Dorrell fired

UCLA football head coach Karl Dorrell has been released by the university, as of Monday morning.

In other news, Hell still hot, water still wet, USC still evil incarnate with a dash of mustard and ketchup.

More forthcoming.

Not with a bang, but with a whimper

Well, that was... Uninspiring.

And so, what will likely be the last game of the Karl Dorrell era (barring possibly letting Karl stay on for the bowl game - not too probable considering the lost recruiting time for a new coach) ends with a 24-7 USC victory over UCLA. The Bruin defense played a solid game, coming up with two big turnovers deep in their own territory. However, the offense, with Pat Cowan under center for the majority of the day, simply couldn't put points on the board.

The game was "in doubt" - in the sense that it was conceivable UCLA could pull the upset with a bit of luck - until a Fred Davis touchdown reception with 12 minutes left in the 4th quarter effectively put the game out of reach. The Trojans simply dominated the ball, holding it for nearly 38 minutes in the game, not far from LSU's NCAA record of 39:16. The Bruin defense just wore down as the game went on. In the first quarter, USC averaged around 3.4 yards per carry (11 carries, 37 yds). For the rest of the game, the offense could not consistently generate drives to keep the D on the sidelines. As such, from the second quarter on, the Bruins gave up 5.1 yards per carry (38 carries, 194 yds). Yeesh.

And those rush numbers are the key ones, give that the run game was the difference in this contest. Both teams averaged 5.4 yards per pass, a pretty dismal number. Neither Booty nor Cowan was particularly good all game, and incredibly enough Pat actually finished with a higher passer rating (114 to 110). However, the Trojans averaged nearly 5 yard per rush for the game, while UCLA averaged 0.5. And yes, that decimal place is correct. Le sigh.

So instead of a huge blowout of the Bruins, or a potential job-saving upset of the Trojans, what we get is a meh game featuring lots of running calls, poor offensive play on both sides of the ball, and a rather unsatisfying finish. Fitting for the Dorrell era, one might think (hey, at least the Bruins covered the spread!).

So, now that the celebrations can begin, where do we go from here?

Let's start with the big boys at the L.A. Times. Bill Plaschke writes about the lack of progress within the program under Dorrell. Not a whole lot of help there, Bill - this article should have been written after the Utah game. Or several other incidences, really, but Utah applies for this season at least.

T.J. Simers, by comparison, is shockingly positive with regards to Dorrell's tenure. More interestingly, he notes an insider who claims "[Boise State head coach Chris] Petersen will be the Bruins' new coach and DeWayne Walker willremain [sic] on staff as defensive coordinator." He also suggests to his readers to "[c]heck out a website called DumpDorrell.com [ed - Link not sic]" as an example of what is wrong with college football fandom. Heaven help TJ if he ever gets a hold of Nestor's work - his head might explode. The mention of Peterson as HC with Walker is a very interesting one, though, and we'll have to wait and see if more comes of it.

More informative than either of the above is Brian Dohn, over at the Daily News. His piece reports several particulars with regards to the future of UCLA football. For one, it looks like the Bruins are headed to the Las Vegas Bowl (again - see 2002/2004) to meet up with the BYU Cougars (again - see Sept 8). But the real money quote can be found a little further in:

The intermediaries [between UCLA and several coaching candidates], both boosters and former players, contacted former San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions coach Steve Mariucci, former UCLA quarterback and current Baltimore Ravens assistant Rick Neuheisel and the representatives of Texas Tech coach Mike Leach and Boise State coach Chris Peterson, according to sources.

That's quite a list. Neuheisel, Leach, and Peterson were names I've heard bandied about quite a bit - and obviously Peterson jumps to the fore if Simers is right. Mariucci I've heard, but never really seriously considered. Then again, the 'intermediaries' listed are a) not members of the UCLA administration, and b) are reaching out to other coaches, with no indicators of return interest as far as those on the outside might know. So the eventual hire certainly could come from outside that list - however, this gives a jumping-off point from which the search can be evaluated.

I wish the outgoing seniors all the best in the upcoming bowl game, be it in Vegas or wherever, and I wish them the best in the future beyond. This season will quite possibly go down in UCLA lore as the season that could have been - could have saved Karl's job, could have taken the Bruins to new heights, could have knocked a sometimes-vulnerable USC off their pedestal... Couldas, Wouldas, and Shouldas about. And at the end of the day, it traces back to one man, and that is head coach Karl Dorrell.

Happy trails, Karl. You're a good man, and a good Bruin. It's just a shame you're not a good coach.

Profiles in Optimism – Coming soon

As UCLA’s football season winds to a close, the question arises, as it has seemingly every year around this time – what to do about Karl Dorrell? Opinions vary wildly, from the open (bridling on unhealthy and obsessive) Karl Dorrell hatred by major UCLA blogging site Bruins Nation and its patron Nestor, to the defense of Karl Dorrell fostered by the Daily News’s Brian Dohn over at Inside UCLA. I fall somewhere in the middle of these two camps – I was displeased with the Dorrell hire, felt he should have gone after the first two seasons, then began to have some hope following his third year. Last season was disappointing at times, but there were signs that the improvement could be continuing. UCLA’s loss of Olson and Cowan’s early struggles might have explained some of the offensive issues, and the defense matured throughout the year into an excellent unit. I was willing to be patient, especially with the talent returning across the board this season.

