SB Nation - UCLA Bruins

Is The UCLA Marketing Department Undermining John Wooden's Basketball Program?

Nestor — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:18:03 -0000

Disturbing information out about UCLA marketing department reportedly stifling Ben Howland's efforts to gin up student attendance in John Wooden's basketball program.

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We have had a lot of interesting discussion on the poor attendance issues on the part of both students and alums in our basketball games this season. Yeah, I get it. It's finals week. Our record is not great. So enthusiasm for our program is not sky high. However, threading through the discussion it is also becoming clear how inept the UCLA marketing department has been in terms of ginning up interesting in our program.

The UCLA's marketing department's track record is kind of a joke. These are the geniuses who drew up the infamous monopoly ad (which put Neuheisel in an awkward spot and made our football program a laughing stock in CRN's first season). These are the same people who took out ad in Fresno Papers, inviting Fresno fans to flood the Rose Bowl in our home game. If you don't remember that you can refresh your memory here. Now we are learning that apparently these guys have been going out of their way to quash enthusiasm among students and stiffling Howland's efforts to boost our program (emphasis added):

CBH took us to marketing in response to the Arizona schools last year. Those games were among the most pathetic attendances in recent memory, especially for a pac-10 game. As yo may recall, we were edged by a slim margin, a margin that a full student section could have changed.

When talking to him while we were camping out for the next BB game, he wanted to know why there was no interest in our team. He mentioned his years at Pitt and how students would flood the arena regardless of record, but couldn’t understand how a team, one that had gone to 3 straight final fours, drew no interest. We explained to him the new ticket situation (one where marketing literally cut almost all packages in half, including seniors) and how people go home on weekends rather than come to games (there are plenty of other reasons to explain this, many inexcusable).

CBH ended up marching into marketing with a few of us. We talked to the head of recruitment (forget the name) and the head of marketing, Scott Mitchell. The first reaction from Scott was: get the students out because it is above us. CBH insisted that we stayed because it affects us. Coach argued on our behalf all of the points we shared with him earlier. Had this not happened, the Den would likely not have been allowed to meet with marketing and convince them to change some of the ticketing policies (attendance based for one). However, from my understanding and information, CBH isn’t the favorite coach in marketing….

Can any one explain WTH is going over here? What is the excuse for the UCLA marketing department in standing in Howland's way to boost UCLA basketball by having a filled up student section?

GO BRUINS.

UCLA's Price Is Right For The Pac-10: Brian Headlines 11 Bruins Honored As All Pac-10

Nestor — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:13:22 -0000

hicalliber is already on it but this deserves lot more attention. This is not a surprise but still worthy of a huge celebration on Bruin Nation. Here is our Pac-10 Defensive Player:

The official announcement came out earlier this afternoon which included lot of good news for the football team. Not only Brian Price was named Pac-10's Defense POY, he was part of a group of 11 Bruins named in the All Pac-10 team. Five of them were first-team selection:

UCLA junior defensive tackle Brian Price has been named Pac-10 Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year by vote of the league's coaches, it was announced today.

A total of 11 Bruins were named to the All-Pac-10 teams. Joining Price on the first team were senior linebacker Reggie Carter, sophomore safety Rahim Moore, senior cornerback Alterraun Verner and junior place kicker Kai Forbath. Forbath and Price were two of the three unanimous selections to the first team.

Redshirt freshman punter Jeff Locke and senior wide receiver Terrence Austin were selected to the second team, the latter as a kickoff returner. Four Bruins were named honorable mention - sophomore linebacker Akeem Ayers, senior linebacker Kyle Bosworth, sophomore wide receiver Nelson Rosario and freshman offensive tackle Xavier Su'a-Filo.

UCLA had more first-team defensive selections (four) than any other school in the conference.

You can read more from the official press release here.

