--Congratulations to the USC Women's Soccer team on winning the NCAA National Championships! First, the Women of Troy knocked off UCLA in the Final Four, and then they defeated Florida State today 2-0 in the national title game at College Station, TX. Led by goalkeeper Kristen Olsen, USC managed five shutouts in their six tournament games. Marihelen Tomer and Janessa Currier both scored today, but the contributions of Amy Rodriguez are not to be overlooked. A-Rod, as she's called, was a star all season.
USC clearly made the right call this past offseason when they hired Ali Khosroshahin from Cal State Fullerton. Khosroshahin became the first coach in NCAA women's soccer history to win a title in his first season with a team.
--It's also a good time to be a fan of USC women's volleyball. The Women of Troy will travel to Sacramento for the Final Four and take on No. 1 seeded Stanford. Cal and Penn State will play in the other national semi-final. Stanford advanced by beating UCLA.
--Good win for the Lakers today, as they defeated the Warriors 123-103. The Lakers have been playing really inconsistent basketball of late, and Phil Jackson has already said they won't win 50 games (how many other coaches could get away with saying that?). But they have some time off now to get healthy, and at least they're above Golden State in the standings right now.
--The LA Times' Kurt Streeter discusses Karl Dorrell's firing from UCLA again, and advises the Bruins to consider two minority candidates in Norm Chow and DeWayne Walker. It's absolutely shocking to me that Norm Chow hasn't gotten a college head coaching job yet. Right now, he's the Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator, but he has one of the brightest offensive minds in the game. He may be 61 years old, and he may not be the flashiest guy in the world, but UCLA would be very lucky to have him. Some coaches are quieter like Tony Dungy, and some are more boisterous. But everyone knows that Norm Chow can coach.
Walker would also be an excellent hire, if UCLA chose to go in that direction. He's paid his dues as an assistant, and is one of the best defensive coaches out there. He would also help the Bruins preserve their excellent recruiting class.
According to Tom Dienhart of the Sporting News, UCLA will talk with Chow on Monday, Mike Leach of Texas Tech on Tuesday, and Steve Mariucci on Wednesday. If the Bruins go with Leach, expect them to score a ton of points... and expect them to give up a lot of points too. I'm not quite sure what to expect from Mariucci since he hasn't coached college football in more than a decade. He went 6-6 in his only season in college at Cal, but had success with the San Francisco 49ers. His stint with the Detroit Lions didn't get go well, but it's hard to blame him for that.
--Unless there is major news next week, my next post will probably not come for another 10 days. I've got a few things on my plate in the coming days. Happy Holidays!
