MORA STANDS PAT…HADEN UP

You can’t spell “schadenfreude” without “Haden” — Defying the wishes of every trojan (and Husky) including Pat Haden, Jim Mora decides to stay at UCLA, signing a 6-year extension with the Bruins, while the trojans are still stuck with Steve Sarkisian

If it was REALLY Pat Haden’s plan to get successful UCLA Head Coach Jim Mora out of L.A. by hiring Washington’s Steve Sarkisian to create a vacuum in Seattle, it failed.  The only thing that sucks now is the future of u$c, since they are stuck with Sarkisian at their helm, while arch rival UCLA gets to keep the vastly superior Mora.

The Sarkisian hire created absolutely NO buzz, nationally or even locally, and no recruits seemed to care or be impressed.  And any publicity or exposure that Haden and sc hoped to receive from the Sarkisian Press Conference was completely eclipsed by UCLA’s announcement that Mora had signed a 6-year extension to stay at UCLA and continue his domination of the trojans.  As far as the Rivalry is concerned, UCLA is the current Owner of the City, and based on the quality of the Bruins’ young roster, the more-respected and proven, more successful coaching staff, not to mention sc’s ongoing sanctions, UCLA will be able to chant “We Own This Town” for a long time to come.

It’s amusing to watch the trojan fans melt down, after the last 24 hours of them claiming Mora was gone.  They didn’t want Sarkisian unless it was coupled with Mora’s departure, so now they have nothing to hang their hat on — nothing to console themselves with.  They can just suck on 35-14 for the whole off-season, while UCLA and Mora out-recruit them for next year’s class.

A couple of other UCLA tidbits to make sure you are aware of:  Myles Jack earned an unprecedented honor that will probably never be duplicated:  He won the Awards for Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, AND Pac-12 Defensive Freshman of the Year!!

And speaking of Freshmen, UCLA Basketball beat UCSB on Tuesday night 89-76, behind the great play of Kyle Anderson and Jordan Adams, with a little aid from Tony Parker, and with a major contribution from super-Freshman Zach LaVine, as well as help from fellow Freshmen Bryce Alford and Wannah Bail.  The game was tied at Halftime 42-42, and still tied at 65 late in the game, thanks to the Gauchos making 13 3-pointers, including 9 of their first 12 attempts.  But the Bruins finally clamped down, using a 3/4-court Press to take Santa Barbara out of their rhythm.  UCSB started turning the ball over, and rushing some shots, allowing the Bruins to pull away.  The Bruins and Steve Alford are now 8-0, with a tough test facing them in Missouri on Saturday morning.

Below are 61 more UCLA Cheerleader photos from the UCLA victory over u$c on Saturday.  Click on the pics to enlarge them.