THE MAMBA STRIKES IN OREGON

At the end of the highly anticipated National Signing Day, there was one top notch recruit that not be claimed. Highly sought after & explosive player RB DeAnthony Thomas made a life changing decision on Wednesday, regarding his future & football career.

The Crenshaw High School phenom known as "The Mamba" has been watched by many for the past few years, with his dynamic play carrying the Crenshaw High Cougars to a state championship a season ago and helping Crenshaw return to a city championship this past season. Anthony made a verbally commitment to USC, but in a strange turn of events, decided to take Oregon up on an offer to visit their campus to speak with head coach Chip Kelly & staff this past weekend.

Thomas has decided to become an Oregon Duck, as he made his announcement at his High School in front of family, friends, coaches & teammates. He broke down crying stating that he has so many friends going over to USC, it was a hard decision, but ultimately he had to do what was best for him.

This was definitely a huge blow to the USC recruiting class, despite their great day signing many A-1 recruits.

Under the new PAC-12 scheduling, USC wont play Oregon every year, so the huge question remains, has Oregon become the powerhouse that USC once was?
Time will reveal the answer, for DeAnthony Thomas the journey for The Mamba has just begun. This is going to be one exciting season for PAC-12 football, Oregon, and the Ducks fans.

2011 NBA All-Star Jam Session Video: Nick

San Diego State Sinks Navy After Flood in Poinsettia Bowl

SAN DIEGO, CA - After the southern California monsoons passed, the San Diego State Aztecs looked to reign down over the Navy Midshipmen Thursday night at Qualcomm Stadium in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl.  Navy was led by top notch quarterback Ricky Dobbs, who has had a spectacular season. He has scored 48 career rushing touchdowns along with 12 passing touchdowns. On the other side of the ball, San Diego State was led by their balanced attack featuring freshman Ronnie Hillman, who rushed for 1,000 yards this season, and the dynamic wide receiving duo of Vincent Brown and DeMarco Sampson, who each have over 1,100 yards receiving. The game had all the ingredients which made for a classic matchup.

It was amazing that the game was able to be played at all after the stadium was flooded a day before by the torrential rains which had plaged the California coast line for days.

SDSU was looking to win their first bowl game since 1969. The Aztecs came out firing, behind tailback Hillman, who scored on an explosive 22-yard touchdown run to take a 7-0 lead. Navy failed to score on their early game drives, Aztec quarterback Ryan Lindsey threw to wide open receiver Vincent Brown to make it a 14-0 for SDSU.

In the second quarter, Navy shook the rust off its offense behind the electrifying Dobbs, who got the Midshipmen going by setting up a touchdown toss to wide receiver Greg Jones on a spectacular play, cutting the lead to 14-7. Dobbs also set a new Navy passing record, throwing for his 49th career touchdown. The Aztecs weren't done yet, in a game which proved to be a Hillman affair. Hillman rushed for a 37 yard touchdown, to make it 21-7 in favor of the hometown team.

It seemed as if the Midshipmen offense saw the light, as Dobbs started off rushing for a total of four plays and 19 yards before passing it to his favorite target Greg Jones for a 40 yard strike. The Midshipmen scored on a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Dobbs to make it 21-14 SDSU at the half.

Both teams played great defense in the third quarter, however the Aztec offense would not be denied in the fourth, using their other secret weapon, wideout DeMarco Sampson, who caught two big passes totaling 45 yards to help keep an Aztec drive alive. Ronnie Hillman capped it off with a 1-yard touchdown to make it 28-14.

San Diego State added another touchdown to insure the victory, making it 35-14. It proved to be the Ronnie Hillman show, as he rushed for 228 yards, 3 TD's and set a new Poinsettia Bowl rushing yardage record previously held by Navy's Adam Ballard back in 2005.

The Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year and Poinsettia Bowl game MVP Ronnie Hillman said "My mindset was basically to do whatever the coach wanted me to do, and whatever the offensive line allowed me to do. They are a great bunch of guys, I cant speak on them enough."

On the other side of the ball Navy QB Ricky Dobbs spoke about the loss.

"We missed out on key opportunities, that cost us. Missing reads, but hats off to those guys [Aztecs] over there, they played really well tonight, they deserve all the credit."

Aztec wide receiver Vincent Brown also set a Poinsettia Bowl record with eight catches for 165 yards. SDSUfinished out on a high note, building great momentum going into next season.

USC FIGHTS FOR APPEAL, PAC12 CONFERENCE HAS ARRIVED?

USC gets set for their appeal hearings tomorrow in Indianapolis. Looking to get their scholarships returned, also the relevance, or lack thereof, of USC's compliance efforts & the Cam Newton/Auburn and Ohio State cases. They have a great chance of winning the appeal, however time will tell.

The NCAA can't afford for USC to be out of the big money picture any longer, lets be honest. Oregon was nice and a breathe of fresh air for the PAC10 (soon to be PAC12), and helped to bring light and attention to other schools like Arizona, Stanford, and up & coming Washington. Oregon became a rock band of sorts, everyone wondering what uniforms they were going to wear for the week, it was amazing. Lets not forget, under the Pete Carroll era, USC were like the Beatles (sorry Lebron), it was a craze that was sweeping America, whether you loved them or hated them, they were winning, they were exciting & getting better every year. Oregon and many other school used that blueprint and tailored it to fit their programs.

