Halloween=Duck Time

With four games left on the Pac-10 schedule, it might be a bit premature to declare Oregon the king of the conference. However, with the thrashing, well destruction of U$C tonight, things are looking really good up in Eugene. I was just reading Ted Miller's blog over at ESPN.com and he gave a very cool stat: The 47 points given up by the Trojan defense were the most since giving up 48 to UCLA in 1996. That is pure insanity. I saw Oregon beat UCLA in person three weeks ago and they did not look this good. The last few weeks though they have been unstoppable on offense, and the defense has been really really good. It honestly is amazing how things change so fast in the world of college football.

Remember Thursday Sept 3rd? Boise State does. That game was a giant embarrassment to Oregon, the Pac 10, and Nike wearing people et al. Oh, how badly Oregon looked. Things change quickly huh? Oregon has not lost since, having taken down such powers as Cal, Utah, and U$C in the process. Add to that a couple nice road wins against the Bruins and rival Huskies, and you got yourself a legitimate case for why Oregon should be playing in the "other" game in Pasadena in January. Unfortunately for Oregon, the road to Pasadena is not so easy. They have to play tough games at Arizona and Stanford, both of which sit at #2 and #3 in the conference respectively. Add to that the Civil War game against the Beavers, and you got yourself a recipe for disaster. Personally, I feel that the Ducks can pull it off, maybe dropping one game in the process and make it to the Rose Bowl. However, as Oregon has shown us, things change a lot from week to week in college football. I guess that that is why you play the games right?

Week 9 Pac-10 Picks

Week 9 Pac-10 Predictions
(Last week Truebluebruin 5-0, 4-1 against the spread. Blueandgold 5-0, 5-0 against the spread)
(Overall Truebluebruin 33-17, 19-25-2 against the spread. Blueandgold 33-17, 22-21-3 against the spread)

UCLA @ Oregon State (-8.5)
(Truebluebruin) It’s getting very weary and depressing to not finding a reasonable argument for why UCLA can win a particular match up. Just as Arizona’s offense gave UCLA’s defense fits (look at that 3rd down conversion rate), the OSU offense will be just another nightmare, while the UCLA offense won’t be able to keep up.
Oregon State 38 UCLA 13
(Blueandgold) Well UCLA is sputtering and needs something to send them in the right direction and OSU is coming off a loss to USC that they were in the game right up to the end. OSU is good and this should be an easy win given the recent four game skid the Bruins are on. It will be a scary Halloween for the Bruins (literally since OSU is wearing Black and Orange). I want to pick the upset though, but just can't.
OSU: 28 UCLA: 13

Cal (-6.5) @ ASU
(Truebluebruin) It seems that Cal has cracked into the top 25 again and people are starting to believe in them after two huge victories. Only problem is those two wins were against the two winless teams in conference. Luckily for Cal, ASU is another one of the bottom half teams in the conference and should be able to get a win, though in a much more contested game than their past two were.
Cal 35 ASU 21
(Blueandgold) Cal seems to be back on track after sputtering to Oregon and USC in back to back weeks. Although their prospects for a Rose Bowl seem dim, they can still have a successful season by taking care of business with the bottom end of the Pac 10. ASU is coming off a tought loss to Stanford, however they still have a decent team to put up a fight, especially at home in Arizona. However I like Cal in this one, and plan on them beating the spread.
Cal: 28 ASU: 17

Washington State @ Notre Dame (-31)
(Truebluebruin) Just like most games Washington State plays, the question isn’t are they going to lose, but will they cover the spread. Notre Dame’s passing attack must be chomping at the bit to go up against this defense. If there is one strength WSU has it’s its passing game, and ND’s weakness would be in the passing defense. WSU will lose, but cover the spread.
Notre Dame 45 WSU 17
(Blueandgold) Easy call here. Washington State still doesn't have the talent to beat a team like Notre Dame, although I think the spread is very high (31) and don't see Notre Dame being that dominating although it is at home.
Notre Dame: 35 Washington State: 13

USC (-4.5) @ Oregon
(Truebluebruin) In easily the pac-10 game of the year, Oregon has a major chance to not only move one step closer to being the conference champions, but for USC to FINALLY not win the pac-10. Both teams have offenses that can move the ball, and questionable defenses. Oregon has been playing smoke and mirrors with all of the injuries on their defense, while USC just gave up over 30 points to Oregon State. This could be a high scoring game, but I regrettably have to pick the Trojans, who still have not lost a major game in years
USC 38 Oregon 30
(Blueandgold) Ok, this is the one USC loses. I'm tired of seeing their success at big games even when they aren't stellar this year. Ohio State, Cal, OSU, they came out on top when it mattered, however Oregon's Boise State loss is totally behind them and they are revved up to go. Someone needs to deliver the knockout punch to USC and I don't want to have to rely on a mediocre team to pull off an amazing upset. That said, I'm going to pick Oregon, because I think they can do it, especially with the game in Eugene. Go Ducks!
Oregon: 35 USC: 28

Damn Israeli Names!

Browsing around Yahoo! Sports earlier, I saw a blog post on The Dagger. This was no ordinary post. It was about an incoming freshman set to play on a D-I basketball team. Yes, he is going to play for the Florida Gators, but so what? Tens of freshmen have been doing that for decades now. What's so special about this new guy? His first name is Nimrod. You heard right, Nimrod. The word that in slang English means "a simpleton; a nerd." according to Dictionary.com. Poor kid. Not only is he going to live in a completely different country, 7 time zones from his native of Israel, but he has to deal with the heckling of drunken college students (and alumni) every game about his odd name.
Having an odd name by American standards is nothing new. Trust me. I have one too. It means running in the past tense. Not only that, but it gets mispronounced daily because its pronunciation is closer to "Ron" but because of the different accents in Hebrew and English my parents along with many other ones, spelled it Ran. But back to Nimrod. My advice would be this: embrace your name, background, and culture. So what if some dumb drunk SEC folks are going to try and abuse you? They will find other reasons to do it anyways because your their opponent. Just remember, their American names are just as odd to you as yours is to them. You just happen to live amongst them for the next four years or so. If anything, you will get a lot of support from the Israeli and Jewish community down in Florida, just like how other Israeli athletes get when they come to compete in the states. I've seen it here in person at UCLA and in the media for other schools.
I know it must be odd to a UCLA student and fan to give any sort of positive advice or feel sympathetic towards a player at a school that prevented UCLA from getting numbers 12 and 13, but sometimes we have to put aside our differences and find our similarities. However, if UCLA does play Florida at any point in the tournament, you can be sure I will try to be at the game to heckle Nimrod Tishman in Hebrew all game long, it just won't really about about his name, that'd be hypocritical.

Beaver Football History: The Good, the Bad, and Really Ugly

With the Bruins flying up to Corvallis to take on the Beavers, it is time to once again examine the history of our opponents. Unlike the Bruins, the Beavers have enjoyed a rather successful decade in the 21st century. They have reached seven bowl games in the last eight years (since 2001), with the one miss in 2005. What makes OSU football even more impressive is that they have won six of those games, with five of the wins coming against BCS competition. This goes to show what a great job Mike Riley has done in the northwest, even though it seems like every year they come in with less talent than half of the Pac-10 and yet seem to surprise everyone. Don't believe me? just ask U$C (to be fair, they still have yet to win at the LA Memorial).
Just like I did in the comprehensive review of Cal's football history, I will traverse the decades before this century to find out the core of the Oregon State football tradition because looking at the past 10 years is simply not enough. To spare too much embarrassment for any Oregon State fans who might be reading this, I will summarize the 1980s-1990s in one word: horrible. They had 14 seasons in 9/10 places in the conference, in a span of 20 years... ouch. They do have a 5th place finish in those two decades, but that came in 1999. The 1970's were slightly better than their successive years, but still nothing to be too excited about. The 1950's and 1960's were pretty successful (relatively speaking) with two appearances in the Rose Bowl, the last one coming in 1965 in a Rose Bowl blow-out to Michigan State. Honestly, I would keep digging further, but there is nothing too pretty about OSU's football history so it is time to stop.
Throughout the Beaver's history since they started playing football in 1893, they have made it to 15 bowl games, and have won 10 of them. They even won the Fiesta Bowl in 2001 and have a Rose Bowl victory to their record too from 1942. As the 2005 Daddy Yankee song goes, "Lo Que Paso Paso", what happened happened and it is time to move on. Beaver fans have lots of positive things to look forward to if the last five years is any indication. Also, it helps that your team wears Halloween colors (below) and plays at home on Halloween, right?

