Cruisin' For a Bruin

Yesterday came word that former UCLA Bruin standouts Ricky Manning Jr., of the Chicago Bear Mannings, Maurice Drew (Jacksonville Jaguars) and Tyler Ebell (UTEP) were arrested after they were involved in the mauling of an unidentified man at a restaurant near the UCLA campus. Like the situations at crosstown rival USC, these latest arrests open a window to the football culture at UCLA and a true example of the main teachings of the athletic staff, that of sheer and unadulterated STUPIDITY.

Getting it cracking when you are in school is one thing. Sure, we like to make fun of people and demonize student-athletes when they have a few too many, get in a car and go try to assault a co-ed or something. Immature young men pumped full of testostrone, mixed with piss and vinegar, and a sprinkling of sub-conscience anxieties and minor homoerotic feelings will do stupid things. This one however takes the cake.

Now this isn't as bad as Ray Carruth whacking his pregnant girlfriend and hiding in the trunk of a car, far from it. From the reports it seems that the victim will make a full recovery, that is the good part. The bad part is that now we get to see the inner workings of a bunch a mediocre football players and get to hear about how they were all catered to at the college level despite them having any "real" talent. Sure, Mo' Drew can run the rock with the best of them in the Pac 10, however his slip in the draft to the second round was explained be many NFL scouts as a referendum on his bad attitude. Besides the fact that he is not an every down type of back, Mo' Drew was drafted by Jacksonville, who still have a pretty good Fred Taylor and who have said will use Drew as a Dave Meggett style back.

Ricky Manning had a good year when the Carolina Panthers went to the Super Bowl in 2004, however his penchant for getting torched in the secondary lead to Carolina cutting the ties. I guess it also doesn't help your cause when a guy like Joe Jurevicius can have a career day against you in the NFC Championship game. Ebell, well, there isn't much to say about a guy who couldn't hack it in a Karl Dorrell offense and decided that he could have a better career running it for UTEP. WAC football, it's FANtastic.

In the end, you have to sit down and question what these three braintrusts were doing slinging it in Westwood. I am sure that Manning could have found a dice game somewhere in Chicago to keep him out of trouble. Besides, don't you think that a guy in a new defense would want to take some time learn said defense? Drew was recently drafted in the second round after many thought he was first round talent. You would also think that he would be out with his new club training and getting in shape to illustrate to the rest of the league that he is worth first round money. Ebell, well again, I am sure that UTEP education isn't his top priority. All three were rolling together looking for trouble, in Westwood of all places? Westwood doesn't even have that many good places to eat unless you are looking to get your noodles on or want to sling it at Chili's. Why couldn't they be getting into brawls at say, Morton's or Lawry's, or hell, even Pacific Dining Car? They were so stupid, they got themselves in trouble at freaking South Street, talk about being BOOTLEG.

All kidding aside, these guys show why UCLA football is a mid-major club stuck in a premier conference. They have not produced one decent skill player since DaShaun Foster, and even his is questionable as an injury plagued back, and need I bring up Freddie Mitchell? To top things off, UCLA had their star lineback Spencer Havner go undrafted and forced to sign a free agent contract. This not only reflects badly on Karl Dorrell and Bob Toledo, but this also reflects badly on athletic director Dan Guerrero and the rest of the program. By hiring guys on the cheap and not getting the discipline driven coaches to lead this group of soft players, the Bruins show that their is a lack of committment to the alumni and fans. It also shows that some of the most basic of concepts, keep your nose out of f'n trouble, is not taught within the progam. USC can get away with it because they have two straight National Championships and Heisman Trophy winners. All UCLA has is the legend of my guy Ted Nwoke, the nigerian nightmare and personal aquintance of Madgaffer, and old ass Morrison who thinks he is the Pac 10 president. Get a life, brother.

The Lie is an Art with Matt

So in Tuesday's Arizona Republic, former USC quarterback Matt Lienart suggests that his "Hollywood" image was perpetuated by Pete Carroll, not Leinart and that this image has led to him having to work harder then any rookie taken in the 2006 Draft to win his teammates' respect. Leinart cites times during practice when Snoop Dog would show up and start talking to LenDale White and Reggie Bush. Leinart also states that guests like Will Ferrell would take away valuable practice time from the squad prior to the 2006 Rose Bowl game, and that Carroll and the coaching staff would lose focus talking about all the big names that surrounded the team.

