Many have noted the progress our coaching staff has made with our program in recent weeks, and many have noted that we have seen a significant uptick in recruiting interest.  We pat ourselves on the back for our part in ridding this program of recent disasters in coaching, but we have yet to take real responsibility for rebuilding the tradition of this program.  To bring in the big recruits, we need a student body that understands that GLORY is not a perk of attending UCLA, but, rather, your birthright as a Bruin.  A right that must be demanded and respected by all who come before us!  WE are BRUINS!!

We hold an important role in educating our current students!  I propose today, with the bon__ soon to spew confetti like a 5 year-old's birthday extravaganza, that we commit, as alumni, to rebuilding the once great pride within our student body.  Our alumni have been too weak for too long!!  This is a call to all who read and post on this site!

WE NEED OUR HISTORY ON DISPLAY AT NEXT YEAR'S RALLY!!!  Let's see if we can't get some former greats out there to speak and rally the students.  Let's get stories and video of bruin athletic glory up on that stage!!  This rally is about more than just football!!  This is about Good v. Evil, and it's about time we bring in some bigger guns.

As alumni, we are honored to be a part of the greatest athletic tradition in NCAA history.  Let's bring that to life at next years bonFIRE!!  To make it happen, we must start today.

So as difficult as it is to say this, it is obvious and unavoidable.  The lakers were absolutely destroyed by a better Celtic team.  It was 3 all-stars vs. 1 all-star and the score represented every bit the disparity one would expect in a mach up of this kind.  I am passionately in love with my Lakers and I tell people everyday that Kobe is the most important person in my life, but this series gave me hope.  I didn't gain hope for the Lakers.  I already hold plenty of that.  Instead I gained a tremendous amount of hope for UCLA basketball.

If there was any doubt that Howland basketball could win championships the Celtics should have erased that.  Playing a dominant offensive team with long athletic players, the Celtics locked down and committed to shutting off the flood of points the Lakers had been pouring onto their opponents in the playoffs.  They proved that one great player can be slowed down and defeated when playing together efficiently and with focus.  Flash doesn't have to beat grit.  The Celtics beat the Lakers playing the kind of ball our great Coach Howland preaches everyday, slow down, tough nosed, efficient, focused, defensive oriented basketball.  I hate the Celtics, but watching the Lakers beautiful offense turn to slop at the hands of the Celts D was so much like tournament games we've watched over the past 3 years I couldn't help but feel hope.  It was a familiar sight... just in the wrong colors.

If any doubters remain, they are now but fools.  Ben ball IS a championship style of play.  The titles will come.

"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard"

According to the AP in a report published on ESPN.com:

A report released Monday found 86 percent of Tar Heels men's players earned diplomas during a six-year period. The other top seeds were far worse: 45 percent at Kansas and 40 percent at UCLA and Memphis.
The study was conducted by Richard Lapchick, head of the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport. It evaluated four different freshman classes for a period beginning in 1997-98 and ending with 2000-01. Though the players evaluated are no longer on campus, the report intends to provide a snapshot of academic trends.

Are they serious?  Only Roy Williams was coaching any of these teams during this period and he was coaching Kansas, not UNC.  The lavin program was a joke on all fronts, and since then we have seen almost everyone graduate.  That said, why would an elite program be expected to keep players all 4 years?  The University has an obligation to prepare its students for their future career and life.  If that preparation is met in 1 or 2 years, then why would they stay?  Darren is clearly ready to take the next step and he shouldn't be concerned with how it reflects on the university when he leaves.  

This isn't football.  There aren't 105 players on a D1 basketball team like there may be on a football team (rule 17.11).  If you are an elite program 2 or 3 players may jump early every year in basketball.  With class size being only 4 or 5 at the most you'll have a hard time keeping graduation rates up.  Conversely, if you are an elite football program with 4 or 5 players leaving early each year you have classes of 25+ to keep graduation rates up.  

Our academics standards are as high as any in the country and yet we have only had one player leave early from back to back final 4 teams.  Remember that Afflalo graduated in 3 years.

This is not news, nor is it responsible reporting given the antiquated nature of the study.  What do you guys think?

As it has seemed for some time now, the only thing holding back the proverbial hammer from striking down the $Cum across town is the NCAA marketing and accounting divisions.  Fortunately for the NCAA it may have its chance to act soon.  Cheaty Petey may be on the way out.  ESPn has now confirmed that Carroll spoke with Falcons owner Arthur Blank about the head coaching position.  The effect of which, if he took the position, would be dramatic.  If it occurs prior to signing day, do not expect all those 5 stars to stay put.

I'm sure CRN is following closely and is ready to pounce on the potential prospect of prying away top recruits from $C.  He has already stolen much of pom pom's media monopoly and with his departure would certainly secure UCLA as the preeminent source for football entertainment in the second largest media market in the country.  CRN has gone out of his way to step into petey's spot light; now prepare for the spot to change stage.

