SB Nation User Blog: ranelar

Trojans win!

ranelar — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:58:43 -0000

Trojans win!

I just found out that I got accepted to the USC School of Dentistry. Barring an upset victory in the coming days (one which defies statistics since UCLA accepts students with test scores in the top 98th percentile), I will be a Bruin in Trojan's clothing come next fall :-x If we win this Saturday though, I'll believe anything can happen :P Nice way to start off the rivalry week :P

Football Rant

ranelar — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 08:40:35 -0000

This is an absolutely personal rant that no one should really care about, but I wanted to write it down somewhere. Maybe someone will find it interesting.

I'm a relatively recent sports fan, I didn't care for sports until I started at UCLA in 2002. But after becoming a member of the Drumline, and going to every home game for football and basketball (and a lot of the away games where the band was present) I became a huge fan. I ended up going to as many sporting events as a could, including women's bball, volleyball, tennis, track, soccer, swimming, waterpolo, and so on, because I couldn't get enough of our Bruins. I was the Bassline section leader, and the guy you saw screaming at the camera during the NCAA Tournament commercial breaks for basketball.

Just before I graduated last spring, I bought season tickets to football (basketball was too expensive) along with my friend. In between that spring and the start of football season however, I started to become more observant within the Jewish religion, which meant observing Shabbat (no "work" Friday night to Saturday night, which for the purpose of this rant, translates to no football). I made myself a deal though, that since I already bought tickets, I would only break Shabbat for the 6 home games, and that I wouldn't schedule anything else on Shabbat -- ever. This was to be the last season that I would ever get to go to the Rose Bowl, and to stand and cheer the entire game. It would be my only season to watch the marching band from the stands instead of from within. My only season to experience tail gating. Believe it or not, I am choking up with tears while I am writing this.

This season meant a lot to me, and because of that I invested way too much hope into Karl Dorrell. I knew he would find a way to screw things up, but everyone held us in such high regard with our 20 returning starters, and our high pre-season ranking.

So how was my last game at the Rose Bowl ever? We lost 24-20. This morning, at 9am, I couldn't make myself get up and go to the Rose Bowl. My friend was sick and said he couldn't go; I could have called some other people and hung out with them, but I just didn't think it was worth it. I was so depressingly fed up with Karl Dorrell and this meaningless season that I decided to stay home and watch the game from here. I realized that I was more excited to see Dennis Dixon than I was to see our Bruins, and since he wasn't in the game, it wasn't worth it to me. This is coming from a self proclaimed hardcore fan for life. The guy who annoys his fiance by pointing out every time UCLA is used as a backdrop in a movie, and who says inappropriate things at inappropriate times to whatever trojan is in ear shot.

You might think that this makes me a fair weather fan, but anyone who knows me knows that there is nothing further from the truth. I've sat through Lavin and Toledo and Kathy Olivier and yes, Dorrell, and I've never boo'd, I've never stopped cheering, I've never even sat down (until someone from the NCAA tells me I have to). But Dorrell's ugly coaching has finally taken its toll on me. I just couldn't get myself up for the game today, not at all.

Okay, end rant.

Arizona wins Superbowl!

ranelar — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 23:07:12 -0000

[AW] 4:01 pm: I hope they rush the field
[el_toloc] 4:01 pm: as it should
[AW] 4:01 pm: man I can't wait till the oregon game
[AW] 4:01 pm: should be fun tow atch pukes
[bruinfan627] 4:01 pm: remember when they rushed the field last time
[cccbruin] 4:01 pm: d was not good tooday.......seconrdary suks period.....same players no
matter who the coach is.....
[bruinfan627] 4:01 pm: that was so painful
[el_toloc] 4:01 pm: another stupidity
[captdan] 4:01 pm: not more painful than utah or nd
[bruinfan627] 4:02 pm: good sportsmanship guy
[captdan] 4:02 pm: utah and nd was detroit-mercy painful
[el_toloc] 4:02 pm: nd was more so IMHO
[bruinfan627] 4:02 pm: so who got the career day against us this time?
[1bru1] 4:02 pm: damn, michigan in the lead
[el_toloc] 4:02 pm: the cats running game
[el_toloc] 4:03 pm: had a career day
[AW] 4:03 pm: HAHAHHAHAHAH
[ranelar] 4:03 pm: hah
[AW] 4:03 pm: HAHAHHAHAH
[captdan] 4:03 pm: AND SO THE IMPLOSION CONTINUES
[AW] 4:03 pm: HAHAHHAHA
[ranelar] 4:03 pm: #$%^&* n idiots
[AW] 4:03 pm: THEY ARE RUSHING THE FIELD
[420bruin] 4:03 pm: and they storm
[Bruin Chat]: roblo has left at 4:03 pm
[1bru1] 4:03 pm: why are they rushing?
[AW] 4:03 pm: HAHAHHAA
[bruinfan627] 4:03 pm: why the #$%^&* are they rushing?
[el_toloc] 4:03 pm: they just won the SuperBowl!
[ranelar] 4:03 pm: i cannot believe how #$%^&* n stupid they are to rush the field
[bruinfan627] 4:03 pm: what a bunch of losers
[captdan] 4:03 pm: that is pathetic
[cccbruin] 4:03 pm: man, i would not rush the field when fb who just lost are pissed off......
[Bruin Chat]: jorgemendoza2356 has left at 4:03 pm

