The VC football team lost one of its top offensive weapons in the offseason.

Running back and kickoff returner Gabriel Bostic, who finished 10th in the WSC in all-purpose yardage as a freshman from South Dade, Fla., has stayed home to tend to "family issues," according to offensive coordinator Tim Gutierrez.

Bostic rushed for 517 yards and two touchdown as a freshman, 28 yards behind the team's leading rusher, Michael Lee.

But it was on the kickoff team that Bostic really changed games by averaging 34.6 yards per return, helping VC become the most dangerous return team in the state.

The Raiders have built up quite a relationship El Camino College.

Not only do the two teams meet each other in their one annual preseason intersquad scrimmage, they have met in the postseason in each of the past two years.

The powerhouse from the South Bay squeaked by Moorpark in a 2006 Southern California quarterfinal before marching on to a state title. Last fall, the Raiders knocked out the defending champion, pulling out a 42-41 overtime thriller.

As all teams in Southern California this fall, the two teams give up their traditional conference affiliations for the Southern California Football Alliance this fall. Former WSC power Moorpark is now in the National Division's North Conference while former Mission Conference power El Camino is now in the National Division's Central Conference.

Upon second viewing, Moorpark College head football coach Jim Bittner felt much better about his team's efforts in its scrimmage Friday at El Camino College in Torrance.

"I just finished looking at it again," said Bittner. "I was pretty depressed after it finished Friday, but I feel much better having watched the film."

According to Bittner, El Camino won the game portion of the scrimmage, 18-12, before tacking on another score during an additional period. Moorpark struggled to run the ball against a mammoth defensive front, but quarterbacks Tyler Robertson and Donald Senegal each threw scoring strikes.

"It was very difficult to run against them," said Bittner. "But we threw pretty well."

"Senegal is a guy we've been messing with. He wants to be a receiver, but we really need him as a backup quarterback and he did a nice job."

Robertson, who yielded the starting job to Bryan Randolph last August after suffering a season-ending knee injury in a scrimmage, found receiver Justin Bradley for a long touchdown pass.

Bradley is the son of Moorpark all-time great Freddie Bradley, whose 1,946-yard, 27-touchdown, 10-game season in 1990 is considered the Western State Conference's

"He's faster than Conrad (Meadows)," said Bittner. "He dropped one deep that should have been a touchdown and beat the guy deep again for a touchdown."

(More after the jump)

Oxnard College men's basketball player Regan Andersen said Sunday that he will transfer to Cal State Fullerton.

"We should be really good this year," wrote the high-flying 6-foot-7 forward in a text message.

The Milwaukee, Wisc. native looked like the Condors' best player this past season when he averaged 15.0 points and 6.8 rebounds per game through 15 games played.

Irregularities in his documentation led to Andersen being declared ineligible in January.

The Cal Lutheran football team put together an impressive performance in the preseason scrimmage today at Ventura College. Returning starting quarterback Jericho Toilolo found Chris Hammond for a 10-yard touchdown pass and running back Derek Martinez dove in from a yard away for the Kingsmen touchdowns.

Notes on the scrimmage from my Star teammate, Rhiannon Potkey:

- CLU's strength is its passing attack, and it was evident with several long gains from its deep and experienced receiving corps. Quarterback Jericho Toilolo connected with Danny Hernandez, Jesse Matlock and Chris Hammond early and Wes Garwood hit Rob Fierro late for a 40-yard pass. Fierro, a senior, played quarterback at Simi Valley High, but was converted to a receiver once he arrived at CLU.
- The Kingsmen held a few players out for precautionary reasons, including all-conference safety Garrett Redd and wide receiver Sean Coen. The hamstring has been the most injured muscle during CLU's camp this season.
- CLU head coach Ben McEnroe was pleased with the play of the defense and the protection from his offensive line, but he wants to see more production from the rushing attack.
- Hammond celebrated his 21st birthday with a touchdown reception. Reaching the drinking age during football camp means no trips to the clubs or bars, "No. No. No," Hammond said. "I plan to meditate at home and then have a barbecue with teammates."
- The scrimmage was played so early because CLU's freshmen had to get back to campus for orientation, which began at 1 p.m.

Ventura College offensive coordinator Tim Gutierrez was obviously unhappy with the Pirates' performance in the scrimmage against Cal Lutheran today.

Ventura's first and second offensive groups did not get into the end zone against the NCAA Division III opposition.

