New York Falls Into a Championship — Patriots drop 3 passes in crunchtime, allowing the Giants to back into a Title, as Bradshaw scores the game-winning Touchdown with a minute left, by falling into the end zone while trying NOT to score

The biggest GIFT to New York since the Statue of Liberty.

With a chance to put the game away, wide-open Wes Welker dropped a deep pass.  When the sure-handed Welker choked, it allowed the Giants a chance to come back.  Eli Manning took them into the red zone, and with time running out and the Giants down by only 2, 17-15, the Patriots decided to LET the Giants score.  Ahmad Bradshaw took the ball up the middle as the Pats stood there and watched.  When Bradshaw got to the one yard line, he tried to stop and down the ball before he crossed the goal line.  That way, the Giants could have run out the clock before kicking a game-winning, chip-shot Field Goal.

But Bradshaw, who had already fumbled the ball on an earlier play, pulled another boner:  He fell untouched into the end zone for the TD, allowing Tom Brady 57 seconds to potentially drive the Patriots to a game-winning Touchdown.  So New England took over at their twenty, but Deion Branch and Aaron Hernandez promptly dropped consecutive passes to make a comeback nearly impossible.  Brady still converted on a 4th and 16, but with 5 seconds left he was forced to heave up a Hail Mary from midfield, and it was knocked down to end the game, 21-17.

The Patriots blew an 8-point second half lead by Continue Reading »

Bruins finally win one away from the Southland, outlasting Washington State 63-60 in Pullman, where they have now won 19 straight games

Maybe instead of playing their home games at the Sports Arena this year, UCLA should have played them in Pullman, Washington.  The Bruins have now won a stunning NINETEEN consecutive contests on the Cougars’ home court, after holding on to a 63-60 victory on Saturday afternoon.

Playing without Travis Wear, who missed the game with a high ankle sprain, the Bruins had to overcome a Halftime deficit.  The first half was close, with a ton of lead-changes, but with UCLA’s Josh Smith in foul trouble, a late WSU surge put the Cougars up by 5 at the break.  In the second half, the Bruins fought back.  With Anthony Stover and Brendan Lane filling in admirably on the Defensive end for the missing Wear, UCLA was able to slow down the Coug attack, and Continue Reading »

Just because I usually shoot UCLA Cheerleaders doesn’t mean that I can’t shoot other iconic subjects, and New York is full of “Canon” Fodder

This week, I went on a three-day business trip to New York City, where I hadn’t been for a few decades, so before I left, I enlisted the help of a few fellow Bruins as to where to go, what to see, and where to eat.  This article and pictorial recounts the results of that advice.  Some of the photos aren’t picturesque, but are just meant to document the fact that I heeded their guidance.

Everything they told me was accurate and extremely valuable.  Every bite of food that I ate because of them was delicious, and every site I experienced because of them was thoroughly worthwhile.  I had an amazing time, and the Screening that I went to New York for in the first place was an unqualified success, so the trip was entirely satisfying, and completely unforgettable.

So THANK YOU to my Bruin Zone friends, for Continue Reading »

Rattled in Seattle — The Bruins blow a 10-point lead in the last 6 minutes, as a 13-0 ref-aided run by Washington overshadows Josh Smith’s best-game-ever Homecoming in a 71-69 heartbreaker

Despite one of their best Road efforts of the year, and despite Josh Smith’s career-high 24 Points, UCLA lost another away game, 71-69 to the Huskies.  The Bruins, behind Smith’s inside game and a late surge from the outside by Lazeric Jones, turned what was a very close game throughout into a 10-point contest with under 6 minutes to go.  But then they got sloppy and tentative, and let the Huskies go on a rampage.

Washington used a Full Court Press to create Turnovers and speed up the pace to “frenetic.”  They also used a Zone Defense to take Smith out of the game.   Then they capitalized on some low-percentage shots MADE by Terrence Ross to come all the way back and take the lead in the final minutes.  The Bruins still had a chance, but the Refs blew a Charge/Block call that fouled out Tyler Lamb (even Dick Vitale thought it was a horrible call influenced by the crowd’s urging), and Continue Reading »

Die With Your ‘Cruits On – Jim Mora, his energetic staff, and the UCLA Spirit Squad fire up the Bruin faithful as the new Bruin Recruits are announced

“National Letters of Intent,” or “National Letters of INTENSE?”

