Where have I heard this before?

by Paragon SC on Nov 8, 2008 5:32 AM PST in Off-Topic Comment 25 comments

On ucla's Nikola Dragovic's arrest for battery...

``We haven't had a chance to look at the facts,'' said Marc Dellins, associate athletic director for sports information. ``We just found out about an hour ago, so until we have all the information, we can't make any decisions.''

Here is the money quote...

"I'm going to wait for all the facts," Howland said.

The coach added: "She's a great kid. Nikola's a great kid. I'm very confident everything will be rectified soon."

Really? No kidding! Is that really appropriate, waiting for all the facts...

Why hasn't Dragovic been suspended/booted off the team? I mean no player should be allowed on the field/court if they get arrested right? Especially not at vaunted ucla.

Let me guess, nobodies perfect right?

Looks like Dragovic has some anger managment issues. Howland and the AD are correct for waiting to hear all the facts. It's called being sensible...just like Pete Carroll.

We'll probably hear some stupid excuse that because he is from war torn Serbia that he suffers from PTSD or some nonsense explaining his actions.

But isn't that what lawyers do?

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I know you’re not suggesting that PTSD is ‘nonsense’, right? Or are you talking ‘nonsense’ excuses like the one thrown out by Pete Carroll in the Maualuga case where he cited Maualuga’s dad’s unfortunate bout with cancer? I don’t remember the particulars of that case very well, but I am sure Carroll made the appropriate decision.

In any event, I would hope that there will be some sort significant punishment. Domestic abuse can’t be tolerated period. That said, in most California jurisdictions an arrest MUST be made in almost every domestic abuse call if just to break up the situation. One of my guys was arrested in San Diego for reaching over, and without touching his pycho ex-girlfriend, hanging up the phone when she was trying to call 911 because he wouldn’t let her take his TV with her…

Since there really isn’t any sure way to say what exactly happened, it’s a little early to state that Dragovic has anger management issues. Don’t tell me you’ve never gotten into an argument or yelling match with a significant other?

In the end, I hope Dragovic is at least suspended for a while. He didn’t play in Friday’s game and I hear definitely won’t play in UCLA’s next game.

by impaulv on Nov 8, 2008 10:01 AM PST reply actions 1 recs

How long have you been around?

Based on your comment I would say not very long. Go ahead and search BN about Maualuga you will see how those clowns eviscerated Rey for his actions and Pete Carroll for NOT punishing him more. Carroll and Howland like him should get latitude in how they punish their players. We may have opinions but they do not matter in the grand scheme of things, as it’s not our call.

As a former Navy Corpsman I have seen PTSD first hand so I am not diminishing it, but I have also seen it used as an excuse.

I’d be careful here in regards to Maualuga here…I will not tolerate any criticism of his situation he did his punishment and we consider the matter closed.

I frankly couldn’t care less about Dragovik, it’s not our problem. I wrote about this to point out that Howland said the exact same thing in regards to having all the facts before taking action against the player as Carroll has in the past.
How long have you been around?

Based on your comment I would say not very long. Go ahead and search BN about Maualuga you will see how those clowns eviscerated him and Pete Carroll for NOT punishing him more. Carroll and Howland like him get latitude in how they punish their players. We may have opinions but they do not matter in the grand scheme of things, as it’s not our call.

As a former Navy Corpsman I have seen PTSD first hand so I am not diminishing it, but I have also seen it used as an excuse.

I’d be careful here in regards to Maualuga here…I will not tolerate any criticism of his situation he did his punishment and we consider the matter closed.

Conquest Chronicles

by Paragon SC on Nov 8, 2008 11:59 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Dude, calm down. I didn’t critize how Maualuga was handled by Carroll or how BN portrayed him. In fact, I acknowledge a little further down that there have been jabs from both sides, that I didn’t remember the full details, and that I was sure that Carroll handled it.

What I mostly wanted to point out in my response was the apparent dismisal of PTSD (even though at this point we can equally say that it was childhood abuse that leads to Dragovic’s supposed “anger issue”). Was it your Navy corpsman training that led you to diagnose Dravogic with fake PTSD or anger issues from across the country? I didn’t know that was part of the training. Oh wait, as a current Navy officer who has been on the ground in Iraq, been shot at, and worked very closely with corpsmen ranging from ship’s corpsmen to IDCs to FMF (Independent Duty Corpsmen & Corpsmen w/ Marines for those of you who aren’t familiar with the lingo), I do know that’s not part of corpsmen training (unless your training was different, in which case I apologize). I’ve run into my fair share of PTSD (both real and maybe not so real). You know you can discount PTSD at any point. Hell, real doctors can’t discount it. But all this is talk of PTSD, nonsense excuses and “anger management issues… pure and simple” is dumb because I’m not qualified (and I’m pretty sure you’re not either) to make any sort of psychological evaluation.

