Don't Call it a Comback - USC Pros

Or maybe you should. A HUGE COMEBACK! Down two scores with less than 13 minutes left in the 4th quarter, QB Carson Palmer gets the USC Game Ball for Week 3 as he led the Cincinnati Bengals on two long successful scoring drives resulting in TDs to defeat last year's Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers. Carson passed for 98 of his 183 yards on those two drives, including his only TD pass of the day. He finished the day with 20 completions & 0 INTs.

On the defensive side, LB Keith Rivers led the team with 8 tackles and LB Rey Maualuga finished with 5 tackles & 1 tackle for a loss. Keith & Rey are currently 2nd & 3rd on the team in tackles.

The Steelers have now dropped 2 games in a row since All-Everything S Troy Polamalu went down with an injury against the Tennessee Titans in Week 1. For the sake of the Steelers, Troy couldn't come back any faster.

Final Score: Pittsburgh Steelers 20 @ Cincinnati Bengals 23

Here is a quick look at a few other former USC Trojans in Week 3 action of the 2009-10 NFL Season...

Tennessee Titans 17 @ New York Jets 24

Led by QB Mark Sanchez and their stifling defense, the Jets improved to 3-o with an impressive victory over the still winless Titans. Mark showed that he not only had an arm, but could move well on his feet as he scampered for a bruising 14-yard TD run on the Jets opening drive. He finished the game with 171 yards & 2 TDs through the air and 10 yards & 1 TD on the ground. For the Titans, RB LenDale White got his first TD of the season, but ended up with only 27 yards on 7 carries. Hopefully, he will seen an increase in carries in the upcoming weeks. Last year, White had 4 TDs at this point in the season.

New York Giants 24 @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0

It was another top-notch game for the speedy former Trojans duo on the Giants. WR Steve Smith led the team in receptions & yards for the third straight game with 7 catches for 63 yards and 1 TD. He is currently 2nd in the NFL in receptions & 6th in yards. On the other side of the line, CB Terrell Thomas snagged his first interception of the season to go along with 3 tackles & 1 QB hit. Just like the other NY squad, the Giants are 3-0.

Jacksonville Jaguars 31 @ Houston Texans 24

LB Brian Cushing led the Texans in tackles again with 8, including 1 tackle for a loss. DT Shaun Cody chipped in with 1 tackle. For the Jags, former UCLA RB/KR/PR Maurice Jones-Drew had 119 yards on the ground with 3 TDs and 28 yards receiving. Not a bad day.

New Orleans Saints 27 @ Buffalo Bills 7

In a relatively low scoring affair and poor game by Drew Brees & Co., the Saints were still able to win in a decisive manner. RB Reggie Bush had a season high 13 carries for 64 yards & 3 catches for 17 yards. In his best game of the year, DT Sedrick Ellis recorded 5 tackles & 1 sack.

Kansas City 14 @ Philadelphia Eagles 34

In his second game of the season, QB Matt Cassel was 14/18 with 2 TDs, but only threw for 90 yards. That was nowhere near enough as the Eagles sent the Chiefs home after an easy victory.

See all you Trojans in Week 4...

Quick Note: We all wish current USC Trojans RB Stafon Johnson a speedy & healthy recovery from his accident on Sunday. It was such an unfortunate accident, but we are happy to read reports that things are looking positive.

Football Pac10Pros of the Week

Week 3

OFFENSE

Maurice Jones-Drew RB (UCLA)

Jacksonville Jaguars

119 Rushing Yards

3 Rushing TDs

28 Receiving Yards

Runner-up

Aaron Rodgers QB (Cal)

Green Bay Packers

269 Passing Yards

2 Passing TDs

38 Rushing Yards

1 Rushing TD

DEFENSE

Lance Briggs LB (Arizona)

Chicago Bears

7 Tackles

1 Sack

1 INT

1 Pass Def

Runner-up

Brendon Ayanbadejo LB (UCLA)

Baltimore Ravens

4 Tackles

1 Sack

1 INT

1 Pass Def

Baseball Pac10Pros of the Week

9/21/09-9/27/09

BATTERS

Nick Hundley (Arizona)

.350 Avg

4 Runs

2 HRs

6 RBIs

2 SBs

Runner-up

Carlos Quentin (Stanford)

.300 Avg

2 Runs

2 HRs

8 RBIs

PITCHERS

Trevor Hoffman (Arizona)

3.0 Innings

1 Win

2 Saves

0.00 ERA

0.33 WHIP

Runner-up

David Huff (UCLA)

8.0 Innings

1 Win

5 Ks

0.00 ERA

o.88 WHIP

Congrats to Arizona for getting the sweep with both Hundley and Hoffman winning Pac10Pros of the Week!