Musings from Arizona

As I am sitting here in the Phoenix airport, awaiting my flight back to LAX, I finally get to reflect on what took place at Arizona Stadium yesterday. It was my first time in a UCLA football game without the marching band so I got to have a slightly different view of the game than I normally do. Our defense was not too bad, considering the fact that we scored our only touchdown with the D, and we also got key turnovers. However, we still got our butts kicked. Our offense took like 10 steps back yesterday. Maybe 11, but I'll be nice. In all honesty though, it was fun doing 8-claps, singing mighty three times, and donning the Blue and Gold. Sure, our football team is struggling and cannot seem to be doing anything too well, but life goes on. Here are some pictures I took from the game:

Pac-10 Predictions Week 8

Week 8 Pac-10 Predictions
(Last week Truebluebruin 3-1, 2-2 against the spread. Blueandgold 1-3, 2-2 against the spread)
(Overall Truebluebruin 28-17, 15-24-2 against the spread. Blueandgold 28-17, 17-21-3 against the spread)

Oregon (-5.5) @ Washington
(Truebluebruin) Washington has a chance to pull off a second stunning upset at home against the conference elite. It is clear that Washington is a much different team at home than they are on the road. It is clear that Oregon is a much different team without Masoli, as their offense 2 weeks ago only put up 1 touchdown against the Bruins, the other two coming on defense and special teams. Still, I feel like Oregon should have enough to pull out a win in a tough game for 3 quarters.
Oregon 35 Washington 21
(Blueandgold) Oregon looks like the best team in the PAC 10 both offensively and defensively. Washington is coming off a tough loss to ASU. However in this northwest rivalry I like the potent offense that Oregon has and think they will beat the spread on this game.
Oregon 31 Washington 17

UCLA @ Arizona (-8)
(Truebluebruin) UCLA’s offense woke up last week against Cal, with Prince throwing for over 300 yards. While the bruins were able to move the chains, they couldn’t punch the ball into the end zone, settling for too many field goals. They can’t afford to do that against an Arizona team that puts yards and points up in bunches, but uncharacteristically gives them up as well. This could be the highest scoring game the Bruins are in this season, but probably will not be able to keep pace.
Arizona 42 UCLA 30
(Blueandgold) Arizona comes in with being ranked in the BCS top 25 against a UCLA team that is very streaky (although they are currently on a 3 game losing streak). Arizona has a potent offense with a defense thy handed Stanford their first PAC 10 loss a few weeks ago. This is a must win for UCLA, but on the road, I'm going with Arizona.
Arizona 24 Ucla 13

Washington State @ Cal (-35)
(Truebluebruin) Let’s be honest here. Cal is going to win this game, the only question is by how much. Their offense came alive against a better than average UCLA defense, and WSU is going to look like a sieve compared to the last 3 defenses they’ve had to face. I think Cal has the weapons to cover the spread
Cal 56 WSU 10
(Blueandgold) California is coming off a big confidence win against in state rival Ucla. Washington state is stillthe doormatt of the PAC 10 so I don't see an upset. But I don't think Cal will beat the spread of 35.
Cal 35 Washington state 13

Oregon State @ USC (-20)
(Truebluebruin) USC has hit their stride, and return home for a revenge game against the beavers after their loss in Corvallis last year. OSU still has the same weapons that gave USC fits last year, but that should only be enough to stay within the spread, but not win the game.
USC 30 OSU 17
(Blueandgold) As much as I have bashed USC and picked them to lose big games in the PAC 10, they continue to win and yes with a true freshman. I still don't think this is USCs golden year but they should win this one at home against an up and down OSU team. I don't think they will be the 20 point spread though.
USC 28 OSU 17

Arizona State @ Stanford (-7.5)
(Truebluebruin) I bet Stanford is certainly glad to return to home after dropping a pair of conference games on the road. Stanford is a much better team at home, and still has a power running game that should dominate the game. Expect Stanford to get back into the win column.
Stanford 31 ASU 20
(Blueandgold) I still like Stanford and they didn't let me down last week so I'm gonna stuck with them, especially at home.
Stanford 27 ASU 17

Where Are They Now? ... Israel

As some of you may remember, I did a piece a couple months back when this blog was starting up about the The Dumbest Frontline in Basketball. The reason that I am bringing this up is because every year there is a slew of new American players who flee to Europe to find fame and fortunes in the world of basketball. To try and keep up with this crazy migration, I have decided out of the kindness of my heart to find out which Pac-10 players are playing in my homeland of Israel. The list will have it all, from Trojans to Bruins to Huskies and everything in between (perhaps). While the fact that I know of three players who played in the Pac-10 and are now in the Holy Land honing their skillz (yes, with a "z") is not enough, it is a good place to start. Below is a comprehensive list of all former Pac-10 heroes playing in Israel (listed by alma mater):

Stanford:
Matt Haryasz (Bnei-Hasharon)

UCLA:
Dijon Thompson (Hapoel Jerusalem)

U$C:
David Bluthental (Maccabi TA)
Davon Jefferson (Maccabi Haifa)

Washington:
Tre Simmons (Hapoel Jerusalem)
Justin Dentmon (Hapoel Afula)

Well, only four out of the ten teams are represented. However, the groups is pretty diverse because a lot of the players did not compete against each other, though some had small overlaps.

Trouble in the Bluegrass State

There’s an odd duality of sorts materializing in the oddly shaped and slightly irrelevant state of Kentucky. And of course by the state of Kentucky I of course mean the University of Kentucky, and by that I’m really just referring to their basketball team. It’s important to have your priorities straight.

As newly appointed coach and savior of the once vaunted collegiate basketball program at U of K, John Calipari spent last Friday night strutting around a stage in front of Wildcat fans as if God himself had picked Memphis in his bracket for the 2010 tournament. You’d have thunk he’d actually won a game yet.

Meanwhile, across town, former Kentucky Coach Billy Gillispie came to the unsavory conclusion that his $3 million buyout settlement with the school wasn’t going to cut it. He has since filed lawsuit with the University who promptly countersued for some ungodly reason that I have zero interest in figuring out. Law is boring. The odd part is I can sympathize with this move granted his coaching options have been far more limited since the basketball community realized he couldn’t even bring a program as legendary as Kentucky’s to the big dance. If anyone needs the financial security right now...

To be honest the real duality here is my equal loathing of and yet pity for these southern gents. Each has to face the unfortunate realities of wanting something they haven’t earned and of having lived in Kentucky. It’s a cruel world for basketball coaches.