Congrats to Brian, Reggie, ATV, Austin, and Bosworth. That's a wonderful way for them to leave Westwood after what they have given us last 3-4 years. We will have to wait to see what happens with Kai, as he might be testing the waters during the off season. Meanwhile, can't wait to see how Rahim, Akeem, Nelson, XSF, and Locke build on the success from this season.

For now though let's hope the Midshipmen comes though on Saturday so that we get to see these guys for one more time to close out the year. Go Navy. Oh and don't forget to congratulate our boys in this celebratory thread.

GO BRUINS.

Pete the Cheat?

PSTIM1 — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:56:32 -0000

More photos » by Elaine Thompson - AP

Pete Carroll captured at the exact moment he heard that Charlie Weiss put him on blast.

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I don't know if Pete Carroll is living with a grad student in Malibu (I would) or If Charlie Weiss's FUPA was restricting the air flow to his brain the day he gave the interview to IrishIlustrated.com? I do know this, squeaky clean public images rarely have any basis in reality and where there is smoke there is fire. Pete i know you are trying to change the world by helping out the youth by bringing them a positive message and flashing a toothy grin...come to think of it that reminds me of someone else I know...

PS that 60 minutes piece you did when you went to the hood was totally staged.

Poll

Pete Carroll is...

Spaulding Roundup: DC Thoughts, Verner's Views, Finals Week & Other Notes

Nestor — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:42:46 -0000

Can Bruins handle this (if it snows in DC)? Photo Credit: photoal (flickr)

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Well yeah. It's not snowing in DC today but it did over the weekend a bit giving us our first snow of the year. The picture above is from another year though, which I think gives a little hint of what folks could expect in late December if we get a legit snow storm in Washington DC. Will the Bruins get to play in their first legit snow bowl (don't really count the one from Washington State during the regular season because it wasn't really snowing during the game) this December? Well as everyone know by now, we are not going to know until the end of Army-Navy game this upcoming weekend.

CRN is excited about rooting for the Midshipmen:

"Although we always support the men and women fighting for our country, on this particular three-hour stint, we're going to be anchor's aweigh ~~away~~," Neuheisel said on Sunday. "We're excited about the opportunity and looking forward to getting into the ball game. We know we need a little bit of help, but we're looking forward to a chance."

Interestingly, from the LAT report today, it sounds like the Bruins did have a chance to accept an invitation to the Humanitarian Bowl. However, the payout for that game ($700,000) wasn't enough for our program:

UCLA officials received interest from other bowls, as Neuheisel said, "I know there were lots of conversations and I was also told that UCLA was a desired team."

Humanitarian Bowl officials showed particular interest, and the Bruins might have gone there if Army lost, but the bowl payoff "wasn't right," said a UCLA official not authorized to speak about the situation.

UCLA officials turned down a Humanitarian Bowl invitation in 2001 after bowl officials asked for a $300,000 sponsorship from the university, a former UCLA administrator said.

Wonder who was that former UCLA administrator talking to the LAT. Anyway, if Navy does come through for the Bruins on Saturday (you never can take an outcome for granted in an intense, emotional rivalry game), Bruins will have interesting decisions to make re. the quaterback situation. CRN seemed to indicate that Prince might be ready for the bowl game:

"He told me it was getting better when I saw him last week," Neuheisel said. Given some rest, I think he would be ready."

Prince of course is still recovering from his mild AC sprain (considered a "slight separation") of his throwing shoulder. I personally think the Bruins should start Craft and prepare Brehaut as the backup option, and let Prince fully heal for spring ball. However, I feel comfortable in having Neuheisel and Chow making the call. More bowl related and end of season notes after the jump.

Players in general sound pretty excited about the bowl game. Taylor Embree "wants it really bad":

"I saw (offensive coordinator Norm Chow) today, too, and he said it looked like we had a really good chance," sophomore wide receiver Taylor Embree said. "We had a meeting with coach Neuheisel last Tuesday, and he just said, 'Focus as if we were going to a bowl.' We're prepared. If we go to one, it won't be a shock. We're ready for a bowl. We want it really bad."

