Oregon head coach Ernie Kent has complained that his Ducks have had to play UCLA for 4 of UCLA's last 8 senior days. On Senior Day, the home team is all pumped up and ready to play, and the crowd is doubly into it. Kent was right to be concerned, because despite some early struggles, UCLA came out on top, 94-68 over the once again hapless Ducks.
Here are some notes for the statisticians in all of us. This was Darren's and Alfred's 138th game played as Bruins, setting a new school record for games played in. They also set a record with 116 career wins each. It was Josh's 130th career start. These records are near-impossible to beat, since this number of games participated in sort of requires that a team make deep tournament runs in consecutive years, as UCLA has.
The team let Oregon kind of hang around early in the game, unable to put them away quickly. Slow defensive rotations, often the fault of Nikola Dragovic, let to many made 3-pointers by Oregon. Some dude named Drew Willey on Oregon made 18 points, solely on 3's. Oregon led by as many as 5 points, but the Bruins got it together toward the end of the first half, to take a 7-point halftime lead. They never looked back after that, and again Josh had a field day, scoring 28 points, including 4 three-pointers.
Unfortunately the 3-year streak of winning the Pac-10 title was broken because Washington got more conference wins. Darn WSU. Anyway, the final Pac-10 standings, after tiebreaker rules are as follows, and they determine the conference tournament seedings.
1) Washington
2) UCLA
3) Cal
4) Arizona State
5) Arizona
6) U$C
7) Washington State
8) Oregon State
9) Stanford
10) Oregon
Remember, the Pac-10 tourney now includes all 10 teams, with the 7th seed playing the 10th seed and the 8th seed playing the 9th seed in the two "play-in" games on Wednesday. Washington plays the winner of the 8-9 game and UCLA plays the winner of the 7-10 game. This means the Bruins play Washington State or Oregon. History tells us that Oregon will lose horribly to WSU, so UCLA will likely have to play the Cougars again.
For a printable version of the bracket, including game times, find it at the Official Pac-10 conference tourney page or download my version here (Updated 3-11-09).
Go Bruins!
Showing posts with label UCLA Sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UCLA Sports. Show all posts
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Senior Day
Yesterday (3/8) my dad and I went to watch the team's last home game and last regular season game of the year. Naturally, it was Senior Day, so we got there early to watch the pre-game festivities. We didn't get there early enough to see the Super Shot, however, which was moved from its usual place at halftime to make room for the special halftime show. More on that later. But apparently this kid, whose name unfortunately eludes me, managed to make the half court shot, securing himself free tuition for a year at UCLA. Kudos.
The next thing that was different about the afternoon was that rather than running out of the locker room at the northwest corner of Pauley Pavilion to the sound of the public address and the band, they walked stealthily out from the southwest doorway. They even fooled the band leader and security guards.
The players all gathered, standing near the Bruin bench, with Coach Howland at half court. Apparently there were six seniors associated with the team. The first to be saluted and to walk out to center court with his parents on either side was some dude whose name also eludes me. Sheesh. The second was Spencer Onishi, head student manager this year. I've always wondered what the student managers were in charge of doing. He and his parents got a hug from Howland.
The next one was James (aka Jamie?) Diefenbach, who has been with the team on and off as a walk-on but presumably a starter on the volleyball team. He got a huge cheer from the crowd because the crowd loves the benchwarmers.
The first starting senior to be honored was Alfred Aboya, and it seemed like an eternity for the P.A. guy to list all Alfred's accomplishments. Alfred's parents had flown into town this past Thursday and saw their son play basketball for the first time. And they reportedly saw LA traffic for the first time as well, and were thoroughly freaked out by it. About Alfred though, what can I say? Grad student pursuing a M.A. in public policy and the most improved player in the conference. Without Alfred this year's team would be very bad. The crowd was amazing. Everybody was on their feet, and if the Aboyas had any question about Alfred's value to the team, they needed only to listen to the uproarious cheering and screaming and chanting in support of Alfred.
Next was Darren, with his track star parents on each arm. I will miss him but won't miss the media's continuous rehashing of that tired fact. Oh well. And of course Josh followed, with his parents as well as some extra family members in tow. This whole ceremony elicited some of the most intense cheering I'd seen in Pauley in a long time, likely because it was the biggest Senior Day in a while. I heard some of the team staff was tearing up a little. These guys will be missed after this season ends, wherever it ends.
Getting back to the thing at halftime, the 1969 championship team was honored, though many of those involved could not attend. Some of them were represented by their sons. Kareem was there of course, and he and co-team captain/former cohost with Chick Hearn, Lynn Shackleford, accepted an honorary award on behalf of Coach Wooden, who is currently in the hospital recovering from pneumonia. We all wish Coach a speedy recovery. Kareem also received an award commemorating the 40th anniversary of his Naismith Player of the Year award in 1969, the first time this award was offered. Wow, Kareem is so awesome that his awards themselves have awards.
Other members of that team, including star guard Sidney Wicks and assistant coach Denny Crum were in attendance. Just think: when this stuff was going on, I was -16 years old. Though I really don't know too much about these guys, I do understand the importance of them and their accomplishments. These two ceremonies really made the afternoon doubly special and unforgettable. That and Josh's second consecutive career high in scoring (28 after getting 27 on Thursday) and Diefenbach's 2 points.
Ah, what a day. In my next bball post I will talk a bit about the game and do a little Pac-10 tourney preview.
The next thing that was different about the afternoon was that rather than running out of the locker room at the northwest corner of Pauley Pavilion to the sound of the public address and the band, they walked stealthily out from the southwest doorway. They even fooled the band leader and security guards.
The players all gathered, standing near the Bruin bench, with Coach Howland at half court. Apparently there were six seniors associated with the team. The first to be saluted and to walk out to center court with his parents on either side was some dude whose name also eludes me. Sheesh. The second was Spencer Onishi, head student manager this year. I've always wondered what the student managers were in charge of doing. He and his parents got a hug from Howland.
The next one was James (aka Jamie?) Diefenbach, who has been with the team on and off as a walk-on but presumably a starter on the volleyball team. He got a huge cheer from the crowd because the crowd loves the benchwarmers.
