Press Box Prattle

Good day, L.A.

I woke up at 7 on Saturday morning and looked out the sliding glass window.

A stiff onshore wind had already chopped up the ocean surface, and after an epic week of waves, this day wasn't looking too promising. I immediately went to Plan B.

My man Tim Tessalone, the sports information director at USC—we've never actually met—had granted the paper press passes to see the Trojans take on the Arizona State Sun Devils and their star quarterback, Westlake High grad Rudy Carpenter, at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum.

Having never witnessed a game at the Coliseum, which opened in 1923 with an initial construction cost of $800,000, I decided to give it a go.

Unsure of how to navigate my way around USC—MapQuest doesn't do much justice when it comes to traffic and road closures on game days—I opted to park at Staples Center for $20 and take a free shuttle to campus.

Getting on the shuttle, I realized one thing: My baby-blue shirt wasn't cutting it in this crowd of cardinal and gold. I looked and felt a bit awkward.

Tommy Trojan On the ride over to USC, two men sitting directly behind me argued about baseball.

"If you like golf, you like baseball," one man said, adding how much he hates baseball.

"I like the strategy of both," the other guy replied. "You don't know nothin' about it."

The conversation went nowhere fast, and I suspected the two men had been drinking. It was 10:25 a.m.

As we made our way toward campus, I saw a pair of colorful murals, one of Barack Obama and the other of Bob Marley. On the notsocool end of the spectrum, there were fastfood establishments everywhere, on every corner of every block.

I'm glad I gave up fast-food.

The shuttle bus dropped us off near 37th Street, and I made my way onto campus.

It was Parent Weekend at USC, and people were having a very good time. The barbecue smelled delicious, and I couldn't believe fans were allowed to set up camp right on campus and let loose. This was cool.

My goal was to track down

Tommy Trojan, the bronzed warrior statue that has served as the epicenter for the USC football faithful since 1930. After about 15 minutes of walking, I found T.T. and touched his shield. Feeling weird—again—I quickly moved on.

Walking aimlessly, I headed over to Cromwell Field and Loker Track Stadium, where the Trojan marching band played to a crowd gathered outside the Annenberg School for Communication.

As the band wailed away, USC fans held up two fingers like peace signs and chanted, "Whoo! Whoo!"

"These people are hippies," I whispered to myself. "They are my friends."

As the band began its march through campus, I walked down Watt Way in search of the famous stadium.

Outside the gates, a Sun Devil piñata hung from a tree. Kids, some as young as 5, smashed the Sun Devil into oblivion while adult men begged for more. I started to hope, pray even, that USC won the game.

"These people are savages," I thought.

At the press check-in I met a lovely lady from Moorpark named Valerie. She said she enjoys reading the Moorpark Acorn. I said thanks and moved along.

The view from the press box was awesome. The winds had blown out the smog, and I could see the crystal-clear downtown skyline to my right and the famous Hollywood sign to the left.

Then the game started.

Battling a left ankle injury, Carpenter was doubtful to play all week. Getting the quarterback out of the lineup, however, proved to be an impossible task. Carpenter made his 37th consecutive start for ASU.

On his team's first offensive snap, Carpenter completed a 39yard pass. On the play, he leapfrogged John Elway for 11th place on the Pac-10's all-time passing yardage list. Later in the contest, he took over 10th place.

Carpenter's day didn't get much better after that initial throw. Despite having solid field position on several drives, his offense couldn't put points on the board for Arizona State.

In the third quarter, Carpenter was hit by USC linebacker Rey Maualuga, and he limped off the field. His day was done, having completed 11-of-20 passes for 128 yards with an interception.

"Obviously I wanted to stay and play," Carpenter said afterward, "but the coach felt it was the right thing to do."

Trojan head coach Pete Carroll praised Carpenter as a true warrior.

"Obviously Rudy was not 100 percent," Carroll said. "It was heroic for him to be out there today. He's a great football player in our conference, and I have great respect for him."

As USC breezed to a 280 victory, Rio Mesa High grad Kevin Thomas had his most productive day as a Trojan.

The cornerback sacked Carpenter in the second quarter and had a 46-yard interception return for a touchdown before halftime.

"It felt great," Thomas said of his first career pick-six. "I got my stride out and got into the end zone. I know all the people who were watching me were proud."

Other locals who saw action for USC included starting linebacker/ defensive end Clay Matthews, an Agoura grad; Westlake's Jimmy Miller; Newbury Park's Jordan Cameron; and Marshall Jones of Oaks Christian.

Talking to Cameron afterward, he said he's finally found a home at USC after spending time at Brigham Young and Ventura College since graduating from NPHS in 2006.

A skilled basketball player as well, Cameron said he's still contemplating playing hoops for the Trojans.

"The coaches call me all the time to see if I'll play basketball," Cameron said. "I don't know. We'll see. Right now I'm just focused on football."

When I finally got back to my car after the interviews, I opted to drive the Pacific Coast Highway home. There was no traffic on the 10 Freeway as I arrived near the ocean just in time to see the sun set.

It was a good day in L.A. Contact Stephen Dorman at sdorman@theacorn.com.