SB Nation User Blog: Nestor

Happy 4th Bruins Nation

Nestor — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 03:21:19 -0000

From somewhere in the Eastern Maryland shores want to wish everyone in this community and the greater Bruin Nation a Happy and Safe 4th of July.

As mentioned couple of days ago like many here and all across the country, I have been taking advantage of a long 4th of July weekend. If any of you all are interested in the extended entry I will share some of the pictures from last few days. So more after the jump

Activities from last few days have included biking through some mellow boating towns in Maryland:

We have also been enjoying sitting by the Chesapeake Bay, taking in lazy lunches and watching boats sail by (we will get one of those in couple of days):

The little town we have been hanging out in this week has been getting ready for its big parade that will be happening later this am:

Yesterday evening we also took in a concert (it was billed as "the big band concert") right before a huge firework show by the Bay:

We will be here through this weekend. I might post pictures in this post later today or tomorrow. Otherwise, as I said blogging from me will be very sporadic through Monday. So if you see any big breaking Bruin news, keep firing them away. Until then enjoy the long Holiday weekend and of course as mentioned up hope you all are having a safe, fun, happy and healthy 4th. Of course if you want to use this thread to share whatever you are doing to celebrate the 4th and wish everyone the same, fire away.

GO BRUINS.

E.J. Woods Looking To Go Where He Really Belongs

Nestor — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:09:39 -0000

We have known for a while that E.J. Woods have been looking to transfer out of UCLA's football program. Apparently he has made it official:

UCLA announced today that safety E.J. Woods is no longer part of the team.

Woods, a 19-year-old from Encino Crespi High, said in a telephone interview today that he will transfer to Santa Monica College, enrolling this afternoon, with intentions to be there through December before attempting to enroll in another four-year university in the Pac-10 to play football next season.

Woods said he will not try to rejoin the UCLA football team.

"I wouldn’t come back [to UCLA]," Woods said. "I’m definitely going to try to come back to the Pac-10. I’m going to work extremely hard this year in junior college to get better physically, get better mentally and just to mature a little bit, and then go back to a four-year, finish my time there and then go to the NFL. That’s the plan."

And guess where he wants to go when he is ready to come back to a 4 year school:

When asked which Pac-10 schools he was considering, the only one he mentioned was USC. When asked why he was interested in the Trojans, he said their defensive style of play suited him better.

"I’m more in-the-box, coming off the edge, playing like … Troy Polamalu." Polamalu is a former Trojan and current Pittsburgh Steelers safety.

Uh huh. Sure E.J. Of course there is this part of the story:

Currently, Woods is facing six charges of battery and sexual battery stemming from three incidents at off-campus apartments between October and January, said a spokesman in the the Los Angeles city attorney’s office. Woods' pre-trial hearing will be held on July 31, the spokesman added.

Well now that E.J. has let the cat out of the bag and professed his desire to be a Trojie, it's just a matter of time those charges will get dismissed or "resolved." And when he is ready to come back he will be able to seamlessly fit in with the Pom Pom's band of merry (alleged) criminals from cross town.

It was pretty clear after the news broke of E.J. getting in trouble with the law he was not going to get any kind of special treatment from Neuheisel's program at UCLA. If he is looking for coddling of football players who gets in off-field trouble, he will fit in perfectly with Pom Pom's program in South Central.

I guess this works out well for everyone. We are getting rid of someone who never fit in with the culture of UCLA, while U$C* gets someone who will fit in perfectly with the reputation of the most scandalous athletic program in the recent history of college sports. Good luck E.J. but no one here will miss you.

GO BRUINS.

Candid Camera: Bruin Alums (King) Ed & Charles O'Bannon With Kris Johnson

Nestor — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:28:22 -0000

tasser10 fanshotted this already. Still this is worthy of frontpage love. Looks like Eddie O and Chuck were back together for a hilarious (and kind of awkward) interview by their former team-mate anoter Bruin alum - Kris Johnson - for a website called Jerseychaser.com:

*NEW* Ed and Charles O'Bannon Interview! Speak on Lil' Wayne... (via JerseyChaser106)

Eamonn Brennan from Yahoo.com's hoops blog - the Dagger - spotted this clip with the following observation:

Nothing makes an interview more awkward than a Lil Wayne lyric. Of course, Charles is still playing basketball in Japan, so he didn't much appreciate Wayne's "leaving you missing like the O'Bannons" -- which, admittedly, is a great lyric -- but Ed's reaction is priceless. "I really don't care. Come buy a car from me." I kind of want to go buy a car from now. Don't you?