"Our play was below expectations," said Gutierrez. "I think it's just a matter of our guys playing together."

Ventura returns sophomore Lee Mondol, who played so well in the second half of last season, at quarterback.

"The quarterback has to do a better job of managing the football game," said Gutierrez.

To be fair, Mondol was missing perhaps three top targets -- playmaking receiver Tim Pope (toe infection), speedster Donovan Estes (hamstring) and converted defensive back B.J. Washington (shoulder).

But the high level of both competition and expectations this season leave no room for excuses.

"Expectations are really high this year," said Gutierrez. "These guys need to know they have to play with a sense of urgency. They didn't do that today.

"When you have the horses we do, there's no reason not to have any points on the board."

If his senior year at St. Bonaventure High hadn't been ruined by foot and knee injuries, Ryan Panapa no doubt would be in a NCAA Division I stadium somewhere today.

Even after he fractured seven bones in his left foot, Washington and Nevada were still offering scholarships. It was the later ligament tear in his right knee which put him at strongside linebacker Saturday morning at Ventura College, scrimmaging NCAA Division III Cal Lutheran.

"I understand the (recruiting) game and I don't regret it at all," said Panapa. "It's fun being here.

"I'm happy to be back playing."

Panapa returned as a fullback for St. Bonaventure in the CIF sectional and state finals last December. The longtime middle linebacker was back on the defensive side of the field Saturday.

Last time we saw Kenji Rocket, he was averaging 4.7 points and 2.0 assists per game for the 2005-06 VC men's basketball team.

The former basketball star found himself in the football fray today for the first time since his Pop Warner days. Vying for a place in the Pirates' secondary, Rocket lined up at free safety in today's scrimmage against Cal Lutheran and made a nice hit to break up a pass play.

"It was fun," said Rocket. "Searching for that physical contact... I'm just going from basketball defense to football defense.

"It's a good group of guys to be out here with."

Clay Mathews Jr. is already showing why his USC football coaches have him working at rush defensive end this fall.

The Agoura High product lined up at defensive end in a third-and-long situation and picked up his first sack in the first quarter of the Trojans' season, swooping inside on a stunt and flinging down Virginia quarterback Peter Lalich.

Add: Mathews must have gotten a little excited in his new position. Just a few minutes later, he picked up a roughing the passer call on Lalich.

A Ventura College football season full of high expectations got off to a staggering start as Cal Lutheran University controlled the annual preseason scrimmage between the two schools, 20-9, Saturday at the VC Sportsplex.

Third-string quarterback Nick Hume, a freshman from Mesa, Az., hit receiver Seth Bradish for a 55-yard catch and run for the Pirates only touchdown.

While Cal Lutheran looked very strong, Ventura was disappointed in its performance.

"We're disappointed in the scrimmage," said head coach Jon Mack. "We weren't crisp. We weren't sharp. We weren't ready to play."

More to come from both the VC and CLU perspectives. My Star teammate, Rhiannon Potkey, was there to watch the Kingsmen.

The defending WSC champion Oxnard College men's soccer team opened its season with a 3-0 win over the College of Spokane. Willie Guiterrez scored twice and striker Sergio Garcia added the other.

Up in Santa Cruz county, the Ventura College women's soccer team, despite starting 10 new players, opened its season with a 5-1 win over Cabrillo College in Aptos. Oxnard High product Carissa Arce had two goals and one assist.

Former Thousand Oaks High soccer star Jason Leopoldo will be playing on Fox Soccer Channel tonight at 7 as No. 14 UCLA faces national power and No. 8-ranked Maryland at Home Depot Center.

The season-opening match is the NSCAA Game of the Week. It's the third time UCLA has played at Home Depot Center.

The Ventura College women's soccer team opens its season Friday at Cabrillo College in Aptos.

The Pirates will begin shorthanded after losing freshman midfielder Susanna Alonso, perhaps for the season, in Wednesday's 6-0 scrimmage win at West Valley College.

"I'd lose 6-0 if I could get her back," said Ventura coach Steve Hoffman. "It's just tough. I hate seeing kids injured."

The Buena High product is suspected to have torn knee ligaments. If it is an ACL tear, it would surprising be the first ACL tear on the field in the 13-year history of the program, according to Hoffman.

Ventura has also lost one of its top returners, Nordhoff High product Kristi O'Conner (ankle), and Rio Mesa High product Lindsey Armenta (knee), who was injured during the ODP regional championships in Hawaii earlier this summer.

