Text messages from press row . . .
JERRY CROWE
UCLA may be jumping the gun just a bit with its Rick Neuheisel ad campaign.
UCLA might have waited until Rick NeuheiselRick Neuheisel had coached at least one game before proclaiming, "The football monopoly in Los Angeles is officially over." . . .
Talk about putting the cart before the (Trojan) horse. . . .
Speaking of Neuheisel, the charismatic coach seems to have a little of the homily-loving Jim Harrick in him, such as when he tells Bill Macdonald of Fox that attracting talent is his top priority: "It's not about the Xs and O's, it's about the Jimmys and Joes." . . .
The last time Pete Carroll and USC opened a season on the East Coast, the Trojans scored a 24-13 victory over Virginia Tech four years ago at Landover, Md., and went on to win their only Bowl Championship Series title. . . .
Have the Olympics ended yet for West Coast viewers? . . .
Accepting an honorary doctorate Monday at his alma mater, Phil Jackson asked North Dakota to "do the right thing" and reconsider its Fighting Sioux nickname, noting, "I think . . . we can make this change gracefully." . . .
He made no mention of his own Big Chief Triangle nickname, foisted upon him by former New York Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy. . . .
Now, he's Dr. Phil. . . .
Speaking of nicknames, he is LeBronze James no more. . . .
Starting Friday at Phoenix, where ever-improving Matt Kemp and the Dodgers open a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, much of the last four weeks of the season will be devoted to intra-division play, which is not necessarily a good thing for the mediocre-against-everyone Dodgers. . . .
The Dodgers are 24-24 against the National League West, the division-leading Diamondbacks xx-xx after Tuesday night's at San Diego. . . .
On the plus side for the Dodgers, Adam Dunn and the Diamondbacks play eight games next month against the St. Louis Cardinals, who are better than anyone in the West but out of the playoff picture as of now. . . .
Minus the fanfare, of course, Mark Teixeira has been as productive for the Angels as Manny Ramirez has been for the Dodgers, producing a higher batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage through Monday's games. . . .
Manny, though, has moved more dreadlocks gear. . . .
