FERRELL AND CARROLL PRANK THE TROJANS

It's been my theory for a long time that teams that have fun together, win together. I've always loved hearing about the MLB Pranks and in college I wrote this feature on the USC O-Line, but no one knows more about having fun than players coach and notorious prankster Pete Carroll.

Pete Carroll with pal Will Ferrell at a charity swim-a-thon last year.

The USC head coach teamed up with his longtime pal Will Ferrell this year to prank the football team just before Saturday's game against Washington and just in time for Halloween. Oh, how I love my school!

From USC football.com:
By: Dan Woike

As the door flew open on a camera tower high above the ground just outside Howard Jones Field, all eyes turned to a man inside screaming and waving his arms.

As he hurled to the ground, players winced in horror. Fullback Stanley Havili ran toward the door, but before he could get there, he received good news.

"He caught him," a woman yelled.

With the man cradled in his arms, a masked superhero strolled into Howard Jones Field. Sure enough, "Captain Compete" turned out to be comedian Will Ferrell.

After speaking to the team for a couple of minutes, Captain Compete got another chance to save a life, when a man engulfed in flames emerged from behind the goalposts.

After the man was extinguished, Ferrell tried to help, launching a Gatorade cooler at the man - not on the man.

"What a sense of timing that guy has," USC coach Pete Carroll said.

The Halloween gag had most of the Trojans fooled.

"It felt awful," Havili said. "My stomach just dropped."

Freshman defensive tackle Armond Armstead saw the man fall and thought tragedy struck.

"Seriously," he said, "I thought we just watched a dude die."

The prank lightened the mood after the team finalized its week of practice

"It was just a little something in the Halloween spirits," Carroll said. "I just thought we'd have a little fun."

MY FIRST JETS GAME!: A "W" BUT NO SMILES FOR FAVRE

Today I went to my first NFL Game (not as a fan, that is) - New York Jets vs. Kansas City Chiefs.

Lets get a couple things out of the way before I attempt at any sort of analysis-

First of all, how come New Jersey hasn't sued the Jets - or Giants for that matter - for not changing their name to "The New Jersey Jets" or "The New York Jets of New Jersey"? I, of course, am not serious, but bring this up in reference to the millions of dollars Anaheim spent fighting to keep their city's name associated with the Angels, which ended in the team being named the tongue twisting and lengthy "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim." I mean, I do feel bad for Anaheim. The Angels are in Anaheim after all, not Los Angeles. And as I discovered today, the Jets play in New Jersey, not New York.

Now on to the game -
The Jets win over the Chiefs should have been a blowout. New York barely escaped a loss in Sunday’s 28-24 mistake-ridden game at the Meadowlands.

There’s no doubt that last week’s controversy over whether Brett Favre gave the Lions information about the Packers (he flatly denies this, in case you've been in another country) was still a distraction for the vet. Favre threw three interceptions and two touchdowns in the game and continued to play despite being shaken up by a late first quarter hit. He has now thrown seven interceptions in his last three games.



It wasn’t that the Chiefs were spectacular. In fact, they were mediocre at best. The Jets however, made mistake after mistake and were unable to execute against a middling Kansas City team. Jay Feely missed a 36-yard field goal in the first quarter, which would have brought the score to 10-0 and set the pace for the game, but instead Kansas City answered with a touchdown, tying the game 7-7. The Jets Leon Washington scored on a sweet 60-yard run, which the Chiefs answered with a touchdown pass to Mark Bradley with just four seconds left, bringing the score to 14-14 at the half.

Favre reemerged in the second half calmer and more efficient, but was still nearly out played by the Chiefs’ QB Tyler Thigpen. Tyler who? Exactly...

For all the hype about Jets fans being crazy, the stadium seemed lifeless, even with the Jets down only 17-14 in the third after a KC field goal. After some back and forth action and a close call at the end when the Jets ball was intercepted for the third time and the Chiefs scored on a 91-yard run, bringing the score to 24-21 with just a few minutes left, what was left of the crowd looked doubtful. (1/4 of the crowd disappeared from their seats by the 4th quarter- the team was only down three points- have they no faith?)

