Rick's Out! What Happened

There was no question this needed to happen, Rick is a great Bruin whose passion for and loyalty to UCLA is without question but WOW this just did not work out at all. How bad was Rick's tenure at UCLA? Well his record of 21-28 makes Karl Dorrell 35-27 look like a miracle worker. Hopefully Neuheisel can put that SC Law Degree to work because I don't see a way in which he gets another Division 1 Coaching Job in the immediate future.

There's been numerous problems during Rick's tenure that led to him hitting the coaching firing squad but let's break down the big 3 right here...

1) La Pistola! - Rick decides after spending four days with the Nevada coaches that a switch to the pistol was a wonderful idea, this coming off his second year where the Bruins went 7-6 and Prince looked like a half decent QB. The idea was that the Pistol would reignite the run game that UCLA had been lacking in his first 2 seasons but he obviously didn't consider the negative effect this would have on the passing game, QB footwork, and also the Injuries that derailed a few Bruin Careers not to mention that his Hall of Fame OC Norm Chow had no idea how to run it and didn't care to learn. Rick put the Pistol straight to his UCLA career thanks to the switch! Just an awful decision the whole way around.

2) The Kevin Prince Man-Crush - Prince had a promising freshman year for the Bruins but then it was all downhill from there. His inability to stay healthy throughout the next two seasons was another reason for the Pistol's failure. He gradually became a worse passer throughout his career, never showing the gun that he had as a Frosh. After passing for 2,050 yds that first year, he has not come close since. While every practice report this summer had Richard Brehaut as the top QB, Neuheisel elected to go with Prince, a decision that cost him most notably a chance to even compete with Texas as Prince threw 3 picks in 7 1st Quarter passes... wow

3) Hiring Joe Tresey - This is not all Rick's fault in the sense that he wanted to hire Randy Shannon (Cheap UCLA Admins wouldn't pay up) then Rocky Seto (Foolish UCLA fanbase pressured a veto since he was a Trojan) but ended up with his 3rd choice, an out of work college DC Joe Tresey. There's a reason that when Brian Kelly left Cincinatti to go to Notre Dame he decided to leave this guy behind. While his stats were almost impressive with the Bearcats, he was also playing with Kelly's dynamic offense forcing teams to constantly play from behind and allowing his D to just tee off. This year he just absolutely buried the hatchet in Rick with one of the worst and most dissapointing defenses in the entire country, even with NFL talent at every level with DE Datone Jones, LB Jordan Zumwalt, and S Tony Dye the Bruin defense floundered allowing 38, 49, 45, 48, 31, and 50! points in their 6 losses. This guy might be the worst DC in the entire country getting shredded by every decent QB on the schedule, you probably won't see this guy working a Division 1 sideline in quite some time.

So now Rick is done. Taking the sad and lonely walk to Head Coach purgatory... I wish the best for Rick, he's a great Bruin and my god you can tell the man cares! Good luck to him!

Rick's Last Stand? - USC vs UCLA Preview

It's rivalry time... The 6-5 (5-3 Pac12) Bruins kick off against the 9-2 (6-2) USC Trojans tonight at 7 for the Victory Bell. UCLA has already locked up their spot in the PAC 12 Championship game next weekend as the South Champ since both Utah and Arizona State lost last night, oh and also cause that school across town CHEATS! making them ineligible for any post-season games. Bruin Coach Rick Neuheisel enters the game on an extreme hot seat with some saying he has to win in order to keep his job, I'm skeptical on this big time, UCLA is a public school, a cheap when it comes to football public school, and I just don't see them being able buyout a 1.25 million dollar contract when students are protesting tuition hikes on campus. This came comes down to two things 1) Can the Bruins slow down Matt Barkley? 2) Can they run the ball with the success needed to win (Over 200 yds)? This is Rick's last stand, his program needs this bigtime.

UCLA Offense vs USC Defense - The Bruins have the 3rd best rushing attack in the conference averaging over 199 yds per game with their three headed attack of QB Kevin Prince and RB's Jonathan Franklin and Derrick Coleman. They are going to need a huge game from these three in order to control the clock and keep the SC Offense off the field. Prince is going to have to hit a few deep balls to create space for the run game, looking out for the guy who did this, Senior WR Nelson Rosario. SC counters with the 3rd best rushing D in the Pac12 allowing only 110 yds per game on the ground, while starting 3 freshmen at linebacker in Hayes Pullard, Dion Bailey, & Lamar Dawson, an impressive feat for Monte Kiffin's D. If the Bruins are going to have any shot at winning they're going to need to get at least 200 yds tonight. Prince is going to have to play the best game of his career to get the upset.

