues, is off to its best start in head coach Ben Howland's three years.......

USC survived their toughest test of the season, and burst past Oregon 45-13 after playing a lousy first half. USC is clearly the most talented team in the country, but if they want to avoid these kinds of mini-scares, then the Trojans need to make a few minor changes. USC isn't getting LenDale White involved enough in the offense, and instead is over-using Reggie Bush. When Oregon jumped ahead early thanks to two turnovers,......

It was a beautiful day for football in Southern California. First UCLA beat Oklahoma 41-24, then USC destroyed Arkansas 70-17. The Blue and Gold faithful believe their win might have been a program-changing game. And while UCLA played an excellent 60 minutes, LAist wants to caution the Sons of Westwood before they actually believe this is a Rose Bowl season. This is not the same Oklahoma team that has been in two-straight national title......

USC did what it had to do in its quest for a third straight national championship. The Trojans 63-17 victory over Hawaii met expectations, as Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, and co. showed few signs of rust. While Leinart is the Trojan making the most headlines after his highly-publicized decision to stay in school, LAist thinks Bush is the key the Trojans offense. We like his chances to win the Heisman Trophy this year. His......

As everyone expected, USC was voted No. 1 in the preseason AP poll. About the only surprise was Louisville getting one first-place vote. So what does this mean? Usually absolutely nothing. Except for last year it meant the national championship. USC began 2004 as a preseason No. 1, and without a single loss they held onto to the top spot straight through to the BCS Title Game. Some college football pundits were openly saying......

USC left absolutely no doubt. The Trojans are the best team in all of college football. National Champions of 2004. Admittedly, LAist is surprised that USC was able to roll over Oklahoma so easily 55-19. The Sooners have looked like a great team all year, and for them to play so porous was a surprise. But the Trojans just have more talent than everyone else, Auburn and Utah included. Pete Carroll has cleaned up......

Both local college teams passed their respective tests this weekend. USC looked like the No. 1 team in the country again after dominating Colorado State 49-0, while UCLA's offense showed life signs for the first time in months, beating Illinois 35-17. The Trojan win was probably the more impressive of the two, given that Colorado State might actually be a better team than Illinois. While USC's defense was unforgiving, Steve Smith gave the Cardinal......

If you believe in superstition, USC Football caught a break this week. The Trojans were not the lone team featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The SI cover jinx, which has plagued past hopeful seasons for teams like Arizona, Oregon, and Penn State is not unfamilar to USC. Just before the 1995 season, SI placed Keyshawn Johnson on the cover and proclaimed USC was No. 1. A promising Trojan season was soon wrought......