Top 5 moments where the Trojan broke

Bruins, we've had a rough stretch out there in the Rose Bowl so far. We went up against a superior team a 1 - 2 running back punch with Heisman candidate Jahvid Best and Shane Vereen and lost a game we probably had no business winning. I, like many of the Bruin faithful have very fond memories of the 2007 UCLA - Cal game climaxing with ATV's pick 6 to the house right into the student section. Part of me thought we'd defend our house and bring back the magic but the result of the game was essentially what should have happened.

Don't worry, the season is far from over and we still have winnable games ahead to look forward to. And lest we forget, bad times hit everybody. And sometimes, bad times hit hard. Which leads me to my point. We all know a Bruin is forever but a Trojan is good only once. Thus it is written and handed down to posterity. But sometimes, as I'm sure a few of us plagued with bad luck know, a Trojan isn't good even once. Sometimes it breaks, and then you've got quite a mess to deal with. Let's take a minute to forget this weekend and reminiece the top 5 moments in recent history where The University of Second Choice failed to finish.

5) 2005: USC loses to Texas in the BCS Championship 41-38. This was a long time ago now. For all of USC's hype and hooplah, since 2005 they have been regularly denied college football's coveted crown. This game made me an instant Texas fan which I still am today. Anybody that gives USC the middle finger on national television is a friend in my book. And guess what? They're not going to the NC this year either. As much as I would love to see Tebow smash Trojan D-line, its just not in the cards this year. It would be great though, but one can only dream.

4) 2008: USC allows its student-athletes to be paid(again). Honestly, Spoiled Children Central really has no moral foundation. We live in a society based on law and rules. Having laws and rules has been fashionable in modern civilization for, I don't know, maybe the past 6,000 years, but I guess USC knows something that I don't know. 2008, of course, is when it came out that USC turned the other way when O.J. Mayo received thousands of dollars in cash gifts and other presents from Rodney Guillory who was essentially bribing him to turn pro and sign with his agency. This is of course highly illegal per NCAA rules. But when you've got the NCAA sucking at your Cardinal and Gold teat, there's really nothing they're going to do to he who provides the money. Oh, and how did this end? With the resignation of Tim Floyd who actually was doing a decent job rebuilding Trojan basketball. Nicely done USC. Be prepared to be perpetually pounded by us at least twice a year for the next forever.

3) 2008 (great year for the kids in the ghetto): The 'Black out the Bruins' Fiasco. This one was just magical. Simply magical. In 2008, USC decided they were going to unleash madness on us at the Galen Center by wearing super tight black jerseys and get all the fans to wear super tight black tshirts. Super intimidating, I know. I remember having no idea that this was going to happen until the game started and the announcers told me about it. I wasn't impressed or even surprised. USC's arrogance is simply unbounded, as anyone who has been to a USC home football game knows all too well. As history shows, arrogance goes punished by the righteous, and righteous we were that evening in the drafty Galen wine cellar. Final score? 56-46. And if you recall, it was never even close. After about the 10th minute in, it was smooth sailing for Collison, Westbrook, KLove et. all. Man I miss those three so much.

2) 2007: USC loses to Stanford AT HOME snapping a THIRTY FIVE GAME HOME WIN STREAK. USC has developed a fine stradition of completely crapping out in a random Pac 10 game which shuts them out of a BSC game. It is seriously something that has become so hillariously common that I get to look forward to it every year (props Washington!) But of all the annual Trojan bursters (save one; see below) this one really takes the cake. USC drops a game here and there but they lost to STANFORD. This isn't todays Stanford. This is 2007 Stanford who was 1-3 going into the game vs. the boyz in skurts who were 3-0 at the time. Oh yeah and did I mention this was at the oh so fabled Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum? What happened Trojans? Did your little torch that you light every 4th quarter go out? Did Traveler trip on his way over? My goodness, and it wasn't like this was on national television or anything right? Oh...wait it was.

1) December 2nd, 2006: 13-9 @ The Rose Bowl. This moment needs no introduction. We were all there. We all saw the magic. We all saw DeWayne Walker's defense riddle USC for days. We saw Justin Hickman and Bruce Davis light up John David Booty again and again. We saw Patrick Cowan scramble all over the Trojan defense. We saw Patrick Cowan get smacked in the head in the 4th quarter and played through it to deliver the most awesome Trojan buster there has been in recent history. Why is this the best Trojan buster? First of all, this happened during my freshman year and I was at the game. The story of my 13-9 day is one of my most favorite and most told stories I've got in college which would be too long to state here but suffice to say I was there, I was hung over, and I got tear gassed by Rose Bowl security after we won. Secondly we f*cked up USC's BCS dreams hardcore. USC came into the game 10-1 and ranking number 2 in the BCS polls. They had practically already punched their BCS ticket and I'm sure many Trojies had already bought their tickets to the national championship game. All they had to do was just put away little old 6-5 UCLA and their berth would be secured. Then we stuck it to them. Hard. One offensive TD and a safety is all they got. The wheels came off the wagon. The mighty Trojan offensive machine came to a screeching halt in front of 95,000 fans. What a glorious day. The night that followed was pure hysteria in Westwood. Cops with riot geat at every intersection, couches and cars got torched (they were all red couches and cars naturally), USC was embarrassed on the national stage and they have not seen the BSC since. I love it.


I hope this trip down memory lane brings you all some catharsis. Yes we've come on some tough times and yes some expectations were set a little too high. But hey, things could be a lot worse. We could have these 5 little beauties in our resume. And we could also be going to school in the straight up ghetto. And we could be a part of an atheletic program that is so riddled in shame and corruption it makes Watergate look like amateur hour. Face it, no matter what happens this season we're still Bruins, we still attend the best school in the nation with the best location, academics, atheletic program (can you say 104 National Championships?), alumni, and people.

Week 7 Pac 10 Predictions

Week 7 Pac-10 Predictions
(Last week Truebluebruin 2-2, 1-3 against the spread. Blueandgold 2-2, 3-1 against the spread)
(Overall Truebluebruin 25-16, 13-22-2 against the spread. Blueandgold 27-14, 15-19-3 against the spread)

Cal (-6) @ UCLA
(Truebluebruin24) In what is being called the desperation bowl, two teams battle to not start the conference season 0-3. I really want to pick UCLA in this game, but I’m not sure. Cal has been offensively ineffective the last 2 games, but has proven that if they’re on, they can pile on the yards and points. UCLA has yet to prove that this season. If Cal can put a few scores on the board, that may be more than UCLA can manage. Last time I picked against the Bruins I was wrong….I hope I’m wrong again
Cal 21 UCLA 13
(Blueandgold) Both teams are coming in with a 2 game losing streak. Cal seems to be sputtering while UCLA seems to not be finding any offense. This is an interesting game because one will respond to their current predicament by coming out with a win an the other sitting near the bottom of the PAC 10. The home team has won this series for the past 10 years. This has a lot of story lines for two mediocre teams.
UCLA 16 Cal 13

USC (-8) @ Notre Dame
(Truebluebruin24) People are billing this game as Notre Dame’s big chance to finally take down USC, but I don’t buy it. I think Notre Dame is overrated, and, sadly, USC always follows up a humiliating loss with going on a strong run. Add in the fact that this is a rivalry game and USC will be taking this game very seriously. They probably win by a few scores
USC 34 Notre Dame 17
(Blueandgold) USC had a bye and is coming off a huge win up at Cal. I think (and hope) though that this is the year for Notre Dame. This is a must win for Charlie, and he knows it and therefore will throw everything he's got. Clausen wants it and Notre Dames been looking pretty good all season.
Notre Dame 24 USC 17

Stanford @ Arizona (-4)
(Truebluebruin24) I’m so frustrated with the way Arizona imploded at the end against Washington. That terrible ending aside, Arizona is still probably the most under the radar team in the conference right now. Stanford is now 0-2 on the road, and I like Arizona to pull out a tough win at home.
Arizona 28 Stanford 21
(Blueandgold) Stanford is coming off it's first loss in the Pac 10 and this has the making of a great game. Arizona has been quiet but putting together a good season. I still am on the Gerhart band wagon.
Stanford 24 Arizona 13

Washington @ Arizona State (-3)
(Truebluebruin24) I’m scratching my head a little looking at this one. I’m not sure what ASU has done to be favored in this game. UW still hasn’t won a game on the road, but after they toughed out a win against Arizona, I like them in this game.
Washington 21 Arizona State 17
(Blueandgold) Washington is looking to back up their win against USC with another PAC 10 win but ASU should win here, especially at home. Although again a great Pac 10 matchup for this week.
ASU 17. Washington 13

Five UCLA Sporting Events You Should Know About

We all know about the football game against the Golden Bears of Cal. However, the beauty of UCLA is that it has many other successful sports. Therefore, there is no reason to neglect those non-revenue sporting events. Here is a list of five games/series you should be on the lookout for this weekend.