As we get near the beginning of the NFL season, here's an interesting feature on an unknown behind the top player in the NFL.

Western State Conference commissioner Aviva Kamin has ruled that Oxnard College must forfeit its 2007-08 men's basketball season and be placed on probation for the 2008-09 campaign, based on the ineligibility of starting guard Jonathan Malloy.

More to come online and in tomorrow's Star.

Cal Lutheran University has announced six new inductees to its Athletic Hall of Fame, to be honored at a Sept. 13 banquet.

Click below for the inductees and their bios:

The full transcript of USC coach Pete Carroll's Aug. 26 news conference at Heritage Hall, courtesy USC sports information:

Al Groh press conference transcript from Aug. 26, 2008, courtesy UVa sports information:

The bombast continues from the kid back on the block. Here's the image that ran in another Southern California paper Tuesday:

- GuttyLittleBruins.com

Asked about the ad, first-year UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said Tuesday, "Looks like we've got our marketing program convinced. I saw it for the first time this morning. My wife said it was a good picture, that's all I know."

Neuheisel was unconcerned that the ad could motivate the "monopoly" across Los Angeles.

"That game, in my experience, (is the type of game) that everybody is going to bring their 'A' game anyway. I don't think we can get their guys to play any harder than they would anyways."

USC coach Pete Carroll's response in Tuesday morning's teleconference was "I don't know much about that."

Later in the day, at Heritage Hall, there was this back and forth with reporters (courtesy USC sports information):

Q. Do you have any observation on what (UCLA head coach Rick) Neuheisel said, something like
COACH Pete Carroll: I don't know. I haven't been keeping track of what Rick's saying.

Q. The domination of Los Angeles is over.
COACH Pete Carroll: Really?

Q. It's a monopoly. The monopoly in Los Angeles is over.
COACH Pete Carroll: Are they talking about the Lakers? (Laughter).

Q. There's a picture of him with words above
COACH Pete Carroll: This is kind of like the presidential race, the guy has to say, I endorse this I don't know. (Laughter) Make him document it, whatever. No, I haven't paid much attention there.

Q. Is it over?
COACH Pete Carroll: What's that?

Q. The domination, is it over?
COACH Pete Carroll: The Olympics? I don't know.

I never knew there was domination in football, so I don't know what that's all about.

Arizona State opens up Saturday against Northern Arizona at Sundevil Stadium and head coach Dennis Erickson knows who his horse is entering the season:

"If (quarterback) Rudy (Carpenter) plays like we think he's capable of, we've got a chance to compete against anybody."

Although the Sun Devils will have to keep the Westlake High product clean this fall. ASU won 10 games last year and give up 55 sacks.

"I've dealt with that question al lthe time," said Erickson. "We've got to protect him. There's no question about that... I look for our offensive front to rise to the occasion."

Asked about his offensive line, UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel was candid in Tuesday's Pac-10 teleconference:

"(I'm) concerned with a capital 'C.' I don't have an experienced guy on the sideline that I can put in. We are who we are... It's a tall order, there's no question about it."

From left to right, UCLA is expected to enter its Labor Day matchup against Tennessee with Micah Kia at left tackle, Scott Glicksberg at left guard, Micah Reed at center, Sonny Tevaga at right guard and Nick Ekbatani at right tackle, as long as Kia can play with a cast protecting his broken left hand.

"I'm optimistic that he'll be able to," said Neuheisel of Kia. "He was out at practice yesterday. If he can find a way to manage with that on his hand, he'll see some action."

Here's how UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel described starting quarterback Kevin Craft on the Pac-10 teleconference Tuesday:

"I think he's a very talented player. Hopefully he can grasp everything and play within himself.

"I don't think he needs to go out there and win the game for us, I think he just needs to manage the game for us.... He has all the tools."

Wondering which tailback is considered the starter in Troy? Head coach Pete Carroll would rather you didn't.

"It depends on what plays we're calling," said Carroll Tuesday when presented with the question. "We're going to go with the guy that fits the situation and seems to be hot at the time."

Which means Stafon Johnson, C.J. Gable and Joe McKnight are all considered the starter, and not the starter simultaneously, with, as Carroll put it, "Allen Bradford complementing their work."

USC coach Pete Carroll said Tuesday that he expected junior Mark Sanchez to start Saturday at Virginia:

"Mark practiced full-go yesterday. He looked good. I think he's got to clear through the doctors tonight to get the final OK."