The new regime of UCLA Football ceremoniously “took over” the Program on Wednesday night, when all the new Assistant Coaches were introduced at a private function on campus for UCLA Season Ticket holders.  Those Coaches represent a new breed in Westwood, that seems to thrive on intensity, swagger, and emotion.  The new Coordinators were a little more reserved and serious/stoic, but the postion coaches were animated, excited, passionately devoted to UCLA, and did an unprecedented job of firing up the crowd of mostly older Bruin benefactors.  These wild-eyed Coaches had the old fogeys chanting, whooping, and hollering in support of the new administration, and of the incoming class of recruits.

The various assistants showed video of the high school players who signed with UCLA yesterday, and talked about why each one will be an excellent representative of the University.  The class has been ranked Nationally as high as #11, and is led by Continue Reading »

Good dimes, bad dimes, you know we’ve had our share – UCLA’s Season-high 26 Assists give Dazed and Confused Buffaloes No Quarter, as hot-shooting Bruins Ramble On to 77-60 win

After two straight Heartbreaker losses, it looked like The Levee Was Going To Break, but now the Bruins have turned the Page, and Planted a seed of confidence in all their minds, and in the minds of their fans as well.  Colorado came to L.A. tied for first place in the Pac-12, leading the Conference in Field Goal Percentage Defense, but UCLA ran their Offense so efficiently, that they shredded the Buffs’ vaunted D.

UCLA shot 60% from the floor — their best percentage in 2 years – and 9 for 13 from Three Point Land, on their way to an easy victory.  It didn’t start out easy, as the Buffs went up 5-0, and then 12-4, but the Bruins soon found their stride, with good Defense feeding the Offense, and great passing opening up wide-open shots to fuel a 22-4 run that put the Bruins up by 10.

The Buffaloes responded with heart and poise though, going on a run of their own to regain the lead before Halftime.  But the Bruins came on again, Continue Reading »

Drone On:  UCLA overthrows Utah 76-49, without breaking a sweat

The Utes of ill-repute need new recruits, or they mey never taste the fruits of victory again.

After UCLA’s 76-49 total annihilation of Utah on Thursday night, the only remaining question is, how did Utah win two Pac-12 games?  UCLA started slowly, struggling to acheive an 11-11 tie, then asserted themselves to build a 15-point lead by Halftime. Utah never threatened after that, as the Bruins extended the lead to 36 before finally settling for a somewhat-boring 27-point win.

No Bruin played over 32 minutes, as Ben Howland cleared the bench for the final few minutes.  Because the game wasn’t close, Continue Reading »

Pats and Giants sneak into the big game thanks to two goats:  The Raven Kicker who shanks an Overtime-forcing chip shot in the final seconds, and a Niner Returner who coughs up the ball twice, including once in Overtime to set up the game-winning Field Goal

Millions of fans in Baltimore and San Francisco are distraught tonight, but no one feels worse than Billy Cundiff and Kyle Williams — nor should they.  Cundiff and Williams EARNED the right to feel horrible about themselves — ala Donnie Moore — and that’s more than I can say for New England and New York, who didn’t truly EARN their Super Bowl Berths.

Baltimore’s Cundiff hooked the potentially game-tying, 32-yard Field Goal with 15 seconds left against the Patriots, allowing NE to escape with a 23-20 victory, while Frisco’s Kyle Williams muffed one punt in the 4th Quarter that led directly to a Giant Touchdown, then fumbled another one in Overtime, which gave the ball to NY already in Field Goal range.  The ensuing kick — not shanked like Cundiff’s — meant that the Giants were handed a 20-17 triumph.