BTW, have you ever yelled at your wife/girlfriend/sister/mom? A woman scorned can be SCARY!

by impaulv on Nov 8, 2008 1:08 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Wow you guys are really going at it

Bru-Babe

Don’t really care about what you have been thru. The point is that YOU JUST DON’T PUT YOUR HANDS ON A WOMAN DURING A DISPUTE. For this will always get the man charged with something and is best to just walk away, he should of picked up his prop and left.

Oh and btw I refer to you as bru-babe in reference to your avatar.

Paul D. Kelley

by so.cal.native1952 on Nov 8, 2008 1:53 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Well, I do care and I respect his time on duty

but that’s just me…we all have our own experiences.

Conquest Chronicles

by Paragon SC on Nov 8, 2008 1:59 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

What can I say.? Both retro Joe and I are totally hot. It’s okay, I am secure enough to allow another guy call me a babe.

I agree with never putting your hands on a woman… I do have to qualify that with once I had to literally shove my way past a level-5 clinger ex-girlfriend…

by impaulv on Nov 8, 2008 2:20 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Well, it was a little less of a shove and more of “let me the hell out of here” shunting aside.

by impaulv on Nov 8, 2008 2:23 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Funny how you just don't put your hands on a woman

but you can be the getaway driver during a goddamned armed robbery, socalnative…

by Seanny Rotten on Nov 9, 2008 7:46 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Yah that's right and you still need to pay me for my cut!

Paul D. Kelley

by so.cal.native1952 on Nov 9, 2008 10:12 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I am not sure how the training is today...

but it was part of my FMF training 25 years ago. No apology needed.

Though I do take exception to being called dude…

Let me be more specific here, my comment on PTSD in regards to Dragovic is that it wouldn’t surprise me if some apologist(s) used it as an excuse not that he actually had it. Agree or disagree, like it or don’t like it, that’s fine with me and there is no offense taken. I respect your experiences as you have laid them out but you nothing about mine and I choose not to discuss them here. For the most part I had a pretty unremarkable 8 years in the Navy, I was fortunate not to have been on the ground for Desert Storm, but I did see some things that will never leave my soul. So lets leave it at that.

My congrats to you for having been on the ground in this recent conflict and coming back safely.

Conquest Chronicles

by Paragon SC on Nov 8, 2008 1:53 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Gotcha on the FMF training. And I apologize for calling you “dude”, it was not intended in any sort of malicious manner.

by impaulv on Nov 8, 2008 2:22 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I don't know what happened with Dragovic

But I think what Paragon is trying to illustrate is that the same problems that happen at USC also happen at ucla. The bn crowd tends to hold on to the idea that their players are perfect, and that USC is an institution that is completely out of control. I don’t think that Dragovic is any different than Frostee Rucker, Rey Maualuga, and Steve Smith. Kids in college do stupid things. They drink, they fight, they hit people. It doesn’t matter who you suit up for. All you can hope for is that the coaching staff and the AD handle the situation in a manner that is appropriate for the offense.

ucla’s poop stinks just as much as everyone else. When bn owns up to that, then you probably won’t see posts like this on our page.

by frak on Nov 8, 2008 10:55 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Gotcha. I think BN owns up to UCLA’s players shortcomings but you’re right in that they do like to point out SC’s shortcomings. In that regards, I think it’s completely fair to see the jabs. I think a difference here is that there wasn’t any drinking reported associated with the incident. But still, it has been a bad week for UCLA athletes and getting into trouble. Have we achieved parity with SC in that regard? HAHA, sorry! (That was definitely a joke, don’t get upset!)

by impaulv on Nov 8, 2008 11:11 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

If anything...

the lack of any outside influence like alcohol takes away any excuse for Dragovic…he has an anger management problem pure an simple.

Conquest Chronicles

by Paragon SC on Nov 8, 2008 12:02 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Really, I thought a corpsman would know that alcohol is a depressant.. (note: this reply is a lame joke, I fully acknowledge that alcohol has been a proven factor in behavior modification)

by impaulv on Nov 8, 2008 1:11 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

We'll see if Dragovic does get back on the court

He hasn’t yet.