The first starting senior to be honored was Alfred Aboya, and it seemed like an eternity for the P.A. guy to list all Alfred's accomplishments. Alfred's parents had flown into town this past Thursday and saw their son play basketball for the first time. And they reportedly saw LA traffic for the first time as well, and were thoroughly freaked out by it. About Alfred though, what can I say? Grad student pursuing a M.A. in public policy and the most improved player in the conference. Without Alfred this year's team would be very bad. The crowd was amazing. Everybody was on their feet, and if the Aboyas had any question about Alfred's value to the team, they needed only to listen to the uproarious cheering and screaming and chanting in support of Alfred.
Next was Darren, with his track star parents on each arm. I will miss him but won't miss the media's continuous rehashing of that tired fact. Oh well. And of course Josh followed, with his parents as well as some extra family members in tow. This whole ceremony elicited some of the most intense cheering I'd seen in Pauley in a long time, likely because it was the biggest Senior Day in a while. I heard some of the team staff was tearing up a little. These guys will be missed after this season ends, wherever it ends.
Getting back to the thing at halftime, the 1969 championship team was honored, though many of those involved could not attend. Some of them were represented by their sons. Kareem was there of course, and he and co-team captain/former cohost with Chick Hearn, Lynn Shackleford, accepted an honorary award on behalf of Coach Wooden, who is currently in the hospital recovering from pneumonia. We all wish Coach a speedy recovery. Kareem also received an award commemorating the 40th anniversary of his Naismith Player of the Year award in 1969, the first time this award was offered. Wow, Kareem is so awesome that his awards themselves have awards.
Other members of that team, including star guard Sidney Wicks and assistant coach Denny Crum were in attendance. Just think: when this stuff was going on, I was -16 years old. Though I really don't know too much about these guys, I do understand the importance of them and their accomplishments. These two ceremonies really made the afternoon doubly special and unforgettable. That and Josh's second consecutive career high in scoring (28 after getting 27 on Thursday) and Diefenbach's 2 points.
Ah, what a day. In my next bball post I will talk a bit about the game and do a little Pac-10 tourney preview.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
The Arizonas
Okay guys, another quick post. And I do mean quick.
This Thursday UCLA plays Arizona at Pauley Pavilion at 8 p.m. Pacific. If I'm not mistaken, UCLA has not lost to Arizona in three or four years. In my opinion, things should be no different this year. They did not get any new talent, and their coaching staff is in disarray. Here's an interesting tidbit courtesy of Brian Dohn: UA Motivating UCLA. It's bulletin board material, but more importantly, is shows that UCLA is now the "standard" (wink wink) of the Pac-10. How funny. Timmeh Floyd said that about Arizona just two years ago.
Two days after that game, Arizona State comes to town. Yes, the Sun Devils are #15 in the country and 14-2 overall. It's strange when the marquee matchup is with ASU rather than Arizona, but I suppose one could've seen that coming for a while now. Some are saying James Harden is the best player in the conference, and Jeff Pendergraph is somehow still there as well. If we can limit Harden we will have a good chance. Hopefully some good defensive contributions will come from Alfred and Drew Gordon on Pendergraph.
Nikola Dragovic, who started Sunday's game against U$C, will once again start at the 4 spot.
Hopefully we will have more of this from Josh and co. this Thursday.
Go Bruins!
This Thursday UCLA plays Arizona at Pauley Pavilion at 8 p.m. Pacific. If I'm not mistaken, UCLA has not lost to Arizona in three or four years. In my opinion, things should be no different this year. They did not get any new talent, and their coaching staff is in disarray. Here's an interesting tidbit courtesy of Brian Dohn: UA Motivating UCLA. It's bulletin board material, but more importantly, is shows that UCLA is now the "standard" (wink wink) of the Pac-10. How funny. Timmeh Floyd said that about Arizona just two years ago.
Two days after that game, Arizona State comes to town. Yes, the Sun Devils are #15 in the country and 14-2 overall. It's strange when the marquee matchup is with ASU rather than Arizona, but I suppose one could've seen that coming for a while now. Some are saying James Harden is the best player in the conference, and Jeff Pendergraph is somehow still there as well. If we can limit Harden we will have a good chance. Hopefully some good defensive contributions will come from Alfred and Drew Gordon on Pendergraph.
Nikola Dragovic, who started Sunday's game against U$C, will once again start at the 4 spot.
Hopefully we will have more of this from Josh and co. this Thursday.Go Bruins!
Monday, January 12, 2009
UCLA vs $UC - Quick Thoughts
if you're seeing a truncated version of this, it's because you're reading it on Facebook. Click "view original post" for the whole thing. If you like what you read, please read my past posts, and leave comments on the blog.
I don't have time for a real review, so I'll just post some quick thoughts.
-Congrats to Nikola Dragovic, who earned the starting spot in front of James Keefe. This was Drago's first start ever, and he sure made the most of it. While his dunk off an assist from Jrue Holiday was what stood out in my mind, it was only two of his career-high 14 points. He also brought down 4 rebounds and played decent defense.
-Darren Collison's 43-straight free throw streak ended last night, which is the new all-time FT-shooting streak for UCLA. Two other guys hold the Pac-10 and NCAA records. He still shot fairly well, though. Darren has been solid for us all season and has visibly become more aggressive with the ball. Darren had 7 assists and only one turnover in this game.
-Man, how long has U$C's Daniel Hackett been there? I feel like he's been there forever - which is way too long. Of course, 30-year-old senior Taj Gibson has been in school for longer. We need to bring OJ Mayo back so he can have another scuffle with Hackett.
-Josh Shipp needs to eat more bananas.
-Drew Gordon continues to show talent; now he just needs to learn a bit more finesse and to play within the Howland system.
-Jrue Holiday is not especially flashy, but he has a knack for finding the open man. He still sometimes makes overly risky passes, but when he connects, the recipient is usually in a great position to score. Near the end of the game, he really did a fantastic job on defense to prevent a late trOJan comeback.
-Josh Shipp had a quiet 10 points, though he was pretty clutch... and he like chocolate on his bananas.
-I must admit, when it was really close toward the end, I was thinking "man, I wish we still had Arron Afflalo. He won't let us give up that lead." That competitive edge seems to have rubbed off onto Darren a little bit.
-trOJan coach Timmeh Floyd almost lost it when Drew Gordon connected with Oscar-worthy Daniel Hackett with an inadvertent elbow. Hackett should pursue a career pretending to get hit by people. What a bunch of whiners. Speaking of whiners, Taj Gibson would not stop whining after every foul called.. even if it wasn't on him.