The Bruins should not be fielding a six-win team at this point in the season. Losses to Notre Dame and an injury-ravaged Utah squad are inexcusable, and the fact that the Bruins still have a shot at the Rose Bowl simply highlights how painful the losses to bad Arizona and Washington State teams are – as well as the Arizona State game that could have easily been a 'W' as well. Depending on the breaks, the Bruins could end up in the Rose Bowl, true, but they could just as easily end up without any bowl invite whatsoever. And that suggests that Dorrell should go – his 5 years have provided some great moments, and I think he has the potential to grow into a serviceable head coach, but at the moment his only strength seems to be excellent special teams. That’s just not enough. Not for UCLA. Not really for anybody, except maybe Frank Beamer, who seems to have a hard-on for them.

So where does that leave us, if Dorrell is indeed gone? Well, aside from Yub Nub Celebrations over at Bruins Nation and Dump Dorrell among others, a new coach must be hired. So what I hope to do is follow in the footsteps of Brian Cook over at the canonical Michigan-centric MGoBlog. Cook, one of the best in the biz, is currently enduring his own team’s coaching search. Shortly following UM’s unbelievable upset at the hands of (now 2-loss) Appalachian State and the obliteration of the Wolverines by the Oregon Ducks (how far away those days must seem now to Ducks fans), it appeared certain that Michigan would have a new coach by 2008’s opening day. As such, Cook decided to begin a series he called Profiles in Heroism. He only got as far as, well… one (Profile in Hero?), giving a detailed breakdown of UC-Berkeley head coach Jeff Tedford. The profiles have been put on hiatus due to the heating up of the Les Miles rumor mill, followed by the recent reveal that Kirk Ferentz was the top candidate for the job.

My take on that (even if it now looks like Ferenntz won't leave Iowa):


Anyway, I thought the idea of examining coaching candidates had a lot of merit, so I figured I’d give it a shot. The design, categories of note, and execution will be similar. Though I’ll have fewer tables – Brian does love him some tables. As such, I’ll be trying to put out several of these over the next couple of weeks, until either a) I run out of candidates I personally believe to be considered as viable, b) KD is fired and a new coach is picked, or c) Dorrell is given another rollover extension and Nestor sets himself on fire in a paroxysm of rage.

Profiles in Heroism, though, seems to have the wrong sound for this search. Profiles in Heroism works as a title when you’re talking about saving a program with an unmatchable historical pedigree - cue The Victors. But when you’re looking at trying to find the right guy to take UCLA to the top of its potential, I’d go more for… (brief drumroll, prepare for anticlimactic title reveal as you’ve seen the name at the top of the post already and now I’m just trying to see how long I can make this parenthetical statement) Profiles in Optimism.

Booyah.<⁄Stu Scott>

Brief segue: yes, UCLA is around a top-25 college football program, historically. No, UCLA is not a top-10 college football program. It’s probably not even top-20 – 25ish seems about right. One split national championship a half-century ago, one VERY contentious Heisman (if you pretend otherwise you’re not just a homer, you’re ignorant of college football’s history). In an historical sense, the Bruins are probably the third most successful program just in the Pac-10, as UW has a similar level of success in-conference, and a better overall winning percentage. UCLA needs to find somebody like Sanders or Prothro, who can immediately give the program a jolt and get the Bruins back into the top 3 slots of the Pac-10 in a consistent fashion. This is something Dorrell has been unable to do. This is why Dorrell should be fired. Okay, segue over.

That actually about covers it. The plan is to go over various coaches and discuss their various pros and cons, hopefully generating a reasonably good understanding of who should be getting the most attention from the Morgan Center. First to bat will be Tricky Dicky, formerly known as ex-UCLA quarterback Rick Neuheisel. The man who threw Karl Dorrell passes, and gave him a coaching position as an assistant at Colorado and then Washington, has been oft-mentioned as a candidate, so we'll start with him.

Of course, if the miracle scenario unfolds, the Bruins end up in the Rose Bowl, and then somehow manage to WIN the thing, Dorrell’s obviously not going to go anywhere for a while, so this could all be moot.

But I wouldn’t bet on it.

State of the Program - Football

The news for the football program compared to that of the hardcourt is… Well, we’ll call it ambiguous with a chance of optimism. Though UCLA shut out the top-10 Oregon Ducks this past weekend, winning 16-0, the win hardly felt like an accomplishment. This post by Dave over at the Oregon blog Addicted to Quack may be more descriptive of what the game does to OU's Rose Bowl hopes, but it nevertheless also provides an example of what most viewers probably wished would happen to the Rose Bowl partway through the game this past Saturday. The offensive ineptitude was epic.

Oregon started its second-string QB, Brady Leaf, who went down with an injury in the first quarter. Deep reserves Cody Kempt and Justin Roper couldn’t do anything on offense, and the Oregon run game faltered as a result. Excellent OU tailback Jonathan Stewart was also playing despite a lingering injury. UCLA’s win was more a result of Oregon’s inability to move the ball without Dennis Dixon – and a number of its other offensive weapons, also lost to injury – than it was due to Bruin defensive prowess. The defense played well, to be sure; but how well is almost impossible to determine.

Meanwhile, UCLA’s air attack was nonexistent. In the first half, I mean that in a literal fashion – wait, I take that back. Nonexistence would have been preferable to the actual outcome, in which the Bruins completed more passes to Oregon’s secondary than their own wide receivers. Osaar Rasshan went 0-7, with one interception on an attempted deep pass play. Coming in at the start of the second half in a return from injury, opening day starter Ben Olson had some success, limited though it was. He went 4-10 with an INT in the back of the end zone on a spectacular play by a Duck cornerback, but did seem to provide at least the threat of a passing game. That finally opened up some running lanes for UCLA’s tailbacks, mainly Chris Markey and walk-on Craig Sheppard, the latter of whom scored the game’s only touchdown on a 21-yard run.

