SBNation.com User Blog: peggysue69

Oh No! Say It Ain't So; Another trojan Arrest

peggysue69 — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 22:22:13 -0000

Oh No! Say It Ain't So; Another trojan Arrest

Eric Wright, former southern cal student athlete, was arrested early this morning for felony drunk driving.

No problem, he left southern cal after a rape arrest and 136 ectasy pills were found in his apartment.

The lad is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law or the court of public opinion--whichever occurs last.

A.C.L.U. suit targets U.C.L.A. use of Jackie Robinson Stadium

peggysue69 — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 00:20:03 -0000

This is ugly. The A.C.L.U. has filed suit against the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, former Army Chief of Staff Eric Shinseki, and the V.A. Regional Health Director Donna M. Beiter. The suit is brought in the name of several veterans and one veterans’ organization. The federal district court class action lawsuit alleges the V.A. is misusing property on the West Los Angeles Medical Center & Community Living Center campus. The property was donated in 1888 to the V.A.’s predecessor for the sole purpose to create a home for disabled veterans. According to the suit, 110 acres of the 387 acre campus, are used for other than the protection of veterans in violation of the 1888 deed.

Pages 8 and 57 of the A.C.L.U. suit alleges that U.C.L.A. uses Jackie Robinson Stadium on part of the 110 acres, not for the betterment of disabled veterans, but to play baseball—not a stated purpose in the 1888 deed. On page 68 of the complaint, the A.C.L.U. seeks to have the V.A. enjoined from using the West Los Angeles Medical Center & Community Living Center campus for any purpose other than providing a home for disabled veterans. That’s legal beagle mumbo jumbo for the Bruins can get evicted from Jackie Robinson Stadium—no ifs, ands, or buts.

How this will play out of course nobody knows. The suit may settle and we can keep on playing at Jackie Robinson Stadium. There have been extensive settlement discussions. Or, worse could come to worse and we may be playing at one of those Little League fields on Sepulveda just south of Wilshire. Or, it may all be untrue; although that’s hard to believe. The judge has ruled the suit can proceed, except for some fiduciary duty claims, so that leaves the future of U.C.L.A. baseball in Jackie Robinson Stadium potentially up in the air.

GO BRUINS (which may be what will happen)!

Latest trOJan arrestee

peggysue69 — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 23:02:57 -0000

Latest trOJan arrestee

Today's Daily Breeze reveals that redshirt southern cal basketball player Ari Stewart was arrested by the Arizona State University police on an unspecified drug charge.

According to unnamed sources, he paid his own way to Tempe for the ASU-sc game which seems odd.

Highly vaunted coach and moral leader Kevin O'Neil says:

"It will be handled internally," O'Neill said. "I'm not going to say what will happen. I just wish it wouldn't have happened. It's not an indication of (Stewart's) character or what kind of person he is."

Yeah Kev--an arrest says not one word about the lad's character.

Mr. Jabbar and Mr. Robinson

peggysue69 — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 19:19:33 -0000

Mr. Jabbar and Mr. Robinson

Patt Morrison's interview in Saturday's Times of Kareem Abdul Jabbar covers a multitude of sports and nonsports topics.

Kareem comments on CBH, the state of the NCAA, and NBA players being irresponsible with their wealth.

But the intriguing interchange when Jackie Robinson is mentioned goes like this:

You went to UCLA perhaps as much because of Jackie Robinson as John Wooden.

He was my hero when I was a kid. I rooted for the Dodgers when they were in Brooklyn. I got a letter from him: Did I know he'd gone to UCLA? That was one of the incentives I had. [His letter] said it'd be a great place for me to go to school and get my education.

Isn't it grand to be a Bruin?

Brackatology Run Amok: NC Congressman Favors Taliban Over Duke

peggysue69 — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 21:16:59 -0000

Brackatology Run Amok: NC Congressman Favors Taliban Over Duke

Congressman Brad Miller of North Carolina says he would favor the Taliban in a basketball game over Duke.

"The way I deal with it is, I scream my lungs out for Carolina," Miller said. "I make no pretense that I am at all half-hearted in my support for Carolina. Nobody in North Carolina would trust a politician who claimed to be neutral on a matter as important as college basketball."

Question: Against sc would you favor the Taliban? Just asking.

Follow on to Nestor's FS re: Jermey Lin

peggysue69 — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:48:19 -0000

Follow on to Nestor's FS re: Jermey Lin

Today's NY Times relates that U.C.L.A. took a look at NBA sensation Jermey Lin.

Former assistant coach Kerry Keating spoke to Lin and took a pass on the kid. The Gray Lady reports:

I said, ‘We can’t give you a scholarship right away,’ " said Kerry Keating, a former U.C.L.A. assistant who spoke to Lin after watching him in a high school game. "I thought he could have played for us. He certainly could have made an impact for us, looking back on it. But at the time, you never really know. It’s an inexact science."

Coulda, woulda, shoulda.

Kiffin fined $10,000 for running his mouth; T.J. McDonald suspended

peggysue69 — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 05:32:38 -0000

Kiffin fined $10,000 for running his mouth; T.J. McDonald suspended

PAC 12 commish Larry Scott steps up and fines the conference's biggest loudmouth for his classless grousing about the officiating in southern cal's heartbreaking loss to Stanford. And McDonald will ride the pines for the first half of the Colorado game for his vicious hit on a defenseless Tree receiver. Some things never, ever change.

