SoCal Exclusive: Michael Lev of the Orange County Register

May and June are arguably the two worst months for college football fans, as very little news cycles in and out of collegiate campuses. So to satisfy your hunger for some college football and college hoops talk, we brought in Michael Lev of the Orange County Register to talk about his experience working for the OCR, the upcoming USC football season, and the latest accusations regarding the Trojans’ basketball program.

Q: When did you start covering USC for the Orange County Register and when did that come about?

The switch to USC happened around July of last year. I had spent my first seven or so years at the Register covering the NFL and writing a TV-radio column. I subsequently filled in as our pro sports editor and did a variety of Web-related jobs until we reorganized our sports department in 2008. I basically had a choice between USC and UCLA and chose USC because it’s a more football-oriented beat (and because it’s a lot easier to get to!).

Q: As a journalist covering and blogging for the team, do you ever find yourself rooting for them?

Not really. What I usually tell people is that we sportswriters root for two things: (1) interesting games; and (2) fast-moving games. Although we have shifted most of our emphasis to the Internet, we are still slaves to newspaper deadlines. Obviously there’s more interest in what I write if the teams are doing well, and the locker room is typically a more jovial place. But I can’t say I root for one side or the other.

Q: USC fans have often been accused by other diehard fan bases (see: LSU, Ohio State) for being too lax and not passionate enough. You run the USC blog and read all the comments, how true are these accusations?

I don’t think they’re true at all. In my time here in Southern California (I moved here in August 2000), I have found USC fans to be passionate to the point of zealousness – at least about football. Basketball doesn’t carry the same weight, but that’s hardly surprising given the football tradition at USC. Of course, it’s all relative. If you’re comparing Pac-10 football fans to SEC football fans, they’re in a whole different league. But then, they don’t have much else to do.

Q: You happen to work for the mainstream media, yet also run the OCR’s USC blog. Why hasn’t traditional media fully embraced the sports blogosphere.

People of a certain age haven’t, but I think blogs, Twitter, etc., are really catching on. This perception that all bloggers are working in their pajamas out of their parents’ basements is just absurd. Most team beat writers also have blogging duties these days, and they have become a great source of inside information. If a certain segment of the mainstream media chooses to ignore that, it’s their loss.

Q: Now before I bore everybody to death, let’s strictly talk USC sports now. Nearly all USC fans are tired of simply Rose Bowl titles and want national championships. What are the chances the Carroll and company are holding up the glass football in 2010?

I personally don’t see it, for a few reasons. The main one is the schedule. It’s a killer. AT Ohio State. AT Oregon. AT Cal. Heck, even AT Notre Dame. None of those are gimmes for a team with a new quarterback and a rebuilt defensive front seven. (OK, maybe Notre Dame is.) Obviously, the cupboard is hardly bare; USC still has as much talent as any team in the country. But if a team featuring the No. 5 pick in the draft and almost an entire defense full of NFL players couldn’t get it done, I have a hard time seeing this team do it with a tougher schedule. (Not that USC had a real chance to compete for the title. But that’s another debate for another day.)

Q: Spring practice just ended a few weeks ago and most fans are abuzz over the play of freshman quarterback Matt Barkley. Besides the talented freshman QB, which player(s) stood out the most?

Tailback Curtis McNeal was electric; he’s a poor man’s Barry Sanders. Carroll called fullback D.J. Shoemate the most-improved player on the team. The entire defensive line was outstanding, with DE Everson Griffen leading the charge. WLB Malcolm Smith looks like a future star. CB Kevin Thomas had a quietly excellent camp. And fellow CB T.J. Bryant started to show what all the recruiting hype was about.

Q: Okay, you new I had to ask about the quarterback position. Do you think Corp be the starter on September 5th or is there any chance, Barkley beats him out? And as for Mustain being third on the depth chart, is there any chance he transfers?

There is a real chance. My fellow writers and I keep getting the sense that Carroll is trying to talk himself into Barkley starting as a freshman. He’s that good. That said, though, Corp enters training camp with a lead, and it would take a combination of him slipping and Barkley surging for Carroll to make that call. Even with all of USC’s defensive departures, that side of the ball is still awfully strong, and Carroll knows he can win with a quarterback who manages the game – i.e., Corp. As for Mustain, it’s possible he could transfer to a sub-FBS school in 2010 after he has graduated so he can play immediately, but he has said repeatedly that he has no plans to transfer at this time.

Q: So let’s move on to hoops, USC’s dominant program. Why in the world did Daniel Hackett declare for the draft? NBAdraft.net predicts that he won’t even be drafted this year. What was his rational?

USC’s dominant program – ha! You clearly have a sense of humor. Anyway, regarding Hackett … although it’s every person’s prerogative to choose their own path in life, the consensus from inside and outside the program is that he made a major mistake – unless he just wants to return to Europe to play, which might very well be his only option. I’ve been told he doesn’t have the requisite quickness to play in the NBA. He either got some bad advice, or he has an inflated opinion of himself. I was shocked when I heard the news, and I’m pretty sure Tim Floyd was too.

Q: Is there any chance that either Taj Gibson or DeMar DeRozen return to school?

Although DeRozan still hasn’t officially hired an agent as far as I know, there’s almost no chance he’s coming back. He’s going to be a top-10 pick, and he wants to take care of his family. No one can blame him for that. As for Gibson, I’ve heard he’s seeking a guarantee from some team that they’ll draft him. If he doesn’t get it, he might return. Although he’s older than most draftees, he loves USC, is a Floyd loyalist and is close to earning his degree.

Q: What’s your take on this whole Tim Floyd/O.J. Mayo/Rodney Guillory/ thing and the lack of USC having institutional control. Will USC be penalized, and if so, to what extent?

That’s the multimillion-dollar question, and it’s really difficult to answer. My best guess is that the football program will receive a slap on the wrist, if anything, and that the basketball program will suffer more severe sanctions – but nothing remotely resembling the so-called “death penalty.” Maybe a couple of lost scholarships? The reason is, even though the guys at Yahoo! Sports did their due diligence – and the NCAA undoubtedly is doing the same – it’s difficult to prove that anyone from USC knowingly was involved in any of these allegations. I personally find it hard to believe that Floyd would be naïve enough to hand someone an envelope of cash in Beverly Hills (or even that Floyd would set foot in Beverly Hills). But if he allowed Rodney Guillory to hang around the program, that’s a definite no-no. Hopefully we’ll find out one way or the other before the end of the century.

Note: Here is a link to the Orange County Register’s USC blog