A California native who has followed West Coast sports his entire life, Brian Milne is an award-winning journalist who has written for dozens of publications, founded WCBias.com and penned books for Wilderness Press and No-Nonsense Guides.

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AP Preseason Top 25 Poll released with USC ranked No. 3

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August 16, 12:51 PM

by Brian Milne, Los Angeles Sports Examiner

The college football season is right around the corner, and the first two major top 25 polls have been released with little West Coast representation.
USC was ranked second behind top-ranked Georgia in the USA Today college football coaches preseason poll released earlier this month and third in the AP poll released on Saturday behind No. 2 Ohio State and No. 1 Georgia. Those top three teams all went 11-2 last season.
Last year’s national champion, LSU, dropped to sixth in the coaches poll and seventh in the AP poll despite a big plug from big Snoop Dogg.
The only other West Region teams in the polls were No. 16/15 Arizona State, No. 17/16 BYU, No. 20/21 Oregon and No. 25/27 Fresno State. (Don’t tell me I’m going to have to cheer on the Wonderdogs this fall, too.)
Cal was down at 32 and UCLA was at 47 or something in the coaches poll, receiving a whopping “3” in the “others receiving votes” category.
USC, a heavy favorite to win the Pac-10 (shocker), opens the season at Virginia on Aug. 30 before hosting Ohio State after its bye week on Sept. 13. That latter meeting should settle any confusion about who deserves the No. 2 ranking if not the top spot for what could be the remainder of the season.

• • •

Speaking of USC, what’s up with Snoop? I thought he was a Trojans fan who was ready to bust a cap on Les Miles, now they’re homies.
I guess Snoop's smoking again.

AP Preseason Top 25:

Team	'07 Record	Pts.	Previous
1. Georgia (22)	11-2	1,528	2
2. Ohio St. (21)	11-2	1,506	5
3. USC (12)	11-2	1,490	3
4. Oklahoma (4)	11-3	1,444	8
5. Florida (6)	9-4	1,415	13
6. Missouri	12-2	1,266	4
7. LSU	12-2	1,135	1
8. West Virginia	11-2	1,116	21
9. Clemson	9-4	1,105	6
10. Auburn	9-4	968	10
11. Texas	10-3	966	15
12. Texas Tech	9-4	786	22
13. Wisconsin	9-4	771	24
14. Kansas	12-1	707	7
15. Arizona St.	10-3	631	16
16. BYU	11-2	590	14
17. Virginia Tech	11-3	578	9
18. Tennessee	10-4	509	12
19. South Florida	9-4	496	--
20. Illinois	9-4	483	20
21. Oregon	9-4	366	23
22. Penn St.	9-4	293	--
23. Wake Forest	9-4	227	--
24. Alabama	7-6	89	--
25. Pittsburgh	5-7	85	--

Others receiving votes: South Carolina 84, Fresno St. 83, California 59, Utah 53, Cincinnati 44, Florida St. 41, Michigan 36, Boston College 32, Rutgers 32, Michigan St. 21, Boise St. 17, Arkansas 14, North Carolina 14, Connecticut 10, Tulsa 7, UCLA 6, Oregon St. 5, Mississippi St. 4, Virginia 4, Arizona 3, Nebraska 2, Notre Dame 2, Hawaii 1, Washington 1.

Topics: Football , College Football , USC , Ohio State , UCLA , College

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Head on over to the NBA National Examiner

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August 30, 1:46 PM

After further review, Brian Milne has moved from the L.A. sports gig to writing as the National NBA Examiner. Don't worry, he'll still have plenty to say about the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers. Please redirect your bookmarks and visit his new... Read More
Topics: Basketball

UCLA to USC: 'The monopoly in L.A. is over"

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August 27, 7:47 AM

The 2008 college football season hasn’t even officially kicked off and UCLA and USC are already talking trash. Despite the fact the rivalry game isn’t until Dec. 6, UCLA took out a rather bold full-page ad pointed at USC in the Los Angeles... Read More
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August 26, 9:07 PM

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August 19, 2:23 AM

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Top 20 fantasy football picks for your upcoming draft

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U.S. men's basketball team looks golden at Olympics

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August 16, 12:50 PM

If the U.S. men’s basketball team continues to play like this, you might as well give them the gold medal right now. The Americans dismantled reigning world champion Spain 119-82 on Saturday at the Beijing Olympics in an all-around dominant... Read More
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Dates to circle on the Lakers' 2008-09 NBA schedule

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August 16, 12:08 AM

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Kobe's popularity soaring in Beijing

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August 16, 12:06 AM

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