Of course, I am sure that Pete Carroll was the one that told Matt to hook up with Paris Hilton during his red carpet draft party held in Las Vegas. I can imagine Coach Carroll running up on Paris and her posse at the bar and hitting her up with Matt's info. "Hey Paris, my friend over there wants to buy you a drink, hee hee." Matt would then be standing in the corner lifting his head in the ever popular male "What's up" way that guys do when they are trying to look cool in a bar somewhere, and carressing his faux goatie with his index finger and thumb. Matt probably then raised his glass of Crystal and motioned her over. He is so money, a bear with big claws.

Carroll was also, probably, the driving force that lead to the bonding friendship of Matt and Nick Lachey during the last season at USC. Carroll more then likely brought Lachey to the Medici apartment Leinart and Dwayne Jarrett shared to play some PS2 or XBox. Carroll probably showed up with a case of Budweiser and a bag of chili-cheese Fritos and Nick brought the jalapeno poppers. After a long night of partying and kicking each others asses on Madden, they probably made some crank calls to Jessica and Ashley Simpson with Carroll trying to keep a straight face and not laugh while he told the girls that he was some guy they had met at the club and gave their number too. There is nothing worse then that 3:00 AM drunk call to a girl.

Carroll also, more then likely according to Leinart, was the one who thought it would be a really "bitchin" idea to let Wilmer Valderamma say a few words at the USC pep rally prior to the UCLA game. "Hey man, he can like say some cool stuff to the team and the Alumni in that 'Fez voice, ha ha," muttered Carroll in that hazy scene played out in Matt's head. The alienation of several team members and alumni following the address was also, probably, the desired effect Carroll wanted.

Finally, I am sure that the person taking this picture above was also Carroll following the 2005 Hiesman Trophy Awards ceremony in New York. He probably thought that it would be really cool to take a picture of Matt geeking the breezies at a local night club while Carroll's wife slept at home. The pissed off chick behind them is probably also there with Carroll. She is more than likely upset at the fact that he left her standing on the dance floor by herself while Carroll rushed to take this picture with his Treo 650 phone.

In the end, you cannot expect much out of Matt Leinart. He went on record in Sports Illustrated professing his love for USC basketball star Brynn Cameron and then was photographed with the above mentioned breezie. He said his housing was on the up-and-up and then more details of shady business dealings between Matt's father and "several unidentified partners" surfaced. From all the data, one can only come to the realization that a pissed off Leinart is trying to spin his reasoning for falling to 10 overall in the draft, effectively costing him $13 million in projected salary. This, coupled with the fact that his new teammates in Arizona and the fans are expecting Leinart to be the savior of the fanchise, is taking its toll in Matt.

The Futility Continues

From the L.A. Times Sports Section:

"Salesian 12, Murphy 0 (5 innings)Eddie Martinez (6-4) allowed one hit and struck out seven over five innings to get the win for visiting Salesian (10-11, 6-4)."

Madgaffer & Vital_Idol Coaching Record vs. Salesian: 2-0.

Other Varsity coaches since: 0-8.

Barry's ESPiN Zone

Not since the days of O.J. Simpson and his murderous tirade has there been so much television and radio time devoted to one obvious criminal. Traveling through the XM radio dial, I stumble on ESPN radio's Game Night hosted by Doug Gotlieb of all people and some other guy, insert newscaster wannabe with some kind of a shtick. I stopped on this station not knowing the nerve numbing drubble that I would soon endure.

OK, I admit that part of the reason I stopped on this station was to listen to the redneckian stylings of Dale Ernhardt Jr. after his win at the Crown Royal 400. There is something about the simple knowledge of NASCAR that gets me everytime, and hell, who doesn't want to hear about "wreckin'," "burnin' out dem tires," and everyone's favorite "rubbin's racing" references? My inner hillbilly was truly in heaven. Then it all started to turn.