-So far U$C's "highly-touted," "top-ranked" "prep star" Percy "Li'l Romeo" Miller has played in 4 out of 15 games, seeing a total of 10 minutes of action and scoring 2 points. Anyone who said he was good is full of SHIT!
-Current rankings as of Monday, 1/12/09.
UCLA: AP: #9, Coaches' Poll: #7.
$outhern Cal: some large number.
-Pac-10 standings (apologies for the formatting. Can't seem to figure out how to do work with whitespace):
TEAM {conf. record / games behind / overall record}
California #23 {4-0 - 15-2}
UCLA #7 {3-0 ½ 13-2}
Arizona State #15 {3-1 1 14-2}
Washington {2-1 1½ 11-4}
Arizona {2-2 2 11-5}
USC {1-2 2½ 10-5}
Washington State {1-2 2½ 9-6}
Stanford {1-3 3 11-3}
Oregon State {1-3 3 6-8}
Oregon {0-4 4 6-10}
-It's ALWAYS great to beat $C, no matter how close the game is, no matter who's playing.
-Next game: Thursday vs Arizona at Pauley Pavilion, 8:00p.m. PT.
-Extra Credit: The Lady Bruins beat the woman toejams as well, 87-75, at Pauley Pavilion. New head coach Nikki Caldwell seems to be doing a fine job so far. Sophomore guard Doreena Campbell earned Pac-10 Player of the Week honors.
I don't have time for a real review, so I'll just post some quick thoughts.
-Congrats to Nikola Dragovic, who earned the starting spot in front of James Keefe. This was Drago's first start ever, and he sure made the most of it. While his dunk off an assist from Jrue Holiday was what stood out in my mind, it was only two of his career-high 14 points. He also brought down 4 rebounds and played decent defense.
-Darren Collison's 43-straight free throw streak ended last night, which is the new all-time FT-shooting streak for UCLA. Two other guys hold the Pac-10 and NCAA records. He still shot fairly well, though. Darren has been solid for us all season and has visibly become more aggressive with the ball. Darren had 7 assists and only one turnover in this game.
-Man, how long has U$C's Daniel Hackett been there? I feel like he's been there forever - which is way too long. Of course, 30-year-old senior Taj Gibson has been in school for longer. We need to bring OJ Mayo back so he can have another scuffle with Hackett.
-Josh Shipp needs to eat more bananas.
-Drew Gordon continues to show talent; now he just needs to learn a bit more finesse and to play within the Howland system.
-Jrue Holiday is not especially flashy, but he has a knack for finding the open man. He still sometimes makes overly risky passes, but when he connects, the recipient is usually in a great position to score. Near the end of the game, he really did a fantastic job on defense to prevent a late trOJan comeback.
-Josh Shipp had a quiet 10 points, though he was pretty clutch... and he like chocolate on his bananas.
-I must admit, when it was really close toward the end, I was thinking "man, I wish we still had Arron Afflalo. He won't let us give up that lead." That competitive edge seems to have rubbed off onto Darren a little bit.
-trOJan coach Timmeh Floyd almost lost it when Drew Gordon connected with Oscar-worthy Daniel Hackett with an inadvertent elbow. Hackett should pursue a career pretending to get hit by people. What a bunch of whiners. Speaking of whiners, Taj Gibson would not stop whining after every foul called.. even if it wasn't on him.
-So far U$C's "highly-touted," "top-ranked" "prep star" Percy "Li'l Romeo" Miller has played in 4 out of 15 games, seeing a total of 10 minutes of action and scoring 2 points. Anyone who said he was good is full of SHIT!
-Current rankings as of Monday, 1/12/09.
UCLA: AP: #9, Coaches' Poll: #7.
$outhern Cal: some large number.
-Pac-10 standings (apologies for the formatting. Can't seem to figure out how to do work with whitespace):
TEAM {conf. record / games behind / overall record}
California #23 {4-0 - 15-2}
UCLA #7 {3-0 ½ 13-2}
Arizona State #15 {3-1 1 14-2}
Washington {2-1 1½ 11-4}
Arizona {2-2 2 11-5}
USC {1-2 2½ 10-5}
Washington State {1-2 2½ 9-6}
Stanford {1-3 3 11-3}
Oregon State {1-3 3 6-8}
Oregon {0-4 4 6-10}
-It's ALWAYS great to beat $C, no matter how close the game is, no matter who's playing.
-Next game: Thursday vs Arizona at Pauley Pavilion, 8:00p.m. PT.
-Extra Credit: The Lady Bruins beat the woman toejams as well, 87-75, at Pauley Pavilion. New head coach Nikki Caldwell seems to be doing a fine job so far. Sophomore guard Doreena Campbell earned Pac-10 Player of the Week honors.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Josh Shipp Quotes
Posted by special request, immortal quotes by the indomitable Josh Shipp.
"I'll be here," Shipp said. "I have another year of basketball. Why wouldn't I want to play at UCLA? I'm here at UCLA, it's a great place, and I enjoy my time here. I definitely would love to stay here."
-regarding the NBA
"That's fine. If I were a Michigan fan, I would've booed me too."
-After capping off a demolishing of Michigan with a fancy 360 dunk.
"I enjoy watching teams get knocked off. Hopefully it wouldn't happen to us"
-Regarding watching NCAA tourney games
"I eat some of them," he said with a laugh. "I'll tell them to go buy some chocolate to put on it."
-regarding the bananas he needed for his potassium deficiency.
"Really, I think the main thing is just getting back to having fun out there. I think in that one stretch I was just thinking too much and not having fun."
-after coming out of a slump
"We always hate SC, no matter who's playing."
-regarding OJ Mayo's arrival at $outh Central
"It's ridiculous and just crazy," Shipp said. "I'm shooting the ball the same way I did at the start of the year. I was hitting those 3s back then and nobody was giving me advice. Now, all of sudden, you miss a few and everybody wants to tell you how to shoot. They're writing me letters ... everything is just crazy."
-during his slump
"It's just a slump," Shipp said. "I know I can shoot the ball -- it's just not going in for me. I'm kind of laughing at the situation. It gets kind of funny."
"I like it. It's something different. (smiling) I mean, it doesn't matter, I just play. I don't really look at the jersey. The fans do."
-on the gold "C" on the jerseys last year
"Lucky I play H-O-R-S-E," Shipp said, referring to the can-you-top-this driveway game. "It was definitely a desperation shot. I've never seen anything like that. It's one of those movie shots, it was like a dream."