Hundley Was Not Ready To Play In Tucson

peggysue69 — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 05:25:25 -0000

Hundley Was Not Ready To Play In Tucson

CRN says playing Hundley against Arizona would have been akin to throwing the freshman to the wolves as the kid was not ready to play against a PAC 12 defense.

According to the Times, Hundley had hoped to redshirt this year.

[Updated] No Pac-12 Expansion For The Present

peggysue69 — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 03:20:42 -0000

At 8:10 p.m. PDT, Andy Katz of ESPN reported that there will be no expansion of the PAC-12.

He named no sources, ~~so the official word has not yet come from Larry Scott or the conference AD's or Presidents.~~

Burnt Orange Nation is quoting Scott who confirms the ESPN report.
Stay tuned.

At 8:10 p.m. PDT, Andy Katz of ESPN reported that there will be no expansion of the PAC-12. He named no sources, ~~so the official word has not yet come from Larry Scott or the conference AD's or Presidents.~~ Burnt Orange Nation is quoting Scott who confirms the ESPN report. Stay tuned.

Final Decisions On Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech Move To PAC-12 Are At Hand

peggysue69 — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 03:36:33 -0000

Late Sunday night, NY Times reporter Pete Thamel, a first rate journalist, reported that the question of UT, OU, OSU and Tech joining the PAC-12 will come to a head within the next week to week and one-half. Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott met this weekend with UT President Bill Powers and Longhorn AD DeLoss Dodd. (After seeing us get rolled by the Horns, one can imagine Powers’ and Dodd’s eagerness to get us on their schedule as often as possible.)

Thamel reports:

The process of the four universities heading west is expected to play out over the next 7 to 10 days.

This new time frame is the breaking news in Thamel’s piece. The article repeats prior reports that the Oklahoma schools are on board with the move. OU President David Boren stated this entire matter will be resolved by the last week of September. The OU Regents meet tomorrow, September 19. Thamel's piece states that Scott, and an unspecified PAC-12 official (who might be Scott), identified 3 obstacles to completion of the deal:

Next Monday (not tomorrow, but on September 26), the Texas regents must approve the deal.
The arrangement of the divisions and how the UT television contract will fold into the existing PAC-12 deal must be worked out.
Once all of those issues are ironed out, then Scott must go to the PAC-12 Presidents, something that has not yet occurred.

Although the outcome remains murky, Thamel is reporting that the potential deal is approaching the decisive stage.

Note what is not up in the air--the OU television deal. No reporting indicates that is a problem.

Thamel reports:

The process of the four universities heading west is expected to play out over the next 7 to 10 days.

Next Monday (not tomorrow, but on September 26), the Texas regents must approve the deal.
The arrangement of the divisions and how the UT television contract will fold into the existing PAC-12 deal must be worked out.
Once all of those issues are ironed out, then Scott must go to the PAC-12 Presidents, something that has not yet occurred.

Although the outcome remains murky, Thamel is reporting that the potential deal is approaching the decisive stage.

Note what is not up in the air--the OU television deal. No reporting indicates that is a problem.

NY Times smears entire State of Oklahoma

peggysue69 — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:20:09 -0000

NY Times smears entire State of Oklahoma

Today's Gray lady committed the following slanderous libel of the good folks of the God fearing independant sovereign State of Oklahoma. While discussing barriers to OU's and OSU's admission to the PAC-12 et. al., the Paper of Record related:

Academically, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State lag far behind top Pac-12 universities like Stanford, California, U.C.L.A., U.S.C. and Washington. Last year, when the Pac-12 presidents were discussing expansion, they took a sour attitude toward Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, which were viewed as a necessary evil for Texas’ potential admission.

Sorry Ms. Gray Lady, neither OU nor OSU lag behind southern cal academically--not possible.

Weather Flash: 20 Per Cent Chance Of Rain At The Rose Bowl Tonite

peggysue69 — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 19:07:08 -0000

Weather Flash: 20 Per Cent Chance Of Rain At The Rose Bowl Tonite

The Weather Channel predicts a 20 per cent of chance rain at the Rose Bowl this evening.

Stay dry Bruins.

MUST READ Piece in NYT on TCU’s Clean Football Program

peggysue69 — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 18:14:21 -0000

MUST READ Piece in NYT on TCU’s Clean Football Program

A program that wins without criminals and corrupt boosters and makes a ton of dough doing it.

CRN: A Coach With A Losing Record (For Now) But Man of Real Honor

peggysue69 — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 17:46:47 -0000

This following was my lengthy comment in response to gbruin's excellent post "What Price To Win? Integrity, Hypocrisy, and The Gray Area" which raised the issue of the costs of CRN's decision to bar Josh Shirley, Paul Richardson and Shaquille Richardson from playing last year after they stole a coed's laptop. All three of the ex-Bruins are now impact players at their respective schools. Nestor suggested I Fanpost my views. They follow:

I have enormous respect for CRN.

And the biggest reason is he has clearly learned from his mistakes. He acted poorly at Colorado and UWub. Poorly. He was not "Slick Rick" nor "Tricky Rick." He was a cheat who spoke and acted out of both sides of his mouth. When DG hired him, my heart (True Blue in color) was troubled. I was hopeful he would win (he has not), but I feared a coach whose ethical guru seemed to be the likes of Bugsy Malone would only dishonor UCLA. I was clearly wrong on this latter count. He has in fact honored our school with his teaching and leadership. And a woman or man who learns from her or his mistakes, well, they are special folks in my book.

