Neuheisel interrupted with a complaining cry.

"First question, USC!" he shouted.

But he was still beaming. The mention of the Trojans wasn't the end of his fun, it was only the beginning.

"You have to embrace it," he said. "They're that elephant in the living room. . . . You can't be a football coach at UCLA and not find ways to be successful against USC."

And yes, he said, he will find a way.

"The good news is that when we catch them — I say when we catch them — we're going to not only have caught the leader of the Pac, but be among the programs that challenge for the big prize," he said.

About 30 minutes later, the Trojans' Pete Carroll took the same dais, wearing the same smile.

He was talking about his involvement in an Aug. 2 Live Peace walk, inviting the presidential candidates to join him, when I couldn't resist.

"Are you going to invite Neuheisel and Chow as well?" I asked.

"I'm sure they're going to be busy," he said.

When the laughter died, he quickly explained that, of course, everyone was invited.

But the shiny, new-car feel to this rivalry needs no clarification.

"That was my main hesitation," he said.

But he said a few conversations with Willingham helped soothe his worries.

"I have faith in coach Willingham and the program and that he's going to turn it around," Price said.

Price is described as a dual-threat quarterback in the Dennis Dixon mold, running for just over 300 yards and eight touchdowns last season and passing for 955 and six touchdowns. Last year was his first as a starting quarterback, and he said his team spent a lot of the season with an offense based around its running back, reasons why he was viewed as under-the-radar in recruiting circles. His only other listed offers were from Utah and Nevada. But his stock rose after he was reportedly impressive in summer camps, including a performance at Washington's a few weeks ago. He said UW didn't begin recruiting him until June but then quickly made an offer. He said UW offensive coordinator Tim Lappano told him that "I was perfect" for the spread offense the Huskies are now operating, which includes liberal doses of quarterback runs.

NDNation.com, meanwhile, severed its contract with Google, which placed the ad on the site. Google's software, according to site owner Mike Coffey, checks the context of the page and then posts what it deems to be an appropriate ad. Coffey said attempts are made to screen for inappropriate content. He also sent a missive to Google, alerting it that some advertisers are creating unnecessary angst over amateurism.

"After I received a call (from Notre Dame on Tuesday), I took Google out of our rotation," Coffey said. "With luck, that hopefully ends the problem."

When the Galaxy traveled to Washington last month, attendance was off by more than 10,000 from last year's game, even though that one was played on a weeknight, in the rain, and it was unclear if Beckham, who was injured, would play. Beckham did play and afterward attended three well-advertised invitation-only parties at D.C. nightclubs. When the Galaxy returned last month, there were none. Crowds at the Galaxy's other road games have been almost identical to last season even though Beckham did not play in Dallas, Toronto, Colorado and Salt Lake City a year ago because of injuries.

"Beckham may have been a larger than life character, but in America he's become a medium-size fish in a very big pond," said Ellis Cashmore, a professor of culture, media and sport at England's Staffordshire University, and who has written a book on Beckham. "That engagement he's had with European consumers - who have watched him lurch from one crisis to another, on and off the field, then restore himself — it doesn't exist. He goes to the U.S. without that relationship and he has to be accepted as an athlete. There's a built-in obsolescence because people cannot continue to be fascinated by a soccer player in the U.S."

Andrei Markovits, a comparative politics professor at the University of Michigan who has written about soccer, said the question of how much Beckham had moved the needle was irrelevant now. If an American player says during the 2014 or 2018 World Cup that the hoopla of Beckham's arrival steered him into the sport, it will be a success.

"Beckham is an investment — like Pele," Markovits said. "People say the Cosmos failed and of course they did. But they created an entire generation that made soccer an American word. It was like mineral water. Now you can get a six-pack of mineral water in Iowa."

Packer will no longer be part of the CBS college basketball broadcast team, it was announced Monday. In a statement, Packer, 68, said he was leaving to "pursue other basketball projects." He will be replaced by Clark Kellogg, 47. Kellogg is knowledgeable, fair-minded and, most of all, seems excited to be doing college basketball.

Packer, who played college basketball at Wake Forest, has been part of every Final Four television broadcast since 1975. His best years were when he was teamed with Dick Enberg and Al McGuire. His dyspeptic rant during the 2006 CBS NCAA tournament selection show, when he unapologetically savaged the choice of four Missouri Valley Conference teams, offered a couple of good points missed because of his red-faced anger. Oh, and no apology from Billy when Bradley and Wichita State went to the Sweet 16.

Blatter, soccer's supposedly most powerful figure — even though he is regarded in many circles as more of an interfering buffoon than an innovative leader — argued that Ronaldo, 23, should be allowed to join Real Madrid if that's what he wants.

"I think in football there is too much modern slavery, transferring players or buying players here and there, and putting them somewhere," Blatter said in an interview with Britain's Sky Sports. "And we are trying now to intervene in such cases."

Why? What business is it of FIFA's if Manchester United, with Ronaldo's signature firmly affixed to the contract he signed in 2007, wants to hold the Portuguese star to his word?

"If the player wants to play somewhere else, then a solution should be found," Blatter said.

In other words, to quote Carlos Queiroz, Manchester United's assistant coach, "contracts are becoming meaningless."

The Brazilian has two years left on his contract. Barcelona is seeking a reported $63 million for the 28-year-old. But when Brazil on Tuesday included Ronaldinho on its roster for the Beijing Olympics, Barcelona decided to dig in its heels and demand that Ronaldinho instead show up when preseason training begins Monday.

"The Games do not form part of the FIFA calendar . . . therefore the club is not obliged to make its players available," Barcelona said in a statement released on its website.

Barcelona has taken the same stance on Argentine striker Lionel Messi, who had been expected to join Argentina's Olympic team.

The surgery was performed by Dutch orthopedic surgeon Niek van Dijk after the English club and the Portuguese soccer federation had agreed that it was necessary. Meanwhile, Ronaldo's desired and much ballyhooed move to Real Madrid has been shifted to the back burner, with Ramon Calderon, the Spanish club's president, telling reporters at Wimbledon on Sunday that Ronaldo "is more likely to be playing with United next year" rather than moving to Madrid

The surgery was performed by Dutch orthopedic surgeon Niek van Dijk after the English club and the Portuguese soccer federation had agreed that it was necessary. Meanwhile, Ronaldo's desired and much ballyhooed move to Real Madrid has been shifted to the back burner, with Ramon Calderon, the Spanish club's president, telling reporters at Wimbledon on Sunday that Ronaldo "is more likely to be playing with United next year" rather than moving to Madrid

Having three underclassmen taken in the most recent NBA draft — sophomore Russell Westbrook was picked fourth, freshman Kevin Love fifth and junior Luc Richard Mbah a Moute 37th — Howland said he expects a different kind of pressure next season.

"If you told me right now I'd get back to the Final Four," Howland said, "I'd be elated."