What started as a way of feeding a guilty pleasure, became all Barry F'n Bonds radio. "Is Barry going to catch the Babe on this homestand?" "What will MLB do to acknowledge 714?" "Should we care about 714?" I should preface this with a brief background reset. During the Giants at Dodgers Sunday Night game of the week on ESPN, Giant shills John Miller and Joe Morgan spent the majority of the telecast on Barry watch. Even when Barry wasn't at bat, the camera and the conversation would shift to Barry Bonds and his troubles, nevermind that there was actually a game going on. If I wanted to hear so much about the inner workings of the Barry Bonds situation, I am sure ESPN could have sent Bob Ley to do the game with the "Outside the Lines" banner as the television graphic. I was even surprised I didn't see Jeremy Schaap interviewing Barry in left field or the dugout. Hell, I am sure the "The Sports Reporters" could have also set up shop in the pavillion seats to hold a roundtable discussion on the matter. Lord knows I want to know what Mike Lupica and Mitch Albom have to say at about the whole situation.

This past Sunday's Giants at Phillies game was no exception. ESPN even got it's "money shot" when Barry went yard to come within one homerun of the Babe. This added more drama to an otherwise lousy game, as Miller et al waited with giddy anticipation to show Barry rounding the bases with the ESPN logo proudly displayed in the upper right hand corner for intellectual property purposes. Thankfully, that moment did not come on Sunday, and little Joe Morgan would have to wait a while before anointing Barry Bonds "The Greatest Player to Ever Wear a Uniform."

Now we get to the heart of the matter, besides being the "Wide World Leader in Sports," ESPN has taken it upon itself to be the Wide World Leader in the Barry Bonds PR machine." Not only is this beast taking up airtime during the NBA and NHL playoffs, but now ESPN radio will be bring you every at bat, live, during "Barry's quest towards history!" What started as a simple career of a pissed off Arizona State outfielder that managed to upset Jim Leyland enough to have the ex-Pirate skipper come within inches of kicking Barry's ass, has mushroomed into the sorted details of a steriods infused ego on the ESPN weekly show, "Bonds on Blondes," errr "Bonds."

ESPN then has become the official distrubutors of the Bonds talking point, displaying a side of the steroids injecting persona that is controlled by Bonds, edited by Bonds, and dictated by Bonds. Fox News has nothing on these tactics. The Bonds show leads in to SportsCenter, where the "news" that is transmitted by "brilliant sportscaster" Dan Patrick and the like use clips of the Bonds show in vignettes and "news" pieces. I guess this only follows the same logical line of reasoning that makes it acceptable to lead off the Fox 11 news here in Los Angeles with the latest on American Idol and why Terri Hatcher was dumped by Ryan Seacrest, (ah...He's gay, that's why!). And, in another philosophical dilemna, how can you be JOHN BEARD, and not have a beard? But I digress.

When legitimate news outlets start using self created "reality" content and start representing that content as news, then it is no longer news, rather propoganda. Republican talking points, Bonds trying to tell people he is a good guy. It's all the same. Therefore, ESPN has taken that leap along with Bonds, and has decided to sell itself to the same deceit in order to cover a news story and get that exclusive interview if Barry ever manages to break Hank Aaron's record, which by the way was achieved without using steroids. In ESPN's attempt to present Barry's chase towards 714 and beyond, they have decided to become the offical Fox News Channel, and Dan Patrick the official Tony Snow, of the Barry Bonds Administration and shape public perception of a cheater and an all around bad guy.

This then leads us to all Barry radio and television, much like all-DNA radio of 1994-1995 when the public heard all the great occurances of the O.J. trial. With the non-stop barage of Barry coverage a person can, much like the O.J. case, start to think of the accused as the victim, and this tactic may work to soften the image of a jerk and a criminal. Of course, that's why you read this blog, to get the "straight story" with no spin.

Chasing the Devil

With the conclusion of yet another hardwareless campaign in the Prem, it appears that the Manchester United brain trust have much work to do over the off-season. While much of the current buzz revolves around the probable departure of Van the Man, below the surface lies an even more intriguing question. What is the United Board of Directors to do about their head Red Devil? Will Fergie be allowed to keep the keys to Malcom Glazer's new Cadillac, or will Mally and the B.O.D. finally put their proverbial foot down?

