While The Others Keep On Whining, We Will Keep Enjoying ...

by Nestor on Mar 9, 2008 10:47 AM PDT in Basketball

What is the mark of a great team?

Let's see Stanford and UCLA played an epic game on Thursday night with the Pac-10 championship on the line. Both teams were probably emotionally and physically exhausted after that OT thriller. So in my book it was understandable if both teams came out a little sluggish in their following games again inferior opponents with not much on the line (I'd argue even if we lost yesterday we would be in position to make a run in the Pac-10 for a number 1 seed out West or at the very least at this point we have a number 2 seed all wrapped up (in the worst case scenario) out West). So Stanford comes out, takes it in the chin, but couldn't must much to fight back and salvage a split on the road.

As for our Ben Ball warriors ... you saw what happened:

Photo Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

Down 49-60 with less than 10 mins to go our Ben Ball warriors once against went Joe Montana on all of us.

Thanks to Telemachus and Achilles for key posts today that have already undercut the whining coming from different corners of the country (more on that below). But let's here from the two heroes from our closing seconds - KL and JS - whose two incredible shots clinched another epic comeback.

Here is Kevin re his double clutch three pointer:

Love, who led five Bruins in double figures with 22 points, said when he took his three-pointer his hope was that Anderson would foul him. "I was going for the foul," Love said. "When I double clutched he went vertical, he actually tipped the ball on the way up."

Josh on his Tyus Edney moment:

Shipp's shot was off-balance and it went over the backboard and through the net, sending fans and players into a frenzy.

"I've been confident, my shots just haven't been going in," Shipp said. "As a player, you want the ball in your hands at the last second. Fortunately, they found me, and I was able to get the shot off."

And an ecstatic Coach Howland thrilled about this warriors:

"There were two incredible shots," UCLA Coach Ben Howland said. "Kevin's double-clutch three with a guy hanging on him and Josh made an incredible horse shot, unbelievable."

Guys ... these kinds of comebacks differentiates great teams from the good ones. Our guys could have packed it in like the Lopez brothers and try to regroup in the Pac-10 tourney. But they didn't want to have any of that. Once again the reached deep into their well of guts, resilience, and determination, and did what they had to do to send of LMR (and whoever else will go pro this off-season) with the perfect send off note at Pauley.

I will tell you right now everyone here should ignore the invectives that are being hurled towards our program from certain areas of the college basketball world. Consider the source of all the hate and whining.

Some of it is coming from fans of certain programs who choked away their chances at the number 1 seed when they had the opportunity to control their destiny. While programs like Texas was choking away their opportunity to seal their bid for number 1 by getting its ass kicked by a team "coached" by Patrick Knight, our guys went on the road and swept tough games against Arizona schools (fighting for their tourney lives) and then came back home to beat up a hot Stanford team (which BTW got more than its share of calls against Washington State at Maples just the week before) and loosy-goosy ultra-talented UCB team, which had nothing to lose. I mean its comical to hear Texas fans whine about 50-50 calls at Pauley, considering they were the biggest beneficiary of a 50-50 noncall at Pauley in their game winning shot against us few months ago. Whatever.

As for whining from losers like Gottlieb. Consider the source. This is a kid from Southern California (who never got a real whiff from UCLA). And yeah he got to Oklahoma State after getting busted at Notre Dame for (allegedly) stealing credit card. This loser was a hack as a player and he is worse as a "commentator." I mean from what we have read this guy is literally a criminal. But this is not a surprise from a network which employs a clown like Steve Lavin (who still probably can't differentiate between a zone and man-to-man defense) as a basketball "expert."

The fact is the hatred we are seeing towards our program is just the beginning. There is going to be lot more of this as Coach Howland continues to cement us as the unrivaled basketball superpower out West, carving our place as one of the best if not the best program in America. There is a reason Jay Bilas is sticking up for us. Because as a Duke player and graduate he knows full well what we are going through. Duke obviously has been subjected to the same treatment during last two decades and now that we are making our move in reclaiming our status as the Yankees of College Basketball, we will once again have to deal with the cheap shots coming from jealous and bitter sources. I have no problem with that ... it only means to me that Coach Howland is doing it right.

