Seasonal Greetings

Mornings at the Yard have always been best. Our best efforts and thoughts occur early with the caffeine rather than late with the cabernet. In 1992, in an effort to lose the weight gained with the birth of the Yard lineage we joined the Pasadena Athletic Club. Five AM was the only time that was allowed under the domestic conditions at that time to chase such efforts. At the PAC, those AM hours were inhabited by a unique group of friends who have remained friends long after the PAC was demolished. UCLA was in the midst of a historic run of bitch slapping USC during the 1990’s. Humility was a guideline not a strict policy. The Yard was a neophyte and less humble in that role than required based on our zip code. My brethren at the club were part of the Trojan pride that inhabited the neighborhoods and mindshare in the community. It was a time when UCLA’s success overshadowed USC and our belligerence overshadowed both. We were welcomed and tolerated with teeth clenching disdain. During the Pete Carroll era, we were forced to change our philosophical tenets with one more consistent with our team’s declining results. UCLA’s victory of USC a few weeks back was timely for many related to these musing. UCLA saved USC from having to hire Ed Ogeron. Ogeron is a great asset to the University and beloved by the players. He finished a solid 6-2 record after Kiffin got canned. Those two losses were the bookends of an ND loss, six wins and then closing with a beat down by UCLA. If USC had somehow beaten UCLA, the calls to hire Ogeron would have been hard to ignore. The Bruins saved the Trojans from themselves even it meant exposing the decay that was hidden during the winning streak. You are welcome. UCLA’s victory was also extremely timely because the annual PAC dinner is this week in Pasadena. The Yard is the only Bruin most of the attendees know. Bruin fan is not indigent to the Pasadena area and sightings are rare in this historic city. It is nice to not just have won the game but to walk tall among the Trojan loyalists who have scant rebuttal. We cannot save Troy from mining the past to save the future but we can graciously remind them over dinner, drinks and banter. If USC had beaten the Bruins or even made it a game USC would have had a more difficult decision. With the Bruins beating down the Trojans Saturday night, USC could hire Steve Sarkisian the following Monday while underscoring but not highlighting the losses to ND and UCLA. Ogeron revealed his real intent when he was not hired for his coveted job. He was all about the team and the fun until it was not his team. Then it was no longer fun and f---u! It was surprising that USC raced to hire Steve Sarkisian as their next head coach. He seems like a nice person and he mentioned winning championship about a half a dozen times in his initial press conference. USC’s urgency to hire Sark was strange given no other school was really pursuing him for their opening. We were surprised USC did not ask for permission to speak to Jim Mora as they did the Bruin baseball coach. They actually may have asked for permission during halftime of the November massacre at the Coliseum but those reports are unconfirmed. Sark did take on a Husky team recovering from a 0-12 disaster season. He did not win a championship of any sort at UW or was ever in contention. He was an offensive coordinator during the Trojan heyday but working for Pete Carroll is not the same as trying to channel Pete. USC keeps trying to recapture that lighting first with Kiffin and now Sarkisian. That magic now coaches on Sundays. Saturdays on Exposition could be troubling for a while for the Cardinal and Gold. As the dominoes cascaded, UW circled back to see if Jim Mora was serious when he gamely mentioned that was his dream job many years back. Those erstwhile comments cost him his head coaching job in the NFL and they reverberated through the UCLA athletic department last week. Mora got a new contract, more money for his assistant coaches, and a $50 million football only facility. UW then hired Chris Peterson from Boise to replace Sark. Peterson had turned down about 35 different opportunities including USC and UCLA over the years. USC fan was outraged that the Trojans did not get Peterson this time and settled on Sarkisian. It was more of a settle than a hire for USC. See you all in Pasadena again soon! It will be the best of Holidays for another year.