USC students recently became the butts of an elaborate prank spearheaded by the campus' secret society Skull and Dagger. The campus-wide letdown began at noon on Tuesday when the group blacked out campus TV monitors and replaced content with a 24-hour countdown to a bogus football sweepstakes to see the Trojans play football in Hawaii in the fall. more ›

Stafon Johnson was a senior at USC and a running back on the Trojan football team when a weightlifting accident in September 2009 brought his college career to a swift end, and now the former athlete is suing the school, according to ABC7. Johnson's larynx was crushed when the bar loaded with 275 pounds fell on his neck. more ›

For those who are less concerned with international academic rankings comes a list of American universities based on the definitive extra-curricular activity: Drinking. The college bar is an institutional concept, and Complex.com has done their homework and come up with their list of the 50 Best College Bars in America. So did they have any love for SoCal? more ›

So has Pete Carroll. Unfortunately for USC's opponents, the NCAA doesn't approve of settling things with pitchforks and torches. Fortunately for USC's opponents, they also don't approve of settling things with a playoff. The Trojans start this season with another mind-boggling collection of talent -- and expectations. Ranked No. 4 in most of the preseason polls, the only schools ahead of USC all feature a quarterback who already won the Heisman Trophy (or should have). more ›

Dr. Drew Pinsky and Dr. Mark Young penned the recent book, “The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism Is Seducing America." (LAist Book Review) In this video from 2006, the doctors give a talk at the USC Annenberg School for Communication on celebrity narcissism, and more. Both doctors have Trojan ties. Dr. Young heads the entertainment business program at USC, and Dr. Drew earned his MD from USC Medical School. (The audio sync is a little off -- but not like an old kung fu flick.) more ›

Are USC fans bored of going to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena? Tomorrow the Trojans take on the Penn State Nittany Lions in the "grandaddy of them all." But it looks like tickets are still available, and some are even being sold under face value. The game is a contractual sellout, so tickets will be gone by the time the teams take to the gridiron tomorrow. However, the Pasadena Star-News reported that tickets were being sold for $100 each a few days ago. Today on Stub Hub, they're being advertised for $175 and up. So why the anticlimactic atmosphere for this Rose Bowl game? Is it a case of the same old, same old or is the economy robbing us of football fever? / Photo by BinaryLA via LAist's flickr pool. more ›

What's stronger than a Trojan condom? more ›

The "Collision at the Coliseum" turned out to be the huge mismatch that most predicted, while the Bruins made some personal history that they would rather soon forget. Records broken in Anaheim and the Dodgers extend their lead. more ›

Colorado Rockies defeat LA Dodgers 5-3. Dodger's starter Hiroki Kuroda came out shaky in the first three innings but eventually pulled it together in his last three innings. Unfortunately the aftermath of the first three innings was giving up five runs to the Rockies who seemed to luxuriate in hitting the Dodgers. Apart from the eight-run first inning of the first game, the Dodgers were completely outplayed in this series. The positive note: Andruw Jones got an RBI double. The Dodgers will take a day off to think about what they have done, or more appropriately what they haven't done. more ›

Besides crowning a champion for Pac-10 men's basketball, this weekend's Pacific Life Pac-10 Tournament also provided a unique opportunity to evaluate the talent on the baseline. more ›

#3 UCLA 77, #7 Stanford 67, OT - The Bruins clinched their third consecutive Pac-10 hoops crown with their victory over the Farm. It looked bleak for awhile, but they managed to come from behind. More from Jimmy later this morning. more ›

UCLA 67, Washington State 59 - The #5 Bruins returned a favor by knocking off the #17 Cougars on their home court. Darren Collison scored all 18 of his points in the second half and Kevin Love had 16 on 6-of-8 shooting from the field. UCLA improves to 21-2 overall, and at 9-1 in the Pac-10 hold on to first place by a game over Stanford. more ›

Tonight's episode of HBO's "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel," will investigate the Reggie Bush controversy. This segment will include an interview with Lloyd Lake, the man who claims to have given Bush $291,600 in cash, living arrangements and other benefits while he was playing at USC. more ›

by Joe King, from Pyle of List. more ›

LNA was rained out this morning, but we're back with a quick update ... more ›

Clippers 91, Timberwolves 82 - The Clippers came into the game with a six game losing streak, several players out with injuries, and went 0-for-14 from three point range. Fortunately, Minnesota is the worst team in the NBA so none of that mattered. more ›

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Avalanche 4, Kings 2 - The Avs buried Los Angeles with two quick goals about a minute apart in the first period, and never looked back. The Kings managed a mere 21 shots on goal, and Colorado sent them to their fourth straight loss. more ›

LAPD concluded that no crime was committed in the possible rape being investigated early this morning on USC's University Park Campus. We have no crime," said Los Angeles Police Department Officer April Harding of the Media Relations office. "The woman was interviewed and she admitted she was drinking and passed out. She was not raped." -- Fox The woman, a USC undergrad, was reported as passed out in a basement classroom around 3:30 a.m. by... more ›

Like I said, I’ve been really bad about this. But I’m back with a vengeance fuckers. more ›

Reaction to Final BCS Standings. more ›

Lakers 127, Nuggets 99 - Phil Jackson signed a $24 million contract extension for two years. Two hours later, his Lakers ripped apart the Nuggets. Good day. Heck, even Sasha Vujacic had 22 points -- 19 in the 4th quarter. Luke Walton had 14 points in just 27 minutes. Both were career highs. The Lakers are 9-6 and have recently had some pretty impressive performances. Ducks 4, Flames 1 - After getting yanked in Vancouver,... more ›

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... more ›

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... more ›

In no particular order... 1. Secret Shows at the Viper Room 2. La Taquiza on Figueroa 3. Saturdays with the USC Trojans 4. The Henry Fonda Theatre 5. A short hop over Laurel Canyon to see my family 6. Friday Nights at the Rainbow Room 7. Using Venice Blvd. to get from work to play 8. The newly built lane at the 405/101 interchange 9. Amoeba Music 10. Some of the most eclectic, intelligent,... more ›

Morning rush hour is from 5 a.m. to noon. Evening rush hour is from noon to 7 p.m. Friday's rush hour starts Thursday morning. That and more unwritten LA rules of the road as told by Sue Doyle at the Daily News. Locally based and world-renown Architect Frank Gehry receives some moldy and cracked press today on NPR. Who doesn't like cartoons? "Most animated shows are covered by a different union from the Writers... more ›

While the Great UCLA Versus USC Debate may never reach a resolution (those damn Trojans are too hard-headed and engorged with pride to recognize true superiority when they see it), all Californians can hold their heads up with pride thanks to our excellent universities. I don't know if you noticed the recent Washington Monthly ratings of the nation's top schools, but they're giving the U.S. News and World Report a run for their money.... more ›

After the Trojans' plummet in the polls following the loss to Stanford and the release of the first BCS poll, many thought the team couldn't or wouldn't drop any further. Not so, as the AP is reporting that a chartered plane with 82 players aboard, headed to Indiana for tomorrow's Notre Dame game experienced an extreme drop while flying through a severe thunderstorm. Weather was so bad that the pilot had to abandon his first... more ›