A turn of events that leaves south central devoid of headliner status would certainly make sanctions far easier to pursue, and most definitely leave condoms broken across the southland.

In a steadily progressing media coup by CRN, the worst thing that could happen to the latex juggernaut would be the loss of their media darling.  Here's lookin at you, atlanta!

I am getting really worn out by the people who know nothing about football posting on here.  Walker has only been a DC for two years and has no business being a head coach yet.  That said, he did a generally good job tonight.  The idiots who are out criticizing him for taking the extra point at the end of the first half obviously never played or coached football and have no idea what they are talking about.  Let's go over some basic math...

5+3=8

4+3=7

Unless you firmly believe there is ZERO chance that in an entire half of football you will give up so much as a field goal, YOU TAKE THE POINT!  Especially a team that struggles to move the ball!!  If you miss the 2 point conversion and give up a field goal u now have to score a touchdown and the 2 point conversion to tie.  DOES ANYONE ON HERE THINK THIS TEAM COULD MANAGE THAT?  So here's what you do... you take the extra point.  You hope your defense can hold them to no more than a field goal or if they score 10 points ur still down by 2 scores (10+4=14).  YOU NEVER WAGER YOUR ENTIRE GAME ON A 2 POINT CONVERSION IN THE FIRST HALF!!!

I know people don't like walker, and that's fine.  I beg of you, though.  Please stop making fools of yourselves and stick to legitimate complaints... such as HE'S GOT ALMOST NO EXPERIENCE AT EVEN A HIGH LEVEL ASSISTANT POSITION!  Please stop making the rest of us who come on sites like this look like irrational, know-nothing lunatics.

Thank You,
Dustball

Ahhhhhhh... finals are over!  This was the fall quarter from hell for so many reasons, but, as always, the grass is sprouting up green after so much rain.  As summer came to a close and football season started I had so much to look forward to and so much to dread.  Another year of class was upon us, but, more importantly, my final year.  One last chance to live it up at UCLA.  I have looked forward for so long to this year.  I got all my tough classes out of the way early, so this was gonna be the year to relax and pad my GPA.  It wasn't to be, though.  I started chemo 2 weeks before fall classes began, and we lost to Utah shortly thereafter.  Not the start I had dreamed for my senior year.

As the weeks counted on I struggled to get through what were often 17 hour days of school, work and student organizational activities.  Too many nights I have woken up vomiting from the drugs, and too many days I have thought I didn't have the strength to walk home after class.  But I knew I could I always look forward to Saturday.  Life is an adventure, and hard times come and go.  Through it all my Bruin family gets me through.  The losses piled up and the embarrassment mounted, but every week I got to see my dad at the game.  Every week I was able to have a beer with my friends.  Every week I was able to scream at the top of my lungs from the student section "F@*k YOU, DORRELL!!"  And every week I felt a part of something great.  I am a Bruin, and I am so proud to be able to say that.  Now that the quarter is past and the holidays are upon us, it is time to get back to what it means to be a Bruin.

We need to cheer up around here.  Dorrell is gone!  For all the nasty things I have said about him I am not sorry, but I am grateful that he has returned to being a Bruin.  I was proud to see him out on the hunt for a new job.  Duke didn't work out, but Bruins aren't quitters and Dorrell has shown something in the last 2 weeks that has earned back some respect.  He hasn't bad mouthed the program or his assistant coaches, and, unlike Toledo, he clearly has no intention of sitting back and collecting the University's money.  He's gone on fighting like a Bruin should.  Dorrell was an awful head coach, but he's young.  Bruins wont always succeed on their first try, but we persevere.  I for one am glad to see him interviewing for coaching opportunities and wish him only the best for the future.

It is time to move forward, Bruins!  We have so many wonderful reasons to be excited about the future.  There is no time in life to spend angry about the past.  We can, and will, learn from the mistake of hiring Dorrell, and grow from it with our next hire.  We cannot, however, spend our holidays being angry over a man who can no longer affect our program.  I want to spend the next couple weeks with my family and know that DG will do the right thing.  Let's continue to make our demands clear that we want an experienced and successful head coach, but let's do it without the hate directed towards candidates we don't want.  I love to read the diaries that offer insightful analysis of the candidates for our next head coach, but too many are turning to name calling and wild speculation to critique certain candidates.  It is not becoming of our Bruins Nation and it is not productive.  The passion and love we share for this University can be conveyed without the hate.  Continue to fight, but fight the right way.

On that note... I'm going to go take a nap.  My keyboard batteries are dying and I am tired of retyping words.  Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!  It's gonna be a great one!

You'd never know Osaar was at all athletic given the idiotic play calling of this incompetent staff.  How many times are we supposed to hear the Doofus tell us that he's going to have to shorten the play book for Osaar?  

