Is it possible/legal for Austin to attend football practice and track practice during the spring?
It is possible for Terrence Austin to compete in track and also practice football, although he would miss lots of practice for one of the sports.

One of the things we hear whispers about from time to time is the rampant cheating that goes on in college recruiting, yet it seems that hardly any really big recruiting violations come to light. If so many people know that schools are cheating, why don't they do anything about it?
It’s all just scuttlebutt, to me, which is why I never infer a school is cheating or not. If I have evidence a school is cheating, I will write it. I can’t speak for others.

I understand if you're not comfortable answering this, but you've mentioned certain individuals that you've really enjoyed covering to the point that you root for them to succeed. Have there been any specific players who tend to be less forthcoming or whose relationship with the media isn't quite as positive?
I don’t know if I said I root for them to succeed. I thought I wrote I would feel happy for them if they succeeded. There are plenty of people I dealt with who were not much fun, leading off with Kevin Brown when I covered the Dodgers. But as for players, 99 percent of them are really good guys, who are fun to deal with, and the other one percent, just because I don’t get along with them doesn’t mean they are bad people.

How does Kevin Love compare with Lakers' centers Pau Gasol & Andrew Bynum, both in a) current ability and b) potential for improvement and overall upside?
I don’t watch the NBA much, so I don’t have an answer. Sorry.

Have you read "The Best American Sports Writing of the Century," by David Halberstam? If so, what are your thoughts on it and can you recommend any other good books about sports writing?
I have not read it, and I really can’t recommend other books on it. I don’t know of any.

What happen to Boyer the WR from Mater Dei? What school did he choose?
He decided to walk-on at USC.

Between the 3 non-conference football games the bruins have this coming year, which one will be the hardest for UCLA to win? Which ones do you see the team winning?Also, will it help us scheduling three legitimate contenders instead of a scrub game?
I think the toughest game to win will be at BYU, mostly because the Cougars should be more physical, their quarterback is very good and it is on the road. The most winnable game is against Fresno State, mostly because it is the opener and the least of the three evils since Tennessee is the other non-conference team. I think UCLA should bring in a patsy for one game, especially since it is a 12-game schedule and a nine-game Pac-10 schedule, but the fear is no one will attend it.

Has the coaching staff given any thought to giving Mbah a Moute additional mintues/ rotations at the small forward spot, given that he has played solid defense on guys like Appelby and others during the season?
Not really because he cannot shoot from the outside. His jumper has regressed to the point where now making anything more than a 12-footer is somewhat of a surprise. His versatility on defense allows him to defend opposing guards. However, that doesn’t translate well to the defensive end. Also, who do you want to play power forward if Mbah a Moute is playing small forward?