Blogger: Derek Hart
I am pursuing a career as a writer/blogger after spending roughly 20 years in education as a P.E. teacher, coach, and a tutor. As a UCLA grad (class of '91) and a longtime passionate supporter of Bruin football - and everything else - I feel this is an excellent opportunity to get my articles and opinions about Bruin football/athletics out there.
By the way, I also have a baseball background, having played it and coached it for over twenty years at the youth level as well as being a lifelong Dodger fan.
After a 2009 campaign which marked progress being made, coming off a winning season and a bowl victory, the UCLA Bruins are ready to roll as they begin 2010 in Manhattan, Kansas this Saturday against the Kansas State Wildcats.
Or are they?
It is difficult for even the most die-hard Bruin fan to deny that there is uncertainty heading into this campaign, starting with ... 2Sep2010 |
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If the recent fall scrimmage that was held at Drake Stadium on the UCLA campus was any indication, the Bruin football team could surprise some people this year - if their offensive line can stay in one piece.
This was particularly the case with the offense and the kickoff return team, as the scrimmage began with both Josh Smith and Damien ... 22Aug2010 |
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When I heard that UCLA defensive lineman Datone Jones had broken his foot in a non-contact drill during the Bruins' fall practice, and would subsequently miss a minimum of four games, it led me to ponder this question:
Is the UCLA football program cursed?
It may seem a bit far fetched to some, but there is some evidence to this theory...
First, two ... 18Aug2010 |
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Looking at the various college football publications for this upcoming season, it is clear that the UCLA Bruins are not getting any love or respect.
Athlon's has the Bruins finishing eighth in the Pacific-10 Conference.
So does Lindy's.
And the media pundits covering the recent Pac-10 Media Day at the Rose Bowl, as well as Sports Illustrated.
Paul Myerberg of PreSnapRead.com has UCLA in ... 10Aug2010 |
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It was reported in the Los Angeles Times this morning: Sophomore-to-be offensive lineman Stan Hasiak has been ruled academically ineligible by UCLA officials for this upcoming season.
According to the article, Hasiak is going to be redshirted by coach Rick Neuheisel and will have three years of eligibility remaining.
I'm sorry, but in my humble opinion it has been one thing after ... 23Jul2010 |
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Thirteen years is a long time.
And it was evident that the ghost of the late great John Wooden was in their corner this weekend, as UCLA's baseball team won a spot in the College World Series for the first time since 1997 by beating Cal State Fullerton 8-1 at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Sunday night, in the third game of a ... 14Jun2010 |
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Let's see, the NCAA has found the University of Southern California guilty of "Lack of Institutional Control" in regards to their men's basketball and women's tennis teams, and especially their football program.
In
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For the first time in six years, all is right in the college softball world.
And if he was watching (which I'm sure he was), John Wooden would have very pleased.
Led by an outburst of hitting that broke records for most runs and hits in a Women's College World Series game, the UCLA Bruins won their 12th national championship over Arizona ... 9Jun2010 |
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I once heard an old African proverb that says whenever an elderly person dies, a library burns down.
If such is the case, then at least five libraries were torched this past Friday, because we lost a man who was not only the greatest coach in the history of sports, but one of the greatest all around human beings ever, a ... 7Jun2010 |
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The national pastime has been good to Westwood this year.
After a season in which they tallied their highest number of wins in over forty years and was ranked in the top 15 for the entire campaign, including achieving the #1 spot in early April, UCLA's baseball team will begin their quest for the College World Series in Omaha this Friday ... 2Jun2010 |
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Last week as a fairly big one for UCLA.
After much wrangling and an intense fundraising effort, the Bruin Athletic Department officially began the renovation of Pauley Pavilion as a groundbreaking ceremony commenced on the north side of that iconic arena.
The plan is for the outside of Pauley to be worked on first as a new outside concourse will be added. That ... 20May2010 |
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Yesterday was a great day to be a Bruin as for starters, a new sports dynasty may have been born in Gainesville, FL.
In a convincing fashion, UCLA's Women's Gymnastics team won the NCAA championship at the University of Florida last night with a score of 197.725, beating second place Oklahoma by a fifth of a point.
This makes it Coach Valorie Kondos-Field's sixth ... 24Apr2010 |
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On this date in 1947, a young, muscular African American and former UCLA athlete from Pasadena's John Muir High School named Jack Roosevelt Robinson stepped onto the baseball diamond at Ebbets Field, in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City.
He was wearing the home whites of the local team, the Dodgers, playing first base against the Boston Braves on opening ... 15Apr2010 |
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It's been an exciting time for UCLA sports as of late, particularly for two of their programs.
After a school record 22-0 start, the Bruin baseball team is ranked number one in the country for the first time since 1997, which incidentally is the last time they went to the College World Series.
Led by coach John Savage, the Bruins have achieved ... 14Apr2010 |
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I know, I know, technically their season is not over just yet, as they face Arizona in the Pac-10 Tournament at Staples Center today, but...
After all the futility that the UCLA Bruins have gone through in basketball this season, the most positive thing that I can say about this hoops squad can be summed up in three words:
It is over.
Bruin ... 11Mar2010 |
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This past Sunday I saw a real treat.
The baseball teams from UCLA and USC clashed in the first Dodgertown Classic at Dodger Stadium, a college baseball round robin tournament sponsored by the Dodgers.
To say that it was a huge success would be a pronounced understatement, as not only did 14,588 show up when a crowd of about three or four thousand was ... 2Mar2010 |
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Going into this off-season, I knew right away that among the UCLA Bruins' most pressing neesds were at linebacker and on the defensive line, as five players out of the defensive front seven had moved on.
The running back position needed a bit of shoring up as well.
After watching Fox Sports Prime Ticket's Signing Day Special last night, it's safe to say that ... 4Feb2010 |
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I've been wanting to write this article for a long time.
And in light of the sub-par season that the UCLA basketball program has had this year - though they have been playing better as of late - this should serve as something to cheer up members of Bruin Nation.
Considering the illustrious history that this Bruin hoops program in Westwood has had, with ... 3Feb2010 |
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Recently I visited the house that John Wooden built, UCLA's Pauley Pavilion, as I've done several times a year for the past few years.
However, it was not to watch a basketball game - shockingly enough, considering that with its 11 national championships, hoops are to Bruins the way football is to crosstown enemy USC - iconic in UCLA lore.
And although ... 27Jan2010 |
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I was afraid this might happen, the way the basketball teams from UCLA and the University of Southern California have been playing of late.
I was afraid that the edge that the Trojans' guards and forwards had over their Bruin counterparts would lead to a convincing USC victory in Pauley Pavilion this past Saturday.
I was proved to be right, as the ... 18Jan2010 |
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Even UCLA fans know Nestor is a douche. 
Nice piece.
I didn't even read the Simers article far enough to see that he took credit for Pods' hit ...
So you're saying that UCLA's hopes rest in the performances of the offense and the defense. Well, we'll just ...