While ATV thinks Bruins could be an "exciting" team to watch during the bowl season:

"We're fortunate to be put in the position to try to get one, though, and that's all we can ask for. I think we did enough to deserve it, showed enough promise through the course of the year with our youth, and we'll be an exciting team to watch come bowl season."

Oh and speaking of ATV, if you haven't done it yet, I think you will want to read the last edition of Verner's views:

[F]our years have gone by way too fast for me as a UCLA Bruin. I remember the times when I used to watch the Bruins play and wearing the #1 UCLA jersey to high school and stuff to now, when I am leaving UCLA with an interception touchdown record and lasting memories to all the Bruin Nation. My experiences here have been top of the line and something I will cherish forever. From academics - competing against the top brains in the world in my math major was always fun - just walking around campus and seeing the variety of people and cultures on campus, it was beautiful to see. Through all this intermingling, you realize that everyone is basically the same and they have the same struggles as you. You can be an athlete, a pre-med student, or grad student - it didn't matter. Everyone is fighting for their education and that is what created so many bonds with people in all areas of UCLA life.

Having the pleasure of being the student representative for the library catalogue a while back to now being spotlighted on UCLA Big Moment spots are two others things that stand out. My time with this sector of UCLA has been difficult, however all the more amazing!

Football, man it's been the craziest roller coaster, but one of those that was worth the wait, but so short that you almost missed the thrills of it. Being in the Rose Bowl with our wonderful fans that were there from the beginning, to putting on the Blue and Gold was just simply amazing. I had the honor to be coached by DeWayne Walker for most of my career and finished up this year being coached by the great Carnell Lake! Many guys have helped me in numerous ways of playing the position. I appreciate their expertise on the field. I had a great time playing with my former killa bees and current ones -- Chris Horton, Rodney Van, Trey Brown, Dennis Keyes, and Bret Lockett to Tony Dye, Rahim Moore, Glenn Love, Courtney Viney, Aaron Hester, Sheldon Price, Andrew Abbott and everyone else. Each player is so good and made my job so much easier and helped contribute to my success. I will definitely miss all my teammates, I really love them all. The hard work and the grind I had to do with all of them makes them all special to me. They are all very talented and that's why I believe UCLA will be back at the top very soon and I can't wait to see that unfold.

You need to read rest of ATV's post by going here. ATV and his team-mates will be taking finals this week. Once they are done at the end of the week (per Jon Gold) they will have practices on Friday and Saturday. They are going to practice Saturday morning, have lunch and take in the Army-Navy game. Needless to say we will have an open thread here for that game cheering on Navy.

Lastly, before I end this good luck to all of your students this week. Yeah, I know we are hard on you guys sometimes. However, look at the ideas our discussions generated in last 24 hours. While we get down sometimes during the tough times, it is clear how much passion and dedication we have among a huge core of students and alums here in Bruins Nation. Often times when we call each other out, I personally think it only makes that dedication deeper forcing us to think hard about how we can make our community bigger offline. Hopefully we can keep the discussion that started yesterday going in the coming weeks/months resulting in what I truly believe will be the most rabid fanbase in the Western US. We have had two of the worst weekends in UCLA athletcs in recent history. Yet just look around this community this am. We are still here. Aren't we? Anyway, kick ass in finals and then head down to Anaheim.

GO BRUINS.

Cal-Utah in the Poinsettia Bowl + Bowl Selection Sunday Open Thread

Avinash — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 21:21:24 -0000

David Seawright says Cal to the Poinsettia Bowl. (HT Berkelium) And they will be facing Utah, since ESPN confirmed a BYU-Oregon State Vegas Bowl (HT gigglingone).

UPDATE: Sources are saying BYU to Vegas, Utah to Poinsettia.

Official press release, although Utah has not yet been announced: (HT calgbear)

California, which will continue is school-record run of bowl appearances with its seventh consecutive postseason invitation, has accepted a bid to the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl against a to-be-named opponent from the Mountain West Conference on Wednesday, Dec. 23 at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium. Kickoff will be at 5 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN...

