SB Nation User Blog: hicalliber

"you get a special feeling driving down that road in the canyon" toward the stadium, he adds. "It's...

hicalliber — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 16:19:42 -0000

"you get a special feeling driving down that road in the canyon" toward the stadium, he adds. "It's one of the most special places to play." - Chip Kelly and his thoughts on the Rose Bowl

http://www.portlandtribune.com/sports/story.php?story_id=126029533516857800

Brian Price named Pac-10 Defensive POY

hicalliber — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:47:15 -0000

Brian Price named Pac-10 Defensive POY

Justice served.

Verner's Views - Finale

hicalliber — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:43:14 -0000

Verner's Views - Finale

As always, great to get ATV's take on things. I am going to miss watching this guy patrol our secondary.

"I won't ever forget the walk from the buses to the Rose Bowl and seeing all the fans. You fans are so amazing to me and fueled me for every rose bowl game. You have never let me down and I appreciate that!!!" - ATV

Pre-game Guesses: ASU and SUC Results (Updated)

hicalliber — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 19:11:40 -0000

It's too late to comment on the ASU game, and it's too painful to comment on the SUC game. So here are your results...

Arizona State:

1. How many yards will Kevin Prince throw (within 10)? 161

2. How many tackles will Brian Price have? 6

3. T or F: Verner will intercept a pass. T

Bonus: T or F: UCLA will win. T

SUC:

1. Who will score first? SUC

2. T or F: UCLA will rush for more than 100 yards. T

3. How many FG's will Forbath kick? 0

No one got all 3 or 4 correct for either week...tough questions. Here are your final (regular season) standings. Obviously, if we go to a bowl game these standings might be affected. For now, I will offer my congratulations to jaffa for a great regular season!

1. jaffa (20)

2. wizardofoc (18)

3. Centric (17)

3. Nars (17)

3. Bellerophon (17)

6. dproduct (16)

6. MexiBruin (16)

6. Harsha (16)

6. mdjohns4 (16)

6. bruinscv (16)

6. luca10 (16)

Notre Dame will not play in a bowl game!

hicalliber — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:55:51 -0000

Notre Dame will not play in a bowl game!

This is huge for us.

Pac-10 All Academic Team Announced

hicalliber — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:52:34 -0000

Pac-10 All Academic Team Announced

UCLA has 10 players named, while SUC has 5 (with none on the 1st or 2nd team). Stanford appears to crush everyone. Anyone surprised here?

Is this Brian Price's last game at UCLA?

hicalliber — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:13:37 -0000

I'm usually not one for speculating (or worrying) about any one player and whether they may leave early for the NFL draft because it's a waste of energy. But I found myself wondering today, "Is this going to be Brian Price's last game in a UCLA uniform?" There is a case to be made for him returning and a case to be made for him to jump to the NFL, which I lay out after the (the linking function isn't working or else I would cite some of my sources):

The case for BP returning:

1. He has stated on a couple of occasions that he wants to stay 4 years and get his degree, regardless of how this season goes (even though he said he wanted to go "3 and out" before he came to UCLA). He has specifically cited his mother's desire for him to finish his education.

2. This year's DT class is ridiculously deep...BP might only be the 3rd best DT behind Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy. While he would probably still be a 1st rounder, he might have to wait until the later part of the 1st round instead of the earlier part (some are projecting 25th overall), which could cost him some serious guaranteed money.

3. He is slightly undersized and could use an extra off-season to put on 10-15 pounds. This is a somewhat flimsy argument because there are plenty of successful DT's in the NFL that weigh in at 300lb.

4. If BP stays one more year he will have a chance to cement his legacy as one of the best defensive players to ever play for UCLA. Can anyone name someone better if he stays?

The case for BP entering the NFL draft:

1. There will be a new collective bargaining agreement in 2011 that will limit rookie contracts, which could cost BP some money. It's hard to say exactly how much, but it could be a pretty big dropoff from recent years. Owners are fed up with dishing out multi-millian dollar deals for players who haven't stepped on the field yet, and veterans are getting the shaft.

2. The injury risk...we have seen BP hobble off on more than one occasion and I always hold my breath. I do that as much for UCLA as I do for Brian. I would hate to see him suffer a serious injury that would affect his draft status and the ability for him to provide for his family.

3. He has proven that he can be dominant even when offense gameplans for him. He plays the run and pass equally well, and his technique is very sound. Simply put, he has nothing left to prove at this level.

4. UCLA's DT depth will be even worse next year than it is this year, meaning that he will probably get triple-teamed rather than double-teamed. His stats would probably suffer, although most scouts aren't fooled by stats in college.

There is another reason I felt compelled to post on this topic, and that is simply to appreciate how great of a Bruin BP has been since day 1. He doesn't complain, he works hard, and he represents UCLA well on and off the field. Regardless of what BP decides, I will support his decision. I hope he has his best day ever againt SUC and introduces himself to Barkley repeatedly in the backfield. GO BRUINS!

Pre-game Guesses: Washington State Results

hicalliber — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:37:48 -0000

I'm just gonna get to it today...no commentary or anything. I'm very superstitious and ever since I stopped my commentaries we started winning. So, I'm gonna go ahead and take all the credit for the 3 game winning streak. You can thank me later ;). Here were the questions from the Washington State game:

1. How many receiving yards will Rosario have (within 5)? 69

2. Will UCLA convert a 4th down? Yes

3. Name a Bruin who will nab an interception? Ayers, Moore

jaffa got all 3 correct (sorry LoveMyBruins, I accidentally had Rosario's yards wrong)...nice work, those guesses were tough! Here are your updated standings...AZ State will be up soon:

1. Nars (17)

2. mdjohns4 (16)

2. jaffa (16)

4. Harsha (15)

4. Centric (15)

6. MexiBruin (14)

6. wizardofoc (14)

6. 84 (14)

9. captainqtp (13)

9. Minnesota Bruinfan (13)

9. bruinscv (13)

Kicker Kip Smith commits to Bruins

hicalliber — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:01:17 -0000

Kicker Kip Smith commits to Bruins

This link doesn't have the news, but scout.com shows him as a UCLA commit. He is a former Minnesota commit who has blasted a 67-yard FG, so he obviousloy has a huge leg. Since Forbath is a junior this is a great pickup. Hopefully he will continue the tradition of great UCLA kickers.

Pre-Game Guesses: Washington Results

hicalliber — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:37:46 -0000

I know I'm a week late on this, but it's been a crazy 2 weeks. Forgive me...I promise the Washington St. results are on the way.

For the Washington game I was lucky enough to fly out from Des Moines to attend this game, and much like last year's homecoming our Bruins pulled out a heart-stopper. Maybe I should go to more games.

One interesting note from my trip...I got a chance to meet another poster on BruinsNation...none other than the current leader in the pre-game guesses but Nars! Anyway, here were the questions and answers from the Washington game:

1. Who will rush for more yards...Jake Locker or Derrick Coleman? Coleman

2. Name a Bruin who will score a TD. Prince, Austin, Harkey, Moline, Craft

3. Which team will kickoff to start the 2nd half? Washington

Only PrincetonBruin got all 3 correct...good work! I will post the running leaderboard in my next post.