Advantage: USC

UCLA Defense vs USC Offense - There's no other way to put this.. Matt Barkley is on fire right now. The guy is just putting up ridiculous stats this year throwing for over 3100 yds with 33tds and only 7 picks. The Bruins have the 3rd best pass defense in the Pac12 allowing only 216 yds a game through the air. The key for the Bruins will be to get pressure on Barkley with their front four led by DE Datone Jones and DT Cassius Marsh while still containing the SC running game of RB Curtis McNeal and Marc Tyler putting the team in 3rd and long situations. There's no other way to put this, the Bruins have flat out been crap defensively on 3rd down conversions allowing teams an over 49% conversion rate. Rick knows what this game means to his program, expect UCLA DC Joe Tresey to give SC a ton of looks but Barkley just might be too "en fuego" to stop.

Advantage: USC

Special Teams - Neither team is particularly great in the return game with both being middle of the pack in kickoff return average while the Bruins are dead last in punt return average thanks to super-slow returner Taylor Embree. While the Trojans have a better kicking game with Frosh K Andre Heidari going 15-18 the Bruins counter with one of the best Punters in the country in JR Jeff Locke. Not too much difference there.

Advantage - Even

Coaching - Lane Kiffin has proven himself as a collegiate coach this season to most, though his record is only 24-13 at this point, he's done a solid job of keeping his team playing hard even though they're on sanctions including the big win over Oregon last weekend on the road. Rick has struggled rebuilding the UCLA program since taking over for Karl Dorrell witha 21-27 record through four seasons. While USC has Legendaddy DC Monte Kiffin, Tampa 2 owner, UCLA's OC Mike Johnson has shown himself to be a good one. The difference between these two is Rick needs this game so much more than Kiffin and should come out with a win at all costs mentality, something similar to 2006.

Advantage: UCLA

Prediction - (Shaking Head) Just So Embarrassing...

NFL Thanksgiving Day Picks

It's time for my turkey day picks...

Packers vs Lions - Lions QB Matt Stafford threw up 5 TD passes in a comeback vs the Carolina Cam Newton's last week. Lions RB Kevin Smith has picked up the slack from the loss of Jahvid Best to injury rushing for 140 yds on just 16 carries in the same game. But the Packers have the top team in the league and probably it's best overall player in QB Aaron Rodgers. In my UPSET SPECIAL of the season at this point look for Stafford and Calvin Johnson to exploit the Pack's 31st ranked pass defense bigtime while getting just enough stops to win a close one. LIONS 38-35

Dallas vs Miami - Both teams are hot right now coming in with 3 game win streaks each. Matt Moore has been a different player the past few weeks but the problem is he's STILL MATT MOORE. The Cowboys have too much firepower with Romo, DeMarco Murray, and Dez Bryant to be slowed down in this one. This game isn't quite big enough for Tony Romo to blow it. COWBOYS 31-20

49ers vs Ravens - The Harbaugh Bowl should be a pretty low scoring game. The Ravens have lost a few games where they got punched in the mouth and didn't respond losing to even the awful Jaguars. I'm predicting a similar result vs probably the most physical team on both sides in the NFL. On another note, is there a better coach in the game today than Jim Harbaugh? All this guy does is win at every level from USD to Stanford to the 49ers using the exact same smashmouth approach. 49ERS 20-17

Urijah Faber just doesn't get it...

After his 2nd Round submission win over Brian Bowles, Urijah Faber called out Bantamweight Champ Dominick Cruz saying "Dominick, you can run but you can't hide." Poor old Urijah must be suffering from early onset dementia as he already forgot July's UFC 132 event where he lost to Cruz. Just in case, here's a picture to remind him...

UFC 139: Epic Hendo-Shogun War

An absolute war... First off this fight should have been a draw. Hendo won rounds 1-3 but lost 4 and Shogun should have received a 10-8 for round 5 as he mounted Hendo over five times in the final period. Both men were dropped on numerous occasions throughout the fight in what had to be one of the most brutal fights in UFC history.

In the other fights Wanderlei Silva got a win and amazingly remained conscious in doing so after dropping Cung Le with a knee and destroying his nose. Cung Le is without a doubt one of the most highlight worthy fighters out there but the guy needs to hit a treadmill asap as he looked gassed after the 1st round. Check out Cung Le's destroyed nose...

Matches to Make after UFC 139

Hendo vs Rashad Evans - With UFC 140 LHW Champ Jon Jones has fought four times in 2011 and is due for a break. Look for Hendo and Rashad to fight to determine a true #1 Contender in that division.

Shogun vs Rampage Jackson - Rampage has been begging for this fight for years since Shogun almost soccer kick'd his face off back in Pride. Just like Hendo-Shogun this would be a great fight for long time fans to bring the nostalgia back.

Cung Le vs Brian Stann - With both fighters coming off high profile losses, Stann's to Chael Sonnen at 136, look for these two to match up in what should be a high profile

Wanderlei vs Mark Munoz - The UFC needs to develop new contenders in the middleweight division and the best way is to give their up and coming guys like Munoz a name to take out, Wandy fits the bill here.

