SEVEN (DOMI)NATION ARMY

UN-UNBROKEN — Bruins smack down the clowns for the 4th straight time in Basketball 83-66; Add that to the 3 straight beatings in Football, and that’s SEVEN straight UCLA torchings of u$c in the two biggest college sports

Rivalry?  What Rivalry?  With UCLA’s latest annihilation of the u$c Clown College on Wednesday in South Central, there is no doubt whatsoever who owns this town, in BOTH major sports.

Do you like seeing trojans tortured?  Did you like Angelina Jolie’s movie “Unbroken,” where trojan Louis Zamaparini gets stranded at sea in a life raft for 6 weeks, then tortured in a Japanese POW camp?  Well, then you must be enjoying these last couple of years, watching trojan fans suffer endlessly, as their beloved Athletic Program has been getting humiliated by their clearly-superior crosstown rivals, to the tune of seven straight.

On Wednesday night, IN THE TROJANS’ HOME ARENA, the Bruins blew out the home team 83-66.  A UCLA team that had recently lost 5 straight games and started the Conference season 0-2 came into the Galen Center and spanked troy by 17.  Even after losing 5 guys to the Pro’s and enduring one of their worst early seasons in recent memory, the Bruins were barely threatened by the struggling-even-worse trojans.

The Bruins exploited their huge front court advantage to build an early 8-point lead, as Tony Parker started 5-for-5 and Kevon Looney — the reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week — helped UCLA grab 24 of the first 34 Rebounds.  But sc, to their credit, didn’t quit, and came back to lead 31-28 about 15 minutes into the game.  That’s when the Bruins really asserted themselves.  Over the end of the first half, and the beginning of the second half, they went on a 13-0 run, and then built up an 18-point lead.  SC got only 1 field goal in about 8 minutes of play, and after that, they never came closer than 9 points, as the Bruins cruised to an easy victory.

The trojans appear to be poorly-coached, as they failed to take away ANY of the Bruins’ strengths.  Norman Powell was able to drive to the hoop at will, to lead the Bruins with 22 points, and Bryce Alford overcame some sloppy ball handling to add 21, on some nifty shooting inside, and some great 3-point dagger buckets on wide-open looks.  But the real story for the Bruins continued to consist of two huge areas of improvement:  The BIGS and the BENCH.  Parker and Looney are getting the ball inside and being productive, and off the bench, 7-foot Freshman Thomas Welsh had his best all-around game, and GG Goloman also showed increased comfort and confidence, with a great high-low assist, a sweet three-pointer, and a better inside presence.

The team has really come together on this current 3-game winning streak, albeit against weak competition.  But even against the early-season cupcakes, Welsh and Goloman were not contributing like they have this past week and a half.  So it looks like UCLA will rise from pathetic to mediocre, which is not bad for a rebuilding year.  They are now settling into a middle-of-the-Pac position, instead of cellar-dweller, where many thought they were headed.  Tip o’ the cap to Coach Steve Alford, for making the proper (if not obvious) adjustments of running the Offense through the bigs instead of relying on outside shooting every night.

So after this embarrassing trojan HOME loss in the Rivalry Game, there is no way they can contend that their Basketball program is near UCLA’s.  The Bruins have now won 8 of the last 9 against troy.  The only thing trojan Basketball fans can hang their hat on is that they have a player on the Lakers,  But now, even THAT has become a dubious distinction.  Not only do the Lakers thoroughly suck, but ex-trojan Nick Young has become the most disappointing, underachieving member of the roster.  Lately he has been shooting 28% from the floor, and on Defense, he is currently being called out by head Coach Byron Scott, for not putting in any effort, getting lost, and basically, just having his head up his ass.

But trojan fans don’t care much, as long as their treasured Football team is the best in town… but wait — Look at the final National Rankings for Football that came out this week:  UCLA is in the Top Ten, and u$c is nowhere close.  The Bruins finished 10th in both polls, while sc landed at #20, and #21.  Not only that, but 4 trojan underclassmen have declared for the NFL Draft, so the trojans might not even make the Top 25 next year, since they will be missing their best Running Back, two best Wide Receivers, and their best Defensive player, all of whom are bailing early.  Meanwhile, UCLA looks to get stronger next year, with the Pac-12’s leading rusher returning, and the Nation’s Top Recruit taking over the reins at QB.  UCLA’s reign as City Champs should extend for another year, especially if Jim Mora returns, and right now, it looks like he will.

And let’s not even talk about the huge disparity between the sc song girls and UCLA Spirit Squad.  Here are 35 more examples of the blue and GOLD STANDARD, against which all other cheerleaders are judged.