Just read on the Angels SBN site that there was a virus infecting people's computer through SBN. Here's the link:

http://www.halosheaven.com/2011/3/7/2035999/virus-warning-remedy

Not too sure how many other people got the virus, but I did. I cannot open any files and my computer restarts every 10 minutes. I can't be the only one with this problem, so hopefully someone out there knows a solution that may be helpful to other avid SS&R readers that met the same tragic fate my computer did.

I've been looking for something for nearly 8 years now and I finally decided that I need some help. You guys are incredibly resourceful, so I'd figure you're the best community to ask.

Back in 2001 I vividly remember watching a Chick Hearn animation on KCAL 9. It was very short (maybe 10 seconds). It had Chick standing in front of a refrigerator. He opened the door, tossed in butter, eggs and jigglin' jello. When he shut the fridge Stu Lantz walks up and gives Chick a fist pound.

I know I didn't make this cartoon up. I remember watching it in my dorm room several times and trying to find it back then to use as a screen saver to no avail. 8 years later and I still can't find it.

Does anyone know what I'm talking about/know where I can find this cartoon?

Thanks guys. Have fun and be safe this holiday season!

Bumped...A great take by one of our regulars, BruinFan1 - P

Hello Trojan fans! I hope all the Men of Troy and the Sons of Westwood are ready for Nov. 28. I truly believe this is going to be a great game, maybe even one for ESPN Classic. Yeah, I understand that I may be getting ahead of myself, but my opinion isn't based on some gut feeling.

As I've stated before on this blog, my wife has been organizing Trojan football tailgates for the Trojan Club of Beach Cities (she graduated from Annenberg in 2006) all year. I've attended nearly all of the events she's helped organize and watched every Trojan football game from beginning to end. I've seen both our teams "progress" throughout the season.

I've seen spectacular plays and downright awful execution from both USC and UCLA. At this point in the season, I see two teams that are more enigmas than known products.   But how did they get here? A brief recap of our seasons will help us navigate all those facts the pundits like to talk about (you know, the stats that don't mean a damn thing):

USC Trojans - Talk about a fast start! Matt Barkley went down to the Horse Shoe and punched Jim Tressel in his stupid four-eyed face (that's what OSU gets for having a seed as a mascot and for ruining every BCS bowl game they go to).

Continue reading this post »

I think at this point you've all seen the hoopla about Pete's negative response to Mark's departure to the NFL. What is your general sense of the reaction? In all honesty, I can't think of one good reason why Pete would react the way he did.

First, I would assume that one would argue that he is doing this for Mark's benefit, but Mark is not under Pete's control anymore (unless, of course, Mark can reneg on his decision to declare for the draft, but I'm  not too sure if he can...maybe someone else knows).

If not this, Pete may be making a statement for future recruits. I guess the statement would be that he is looking out for the best interest of the players but again, I can't really see how this helps because I'm very sure the two of them have been talking ad naseum about the draft. Negative comments to the public probably won't sway Mark if, as reports indicate, even his family is against the decision.

To me, this seems like a bad decision on Pete's part. First, the comments seem to poison Mark's draft stock. It is now out in the open that Mark's own coach does not believe in him. I can't imagine these comments will help bolster his resume. Additionally, it would seem that these comments will act as a deterrent in regards to future commits to the program. Why would anyone want to play for a coach that will publicly denounce your decisions?

I think you all know that I don't come on here to get a rise out of you guys but this is a situation that seems pretty wrong to me. What do you guys think?

Conquest Chronicles -

It's been a long time since I've been around to post on any of my favorite. Some of the reasons have been good, and some of the reasons for my absence has been unfortunate. Right now, especially in light of what will occur on December 6, we should all keep in mind what is truly important and not get ourselves mired in some of the uglier vitriol that we see in what appears to be an increasingly nastier rivalry, especially on the internet.

On June 21, 2008, I did what a lot of Bruin fans would consider treason. I married a Trojan. True, we met while we were both Anteaters (University of California, Irvine), but we did grow into our roles as heated rivals during my wife's second year as a grad student at USC and my first year as a law student at UCLA.

I remember how we first were during the our first football season as a couple. We were absolutely ruthless to each other. I got an earful during 66-19 and I cheered on the infamous 4th and 2nd during the 2005 championship game. Clearly, we were huge jerks to each other and sometimes, we genuinely did hurt each other's feelings.