"We're expecting him to play."

Carroll also commented on the preseason of reserves Mitch Mustain and Aaron Corp and how the two reserves sit relative to Sanchez:

"Mitch has made a tremendous amount of progress, as Aaron Corp has. I think this has accelerated their progress, but there is still a distance between those guys' handling of the offense and where Mark is."

Carroll was indecisive when asked which quarterback, Mustain or Corp, should be considered the backup.

"We're going to leave this competition open and see how they continue to develop.
There's nothing to declare yet."

Although those of us who have watched practices consider Corp to be slightly above Mustain at this point.

Oregon State, perhaps the surprise team in the Pac-10 over the past two seasons, has some work to do to maintain that lofty position this season.

The Beavers, who open the season Thursday night at Stanford, will do so without departed tailback Yevenson Bernard nor any of the starting front seven from its defense.

"We do have guys that have experience playing but it's always difficult to take that whole front seven and replacing them," said coach Mike Riley.

Bernard had rushed for 1,000 yards in each of the past three seasons. His 3,862 career rushing yards place him second on Oregon State's career list behind Ken Simonton's 5,044 yards. Freshmen Ryan McCants and Jacquizz Rodgers, and El Camino College transfer Jeremy Francis, will pick up the slack.

"It's a bit of a changing of the guard," said Riley. "We're looking for that next back. It's really important to the foundation of what we do offensively... I like the look of our two freshmen."

Mike Stoops' hot seat rose a few degrees Monday when his star tight end, Rob Gronkowski, was diagnosed with step throat and deemed out of Saturday's season opener against Idaho.

"He's definitely ruled out for this game and we'll address it week to week," said Stoops Tuesday.

If Gronkowski has mononucleosis, he could miss a month of the season. That would be a huge setback for quarterback Willie Tuitama and the Wildcats' attack. Gronkowski is considered the Pac-10's top tight end after catching 28 passes for 525 yards (a school record for a tight end) and six TDs as a freshman.

Sophomore A.J. Simmons will start in Gronkowski's place.

"There is a lot of ways we can go adjusting the offense," said Stoops. "It's a little bit of a setback, but I think our offense will run smoothly."

Here's the new fashion in Palo Alto.

Stanford tries to follow up the big opening of the Harbaugh era, the 24-23 upset that kept USC out of the BCS title game, beginning Thursday against Oregon State.

Coach Jim Harbaugh said the Cardinal remain on the rise Tuesday:

"We know that we're a much better football team than we were last year at this time. We've made a lot of good strides. Without a doubt, we are getting better."

Tavika Pritchard, who lead the upset at the Coliseum, was named the starting quarterback Monday over Alex Loukas and Michigan transfer Jason Forcier.

Quarterback Dennis Dixon and running back Jonathan Stewart left Eugene in the offseason. Now Nate Costa, the heir apparent in the Ducks' backfield, reinjured his surgically repaired left knee and will miss at least eight weeks.

"Dennis was arguably one of the best football players in the United States last year," said Oregon coach Mike Bellotti in Tuesday's Pac-10 Conference teleconference. "He was magic in our offense. Jonathan was a first-round draft choice as an underclassman."

Sophomore Justin Roper, who completed 32 of 61 passes for 342 yards and six touchdowns, will start against Washington Saturday at Autzen Stadium.

"As much as we're going to miss those guys, I think you have to move on," said Bellotti. "Justin Roper is the guy right now, he did some great things in our bowl game."

Oregon's Mike Bellotti was asked about the Ducks' four-game winning streak over Pacific Northwest rival Washington:

"I think every year is a new year. I think if you look at what happened in the past you're spending a lot of wasted time.

"This is about this Oregon Duck football team and the Washington team (it's) going to play on Saturday."

The two rivals open the season against each other Saturday.

The Pacific-10 Conference just finished its first teleconference of the new football season. I'll be back with some highlights over the next hours or so.

Current and former USC products earned 21 medals at the Beijing Olympics, including nine golds.

The haul is the Trojans second-best showing at an Olympiad, trailing on the 1984 games in Los Angeles.

The full release from USC Sports Informationafter the jump.

The preseason Lou Groza Award watch list includes USC senior David Buehler, who scored 100 points last season and converted 16 of 19 field goals.

The Anaheim Canyon High graduate played against Moorpark College when he kicked for Santa Ana College.