-on his miracle shot vs Cal to win the game last year
"If the chick don't like me, she must like girls"
-Josh's facebook page
"That's okay, he's not doing too well."
-regarding former Arizona player Marcus Williams mouthing off about how UCLA is "overrated"
"I'll be here," Shipp said. "I have another year of basketball. Why wouldn't I want to play at UCLA? I'm here at UCLA, it's a great place, and I enjoy my time here. I definitely would love to stay here."-regarding the NBA
"That's fine. If I were a Michigan fan, I would've booed me too."
-After capping off a demolishing of Michigan with a fancy 360 dunk.
"I enjoy watching teams get knocked off. Hopefully it wouldn't happen to us"
-Regarding watching NCAA tourney games
"I eat some of them," he said with a laugh. "I'll tell them to go buy some chocolate to put on it."
-regarding the bananas he needed for his potassium deficiency.
"Really, I think the main thing is just getting back to having fun out there. I think in that one stretch I was just thinking too much and not having fun."
-after coming out of a slump
"We always hate SC, no matter who's playing."
-regarding OJ Mayo's arrival at $outh Central
"It's ridiculous and just crazy," Shipp said. "I'm shooting the ball the same way I did at the start of the year. I was hitting those 3s back then and nobody was giving me advice. Now, all of sudden, you miss a few and everybody wants to tell you how to shoot. They're writing me letters ... everything is just crazy."
-during his slump
"It's just a slump," Shipp said. "I know I can shoot the ball -- it's just not going in for me. I'm kind of laughing at the situation. It gets kind of funny."
"I like it. It's something different. (smiling) I mean, it doesn't matter, I just play. I don't really look at the jersey. The fans do."
-on the gold "C" on the jerseys last year
"Lucky I play H-O-R-S-E," Shipp said, referring to the can-you-top-this driveway game. "It was definitely a desperation shot. I've never seen anything like that. It's one of those movie shots, it was like a dream."
-on his miracle shot vs Cal to win the game last year
"If the chick don't like me, she must like girls"
-Josh's facebook page
"That's okay, he's not doing too well."
-regarding former Arizona player Marcus Williams mouthing off about how UCLA is "overrated"
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Nine questions for Darren Collison
To prepare for the basketball showdown tomorrow, here's a short interview between Brian Dohn (LA Daily News, www.insidesocal.com/ucla) and UCLA's Darren Collison.
http://www.insidesocal.com/ucla/2009/01/collison-qa.html
http://www.insidesocal.com/ucla/2009/01/collison-qa.html
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Conference Play
I finished this whole thing earlier but LifeCast decided to a) not post it and b) forget the latter 70%. So I'm rewriting this and it's probably going to be much crappier than the first time.
Well, it's been a terrible year for UCLA football, and a much less terrible year so far for basketball. Actually it's been a pretty darn good year for basketball.
One thing that has become glaringly apparent is that the 08-09 Bruins are very different than the teams of the last three years that played in the Final Four. The team is 10-2, and after seeing twelve non-conference games we have a pretty good feel for what type of team this is.
The Bruins are notably Kevin Love-less this year, but the losses of Russell Westbrook and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute to the NBA have noticeably diminished the team's defensive prowess. We do seem to be more of a running team though, especially with the addition of Jrue Holiday, Malcolm Lee, and Jerime Anderson and the return of Darren and Josh.
With the Pac-10 conference season quickly approaching, here's a quick run-down of the players and their performances so far:
-Darren Collison: It's a good thing Darren returned to UCLA for his senior season. Not only is it better for Darren, but it's better for the team. He's been shooting well and for the most part, leading the team very well. His court vision has improved a bit, as well as his body control. He's become a very solid floor leader, and the perfect guy to teach the newbies how things work around here.
-Josh Shipp: He puts up valuable scoring numbers with his aggressiveness, but after four years in Howland's system, I really would expect his defense to be better. Plus he's a lazy dog.
-Alfred Aboya: Unlike Josh, Alfred has really really really improved over his four years at UCLA. In fact, he's improved a ton in just this past offseason. His free throw has gained a better arc and is up from 52% last year to 66% this year. Most importantly, he's maintained his unparalleled toughness on defense while greatly reducing the fouls, which has been a major problem his whole career.
-James Keefe: He may provide a few intangibles on defense, but for a starter, he sure doesn't contribute much. I remember his stellar games in the past two NCAA tournaments, but so far this year, when he's had the most opportunities to shine, he hasn't shown anything close to that. I look for him to start playing well any time now, but even if he doesn't I'm not sure who would replace him in the lineup.
-Mike Roll: He's been on a roll for the past few games. Mike plays solid defense, is a good passer, and his shot has improved. And that's good, because he's mainly there to play defense, play smart, and shoot the ball. He needs to get more playing time, because his contributions will be needed greatly down the stretch of conference play.
-Nikola Dragovic: "Drago" as some call him, has been surprisingly decent in the post and on defense. He's still not the best defender and his shot could use more consistency, but hey, I'll take what he gives the team if it's positive.
-Jrue Holiday: The lone starter of the freshman class, Jrue is a definite talent bonus. He has a good eye for the passing lanes and great body control. He has the uncanny ability to drive through the lane and evade defenders when necessary. Jrue is very active on defense, but sometimes overly so, and sometimes he forces things with his passing. These are things that can easily be improved with experience, and experience he will receive. He doesn't seem the one-and-out player that he was originally projected to be, but selfishly that's a great thing.
-Malcolm Lee: My brother described Malcolm Lee best when he said "Mal Lee has two speeds: all stop and full speed ahead." Early on, his tendency to overdo things cost the team a few turnovers, but he has since learned to temper that a bit. Nevertheless, he brings great energy and aggressiveness to the court and is not afraid to attack the opponent. He will be making great contributions to the team in the near future, but for now he has an undetermined knee injury.
-Jerime Anderson (pronounced "Jeremy"): I feel comfortable leaving the reins in his hands in the absence of Collison. Jerime is not flashy, but for a freshman he's shown pretty good poise and control. He can shoot the ball pretty well and will turn on the afterburners if necessary.
-Drew Gordon: He's shown flashes of brilliance, but honestly, from what I'd seen of his high school playing, I thought he'd be further along at this point. Still, he has the potential to be a big, powerful Dan Gadzuric type. Well, at least, he got rejected by the rim like Gadzuric did.
