In August, USC promised to punish any journalist who passed on strategy or injury-related news garnered via the football practice sidelines. This week, they have put their money where their pigskin is. Or have they?

Per a report in the LA Times, Daily News sportswriter Scott Wolf has been barred from two weeks’ worth of Trojans practices and a September 22 home game for reporting that place kicker Andre Heidari (pictured) underwent surgery last week. Even though Wolf’s report does not cite a practice source:

“From our standpoint, Scott was doing his job,” Los Angeles Newspaper Group sports editor Gene Warnick said. “This wasn’t something that was part of practice. We were just trying to report the news.” A USC athletic department spokesperson declined to comment.

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Winners of the 2011 Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) contest have been announced. And when it comes to daily newspapers with a circulation of 175,000 or more, the LA Times finds itself once again in good company.

The paper, for the second year in a row, was deemed to have one of the nation’s "Top 10" sports sections. Also named this year in that category were:

Boston Globe
Chicago Tribune
Dallas Morning News
Denver Post
Kansas City Star
Los Angeles Times
Newark Star-Ledger
New York Times
Philadelphia Inquirer
USA TODAY

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