I have enormous respect for CRN.

Three last points, the first for which I will receive unmitigated heat from some worshipers at this beloved site. The first final point, Dan Guerrero gets much of the credit for the ethical side of the CRN hiring decision. DG must accept responsibility for: bureaucrats who try to foist weak minded misleading press releases ala, the students preferred to sit in lousy seats rather than the best ones in the house, on some of the smartest fans on the face of the Earth; the loss of a top of the line women’s hoops coach to Baton Rouge, the ultimate backwoods vacation destination for swamp aficionados (Nikki, what were you thinking?); and hiring Karl Dorrell, who it turns out could not recruit at all. But one thing is clear—since the December 2002 hiring of Coach Dorrell by Dan Guerrero, unlike southern cal, Miami, Ohio State, Auburn, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Oregon, to name but a few, UCLA has run a by the book ethical football program and the athletic director must get some of the credit. (I am pleased to take the heat on this point. A kid down the street just got back from Afghanistan, and he is willing to let me wear his Kevlar, so fire away.)

Next final point. It takes a lot of Courage to admit you have behaved unethically. That’s right, Courage, with a capital C. CRN obviously possesses that kind of Courage; it has become part of his character. I admire him for many reasons and one of them is his willingness to address the fans after the games; even ones where we have performed poorly. It takes a lot of guts to stand up and speak your piece when you know you will be booed. CRN is willing to take the heat. The Courage to admit you are wrong and to change on one hand, and, on the other hand, to step up after that southern cal disaster last fall and admit failure involve different issues, character traits and fears, but they are related—they a born of Courage.

Last final point. The people who rag on CRN for what happened in what amounts to another life, well, they: are more morally flawed than most of us; lack the motivation to get the facts, that is learn the truth; or they are consumed by partisan fan driven myopia.

Rick, let’s fight the fight and win. Go Bruins!

NY Times Unveils More Southern Cal Stonewalling--This Time The Fed. Govt.

peggysue69 — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 04:38:27 -0000

New York Times reporter Katie Thomas has written a series of articles about the failure of the Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, to enforce Title IX which requires any school that receives federal funds to offer girls and young women equal access to athletics. But so far, the Office of Civil Rights, like UCLA receivers last year, has dropped the ball. Ms. Thomas writes:

The Office for Civil Rights certainly has the power to enforce the law: any school that is found to be violating Title IX risks losing its federal funds. But that punishment has never been used since Congress passed the law in 1972. And the office cannot cite any instance in which a case of suspected discrimination against female athletes was referred to the justice department for additional action. The situation has led many to ask how a federal law can be effective if it is not significantly enforced.

But Ms. Thomas also identifies one institution which has stonewalled during a 13 year investigation. You know who that is and the sorry evidence is laid out in several key grafs after the jump.

The Office for Civil Rights certainly has the power to enforce the law: any school that is found to be violating Title IX risks losing its federal funds. But that punishment has never been used since Congress passed the law in 1972. And the office cannot cite any instance in which a case of suspected discrimination against female athletes was referred to the justice department for additional action. The situation has led many to ask how a federal law can be effective if it is not significantly enforced.

But Ms. Thomas also identifies one institution which has stonewalled during a 13 year investigation. You know who that is and the sorry evidence is laid out in several key grafs after the jump.

Linda Joplin, a member of the California chapter of the National Organization for Women, filed a complaint in 1998 against southern cal alleging that women at the school were denied their fair share of spending and scholarships. But then the foot dragging began:

After the Office for Civil Rights began its investigation, U.S.C. dug in its heels, recalled Patricia Shelton, the longtime lead investigator on the case, who has since retired.

U.S.C. insisted it was doing right by its female students, offering them, for example, the maximum number of athletic scholarships permitted under the rules.

But Shelton, the agency’s investigator, said the university also declined to turn over key financial data that would have shown whether it was spending equal amounts of money on men’s and women’s teams.

The delays have infuriated Ms. Joplin who filed the original complaint. The N.Y. Times reports:

Joplin, the woman who first brought the case, said the office’s slow response has hurt uncounted female students. And she questioned whether the knowledge that an institution has never lost its funds for violating Title IX played a role in U.S.C.’s past failure to comply.

"They’re willing to take the funding from the federal government," she said, "but they’re not willing to abide by federal law."

Southern cal's lawyer, Kelly Bendell, claims her client had complied with all information requests. According to Ms. Bendell southern cal "had complied with all requests for information after initially resisting because of concerns about turning over proprietary financial data."

What an answer. At least at the initial stages of the investigation, she admits her client refused to cooperate in a federal gender discrimination investigation.

The Times article makes it clear there is plenty of blame to go around. It is expected the southern cal investigation will end this year. And the feds did nothing between between 2003 to 2008 in connection with the southern cal investigation. Also, other investigations have been botched according to Ms. Thomas. Pretty ugly stuff.

Last add. Why hasn't the L.A. Times broken this story or reported it in this depth? It has been scooped by a newspaper located 3,000 miles away. Some would call it trojan bias. I think its that the L.A. Times sports section staff is comprised of very mediocre reporters.