In his first game-week news conference Monday, UCLA head coach rick Neuheisel made light of the Bruins offensive line situation, which has been a bit like a game of musical chairs as the season opener against Tennessee nears.

"I don't mean to make light because I really do admire the kids and how flexible they've been as far as accommodating all the maneuvering," said Neuheisel. "There has been a lot of changing to find our best five."

The one pillar has been Nordhoff High offensive lineman Micah Reed, a former walkon who started the final eight games of last year at guard. Reed will be the heart of the line this season at center.

"Micah's been that one constant in there," said Neuheisel. "His leadership is vital. He handles all the calls and given us a very solid player."

Listed atop the depth chart at free safety, Oaks Christian School product Aaron Ware is expected to make his first collegiate start Labor Day against Tennessee as senior Bret Lockett serves a one-game suspension

Here's what head coach Rick Neuheisel had to say about Ware, whose brother, Matt, played both quarterback and defensive back at UCLA:

"Aaron has been a very consistent player for us and he's family for this place... Little brothers are always in that shadow. This is Aaron's time to shine.

Aaron may just like season openers. He recovered an onsides kick in the 2007 opener at Stanford. A former star tailback at Oaks Christian, he has played in all 26 games of his freshman and sophomore seasons, primarily on special teams.

UCLA running back Kahlil Bell was asked Monday about the Tennessee defense he will face on Labor Day:

"They're good. Athletic. Probably one of the best defenses we'll face all year. Probably one of the best defenses I'll see in my career here.

"We have a challenge to do the things we want to do."

"They're just really athletic. The SEC, a lot of people say it's a defensive conference, and they've got a lot of defensive guys... Good backers and safeties not afraid to come up and hit."

UCLA running back Kahlil Bell took questions Monday, one week before the Bruins open up the Rick Neuheisel era on Monday Night Football at the Rose Bowl.

His offensive line has been billed perhaps as the key question of the season, but Bell believes UCLA fans will be surprised at their performance.

"It really kind of bothers me a lot of the heat all these guys are taking," said Bell. "If anyone pays attention and watches practice, they'll see they're doing fine."

Here's the USC football preview I wrote for Sunday's paper.

I'll also post an update from Saturday's Ventura College scrimmage later today, but first I need to run down to Westwood for UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel's first game-week press conference of the new season.

It took 100 plays in Saturday's Moorpark College football intrasquad scrimmage, but the Raiders' offense finally got into the end zone.

Sophomore quarterback Donald Senegal scored on a keeper on the final series of the day Saturday to give the Raiders' offense a bright spot going into Friday scrimmage at El Camino College in Torrance.

"We were supposed to go 80 plays," said head coach Jim Bittner. "I was wondering why (offensive coordinator) Jimmy (Bittner) wouldn't stop.

"He kept saying, 'Let's go 10 more. Let's go 10 more."

USC linebacker Rey Maualuga, one of the top players at his position in the nation and a former freshman at St. Bonaventure High, was impressed by the reserve defense's performance Thursday.

And perhaps a little underwhelmed by his teammates on offense.

"The Cardinal team's defense stepped it up very good. They held the offense here and there. They did they're job. I'm very impressed. We've just got a lot to work on. At the offensive line and quarterback position, we've got a lot to fix."

LOS ANGELES -- Despite giving the USC football team perhaps the two biggest injury scares of fall camp, the potential starting backfield of quarterback Mark Sanchez and C.J. Gable may be back for next week's visit to the University of Virginia.

Neither participated in Saturday's Cardinal-and-White scrimmage Thursday at the Coliseum, yet both players received boosts from head coach Pete Carroll.

White 28, Cardinal 7
USC Coliseum Scrimmage

Cardinal - 7 0 0 0 - 7
White - 7 7 14 0 - 28

Scoring summary
First quarter
White -- Griffin interception in end zone (Buehler kick).
Cardinal -- Butler 12-yard pass from G. Green (Buehler kick).
Second quarter
White -- McKnight 6 run (Buehler kick)
Third quarter
White -- Heberer recovers fumble in end zone (Buehler kick)
White -- Goodman 2 pass from Mustain (Buehler kick)

Individual statistics
Rushing: White -- Bradford 6-39, McKnight 3-32, Johnson 3-11; Cardinal -- B. Green 3-17, Tyler 1-4
Passing: White -- Corp 8-10-0-85-0, Mustain 10-14-0-92-1; Cardinal -- Green 9-19-2-134-1.
Receiving: White -- Hazelton 5-44, Ayles 3-65, Patterson 2-25; Cardinal -- Cameron 3-81, Showmate 3-36.oooo

LOS ANGELES -- The surprising story of the annual Cardinal-versus-White scrimmage Thursday afternoon at the Coliseum was the second stringers.