Overall, Cal will be making its 20th bowl appearance, with the Bears owning a 10-8-1 postseason record. Cal has twice played in bowl games in San Diego in recent years, having participated in the Holiday Bowl in 2004 and '06.

"We are looking forward to going to San Diego and playing in the Poinsettia Bowl," Tedford said. "We've had great experiences in bowl games in San Diego in the past. We've always been treated very well, and the hospitality has been outstanding. We are looking forward to playing a quality opponent from the Mountain West Conference."

Regardless what you think of the current system, bowl selection night is always a fun one. It's a great day to pick out games you'll want to watch, other games that you can probably skip out on, and many college football alumni finally figure out whether they're making one last pilgrimage this Christmas to a final football showcase.

We have a pretty good idea of who's getting picked where. So ponder these questions in the comments:

Which bowl games are you looking forward the most to? Which games look like total duds? Do you have any big gripes with some of the selections? And what do you feel about Cal's bowl matchup?

Official BCS matchups announced on FOX around 8 PM EST/5 PM PST; ESPN selection show runs at the same time. Updates on all the Pac-10 teams after the jump, and discuss Cal's official announcement. (including BIG NEWS coming from Arizona)

2:20 PM PST/5:20 PM EST

USC to the Emerald Bowl and Oregon State to the Vegas Bowl. So to the final matchups are (tentatively)

Rose: Oregon-Ohio State
Holiday: Arizona-Nebraska
Sun: Furd-Oklahoma
Vegas: Oregon State-BYU
Emerald: USC-Boston College
Poinsettia: Cal-Utah
Humanitarian (IF Navy beats Army): UCLA-Idaho

1:35 PM PST/4:35 PM EST
The Furd-Oklahoma Sun Bowl has been confirmed.

1 PM PST/4 PM EST

Sources are saying the Furd will be in the Sun Bowl against Oklahoma.

According to Ted Miller, big changes happening in Arizona, along with the expected bowl invite to San Diego.

Arizona has been invited to the Holiday Bowl, as expected.

Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood may be headed to the same post at UNLV.

And defensive coordinator Mark Stoops is a hot head coaching candidate. He may be headed to Youngstown State. Or following Livengood to UNLV.

UCLA will earn an invite to the Humanitarian Bowl if Navy beats Army this Saturday.

Kansas to Battle UCLA at Pauley Pavillion

Denverjhawk — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 15:58:05 -0000

Kansas vs. UCLA

Two of the most storied men's basketball programs will battle in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series when No. 1 Kansas (6-0) travels to UCLA (2-4) Sunday. Tip from historic Pauley Pavilion will be at 4:30 p.m. (Central). Kansas ranks third in NCAA Division I history in all-time wins with 1,976, while UCLA is ninth with 1,648 victories. UCLA has won 11 NCAA titles, while Kansas has won five national championships. The Bruins have appeared in the Final Four 17 times and Kansas on 13 occasions. Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Brown coached at UCLA from 1979-80, 1980-81, and guided Kansas to two Final Fours - 1986 and 1988 - including the 1988 NCAA National Championship.

Kansas is coming off a 98-31 win against Alcorn State on Wednesday. UCLA has lost three straight after its 79-68 loss to Long Beach State on the final day of the 76 Classic in Anaheim, Calif., Nov. 29.

	PPG	FG%	FT%	3P%	RPG	ORPG	DRPG	APG	TPG	SPG	BPG	FPG
KU	91.8	52.2	64.5	44.3	45.5	14.2	29.5	20.7	12.2	11.2	7.5	16.7
UCLA	65.5	43.6	55.6	26.0	40.5	11.7	23.8	15.8	14.5	6.5	5.0	19.2
KU Opponents	54.8	32.6	68.3	26.5	37.3	13.7	20.3	9.8	17.8	5.7	3.2	21.0
UCLA Opponents	67.7	44.8	65.4	36.8	37.0	9.7	24.8	10.2	15.7	6.3	0.8	16.8

About Kansas

Kansas extended the nation's longest home court winning streak to 46 games with its 98-31 win against Alcorn State on Dec. 2. The win was KU's fifth margin of victory of 30 points or more in six games this season. Included in the victory was a 36-point run that was one point shy of the NCAA record of 37 set by Utah State in 2006. The top-ranked Jayhawks average 91.8 points per game and are giving up 54.8 points for a +37 scoring margin. KU is shooting 52.2 percent from the field, while its opponents are shooting 32.6 percent.

