Text messages from press row...

Remember back in the day, before Pete Carroll arrived, when USC-Notre Dame games at the Coliseum were highly anticipated, every seat in the house was filled and the outcome was in doubt all the way into the fourth quarter? . . .

USC hasn’t won any of the last four by fewer than 20 points. . . .

Hats off to Fili Moala and the USC defense, which in six games at the Coliseum gave up one touchdown -- and that one only after Oregon took a field goal off the board Oct. 4 because of a penalty against the Trojans. . . .

In its last 19 quarters on its home turf, USC gave up nine points. . . .

Unless UCLA can pull off a major upset Saturday at the Rose Bowl, Rick Neuheisel & Co. will end the season without a victory over a winning team. . . .

Karl Dorrell and the Bruins did the same thing four years ago but reached the Las Vegas Bowl, where they lost to Wyoming, a team with a winning record. . . .

Kobe Bryant probably could lead the NBA in assists if he were so inclined. . . .

Wilt Chamberlain did it once. . . .

In the 1967-68 season, his last with the Philadelphia 76ers before he was traded to the Lakers, Chamberlain led the league in assists and rebounds while finishing third in the scoring race. . . .

Bryant couldn’t do that. . . .

Programming note: In a break from seasons past, all three games on the Lakers’ Eastern trip this week will be televised live on Channel 9. . . .

Among NBA coaches, only Jerry Sloan of the Utah Jazz and Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs have been in their current jobs longer than the Clippers’ Mike Dunleavy, the only one of the three with a record below .500. . . .

Double shot: When he accidentally shot himself in the right thigh Saturday, Plaxico Burress also shot himself in the foot. . . .

Speaking of shootings and New York, Stephon Marbury of the Knicks says of his teammates’ speaking out against his petulance: “I got shot in the head by my own guys in my foxhole. And they didn’t even give me an honorable death.” . . .

The only thing dead is Marbury’s career with the Knicks. . . .

Drew Brees might be a long shot to lift the last-place New Orleans Saints into the playoffs, but he is the 3-1 favorite to win the NFL’s most valuable player award, according to odds by BetUS.com. . . .

The only others listed at better than 10-1 are Clinton Portis, Adrian Peterson and Eli Manning, whose brother Peyton is a two-time MVP. . . .

Al Davis’ rambling rebuke of Lane Kiffin did little to scare off Tennessee, indicating that the Vols also believe that the Raiders owner has lost it. . . .

Noting that the Vatican has forgiven John Lennon for his 1966 quip that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus, reader Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe e-mails to note, “They’re still working on forgiving Charlie Weis for 2007.” . . .

Not to mention 2008. . . .

Scout Inc.’s top-32 rankings of 2009 NFL draft prospects includes four USC players -- Mark Sanchez, Rey Maualuga, Brian Cushing and Taylor Mays -- but only one other from the Pacific 10 Conference, 6-foot-6, 310-pound Arizona offensive tackle Eben Britton from Burbank Burroughs High. . . .

Sanchez is ranked as the third-best quarterback prospect behind Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford and Georgia’s Matthew Stafford. . . .

Reader Chris Grisanti of Monrovia, still mourning the Rams’ move to St. Louis nearly 14 years ago, has started a blog, losangelesrams.blogspot.com, to start a dialogue with others who might share his pain. . . .

Merci, Lance Armstrong, for making the Tour de France relevant again for general U.S. sports fans and not just cycling nuts. . . .

Opening next season, the New York Mets’ new stadium in Queens is supposed to be called Citi Field, but two New York City councilmen have suggested that Citigroup show its thanks for a federal bailout by sharing the naming rights and re-christening the facility Citi/Taxpayer Field. . . .

Bailout Ballpark probably wouldn’t fly. . . .

Noting that USC is 27-0 in November under Carroll and obviously aware that a December loss to UCLA kept the Trojans out of the Bowl Championship Series title game two years ago, USC announcer Pete Arbogast told his radio audience Saturday that this week’s game would be played not on Dec. 6 but rather Nov. 36. . . .

As if USC needed an edge.

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jerome.crowe@latimes.com