Now I don't know about you. When I was watching that clip with Kris asking the questions, I kept thinking about him waving towels from the bench. Only those who went to school during the mid 90s and got to follow the careers of these kids at UCLA, will get that reference. Again, as I have always said I really hope Coach Howland and his staff make every effort to keep Ed, Charles, Kris and others who have continued to show their loyalty to UCLA (can't really miss Ed's polo) close to our program. Funny interview and again rushed back lot of incredible memories from the glorious 90s.

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: New Commit For UCLA & Other Football Notes

Nestor — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:12:45 -0000

We have some football related news and notes to pass on before the start of the long 4th of July weekend. I am sure many will be taking a long weekend in the coming days. I will be doing the same. Although I will try to stop by every day,my blogging will be sporadic. Let's get to our roundup.

Looks like Neuheisel and his staff as reeled in another solid commitment on the football recruiting trail. This time the commit comes from out of state. Allen Trieu, Scout.com's Midwestern recruiting analyst reports (HT BruinFaithful)

The UCLA Bruins have been directing a great deal of recruiting attention toward the Midwest this recruiting season, and tonight those efforts paid off with a commitment. Rick Neuheisel corralled one of the top 20 players in the state of Michigan Wednesday in Orchard Lake (Mich) St. Mary’s safety Earnest Thomas.

Orchard Lake (Mich.) St. Mary’s safety Earnest Thomas had accumulated 16 offers and had been fielding strong interest from a number others programs, but decided Wednesday evening to cut his recruitment short by making a PAC 10 pledge.

"I committed to UCLA," Thomas said in a text to Scout.com moments ago.

Despite the distance from home, the 6’2" 190 lb. is extremely comfortable with southern California. The three-star prospect sited his familiarity with area thanks to his father having coached there and the family members that still call it home.

Great news. Earnest has an impressive offer sheet which includes school such as Michigan, Missouri, Penn State and West Virginia. Here are the highlights via the Tube:

Earnest Thomas III Orchard Lake St. Mary's Football Highlights (via moneymanIII)

He looks fast. He also seems to have a bit of nasty streak. I like that a lot. Welcome to Westwood Earnest. With him UCLA now has 5 commits for the 2010 class.

Speaking football the single-game tickets are now on sale on the official site:

Single-game tickets for the 2009 football season go on sale Wednesday, July 1. Fans wishing to purchase tickets can call the UCLA Central Ticket Office at 310/UCLA-WIN or purchase them online at www.uclabruins.com and go to the Tickets page.

2009 opponents at the Rose Bowl include San Diego State on Sept. 5, Kansas State on Sept. 19, Oregon on Oct. 10, California on Oct. 17, Washington on Nov. 7 and Arizona State on Nov. 21.

September 5 can't get here first enough. Well right now we are in the baseball season. If you are in the San Diego area might want to consider dropping by at the Padres game for the opening pitch:

UCLA alumnus Troy Aikman will be throwing out the first pitch at this afternoon's Padres home game at PetCo Park in San Diego. Aikman is a part-owner of the team.

Aikman seems to be everywhere these days. Doesn't he?

GO BRUINS.

The Point Program For The Renovated Pauley "Seating Plan"

Nestor — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:38:15 -0000

Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

So here are the criterias for the "Bruin Priority Point Program":

1. CONSECUTIVE YEARS OF SEASON TICKET PURCHASE IN MEN ’S BASKETBALL

25 points awarded for every year of consecutive season ticket purchase in men’s basketball

2. CONSECUTIVE YEARS AS AN ATHLETIC ANNUAL FUND DONOR (Athletic Fund/Wooden Athletic Fund)

20 points awarded for every year of consecutive annual donor status for Wooden Athletic Fund

3. CUMULATIVE LIFETIME GIVING TO UCLA ATHLETICS

1 point awarded for every $100 given lifetime to UCLA Athletics (includes all giving to the Wooden Athletic Fund, Athletic Capital Campaign projects, Athletic Endowed Scholarships, Olympic Sports annual giving, etc)