Freshman guard Xavier Henry leads the team with a 17 point scoring average. He is making 48.4 percent of his shots from three-point range. Senior guard Sherron Collins is at 14.3 points per game and he leads the team with 17 three pointers, two ahead of Xavier Henry. Collins and sophomore guard Tyshawn Taylor (7.0 ppg) are tied for
the team high with 22 assists. Collins and Taylor are second on the team with 11 steals, one behind Xavier
Henry.

Sophomore forward Marcus Morris is a starter who is scoring 11 points and pulling down five rebounds per game. Junior center Cole Aldrich averages team bests in rebounds at 9.8 rpg and blocked shots with 3.7 per outing. He is scoring 11.2 points per game and has double-doubles in each of his last two games.

Sophomore forward Markieff Morris is shooting 72.7 percent from the field through six games and had a string of 15-straight made baskets. He is scoring 7.5 points per game and is third on the team with 5.7 rebounds per game.

About UCLA

UCLA is 2-4 on the season and takes a three-game losing streak into the Kansas contest. The Bruins
average 65.5 points per game and are giving up 67.7 points. They are outrebounding foes 35.5 to 34.5 per
contest and force 15.8 turnovers per game.

Senior guard Michael Roll leads the team in scoring with 13.2 points per game. He also leads the team with 30 assists, 14 three pointers and a 38.9 shooting percentage from beyond the arc.

Sophomore guard Malcom Lee is next in scoring at 12.3 points per game and assists with 22. He has made a team-high 15 free throws. He is pulling down 4.7 rebounds per contest. Senior forward Nikola Dragovic is scoring 7.8 points and pulling down a team high seven rebounds per game.

Rank and Records	KU	UCLA
RPI	#75	#182
Strength of Schedule	#320	#40
Overall	6-0	2-4
Conference	0-0	0-0
Home	5-0	2-1
Away	0-0	0-0
Top 25	0-0	0-1
RPI Top 50	0-0	0-3

Meet the Opposing Coach

UCLA is coached by Ben Howland, who is 154-58 in his seventh season at UCLA. Howland is 322-157 in his 16th season overall. Howland, who has been his conference coach of the year in three different leagues, has led UCLA to three-straight Pacific-10 Conference titles (2006-08) and three consecutive Final Four appearances (2006-08). Last year, Howland guided the Bruins to a 26-9 overall record and a 13-5 league mark to place second in the Pac-10.

His Bruins have finished in the top three in the Pac-10 for five consecutive seasons. He also guided the Bruins to a school-record 35 victories in 2008. Additionally, he won more games in a three-year span (97 from 2006-08) than any other coach in UCLA history.

UCLA also won the 2008 Pac-10 Tournament Championship and finished the year with an overall record of 35-4 and a 16-2 mark in the Pac-10. Prior to UCLA, Howland was head coach at Pittsburgh from 1999-2003. He was the head coach at Northern Arizona from 1994-99.

The Series

UCLA leads the all-time series with Kansas 10-4 and the Bruins won the last meeting 68-55 in the West Regional finals of the 2007 NCAA Tournament in San Jose, Calif. Five of the 14 matchups have come in NCAA Tournament play with UCLA winning each of those battles. Half of the meetings have been played at neutral sites. This series dates back to 1958 and UCLA won the first eight meetings, but Kansas won four of the next five.