Fast forward to 2008. We're now married and much more mature about our situations. In fact, we are highly supportive. When UCLA has the week off or if we go to a USC game, I'll wear some Trojan gear. If the same is going on with my wife's team, she wears this really cool Joe Bruin t-shirt that I wish I had. Yet, this coming Saturday, we are not-so-heated rivals again. As my wife so nicely puts it, "If it's you are me, I'd rather it be you" in reference to losing. I return the sentiment.

What I'm trying to get at here is that, in a heated rivalry, don't lose focus on what's important. It's not bashing your competition, it's celebrating your own team's accomplishments and enjoying a very special yearly event with friends (and then, a distant third, bashing your competition). It took me a little bit to understand this, but now that I have, football with the most important person in my world has never been more fun and enjoyable.

So while you'll surely hear a lot of trash talking over the next 6 days, I'll take a different route. Here is what it looks like when a Trojan and a Bruin come together:

Here's to an injury free game. If you win, and I hope you don't, best of luck in the Rose Bowl (although I really wish if you did make a BCS Bowl it would have been the Fiesta Bowl).

(PS - You should all consider yourself lucky that you have a great moderator in ParagonSC that understands this and runs a classy blog. Be very thankful.)

Good Day Gents.

I have a questoion regarding school colors.

I feel as though most schools do not do a good job at giving students their actual school colors. As a UCLA student, I can't tell you how many navy blue and yellow, blue and yellow, and navy blue and gold items I have been given when UCLA should be powder blue and gold.

USC is not different. My fiancee has 3 jerseys but we have a floor mat that is a literal gold and cardinal. It looks fantastic, but it isn't the normal "yellow" you wear during the game.

So what is it? Does USC (or UCLA) care about what color they really are? Does USC care about being "Cardinal and Gold" even though they wear "Cardinal and Yellow???"

Does UCLA have to be "powdered blue and gold???" Can they wear other colors???

What say you?

I have a few questions/statements re: Saturday's game at Galen:

1. First of all, feel better Paragon.
2. My fiancee and I are thinking about heading down to SC to watch the game there. Besides Traditions and the Two-Niner, are there any other bars/restaurants around or on campus that are game friendly?
3. I saved that sports illustrated cover with Love and Mayo on the cover in hopes of getting both their signatures. Any suggestions on when the USC team leaves Galen and is available for signatures?

I mean that in all seriousness simply because we beat Cal. Cal, for some reason, brings out the very worst in me. I don't think I've ever come across a more pretentious group of fans that have no freakin' clue about sports or what it means to be a winner.

Yes, they piss me off more than SC fans. I can deal with the obnoxiousness of SC fans because that can be explained by success going to one's head. I don't like it very much, but I can deal with it and it can be explained (also, I find that band wagon fans are extremely volatile wherever you find them and SC has a good share of them). You can also explain it through general dumbassery. Cal, on the other hand, cannot be explained.

Message to Cal fans - you have done nothing for the Pac-10. Football championships from the time when Jesus was turning water into wine are irrelevant to me. Was the forward pass even invented yet? Co Pac-10 Championships are merely cute if you can only do it once. Being perennial Holiday Bowl contestants does not make you an important team.

You will never matter in the the realm of football and basketball. Your teams continually crap themselves when they have to perform in high pressure situations. Your "god" Tedford has a LOSING record against Coach Sleepy. Do you understand that? Coach Sleepy has your number! That is beyong pathetic and emblematic of your sports in general. "Little sister" is roughly 70 years your junior and has over 70 more championships than you! Save me your speeches on your intermural rugby team. We all play by the same NCAA rules. Cal just ended up being good at a sport that is irrelevant. That is nobody elses fault but your own. Quit complaining.

Oh...and another thing. If I have to hear that "You're stupid and couldn't get into Cal" argument one more time, I'm going to go insane simply because of that pure stupidity of the statement. UCLA is still a flagship UC school and UCLA is still world renowned for its academics. Your diss is the equivalent of a Harvard grad telling a Stanford grad that (s)he is an idiot for not getting into Harvard. Ha! Stanford is still a phenomenal school. Speaking of Stanford...that is all YOU ARE. You are Stanford rejects that end up at a school and is only slightly better than UCLA academically with no sports history and very hairy women. You could only dream about being the best academic-athletic school in the nation.

We have been having conversations on here about why wins don't feel good under Coach Sleepy. This is the one game where I feel FANTASTIC after winning. To knock Cal fans off their damn pedestal  that they created with their own sense of self-importance is a very, very good feeling. Cal, you have no idea what sports are about. You have no idea how to act. Even mentioning the idea of firing Tedford because of this loss illustrates that fact that you are not deserving of a good football team. You are ridiculous. You are sad. You are embarassing for the Pac-10. You disgrace Cal fans that actually have a clue (I know many).