4. ALUMNI OF UCLA

100 points awarded for UCLA alumni as defined by the UCLA Alumni Association (one-time assignment)

5. STUDENT-ATHLETE ALUMNI

100 points awarded for UCLA former student-athletes who achieved letter-winner status at least once (one-time assignment)

6. CAMPUS GIVING OF $100,000 AND MORE

1 point awarded for every $1,000 given lifetime to UCLA for donors who have given $100,000 or more for non-athletic purposes

7. CAMPAIGN OF CHAMPIONS CONTRIBUTIONS

5 points awarded for every $100 pledged (in writing) or given to the Campaign of Champions by December 31, 2009

3 points awarded for every $100 pledged (in writing) or given to the Campaign of Champions between January 1, 2010 and April 30, 2010

1 point awarded for every $100 pledged (in writing) or given to the Campaign of Champions between May 1, 2010 and March 31, 2011

Lot more details on the Campaign of Champions website.

Please use this thread to provide your feedback. If you are going to criticize please provide them in a well thought out manner instead of just ranting. If you think the plan is fair and equitable it would be great to heart that POV as well. It will be very interesting to hear all the takes so that we can move this conversation in a positive way.

GO BRUINS.

UPDATE (N): Brian Dohn has a story on this point program in the Daily News. Looks like UCLA devised this system after studying model from other schools:

UCLA also studied numerous point-system models, including those of Louisville, Arizona, Duke, Connecticut and Virginia, to determine how to structure its point system.

"We looked at all the different models to come up with a plan that really suits UCLA," senior associate athletic director Ross Bjork said. "We feel that we've achieved that."

The early comments in this thread seems positive. Would like to get more feedback on this. GO BRUINS.

Mr. Smith Goes To _____ ?

Nestor — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:10:39 -0000

In yesterday's comment section bruinbornandraised was wondering what recruits Coach Howland is after for 2010. If my quick morning calculation is accurate (please correct me if I am wrong in the comment threads) at this snap shot of time (assuming everyone will be coming back for 2011-12 season) Coach Howland has 3 scholies to offer this upcoming season. Two of the spots have already been snatched up by the following recruits:

Tyler Lamb, a four star 6-4/190 SG from Santa Ana's Mater Dei High School
Kendall Williams, a three star 6-2/160 SG from Rancho Cucomanga's Los Olsos High School

Although Coach Howland might have only 1 more scholarship to give out that number could change if someone blows up this coming season and decide to head for the NBA (wouldn't be a shocker). Howland and his staff I am sure have number of prospects on their radar for this coming season including 6-5 pg Ben Vozzola (Las Vegas Centennial) who attended the Ben Ball camp in Howlandwood this past week. However, the biggest catch is a kid named Josh Smith, another great center from the Pacific Northwest. Here is a little into to Seattle's (Kenwood High School) Mr. Smith:

Josh Smith Highlights - PrepTicket.com - From "Sports Stars of Tomorrow with Pat Summerall" (via PrepTicket)

Weird to hear Pat Summerall doing these videos (I kept waiting for Madden to weigh in with his telestrator). Anyway, it looks like the UCLA/Smith chatter is really heating up per the ~~Washington~~ Seattle Times:

[L]ots of rumors out there that Kentwood's Josh Smith is getting close to making an announcement and that when he does, he's likely to be UCLA-bound. I've heard the same, though I'm usually hesitant to pass along off-the-record recruiting rumors, doing so here because so many of you seem to already be discussing it I thought I'd acknowledge it. But one person told me UCLA is simply where Smith has always wanted to go, something that can be hard to counter. So don't be surprised if an announcement of that sort comes soon.

The hysterical reactions to that blurb in the Washington Times blog post are pretty amusing (and kind of embarrasing for the well informed fans from Wahsington Huskies fan base. They look pathetically ignorant and ill informed in their unhinged rants against Howland. Anyway, who cares. Those comments are typical of idiotic rants and flamefests we usually see on "blog" hosted on traditional newspaper sites. So, I wont consider those folks as real representatives of Huskies fanbase. Getting back to Mr. Smith, he recently gave an interview to HighSchoolHoop.com which had some interesting nuggests. Here was Smith's response when he asked about what he was "looking for in a school" (emphasis added throughout):

JS: At the end of the day style of play will be a factor. I don’t want to go to a school where it’s just run-and-gun. I have no problem doing that, but I want to go to a school that has a balance of that and a halfcourt set.

