SB Nation User Blog: ucla7477

The Rotten Apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

ucla7477 — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:14:53 -0000

Kiffin leads SEC in secondary violations

Tennessee leads most SEC schools in football-related secondary violations since Lane Kiffin was hired as coach on Dec. 1, 2008, according to information obtained through Freedom of Information requests by the News Sentinel. Tennessee has had six. Ole Miss is next with five. Alabama and Auburn did not respond to the FOI requests and Vanderbilt, as a private school, is not subject to FOI requests. Kiffin admits he has made some mistakes, but he does not believe the number to be over the top.

Knoxville News-Sentinel

Now think about how hard Lane must work to get caught 6 times in 7 months. (Guess he didn't take Christmas off.) And to get caught that often, he probably had to commit (or inspire his assistants to commit) about thrice that number. I think the Knoxville paper should ask Lane where he developed these skills, which clearly outclass those of everyone else in the SEC.

Wooden Memories: Brubabes

ucla7477 — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 01:21:38 -0000

Bumped. Always great to read stories about Coach. GO BRUINS. -N

It's been some time since my previous Wooden Memories posts (64-60 in 1971; Wooden Memories: The first time I met Coach; and Wooden Memories: Stars of '64), so there's some catching up to do. Let's start with a bit of trivia for the non-oldtimers: did you know that Coach Wooden never played a freshman in a national championship game until his last one, in 1975? There were no "one and done" non-student athletes, for you couldn't play varsity ball as a freshman before then.

It was wonderful having a freshman team, known as the Brubabes. We were lined up for many hours before the frosh game, which preceded the main event in Pauley. My freshman year the Brubabes had Bill Walton, Keith Wilkes, Greg Lee, Gary Franklin, and Vince Foster. Most interesting at the time, Walton came in with all the hype but on the Brubabes I thought the best player overall, and certainly the most consistent, was Wilkes who had come in under the radar. I knew about Lee and Franklin, of course, as my high school had just beaten them in the L.A. City championship game. Foster ended up transferring to San Diego State; the others won two NCAA titles and set the still-standing record of 88 straight wins.

Some players were fabulous as freshmen and not great later on, and vice versa. I thought Larry Holyfield was unbelievable and had the hardest time understanding why he never became a starting forward ahead of Larry Farmer -- but he eventually became a starting guard, which always seemed a bit strange.

Another interesting example is Pete Trgovich. He came in highly advertised, but I disliked how he played on the Brubabes. There was this one game against Allen Hancock Junior College, I believe, where Pete scored around forty points; the man he was guarding scored something like fifty. If someone had told me that evening that he would carefully learn from Coach and as a senior not score very much, but play shutdown defense on Kentucky's star guard to win the 1975 championship game, I would never have believed it. (But of course I should have.)

The most famous Brubabe game occurred when I was in junior high. "Brubabes" is an ironic name for a team who had Lew Alcindor, Lucius Allen, Lynn Shackleford, Kenny Heitz, and Kent Taylor. Back then they played an annual Varsity-Freshman game, and the two-time defending NCAA champs (the Varsity) got whipped by the Brubabes. (They would go on to finish second in the conference,which back then meant no tournament invitation -- don't you think they might have won it all in 1966 if freshmen were eligible?) Kent Taylor would transfer to Houston, so he is the answer to the trivia question, who won alongside Alcindor, beat Alcindor, and lost to Alcindor?

Other years the Brubabes weren't nearly as strong, but that meant the games were more competitive and sometimes they actually lost. It also meant there were entertaining walk-ons, including one who to this day is one of my lifetime best friends.

I have often heard Coach state that college athletes should not be permitted to play varsity ball as freshmen, that they should focus on their studies and getting acclimated to the college experience. That is one reason why we geezers recall the Wooden years as "the good old days."

The Sounds of SCilence

ucla7477 — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:29:29 -0000

Bumped. A must read parody. GO BRUINS. -N

Thanks (and apologies) to Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel:

Hello booster, my old friend
I've come to shake you down again
Because an investigation slowly creeping
Is asking where Reggie Bush was sleeping
And the violation that was huge financial gain
Still remains
Within our sound of silence.

In restless conscience I walked alone
The narrow path I've never known
Neath the halo of Coliseum's ramp
I turned my back on Diogenes' lamp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a Yahoo site
That split the night
And touched our cone of silence.

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand dollars, maybe more
Runners taking without speaking
NCAA hearing without listening
People writing checks that fishwraps never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence.

"Fools" said I "you do not know
Silence at SC always grows
Record my words and I'll un-seat you
Take call logs, an OJ might beat you"
And my words like silencer weapons fell
And echoed
In the wells of silence.

And the alumni bowed and prayed
To the football God they made
And the stadium flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said "The words of the offenders
Are written and shredded inside the walls
At Heritage Hall"
And whispered in the sounds of silence.

Erin Andrews to capitalize on Rey Rey?

ucla7477 — Fri, 29 May 2009 02:27:31 -0000

She joked with DWTS host Tom Bergeron about earning a spot last year during the Spelling Bee telecast, which Bergeron hosts. She said she would ask again this year; ABC is broadcasting the Bee finals tonight, with sideline reporting from Andrews. "I love the show, and I've grown up around dancing," said Andrews, who, of course, was on the Dazzlers dance team when at Florida. "People say, 'Oh, you're a dancer, how could you do it?' But I've never taken ballroom, I've never partnered dance with anyone. I think I'd be in the top, unless I fall. I'm a big faller. If you fall, that's a hard fall, which I'm sure would make the Internet very happy."

