Bumped. Great thoughts from Bruinut. -BN Eds.

Well, no one threw up a "No, For Heaven's Sake, Please Not Again" sign when I threatened to make "Teachable Moments" a multi-part series, so I'm back at it. It's just that the topic fascinates me so. Warning, though: a lengthy post follows.

Teachable moments are unpredictable, much more like meteor strikes than train schedules. Teachable moments are, at one and the same time, as fragile as soap bubbles. and as potent as life-changing experiences can be.

Sports are full of teachable moments, not only in dealing with sports skills, but also in dealing with life. Of course, sports are not unique in this regard--teachable moments are everywhere, in classrooms, in living rooms, in dairy barns.

Sports, though, being topics in newspapers, in blogs, and around water coolers, often make the teachable moments of others available to us all. We read about what turned the light on for player X, transforming him or her from a pretty good player to a great one. We hear about the inspiration for player Y, enabling him or her to go from walk-on scout team player to emergency substitute, or even star, for a day. We learn of the profound life lesson absorbed by player Z, perhaps having nothing to do with sports, that gave him or her better footing for the journey called life.

This is one of the many reasons I love sports. The TMs of others become inspirations for us all.

Continue reading this post »

-Bumped. BN Eds.

[The subject of teachable moments is a Las Vegas-sized buffet of ideas. It's nearly impossible to choose which aspect to "eat," and even more difficult, which aspects not to eat. In writing this post, I found it difficult to limit myself to one main topic (teaching), and to limit myself to two examples. This may be the first part of a multi-part sequence on teachable moments. I did not label this post "part 1," giving myself an out :-), but leaving open the possibility of exploring other aspects of teachable moments in the future.]

I'm a sucker for underdog sports movies. Rudy, Hoosiers, Miracle, all of 'em. I'll watch one or two, for the umpteenth time, every year. I'll empathize with the underdog. I'll fear the overwhelming opponent. I'll hope that the underdog isn't embarrassed or humiliated. I'll ride the roller coaster of hardships and dismal odds, sprinkled with pinches of inspiration. I'll cheer when the underdog gets off the mat/field/court. I'll feel the energy surge within him. After getting hammered all game, I'll feel the underdog realize, perhaps for the first time, "Hey, I can do this." Then, I'll bask in the glow of his accomplishment, if not victory. I swell with teary pride every time I see movies like this. I fall for it every time.

I haven't played a lot of competitive sports, and nothing beyond high school outside of tennis and softball, but I have played enough to recognize that competitive sports are about a lot more than skills and playbooks and plays. Another, often under-appreciated aspect is will and desire. Another is the value of a good teacher, that is, a good coach.

A good teacher teaches lessons. A great teacher teaches lessons and inspires. Inspired players develop will and desire that leads them to play at a level beyond what they, or anyone else, thought they were capable of previously. A great coach recognizes hidden talent, and presses the right button at exactly the right time to nourish this hidden talent and cause it to sprout. At least, this is the way it works in the movies.

Continue reading this post »

- Bumped. BN Eds.

[Happy New Year, everyone]

The Morgan Center has taken a lot of heat for its poor marketing. Fan enthusiasm is low; attendance is poor; prospects for better futures are cloudy. Well, I decided that I would be part of the solution, rather than being just one more disgruntled, disenfranchised, squeaky-wheel alumnus.

We look around and see other Division-I programs trumpeting their programs; we see fanbases all fired up; we see ticket sales rising. Why not at UCLA? Well, it is obvious that the Morgan Center, what with conducting coaching changes, managing PR crises, and planning wine-tours, simply has not had time to devote to marketing UCLA's revenue sports.

This is where I come in. I put together a kind of starter marketing campaign that I will make available to the Morgan Center, absolutely free of charge. I'm doing it simply out of love for my alma mater, and, as I said, to be part of the solution.