Until you can learn how to act, this will be a game I will truly enjoy being the victor of. Saturday, despite the fact that Coach Sleepy did everything he could to lose the game (punting on Cal's 38!!!!!!!), was a very good day.

End of rant. It is 4:50am my time and I'm thinking I should go to bed. My apologies for typos due to a lack of sleep and over-studying. Go Bruins!

It is quite possible that the USC debacle helped UCLA in a couple areas. While it has already been stated that USC's loss took a lot of the thunder out of KD's epic failure, I do believe there are a few positives that need to be mentioned:

1. Stanford was able to beat the #2 team in the nation with a back-up quarterback with negligible experience. KD's game plan prevented UCLA from succeeding in the face of Ben Olson's unintended injury. Stanford proved that success is possible with untested talent. KD proved that he cannot win when things don't go his way. In fear of beating a really dead horse with a huge stick, I will quickly mention that it is uterlly ridiculous to not have a better QB plan set up when you are one injury away from disaster. Stanford, with inferior talent, took it to USC in their home and blew away their 35-game home winning streak. In summary, my point here is that good coaching overcomes adversity. Bad coaching creates adversity. 18% of the nation saw the latter.
2. This point is both good news and bad news mixed into one. While USC's loss definitely overshadowed ours in the media, don't think for a second that the media didn't notice. Here's a local example - I was driving home from UCLA last night and was listening to John Zigler (KFI 640AM). For those of you who do not listen or get this program, it is essentially a program dedicated to the day's news.  John decides to take a left turn with the program and talk about UCLA's deplorable showing at the Rose Bowl. It was quite interesting to here from a guy who does not care about UCLA one bit. On the national level, Jay Leno just said that UCLA stands for "U Can Lose to Anyone" during his monologue. Again, I understand that being the laughing stock of college football is not something to celebrate, but it is a good sign that both the local and national media still think UCLA's important enough to mention and that they notice the terrible job KD is doing. At the very least, they are making KD's incompetence apparent.
3. Beating USC will not save KD's job this year. They have already lost to Stanford and had a poor showing against Washington. I am willing to bet that USC drops at least one more game to either Cal, ASU, or Oregon. They have some real issues on that team that stem from a lack of execution and preparation (injuries are surely playing a huge role as well). If UCLA goes into the Coliseum when USC has nothing on the line besides a Holiday Bowl (Cal, I'm looking at you to ensure this), then even a win over USC does not have nearly the same effect that it did last year. Beating what would be considered the weakest USC team in years would not be an accomplishment for one to hang their hat on. Knowing KD, he'll probably win this game out of pure dumb luck. That's why I thought this was important to mention.

I'll leave you with a positive quote that I read in the Daily Bruin today. This is how Shannon Tevaga responded to MBT's play during the ND game:

"I don't even know what was going on (with our pass protection). I'm speechless. (Bethel-Thompson's) a soldier. Mac has the biggest heart on the team. The job he did to come in, on the third string, break the huddle - he's a soldier. I'd go to war with Mac any day."

We appreciate your efforts too MBT.

To be completely honest, I was not at all excited about this upcoming football season. I'm the type of guy that takes UCLA football and basketball far too seriously. If something is wrong with my team, it can literally make my stomach hurt. I remember distinctly after our terrible loss to Notre Dame last year, I actually shed a tear. It was completely demoralizing and disheartening to see my Bruins go down in the fashion that they did.

I feared this year because I just knew that Dorrell will not live up to our loft expectations. I know I have many stomach aches to worry about on Saturdays (maybe I should have brought to Pepto with me to the game this last Saturday).

It took me me a while to figure out what I feared about this season. To not be excited at all about football is an insane and almost unthinkable thing to say. Then it dawned on me. I know exactly what I feared. This classic episode of The Twilight Zone explains it all.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=9DNbyOKd9YM

(I intended to embed the video, but I the this site won't let me for some reason. Maybe Nestor can figure it out.)

I didn't fear regression. I didn't fear the inability to live up to our lofty expectations (and maybe I shouldn't say "our" since the AD has the same expectations). I feared no change. I feared no change at all. I belive this is quite different than the former two items. Even without change, Dorrell could ostensibly find success this year. If that is to happen, I would rather not have success.

