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Notes and observations as USC and Texas prepare for a game that can’t possibly match their 2006 encounter ... LOS ANGELES >> You might be surprised to hear which USC coach was in tears in the locker room immediately after the Trojans lost to Texas, 41-38, in the BCS title game. Was it Pete Carroll? Steve Sarkisian? Ed Orgeron? No, someone who has a less-emotional image: Lane Kiffin. Perhaps ...

(Games at 7 p.m. Friday unless noted.) Poly (2-0) vs. Mission Viejo (3-0) at Veterans Memorial Stadium Two undefeated, nationally ranked teams will take the field in Long Beach tonight as the No. 10 Jackrabbits host the No. 25 Diablos (per MaxPreps’ rankings). Mission Viejo beat Poly 42-14 last year and is ranked ahead of the Jackrabbits in the CIF Southe Section’s Division 1 poll this week. “It...

LAGUNA HILLS >> Mayfair kept it close for as long as it could against Santa Margarita on Thursday night at Laguna Hills High. Eventually, the Eagles took over in the trenches and ran away for a 49-3 nonleague victory. Santa Margarita (4-0) rushed for 328 yards and six touchdowns as a team. The Eagles are ranked No. 9 in CIF Southe Section Division 1, and No. 13 in Califoia according to M...

VIDEO: Is something wrong with St. John Bosco football offense? We discuss why the St. John Bosco football offense isn’t putting up the big numbers that helped the Braves win the CIF-SS and CIF State titles last season. Advertisement Click here to subscribe to Digital & Home Delivery - 50% off About the Author JJ Fiddler is a sportswriter and videographer who has been coveri...

Long Beach native and longtime sports executive Jack Teele passed away Wednesday night at the age of 87. Teele was a sportswriter at the Independent Press-Telegram for 10 years and then spent 33 years in the front offices around the National Football League, including 21 years with the Los Angeles Rams, where he rose to the rank of vice president of administration. Teele was a long-familiar face i...

THOUSAND OAKS >> No dramatic moment, no speech, no loud applause. The Rams simply conducted their defensive meetings Monday with Aaron Donald in attendance, and that normalcy had to feel superb. Donald, the Rams’ star lineman who ended his six-week contract holdout Saturday, got back to work at team headquarters. The plan, according to Coach Sean McVay, is for Donald to be on the field when ...

LOS ANGELES >> His play-calling was measured, effective and, at times, even inspired. At the end, it was something else completely, something shocking after witnessing the Rams mostly depress all of last season. Sean McVay’s play-calling, to cap his head-coaching debut Sunday, was celebratory. He ordered his team to assemble in victory formation and his backup quarterback to take a clock-emp...

LOS ANGELES >> Just before Rams quarterback Jared Goff disappeared into the Coliseum tunnel late Sunday afteoon to celebrate his first win as an NFL quarterback, he paused, peeked over to a hundred or so fans shouting his name from the stands and raised his right arm to the sky. The roar that immediately erupted was unlike anything we’ve heard from the Coliseum for an NFL team in what seem...

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles’ celebration of landing the 2028 Olympic Games next week will include Inteational Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach. Bach will light the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum’s Olympic cauldron during the Rams-Washington game Sept. 17, the Southe Califoia News Group has leaed. Bach’s two-day visit to Southe Califoia will come four days after the IOC in Lima, Per...

TORRANCE >> In a showdown of nationally-ranked programs, St. John Bosco wore down Chaminade in the second half for a 31-17 victory over the Eagles. “They’re a good football team, that was a quarterfinalist last year,” said Bosco coach Jason Negro. “I didn’t think we’d play so poorly offensively; we should’ve been up by more at halftime.” The first half was all about the defenses, though, as ...

LONG BEACH >> Deshaun Harvey was the spark St. Anthony needed on Friday against Wilson, with the quarterback picking up a crucial third down in the fourth quarter before throwing the winning touchdown in a 14-6 victory at Clark Field. The Saints (2-0) have won 13 consecutive games at home, and this is their first victory over the Bruins (1-2) in more than 25 years. The local rivalry wasn’t p...

LOS ANGELES >> Scott Quessenberry’s phone blew up with congratulatory messages after UCLA pulled off the second-biggest comeback in NCAA history on Sunday night. It took the better part of two days for the UCLA center to respond to every text and tweet. He didn’t finish until Tuesday. When he finally did, it was just in time for practice. The Bruins (1-0) are trying to move past the euphoria...

By Ryan Kartje [email protected] @Ryan_Kartje on Twitter THOUSAND OAKS >> Wade Phillips has been in this position before. Four of the past six times he has switched teams, to be exact. And so, when you ask about his conce transitioning from last year’s 4-3 defense to his vaunted 3-4, a topic that seems to whip fans of his new defenses into a state of nervous hysteria, Phillips calmly brushe...

GREEN BAY, Wisc. >> Sean McVay’s focus on Sept. 10 almost has been almost obsessive. The Rams’ coach has seemed like an eager child counting down to the days to his birthday. It’s almost here. Much to McVay’s excitement, the preseason ended Thursday night with a 24-10 loss to Green Bay at Lambeau Field, a game filled with backup players, many of whom were fighting for roster spots. McVay’s w...

Rancho Dominguez Prep looked ready to redeem itself from a loss to Legacy early last season in its season opener on Thursday. But that was not the case as the Lobos fell to the Tigers 35-28. The Lobos (0-1) took an early 7-0 lead when senior Tumac Summerville intercepted a pass by Legacy’s quarterback and took it all the way back for a 41-yard touchdown with 8:24 remaining in the first quarter. Bu...

Dog Haus, a Pasadena-based restaurant chain known for its gourmet hot dogs and sausages, is about to unveil a new eatery in the Rose Bowl. Dog Haus and the stadium’s management announced a multiyear partnership Wednesday, making Dog Haus the first restaurant to have a permanent location at the iconic venue. The new location by Tunnel 6 on the stadium’s east side will be up and running Sunday, just...

THOUSAND OAKS >> Last November, as the Rams season descended into a downward spiral, Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson found himself locked in a feud with the Rams head coach and its front office. How quickly things change. On Tuesday – the same day he was signed to a symbolic one-day contract, allowing him to officially retire as a Los Angeles Ram – Dickerson was given an official ti...

The heat wave this week in Southe Califoia has forced area high schools to adjust practice and game times for their sports team, and to adhere to guidelines that are in place to protect the safety of the athletes. The San Feando Valley and Inland regions have felt the most disruption, as temperatures in those areas have soared well above 100 degrees since Monday. In the L.A. City Section, so...

Ranked No. 4 in the CIF Southe Section’s Division 4 poll, the Downey High football team expected a better start to the season than what it got against Santa Margarita. The Vikings were totally overmatched against a Trinity League opponent in a 56-0 loss last Friday night. Particularly uncharacteristic for the Vikings was an offensive line that struggled to slow down the Eagles’ pass rushers. “Th...

Ranking the top 10 sports events Aug. 28 to Sept. 3 you won’t want to miss: NO. 1: COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON OPENERS USC vs. WESTERN MICHIGAN Details/TV: At the Coliseum, Saturday at 2:15 p.m., Pac-12 Network UCLA vs. TEXAS A&M Details/TV: At the Rose Bowl, Sunday at 4:30 p.m., Channel 11 Admire Sam Daold while he’s still in got some Coliseum eligibility and a Heisman campaign. Also keep in mi...