1. Women's Soccer @ Cal, Stanford (Friday/Sunday): These are always festive match-ups, especially with Stanford playing the way they are right now. It will be a real test for the Bruin ladies on the road.

2. Men's Soccer v. Cal, Stanford (Friday/Sunday): Basically the same reasons as above. With the men's team, it will be interesting to see if they can finally win a game and not just settle for a tie.

3. Women's Volleyball @ UW, WSU (Friday/Saturday): The Huskies are always tough, and playing in Pullman is no cake-walk either. Will the team come out with the same fire for these games as they did for the rivalry game against U$C last weekend? Can they finally play up to their potential and not drop a game they should win? We shall see.

4. Men's Water Polo v. Cal (Friday): The only team to truly bother this Bruin team is Stanford. There was also a loss to rival U$C. Can the Bears immitate their own rival's results and beat the Bruins? The game will be at the new aquatic center on campus, which will surely make the atmosphere more festive.

5. Men's Volleyball @ Calgary (Friday/Saturday): The Bruins will tune-up for their spring season with a tournament in sunny (just kidding) Calgary this weekend. According to the official website, they will take on some borderline Canadian schools and will test out the ancient theory "if maple syrup really does help in sports". Time will tell.

For more UCLA Athletics goodness, check out http://www.uclabruins.com who provided RJS with the schedules for the teams. By providing I mean we had to go look for it ourselves.

UCLA Beats U$C In convincing fashion

Due to all the madness that is the college football season and the quarter system, I forgot to write up about one of the best sporting events that I have been to in a long time. The teams? UCLA and U$C. The venue? Legendary Pauley Pavilion. The atmosphere? Raucous. The sport? Women's Volleyball. Yes, that's right. Women's volleyball was the toast of the campus on Friday night (apologies to the women's soccer team). Sure, it was a match against the hated Women of Troy. But that evening was more than that. I have been to a couple other matches against the rivals from South Central, and while those were heated, they did not come close to this one. There were 3,018 fans in attendance, and none of them seemed to pass an opportunity to cheer, yell, and heckle. Oh, and there were about 80-90 UCLA band members who would not stop cheering and flashing their keys, cash, and credit cards whenever a U$C player had the ball.

While the match started out with both teams playing well, by the end of the first set, it was pretty obvious which team was the inspired bunch. The Bruins came back multiple times facing a deep hole in the first set and rallied to take it. The Women of Troy could not recover in the second set, with the Bruins cruising to take a 2-0 lead. However, the third set was much closer and more contested, but in the end, good prevailed and the set was won. The final mark? 3-0 UCLA. A sweep. A win against the hated rivals. The band played Mighty Bruins and the song formerly known as Sons of Westwood. The crowd cheered and roared. The players went over and thanked all those who came. In all honesty, we should have all probably thanked them as well for giving us students and fans a reason to cheer. Keep it up ladies, bring home #105.

Cal Football: Where does it Rank in California?

Clearly the post that I wrote yesterday sparked some debate. So much so, that this blog was called childish and was compared to the writing of a 5th grader. While I appreciate the negative hyperbole(s) in the comments section, I cannot help but think how easy it is to drive people crazy. The post from yesterday had a bunch of numbers and plain facts, nothing flashy. Nor was there an attempt to ridicule and be funny. Well, maybe ridicule but there was no attempt to be cute about it, just lay down the facts. Sorry if your history looks pathetic and angers you Cal fans. This past decade for UCLA has not been so fun either, so I can see where you are coming from. Now, it is time to look at how Cal football has compared to its California rivals since 1930. However, so numbers would include numbers from before that if the teams played Cal back then. UCLA was the freshest school (the baby brother perhaps?) out of the group so those numbers will be skewed.

The ordering of examination will begin with its least of rivals, U$C. Both schools have been around the top of the conference pretty much all decade long and Cal had a memorable 2003 win at home against the shady Trojans. However, U$C has pretty much dominated the Bears since then, having won every game since. Nonetheless, it will be unforgivable to only look at the last decade of this fervor rivalry. The series against U$C dates back to 1912 according to Cal's Rivals page. At the end of the 90's, Cal actually had a three game winning streak against the Trojans, a respectable feat. Sadly for Cal Bears, life was not as pretty against the Trojans before that. The all time record between Cal and U$C?
61-30-5, in favor of the Trojans, yikes!

With this vicious statistic, it is time to move on to the Bruins of UCLA. Many Cal fans love poking fun at UCLA calling it a little brother, 2nd tier school and sports program, etc. True, UC Berkeley is still the number one public school in the nation, but little brother UCLA is not far behind. Furthermore, when it comes to the football field, the nod goes to UCLA. This decade has been a stalemate between the two siblings, with Cal owning a 5-4 record and each team winning on its respective home field. The Bears have a chance to break the trend this coming weekend if they win at the Rose Bowl. Cal did win in 1999 in LA, but the win had to be forfeited due to use of ineligible players. Even though the last decade has been pretty much even between the Blue and Gold schools, the history is in UCLA's favor. Honestly, it's not even close. You ready for the harsh truth Bears? Here it is:
49-28-1, 21 more wins for UCLA, not to bad for "little brother"

The only chance Cal has to not be the historically worst football program in the state of California (no Bears, SJSU and SDSU are not included), is if they have had a better record against the rivals from Palo Alto. Growing up there, I remember the hype and fun that went into the game, before/during/after. However, I was not aware of the all time series wins. This decade has been for the most part all Cal, although a stinging loss in 2007 against a 3 win Stanford team at the time hurt. Before we get to the all time record, let me make another point. Cal fans show up to games, Stanford fans don't. Cal fans have loyalty. Saying that, here is the all time series between the two schools? Well, check it out:
55-45-11, dating back to 1892, still... ouch!

Well this does not look pretty. I am personally surprised because I thought that Cal would hold an edge over Stanford at the least, but I suppose that I was wrong. If it any condolence for Cal fans, ESPN ranked you one stop higher than Stanford on its all time list at 44 (link in the previous comments thread). FYI, U$C is ranked at #2, and UCLA at #16.

Since I will not be satisfied until I unveil the Rose Bowl records for all teams for more fun statistical evidence, those shall be my last words. Enjoy!

