USC’s Heisman Trophy Winner Puts His Education First

Stories about the special favors that college athletes receive are nothing new. But here’s one with a twist. The Southern California Sports Broadcasters juggled the lineup at their recent luncheon to present one of their awards before lunch. Reason: The recipient, USC Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart, had to leave early. Why? He had to get back to school so he wouldn’t miss a class.

Pre-spring cleanup: I dunno. Making a mess comes naturally to me. But I guess there are other folks who need help (see accompanying).

Susan Porch of Temple City, for instance, found a business that actually specializes in this unusual line.

In her hometown Illinois newspaper, meanwhile, Eleanor Balding of Arcadia noticed an apartment that comes furnished with refuse.

And Li-chih Lee of Santa Monica spotted a for-sale notice for a $3-million-plus estate where I guess nothing gets straightened up because the maid is always reading.

Whoops! I checked that last location and was told the ad was supposed to say “maid’s room, library.” I’m still not making a bid until it comes down to $2.8 million.

To live and drive: Some terms mentioned on the website California Driving: A Survival Guide (www.caldrive.com):

* California cut: A last-second multi-lane change, executed when “someone realizes that the next freeway exit is theirs, and that they’re way over in the fast lane with less than 100 meters to the exit. Or they’re just tired of driving in the right-most lane and decide to get into the fast lane.”

* California, or Hollywood, stop: Rolling through a stop sign or a red light (so as to make a right turn).

* Volvo drivers: Generic term referring to any motorist who exhibits “a mixture of obliviousness, self-righteousness, smugness, and arrogance” (as in “Wow, that guy’s a real Volvo Driver!”).

It’s based on a theory “that bad drivers gravitate toward Volvos” because of their reputation for being safe cars.

* Death cars: “Usually old and battered American cars driven by teenagers (nearly always unlicensed or uninsured), who have nothing to lose.”

* Turn signals: “Vestigial organs, useful only in case the car needs to be re-sold out-of-state.”

I think I’ll take the bus today.

This just in: Anne Olmstead of La Crescenta was watching a high-speed freeway chase on Channel 2 when the anchor said that “the driver jumped out of his own volition.”

Or did he say Volvo?

miscelLAny: Some anti-909 area code sentiment in Orange County? A colleague spotted a license plate frame in the city of Orange that said: “Take the 55 to the 91 and go home.”

Of course, the 91 leads into Los Angeles County, too. Is this xenophobia related to the Orange County team being renamed the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim?