Best Day of College Basketball... EVER!

For it to be a good day in college basketball, a few things have to happen. One, UCLA must not lose. Since UCLA did not play tonight, so that can be crossed off the list. Another category is for the two hated ACC schools to lose. Somehow, that happened. UNC once again got caught with their pants off at home against Wake Forest and Duke was upset by NC State by double digits. Both losses are quite UCLA-esque for this season, so the Blue and Gold faithful can relate to the blue wearing Tar Heels and Blue Devils. But seriously, those two teams are arguably the most media hyped teams every year and although Duke has looked great at times this year, they are Duke. Does anyone remember a good Duke team in the last five years? Neither do I. The North Carolina fall from grace (and by next week the Top 25) is not as surprising considering that they lost so much talent to the NBA and although they are restocked, they are still young. Pretty much a better version of UCLA in an analogous situation. The biggest shame from today is that U$C didn't lose, but I guess that there's always tomorrow for that.

PS. This post is dedicated to Megan Grant, she'll know why.

What We Learned This Weekend

Today marks the end of another weekend for Pac-10 basketball. Once again, the games have left many fans both jubilant and distraught about their team's play. This conference is so wide-open, and not in a good way like the Big East, that each week brings tons of drama, and more often than not, disappointment. Here are my personal short list of what should be learned from this weekend's games:

1. UCLA cannot play on Saturdays. Or maybe shouldn't. No clue why no Bruin fan has tried to petition so that the Bruins don't play on Saturdays. I have personally been there for the two humiliating home losses (and watched the third on tv), and it was absolutely horrible. As many of my friends put it, "It's gonna be a long season". Can't argue with that.

2. Washington is for real. For whatever reason, Washington decided to act like a UCLA basketball team (circa 2010) and lose games it shouldn't. However, on Thursday and Saturday they destroyed the Bay Area teams, if not annihilated. They looked really sharp and focused on both sides of the ball. Which brings me to my next point...

3. Cal is really not that good. Like, really really not. It was pretty clear by a few of their OOC games, and solidified by the one point home loss to UCLA last week, but the way they played against Washington was truly painful to watch. Like watching a UCLA game on a Saturday. Yes, that bad. I have faith in Mike Montgomery but this is not looking good. However, this could all change when Jorge Gutierrez comes back from injury.

4. U$C will cause a whole lot of issues this year. Many made this assumption after the first week of league play but this was clearly premature because they then went to the Bay Area and got swept. Then came the rivalry game with UCLA. During the game I kept mentioning how "life sucks" and "screw this game", and this is because the Trojans were truly embarrassing the Bruins. Though this team is not going anywhere this year in the postseason, they can make lots of noise during the regular season, especially considering how bad the conference is.

Clown Show in South Central

Oh boy... what happened? Just a week ago everyone thought that Pete Carroll would stay over at SUC and that the Pac-10 and college football are going into a relatively mellow (not including the Coaches against Humanity efforts) off-season. Well, then came Friday afternoon and all hell broke loose. We then had the weekend to hope that everything is true and wait for Cheat to officially sign with the Seahawks. Only on earlier this week Tennessee fans figured they'd still have a slimy loud-mouth head coach. They don't anymore (well, they can always get another one). The bottom line is that a lot has happened this week in Los Angeles (and Seattle, Knoxville, Corvallis, Jacksonville). I have decided to give the five main stories and subplots that will prove to be most significant in the wake of Lane (what a dumb name) Kiffin taking the U$C job.

5. U$C's dirtiness is mentioned on ESPN, a lot. Every Bruin fan (and most people around the Left Coast) know about U$C's dirty recruiting and has been waiting for the NCAA to "grow a pair" and punish them for it. Well, with Pete bailing on the sinking ship, ESPN has finally decided to acknowledge the wrongdoings of U$C on a consistent basis. Considering the fact that they really are the World Wide Leader in sports, it's a big deal in my book.

4. Former U$C player and assistant turn them down. How many candidates did Notre Dame go through to find their guy after a 6-6 season? One. U$C after a 9-4 season? Like four. But let's concentrate on two. Yeah, Mike Riley turned them down in 2001 and things turned out well for $C. But come on, how is this not discouraging for Trojan fans? He decided to turn down a bunch of money and Los Angeles to stay in Corvallis! Corvallis?!?!?!?! Yes, Corvallis. Worst yet, they were turned down by a former Trojan player who is coaching all the way on the other side of the country. The saddest part about Del Rio turning down his alma mater is the fact that he turned them down to coach one of the best players in the league. Maurice Jones-Drew, a Bruin.


3. University of Tennessee gets Kiffin off their hands. For those who have not seen the riots that have been breaking out in Knoxville, I would suggest you open up a new tab on your browser and go to YouTube, ASAP. It was amazing what happened. (Fast to get out of there) Lane was lucky to have gotten out of there. I am not really sure if Vol fans are more mad because they missed out on a good coach or because said coach just abandoned them all of the sudden. I think it's safe to go with the latter. Though it's going to hurt in Knoxville with recruiting for the short-run, I believe that a program with great history, great stadium, and from what I hear good fanbase will turn out just fine.


2. Lane Kiffin is hired by Master Cheater (I mean Athletic Director) Mike Garrett. Ok, he is a good recruiter. But he's also a cheater who after only a single season of college coaching has a bunch of secondary violations piling up. Additionally, he already got fired by the Raiders (record of 5-15, ouch) and had a 7-6 record with a bowl loss in his only season in Knoxville. Good job Mike Garrett! To sum it all up though, he lost 19-15 to some team from California that wears Blue and Gold (no, not you Cal) and hates U$C. Nothing like a home loss against who is now your arch-rival, at home.


1. Norm Chow shows that U$C is not a "dream job". Lets see, Norm Chow turned down a chance to coach the #1 rated overall prospect from 2009 in Matt Barkley, a legit receiver in Ronald Johnson, and a top notch crop of running backs. He also turned down a chance to earn a salary of 1.5 million, which would have been almost three times his current salary at UCLA. Lane Kiffin hasn't even played UCLA as a U$C head coach, but already lost a huge battle. For those of you who are mathematically inclined here is an equation that for sure will drive this point home to you:

(UCLA + $600,000) > (U$C + $1.5x10^6 + 5-star QB+ impending sanctions)

Pac 10 Basketball, Where No Team Stands Out

The sole team that came into conference play ranked in the top-25 was Washington. Tonight, they sit in last place in the conference at 1-3. That's what a loss to Oregon at home and getting swept by the Arizona schools will get you. Worst of all, it's not like neither Arizona school was doing too well going into this weekend. Each lost to U$C, and ASU got burned at UCLA as well. Speaking of UCLA, Ben Howland's team loves the weekday games. Definitely not the Saturday games. Although UCLA is arguably the most bipolar team in the conference, it is not alone. There are four other teams that own a conference record of 2-2. Rival U$C dominated (though in ugly fashion) the Arizona schools but got trounced by the Bay Area schools this weekend. So much for making a statement after getting hit with sanctions.

The bottom of the conference has Washington (as mentioned above), and the Fever. The Beavers came into this weekend 0-2 in Pac-10 play and worst of all, got DESTROYED at home at the hands of Cameron Dollar's Seattle U. So what did they do? Beat their bitter rival Oregon. Ironically, the loss was Oregon's first in the last two weeks as they were previously 2-0. Sitting along with Oregon at the top of the conference are Bay Area foes Cal and Stanford. Cal recovered nicely after losing a heartbreaker to rival UCLA by putting away U$C. Stanford, took care of both Los Angeles schools. So what's next for this conference? I wish I could make an honest and confident prediction but I just have no clue. Just look at the predictions I did for the beginning of the league, and how they are already so different after just two weekends (out of nine).

Pete Carroll... Kicking and Screaming

If anyone doesn't get the reference to the movie made by famous Trojan Will Ferrell, shame on you. Well, if you've seen it, shame on you. With the impending departure of the biggest douche in college sports, it is only right that we here at RJS pay the man who brought us the term "what's your deal?" a fitting farewell from the world of amateur athletics. Actually, check that. He was always in the professional athletics world, my bad. Since there is some saying about how a picture is worth a thousand words, and I don't feel like writing that much, a pictorial tribute seems right. With each picture comes a nice (and hopefully funny) set of words.

Pete: Yo Matt, how's the Jarrett living arrangement going?

Matt: Good, but can you please get your hand off my butt.

Pete: Check these guns out! Got them with special help of substances commonly found in my players when they take NFL Combine tests.

Pete: Oh! This feels great! I love getting wet by 250lbs men!

Pete: Shit... there goes our 2009 season. Thanks a lot you Dirty Sanchez!

Pete: Don't worry, your paycheck has been mailed with the bonus you deserve for this great win.

Pete: Hey you! Remember, I own the police, so watch yourself.

Pete: Oh dear god, this feels so right. Please don't ever let go.

Matt: I won't daddy, I won't.

With that, from all of us at RJS, I would like to thank the Seahawks and Pete's ego. And Pete, you will NOT be missed.

Hey Cal, What Hurts More?

Remember 2008? Hopefully. Remember senior day at Pauley Pavilion? I seriously hope so. Not only was it a memorable Senior Day for Mr. Mata-Real, but it was the day the Bears once again got owned by the Bruins. Why am I bringing this up 22 months later? Well... last night's magical ending to the UCLA v. Cal game brought on a similar aura as that 2008 game in Pauley did. UCLA was down and out of the game for the most part, but somehow, had a veteran 6'5" guard/forward find a way to put the pull in the hoop in the remaining seconds of the game. Sure, UCLA went on to the Final Four and the game as a home guy. This time around Cal was the heavy favorite (15 points in fact) and the home team. Luckily, the result was the same. Cal choking, UCLA winning. Here are two videos to remind the fans of the top 2 UC's about those two magical endings:

Game from 2008:



Game from 2010:
Here are the highlights from last night

So what was better?

The Year of the Big 10

That's right, it is the year of the Big 10. Tonight's Orange Bowl between Georgia Tech and Iowa marked the last game of the season for any Big 10 team. Much like their fellow Big 10 BCSers Ohio State, the Hawkeyes took care of business and gave the conference a stunning (if not miraculous or amazing) 2-0 record for the 2009-2010 in BCS bowl games. Last year, the conference went 0-2 with OSU and Penn State getting owned. The year before that? Much more embarrassing as both losses in BCS games were blow-outs. Before that, after the 2006 season? That's right also 0-2. So this 2-0 performance should be celebrated throughout the Midwest as the conference has finally restored but of its torn reputation. However, the BCS wins are only part of the story.

The conference obviously had some other bowl games right? Well, yeah. Here is how it did in those: 2-3. Yes, it's a losing record, but let's consider some factors about those three losses. Minnesota lost by a mere point to Iowa State, so obviously that game could have gone either way. Northwestern lost in a bowl game played in the South against an SEC team. Furthermore, if it wasn't for a trick play, they could have tied the game up in OT and perhaps win it. The last loss came in the state of Texas against Texas Tech, a team that was playing with lots of emotion. There you go, three really close losses that could have gone either way. Also, it used to be where the Big 10 would get blown out and flat out embarrassed, so this is clearly a huge improvement.
Overall, the conference went 4-3 which is not great but quite good. It definitely beats the Pac 10's amazing 2-5 record. The Big 10 has played two tough BCS games and came out on top, twice. Only one other conference has a chance to do that this year and that is the SEC. But remember, Florida's win came in New Orleans which is not too far from Gainsville. Anyone want to compare that to the distance from Columbus to Pasadena or Iowa City to Miami?

U$C Basketball Takes It Like an Inmate

For those of you who have not heard the news, Mike "Sketch" Garrett decided to save his bff Pete "The Cheat" Carroll and impose sanctions on Kevin "Crazy" O'Neill's program (well, program is being used loosely). It's funny. The basketball team is looking more impressive than their football team did this past season as it swept the Arizona schools this weekend. So why sacrifice the basketball team to try to save the football team from Bushgate? Well, here's why. No one honestly cares about U$C basketball. Sure, like 10 students might, and maybe 200 when UCLA plays at the Warehouse (sometimes referred to as Galen Center). Yesterday's attendance from the pathetic game against ASU was 5,917 and 4,813 attended the Pac-10 opener against Sean Miller's Wildcats. Those numbers show the lack of support the U$C "family" has for its basketball program. 50% capacity just does not cut it. The football team in comparison brings in over 80,000 fans regularly, with probably 70% of it being bandwagon fans.

The bandwagon fans are really the key to this whole situation. Since they do not care about U$C basketball, it seems like a no brainer that that should be the program that gets punished to avoid the Lack of Institutional Control penalty the NCAA could theoretically impose on the athletic department. I mean, from a business end, this is absolutely brilliant. Why not punish the less profitable of the products? The monetary set backs will be minuscule and it will be easy to say that the athletic department is ethically correct and all that jazz. If anyone who is reading this thinks that I'm crazy and the only one who thinks this crazy notion, I would suggest checking the non-partisan view of those on ESPN and Fox Sports. Once again Trojans, and I will paraphrase a line said by one of your most famous alums in a movie, STAY CLASSY $C!