Football Pac10Pros of the Week

Week 2

OFFENSE

Carson Palmer QB (USC)

Cincinnati Bengals

185 Passing Yards

3 Passing TDs

1 Yard Rushing TD

Runner-up

Trent Edwards QB (Stanford)

Buffalo Bills

230 Passing Yards

2 Passing TDs

24 Rush Yards

DEFENSE

Sabby Piscitelli S (Oregon St.)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

9 Tackles

1 INT

1 Fumble Recovery

1 Pass Defended

Runner-up

Chris Horton S (UCLA)

Washington Redskins

8 Tackles

1 Forced Fumble

2 Passes Defended

Congrats to the Week 2 Pac10Pros of the week!

Pay Dirt! - USC Pros

After leading the New York Giants in both receptions & yards in Week 1, former USC Trojans WR Steve Smith gets the USC Game Ball in Week 2. Smith had a career high in receptions (10) & yards (134) and recorded his first TD of the season in a last second win over the Dallas Cowboys in the Dallas Stadium (or Colossal Coliseum) debut on Sunday night. There were also a handful of times that QB Eli Manning missed an open Steve Smith, which would have made both of his career highs even more impressive. It is great to see a former Trojan who has always worked so hard do so well at the highest professional level.

On the opposite side of the ball, CB Terrell Thomas had another impressive performance racking up 5 tackles and helping hold the Cowboys entire team to only 13 catches for 127 yards.

For the Cowboys, K David Buehler handled kickoffs like usual. It is so funny to see him line up at kicker. He can bench like a linebacker and run like a safety.

Final Score: New York Giants 33 @ Dallas Cowboys 31

Here is a quick look at a few other former USC Trojans in Week 2 action of the 2009-10 NFL Season...

Cincinnati Bengals 31 @ Green Bay Packers 24

QB Carson Palmer helped lead the Bengals to their first victory of the season narrowly missing their second defeat in the waning seconds. After a shaky start, CP was 15/23 for 185 yards, 3 TDs, and 2 INTs. He also ran for a TD.

There was a trio of USC LBs on the field and all of them had notable performances. For the Bengals, Keith Rivers had 6 tackles & Rey Maualuga had 4 tackles, including his first sack of his career. For the Packers, Clay Matthews III notched only 2 tackles, but one was for a sack and the other for a loss.

Houston Texans 34 @ Tennessee Titans 31

LB Brian Cushing showed why his was drafted so high as he led the Texans in tackles with 10, including 2 for a loss. What an impressive performance! For the Titans, RB LenDale White had only 25 yards on 6 carries, but it is hard to complain about the limited role as fellow RB Chris Johnson ran for 197 yards on only 16 carries.

New Orleans Saints 48 @ Philadelphia Eagles 22

In another blowout victory, RB Reggie Bush helped the Saints put up over 40 points for the second consecutive week. He carried the ball 10 times for 33 yards & 1 TD and caught 3 balls for 42 yards giving him 75 all-purpose yards. DT Sedrick Ellis was much more active this week with 4 tackles of his own. For the Eagles, DT Mike Patterson recorded 3 tackles.

Oakland Raiders 13 @ Kansas City Chiefs 10

QB Matt Cassel played his first game since coming back from an injury and almost led the Chiefs to their first win of the season. He was 24/39 for 241 yards & 1 TD, but threw 2 INTs. Flaunting his athleticism, he also helped the Chiefs move the ball on the ground rushing for 34 yards on 5 carries.

Seattle Seahawks 10 @ San Francisco 49ers 23

In a poor overall defensive performance by the Seahawks, there was one bright spot and that was the play of DE Lawrence Jackson. He had only 4 tackles, but 2 were sacks, another for a loss, and 2 QB hits. LB Lofa Tatupu was injured for most of the game, but still had a pair of tackles.

New England Patriots 9 @ New York Jets 16

With the help of a solid defense not allowing a touchdown for the second straight week, Jets QB Mark Sanchez played a mistake free game throwing for 163 yards & 1 TD, which resulted in a 101.1 QB Rating.