The Cardinal team, made up of second- and third-string players, was surprisingly effective for most of the scrimmage, which the White-clad starters eventually won, 28-7.

"What was interesting to me was the Cardinal team," said head coach Pete Carroll. "That's a good-looking team out there.

"They played really well and made it tough for the White team. A lot of cool things happened on that side."

There is at least one poll the USC football team will open the season atop. The Trojans were voted the preseason No. 1-ranked team in the Football Writers Association of America's Grantland Rice Super 16 preseason poll, nipping No. 2 Georgia by three points

Both schools had five first-place votes. Arizona State tied BYU for 16th.

The old master against the new kid on the block.

The upcoming community college football season is interesting for a number of reasons. Not the least of which is the head coaches -- Jim Bittner, who is entering his 30th season as the head coach at Moorpark College, and Jon Mack, who is entering his second season in charge at Ventura College.

Last year, Moorpark won its 11th Western State Conference title in 22 years while Ventura, also at 6-1 in the Pacific Division in Mack's debut season, earned a share of its first conference title since 1999.

It's all contributing to a budding rivalry. As reported in the bottom half of today's notebook, a big expected Ventura recruit, Newbury Park High graduate lineman Chance Flaaten, ended up at Moorpark.

"We met him with hugs and kisses, believe me," said Bittner of Flaaten, one of the key members of the Panthers' Marmonte League title team last fall.

"We were very happy to see him. He's a player. He'll help us."

Mack's response, which didn't make print, was interesting.

Asked if any expected incoming players didn't end up at Ventura after the first day of classes Monday, Mack didn't mention any names, simply saying that a couple "third-stringers" hadn't showed.

One correction to today's story -- former Thousand Oaks High lineman Dan Pinsky is at Ventura. Because of confusion between two former Thousand Oaks High lineman, I
mistakenly reported today that Pinsky, instead of a former teammate, was at Moorpark.

LOS ANGELES -- The USC football team had barely opened fall camp when starting quarterback Mark Sanchez put his status for the opening game at Virginia in doubt by dislocating a kneecap. Now the status of another potential backfield starter is in doubt 11 days before Charlottesville.

Redshirt sophomore C.J. Gable, expected to carry the load at tailback this fall alongside junior Stafon Johnson, stayed down after being tackled during team drills.

"Sure, he's hurt," said USC coach Pete Carroll. "I don't know how bad, but it was very awkward the way he hit the ground. We'll just have to wait and see."

Trainers seemed to be attending to Gable's knee and ankle.

"He felt it in his hip," said Carroll. "It got kind of jammed into the ground. But they're looking at his knee and his ankle as well.

Gable started USC's first two games of 2007 before suffering a season-ending abdomen injury. He rushed for 434 yards and four touchdowns as a freshman in 2006.

"He's a good football player," said Carroll. "We love the way C.J. plays. He can do everything. He run, catch the football and he's a great pass (protection) guy. So that affects us. He's a dynamic player that is tough and we love him."

With Thousand Oaks' Ben Olson on the shelf for at least five games, UCLA has named former San Diego State and Mount San Antonio College quarterback Kevin Craft its starting quarterbackfor its season opener Sept. 1 against Tennessee.

It seems Craft had a better grasp of the offense at this early date than freshman Chris Forcier.

"He's earned it with his consistent play and he has the best mastery of the offense at this point," head coach Rick Neuheisel said of Craft Monday.

Editor and Publisher reports that the Beijing Olympics are the fourth most-watched Olympics in history.

And although I've really enjoyed much of what I've watched (which has been a lot), NBC has let me down with its soccer coverage.

First, the soccer- and basketball-specific channels were only broadcasted in HD, which borders on classism.

Then, in the middle of the biggest game of the games in any team sport, MSNBC missed Argentina's second goal against Brazil because it had cut to a huge bank of commericals. Just inexcuseable.

Instead of two goals in four minutes for Sergio Aguero, one of the top young players in the world, we get Chevy, "College" movie, Arby's, Walmart and AT&T.

