This weekend is the Pediatric AIDS Coalition at UCLA's dance marathon, an event to raise money for four pediatric AIDS groups:

Our proceeds benefit four organizations: the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the largest pediatric AIDS foundation across the globe; Project Kindle and One Heartland, two free summer camp programs that provide HIV-affected children with the experience of a lifetime; and the UCLA AIDS Institute, an organization in UCLA’s own backyard dedicated to the eradication of HIV and AIDS.

Last year the dance marathon raised $410,000. You can donate at their website. It starts tomorrow morning at 8:00 am in Ackerman Grand Ballroom and goes for 26 hours straight!

Saw a UCLA Today release that UCLA professor Andrea Ghez has been awarded the 2012 Crafoord Prize in Astronomy (along with a German researcher) by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. In addition, Professor Terance Tao (who has won the Fields Prize and a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant...and named by one science writer as one of the ten greatest mathematicians in history) was awarded the Crafoord Prize in Mathematics, along with a Princeton researcher. This is the first time that the Crafoord Prize has been awarded in Math and Astronomy in the same year--that two of the four recipients are UCLA researchers is fantastic.

I'll admit that I had never heard of the Crafoord Prize before--it was founded in 1980 as a way to recognize scientists in fields not covered by the Nobel Prize--like the Nobel Prize, it is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and recipients are given them by the King of Sweden, just like the Nobel.

Truly a great achievement for Profs. Ghez and Tao, and for UCLA! You can read more about their work at the UCLA Today story.

Those brave souls who read Dan Guererro's "blog" may have been surprised--I know I was--to have discovered in the 10th paragraph this week a pretty surprising development from UCLA football:

When gathering with your fellow Bruin fans this Thursday evening to watch the football team as it travels to Tucson, you may notice something slightly different on your television. Some of the players' helmets will be adorned with ¾ inch tall hard hat decals (in navy blue) on the lower back portion. This is intended as a reward for, in coach Neuheisel's own words: "Toughness, dependability and a commitment to hard work and finishing the job." Helmet decals may be a new concept to the Bruin faithful, but these will be tastefully done and will not compromise the script UCLA on either side of the helmet in any way.

A photo illustrating what they will look like:

via grfx.cstv.com

There is no further explanation if the stickers will be applied counting plays from earlier this season--so if Anthony Barr (2) will be taking the field with three on his helmet already, or if that is just for illustrative purposes. My further thoughts after the jump.

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ESPN will be airing a documentary by Morgan Spurlock (director of Super Size Me), titled The Dotted Line. It features the ex-agent Josh Luchs, who was profiled in SI last fall, and who has a history with some UCLA players. 

The new documentary is about agents and college football, and as an example of flimsy oversight, Luchs chooses to make his point by singling out UCLA.

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When do you give up hope on a league? I've started out 0-4 in a league, and I just don't see how there's any hope for the rest of the season. Going into the past weekend, there was one other 0-3 team in our league. Guess who they beat this weekend?  I'll post my team after the jump. 

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UCLA Physics professor Charles Whitten has passed away.  UCLA Today has a good story that goes into his research (nuclear physics) and mentions that besides his high-level research, he almost exclusively taught undergraduate courses, something very rare for a full professor who also does a lot of research.  As someone who tried to find the easiest science classes to take care of my GEs, I never took one of his classes...but life has a funny way of working out--now I work in the contract and grant office handling grant proposals and awards for the physical sciences department!  That's how I recognized his name.

The Daily Bruin also has a really good article, and which made me want to bring him to our attention here.  Over the last week there has been a lot of discussion on here about UCLA as an institution and what support the administration gives to our major sports programs.  There's been talk of a disconnect between administration and faculty, and students and fans.  So I just wanted to share this tidbit from the Bruin article on Prof. Whitten after the jump:

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Hi everyone, sorry to put this up as it isn't directly UCLA-related, but I have a fantasy draft this Wednesday night (Sept. 1, 8:30pm PDT) , and I need four more players.  This league is for UCLA staff, students, alumni, and fans, hence me putting this notice here.  It's a Yahoo league, standard scoring.  If you're on Twitter, I'm @erg79, so send me a shout there if you are interested, and I'll monitor this space as well.

The blogger Heisman Pundit has a scathing post up on USC and Lane Kiffin.  Besides that, there is a lot of (admittedly, unsourced) information about the NCAA investigation and how Kiffin got out of his Tennessee contract that I think would be of interest to some people here.  Quotes after the jump.