Dear Doofus,

Why are you SHORTENING the playbook?  You may not be able to make some of the 4 yard 3rd down passes you want, but just imagine all the possibilities that just opened.

What if... YOU RAN AN OPTION!!! OR A QB DRAW!!!?  what if... you utilized the talent you had on the field instead of trying to pidgeon hole every player into the same limited role you see as the ideal?

Thanks,
Dust

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?  I honestly can't take this anymore... How, at UCLA, have we found someone this unimaginative?  We are a leader in the world of new and imaginative medical procedures, responsible for national nuclear laboratories, one of the worlds finest research universities, and the greatest athletic academic institution in country.  How are we expected to accept this kind of blind failure?

It is halftime as I write this, and we have the lead.  That said, I refuse to accept this as a victory even if that is the final result.  I feel sick.  All that can make this bearable is the hope that Dorrell will be gone in a week.  I am too proud a Bruin to accept this embarrassment as anything close to an appropriate display of our heritage.

And now, as I leave this blog, I find Dorrell once again throwing a player under the bus.  Osaar... You're done!  You failed!  You're out!

Before i get to my story on Dwayne walker, I want to congratulate our Bruins for beating a very good Cal team today.  But lets move on, shall we...

As i have previously stated, Osaar's family is friends with my family, so i hear what is going on in his world from them in addition to being a current student with him. Osaar is respectful and wouldn't say anything to hurt the staff, but there are things that can be surmised from conversations he has with his family.  One such conversation is very important given a recent report by Dienhart that Dwayne Walker was called into DG's office to discuss the possibility of taking over on an interim basis for Dorrell.  Immediately, the Morgan Center refuted the report, but it seems there may be something to the story.

Osaar received a surprise phone call in recent days from Dwayne Walker.  No... it wasn't to test his interest in playing the D side of the ball.  It was to tell him to be patient.  DW called Osaar to offer him encouragement and make sure he wasn't leaving the program.

Why would the defensive coordinator do such a thing?  Well... If you listened in on Coach Tedford's recruiting calls to Osaar before he committed to UCLA you might understand a little better.  Tedford seemed to think Osaar could be the next Vince Young, and wanted him very badly at Cal.  I wonder if DW thinks he might be able to use him when he takes over the head coaching responsibilities?  

Osaar's family hadn't heard the report when one member commented on the phone call, but upon being informed of DW's meeting he connected the dots quickly.  The only reason DW would make a call to a player he has little relationship with and would never coach in his current position is if that position were about to change.

So it would appear Dorrell is much closer to being shown the door than the Morgan Center would have us believe.  Let's hope so!!

Ok... so i wont say which of Osaar's nuclear family said this, but they are family friends and have expressed frustration with the coaching staff.  According to a member of Osaar's family, he believes that one coach is responsible for his being kept out of the QB picture despite injuries to Ben and Pat.  He has already considered transferring, but stayed because he felt a loyalty to the staff.  I'm sure everyone else has read about players families liking dorrell, but if this is a trend we may not end up losing just recruits if we hold onto this fool.  We may see talented players transfer out of the program.

I will continue to keep my ears open for names, but for now they are referring to the betrayer only as "a coach."

In any case... Osaar's family seems to think he will be the starting QB this weekend.... hopefully its not just wishful thinking.

As for the news that Walker may have been spoken to about taking over as head coach, i'm not sure what to think.  Despite the assertions of critics of our defense on this site, holding any team (including ND) to 140 yards of total offense in a game in which your offense turned the ball over 7 times is the definition of dominant.  Walker isn't the problem, but i don't think he is the solution either.  Although, to his credit, he is much tougher and seemingly coherent than dorrell. We'll see where it all goes, but i'm holding out for that big fish at the end of the year.

i have always supported Dorrell's right to the opportunity as a head coach, but this has to end NOW!

I can't take another embarrassment!  I am not one who believes Karl to be a bad person, but i do resent his lack of accountability and the position he has put this proud university in.  We are the greatest combination of athletics and academics the world will ever see and we deserve better than this.

Aside from what i deserve as a fan, i feel terrible for the guys on this team who have NFL potential and are losing millions because they will not be drafted playing for someone who can not exhibit their talents.  Its not fair to the players who committed to this university to be left to suffer through this travesty.

We currently hold scout.com's #2 ranked recruiting class... if we intend to keep any of these kids, now is the time to end this disaster and fire dorrell.  Give the new coach a chance to convince these kids to stay... find someone now!!!!!!!

I am a current student and i know a few of the guys personally... they don't deserve to be sacrificial lambs to dorrell's failing program. Boosters... Buy out dorrell... let's get the money and place some serious pressure on DG.  For the sake of good guys like Ben Olsen, who have the talent to do far better than they are currently producing, let's make this happen today!