Luc Robitaille is certainly one of the most surprising hockey stars of all time. Drafted in the 9th round and not blessed with impressive physical skills (speed and size), Luc used his smarts and wicked shot to put together a legendary career.
When most scouts and teams didn't think Luc would amount to much, Robitaille put together a career worthy of a Hall-of-Famer with 668 goals and 726 assists in 1431 games. Most of these points seemed to be due to Luc being in the right place at the right time, which led to the 'Lucky' moniker catching on quickly.
However, the origin of the nickname might surprise you, as Luc revealed to David Amber during an interesting interview conducted for ESPN.com:
Q: Who gave you the nickname "Lucky" Luc?
A: Tiger Williams did in my rookie year. We had a player on our team named Morris Lukowich and everyone would call him Luke. So every time anyone called out "Luke," we would both turn around. In my rookie year, I was living with Marcel Dionne at his house, and after my very first game, Tiger started calling me "Lucky." Guys started asking him why he was calling me "Lucky," and he said partly because of the Morris Lukowich confusion, but mostly because I was a rookie living in the biggest house on the team! Every day, I drove to practice in a Mercedes, which was Marcel's car; and I also scored a goal on my first shot on my first shift in the NHL. So that was pretty lucky. I couldn't argue with that.
In case you are wondering, Luc's pick for the cup is the rival Anaheim Ducks. (traitor!!)
If it actually were Darth Vader at the 2007 Rose Bowl and he had nefarious plans to attack the USC and Michigan fans with his Death Star, there would be no escape...even if you were named Reggie Bush.
A new study by Kansas City–based FP&C Consultants deems the exits to the stadium to be "poor," with "potential to develop overcrowded conditions behind a queue due to people continuing to move forward behind the stoppage."
USC fans who had their heads hanging low upon exiting the Rose Bowl twice in 2006 might have some expletives to add to that description.
However, UCLA, which plays in the stadium, has received no complaints--presumably because the poor conditions only occur when the stadium is sold out.
So it's the weekend after you and your friends have just been busted for a racist internet prank. What are you going to do? Well if you're USC linebacker Brian Cushing, your plans apparently involve heading out on the town before blowing off to Jersey for Spring Break.
Internet blogger Scott Wolf reports that while the Rose Bowl defensive MVP was out on the town recently he crossed paths with none other than UCLA offensive lineman Shannon Tevaga.
No reports were filed with the West Hollywood Sheriff--or LAPD for that matter--as the encounter was actually quite amicable from what we hear. Wolfe tells us that, "the Bruins talked about their respect for Cushing, because he did not talk trash during the game."
All of which makes us thank our maker that spring practice is about to begin and we'll start getting real football stories to cover!
UCLA football coach Karl Dorrell may not know the best place to put a play sheet, but one thing he has come to know pretty well--recruiting in Los Angeles.
Dorrell and his team put together a long list of local committments over the weekend.
According to the Los Angeles Daily News, the eight commits, "led by defensive back Rahim Moore of Dorsey of Los Angeles, Compton defensive end Datone Jones, Colton defensive end Damien Holmes and Crespi of Encino safety E.J. Woods. "
In recent weeks, USC and UCLA have been going head-to-head in the local recruiting market and it looks like the Bruins have capitalized on their win last December.
Trojans are not worried, however, knowing that Men of Troy come from across the country. Only former Bruin Ken Norton, who recruits Los Angeles for USC, seems to be concerned.
Among the upgrades are the return of the track around the field, a new level of luxury suites rimming the stadium and Romanesque shades like those installed in Berlin's Olympic for the World Cup.
For the Coliseum's main tenant, the USC Trojans Football team, the move likely means there will be no NFL renovations, and this, no NFL team, and therefore USC should expect to get the master lease on the building. It would possibly also mean the loss of some 10,000 seats, which may not matter if Pete Carroll isn't around in 10 years.
I have to wonder how "temporary" a $100-million structure will be, however, and whether, if, after hosting an Olympic Games, someone could argue that the new construction has become historic?
You know how I know college football rocks? Sports Illustrated sends bikini models to the USC and Grambling State campuses to take photos of their lovely models hanging out with the pair of awesome college football bands.
