Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

So I started thinking- since OJ Mayo was able to orchestrate exactly where he went to school and by what terms, then maybe all of this recent media coverage in the OJ Mayo case is by design as well.  Perhaps all of this is actually a calculated ploy to try to get some endorsement deals.   Maybe it's the early stages of some viral marketing.  I did some digging around, and well....check this out: (click to enlarge)

via www.insomniacslounge.com

Bumped again. This story is more important than a few vids -Telemachus

Bumped. GO BRUINS. -N

A year ago at this time, I was in a pediatric intensive care unit where my four year-old son Tyler was on a ventilator after having his trachea crushed by a tumor that was rapidly growing in his chest cavity.  My family was suffering and we needed support wherever we could get it.  One of the places we found it was in the caring network of fellow Bruins here at Bruins Nation (and also from the moderators of Conquest Chronicles, proving that some things are bigger than rivalries.)

Tyler is now one year into a two year chemotherapy protocol.  It's been an emotional year, full of ups and downs.  During those lower times (mostly as a result of side effects from his chemo), it's been very helpful for me to have places like Bruins Nation, whether it was for support or, just as helpful, to simply have a distraction to take my mind away from the worries of the real world.

I'm happy to report that Tyler's last two PET scans have shown no evidence of any tumor and his oncologist has decreased his chemo and says that Tyler's response has been the best case scenario, and that he looks great.  I'll let you guys be the judge:

He is the mighty Bruin.  Triumphant evermore.

Thank you, Bruins Nation for everything.  I'm so lucky that Bruin Family really does mean family.

Hopefully this is something we won't have to deal with, but I have a hypothetical question for those in the know:

If Stanford wins out in the Pac-10 and UCLA wins all of their games aside from their remaining matchup with Stanford, then both teams will finish with identical records in Pac-10 play.  Since they'll have split their games head-to-head, does anyone know what the next tiebreaker would be to determine who would get the #1 seed in the Pac-10 tournament?  If it's record vs better competition (which is how they settle it in the Big East), then we're screwed b/c Stanford swept USC.  But I have no idea if that's the same procedure that the Pac 10 uses.

(filler to meet 200 word requirement)
Once again, I hope that UCLA takes care of business and this becomes a moot question.  And really, seeding in the Pac-10 tourney is of little significance in the big picture for the Bruins, but for financial (read; gambling) reasons, this has become an important issue to me in the last few weeks; and I now I need to decide if I want to do some hedging during Stanford's last few games.  Thanks.

The line for Saturday's Washington State game at Pauley just went up, and the Bruins are a SEVEN point favorite!

I love my Bruins as much as anyone (and I have the bad back from camping outside of Pauley Pavilion for four years to prove it), but that line looks way off to me.  We might have to worry about limited minutes from Darren Collison and Mbah a Moute who are nursing injuries; and then there's the little matter of Washington State being a really, really good team.

Coincidentally, I'm heading out to Vegas tonight.  So my question is:  is it acceptable to bet against your own team if you feel you've identified a bad line in your opponent's favor?  It wouldn't compel me to root against the Bruins- that just wouldn't happen  - but objectively speaking, money on Wazzu looks like a good bet.

(Full disclosure: I have bet against UCLA twice in my life and won both times.  Each time, I was labelled a "sell out" by my friends, and perhaps rightfully so.  I responded by taking my winnings and donating them to the Alumni Scholarship fund to assuage my guilt.)

Of course, it could be that my premise is wrong to begin with.  What do other people think about the seven point line?  Do you guys see UCLA running away w/ it?

Finally, if gambling talk is prohibited here, then I apologize for this thread.  

I'm looking online for tickets for the ASU game.  I was hoping to sit in the same section as the folks traveling from ASU so I could talk to them about how it feels to actually have a top 10 team.  For the life of me, I can't remember which section is designated for visiting fans.  Is it the North end or the South end?  Do they get an entire endzone or just a corner?

Thanks in advance for the help.

And to clarify, I'm not in any way a turncoat.  I will still be rooting for UCLA.  I just want to be reminded what it's like to be filled with optimism and a sense of purpose while at a football game.

Also, since I'm still short of the 200 word requirement, I'll put it out there that if anyone ever has extra tickets for Bruins Basketball, I'm always interested in going.  This year, people really seem to taking advantage of UCLA's #2 ranking by asking for some outrageous prices for their tickets on StubHub.  So far, the only game I've been able to find reasonable prices for is versus Portland State.  If anything picture-worthy happens that game, I'll be sure to post it here.

Ok, back on point.  Anyone know where the visiting section is at the Rose Bowl?

Thanks again.