U$C Rose Bowl record: 24-9-0, last appearance in 2009
UCLA Rose Bowl record: 5-7-0, last appearance in 1999
Stanford Rose Bowl record: 5-6-1, last appearance in 2000

Cal Football: Where Amazing Hasn't Happened in 60 years

With the inevitable arrival of the California Golden Bears to the Rose Bowl this coming Saturday, I decided to do some real investigating of what Cal football is all about. Most of my teens and early twenties have come with Jeff Tedford reigning over Berkeley and for the most part, he has done an amazing job. To make sure that Tedford Fever is reasonable, I went to Wikipedia to check out his numbers as the head football coach of the Bears. The results? Pretty darn convincing. He has a record of 62-32 overall, four consecutive bowl game wins, and even a tie for first place (but no Rose Bowl). However, life is not so sweet over in Strawberry Canyon. During the Tedford Era, Cal has only managed three top-3 finishes in the Pac-10, with the last one coming in 2006. Overall, Cal has been the about the 4th (or maybe 3rd if we want to round up) team in the Pac-10 since 2002. Being in the top-4 is fantastic for many programs. For Cal, you might even say it's heaven.

From 1978-2001, Cal football has managed only 3 top-4 finishes. Two of those were #4, and one was #2. However, there was football prior to 1978, so lets dig further. From 1950-1977, Cal had 16 top-4 finishes, with two Rose Bowl appearances (which they lost). So lets see, for the second half of the 20th century, the Bears had a total of 19 top-4 finishes in 50 years. Oh by the way, the conference expanded to 10 in 1978, so top-4 is a very generous measure of decency.

But wait! What happened before 1950??? Well, Cal was not too bad back then. Let's go back another 25 years. They had a total of 11 top-4 finishes in that time, that is about 40%, kind of pathetic. The Rose Bowl record during those years? 1-4, while it doesn't look good, at least they actually made it to FIVE Rose Bowls, way to go Cal!!! To finish this magical carpet ride through history, we shall trace back to 1916 and examine Cal's performance then. They made it to the top-4 in the conference 7 out of 10 times, and won and tied a Rose Bowl! They also had a streak of 50 won games, which is really outstanding.

With all the mediocre history, with the exception of a span of 10 years from 1916-1925, how can Cal fans dare trash talk other schools? Let's examine Cal's record over the decades, as well as Rose Bowl record.

1910s: 24-13-3, 60%

1920s: 73-15-7, 77%

1930s: 69-33-5, 64%

1940s: 55-47-2, 53%

1950s: 48-50-4, 47%

1960s: 35-61-4, 35%

1970s: 60-50-1, 54%

1980s: 37-69-2, 34%

1990s: 51-63-1, 44%

2000s: 63-48-0, 57% (this does not include 2009)

Overall: 619-473-51, 54%, Rose Bowls: 2-5-1, 25%

Part II will come tomorrow, comparing Cal to it's California rivals, Stanford, U$C, and UCLA since 1930!

Week 6 Pac-10 Predictions

Week 6 Pac-10 Predictions
(Last week Truebluebruin 2-3, 1-4 against the spread. Blueandgold 2-3, 1-4 against the spread)
(Overall Truebluebruin 23-14, 12-19-2 against the spread. Blueandgold 25-12, 12-18-3 against the spread)

Arizona @ Washington (Pick)
(Truebluebruin24) After their major upset of USC 2 weeks ago and ascending into the top 25, 2 straight losses on the road has given the Huskies a losing record once again and look to regain their homefield momentum. Arizona has very quietly been putting together a strong start to the season, only losing on the road to Big-10 leader Iowa. I think Arizona will finally start to get some attention with a victory this weekend
Arizona 31 Washington 21
(Blueandgold) A great game here; very winnable for both teams. I like locker against The Wildcat's defense and especially at home.
Washington 21 Arizona 14

Stanford @ Oregon State (Pick)
(Truebluebruin24) This may seem to be a silly pick with Stanford sitting on top of the conference at 3-0, but I like the beavers in this one. They have gotten over their traditional middling start and look to once again be a force in the pac-10. Stanford’s 3-0 start has come at home and at lowly Washington State, so I think they may struggle with a road test (their one loss coming on the road to wake forrest so far)
Oregon State 33 Stanford 24
(Blueandgold) Stanford is dominating behind Gerhart while OSU is doing enough to get by. Is stanford the real deal by going 4-0? Possibly yes.
Stanford 28 OSU 17

Arizona State (-21.5) @ Washington State
(Truebluebruin24) Terrible ASU offense? Meet your dream conference game. ASU should be able to put more points up on the board than it has the last 2 weeks in losses. I wouldn’t be surprised if this game is close for a quarter or a half but should be blown open by the start of the 4th quarter
Arizona State 38 Washington State 13
(Blueandgold) ASU is better than Wazzu, not much to say here.
ASU 24 Washington State 13

Oregon (-6) @ UCLA
(Truebluebruin24) At the start of this week, I was resigned to putting this as a win for the Ducks. But time has changed my opinion. UCLA should come out fired up with Prince back behind center and a defense looking for something to prove. Oregon limps into this game with a back up quarterback, and a dinged up and sick defensive backfield (the flu has been spreading through the team). Add in the fact that Oregon averages around 3 turnovers a game and has the least amount of yards passing per game in conference (a very surprising stat for me), and this has the makings of a defensive slugfest, and a trap game for the Ducks.
UCLA 21 Oregon 20
(Blueandgold) So this is a tough one. Oregon is possibly missing their productive QB and Ucla is hungry to show last week was a fluke and will start their Number 1 QB. Is it enough for the Bruins to upset at home?
Oregon 28 Ucla 21

The NFL 1st Quarter Report: AFC

Best Offensive Player: Peyton Manning - I’m eventually going to get tired of saying this, but Peyton’s playing at an MVP level. As if he could smell his brother getting more publicity for winning a more recent Super Bowl, he’s made everyone remember who the better Manning is so far this year. I’d say the Colts have won 4 games this year, but they haven’t. Peyton Manning has won 4 games this year.

Best Defensive Player: Elvis Dumervil – He may not lead the league in tackles but 8 sacks in 4 games is nothing to shake your nose at, whatever that means. That he has those sacks along with 17 tackles for the league’s leading defense is pretty impressive too. Ever wonder why opposing quarterbacks have been useless against Denver so far this year? Its because they know odds are this linebacker will materialize out of nowhere and put all of his 260 lbs. directly into their spleen twice each game. How many touchdown passes have been made against Denver this year? Oh yeah, none.

Most Surprising Team (In a good way): Denver Broncos – Yeah, I have no idea either. Maybe it’s training at that high altitude, maybe its new head coach Josh McDaniels, or maybe its just a boatload of steroids but no matter what caused it, the Broncos have definitely taken a big step in the right direction this year. Their defense is leading the league and somehow Kyle Orton hasn’t thrown a pick yet. Impressive to say the least.

Most Surprising Team (In a not so good way): Tennessee Titans – Well their talent level finally caught up with them. Kerry Collins I’m really just looking in your direction though. Vince Young may never be the stud he was at Texas but considering the alternative I think he deserves another chance.

Current Playoff Picture:

Lookin’ good

Denver – Who knew all they had to do was trade Jay Cutler and shaft Mike Shanahan? From the looks of things, those two must have been in cahoots in sabotaging last year’s defense. The broncos went from having the worst scoring defense in their conference last year, to the best this year.

Indianapolis – I’ll be brief since I’m done talking about anything related to Peyton Manning. Not too shabby Colts, none too shabby at all.

battling it out…



Baltimore – Joe Flacco may look like an inflated version of Eddie Munster but the man can throw. Considering how far their defense got them last year the Raven’s are a legit playoff threat this year. The only thing Baltimore has to worry about now is the team getting so good that they can afford to leave for a better city.

Cincinnati – How a team won at New England one weekend and then lost to St. Louis at home the next is beyond me. That’s really the only reason they’re on here. I guess unpredictability can work for then.