Not in the box score, but deserving a mention, was a trick play worthy of Bob Toledo on the opening kickoff of the second half. Markey took the kick, and then threw across the field to a wide-open Matt Slater, who raced untouched into the end zone. The play was nullified, however, because Markey threw the ball (obviously) forwards instead of backwards. The day as a whole was marked entirely by offensive ineptitude, so it was a sad moment indeed to see the by far the most successful pass of the day called back. I suppose it's really a condensed version of the story of the game, and in a macro sense, of UCLA's entire season.

And so the Bruins find themselves facing a resurgent USC Trojan team that is coming off a 20-point whipping of Arizona State and looking to return to the Rose Bowl. With this year's game being played in the Coliseum, UCLA’s chances look grim. During Karl Dorrell’s tenure at UCLA, games played on USC’s home turf have featured Trojan victories of 25, and 47 points. The two contests at the Rose Bowl were a 5-point win for USC and last season’s astonishing 13-9 upset by the Bruins. Suffice to say, UCLA plays USC far more evenly at home than on the ‘road’ (despite the fact that the L.A. Coliseum is actually closer to Westwood than the Rose Bowl).

The Bruins look to a hopefully healthy Ben Olson to lead them against the Trojans, an opportunity he missed last season. If Olson can’t play, UCLA turns next to either last week’s starter Rasshan, or last season’s hero Patrick Cowan, who may be available coming off his own injury. For UCLA to have any chance in the game, they must establish some sort of offensive consistency early. Probably through the passing game, where the Trojan defense is the "most" (finger quotes sadly necessary) suspect. Otherwise the Bruins are in major trouble, as expecting to hold USC’s offense to less than 10 points two times in a row seems the unlikeliest of outcomes.

With both the football and basketball teams facing major tests this weekend, it will be interesting to view how the two programs do, given the upward trend of basketball and the general downward spiral of football.

State of the Program - Basketball

So. Back again – once more, hopefully for longer than a couple days. Life intervenes. Let’s see if this’ll stick this time. Plenty has happened since I last posted, so let’s try and get up to speed from the point I left off (end of October).

Let’s start with the good news. And, where UCLA basketball is concerned, there’s plenty of news indeed, most of it good. The Bruins are the top-ranked team in college basketball, at least as far as the coaches are concerned, ahead of the North Carolina Tar Heels. UCLA remains #2 in the AP poll, behind UNC.

Though the Bruins have put in a number of victories against sub-par competition, they have a pair of solid non-conference wins already. Both came during the CBE Classic, held in Kansas City. In the CBE semi-final, the Bruins struggled in the first half before jumping to a 20-point lead in an eventual 12-point victory over a good Maryland team from the ACC. Following that, UCLA somehow managed a come-from-behind nailbiter against top-15 opponent Michigan State in the CBE finals.

All this success has come despite the absence of preseason All-American point guard Darren Collison, and 3-point specialist Michael Roll (not to mention sophomore forward James Keefe). The injury toll continues to rise, with F/C Alfred Aboya going down due to a fractured orbital bone during UCLA’s win over Yale. However, relief appears on the horizon. In addition to having the junior forward cleared to potentially play as soon as tonight’s game against George Washington, Collison appears to be nearing a return. Roll’s return date is still uncertain, though likely in the near future, while Keefe will be out until at least the start of conference play, if not longer.

And if there have been plenty of injuries, the silver lining is the increased minutes for many of UCLA’s younger talent, which could pay off handsomely down the road. The heavy workload and on-court success for top freshman recruit Kevin Love comes as no surprise, but several other UCLA reserves have received key minutes. Notably, sophomore point guard Russell Westbrook has offered solid minutes in replacing Collison, averaging over 12 points and 6 assists a game thus far.

The Bruins face a key test this week, with Texas, the #8 team in both polls, coming to Pauley on Sunday. Ken Pomeroy’s excellent writing has moved over to Basketball Prospectus, but his statistical wizardry can still be found at KenPom.com. And according to his tempo-free stats, Texas has been the most effective offensive team in the country so far, scoring over 1.3 points per possession (the Bruins score a little less than 1.1). Texas's Effective FG% is over 65% - for comparison, the Bruins are at 50%. A brief explanation of the stat can be found here. The Longhorns will be an excellent test for UCLA’s now-trademark defensive intensity, and should the Bruins prevail in that contest they will almost certainly enter conference play undefeated. And even with a loss, UCLA will begin the Pac-10 season as a heavy favorite, challenged only by Washington State. Because all the other major conference contenders suffered surprising upsets in the early going, the Pac-10 seems weaker than initially advertised. The UCLA Bruins, however, do not.

What I said? Forget it.

So after a lengthy diatribe explaining why A-Rod was unlikely to come to Los Angeles, it is now being reported that Joe Torre is likely to replace Grady Little as the next manager of the Dodgers. Wow.

I'll be honest, I totally didn't expect this. I'm no huge fan of Little, but he wasn't the worst manager in the MLB, just not the best. And Torre comes with an enormous amount of baggage, regarding both his recent history with the Yankees franchise and what would likely be a very hefty contract. Let's examine that a bit, then get back to Rodriguez.

One storyline that has seemed to surround the Dodger organization the past few seasons is the issues with the front office. Communication problems with Paul DePodesta are the most oft-reported note, but fan issues with ownership decisions also pop up now and again. Clearly, the Los Angeles media is nowhere near as virulent as its counterpart in NYC - though DePodesta might not agree - and I'm not sure any ownership can match the stress levels caused by working for El Steinbrennario. But it's not like L.A. is without its own problems or potential landmines.

