Saving the Trojan Empire Is All On Lane

The Trojan Empire is in trouble. The NCAA took about the same time we had in between World Cups to make their decision (4 years) and the hammer they dropped on the USC Trojan football program was like taking a penalty kick right in the face.

USC was hit with a two-year bowl ban, the loss of more than 20 scholarships and perhaps forfeiture of wins from the 2004 season, when the team won the BCS National Championship. (Ok, Maalox moment for me begins now)

So where does this leave the once 'Tiffany program' of college football? That will all depend on the man who claims to have a plan, that left Tennessee in a van for the West Coast to get a tan. (Sorry for that. Clearly I'm not thinking straight, as a proud Trojan Alum). Lane Kiffin has shown he can be as good a recruiter as any coach in America. Prior to today's news from the NCAA, he has been. However, coach Kiffin is now faced with the daunting task of convincing 17 and 18 year old kids that the USC football brand will remain as strong as ever.

Coach Kiffin has been called slimy, unfaithful and nothing more than a used car salesman. 'Slimy and unfaithful'...that's a Tennessee fan's issue. 'Used car salesman', that might be just the elixir the USC football program needs right about now. Think about it. Coach Kiffin has to walk into high school kid's living rooms for the next few years and convince them that this dented and beatup car (the USC program) is still a great buy and will get you from point A (college) to point B (the NFL).

Coach Kiffin will also have to be the ultimate motivator to the current roster of student athletes. This penalty delivered by the NCAA could be used as a rallying-cry. The 2010 USC Trojans, who are guilty of doing absolutely nothing wrong, should have plenty of motivation to run the table with an undefeated season and sit atop the polls smiling at the BCS, the AP voters and Pete Carroll, who clearly believes the program is sinking fast. Coach Kiffin can continue to recruit kids that believe in the USC brand and make a statement to all the haters that are reveling in these sanctions that we will not fall from grace. We will not become irrelevant for a decade. In other words - we will not become UCLA.

As incoming prize recruit Markeith Ambles stated on Twitter (@MA_DaNextillWR) late last night: "Yes I'm still going to attend 'SC. I don't care about two little bowl games even if that happens...Let's Go Trojans. We still goin 12-0" With kids like this, the Trojan Empire will survive this bump in the road.

One is Nice, Two is Legendary

The NBA Finals begin Thursday night with a familiar matchup: Lakers vs. Celtics. Just two seasons ago these two teams battled each other, with the Celtics winning the championship. It was the first title for Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Rajon Rondo.

If the Celtics never got back to the NBA Finals with this group of veterans, Boston fans would still have been grateful. The 'Big Three', as they were called in 2008 before Rondo became the team's MVP, all solidified their place in Springfield, MA as future Hall of Famers. That's nice.

However, this same group of guys now have the chance to do something really special. This group has a chance to win a second title and become legendary. I know, this IS the Boston Celtics franchise, where winning two titles as a group actually can be sneezed at. Yet there is something about winning that second title that validates you as a group and certainly merits top billing on the career resume'.

Having lived in Atlanta for the past 15 years, I can't tell you how often I've heard Braves fan say they wish Manager Bobby Cox had won a second title to 'book end' a storied career. The Braves won 14 pennants in 15 years, but only have one World Series title to show for it. For all the success their 'Big Three' had (Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz), they all walked away from the game with only one championship on their resume. There is something that just feels incomplete about that.

The Green Bay Packers had Brett Favre under center for 16 seasons. He won three MVP trophies, went to nine Pro Bowls, but left/retired/was forced out with only one Super Bowl title. Favre led the Packers to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances, but lost the 1997 Super Bowl to John Elway and the Denver Broncos (yes, they won two). Had Favre won that 2nd title you wonder if he would still be putting us through all the drama of retiring/unretiring. Clearly his sole purpose in life right now is chasing that 2nd title.

So as the NBA Finals tip off Thursday night, the chase for title number two begins for this group of Boston Celtics. They draw the same opponent they defeated en route to their first title. This is there chance to prove that one was no fluke. This is their chance to turn nice into legendary...