College Athletics

In a long-awaited response to allegations that former basketball star O.J. Mayo received improper cash and gifts while in school, USC will penalize its team by forfeiting victories and money, forgoing postseason play and curtailing recruiting. "When we've done something wrong, we have an obligation to do something about it and that is exactly what we are doing here," Athletic Director Mike Garrett said in a statement on Sunday. The action comes as USCalso faces allegations that two prominent football players -- current tailback Joe McKnight and former tailback Reggie Bush -- accepted improper benefits.

THE guys in his boat took to calling him "Badger" because of the grimace he wore during races. Part of a junior rowing club that ranked among the fastest in the nation, Lucas Goodman was relentless on the water. It was a different story on land. The teenager with the powerful build and close-set eyes had to be careful. He hung back ever so slightly when teammates shot the breeze, talking about girls. "You get tired of constantly watching what you say, constantly watching how you act," he said.

Last season, the irresistible force of Loyola Marymount met the immovable object--St. Mary's College--twice in conference play. The game in Moraga was a highlight: 96-94, decided on a last-second Loyola shot. The game in Los Angeles reached the point of low comedy: Loyola, with a 20-point lead and a chance at 100 points, fouling intentionally in the final minute to get the ball back, and St. Mary's--losing by a bundle--trying desperately to freeze it and not score.

How can Florida State fans complain that Bobby Bowden's team is never ranked anymore? Why, just this week the 'Nuls checked in at No. 7 in the Bottom Ten. Of course, they have a way to go to catch No. 1 New Mexico, which is winless. But BT pollsters tend to discount early-season victories, so Florida State (2-3) still has a chance to capture the Bottom Ten trophy, which depicts a Velveeta cheese statuette of Ryan Leaf being sacked in his own end zone. Another contender is Buffalo, which took over No. 2. But the Bulls must guard against a mowing down by Gardner-Webb.

Paying for college can feel like a high-wire act as a family tries to keep its budget balanced. Katelyn Scholte, 15, could have an edge in that acrobatic endeavor. In classes at a YMCA, the Redlands teen has learned a host of circus performing skills, including how to walk a high wire and do a triple flip off a teeterboard. She's hoping to parlay her aerial talents into a place on a college diving team with an accompanying athletic scholarship.

The Rose Bowl brain trust doesn't publicly cheer for schools but it can shake 100 pompoms for number sequences, and the dream countdown for this season's two-game extravaganza is, without question, 4-3-2-1. It's also the countdown to the end for Rose Bowl Chief Executive Mitch Dorger, retiring after this season's Bowl Championship Series title game on Jan. 7. What a way to bow out: No. 4 playing No. 3 in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 and, six days later, No. 2 putting rose petal to the metal against No. 1. It could happen.

Many Southland high school football stars signed letters of intent with colleges outside of Southern California Wednesday, with three Pacific 10 schools leading the way. Stanford scored big in the Southland, signing five local players including Bob Whitfield, Wilmington Banning's 6-foot-7, 285-pound offensive lineman. "I based my decision to go to Stanford on the total package of the school," Whitfield said Wednesday night.

Gene Jelks, a former Alabama football player, says he was paid thousands of dollars by coaches and school boosters during his career with the Crimson Tide. In a copyright story in today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jelks, a cornerback and captain on Alabama's 1989 Southeastern Conference championship team, charged that: "I was bought and sold to the university." He said money was funneled to him and his mother while he was still in high school to obligate him to play for the Crimson Tide.

USC's nonconference schedule next season is shaping into something tough. There are agreements to play at Kansas, Tennessee and Nebraska; Texas would come to the Galen Center. There is also a tentative deal for USC to host Marquette in the first of a two-game series. "We're trying to play a heavyweight schedule," USC Coach Kevin O'Neill said. "We want to be able to recruit high-level recruits to play in a high-level league and play a high-level nonconference schedule."

UCLA's Christian Yount can be seen as a visionary, though most of his daily work shift is spent looking backward. He fills the vital role of long snapper, a duty that was often filled by a walk-on player or the team's regular center. But Yount, a freshman, has benefited from the trend toward signing quality snappers. He agreed to attend UCLA after graduating from Mission Viejo Tesoro High with the promise that he would receive a scholarship after the Bruins' 2006 season.

The pregame lead-up at Pauley Pavilion includes a video message from Coach Ben Howland, who says, "This is our house." The Bruins' players, in the locker room before home games, always remind each other, "This is the place we've got to protect," forward Nikola Dragovic said. Yet, life under those 11 national championship banners has been anything but business as usual this season. UCLA proved that again Saturday in a 72-58 loss to California that had spectators flying for the exit as if the arena's renovation was to begin at the final buzzer.