At times, it appeared both teams were playing Red Rover out there instead of systematic series of plays (like my analysis?). With just a minute left and down three points, the Jets came through with a last second touchdown, finishing the game 28-24 as the clichéd We Will Rock You sounded in the dome (can Giants Stadium be considered a dome? It is dome-shaped ... hmm).

Overall the Jets were inconsistent, mixing penalties and interceptions with the occasional Sports Center-worthy play. Favre left the locker room after the game with a slight limp, his head down and his sweatshirt thrown over his shoulder, not looking like a QB coming off a win. If the Jets would have lost the game to the Chiefs, there is no doubt that any hope for the season would have been deflated. And while it's not the win that they wanted - there was certainly not much celebrating in the locker room after the game - it's still a "W" and there is hope to rebound. However, the Jets are 1 for 3 on the road and will have to step things up next week when they head to Buffalo to take on the Bills.


Other notes: Joe Namath was wandering around the press box before the game. He was here with former teammates to bask in the glory and celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1968 Jets team for a special halftime celebration. Whoo hoo. That's all I have for you.

RAIN DELAYS AND THE DECISION: USC OR WORLD SERIES?

Of course. Game 3 of the World Series just has to start at the same time at the USC v Arizona game. Damn you rain delays! Now I have to chose which channel to watch more- my beloved Trojans or the World Series. I'll have to be constantly hitting the "Last" button on my remote, but what if I miss an awesome play? So lame. I guess I could TiVo both games just in case, but do I really need to do that?

I'm should just be thankful the USC game is on TV in the East Coast. There's been a few games that haven't played on TV unless I paid for them. That is ridiculous. It should be a rule that every top 15 team in the BCS has to be shown nationwide. I shouldn't have to resort to refreshing ESPN.com or listening to the game on my computer. I'm not talking about Fresno State here. This is USC! A power house!

Oh, and P.S., how amazing is Cole Hamels? He has a sick change up. He's obviously not pitching tonight, but I'll use any excuse to post a picture of him.

In case you are wondering, I'm rooting for the Phillies, only for the sake of the Dodgers so they won't feel as bad for losing the NLCS. It's hard to root for Tampa Bay and their bandwagon fans. I mean, I lived in Los Angeles, some of the biggest bandwagon fans of them all. They love you when you're hot and ditch you when you're not. It's not a bad thing neccesarily. People should be rewarded for winning. But Tampa Bay makes Los Angeles look like Red Sox fans. It's sad.

And lastly, go Trojans! Slowly moving up the rankings one week at a time even though they continue to play unranked teams ... and for people to say history and name recognition doesn't matter- ha! It's like a frat. There's just certain privileges you get for being around for a few years longer than the pledges. You can't just decide to be good one year and think you deserve top ranking! Show some consistency over a few years and then the voters will consider you. Deal with it.

TROJANS OWN THE DRAFT

A school-record seven USC football players were selected in the first two rounds of the 2008 NFL draft on Saturday. Just when I think I can't possibly love my school any more (I went there during the National Championship Leinart dynasty, Will Ferrell is an alum, I had the best education I could have asked for from the most incredible teachers and esteemed individuals in the industry, blah, blah and blah), something else happens that reminds me why the Trojans are so incredible.

Four of the Trojans were selected in the first round, including offensive tackle Sam Baker, who was the 21st pick of the opening round by the Atlanta Falcons. Sam and I have known each other since middle school. He is perhaps one of the nicest guys I've ever met and I can't think of anyone more deserving of such success.

I called him today to congratulate him and would you like to know where he was? Back in our hometown of Tustin (T-town as I like to call it), staying at his mom's house, having a low-key and relaxing week. We chatted about going back to visit our high school and how sad it is that all of our favorite teachers are gone.

Back in high school when I was class president (don't hate, I just wanted to plan prom), I was on ASB with his older brother, Ben Baker and I would go with Sam and Ben to Arena football games, because their dad is the AFL commissioner. This is before anyone knew what Arena football was, but we would get totally dressed up and cheer like crazy at the games with the Bakers. All of this nostalgia has inspired me to dig up this photo from sophomore year of high school at an Arena football game. This pic made the Avengers website for some time. Let's not get started on my decision to wear a yellow scrunchy. Congrats Sam and the other Trojans. You deserve it! For real news on the draft click here.