College Football

11 Richard Nixon College Football Moments

The previous post revealed some of Richard Nixon's ties to professional football. Even though Ronald Reagan has forever been associated with college football because of his sportcasting and Gipper role in 1940's Knute Rockne All American, you can make the case that Trickie Dick was even more closely ... More >>

[UPDATED with Mark Sanchez Back In:] Matt Leinart May Be the Only NFL Quarterback Out of Orange County (or USC) Starting Sunday

See the update at the end of this post explaining why Mark Sanchez will now start for the Jets.ORIGINAL POST, DEC. 26, 4:26 P.M.: Who would have seen this coming when the NFL season began? Heading into week 17--the final week of the regular season--the only quarterback out of USC with a chance of st ... More >>

Joseph Manuel Orduna, NFL Player-Turned-Teacher, Has Child Annoyance Case Dismissed

Two days after a jury deadlocked 8-4 in favor of acquittal, a judge dismissed the misdemeanor child annoyance case against Joseph Manuel Orduna, the former NFL running back who was teaching at Godinez Fundamental High School in Santa Ana at the time of his arrest in February.Orange County Superior C ... More >>

Bruce Rollinson, Mater Dei High Football Coach, Looks for a Quarterbacking Milestone

Sports Illustrated has turned its illustrated sporty to Bruce Rollinson, the longtime Mater Dei High School's football coach who is poised to become the first field general to accomplish quite a feat.Here's a hint: it involves two former Monarchs named Matt.

Matt Barkley, USC Quarterback from OC, Leads "App" Poll for Heisman Trophy

Let's say you want to help build the case for Newport Beach resident, former Mater Dei High School and quarterback starter Matt Barkley of USC winning the Heisman Trophy.There's an app for that.

Todd Marinovich Goes Deep

The ex-NFL superstar on life, death and everything in between

Matt Leinart Cut by Houston Texans

​Quarterback Matt Leinart, the pride of Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana and USC in La-La Land, has been cut by the Houston Texans. It marks the second time in two years that the lefty with a reputation for hearty partying has been let go. The Texans picked Leinart up after the Arizona Cardinals ... More >>

John Cappellitti, Former Rams Running Back and Heisman Winner, is Burglarized

​Get up on Uncle Matt's bum knee and let him tell you about the 1970s. Way back then, I swear the friggin' God, Los Angeles (and eventually Anaheim) had a professional football team. They were called the "Rams," and they played home games at the LA Coliseum (and eventually the Big A). For a time t ... More >>

Why Can't Americans Pronounce Spanish-Named Cities in the United States Like Los Angeles Correctly?

[¡Ask a Mexican!] And why do Mexicans cheer for the Texas Longhorns and USC Trojans in football if they never attended?

Matt Barkley Will Stay at USC for Senior Season

​Matt Barkley, the pride of Newport Coast and Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, announced today he will return to USC for his senior season.There had been speculation the quarterback might end his college career by entering the NFL draft, where he was forecast to be among the top picks.

Martha M. Escutia, Retired Legislator-Turned-Newport Beach Lawyer, Targets Tax-Exempt Status of Abuser Nonprofits in Wake of Penn State Scandal

​After East Los Angeles-born Martha M. Escutia served in both houses of the California Legislature from 1992 through 2006, she helped found the private law practice The Senators (Ret.) Firm in Newport Beach, where she specializes in representing abuse victims and their families.In the wake of th ... More >>

Carson Palmer, QB Pride of Santa Margarita High, Reported Traded to Oakland Raiders

​Those unnamed sources who know everything about everything before you or I say Santa Margarita Catholic High School quarterback stud turned USC star turned Cincinnati Bengals first round pick turned Bengals tackling dummy Carson Palmer has been traded to the Oakland Raiders. If that's true, it's ... More >>

[UPDATED: Sports Info Director's Comments] Chapman No Longer on the Outside Looking In: Joins the SCIAC for Athletic Competition

The Chapman Panthers logo was redesigned a few years ago.UPDATE, JUNE 8, 1:49 P.M.: "This is the biggest news out of our athletic department in 20 years," said Doug Aiken, Chapman's Sports Information Director. "This was a longtime goal, ever since we moved to Div. III in '94."Though the application ... More >>