Mind you these aren't just any bands, they're USC's famed Trojan Marching Band and the Grambling State Marching Band. Models Julie Henderson (right) and Jessica White acquitted themselves quite nicely while hanging out to the background of drums, trumpets, horns and whatever else could be played. SI's Arash Markazi, a USC alum, was there for the Los Angeles shoot and relayed this predictable instrument bit:
Soon after, Jessica came out in a similarly skimpy USC bikini and lay down on the turf with the band around her as she placed one foot seductively on top of a trombone and gently held a flute above her. "Most of the flute players are girls so I guess this is one of the advantages of being a guy flute player," said junior flutist Conner Imes. "I can always say a supermodel held my flute."
The girls later created a bit of a stir with the USC football team, nearly cripping a backup quarterback in the process.
I [Markazi] taught them the importance of the victory sign when we returned to USC the next day. As I told Julie that throwing up the victory sign and saying "Fight On!" would elicit the same response back from anyone on campus she was excited to test the theory. So with nothing but a stringy cardinal and gold bikini on that was almost coming apart at the seems, she ran outside as the USC football team was returning from practice.
As players and coaches passed by she began showing them the victory sign and saying "Fight On!" to each one. While some players were too dumbfounded to know what to do when they saw her -- freshman quarterback Garrett Green walked into a golf cart while looking in her direction -- others were curious about what was going on. "What's happening here?" asked quarterback John David Booty as he smiled at the sight of Julie showing him the victory sign. "Don't worry about it," said Julie. "I'm part of the welcoming committee."
And you wonder why Joe McKnight ends up in Los Angeles instead of Baton Rouge? Just sayin'.
I'd show you some pictures on here but they're the property of Sports Illustrated so bang the links or buy a copy of this week's Swimsuit edition to get your fill of Bikinis Meets Band Nerds IV or whatever SI's calling this. Sorry, No Photos
Nothing's been formally announced, but signs seem to indicate that ballyhooed former Arkansas quarterback Mitch Mustain is strongly considering transferring to USC.
He visits USC this week and has already been briefed in specifics what his situation will be like.
Arkansas quarterback Mitch Mustain arrives shortly and there won't be any misunderstandings, especially after he is on the verge of transferring after one season.
"We've laid it out to him," a source said. "Plain and simple. We aren't sugarcoating anything."
Doesn't sound like USC is making any promises or guarantees.
With that out of the way, we should soon see whether or not he ends up in Los Angeles. I'm guessing both parties learned a few lessons from his Arkansas experience and the consequences of unfulfilled guarantees. Mustain's former high school and Arkansas teammate Damian Williams also recently transferred to USC.
As a transfer he would have to sit a year before regaining eligibility as a redshirt sophomore in 2008. At that point John David Booty will have graduated and his competition will be redshirt junior Mark Sanchez and this year's recruit Aaron Corp who would be a redshirt freshman or a true sophomore.
Continuing our moment of idle speculation here, this interesting trivia should be noted: if Mustain indeed transfers to USC, the Trojans will have signed each of the last four Parade Magazine All America Players of the Year. They are tailback Joe McKnight (who shares the award this year with Notre Dame-bound quarterback Jimmy Clausen), Mustain, quarterback Mark Sanchez and offensive lineman Jeff Byers.
Mustain famously ran for a touchdown after completing a 41-yard pass against USC in his first collegiate appearance last year.
Luc Robitaille is certainly one of the most surprising hockey stars of all time. Drafted in the 9th round and not blessed with impressive physical skills (speed and size), Luc used his smarts and wicked shot to put together a legendary career. 
So it's the weekend after you and your friends have just been busted for a 
UCLA football coach Karl Dorrell may not know the best place to put a play sheet, but one thing he has come to know pretty well--recruiting in Los Angeles.
Read between the lines of the City of Los Angeles' bid for the 2016 Olympics and one thing is clear: the NFL ain't coming to the Coliseum.
You know how I know college football rocks? Sports Illustrated sends bikini models to the USC and Grambling State campuses to take photos of their lovely models hanging out with the pair of awesome college football bands.