-J'mison "Bobo" Morgan: He's definitely a project. He needs to work on his stamina and his fundamentals. And he needs to get better at moving.
Happy new year, everyone, and be sure to check out the next game: UCLA at Oregon State, Friday, 1/2 at 7:30 p.m.
Well, it's been a terrible year for UCLA football, and a much less terrible year so far for basketball. Actually it's been a pretty darn good year for basketball.
One thing that has become glaringly apparent is that the 08-09 Bruins are very different than the teams of the last three years that played in the Final Four. The team is 10-2, and after seeing twelve non-conference games we have a pretty good feel for what type of team this is.
The Bruins are notably Kevin Love-less this year, but the losses of Russell Westbrook and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute to the NBA have noticeably diminished the team's defensive prowess. We do seem to be more of a running team though, especially with the addition of Jrue Holiday, Malcolm Lee, and Jerime Anderson and the return of Darren and Josh.
With the Pac-10 conference season quickly approaching, here's a quick run-down of the players and their performances so far:
-Darren Collison: It's a good thing Darren returned to UCLA for his senior season. Not only is it better for Darren, but it's better for the team. He's been shooting well and for the most part, leading the team very well. His court vision has improved a bit, as well as his body control. He's become a very solid floor leader, and the perfect guy to teach the newbies how things work around here.
-Josh Shipp: He puts up valuable scoring numbers with his aggressiveness, but after four years in Howland's system, I really would expect his defense to be better. Plus he's a lazy dog.
-Alfred Aboya: Unlike Josh, Alfred has really really really improved over his four years at UCLA. In fact, he's improved a ton in just this past offseason. His free throw has gained a better arc and is up from 52% last year to 66% this year. Most importantly, he's maintained his unparalleled toughness on defense while greatly reducing the fouls, which has been a major problem his whole career.
-James Keefe: He may provide a few intangibles on defense, but for a starter, he sure doesn't contribute much. I remember his stellar games in the past two NCAA tournaments, but so far this year, when he's had the most opportunities to shine, he hasn't shown anything close to that. I look for him to start playing well any time now, but even if he doesn't I'm not sure who would replace him in the lineup.
-Mike Roll: He's been on a roll for the past few games. Mike plays solid defense, is a good passer, and his shot has improved. And that's good, because he's mainly there to play defense, play smart, and shoot the ball. He needs to get more playing time, because his contributions will be needed greatly down the stretch of conference play.
-Nikola Dragovic: "Drago" as some call him, has been surprisingly decent in the post and on defense. He's still not the best defender and his shot could use more consistency, but hey, I'll take what he gives the team if it's positive.
-Jrue Holiday: The lone starter of the freshman class, Jrue is a definite talent bonus. He has a good eye for the passing lanes and great body control. He has the uncanny ability to drive through the lane and evade defenders when necessary. Jrue is very active on defense, but sometimes overly so, and sometimes he forces things with his passing. These are things that can easily be improved with experience, and experience he will receive. He doesn't seem the one-and-out player that he was originally projected to be, but selfishly that's a great thing.
-Malcolm Lee: My brother described Malcolm Lee best when he said "Mal Lee has two speeds: all stop and full speed ahead." Early on, his tendency to overdo things cost the team a few turnovers, but he has since learned to temper that a bit. Nevertheless, he brings great energy and aggressiveness to the court and is not afraid to attack the opponent. He will be making great contributions to the team in the near future, but for now he has an undetermined knee injury.
-Jerime Anderson (pronounced "Jeremy"): I feel comfortable leaving the reins in his hands in the absence of Collison. Jerime is not flashy, but for a freshman he's shown pretty good poise and control. He can shoot the ball pretty well and will turn on the afterburners if necessary.
-Drew Gordon: He's shown flashes of brilliance, but honestly, from what I'd seen of his high school playing, I thought he'd be further along at this point. Still, he has the potential to be a big, powerful Dan Gadzuric type. Well, at least, he got rejected by the rim like Gadzuric did.
-J'mison "Bobo" Morgan: He's definitely a project. He needs to work on his stamina and his fundamentals. And he needs to get better at moving.
Happy new year, everyone, and be sure to check out the next game: UCLA at Oregon State, Friday, 1/2 at 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
iPhone growth and iHeartRadio
When was the last time you heard a radio commercial for a Blackberry or Palm or Windows Mobile app? That's right, never. But in the five months since the opening of the iPhone App Store, there have been over 10,000 apps released and 300,000,000+ downloads as of December 1. And now, there are radio ads for iPhone apps. That's right, I was listening to AM570, my local UCLA and Lakers sports station, and during the commercial break they aired a 30-second spot for the iHeartRadio app.
iHeartRadio is a free iPhone/iPod Touch app that connects you to many, many stations that are part of the ClearChannel networks. Most radio stations these days have an internet streaming version of their broadcast which you can usually access through their website. But now, this app allows iPhone users to access those streams from wherever they get an internet connection, combined with the convenience of being able to change stations at will. No having to go to the station's website and click through the countless junk pages just to get to the Listen Live link.
Perhaps it is a no-brainer that a ClearChannel affiliate station would put out an ad for an app that plays ClearChannel stations, but I say kudos to them for recognizing the opportunity to target the millions of iPhone customers that also listen to the radio.
I'd consider this app in my top ten if it weren't for the fact that I can't ever find wi-fi around town to connect to this.
iHeartRadio is a free iPhone/iPod Touch app that connects you to many, many stations that are part of the ClearChannel networks. Most radio stations these days have an internet streaming version of their broadcast which you can usually access through their website. But now, this app allows iPhone users to access those streams from wherever they get an internet connection, combined with the convenience of being able to change stations at will. No having to go to the station's website and click through the countless junk pages just to get to the Listen Live link.
Perhaps it is a no-brainer that a ClearChannel affiliate station would put out an ad for an app that plays ClearChannel stations, but I say kudos to them for recognizing the opportunity to target the millions of iPhone customers that also listen to the radio.
I'd consider this app in my top ten if it weren't for the fact that I can't ever find wi-fi around town to connect to this.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Thanks 2 - Howland
Today I want to give thanks to Ben Howland, Jordan Farmar, and Arron Afflalo for restoring the glory of UCLA basketball. To many of my friends, UCLA is just a school, and you happen to somewhat root for the sports just because you go there. But I've grown up in a UCLA family, and UCLA basketball has always been more than just something that comes around during the fall and winter. It's in my blood, as they say. Weekends in which the team does well are usually good weekends, and losses can really spoil the mood. If you know me well enough, you'll know that this is part of what makes me tick. The late '90s and early '00s were not kind to the UCLA basketball program, thanks to the one whose name we shan't mention. But good times have been restored, due in no small part to the mastery of our coach. And I thank JFarm and AA for helping to make the turnaround possible. Go Bruins!
