And still feeling shitty about the loss. Thats not gonna change.

But this was a great year for the team and a turning point. Something special is happening there and it will keep happening regardless of what happened in Indy.

If the news coming out of these aholes today is positive about the Bruins, after getting trashed on essentially the entire tournament.  Of course, I do not expect this.  I expect more of the lazy crap they spew out day after day.  What I don't understand is how a team that clearly overacheives in such a fashion deserves to have idiot writers try and tear down their accomplishments at every turn.  Then you had yesterday's debacle, and I'm not talking about the game, but the insensitive handling of the Coach Wooden news and the 13,406th article on Gilbert on game day by whatever-his-name-is.

Next year, I'm excited about Aboya coming back and showing everyone why he was supposed to be our starter this year.  Watching Shipp and Luc possibly on the floor at the same time together, snagging every rebound.  Seeing DC mature as a point guard retaining his quickness and Roll finding ways to fire off his shot in our offensive sets.

Well, when it rains it pours (that goes literally around here right now).  Gotta bust out the umbrella and go to the worst 8AM class in the history of man...

that this hurts.  I would rather be in pain over a near national championship than be somewhat apathetic after a Steve-16 blowout, expecting the same every year.  Instead, Ben Howland had this team doing what none of us expected this year.  The way we played this year shows great promise for the future of UCLA basketball.

Now the hard part is waiting 7 more months to watch another Bruin basketball game.

I laugh every time I see the Swamp Ball logo. That alligator is hilarious.

As I guy who's been around since the first one in '64 here's a few thoughts:

1. It was a great, great season.  This will long be remembered as one of the great teams in Bruin history. Short on experience, long on heart.  I truly admire those guys - they gave it their all and left it all on the court. I will remember them all fondly.
2. It's very difficult to get to the Finals and will be even more difficult to get back.  Even if we don't do it for the next few years, be patient.  BH has a plan and knows what he's doing. We're not going away.
3. We got beat by a better team last night. I'm not sure that we had the horses to beat them, especially with all the injuries. That ugly chick with the long hair ate us alive, and they did to us what we did to everybody else in the tournament - they played the game their way and took us out of our game. Nothing to be ashamed of. Of course, they still go to a crap school and we're still UCLA.  We've got Nobel Prize winners on our faculty, real tradition in our sports programs (ever heard of Jackie Robinson, and more Gold Medal Olympians than most countries), and the greatest coach of all time. Have a speedy recovery, Coach.
4. F*** you East Coast honks, fans, sportswriters, etc. College basketball begins and ends with UCLA. Period!! Get used to it. Deal with it.
5. Finally, this website totally rocks.  Even though I'm 3,000 miles away from home, you guys made me feel like I was there in Westwood, right at home.  Hopefully I'll be back next year to enjoy it all in person.

That's about it. Until next year.  Go Bruins!!

Ok.....it hurt last night, but I feel better today.   I just watched Gonzaga go down to us again and that made everything better.  

32 and 7, beat Viagra Luke 3 times, avenged Memphis, sent Morrison out a loser, smoked the "Big Baby", bitch slapped Cal twice, and gave us some memories for a lifetime.  In short, a hell of a season!!!!

Lets get back to the Final Four in 2007 and kick SC and Washington's asses along the way this time.

Go Bruins and long live the NATION!!!!!

Is the countdown clock actually set for 241 days?

I don't think I can wait half that long for Bruin sports to get back into gear.

This basketball season has just been sooo much fun.  I don't think I need to repeat what others have already so elequently said, but this group of coaches and kids is just great, there is so much love and pride being rightfully shown these guys, and, yes, this is only the beginning.

So that makes it all the more difficult to wait 241 days for anything.  Sure, fall practice and the football season start before then, and there will be lots of things (player updates, recruiting, etc.) to talk about in the interim, but I will miss the day to day activity.

And, I suppose this tells me something.  A few years ago, just after we'd washed out of another Steve-16, I'd almost be relieved: the roller-coaster of big wins and humiliating defeats was finally over, and I could catch my breath, never really that disappointed because I never thought they had a legitimate chance of getting any farther in the tournament.

Now there is nothing but hope for the basketball program.  If only the football team was in the same place.

So, what's on tap for the next couple months.  Bruin baseball?....   :)