The Nutcracker (Right in the Sugar Plums) — On a day when Pete Carroll’s Seahawks are eliminated before the Playoffs, Jack Del Rio is fired by the Raiders, and UCLA comes back from 14 down to beat the Huskies by 21, the most dramatic Rivalry news comes when trojan Chimezie Metu punches a Cougar in the balls
Are you convinced yet? The trojans are dirty. They recruit dirty, they coach dirty, and they play even dirtier. Just watch the tape of Chimezie Metu from last night (New Year’s Eve), when u$c was blowing out Washington State. A Cougar player got open for a three-point shot, and Chimezie Metu was late closing on him. AFTER the shot was clearly out of the shooter’s hands, Metu finally approaches him. As he does, he extends his arm, and punches the poor guy right smack in the scrotum.
Maybe players facing sc should start wearing cups to protect their privates, because when this guy got struck in the sack, he went down like a sack of potatoes, and the refs threw the SCumbag out of the game. You may like to think that this was just an accident, or an isolated incident, but this is actually the THIRD separate time that Metu’s lack of integrity and class has been on display. One time he struck a guy in the back, injuring the player, and leaving a giant bruise on his upper back. Another time, Metu, while sitting on the bench, intentionally tripped an opponent, making him fall on his face. So this is what we call a pattern, and if he were a Bruin (which was possible at one time during recruitment), I would demand that he be thrown off the team permanently. Of course the trojans will do no such thing, since he is just doing what he was trained to do. Duke had a similar situation, and barely disciplined the guy at all.
Speaking of lousy coaching, Pete Carroll had the statistically #1 Quarterback in the entire NFL, having an MVP-caliber season, but Cheaty Petey still couldn’t guide his Seahawks into the Postseason. Thanks to today’s Seattle loss to hapless Arizona and Atlanta’s win, Carroll will be watching the Playoffs on TV. Also on the outside looking in are the Oakland Raiders, who wasted no time making a change. Right after their loss to the Chargers on Sunday, they fired ex-trojan Jack Del Rio. The Raiders were great last year, and added Marshawn Lynch this season, but Head Coach Del Rio couldn’t get the team going at all. So they canned him, and will try to lure their former Coach Jon Gruden out of the broadcast booth and back into Coaching.
But not all the news on Sunday was about BAD coaching. In Pauley Pavilion, the Bruins were getting smacked around by Washington, who was coming off an 88-81 upset of u$c. UCLA was down by 8 at halftime, unable to defend the Huskies and unable to crack UW’s Zone Defense. After the break, things were still bleak, and the deficit grew to 14. But then it all clicked for UCLA. Thanks to halftime coaching/adjustments, the Bruins suddenly had a new plan on Offense, and renewed energy and effort, moving the ball more and finding open shots. And on the other end, the Bruins switched to a Zone themselves, and it totally stifled the Dawgs. UCLA went on a 15-0 run to take the lead halfway through the second half. Soon after that, they went on a 14-0 spurt to take control. During this extended sequence, the Huskies were forced to take TWENTY three-pointers… and they MISSED THEM ALL!!!!
In the final 17 minutes, UCLA went from being down 29-43 to winning 74-53. That’s a 45-10 blitz — a 35-point swing. Kris Wilkes was the star of the game with 21 Points. Aaron Holiday started slow but came on to add 14, and Thomas Welsh swept the glass for a dozen Boards, as the Bruins improved to 2-0 in the Pac-12. And they didn’t have to punch anyone in the groin to do it.
Two days ago we hit the Trifecta with the Bruins’ win over WSU, sc’s loss to Washington, plus sc’s HUGE Cotton Bowl drubbing versus Ohio State. But yesterday, UCLA wins in dramatic fashion, Carroll and Del Rio are devastated, and Metu is busted for being a d-bag. I call that a Superfecta. That’s a four-way parlay that pays off. To celebrate, here are 45 more photos of the UCLA Cheer Squad (from the Hawaii Football game earlier this past Fall).
