The Los Angeles Lakers' 2009 Championship Ring

Los Angeles Lakers scout Bonnie-Jill Laflin was a guest host on Yurkdog Radio on AM 830 KLAA and allowed me to try on her championship ring.

Pete Carroll: Goodbye Southern California, Hello Seattle

[Originally published on BleacherReport.com]

If Pete Carroll plans to return to the NFL via the Seattle Seahawks’ coaching vacancy, it will not be because Pete wants to prove he is better than the 33-31 record he accumulated during his first time in the league.

Or because the Seahawks will grant him full-fledge power over player personnel, on-field decisions and the like.

Or even because his contract with the Seahawks will be much more lucrative than his current salary at USC.

Instead, Pete Carroll will leave the paradise that is Southern California and Trojan football because, quite frankly, the university’s football program is more problematic than paradisiacal.

USC is no longer a shoe-in to win the Pac-10, play for a BCS bowl game and finish in the AP Poll’s top five, like it did for seven straight seasons before the Trojans’ most recent campaign.

From top to bottom, the Pac-10 has become exponentially more competitive over the last handful of years. After all, USC’s last nine regular-season losses have all come at the hands of conference foes.

Outside of the Pac-10, there is a multitude of up-and-coming programs—both from BCS and non-BCS conferences—which has created even more of a struggle to qualify for a BCS bowl game, especially in the wake of non-BCS teams being eligible for BCS postseason play (see: Boise State and TCU). A few years ago a BCS conference school was deemed superior to that of a non-BCS conference even if the latter had a better record at season’s end. Today, it is essentially a leveled playing field whether or not you belong to a BCS conference.

And then there is the Trojan team itself, which has more question marks than a text message from a valley girl—“Hey, like, what’s, like, up?????????????????”

How will USC handle next season’s reality that it will not be favored to win the Pac-10, or even end the season in the conference’s top three after last year’s fifth-place finish? Will the offense be able to bounce back after a season in which it lacked creativity and explosiveness? Will quarterback Matt Barkley be as effective now that two of the Trojans’ best offensive playmakers—running back Joe McKnight and wide receiver Damian Williams—are off to the NFL? And how will USC deal with the loss of preseason All-American safety Taylor Mays, who was the heart and soul of its defense?

Carroll is no stranger to these questions. He is well aware that USC’s supremacy out West is slowly but surely on the decline, and he also knows cross-town rival UCLA is inching closer to serious contention in the Los Angeles college football arena.

The real question is: Will Pete Carroll be as successful during his second stint in the NFL as he was throughout his nine-year tenure at USC?

Because we all know he is headed back there.

Josh Hoffman is a college junior working to become a sports journalist. You can contact him at jhoffmedia@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter here.

Baron Davis: Captain of the Clipper

[Originally published on BleacherReport.com]

Sometimes a team hands its adversary the game on a silver platter, all but begging its foe to take it. Other times the opponent just snatches the W from mid-air, like an experienced rattlesnake feasting on its naïve prey.

Wednesday night’s Los Angeles showdown between the Lakers and Clippers was of the latter variety, with the Clippers being the beneficiary at the building both teams call home.

In doing so, the Other Team In LA snapped a nine-game skid to its cross-town nemesis, thanks in large part to an exceptional performance by Baron Davis, who poured in 25 points and 10 dimes, his ninth double-dip of the season.

Davis was assertive early and often, picking apart Derek Fisher like his life depended on it. He played under control and took what the defense gave him; he made plays both for himself and his teammates; and best of all, he performed like the superstar for which Clippers fans have desperately longed.

If nothing else, this game was about the dominance of Davis, and not his apparent deterioration, which typically has been the case throughout his tenure in LA.

That, or he received the memo that 2 points on 1-10 shooting—his totals in the season-opener against the Lakers—is not going to cut it, whether the defending champs or a D-League squad is in the house.

The doubt with Davis has never been based on his ability—at least skill-wise. Instead, the predominant problem resides with his mentality, a mentality that has generally lacked a willingness to win at all costs, to assume the leadership role time and again, and to be the guy rather than just a guy.

He has shown glimpses of being great (see: his game-winning buzzer beater against the Celtics less than two weeks ago), but as of now the only thing consistently great about Baron is his beard.

This week it was announced that No. 1 overall pick Blake Griffin is nearing his NBA debut, which could very well create a two-headed basketball monster in LA.

But as long as Baron Davis dons blue and red, the Clippers will rise and fall at his expense.

Josh Hoffman is a college junior working to become a sports journalist. You can contact him at jhoffmedia@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter here.