SoCal Sports Now

Titans eliminated from CWS, 7-5

RANDY YOUNGMAN, OCREGISTER.COM — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:18:58 +0000

OMAHA — A season of great expectations came to a premature end for the third-ranked Cal State Fullerton baseball team during a 7-5 loss to Virginia in Monday’s losers’ bracket game at the College World Series.

The Titans lost their first two CWS games and became the first team eliminated from the eight-team, double-elimination tournament.

Fullerton (47-16), the No. 2 national seed, arrived in Omaha on a nine-game winning streak but fell into the losers’ bracket after a 10-6 loss to Arkansas in Saturday’s opener.

Against Virginia, the Titans took a 2-0 lead on a two-run homer by Dustin Garneau in the top of the second inning, but the Cavaliers answered with a four-run rally in the bottom of the second to take the lead for good.

The Titans rallied for two runs in the ninth and had the tying runs on first and second when Khris Davis grounded into an inning-ending force play.

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Titans lose CWS opener, 10-6

RANDY YOUNGMAN, OCREGISTER.COM — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 21:28:11 +0000

OMAHA — Cal State Fullerton’s perfect postseason and nine-game winning streak came to an end in the first game of the College World Series as unseeded Arkansas rolled to a 10-6 victory on Saturday afternoon at Rosenblatt Stadium.

The Titans (47-15), the No. 2 national seed, had won all five NCAA Tournament games to get to Omaha, but Arkansas also had cruised through regional and super regional play without a loss. And the Razorbacks (40-22) continued their streak by scoring two runs in the first, two in the third and five in the fourth to break open a close game and send Fullerton into the losers’ bracket in the double-elimination tournament.

The losing pitcher for Fullerton was freshman Noe Ramirez (9-2), who gave up five hits and seven earned runs in 3 2/3 innings while walking three and hitting a batter. Freshman Tyler Pill relieved Ramirez with the bases loaded in the fourth inning and gave up a two-run single on his first pitch. The next batter, Arkansas first baseman Andy Wilkins, hit a three-run homer deep into the bleacher seats in right field.

Cal State Fullerton will try to stave off elimination Monday when it plays the loser of Saturday’s late game between Virginia and LSU.

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USC Football: Trojan AD Mike Garrett’s complete statement

SCOTT M. REID, OCREGISTER.COM — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:10:52 +0000

Hi, my name is Mike Garrett and I am the Athletic Director at USC.
There has been some speculation in the media that I have not been talking about allegations that the University violated NCAA or PAC-10 rules in the Reggie Bush and OJ Mayo matters because we want to keep our heads down or we have something to protect.

Believe me. No one wants to get to the bottom of this matter more than I do.
No one wants to find out what happened - to get to the truth more than me.
No one would like to get this information out and put this whole thing behind us, more than I do.
But there is a process - and that process is dictated by the NCAA rules and making sure that the investigation is conducted in a manner that will ensure that we indeed do get to the truth.
Just to make sure there is no misunderstanding, I want to be absolutely clear.
I — We — take these allegations very seriously. People who say that we have something to protect are partially right. What we have to protect is the integrity of the athletic department. And that means doing this right. And that is what we are doing.
Internally, our investigation is being headed by our Chief Administrative Officer, a very capable individual of the highest integrity. He and his team have worked extremely hard to get to the truth - and they are continuing their efforts to achieve this result.
When the University confirmed Coach Floyd’s announcement that he had resigned, I stated that we would immediately begin the process of finding a new head coach. We have already begun that process.

We have very high standards for our athletic department, staff and students. And we expect - no, we demand - that everyone associated with the department live up to these standards.
It is both this University’s and my belief that success in intercollegiate athletics is not just chronicled in the win-loss columns, but rather, how well we measure up to our own high standards for academic success, the welfare of our student-athletes, and playing by the rules.