Now, I'm not a marketing person by profession or by training. I have no special artistic or advertising skills. Fortunately, though, excellence is not required of marketing at UCLA; nor is it required of several other disciplines. As Dan Guerrero, himself, has professed and Bellerophon has cited, "pretty good" is plenty good enough. So, my amateurish efforts were designed to meet this goal.

Moreover, given that the MC has held the marketing of its product with such low valuation, I wanted to capture their mindset in my suggested campaign. I figured that, if I rode in and demanded a contemporary, aggressive campaign similar to those we see for the really successful Division-I programs, the MC would not be able to handle such a radical change in gears.

So, my suggested campaign is reality based, designed to fit in with the MC's ongoing ethos. Without further ado, here are a set of potential marketing posters:

Continue reading this post »

Bumped. This is brilliant. - BN Eds.

I take no pleasure in this post. Like many here, I have tuned into Bruins Nation each day with dread. What self-inflicted wound would we suffer today? Horrifically, the escalating dread has been matched by reality, a seeming march from which we cannot turn back, over the cliff.

I am numb. I am sick. I am profoundly sad. The Bruin pride that I have carried with me for forty-seven years has been methodically and systematically eroded, hacked, and bludgeoned by Dan Guerrero and his minions in the Morgan Center, with the blessings of Chancellor Gene Block. Just when I comfort myself that we've reached bottom and that things will get better again, Dan finds a new shovel to dig us in even deeper.

If not for the friends I have found here, expressing their own frustrations in ways both stark and rich, I'm pretty sure I would have gone mad. I love UCLA. Watching this spiral into mediocrity has been like having to watch helplessly while one's mother was being ravaged. I hate what Guerrero and company have done to my beautiful alma mater. I hate that they have exempted major sports from the requirement of excellence. I hate that they set up a beloved Bruin son to fail, and then, rather than holding themselves accountable, scapegoated him right out of his dream job.

I hate that they exploit the natural attractiveness of UCLA to achieve success in non-major sports and thereby rationalize no need to challenge for the top, nationally, in the major sports. I hate that, rather than using the "first to 100" honor to become even bolder and even more imaginative, they have used it to justify retreat into cozy, secluded dens of timid caution.

I know UCLA to be a jewel of diversity and excellence. That description used to apply all across the board. For far too long, though, the athletic department has been a pustulant sore of mediocrity. This kind of epic downfall should not go unrewarded. Dan Guerrero deserves to have his legacy enshrined in some way, so that his contributions will not be forgotten.

As such, I have begun compiling a Dan Guerrero-inspired lexicon. It's a way, I guess, for me to channel the anger and frustration that I feel, watching those sports at my beloved UCLA, the ones that are such a part of what it means to me to be a Bruin, being driven recklessly into neglect, disrespect, and disrepair. Please feel free to contribute your own terms to the lexicon, as well. Also, there is an opening for Gene Block-inspired terms.

Again, I take no joy in this. I would much rather be spending my time extolling praises for the splendid job the Morgan Center has done. Given the epically rotten job performance that they have inflicted on us, however, their deeds deserve to be immortalized.

Continue reading this post »

Bumped. ICYMI - a must read especially how much we are going to be hearing about "turning corners" next few days. - BN EDs.

[Satire Alert: Sources who wish to remain anonymous have obtained a pamphlet, apparently authored by someone in UCLA's Morgan Center, the department in charge of the school's athletic programs. The pamphlet describes the overall philosophy of the Morgan Center, and sheds insight into its inner workings.]

About Turning the Corner

The secret to success in an athletic department is simple, really. It's all about turning corners. Turning corners gives the appearance of new beginnings. Turning corners distracts your critics. Turning corners maintains the status quo.

In summary, when you come to an impasse, turn a corner. When you're in doubt, turn a corner. When you're not sure which corner needs turning, simply SAY that you have turned or will turn a corner. Just find something, anything, positive about your program, point to it, and proclaim that this indicates that you have turned a corner. See how easy it is?

This guide is a brief, easy-to-follow, twelve-step program, designed to usher your athletic department into an era of comfort and ease. The corners are presented, as steps, below.

