Carroll’s last game still not in get-over-it time

It was Rose Bowl Media Day at the Home Depot Center on Saturday, the chance to push and prod Pete Carroll, as well as tease him, of course, to find out just how much bounce remains in his step these days.

“How long did it take to get over being stunned by the defeat to UCLA?”

“I didn’t keep track of the days,” he said.

“Weeks?” I suggested, and he just shrugged.

What did it feel like “having the rug pulled out from under you” against UCLA needing only one win to advance to the title game?

“We didn’t have the rug pulled out from under us; we kicked the rug and tripped over it,” Carroll said. “We did it to ourselves. I don’t mind telling you it was a major disappointment. We played like garbage that day.

“I always said if someone beat us, I hoped it was because they played the best game of their lives. Vince [Young] was pretty good that day, and that happened with Texas. I don’t think anyone from UCLA had the greatest game of their lives. It was more like a great team win.”

Carroll made it clear he was taking nothing away from UCLA after it was

suggested he was coming close to doing just that, but after telling the first wave

of reporters, “that’s long ago; we’re long past that,” he admitted, “I’m not over it. The losses to Texas, Washington State,

Oregon State, Cal, don’t go away and I don’t want them to go away. I want to

feel the sting.”

“Now that it’s become apparent you cannot walk on water,” I suggested, and he interrupted.

“If I thought of myself in that way maybe it’d be a problem,” he said.

“But that’s how some USC fans have regarded you, so how have they reacted?”

“I’ve sensed only support,” Carroll said, while adding with a laugh. “That is from everybody who has come near me.”

I reminded Carroll that Carroll went “weird” after the loss to Oregon State earlier, appearing uptight and serious with lightly regarded Stanford up next -- a departure from his usual buoyant boyish self, and he disagreed.

“The only thing different was I didn’t do a Halloween [prank]. I had a good one too, but it wasn’t right after a loss. Had we won, it was the perfect idea, though.”

It has already been written in some places around here that Carroll has been lacking in enthusiasm.

“I haven’t been as active on the practice field, but that’s because I ruined my wing. I’m stilted because I hurt my arm and couldn’t throw. But I just want to tell you I was great in our final seven-on-seven.”

If only he could relieve John David Booty ...

WE KNOW how the great competitor reacted after failing to control Young in last year’s title game, bringing USC back to within a victory of playing for the national championship again -- despite losing a pair of Heisman Trophy winners.

It was a masterful job by Carroll, but this Rose Bowl assignment is a challenge of another sort. Although I think Michigan is overrated, Human Nature once again is going to be tough to beat.

Carroll took on Human Nature as well as UCLA, and while armed with the conviction he had all the answers when it came to playing four emotionally charged games in a row, the Trojans fell flat to UCLA. Predictable -- in some quarters.

For USC, the Human Nature case can be made that it’s going to be a letdown playing in the Rose Bowl -- for the third time in four years but for the first time in that span without a national championship on the line.

For Michigan, the Wolverines have the incentive to prove the voters wrong.

Carroll said USC and Michigan are in the same place when it comes to finding motivation for this game, but I disagree. USC lost the chance to play for the national title; Michigan felt it was taken away.

It’s going to be interesting to see how Carroll contends with it all.

“I’m glad you’re interested,” Carroll said -- the bounce back into his quips.

IT’S A never-ending job around here trying to straighten out our local coaches.

I went to the Clippers’ game Friday to help Coach Mike Dunleavy, who has blown it with Corey Maggette, criticizing Maggette for his lack of defense while failing to take advantage of what his team needs the most right now -- an offensive spark.

“I’m not going to get into it, because it only makes it a bigger issue,” Dunleavy said, and how much bigger can it get than the expectation now that Maggette has to be traded because of his poor relationship with Dunleavy?

“He has to become a better defender from our standpoint,” Dunleavy said before Maggette came off the bench to score 21 points and spark the Clippers’ first win over Sacramento in 15 tries. “I can’t go on for 30 minutes about this; write whatever you want.”

OK. It’s a coach’s job to get the most out of the talent on his roster. No question Maggette has an inflated view of his skills, but given the chance to start in the past he has gone to the free-throw line regularly because of aggressively attacking the basket. He gives the Clippers some offense to support Elton Brand -- which no one else has done on a consistent basis now that Sam Cassell is hurt.

Maggette, who has shown the ability to dominate as scorer and rebounder, might not be capable of playing Dunleavy’s role-oriented/defense-minded brand of ball. And Dunleavy might not be capable of showing any flexibility, especially now that his contract has been extended and it really can be his way or the highway.

But if Maggette is traded, it’s doubtful the Clippers will get true value in return since even the Clippers right now can’t seem to get a handle on what his true value is. That would be one more loss for the Clippers, and they’ve already got too many.