It gets better. He also had to say the following when asked his thoughts on a college coach's ability to get kids ready for the NBA:

JS: It will weigh a lot on that. When people ask me about UCLA it’s because they’re famous for putting big men in the league. So people say that if I go there for one or two years I could be the next No. 1 or lottery pick. Wherever I go I just want to work hard and get better. If the NBA opportunity comes, I’ll take it. My ultimate goal is to be successful at whatever I do. But that’s why I like UCLA a lot. Ben Howland knows what he’s doing. They’re always at the top of the Pac-10, always in the Elite 8 and Sweet 16 and the big guys that he produces are usually lottery picks.

I am not going to get my hopes up (and I will certainly not invest emotionally in a player until I see a total commitment from him in being Bruin even if he is just here for a year or two). However, the comments above are pretty good signs. Don't you think?

GO BRUINS.

Spaulding Roundup: 2009 Expectations & Recruiting Notes

Nestor — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:43:47 -0000

We will start our Spaulding roundup with a little trip over to Ted Miller's ESPN Pac-10 Blog. Ted has been publishing a series of posts starting with the title of "Don't be surprised ..." last few weeks in his attempt to offer up "unusual angles" to this upcoming Pac-10 season (gotta give him an "A" for effort given how difficult it is to come up with content during this nuclear winter of college football season). So Ted yesterday focused his efforts on UCLA observing that our offense could be "much better in 2009". Here are his reasons for offensive optimism:

No way a Norm Chow offense lays another egg like this one. In the quarter-century-plus he's been coaching offenses, he's never had one as bad as 2008.

The offense welcomes back nine starters, though redshirt freshman Kevin Prince has unseated Kevin Craft at quarterback.

Five players who would have started last year but were unavailable for various reasons -- injuries, suspension, transfer rules, etc. -- will be good to go in 2009: running back Christian Ramirez, tight end Logan Paulsen, center Kai Maiava, fullback Trevor Theriot and offensive tackle Sean Sheller.

That beleaguered offensive line not only welcomes back Sheller, it also gets six guys back who started at least five games last fall. What's more, incoming freshmen Stan Hasiak and Xavier Su'a-filo, as well as JC transfer Eddie Williams, represent one of the nation's best recruiting hauls of O-linemen.

Ted then went on to project a 6-6 regular season. That is pretty much on par with the discussions we have had on BN since the end of spring camp. I still think though we have to wait to see how the Fall camp shakes out and how kids like Stan Hasiak and Xavier Su'a-filo to the college game. We are not going to have a shot if our OL improves from last year's dire straits to an averaging perfoming unit this season, putting together a foundation for the upcoming ones.

As we have said before we have to treat this year like Howland's second year in Westwood. That year it was all about getting into the NCAA tournament after Howland's (but not so surprising) first season. Of course barely getting into the NCAA tournament will never be up to UCLA standards. However, getting to that point in Howland's second season was a sure sign of tangible improvement that set him for future success. Getting into a bowl game this year for CRN's program will similarly set him for better seasons in the coming years in Westwood.

If Neueheisel and co. are able to pull off a bowl season this year expect that to boost their solid recruiting efforts even more. As the OC Register's Adam Maya notes in his June roundup, Bruins have momentum with 4 commitments and are zeroing on number of prospects from Southern California and across the nation:

In progress…

Three-star receiver Anthony Jefferson of Cathedral High includes UCLA in his top five, along with USC, Cal, Oregon and Oklahoma.

Three-star cornerback Cullen Christian ranks UCLA No. 3 among schools he’s considering.

Servite High DT Kirifi Taula said UCLA is his favorite and he would likely commit once he receives an offer. The Bruins already offered Tesoro High OL Silvarius Ajawara, who has just recently gotten more attention but said he’s always loved UCLA.

And finally…

Several of the top recruits in the nation (Rivals.com’s top 100, Scout.com’s top 100) list UCLA as a possible destination, including: OT Seantrell Henderson (Scout and Rivals’ No. 1 overall player), DE Ronald Powell (No. 12, Rivals), RB Malcolm Jones (No. 15, Scout), WR Robert Woods (No. 17, Rivals), S Sean Parker (No. 19, Scout) and RB Anthony Barr (No. 20, Rivals).