Continue reading this post »

-Bumped. BN Eds.

From the Department of Redundancy Department, I apologize for repeating myself. I had commented on a thread that had been inactive for a few days, and has since withered on the vine.

I repeat it here, because it's germane to the topic of (we hope) selecting a new HC and AD. Mine had been a response to a poster who posited that having a Chancellor who was a sports fan was not essential to having a top-flight football program. For Bruinsnation, a place that cherishes the four letters, you will love the excerpt below in which Murphy, single-handedly, puts the four letters on the map.

I don't mean to canonize Murphy and Morgan, or to demonize Block and Guerrero. All are human, and none are perfect. But, the football results speak for themselves.

Continue reading this post »

Bumped. This is awesome. - BN Eds.

[In case it is not obvious, this is satire. Having exhausted myself with, as Mexibruin says so well, my own controlled folly--futile letters to the AD and Chancellor's offices, postings and readings on Facebook, etc. ad nauseum--I thought I'd relieve some frustrations with good, old-fashioned ridicule.]

In a surprise announcement, UCLA officials said that the Morgan Center had completed design of a brand new, on-campus dormitory for UCLA students. The new dormitory will house an additional 1100 students.

"We are pleased with the Morgan Center's ability to maximize revenue in their planning and design of the Pauley Renovation," said a spokesman for the Chancellor's office, who asked not to be named. "We think they have brought a similar creativity to the design of the new dormitory."

This would be an understatement. The new dorm design is nothing, if not creative. Said a spokesman for the Morgan Center, who insisted on anonymity, "In today's economy, we have to think outside the box. Students don't want us to raise tuition, and alumni and donors are tired of us hitting them up for more money. What's left, but the private sector?"

"So, we've reached out to private investors whose business interests coincide with those of UCLA," continued the spokesman. "It's going to be a new era of student housing. We think that other universities will look to us and adopt our model in the future. We call our new program 'Student Housing In Transition.'"

The program will yield a combination dormitory-hotel structure, with students and hotel guests in separate sections. "There is a shortage of upscale hotel suites in Westwood," said the spokesman. "By thinking creatively, we were able to meet that need while simultaneously meeting the need for more dormitory rooms for our students."

Continue reading this post »

Bumped. Brilliant post. - BN Eds.

First, I have to apologize for the length of this post. I've been reading about the Morgan Center student-seating fiasco for days now, alternately getting irate and depressed. I have relished reading the wise and passionate words of many here, and cannot articulate these thoughts as well. So, this tome is a "core dump," of sorts, having come from many days of reading and reacting, internally, until it finally boiled over. I hope this is OK.

I want to talk about two "C" words--courage and conviction. One can have strong conviction, but lack the courage to stand on that conviction. One can have courage, but have flimsy convictions. It is a rare and principled person who has both unshakable, virtuous convictions and steadfast courage.

Coach Wooden had both, in spades. Fortunate to have parents who molded his impressionable young mind with all the right values, for all the right reasons, Coach grew into an adult who wavered nary a step off his virtuous and principled path.

Examples of this great man's courageous and principled stands abound. I will cite just a few.

Continue reading this post »

It may surprise you to know that Steve Lavin's time in Westwood was not all spent slicking down his hair and shining his shoes. He managed to cobble together his own version of Coach's legendary Pyramid of Success. He must have dropped this on his way out.

It looks like the good folks of St. Johns are in for an education. He had hand-scribbled some notes on the page, which I have transcribed below:

Have Pedigree:  Pref. a respected Dad, coach

Get Assistants: Pref. those who know zone from man.

Blame Others: Especially unrealistic fans.

Be Lucky: Be an assistant on a championship team whose coach is about to be canned

Use Clichés: See Meriones.

Drop Names: Mention "John Wooden" at least six times an hour. See Freesia39.

Look Good: Clothes out of GQ; shoes that would please a drill sargeant.

Have Hot Wife: Makes other men say "Damn! Wonder what he's got?"

