Texas Scribes Turn USC Story Into a Greek Tragedy

There have been recent reports that good food and belly dancers might be the reasons USC’s football team has strung together 34 wins.

From what I understand, a Fort Worth newspaper got the big scoop after one of its reporters came here and did some eating and ogling at Papadakis Taverna, a San Pedro Greek eatery.

He wrote a nice story about a belly dancer, the gregarious restaurant owner and an octogenarian violinist who can play the USC fight song, and called them the Trojans’ “secret weapon when it comes to landing top recruits.”

Another reporter from the same Fort Worth paper, possibly a Texas grad stuck back home with the old lady and leftovers in the fridge, followed the nice story by his comrade with a stinging, and distracting, story of his own, suggesting USC might be cheating.

He quoted an unnamed compliance director at a Division I-A school, and I guess no one from Texas wanted to be identified, suggesting the practice of taking recruits to a restaurant owned by a former Trojan football player, who likes to tell everyone how much he loves his alma mater, might be an NCAA violation.

No mention in the story, though, of whether there’s an investigation underway to determine if the reporter, who wrote the original story after eating and ogling, paid for his meal or tried to write off the belly dancer tips on his expense account.

Don’t get me wrong: This is something that should be taken very seriously because, so far, nothing’s worked on the field to bring USC to its knees.

That’s why I put it directly to Coach Pete Carroll: “Have you seen the belly dancers in question?”

“Not outside the restaurant,” Carroll said, and nice to see he’s on top of the violations that really count.

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NOW I’M told that UCLA regularly takes its recruits to a steakhouse, probably for a glimpse at dead meat so they can get a feel early on what it’s like to play for the Bruins in a town owned by USC.

Carroll has this thing about wanting to have fun, so for some time he’s had the recruits and their families visit Taverna, which is known for its wacky brand of entertainment and the chance to break dishes.

Maybe it’s important for UCLA to select players who know which fork to use, but a better test of finding potential pro athletes might be finding players who take violent delight in busting things up.

From what I’ve heard about Texas players, they would steal the dishes rather than break them.

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THE FORT Worth shopper reported that the 25 miles it takes to get from USC to San Pedro isn’t what the NCAA would consider normal, which goes to show you what someone from Texas knows about living in L.A. They probably think in terms of all-day horse rides there, whereas here, almost everything is 25 miles away, including the trip reporters took Monday to go from hotel to player interviews.

The paper reported the price for Taverna entrees, which go “as high as $59.95 ... appear to go beyond the NCAA stipulation that a recruit’s meals should reflect those comparable to normal college life.”

I wonder what the going rate is for dead meat at the steakhouse UCLA frequents. A full rack of lamb, with soup and salad, does go for $59.95 at Taverna -- and feeds two. A further check of the menu finds that 14 ounces of salmon with soup and salad costs $23.95, with a free shake from the belly dancer thrown in.

The shopper also noted that recruits were subjected to impassioned speeches by restaurant owner John Papadakis, who played for USC eons ago, which makes him a “representative of athletics interests” by the NCAA, and prohibited from speaking to recruits about USC.

I’m for anything that prohibits a Papadakis, any Papadakis, from opening his mouth, and you know what I mean if you’ve listened to the son, Petros Papadakis, and his radio shout fest on 1540.

But I know after interviewing John and visiting his restaurant, there’s no shutting up the passionate palooka. In fact, I’m surprised some USC recruits didn’t opt to leave the state, seeking peace and quiet after a night at Taverna.

From what I can tell, the only thing this guy is guilty of is being a blowhard Trojan fan, but then aren’t they all? And these days with good reason.

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AS FOR the belly dancers, I figured they really might be the inspiration behind USC’s winning streak, although Petros assured me, “Right now, there are some pretty old belly dancers there.

“Since they’re like family and been around so long, it makes it hard to tell them they’re starting to look a little beat up. I’ve had to tell my dad he needs to get some younger ones when the recruits come in.”

Well, I went to the restaurant Monday night to see “Marisa” for myself, and if USC will have me -- I’ll be enrolling next fall. (And folks think Reggie Bush has some moves.)

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I’M NOT surprised that an uptight Texas sports information assistant told reporters on media day to stop interviewing players; come on, it’s not like anyone from Texas has any experience in knowing what to do for a championship game.

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TODAY’S LAST word comes in e-mail from Lauren N:

“Thanks for reminding me why I HATE Trojan fans so much. It’s unbelievable how ignorant you guys can be. I am disappointed in The Times for keeping you around. Hopefully, The Times will come to its senses before it’s too late.”

I admire your optimism in hoping management here comes to its senses.

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T.J. Simers can be reached at [email protected]. To read previous columns by Simers, go to latimes.com/simers.