Jacksonville – Maurice Jones-Drew has yet to reach his true potential as an offensive weapon but his next two games are against teams with rush defenses in the bottom half of the league. Look for him to be the main reason they go into their bye week 4-2. And everyone thought Reggie Bush would be the best running back in the 2006 draft…tisk tisk.

New England – I miss the “Brady to Moss” 2007 season, back when the Pats would crave up opposing pass coverage schemes like a turkey on Thanksgiving Day.

New York Jets – I don’t people who have gone U$C, but I do like people who’ve pissed off Pete Carroll. That Mark Sanchez has done both has put me in a bit of a pickle although I have to say I’m pulling for him. Nothing on Stafford but my money’s on Sanchez being the best Quarterback taken in the 2009 draft.

Pittsburgh – Provided Troy Polamalu can get healthy soon the Steelers can make a solid turnaround and do some damage in the AFC North. Ben Rothliswhatver finally has the stats to back up the hype he gets (sort of) but without Polamalu their fabled defense turned to a feeble one awfully fast for the defending Super Bowl champion.

Oregon Football Jersey Week: Part IV - U-G-L-Y

I feel like it is safe to say that so far our week long tribute to ugliness has been successful. I mean we have managed to piss of a large chunk of the Oregon fan base, so well done boys! However, we cannot stop there. We must keep going and make this a truly memorable week. After reading the three posts this week I have found a good candidate of a jersey for the title of extreme ugliness. Before I go on though, I want to personally thank Phil Knight and the gracious people at Nike. I honestly don't know what we would have done without you all this week on RJS, seriously. Alright, without further ado time to find out which jersey is today's lucky winner.

The problem is that it is hard to find a lucky winner. Thus, as the week is closing, I will have to present two uniforms so ugly they make children cry. In fact, I sent the pictures to family friends with younger children, and they cried. First, I wanted to go with this:

I mean, what is there not to love here? The GIANT helmet that could fit Barry Bonds's head three times, the lack of the color Oregon fans wear when they watch games on the shirt (that'd be yellow), or maybe it is the goofy triangle under the armpit. Those are too many questions to answer. However, when looking at this uniform, let us not forget the gray on white decision for the shoulders and the Ducks on the front. We all know that light-gray on white is excellent, especially for those with eye problems to read. Well done Phil!!!
We cannot stop with the 2007 uniforms though, trust me. I was about to stop, but as I was flipping through the Sports Illustrated list of "Quacky" Duck Uniforms, I stumbled upon this next one from 2005:

I would first like to point out the Y-shape that the green creates. This is very similar in style to the uniforms Mike wrote about on Monday, except those were a yellow majority. Another terrible part of thise uniform is the numbers. Sure, they are pretty bland and innocent, yet for whatever reason they seem too plain. Maybe that is why they were changed the following year. The most horrific part of this is the mesh on the shoulders. Perhaps the heads of Oregon's AD wanted to resort back to the 80's style worn in the Castro in San Francisco. If so, they did a good job. Unfortunatly, we are not talking about Gay Disco, we are talking about Football. Nothing against Gay Disco, but the two have fairly different objectives. Before we leave, lets give some fun facts about the Univeristy of Oregon:

1. 85.3% acceptance rate (US News)

2. ~75% white (stateuniversity.com)

3. National Rank: 115 (US News)

4. National Championships: 16 (Wikipedia)

wow Ducks, maybe those uniforms are not the ugliest thing about your school...

Oregon Football Jersey Week: Part III - Gotta Love Them Wings

Slowly flap you arms and say “Ducks, ducks, ducks, ducks, ducks!” Does that ring a bell? It should and if it doesn’t, your 90s childhood was lacking in the amazing-underdog-Disney-movie department. As much as I would love to talk about these Mighty Ducks and their hockey playing ways, this post is reserved for a group of mallards that have more self-image issues than a high school freshman. Ladies (I hope) and gentlemen, I’m talking about the football team of the University of Oregon. 2009 marked another year that Oregon’s uniforms were updated. These new uniforms have “improved ergonomics and ventilation characteristics, and feature laminate numbering that does not soak up any moisture.” Ok, cool, I guess that pretty sweet, but why do they have to have so many!? Aren’t two sets of uniforms enough? One for home and one for away, that’s all a team needs. The Mighty Ducks had two sets of uniforms and they won their championship. The Oregon Ducks have more uniform combinations than any other team in the history of sports and they haven’t won a championship yet, not to mention a Rose Bowl since 1917.



The most ridiculous part of the new uniforms is the wings on the shoulder pads. Gone are the tough steel patterned pads and in are stabs at increased lift, bigger plumage for mating, and an overall attempt to be badass. I have to admit, I kind of like the wings if they were trying to be cupids or they were trying to work with an ancient Egyptian motif. They don’t even look like duck wings! If Oregon were not the Ducks, I don’t even know if I would guess they were wings. They look like kelp or the doodles I draw all over my lecture notes.

Quote taken from http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=3755462&SPSID=3383&SPID=233&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=500#

The NFL 1st Quarter Report: NFC

Best Offensive Player: Brett Favre – Believe me, I hate admitting it as much as you hate hearing it. Drew Brees may have better numbers but I need to give Favre his credit for engineering the win over San Francisco and simply sticking it to the Packers. Adrian Peterson may be the exciting young star. But Brett’s the seasoned veteran moving the chains and making the plays in crunch time. He even laid a block (although effectively after the play was over) into Patrick Willis after completing a pass.



Best Defensive Player: Patrick Willis – This is what Jesus would play like if he were a middle linebacker. He sacks, returns interception for touchdowns and runs down opposing receivers who’ve beaten their coverage. He’s built like a defensive end, fast as a halfback, and as agile as a cornerback. Teams don’t plan for the 49er defense, teams plan for Patrick Willis.

Most Surprising Team (In a Good Way): San Francisco 49ers – Their offense may not be much to look at, especially with Frank Gore injured. But their defense has more than made up for it ranking 2nd overall in yards allowed per game. And now that MC Hammer finally convinced Michael Crabtree to sign a contract, the receiving corps has a bright future. I mean yeah that kind of contact bull indicates potential attitude problems in the future, but when was the last time the 49ers drafted a talented receiver with an attitude problem? …oh yeah.

Most Surprising Team (In a Bad Way): Arizona Cardinals – Oh how the mighty have fallen. Granted they’re just 1 – 2, but still that their once fabled offense has sputtered serves as a hard reminder that teams need to be able to run the ball too. I’m surprised Kurt Warner’s grandkids haven’t told him its time to retire.

Disgustingly Early Playoff Picture (Yeah I’ll admit it, this section was created solely on the off chance that if I get these right I look like a freaking genius; and if not, hell, its only been 4 weeks.)

lookin’ good…

Minnesota – I may hate Brett Favre but I have to admit this team has an exciting offense. I can only imagine how happy management must be that Tarvaris Jackson isn’t their quarterback right now.

New Orleans – Back in 2006 I’m sure plenty of people predicted New Orleans would have a top tier offense by this time. Though I’m not sure how many predicted it would be top tier despite Reggie Bush turning out to be worthless.

New York – I’m dubbing the Giants the San Antonio Spurs of football so far this season. The play well and win, and no one doubts they’re a great team. But its just that they’re not all that interesting to watch.

San Francisco – They’re in this category because of their division (weak) and because I’m biased (obscenely). Not to mention they exhibit a lockdown defense headed Patrick Willis, a man known for sacking quarterbacks simply by staring at them from the other side of the line of scrimmage.


battling it out…

Atlanta – Their next four games are brutal with the first being a road game against the resurgent 49ers. Matt Ryan has developed quickly but will need a lot more help from the running game if the Falcons are to make it to mid-November with a shot at the postseason.

