Trojan Candy was able to attend her first USC Basketball Salute to Troy this afternoon. This is the Second annual Men's and Women's Basketball Salute to Troy. I missed the first Salute to Troy because I was out of town. Last year friend Hal Keimi and brother-in-law Dudley Poon took pictures for me. Thanks again, guys! If you are curious about the first Basketball Salute to Troy, go to the Candygram dated 10/24/2010.
The Galen Center practice gyms were festive. There were play areas set up for the children, and tables set up for player autographs. The food was delicious, especially the jumbo hot dogs.
Trojan Candy was busy taking pictures of the men's basketball team and the Women of Troy. It was fun to see so many friends. Hope that you enjoy the pictures.
After lunch, the program began. The Spirit of Troy marched in. The Song Girls, the Spirit Team and the Dance Force performed. When does the game begin?
Athletic Director Pat Haden spoke about last season's successes. Then Women of Troy Coach Michael Cooper had each team member introduce herself. The ladies had to rush off to the court for a scrimmage. FIGHT ON, Women of Troy Basketball!
Coach Kevin O'Neill called his team to the stage. Each member introduced himself. Then, injured player Jio Fontan announced that he would be back on the court on January 5, 2012! The entire audience erupted with joy at his swift recovery! FIGHT ON, Men's Basketball!
Three former USC basketball players attended. Jacque Hill, Nick Young (who is a current player of the Washington Wizards) and Ron Holmes were introduced. FIGHT ON, Jacque! FIGHT ON, Nick! FIGHT ON, Ron!
Fun was had by all who attended. Trojan Candy looks forward to the 3rd annual Basketball Salute to Troy next year!
The John McKay Center is changing every week! Notice all the progress.
Heritage Hall was bustling with parents, tours and football players! Five new friends came to the desk for the first time and several parents stopped by for directions and other information. Trojan Candy met some parents who were from Phoenix, Denver, Aspen and North Dakota.
The first new friend is a big USC fan. Anjalo M. Russell played at University High School in West L.A and then was a tight end/middle linebacker at San Diego State University. At SDSU he studied Mass Communications and graduated in 2001. I teased Anjalo and asked him if he had any eligibility left. He said that he wished that he did and would love to play football at USC! Anjalo's grandfather, Leonard Watts, was a track and field coach at Manual Arts. H. S. From the early 60's to early 80's, he taught Anjalo about the USC football tradition. Currently, Anjalo is working in the Admissions Department at the L.A. Film School in Hollywood where he works with students who want to get into Film, 3D Animation, Video Game Production and Recording Arts/Music Production. What an interesting new friend and loyal Trojan fan!
The second new friend is Sophomore Kemi Olonade. Kemi, who is from London, England, competes in the triple jump and the long jump for the USC Track and Field Team. She chose USC for our academics! Another smart Trojan! Kemi is majoring in Journalism. She wrote that "she likes to hang out with friends and enjoy myself." Sounds good to Trojan Candy! FIGHT ON, Kemi!
Trojan Candy's third new friend is also on the track team and is another fellow Texan! Sophomore Lauren Blackburn is from Dallas, Texas. She competes in the 100 m hurdles. Lauren is majoring in Human Performance. After some contemplation, she wrote that her favorite movie is "Despicable Me." FIGHT ON, Lauren!
I thought that the tall, bearded man that walked up to the desk for the first time must be connected somehow with some USC team. My hunch was right! Kevin Clements is a second year Assistant Coach on the USC Swimming Team. He is tall (6 ft 4 in) and was an outstanding swimmer in his own right. Kevin competed at Auburn University in the 400 IM, 500 free, and the 1650 free. He just missed qualifying for the US Olympic Team when he placed third. (Only the top two qualifiers make the team.) Luckily, Kevin brought his skills, his "know-how" and his family to USC. Kevin's wife is Jaqi, and they have three children (3 potential future Trojans!). Chase is 3 and their twins Ava and Leah are 15 months. What a lovely Trojan family. FIGHT ON, Kevin!
We actually stayed later at Heritage Hall than we normally do. The last football players to visit at the desk around 3:45 pm were the quarterbacks. They just let out of their meeting, and they came en masse to the desk. Trojan Candy was able to interview her fifth new friend then. Red-shirt Freshman quarterback Anthony Neyer came up with a big smile. He is from Palm Desert and graduated from Xavier College Prep High School. Anthony is a Communications major. When asked about any hobbies, Anthony again smiled a gorgeous smile and said that he has none. His whole life is football and studies! Then, he wrote in my notebook: Faith, Family, Football, Fight On! Indeed, FIGHT ON, Anthony!
