Let’s Create a California Conference

Stanford and Cal, Instead of Running Scared to the Atlantic Coast, Form a Statewide Athletic League of Your Own

Dear Cal and Stanford,

Why are you running away from California?

Yes, the collapse of the Pac-12 Conference—occasioned by the departure of eight schools seeking better TV contracts—leaves the two of you without a home for your sports teams.

But your flailing around for a new sports home on the other side of the country looks pathetic. Your desperate appeals to join the Atlantic Coast Conference would be a joke, if it weren’t such a crime against geography.

And if that doesn’t work out—and …

by Joe Mathews | August 22, 2023

Sports Fans Don’t Love Native American Mascots, They Just Resent ‘Political Correctness’

While Most See the Names as ‘Questionable,’ They’re Angered by the Power of an Organized Opposition

by Jason Edward Black and Andrew C. Billings | April 2, 2019

Is the permission of a local tribe enough to justify the use of Native American mascot names, logos, and rituals by a university’s sports teams?

That’s the rare case presented by …

Why Samoans Are So Overrepresented in the NFL

It All Started in Hawaiʻi on Oahu’s North Shore, Where Plantation Managers and Mormon Elders Nurtured Generations of Football Stars

By Rob Ruck | August 8, 2018

Long before Oahu’s North Shore became a global hot spot for football, it was a pu`uhonua, a refuge under the protection of priests. Fugitives and villagers escaping the carnage of …

You Hear About Sarkisian?

Hiring an Armenian Football Coach Is the Most Brilliant Move USC Has Ever Made

by Michael Krikorian | December 9, 2013

“Sarkisian” is one of the most common Armenian last names. But when my cousin Greg called this week and opened with “You hear about Sarkisian?” I knew he wasn’t talking …

The Diminished USC-UCLA Rivalry

In a Global City, a Local Football Fight, Too Often Lopsided, No Longer Packs the Same Punch

by Keith Thorell | November 27, 2013

I confess: I’m a diehard USC football fan. I braved 29-degree temperatures in Boulder last Saturday night to witness my Trojans conquer Colorado. This week we—I’m class of 1995 and …

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