Now don’t get me wrong — I’m not saying that Baltimore or San Francisco deserved to win or were the better teams — I’m just saying that both these wins were UGLY, and relied on the charity of the other team. Continue Reading »

The Ugly Duck Game — Bruins blow 13-point Halftime lead to fall 75-68 in Oregon, their SIXTH STRAIGHT LOSS outside of Los Angeles

Apparently, staying in a Holiday Inn Express is NOT making the Bruins experts at Basketball.  I actually have no idea which hotel chain has been housing the Bruins when they travel this year, but whichever one it is, it isn’t working.  Not counting the spanking they inflicted on last place usc at the nearby Galen Center, UCLA has now lost 6 straight (real) road games, after their 75-68 collapse in Eugene on Saturday afternoon.

The Bruins started out fired up and sharp, shooting out to a 13-4 lead, with David Wear scoring 7 of their first 9 points.  The domination continued throughout the 1st half, as the Bruins played efficiently on Offense, while holding the ice cold Ducks to 21% shooting on the other end.  But everything turned upside-down right after the Intermission, with Oregon running off a 15-2 spurt to tie the game.

It stayed close the rest of the way, but Continue Reading »

Bruins Crash in Corvallis, as Beavs’ Cunningham and Collier Control Contest by Connecting Consistently

The cowardly Captain of that Italian Cruise Ship that capsized is being called the Chicken of the Sea.  Next time UCLA faces Oregon State, they might be Chicken of the C’s, because they won’t want to see Jared Cunningham and Devon Collier again.  The Bruins had no answer for those two, who scored 21 and 20 respectively, in OSU’s 87-84 victory, which wasn’t as close as the final score indicated.

Oregon State got off to a fast start, jumping out to an 8-0 lead, but the Bruins went on a 10-1 run to storm back and take a lead.  The game stayed very close for an hour after that, as the Wear Twins helped the Bruins keep pace.  But in the 2nd Half, the Beavers outplayed the Bruins, by running a more efficient Offense, getting better shots, and playing tighter Defense.  OSU built an 11-Point lead, and the Bruins never recovered.

The Beavers made adjustments, and neutralized the Wears, which allowed OSU to hold onto the lead.  The Bruins cut the lead to 6 late in the game, but they couldn’t get over the hump.  A huge Three by Ahmad Starks put the lead back to 9 with just four and a half minutes left, and then a strange thing happened:  The Bruins showed no desire to avoid the loss.

For some inexplicable reason, the Bruins showed NO URGENCY, playing as if there were still 15 minutes left. Continue Reading »

The Rapture — No Divine Intervention needed, as the Bruins Crucify usc In The Beginning, building an 18-point lead by Halftime, and causing a Mass Exodus of troy Disciples while Smiting the trojans 66-47 in the Galen Center

Holy Annihilation!  No one ever said that the Galen Center was a College Basketball Cathedral, or, God forbid, a Shrine to the Sport.  In fact, the trojans have sucked the whole time they’ve been playing there (and a lot longer, actually).  Unfortunately, the Bruins haven’t been much better (except for a recent three-year span), so no game against the trojans is a guaranteed win for UCLA.  In fact, the Rivalry game on Sunday was deemed fairly even going in, with oddsmakers installing a betting line of UCLA minus one point.  But on this day, the spread was never in doubt, as UCLA demolished the outmanned trojans, 66-47.  Southern cal was up 7-4 in the first few minutes, until the Bruins exploded, outscoring sc 20-3 to take a 24-10 lead which they would never relinquish.  Behind the Paint Domination of the Wear Twins and Anthony Stover, the Bruins completely shut down the trojan Offense. Continue Reading »

Angels of (Lord Have) Mercy — I don’t want to Harp on it, but when you say Halo to this Heavenly pictorial of Celestial Bodies, it should give you Wings

If you were an L.A. Baseball fan in the 70′s, you might remember that the California Angels had a theme song on the radio that went:  “California Angels, A-OKAY, California Angels, A-OKAY…”  Well, those Angels are now the California Angels of Anaheim, but they aren’t California’s ONLY angels.

In Palm Desert, California last weekend, about 400 of the most gorgeous girls in the World congregated to battle for supremacy in the world of Beauty Pageants.  About 50% of each pageant was dedicated to Swimsuit Competition, Continue Reading »