Seen at the SCene:
Coaches: Football: Lane Kiffin, Lenny Vandermade, Joe Barry, Ed Orgeron, Sammy Knight, and Monte Kiffin; Women's Golf: Andrea Gaston; Lacrosse: Lindsey Munday; and Men's Volleyball: Bill Ferguson and several players en masse.
Women's Tennis: Alison Ramos
Track and Field: Caroline Lutsky, Loudia Laarman, Jessica Davis, Anniya Louis
Heritage Hall Friends: Pat Haden, Don Winston, Ron Orr, Craig Kelley, Kathleen DeCristo, Sam Tulin, J.K. McKay, Dr. Bryce Nelson, Luke Stephens, Donna Heinel, Karen Bowman, Darcy Couch, Teresa Verbeck, Jill Dennis, Tim Tessalone, and Serge Liberovsky
Divers: Celia Pinczower, Tory Ishimatsu
Football Players: Brice Butler, Marc Tyler, Boomer Roepke, Hayes Pullard (who told Trojan Candy that he is allergic to peanuts and chocolate), Kyle Negrete, Matt Barkley, Drew McAllister, Jawanza Starling (we relived his 80 yard run for a touchdown after the Irish fumbled at our one yard line....it is still exciting!), Kamaron Germany, Demetrius Wright, J.R. Tavai, Tony Burnette, Chris Pousson, Andre Heidari (he told me that he is all right and will play against Stanford), Kevin Graf, T.J. McDonald, Devon Kennard, Marshall Jones, Zack Kusnir, Shane Horton, Markeith Ambles (keep working!), T.J. Bryant, Marcus Martin, Khaled Holmes, Jesse Scroggins, Randall Telfer, Emon Saee, Max Wittek, John Manoogian, Peter Yobo
As we left Heritage Hall, we saw the Spirit of Troy walking to and congregating in the Loker Track Stadium. Many of the band members were dressed up for Halloween. The band will play in the 4:30 pm Heritage Hall Rally. FIGHT ON, Spirit of Troy
Trojan Candy will be reporting from Boulder, Colorado, next week. FIGHT ON, USC Football. Beat the Cardinal! Then beat the Buffalos!
FIGHT ON, until then!
The walls are coming up! So much progress is being made on the John McKay Center.
It was a rather quiet day at Heritage Hall today. Only twenty-one football friends came by the desk. Guess the rest of the team was busy packing for the flight to South Bend, Indiana, via Chicago. Some of the players told us the team will eat dinner at 3:00 p.m. at either "little" Galen or in the Heritage Hall lounge. Then, they'll leave at 4:30 p.m. for the airport. After the victory Saturday, the team will fly home right after the game arriving in L.A. at 5:00 a.m. on Sunday, 10/23. Fight On, Mighty Men of Troy to another Victory! Beat the Irish!
Three new friends came by the desk today for the first time. Senior Brian Wagner, who is from L.A., is the Head Student Manager of the Football Team. He is majoring in Public Relations/Business. Brian is quite an athlete himself! At Crespi High School he was an Academic All-American in water polo and swimming. His swimming events were the 50 m and 100 m freestyle. Brian's favorite music is country music, and his favorite artist is Brad Paisley. Brian, have fun in South Bend and FIGHT ON!
Trojan Candy's second new friend is a fellow Texan! Senior Lauren Smolenski is from San Antonio and Trojan Candy is from Houston! Another coincidence is that Lauren is majoring in Architecture. My dad graduated from the School of Architecture at Rice University in 1941. Lauren competes on the Rowing Team. Her favorite music is, like Brian's, country music. FIGHT ON, Lauren!
Sophomore Elizabeth (Liz) Fernandes walked right up to the Heritage Hall desk, smiled, put her arms on the counter, said, "Hello," and waited to be interviewed! 
Trojan Candy graciously did her bidding! Elizabeth is majoring in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing. She is from Boston, Massachusetts, and ran track in high school. Her events were the 200 m and jumps. At USC Elizabeth competes on the Soccer Team. Trojan Candy forgot to ask Elizabeth about her hobbies. (Next time!) However, Elizabeth made a Trojan friend for life, when she told me, "I love your website!" FIGHT ON, Elizabeth!