Going back to the game ... I only got to see the last 12 mins of the game. Obviously we are all basking in the glory of another Howlandian comeback. But there are of course some issues of concern:

The problem I saw in yesterday's game was not on the offensive end (then again I didn't get to the see the first half). But from what I saw the disconcerting part for me was watching our interior defense get shredded by the UCB frontcourt. There were just too many easy penetrations and easy looks for the UCB forwards. I was disappointed with the effort of our front court in terms of defense. Again may be that was a case of our guys having let down after the Stanford game.

Also re. our 3 pt shooting I still think everyone is putting too much pressure on JS as our "designated" shooter. The more I see DC shooting the 3, the more convinced I get that perhaps Coach Howland should consider switching up RW at 1 and DC at 2 to create more opportunities for DC to launch bombs, alleviating the pressure (or I should say perceived pressure) on JS.

Anyways, whatever it was yesterday I hope the effort is different this Thursday night in our first game of the Pac-10.

Speaking of the tournament, at this point all I care from this event is getting the on Thursday night. I think if we get the win on Thursday night, we should go into the following games in that tournament as having nothing to lose. I would sit LRMAM out for those games giving his ankle a rest and start AA2. I would also give heavy mins to Stanback giving our backcourt much needed rest. And no I wouldn't care if this means a stumble against Southern Cal in a possible second round matchup. That game would mean nothing to me if extra rest for our starters in that game translates into dividend in the Big Dance. We need to keep our eyes on the real prize not on some Gauntlet prize, that doesn't mean much in the overall scheme of things.

So once again congrats to Coach Howland and his program for winning the regular season Pac-10 championship for the 3rd straight year and putting together UCLA's best regular season conference record since 1994-95. Given the burden of expectations going into this season and all the injuries they have had to battle through, in my book this was nothing short of a remarkable accomplishment. And no matter how much whining and hating we read and hear from certain parts of the country and a bitter, cynical, lazy, clueless, Bruin hating local traditional media, we are not going to let anyone diminish what our guys have accomplished this season.

After the agony, pain, frustrations, and humiliations from those dark, disgusting Lavin years watching this celebration unfold in front of the poser masquerading as a basketball commentator (whining about a controversial call) was even sweeter:

Photo Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

We so deserve this.

Let others keep up the whining ... while here on BN we will keep on enjoying the winning.

GO BRUINS.

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Comments

Cheap shot artists

Our potential second round game could very well be ASU considering they beat the trOJans in Tempe. Sendek and his bunch seem like a classy group, but we should still be giving heavy bench minutes. Timmeh's prison league boys however are a different story. We've already sustained two concussions from these cheapshot artists and it wouldn't be below Timmeh to play a bit beyond the rules to try to mess up our chances in the Big Dance with a "freak" injury or two.

by Tydides on Mar 9, 2008 11:36 AM PDT reply actions

Biases clouding our opinions

Funny how during football season, I see quite a bit of "whining" from BN about the unprecedented success of a certain other school. Interesting how we let our biases get in the way of our logic.

by crosstownfan on Mar 9, 2008 11:40 AM PDT reply actions

$C football

I must be missing the point here. To my recollection, the biggest source of complaint about $C's football program has been the blatant disregard of NCAA rules by Bush et al. Don't see how that equates to referee calls in basketball games.

by islandbruin on Mar 9, 2008 11:45 AM PDT up reply actions

Yeah that's the same

Coming down on the NCAA for not investigating blatant cheating/thugging/raping/mugging/roiding/free-housing is the same as people complaining about two calls in a hundred over two games.

Shill On!

by Tydides on Mar 9, 2008 11:46 AM PDT up reply actions

Exactly right!