I would rather Dorrell become an "in your face" type of coach that is willing to take blame for losses and sh*tty play calling and be 8-4 as opposed to Dorrell staying who he is and being 11-1. Each win is unenjoyable with Dorrell. Doom feels like its right around the corner with each win. 11-1 with Dorrell would feel like 5-7 plus each game probably takes off 3 days from our life span just from the stress. Wins with Dorrell, in my opinion, are simply not worth it.

I went to the game this Saturday. I saw what you saw. I saw no change. I saw what I feared. I saw a win that felt like 2 losses. I saw the need to run down to Costco to purchase the economy sized Pepto. I saw all the signs that we need for the immediate removal of Karl Dorrell. That will not happen because 2007 is not the year of change; it is the year of the status quo.

I guess I just have to be patient, but here is a quote to think about:

"When you are through changing, you are through." - Bruce Barton

I'm convinced Dorrell is done changing.

Just received this in my e-mail box today:

To the UCLA Campus Community:

As my time as chancellor of UCLA comes to a close, I want you to know that it has been a joy for me to work with so many of you as we have met the challenges that confronted us over the course of the year.  For me, this period has been an opportunity to further serve the institution that I have loved for almost 50 years.  It has been a year that has enriched my life.

I always knew that UCLA was made up of the best and brightest, but I have been struck by the talent we have here and the willingness of everyone to step forward on behalf of the university and its mission.  I have gotten too much credit for many things that actually have reflected the efforts of dozens of people.  The support of the campus at large has been crucial, too, for the measure of success that we have had.  I am deeply grateful to all of you for the help you have given me.

Although we have faced some tough issues this year, there have also been important triumphs.  I hope you share my sense of pride in our accomplishments.  We have moved the campus forward and, if anything, have gained, rather than lost, momentum.

I am now passing the baton (at full speed, without breaking stride) to Gene Block, confident that rapid progress will continue under his leadership.  UCLA is very fortunate to have found him and lured him to the West Coast.  I know that all of you join me in wishing him and his wife, Carol, great success as Chancellor and First Lady of UCLA.

Go Bruins!

Sincerely,

Norman Abrams
Acting Chancellor

I'm sure people on here have an opinion of him here. I really don't have one except I HIGHLY disagree with his stance in regards to an on-campus pub. Regardless, I wish him the best.

I'm not exactly a huge Charlie Weiss fan, but 19 wins in 2 seasons does raise your credibility a bit. He also seems to be a pretty good guy (that sounds familiar). My respect for the guy just went up a few notches when I read this quote from him:

"My goal this year, and next year, and the year after that, will be to win every game. And that's my goal this year. And I'll never have it go any different than that."

Weis just lost Brady Quin, Jeff Samardzija and Darius Walker on offense and he is still sets the high standard of winning every game. That's quite amazing to me but a lot of things are amazing when you know who is leading our football team.

Compare this to the unbearable statements some of Dorrell's players have been muttering recently. Over 20 returning starters and our players don't expect to win every game. The difference between the programs is shocking to say the very least. In reality, I don't know why it is shocking. Nothing should be able to shock me now that Dorrell has survived into his fifth year.

You can catch the whole article here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19681120/

PS - Does UCLA have a quantum mechanics major on campus? I'm thinking that the easiest way to get rid of this guy is to have someone build us a flux capacitor and return to 2003 so we can stop this nonsense.

I recently made a comment on BN that was poorly worded and  not well thought out. If you remember, there was a person on here that asked for some pointers for a debate he was in regarding the merits of UCLA and USC.

I gave a few points that were not that great, but I said one thing that was not such a good idea. I made the statement that "Trojans are pedophiles".

Now, in my little ol' noggin this statement was fairly innocuous because I knew exactly what I meant. In these three words, I was trying to reference Trojans as historical figures. They were known to have sex slaves and sometimes these slaves were young males. I was, in my mind, knocking their mascot as a pedophile.

But where was my mind at the time? As I read that statement again I cringe. I'm so painfully unclear at what I'm referencing it is ridiculous. My statements were interpreted (and rightfully so) as  attacking members of the Trojan Family. I never thought I could take something on a blog so seriously, but I am beyond ashamed at this.

Obviously, my biggest apology goes to CC and members of the Trojan family. I hope my apology is accepted as sincere. It is.

My second apology goes to BN. A statement like this, even though it was not meant the way it was interpreted, is a blemish on the reputation of BN.

The ironic thing about this is that I'm probably one of the least likely to throw insults at Trojans. While I still fully intend on poking fun at Trojans, hopefully this mistake will serve as a reminder for others to think a little bit harder before they write something.

And maybe, just maybe, this can serve as an opportunity to have a few more cordial discussions  with members of CC like we have done in the past.