UCLA Benefactor John E. Anderson Passes Away

peggysue69 — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 23:36:47 -0000

UCLA Benefactor John E. Anderson Passes Away

John E. Anderson, an attorney for whom the business school was named, has died.

[Updated] Professors of Sports Ethics Haden And Kiffin Sky To Indy For More NCAA Infraction Hearings

peggysue69 — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 05:01:22 -0000

Two of America's esteemed ethicists, Pat Haden and Lane Kiffin, are jetting into Indianapolis for yet another NCAA violations hearing. This time the defendant is the University of Tennessee and there are an array of violations lodged against Kiffin, the failed ex-Vol football coach, and Bruce Pearl, the defrocked basketball coach. Here's the word from the Ashville Citizen Times.

Kiffin will try to explain why he ran such a loose ship at UT. There are indications that his current boss, Southern Cal AD Pat Haden, will attend the meeting and is anxious to hear Kiffin’s explanation.

The wild card here is David Reaves, Kiffin’s brother-in-law who was quarterbacks coach under him with the Vols in ’09. Reaves is considered a key figure in the so-called Hostess-Gate mess, where two female UT students traveled to Duncan, S.C., to visit recruits Brandon Willis and Corey Miller at a high school football game.

If Reaves testifies that he and/or other UT staff members knew of the trip beforehand or perhaps precipitated it, the Vols football program could get hammered.

Interesting--why is Haden going? He said he was gravely disappointed when the NCAA tossed out southern cal's frivolous appeal and the "school's" press flacks screamed the "institution" "vehemently" disagreed with the appeals panel's decision. Haden all but asserted some of the penalties were unjust (he won't say which). Like he's going to be welcomed at the NCAA headquarters after he smeared the infractions adjudication process?

So why is Haden going? It can't be he likes the Indianapolis summertime humidity. Stay tuned.

Kiffin will try to explain why he ran such a loose ship at UT. There are indications that his current boss, Southern Cal AD Pat Haden, will attend the meeting and is anxious to hear Kiffin’s explanation.

The wild card here is David Reaves, Kiffin’s brother-in-law who was quarterbacks coach under him with the Vols in ’09. Reaves is considered a key figure in the so-called Hostess-Gate mess, where two female UT students traveled to Duncan, S.C., to visit recruits Brandon Willis and Corey Miller at a high school football game.

If Reaves testifies that he and/or other UT staff members knew of the trip beforehand or perhaps precipitated it, the Vols football program could get hammered.

So why is Haden going? It can't be he likes the Indianapolis summertime humidity. Stay tuned.

[Updated] Kiffin was questioned for over 4 hours by the infractions committee. Afterwards, as is typical for southern cal employees and players officially charged with wrongdoing, he declined to say much. But he did say this:

"It's a very thorough process and I'm glad it's over," Kiffin said upon leaving the hearing. "It was a lot shorter than the last one I sat through, three days of USC's, and I'm happy it's over."

Haden actually watched Kiffin's testimony--never a good sign for an employee to have his boss watch him explain away misconduct or at least try to do so.

But a Chattanooga Times Free Press columnist could not restrain himself from clowning Kiffin.

(By the way, still waiting to see if the Kiffins intend to change youngest son Knox’s name to Troy, Malibu or Hollywood now that he’s living in the City of Angels. But we digress.)

At least Kiffin reportedly kept his shirt tucked in (unlike his Big Orange game-day attire), wasn’t overheard falsely accusing former Florida coach Urban Meyer of any recruiting violations and didn’t openly challenge Southeastern Conference commissioner Mike Slive, who also was present.

No wonder Lane the Louse’s 90-second media briefing included the words, "It was a little bit different."

Later the columnist, continuing to ridicule the disgraced ex-Vol and current southern cal coach, speculated about what may be a developing problem Kiffin has with Haden.

So even though we can’t tell you for certain what was asked or answered, we can speculate with some degree of common sense that as Kiffin responded to questions about his UT past, his current boss at USC must have been silently wondering, "What did Mike Hamilton [recently retired (canned, pushed under the bus, shown the door, cashiered, told to clean out his desk, turn in his playbook, dispatched) Vol AD] ever see in this guy, and how quickly can I get rid of him?"

Perhaps Kiffin should swiftly consider changing Knox’s name to Haden.

The April 2010 lawsuit filed by the Tennessee Titans against southern cal as settled. According to...

peggysue69 — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 19:57:53 -0000

The April 2010 lawsuit filed by the Tennessee Titans against southern cal as settled. According to a joint statement issued by the litigants:

"We are pleased to be able to conclude a mutually satisfactory arrangement between the University of Southern California and the Tennessee Titans that concludes the litigation involving the hiring of Kennedy Pola. The settlement terms are private, but include opportunities for both parties to avoid future disagreements and disputes over employment of persons who are already employed by either party."

Trogan Thuggery: Leading Southern Cal Rusher Implicated in Sexual Battery

peggysue69 — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 05:30:46 -0000

Breaking story this evening from the Los Angeles Times concerning leading southern cal rusher Mark Tyler. The first incident, according to the Times, involves Tyler, while intoxicated, spitting on a coed. The southern cal Department of Public Safety website states

A student reported that an intoxicated student spat on her after she and a friend escorted him to his residence.

Tyler, obviously ever the gentleman, admits he did so.

Now about the sexual battery.