Torre seems excellently suited to handle both, I must admit, but I'm surprised at his willingness to jump right back into the fray in such a high-profile market, given what seemed to be a degree of weariness following this past year. Nevertheless, if Joe's willing to take the job, I'm more than happy to see how he manages this young Dodger team. He's known as a "player's manager," skilled in handling personality disputes and the like, which could be just the tonic neccessary after the back-and-forth that occurred between the youth movement and the vets at the end of last season.

But one concern is Torre's contract. He's not cheap - the man did just walk away from a $5 million deal, after all. Even hoping that he'll accept some sort of a pay cut given the realities of working for any organization not located in Boston or New York, he must know the Dodgers are hardly penniless. I can't really see him working for Little's estimated $600,000 a year (ironically found in an article titled "No changes on managerial front"), and the several million dollars that might have to be allocated towards Torre's salary could end up costing the Dodgers one of their young players. Why? Well...

Torre's arrival now brings to light the possibility that A-Rod, and even Mariano Rivera, might be looking to move to Southern California (as well as Don Mattingly, who will be organizationally linked with his prospect son, Preston). The potential addition of players like Rodriguez and Mo suggests the Dodgers might be looking to move some of their higher-priced talent as I had hoped... but potentially might send along some of the youngsters who become redundant in order to ensure they keep salary off the books. Players like Andy LaRoche and Jonathan Meloan become expendable pieces in the quest to free up salary for A-Rod.

ToyCannon of True Blue LA has once again put together a good piece explaining why A-Rod and the Dodgers are a good fit, and I'm not totally inclined to disagree (though I shudder to think of the columns already being penned in the minds of Bill Plaschke and TJ Simers). I especially like reason #10 why A-Rod would love being in L.A. - "What better place then Los Angeles to break Barry Bonds home run mark" (Hear Hear!). But a big organizational shakeup a move like this would necessitate gives me pause, given Colletti's track record, and the necessity of finding both salary and space for a potential addition of A-Rod/Mo/Torre (potentially $45 million plus for the three).

If Ned sides with the 'vets' in a reorganization, LAN could potentially have $65 million tied up in salaries for the manager, an otherworldly 3B, an effective-but-aging closer, an effective-but-aging 2B (Kent), and a moderately-worthwhile-at-best CF (Pierre). When some of the young talent begins looking towards contract restructuring in the next few years, there may not be much money left in the coffers, and the Dodgers could end up much like the San Francisco Giants (Colletti's previous haunt) have been for the past few seasons.

The only thing I can really say for certain is that this offseason promises to be veeeeeery interesting - and hopefully the addition of a few big names (and please please pleeeeeease no reduction in the youth movement) could bring the Dodgers some major national relevance in the Fall once again.

Roundball is upon us!

So this week the Coaches Poll came out for college basketball. The UCLA Bruins are ranked #2, a bare 5 points behind the North Carolina Tar Heels(739 to 734). The Bruins actually received more 1st-place votes than UNC (12 to 10), yet ended up behind them in the poll. Directly after UCLA, with 8 first place votes and 731 total poll points, are the Memphis Tigers. Following this top three, the coaches clearly believe a significant divide exists, as 4th-place Kansas received the only #1 vote not given to UCLA, UNC, or Memphis. After drops of 5 and 3 points going from 1-2 and 2-3, there is a 62 point fall-off to KU, and another 44 point drop to 5th-ranked Georgetown.

UCLA hopes that the arrival of much-touted freshman big Kevin Love can offset the loss of talented swingman Arron Afflalo, who was picked in the first round of the NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons after leaving school a year early. As the Bruins return pretty much every impact player from last year's Final Four team other than Afflalo, the trade-off from small to big will hopefully allow the Bruins to continue playing at the same high level they have attained the past two seasons. But it won't be easy...

The Pac-10, at least if this particular preseason poll is to be believed, is by far the toughest conference in the country. 6 of the top 25 teams are found in the Pac, with Washington State (10), Oregon (13), Arizona (17), USC (18), and Stanford (21) all expected to be among the best in the nation alongside the Bruins. Among the traditional power conferences, the Big East has 5 teams named (out of 16 total teams), while the ACC has 3 (out of 12 total). The SEC, home of reigning champions Florida, has 3 teams as well, but interestingly, the Gators are not one of them. Furthermore, with the Pac-10's unusual true round-robin system, the Bruins will be forced to face each of the difficult opponents within the conference twice this year.

That having been said, UCLA's out-of-conference games are moderately tough at best. Davidson, Maryland, Texas, and a potential game against Michigan State in the CBE Classic's 'championship' game are probably the only real potential road blocks. The remaining games are, for the most part, a fairly fattening creampuff schedule with a heavy emphasis on home games as well. Aside from the CBE and the "neutral site" (read: Anaheim) Davidson game, UCLA only goes on the road once, to meet Michigan (I am so sick of John Beilein, he's like Billy Donovan but without the slick hair or immense amount of talent on the bench). Even so, if the Pac-10 ends up being even remotely close to as tough as it is predicted to be, the Bruins will have their hands full for the majority of the conference schedule anyway.

But as long as Kevin Love can avoid getting kicked during practice (Hat Tip: BBR), UCLA seems poised for another successful season with the potential for a deep tournament run.

One can only hope.

L.A.-Rod?

Yeah, I know, horrific pun - but I can almost promise at least one local copy editor is considering it for tomorrow's sports page right now.

Anyway, Alex Rodriguez has opted out of his contract with the New York Yankees, the remainder of which was worth "$72 million he was owed over the final three seasons of his record $252 million, 10-year deal..." So how does this pertain to the Dodgers and Angels?

