Going West

Battle for Los Angeles

Sat, 01 Dec 2007 06:15:20 +0000

There's a sign sitting outside the Los Angeles Coliseum that quite frankly tells UCLA fans to go back to Westwood. And in case the strongly worded sign didn't give them a hint, there's a UCLA fan propped up against a tree, holding a piece of construction paper labeled "resume" and a sign labeled "will work for food." And if the point is still lost in translation, just a few tailgates away there is a bruin pinata, carefully constructed with a knife through its head.

This side of Los Angeles is clearly Trojan territory.

The Conquest

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:23:09 +0000

On a college campus in south central Los Angeles, a crowd of a several thousand was slowly gathering. The quad in the middle of campus had been cleared, a stage set up at one end, a bonfire at the other. Large, four-foot tall, bright orange and yellow letters were propped up against trees and cast an eerie glow over the students sitting around them. By 8 p.m. the crowd had grown considerably in size, and everyone was waiting for something to happen.

All of a sudden, faint chants of "beat the bruins" started working their way toward the students and alumni gathered, and soon, in the dark, between two buildings, the Trojan marching band started filtering onto the field. They marched in to clears and applause and soon the whole crowd was chanting along with them.

It was time for the Conquest.

Spirit of Troy

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 18:17:14 +0000

The sun was quickly setting over the Southern Cal campus and cast long shadows from the light standards that lit up the track and field stadium. Down on the field, the 100 or so members of the USC marching band--the best band in the history of the universe--and boy, did they look tired.

Hitting hard 17

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 18:23:01 +0000

No one likes an Englishman who hits on fifteen when the dealer shows three. Unfortunately, we all have to deal with our little problems in life. The Englishman was mine. It got to the point where I was cheering for him whenever he hit 19 or 20... because he wouldn't take the dealer's bust cards anymore. Funny thing about it was, it was all working fairly well for both of us.

Best of the Road

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 06:13:29 +0000

Only six days, 10 hours, 37 minutes and some seconds are left of this trip--not that we are counting--and about five days, 16 hours, some minutes left until USC and UCLA kick off to start our last regular season game. Sigh. We've had some long drives on the road, some time to reflect, some time to debate and a lot of time to listen to Journey.

USC and UCLA should be a great note to end the season on--but we've already compiled our list of season bests. Feel free to share your thoughts with us.

The Game, In Real Time

Sat, 24 Nov 2007 20:28:20 +0000

As the Holy War gets under way, I thought I'd try to report on what's going on in real time. Now, I can't figure out how to make this thing update in real time and scroll across the front page of CSTV.com. But this has to be the next best thing. Here we go.

The Holy War

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:50:52 +0000

Rivalry games are big this weekend, and we are going to one of the most hotly contested games in the west, the Holy War between Brigham Young University and the University of Utah. A lot of hype surrounds this game--we've heard everything from how intense (some say bitter) the rivalry is to how important the game is for in-state bragging rights to how much is actually on the line this season (a Mountain West conference title, specifically). And while we are hesitant to get our hopes up--the New Mexico/New Mexico State rivalry never proved as divisive as expected--the stories we've heard from both current and former players have started affirming that something exciting is going to happen Saturday in Provo.

Let it Snow

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 03:50:41 +0000

Close to eight inches of snow are on the ground in Missoula, Montana, if not more by now. It started falling last night, softly at first, as we followed a winding two-lane highway through the mountains between Idaho and Montana. It started so softly, in fact, that it was impossible to tell it was snow until there was a light white dusting on the pine trees that populate the mountain slopes. But soon an hour had passed, the sun had set, the road was completely covered and by morning, there were eight inches of snow on the ground.

Well--according to the hotel desk clerk in Missoula, there might have been closer to nine or ten inches.

"I've never seen it quite like this," he said to me this morning as we both stood outside, staring at the tree branches weighed down by the snow. "At least not this early."

On the Brink

Sat, 17 Nov 2007 02:13:01 +0000

Alex Brink likes setting records for Washington State. The senior quarterback is WSU's all-time leader in career passing yards, touchdown passes (71) and pass completions (800). He also is the only quarterback to have five 400-plus yard games, leads the list of 200-plus yard games at 29 and counting and in the Pac-10 record books he ranks in the top five in four categories among active players.

And going into Saturday's game against Oregon State--a wild, wet contest played throughout spurts of downpours--it seemed like he would set some more. But sometimes Alex Brink has to settle for a tie.

He only threw six touchdowns Saturday--tying the school's record for interceptions in a single game.

Washington Ho!

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 06:51:34 +0000

To say that western Oregon is beautiful sells the landscape a little short. To say that it is beautiful, wonderful, marvelous, beautiful, striking and beautiful does not quite capture it adequately. Try and throw in a few more beautifuls, a few gasps, some ooh and ahhhs, and you might have a chance of coming close.

But probably not.

Mascot Memorabilia Mayhem

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 20:32:45 +0000

The bright orange wall and the large, orange Oregon State Beavers jersey (number nine) are what first hit you when you walk into Meridith and Shon Pyle's, for lack of a better description, Beaver Room. But then your eyes glance around the room, and you start to see the black and orange blankets, the Beaver lamps, the black and orange pompoms that peek out from between footballs and baseballs and basketballs.

An Island in the Pacific (Northwest)

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 20:30:52 +0000

We've been in Eugene, Oregon a number of times on this trip. To be honest i can't really complain about it either. It's a great college town, just like everyone says. In fact, all the rumors are true. The people are great, the history runs deep, the football is good and the atmosphere, frankly, rocks. There's no better evidence to all of the above than Taylor's Bar and Grill.

Back to Eugene

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 17:06:06 +0000

About fifty miles or so from the California/Oregon border, mountains start making a reappearance on the horizon. There's no dramatic creep in elevation, where foothills start peppering the landscape and eventually give way to pine tree covered, craggy summits. Not at all. In northern California, cruising along interstate five, the land is as flat as a pancake. There's no rolling hills, no raging rivers to pass by or lakes to look at. It's as flat as Indiana--yes, nearly as terrible as that. But then something wonderful happens.

Weekend Update

Sun, 11 Nov 2007 17:52:13 +0000

Well, we're closing in on the home stretch here. Only three more weeks to go in what has been an absolutely crazy college football season. What better way to reflect than to sum up all the best of what we've seen? There is no better way? Yeah, that's what we thought.

Food on the Road

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 18:14:28 +0000

I've learned a lesson tonight about getting food while in a strange town. You never know when you might be in a place where the business hours are strange and the weather absolutely sucks. Maybe by looking at my mistakes, you can avoid your own.