There is no doubt that few match chops with the Prem's most successful gaffer, but the fact remains that Fergie's time has come. If the Devils are to regain their place as the Prem's Cadillac, it is necessary to move forward. In his time at the helm, Fergie's resume is unmatched. Eight EPL crowns since the Prem's inception in 1992, not to mention the numerous Charity Shields and FA Cups. Historically, he is the most successfully gaffer in United's illustrious history. Many will argue that without Ferguson, United never would have become the world-wide super club that it has.

While his guidance over nearly the last 20 years has been insrtumental, in reality United's greatest achievements have come by way of its greatest generation of players since the days of Sir Matt Busby. David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, and the Neville brothers all were developed by United's youth academy not by Ferguson. In the early days of his reign Fergie certainly earned his due is steering United up through the standings and away from the threat of relegation. During this time he dumped pikers and added greatness in the likes of Cantona, Schmeichel, and Keano. In doing so he also chased away greatness in the likes of Captain Marvel Bryan Robson, the Gov'na Paul Ince; a tragic trend which he would later repeat.


Over the years, the United faithful have praised the firmness with which he has ruled Old Trafford. Those that applaud it call it conviction. Those that detest it call it stubbornness. It is largely due to the latter that his time has come. For all of his successes there have been many failures. He has yet to find a long term solution for United's goal keeping problem. In the years since the Great Dane departed the Theatre of Dreams, Fergie's revolving door in goal has included the likes of Mark Bosnich, and Fabian Barthez. He successfully replaced Gary Pallister with Yaap Stam, only to mistakenly chase him away a year later. His solution was a bigger mistake, Rio Ferdinand. His failures have not been limited to the signings of such players and Jasper Blomqvist, David Bellion and the Brazilian Klebberson. No, his conviction also led to the departure of England's manager elect, Steve McClaren to 'Boro.

There was a time, not too long ago when United struck fear in their opponents. The whole Prem trembled when faced with squaring-off against the Devils not to mention the Champions League. Since chasing away Becks, it has been three seasons since the Devils last raised the Barclay's Cup and seven since the magical Treble. United were once the crown jewel of the Prem. Gone are the days when the Three Lions boasted a nucleus of United's finest. At its peak earlier in the decade United was represented by no less than seven players on the National Team, five of which were academy products; Becks, Scholes, Nicky Butt and the Nevilles. Earlier in the week Sven announced his 23 man World Cup roster, only three were Devils. Of these three, only Gary Neville is a true Red Devil.


United is not a second tier club, yet second place finishes and early departures from Europe will argue differently. I guess this is what it was like to be an Arsenal fan. Several years ago Schmeichel returned to the Prem after a stint in Portugal, he did so with ManCity not his beloved ManUnited whom he captained to Champions League glory. City over United? Perhaps there was more behind Cantona's abrupt retirement and his refusal for any further involvement with his former club. Having unimaginably chased away Keano a few months ago, who knows how long it will be before the Devils once again climb to the top of the mountain. Of the six academy products who carried United to domestic, European and international greatness only two remain, Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs. The time has come for the Devils to chase away Fergie before he chases all the Devils away.

Wake Me When July Ends

When this year's July trading deadline approaches, the question will be whether the Dodgers will be buyers or sellers. However an inside sources with the Dodgers claims that the McCourts' are absolute with their belief that they will be in contention come the deadline and will be looking to bolster the club. That may or may not be the same mentality of Ned Colletti, who more and more looks like he is still on the Giants payroll. In any case, the Dodgers are an interesting mix that on paper still has a chance to win a very mediocre division.

Sleepy Odalis Perez has probably pitched his final game in the rotation. Sunday is his spot in the rotation but that has been given to Aaron Sele who was called up from AAA last night after Perez was placed on bereavment leave. When he returns, the question then becomes what role he will have in the bullpen. With the lack of a solid reliever in the pen, Odalis may become a viable option as the long man or set up man in the 7th and 8th innings. Whether Sele stays in the rotation is up to him, and the Dodgers do have the option to bring up Chad Billingsley from AAA as well.

