Hey, guess what? We're tied for first place in the Pac-12 South! Haha, okay, well let's return to reality following Rick's best efforts at giving away a game in Corvallis by implementing his conservative, playing not to lose philosophy. Boy, you'd think the way he doesn't trust his team to open it up and execute that he must think his team is barely better than a bunch of bottom-feeders who got beat by Div. I-AA Sacramento State. The truth is that this team has the talent to not only be competitive with Stanford, but to beat the Trees in Palo Alto next weekend (that's what happens when you've recruited as well as UCLA has the past three seasons), but the coaching staff is marginally better than if Barney Fife parlayed his law enforcement "skills" to the girdiron.
Let's turn to some other Bruin news to lighten the last bit of your weekend before we all get back to the grind. Here's your Sunday afternoon round-up of bits and pieces of news from around the UCLA-iverse:
- Starting with basketball, Malcolm Lee, despite leaving UCLA for the NBA, is still living the life of a college student due to the NBA lock-out. In fact, Lee, along with other former college stars (including Jimmer) are stuck in limbo, no longer able to play college ball, drafted by an NBA team, but with nowhere to go. For now, Lee is working out where he can and living off an allowance from his agent. Gee, I guess that's better than being the undisputed leader and captain of a loaded UCLA team that should be the odds-on favorites to not only win the Pac-12, but to make a deep run in March.
- In previewing the golf season, the Orange County Register notes that both UCLA and U$C will have a huge home-field advantage at this year's NCAA championships, being held at Rivera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, a course both schools regularly practice at. This year's men's team is being led by golf sensation Patrick Cantlay who tore up the amateur golf world this summer, while the women's team will return four of their top five players, entering this year where they left off last year, ranked at the very top, looking to defend their national title. Let's hope both teams bring home two more banners to Westwood.
- Sticking with golf, Golf Week has a handful of UCLA women's golf notes in their review of the women's Mason Rudolph Fall Preview in Franklin, Tennessee, an event that the Lady Bruins currently find themselves on top of the leaderboard with a six shot lead after the second round.
- Turning back to football, Brett Hundley has made it clear to Rick that he doesn't want to be some bit-part role player this season and waste a year of eligibility for a handful of plays. If Rick does care about his alma mater and the long-term health of the football program, he won't waste Hundley's redshirt year in a desperate attempt to save his job (if it comes to that). Given how sharp Richard Brehaut has looked (when Neuheisel doesn't shackle the gunslinger with his conservative, play-not-to-lose offensive play calls), there's no need to turn to Hundley this year (Brehaut, in four games, has 705 yards in the air, 140 yards on the ground, 4 passing TDs, 2 rushing TDs, no interceptions, all with a QB rating of 147.4). The biggest irony of this season is that, with Brehaut at the helm, it's the one position that isn't the problem for UCLA (read: the entire defense and the coaching staff).
With that, those are your Bruin Bites for the tail-end of the weekend. Fire away with your thoughts, comments, and additions in the thread.
GO BRUINS
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