Of course one of the guys who just committed to CRN is Bay Area's Brett Nottingham. He has been impressing scouts all over the Western region this summer. Greg Biggins from ESPN becomes the latest prominent Western recruiting guru to jump on the Nottingham bandwagon:

Brett Nottingham (Danville, Calif./Monte Vista) came in to Vegas with a lot of confidence after strong camp performances at Colorado, Stanford and UCLA. All three colleges offered scholarships and the signal caller fulfilled a lifelong dream committing to the Bruins, where both parents and two of his sisters attended.

Nottingham had a good workout and is one of those quarterbacks that just does everything well although he may not wow you in any one respect. His arm looked a bit tired after attending so many camps the previous weeks but arm strength will not be an issue at the next level.

Nottingham already has a college body at a solid 6-4, 210 pounds, takes great drops, throws well on the run as well as in the pocket and is a great leader with a magnetic personality.

Sounds perfect for UCLA.

GO BRUINS.

More Pauley Renovation Notes

Nestor — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:48:14 -0000

As mentioned this am, UCLA is planning to unveil more information this week about their plans to renovate Pauley. Apparently Dan Guerrero sat down with few of the beat writers today to give everyone a preview. We already have some nuggets out courtesy of the Daily News and the OC Register. Dohn's early post has some info on fundraising update:

UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero said the school has $53 million in pledges, meaning they are more than halfway to the goal of $100 million.
He also said naming rights (UCLA is using a more politically appealing term) for the arena could go for $40 million, but that could be used to offset the cost of bonds rather than toward the "Campaign of Champions" goal of raising the $100 million.

IMHO even though we are talking about pledges the numbers here is fairly positive (given the current state of the economy). Should be interesting to see what term UCLA will be using. The information is going to be posted sometime Wednesday afternoon on the official site. I guess I am somewhat ambivalent about naming rights. Before making any judgment on the current efforts, I'd like to see the details on what does it entail when it comes to naming rights.

Also DG mentioned that Forum will likely be the venue for 2011-12 season. From the OC Register's UCLA Blog:

UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero told reporters Tuesday that the Forum likely will be the primary venue during the 2011-12 season while Pauley Pavilion undergoes renovation.

The Bruins also expect to play at Pac-10 weekend at Honda Center in Anaheim as well as some games at Staples Center.

We already kind of knew that's where we were headed though. I kind of like the idea of UCLA basketball spreading around the greater Southern California area (including the OC where the fans tend to be lot more livelier) further strengthening the connection with the communities beyond LA. Guess we will find out more details on the plan tomorrow.

GO BRUINS.

Mustain's Academic Issues Get "Resolved" Magically

Nestor — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:26:37 -0000

Less than a week ago U$C* quarterback was facing "academic issues" that could have affected his eligibility for the 2009-10 season. Looks like the "issues" were resolved in less than a week:

USC quarterback Mitch Mustain has resolved an academic issue and is eligible for the coming season, Coach Pete Carroll said.

"It's been resolved," said Carroll, whose team reports for training camp Aug. 7.

Carroll had confirmed last week that Mustain, a fourth-year junior, was dealing with unspecified academic matters that could have jeopardized his eligibility. The Trojans open the season against San Jose State on Sept. 5.

Mustain could not be reached for comment.

As I said it all happened magically. Gotta love how the "education" thing works over at that glorified JC.

Of course there is no followup information from the Trojan Times beat writers about how it got resoled swifty. The lapdog reporters as usual didn't bother looking into how an academic issue that was going to kid someone out for an entire season got all worked out so effortlessly within a week. As usual nice work by the LA Times (cutting and pasting Trojan press releases its pathetic website).

GO BRUINS.

UCLA Finishes 16th In Director's Cup

Nestor — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:25:48 -0000

UCLA Finishes 16th In Director's Cup

Can't recall the last time we finished out of top-10. Have we ever? Did we ever finish that low during Pete Dalis era?

Stanford as usual finished number 1. U$C* despite the whole "lack of institutional control" deal continues to LOL at the impotent NCAA. Cal finishes number 7 in a great year for them. Washington (11), ASU (12), Oregon (22) and Arizona (24) were the other Pac-10 schools in top-25.

Have to say by UCLA standards this was an underachieving season in Westwood. GO BRUINS.