With all that being said, the Dodgers also have the option to look outside the club for an arm. Cesar Izturis will be coming back in mid-June and has already clashed with management over his role with the club. Rafa Furcal is already at short, Kent is a fixture at second due to Nomar Garciaparra's improved play at first base plus his penchant for getting walk-off hits. Bill Mueller is a permanent fixture at third, so unless Cesar comes around to the idea of manning the outfield, he is going to have to be moved. A name that has been surfacing lately is Dontrell Willis who is off to a 1-3 start in Florida and is only signed through the end of the year. His contract at 4.5 million is also pretty affordable, and a Marlin club struggling with rookies and mediocre players will benefit from a player like Izturis. It may also be a Mike Piazza deal, an inbetween stop before Izturis' final destination.

Another name that is interesting is Tony Armas Jr. from Washington, who is also signed for one year and is on a club that is going nowhere fast. With the Nats also looking to dump Alfonso Soriano during the trade deadline, look for the Nats and the Dodgers to have some pretty productive talks in late June and early July.

As far as what the Dodgers can give up, they have options to package in deal. Andre Either is an attactive player that many have inquired about. Dioner Navarro is a promissing catcher but the emergence of Russ Martin may make him expendable. Jason Repko as well may be a target by many looking to wheel and deal. In any case, the Dodgers have options beyond Izturus and will be looking to package a player that has been given a chance and may not have been all that Paul DePodesta expected.

Then there is the ever agonizing situation with Jason Werth, who is on the extended DL and may or may not be able to recover from his wrist injury. As some in the Dodger's organization have speculated, Werth may be able to return this season, and when he does he can be an added force to the line-up. Imagine a line up featuring Lofton-Furcal-Garciaparra-Drew-Kent-Mueller-Werth-Martin. That's a pretty solid bunch if Werth can return to the 2004 form that saw him hit .379 down the stretch.

More to come.

Spinning their Little Wheels

The more we see of this year’s Dodger squad, the more we are reminded that this is the same collection of stiffs that won a whopping 72 games last season. So far, the season has gotten off to a rather predictable start, a couple of two game winning streaks peppered amongst three to four game losing streaks. The team has looked listless at times and have had Cy Young caliber pitching performances thrown against them by such pitching virtuosos as Brad Hennessy, Wandy Rodriguez, and Claudio Vargas. Sans the complete shutdown by the Wizard Greg Maddox earlier this season, the Dodgers have managed to make marginal major league pitching look like All-Star performances.

The problems facing this club are too expansive to cover in one post. It would be next to impossible to point out every flaw that the club has and try to dissect the true cause of such bad baseball. I however have found a few things that mechanically are leading the Dodgers down the path of bad teams.

In Sunday’s loss to the Padres, where the Dodgers blew a 5 run lead in the ninth inning and went on to lose in extra innings, Grady Little used Franquelis Osario for two innings after Derek Lowe turned in a solid six innings of shut out ball. Osario was effective as well, and for the first time in a long time, he looked like the legitimate long man in the bullpen. Then Grady, always the gambler, decided to play bullpen roulette by bringing in Lance Carter to finish the job. Needless to say, Grady lost that wager faster then David Scatino dropping “20 boxes of ziti” at the Soprano executive game. In any case, Grady Little overreached in his attempt to “right the ship” with regards to Lance Carter and paid for it with a humiliating and devastating loss, the effects still being felt during the current three game losing streak.

A day late a dollar short has been the M.O. for Grady. Story of his life. He did leave Pedro Martinez in too long against the Yankees in the 2003 American League Championship series and was burned by the late inning heroics of all-time Yankee great Aaron F’n Boone. That earned Grady a one way ticket to “palookaville” and the Red Sox brought in Terry Francona to win the whole show in 2004. Regardless, Grady is still questioned about his decision to keep Pedro in the game and let the series get away from him.

This then is starting to play itself out at the Ravine, as we are watching the same series of unfortunate events that lead to the demise of Grady in Boston. He is leaving pitchers in too long, much as he did last night after Chad Tracy took the barely breathing Odalis Perez deep for a grand slam in the 5th inning. At that point he could have taken Perez out of the game and put him back into his sleeping tube, however Grady being Grady decided to leave Perez in the game and watched the hard earned 6 runs in the first five innings slip away to the “Chase Field Bombers,” yes that is supposed to be tongue in cheek.