Chicago – For me, the jury’s still out on Jay Cutler. It’s not that his first game in Chicago was god-awful, it’s because his picture on Yahoo Sports looks like a DUI mugshot. Maybe it’s just me.

Dallas – Apparently $1.2 billion can buy you a stadium, but not a good football team, or a quarterback who knows what down it is. Oh, Romo.

Philadelphia – Philly worries me. I like the Eagles, but I’m not sure they have the whole healthy thing down yet. The bad part is their shot at the postseason depends on it. However if this team can pull together and show enough heart I’ll pick them for the playoffs. As we all know it’s not the size of the dog in the fight…but whether or not Vick kills the dog. Whatever, you knew it was coming.



Tomorrow: The AFC First Quarter Report

Oregon Football Jersey Week: Part II

I guess if my school had the CEO of Nike as an alum, I'd have a new jersey each season too. You would think though that a reputable sports outfitter like Nike would have at least hired some decent fashion designers so that travesties like the one below never happened.
Oregon Football 2006: We're so hard our shoulders and knees are steel pattern bro! Man we're tough!

Oh man. These were the jerseys that Oregon debuted my freshman year of college. I remember seeing them for the first time and being like..."what is that on their shoulders...isn't that like a steel pattern that you see inside of submarines and battleships?...what does that have to do with Oregon?"

Face it Oregon. You might have had pretty great offenses over the past few years and that's cool and all, but you represent the state of Oregon. Not the U.S.S. Oregon. Here's some fun facts about state of Oregon that don't exactly match up with this rough and rugged jersey.

State Animal: Beaver. Oh man. Ohhhh man. The things I want to say about the Beaver could go on and on and would ultimately travel down a path of sexual innuendo not becoming of the fine writership featured here at RJS. Aside from that. Beaver huh? Man beavers are TOUGH. Look at them. They so...small...and furry...with cute little buck teeth. Oh and don't forget the big flappy tail! Honestly, there are few animals more tough...and rugged... ah crap I can't even complete this sentence without busting up.
State Beverage: Milk. How nice. It's healthy and builds strong bones. Fits perfectly with the uber hippy mentality they have over there in California's hat (not be confused with America's hat, which is Canada). Health, fitness, nature, beavers, the Oregon way of life. Silly Oregonians.
State Dance: Folk dance. AHA. HAHA. HAHAHAHA. HA. I seriously can't handle this. When I first learned about this fact about Oregon all I could imagine was a bunch of hippies dancing in the forests singing songs about peace and love and kumbay yah and all that stuff.

Wow Oregon. You're SO TOUGH. Tough like...a battleship! Weeeeee! I salute you Oregon, and your awesome steel plated jerseys. Maybe you need those steel plates after all, to cover up all the furry softness we know lies beneath.

Arizona Road Trip!!!

Dear readers,

A few ambitious friends of mine approached me with a fantastic plan if you will, about taking multiple buses to Tucson for a road trip to the Arizona football game for a very cheap price. Here is the information:

when: Oct 23-25
where: Westwood to Tucson
why: big Pac-10 showdown in the desert!
who: anyone who wishes to go
how: by going to www.caliroadtrips.com

Go Bruins!

Oregon Football Jersey Week: Part I

Oregon is in town this coming weekend to play the Bruins and as a tribute of sorts to our awkward neighbors to the north we here at Ran Jeremy Sports are each taking a look back our own favorite football jerseys worn over the years by the University of Oregon Ducks. If you’re one of those people who just asked themselves, “why their jerseys,” then you obviously aren’t well acquainted with the University of Oregon. In what must be the result of a designer with ADHD the school keeps each one of its football players more inundated with clothing than Paris Hilton. In 2006 they bragged to have more than 500 different uniform combinations I kid you not.

Today we’re going back to Oregon vs. Mississippi State opening day 2003 to take a look at a real douzie that lasted all of one game.



Let’s make no mistake here folks. I like bold, and brash, and the occasional mix of the two. But bold, brash and insanely yellow is another story. Oregon had some bad jerseys before the Nike era but this little number makes me hearken back to a day without Phil Knight.

The only redeeming part of this jersey is the subtle irony of the yellow seeming to form a “Y” right in front. “Why” indeed must have been on more than a few minds as the team gallivanted onto the field for warm-ups on opening day of the 2003 season. Reportedly gasps were heard in the crowd, from both Oregon’s and Mississippi State’s cheering sections.

Fortunately for both the fans and the team these jerseys only saw the gridiron once and have since been recycled into police caution tape. 2003 had many ups and downs; this was certainly one of the latter.

The Best Team is in the 650, not 510

As far as Bay Area football teams go at least. Today showed that the power of Bay Area football is shifting away from the town where homeless people are everywhere back to Palo Alto, where the homeless can be found around Pizza My Heart. Unfortunately, I got to experience the Cardinal domination with my bare eyes as UCLA got caught flat footed against Toby Gerhart and even more surprisingly, Andrew Luck. I remember last year where it took half the defense (and/or Brian Price) to tackle Gerhart, so that aspect of today's game came as no surprise. What I was really shocked about was the passing game. Andrew Luck has an absolute cannon, and the receivers from Stanford seemed to hold up well against the Bruin secondary. Sure I read the reports about how good Luck should be, and all that jazz, but I did not believe that for one second. After today, I am a believer. Not only is his right arm plain silly, but the guy can move well. He managed to burn the defense today for multiple rushes of over ten yards. He was basically as cool as the other side as the pillow (a Stuart Scott line). His counterpart from Cal? Not so much. To be honest, it was not all Kevin Riley's fault Cal stunk it up (again) against those thugs from South Central LA, but he just did not look good. He had multiple plays where he overthrew his receivers, and was pretty darn inaccurate: 15-40, 199 yards, 0 TD's, and an INT. In all honesty, Cal looked absolutely pathetic once again, about as much as it did last week at Autzen Stadium.
To me this is kind of sad. Cal was supposed to finally have a good year, and not one filled with choking. They were supposed to be the team to dethrone the evil Trojans. Now they are 0-2 in the Pac-10, and basically have to win their remaining seven games if they want a shot at their first Rose Bowl in 51 seasons. The irony is that even with Stanford's massive struggles this decade, they were in the 2000 Rose Bowl and are now in better position to get there than their East Bay rivals. Their chances of actually make it there are pretty darn slim, but either way, they look MUCH better than those Golden (not so much) Bears. Whats next for these two Bay Area teams? Stanford has a trip up to Corvallis to take on the Beavers and then to Tuscon to play UofA, while Cal rests up for a week before busing down I-5 to the Rose Bowl to take on the Bruins. One Question for Cal fans, when was the last time you actually won a game at the Rose Bowl? Good luck trying to find it on Google.

Clue: It was not this decade...

Mascot Wars Round 4: Stanford Tree - "???"

I apologize to the avid RJS readership out there that I missed round 3 on the Kansas State Wildcats. However, you can look forward to my post on the University of Arizona which conveniently has the same mascot. Without further ado - The Stanford Cardinal/Tree/huh?