I see they're {USC's} prominent return in about a year or so, of course with them winning the appeal. Its to much television revenue, along with mass media press not focusing on the Trojans & the Pac12 as a result of these sanctions. Always look at the economics of the situation, if you don't believe me, study the NCAA and how they "handled" the Cam Newton case, by allowing him to play in the National Championship game. It was too much at hand for Newton not to play, once again it goes back to the economics.

The sanctions for USC as harsh as they are, may have been a blessing in disguise, and how its given light to other schools & a conference that was sorely overlooked. Yes the SEC is the top conference, but make no mistake about it, the PAC12 is the second best conference, with powerhouses like Oregon, USC, and inclining teams such as Stanford, Arizona, and possibly Washington & Utah, the PAC12 is making bold moves to sway the public on their side with great marketing & fantastic play. PAC12 Commissioner Larry Scott has done an outstanding job turning this conference around in the right direction & making it relevant.

Don't be surprised in a few years down the road, that schools such as Texas (even though they received a huge ESPN deal), Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas A&M joining the PAC12 Conference. Call me crazy now, but in the words of the artist Drake, you can thank me later.

Stay tuned as the USC story develops, they'll be some interesting turns, and look for a timely decision in this case.

BLAKE GRIFFIN: THE MONSTER, THE ROOKIE, GREATEST POWER FORWARD??

I love watching the NBA, it truly is exciting. As dynamic as Clippers forward Blake Griffin is (and he is), this guy is an absolute beast. Proving that once again on Monday against the Indiana Pacers as he dropped 47 points, the most for a rookie since Shaquille O'Neal back in 1993. I hear so many say how he's the best power forward, or how they haven't seen anybody this good since Karl Malone, hello Tim Duncan was pretty good. This isn't an argument for Duncan, as it is that I'm not ready to give Griffin that title as of yet.
Lets face it folks, Griffin has played half a season so far, I'm looking for consistency & longevity. Lets see what griffin does in 2 years, 3 years from now. He could be better, he could be stagnant, or dare I say it, could be worse?
I think we as society or media are so quick to crown the next big thing, that we don't give it time to see if it can even develop into that next big thing. Griffin has alot of years ahead of him, so time will tell. Forwards like Tim Duncan, & Karl Malone have bodies of work to back up their crowns as best power forwards. Griffin does have the tools necessary to achieve a big goal such as that, until then lets just watch, observe & enjoy the excitement that is Blake Griffin or as he is commonly known as "The Blake Show".
Make no mistake about it once Griffin's contract is up, he'll be free to contend for titles with a team that has a purpose for winning. And winning titles is another great way to solidify your legacy as the best power forward in the game, ask Tim Duncan. Let's allow Griffin to continue to grow & find his way. I will say this, stay out of this monster's way, he will hit you head on. Looks to be an exciting season, specifically for Blake Griffin, and yes I'm calling it 2010-2011 Rookie of The Year.

NICK HAMILTON SPORTS BEAT 12.23.10 (INTERVIEW W/ WR VINCENT BROWN-SDSU)

CARSON v. TAFT GAME (CARSON COACH INTERVIEW 12.3.10)

ITS CARSON OR NOTHING!

Under the bright Friday night lights and the fog and cold of the South Bay, the Colts were one win away from reaching the city championship, standing in their way the mighty Taft High who also come off a big win over the Dorsey Dons last week.It was a very tight game in the first half although Carson was focused, played a pretty game going into halftime leading Taft 14-7.

In the second half Carson turned up the heat on defense, after Taft first botched punt, Tyrell Galloway scooped up the ball and returned it for a 13 yard score to put the Colts up 20-7. When Carson's passing attack wasn't clicking, they made the necessary adjustments and went with the running game which paid off in a big way. Carson tailback Dion Willis attacked the Taft front seven majority of the third quarter, punching it in for a 26-7 score. Taft finally woke up behind next season Arizona State committed quarterback Michael Bercovici who completed four straight passes which set up a nice 11 yard pass to wide reciever Kenny Thompson that made it a 32-21 game. Taft just couldn't convert on opportunities to score throughout the course of the second half. Partially to due to fact that top wide reciever Michael Thomas did not play due to injury. Carson smelled the city championship vapors as Carson QB Justin Alo used the big weapon that worked for them majority of the night, riding the back of Dion Willis as he rushed for a 19 yard Touchdown run, making it 40-21. The running game of Dion Willis and Myles Johnson, took its toll on the Taft defense, which never really had a chance against the dynamic duo. The Carson offense rush for a whopping 207 yards in the second half alone.

As the time begin to tick off the clock, the Carson players raised their helmets, drinched Coach Asante in the celebatory gatorade victory bath. They began to cut across the field, Carson made it to fight on another day, as they continue their quest to win it all in the city & state championship.

Next up for the Carson Colts a matinee affair at the city championship game at the Coliseum on Saturday vs. Crenshaw, who destroyed Venice that same night 63-16.

I spoke with the proud first year coach Elijah Asante and asked him what does Carson have in store to try to combat the high powered Crenshaw Cougars, "I admire that [Crenshaw] program, I have tremendous respect for Coach Garrett, they are like the clash of the Titans, we're going to have to find a way to stop them." He went on to say "we have speed too, we have to match speed for speed, match strength for strength, its going to be a battle. This is Carson, we live off our tradition, our goal is to win a championship".

Carson will certainly have their hands full, congratulations to the Carson Colts, and good luck next week.