USC..the football school. Now you know what it means to put a good basketball team together (well, including the Paul Westphal era). So tell me, how f*ckin' fun was that?

And when I ask this question, I'm not trying to stir any pot. My fiancee is a Trojan, so I know so much about Trojan sports it makes me sick because blue and gold flows through my viens...but I have a vested interest in Trojan sports because of her.

But really, did you like it? How does it compare to football? Is it too new to really appreciate it? I'm  very curious to your answers because my fiancee hated basketball until this season when I got her into it because of USC and UCLA doing well.

And, although I wish many ass kicking upon you from Bruins, I do wish many competative games between us. Like I said before, victory is sweeter when your enemy is strong.

PS- You are all very cordial here. I would like to thank you for being very welcoming and insightful. You are all good representatives of the Trojan Family.

I curious as to the dark horses you guys have in your brackets. The only dark horse I have in the tournament is USC (hence the reason for the post).

I have them beating Arkansas, Texas, and Marquette, whereupon they will be crushed by Georgetown. I actually had to convince a few of my SC friends that you guys will do that well. They changed their brackets accordingly.

So I don't get my ass kicked for screwing with some Trojans' brackets, make sure you cheer your team on to the Elite Eight, okay?

You all know where I stand. I want USC basketball to do well. Despite that, I am very worried about OJ Mayo. He was not highly recruited even though he was such a hot prospect. I feel as though this individual will do USC more harm than good especially after the fact of Reggie Bush and his "free" rent.

So just tell me why OJ Mayo is different? I just don't see it.

-Dave

(P.S. - this is an objective question)

I want to say congradulations on your basketball team. It's FANTASTIC to see your team achieve a level that is beyond the average bar that is set. Our rivalry is mainly set in football. I understand that you guys do not want to give us our share in football history (we're pretty good in the whole scheme of things), but to see the rivalry carry over to baskeball is the best thing ever!

Although I hope you NEVER beat UCLA, I wish you much more success in basketball. I hope Floyde is the real deal and all you guys get to enjoy the gift that is basketball.

PS - I wore a USC hat during the USC-Michigan game. I wanted USC to win, but mostly for my Trojan Fiancee. Shhhhhhhhhhhhh!

I think we should do as much as we can to abide by the 200 word limit. One of the reasons that I come to this site all the time is because of the thoughtful discussions that everybody participates in. Its refreshing to see so many reality based Bruins in one place with so many great ideas.

The quality of the discussions on this page become diluted when you see a post on the diaries and then you see 150 nonsensical words at the bottom to reach the limit. I've seen a couple lately and I'm not a big fan of them.

An example of such a post is the one below this one entitled "So much for the 'standard' quote." To make it clear, I am not calling out any one person, but this post is an example of what we should not be doing. This post would have been a fantastic one if it nailed USC for sucking (always an important element for a good post) and also went into some analysis about how much Arizona stunk up the game. I understand the post I am referencing was written before the game, but that's the point. We should all wait for all relevant information before we post.

Anyway, I will stop now so I don't come off with a "holier than thou" attitude. That's not my intention at all.

Keep up the good work Bruin Nation.

I just talked to my mom and dad (UCLA Alumni '78) and both of them were affected by the security breach. This DEFINITELY means they got some alumni information. So you older Bruins here should take the proper safe guards to ensure your identity and other important information is protected.

Also, my parents received a letter in the mail from UCLA saying that they WILL NOT be calling anyones house in regard to this problem. So, if somebody calls from "UCLA" in regards to this issue and asks for your information, don't give it!

I apologize for this not being 200 words, but I think this is pretty important for the whole Bruin Family to know.

Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks Identity Theft Sucks

Go Bruins!

I should be studying right now, but there is something that is bothering me a lot right now. DumpDorrell.com has done a good job reporting the rumor that the Morgan Center contacted Mariuchi before the UCLA-USC game.

Something is really bothering me about this rumor. If it is true, then it also means that UCLA cut off discussions after UCLA won. This means that Dorrell's future was contingent on one win! This, if true, disgusts me very, very much.

How can a man save his job with one game? Does this not sound insane? 3 mediocre to horrible seasons out of 4 and one game decides the direction of the ENTIRE PROGRAM FOR YEARS TO COME?

While I noted that this rumor is comforting (if true) because it shows that UCLA is willing to dish out the money for a recognizable name, it shows that UCLA's mentality towards football is completely backwards. Its like baking one dozen cookies only to find that only one cookie didn't burn in the oven. Usually, you'd say the batch is ruined, but Morgan Center logic would say that the batch is fine! One cookie is good enough to save the entire batch.