Hair Gel: Lots and lots of hair gel

When did recruits following a coach become acceptable? You hear about Calipari's possibly taking some of his hot-shot recruits to Kentucky. You hear about Floyd's possibly taking Sidney to Arizona. And, all this is reported and speculated, as though it were a completely normal practice.

I don't get it. I think athletes who are recruited to schools with a fleeing coach should have the right to opt out. When they chose that school, that coach was a factor in their decision.

But, an athlete's change of mind ought to be between going to the original school or not going to the original school, and not between going to the coach's original school and his new school. This just seems sleazy to me.

After all, the coach recruited the athlete on the university's budget, using the university's resources, assisted by other university employees. The "contract" is between the athlete and the university, not the athlete and the coach.

So, where does a coach get off trying to lure those whom he recruited, with the original school's largesse, to his new school? This just stinks.

And yet, it seems to be commonly accepted. That recruits might follow the coach to his new school is reported, but no one seems to be outraged about it.

Maybe it's just me.

Sept. 26. Not sure what time. Rome's show is 9am-12pm PT.

Unlike the tight-lipped, cliché-ridden babble that most coaches offer, Leach says what's on his mind. He actually responded to a request from a fan for advice on dating.

Mike Leach on dating

Mike Leach on animatronic pirate skeletons, Van Gogh, Tonga warriors, and Jose Canseco

"Conversate." This guy is a hoot. And, incidentally, I notice his team is winning.

It had been on my mental to-do list to follow up my beseeching letter to Dan Guerrero in the days leading up to Coach Neuheisel's hire. But, like many of my good intentions, it would have been easy to let this courtesy slide until it was too late.

That is, until 66 gently prodded us Bruin fans in a comment to express our thanks to Mr. Guerrero. He's right, I thought. It's only fair.

So, here is my follow-up letter to Dan Guerrero. It could well be my last letter to him. It seems that he knows what he's doing, and no longer needs my help.

------

Dear Mr. Guerrero,

I wrote to you when you were conducting a search for the next UCLA head football coach. In my letter, I expressed consternation about our seeming lack of aspirations for excellence in football. It has seemed to me for many years now that UCLA has been content with "pretty good" in football.

I reminisced about Coach Tommy Prothro, and how, with his brilliant football mind and his superb teaching abilities, he had provided many Bruins, including myself, with lifetimes of vivid thrills and fond memories. For 2008 and beyond, I wanted UCLA to serve unabashed notice that it was going for more than pretty good. I wanted UCLA to reach for the top.

Well, since I was brazen enough to think that you might care what I think before you hired Coach Neuheisel, it's only fair that I write to you afterwards.

This second letter is one of sincere gratitude and appreciation, not only for your hire, but also for the way you went about the search. I could not be happier about UCLA football today. Although you didn't hire my first choice for head coach, Coach Neuheisel has won me over in spades. I think that Coach Neuheisel is the best man for the job, and for the right reasons. And, I'm not alone. As one can readily see in the Bruins blogosphere, there is a new fervor for UCLA football. We can't wait for spring training to start.

From the bottom of my Bruin Blue heart, thank you, Mr. Guerrero. I think that you represented UCLA extremely well throughout this process. You conducted the search with professionalism and integrity, especially as compared to other coaching searches going on at the same time. You navigated some difficult waters concerning retention of current coaches. You addressed troublesome concerns over Coach Neuheisel's past. You dealt with financial and budgetary constraints. And, you did all this with dignity and class.

As if that weren't enough, you gave to Bruin fans like myself exactly what we wanted -- namely, a head coach who isn't afraid to challenge for the top. A coach who understands, and shares, the enormous pride that we all have in this great university.

Thank you profoundly, Mr. Guerrero. You make us proud.

Sincerely,

(Bruinut)

UCLA 1968

Frankly, I am still swooning. It feels so good and so right to be really excited about UCLA football again. RN has so quickly said all the right things in just the right way, and has so deftly disarmed and charmed the media by taking the issues head-on that he has swept me off my feet. He has been very impressive.

