Richard, a Bruin alumnus and long-time UCLA Football season ticket holder, is one of my seatmates at the Rose Bowl. I just recently found out that on March 13 Richard suffered serious brain injuries as a result of striking his head on the ground when he was hit by a car while riding his bicycle.

All you need to know about Richard is this statement from his blog: "I am the luckiest man in the world because I was immediately transported to the UCLA Trauma Center where I have been receiving great care on my path to recovery." A true-blue Bruin.

After spending 10 days in the ICU at UCLA then additional stays at another couple of hospitals, Richard is presently at a transitional rehab center. He has received tremendous care and support from an array of physicians, nurses, physical and speech therapists, support staff, and most of all his friends and family, especially his brother and sister (both Bruins). As his brother says, there were a lot of peaks and valleys, but Richard is making extraordinary progress and is expected to make a full and complete recovery Obviously, I've left out a lot of details. Suffice it to say he is lucky to be alive.

But what does this have to do with the UCLA Football Team?

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For those who missed out on attending the spring game at the Rose Bowl we have some videos to share. It was a beautiful day at the Rose Bowl. With 13,000+ Bruins in the stands we managed to enjoy the game despite the presence of Chianti Dan.

Let's go to YouTube and I will start with Brett Hundley (with some quick dose of the internet legend Steve Manfro). Take a look:

Want some more? Come with us after the flip.

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Well, the 2011-2012 football season is officially over. Hope all your Super Bowl bets paid off. If not, there's always next year.

We've got a long time before seeing the new edition of Bruins football. Thanks to Jim Mora and staff, we do have some positive things to look forward to, given the results of national signing day.

Friday, Patroclus' signing day wrap-up focused on defense. This final video (ICYMI here is Part 1 and Part 2) highlight installment of UCLA's signing day event complements that story with UCLA's defensive coaches introducing the 2012 defensive additions.

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After the debacle last night from our disappointing basketball team, at least we can look forward to football season . . . oh wait. Never-mind.

However, while we've had no recent (the last decade+, thanks Chianti) history of consistent winning seasons, competing for the Pac 10/12 crown and being relevant in the national football conversation, Coach Jim Mora has exceeded all expectations with the 2012 recruiting class. Let's continue the video highlights (Part 1 here) by starting with a pick-me-up from Wednesday's National Signing Day Event at UCLA.

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After a great day of recruiting, Jim Mora's coaching staff assembled at Korn Convocation Hall on the UCLA campus to formally announce the 2012 recruiting class. In attendance for this occasion was none other than the great, legendary, and fellow Bruin, Rafer Johnson who got a well-deserved standing ovation:

Additional video after the jump.

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Shaquelle Evans had only one catch on Saturday, but that 54-yard TD meant that the Bruins scored on their first drive for only the second time this season.

Kevin Prince would go on to have one of his best days as a Bruin, throwing for 225 yards and four touchdowns, while completing 79% of his passes.

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Thanks bruinsnation for letting me use your platform to communicate to Bruin fans. Someone noticed that you guys get way more hits than my weekly blog. Don't understand why that is...

This is a special "word" to announce my soon to be published, and sure to be best-seller, "How to be Athletic Director for Dummies." It is my gift to those aspiring to be just like me. Since it looks like I'll be moving on to my next gig pretty soon, I took this opportunity to pass along my wisdom to all my fans.

As a preview, click the thumbnails below to see the front and back covers, you won't be disappointed. 

Oh, as you might have noticed on the back cover, stay tuned for my latest enhancement. I'm following up my tremendously successful weekly blog with "Dan's Daily Tweets," as I leverage every social media tool to keep you informed.

Go Bruins!

Dan Guerrero
Director of Athletics, UCLA

P.S. Please like me on facebook; I feel soooo lonely.

Kai Forbath was a guest on the 570KLAC pre-game radio show in Lot H. Fortunately there was no need to smuggle him into the Bruins lineup as Tyler Gonzalez did fine in his debut (two PAT's and no field goal attempts). Forbath has some free time on his hands since being placed on Reserve/NFI by the Cowboys. Earlier in the week he visited the Bruins practice. Great to see him in town.

The memory of Cade McNown loomed over the stadium...ah, for the days of an All-America QB.

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So much for the transformation of the Bruins offense. After 322 yards passing against Houston, UCLA reverted to form with a meager 145 yards through the air against San Jose St. No doubt some of that might be attributed to focus on the running game, which was pedestrian until the 4th quarter. Richard Brehaut's completion percentage dropped from 69% at Houston to 52% at home and yards per completion also dropped by 25% from 16 to 12. Still, it's only two games into the season. We'll need to see some more games to determine which game was the aberration. 