DumpDorrell, please make me sane again and tell me where I'm wrong here. If I'm right, lie to me and tell me I'm wrong.

So I walk to the UCLA Law library on Monday morning with all my UCLA gear on to rub it in all the faces of the people who went to USC (yeah, who the hell would go to USC law when you got accepted into UCLA?). So I run into a USC friend of mine and told him "13-9 bro. Your team lost to Dorrell. You guys really suck." I should also mention that I said this in a friendly manner since we had discussed the game on Friday.

The next back and forth was wierd because he didn't like what I said at all. He got pissed off and said, "The Rose Bowl doesn't suck. Pac-10 Champions don't suck."

So, knowing full well that this Bruin victory went straight to the collective vaginas of all USC fans, I decided to lay off the UCLA talk for a bit and asked him what he thought about the game.

With a straight face, he told me this .....

"USC threw the game."

I laughed and asked him what he really thought what happened. Again, in a pissed off voice....

"The Offensive Coordinator threw the game. There is no reason why USC should ever lose to UCLA. I was in the stands and saw that the play calling was horrible. Everytime Booty threw the ball, he made the completions. Why didn't USC keep throwing the ball? Because they threw the game."

So, my logical question after hearing this absurd rationalization of USC's defeat was to ask why the Offensive Coordinator would throw the game. His resonponse?

"Money talks!"

That's it. USC lost because "money talks."

I'm absolutely convinced now that USC fans are completely brain dead. They have such a huge sense of entitlement that when they get beat by the Bruins, they rationalize it with some crazy conspiracy theory.

Trojans, you are truly a sad, sick little bunch of people (except my fiancee). This attitude in defeat is even more offensive than the crap I had to deal with when USC was on their 7-game winning streak. These people are morons.

They act like assholes when they win and they act like assholes when they lose. Screw 'em.

Dear Mr. Guerrero,

Good evening Mr. Guerroro. My name is David Montoya and I am currently a law student at UCLA. It had been my goal since high school to get into UCLA Law, so being here has been nothing but wonderful. I come from a long line of Bruins (both my parents attained their degrees along with my aunt, and two uncles received their law degrees here), so I have been a huge fan of the school since before I can even remember.

Part of this pride comes from the excellent athletic department UCLA has. We are on the brink of 100 NCAA Championships, a fact that I like to boast quite often.

Recently, I have become very dismayed as to what is occurring with our beloved football program. The past four years under Karl Dorrell have been less than stellar. In his four years here, his best year was last year, a 10-2 season that included embarassing losses to Arizona (a team that finished 3-8) and to USC. I understand completely that a 10-2 season is thrilling and successful, but a team that is capable of going 10-2 should also be incapable of losing to a vastly inferior team such as Arizona; therefore, the issue that should have been loud and clear is why were we not 11-1? That would have at least given you one of the goals you wanted Karl Dorrell to attain, a BCS berth and maybe even a win. Sadly, the '05 Bruins that liked to live on the edge had to settle for a Sun Bowl appearance.

Fast forward to '06 and you can clearly see that we are not even close to being the team we were last year. Karl Dorrell said that this was his "best team yet," but we were out of the Pac-10 running by our third game. Would a good coach who just went 10-2 coach a team to a 7-5 mark at best? The answer is no. The drop-off is never that steep when the coaching is good. This also means that are 7-5 season is highly indicative of what our 10-2 season looked like - several come-from-behind victories against teams that we should have never been trailing. Again, if we were 10-2 with poor coaching that caused us to fall behind inferior opponents, what could that record have been with good coaching? It very well could have been a trip to the National Championship game.

But I digress. I do not want to lament over what could have been. I would like to look forward to the future. Regardless of the coach, UCLA will go at least 8-4 next year due to a favorable schedule and a huge returning class. Think of what this 8-4 can be with a great coach! A coach that doesn't go for a 2-point conversion in the first half only to miss it and be ridiculed by the announcers on national tv, a coach that doesn't "go for it" on 4-and-2 on his own 40 yard line, a coach that doesn't want to see his kicker be the next Heisman winner, and a coach that can call offensive plays on time as to not waste time outs (another issue that has caused announcers to mock UCLA on national television). The future is bright for the Bruins, but under the appropriate leadership. I am sorry to say, but all the evidence makes it clear that Dorrell is not the man that will lead UCLA football to where it should be. The most damning evidence of this is that Trojans (as I have read on many of their websites/blogs and have heard personally) have written you letters in support of Dorrell but in the guise of a Bruin! This is no longer the team of Gary Beban, Jackie Robinson, or Troy Aikman. What I see now only discredits what they have brought to us.