It was interesting, though, how detailed the initial report was. I’m not sure that much more will actually come out.

by SuperBruinMan on Nov 8, 2008 11:06 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

The player was still in jail people

He still hadn’t been bailed out at game time unless he had an extra 20,000 lying around. But all in all Paragon is saying to Nestor and friends that again one who lives in glass house should not throw stones.

Glass house in this case and many is that it is made up of irresponsible student athletics, which includes all colleges.

This to bad for Dragovic because it seemed that he finally made it thru Bens system and injuries and was going to be part of reg. rotation.

Paul D. Kelley

by so.cal.native1952 on Nov 8, 2008 11:36 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Of course $UC fans would automatically place

This situation with the boatload of infractions committed by USC players and staff in the same bucket.

First off, Once all the facts DO come out. APPROPRIATE measures will be taken to punish Dragovic. Trust me, UCLA alum do NOT tolerate any kind of behavior like this. Unlike the mentality at USC where turning a blind eye on obvious crimes is beyond acceptable as long as Cheety Peety “reviews” all his options.

Secondly, It comes down to the coaching staff taking responsibility for player’s actions and suspending, dismissing, or any further measures that are taken towards a player that separates the two entities.

Players are obviously not perfect, but the staff and Coaches are the ones that must enforce the perfection. It takes a legitimate organization to punish somebody when they have done something wrong. So we’ll see what happens when Howland collects all the facts.

by UCLABRU1 on Nov 8, 2008 2:18 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Hey guys look God has spoken...

yaaaaaaaaaaaaawn…….

nice first comment.

Conquest Chronicles

by Paragon SC on Nov 8, 2008 4:05 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Listen as an alum and fan

You will not have a WORD or Choice in the matter it will be up to AD and Ben, plain and simple and they really probably don’t care about your look on the deal anyway.

Paul D. Kelley

by so.cal.native1952 on Nov 9, 2008 11:35 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Uhm ... UCLABRU1

you’re not really helping matters by going to a USC fan website and baiting them with epithets like you did.

Basically any and all reason or logic you say afterwards will be ignored. Bruinsnation is fairly flame & troll free, and if you incite like this that won’t be the case.

by Seanny Rotten on Nov 9, 2008 7:48 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

We respect your opinion, we ask that you do the same for us

This is a matter between dragovic and ucla there’s no reason for name calling and trolling. Don’t flame us because we report news that may not reflect upon ucla in the best light. You guys do it all the time and we’re fine with it and we don’t bother you. I bet if i made the same type of comment on BN you would shred my ass to pieces and have me banned from SBN. You’re welcome here any time to express your opinions just don’t be such a douche, thanks :)

by sharpie20 on Nov 10, 2008 4:11 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

"Legitimate commentary" doesn't contain the words. . . .

. . . .Cheety Peety! C’mon now! Get a grip. Are we in 1st, or 2nd grade with that name? Oh wait, don’t tell me. . .how could I forget? We’re talking kindy-garten. (can you just spell one of the words right?) By the way bru one, lemme know how that “perfection” works out for all y’all. And please, if you have a Bat-phone- when you and all your Coaches figure out on how to enforce perfection, call God. I’m sure there’s some interesting tidbits you might wanna share with him. I hear he’s down with knowing a thing or two about that himself. Compare notes and whatnot. Have some tea. It’ll be massive.

"Surround yourself with people who can't live without football" - 1st tenet of 3 for Bear Bryant's 3 Rules of Coaching . . . . .

by BixBeiderbecke on Nov 8, 2008 5:25 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

No exaggeration???

I’m a little disappointed. Where’s the exaggeration and falsification of facts? If this were an SC athlete the investigators over on BN would have already solved this case.

“When Dragovic’s girlfriend attempted to remove his property, property which had been purchased for Nikola by a Bruin Booster, he angrily shoved her to the ground and dragged her by her hair into their residence, a residence in which his girlfriend’s family was paying the majority of the rent. Howland is awaiting police reports detailing exactly how much hair the victim lost before he addresses any possible disciplinary actions.”

by PCBestever on Nov 11, 2008 12:16 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

what a disappointment...

give him jail time and the full fine. i don’t know what ben will do, i would probably kick dragovic off the team, but then again, i have no influence on how this situation is going to be handleded

by Jeodude on Nov 13, 2008 6:07 PM PST reply actions 0 recs