Nestor has no facts correct about Gottleib - the dude was in high school when UCLA won banner number 11 and oh by the way he was a High School All American.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Gottlieb

by mr havercamp on Mar 9, 2008 11:47 AM PDT up reply actions

uhm

I guess I missed that one point. And I will correct my post later. However, we never bothered recruiting Gottlieb. And yes he was convicted of fraud based on stealing credit cards at ND. You want to dispute Gottlieb's criminal record?

by Nestor on Mar 9, 2008 11:53 AM PDT up reply actions

Gottlieb

You may not remember but we actually owe some thanks to D. Gottlieb. In Lavin's final year, Gottlieb was playing on one of those club teams - I think it was EA Sports. This club team played at Pauley in the first or second game on the schedule (it was one of the exhibition games that does not count in the win-loss records).

I had just seen Gottlieb a few months earlier playing on an NBA summer league team at the Long Beach Pyramid. He was something like 0 for 6 shooting with zero assists. He was easily the worst player on the court.

Druing this game against UCLA, Gottlieb hits 6 or 7 three-pointers and his team actually beat the Bruins. By the time he hit his 5th or 6th three-pointer midway through the second half, Dan Guerrero storms out of Pauley Pavillion, disgusted at what he was watching. Getting beat by a club team was only a foreshadowing of the dismal year ahead, but, thankfully the end of the Lavin nightmare.

For what it's worth - thanks Dougie for providing one of the last nails in Lavin's coffin.

by Keith @ Bruins Nation on Mar 9, 2008 1:29 PM PDT up reply actions

Amen

Very well put. What seems to get lost in the shuffle also is the fact that UCLA put themselves in a position to win both games this weekend, and Stanford and Cal put themselves in a position to lose both games this weekend. The "breaks" at the end would have been irrelevant if Westbrook and Collison did not make their clutch free throws and if Brook had made both of his free throws and if Stanford had not folded in OT. Same for the Cal game- the "breaks" at the end would have been irrelevant if Love had not made his double clutch 3 and if Cal had blocked out Mbah a Moute and Shipp from putting in clutch offensive rebound scores down the stretch.

Better to be a winner than a whiner.

by islandbruin on Mar 9, 2008 11:42 AM PDT reply actions

I was at Pauley - changed my mind on renovation

Wow!!! I was in the donor section behind the UCLA bench and had an incredible view of KL's and JS's final shots! Awesome! The place went absolutely nuts! I felt like I was at the Rose Bowl when we scored a come-from-behind touchdown in the waning minutes of a game.

On another note, I've completely changed my opinion about the Pauley Pavilion renovation. I was pretty much against it not wanting to lose the "feeling" of the past 40+ years. But after getting asked to sit back a little because the people behind me couldn't see due to poor line-of-sights; waiting in line at the bathroom so I missed our warriors running out of the tunnel to start the game; hearing how it's rather quiet in Pauley since there's so much space behind the baskets and floor seats; and not being able to see the possession arrow or have a clear view of the scoreboard on the floor, I'm 100% in the camp of "tear it down, built it better, and slap on as many corporate logos as necessary to get the money."

by mark the bruin on Mar 9, 2008 11:52 AM PDT reply actions

As a long time season ticket holder ....

before I moved to Texas, I agree, in part.

I was in Pauley on opening night -- saw Alcindor/Jabbar lead the freshman team to a one sided victory over a varsity that had just won a national championship -- and have a deep reverence for the facility.

It definitely needs improvement. The "line of sight problem" is real, including in the 300's. And, there are some goofy and dangerous steps in that area, too. They are different widths and someone stumbles every game.

I definitely want Pauley's name on it -- but am open to some outside sponsorship. I wonder what would happen if the cut the floor into little pieces and allowed us all to buy them as keepsakes. Do you think we'd put a dent in the rebuild cost?

sjh

by Class of 66 on Mar 9, 2008 12:12 PM PDT up reply actions

No One Gave Us Anything

Not Thursday night and not Sunday.

The people in the best position to make the calls made the calls. Both calls are confirmed by slow motion analysis on a DVR or TIVO.

The calls did not end the game. They gave us a chance to win and we executed. In both games, the opponent had a chance to execute, at the very end, and did not.

There is a call, yesterday, that no one is talking about: the ref's measured how much time to put back on the clock by determining when Josh punched the ball. That's the wrong standard to apply. Until the ball touches down, it is not out of bounds, is still in play, and the clock is to run. It is likely that the game was over when it touched down.