Brehaut's performance and Kevin Prince's continuing recovery keeps the starting QB decision murky. There were a few nice pass plays against San Jose St, so whoever lines up behind center this weekend, hopefully we'll see much more of these against Texas.

We won. That's about all we can take from this game. It was quite an uneasy night at the Rose Bowl as my seat mates and I were all thinking..."We've seen this show before." Defense giving up chunks of yardage against a supposedly "inferior" opponent. Offense struggling to find consistent rhythm. Bonehead penalties. 

Sure glad Derrick Coleman showed up in the second half, breaking off a 42 yard run that was key to Kip Smith's first field goal and a 24 yard jaunt ending up in the end zone for the final score of 27-17 over the Spartans.

Look forward to seeing the one-two punch of both Jetski and Coleman next weekend. (We'll need it!)

As you know, the Rose Bowl is going through extensive renovation. With Saturday being the first home game since the renovation started we were able to see some of the progress. Temporary scaffolding has been erected where the press box / suites are being extended and other areas are being worked on. The most visible improvement is the replacement of the old scoreboard and replay board.

Before:

After:

Closeup:

New scoreboard in action after the jump.

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Kip Smith was perfect on extra points and 2 of 2 on field goals in the Bruins win over the Spartans of San Jose St.

Smith's 38 yard field goal in the third quarter extended UCLA's lead to 17-10:

In the 4th quarter, Smith's second field goal from 20 yards broke the tie to put UCLA ahead 20-17 for good.

Great job Kip, keep up the good work!

Go Bruins!

(For you North Campus guys and gals, see Fourier Transform)
It was great to see MathBruin represent South Campus in the Houston game thread. What would you North Campus types do without all the technology you stare at and carry around all day?

Our dear departed Norm Chow somehow missed noticing six-foot eight-inch Joseph Fauria who had a total of 3 receptions for 21 yards last season. (Interestingly, Utah completed 10 passes to their tight ends in their opening win against Montana St.) Against Houston Fauria surpassed his last season's total reception yards with his first reception of 29 yards. He led all UCLA receivers with six receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown. In a single game Fauria gained nearly 70% of last season's combined 161 yards from the tight-end position.

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Ok folks. It's hump day Friday, which means we're halfway almost through this looong week to finally start the 2011-2012 edition of Coach Rick Neuheisel's Bruins. I don't know about you, but this week has been interminable as we near the end of our summer of discontent. The depth-chart has been released, Kevin Prince is our starter, and AHMB's multi-part Houston previews will give us everything we need to know about our opponent. 

During these last few days let us Bruins fans get into the right enthusiastic and positive mojo mental state to support our team. So here's a short clip to get us ready for this weekend.

Go Bruins!

From the Music City Miracles blog, Akeem Ayers comes in at #10 on their list of the ten most important Titans for the upcoming season:

Ayers has the best chance of any of the guys drafted in April to come in and make an impact right away. In fact, if the Titans defense is going to be much better than it was last year, they need him to come in and be good right away.

Another Bruin to be rooting for when (if) the NFL season gets underway. Also, it's cool to see the "UCLA-Effect":

I like the fact that he has been at UCLA all this time with Alterraun Verner.

We're rooting for Ayers to make an immediate impact along with returning teammate ATV.

Go Bruins!

Breaking news: After reading about the birth of 16-pound, 1-ounce, 2-foot-long JaMichael Brown, Lane Kiffin hastily arranged a news conference to announce his intention to get an early verbal from Brown. "I'm getting on a plane to Texas as fast as I can. You can never start soon enough for the class of 2029," said Kiffin. "And since the NCAA doesn't consider a player a 'prospective student-athlete' until he enters ninth grade, I can pretty much do whatever I want to recruit this [not-so] little rug-rat!" Upon hearing that Jamichael’s father, Michael Brown, told local CNN affiliate KLTV he sees football in his son’s future, an ebullient Kiffin replied, "Great news. I wonder what kind of house JaMichael's parents would like to live in."

Having already signed a 13-year old last year, Kiffin acknowledged his strategy for early signers to $uc's football operations. "Yeah, me and Pat discussed this at length following the unfair NCAA sanctions that were handed down. We figured the best way to get around those pesky NCAA rules is to completely bypass them. In fact, after my Texas visit, I'm on my way to Indonesia." Kiffin is referring to a 19.2 pound baby born there in late 2009. "Damn, I'm getting a late start on that one," groused Kiffin, "but I've got to fill an open slot for the 2027 class."

No comments yet from the AD as phone calls to Ethical Pat have not been returned.

Here's how $uc's 2027 class is shaping up:

Note: This is satire. Best wishes for the health and future of both these babies.