Buster Sports

Somehow, the news that the Southern California Trojans had trademarked the letters "USC" went relatively unnoticed by a lot of people (or, at least, me). That's not a big deal for most folk -- when you say "USC" you mean "Southern Cal." But, understandably, the University of South Carolina would appreciate the freedom to use "USC" on their athletic gear, because it is -- obviously -- the easier acronym to roll with.

But a US Appeals Court has denied them the freedom to do so, and an opposing lawyer managed to squeeze in a solid little insult to boot:

The court rejected a petition from the Palmetto State to use the letters on baseball team clothing for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks

[...]Scott Edelman, an attorney representing the Los Angeles university, hailed the ruling as protection of the school's "primary athletic mark" used on team clothing and equipment that brings in significant revenue. He also suggested that the letters were more deservedly linked to the Trojans' warrior image than to "a goofy little chicken."

Um, burn. Of course, the bigger insult is that the 'Cocks aren't allowed to use what should be an obviously fair-game set of letters ... it's not like they fired up the University of South Carolina (or, hell, even the state itself) in order to poach on USC's good name and make some quick cash.

Don't get me wrong, the goofy little chicken thing is hysterical -- unless you're a USC Gamecocks fan of course -- but this just seems to be yet another case where we're plowing through government time and money on an issue that just shouldn't have any sort of merit whatsoever. Of course, since the Appeals' court ruled the way they did, we're probably staring down a Supreme Court case, which will waste any more money. The easy suggestion? Cock fight, obvs.

Related College Football Insanity:
Tim Tebow's Girlfriend is an American Idol Semi-Finalist? What the hell.
Wayne Chism Would Rather be at Waffle House Than Getting Interviewed
Crazy Buzzer-Beater Gives UCLA a Win Over Washington (Vid)
ECU Hires Ruffin McNeil ... And A Player Announces the News on Twitter

USC Trademark Ruling, Goofy Little Chickens, South Carolina Logo Lawsuit, USC Logo Lawsuit, USC Trademark Lawsuit