Weekly Answers, Pt. 2
Check out the latest batch of the weekly answers...
1) Unless Prince really stumbles, I don't think Brehaut can overtake him in the depth chart in spring ball. So what's really up for grabs this spring practice? - San Diego TherapistWhat's up for grabs is the future of the position. It's going to be either one. If Prince stays ahead, I'd be surprised if Brehaut can catch up. If Brehaut gets an edge, Prince might lose the team. Prince looked huge the last time I saw him, like he was really getting stronger, and that will be huge in his progression.
2) Am I right, the O-line is pretty much up for grabs with the Haisak issues and Xavier going on a mission next season etc. Any chance Pressley and Carroll show something and move up the depth chart? I'm kind of thinking that RB and DT wouldn't really be decided until fall when the freshmen arrive. BTW, really enjoying the podcasts. - San Diego TherapistThe O-Line certainly has a bit of competition, though I think at least three of the spots should be locked up. Presley and Carroll have the opportunity to show their stuff, but I think the top three will be Rosario, Smith and Embree. Thanks on the podcast words, and the new one should come out on Wednesday or Thursday morning.
3) How good would Jason Street have been at Notre Dame if his career would not have been cut short? Do you think Smash Williams has a shot at transfering to a bigger school? - RayI didn't really get to see enough of Street to adequately judge him, but I'll say that he had the perfect mental make-up for a quarterback. Just cocky and naïve enough to be a gunslinger, just smart enough to know when to hold back. And great with the ladies. Smash I think is pretty set at Texas A&M. He'll be a force next year as a sophomore.
4) Which Pac-10 basketball players do you see getting drafted after this season? - StevePondexter, Thompson, Robertson, and maybe Christopher. With the NBA in limbo for 2011-12, I wouldn't be surprised more top younger players leave early.
5) Do you think Howland realizes he made some major misevaluations(Keefe, Anderson, Drago)? And do you think he is changing his evaluations to fit his style(tougher athletic kids to play man to man)? - AnonymousI don't think he ever imagined those guys to be in the rolls they're in now, and even with that being said, perhaps their talent would be realized surrounded by more talent. Howland said he wants to go back to the basics and get strong guys who can play man-to-man.
Tim Riggins would have dominated at San Antonio State if he hung around and I have no doubt that Jason Street could still roll out and win the UCLA QB1 spot today.
He should get bigger, stronger guys who not only can play man-to-man but also have the strength to stay in school four years and avoid the temptation of the WWE...er...NBA.
I have to say, I love the fact that Howland is flexible and not to proud to change things up. Not only does he implement a zone, which in years past he has been loathe to do (even though, to my mind, teaching the kids to play it would also help teach them how to play against it), but also in changing his recruiting philosophy to meet the challenges of the program. Maybe this year sucked in terms of win/loss but it has been instrumental in testing Howland, exposing his weaknesses, and providing him an opportunity to test assumptions and try new approaches...or go back to tried and true old ways. In Howland I trust, despite the fairweather fans at BruinsNation (who just a year ago were touting BenBall Warriors and bandwagoning it).
Agree about BruinsNation, Seattle. I've dropped BN completely because I was disgusted by their willingness to blast away at Howland. I agreed with their attacks on Dorrell, but not on Howland. When I wrote a comment entitled "Nestor and his Howland hunters" I got banned! Good riddance, and like Gold's site better anyway.
Amen about Nestor!
BN is terrible...stopped visiting that site a long time ago...
As a former member of the SS, I applaud Nestor for the superior job he is doing in assassinating the character of Ben Howland. I will take print-outs of Nestor's comments with me to my bunker to provide much needed light reading in the dark days ahead. Nestor, in the words of my beloved Fuehrer, "Is one effing good Nazi!"
+1 on the BN down the drain. It's been removed from my bookmarks for some time now. The constant negativity, refusal to acknowledge anything positive, and inability to understand circumstances reminds me of one of my ex's....
The people on BruinsNation represent what UCLA is all about.
Agreed. But I guess they have their niche...
Nestor, while dedicated, has a pompus attitude and thinks he speaks for all Bruins on that website. The great thing about BruinsNation are all the contributors on it who post links to all sorts of articles. I just ignore Nestor as much as possible. He's a bag of hot air that does NOT represent UCLA.
BruinsNation SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Read BN for about a month before I realized everthing there about has nothing to do with true blue UCLA fans. Stay out unless you feel like putting a gun to your head. The True UCLA Nation is so much better than Nestor and his Bruin Nation web site.
I feel like there's going to be a rumble in the playground after 6th period...
WWE lol
Nestor is a Bruin God
Amen about Nestor. He has single-handedly ruined what could've been the best UCLA site out there. The guy is extremely paranoid and imbalanced. Think Kim Jong Il in blue and gold. If you want a site for die-hards where all viewpoints are welcome, go to BRO (ucla.scout.com). Unlike Bruins Nation, it consists of actual donors who are civilized enough to agree to disagree, and are EXTREMELY well-connected to the higher-ups in the athletic dept. I'm convinced that the real-life Nestor is around 5'2", and has never kissed a girl. I'm ashamed I apparently went to school with the guy.
If you've ever seen "A Beautiful Mind," that's Nestor - he sees things that aren't there. I'm convinced he's a Trojan who never stepped foot in my beloved school. He's a walking freak show who gives the rest of us a bad name.
As Nestor's closest friend, I take great umbrage at the villainous vitriol directed his way by the posters on this board. Granted, Nestor believes he sits on the Right Hand of God, but who's to say he doesn't? Have any of you been there? Now, when he says that Ben Howland is the worst coach in the universe, that Rick Neuheisel should be pistol-whipped and then run out of town, that Karl Dorrell was a half-baked custard pie, that the current basketball team and their mothers should be paraded around Westwood in stocks and pelted with rotten tomatoes, that the entire UCLA student body should be stripped naked and hosed with icy water, and that Dan Guerrero has a 'special relationship' with Stan Hasiak, he is only trying to inform you of the dire deficiencies we, as True Blue Bruins, are presently facing. And, I must say, he is doing it in the kindest way possible. Shame on you! Shame on all of you! Now, I must go, as Nestor has arranged a clandestine meeting between myself and Norm Chow at Ford's Theatre. Something about a crap stage play and Chow's insistence on seeing it before it closes. Nestor rules!!!!
Anybody got a heater?
The less attention we pay Nestor, the better.
AnonymASSES GROW A PAIR!
Jon,
I know this is not a BN site, but thanks for letting us air our grievances against that site here without censoring us. Unfortunately, no one else is really willing to put in the time (although technically we are all paying for it, since Nestor works for the federal government!) to put together as comprehensive a blog with as many links to so many articles (even if we have to read all of his bandwagon opinions). We really appreciate all of the info you put together on this blog as well!
It is refreshing to see that there are more people in the internets who feel the way I do about bruinsnation and nestor. I posted a comment in relation to the jrue holiday situation and it was immediately by nestor because it allegedly violated the rule, which clearly is applied in an arbitrary way. More importantly, Nestor questioned my loyalty to the bruins given that it was my first time posting on his site. The guy has issues.
I haven't liked Bruinsnation as much lately either because of the constant negativity towards Howland and Dragovic. I'm just as frustrated by the basketball team as anyone, but blasting our team publicly has never been my nature. I really really like Neuheisel's constant optimism, even if it tires other people out.
As far as Nestor, I don't really like the censorship over there and noticed he actually just deleted someones post on that site that linked to him getting blasted on these comments. It's his blog, but if he wants readers like me to visit, censorship and negativity aren't really the way to go about it. Just my two cents.