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OT - Black Panther

Saw this movie with my oldest and was really surprised. I thought it was very entertaining, had some great performances, and while I am sure some will hate the SJW agenda I think this film avoids being overdone in that regard.

Why has Marvel been so much more adept at making good films than LucasFilm has been? Don't get me wrong, Marvel had some stinkers, but between Iron Man(s), Captain Americas, Guardians of the Galaxy... they have been far more on.

What did the forum think?

USC to host UNC Asheville in NIT First-round game

USC TO HOST UNC ASHEVILLE IN NIT FIRST-ROUND GAME TUESDAY - Trojans To Play In NIT For First Time Since 1999-

LOS ANGELES – The USC men’s basketball team (23-11) was named a No. 1 seed in the 32-team National Invitation Tournament (NIT) and will host UNC Asheville (21-12) in a first-round game on March 13 at 8 p.m., it was announced today (March 11). The winner of the USC-UNC Asheville game will face the winner of the Boston College/Western Kentucky game in the second round.

Second-round NIT games will take place between March 16-19. NIT quarterfinals will be held on March 20 and 21 and four teams will advance to New York City for the semifinals on Tuesday, March 27. The NIT will conclude with the championship game on Thursday, March 29. The semifinal and title game will be played at New York’s historic Madison Square Garden for the 81st year.

USC reached the title game at the 2018 Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas, Nev. where it fell to No. 15 Arizona 75-61 on March 10. The Trojans also finished second in the conference during the regular season with a 12-6 mark. It was USC’s first second-place conference finish since tying for second in 2002 and first outright second-place finish since 1992. USC has won 70 games over the past three seasons, the most wins in a three-season stretch in school history.

UNC Asheville Bulldogs won the Big South regular season title with a 13-5 record, but was upset by Liberty, 69-64, in the conference tournament semifinals and earned an automatic berth into the NIT. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

USC has played in the NIT four times, the last time being in 1999 when it lost a first-round game at Wyoming. Fans can purchase tickets by going to USCTrojans.com/NIT. Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on March 12.

### #

Football Joseph Lewis update...

The L.A. city attorney's office has filed five misdemeanor counts against wide receiver Joseph Lewis related to two separate incidents of alleged domestic violence, ESPN has reported. He's expected to be arraigned today.

Lewis had his first day in court Tuesday following his arrest three weeks ago. There, it was revealed he was facing charges for two incidents just six days apart. The district attorney's office declined to file felony charges last week. On Monday, USC announced Lewis is no longer on the roster.

Football Standouts from Week 1

You know the drill. After each week of spring practice, I highlight who I think were the best players at each position. With five true freshman and a JuCo transfer making their debuts, I'm also listing a newcomer of the week. Honorable mentions are to recognize those who I felt were just behind the top guy.

Here are my choices for Week 1:

QB: Jack Sears -- good ball placement; connecting downfield
TB: Dominic Davis -- so natural catching the ball out of the backfield; where he belongs
WR: Tyler Vaughns -- catching everything; using his body more
TE: Josh Falo -- targeted most at this position (though it remains underutilized)
OL: Chuma Edoga -- picking up where he left off in the Cotton Bowl
DL: Jay Tufele -- shedding blockers well; playing with force
LB: Porter Gustin -- looks healthy; playing on the other side of the line
CB: Biggie Marshall -- appears leaner; moving better
S: Marvell Tell -- making more plays on the ball; setting an example for younger safeties
Honorable mentions: WR Michael Pittman (physical), OL Clayton Johnston (stronger), CB Isaiah Langley (rangy), CB Ajene Harris (competitive), DB Ykili Ross (opportunistic)​

Newcomer of the week: DL Caleb Tremblay -- smart; quick; advanced pass-rushing skills
Honorable mentions: CB Chase Williams (aggressive), S Talanoa Hufanga (flying to the ball)​

Recruiting Rivals100 RB set to visit USC...

I've been told that Rivals100 RB Austin Jones is supposed to visit USC this weekend.

Jones is a class of 2019, 5-foot-11 and 190-pounder from Oakland, Calif. Bishop O'Dowd HS. Bishop O'Dowd HS has produced current Trojans Je'Quari Godfrey and Alijah Vera-Tucker.

Jones doesn't yet hold a scholarship offer from USC but he's rated as the third best tailback in the country and the fifth best player in California by Rivals.com.