BN readers, or anyone who checks out YouTube, know that SC (foot)baller Rey Rey Maleluga attempted to dance with her in a football stadium. But it certainly wasn't ballroom, so she is still eligible for DWTS. http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/30984910/

Shawn Johnson a future Bruin?

ucla7477 — Wed, 27 May 2009 03:47:39 -0000

Shawn Johnson is an Olympic gold medalist in women's gymnastics. She is the new champion of Dancing with the Stars. She could do books; she could do movies; she could even sing on American Idol (but won't).

For a young lady who many would say has everything, what might be missing on her resume? She tells an interviewer that she's "always wanted to go to Stanford or UCLA." Smart, competitive, excellent as both individual and team performer, she seems like a fine future Bruin.

Guess I didn't miss anything...

ucla7477 — Wed, 27 May 2009 03:10:42 -0000

Just returned from 16 days in Japan and am catching up on BN. I was able to access it a couple of times, thrilled, of course, to follow the Women's Water Polo!

Naturally I was looking forward to reading all of the investigative reporting by LA Times and the internal investigation status reports by USC Compliance Office on Bushmayogate, particularly the Floyd "pay to play" details. To my utter shock and awe, not a single thing seems to have been printed or released by either the hard-charging Times (who can really pack a punch on handicapped parking abuse) or the school's superb "Champions of Justice" (who get almost as many column inches as Donald T. Stirling).

But I did correctly predict that OJ Simpson would appeal his criminal conviction. See previous thread by myself and others identifying the many promising options available for defending Trojan miscreants.

USC Criminal Defense Theories

ucla7477 — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:42:13 -0000

Today's LA Times has Pete Carroll's cornerback Shareece Wright declining a plea bargain, reduced from felony to misdemeanor obstruction of justice, with jail time on weekends only. (This makes sure he doesn't miss a single lecture or lab.) The facts of the case involve not leaving a residence when instructed by the police.

I am an inactive practice attorney and never practiced criminal law. I do remember a bit from UCLA Law School. I do know there are some attorneys on BN, so please help. If you are getting big bucks from SC to defend its players (there are so many cases, I'm sure you are on a healthy retainer), what legal theory would you use to keep Shareece from behind bars?

I will make some suggestions, but look forward from better ones from you.

Most Likely to Succeed?

ucla7477 — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 04:13:07 -0000

I remember in junior high and high school we voted a classmate as Most Likely to Succeed. He/she was the one we expected to go on to great things and probably become famous. Our winner was Herb Ritts, who was a great guy (I managed his campaign for class president, which he lost in controversial balloting) and went on to become a world-renowned photographer. (You've probably seen his shots of Madonna, Richard Gere, and many others.) Sadly, Herb is no longer with us, but his art lives on.

I would like to ask BN readers to vote Most Likely to Succeed. This is to predict who will make the most important contribution to society (and possibly become famous). This will be very challenging for you, because the finalists on the ballot are Alfred Aboya and Daniel Hackett.

Please provide your vote and rationale.

Floyd Can or Cannot Coach? -- update

ucla7477 — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 03:12:09 -0000

Tonight's Pac-10 tourney game shed more light on Tim Floyd's coaching m.o. Ignoring the game, which SC had to win and Cal did not, yet SC squandered all of a 15-point halftime lead before winning at the end, what the game reveals most importantly is character traits.

Leonard Washington (see multiple LA Times writeups) skipped class last week. Punishment? He had to run some extra laps. (A good trade for him, as class probably was an hour or more and laps much less, and perhaps equally educational to him.)

He learned his lesson? Uh, no. This week he skipped a tutoring session. (With Senora Ross?) Punishment? He had to miss a practice. (Freeing up some more time for him.)

But did this repeat offender miss a single game? Of course not, because if SC lost to Cal tonight, they'd have had to go to the NIT despite being a ranked team in the preseason. I remember being at a game at Pauley when Wicks and Rowe sat for the entire first half, because they had, not missed a class, but shown up late for a team meal. Coach wouldn't let that go without consequences; what would he have done if they had snubbed academic responsibilities twice? But then as Coach says, crisis reveals character. We see that once again at University of Study Circumvention, where athletics rules and where academics are Second Choice.

Floyd Can or Cannot Coach?

ucla7477 — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 00:14:09 -0000

LA Times today quotes Hackett (pronounced "Hacker" in French) as liking USC's chances for winning the Pac-10 tourney because they beat everyone in the conference except UCLA. This can cut two ways. First, that SC is an overachiever who on a given night can beat anyone (and therefore is well-coached). Second, that SC is an underachiever who on a given night can lose to anyone (and therefore is poorly coached).

In deciding which of these choices best fits the situation, consider that SC started the season with three experienced starters (Gibson, Hackett, Lewis), which is more than UCLA had, brought in the #1 or 2 freshman in the country (DeRozan, comparable in ratings to Jrue Holliday), and was a media choice to contend for the conference title. Consider further that in a down year for the Pac-10, SC was one of the few schools not expected to have a significant drop off (lose questionably recruited Mayo, add questionably recruited DeRozan). Sprinkle in the fact that Oregon State won zero conference games last year and Oregon would barely win any this year (should be 4 sure wins to pencil in on day one). Then observe that SC had to win its last two games at home to crawl up to .500 (9-9) for the year. Highlights of course include ending Oregon State's 21-game conference losing streak, but perhaps more telling is stellar-motivator Floyd informing everyone before the Arizona trip that winning one game out of two would be huge and that losing both would be no big deal. Gee, I'm not even sure Lavin could have thought that one up.

Next year with "character players" Alex Stepheson and Renardo Sidney coming in, the opportunity to prove coaching skills will be entertaining, if nothing else. (Presumes Sidney actually takes the SAT and actually gets an SC-admissible score, thereby qualifying for course work with Senora Ross.)