...Assclown.

When Rich Perelman stepped down as the LA Times blogger for "What's Bruin", many eyebrows were raised when they chose a SUC hack like Adam Rose to take over. He tried to maintain that he could be objective, and while he may be able to do so from here on out, this was certainly not the case two years ago, when he displayed a propensity for lying and spinning worthy of a trOJan, but certainly not worthy of a journalist. In the interest of fairness, from the Anals (yes, one N) of bad writing, we present you with Adam Rose's Verbal Diarrhea.

I will not link the article, as it is better not to reward his mental deficiency with hits at "laist", but I will block the relevant points that show why Rose is just another typical trOJan SCumbag. He calls this dreck "Why (SUC) Haters Are Lame".

FLAME #1: USC breaks all the rules.

USC has faced lots of allegations over the past year, but that's due to the increased scrutiny that comes with the national spotlight. Notice that I didn't say "convictions" or "violations." The team has managed itself far better than Thug U and they didn't demonstrate the same handicap that plagued the Bruins. As for Reggie Bush, nothing seems to stick to him (kinda' like most college defenders over the past three years). If anything shady happened, look to his step dad. This is the same guy who alienated USC fans when declaring that Reggie would go pro several weeks before Reggie made his decision official. There won't exactly be any tears shed in the land of Troy if he goes down for something.

Willful. Ignorance.

Adam is allegedly a journalist, which means that technically he should be just as capable of digging up any of the items on the laundry list of transgressions under Pom Pom, Timmeh, et al. Keeping in mind that this "article" was written in 2006, I wonder how his clairvoyance regarding the Bu$h situation is working out. Last time I checked, Reggie is still on the hook and the justice department is now involved with SUC's cheating because of Mayo's shady entourage setting up a fake charity. Great call, Adam. Maybe you can pick the Patriots over the Giants in this past year's Superbowl too.

FLAME #2: USC fans are bandwagon.

Of course there are bandwagon fans in Los Angeles. Does anybody else remember what Laker car flags looked like? They were yellow. I remember some very empty stands while the Trojans slumped through a 5-7 season in 2000. I even traveled hundreds of miles to watch a squad dubbed "the worst football team in USC history." Why would anybody subject themselves to that sort of loyalty? Because when I wasn't sitting in the stands I was sitting in class with a much maligned Carson Palmer (a so-called underachiever before he took home the Heisman). Students are the best fans (followed closely by alumni) because they are more dedicated, more passionate, and more connected with the student-athletes. As a student-fan, I appreciated the support from non-student diehards when we were loosing, but I couldn't be upset with the large bandwagon that came shortly after USC's last non-bowl loss in 2003 (and yes, I was on the road for that game, too). The students and alumni have always been there. To everybody else, welcome aboard.

Use. Google.

By that I mean a simple google search for football attendance reveals that the season Adam talks about was when the trOJans drew 57 thousand per game in Paul Hackett's final year. Even a bumbler like Karl Dorrell drew 76 thousand in his final year as a lame duck coach (although those numbers were likely inflated due to ND). Bob Toledo as a lame duck? 65 thousand. Yes, lame duck coaches are a good metric, because by that time, the bandwagon fans are gone and the team hasn't had success in a while. So is Adam arrogant enough to say that his sole presence in 2000 offsets this difference of thousands? Well he is a trOJan isn't he? Seems that he doesn't even have a point in this paragraph except to namedrop Carson Palmer like a giddy schoolgirl. Although he's right in his implication that Palmer has gone on to do great things, like this:

via cache.deadspin.com

I suppose the thousands fewer fans that the trOJans drew than the Bruins did in similar situations is evidence that trOJans aren't bandwagoners...oops? Adam: YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG.

FLAME #3: USC is an ivory tower dynasty. Damn Yankees, errr, Trojans.