Faber vs Cruz 3 - Faber looked his best in tapping out Brian Bowles in the 2nd Round following a nasty uppercut and is ready for the grudge match vs Bantamweight Champ Dominick Cruz.

UCLA vs Colorado Preview

The UCLA Bruin football team (5-5) comes into their Senior Day at the Rose Bowl vs the Colorado Buffaloes (2-9) looking to get bowl eligible and maintain 1st place in the awful Pac12 South. The Buffs are coming off their 1st Pac 12 win as they romped the Arizona Wildcats 48-29, yup the same Arizona team that smashed the Bruins 48-12 on a Nationally televised ESPN Thursday night game pretty much sealing the fate of Coach (but not for long) Rick Neuheisel. Neuheisel absolutely needs to win out and even then that may not be enough to save his job.

UCLA Offense vs Col Defense - The Bruins are going up a CU defense that has struggled against the run and pass giving up a total of 444 yds per game and at 116th in the country 37.8 points per game. UCLA has not lost a game this season when they rush for 200 yards or more and should be able to do just that even with Mr. Glass at QB Kevin Prince. The question mark is whether CU will commit all out on the run just like Utah did last week shutting the Bruin run game down as Prince threw 2 picks. Prince generally has been a very inaccurate passer since his Freshman year as the shift to the Pistol has killed his footwork and accuracy. Still Coleman and Franklin should be able to get it going unlike the Utah game. CU doesn't have the personnel up front that Utah does and the Bruins should be able to move the ball enough on this squad.
 
Advantage: UCLA

Col Offense vs UCLA Defense - Is it even possible at this point to have faith in the UCLA defense? They may be one of the most disappointing units in the country, on either side of the ball. UCLA DC Joe Tresey has probably coached himself out of the college ranks... AGAIN. Colorado has a solid Senior QB in Tyler Hansen whose thrown for 18 td's and 7 picks on the season as well as the School's all-time leading rusher in RB Rodney Stewart. CU also has one of the top WR's in the PAC 12 in laptop thief extraordinaire Paul Richardson who is a bonafide deep threat as well as a threat to big-league your Macbook. This is still a team that dropped 48 on Arizona next week and the Bruins have only had 1 strong defensive performance all year (Cal) so they should not be overconfident for any reason but this is the same team that THIS! happened too so who knows what will happen with a Neuheisel squad.

Advantage: Colorado

Special Teams - UCLA P Jeff Locke is one of the top Punters in the Nation but the Bruins start soccer team manager turned walk-on Kicker Tyler Gonzalez who under the circumstances has done quite well, but would not be considered a major weapon. Even with ridiculously slow SR wideout Taylor Embree, son of Jon Embree CU Coach, returning punts the Bruins will have an advantage over CU who is only averaging a meager 8 yds on punt returns and 18 on kickoffs. Throw in CU transfer WR Josh Smith for UCLA and this one isn't too close.

Advantage: UCLA

Coaching - Expect to hear the announcers talk often about Neuheisel getting his start as a Head Coach at Colorado in 1995, where he was actually a pretty good coach going 33-14 at that time. Unfortunately he hasn't had the same success at UCLA leaving him in a must win and must win convincingly situation with the belief that if he doesn't beat CU and USC at the end of the year, he's a goner. Still he's got the advantage over Jon Embree, a 1st time Coach whose team has been blown out numerous times in his 1st season. Expect Rick with his coaching life on the line to pull something, anything out of his dear ole sweater vest.

Advantage: UCLA

Prediction - Amazingly as inconsistent and essentially pathetic at times the Bruins have been they have not lost consecutive games all year, a trend I would expect to continue. Look for the combination of Prince, plus Franklin & Bash (Derrick Coleman) to run for a combined 200 yds and the bend, bend, bend, and break some more UCLA Defense to get just enough stops to pull this one out.

BRUINS 27 BUFFALOES 20

NFL Week 11 Picks

Jets @ Broncos - The Tebow option attack has to be slowed down at some point and this is looking like the end of the road. The Broncos can only complete 2 passes and win against so many teams and the Sanchize should put up enough points to put this one away early. JETS 21-10

Panthers @ Lions - Cam Newton had his lowest fantasy total of the year last week but the Lions are quietly awful since Jahvid Best went down with their running game. However look for that trend to end as Stafford and "Megatron" Calvin Johnson should have enough to take this in a close one. LIONS 28-24

Bengals @ Ravens - The Bengals have been one of the most physical teams this season especially on the defensive side under DC Mike Zimmer. But with stud rookie WR AJ Green potentially out this weekend look for the Ravens to win this one behind a heavy dose of Ray Rice. RAVENS 27-13