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USC Football: USC Sr. VP Todd Dickey’s complete statement

SCOTT M. REID, OCREGISTER.COM — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:08:37 +0000

Hello, my name is Todd Dickey and I am Senior Vice President for Administration at USC.
There has been a fair amount of media attention devoted to the fact that no one from USC has spoken publicly about the allegations of NCAA violations relating to Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo.
My office is heading up USC’s part of the investigation of these allegations. Since the allegations surfaced, USC has been working closely with the NCAA and the Pac-10 in an attempt to get to the truth.
In conjunction with the NCAA and the PAC-10 we have already interviewed approximately 50 people and spent many hundreds of hours investigating these allegations.
We have no idea how long this investigation will continue, and no one is more anxious to bring this process to a conclusion than we are — but we remain committed to getting to the truth.
USC has participated in every interview — except those few from which we were excluded. Our exclusion from these interviews mainly stemmed from demands from those making allegations against our student-athletes, insisting that no one from USC be present.
We have cooperated and worked together with the NCAA and Pac-10 every step of the way during this process and we intend to continue to do so.
We understand the desire of the University’s supporters, the media and the public to know as much as they can, as soon as they can — but unfortunately, we cannot comment on any aspect of the investigation until it is complete.

There are a number of reasons for this: First, as I mentioned earlier, the investigation is ongoing. Announcing or publicizing information about the investigation or what has been discovered in one interview before all of the individuals you intend to interview have been interviewed, could pollute or influence another person’s recollection, as well as the final conclusions of the investigation.
Second, until the investigation is complete — or there is enough information to reach a definitive conclusion -the conclusion could change.
Then, of course, there is the privacy of the individuals involved and the fact that NCAA rules require us to maintain the confidentiality of the investigation until the investigation is complete.
While as I said earlier, we are not going to comment on what we have learned until the investigation is complete, I do feel obligated to correct a couple of things that have been reported in the media.
Specifically, reports with respect to USC’s attempts to contact Lloyd Lake or Louis Johnson or participate in their interviews have been inaccurate.
In fact, USC repeatedly asked to participate in the NCAA’s interview of Mr. Lake. However, Mr. Lake and his attorneys refused to allow the University to participate in either his interview or the interviews of his relatives.
It is correct that USC sent a letter to Mr. Lake’s attorney requesting an interview - which was later obtained by the Los Angeles Times - but neither Mr. Lake nor his attorney agreed to that request.
The statement that USC has not interviewed Louis Johnson is also false. Mr. Johnson has twice been interviewed jointly by USC, the NCAA, and the Pac-10. Any suggestion that USC has not taken these allegations seriously and investigated them thoroughly is simply wrong.
We are very proud of what we have accomplished at USC, in the classrooms, on the athletic fields and in our broader community. We take our responsibility for the guardianship of this institution very seriously and we are committed to getting to the bottom of these allegations.

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USC Football: Garrett, administration finally respond to Bush/Mayo scandal

SCOTT M. REID, OCREGISTER.COM — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:02:37 +0000

BY SCOTT M. REID

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Los Angeles-In the wake of mounting criticism of the way the university has handled the Reggie Bush/O.J. Mayo scandal, USC athletic director Mike Garrett and senior vice president Todd Dickey on Thursday issued the school’s most extensive statement on the controversy to date.

Dickey and Garrett’s joint statements come just two days after Trojan basketball coach Tim Floyd resigned amid allegations that he paid $1,000 to a Mayo adviser who was instrumental in USC signing the player.

As Garrett searched for Floyd’s replacement Thursday, Trojan recruit Lamont Jones of Virginia’s Oak Hill Academy was released from his letter of intent by the university. Derrick Williams of La Mirada has also asked for his release and USC officials are in the process of granting it. With Jones and Williams’ defections, five Trojan recruits have now decided against attending USC. Four current Trojan players with remaining college eligibility have opted to enter the NBA draft.

Even before Floyd’s abrupt resignation on Tuesday, USC officials have come under heavy criticism that the university’s low profile during the NCAA’s investigation into the Trojans football and men’s basketball programs gave the appearance that the university not interested uncovering the facts of the growing scandal.