Well, to the Dodgers, probably not so much. Let's pretend Dodgers GM Ned Colletti has managed to get over his dislike of A-Rod agent extraordinaire Scott Boras for his role in the J.D. Drew circus of last season. Even then, the team's payroll seems pretty locked in at around $120 million or so, and is unlikely to jump 25% with the addition of the $30 million dollar man. According to ToyCannon over at the excellent True Blue LA blog, the Dodgers are going to be on the hook for $90 million or so next season, even before factoring in several big names that will likely end up receiving new deals in some fashion (most notably Russell Martin, Chad Billingsley, and Jonathan Broxton out of the current MLB lineup).

This does ignore the possibility of Ned Colletti suddenly throwing caution to the winds, handing the reins of the team over to the youngsters, and trading away the majority of the (overpriced) 'veteran' talent for pennies on the dollar in order to free up cash. Somehow vacating the salaries of Jeff Kent, Nomar Garciaparra, Juan Pierre (ohpleasegodgethimofftheteam), and Esteban Loazia (with Jason Schmidt receiving a tentative "Do Not Open 'Till XMAS" sign on the off chance he comes back healthy) would free up around $35 million in salaries. If those players were replaced largely with low-cost bench filler, enough might be left to sign Rodriguez.

However, the likelihood of Colletti somehow finding the courage to wipe out so many big names at once seems incredibly low, even if the team itself would seem to improve even if the Dodgers then failed to land A-Rod: First, one out of Tony Abreu/Chin-Lung Hu takes over second, with enough of a defensive improvement to hopefully offset some of the loss of Kent's bat. The guy may move like Strom Thurmond - and yes, I know he's dead, the point still stands - but he can still rake. Andy LaRoche (or A-Rod, in a best-case scenario) should be an immediate improvement both offensively and defensively over Nomar, despite the loss of periodic Mia Hamm promotional opportunities. Between Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, Delwyn Young, the outfield should be overall greatly improved (assuming Kemp can transition to CF) over replacing two of those with Luis Gonzales and Pierre. And Loaiza was just a bad signing in the first place - with a ton of pitching coming up from AAA and AA and hopefully off the DL, finding a way to remove his salary would be a bonus no matter what.

But, this is just a pipe dream. It's never going to happen, and I'm just torturing myself wishing for it. So, we continue on south down the freeway. I'll leave you with this note, courtesy of Bob Timmermann's uber-informative Griddle: the Dodgers now have the 7th longest postseason series drought, having not won a playoff series since the '88 World Series. So. Much. Pain. Anyway, on to the other Los Angeles Metropolitan Area baseball team, this one with a much more recent playoff success (2005), and a much greater likelihood of ending up with Rodriguez: the Los Orange County Angels of Anafornia.

Now, the Angels are consistently mentioned as a major player in the "A-Rod Sweepstakes/Derby/Competition/Insert Tired Sportswriter Metaphor Here" nonsense. However, a Press-Entreprise story by Dan Weber from the beginning of June suggests otherwise, with Arte Moreno noted as being very hesitant to embrace the thought of signing Rodriguez. Bill Shaikin at the L.A. Times noted a couple of weeks ago that Moreno was continuing to suggest he would not sign A-Rod, telling the Times "I don't see a $20-million player on our team." Nevertheless, with Moreno's obvious desire to supplant the Dodgers as Los Angeles's marquee team in Q-Rating (success on the field obviously notwithstanding), pairing A-Rod with Vlad would go a long way towards that goal. He's a major media figure not only because of his on-field skillset, but also due to his ability to successfully market himself off the diamond as well.

Additionally, Rodriguez seems to meet the needs the Angels might have for a big hitter - he can play multiple positions (SS/3B/DH), and he has the ability to move well on the basepaths, an absolute must for this current run-run-run Angels offense (try and imagine Prince Fielder playing for the Angels as they are currently constructed). He plays good defense, and would provide significant protection for Vlad within that Angels lineup (Guerrero has led the AL in intentional walks the past three seasons for a reason). So is Arte's hesitancy real, or manufactured to try and suppress the potential price paid?

I have to think he really doesn't believe the Angels need an A-Rod to be successful. The Angels have had a lot of success in the draft over the past few seasons, and they continue to bring up excellent young players from their high-level minor league teams. Several of their better power-hitting young players also struggled with injuries this season, including Mike Napoli and Howie Kendrick. With a very solid, and generally young, pitching staff, Moreno might feel it more wise to find a replacement for Bartolo Colon and wait a season to see which of LAA's hitting prospects continue to improve, then attacking the 2008 free agent market.

Furthermore, downplaying the likelihood of signing A-Rod seems a very ineffective strategy to me, given his overall value, and the fact that everybody knows about it. Unless every MLB owner has agreed to refuse Boras's demands for anything above $20 million (hello, collusion!), A-Rod will be able to burn cash in a wood-fired stove for most of the next decade and still walk away with... Bad analogy. He's good. Everybody knows it. He'll get paid. Moving on.

So, I really don't think Alex Rodriguez will find himself anywhere around Southern California next season (unless the Padres are planning on unexpectedly opening up the checkbook). The Dodgers don't have the payroll space and lack the willingness to jettison overpaid veterans to somehow clear it up. The Angels don't seem to want to drop $200 million on one guy when they think they might have "The Next Big Thing" coming up from AAA somewhere already for a fraction of the cost.

Ah well. I guess Go Cubs, '08?