11/29/08 UCLA 89, Florida International University 54
11/29/08 UCLA 89, Florida International University 54
Sunday, November 9, 2008
UCLA 2008-2009 Schedule!
Yeah, I know, the schedule's been set for a while now, but as I have been doing for the past three years, I've created a neat, easily readable printable version of it. I don't have a file hosting service at the moment, so if you want a copy of it, give me an email or IM and I'll send it. I'm also working on a printable roster, for those who want one for whatever reason.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Bruin Basketball Update
Just a little update for UCLA fans. It's a bye week for football so we're allowed to look ahead a little bit to basketball. First of all, Pac-10 basketball media day was yesterday, and the press got to hear from coaches and staff of all ten teams about the state of the conference and of the outlook for the season.
The Pac-10 is facing a "rebuilding year" of sorts, if you will. That is, four out of the ten schools just hired new coaches. Of course, Oregon State suffered one of their worst seasons ever last year and Jay John was fired before the year was over. John has been replaced by some guy named Craig Robinson. Apparently Robinson's brother-in-law is none other than presidential candidate Barack Obama. Over at Cal, Bruce Boxleitner, errr, I mean Ben Braun, was let go last year after failing to live up to expectations. Mike Montgomery, legendary former coach of Stanford during the Dark Ages of Lavin, has returned to norcal to coach Stanford's rivals. As for Stanford, Montogmery could have returned there with the firing of Trent Johnson - though I don't know if he was offered - but ultimately it went to former NBA and Duke player Johnny Dawkins.
And of course, the fourth Pac-10 team to get a new coach was Arizona. If you haven't heard, that news broke just this past week, with the announcement that Lute Olson was retiring/stepping down after 25 seasons with the program. Not only is it bad for Arizona that they're losing their hall of fame coach that led them to the nation's longest steak of NCAA tournament appearances, but the timing is awful. The '08-'09 season is just a week away, if you count exhibition games, and Arizona has no better than an interim head coach, namely Russ Pennell. Worse, their top-flight commits for next year Abdul Gaddy, Mike Moser, and Solomon Hill, have all subsequently de-committed due to the uncertainty of the direction of the program. Gaddy has since committed to Washington.
Where's UCLA in all of this? Well, naturally we're above all this nonsense (this year). Coach Howland has really established something great with a national title appearance and subsequent back to back Final Fours. The coaching staff is intact and recruiting is very strong. Because of all this, the Bruins are ranked 1st in the conference media poll (which, admittedly, doesn't count for crap but it's good to see anyway). The rest of the poll is as follows:
The poll from the Pac-10 Media:
1- UCLA (37 first place votes- 379 points)
2- Arizona State (1 first place vote- 325 points)
3- USC (292 points)
4- Arizona (241 points)
5- Washington (217 points)
6- Washington State (188 points)
7- Oregon (147 points)
8- Cal (143 points)
9- Stanford (115 points)
10- Oregon State (40 points)
But how is the team REALLY looking? Well, first, here's the obvious: with the departure of Kevin Love to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lorenzo Mata to somewhere else, we once again lack size. Alfred Aboya will be expected to step up and play ~25 minutes per game, which will be split between the 4 and 5 spots. He will be required to cut down on playing out of control in order not to foul out in his first five minutes on the floor. James Keefe will likely take over at the 4 spot when Aboya's at the 5, and freshman J'Mison Morgan will back Aboya up. Speaking of Morgan, I'm hearing that while he's a solid player, he still has some ways to go before getting up to the level of toughness and strength expected from any Ben Howland player. Also on the topic of toughness, Nikola Dragovic is back again and he'll be expected to step up behind Keefe in the rotation and not be a weakling and make his damn shots like he's supposed to. And play defense. Drew "I'm 6-10" Gordon will be playing at the 5 when he goes in. When both Aboya and either Gordon or Morgan are in, Aboya will move to the 4.
Over in Guard land, Mike Roll has yet to completely heal after rupturing his plantar fascia for the 80 billionth time last year. While his contribution would be appreciated, I wouldn't really expect much from him this year. But I think that's okay, since this is a guard-heavy team. We've got Darren Collison and Josh Shipp returning as senior leaders. Collison will likely start at point guard (duh). One thing to note about Shipp, who has been kinda so-so these past couple of years, is that for the first time ever he's had the whole offseason to work out instead of rehabbing from one injury or another. This should work significantly to his - and the team's - advantage because for a Howland team, preparation (including off-season work) is key. Shipp will start at the 3 as he has been this whole time. I haven't heard much about Jerime Anderson and Malcolm Lee other than that Lee is suffering from a groin strain (ouch) and Anderson has just recovered from one. I don't really know what to say about that, really.
And of course, our #1 recruit, Jrue Holiday is meeting expectations and will likely start at the 2 spot.
The Bruins have been ranked 4th in the preseason USA Today Coaches Poll behind #1 UNC Tar Trolls, #2 UConn Huskies, and the #3 Louisville Cardinal.
The first (exhibition) game is against California Baptist on 11/3/08 at 7:30 PM. It's not on TV but you can stream it live at http://uclabruins.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/102008aaa.html (not for free). It requires Microsoft Silverlight.
Go Bruins!
The Pac-10 is facing a "rebuilding year" of sorts, if you will. That is, four out of the ten schools just hired new coaches. Of course, Oregon State suffered one of their worst seasons ever last year and Jay John was fired before the year was over. John has been replaced by some guy named Craig Robinson. Apparently Robinson's brother-in-law is none other than presidential candidate Barack Obama. Over at Cal, Bruce Boxleitner, errr, I mean Ben Braun, was let go last year after failing to live up to expectations. Mike Montgomery, legendary former coach of Stanford during the Dark Ages of Lavin, has returned to norcal to coach Stanford's rivals. As for Stanford, Montogmery could have returned there with the firing of Trent Johnson - though I don't know if he was offered - but ultimately it went to former NBA and Duke player Johnny Dawkins.