A month ago, USC's Nikola Vucevic blew the game against Stanford. This came on a failed tip-in at the buzzer. He used one hand on that attempt, not two. So Trojans Coach Kevin O'Neill asked ever-so politely, "If you get a tip-in at the end, go up with two hands, please." Vucevic paid heed and proved it Saturday, using both his sizable mitts on a tip-in with 20.6 seconds left that gave the Trojans a lead and the eventual win over Stanford, 54-49, at the Galen Center. "He always tells me not to do stuff with one hand," said Vucevic, who had a team-high 18 points.

Watch Marcus Johnson, No. 0 in USC's lineup, the one with the ear-to-ear smile. And when the Trojans are fastbreaking, watch the rim: He'll meet your eyes there, usually with a highlight slam. But you won't be alone. These days, the NBA is watching too. "I hear from NBA guys all the time, scouts and GMs," USC Coach Kevin O'Neill said recently. "But people are talking more about Marcus now than they ever have." Specifically, they're talking defense, which the 6-foot-6 Johnson calls "his base" thanks to defense-minded coaches from high school through college.

The numbers matter to Patrick Christopher. As the "other" half of the most talented backcourt in the Pacific 10 Conference, the California guard still keeps track of his statistics. But on a team that takes its lead from high-flying point guard Jerome Randle -- and gets additional offense from the frontcourt -- Christopher has learned to look beyond the points column. "We have a bunch of guys who can score," said Christopher, a senior. "Any given night, anybody can get going, so I try to work on the little things."

The best thing to happen to UCLA's basketball team this season may have been its historic 67-46 loss to USC on Jan. 16 -- the Bruins' most lopsided to the Trojans since 1945, when: Franklin Roosevelt was president; the nuclear age was still on the drawing board; John Wooden was 34. Yet, UCLA has won four of its last five games and is in a four-way tie for first place in the Pacific 10 Conference heading into the Bruins' game against...

UCLA has a pretty good place among the Pacific 10 Conference's muddled masses . . . first. Of course, first place includes 40% of the conference, with two other teams lurking one game back. But the Bruins walked away from Pauley Pavilion after surviving against Stanford, 77-73, with their fourth victory in five games. "We're just a good team," freshman Tyler Honeycutt said. That may be enough to be dominant in the Pac-10 this season. Trouble is, everyone else can claim that as well.

USC and California gave the season-high crowd of 7,412 at the Galen Center a show Thursday, with the Trojans beating the Golden Bears, 66-63, in a nail-biter highlighted by a 25-0 USC run and dominated by one player: Jerome Randle. The California guard scored a game-high 29 points, but missed a three-pointer from the corner at the buzzer as a hushed crowd watched on. "If he had made that, we would have been on 'SportsCenter,' " USC Coach Kevin O'Neill said after the game, laughing.

The halfway point of USC's postseason-denied conference basketball season is here -- and some Trojans were happy to apply something of a midterm grade to the team, which is 12-9 overall and 4-5 in Pacific 10 Conference play. Senior guard Dwight Lewis wasn't lenient: C-minus. "I don't think we've put too many whole games together," he said. Fellow senior Mike Gerrity was a tad more generous: B-minus. "I think we've had some good spurts along the way," he said. Coach Kevin O'Neill gave his team an "A" for effort, the only category he cares about.

Tanner Nua had 17 kills and Theo Edwards added 16 as the Cal State Northridge men's volleyball team validated its No. 1 national ranking with a 30-26, 30-28, 9-30, 26-30, 15-10 victory over No. 2 USC in front of a capacity crowd Wednesday night at the Matadome. Northridge took sole possession of first place in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. It was the Matadors' 15th consecutive victory over USC dating to March 2004. Northridge took a 3-0 lead in the decisive game and never relinquished it. Nua served two straight aces to end the match.

UCLA guard Mustafa Abdul-Hamid had a moment of concern in the giddiness that followed his recent game-winning shot against Washington. Teammate Reeves Nelson was bearing down on him. "I saw Reeves came running at me, lifted me up and bearhugged me," Abdul-Hamid said. "That scared me." There are reasons to be concerned when Nelson is in your face, whether you're an opponent in the key or a teammate who has made a key shot. There are the seven tattoos, all etched into his skin since he arrived in Westwood, each with a special meaning.