EPLTalk agrees with me.

• "Watching Brazil against Argentina in the semi-final of the Olympic games this morning, I felt like I was in a timewarp back to the late 1980's. That's because NBC, in their infinite stupidity, are breaking for TV commercials in the middle of the game."

As does NYTimes.com's Andrew Das:

• "72 I can't believe MSNBC was in commercial for the second goal. Did they miss Brazil's nullified goal, too? Geez. Cover the game or don't."

If you're going to have corporate sponsors ensuring "limited commercial interruption," why not exchange that peacock logo in the upper right corner for the logo of a corporate sponsor once in a while to make sure we don't miss the key moment of the key match?

That's what happened Tuesday.

Moorpark College football coach Jim Bittner says he has as many as 16 quality first-year receivers as the Raiders begin fall camp. It's going to take an army to replace the impact of Conrad Meadows, the 2008 WSC Pacific MVP, now playing at Northern Arizona.

By virtue of its Citrus Cup victory over Ventura, Moorpark (9-3) earned the division's automatic berth into the eight-team Southern California regional playoffs, where it eliminated defending state champion El Camino in overtime 42-41 before falling to eventual SoCal champion Mount San Antonio College, 59-35. Current UCLA quarterback Kevin Craft threw six touchdown passes.

I found Meadows' highlight reel on Youtube. The reel begins with a long score against the defending state champions:

Both Moorpark College and Ventura College are coming off Western State Conference championship seasons.

Making its first bowl appearance in eight years, Ventura (8-3) scored 15 points during a three-minute span in the fourth quarter to upend Palomar, 39-35, in the Southern California Bowl.

Aided by Chris Golder's blocked punt, quarterback Lee Mondol found receiver Ricky Garcia for touchdowns twice in the final 6:24 to lift the Pirates.

Here are some Southern California Bowl highlights:

Today was the first day of fall class, which means its the first day players can be locked into their schools for the 2008-09 seasons. Tracking which players attended class where can give us our first look into where certain players have landed for the upcoming season.

According to the coaches at Ventura College, point guards Danny Benson and Prince Abidoye have, as promised, returned for the 2008-09 season. First-year head coach Ned Mircetic and staff have also landed former Camarillo High point guard Mike Diacos, a transfer from the University of Nebraska.

Other potential returning players did not materialize in Ventura. Guard Kevin Menner, who led the state's freshmen in scoring last season, was not in Ventura, as expected.

"He tells me he's going to Saddleback for sure," said Ventura assistant coach Jon Wyers.

The Star reported earlier this year that former coach Greg Winslow had encouraged Menner to leave the program, even taking the step of driving Menner down to Mission Viejo on at least one recruiting visit.

Wyers said that forward Angelo Whitehead will not return and, instead, will attend a national JUCO in Colorado. According to the coaches, Ventura High product James Ennis and Oxnard College transfer Ryan McLucas also did not attend VC Monday and will not be be playing for the Pirates.

McLucas, instead, returned to Oxnard College, according to first-year Oxnard College coach Jason Cunningham.

The former Rio Mesa High guard was so instrumental in the Condors success last year, averaging 11.3 points per game and a team-high 66 3-pointers. McLucas had spent much of the summer at Ventura College before changing his mind after Cunningham succeeded Jeff Theiler (at least temporarily) as coach.

"We've got our All-WSC players back," said Cunningham of McLucas and point guard Jonathan Johnson.

Bernard Burrell, a high-scoring forward expected to be a key player before being lost for the season with a back injury, has also been retained. The 6-foot-5 wing scored 26 points against Los Angeles Valley in one of his only three appearances a year ago.

Here are some thoughts by UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel on the Bruins' scrimmage Saturday evening:

"Defensively, I thought we did a great job against the run early."
-- On what that means for the offense:
"Offensively, that raises your nervousness in terms of being able to run because obviously given where we are with the offensive line and an inexperienced quarterback you'd like to not put all the pressure on the throwing game. It would be a huge deal for us to find a way to run the ball with any consistency."
-- On quarterback Kevin Craft's day:
"Kevin had a couple things just kind of go south on him. But sometimes it's important, in scrimmage situations, to see how guys respond to that. So I thought he passed the test in not going in the tank because it wasn't going well... I thought that was encouraging."
-- On training camp going forward, two weeks before the home opener Sept. 1 against Tennessee:
"We've got two more weeks. A lot's happened in the first couple weeks of camp... We've weathered the storm. Now it's trying to find a way to play a good, hard-nosed football game against a very, very tough opponent."
-- On his thoughts on what the running game did:
"Not much. It was not what it needs to be."
"There were enough good things to be encouraged with the offense."
-- On whether Kevin Craft is going to be the starting quarterback:
"He's still ahead. I have yet to make that decision... but he's ahead."
-- On when he would like to make a decision on the quarterback:
"Sooner than later. I would hope to make it some time this week."