A student reported that an intoxicated student spat on her after she and a friend escorted him to his residence.

Tyler, obviously ever the gentleman, admits he did so.

Now about the sexual battery.

The sexual battery allegation, which allegedly occurred on April 28, is more serious. According to the the southern cal Department of Public Safety website, "A student reported that she was sexually assaulted by another student." The only action reflected on the southern cal gumshoe website is that the entire matter was referred to "Student Affairs" and "Judicial Affairs." The Times, which has been rightly criticized for having failed to competently cover the Reggie Bush corruption story, merely claims there was only an inappropriate touching. As noted though, southern cal's own "police force" admits the allegation involves sexual battery.

Unlike the spitting incident, Tyler denies it ever occurred--well sort of. According to the Times, Tyler denies he committed a sexual battery but then the student athlete issued an official talk out of both sides of your mouth non-denial denial:

"It would not be appropriate for me to comment while I await the result of the Student Affairs hearing except to say that I regret my actions, I have apologized to all parties and I have sought counseling both within and outside the university," Tyler said in a statement.

Wait Tyler my man--I thought nothing happened. Why apologize if nothing happened?

This is the same lawyered up minimization and no comment line we got during the Sample-Garrett-Carroll days which were adjudicated by two NCAA panels to be awash in football/basketball/women's tennis corruption. To complicate matters, the reaction of the crack sc police department to sexual battery to just turn it over to Student Affairs should be a red flag for any parent. At sc, if your daughter is molested by a football player--too bad--"Student Affairs" will be charged with getting to the bottom of it. Further, to fail to take aggressive action under these circumstances puts southern cal at great risk to civil rights suits. The "school" and its police department have duty to protect women against these sorts of insults.

Finally, the southern cal lawyers which advise crack agencies like the public "safety" department and "Student Affairs" and "Judicial Affairs" are mired in a serious conflict of interest. These are same phalanx of litigators that represent the football program and were active participants in stonewalling the NCAA. Remember when Garrett and his lawyers would refuse to "comment" but then proceeded to posture with some self-serving comment. Same thing here. Tyler at first says it would be inappropriate to comment and then he explains he is so sorry and he is getting "counseling." It is the same song and dance we watched during the Sample-Garrett-Carroll years.

The simple truth is nothing has changed on Figueroa since Haden took over.

Last add. The lad is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Why We Lose--According To The New York Times

peggysue69 — Mon, 30 May 2011 01:14:42 -0000

Other than both golf teams (come on men--win it all in Stillwater) and some highlights by both of our basketball teams and baseball (the last Pac-10 champion) and women's gymnastics and softball and men's soccer and tennis, this has been an unsatisfying mediocre year for an athletic program that trumpets the motto, "Champions Made Here." Some programs have absolutely tanked (football).

Much has been written on this blog about why. Blame, fault, obloquy, and responsibility have been assigned, allotted, and levied on everybody from UCLA chancellors, coaches, DG, students, alumni, journalists, players, cheerleaders and that utter Morgan Center knucklehead who was quoted in that fraudulent press release who claimed the students wanted to move to some lousy seats in Pauley. (I refuse to say the name of that bureaucrat so as not to dishonor J. D. Morgan anymore than I will say Mr. Aikman's first name so as not to dishonor his parents for mistakenly selecting such an opprobrious moniker for a great Bruin.) So far, only the band has escaped an extensive written flogging.

If you use a pie chart, a slice of the blame would likely be properly assessed to a lot of the participants. You can imagine an odd looking pie chart where coaching would receive 22.396% of the blame while PAC 10 through 12 officials get 1.569% of the responsibility. Some would just slap together a pie chart with Dan Guerrero's mug on it.

But today's New York Times has a sidebar, written by columnist William C. Rhoden, on why the Mets, the U.C.L.A. football team of Major League Baseball, have sputtered over the past half decade; i.e. lost a lot of games. The lead article discusses the impending potential sale of the Mets to hedge fund manager David Einhorn. The sidebar includes Mets' management's criticism of several highly paid players' failure to get the job done. My take on the Times sidebar though is that it has more to do with much of U.C.L.A. athletics than it does with the sale of the Mets. The sidebar places the blame for the Mets' unrelenting mediocrity on the team's failure to have the spirit of one of the greatest Bruins of all time. That after the jump.

Mr. Rhoden writes:

If the Mets had a Jackie Robinson — fiery, indignant, burning with the will to win — the team would not be embroiled in a war of words over a highly paid but underperforming baseball team. If there were a Jackie Robinson on the Mets, [current owner Fred] Wilpon would not have had to call out his team — Robinson would already have done it. A leader like Robinson would not have tolerated the sort of passionless performances that have been on display at Shea and now at Citi Field during a five-year stretch of fizzles and collapses.

Alas, there is no Jackie Robinson spirit dwelling within these Mets.

The same is true in Westwood. Without Jackie Robinson's spirit, we go nowhere. With it, there is nowhere we cannot go. I am not in the locker rooms or on the practice courts or fields, but to me, some of our teams just do not have Jackie Robinson's spirit.

Go Bruins!

Bad news for southern cal

peggysue69 — Thu, 19 May 2011 00:45:18 -0000

Bad news for southern cal

The Nevada Supreme Court has unanimously refused to reconsider the convictions of double murderer and convicted felon, the face of southern cal athletics and academics, inmate o.j. simpson.

