Fellas, the "Monday Morning Couch Potatoes" feel your pain. We understand that sometimes in life, you have to make sacrifices. We've all been there before. Spent Saturday night watching Volver with the lady instead of at the bar with the boys? Picked the kids up from the dance recital instead of watching the big game? It's okay. It happens. That's where we come in.

At the start of every week, the "Monday Morning Couch Potatoes" (Peter Schrager and Adam Weinberg) will fill you in on the important things you missed while trying to pretend like you really care about all the other stuff in your life. Each Monday, you will wake up with an up-to-date summary of all the vital (and worthless) things you might have missed in the past week of sports and entertainment.

These are the six stories that sparked our interest the most during the past week of sports, pop culture and entertainment. This article, and every one of its biweekly successors, will serve as a "cheat sheet" for the various conversations you will have with coworkers and friends over the upcoming week.

So get educated, then hit up the water cooler for some conversation with the boys from accounts receivable.

Water Cooler Topic #1
Trouble ahead for USC
The USC Trojans, participants in back-to-back Bowl Championship Series (BCS) title games, likely won’t be in Glendale for this year’s No. 1 and No. 2 matchup. After losing to Oregon State on October 28, the Trojans slipped from No. 2 in the BCS to No. 8. And things won't get any easier; starting on November 11, USC faces a four game slate consisting of Oregon, California, Notre Dame, and UCLA.

Adam’s take: The Trojans’ loss to the virtually unknown Oregon State is bound to open the floor to debate. Is the incredible USC dynasty finished or is this merely a misstep by a team that remains great? Even to a casual college football fan, it just feels like this team has lost more than Reggie Bush and Matthew Leinart in the past year. The Southern California cool and confidence appears to be gone from the squad; much like a chic Sunset Strip nightclub, this three-year trendy run seems to be coming to an end.

Pete’s take: I point to Sports Illustrated as the reason for last Saturday’s loss: In last week’s issue, Phil Taylor wrote an incredible piece on the Trojans. Taylor focused on the arduous four-game slate starting on November 11, but he neglected the match against the Beavers on October 28 as a potential pitfall game. If we’ve learned anything, it’s that you need to hope and pray that your team isn’t highlighted in that magazine. That is, unless you’re the St. Louis Cardinals; the team that graced the cover of the magazine’s baseball preview in 2006 and went on to heroically win the World Series. So yeah, that whole curse thing -- there are some exceptions to the rule.

Water Cooler Topic #2
Cardinals win in five
On October 27, the St. Louis Cardinals toppled the Detroit Tigers in five games to win their first World Series in more than two decades. The Tigers played uncharacteristic baseball in the best of seven, committing numerous errors and leaving runners on-base in each game. David Eckstein was named the MVP of the World Series.

Adam’s take: Ratings weren’t great this year for the World Series. I do enjoy the guilty pleasure of watching Mario Lopez do the Charleston as much as any other well adjusted guy, but I still made sure to tune into the World Series. Heck, the Series is a rite of passage. I watched every single game from start to finish; just as anyone who claims to be a “sports fan” should. OK, I can’t lie -- I still TiVo’d Dancing with the Stars and watched it right after the games wrapped up.

Pete’s take: The Cards won 83 regular season games, were by far the least impressive squad down the stretch and won the World Series. What’s that tell you? It should tell you what we all know: The playoffs are an entirely different ball game than the regular season schedule. Of course, a third baseman on the Yankees could have told you that inside tip years ago.

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