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Bumped. Just made our contribution with this:

If your football team cannot beat your cross-town rival 8 years in a row, you must be a TrOJan #youmightbeaTrojan

So UCLA students, let's see if you can show your "spirit" in this "Beat$C" week? Can you unleash an all out attack using #youmightbeaTrojan in next few hours? GO BRUINS. - N

I have the misfortune of having some Trojan relatives and friends.  I've been seeing some tweets of theirs with the hashtag #youmightbeaBruin--lame jokes about UCLA.

I did a search, and unfortunately there was nothing with #youmightbeaTrojan.  I got it started here:

If your marching band can only play three notes, #youmightbeaTrojan

I know everyone else can chip in with a lot more.  So if you're on Twitter, let's get it rolling!

Via Curbed LA, Reggie Bush has put a house in the hills north of the Sunset Strip on the market.  It's as tastefully decorated as you could imagine a house owned by a football player with more money than he knows what to do with being (still, amazing views).  But check out the photo of the framed jerseys he has hanging by the staircase (the bottom left photo in the first set on the Redfin listing).  Yes, that's a UCLA jersey.  Any guesses which Bruin that Reggie chose to honor in his own house (along with the player's pro jersey)?

So alright, it wasn't someone that Reggie went up against, but still--it's a legend that played for your school's biggest rival, IMHO.  What would you think if we found out that Maurice Jones-Drew had a framed Marcus Allen USC jersey in his house (please tell me you don't, MJD!).  Fair, because he's a legend that came before his time, or foul, because of who he played for?

Oh, and one more thing: asking almost $400,000 more for a house that you bought in 2007, at the height of the bubble?  Good luck, Reggie.

The US men's soccer team won everyone's attention in South Africa earlier this summer, and now there is another tournament in Africa coming up--the U-20 World Cup, hosted in Egypt.  For those not familiar with the soccer lingo, U-20 is the team for players under 20 years old...hopefully, the future stars of the senior team. 

Two current Bruins have been named to the roster: midfielder Michael Stephens, last season's Pac-10 player of the year and the leading scorer (goals, assists) for UCLA last season, and goalkeeper Brian Perk, who did not concede a goal in four straight games in qualification for the tournament, and who has only let in 1 goal in 8 games for the US U-20s. 

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The University of California has released the 2008 report on UC executive compensation, with base salaries and additional rewards/stipends listed for all executive UC employees.  The report is here (spreadsheet starting on page 7 of the PDF, UCLA starting on page 11).

I thought some of you would be interested to see what coaches at UCLA as well as UC Berkeley made.  I'm not passing any judgment on these figures--not saying that none of them didn't deserve what they earned, or that they should be making more. 

In terms of cash compensation, Ben Howland is the highest paid UC employee.  Much of that comes from not his annual base salary, but from other cash payments resulting from "outside events representing UCLA," which I imagine means revenue resulting from TV, sponsorship contracts, and bonus incentives. 

The report specifically addresses coaches' compensation (page 4):

Awards paid to Coaches or other Athletics Personnel: The compensation for coaches is comprised of a base salary plus various types of bonuses and incentives. These bonuses and incentives are recognition awards tied to revenue streams from contracts with television and radio, marketing arrangements with equipment and clothing manufacturers, and summer sports camps. Other awards are based on specific performance goals and only pay out if attained, e.g., winning the national championship. Other forms of bonuses may include signing or retention bonuses.

The coaches shown in this report are paid from non-State funds, generally from specific gifts and donations or sports-related revenue sources. State funding is not used as a source for coach compensation. There are 20 payments (approved by the Regents or under their delegated authority) reported in this category, totaling $848,382 (17.5 percent of total payments reported).

The compensation for coaches is tied directly to market demand, with a coach’s success driving the demand. As win-records increase, national attention brings employment opportunities, which may require compensation terms to be adjusted when retention is necessary. The hiring of a new coach or the retention of an existing coach and the compensation offered to him/her is dependent upon the demand in the market to secure their services. The compensation offered to UC coaches is aligned with other coaches in the PAC-10, again, depending on the win/loss record of the coach.

Anyway, thought Bruinsnation readers would be interested in this information.

I know we're all geeked over Howland landing Holiday, and are getting ready for football season.

But chances are, you've been missing some talented Bruins making a big name for themselves the past few weeks.

Some of the hottest young players in American soccer are UCLA Bruins.  

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