http://thesportsgod.com/joncastro The View From the Beach Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:56:40 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I laughed when I read Dave’s recent article about the huge all day coverage ESPN gave to the national high school national signing day. All these experts talk about these kids like they are the second coming of Adrian Peterson, when most are the second coming of Whitney Lewis. Who ... http://thesportsgod.com/joncastro/2010/02/the-view-from-the-beach-25/ Last summer my daughter was graduating from high school and literally had her pick of schools, and was down to USC and Loyola Marymount, both great local schools with great academics. In the end, she felt more comfortable with the shorter drive to LMU (12 miles) and smaller campus, and, ... http://thesportsgod.com/joncastro/2010/02/the-view-from-the-beach-24/ Wow, before I could do any columns, there were so many things going on at USC, but now that they have settled down, where do I start? Well, let’s start with… A) Bye Bye Pete- Right after the Halloween Massacre known as the Oregon ... http://thesportsgod.com/joncastro/2010/01/the-view-from-the-beach-23/ Before this year’s Rose Bowl, the popular opinion was that the Pac 10 representative from Oregon would continue the recent trend of beating up on the Big 10 representative from Ohio State . Last season Dave Smith actually predicted that the perennial Big 10 sacrificial lamb, Penn State , ... http://thesportsgod.com/joncastro/2010/01/the-view-from-the-beach-22/ As I read Dave Smith’s last two columns blistering my beloved USC Trojan football program, all I could think of was—incredibly, he’s right! Believe me, no real Trojan fan wanted to see the team playing in something called the Emerald Bowl, referred to by Trojan fans as The Nut Bowl… ... http://thesportsgod.com/joncastro/2009/12/the-view-from-the-beach-21/ As Kobe Bryant walked off the court after a recent game with an injury to his shooting hand, there was no doubt in anybody who has watched his remarkable career that he would be back---or so we hoped. Kobe did return, but it was obvious he was in dire ... http://thesportsgod.com/joncastro/2009/12/the-view-from-the-beach-20/ As Matt Barkley went down without even as much as getting off a final desperate heave in yet another disappointing end to a USC game, Trojan fans were left to wonder if the 8-4 season was merely a bump in the road, a rebuilding year, or the beginning of the ... http://thesportsgod.com/joncastro/2009/12/the-view-from-the-beach-19/ Lost in all the controversy over Pete Carroll’s decision to score a ‘rub it in” touchdown Saturday night was another question that begs to be asked— Where in the world was Norm Chow? For the past month, USC’s defense has been getting torched, and while UCLA doesn’t have the playmakers ... http://thesportsgod.com/joncastro/2009/12/the-view-from-the-beach-18/ It was a seminal moment in history. There he was, the great Hulk Hogan, in his yellow and red tights, getting tagged into the ring to take out the two heels who were beating up on the good guy in the ring. As the crowd erupted into cheers, The Hulkster ... http://thesportsgod.com/joncastro/2009/11/the-view-from-the-beach-17/ With great anticipation, I sat down to watch Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto get down to business last Saturday night. Even though Cotto is on the down side of his career, he was still bigger and packed a wallop that Pacquiao had yet to feel. And Cotto figured to present ... http://thesportsgod.com/joncastro/2009/11/the-view-from-the-beach-16/