Cal was given a chance to win -- a chance they squandered.

I don't care to hear "commentators" question the calls. They don't have the vantage point or position to second guess the ref's. As I said in another thread, it's not just what the ref's see that affects their calls, it's what they hear. There is an audible difference between hand on ball and hand on skin. The ref knew what he heard and based his call upon what we lawyers would call the "totality of the circumstances."

McCabe is reported to have said it was a bad call. McCabe is reported to have said it was a good call. McCabe is the guy who said it is not a technical foul to wind up and deliberately throw the ball into a player's face. I don't care what McCabe says about anything.

I have deep respect for our team and coach because they do not whine and cry about calls. We've had our share of very bad calls, some which have made victories difficult and some which have arguably contributed to losses. We play the ball the way it bounces and understand that referees affect the bounce.

That said, it is very hard to have respect for any Pac 10 referees or officials in football or basketball -- that's why I created the shorthand SPTR -- I just got tired spelling it all out. It really is time that the league does something about the problem.

Finally, a few words about the Lizard and Mushmouth. How dare they criticize the call? They weren't even watching the game. They didn't call the game, they babbled like a pair of small town "drive time" DJ's on a weak local station.

Am I the only one who believes that their sole function yesterday was to drop the names of businesses and products who paid a promotion to ABC for "product placement"? For those who don't know what I'm talking about, there is an insidious trend for sponsors to buy their way into the content of programs. That's why in some movies the characters drink brand name beers or soft drinks, drive cars you'd never see them in in real life, or use brand name computers and appliances. Lizard and Mushmouth ran the gamut of selling hotels, airlines, restaurants, and lord knows what else.

They never focused on the game -- until it was time to criticize a call -- and then, we are supposed to believe that they are experts instead of shills. Sorry, that turd won't float in my bowl.

Did we play a perfect game? No way. But we were perfect when we had to be -- and that is why we win these close games.

sjh

PS. What would the Lizard's teams have done when down by more than 10 in each game this weekend? Probably go down by 40 and set some horrible record. He has no business in our gym. The last time he was there, he wore a red tie. Yesterday, he was knocking the Pac 10 and hyping the Big East. Digger in one, ummm ear for the sake of younger readers, and Dick V in the other. Not a pleasant thought. They don't belong in Our Place and neither does the Lizard.

sjh

by Class of 66 on Mar 9, 2008 12:00 PM PDT reply actions

What I find very funny

Are those that see Lavin, and just simply assume he's a UCLA homer without even listening to him.

by melliott2 on Mar 9, 2008 12:52 PM PDT up reply actions

I think there was a point

in the middle of the game when Lavin was talking about how his wife turned him onto Yoga...and the game was going on!!! Absolutely ridiculous...no one cares buddy!!!!!!!!

by uCla on Mar 9, 2008 6:55 PM PDT up reply actions

Nobody cared until they showed her

I walked into the office this morning and a co-worker immediately said, "did you see Lavin's wife, she's hot!"

by bornagainbruin on Mar 10, 2008 10:37 AM PDT up reply actions

Josh's punch

I'm kinda surprised all those people who picked up and found the rules about Josh's shot haven't said anything about the ensuing punch. If you want to go strictly by the book, as these people all seem to, the clock probably shouldn't have started at all:

Rule 9. Violations and Penalties
Section 6. Travel, Kick, Fist, Through Basket from Below
Art. 1. A player shall not travel or run with the ball, intentionally kick it, strike it with the fist or cause it to enter and pass through the basket from below.

Or if the punch was legal, there should have been no time left - there is no physical way the ball can have taken the 0.8 seconds they said it did to fall. Either there should have been 1.5 seconds, or there should have been 0. They called neither. I think it's really interesting no one has brought up that little aspect of the rules.

by jaffa on Mar 9, 2008 1:07 PM PDT up reply actions

That's interesting

The rule would mean it's an all or nothing like you said. I'd like to know what they were using to determine that 0.7 seconds were left, because that doesn't make much sense to me. Also, I saw on BBR that "over the backboard" is a video reviewable play, so they were probably reviewing Josh's shot as well as determining how much time was left.