See you in Week 3...

Quick Note: I would like to give a shout-out to all the former USC Trojans offensive linemen starting this week. There are enough to field a solid starting lineup...LT Sam Baker for the Atlanta Falcons, RT Winston Justice for the Philadelphia Eagles, RG Chilo Rachal for the San Francisco 49ers (helped Frank Gore rush for 207 yards), RG Deuce Lutui for the Arizona Cardinals, and C Ryan Kalil for the Carolina Panthers. The games are won in the trenches, right?

Baseball Pac10Pros of the Week

9/14/09-9/20/09

BATTERS

Jacoby Ellsbury (Oregon St.)

.423 Avg

5 Runs

2 HRs

6 RBIs

2 SBs

Runner-up

Jody Gerut (Stanford)

.583 Avg

4 Runs

2 HRs

8 RBIs

PITCHERS

Barry Zito (USC)

7.0 Innings

1 Win

9 Ks

2.57 ERA

0.86 WHIP

Runner-up

Trevor Hoffman (Arizona)

2.0 Innings

2 Saves

2 Ks

0.00 ERA

0.00 WHIP

NFL=No Fun League

DeSean Jackson (Cal) and Alex Smith (Stanford) were among six Eagles that were fined $10,000 each for their TD celebration in Sunday's victory over Carolina.

Watch the Video

Football Pac10Pros of the Week

Week 1

OFFENSE

Trent Edwards QB (Stanford)

212 pass yds

2 pass TDs

25 rush yds

Runner-up

Maurice Jones-Drew RB (UCLA)

97 rush yds

1 rush TD

26 rec yds

DEFENSE

Oshiomogho Atogwe S (Stanford)

8 Tackles

1 INT

2 Pass Def

Runner-up

Keith Ellison LB (Oregon St.)

16 Tackles

Baseball Pac10Pro of the Week-Batters

9/7/09-9/13/09

Dustin Pedroia (Arizona St.)

.421 Avg

5 Runs

3 HRs

6 RBIs

Runner-up

Chase Utley (UCLA)

.308 Avg

5 Runs

2 HRs

5 RBIs

2 SBs

Baseball Pac10Pro of the Week-Pitchers

9/7/09-9/13/09

Mark Hendrickson (Washington St.)

3.1 Innings

1 Save

3 Ks

0.00 ERA

0.90 WHIP

Runner-up

Trevor Hoffman (Arizona)

3.0 Innings

2 Saves

2 Ks

6.00 ERA

0.67 WHIP

I Thought He Was a Rookie? - USC Pros

Former USC Trojans QB Mark Sanchez showed everybody Sunday why the New York Jets traded up the the #5 spot in the 2009 NFL Draft to snag the highly touted junior with an impressive road win.

Mark played extremely composed in his first real NFL game, which matched him up against a Houston Texans team that is expected to make the leap this year into the playoffs. In a game that many expected would center around the Jets rushing attack, Mark was whipping the ball all over the place opening up the running game in the 2nd half.

Not only did Sanchez finish 18/31 with 272 yards & 1 TD, but 12 of those 18 completions were on 3rd down for 191 yards. He played within himself, he was a playmaker when he needed to be, and most importantly he kept drives alive.

Sanchez was not the only former Trojan in Houston on Sunday. In fact, Sanchez was going against his former roommate LB Brian Cushing and veteran DT Shaun Cody. Cushing led the Texans in tackles with 8, while Cody chipped in 4 of his own before suffering a sprained knee in the 4th quarter.

Final Score: New York Jets 24 @ Houston Texans 7

Here is a quick look at a few other former USC Trojans in action of Week 1 of the 2009-10 NFL Season...

Denver Broncos 12 @ Cincinatti Bengals 7

Aside from the 87-yard tip pass touchdown to Brandon Stokley with less than a minute to go giving the Broncos the win, the Bengals defense looked much improved from last year. Prior to the TD, the Broncos had been held to a 48- & 50-yard field goal. The Bengals defense was led by rookie LB Rey Maualuga's 8 tackles and the 5 tackles & 1 pass deflection by LB Keith Rivers.

On offense for the Bengals, QB Carson Palmer was 21/33 for 247 yards, but could not find the end zone. He threw 2 interceptions, but 1 of them was in his Hail Mary attempt in the waning minutes.