Because of this, I will no longer be attending UCLA football games until a proper head coach is hired. Additionally, I will not be donating any money to UCLA when I complete my law degree unless a proper head coach is hired (I fully intend on donating otherwise). I have encouraged others to do the same. I will be present at the Rose Bowl during the USC-UCLA game in December, but only to wear my "Fire Dorrell" shirt and to pass out flyers, encouraging fans to voice their disatisfaction with the direction of the football program. Why am I taking such measures? Because I fear that the athletic beauracracy at UCLA will not want to admit the mistake they made in hiring Dorrell in the first place. I fear that they will look to his wonderful demeanor and qualities(and I have no doubt that Dorrell is a wonderful man) but fail to look at his abysmal performances on the field. I fear the status quo. We are not just a basketball school; we are an EVERYTHING school.

Mr. Guerrero, I attended UC Irvine while you were the athletic director there, so I am quite aware of the magic touch you have with college sports. Your hiring of Ben Howland only exemplifies this point. You are quite literally one coach away from being one of the greatest athletic directors to grace a college campus. Please make the right decision in regards to UCLA's beloved football program. I do not want to see it spiral into mediocrity.

These decisions are hard, but I hope you make the right one. I've seen you do it before and I know you can do it again.

Best Wishes,

David J. Montoya III

This is great! I was trying to muster up 300 words to write about my Fire Karl Dorrell Myspace group and I see that somebody has already found it! This is great! The funniest thing about this group is that I created it over a month ago and I got nothing but hate from a lot of Bruin Fans (Either that, or they were responses from the same damn Trojan fans that keep voting on our blog polls to make it look like people actually support Karl Dorrell). If you have a Myspace account, you can find this group at:

http://groups.myspace.com/firekarldorrell

I plug both Bruins Nation and DumpDorrell.com on there since they are both near and dear to my heart. Hopefully this is okay with the good folks here and at Dumpdorrell.com, but I'm sure it is. Its all about getting the word out, right?

There are a couple of things that I would like from you guys:

1. If you visit the site, give me feedback on how I can make it better. I've already sent out the link to every imanginable UCLA group on Myspace, so appearance is very important as I expect to see a huge jump in members.
2. If you join the group, help me with ideas so we can create a concerted effort to get our point across. Maybe we can all buy the Dump Dorrell shirts and intend to wear them on one specific day at the Rose Bowl. That would be a sight to see, wouldn't it? Since there's not a lot of games left, we can also wear them around campus often.
3. Any other suggestions you guys have are greatly appreciated. All the users make this site what it is! I greatly respect the opinions of all the users here since only facts and logic are used to make points. I'm listening.

I don't care what anybody else says, but I DO NOT believe the hype that Notre Dame is. Brady Quinn is good, but not Heisman Trophy good. Notre Dame is good, but not good enough to beat Michigan, just barely good enough to beat Georgia Tech, and good enough to figure out John L. Smith practices Dorrellian game plans (playing not to lose as opposed to playing to win).

That being said, UCLA has a chance to beat Notre Dame. Do I think we will beat Notre Dame? All signs point to no since I have no doubt Dorrell will figure out a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

But what if we do win? How much time will this buy Dorrell? As long as any team beats a half way decent Notre Dame team, they will get significant praise because, well, its Notre Dame people!

So, the question I pose is this - if we win, what will it mean for Dorrell?

Collectively, it appears that UCLA is beginning to see the mistake it made when we hired Dorrell as our head coach. Game after game, Dorrell illustrates to us what it means to be a sub-par coach while wasting away some great talent.

This morning, I walked onto the UCLA campus right before my Accounting class and decided to grab a Daily Bruin. I thought the sports writers would surely tear Dorrell a new one. I don't think I've ever been more wrong in my life.

The very first thing I see on the sports page is a column that reads, "Go easy on young Bruins." What?!?! Go easy on a team that just lost two games to two teams they were clearly superior to talent wise? I thought for sure this writer must have some valid point of view in his article, but it really was the same old stuff you hear from the Dorrell sympathizers (even though he may not be one).

There are some really great highlights in this article, and I will outline some of the funnier points this writer makes:

1.) "Is it Dorrell's fault that he lost virtually all of his offensive talent from a  year ago in a season where virtually all the tough Pac-10 match-ups are road games?"