Joining in the order is Los Angeles native and proud Dorsey High and Long Beach State grad, Chief Justice Mike Douglas.

#SFatPauley: The DB on USAC's Move, Morgan Center's New Flexibilty & Den Leadership's POV

peggysue69 — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 23:54:21 -0000

Today's Daily Bruin gives us some insight into the rapidly changing UCLA Morgan Center position concerning student seatiing in the new Pauley.

The well written article by Samantha Schaefer tells us who raised the issue directly:

Concern about the student section was brought to the Tuesday Undergraduate Students Association Council meeting by Sean Wang, a graduate student in statistics who is involved with the Den.

Wang said students and other fans he talked to after Athletics announced the seating change were disappointed and angry, but he believes there was a muted student response because of a number of factors, including the buffer year before Pauley opens and the low number of die-hard Den members.

About 10 percent of the approximately 7,000 Den ticket holders responded to a survey sent by Athletics to gauge student feelings about the experience at UCLA sporting events.

A brief editorial comment here--Sean Wang you are True Blue.

After reiterating the now eroding Morgan Center position that sticking the kids behind the west basket is a great idea, the article sets forth the new views of Mark Harlan:

Harlan emphasized that nothing regarding the student section is set in stone, and if the advisory vote reflects that students are unhappy with the change, Athletics will continue to work with student leaders. He said the decision to change the seating was made based on student input about their experience at sporting events, not at all for financial reasons.

The only opposition from the Den, that's after the jump.

Today's Daily Bruin gives us some insight into the rapidly changing UCLA Morgan Center position concerning student seatiing in the new Pauley.

The well written article by Samantha Schaefer tells us who raised the issue directly:

Concern about the student section was brought to the Tuesday Undergraduate Students Association Council meeting by Sean Wang, a graduate student in statistics who is involved with the Den.

Wang said students and other fans he talked to after Athletics announced the seating change were disappointed and angry, but he believes there was a muted student response because of a number of factors, including the buffer year before Pauley opens and the low number of die-hard Den members.

About 10 percent of the approximately 7,000 Den ticket holders responded to a survey sent by Athletics to gauge student feelings about the experience at UCLA sporting events.

A brief editorial comment here--Sean Wang you are True Blue.

After reiterating the now eroding Morgan Center position that sticking the kids behind the west basket is a great idea, the article sets forth the new views of Mark Harlan:

Harlan emphasized that nothing regarding the student section is set in stone, and if the advisory vote reflects that students are unhappy with the change, Athletics will continue to work with student leaders. He said the decision to change the seating was made based on student input about their experience at sporting events, not at all for financial reasons.

The only opposition from the Den, that's after the jump.

The article quotes the Den president and it is not pretty:

Den President Elan Bigknife said he is shocked that a vote to gauge student response to the change in seating was proposed, because students have not spoken up about their disappointment.

He added that he is concerned that students will be voting on the measure out of context, with the only information coming from the ballot. Athletics’ marketing targeted student ticket holders – those who are going to the games and therefore actually affected by the changes made to their seats, Bigknife said.

Mr. Bigknife, I am respectfully unpersuaded for the reasons spread all over this site. Let the students vote.

Last add. Solid journalism by Ms. Schaefer. She covered both sides. I wish she had done so in more depth and discussed the alumni response such as those views expressed on this site; but good work overall.

Just got this email from DG. Its all on USAC now. "Last month, after extensive deliberation...

peggysue69 — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 22:37:21 -0000

Just got this email from DG. Its all on USAC now.

"Last month, after extensive deliberation with student leadership, Athletics announced new plans for the student seating in renovated Pauley Pavilion. This week, the Undergraduate Student Association Council (USAC) decided to further explore the overall student body reaction to the seating adjustment by placing a question on the upcoming election ballot. I fully support USAC's engagement in this process and look forward to working with them as we examine the results of the question. If ultimately, a return to the previously established student section is the desire, then that is what we will do."

2011 UCLA Spring Game -- What I Saw

peggysue69 — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 18:05:09 -0000

Bumped. If others have more extensive takeaways from Saturday's spring game please feel free to share them via fanposts. We always appreciate these notes. - BN Eds.

Photo Credit: Scott Wu

I had several takeaways.

First, Brehaut played with more confidence than I recall last year. But on two occasions when the play was a fade pattern, he failed to get the ball onto the receiver’s outside shoulder. He may have been rushed. (More about that later.) Both passes were into the end zone and neither were complete. Richard was clearly rushed on the second fade pattern (thrown into single coverage) and the receiver was hit by the ball in the hands (don't you hate it when that happens) but only after turning his head and seeing the ball was in the air and about to arrive like now! It was a combination of having to get rid of the ball because the defense was entering the backfield and timing being off by an hour. Last fall in the disastrous game against southern cal in the Rose Bowl, we got a wee bit of momentum off of a turnover. We came back from the turnover with a fade pattern towards the south end of the Rose Bowl on the east side line (in front of the alumni section) and Richard threw the pass on the receiver’s inside shoulder into double coverage. Guess what? Yeah, one of the southern cal student athletes intercepted the pass thrown on the wrong side of the receiver and what little momentum we had turned into nomentum. CRN was so irate he stormed onto the field halfway out to the hash mark to start berating poor Richard and followed him off the field every step of the way to the bench "commenting" loudly and directly on fade pattern fundamentals. We can get killed by breakdowns like this when it comes to fundamentals and Richard has got to get this right. But still he threw some fine passes and will win some games for us this fall.