USC's fans are actually cheering for something that has taken shape over just the last 5 years. Pete Carroll has built something from nothing, taking over a team that had just recaptured the Victory Bell after 8 long seasons, and did it all while being looked down upon as an NFL retread. Unlike other sports dynasties which do it with money (ahem, Yankees), Carroll energizes the team with his own youthful enthusiasm and energy. Other coaches don't take snaps with the team in practice, and that attitude is part of the reason he was able to recruit the best players despite the modern era of NCAA scholarship parity. While the NFL's version of parity gives the best team the last draft pick (and only one per round), Carroll takes future top NFL draft picks into his program en-mass.

Ivory. Tower?

"Today, ivory tower usually describes a metaphysical space of solitude and sanctity disconnected from daily realities, where certain idealistic writers endeavor and even some scientists are considered to reside."

That phrase. It does not mean what you think it means, Adam. Given what has transpired since then regarding Bu$h and Mayo, his line about sports dynasties not doing it with money is particularly hilarious. Even if we ignore that, the Yankees are a professional franchise and are within their rights to build their team however they want, SUC is supposedly an amateur football program. Criticizing the Yankees for building a team with money and holding up SUC as virtuous because they "don't" is one of the most fallacious arguments I've ever heard. I've never heard anyone flame SUC as an "Ivory Tower Dynasty". You know why? BECAUSE THAT PHRASE DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE. The rest can only be described as brainless fluff, much like Petey the "Humanitarian" or Petey the "Physical Genius". "HE TAKES SNAPS WITH THE TEAM, OMG." Hope you didn't cream your shorts, Adam. I'm sure those snaps are the reason that they want to go to SUC. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the free flatscreen TVs in their dorm rooms or free houses. I'm sure no one at SUC knew anything about that.

FLAME #4: USC is the University of Second Choice.

Stay classy, Bruins. I'm sure those erudite scholars of Westwood realize this is an ad hominum, or "straw man," attack (the last cry of a desperate orator). Different institutions are going to be better at different things (USC gets the gridiron, UCLA gets the hardcourt, USC gets film, UCLA gets medicine). When painting the schools with a broad brush, remember that USC was recently named Time-Princeton School of the Year, and that the incoming Freshman class has a 3.7 GPA and middle 50% SAT range of 1290-1430. Once somebody becomes a Trojan, they become part of a network so strong it's known as the USC Mafia. And if sports are your thing, USC and UCLA are neck and neck for the national lead once football championships are factored into the NCAA rankings (which don't officially crown a champion). When it comes down to it, which championship is more impressive, football or men's gymnastics? (Sidebar: After (UCLA and SUC), Stanford is third. With Cal ranking just outside the top 10, California is by far the top college sport state in the nation.)

Spell. Check.

I don't know what an ad hominum attack is, probably because it's spelled ad hominem. The point of this is not to be a Grammar/Spelling Nazi, but to point out that in a paragraph meant to illustrate how the gap isn't as big as people think it is between SUC and UCLA, he only shows that the gap is as wide as ever with his bumbling of the English language. He's the ice skater that goes for the big jump and falls flat on his ass. If you're going to assert your "smarts" by throwing out Latin phrases in a smug tone, I humbly ask that you SPELL IT CORRECTLY. Furthermore, an ad hominem attack and a straw man attack ARE NOT THE SAME. This guy is a journalist? Are you freaking kidding me? How is an an "argument against the man" the same as "intentionally misrepresenting an opponent's position"? He probably thinks this is an ad hominem too without realizing that intelligence and understanding are the central focus of his paragraph.

I looked up this supposed Time-Princeton thing (from the year 2000), and all I saw was references to helping out in its immediate community (and yes, that area needs PLENTY of help). This is certainly admirable, but it doesn't advance his argument. UCLA is a University Of The People. Our public status ensures that our accomplishments advance the interests of our immediate community, the State of California, and beyond. SUC, once again, is left playing catch up.

