USC Trojans (Football)

[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 >>

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

[UPDATED with Brain Doctor's Plea:] Junior Seau, Legendary NFL Linebacker, Apparently Commits Suicide

UPDATE, MAY 4, 8:03 A.M.: If San Diego Chargers great Junior Seau suffered from a brain injury that contributed to his suicide, he could have been saved, according to a Newport Beach psychiatrist who has conducted three clinical studies with 115 active and former NFL players.And Dr. Daniel G. Amen h ... More >>

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 >>

Mark Sanchez, Jets QB Out of Mission Viejo, Called "Shaky Chihuahua" by Boomer Esiason

​Current New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, the pride of Mission Viejo High School, has been called out by retired Jets QB Boomer Esiason as a "shaky chihuahua." Sanchez is famous for displaying Mexican pride on and off the field while guiding the Jets and USC before that. Chihuahuas were ass ... More >>

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.

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 with Opponents Revealed:] Octomom Nadya Suleman Stepping Into the Ring Again

​UPDATE, AUG. 15, 9:10 A.M.: Alas, Octomom will not be stepping into the ring to square off against Casey Anthony.Well, at least not Sept. 16 in Springfield, Mass.Celebrity Boxing promoter Damon Feldman on Friday announced three opponents will face La Habra's unemployed single mother of 14 Nadya S ... More >>

[UPDATED with Court Appeal:] Michael Kamrava, Fertility Doctor, Loses License

Kamrava​UPDATE, JUNE 6, 8:08 A.M.: An administrative law judge previously said Michael Kamrava, Octomom Nadya Suleman's fertility doctor, should keep his medical license, but the California Medical Board overruled that recommendation last month.So, Kamrava has turned to another judge, this one at ... More >>

[UPDATED with Boxing Match:] Octomom Nadya Suleman Stepping Into the Ring to Save Her House

​UPDATE, JUNE 15, 9:29 A.M.: Now that her bikini car wash has been scrubbed, Octomom Nadya Suleman can turn to a more traditional way to raise money to stave off foreclosure on her La Habra home.Like get a real job? Are you fucking nuts!?!No, "more traditional" for the sub-D Lister involves a plan ... More >>

The Orange County Interwebs Horror Show Gets Sporty

​The Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles, the Santa Ana Drags, Huntington Beach surfers, Santa Cruz surfers and OC-bred quarterbacks Matt Leinart, Colt Brennan and Mark Sanchez wind up in this week's especially sporty compilation of things said about or from Orange County on the Interwebs.

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 >>

Scott Boras, His Missing Wallet With $2,300 Inside and a Poor Surf City Man Who Found It

Boras​Veteran Long Beach Press-Telegram sports columnist Doug Krikorian banged out an interesting piece about Scott Boras, the Huntington Beach apartment manager who found the Newport Beach super-sports agent's wallet with $2,300 inside and the reward that was offered--or lack thereof.The column l ... More >>

Pete Carroll Employs IAITB Defense in TV Interview Promoting Surf City Book Signing

​While others might shy away from the controversy that may have driven them out of town, Pete Carroll, former coach of the multi-sanctioned USC football team, showed this morning why he will Win Forever. That's the title of his new book, which he promoted on the KTLA Morning News in advance of ton ... More >>

Superstars! Theme Parks! Slimy Politicians! All OC Names That Didn't Live Up to the Hype

​On over the weekend, Angels third baseman Brandon Wood hit a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.While that's pretty impressive, the four runs Wood drove in over the weekend represent 30 percent of his RBIs on the season. In other ... More >>

How Orange County's NFL Quarterbacks Rank

​Through week 16 of the NFL season, Carson Palmer and Mark Sanchez are the only quarterbacks who played at Orange County high schools to have thrown the required 14 passes per game to qualify for an official QB rating. Based on Matt Leinart's limited stats, were his passer ranking to count, it wou ... 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 >>

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 >>

Rule 1 for Being a USC Trojan Pigskin Slinger

Clockwise from top left: Mark Sanchez (Santa Margarita Catholic High School, Rancho Santa Margarita); Todd Marinovich (Capistrano Valley and Mater Dei high schools); Matt Leinart (Mater Dei); and Carson Palmer (Santa Margarital).  Steven Travers, a USC graduate, sports historian and fo ... More >>

Latest Hits, Misses and Curveballs From Odd Man Out

UPDATED WITH FORBES' CORRECT RELATIONSHIP TO THE BOOK.   As I've blogged here incessantly, Matt McCarthy wrote Odd Man Out, a Viking Press tell-all I adored about his lone year as a lefty pitcher in the Angels minor league baseball system. Articles doubting the veracity of many salaci ... 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 >>

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?

[¡Ask a Mexican!®] Anchor Babies Aweigh!

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 >>

Saturday's Headlines & Surprises: Head Butting Cars Isn't Healthy

Not Sure Why His Head Continued to Slam Into My Baton: Norberto Santana, Jr. at the Register reports that an unidentified “28-year-old inmate at the Orange County jail died Friday after deputies used a taser gun to subdue him.” Damon Micalizzi, the taxpayer-paid flack assigned to get Sheriff Mi ... More >>

The Year In College Football

USCs Stars Vs. UCLAs Bars

Where to Watch USC Destroy Notre Dame