One caveat about the QB play. The quarterbacks, who wore black jerseys, could not be tackled--essentially it as was smash mouthed football for everybody but two hands touch below the waist for the QBs. How they will play when they know they can get their heads handed to them remains to be seen. By that I mean, Richard looked better than he did last year to me (who never played a down so take my views with a whole salt shaker). Whether he will have the same crispness and consistency when he has to run for his life--we'll see. (This applies to my views of Hundley too which are below.) And it may be Richard will not be starting as Prince will be in the mix next September.

Bumped. If others have more extensive takeaways from Saturday's spring game please feel free to share them via fanposts. We always appreciate these notes. - BN Eds.

Photo Credit: Scott Wu

I had several takeaways.

Second, the defense was really fired up when a solid defensive play was made. They became vocal and you could hear the hootin’ and hollerin’ on the other side of Drake Stadium. They were so loud no doubt some of the dweebs in the dorms were upset because their study of Shakespeare's influence on game theory in modern Tibet was interrupted by the defense going ape over a disguised safety blitz off of the weak side. Football is a game of passion and emotion. The defense had that last night

Third, the 17 year old pride of Chandler, Arizona, Brett Hundley, played the second most amount of time at QB. He aired out 2 passes that went maybe 55 yards in the air. The first one missed anybody by 10 yards. The second one hit the receiver in the hands and the numbers and due to great ATV-like defense (I can’t remember who was the defender) the ball ended up on the ground incomplete. Both passes looked great while in the air and with time will look great being caught.

Fourth, CRN was gracious after the game thanking the crowd for showing up. Although he always does that, it is a classy thing to do because a couple of thousand people cared enough to drive to Westwood to watch a troubled football program try to get off the ground and start winning. He admitted the offensive line was a hurting dude with injuries (with Baca, Sheller etc. injured and not playing (Baca, using crutches and wearing what looked like a cast watched the game from a high jump pit)) and expected the OL play would be better when we open against Houston. That may explain some of the rushed QB decision making and passes. Then he said that next year there there will the first PAC-12 champion and there was no reason why it shouldn’t be UCLA. Hope springs eternal.

Last add on CRN. And this is just my opinion based on what I have seen. He has lost some of his ebullience. He remains relentlessly optimistic and True Blue. But the reality of a losing record coaching at a school he loves has eaten away at him and his confidence. Sometimes he cannot even look a reporter in the eye when answering questions. His post-game comments were enthusiastic and he was genuinely grateful we showed up but the price of ignominious losses and firing friends has taken a toll IMHO. He may dispute that (and if I am wrong, I apologize in advance--I love you CRN) but it sure seems that way to me and did last night.

Fifth, it was a beautiful evening to be a Bruin. The campus was gorgeous. We looked across Drake Stadium directly at Janss Steps and Powell and Royce Hall. It was breathtaking. We were educated at a special place. We are the luckiest people on Earth-we are Bruins.

Gold's reporting on Spring Game

peggysue69 — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 06:42:58 -0000

Gold's reporting on Spring Game

Jon Gold saw the scrimmage at Drake Stadium as positive for the defense and much less so for the offense. Gold quotes OC Mike Johnson:

"No, not at all," a stern Johnson said after the scrimmage, which took place at UCLA's Drake Stadium with the Rose Bowl under renovation. "I don't think we carried what we had been doing in practice to the game-like situation. ... I don't think we played on offense with the sense of urgency and the tempo with which we've been practicing. That's part of the process we have to go through. We have to make sure we carry what we do from the practice field to the game."

MLB takes over Dodgers

peggysue69 — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 23:27:04 -0000

MLB takes over Dodgers

Commissioner Bud Selig announced he is taking control of the Dodgers and a receiver will be appointed in the next several days.

As frustrating UCLA athletics can be and is, it just doesn't equate to what happened to the Dodgers today.

Where UCLA students come from

peggysue69 — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 06:56:24 -0000

Where UCLA students come from

Interesting piece in the Times--"[A]t UCLA, . . . 29.9% of freshman admission offers went to non-Californians."

There is one yuck in the article: some trOJan professor complaining I guess about the large number of foreign and out of state kids at the University of California campuses. Mind your own business professor and give my best to Señora Ross.

What happened when UCLA played Colorado State in Pauley on December 22, 1966?

peggysue69 — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 04:55:03 -0000

As the men's basketball season was coming to a blessed end, I was bummed because my brackets were busted early on because I had picked for the finals DeVry University versus the College of Cardinals.

And then I stumbled on to something which made my day. I typed Pauley Pavilion into Google news because I was looking to see if the mainstream media had picked up on the student seating issue (they haven't).

At the bottom of the Google results was a reference to the News Archive Results for Pauley Pavilion. I clicked on the December 22, 1966 date and there are a slew of newspaper articles about the December 22, 1966 UCLA game against Colorado State. The lead on the St. Petersburg (Florida) Evening Independent article was the expected matchup between Lew Alcindor and the dreaded Bob Rule of Colorado State.

Two interesting lines in the article. Coach was asked about the fact Colorado State expected to use a slow-down game (a bright idea which generally led to blowouts but there was nothing else our opponents could do) and he responded:

A good control team shouldn't hurt us anymore than a good fast break team.