Detroit Lions 27 @ New Orleans Saints 45

For the Saints, RB Reggie Bush had 7 carries for 14 yards & 5 catches for 55 yards. Bush fumbled the ball twice with one of them being recovered by the defense. He also fielded 3 punts for 11 yards giving him 80 yards of total offense on the day. Second-year DT Sedrick Ellis finished with 1 tackle.

Washington Redskins 17 @ New York Giants 23

WR Steve Smith showed why he led the Giants in receptions last year (57) and that he is willing to step up for the incarcerated Plaxico Burress. Smith led the Giants in both receptions & yards on Sunday finishing with 6 catches for 80 yards. DB Terrell Thomas played well in the starting roll for the Giants with 3 tackles & 1 pass deflection.

St. Louis Rams 0 @ Seattle Seahawks 28

In the shutout win, Seahawks Pro Bowl LB Lofa Tatupu had 3 tackles & 1 sack and DE Lawrence Jackson had 2 tackles & 1 sack of his own.

Philadelphia Eagles 38 @ Carolina Panthers 10

In a game dominated by the Eagles defense, DT Mike Patterson had 5 tackles & 0.5 sacks.

Chicago Bears 15 @ Green Bay Packers 21

Playing in his first NFL game, LB Clay Matthews had 1 tackle, which was for a loss.

See you in Week 2...

****

Congrats to the USC Trojans for an amazing comeback win against Ohio State on Saturday. You had us all on the edge of our seats.

Photo: James Keivom/NY Daily News

Gabe Pruitt is Now a Knick - USC Pros

The New York Knicks signed former USC point guard Gabe Pruitt.

He has played for the Boston Celtics for 2 years earning himself an NBA Championship ring. For the USC Trojans, he helped lead them to the Sweet 16 in the 2007 NCAA Tournament.

For more on the story, please check out Knicks Sign Gabe Pruitt.

Pro Bowl Bound Already? - USC Pros

Pittsburgh Steelers & former USC All-American Safety Troy Polamalu looked like he was going to guarantee his sixth straight Pro Bowl appearance in the 1st half of the 1st game of the 2009-10 NFL Season against the Tennessee Titans. He picked up six solo tackles and an incredible 40-yard one-handed interception, which he returned for 16 yards, all in the opening 30 minutes. While covering the entire field and showing off his sub-4.4 40-yard speed, the long-haired safety picked up 3 personal fouls of his own for 30 yards.

The 2nd half did not go so well for the perennial Pro Bowler. At the 12-minute mark, a huge hit by Steelers LB James Harrison caused the ball to pop loose and Troy attempted to pick it up and exhibit his offensive play-making abilities. In doing so, his leg was trapped under another player scrambling for the football and he was out for the rest of the game with a knee injury. There has been no report yet on the severity of the injury. Madden Curse anybody?

The only highlight for Polamalu in the 2nd half was his new Head & Shoulders commercial. So EA Sports Madden Football, Head & Shoulders, Coke, and Nike just to name a few...not a bad group of athletic endorsements.

Playing for the Titans was the bruising back LenDale White, who supposedly lost 40 pounds by giving up tequila (Patron to be specific). In a later interview, he claimed that forfeiting late night In-N-Out helped a bit, too. White was only given the ball in the first 3 quarters, finishing with 8 carries for 28 yards & 1 reception for 5 yards. Not a great day for White, but he was going against arguably the top defense in the NFL and last years Super Bowl Champions.

This game went into overtime and ended with a 33-yard Jeff Reed field goal to give the Steelers the victory. Titans kicker Rob Bironas is usually automatic, but missed two 1st half field goals, which would have given the Titans enough points for an extremely solid road win.

Final Score: Tennessee Titans 10 @ Pittsburgh Steelers 13

Quick Note: There were several notable Trojan fans in the crowd for the opening game. Former USC All-American wide receiver, Super Bowl X MVP, and 2001 Hall of Fame Inductee Lynn Swan was in attendance, along with Calvin Broadus. You might know Calvin a little bit better as Snoop Dogg, who is a huge LenDale supporter. To quote Al Michaels, "Snoop loves his Pittsburgh Steelers and loves his USC Trojans!"

Jeff Pendergraph Signs with Portland Trail Blazers

Check out the original article at: http://buyathletes.com/pendergraph-signs-with-blazers/

The Portland Trail Blazers signed Jeff Pendergraph, the first pick in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft, today with the terms currently not disclosed. He will likely not see much time this year, but is an extremely hard worker and a great character guy.