Collins Lone Jayhawk Who Played Against UCLA in 2007

Kansas senior Sherron Collins is the lone Jayhawk to have played against UCLA in the 2007 West Regional final of the NCAA Tournament. Collins logged 15 minutes and was 0-4 from the field, including 0-1 from three-point range with one rebound and two assists against the Bruins.

Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series

This marks the third year of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series. Heading into 2009-10 season, the Pac-10 holds a 13-11 advantage in all matchups. Kansas is 1-1 in the series and faced Arizona in the first two years of the event. The Jayhawks won 76-72 in overtime in 2007-08 in Allen Fieldhouse and the Wildcats won last year 84-67 in Tucson.

Kansas/Pac-10 Series

Not to overshadow the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series, but Kansas has become familiar with the Pac-10 Conference since the arrival of Bill Self in 2003-04. Under Self, Kansas has played eight Pac-10 teams eading into 2009-10 and will face UCLA Sunday and host California Dec. 22. Kansas is 5-3 against Pac-10 foes in the Bill Self era.

		GP	GS	MPG	PPG	FG%	FT%	3P%	RPG	ORPG	DRPG	APG	TPG	SPG	BPG	FPG
#4	S. Collins	6	6	28.167	14.333	50.8	75.0	47.2	2.0	0.167	1.833	3.667	1.0	1.833	0.0	1.167
#1	X. Henry	6	6	25.667	17.0	53.0	89.5	48.4	4.167	0.833	3.333	2.0	1.667	2.0	0.333	1.667
#45	C. Aldrich	6	6	24.5	11.167	56.5	62.5	0.0	9.833	3.333	6.5	1.167	1.0	0.833	3.667	2.0
	T. Taylor	6	6	23.667	7.0	38.9	62.5	36.4	2.333	0.333	2.0	3.667	2.5	1.833	0.167	1.167
#22	M. Morris	6	4	23.167	11.0	59.5	64.5	33.3	5.0	2.333	2.667	1.833	1.333	1.333	0.5	2.167
#14	T. Reed	6	0	16.333	5.833	48.0	75.0	40.0	1.833	0.167	1.667	2.167	0.5	1.0	0.167	0.833
#21	M. Morris	6	2	14.333	7.5	72.7	76.9	75.0	5.667	1.833	3.833	1.333	1.0	0.667	0.833	2.167
#15	E. Johnson	6	0	14.167	4.5	50.0	60.0	25.0	2.333	0.833	1.5	3.5	1.667	0.833	0.0	2.0
		GP	GS	MPG	PPG	FG%	FT%	3P%	RPG	ORPG	DRPG	APG	TPG	SPG	BPG	FPG
#20	M. Roll	6	6	37.0	13.167	42.9	62.5	38.9	2.167	0.5	1.667	5.0	2.0	1.167	0.167	2.0
#3	M. Lee	6	6	34.167	12.333	36.1	62.5	23.3	4.667	1.167	3.5	3.667	1.5	1.333	0.333	3.333
#5	J. Andersen	6	6	30.0	6.167	36.8	46.2	23.1	1.333	0.167	1.167	3.0	3.167	1.667	0.167	2.0
#0	D. Gordon	6	6	24.5	11.167	56.9	64.3	0.0	5.333	2.667	2.667	0.833	1.0	0.5	2.0	3.5
#13	J. Keefe	6	5	22.5	3.5	47.6	20.0	0.0	4.833	1.667	3.167	1.5	1.667	0.5	0.833	2.833
#41	N. Dragovic	4	1	28.25	7.75	25.0	69.2	17.4	7.0	1.25	5.75	1.0	2.25	0.75	0.5	1.75
#11	R. Nelson	6	0	14.833	7.333	69.2	53.3	0.0	4.667	2.167	2.5	0.0	1.667	0.167	0.5	1.833
#10	M. Abdul-Hamid	4	0	13.75	3.5	46.2	0.0	33.3	0.75	0.25	0.5	1.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	1.25

Saturday Late Night Overflow Thread: Go Badgers Open Thread

Nestor — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 04:54:54 -0000

We don't have to explain at this point on why we are rooting for Bucky and his Wisconsin Badgers. What an exciting Saturday in Bruins Nation. Since our last thread got filled up, thought we start a brand new one so that we can focus on cheering on Wisconsin (at least those who will stay up out in West Coast and/or procrastinating over their finals).

