I’m blogging from a train in Gary, Indiana. The South Shore Line (from Chicago to South Bend) has “indefinite delays” due to a problem on the tracks. Perfect time to catch up on the best (and worst) in this week’s punditry, reporting, and YouTube videos.

UPDATE: They’ve scratched the train and are bringing in buses. But at least they’re giving me a free ticket for a future ride because of the hour+ delay.

Let’s Frame The Discussion

• In case you missed the Plaschke perspective, it’s a good one.
• Hope springs eternal at the Daily Trojan. #1? Peter Simons sees a way.
• Not all Peters think alike. Fox Sport’s Peter Schrager tapped the Trojans as his biggest disappointment of the season. At least they’re #1 at something.
• Dan Weber at the Riverside Press-Enterprise has another jinx for us to consider.
• SC Playbook had 20 Questions for Fred Davis, who happens to be my vote for USC’s mid-season MVP.

Was Anybody Wild for USC’s Play Against The ‘Cats?

• Arizona Coach Mike Stoops on his loss to USC.
• The ESPN video recap of USC-Arizona made it onto YouTube. TOS violation in 3 … 2 …
• Apparently Joe McKnight’s efforts were nominated for the Pontiac Game Changing Performance, but I’m having trouble finding the exact link (lousy internet connection out here).
• AOL FanHouse found a cool video and nailed the headline: Joe McKnight Saves USC’s Bacon
• One blogger went on a blistering USC bashing rant, but his most
  interesting observation was almost an after thought. Check out the
  state-by-state map for ESPN’s survey on “Which conference had the best Saturday?” (Keep in mind it’s a week old, but still interesting to think about the sharp regionalism.)

Let’s Go Polling

USC is out of the AP Top 10 for the first time in 62 consecutive weeks. While they sit at #13, not everybody sees it that way. Our AP Eccentrics Of The Week are …

• Mike Prater (Idaho Statesman), who voted USC #5.
• Stewart Mandel (SI.com), who voted USC #19.
• The BCS Computers, who ranked USC #24.
• An honorable mention to Neal McCready (Mobile Press-Register), who thinks Arizona State is the best team in America. The Arizona Republic asked him why.

Elsewhere

• Kentucky was fined $50,000 by the SEC because their fans stormed the field again.
• A Baylor assistant coach was axed for urinating on a bar. Anybody surprised he’s originally from The U?
• Here’s an interesting site about coaches on the hotseat — complete with their salaries.
• You’ll have to watch for a bit, you can can catch a glimpse of Jeff Tedford’s temper tantrum on Youtube.