USC spanks itself, lightly

Did you feel that seismic jolt emanating out of southern California?

Funny, neither did we.

Is Mike Garrett's announcement because of worry about impending (we call it "Waiting For Godot") sanctions from the NCAA?

Or a hey-move-on-nothing-to-see-we'll-handle-it-here-ourselves-because-we-are-in-control message?

It's hard not be cynical as USC has self-imposed the following on its basketball program:

• A reduction of one scholarship for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 academic years.

• Reducing the number of coaches permitted to recruit off-campus by one during the summer of 2010.

• Reducing the number of recruiting days for the 2010-11 academic year, to 110.

One schollie, for two years including the present one? Oh that really hurts. Is the thinking that because O.J. Mayo took up just one...? If the NCAA isn't insulted by that...

The number of coaches and recruiting days reductions are a joke considering SoCal's geographical location in the basketball fertile southern California area. If you can't get it done with a bit less than a third of the calendar year available to recruit, with one less coach and with PAC-10 membership, well, an incompetency hearing should be scheduled.

Okay, back to our regularly scheduled WAC programming.