Seen at the SCene:
Track and Field: Jessica Davis, Jade Niemeyer, Kristopher Washington, Loudia Laarman
Men's Basketball: Byron Wesley, James Blasczyk, Jio Fontan
Women's Water Polo: Adrienne Taylor
Women's Volleyball: Natasa Siljkovic
Women's Soccer: Mia Bruno, Ashley Freyer, Jamie Kucharski, Autumn Altamirano
Heritage Hall Friends: Odette Overton, Dr. Bryce Nelson, Jason Pommier, Darcy Couch, J.K. McKay (who told Trojan Candy, "We're gonna kill 'em (the Irish)"), Dave, Andrew Morcos, Craig Kelley, Alpha, Dr. John Petruska, Dr. Bob Baker, Bhupinder Singh, Jordan Cohen, Cleary Clark, Pat Haden, Donna Heinel, Jill Dennis
Women's Lacrosse: Erin McGilliway (who said her Mom thought my website was cute)
Football: Kyle Negrete, Max Wittek, Marc Tyler (who showed Trojan Candy that his shoulders were healed), Devon Kennard, Khaled Holmes, Xavier Grimble, De'Von Flournoy, Patrick Hall, DaJohn Harris, Marquis Simmons, Christian Thomas (who had surgery two weeks ago and will have another surgery in two weeks...Ouch!), Armond Armstead, Randall Telfer, J.R. Tavai, Zac Kusnir, Kevin Greene, Brandon Carswell, Jawanza Starling, Will Andrew, Javorius Allen, Kevin Graf
Coaches: Rowing: Ligita Kaviere, Soccer: Ali Khosroshahin, Men's Golf: Chris Zambri, Kurt Schuette (who told Trojan Candy that some of the team is traveling to Atlanta), Football: Lenny Vandermade, Jim Davis, Joe Barry, Scott Thompson, Monte Kiffin, John Baxter, Justin Mesa, Sammy Knight, Lane Kiffin (who waved and smiled at us from the balcony)
Trojan Candy will volunteer at Heritage Hall next on Friday, October 28th.
FIGHT ON, until then!
Why does it feel like it's Saturday? Anyway, it's Thursday and the Cal game is on!
Trojan Candy, Pat, and Dudley rode Caltrain and the Muni this time to the Ferry Building area again. The Spirit of Troy was warming up in the park outside the Hyatt Regency. When we entered the hotel for the Tailgate Reception, I saw the USC Spirit Team. Trojan Candy couldn't resist taking their picture. FIGHT ON, Spirit Team!
The reception was quiet at first. There were some booths that were selling items. As I bought some pins from the East Bay Trojan Club booth, a friend smiled and said, "Hello." Jim Wentrich was working the booth. Trojan Candy had met him at Heritage Hall. Jim travels to L.A. for football and basketball games. What a loyal Trojan! FIGHT ON, Jim!
Just as I was going to get my food, the Spirit of Troy and Song Girls were ready to start the Pep Rally in the park. Naturally, I rushed down the stairs to the park. Being outdoors, many passers-by joined in the rally. There were even some Cal supporters! As usual, Dr. Bartner and the band got everyone "hyped up" for the game! FIGHT ON, Spirit of Troy!
After the reception, we took a short mile and a half Muni ride, that was packed with Trojans and Bears, to the San Francisco Giant's AT&T Park. The weather was perfect and our seats were fantastic! Who needs Memorial Stadium? Not this Trojan!
However, the game started slowly, but we gradually pulled away from the Bears. Unfortunately, some friends sustained injuries. Anthony Brown, Marc Tyler and Marqise Lee. (Marqise did score at least one touchdown, as I instructed him to do!) Get well soon!
Our Trojans fought on to 30-9 VICTORY!
My night ended with a mad dash to the Caltrain station!
Trojan Candy flew up to Northern California to visit her three grandsons Zane (5), Kane (2) and Parker (2). Oh...and also to go to the USC-Cal game tomorrow night.
The night before the game, my sister Pat, brother-in-law Dudley and I rode Caltrain to the One Market Restaurant near the Ferry Building in the Embarcadero. Though we were told that there were demonstrations on Market Street, we didn't see any. Dr. Bartner's event was in the restaurant's spacious indoor patio.