Good teams don’t let 6 run leads slip away in one inning. That’s just a fact. If they do, then they are quickly approaching the Milwaukee Brewer and Kansas City Royals level and not the Yankee/White Sox level. The Dodgers are closer to the former at this point and we can blame the majority of that on the fact that they have atrocious leadership at all levels. From the owner to the manager on the field, the Dodgers are cutting corners and saving that extra buck because the LA suckers will always come out in force to the tune of 3.5 million a year to watch last place ball.

Jae Seo takes the mound tonight and without being too fatalistic about the season, this is a must win. I know that championships are not won in May, however last season the Padres rolled off a 22-6 record in May to surpass the rest of the contenders in the division and, despite stumbling down the stretch, was able to win the west because of the gap they were able to create in May. The Dodgers thus far as 0-2 in this month, and will need to turn things around in a hurry if they have any hopes of breaking .500, let alone win the division. For that to happen, Grady better realize that the major leagues is not the place for a Lance Carter to work out his problems and not the place for rookies to learn their jobs. This is also a call out to Ned Colleti who needs to realize that the dead arms in the bull pen are not the answer and he needs to go out and get himself a legitimate stopper in the bullpen.

Stop These NHL Mind Games

By MDFAN1
Special Contributor

I had intended for my entry into the blog sphere to be a more positive dissertation on the wonders of getting out from under the disastrous reign—er, ownership--of Mickey Mouse and company but I haven’t quite finished that saga. In any case, after having agonizingly watched the Ducks’ 3-2 loss to the Flames, I was prompted to post this less than adoring essay on a team that I love.

I don’t know if the other sports leagues engage in the same play-off mind games that they do in the NHL, but the NHL has surely turned it into an art form. You know what I mean, a player leaves the game and is sent to the hospital for “observations” for some non-descript injury like “an upper body injury” and is uncertain if that player will be back in the line-up. One day later, he is miraculously recovered though sometimes never the same. Or, there’s that dangling hope that “they” like to play on you by describing a horrific injury only to say that the player is out of the hospital but there are “rumours” that he will be cleared to play. Take, for instance, Saku Koivu (of the Montreal Canadiens) who took a high-stick in the eye and was expected to be out of the playoffs “indefinitely.” Of course, that was before the Carolina Hurricanes started playing like the Number 2 Conference seed and took the series lead away from Habs. Now, he’s been “released” but “not yet cleared to play.” Yes, the article makes clear that it is not likely he’ll play in this series, but there is a definite implication and, indeed, hope of him coming back if you not so carefully read between the lines. This is part of the infamous NHL playoff gamesmanship. I don’t know if it’s to psyche out their opponents (keep them guessing) or to keep fans’ hopes alive. Either way, it’s just driving me crazy when “they” don’t know when to stop playing.

The Ducks’ premier netminder, J.S. Giguere, who will forever (justly or unjustly) be compared to his 2003 Conn-Smythe performance, is the current game being played against the Ducks fans. His “lower-body injury” has never been explained and has yet to be blamed for any of the Ducks’ losses to Calgary except for the Game 5 loss where he let in 3 goals on 8 shots. Sure, 2 of those goals were from Jarome Iginla (who has only provided further evidence that he can win or almost win games almost by himself—it sounds traitorous coming from a Ducks fan but you have to appreciate talent), but you can’t let those goals in during the playoffs especially when the opposing goaltender has a season GAA of 2.07, save percentage of .923 and 10 shut-outs. I’m still unclear if “they” are blaming his performance on the “lower body injury,” but it’s clear to me that that’s the cause.

The Ducks won Game 2 of the series in Calgary but not because Giguere was spectacular but because Kiprusoff showed he was human. The Ducks lost Game 3 of the series (the first game at home) because the Flames came ready to play and the Ducks didn’t. While that can’t be blamed on Giguere, having him there only adds to the complacency of a team convinced of smooth sailing after having won on the road. Furthermore, in Game 4, Giguere was merely good enough in their overtime win which almost wasn’t when again Iginla scored 2 goals tying the game leading to overtime. The Ducks were lucky to have won that game.