by Tydides on Mar 9, 2008 1:23 PM PDT up reply actions

brian dohn was just on ESPNews

they made their rounds with beat writers in every conference to give everyone a heads up as to what to look for in the conference tourneys, and so on. brian dohn was speaking for the pac-10, and per usual, he didn't seem all that impressed with UCLA's performance as of late, as his answer for the question of which pac-10 team is on the downturn was UCLA. when asked who the best team in the country is, he quickly and confidently said UNC, which is his opinion and that's cool, but this really didn't help his reputation of being thoroughly uninterested with UCLA.

by deepdish on Mar 9, 2008 12:29 PM PDT reply actions

I heard him on ESPNews

as well. I just don't like that guy. I agree with you not helping his reputation about his "interest" in UCLA. He claimed UNC best in the land quickly without even a comment such as "but the Bruins have the talent and experience to make a run at 12." Also - he did not seem to provide the Bruins with any credit for winning the last two just how the calls were wrong and favored UCLA. Dohn could have made comments like - "the Bruins still had to make the shots however."

Maybe I'm asking too much, but he is our beat writer and you would like him to promote the school he covers a bit more when on a nationaly televised program.

by gorams77 on Mar 9, 2008 1:48 PM PDT up reply actions

Compare Doh

to Scott Wolfie and all the other lapdogs covering the TrOJan beat.

Doh is just a sorry, cynical writer who is bitter about getting exposed on how wrong and clueless he was on KD.

by bluestreet on Mar 9, 2008 1:51 PM PDT up reply actions

all dohn had

to say if he really had thought about it is: "The Pac-10 has been called the best conference all year and the Bruins just won it, so the Bruins must be the best team." That way it's not his opinion but kind of factually based on a consensus opinion.

by bruin95 on Mar 10, 2008 2:01 PM PDT up reply actions

I think missing Hardin was to their advantage

It allowed (forced) them to play a much quicker team, where either of the large forwards (Anderson / Boykin) were able to get past Love or Mata quite easily.

by melliott2 on Mar 9, 2008 12:51 PM PDT reply actions

I think I'm becoming Lebowski

Dude.

I don't read Doh!. I don't care what Doh! thinks or writes. I don't listen to CHP or Dickie V (or really to any announcers. What they say has nothing to do with me, man.

I just abide, man. I don't care what they say or think or do. I don't mind reading what my brothers and sisters have to say about them, though. Those comments seem to pull the room together.

by Fox 71 on Mar 9, 2008 1:50 PM PDT reply actions

Goodbye KL and DC

Driving home from the game yesterday, I could not help but enjoy what the Bruins accomplished in the last 3 games and this past year. To win the P10 BB Championship for the third year in a row - truly amazing considering where we year just a few short years ago.

To overcome the loss of MRoll and the other assorted injuries during the season; to see the incredible play by KLove and DC; to witness the growth of RWestbrook; to see Arizona where they belong. Despite the momentary struggles within the last 3 games, they were all wins, all character building wins.

We will miss KL and DC next year but I can't wait to see what they and their teammates have in store for us over the next few weeks.

Go Bruins!

by Keith @ Bruins Nation on Mar 9, 2008 1:56 PM PDT reply actions

Some east coast love for the Bruins

Top of the front page of today's Washington Post sports section features a post-shot Josh Shipp nearly being mobbed by LoMata-Real. The Post's seeding projection lists the "Nation's most complete team" as the West's 1 seed.

by bruinhoo on Mar 9, 2008 2:46 PM PDT reply actions

Women's BBall team

lost to Stanford in the Pac 10 Tournament, ending their season.

by Tydides on Mar 9, 2008 4:36 PM PDT reply actions

Did anyone..

happen to catch the students behind Lavin during the telecast of yesterday's game. They were holding up a sign behind him that said Oregon State's next coach with an arrow pointing to Lavin and it took forever for him to realize it was there...I thought it was hilarious! :)

by bruin08 on Mar 9, 2008 4:40 PM PDT reply actions

yeah, saw that too

while i'm glad that lav is gone and that we have ben howland, i really don't seem to have the vitriol a lot of bruin fans have towards him. i get what he did and how messed up things, but i really don't haaate the guy. he's gone now.

by deepdish on Mar 9, 2008 5:07 PM PDT up reply actions

Not really hate or vitriol...

but all in good fun. And it was very, very funny.

by UCLAMD89 on Mar 9, 2008 10:34 PM PDT up reply actions

About the punch at the end...

