More garbage from Plaschke
Well, boys and girls Uncle Bill is back with another story to tell but this time it's not a tale of woe...this one is from Fantasyland. The Christmas party season must have started early over at the L.A. Times because with all the Egg Nog flowing I am not sure what game Uncle Bill was actually watching.
In a game that will be remembered for the return of the crosstown colors Saturday, USC scored most of the points, but UCLA applied all the welts.
The Trojans outplayed, outclassed and outscored, by a count of 28-7.
The Bruins, however, outfought.
"Man, from start to finish, we did fight them," said Bruins linebacker Reggie Carter, still sweating in a T-shirt and uniform pants nearly an hour after the game.
The Bruins outworked.
"We were huge underdogs, but that didn't matter to us, we never stopped playing," said cornerback Michael Norris, his eyes still wide.
Out Fought? Out Worked?
What's the old saying...the definition of insanity is doing something over and over while expecting different results.
What Plaschke seems to miss that's right under his nose is that this is a RIVALRY and no matter how good one team is within the rivalry, even when its by leaps and bounds, the other team gets up for the game. Remember 2004 when SC, on its way to to the Orange Bowl for the MNC, was almost tripped up at the Rose Bowl by ucla? People seem to think 66-19 is the norm...that was moment in time with the greatest offensive machine in the history of college football. They were a year older and more experienced and they were playing at home so the stars aligned perfectly for SC to unload on ucla in 2004.
It looks like Uncle Bill is giddy because he can go back to sunshine pumping the bruins like he did after SC hired Pete Carroll. Remember this gem...
This is a Bruin football town, and has been a Bruin football town, and will continue to be a Bruin football town...
Anyone who cares about college football in L.A. would agree that ucla needs to get better. In time they will, no question but they still have a long way to go and no level of sunshine pumping can make that happen.
Plaschke is delusional to think that ucla "out fought" or "out worked" USC yesterday. Norm Chow wasn't what I was worried about DeWayne Walker was what I was worried about. He has always schemed USC well, he is a great coach and he always finds the little things to work with but without an outside rush to Mark Sanchez had more than enough time to what he needed to do. Sanchez didn't always succeed but he did enough.
Here is some more drivel...
But they kept peppering, with Trojans quarterback Mark Sanchez knocked down so much, he actually had to leave the game for a play.
"We could all see how slow he got up," Norris said. "Slower every time."
They peppered the receivers so much that in the second half, they caught only four passes, with Sanchez completing only 10 of 24 after the first quarter, with USC held scoreless after the first three minutes of the third quarter.
"They weren't going to back down for nothing," said the Trojans' Patrick Turner, who caught a touchdown pass.
They sometimes peppered so much, they got salty, committing 11 penalties for 117 yards, some of which led to USC scores.
Wow...all that education and years of writing and the only word Uncle Bill could come up with is salty? How about Cheap Shot? What about Personal Foul! In the one area that SC usually has trouble it was ucla that actually had difficulty with penalties.
Sanchez wasn't going to let those clowns keep him down...They didn't get him for a single sack NOT ONE! Sure, they got some pressure on Sanchez and yes they knocked him down a number of times but Sanchez, experiencing his first taste of the rivalry as a starter rose to the occasion and threw caution to the wind. The argument can be made that one or two of those personal foul calls on ucla were borderline...maybe so but they were called and that's all I needed to see. Of course there will be some that will point to Rey Rey's hit on Cowan in 2006 (not called) and his hit on Craft yesterday (called) as the standard retort but you could see that that was the only statement that they wanted or could make...that they were going to try and make hits because there wasn't anything else they could do.
If it was SC that was committing those cheap shops you would hear a completely different story out of Uncle Bill. 13-9 defined ucla in 2006, it was their "moral victory" and because they are so bad this year, coming in as huge underdogs, Plascke essentially says that its OK to cheap shot and commit personal fouls. So much for that so-called ucla sportsmanship.
It is now clear that Plaschke is so in the can for ucla that he will say or write anything to try and make them relevant again.
Anything for readership right Bill?
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Ahhh, the detritus after the battle
I watched about 50% of the game (yes, even though it was a blowout I was more interested in Cal – Washington), and as an essentially neutral observer this is what I noticed:
1. USC showed greater composure and discipline
2. Ucla was more fired up for the game
3. USC never seemed as if they believed they could lose
4. Ucla played with more desperation
5. USC appeared to react more than act
6. Ucla was more aggressive, and played like they had a huge chip on their shoulder
Now, normally you would want to be the team that is more fired up, more aggressive, and more emotional. Except when that emotion is unchecked. Ucla never had a chance in this game because they were too out of control (kind of like the good people at that other blog). Their defense especially. They seemed to take cheap shots on every play – and they were just too out of control.
But the game was never in question, because their offense was completely impotent (again, kind of like the good people at that other blog). A little more discipline and a little less blind hatred might have kept the score closer.
Plashke was right about one thing, the bruins did out fight. But they did it the wrong way.
Again, this is just the observation of a neutral outside observer.
Congratulations to you guys for a good season, and good luck against Penn State in the Rose Bowl!
Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.
Out of control?
If memory serves correct, UCLA had 6 personal fouls and 2 pass interference calls.
One of the pass interferences was called on Norris – that’s not very rare – and the other was fiction.
