USC's "Swim With Mike" event is ostensibly a wonderful charity event, but when the world famous USC Song Girls get involved and get in their custom bikinis, it becomes a world-class event with a unique college football tie-in.
Inevitably there are bound to be pictures and Busted Coverage has some high-quality ones they've shared with FanHouse. What's the football angle in all this? Take a look at the pictures, with USC football players mixing it up in the pool amid their supporters in a rare out-of-sweater event. See if you can spot freshman Matt Barkley who darn near unseated Aaron Corp in USC's quarterback battle this spring. Throw in defensive end Everson Griffen and there's several million dollars of NFL potential cheerfully floating in that there pool.
Three of USC's famed Song Girls -- hey, they're not cheerleaders -- will be featured in a reality show ridiculously named 'Hot Girls in Scary Places'. Yes, our culture is thoroughly down the tubes and they're all jumping in to be a part of it, for a chance at $10,000 of course.
E! will debut the program March 13, which, yes, is Friday the 13th. The program will feature the Song Girls tasked to accomplish several challenges in an allegedly haunted abandoned hospital. They should have some experience with that already, performing six times a year at an old stadium abandoned twice now by NFL teams.
In an article over calling USC the, "University of Spoiled Children," author Rob Long begins, "A few weeks ago, John McCain made a little joke at his wife's expense. Referring to her alma mater -- Cindy McCain is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where she was a cheerleader and sorority sister -- he called it "USC, the University of Spoiled Children."
What's wrong with that? Well until two years ago, the only cheerleaders USC has had were exclusively male. The 85 year tradition was discontinued in 2006. For all I can tell, the Song Girls have never led a cheer and have never even been given a microphone.
So, was Cindy McCain a male while in college, you ask? Nope. It's just the editors at the Times don't seem to know the difference between a cheerleader and a Song Girl. And the possible-future-First-Lady was one of them!
So much for our plan to follow the fan experience as USC marched to the BCS Title Game in New Orleans. If the Trojans played as they did Saturday against Stanford, a Hawaii Bowl bid would be a lofty goal--but at least some Trojan fans will be profiting from selling Boo-Tees. Yet despite the loss, FanHouse remains committed to bringing you a sense of gameday on campus--even if the tailgating was as uninspired as the Trojan football team!
This week's edition of "Trojan Gameday" travels to Lincoln, Nebraska, where we seek to bring you the sights of Fandom from the 2007 USC Trojans' quest for the National Championship. Luckily, there was more than just going through the motions this week.
Of course, the Trojans brought the world-famous Song Girls to Lincoln, who we imagine were quite cold in the fifty-degree weather of late Summer in Middle America.
Do I need to say more? Normally we'd have a more creative headline but c'mon, no hook is needed here.
Weezer once sang "if you want to destroy my sweater, hold this thread as I walk away". Well, if you want to see the Song Girls without their sweaters, click this link and then walk away.
A UCLA fan at the website TrojanHatersClub website snapped these photos while on to USC campus. The university was holding its annual Swim With Mike fundraiser and bikini-clad Song Girls just so happen to be part of the festivities. It should also be noted that USC football coach Pete Carroll challenged and beat actor Will Ferrell (a USC alum) in a race at the pool (more pictures at THC's link).
The news sent shock waves around the Trojan Nation, which had believed that Nelson had been dating golden-boy linebacker Dallas Sartz, a former teammate of Kalil. We were so incredulous we tried contacting Dallas through Facebook but Sartz has not returned our request for confirmation or comment.
NFL scouts think they know him, but they're wrong ...
Ryan Kalil: senior center, USC
WHAT NFL SCOUTS ARE SAYING
Pro Football Weekly: The most athletic center in the draft, he maximizes his ability with tremendous savvy and football smarts. Great football character. Unselfish team player. Good work ethic. Has NFL bloodlines and a great understanding of the game. Tremendous football intelligence --- makes all the line calls and adjustments. Is a little undersized. Is not an overpowering in-line blocker.
Street and Smith's: Agile and able to work in space on the second level. Excellent technique and is like a coach on the field. Has a problem with massive defensive tackles, but has the frame to get bigger.
PROBABLY GETTING DRAFTED ...
Middle first to early second round. Kalil is the consensus top center, much like Ohio State's Nick Mangold last year. Mangold did well for the Jets, indirectly boosting Kalil's draft stock. The NFL rarely drafts centers in the first round, but Kalil's about as good as they come at the position and won't fall very far if he isn't a first rounder. GUY WHO WATCHED HIM FOR FOUR YEARS IS SAYING
The NFL guys pretty much have him pegged here. Kalil is the complete package. His father played in the NFL so he knows how things work. He's a three-year starter who led the inner attack on one of the best collegiate lines ever assembled in 2005. Easily beat out Jeff Byers - considered the best high school lineman in a generation and the Parade Magazine Player of the Year - as an inexperienced sophomore in 2004. Has an easygoing and affable personality with zero character concerns. Oozes leadership.
Will give his all and looks to be a great investment as a player who can make a 10-year career or more in the NFL. Very light on his feet, moves quickly as a pass blocker but can also get nasty and drive block or quickly disengage and push to the second level to spring longer running plays.
Bonus video below: Kalil hanging with the USC Song Girls at their "Boot Camp" Sorry, No Photos
Notable highlights include great performances on the ground by running-backs Herschel Dennis and Chauncey Washington and some huge hits from the defense. Desmond Reed, injured by the ankle-high grass in South Bend two years ago, is looking better than ever and is being used in more versatile positions than last year--running and catching from scrimmage again, unlike in 2006, when you knew that Reed was the #1 receiver every time he entered the game.
Forgettable was the play of quarterbacks John David Booty and Mark Sanchez, who chased the record for most turnovers in the Spring game. Booty no longer has Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett on the field, so he has decided to lock in on Fred Davis and Patrick Turner--the receivers he has had the most experience with in practice over the years. Some things will never change--even if they put the shotgun to good use.
More pictures and more Song Girls after the jump...
MTV had the strange idea of pairing three fiiiiine Song Girls with Three Six Mafia. On Spring Break. In Mexico.
Check out their adventures here (click on "Three 6 Mafia's Spring Break") to watch over two minutes of ... stuff.
I'm still digesting all of it, but it went something like this:
Yap yap yap. Strangeness. Yap yap yap. Sea lion. Strangeness. Bikinis. Wild baby pig. Song Girl outfits. Wheeeee. And this shocker that I thought I'd never hear women say about men: "they would not stop talking at all. Blab blab blab blab blab".
Bonus trivia: the Song Girl on the left is the sister of the famous confused Song Girl last seen cheering for Texas in the 2006 Rose Bowl national championship game. Anyway, enjoy this picture of the Song Girls. In Hawaii. In Bikinis - to wash this all down.
Three of USC's famed Song Girls -- hey, they're not cheerleaders -- will be featured in a 