He talks about the trOJan mafia like it's a good thing, nevermind that it doesn't travel well. UCLA is worldwide. My UCLA degree will be respected the world over. SUC degrees are only worth something in Los Angeles, and most of the time not even then. How's that trOJan mafia working out in paragraph 1, where he throws Bush's family under the bus? That's some good old fashioned trOJan loyalty.

Then there's the pathetic "if we count football championships" argument. I don't see him mentioning that SUC awarded themselves championships from 7 decades ago that they never actually won. No, this, like everything, has caveats. That's the SUC way. "SUC would be as good as UCLA, IF YOU COUNT..." We don't need caveats. We're UCLA. We are better than SUC. That's why we had the most applicants in the country once again for the hundreth straight year (I've lost count). It goes without saying that I got into both SUC and UCLA. That's what we UCLA students have in common: rejecting SUC. It's so common that we don't even have to mention it as Adam does in reverse (a claim, given his writing, that I am quite skeptical of). That's just the way it is.

See, I can write a flame piece too, except my piece is grounded in facts and logic. I sure hope Adam didn't go to journalism school to put out this kind of garbage, because I've already done him one better, and that's with an Engineering degree (let's just say we are not known for our writing). Looks like Shakespeare was wrong: A Rose by any other name actually smells like sh!t.

SI.com's Ian Thomson asked unnamed NBA Executives on their thoughts on who will be the draft dark horses defined as "a player who will turn into a formidable pro".

Not surprisingly, both Russ and KLove make the list.

On Kevin:

"There are a lot of questions in this draft, but there are very few uncertainties regarding Kevin Love. You know he's going to rebound, he knows how to play, he's a good passer, he has good hands and he plays hard. There's value in knowing exactly what you're getting in a draft pick. He'll be a 4, and in today's [smaller] NBA he can guard some 5s. I haven't mentioned his shooting, which is a wrinkle to his game. He'll be a solid starter in the league.''

To be honest, I don't see him guarding 5's where he'd be severely undersized, but to put confidence in him as starter material should bode well for his draft stock.

On Russell:

"I like Westbrook because of his scoring ability, and he's able to handle the ball some too. His defensive ability is an obvious strength, as he demonstrated against some of the better players. Watch the Pac-10 semifinal game and the last UCLA [regular-season] game vs. Southern Cal, and you'll see that Mayo wanted no part of attacking him. So far he's relied on his athleticism offensively, but the underrated part of his game is that Westbrook can make shots. His shot looks good, and he's a guy who is going to work hard to keep improving it. He has a chance to be a guy who can score and handle the ball enough to play as a 1. He'll be a very solid player."

I agree with this exec that the shot looks good. I'm just not sure it's NBA level consistent, although I will say that since that is the main knock on him as repeated by many scouts, that this particular weakness is rather overblown. As a coach, he's consistent enough that you wouldn't necessarily mind him taking the open shot, and it's not as if his development has peaked in that department.

Edit: Thomsen's Mock Draft has Russell going at #4 to the Sonics and Love at #9 to the Grizzlies. While predraft speculation is often the result of GMs messing with each other, the real news is that there is confirmation that the GMs with the high picks really dig what Russ brings to the table.

The big shock here is the possibility of the SuperSonics' taking Russell Westbrook at No. 4. Many in the league would criticize this high territory as too rich for Westbrook, who must grow into the new role of NBA point guard after filling in at the point part-time as a UCLA sophomore, but he is in the Sonics' mix because of his athletic potential, character, work ethic and defensive ability. The Sonics are willing to give their draft pick a couple of years to develop, in hopes that he'll be ready to contribute to a winning program as Kevin Durant begins to peak. In that context Westbrook makes sense, as do Jerryd Bayless and Brook Lopez.

Remember that Russell was a late signing after the departure of Farmar for the draft. The way he has shot up the draft boards reinforces our mantra: Trust In Howland.