Argh Argh Argh (one for each loss)

[Yeah, I know I haven't posted in a long time. Hopefully this'll get me back on track. Unlike the Bruins. Le sigh.]

Seriously, UCLA needs to stop playing teams that haven't won a game, either in conference play or in general. Neither Utah nor Notre Dame had a victory before meeting the Bruins, while the Cougars pick up their first Pac-10 win.

UCLA is 4-0 this season against teams who can't be described as having zero wins (the fifth victory being the win at Stanford to start the season, when no teams had a win, and so doesn't count). They are 0-3 against teams with a 0 in one of the 'win' columns.

The good news is the remainder of their games are against teams with at least one victory both in-conference and in general. Let's hope the trend holds.

College Football Rankings: Week Two

Okay, good, caught up. Anyway, this past weekend of college football saw a couple of upsets, a couple of near-upsets, and another Michigan shocker. Fortunately for the Maize n' Yellow, they next face a historically bad Notre Dame team. Hopefully UM coaches have found a way to synthesize Mike Hart's competitive spirit and inject some of it into the rest of the team. A comment on these rankings - I'm not a fan at all of the 'ranking inertia' that seems to plague some polls, so there wil probably be a fair amount of jumping around for the next few weeks as the good teams stake their claims. On to the rankings:

1) Oklahoma -- LSU seems to be the trendy pick here, but I think the victory by the Sooners was actually the more impressive of the two big wins. Even when the team isn't great, Miami's defense has always been stellar, and Oklahoma shredded them. (5)
2) LSU -- Plus, I'm starting to wonder if VT's offense will do anything all season. Still, 600 yards on a great defense answers a lot of questions about the Tigers. (2)
3) USC -- A bye week for USC gives the Sooners and Tigers the opportunity to leapfrog the Trojans. Though obviously, if they roll up a very good Nebraska team, USC will be right back up top. (1)
4) Florida -- Another week, another patsy, another big win by the Gators. 31 points by Troy were mostly scored in the 2nd half long after the game was decided. Defending national champs now clear favorites to win the SEC East. Tebow with 5 total TDs. (3)
5) West Virginia -- A solid second-half performance, but the Mountaineers need to come out of the gate better to hold off Louisville and Rutgers, not to mention USF or Cincy. Even so... Slaton and White. White and Slaton. (4)
6) Texas -- UT's win over TCU wasn't pretty considering the first half, but against a defense that good they showed they could adapt. Controlled the second half start-to-finish. (9)
7) Cal -- 6-point victory over Colorado State ignores two late scores against second-team defense. Still, this was hardly a blowout, and the game wasn't put away until late in the 4th quarter. (6)
8) Louisville -- Allowing 42 points to Middle Tennessee State is... disconcerting, to say the least. Especially when the scores weren't flukey, but the product of what looked like a very bad defense. (8)
9) Wisconsin -- There's a clear divide, for me, between the above eight, and everybody else. Wisconsin looked very lackluster, barely holding off UNLV. Must use next game against The Citadel to prepare for conference play. (10)
10) Penn State -- Yeah. Notre Dame? Not so good. PSU's defense will dominate most of the games the Nittany Lions play, and the offense is good enough to put points up for the 'W'. (14)
11) Georgia Tech -- The defense strutted its stuff against Notre Dame, and this past week the offense decided to join the party, which I definitely didn't expect. If they get by BC, they're clear favorites in the weak ACC. (20)
12) UCLA -- BYU's defense is really good. That having been said, UCLA's pass rush has been nonexistent to this point, and must improve if the Bruins hope to succeed against the high-flying offenses of the Pac-10. (11)
13) Arkansas -- Bye week. Game at Alabama now very big, as the Razorbacks should go into November undefeated if they can win this weekend. (15)
14) Nebraska -- Nice win over a good Wake Forest team on the road. Just an appetizer, though, for this weekend's match with USC. [Go Cornhuskers!] (17)
15) Rutgers -- Slowed innovative Navy ground attack enough to win handily. Ray Rice has carried the ball 62 times in this season's first 2 games, against weak teams. Will he survive? (16)
16) Ohio State -- Wow, that was ugly. No question, tOSU's defense is excellent. But the offense must show some semblance of life, even though against most of the Big Ten it might not matter anyway. 3.6 yards per rush (Youngstown State) or 2.1 yards per pass (Akron) will not cut it against better defenses. (12)
17) South Carolina -- Hiya, Steve. Welcome back to the party. We missed you. (NR)
18) Clemson -- Easy win. Crappy opponent. Gave up two garbage touchdowns to make final score less impressive. Date with Georgia Tech at the end of the month looks like potential ACC championship preview. (24)
19) Boston College -- No excuse on my part for having missed these guys last week. A pair of very solid victories. However - first road game of the season, and it's against the Yellow Jackets. This could be trouble. (NR)
20) Georgia -- Well, that was quick. Still, Spurrier's a very good coach, and seems to win at least one game like this every year. Don't write the Dawgs off just yet, though I'd like to see some offense some time soon, please. (7)
21) Washington -- Notre Dame fans may soon wish they had kept Ty Willingham. Freshman QB Jake Locker looks very good, and holding Boise State to just 10 points is extraordinarily difficult to do. Part of the logjam of good teams in the middle of the Pac-10. (NR)
22) Tennessee -- Won easily by virtue of a strong start to the second half, but only being up by 1 at home versus Southern Miss suggests future struggles. (22)
23) Oregon -- Say goodnight, Lloyd. Just a shellacking in the Big House. Dennis Dixon is the west coast version of Pat White. However, UM was simply bum-rushed and still reeling from HOT HOT HOT, so let's hold off for a moment. They gave up a ton of yards to Houston, after all. (NR)
24) Hawaii -- Yeah, that defense is not so good. Brennan's going to throw for a billion touchdowns, but there isn't a single team on their schedule now with any cachet, since Boise State lost. Still, a win's a win, and the offense still seems to work. (18)
25) Virginia Tech -- Uhm. This is a ranking based partially on reputation, I suppose... But it may be that LSU is just -that- good, and the Hokies were emotionally burned out after last week. Either way, if they don't destroy Ohio, they're out of here. (13).