Except for Game 5, Giguere’s been good but not stellar and it’s obvious, at least to me, that it’s because he’s injured! Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big supporter of J.S. Giguere and I think, when healthy, he’s awesome (a little cocky, but that just adds to the mystique). However, it is clear that he doesn’t have his A-game and that’s what the Ducks need to knock off those stubborn Calgary Flames.

The Ducks should have stopped playing the NHL playoff game with Giguere’s injury and played Bryzgalov, whose season stats aren’t too shabby, and who is just itching to prove that he’s a playoff goalie. The Ducks gambled on Giguere miraculously gaining his 2003 form, but it hasn’t happened in these past 4 games and can they really take that risk now that they face elimination tonight, at home.

Anaheim finally has a coach that senses the potential chaos before it’s way too late (he actually pulled him after goal number 3 in Game 5) and hopefully he uses some of that sense tonight and plays Bryzgalov. Knowing that Giguere is out will rally the team behind him and hopefully we’ll see what this team is made of. Giguere does have that habit of rallying from a previously poor performance but I don’t think the Ducks have the luxury of rolling that dice tonight. They’ve been complacent too often during this series and its time for some desperation and a good dose of reality. Play the back-up goaltender and play with some desperation. This has been one of the best teams in Ducks history—arguably better than the team that almost won it all in 2003. It would be a shame to squander it by not knowing when to stop playing the NHL playoff game.

'Dirty South'ern Cal

So if recent allegations of Reggie Bush's family accepting free housing from a scum bag San Diego player agent that may or may not have been extorting the Bush family wasn't enough, it has recently been alledged that Matt Leinart, the golden boy of the program, was also involved in his own kind of housing controversy. News sources have reported that Leinart and Dwayne Jarrett's living arrangement was compromised because of a subsidy by Leinart's father, Bob, that was given to the student athletes so that they could live at the Medici apartments and Condominiums at the corner of Sunset and Figueroa.

Having your father pay for your housing is not a crime, and not a violation of NCAA rules. It may be a violation for Jarrett, and he will probably have to miss a few games next season. Don't get excited Bruin Fan, he will be back for the PAC 10 schedule. In any case, this looks like a pretty benign problem, right? WRONG!

In a Sports Illustrated article last season, Fall College Football Special Edition featuring Reggie Bush giving Matt Leinart a piggy back ride on the cover, it was reported that Matt Leinart's parents were a little upset with his decision to stay in school and take a ballroom dancing class because, and here comes the kicker, they did not have that much bread or for those pop culturally challenged, money. The article detailed how his parents were upset that he lived in an apartment building that had no security and no working AC. The story mentioned how Leinart and the boys would hang out in a beat up Ford Ranger to cool off during the summer and how Leinart and company would search the streets for old couches and chairs that were left out on the corners to outfit his apartment. In short, my man was bootleg and his family did not have the means to help him out, according the the article.

This then brings up a bigger point and another possible violation. Bob Leinart had no money, so how was able to afford paying the $2500 balance of the $38oo monthly rent? Either he sold off his J.P. Marlin stock, started slinging some crack rock, or developed a wicked jump shot, anything to give him the extra scratch to cover the expense. A more viable scenario, he probably was paid (ALLEGEDLY) by CAA, the talent representation agency that Matt Leinart was eager to sign with once he declared for the draft to manage his "entertainment career." Go ask Leigh Steinburg, he may have an explanation as to why Leinert fired him two weeks before the draft and hired Tom Condon, who coincidently is also a part of the CAA family. Of course, it may also be that some scum bag, AKA La Canada resident, gave him a nice stipend. In any case, I'm sure an investigation can be launched at any of your local Taylor's Steakhouses to find out the truth.

What then does this mean for the program? Well, for one the PAC 10 may strip them of wins and word on the street is that the Bowl Championship Series is looking to strip them of their 2004 BCS win over Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. All this for the Reggie Bush fiasco, but I am sure that the Leinart situation will also add a little kindling to the fire. This proves, however, that the USC football program is loaded with good guys that play by the rules, peppered with shady fools that listen way too much to their stupid parents who can't get the money signs out of their eyes and end up ruining their kids' lives and making them into burnouts and drug addicts, remember Todd Marinovich? This also proves that Pete Carroll, in all his glory, is letting the inmates, well you know the rest. More to come.