Photos from the game

ranelar — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 08:58:21 -0000

I finally got my photos online, you can view them on my flickr account. They include a couple gems like this very confused man:

Dennis Keyes missing an interception by a shoestring (literally):

Joe Cowan about to stiff arm the crap outta this Notre Dame player:

Leading to this would-be touchdown (called back for holding):

But the only time a Notre Dame player had to watch a Bruin enter the end zone for 6 was when this kid took the field (with an amazingly similar run in as Joe):

At least one Bruin team (and one confused trojan) could walk off the field with their heads high and their hands in the air:

Again, more to be found here.

I need more words, so I'll just mention that I sent Dan Guerrero an envelope with my season ticket from the game like someone suggested in one of the posts. I used a sharpie to write "L 20-6" and "Will not renew next year with KD" on it. Of all the ideas mentioned, I think that's one of the best ways to get the message across. It sucks that I had to ride my motorcycle 140 miles to see an unprepared team lose to an awful ND squad. Btw, does anyone happen to know if motorcycles have some special parking somewhere? I didn't see any other bikes on the golf course...

UCLA vs BYU Pictures

ranelar — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 12:00:40 -0000

Bumped. Some great pictures. If you are out there reading BN and would love to share more UCLA pics via flickr account, please share them with us in the diaries, comments, or email links to us. We can never have enough pictures of UCLA football (no matter who is our head coach). GO BRUINS. -N

I took a couple (hundred) photos at the game and I got some decent ones, including this goal line stop (unfortunately right before they got a TD on 3rd down...):

(Click on the image to enlarge - N)

You can see the rest of the pictures by going to my flickr.

For those who aren't familiar with flickr, you can click on a thumbnail to see a small resolution picture, and then click on the magnifying glass right above the photo that says "all sizes" in order to see larger resolutions. Also, except for a few photos in the beginning, they're all in order, so you can kinda relive the game by watching the slideshow.

Enjoy.

Go Bruins.

In Response to that Guy: BYOB (Build Your Own Blog)

ranelar — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 08:40:56 -0000

Bruin-whatshisname made yet another diary that was attacking Nestor and Bruins Nation. I wanted to respond to it. In bold is a list of 5 "rules" he wrote as a conclusion to a long whining post.

1. Do not disagree with Nestor or his cronies.

Anyone can disagree as long as the disagreement is based on facts. Facts that you can defend, or even better, that need no defending.

2. Do not try to share your opinion unless you can back it up with evidence that it is the same as Nestor and his cronies.

Back it up with evidence. Period.

3. Do not defend or make non-negative comments in response to anyone who disagrees with Nestor and/or his cronies.

I make non-negative comments in response to people who disagree with Nestor relatively frequently, but I also contribute to the site and never make a diary whose sole purpose is to complain about how one man decides to run his site.

4. Do not defend yourself if Nestor or any of his cronies respond to any of your posts to point out how wrong you unquestionably are.

Again, just defend yourself with an argument that can stand on its own. Hell, I comment on Conquest Chronicles now and then with little jabs at sc, but whatever I say is well reasoned and difficult to argue against.

5. Do not in any way suggest that Nestor or his cronies are not completely fair and just and represent the majority opinion of the total combined visitors to Bruins Nation (whether outspoken or silent).

First of all, the majority opinion on this site IS that KD needs to go; it's been well established. Second, even if the opposite were true, it doesn't matter. This is Nestor's blog. A couple of years ago he decided to write his opinions on the internet. People began to read his opinions and started to check the blog every day. It's become a rather big site now, but that doesn't mean that this isn't his blog anymore. He's still a guy who spends his spare time writing about sports at his alma mater. Maybe if you were paying him money to read his blog you'd have some input as to what gets published, but you don't, and so you are correct in your assertion that you have no rights. If you think that this site is backwards and that the other side needs to be heard, make your own blog. That's what Nestor did in response to everyone defending Lavin. He thought that there were too many people who had it all wrong, so instead of bitching over and over on other sites, he decided to make his own. DefendDorrell.com, buy the name, start the blog, recruit readers with great writing based on hard facts. Hell, make some shirts and see how well they sell. That's the best way to get your opinion heard, rather than whining here.