Dropped Out - Auburn (19): No brainer. Lose at home to unranked team? Bye. Texas A&M (21): Squeaking by Fresno State in 3OT at home suggests the Aggies aren't very good. Boise State (23): Lost to Washington. UW may be better than previously thought - it's still an unacceptable loss if they want to hold on to 'BCS Buster' status. TCU (25): For a half, it looked like they had a shot. Then McCoy went to work.

College Football Rankings: Week One

Again, kind of a cheat because it's being done after the fact, but again these were written down beforehand, I swear. Skipping straight ahead, with previous week's spot in parentheses:

1) USC -- 28-point victory over Idaho has some questioning if the Trojans are as good as the hype suggests they will be. A 28-point win to open the season causes questions? I say this proves they're probably pretty darn good. (1)
2) LSU -- The offense wasn't nearly as good as the final score suggests, but no other teams jump out, unless Oklahoma can continue to drop 80 points a week. (2)
3) Florida -- This just in - Tim Tebow can throw. Top two SEC teams, then Georgia a bit behind, are a head above the rest of a very good conference. (5)
4) West Virginia -- I'm even less certain about their D than for the Wolverines. Still, Steve Slaton and Pat White are pretty much the best QB/RB tandem in the country. Yes, this is the same as last week. Yes, it still holds. (4)
5) Oklahoma -- 79 points. That was a lot of points. That was also North Texas. Still 79 points is 79 points. They could have done a Michigan... (7)
6) Cal -- Best win of the week by a non-HOT HOT HOT team. Game wasn't even as close as the final score. Jackson and Best may be fastest/quickest two players in pads in the country. (8)
7) Georgia -- Definitely the 3rd-best team in the SEC right now. (ed - HA) Oklahoma State is actually pretty good, but the Bulldogs won handily. (12)
8) Louisville -- 73 is -also- a lot of points. Can anybody stop this offense? Cardinals jump a lot of relatively unimpressive wins. (14)
9) Texas -- 21-13 over Arkansas State isn't confidence-inspiring. Longhorns were outgained in this game, and must wake up before a good TCU team rolls into Austin. (6)
10) Wisconsin -- Uninspiring victory over a bad Washington State team that kept the game close for 3 quarters. Still, a 3-TD win over a BCS opponent. (9)
11) UCLA -- The Bruins pulled away in the 2nd half without much trouble. Stanford's passing yards are distorted by 59(!) attempts, and the run game was totally shut down. If the offense stays this good, this team will be tough to beat. (13)
12) Ohio State -- Youngstown State. Yawn. However - 41 rushing attempts but only 147 yards (3.6 average) is a very bad sign against such a weak team. (10)
13) Virginia Tech -- The game was probably not a good reflection of the team, with the obvious exterior pressures surrounding it. Still, whither the offense? (11)
14) Penn State -- 59 to 0 is a nice way to start the year. A non-entity of an opponent, sure, but pitching a shutout is never easy. Crunchy goodness of Notre Dame next - let us prepare the defenders for a feast! (15)
15) Arkansas -- Felix Jones outshines McFadden. Felix who? He's the Razorbacks' other 1000+ yard rusher from last season. Potential one-two playmaker punch makes Razorbacks very dangerous. (16)
16) Rutgers -- Buffalo. Boring. Ray Rice begins a season that will probably conclude with his legs falling from his body. (17)
17) Nebraska -- The Husker offense rolls over Nevada. Solid start. Deposed Arizona State QB Sam Keller looks good. (21)
18) Hawaii -- Colt Brennan? Yes. Yes indeed. A guy throws 6 TDs in a half, you notice. (20)
19) Auburn -- War Damn Eagle will struggle offensively all season, but their defense is absurdly fast (you could probably say this about 8 or 9 SEC teams, honestly). Like with VT, this is the same as last week, and it, too, still applies. (19)
20) Georgia Tech -- Demetrius Jones is searching for a cleaner to remove grass stains from his hypodermis. Ouch. (NR)
21) Texas A&M -- Blah blah Montana State blah blah. Fresno State should be a lot more fun. (22)
22) Tennessee -- Losing on the road at Cal isn't that bad of a loss, as the Golden Bears will probably post 40+ on almost everybody they face. (18)
23) Boise State -- Lots of points against a crappy team. Wake me when they get to Hawaii. (24)
24) Clemson -- Bowden the Younger wins this round. Game wasn't nearly as close as final score, as Clemson totally dominated the first half and checked out during the second - see a 51-yard safety, among other items, as evidence. (NR)
25) TCU -- Offense? Meh. Defense? Quite so. Texas will provide a fantastic litmus test. (NR)

Dropped Out - Michigan (3): Yeah, that wasn't quite right. Florida State (23): Basically swapped for Clemson. Duke (25): I'm shocked - shocked - that the Blue Devils couldn't hold onto that spot.