Well, my new crush on RN has come from mere scraps of material. A few brief interviews in different papers, the UCLA press conference, and a couple of impromptu TV chats, most recently at the Rose Bowl yesterday.

That's it. A few days, a few snippets, a few glimpses, and I'm buzzed. If that's not charisma, of the very best kind, then I don't know what is. If I weren't so happily married, I'd think my compass needle was getting reoriented.

Anyway, because there have been so many good RN anecdotes and stories over the last few days, I thought I'd propose a "diary" of little RN anecdotes, impressions, stories, whatever, by the folks of BN. What did you like? What were your impressions? What hasn't been talked about much? There are so many people here who express themselves well, it will make for fun reading.  

Not long essays, just little takes, little stories. The intent is not to canonize RN, just to do a little anecdote swapping, like BB's tale of the Alabama bank teller. Silly, probably, but it has been so long since I have felt this way. Please forgive me. I can't help it if I like reading this stuff and feeling this feeling again and again.

I'll kick it off with what I call the "Rick Neuheisel is UCLA's Rudy" story.

I don't remember all the facts, and I may be guilty of overdramatizing, but the story was of his early days as walk-on QB. The original article might have quoted his roommate at the time. Sorry; I'm not a journalist. If I have to, I'll try to find my "sources."  

Anyway, as something like fourth-string QB, he would be the guy to play the part of their upcoming opponent's QB during the week's practice against the first team defense. Day after day, he'd come back to the room, battered and bruised, sometimes bloodied.

Yet, rather than feeling sorry for himself, he'd speak of how his role was important because, the better he played, and the better he mimicked the other guy, the better he'd prepare the defense. The better he was, the better the team would be. No self-pity. No pining for glory. Just exuberence in the joint effort, and thorough motivation in a mission. And, rock steadiness in his role.

That is EXACTLY the kind of guy I want heading UCLA football. Way to go, Dan.

Maybe it's the (almost) new year optimism speaking, or it could be the Saturday-bowl-watching-and-UCLA-has-new-coach celebration taking place right now in liquid form, but I just wanted to pass out some "Thank you's".

Thanks, first of all, to all the thoughtful and articulate posters here on Bruins Nation. To say I was engrossed in this ongoing drama would be an understatement. And, here, everyday, someone was discussing revealing stats, informative commentary, and delicious rumors. All this great material was high-energy food for my obsessive interest in this search. Thanks, good people. I don't know how I could have survived the ordeal without you.

Thanks to Dan Guerrero. A big part of my engrossment with this hire was, frankly, a fear of our blowing it. Mostly, I was a mixture of confident and hopeful that Dan would do it right. But, the dread would creep in now and then. The thought of having to live another decade or so with UCLA football mired in mediocrity concerned me in the same way that the thought of surviving a loved one would. Thank you, Mr. Guerrero, for conducting this search with purpose, professionalism, and dignity. Thank you for representing UCLA well. And, thank you for saving me much anguish in coming years.

And, a second, separate "Thank you" award to be shared by Bruins Nation and Dump Dorrell, in the Speculation category, for the possible effect you might have had on this outcome. I don't know that there was an effect, but I'd bet so. Perhaps slight, but probably significant. Without your passionate and reasoned voices reminding DG, if he was listening at all, of what we did and didn't want, he would have heard certain other voices disproportionately.

There are many others I'd like to thank, Rick Neuheisel, Chancellor Block, the academy, but I see my time is up. Now, if y'all don't mind, I'm going to continue celebrating, and basking in the team victory. I believe in keeping a bottle of champagne around, just in case something good happens. Tonight's the night!

Bumped. Again if you are looking to let the UCLA administration know what you expect out of this search please email Dan Guerrero at dguerrero@athletics.ucla.edu and Chancellor Gene Block at chancellor@conet.ucla.edu, and let them know respectfully and politely that neither CHOKER (Chow + Walker) nor Walker will be acceptable at UCLA. If you are an alum or student, please make sure to indicate your graduating class in your emails. As always feel free to post your email in the comment thread to share with rest of BN. GO BRUINS. -N

Here is my letter to Dan Guerrero. I used my real name in the letter to him.