“Any suggestion that USC has not taken these allegations seriously and investigated them thoroughly is simply wrong,” Dickey, who is heading the university’s investigation.

In addition to its probe into whether Rodney Guillory, an events promoter and sometime runner for a sports agent, provided Mayo with cash and gifts on behalf of USC and/or sports agents, the NCAA is also investigating allegations made by a would be San Diego sports agent that he provided 2005 Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush and his family with nearly $300,000 is cash and other benefits.

Floyd’s attorney, Bill Becknell said on Thursday, that the former USC coach has denied allegations by Louis Johnson, a former confidant of Mayo and Guillory, that he gave Guillory a $1,000 outside a Beverly Hills restaurant in February 2007.

With already heavy criticism of university president Steven B. Sample and Garrett escalating since Floyd’s resignation, made a belated attempt at public relations on Thursday with the joint statements.

“There has been some speculation in the media that I have not been talking about allegations that the University violated NCAA or PAC-10 rules in the Reggie Bush and OJ Mayo matters because we want to keep our heads down or we have something to protect,” Garrett said in the statement.

“Believe me. No one wants to get to the bottom of this matter more than I do. No one wants to find out what happened - to get to the truth more than me. No one would like to get this information out and put this whole thing behind us, more than I do.”

Dickey said the university has cooperated fully with NCAA and Pac-10 investigators and also denied charges by attorneys for Johnson and Bush accuser Lloyd Lake, that university officials have been reluctant to interview Johnson, Lake and other key figures in the scandal.

“We understand the desire of the University’s supporters, the media and the public to know as much as they can, as soon as they can — but unfortunately, we cannot comment on any aspect of the investigation until it is complete,” Dickey said. “There are a number of reasons for this:

“First, as I mentioned earlier, the investigation is ongoing. Announcing or publicizing information about the investigation or what has been discovered in one interview before all of the individuals you intend to interview have been interviewed, could pollute or influence another person’s recollection, as well as the final conclusions of the investigation.

“Second, until the investigation is complete — or there is enough information to reach a definitive conclusion -the conclusion could change.

“Then, of course, there is the privacy of the individuals involved and the fact that NCAA rules require us to maintain the confidentiality of the investigation until the investigation is complete.”

USC sent a written request to interview Lake to his attorney’s last fall. Brian Watkins, Lake’s attorney told the Register last month that Lake agreed to be interviewed by USC officials but the university did neither Lake nor his attorneys heard back from the university.

Dickey said Lake and his attorney’s not only failed to agree to the interview. Dickey also said USC made repeated attempts to participate in “in the NCAA’s interview of Mr. Lake. However, Mr. Lake and his attorneys refused to allow the University to participate in either his interview or the interviews of his relatives.”

Dickey said school officials have participated in two interviews with Johnson conducted by the NCAA and Pac-10.

“USC has participated in every interview — except those few from which we were excluded,” Dickey said. “Our exclusion from these interviews mainly stemmed from demands from those making allegations against our student-athletes, insisting that no one from USC be present.”

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Who should take UCLA’s last-second shot?

MARCIA C. SMITH/THE REGISTER — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:53:24 +0000

PHILADELPHIA - Sixth-seeded UCLA better hope it doesn’t have its NCAA Tournament first-round game against 11th-seeded VCU end with this scenario: the Bruins get the ball, with 2 seconds left and trailing by three points. Somebody’s going to take a half-court shot, right?

Here’s the problem. When the Bruins horsed around at the end of Wednesday’s shootaround at Wachovia Center, all the players — except the tailbone-nursing Darren Collison – launched a shot from half court — and missed. See the video here:

SoCal Sports Now

Titans eliminated from CWS, 7-5

Titans lose CWS opener, 10-6

USC Football: Trojan AD Mike Garrett’s complete statement

USC Football: USC Sr. VP Todd Dickey’s complete statement

USC Football: Garrett, administration finally respond to Bush/Mayo scandal

Who should take UCLA’s last-second shot?

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