Other notes:
-- Senior quarterback Ben Olson of Thousand Oaks, who broke his foot for the second time this year last week, was on crutches on the sidelines. The left-hander even played catch later in the scrimmage to warm up a teammate.

Here are the official stats from UCLA Sports Information for UCLA's lone scrimmage of fall camp at Drake Stadium Saturday evening:

UCLA Scrimmage Stats - August 16, 2008

Quarterback Stats

Kevin Craft - 8-18 for 93 yards
3 interceptions
14-yard rushing touchdown
3-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Everett

Chris Forcier - 7-13 for 71 yards
0 touchdowns
1 interception

Receiving Stats

Ryan Graves - 2 for 13 yards
Nelson Rosario - 3 for 40 yards
Terrence Austin - 3 for 40 yards
Antwon Moutra - 2 for 26 yards

Rushing Stats

Aundre Dean - 5 for 15 yards
Raymond Carter - 6 for 1 yard
Johnathan Franklin - 7 for 32 yards

Defensive Stats

Sacks - John Hale, Nathaniel Skaggs, Korey Bosworth (2), Justin Mann, David Carter, Chinonso Anyanwu, Justin Edison

Interception - Rahim Moore, Kyle Bosworth (touchdown), Tony Dye, Alterraun Verner

Safety - team (1)

Special Teams

Terrence Austin - 61-yard punt return for touchdown

The Star reported Saturday that Ventura College may not be able to play football in its "new" $8.1 million stadium, called the "Sportsplex," for the third straight season.

The school has reserved Ventura High's Larrabee Stadium, its home for the past 75 seasons, for this fall.

By all accounts, the pesky Sportsplex bleachers will be installed and approved for use by the PIrates' home opener Sept. 13 against Antelope Valley. The question is when the stadium's scoreboard and public address systems will be operational.

Although it seemed likely Friday that VC would spend the entire 2008 season at Larrabee Stadium, there was some rumbling Monday afternoon that Saturday's article may have greased the wheel abit. I think there's a good chance that some football will be played on VC's Telegraph Road campus this fall. Watch this space.

As I wrote in Friday's paper here the 2008 season will present a new set of challenges for the pair of rival Western State Conference champions, Moorpark College and Ventura College.

The conferences around Southern California (WSC, Mission, Foothill ect.) have been torn up and replaced with the new Southern California Football Association, which is described on its website SCFAFootball.com thusly:

"The creation of the SCFA is somewhat of a historical event for community college football in Southern California because it is the first time that all thirty-seven (37) community colleges offering intercollegiate football programs will be under one administrative umbrella.

The SCFA's unique organizational structure, which includes two competitive divisions, divided into separate conferences, provides an opportunity to insure competitive balance and a positive athletic, as well as an educational, experience for more than 3,000 student-athletes participating in our football programs each year."

What that means is 16 of the 37 teams in Southern California are eliminated from state championship contention before the season begins. Those teams will compete in the two conferences within the American Division, the second tier of the SCFA.

The other 21 teams form three conferences -- the Northern, Central and Southern Divisions. Moorpark and Ventura find themselves in the Northern Division, which basically consists of the top teams from the former WSC (Canyons, Bakersfield, Hancock, Glendale, Moorpark and Ventura) plus Pasadena, which is obviously a regional rival of Glendale.

The system basically creates an upper and lower division system, much like European soccer. Promotion and relegation, in soccer parlance, occurs every other year based on win-loss records.

Addendum B of the SCFA Constitution states that "Generally, two teams from the National Division will move to the American Division every two years, subject to recommendation by the competition committee and final approval by the SCGA Commissioner."

The USC and UCLA football teams are coming off of weekend scrimmages. The defending WSC champion Moorpark College and Ventura College football teams are opening full-contact drills in fall camp.

As Labor Day approaches, now is the perfect time to bookmaker The Link -- the place for Ventura County college football fans.