The 6-foot-9 forward played at Arizona State for four years setting the record for games played (126), games started (120), and finished second in total rebounds (942). James Harden and he were the top inside-outside tandem in the Pac-10 last year (at Etiwanda High School, he played with former UCLA point guard and fellow 2009 NBA Draft pick Darren Collison).

Consistency was one of Pendergraph’s top qualities as he averaged double figures in points all four years. In his senior year, he averaged 14.5 points & 8.2 rebounds, while leading the nation in field goal percentage at 66.0%. He had career averages of 12.6 points & 7.5 rebounds, while shooting 58.0% in 30.2 minutes per game.

Photo: Alex McDougall/BlazersEdge

Baseball Pac10Pro of the Week-Batters

8/31/09-9/6/09

Jacoby Ellsbury (Oregon St.)

.250 Avg

4 Runs

2 RBIs

4 SBs

John Baker (Cal)

.350 Avg

2 Runs

1 HR

4 RBIs

Baseball Pac10Pro of the Week-Pitchers

8/31/09-9/6/09

Jeremy Guthrie (Stanford)

13.0 Innings

1 Win

8 Ks

1.38 ERA

0.92 WHIP

Tim Lincecum (Washington)

7.0 Innings

11 Ks

2.57 ERA

0.71 WHIP

QBs Beware! - USC Pros

In the final week before the regular season kicks off, DT Frostee Rucker had his best game of 2009. He recorded 3 tackles in the game for the Cincinnati Bengals, including a sack and a forced fumble, which he recovered. Throw in a pass deflection and it is safe to assume that the Bengals hope to see that from Frostee for the next 16 Sundays.

Rucker was helped out by two other former USC Trojans in LBs Rey Maualuga & Keith Rivers who each tallied one tackle each in the blowout against the Indianapolis Colts.

Final Score: Indianapolis Colts 7 @ Cincinnati Bengals 38

Here is a quick recap of a few other former USC Trojans in action in the last week of the Pre-Season...

Philadelphia Eagles 27 @ New York Jets 38

QB Mark Sanchez led the Jets to a quick touchdown on an extremely impressive drive to start the game. In his only drive, Mark was 5/5 for 67 yards, including a 21-yard TD toss to Jerricho Cotchery. He finished the game with a perfect 158.3 passer rating. I think the Jets can feel pretty confident behind Mark with how well he has performed since arriving in New York.

Dallas Cowboys 35 @ Minnesota Vikings 31

QB John David Booty is looking to remain a member of the Vikings when the regular season commences, but is currently listed as the #4 QB on the Depth Chart with the recent acquisition of Brett Favre. Booty threw a 44-yard TD on his first pass attempt, but it was to the wrong team. After that mistake, he settled down and was 7/13 for 85 yards. Good luck Booty!

For the Cowboys, the strong-legged kicker David Buehler was booming his kickoffs like usual. It looks like he has found his niche in the NFL early. He is also a highly accurate FG kicker and will step in if current starting kicker Nick Folk gets injured.

****

Congrats to the USC Trojans for a very impressive 56-3 win against San Jose State on Saturday. The Trojans lost 11 players to the NFL this past off-season (including 7 on defense), lost both their Offensive & Defensive Coordinators to the University of Washington (Sark & Nick Holt), lost their All-American starting center & speedster #2 receiver to injuries in practice (O'Dowd & RoJo), and started 18-year old freshman QB Matt Barkley, but somehow still looked like LA's NFL squad. Nice work! Good luck against the Buckeyes!

Photo: Dan Beineke/WireImage.com

Baseball Pac10Pro of the Month-Batters

August 2009

Andre Ethier (Arizona St.)

.333 Avg

18 Runs

6 HRs

21 RBIs

2 SBs

Runner-up

Chase Utley (UCLA)

.301 Avg

19 Runs

6 HRs

14 RBIs

4 SBs

Baseball Pac10Pro of the Month-Pitchers

August 2009

Barry Zito (USC)

37.1 Innings

3-1

29 Ks

1.93 ERA

1.04 WHIP

Runner-up

Tim Lincecum (Washington)

36.2 Innings

1-1

31 Ks

2.95 ERA

0.98 WHIP