Former College Football Star, NFL Dud and Car Accident Victim, Colt Brennan, Signs Contract to Play in the UFL

Brennan is getting a second chance at pro football.​A little more than six months ago, Colt Brennan was lying in a hospital bed in Hawaii, listed in serious condition. Today it was announced that Brennan will be returning to football, having signed a contract with the Hartford Colonials of the Uni ... More >>

Another Reason to Hate Taco Bell: Their Touchdown $5 Buck Box and Partnership with the Bowl Championship Series

​During the 1990s, Taco Bell pulled off a legendary April Fools' joke when they took out full-page ads in newspapers announcing they had bought the Liberty Bell. That was a bit of marketing genius, but their partnership with the mafia known as the Bowl Championship Series shows again why there's l ... More >>

Rick LeBlanc of Rick's Atomic Cafe Goes On the Line, Part Two!

Photo by Todd Barnes​We interviewed Rick LeBlanc of Rick's Atomic Cafe yesterday, the man who's bringing a bit of organic, New England class to the office drones around John Wayne Airport; after the jump, the rest of the story!

[UPDATED:] Colt Brennan, Former Mater Dei QB, In Car Accident And In 'Serious Condition'

The record-setting QB is in a Hawaii hospital in serious condition.Update, November 22, 11:03 a.m.: Terry Brennan indicated to reporters that his son, Colt, is "heavily sedated" and is "far from being alert." Colt is able to acknowledge that family and doctors are in the room, through hand signals, ... More >>

Quadrine Hill, Former U of Miami Fullback, Trades Cleats for Boxing Gloves Tonight

​Quadrine Hill, who is among the latest former football players to hang up his cleats and pick up boxing gloves, fights tonight in Irvine.The former University of Miami fullback and son of Los Angeles Rams (1979-80) and Miami Dolphins (1981-84) running back Eddie Hill, faces another heavyweight, R ... More >>

Video Killed the Orange County Interwebs Horror Show Star

​Today's installment of The Orange County Interwebs Horror Show--which compiles things from and about this paradise we live in--will blow your eyeballs as well as your mind. And you don't even have to visit our adult section for the pleasure! After the jump are OC-related videos for your viewing e ... More >>

Taco Bell Crime of the Week: College Football Players Falling Asleep in Parking Lot, High on Weed!

​I can't remember the last time Baylor University was competitive in college football--I can't even tell you what part of Texas it plays in. But with a 4-2 record this year, the arrest of two players is sure to make the Bears go down, down, down.

Matt Leinart and Colt Brennan, Among Mater Dei's Best QBs, Cut by NFL Teams on Same Day

Inside the athletic complex at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana is an exhibit that pays tribute to quarterbacks John Huarte, who went on to win the Heisman Trophy in 1964 for Notre Dame, Matt Leinart, who won the 2004 Heisman as a junior at USC, and Colt Brennan, a 2007 Heisman finalist for Hawaii ... More >>

Mater Dei Alum Matt Leinart On the Outs in Arizona and Running Out of Options

​Quarterback Matt Leinart, who starred at Mater Dei High School of Santa Ana and USC before the Arizona Cardinals drafted the former Costa Mesa resident with the 10th overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, could soon be looking for work . . . . . . possibly in another league.

[UPDATED:] Josh Booty Settles Suit Against County Over Tasering by Sheriff's Deputies

​Former NFL quarterback and sports broadcaster Josh Booty claimed that when he was in the Orange County Jail after a February 2008 DUI arrest, he was beaten, tasered and ridiculed with comments like "big pussy motherfucker" and "the price is wrong, bitch"--a reference to his ex-wife, a former The ... More >>

Laguna Beach Native Booted From Washington Redskins

Colt Brennan​Colt Brennan, who earned the NCAA record for throwing the most touchdown passes in a single season (58) while a quarterback at the University of Hawaii, was released today the Washington Redskins."I was totally surprised," Brennan told the Washington Post.Pro football, so far, hasn't ... More >>

Santa Margarita Throws Chop Block on CIF, Files Restraining Order

​​Looks like Santa Margarita Catholic High School and new head football coach Harry Welch have been taking lessons from the University of Southern California. These days, that's not a good thing.Santa Margarita filed for and was granted a temporary restraining order against the California Inters ... More >>

Click Here To See The Latest Shameless OC Register Irony Alert!

