Keith Burns

Not long ago, Keith Burns, the USC football team's new defensive coordinator, was asked to speak at a high school football awards banquet. He didn't talk about USC's Cotton Bowl date with Texas Tech. Or about standout wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, who was also there to speak. Or on how he planned to retool USC's defense. And he didn't use the occasion as a recruiting opportunity--not even with two dozen high school prospects sitting before him.

Not long ago, Keith Burns, the USC football team's new defensive coordinator, was asked to speak at a high school football awards banquet. He didn't talk about USC's Cotton Bowl date with Texas Tech. Or about standout wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, who was also there to speak. Or on how he planned to retool USC's defense. And he didn't use the occasion as a recruiting opportunity--not even with two dozen high school prospects sitting before him.

Keith Burns, 32, defensive backs coach at Rice, was hired by John Robinson as an assistant in charge of outside linebackers at USC.

Keith Burns, 34, who has coached the USC safeties for the last two seasons, was named by Coach John Robinson as the Trojans' defensive coordinator Thursday, succeeding Don Lindsey. "I'm thrilled that John had that kind of confidence in me, to give me this chance," said Burns, in Texas on a recruiting trip.

Keith Burns, 34, who has coached the USC safeties for the last two seasons, was named by Coach John Robinson as the Trojans' defensive coordinator Thursday, succeeding Don Lindsey. "I'm thrilled that John had that kind of confidence in me, to give me this chance," said Burns, in Texas on a recruiting trip.

The peculiar diversion of collecting movie posters has detonated in recent years, and the chroniclers are trying to catch up, offering this season two new coffee-table books--colorful, inveigling, intriguing and each quite different. There's historical importance in "A Separate Cinema," which presents about 200 posters from the African-American screen experience, 1915 to 1965, proving that there was life before Spike Lee--who actually shows up here with a disappointingly paltry (290-word)

USC's Scott Fields, a onetime widely recruited running back from La Puente Bishop Amat, came to USC as a safety/special teams player, was moved to offense and then back to defense. Now, the 6-3, 210-pound senior will be moved to weakside linebacker next season, said Keith Burns, USC's new defensive coordinator.

To USC defensive coordinator Keith Burns, the worst aspect of the loss was the receptions by Cal tight end Tony Gonzalez, the basketball/football player from Huntington Beach. "Overall, I credit Cal for great game planning," he said. "They executed in key situations and we didn't. "But what hurts me more than anything was Gonzalez hurting us like he did. We knew they'd throw to him, we worked on that all week. . . . They still threw to him and we couldn't stop it."

USC Coach John Robinson and Trojan Athletic Director Mike Garrett appeared Sunday to be headed for a Monday collision over the issue of dismissing or keeping several members of Robinson's staff. Neither Robinson nor Garrett were talking, but two team sources said Robinson does not intend to fire any of his assistants in the wake of a 6-6 season, while another source quoted Garrett as saying he is "willing to stake my job" on changes being made on the football staff.

Coach John Robinson said his team lost its composure, while his defensive coordinator said the Trojans were out-coached. "In a game you look forward to playing, where there's something extra involved, a game where you want to play your best game . . . it's damned disappointing to play your worst game," Robinson said of the 38-10 loss to Notre Dame. "We obviously lost our composure, in terms of all the errors."

Keith Burns, 32, defensive backs coach at Rice, was hired by John Robinson as an assistant in charge of outside linebackers at USC.

The peculiar diversion of collecting movie posters has detonated in recent years, and the chroniclers are trying to catch up, offering this season two new coffee-table books--colorful, inveigling, intriguing and each quite different. There's historical importance in "A Separate Cinema," which presents about 200 posters from the African-American screen experience, 1915 to 1965, proving that there was life before Spike Lee--who actually shows up here with a disappointingly paltry (290-word)

Two slow-growth political action groups have endorsed incumbent Deputy Mayor Donald Villeneuve for reelection to one of the three available Ventura City Council seats. The Council for a Quality Ventura and the Poinsettia Umbrella League, which includes members of the first group, also recommended that voters elect other candidates, but did not go so far as to make formal endorsements.