Classic coach.

And then the Colorado State coach, who no doubt was trying to find the drone in the Ram athletic department who got his team scheduled into Pauley (where the students in olden times sat on the north sideline) and then insure the doofus got fired, was quoted:

Colorado State Coach Jim Williams has been offered a suggestion or two . . . about stopping Alcindor.

"My son saw UCLA play," said a woman "and he said you can beat them if you put four men on Alcindor and break up their press."

Williams asked: "And what does my fifth man do. Carry a gun."

What was the final score? You have to peek after the jump.

As the men's basketball season was coming to a blessed end, I was bummed because my brackets were busted early on because I had picked for the finals DeVry University versus the College of Cardinals.

A good control team shouldn't hurt us anymore than a good fast break team.

Classic coach.

Colorado State Coach Jim Williams has been offered a suggestion or two . . . about stopping Alcindor.

"My son saw UCLA play," said a woman "and he said you can beat them if you put four men on Alcindor and break up their press."

Williams asked: "And what does my fifth man do. Carry a gun."

What was the final score? You have to peek after the jump.

Egads, it was close. We only won 84-74 and the game was tied in the second half. The AP article claimed that Lewis (now Kareem) played his worst game of the season despite the fact he dumped in 34 points. Both Lewis and Coach said he played his poorest game of the year. Lewis complained that his defense was not up to par.

Far different time from when teams like Butler and UConn put up Soccer World Cup scores in the NCAA finals.

#SFatPauley: Daily Bruin blows the call and sells out its readership

peggysue69 — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 23:12:13 -0000

If you want to be sick, read the Daily Bruin "journalism" on the ejection of the Den to the west end of Pauley. Other then the fact the grammer is acceptable, it could have been written by a southern cal journalism "student."

Not a whimper.

Here are some of the ugliest grafs:

In years past, the student section has been fragmented, with some students receiving floor-level seats while others were left with seats in the upper 300s sections.

After consulting with numerous student groups on campus, including the Undergraduate Students Association Council, The Den and the Rally Committee, the UCLA Athletics Department released an e-mail to members of The Den Wednesday informing them of the changes that will be made in the new Pauley Pavilion.

A survey released to The Den in December was also used as a guiding tool.

Then it gets ugly:

"The thing that I really appreciated was that the Athletics Department did their research," USAC President Jasmine Hill said. "They took the feedback and looked at how they could incorporate it."

Then all hope is lost:

Fifth-year aerospace engineering student and president of The Den Elan Bigknife said that problems were identified in those meetings and that an early plan to make three separate student sections was not well-received.

"It was noticed that the student fan base isn’t what it’s been in the past and that there needs to be something done to make students want to be there, stand the whole game and want to cheer," he said.

. . .

Bigknife said that The Den was willing to give up its seats at center court to create a more cohesive environment.

"We’re moving from the best seat in the house to behind the basket, but it was reasonable to sacrifice those seats to gain an environment where people want to cheer," Bigknife said. "It’s a loss in viewership, but it’s an increase in the quality of the student environment."

I don’t buy it for a second.

Not a whimper.

Here are some of the ugliest grafs:

In years past, the student section has been fragmented, with some students receiving floor-level seats while others were left with seats in the upper 300s sections.

After consulting with numerous student groups on campus, including the Undergraduate Students Association Council, The Den and the Rally Committee, the UCLA Athletics Department released an e-mail to members of The Den Wednesday informing them of the changes that will be made in the new Pauley Pavilion.

A survey released to The Den in December was also used as a guiding tool.

Then it gets ugly:

"The thing that I really appreciated was that the Athletics Department did their research," USAC President Jasmine Hill said. "They took the feedback and looked at how they could incorporate it."

Then all hope is lost:

Fifth-year aerospace engineering student and president of The Den Elan Bigknife said that problems were identified in those meetings and that an early plan to make three separate student sections was not well-received.

"It was noticed that the student fan base isn’t what it’s been in the past and that there needs to be something done to make students want to be there, stand the whole game and want to cheer," he said.

. . .

Bigknife said that The Den was willing to give up its seats at center court to create a more cohesive environment.

"We’re moving from the best seat in the house to behind the basket, but it was reasonable to sacrifice those seats to gain an environment where people want to cheer," Bigknife said. "It’s a loss in viewership, but it’s an increase in the quality of the student environment."

I don’t buy it for a second.

The Daily Bruin reporters, Ms. Hill and Mr. Bigknife need to understand just because some dude with a title says something that doesn’t make it true. I could get snide but I refuse to do that to students. When I was at UCLA, I made a habit of learning from my mistakes. I hope the Daily Bruin reporters, Ms. Hill and Mr. Bigknife take another look at what happened and change their views and protect the students and UCLA basketball.

And I hope the Daily Bruin staff will cover the carefully measured expressions of displeasure, viz.,outrage, from the loyal Bruins who have gone on before them.

Just got the letter from Morgan Center on next year's and 2012-2013 basketball season tickets and I...

peggysue69 — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 20:13:15 -0000

Just got the letter from Morgan Center on next year's and 2012-2013 basketball season tickets and I quote, "An announcement regarding the 2011-2102 season is forthcoming, but the majority of the Bruins' games will be played in Los Angeles with a limited number to be played in Anaheim."

Darn--I was looking forward to a game in Bakersfield.