Let's start the good vibrations by mentioning that the men's golf team has already finished up the third round and will take a 3 stroke lead into tomorrow's final round. Someone fire up Alec Baldwin's Glengarry Glen Ross speech that Phil Jackson used to remind his players before Game 5 Thursday night that you must Always Be Closing.

We've got big time action coming up for our Bruins first in Baseball at 4 PM, where they will take on Virginia. After the must-win situations they've faced over the last couple of weeks, I don't think they'll be overlooking anyone, even if Cal State Fullerton looms large in their bracket.

Photo Credit: UCLA Athletics

After what is hopefully a Bruin victory, the Softball team will continue their march toward 103 against Arizona State at 6 PM (tentatively if last night was any indication). Our ladies will need to play their best ball, and come with passion, intensity, and unity to beat ASU tonight. This season, they have shown that they are up to the task.

Photo Credit: UCLA Softball Photostream

The wait is just about over. Let's get this started with an Open Thread.

GO BRUINS

Yesterday, the Softball Bruins took down Arizona 1-0 in a pitchers duel between Anjelica Selden and Taryne Mowatt to get one step closer to #103. Mowatt gave up only three hits but the one run she gave up in the first inning was enough to put the Bruins over the top on the back of Selden's three hit shutout.

The official site gives the details as the Bruins continue their quest for #103 today:

UCLA improves to 51-7 on the season and will face another Pac-10 rival, Arizona State, on Friday at 6 p.m. PT on ESPN2. Arizona falls to the loser's bracket and will play Alabama on Saturday at 1 p.m.

For the 44th time this season, the Bruins scored first, also crossing home plate in their first at-bat for the 30th time to remain undefeated when doing both. Freshman Katie Schroeder chopped a pitch to Arizona's Taryne Mowatt in the circle, but she threw it high to first, allowing Schroeder to reach and advance to second. After senior Krista Colburn bunted Schroeder over to third, Kamekona singled to center to bring in the first run of the game.

Staying on the diamond, Savage's Baseball Bruins begin their own quest for a national championship. In what can only be described as a tumultuous year for the Bruins, they still find themselves in a regional with a shot at the big prize. After coming on strong at the end of the season, the baseball Bruins are feeling good about their chances.

In their final eight games, the Bruins averaged nearly seven runs a game and the pitching staff has a 2.78 earned-run average, including three shutouts.

Their late-season surge got them into the playoffs for the third consecutive season -- the first time in UCLA history that has happened.

"I hope people are overlooking us," said pitcher Gavin Brooks. "We're playing our best baseball of the season right now so if somebody overlooks us, that's just going to benefit us."

The players say they never lost confidence through the season and that performing well the last two weeks in what were essentially must-win situations has encouraged them.

It's a new season for the baseball team, and while their regular season did not match their preseason #1 ranking, their postseason can. In order to do so, they must go through their nemesis of late, Cal State Fullerton. With the competitive spirit they showed in being comeback kids over the past two weeks, I'm sure our boys wouldn't have it any other way. For today, their focus must be on Virginia, which will be shown on ESPNU at 4 PM PDT.

#103 could yet come from another team in the midst of a title hunt. Men's golf finds itself one shot off of the lead entering the third round behind Clemson and one shot ahead of SUC at the NCAA Championship.

Before we completely leave Thursday behind, I'd like to extend congratulations to Jordan Farmar and his Lakers for taking down the defending champion San Antonio Spurs last night at Staples Center and advancing to the NBA Finals (and condolences to those of you who were screwed by Sasha after putting money on the Spurs +7.5). Bruin partisans may have an interest in seeing the Detroit Pistons prevail in the Eastern Conference Finals as that would (symbolically) set up a Farmar vs. Afflalo matchup. Should that come to pass, I'm sure Ben Howland will be smiling (hint to all the top prospects out there, UCLA is where Amazing Begins).

Best of luck to ALL of our Bruins in our Friday Tripleheader.

GO BRUINS