And of course, the fourth Pac-10 team to get a new coach was Arizona. If you haven't heard, that news broke just this past week, with the announcement that Lute Olson was retiring/stepping down after 25 seasons with the program. Not only is it bad for Arizona that they're losing their hall of fame coach that led them to the nation's longest steak of NCAA tournament appearances, but the timing is awful. The '08-'09 season is just a week away, if you count exhibition games, and Arizona has no better than an interim head coach, namely Russ Pennell. Worse, their top-flight commits for next year Abdul Gaddy, Mike Moser, and Solomon Hill, have all subsequently de-committed due to the uncertainty of the direction of the program. Gaddy has since committed to Washington.
Where's UCLA in all of this? Well, naturally we're above all this nonsense (this year). Coach Howland has really established something great with a national title appearance and subsequent back to back Final Fours. The coaching staff is intact and recruiting is very strong. Because of all this, the Bruins are ranked 1st in the conference media poll (which, admittedly, doesn't count for crap but it's good to see anyway). The rest of the poll is as follows:
The poll from the Pac-10 Media:
1- UCLA (37 first place votes- 379 points)
2- Arizona State (1 first place vote- 325 points)
3- USC (292 points)
4- Arizona (241 points)
5- Washington (217 points)
6- Washington State (188 points)
7- Oregon (147 points)
8- Cal (143 points)
9- Stanford (115 points)
10- Oregon State (40 points)
But how is the team REALLY looking? Well, first, here's the obvious: with the departure of Kevin Love to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lorenzo Mata to somewhere else, we once again lack size. Alfred Aboya will be expected to step up and play ~25 minutes per game, which will be split between the 4 and 5 spots. He will be required to cut down on playing out of control in order not to foul out in his first five minutes on the floor. James Keefe will likely take over at the 4 spot when Aboya's at the 5, and freshman J'Mison Morgan will back Aboya up. Speaking of Morgan, I'm hearing that while he's a solid player, he still has some ways to go before getting up to the level of toughness and strength expected from any Ben Howland player. Also on the topic of toughness, Nikola Dragovic is back again and he'll be expected to step up behind Keefe in the rotation and not be a weakling and make his damn shots like he's supposed to. And play defense. Drew "I'm 6-10" Gordon will be playing at the 5 when he goes in. When both Aboya and either Gordon or Morgan are in, Aboya will move to the 4.
Over in Guard land, Mike Roll has yet to completely heal after rupturing his plantar fascia for the 80 billionth time last year. While his contribution would be appreciated, I wouldn't really expect much from him this year. But I think that's okay, since this is a guard-heavy team. We've got Darren Collison and Josh Shipp returning as senior leaders. Collison will likely start at point guard (duh). One thing to note about Shipp, who has been kinda so-so these past couple of years, is that for the first time ever he's had the whole offseason to work out instead of rehabbing from one injury or another. This should work significantly to his - and the team's - advantage because for a Howland team, preparation (including off-season work) is key. Shipp will start at the 3 as he has been this whole time. I haven't heard much about Jerime Anderson and Malcolm Lee other than that Lee is suffering from a groin strain (ouch) and Anderson has just recovered from one. I don't really know what to say about that, really.
And of course, our #1 recruit, Jrue Holiday is meeting expectations and will likely start at the 2 spot.
The Bruins have been ranked 4th in the preseason USA Today Coaches Poll behind #1 UNC Tar Trolls, #2 UConn Huskies, and the #3 Louisville Cardinal.
The first (exhibition) game is against California Baptist on 11/3/08 at 7:30 PM. It's not on TV but you can stream it live at http://uclabruins.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/102008aaa.html (not for free). It requires Microsoft Silverlight.
Go Bruins!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
UCLA vs BYU
I know that the subtitle of my blog is Bruin Basketball, Terrific Tech, and Random Ramblings, but I'm also a general UCLA sports fan. So although no one's going to read this post before 12:30 (or ever), I thought I'd mention that UCLA football's gametime is 12:30, and it can be heard on radio at AM570 in LA and Orange County. On TV it'll be shown on the Versus network. Thus I won't be able to watch it. Booo! Versus sucks footballs.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Learning
They say that graduating from college is the end of one story and the beginning of another. I don't really feel like this is a new chapter. Maybe it's because I am still living in the same apartment for now, or because I haven't started working. It just hasn't hit me yet. I'm more of the kind of person who, when faced with a big change, looks back and reflects. Well, here are a few things that I have come up with upon reflection.
- You have to find some way to stop and smell the roses. Sure, at times, I took some extra long study/project/homework breaks to catch up on my shows or play games, but I didn't really do anything that I couldn't do elsewhere. If you're like most people, you probably go out and "do stuff" more than I do. When you're at a place like UCLA, that's what you need to do. I told myself that I'd go "do stuff" more this year - my last year, but all the classwork prevented me from having the time to do so. At least that's how I justify it to myself. Those people who are able to juggle classes, work, and other activities, well, hats off to them, especially if they're engineering majors. I don't care about the whole "oh wow, I'm finally away from home. I can go crazy and experience the college life. I found those people annoying. But I do think that whether or not you believe it, you need to seek out something interesting that only this place can offer in order to get a feeling of fulfillment when you finally leave. I don't think I did.
- Going to class and keeping reasonable hours is important. Maybe you're very lucky, or maybe you have a photographic memory for everything. But for those who aren't, being lazy is not the way to go. One day during the first month of my first year in college, I decided that the walk from Hitch Suites to class was too long and arduous, so it was okay to skip class. I was going to be late anyway, and that would be embarrassing. Also, without parental supervision, staying up late was now an option. I'd never felt any need to stay up past 1:00 a.m. before, but after getting to college it seemed the norm. So I'd be like... "oh, it's 3:00 a.m. already. Oh well, I don't have an 8 a.m. class anyway, so I'll be able to get up." If you can wake up for a 9 o'clock class with less than six hours of sleep the previous night, then kudos to you. But I could not. This lethal combination of supposedly justifiable class-skipping and pointless late nights set a dangerous precedent and would haunt me later... or rather, sooner.
- Going to class is important, again. As part of the whole fulfillment thing, it's important to note that some classes are actually fun to go to. I might be talking to a minority here. Not a racial minority, mind you, because believe me, the few African Americans that were in my engineering classes were probably the smartest, and they always went to class. But there is a sizable group of people in the engineering school that just vanish during the quarter, showing their faces only on the first day, to size up the professor, and during midterms and finals. Sometimes they don't even show up to the midterm because they missed the (in-class) memo. After having a mid-career epiphany, I had much more fun going to class than I did skipping it, especially after the grades came out. Engineering classes might not all be fun and games, but if it is your major, you should be able to find some enjoyment out of your required classes. Who knows, you might actually learn something.