Most real schools have a mascot which is clearly defined and usually serves as the school's nickname and symbol. Sometimes they draw on a local or national symbol of pride (Cal Bears) or based on the attitude, values, and general makeup of the campus population (UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs). But in the case of the wannabe Ivy League member Stanford, no such mascot exists. But wait, what about the Cardinal you ask? The Cardinal is the school's official nickname but has nothing to do with a the bird the cardinal. What about the Tree? According to Stanford's official athletic website:

The Mascot: There is no official mascot at Stanford University. The "Tree," which is a member of the Stanford Band, is representative of El Palo Alto, the Redwood tree which is the logo of the city of Palo Alto. Since Stanford University and Palo Alto are almost inextricably intertwined in interests and location, it is a natural outgrowth of this relationship. The tree still exists and stands by the railroad bridge beside San Francisquito Creek – it is the site where early explorers first camped when settling the area.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiight then. So you're telling me you have no mascot, yet you let a dancing Sequoiadendron giganteum prance about on national television and allow it to be the public face of your University, yet you don't want to claim it as your official mascot. Your reasoning is that it's just a member of the Stanford band and that it doesn't officially represent your school. Hmm. Why's that? Could it be the soiled past you've had with your Tree?

Admittedly, that soiled past is kind of funny in a dark, sadistic, and immature way. Let's look at a few of the highlights of this illustrious Tree and band:

September 30, 2009: A Cal Senior, a Cal alumni, and some other Bay area whack all dressed up as lumbermen assaulted the Stanford tree after a Cal - Stanford women's volleyball game. Apparently these guys ran up to the tree, stole some leaves, tripped a cop, and ran off drunkenly into the night. They were booked on battery, resisting arrest, and for possession of a locking knife blade longer than 2.5 inches (wtf?) UCPD tackled some students and allegedly beat them with nightsticks. The Tree himself had this to say: "All of the sudden I got a big nudge." Full story .

September 14th, 2006: The Stanford Marching band was slated to get a new band room. During that time, a temporary band room was built nicknamed 'The Band Shak.' The Stanford band, much like drunk frat boys who like breaking shit, took spraypaint, a sledgehammer, food, and other decorations to their room and leveled it. Total Damage - $50,000. University decree - indefinite suspension. Full story.

Notre Dame 1991 and 1997: 1991: Stanford band members dressed up in nun costumes in front of 75,000 Irish fans and proceeded to conduct the band with a crucifix instead of of a conductors baton. Also, crucifixes apparently worked well as drumsticks. 1997: Stanford Band Members parodied the Irish potato famine - an epidemic which claimed the lives of over a million Irish. Way to represent, 'Cards.

The Tree has also been known for its continual war with Oski the Bear, one of my longtime favorite mascots :-D These wars are better seen than explained in type. I present the following for your enjoyment.

Hahahahaha. Thanks Cal for illustrating exactly how we're going to take down Toby Gerhart this weekend: go for for the legs and takem down

Model mascot for a model institution. I'm not clinical psychiatrist, but I am a man with a microphone who makes connections, and usually such spontaneous aggressive behavior is often seen exhibited in people who have insecurity issues. Also, seen in drunks. Also not mutually exclusive categories either, and I believe the Tree is case in point. My diagnosis? Ivy Envy. Stanford just wants so badly to be an Ivy League. But its not, and it can't be.

Observe the Ivy Envy:

Ambiguous Mascot: The Cardinal. Harvard's mascot? The Crimson (also red)
Retard Marching Band: Most traditional or wannabe traditional schools have their band march high step. It's pretty pretentious, as are the schools that employ it (California, Notre Dame, U$C). It also looks retarded. But when a school really wants to embarass itself, it does the scatter drill. No forms, nothing to look at other than assholes running around aimlessly without a semblance of order. Harvard and Yale's band also do these
Highly ranked private school: According to most polls, Harvard and Yale are the interchangeable 1 and 2. Stanford is lowly number three. (cue muted trumpet "wah wah wah wahhhhh")
Proprensity for douchbagginess: Self explanatory. Have you met someone from Harvard and also someone from Stanford? I'm not saying they're all douchebags and some of them are actually quite nice and friendly. But a lot of these private school kids have a little uppity attitude about them. It probably comes from the fact that they can all rest easy knowing their trust fund will always be there...

Despite all its success and wantings, Stanford will never be the Ivy League it wishes it was. It will also fall before our mighty school and its noble mascot, who is never ambiguous, has never been arrested, who represents our University with pride, and who beats a lot of ass and will show up the Cardinal/Tree/whatever on TV this weekend. Go Bruins!






P.S. Fuck you Stanford for that rejection letter...
P.S.S. Actually, I was kidding. I'll stick with glorious Southern California with its beautiful beaches, women, and culture, and you can keep to your Prius-happy community.

Week 5 Pac-10 Predictions

Week 5 Pac-10 Predictions
(Last week Truebluebruin 2-3, 2-3 against the spread. Blueandgold 2-3, 1-4 against the spread)
(Overall Truebluebruin 21-11, 11-15-2 against the spread. Blueandgold 23-8, 11-14-3 against the spread)

USC(-4) @ Cal
(Truebluebruin) Where have we seen this story before? USC loses a game every year that they shouldn’t, and then crush every team remaining to win the Pac-10. Cal starts getting national respect, drop a game they shouldn’t, and their season goes into the toilet. The story will repeat again, right? I’m not so sure. Cal lost one game, which could be an aberration. USC’s offensive issues, however, is now a reality more than a rumor. I’m going against my own common sense and pick that at home, Cal’s offense will have just enough to outgun USC
Cal 31 USC 23
(Blueandgold) Both of these teams have had humiliating losses in the last two weeks. I like Cal at home and with something to prove, however they never seem to live up to the hype.
Cal 21 USC 16

Washington @ Notre Dame (-13)
(Truebluebruin) As I said last week, it was way too early to rank the Huskies after one win against USC, especially since they hadn’t been tested on the road yet. They had their test, and failed. Stanford exposed the weak D-line of the Huskies, and now the back 7 will be tested by the Irish.
Notre Dame 35 Washington 17
(Blueandgold) Washington was definitely overrated. Notre Dame had to come from behind in a few games this year. I still think the huskies have a way to go.
Notre Dame 24 Washington 13

UCLA @ Stanford (-6.5)
(Truebluebruin) In a game that is starting to get major national attention, the winner of this showdown in the bay becomes a major player for the pac-10 race. Stanford is being picked by most of the media, after they ran all over Washington with ease, and despite having statistically the best running back in the nation, Stanford has not seen a rush defense as strong as UCLA’s. Stanford will get their points, but if UCLA can win the battle of field position with defense and special teams, they should be able to kick their way to victory
UCLA 23 Stanford 21
(Blueandgold) UCLA comes in off a bye week and looking to start the Pac 10 off right. Stanford is the best team in the PAC 10 record wise and looks to start PAC 10 play 3-0. This is a tough one, but I'm going with my bruins.
UCLA 24 Stanford 21

Oregon State @ Arizona State (-4.5)
(Truebluebruin) Ok, I’ve started to lose faith in the beavers. I’m sure that’ll mean they’ll win this game, but honestly ASU’s performance in Athens really impressed me last week. ASU’s offense is still having problems, but they should find OSU’s defense (especially the anemic pass rush) easier to handle than the bulldogs
ASU 28 OSU 17
(Blueandgold) OSU just hasn't performed up to expectations even at home. ASU hung in there against a good Bulldog team. I like ASU in this one.
ASU 17 OSU 13

Washington State @ Oregon (-28)
(Truebluebruin) Well well well, look who decided to show up to the pac-10 party. Oregon’s humiliation of Cal last week has them as the hot team of the Pac-10 right now, and what better way to continue their reemergence than against the worst team in the pac-10. WSU should be able to put up a few more points than they did against USC’s stout defense, but will also surrender more points…….many more
Oregon 58 WSU 20
(Blueandgold) Oregon looks like it has the best offense in the Pac 10 with a spanking of Cal last week. Wazzu shows some improvement and has a quarterback now. Still the Ducks should dominate.
Oregon 35 Washington State 13