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Football OL vs. DL (1-on-1s)

USC on Friday had the longest period of 1-on-1s between offensive linemen and defensive linemen in recent memory. Here's what I recorded:

Brett Neilon stops Brandon Pili
Chris Brown stops Liam Jimmons
Clayton Johnston stops Porter Gustin
Christian Rector beats Jalen McKenzie
Malik Dorton beats Alijah Vera-Tucker
***
Pili beats Neilon
Jordan Austin stops Jimmons
Austin Jackson stops Gustin
Chuma Edoga stops Juliano Falaniko
Vera-Tucker stops Jay Tufele
***
Neilon stops Pili
Brown stops Connor Murphy
Kana'i Mauga beats Jackson
Gustin beats Edoga
Vera-Tucker stops Jimmons
***
Dorton beats Neilon
Caleb Tremblay beats Austin
Rector beats Johnston
McKenzie and Gustin draw even
Jimmons beats Vera-Tucker
***
Justin Dedich completely stuffs Tufele
Tufele beats Dedich
In the trilogy, Tufele throws aside Dedich
Tremblay beats Austin
Jackson stops Rector
***
Edoga stops Mauga
Pili beats Vera-Tucker
Jimmons beats Neilon
Austin stops Dorton
Johnston stops Falaniko
***
Mauga beats McKenzie
Vera-Tucker pushes down Pili
Dedich stops Jimmons
Austin stops Tufele
Falaniko beats Jackson
***
Edoga stops Rector
Vera-Tucker stops Murphy
Tremblay beats Neilon
Tufele beats Austin
Johnston stops Gustin
***
Rector beats McKenzie
Murphy beats Vera-Tucker
Tremblay beats Dedich
Austin stops Jimmons
***
Gustin beats Jackson
Edoga stops Falaniko
Tremblay beats Vera-Tucker
Tufele beats Dedich

Couple of the big winners: Tremblay went 4-0, Edoga and Johnston went 3-1, Tufele went 4-3

Overall winner: D-line, 24-23-1

Football Quick Hits/Footnotes - Practice 2 (3/8)

USC held its second spring practice Thursday. Here's a rundown of the news...

Saturday's practice has been moved to Friday and is set to begin at 3:15 p.m. Coach Clay Helton mentioned he wants a clean practice because of limited numbers and therefore is trying to avoid the forecasted rain for this weekend. They'll be in shells tomorrow.

Velus Jones took reps from the slot and out of the backfield for the second consecutive practice. He was with the receivers for the individual drills. Guess we can call him a slot back. I asked Helton what the plan is with him moving forward, particularly since Jones took quite a few handoffs today. Helton seemed to downplay a potentially evolving role, noting Jones came out of the backfield at times last year. FWIW, we did not see him come out of the backfield this much in practice last year.

When I asked if anyone else would be given a look at tailback or potentially switch there, Helton said with only two healthy scholarship tailbacks they plan to utilize their Super package more this spring, which involves a receiver lining up in the backfield.

Dominic Davis was present after missing Tuesday's workout and he practiced exclusively at tailback. He flashed his speed and athleticism on a few occasions. A better test for him will be when they put on the pads. Everyone knows he is dynamic in what is essentially a glorified 7-on-7.

Christian Rector continues to do individual drills with the outside linebackers but take the bulk of his reps at defensive end.

Connor Murphy is at 260 pounds, and Helton sees him being able to play the 3-technique and then the 5-technique when USC is facing non-zone read teams.

After spending a good portion of Tuesday's practice at Predator, Jordan Iosefa was at SAM on Thursday. He clarified for me that SAM is his primary spot but all the OLBs will continue to work on both sides.

OLB Porter Gustin considerably increased his workload from Tuesday, and he was a nuisance in the backfield while also setting the edge quite well.

Ajene Harris is getting some work at cornerback when USC isn't in nickel.

Helton singled out the play of CBs Biggie Marshall and Isaiah Langley.

WR Josh Imatorhebhe was absent because he had an undisclosed medical procedure. Helton said he'll be available when the team returns from spring break.

Walk-ons Austin Applebee and Jake Russell injured their hamstrings.

--Helton on the makeup of this team
"I think this team is going to have to play extremely well together -- where last year you felt offense had a really good day, maybe the defense was off. Then defense had a good day and offense was off. This is going to have to be a collective effort between this group to get to where we want to go."

--Helton on the quarterbacks
"This is an educational time for both of them. I don't want them thinking, oh God, I made a bad throw, did that cost me the job? I want them to try to get better form Practice 1 to Practice 15. How much progress can we make? That's all I'm focused on right now. Can we get those kids that are practicing right now to where they can play on Saturdays. Because they don't have a lot of reps and they've got so much progress that they need to make."

Helton said Sears, who primarily worked with the first team, showed great anticipation and decision-making. He added that neither Sears nor Matt Fink is playing timid.

