The University of Southern California Football

USC (aka University of Southern California) has been a college football powerhouse for many years. The football program was established in 1888. They have claimed a tremendous 11 national championships. Their national championships run from the late 1920's to as recent as 2004. However, the 2004 title may be vacated due to recent NCAA violations. Over the past few years, USC has been a consistent top 5 football program.

They have won a total of 37 PAC-10 conference championships. They have been in a total of 47 bowl games since the program started. This trails only Alabama as having the most bowl appearances. However, they do have the most bowl wins at 31. They have recorded a record 7 straight seasons in which they had 11+ wins. Also, a record 33 weeks ranked as the #1 team in college football. USC has numerous players to receive awards over the years. A total of 6 previous Heisman winners & 34 players voted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Add to that, a total of 150 college All-Americans as well. Doe to the school's tradition of producing great tailbacks, USC has been dubbed the name Tailback U".

How could we forget about O.J. Simpson? He may very well be known now for his legal troubles more than his personal accomplishments in football. However, there's mistaking this was a great football player. He won the Heisman back in 1968 all while leading the nation in rushing yards. He also has led the nation in rushing the previous year as well. His Heisman victory goes down as the largest margin ever in this race. Simpson went on to the NFL & became a great success including an NFL MVP award in 1973.

Charles White was voted Heisman winner in 1979. He also won the Maxwell & Walter Camp awards. One for the best college football player in America & the other for college football Player of the Year. During his college career, White set or tied a total of 22 records. He was also an All-American in 1978 & 1979. He was voted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995. In the NFL, White didn't have as much success. He did garner one Pro Bowl selection. He later revealed that he struggled with drug addition in the NFL. In 1987, he enjoyed his best NFL season with 1,387 yards & 11 TD's.

Marcus Allen was another one of those great USC backs. He played at USC from 1978-1981. His 1981 season was regarded as one of the greatest seasons in college football history. Allen rushed for a whopping total of 2,342 yards. These numbers earned him the 1981 Heisman Trophy. Due to his success, USC retired his jersey number.

Allen went to the next level & had continued success. A Super Bowl champ. An NFL MVP. A 6-time Pro Bowl selection. He spent most of his NFL career with the Raiders. He has been voted into both the Pro & College Football Hall of Fame.

Bush is a current New Orleans Saint & former USC great. He too won the Heisman back in 2005. He was also All-American in 2004 & 2005. Bush rushed for 1,740 yards & 6 TD's his final year at USC. Bush was drafted out of college by the New Orleans Saints. He hasn't done anything great in his 4 seasons with the Saints but he does already have a Super Bowl for his time spent.

Writer and editor, Freddie Brister, is a former high school coach. Check out his Southern Cal Trojans Watch or his Miami Hurricanes Watch

Can California Still Lead the Nation in Innovation?

Since the recession began, California's budget deficit issues and double digit unemployment rates have a lot of people wondering if the state can continue leading the nation in technology and innovation. Ask most Californians, and they will tell you they don't believe their state is quite ready to throw in the towel. In fact, their ability to innovate will not only play a role in their recovery, but in America's recovery as well.

And even though I am a Texan living on the Silicon prairie in Austin, a city with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, I am convinced that California will do more than their share in helping lead this country out of recession. Why am I convinced California can bounce back and provide leadership in our nation's recovery? Even when I was a young guy growing up in the fifties, I noticed that most trends began in California and didn't hit the other states for at least six months to a year. Some trends never made it to Dallas, Des Moines or Minneapolis.

Of course, if that were my only evidence, I am not sure I could convince anyone that California would be able to maintain its position as a leader in technology and innovation. First, let's talk about green industries. There's Tesla, Fisker and Better Place. These are three electric car companies that believe they can compete with the big three automakers. California leads the nation in fuel economy standards and registered clean energy vehicles. The state leads the nation in the number of Hybrids, electric cars and natural gas powered vehicles on the road.

40% of the solar roof installations in this country exist in California. Solar prices are falling every day and most of the solar companies reside in California. Companies like SunPower, BrightSource, Solar City, eSolar, Nanosolar, and Solyndra. SunPower has over 5,000 employees and builds solar panels not just for residences, but massive power plants for utilities and roof top installations for big box stores. SunPower's Richmond, California plant assembles the world's most efficient solar panels in a plant where Ford built Model A's before World War II.

The computer scientists and engineers are moving into renewable energy and combining their computer technology expertise with solar and LED technologies. eSolar is really a software application for controlling solar arrays in order to extract the maximum energy from these arrays regardless of the position of the sun. Biotech has been displacing the defense contractors in the San Diego area.

Biotech covers sectors such as Genomic medicine and photosynthetic algae technology. A number of discoveries and treatments have been developed recently through genomic medicine and they are really just scratching the surface. Photosynthetic algae technology could ultimately produce more fuel than corn, sugarcane or soy in the same space. Exxon Mobil and Synthetic Genomics are working on a $600 Million project together to develop fuel from algae.

Vinod Kosla, a co-founder of Sun Microsystems has raised $1.1 billion in venture capital to fund clean energy and biotech companies. Mr. Khosla has invested in Calera, a company working on a carbon capturing cement and Soladigm which is using semiconductor technologies to make energy efficient windows. Another of his investments is Amyris, a startup that is working on a process that will turn sugar into diesel fuel.

A major factor that puts the state on the leading edge has to do with the fact that California venture capitalists invested 43% of all the U.S. venture capital that went into high tech, biotech, renewable energy and other leading edge technology companies in 2008. They also have more scientists, engineers, marketers, lawyers, accountants and other knowledge workers than any other state in the union.

Cisco Systems, a California success that provides a significant portion of the infrastructure that powers the internet, spent millions developing their Telepresence system. Telepresence is the ultra high definition video conferencing system that has reduced the carbon footprints of large corporations that in the past found it necessary to meet with their contemporaries in person at locations around the world. One of Steven Speilberg's cinematographers helped create the feeling of intimacy in the video output. This is another example how one sector of California's economy teamed with another sector to improve the breed of both.

Generally, the little guys like to see the movie star stumble and fall into disfavor. So while the rest of America might be writing off the state governed by a former actor and body builder, folks in California are saying that the recession of 2009 is just another speed bump on the road to glory. And I, for one, would not consider counting them out just yet. You know if California were a country, it be in the G-8.

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