Clip #25 shows that the hang-time on a three-pointer is about 1.5 seconds (using Online-Stopwatch). Anyone think the ball is in the air longer on a three-pointer than it was after Shipp punched?

by SuperBruinMan on Mar 9, 2008 6:00 PM PDT reply actions

Cool Shot!

That was an unbelievable shot over the back board, still can't believe it happened. Bruins are blessed.

by cyberdbk on Mar 9, 2008 6:15 PM PDT reply actions

Let the Media have its field day

First of all, I think the only reason some of these commentators say these extremely one-sided comments or ESPN comes out questioning this stuff is for exploitation. You have to remember, this is the media and the media needs to keep its own numbers favorable, it needs to keep people on their channels. And what better way then controversy. It's the same thing as the Britney Spears media frenzy. The media milks money off of things like this, and we just can't take their words to heart.

With that said, the big dance hasn't started. And the last two games will, unfortunately, leave a stain on our jerseys that we won't be able to wash out. Before every game now, this last week will be brought up. And my feelings of sadness then will come from the fact that we will be haunted by this. I think...no wait...I know we are an excellent team. Just as deserving, if not more, than any other team out there right now. I just hope that come tournament time we play in a way that leaves no shadow of doubt in anyone's mind that we deserve to hang another banner. Otherwise, a stain on banner number 12 will do no justice to the heart and hard work of coach ben howland and OUR bruin warriors

by uCla on Mar 9, 2008 7:18 PM PDT reply actions

I know they are just teenagers

but they have to be really careful what they say after these games to the media. CBH is great at this and exercises poise and doesn't state which side he is on. Just reading through some of the papers, KL, DC, RW, JS you must be careful of what you are saying and when winking is appropriate

by uCla on Mar 9, 2008 7:43 PM PDT up reply actions

Stain

If we win the 6 necessary games to hoist another banner, I don't see how there would be a stain. Whatever happened in the Stanford and Cal games, the Bruins still need to win 6 games in the tourney.

I am also confused as to what constitutes a stain. As numerous people on this site have pointed out, Stanford and Cal both had chances to win and didn't get the job done.

Is it a stain if a player throws up a horrible airball and it is caught and put back for a championship? I don't think the NC State fans see a stain.

Is it a stain if a player (Georgetown) has a brain cramp and throws the ball to the other team (NC) at the end of the game to cinch the win? I don't think the Carolina fans see a stain.

In all these cases, the losing team had a chance to win and did not get the job done.

We need to quit focusing on the supposed gifts from this weekend, and get back to what Jay Bilas said- there is not a better team right now than the Bruins. Let's look to the future instead of in the rear view mirror.

by islandbruin on Mar 9, 2008 7:42 PM PDT reply actions

i agree with u

That is exactly my point. We are such a great team and no one focuses on how passionately we played those last two games. Instead they get caught up in the media frenzy. They, being the media, are trying to put a stain, on our winnings. My only point was to say if either one of those games were the championship game in San Antonia, then the whole country wouldn't focus on us winning the game because we played some of the best ball ever, they'd instead let the win be tarnished with controversy. And I don't think that is fair to UCLA because I agree with Bilas, and think we are the best

by uCla on Mar 9, 2008 7:49 PM PDT up reply actions

We're the new Duke

That's the bottom line. Do you think anyone would care if the Bruins lost after the Cardinal benefited from a questionable foul call with 2.5 seconds left? Do you think our players would have whined about a no-call on a steal/foul that gave Cal a chance to win and then they hit the shot to win it? No and no. Nearly everybody wants to see us lose. Everyone wants to see the calls go for the other team because they know that we will win otherwise.

