Text messages from press row . . .

USC and Illinois, matched in the Jan. 1 Rose Bowl game, have never met in a bowl game, but in 1989 Larry Smith’s Trojans and John Mackovic’s Illini were scheduled to meet in something called the Glasnost Bowl. . . .

In Moscow, of all places. . . .

And not the one in Idaho. . . .

The regular-season event was canceled, however, because of contractual differences between the host country and the network that had hoped to televise what would have been the first U.S. college football game played in the Soviet Union. . . .

Instead, the season opener was played at the Coliseum and the 22nd-ranked Illini upset the fifth-ranked Trojans, 14-13, with Jeff George passing for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to help the visitors overcome a 13-0 deficit. . . .

USC’s quarterback was redshirt freshman Todd Marinovich. . . .

Coach Pete Carroll’s Trojans, by the way, will be making their sixth appearance in a BCS bowl game, equaling a record established by Florida State and also matched this season by Ohio State and Oklahoma. . . .

Norm Chow: always a bridesmaid, never a bride. . . .

Why? . . .

Phil McKinnely, the NFL official who was at the center of a controversy involving the Baltimore Ravens this month, is a former UCLA offensive lineman who played on the 1975 team that upset top-ranked Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. . . .

After the unbeaten New England Patriots rallied for a 27-24 victory over the Ravens on Dec. 3, a Monday night game marked by several disputed officiating decisions, Ravens cornerback Samari Rolle told reporters that McKinnely, the head linesman, had used disrespectful language toward him. . . .

“No. 110 called me a boy,” Rolle, who is African American, said of McKinnely, who also is black. “Don’t call me a boy on the field during the game because, I said, ‘You’ve never played football before.’ ” . . .

Actually, McKinnely was a second-team All-Pacific 8 Conference guard in 1974 and a first-team all-conference tackle in 1975. . . .

He played seven NFL seasons, one with the Los Angeles Rams. . . .

Undrafted rookie Matt Moore, who led three fourth-quarter scoring drives Sunday in the Carolina Panthers’ 13-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, is the same former Newhall Hart High and ex-UCLA quarterback who engineered Oregon State’s streak-ending upset of USC last season at Corvallis, Ore. . . .

USC had won 27 consecutive conference games before losing. . . .

Shaquille O’Neal, who turns 36 in March, is averaging career lows of 14.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in his 16th NBA season. . . .

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, in his 16th season, averaged 22 and 7.9. . . .

Moses Malone, in his 16th season, averaged 15.6 and 9.1. . . .

Patrick Ewing, in the year he turned 36, averaged 20.8 and 10.2. . . .

Among the top 10 athletes, teams and sports topics that generated the most yahoo.com searches this year were Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and funny car driver Ashley Force, a former Anaheim Esperanza High cheerleader, daughter of drag-racing icon John Force and AOL Sports’ “hottest athlete of 2007.” . . .

While motor-mouth Dick Vitale is silenced until early February after throat surgery this week, his ESPN game-analyst duties will be handled by the infinitely more measured Jay Bilas, a former Duke forward from Rolling Hills High. . . .

Speaking of analysts, Fox’s Don MacLean is one of only three players who averaged at least 20 points a game in their UCLA basketball careers, the others being Lew Alcindor (Abdul-Jabbar) and Bill Walton. . . .

Unlike Kevin Love, MacLean didn’t have to worry much about touches in his first collegiate season, averaging a freshman school-record 18.6 points. . . .

A star-studded lineup including John Wooden, Bill Sharman, Abdul-Jabbar and Walton is expected to gather Jan. 12 in San Pedro to help raise funds and dedicate a new gym at the Toberman Neighborhood Center, a 104-year-old nonprofit that provides social services for low-income individuals and families. . . .

Guy Oseary, the talent manager and Beverly Hills High graduate hired by Alex Rodriguez to shape his image and presumably distance the New York Yankees star from baseball’s steroids/HGH scandal, is a former record executive who signed Alanis Morissette, whose best-known album is titled “Jagged Little Pill.” . . .

Isn’t it ironic?

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jerry.crowe@latimes.com