Spaulding Roundup: Relaxed Prince, Kicker Obsession, Respect For Kansas State & Other UCLA Notes
Well it appears that the traditional media in LA is not going to obsess over Kevin Prince's injury at least for a while. Oh sure. They are going to freak out over who is going to start (probably the only group of people who are going to worry about) on Saturday but they won't be able to do much about it at this point.
In the meantime Prince finished his third straight day of practice without feeling any kind of serious lingering effects (according to Prince himself and CRN). Prince mentioned in the video below that his oblique strain felt a "tiny bit" tight but nothing serious at this point:
He certainly sounds calm and relaxed. What Prince has been focusing on is working his accuracy and "get the flow going." He made his share of throws yesterday including one which entailed rolling out to the left. As for who is going to be the starter for Saturday, Jill Painter provided the following thoughts from Coach Chow:
"They both know they're going to play," Chow said. "Right now, we expect both to play. Whoever takes the first snap, takes the first snap. They're good friends and competitors, so they understand."
Coach Rick Neuheisel (a shown in a pretty entertaining video posted below the fold) just chuckled at the surrounding reporters that all of this just making it "more difficult" on you not knowing." LOL At this point, I am just glad that Prince is back in practice. I believe both Prince and Richard Brehaut are going to prepare with the mindset that they will be playing. In turn that will benefit the entire team.
I actually kind of like the fact that Neuheisel and Chow will not be deciding till the last minute. I don't know. I am really enjoying watching these reporters squirm. More after the jump.
Rahim takes us inside his world on "3 with 3".
GO BRUINS.
2010 Bruin Football Kickoff Podcast Open Thread (6 pm PDT)
The BruinsNation football podcast is back and after an eventful offseason, we've got plenty to talk about. Tonight at 6 pm PDT, we'll discuss the entire offseason. That includes the NCAA's penalties on USC, the revolver being introduced to the UCLA program, injuries, suspensions and what the Bruins have to look forward to in 2010. In CRN's third season, the Bruin faithful are looking for continued improvement so what needs to happen for the Bruins to make that improvement and what could stop them from it.
All of that offseason talk gives way to talk about the opening of the 2010 season when the Bruins square off against Kansas St. on Saturday. To help us preview this weekend's game we'll be joined by TB from BringOnTheCats, SBN's K-State home base where they've been churning out great stuff all week. He'll give us the lowdown on the Wildcats and help of make sense of what the Bruins will line up against in Manhattan.
This is your podcast open thread so ad your comments and questions that we'll answer or work into the show. It should be a fun night so take part. As is always the case, you can listen live by clicking play above or you can listen afterward by clicking play or by checking out iTunes.
[Update x2] UCLA-Kansas State (12:30 PM PST) On ABC/ESPN 2 ("Reverse Mirror")
Cheers everyone.
If you have a basic cable package it looks like you will not have to run to the bar or hunch over our laptop/desktops to watch this weekend's game. That is because UCLA-Kansas State is going to be broadcast on ABC and also through "reverse mirror" on ESPN2. (Michigan-UConn game is going to be the other "reverse mirror" game on ABC/ESPN networks).
So if you live in the region highlighted in blue in the graphic below (via www.hdsportsguide.com) you will be getting our game on ABC. For rest of the country (that would mean BNers on East Coast, South East) we will have to tune into ESPN2:
More details on HDSportsguide.com. FWIW lets give credit where credit is due here. In Tom Hansen's time we wouldn't able to get UCLA/Pac-10 games televised on ABC/ESPN networks through "reverse mirror." This was a much needed but no brainer tweak that got done after Scott came aboard.
UCLA Men's Soccer: 2010 Season Primer
Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N
....and the random musings of an admitted soccer madman.
Nestor asked if I would contribute and provide some commentary on the Men"s Soccer Program this year. With the team departing for Bloomington for this weekend's match-ups with Notre Dame and Indiana, I am throwing my hat into the ring with my very first attempt at a FanPost. So please bear with me!