Hoopsworld on AA

ranelar — Wed, 23 May 2007 18:21:24 -0000

Anyone notice the article on Hoopsworld.com about Aaron Afflalo?

At 6-5 and 215 lbs. he may be a bit undersized to be a powerful shooting guard and with his weakness on the defensive side of the ball he may not have enough to make up for that.

Uhmm... a second columnist goes on to say:

Afflalo brings it like Phoenix's Raja Bell. he has nice physical strength, yet can flow without the ball, opening himself up for opportunities on the right team. One of the best shooters in the college game, Afflalo can also make his mark with his great peripheral on the court, finding teammates that, as a rookie, he will likely be forced to defer to every bit as much as carry their duffels.

His maturity and unselfishness will help him in the long run with teams like New York, Detroit and San Antonio. Afflalo's game is right up the alley for coaches like Houston's Rick Adelman, who hold the 26th pick, currently.

Of course, that's on offense.

On defense, he has a long way to go to match Bell's transformation from minor league baller to All-NBA First team defensive player.

Are we talking about the same player? If anything, AA had a tendency to get quiet on offense, while still being able to maintain a fierce defense (before exploding in the second half with 16 points). I think the only time these guys ever watched AA was during final fours...

First to 100 Photoblog

ranelar — Thu, 17 May 2007 04:20:13 -0000

From the diaries. For more pictures from this rally also check out the pictures over at Trojan Haters Club. GO BRUINS. -N

For anyone that wants a peak of what happened at the rally, you can go to my flickr account where I've posted my photos from that day.

First to 100 Rally

Ben Howland was there, but I didn't know until he was leaving, and my camera was away, so no picture of him -- bummer. Every other one of our "Super Coaches" was in attendance (those who have won more than a handful of national championships). Of course, Karl Dorrel was not present (at least, I didnt see him). The crowd had a few hundred people there, many of whom were athletes and coaches.

They gave away free "First to 100" hats to the first 100 fans (ha-ha, they have some humor in the Morgan Center). Unfortunately, I had to show up late due to class so I didn't get one :-/

Anyway, enjoy.

P.S. Sean Farnum likes to think he's funny

First to 100

Holy Crap Ohio State

ranelar — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 08:32:57 -0000

Has anyone paid attention to OSU's basketball recruiting? I saw mention of this on a UNC board, checked it out, and could not believe my eyes.

Next year's class:

5 stars: 1
4 stars: 4

This class includes 7ft (or 7'2 depending who you ask) PF Kosta Koufos who has 3-point range as one of his strengths :P

2008 class:

5 stars: 4
4 stars: 1

This class includes the #2 PG, #7 PF, #2 C (another 7 footer), and the #3 and #19 SG.

I mean, wow. That's some recruiting they got going on. Definitely not what I expected out of Ohio State. They weren't even on the map in 2005, then they score a monster class in 2006 which was ranked #2 by scout behind North Carolina, and now they've got the 9th ranked class next year, and what I would have to assume is the #1 class in 2008. That class would probably be the starting lineup of most other schools, they've got every position filled if they just shift one of their SG to SF. I just hope they all go to the NBA and don't do anything stupid like pull a Florida.

One-line diaries are prohibited on Bruins Nation. Give your diary a bit more thought, then give it another shot. If you have nothing to add to your proposed diary, then it probably belongs as a comment under another appropriate thread.

The minumum is 200 words.

The difference in programs

ranelar — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 08:37:10 -0000

I just read two articles today, one from ESPN quoting Tim Floyd after his beating to Oregon, and one from Darren Collison on Sunday from the Times. It's just funny how different our programs are, and I'm glad for it. First, Floyd:

"It was embarrassing," Young said.

USC erased some of its 39-point deficit only after Oregon went to its bench. The Trojans would have set a record for the largest title-game loss in the tourney's 10-year history, but a late scoring spurt saved them the embarrassment by two points.

"We won't be watching any film on this game," USC coach Tim Floyd said.

Now Collison:

Collison said that he had no trouble watching film of UCLA's two straight losses. "Why not watch?" he said. "We're trying to do something really special here, and you have to go through tough times to do that."

Exactly. This is the difference between a program that is going somewhere, and a program that is just a blip on the radar. Ben makes his players learn from their mistakes. If we have a bad game, he makes sure our players watch game tape even more, and then he makes them sweat in practice. I wouldn't be surprised if Tim let his players skip their next practice so that they can just "shake it off".