By GREGG PATTON, The Press-Enterprise

LOS ANGELES - Woe are the University of Southern California Trojans.

How will they go on? Is football really worth pursuing anymore? Should the team even bother going to Arizona State this week, or would it be better off attending a Tony Robbins seminar to rediscover the merits of their existence?

LOS ANGELES - You know that expression -- you don't know whether to laugh or cry?

Go to the battle of Los Angeles' NBA teams and there's no question. You laugh with the Lakers. Cry with the Clippers.

Tuesday night the two teams opened their NBA seasons against each other, polar opposites that they are, following their scripts: Lakers 99, Clippers 92.

ANAHEIM, Calif. - It was so quiet in the Los Angeles Angels clubhouse, you could hear Chone Figgins throw in his towel.

Into a laundry hamper, I mean. Not to be confused with a team throwing in the towel, of course.

The Angels would never say it, think it or play like it, even on the bottom side of a 3-1 deficit to New York in the American League Championship Series.

There should have been a sign up around Major League Baseball: "Closers beware. Postseason ahead."

No, it certainly hasn't been a banner week for some of the best relief pitchers. In fact, all four losing teams in the first round of the playoffs had their save specialist cough up a game that looked like money.

There isn't much that can give those in the Southern California football family the creeps.

But one of them is anything that brings to mind Vince Young, the former Texas quarterback and offensive wrecking ball who led the Longhorns over the unbeaten Trojans in the 2006 BCS title game.

University of Southern California Pete Carroll didn't mean for his running back situation to look like an escalator accident -- too many people piled up and no room for anyone to squeeze by.

It just sort of evolved that way.

After he finished his first official practice as the starting quarterback for the University of Southern California on Thursday, Matt Barkley was engulfed by a media swarm.

Nearby, a group of offensive linemen huddled up and barked in unison, "Leave Barkley alone!"

Sorry guys, that's not going to get it done. And make no mistake, it will be your job to protect him.

I wasn't sure that Los Angeles Dodgers fans had it in them, But nice work, folks, for holding Manny Ramirez accountable for some lackadaisical outfield play.

Southern Cal fans, you're excused from this little exercise.

But everyone else, when the first star appears tonight and you make your wish, put in a word for a winning record for the UCLA football team.

It didn't rain in Southern California on Tuesday, and Manny Ramirez wasn't agonizing in the clubhouse before the Dodgers' game against Milwaukee over his recent struggles at the plate.

No one detected the Dodgers left fielder searching for answers, blaming himself for the team's mini-slump or worrying when he'd finally produce another RBI.