D.C. FAB

Darren got the FIVE-finger discount FOUR times (4 Steals vs. WSU)

Hard-Driving Darren Collison and the Bruins get Hacked but Fare well, Running over the Cougars 67-59, and will Taxi into Seattle alone in First Place, with the Meter running but with Stanford in Hot Pursuit

The Bruins are not Addicted to Love.  That’s because they have other ways to beat you than with just Kevin Love.

Not that Love had a bad or unproductive game in Pullman, scoring 16 with 9 Rebounds, but it was a far cry from the domination that he has been showing lately.  He scored 6 early Points, but didn’t score again for about an hour.  He got 10 more Points late, when the game was still in doubt, but the #5 Bruins got to that juncture by relying on others.  With Love being double-teamed ferociously, and with Luc Richard Mbah a Moute out injured, it was up to the Guards to pick up the slack.

In the first half, Darren Collison was suffering from flu-like symptoms, and went 0-4, but Russell Westbrook kept the Bruins even, as the teams went to the locker room tied at 26.  In the Second Half, Westbrook continued to play inspired, and Collison erupted.  Maybe the Trainer pumped him with fluids, or maybe Ben Howland pumped him with rhetoric — Either way, Collison turned in his best half since his injuries, scoring 18 Points, and repeatedly breaking down the WSU Defense to create easy shots for himself and others.  “Points in the Paint” and Rebounding are the two areas in which the Bruins excelled, and are why UCLA was able to separate themselves from the #17 Cougars.

The Bruins went on an 8-0 run with about 7 minutes left that finally gave them some breathing room in a game that had stayed close from the outset.  Then Collison (7-for-7 from the line) and the Bruins made some Free Throws to put the game away.  This time, there would be no scare like earlier this year in Pauley, where WSU made 7 straight three’s in 90 seconds to ALMOST complete a shocking comeback.

The big Road Victory lifts the Bruins to 21-2, their best record since the Championship Year of 1995, and to 9-1 in the Pac-10, only ONE GAME ahead of Stanford. 

And speaking of “The Nation’s Best,” here, as promised, is a little pictorial (all from ONE pre-game tailgate), as requested by reader “Sam.”  Not “Sam” from The Shire, because HE would have requested a spread of Frodo au naturale, but Sam from Bruinland, who has astutely noticed the unfair lack of coverage of his favorite girl, who just happens to be “Precious.”  No that’s not her name — She doesn’t moonlight as a Stripper at the Spearmint Rhino — it’s just a fitting description, because, who wouldn’t want to place a RING on her finger?  And once again, no captions are necessary, and would only detract from the mood.  However, and SAM, this is for you, you can and MUST click on some of these to enlarge them.  You will be able to Zoom in to huge close-ups of the girl of your Dreams.   It’s the next best thing to being there.

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