USC alumni don't want to gather on campus Saturday mornings, touch the statue then get on a bus. They want to walk to the stadium. Skepticism abounds over the Times story that the Trojans are opening negotiations with the Rose Bowl. "This really smells like a negotiating ploy by USC to pressure the Coliseum into agreeing to its demands for improvements," writes Scott Wolf at the Daily News' Inside USC blog. LAT, DN blog, Sports by Brooks, AOL Fan House

Meanwhile, across town: UCLA students whack away at a Trojan-mobile in this YouTube video...