Everybody cheers for the underdog, and we are no longer that. I got an email from a friend today calling us Ducla. Now, we get all the calls, all the "luck". It's obviously bullshit. I saw Vierneisel's 4-step into a shooting foul on Shipp and Luc's clean block of Anderson, each of which led to 2 FTs by Cal. This is not some conspiracy. If it were, we would have wrapped up the game with plenty of time to spare.

Cal is pathetic. They take no responsibility for the loss. Anderson said "We're not to blame" meaning that the officials are to blame. You're not to blame? Do you know how many of UCLA's last 9 points were 2nd chance points? All 9. Do you know how many of our missed shots Cal rebounded in the last 3:50 (after the last TV timeout)? Two. How many did we rebound? 12. That's right. We beat them 12-2 on their defensive glass. If Cal fought for boards, they would have won the game. They didn't fight. Must not have want it badly enough. But when one call goes against them, they cry that they were jobbed out of a win. Never mind that UCLA fought harder and hit two amazing shots to win the game. Unbelievable.

There's a name for people who lose and then blame someone else for all their problems: Losers.

There's a name for people who take what their dealt and make the plays to win the game: Winners. Cal's the former, and we're the latter. End of story. Let's move on.

by BruinsRule on Mar 9, 2008 8:56 PM PDT reply actions

Well said

I think a lot of us are still adjusting to being the perennial top dog. It's somewhat sad in a way to let the "up and coming" label go, because our victories are now expected and deriving pleasure from them is inevitably more difficult. Each loss is unexpected and leaves us searching for answers because we're "supposed" to be "on" every night, crushing lesser opposition and feeling no remorse.

I just hope we never take a step past where we are now and start feeling entitled. That's a step too far. That's when you start with the "loser" actions you mentioned, blaming others for your shortcomings. Stanford's players, but not their fans, generally were accepting of what took place because they know they were beneficiaries of questionable officiating as well. Cal, on the other hand, has great talent but a scrub attitude. They have the sense of entitlement without the record to back it up. They are losers, and Anderson's flop when he got stripped of the ball sums up this loser mentality. He didn't want to make a play to win the game. He wanted the ref to help him out and he got burned. Too bad, so sad. Sack up and play the game next time Ryan, because no one cares if you cry.

by Tydides on Mar 9, 2008 9:35 PM PDT up reply actions

Amen.

Entitlement is what the other fools across town pay hundreds of thousands of dollars each year for.
I will always appreciate what we have now, and every victory that comes with it.

by bruinbunz on Mar 9, 2008 10:46 PM PDT up reply actions

Great post*

by Nestor on Mar 10, 2008 4:38 AM PDT up reply actions

Lavin's cliches

It looks like Lavin has a new cliche after that broadcast. How many times did he call UCLA "Lazarus"? At least I don't have to hear him complain about the "pathology of UCLA basketball" for his coaching ineptitude.

by UCLA4Life on Mar 9, 2008 10:12 PM PDT reply actions

Hey

here's an idea...instead of criticizing bruin fans for celebrating a memorable victory on their own weblog, you get the fellas together, grab the ukulele's, pack a couple hemp knapsacks full of some tofu and brown and climb a tree. I know it was a tough weekend down in southern california, but you just have to look past it, i mean theres a lot of protesting and singing around the campfire to be done.

O.A.

by Ollie on Mar 10, 2008 1:22 AM PDT reply actions

It is sad, really

I know so many Bears that excel in fields involving close reading and critical thinking, that I know that such skills are taught and nourished at Berkeley. It is sad to see that you had/have not taken such advantage.

Before coming in and making the tired attacks that Cal fans have been making the past couple days, it might help (at least for politeness) to actually read and critique what people here have written - and from your comments it seems oblivious that you are here to simply spout off, rather than to actually engage in debate over what people here argue - before bringing out your hammer (or squirt gun, as it seems here). Explain why we are wrong (more than "but dougie/SFgate/dude on Cal blog said so), refute the arguments here and maybe we will actually give a shit about you. Night night.

God, am I glad that real-life Cal fans aren't as bad as the ones you find online. Might otherwise make me do something crazy, like root for the 'furd.

by bruinhoo on Mar 10, 2008 1:27 AM PDT reply actions