In reading the preseason polls, and the few sparse comments on this blog and the BRO forum regarding this year's team, It appears there is a high degree of expectation for this year's version of a team. Call me a bit pessimistic, but I think we should temper our enthusiasm despite all the hype of this year's signing class and recognize that this team is very very young. Consider in last Saturday's scrimmage, the starting line-up had five freshmen and a sophomore transfer who has not played with the squad prior to this particular match. There are also some behind the scenes issues, Coach Salcedo is having to deal with that could have some impact on just how well the team performs.
More after the jump.
16 comments | 1 recs |
"Predictions 101": NBC Sports "Picks" Kansas State Over "Lowly" UCLA
NBC Sports provides a fun little "prediction" for this Saturday (emphasis added but no link for garbage):
Well known for their penchant for scheduling non-conference pushovers, the Wildcats host lowly UCLA.
All of this talk about the Bruins’ new "Revolver" offense (they apparently didn’t want to steal Nevada’s "Pistol" name) seems to indicate desperation on the part of head coach Rick Neuheisel and offensive coordinator Norm Chow, who both know that place-kicker Kai Forbath remains the team’s most proven weapon.
There’s no reason not to give the Kansas State defense, which has been bolstered by key JUCO additions, the nod over an injury-riddled Bruin offense
So who did NBC Sports recruit to write up to "predict" UCLA's season opener? This guy: John Tamanaha, a Trogan hack whose career highlights include:
- Adjunct Professor at the University of Southern California — where he teaches a sports public relations class within the Annenberg School for Communications & Journalism.
- Associate Sports Information Director at the University of Southern California — where he worked primarily with the football and men’s basketball programs and also served as the Director of Athletic Publications.
- Editor of USC Report — where he handled the day-to-day operation of a publication dedicated to full coverage of the USC Trojans athletic program.
Thanks NBC Sports. Not only they just served up red meat for our football team but they just exposed what kind of classless hacks work at Heritage Hall, always working to cover up the stain of the most corrupt athletic program in America. Fight on NBC Sports.
GO BRUINS.
Spaulding Roundup: Pacing Prince, KSU’s Depth Chart & Other UCLA Notes
Well it appears that Kevin Prince continued to improve and head towards the right direction in terms of recovery during second day of game week practices. According to reports Prince "practiced at full speed for the second consecutive day" yesterday. For the "first time" since camp started he threw long passes on consecutive days. Peter Yoon from ESPNLA thinks that the strained oblique "will not be a factor in his ability to play Saturday."
Coach Rick Neuheisel is still not in any rush to name a starter for this game. While Kevin is making progress his sharpness understandably is not where the team needs it to be. Jon Gold described him as a "bit rusty" as his timing was off. Moreover, CRN wants to make sure that the coaches are not rushing Prince back in too fast. It is not going to help us in the long term if Prince has to deal with lingering effects of this injury all season.
Here was CRN answering questions about pacing Prince back into practice and other matters following practice yesterday (via Jon Gold):
Neuheisel also made it clear that he is not worried about preserving Richard Brehaut's redshirt season. He and his coaches are focused on winning this year. Ideally we all would have loved to have redshirt Brehaut this year. I think there will be chances to redshirt Brehaut down the line. I can see Brehaut being available to step in this year and next year, and then redshirt his fourth year (when we should have seasoned Darius Bell and Nick Crissman in the program and a redshirt freshman available on our roster). This scenario would give Brehaut the opportunity to take over the team in his fifth season.
Anyway, I wouldn't suggest people worrying about QB redshirting issues all too much right now and focus on Kansas State. More on that after the jump.
Twas The Night Before Football










by
by 
by 





























Most Commented
OT: Regarding Those University/College Rankings
by Achilles 1 day ago
35 comments
Looky here. Ralph gives us a sneak peek into UCLA road uniform. I like the move to going back to...
by Nestor 2 days ago
32 comments
First Road Trip Of The Year: Open Thread For Bruins In Manhattan
by #1bruinfan 2 days ago
30 comments | 6 recs
Spaulding Roundup: Pacing Prince, KSU’s Depth Chart & Other UCLA Notes
by Nestor 1 day ago
29 comments
UCLA Basketball: Basing Predictions on Last Year
by DCBruins 2 days ago
29 comments