Trojan Candy met some new friends. Cynthia Wiese and Brett Padelford greeted us at the check-in desk. We sat with friends Joyce and Roger Stewart, who flew in from Hawaii with a stopover in San Francisco to see the game. They live in Arizona. It was so nice to visit with Dr. Bartner and his wife Barbara.
Then, The Spirit of Troy Pep Band entertained us. Such talented musicians! After the band performed, Dr. Bartner narrated the presentation about his favorite "Top 40 Moments". Trojan Candy remembers every one of them, too! My favorite was #24, the 1985 halftime performance in the Rose Bowl, when USC played Ohio State. Such fond memories!
Before we left the reception, we met a gentleman who played the French horn in the USC Band in 1948-1949. Bob Burman, who is from Pasadena, taught in the Los Angeles Unified School District for 35 years. Just like yours truly! FIGHT ON, Bob!
Such a memorable evening with Dr. Bartner.
The roof rafters are up on the John McKay Center. There is so much progress every week.
The lobby was very quiet today. At first, Trojan Candy thought that no new friends would come to the desk, but two new friends came shortly before my husband and I packed up to leave.
The first new friend came to the desk with a big smile on his face! He asked how much for the snacks, and Trojan Candy told him they were complimentary. Another big smile. Junior Spencer Di Dio, who is from San Diego, is a member of the USC Men's Swim Team. He competes in the Butterfly stroke. Spencer said that he played baseball, football and soccer when he was young, but changed to swimming when he was seven years old. Being six feet 3 inches tall gives him an advantage in swimming! Spencer is majoring in Economics but said that he would rather major in Art. Using spray paint and acrylics, he paints on boards and surfboards. His friends make requests for him to paint their favorite animals. Classic Rock 'n Roll is Spencer's favorite music. FIGHT ON, Spencer!
Trojan Candy's second new friend is in the Arts, like Spencer. Senior Matthew McCormick was almost out the door when I ran to him and beckoned him back to the desk. He came! Matthew, who is from San Juan Capistrano, is on the USC Track Team. He competes in the Pole Vault. (What a brave soul!) Matthew is majoring in Mechanical Engineering and minoring in Consumer Behavior. Now, for the Arts. Matthew plays Acoustic Guitar, and he played the clarinet, saxophone, and tuba in high school. His favorite music is by Kings of Leon and The Strokes. When I told him that we would not be volunteering in Heritage Hall next week because I am going to the CAL game, Matthew said that he was going to the USC-Notre Dame game. His roommate is from Chicago, so he and several friends will be staying in Chicago with him. Let's hope that our beloved USC (my alma mater too) beats the Bears and the Irish! FIGHT ON, Matthew!
Seen at the SCene:
Heritage Hall Friends: J.K. McKay, Odette Overton, Donna Heinel, Marika Hoeckmann, Daniel, David, and Craig Kelley
Coaches: Football: Monte Kiffin and Lenny Vandermade
Football: Nic Curry, Jawanza Starling (wearing a red Cincinnati Red's cap, but he said that the Milwaukee Braves are his favorite baseball team), De'Von Flournoy, Brandon Carswell (with a new trimmed beard), Anthony Brown (whom Trojan Candy congratulated on his first start and good game!), Lamar Dawson, Armond Armstead, Randall Telfer, Jesse Scoggins (who told Trojan Candy that he is going up for the Cal game), Hayes Pullard, Kevin Greene, Marqise Lee (Trojan Candy told him to get eight receptions and at least one touchdown against the Cal Bears!), and Tre' Madden
Soccer: Mia Bruno and Heather Davis
Women's Water Polo: Adrienne Taylor
Rowing: Anna Wierzbowska and Kajsa Olsson who told us that the Rowers will travel to Sacramento at the end of October.
Track: Jessica Davis, Loudia Laarman, Jennifer Jones, Anniya Louis, Trey Henderson, Jade Niemeyer, Caroline Lutzky, and Kristopher Washington (long time...no see, Kris!)
Men's Basketball: Byron Wesley and James Blasczyk
Trojan Candy will not volunteer at Heritage Hall next week. I will be reporting from San Francisco when USC plays Cal on Thursday, 10/13/11. So, I'll be back in two weeks.
FIGHT ON, until then!