2.) "Last season, Dorrell's third, was an excellent one for the Bruins. Ten wins, no matter how they are acheived, signal a great season - especially for a team that hadn't tasted true success since the Cade McNown era."

I do believe it was Nestor who said the people over at the Daily Bruin were a bunch of tools (at least the writers who cover football are), but this just epitomizes the point.

I've spent years in debate classes, debate clubs, and I am currently in law school at UCLA. I fully understand the value of making an argument without an ad hominem attack. This is one of those few instances when I must not hold my tongue and say that this writer is a moron of infinite stupidity. It's not Dorrell's fault he lost all of his offensive power?!?!?! This is HIS TEAM now. Everybody except for the handful of fifth years seniors are his players. Why did Dorrell not have the foresight to recruit players to ensure that the UCLA offense did not have a huge drop off? Why did Dorrell have to rely so heavily on players last year that he didn't even recruit (Olsen, Drew, and Lewis are all Toledo picks)?!?!

Its beyond the talent though. Dorrell cannot utitlize the talent he has! Rice was begging us to run the ball all day long, and Dorrell, as head coach, decides that our crappy pass game was sufficient! We embarrassed ourselves with that ugly victory against one of the worst teams in Division 1-A football!!!! My God, it does not take a genius to see this.

Worst of all, this writer envokes last years 10-2 record. Wow. The year be got waxed by a 3-8 Arizona team (one of those wins were against our "great" UCLA team) and our rivals, the USC Trojans. We couldn't even hang with the Trojans last year! We weren't at that level of competition, and yet it was a "great" year? Give me a f*ckin' break.

Why must UCLA deal with morons who don't look at the bigger picture? Yes, 10-2 is nice, but combined with the other seasons, Dorrell still has the worst starting record of any UCLA coach since WWII. Dorrell is still 0-8 against winning teams on the road. Maybe this is great if you're a complacent Bruin football fan as this Daily Bruin writer is, but not for the rest of us. We demand excellence. We are tired of waiting until "next year" as this writer alludes that we do.

The writer of this moronic article states, "But if you look honestly at the hand the Bruin Program was dealt this year, could you really have expected anything more?" No, because the hand we were dealt was another year of Dorrell. Another year of Dorrell punting on 4th and 1. Another year of Dorrell not expecting our opponents to see a fake punt coming when we are down by double digits with 4 minutes left. And, lastly, another year of waiting for the inevitable pounding by USC at the end of the regular season.

But, as the writer says, "But for now, just relax. There's nothing to be too upset about."
Yes, that's because ignorance is bliss. But for those of us that have been paying attention and know the stats, we have many sleepless nights ahead until Daniel Guerrero grows a set and some Bruin fans open their eyes.

Even though I did not attend UCLA as an undergrad, I've always been a huge Bruin fan. Now that I have the privilege of attending UCLA's law school, I've made a promise to myself to make the most out of my time at UCLA.

One of the things I decided to do is to get as much UCLA memorabilia as I can. My work in progress, I hope, will be the centerpiece to my collection. I have a UCLA basketball signed by most of the 1968 UCLA starting line-up (considered the best college line-up in college history according to Sports Illustrated). On this basketball, I have the signatures of John Wooden, Lynn Shackleford, Lucius Allen, and Mike Warren Jr. I am missing the signatures from Kareem Abdul Jabar and Mike Lynn. I'm not too concerned with Kareem's signature since he does yearly signings at a couple places. What I'm trying to figure out is how to get Mike Lynn's signature.

Anybody have any clues on how I should go about getting information? Obviously, going to basketball games (the homecoming game most likely) is a good bet, but any other input will be great.

And just so this isn't a "help me" post. I would also like to know what pieces of memorabilia you all have collected throughout the years. I'm sure you have some good stuff.

Thanks Bruins Nation!!!

Bumped. Brain storming time. Everyone chime in this thread. GO BRUINS. -N

I trust that Dan Guerrero will make the right decision with our football program, but I fear that he will let Karl Dorrell stay for another year. I honestly can say that everybody here at Bruins Nation appears to loath that possible situation.

I, for one, am not willing to let that happen. I need  help on ideas to galvanize into action the Bruin faithful. We all know they are fuming out there, but the difference is if they speak out and let DG know. What can we do besides email DG?

For starters, I'm definitely going to make "Fire Dorrell" t-shirts. Nothing complicated, just something to get the point across. I will give them to my friends and we can wear them on campus. I think some students did this with Lavin as well way back when.

Should we all have a massive mailing to DG's office? What do you guys think? I'm really tired of dealing with this guy. We deserve a contender.