College Football Rankings: Preseason

Okay, so this might seem like cheating a bit, but I had rankings written down for a planned top-25 post that didn't happen until now... Because the blog didn't exist. Sue me. This is basically what I had before, though I edited a couple of comments slightly. Anyway, at the start of the year, this is how I saw the teams shaking out, with comments:

1) USC -- Duh. "Best team ever," round 7 billion. We'll see how it goes.
2) LSU -- Offensive question marks, but the defense will be stellar, with tons of all-around speed on both sides.
3) Michigan -- Basically the inverse of LSU - look for Henne, Hart, and co., to put up lots of points every week (ed - uh, oops).
4) West Virginia -- I'm even less certain about their D than for the Wolverines. Still, Steve Slaton and Pat White are pretty inarguably the best QB/RB tandem in the country.
5) Florida -- The Tim Tebow era begins. Some loss of talent, but Meyer has plenty to work with, and clearly can coach.
6) Texas -- Colt McCoy, round 2. Insert jokes about the impossibility of his name actually being Colt McCoy... NOW.
7) Oklahoma -- No more Adrian Peterson, but tons of talent in the trenches. Can Sam Bradford not suck? (ed - yes)
8) Cal -- Look for lots of 52-42 wins. DeSean Jackson gets the highlights, but Justin Forsett may be the best player on this team.
9) Wisconsin -- PJ Hill will eat you, your family, and all your pets. Good defense, good offense, but no standouts.
10) Ohio State -- Having a hard time differentiating between Wisky and tOSU in terms of who's better. Buckeyes have better defense. Badgers have better offense.
11) Virginia Tech -- ACC version of Ohio State. But their defense should win them a lot of games.
12) Georgia -- I don't think they'll win the SEC East, but they'll give Florida a good run of it first.
13) UCLA -- With pretty much everybody returning, this team will either be really good, or really disappointing.
14) Louisville -- Their scoring D was way out of line (better) than their total D last season. Still, tons of offense (sound familiar?).
15) Penn State -- Can Anthony Morelli stop throwing touchdowns to defensive backs? If so, this team will be very good.
16) Arkansas -- Darren McFadden is, of course, Humanity Advanced. Living proof that you CAN win 1 against 11.
17) Rutgers -- Shockingly good defense last season. Can they do it again? Ray Rice is really talented.
18) Tennessee -- Wide receivers? Check. QB? Probably. Fill in the rest on your own. Third-best team in the SEC East.
19) Auburn -- War Damn Eagle will struggle offensively all season, but their defense is absurdly fast (you could probably say this about 8 or 9 SEC teams, honestly).
20) Hawaii -- COLTBRENNANOMGZWTFZORSLOL. They'll sit here all year. Play a team with a pulse, please. Moving on.
21) Nebraska -- Cornhuskers and Texas A&M form clear 2nd-tier of Big 12. After that? Anybody's guess.
22) Texas A&M -- But I'll be damned if I know who's better between the two, really.
23) Florida State -- Bowden the Elder is older than dirt. But the day you see him finish with a losing season is approximately 14 years after he's dead.
24) Boise State -- Jared Zabransky is gone. Fortunately for the Broncos, Ian Johnson is still around. Ask Oklahoma if he's any good.
25) Duke -- Hey, if it's good enough for Steve Spurrier, it's good enough for me. (ed - I'm retarded, this joke wasn't funny then and it's not funny now - kept in for full disclosure)

About This Blog

So.

September has arrived. The fall season has begun, and with it comes the beginning of yet another year of College Football. And, after several years of following the numerous sporting blogs around the internet, I've decided to throw my hat into the ring. Why? I couldn't really say. I guess I finally decided I wanted my own corner of the web to call my own. Anyway, a few notes concerning this space. I'd call this a FAQ, except the site's brand new so it'd be a tad presumptuous to think anybody's bothered to ask any questions to date. Anyway...

So who are you?

Underbruin will suffice.

Underbruin?

Yeah. I'm a pretty big sports fan who has grown up in the Los Angeles area. I've been going to Bruin football games in the Rose Bowl for as long as I can remember, and have come to love UCLA athletics in all its forms (even the slightly scary girl shotputter ones - just don't ask about the oddly-deep voices and the facial hair). As UCLA has often been known as the 'gutty little Bruins,' I find "Underbruin" to be a reasonable moniker.

What is this blog going to be about?

Mostly what's described up in the header. Though there's a chance I might occasionally dabble in other items of note, this space is about sports first and foremost. The UCLA Bruins, followed by the Los Angeles Dodgers, will probably occupy the majority of the space, but I hope to give most of the other LA teams some face time - yes, even hockey.

Why the hell should I listen to you?

Honestly, you probably shouldn't. This is really just another "random jackass with a mouthpiece" website. I just hope that my particular flavor of idiocy will happen to appeal to a few people.

So, are there any teams you like/dislike?

This is mostly to make plain where I have a bias. I die a little inside with every season that the Dodgers continue to go without winning a playoff series. And I'm reasonably pleased when the Lakers, Kings, and Galaxy win. On a more macro scale, I also enjoy watching the USMNT during their occasional moments of brilliance (generally surrounded by hours of ineptitude, sadly). For no real good reason whatsoever, I like to see Pepperdine succeed in NCAA hoops. And when lacrosse season rolls around, I root for my alma mater, Johns Hopkins.

With regards to teams I don't like much, the Angels generally annoy me because of their numerous (from my perspective at least) bandwagon fans since their World Series win. I can't stand any team from New England, just on principle. The Mexican soccer team is pure evil, but generally only shows up to grate on my nerves once in a while.

And lastly, to borrow the Bruin twist on an old turn of phrase: "My two favorite teams are UCLA, and whoever's playing USC."

Any other words of wisdom before I close this window and forget about this blog forever?

"Luck is the residue of design."
- Branch Rickey