USC Fan Knows Just What Hit Oklahoma

Oklahoma fans on Thursday began arriving en masse in New Orleans for tonight’s Sugar Bowl, and about 500 watched the Rose Bowl in a sports bar at the team’s hotel.

John Rohde of the Daily Oklahoman of Oklahoma City found a table of six USC fans among the group. They had booked the trip in anticipation of the Trojans playing in the Sugar Bowl.

Asked whether they held any animosity toward the Sooners for getting into the Sugar Bowl after losing to Kansas State, 35-7, John Eliopoulos of Los Angeles said, “My only complaint is, you’re not supposed to get beat that bad and still get into the title game. I mean, Oklahoma got run over by a truck.”

Price is right: Don’t feel too sorry for the USC group. Besides enjoying New Orleans’ French Quarter, they sold their game tickets for $600 apiece, according to Rohde.

Party time: After taking a walk around the French Quarter during the Rose Bowl, Rohde noted, “With a different bar about every 15 feet, there was no shortage of televisions along Bourbon Street to watch the game.” He also noted, “I’ve never seen so many three-for-one drink specials.”

Trivia time: One of the New Orleans Saints’ few glorious moments occurred Nov. 9, 1970, when a kicker had a record-setting 63-yard field goal that gave the Saints a 19-17 victory over the Detroit Lions. Who was the kicker?

Duh: ESPN.com, in one of its polls, asked, “Does USC deserve a share of the national championship?” With nearly 150,000 voters weighing in, preliminary results showed 84.7% voted yes.

What were the other 15.3% thinking?

A dissenting vote: Maybe a better question is, are the Trojans the No. 1 team in the country? Carl Dubois of the Advocate in Baton Rouge, La., for one, doesn’t think so.

“USC has cool helmets,” he writes. “The Trojans have a great mascot and a greater tradition. They’re well coached, and they played a superb game against Michigan. They’re just not the clear-cut No. 1 team in the country, as some would have you believe. They’re not already national champions of the 2003 season, despite what you might have heard before, during or after their Rose Bowl victory.”

New tactic: The San Jose Sharks had a third-period breakaway goal by Alexander Korolyuk disallowed Friday night in a 2-1 loss to Chicago because Blackhawk goaltender Steve Passmore dislodged the net with his leg.

Shark Coach Ron Wilson wasn’t too pleased. “I’ll tell our goalies, every time there’s a breakaway and the guy makes a move, slam into the net and say it was an accident,” he said.

Trivia answer: Tom Dempsey, who had no toes on his right, kicking foot.

And finally: The corporate sponsor of the Sugar Bowl game at the Superdome is Nokia, prompting comedy writer Jerry Perisho to ask, “How many cell phones do you think will be hidden under those goalpost pads?”

Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@ latimes.com.