Again, if the Badgers beat Hawaii Warriors, that will all but guarantee a bowl appearance for our Bruins. The game is on ESPN 2 right now and you can also keep track of the box score here. Also, our SBN colleagues from Wisconsin are following the game at Bucky's 5th Quarter over here.

Let's end it on a great note with a W for Wisconsin in Hawaii. Mahalo.

GO BRUINS.

Saturday Overflow Thread: $C* Sucks Edition

Nestor — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 00:06:08 -0000

Looks like our Saturday open thread was filling up. It was filling up for a very good reason. The Arizona Wildcats wiped off the stupid grin of Matt Barkley's face at an empty looking Mosoleum this afternoon. Despite the nonstop rear-end kissing from the ABC announcers, the Trojies came up short, looking pathetic and clueless with game on the line (guess it's not easy to throw bombs when the game is on the line).

Anyway, we still have more action coming up tonight. Alabama-Florida game is still going on. Cal-UDub game started a little while ago. If Cal wins Trojies stay in 6th place and head to San Diego. If the Huskies win Bears and Trojies tie for 5th, and the Bears head down to San Diego for the Poinsetta Bowl.

Plus we have the Wisconsin game coming up later tonight. So here is another open thread to take in more football rest of this Saturday. Always a good Saturday in BN, when someone wipes of the smirk of the Humanitarian's face. Suck on Trojies.

GO BRUINS.

Special Saturday Open Thread: UCLA's Bowl Prospects

Nestor — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 20:28:29 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

2 months ago: Wisconsin's David Gilbert (11) celebrates with teammates after recovering a blocked punt in the end zone for a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA football game against Wofford on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

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Well, there is a lot of football games going on today. Pittsburgh-Cincinnati are locked in a huge battle for the Big East championship. Houston (our opponent for next season) is playing an entertaining Conference-USA championship game against East Carolina. Of course Florida-Alabama is coming up in a bit and then later on tonight Wisconsin is taking on Hawaii in a game, that has implications for UCLA. You can check out the full scoreboard from WWL over here.

We need the Badgers to win. Rooting for them will be a weird feeling given our experiences against them at the Rose Bowl (and also at the Sun Bowl). But hey, they have a solid team and some of the best fans in college football (the ones we interacted with before 94 and 98 game were classy and gracious). So yeah, why not. Go Badgers. If you are watching college football today (its snowing out in the East), here is a special open thread.

GO BRUINS.

Special Friday Night Open Thread: UCLA Bowl Prospects

Nestor — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 01:13:16 -0000

More photos » by Al Goldis - AP

Let's scout the Chippewas (just in case). GO BRUINS.

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Well a heartbreaker for our women's soccer team who were just eliminated in the NCAA college cup by Stanford. Bruins showed heart against undefeated Stanford team by tying up the game after falling behind in second half. Unfortunate it was Stanford's night who move on to the finals. Congrats to them but more importantly congrats to our women for another outstanding season. They will get that championship sooner or later and they look like they have enough young talent on the team (Leroux was amazing to watch) to make another run season.

For now though let's shift our attention to back to football. orlandobruin laid out the bowl scenario earlier today. Looks like our prospects got even better as Notre Dame has officially decided to back out of a bowl game (HT hicalliber). If we do get to a bowl, one of our likely destination will be the GMAC Bowl, where we might take on Central Michigan University. Well CMU is on ESPN2 right now taking on Ohio Bobcats in the MAC Championship game.

If you are watching it, why don't you use this thread to give us some early info, just in case we need to gather notes.

Fire away.

GO BRUINS.