Lonnie White Posts

It doesn't matter if you've played in the NFL or just worked out with free weights at your local health club, the danger of being injured weightlifting exists every time a person does a lifting workout.

And, it can happen at any time and it doesn't matter if you have a spotter in place or not.

That certainly was the case for USC senior running back Stafon Johnson, who had to go through a seven-hour surgical procedure to repair injuries to his windpipe and larynx sustained when he dropped a weight bar on his neck while bench-pressing Monday.

One week after gaining national attention with an upset victory over USC, the Washington Huskies crashed back to the Pac-10 middle of the pack with a disappointing 34-14 loss to Stanford at The Farm on Saturday.

The defeat gave Washington a 1-1 record in the competitive, wacky Pac-10 standings, which looks headed for the final weeks of the season before any bowl bids are determined.

That shouldn't be unexpected In a conference that features true round-robin play where every team plays each other during the season. Currently, Stanford sits alone in first place with a 2-0 in-conference record followed by 1-0 Oregon and 1-0 Arizona. UCLA (3-0 overall) and Arizona State (2-1 overall) have yet to play a conference game.

Take a big thick red marker and draw a line through California on the list of top Pac-10 football teams looking to gain some national respect this season.

Isn't that what you do to fraudulent programs that fail to show up in statement games?

Well, that's what happened to Cal, who entered the weekend undefeated and ranked sixth in the AP poll but got hammered by unranked Oregon, 42-3, in a game that wasn't even that close at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore.

LOS ANGELES -- It's understandable if the Georgia Bulldogs are licking their lips getting ready for Saturday's game against undefeated Arizona State.

And why not? Georgia, which has an all-time record of 363-115-15 in games played in Athens, loves to beat up on nonconference opponents during the regular season, especially under coach Mark Richt, who sports an impressive 23-1 home record against non-SEC teams.

To make Arizona State's challenge even more difficult will be the trip itself, which has always been a problem for Pac-10 teams playing road games on the East Coast.

LOS ANGELES -- Only the Pacific 10 Conference can show some muscle but take a step back on the same day.

Highlighted by Washington's victory over No. 3 USC on Saturday, the Pac-10 proved once again that it's not a conference dominated by one team. It was the fourth consecutive season that the highly-regarded Trojans -- who are 33-1 in their last 34 games against non-conference opponents -- were knocked off by an underdog Pac-10 squad.

For those who know Washington's Steve Sarkisian and have followed his journey from unknown junior college quarterback to first-year Pac-10 head coach, the Huskies' 16-13 victory over USC on Saturday should not come as a surprise.

That's because Sarkisian is a true idealist and competitor who had prepared himself for this moment for years.

And USC coach Pete Carroll -- the ultimate optimistic who loves every challenge -- knew this as well as anyone.

LOS ANGELES -- When USC's first-string offense takes the field at Washington on Saturday, the Trojans are expected to have third-year sophomore quarterback Aaron Corp leading the way.

Corp will be making his first career start after watching true freshman Matt Barkley lead USC to victories over San Jose State and Ohio State to open the season.

LOS ANGELES -- A national columnist created a stir before the start of this year's college football season when he said USC's football program has "underachieved" under coach Pete Carroll.

Underachieved?

LOS ANGELES -- Do you smell that? The foul odor coming from the northwest corner of the country? It stinks doesn't it?

Well let me introduce you to the likely source: Washington State's struggling football program, which arguably could be the worst in playing in a BCS conference.

Second-year coach Paul Wulff's team has not won a game this season and did not come close in ugly defeats to Stanford and Hawaii.

"Frankly, Central Arkansas is a much better team [than Washington State]," Hawaii center John Estes told the Honolulu Star-Review after the Warriors defeated the Cougars' 38-20 last week.

LOS ANGELES -- Based on the inconsistent history of UCLA's football program, smart money would go against the undefeated Bruins overcoming the loss of starting quarterback Kevin Prince and winning the Rose Bowl this season.

Why? Well, let's start with the fact that UCLA has only represented the Pac-10 in the Rose Bowl twice since Jan. 1, 1986 and the last time the Bruins played a bowl game in their own home stadium was Jan. 1, 1999, when they lost to Wisconsin, 38-31.

Then there's UCLA's poor track record in bowl games. In 29 postseason appearances, the Bruins are 13-15-1, including defeats in four of their last bowl games.

Want more? Just go back to last season when rookie coach Rick Neuheisel led UCLA to a 4-8 record, the program's worst in 20 years.

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