Who is childish?​In a column blasting USC football coach Pete Carroll's decision to score a last-minute touchdown pass against rival UCLA in Saturday's game, The Orange County Register's Jeff Miller called the move "tacky," "silly," "wrong," "arrogant" and "childish."But how can we describe the Re ... More >>

Sex, Crimes and Videotape

Wikipedia Commons​Imagine being 16-year-old Jane Doe from the "Haidl Three" gang-rape case. First, you discover three guys knocked you out with gin, sprawled your unconscious body on a pool table and garage sofa and then shoved a Snapple bottle, a lit cigarette, an apple-juice can, a pool stick an ... More >>

Will Pete Carroll and Matt Barkley Prove Critics Wrong?

USC starting quarterback Matt Barkley hopes to flash the victory sign a lot in the years ahead. Pete Carroll's stunning announcement that the pride of Mater Dei High Matt Barkley will become the first freshman to enter the season as the starting quarterback for Southern Cal's living legend c ... More >>

From "Acknowledged Leader" to Convicted Felon for Reed Diehl

Reed Diehl, during better days at Cal.UPDATED WITH THE TWO CENTS OF THE FBI...With the guilty plea in a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme entered by Reed Diehl, the standout Mater Dei High School center who went on to an impressive college football career at the University of California and a brief ... More >>

A UCLA Bruin Plea for USC's Mark Sanchez to Stay in School

Dear Mark Sanchez:As a proud UCLA Bruin, I know I'm not to say this, but congrats on an amazing Rose Bowl. Your passes ripped through the Penn State defense like your ethnic cousins continue to do across the United States-Mexico border. Which leads me to the point of this post:Stay in school for Mex ... More >>

Penn State More Psyched Than USC By Disneyland Visit

One perk for Penn State University players, coaches and fans who have already arrived in Southern California for the New Year's Day Rose Bowl is the traditional Disneyland visit, which is Friday. After all, who wouldn't want to escape the weather in University Park, PA (current temperature: 23 degre ... More >>

Hugh Hewitt Gets Tracked by Southern Poverty Law Center

It's one thing for Orange County blabbermouth Hugh "Baby Hewie/Hughcifer" Hewitt to get monitored by myself and Clockwork Coker, but it's quite the feat that Baby Hewie made it into the pages of the Southern Poverty Law Center's fall issue of its award-winning Intelligence Report. In its round-up of ... More >>

John Wayne vs. Mark Sanchez

University of Southern California quarterback and Mission Viejo High product Mark Sanchez may be OC Weekly's coverboy today, but USC Public Relations is right now propping up another Trojan football player with ties to Orange County. This former Trojan player never scored a touchdown, seeing as ho ... More >>

Why Do People Have a Problem With OC-Raised USC QB Mark Sanchez Being Proud of His Mexican Heritage?

The Weekly's Head Count of the 48 New Faces Who Want to Be Your Next Sheriff

QWM (Quarterbacking While Mexican): USC Edition

By law, I'm not allowed to say anything nice about the University of Southern California--I'm a UCLA grad (fire Dorrell!), and many of the lords of Orange County (from Theo Lacy to John Wayne to Mike Schroeder) attended Troy. But I always liked current Trojans quarterback Mark Sanchez, not just beca ... More >>

OC's Eternal Loser

High school football season is upon us, and there is no better time to remind prep stars about the textbook that is Todd Marinovich. The former Mater Dei and Capistrano Valley quarterback still owns the record for the most career passing yards in Orange County history, a feat more astounding conside ... More >>

Diary of a Mad County

Nov. 29 - Dec. 5

Knee 'em, Gamecocks!

The New York Times reports that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is going mining for new fines by trolling broadcasts of live sporting events and other spectacles where coaches, fans, players and performers may have uttered forbidden expletives picked up by microphones. This, of course, w ... More >>

Lords of Acid

How the Brotherhood of Eternal Love Became OCs Hippie Mafia

Super Bawl

Five ignominious moments in Anaheim football history

The Year In College Football

USCs Stars Vs. UCLAs Bars

Diary of A Mad County

Where to Watch USC Destroy Notre Dame

IMAXed Out

Give It the Old College Guide*

The finer (and lesser) points of local institutions