- This one isn't something that I learned during my stay at UCLA, but it's important to note anyway. 103 national championships speaks for itself. If you're not interested in sports, or for some reason against them, then you damn well better change your attitude. It's really a special thing to be part of a university with a combination of elite athletics and elite academics. If you can't be the greatest student or athlete here, then you can at least be one vicariously through our basketball, volleyball, or water polo players. It is quite a waste not to at least be aware of our teams' successes.
I've grown a lot in the past five years, and at times I wish I would've done things differently knowing what I know now. The above is just a tiny glimpse of what I've observed in my time at UCLA. Perhaps I will write about more later - once my thoughts become unscrambled.
- You have to find some way to stop and smell the roses. Sure, at times, I took some extra long study/project/homework breaks to catch up on my shows or play games, but I didn't really do anything that I couldn't do elsewhere. If you're like most people, you probably go out and "do stuff" more than I do. When you're at a place like UCLA, that's what you need to do. I told myself that I'd go "do stuff" more this year - my last year, but all the classwork prevented me from having the time to do so. At least that's how I justify it to myself. Those people who are able to juggle classes, work, and other activities, well, hats off to them, especially if they're engineering majors. I don't care about the whole "oh wow, I'm finally away from home. I can go crazy and experience the college life. I found those people annoying. But I do think that whether or not you believe it, you need to seek out something interesting that only this place can offer in order to get a feeling of fulfillment when you finally leave. I don't think I did.
- Going to class and keeping reasonable hours is important. Maybe you're very lucky, or maybe you have a photographic memory for everything. But for those who aren't, being lazy is not the way to go. One day during the first month of my first year in college, I decided that the walk from Hitch Suites to class was too long and arduous, so it was okay to skip class. I was going to be late anyway, and that would be embarrassing. Also, without parental supervision, staying up late was now an option. I'd never felt any need to stay up past 1:00 a.m. before, but after getting to college it seemed the norm. So I'd be like... "oh, it's 3:00 a.m. already. Oh well, I don't have an 8 a.m. class anyway, so I'll be able to get up." If you can wake up for a 9 o'clock class with less than six hours of sleep the previous night, then kudos to you. But I could not. This lethal combination of supposedly justifiable class-skipping and pointless late nights set a dangerous precedent and would haunt me later... or rather, sooner.
- Going to class is important, again. As part of the whole fulfillment thing, it's important to note that some classes are actually fun to go to. I might be talking to a minority here. Not a racial minority, mind you, because believe me, the few African Americans that were in my engineering classes were probably the smartest, and they always went to class. But there is a sizable group of people in the engineering school that just vanish during the quarter, showing their faces only on the first day, to size up the professor, and during midterms and finals. Sometimes they don't even show up to the midterm because they missed the (in-class) memo. After having a mid-career epiphany, I had much more fun going to class than I did skipping it, especially after the grades came out. Engineering classes might not all be fun and games, but if it is your major, you should be able to find some enjoyment out of your required classes. Who knows, you might actually learn something.
- This one isn't something that I learned during my stay at UCLA, but it's important to note anyway. 103 national championships speaks for itself. If you're not interested in sports, or for some reason against them, then you damn well better change your attitude. It's really a special thing to be part of a university with a combination of elite athletics and elite academics. If you can't be the greatest student or athlete here, then you can at least be one vicariously through our basketball, volleyball, or water polo players. It is quite a waste not to at least be aware of our teams' successes.
I've grown a lot in the past five years, and at times I wish I would've done things differently knowing what I know now. The above is just a tiny glimpse of what I've observed in my time at UCLA. Perhaps I will write about more later - once my thoughts become unscrambled.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Check this out, part 2
For our second edition of Check this out, we stay with the UCLA sports vibe. BruinsNation has the most rabid bunch of UCLA fans on the entire Internet.
The site recently received a total revamp to include new features and an entirely different layout as part of the ever-growing SB(Sports Blog) Nation. While the fans there can get pretty critical at times, and you may not always agree with them, it's still a good place to discuss the latest news with fellow Bruins. Oh yeah, and it's always interesting to see how they treat Trojan trolls. Check it out!
The site recently received a total revamp to include new features and an entirely different layout as part of the ever-growing SB(Sports Blog) Nation. While the fans there can get pretty critical at times, and you may not always agree with them, it's still a good place to discuss the latest news with fellow Bruins. Oh yeah, and it's always interesting to see how they treat Trojan trolls. Check it out!
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Check this out, part 1
Well, just so I don't have to spend lots of time thinking of and planning out a well thought out post, I'm going to create a series of posts called "Check this out," referring to some website that I think is cool. Each will be short and sweet, and describe why I like the particular site.
Our first edition of Check this out is Facebook.com. No, I'm just kidding. I wouldn't do that to you.
Our first edition of Check this out is about BruinReportOnline. BRO (http://ucla.scout.com) is a UCLA Bruins sports site that focuses primarily on basketball and football scouting news. During the season there are game previews, predictions, and recaps. They also supply year-round reports on prospective recruits and off-season events. Many of the articles are premium, subscription-required pages, and there are members-only forums. But if you don't want to pay, they also have free public forums and articles as well.
If you want to know all the latest, up-to-the minute news about stuff before any of your friends hear it, BRO is the place to go. Forget all the big media outlets like LA Times, BSPN, and Fox Sports - they have news, but you almost always hear it first at BRO.
Our first edition of Check this out is Facebook.com. No, I'm just kidding. I wouldn't do that to you.
Our first edition of Check this out is about BruinReportOnline. BRO (http://ucla.scout.com) is a UCLA Bruins sports site that focuses primarily on basketball and football scouting news. During the season there are game previews, predictions, and recaps. They also supply year-round reports on prospective recruits and off-season events. Many of the articles are premium, subscription-required pages, and there are members-only forums. But if you don't want to pay, they also have free public forums and articles as well.
If you want to know all the latest, up-to-the minute news about stuff before any of your friends hear it, BRO is the place to go. Forget all the big media outlets like LA Times, BSPN, and Fox Sports - they have news, but you almost always hear it first at BRO.
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