Raiders @ Vikings - Did you see the Vikes performance last monday?! 45-7? Ouch. Michael Bush has been on a tear for the Raiders since Darren McFadden went down with injury and Carson Palmer has tossed 3 td's in each of the past two games. Look for the Raiders to control the clock and take this. RAIDERS 27-20

Bills @ Dolphins - Bills were one of the hottest teams to start the year, then Fitzpatrick got a fat contract and they've fallen flat the past few weeks. Reggie Bush has been a new man lately for the Dolphins, maybe something to do with a Kardashian divorce?, but look for the Bills to regain momentum. BILLS 31-17

Bucs @ Packers - Aaron Rodgers is the best player in the NFL right now and it might not be that close. Don't expect much to change in this one, especially at home... PACK 44-17

Cowboys @ Redskins - The Redskins are a mess at this point, John Beck may be the worst starting QB in the NFL at this point. Look for Romo and DeMarco Murray to have strong games as DeMarcus Ware goes APESH$T on the worst QB in the league. COWBOYS 28-10

Jaguars @ Browns - These teams both suck. Browns just suck a little more. But on the bright side thanks to Peyton Hillis the MADDEN CURSE lives! JAGS 19-13

Seahawks @ Rams - Seahawks have some impressive victories this season including wins over both the Giants and the Ravens just this past week. Look for a steady dose of Marshawn Lynch to continue the Seahawks up and down season. SEAHAWKS 24-17

Cardinals @ 49ers - All Harbaugh does is win. If this man isn't a top 5 coach in all of football then I don't know who is. Look for the Niners to impose their will on both sides over a weak Cardinals football team. And if you think the Cards can upset the Niners like they did the Eagles, "What's Your Deal?" 49ERS 28-10

Titans @ Falcons - Titans RB finally woke up last week with his best game of the season running for 130 yds and 1 TD on 25 carries in a 30-3 win over the Panthers. Look for Michael Turner to match his performance as the Falcons take this one. FALCONS 34-14

Chargers @ Bears - Chargers got ran over by Michael Bush and the Raiders last week. Look for that trend to continue with Da Bears RB Matt Forte. Plus you can count on Rivers dropping some untimely INT's as he has during the Bolts current losing streak. BEARS 28-24

Eagles @ Giants - The Eagles are flat out the most disappointing team in the league. With Mike "The Dog Whisperer" Vick possibly out with broken ribs, count on them hitting 3-7 putting the heat on Coach Andy Reid. GIANTS 27-17

Chiefs @ Patriots - With QB Matt Cassell out for the rest of the season, don't expect the Chiefs with their last in the league pass rush to put much pressure on QB Tom Brady. Look for Brady to find his twin TE's Gronkowski and Hernandez all day in a Pats rout. PATRIOTS 41-14

Clayton Kershaw wins NL Cy Young

Boom! Clayton Kershaw wins NL Cy Young with 21 Wins and 2.28 ERA... Congrats to Kershaw on a great season for a completely mediocre team. Now it'll be interesting to see if the Dodgers can lock up Kershaw long term like they did Matt Kemp.

Besides anything is better than having to read any more about the Spawn of Baseball Satan Frank McCourt...

UFC on FOX

After all the buildup to the 1st UFC event on FOX Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez was knocked out in just 64 seconds by top contender Junior Dos Santos. Velasquez was rocked by an overhand right from JDS right behind the ear and Referee "Big" John McCarthy had no choice but to stop the fight after some follow up ground and pound that left Velasquez face down. In the words of Mr. Jones from "Friday", "Son you got knocked the F$ck out" 

The highlight of the undercard was the co-main event and potential fight of the year candidate that only ticket buyers and facebook fans got to see was the Ben Henderson vs Clay Guida fight which Bendo won by unanimous decision as Henderson's flexibility and athleticism were too much for Guida to overcome.

So the question is where do we go from here...

Matches to Make:

Junior Dos Santos vs Brock Lesnar/Alistair Overeem winner - The winner of the UFC 141 headliner on December 30th is sure to be the first contender to face JDS for his brand new belt.

Cain Velasquez vs Lesnar/Overeem loser - Due to the lack of depth in the Heavyweight division don't look for Cain to fall too far in the rankings as he will most likely take on the loser of the UFC 141 contest. Interesting to see if Cain can get his "Brown Pride" back from either of these two giants.

Ben Henderson vs Frankie Edgar - Having already been announced for the UFC's trip to Japan in February look for Henderson to open as a slight betting favorite as has now been dominant in his three trips to the Octagon with victories over Mark Bocek, Jim Miller, and now Clay Guida.

Clay Guida vs Gray Maynard - The UFC loves to match up two guys coming off losses and with Gray coming off a KO defeat at the hands of Frankie Edgar at UFC 136 there might not be a better time to put these two together.