Dear Mr. Guerrero,

In my life as Bruins fan, I have been enormously blessed. I had the very great fortune of being a student at UCLA when both John Wooden and Tommy Prothro were our teams' head coaches.

Coach Wooden and his teams, of course, provided surreal joys and memories for fans. And Coach Prothro did for the football team what Coach Wooden did for basketball -- namely, elevate UCLA to the national stage.

Not only did Coach Prothro and the Bruins stand toe-to-toe with John McKay and the mighty Trojans teams, we were but an errant kick away from the national championship one year. Even with that disappointment, these were years that I will treasure forever.

Great coaches produce great thrills for their fans. It was no accident that Coach Prothro's teams were as good as any in the country. It wasn't because UCLA's talent was vastly superior. On the contrary, we were undersized compared to many.

We won because we were so well coached. We won because, as professor of the football team, Coach Prothro was a superb instructor. His teams ignored their shortcomings, played to their strengths, and surprised many a physically superior team. We won because we were daring and bold.

This is what good coaches do. They teach. They instruct. They lead. They inspire. I saw, first-hand, a 170-pound linebacker stop an unstoppable horse of a running back to seal a win in the Rose Bowl for the Bruins against an unbeatable Michigan State team. The "little" linebacker got knocked silly in the process. This legendary Bruin, one Bobby Stiles, was driven to excellence, against all odds, because he was so well prepared and so inspired.  

I saw, first-hand, Gary Beban launch two long, perfect missiles to a streaking Dick Witcher and a streaking Kurt Altenberg in the last five minutes to steal a victory from the mighty Trojans. Again, we overcame size and, perhaps, talent deficiencies with great coaching. I can still feel the drama. I can still see the crisp passes. I can still hear myself screaming with pure joy. Like I say, I have been enormously blessed.

In football, it has been a long time since I have felt that UCLA had a big advantage in coaching. Coaches Vermeil, Donahue, and Toledo achieved successes and provided thrills. But, I don't think it is too much of a generalization to say that, especially during Coach Donahue and Coach Dorrell's years, our teams have played as much or more not to lose as to win. You can see it in timid game plans and conservative play calling. And, on the UCLA administration's side, you can see it in a lack of insistence on having an excellent, proven coach.

We don't stand tall, thrust out our chins, and say "We're going for the big prize." We're content, it seems, with an occasional big win and bowl game. We're content, it seems, with pretty good. We're content, it seems, with inconsistency.

    "I have often said, `The mark of a true champion is to always perform near your own level of competency.' We were able to do that by never being satisfied with the past and always planning for what was to come. I believe that failure to prepare is preparing to fail. This constant focus on the future is one reason we continued staying near the top once we got there."
    --John Wooden

Speaking as one lifelong, passionate Bruins fan, this is what we want in a UCLA head football coach. We want a coach who knows that inconsistency, ultimately, rests on coaches. We want a coach who is not afraid of going against the best because he has confidence in his and his assistants' ability to teach. We want a coach who is driven by passion, not inhibited by caution. We want a coach who is not content with pretty good.

Understand, speaking for myself, we don't have to win all the time. We just want to see consistently excellent preparation, consistent all-out effort, and continual improvement. The results will take care of themselves. UCLA and UCLA fans deserves a quality, proven head football coach.

As you well know, this will take serious commitment, financial and otherwise, on UCLA's part. And, as you well know, one doesn't luck into conference championships or national success. There are, I feel, several "home run hires" out there, coaches who can return UCLA to national prominence. Given your track record in finding quality coaches for other UCLA sports, I am optimistic that you can find the next great UCLA head football coach.

Please choose wisely, Mr. Guerrero. May you be inspired by the greats. May you find a coach who can give to current generations of UCLA students some of the many thrills that I was so lucky to receive.

Go Bruins.

(Bruinut)

UCLA, 1968