Horned Frogs Were Royal Pain, Even Back in 1961

USC Coach Paul Hackett calls Texas Christian a spoiler, a backhanded compliment meaning that the Horned Frogs aren’t good enough to have lofty aspirations but take pride in ruining yours.

That is not a new role for the Toads, dating almost four decades when an opposing coach, more descriptive than Hackett, compared them to a cockroach.

Texas’ Darrell Royal meant it as a compliment. He said it after TCU, which went into its next-to-last game of 1961 with only two victories, upset the Longhorns, 6-0, on a flea-flicker to end their unbeaten season, their two-week reign as the No. 1 team and their national title hopes.

“They’re like a cockroach,” Royal said. “It isn’t what he eats or totes off but what he falls into and messes up.”

What could the Frogs mess up for USC in Thursday’s Sun Bowl in El Paso?

Not as much as they did for Texas 37 years ago, but the Trojans are attempting to win nine games in a season for only the second time in the ‘90s.

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One thing Hackett requested of USC’s athletic department when he was hired last year was an opportunity to play as many games as possible within the next two seasons. . . .

Daryl Gross, a Trojan associate athletic director, delivered. . . .

Opening this season in the Pigskin Classic and closing in the Sun Bowl, USC has 13 games. Opening next season in Hawaii, the Trojans again will have 13 if they advance to a bowl game. . . .

As a result, Hackett will have had time to fully install his sophisticated offensive system in time for the 2000 season. . . .

That’s when Trojan fans can realistically expect great things, especially if Carson Palmer, who will be a junior then, avoids injury. . . .

UCLA Coach Bob Toledo says offensive tackle Kris Farris could improve his play and his draft status if he remains for his senior season. . . .

He was good enough this season to win the Outland Trophy, but Toledo says Farris isn’t at the level of other offensive linemen he has coached such as UCLA’s Jonathan Ogden or USC’s Anthony Munoz. . . .

Yes, but considering that Munoz is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Ogden is about to play in the Pro Bowl for the second time in two NFL seasons, it’s pretty nice to be mentioned in the same sentence. . . .

One of Wisconsin’s most famous alumni, Wayne Lukas, won only 16 races in Southern California in the 12 months leading to the Santa Anita meeting that opened last weekend. . . .

That led to suggestions that Bob Baffert ran Lukas out of the state. . . .

Perhaps, but like the Terminator, he’s back. . . .

Lukas concentrated more this year on his operations in Florida, Kentucky and New York but says his focal point this winter will be Santa Anita. . . .

Lukas won two races there Saturday and has 21 horses nominated for the April 3 Santa Anita Derby. . . .

Who says horse racing is dead? Either live at the track or on satellite feeds, more than 98,000 watched the first two days of Santa Anita’s winter meeting. . . .

Who says boxing is dead? Upcoming cards feature Mike Tyson versus Francois Botha on Jan. 16 in Las Vegas, Oscar De La Hoya versus Ike Quartey on Feb. 13 in Las Vegas and Evander Holyfield versus Lennox Lewis on March 13 in New York. . . .

The canceled fight between George Foreman and Larry Holmes will hardly be missed, especially by Foreman. He earned $1 million merely by signing the contract. . . .

Lightweight Ivan Robinson, an impressive winner over Arturo Gatti two weeks ago in Atlantic City, says he wants to fight Pomona’s Sugar Shane Mosley next. . . .

As Mills Lane would say, let’s get it on. Michael Katz, the respected New York Daily News boxing writer, named Mosley his fighter of the year. . . .

Mark O’Meara gets no respect. Despite winning two majors this year, his odds of winning even one in 1999 are no better than 25-1 according to Ladbrokes of London. . . .

With eight of the Kings’ next 10 games at the Great Western Forum, odds are considerably better that Luc Robitaille will score his 500th goal at home. He has 496. . . .

He’ll be only the sixth left wing in NHL history with 500. Of the others, Bobby Hull, John Bucyk, Michel Goulet and Frank Mahovlich are in the Hockey Hall of Fame, and Dave Andreychuk is still active. . . .

I guess we should stop calling Luc Lucky.

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While wondering if Mike Holmgren will beat the 49ers and join them, I was thinking: Neither side will take any prisoners in the Humanitarian Bowl, it’s hard to overestimate Rob Blake’s value to the Kings, Pedro Borbon came cheap--$375,000 and a couple of helicopter rides around Chavez Ravine.

Randy Harvey can be reached at [email protected].