I spoke with redshirt freshman safety Isaiah Pola-Mao and he said he's not sure if he'll be able to participate in contact drills this spring. Understandably, they want to ease him into full contact coming off shoulder surgery. He noted that his shoulders were bad before arriving at USC and surgery was inevitable given the subluxations. Still, he said he currently feels "great."

Notes:
USC is not taking its ball security and stripping lightly. The players rotated between four different stations for a good portion of practice early on.

Later, QBs coach Bryan Ellis was urging the quarterbacks to push off fast and hard with their drops. It was nice to see him coaching up close. He has their ears.

Some changes from Tuesday with the first- and second-team offense and defense:
1O: Jackson at LT, Sidney in the slot, Sears at QB
2O: Vera-Tucker at RG, McKenzie at RT
1D: Iosefa at SAM, Gustin at Predator, Ross at SS, Tell at FS
2D: Falaniko and Echols at OLB, Lichtenstein at DL, Lockett at CB, Pollard at SS, Johnson at CB, Jones and Peters at ILB

Highlights:
(7-on-7)
  • Sears hits Michael Pittman and then Tyler Vaughns, with the latter stretching out long to make the catch.
  • Tell drops a surefire INT on a throw from Sears to Sidney. Langley was also helping in coverage.
  • Fink hits Russell on a deep out and then connects with Velus Jones.
  • Fink finds Dom in the flats and he badly jukes Chase Williams.
  • Sears hits Josh Falo, Pittman downfield and then Pittman over the middle.
  • A Sears pass to Sidney deep is broken up by Biggie. He really tracked the ball well there.
(11-on-11)
Dom makes a couple people miss and runs for a long gain.
Sears' pass is tipped by Cam Smith and intercepted by Tell.
Jay Tufele stops Aca'Cedric Ware.
Ykili records a TFL on Velus.
Fink hits Vaughns downfield but the whistle is blown -- Gustin gets the sack.
***
Gustin records a TFL on Ware.
Gustin sacks Fink.
Sears hits Dom short -- Reuben Peters and Co. were on it.
Jones picks up a handful before he's stopped by Je'Quari Godfrey.
Sears hits Falo short.
***
Sears tries downfield for Vaughns and Williams forces him off his route and toward the boundary. Excellent D.
Fink goes deep to Pittman and it's picked off by Ajene, who earlier had a great PBU as well.
Caleb Tremblay registers a TFL on Ware.
Sears throws over the top and in-between two defenders to hit Sidney for a long TD. One of the best throws I've seen from him.
***
Fink misses Keyshawn Young over the middle.
Jones is stopped.
Holden Thomas targets Randal Grimes, who snatches the ball away from a defender for the catch (and he prevents an INT in the process).
Thomas hits Vaughns over the middle.
Tufele and Kana'i Mauga combine for a sack.
Talanoa Hufanga takes down Dom in the backfield for a TFL (with the aid of Tufele).

***

And that was your second practice of spring. We have video interviews posted with DC Clancy Pendergast, LB Jordan Iosefa, S Isaiah Pola-Mao, DE Connor Murphy, DT Brandon Pili, LB Porter Gustin, S Marvell Tell and DB Ajene Harris.

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USC IS running the Chip Kelly offense. The SF version.

Saw this in the linked article...exactly the problem with our offense. The QB in our RPO is zero threat to run. It’s apparently PARTLY what killed Chip’s NFL offenses.

Quote:
“Instead, Kelly’s answer has been to simply run plays that look like read-options, but without any reads or options. This has not gone well. Defenders who used to stand and watch the QB as the running back ran free now immediately collapse toward the runner to stuff the play.

Kelly once said that the shotgun inside zone “is not a great play if the quarterback hands off to the running back and everyone in the stadium knows who has the ball.” He was right, and his NFL offense is now proof.

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The predictability of Kelly’s offense has gone beyond the defense knowing who would get the ball, as defenders frequently now know which play is coming. Kelly, who has long relied on his tempo and the threat of the QB run to keep defenses honest, has done little to hide his offense’s tendencies. Watch Philadelphia’s remarkable 70-yard, four-play (all runs), touchdown drive from 2014, which took a grand total of one minute and 20 seconds off the clock.

A great drive, but the alignment of the tight end and running back gives away the play: If the tight end and running back lined up on opposite sides of the line, Kelly’s team ran a sweep toward the tight end; if they lined up on the same side, it was an inside zone away from the tight end. This giveaway hasn’t always been in Kelly’s offense, but as he phased out read-options he increasingly kept the tight end backside to block the defensive end on inside zone plays. Defensive coaches with experience against spread offenses will tell you that the tight end often gives away the play, and that has certainly become true for Kelly’s offense.”

https://www.theringer.com/2016/9/9/16036650/chip-kelly-san-francisco-49ers-offense-f332f053870e
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