The personal fouls included 2 roughing the passer penalties, an “illegal helmet contact,” an unsportsmanlike conduct call, a roughing the punter penalty, and a late hit. The first roughing the passer was BS; the second I didn’t see. The “illegal helmet contact” penalty was one of those calls that really make you question the refs’ neutrality. I have no idea what happened on the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, though I am curious about what could be worse than the entire team jumping up and down on the field after a TD. I didn’t see the roughing the punter penalty either, though whether it should have been 5 or 15 doesn’t really bother me. UCLA blocked 2 punts this year for TD’s, and that would likely have been a third to tie or take the lead (I don’t remember the score). Sometimes that just happens, and it has nothing to do with discipline. The late hit looked illegal from where I was sitting, though it certainly wasn’t a cheap shot. In addition, there should have been offsetting unsportsmanlike conduct penalties at the end of halftime.
Two or three PFs in a rivalry game isn’t terrible, especially when there are people on both teams pushing and shoving after every play. The fact that USC escaped with just the one personal foul is little short of miraculous. And Affholter is still out of bounds.
by SuperBruinMan on Dec 7, 2008 2:25 PM PST up reply actions
Clarification
By “out of control” I didn’t necessarily mean a disproportionate amount of personal fouls. I meant they let their emotions get the best of them and played with too much desire to make the big hit or the highlight reel. Again, this is from an outsider – the bruins just looked as if they were not playing within themselves or with the required level of discipline.
Just an observation.
Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.
Wow, but thats big billy always making friends!
Paragon what I like about cheap shots, if there was any competing recruits at that game they saw the real UCLA. A bunch of Cheapys
Paul D. Kelley
by so.cal.native1952 on Dec 7, 2008 8:23 AM PST reply actions
see also: TJ Simers
apparently all you need to do to become a sportswriter (part of legitimate journalism) these days is to be good at antagonism. And the ability to make fun of those silly bloggers in their parents’ basements.
did he watch the game?
I’m trying to find the promise of better days ahead for the Bruins. There wasn’t much to write home about after the first touchdown. After the second Trojan touchdown, that sideline was completely deflated, save the square-off after halftime.
HE HATE US
I just knew Plaschke was a Bruin-nut hugger! Didn’t have any proof, until now.
"I was INVERTED!" -Maverick in Top Gun
getting overworked
Relax Paragon…you sound like Nestor after a bad article in the LA Times. Bill isn’t a ucla homer by any stretch of the imagination. Bruins knocked sanchez down a couple of times but you won the game so big deal. Sure some of those hits were late (as was reyreys hit on craft…in fact it was three steps too late. good to see him get taken out of the game for that) but thats a rivalry game
Wait...
Don’t ever compare me to Nestor…there is no comparison.
Plaschke needs to make up his mind because he is not objective…mission accomplished he got a rise out of me and I addressed it here.
Sanchez was more than Simply Knocked Down he was targeted. He’s a big boy and he can handle it and take care of himself but this whole notion that only ucla players are classy is BS. We have our aggressive players no question but so do you and now that they have finally found themselves after 40 years of darkness under Dorrell they are going to take some cheap shots and they will get called out for it.
It's our Rose Bowl and we'll cry if we want to
Literally, and figuratively. (how’s that for arrogance?)
Oh, and. . . .Nestor is in a “class” all his own. The audacity. . . . .
"I was INVERTED!" -Maverick in Top Gun
by BixBeiderbecke on Dec 7, 2008 4:14 PM PST up reply actions
What is Nestor
I remember his kind, it was when my dog was alive and i had to pick up after her. I remember NESTORS WERE BROWN AND WHITE and they veried in smell had to get them off the grass so when we had a party nobody would step in Nestor.
Westwoodie high home of the _ay and the gamblers they will take over college football. BTW how many nationnal football champs do they have 000000000000000000000000000000
Paul D. Kelley
by so.cal.native1952 on Dec 7, 2008 10:21 PM PST up reply actions
I don't know how many leading zeros you needed...
but UCLA actually has 000001 national championship in football- you just have to go back a way to find it:
1954.
by insomniacslounge on Dec 8, 2008 11:08 AM PST up reply actions
Sorry but that looks like a half to me, but ok you can have it.
peace and luck be with you!
Paul D. Kelley
by so.cal.native1952 on Dec 8, 2008 5:01 PM PST up reply actions
And. .. . . .
. . . . I saw that commercial with Gary Beban – Heisman Trophy winner 1967.
Ucla were no slouches back in the day. Still aren’t. They are our rivals in every sense of the word. We’d respect them on the same level we do as Notre Dame. . . .if it wasn’t for their idiot fans like Nestor, Bruin102, and the like.
You, insomniacslounge, are a keeper! Same with SBMan and ucladj89.
"I was INVERTED!" -Maverick in Top Gun
by BixBeiderbecke on Dec 9, 2008 8:12 AM PST up reply actions
And if SC had posted a huge score...
…then no doubt Plaschke would be writing about how USC had trashed the rivalry in the interest of style points.
I don’t know that Ole Bill is in the tank for UCLA so much as his job as a columnist allows him to be distracted by shiny things – so one week, USC is too good to play Notre Dame, and the next week, they’re a bunch of talented loafers who were given a character lesson by the scrappy underdogs.
Both could be true, of course, but it’s the lack of consistency that makes Plaschke look unfocused. I might not have much to say about Michael Wilbon at the WaPo, the local rag for me, but at least you’ve got a decent idea of where he’s coming from. Ole Bill’s columns look like he clears the memory cache after every column and the next one is from a tabula rasa.
Why Must We Fight So?
If there’s anything that UCLA and USC fans should be able to agree on, it’s that Bill Plaschke and Pac-10 refs lack credibility and are an embarrassment to their craft. Plaschke’s columns, like those flags for roughing the QB, are meritless.
Oh and Paragon, the reason Plaschke used “salty” was for contrast to his use of “peppered” earlier in the sentence. Get it? Salt? Pepper? Oh that Bill…..no wonder he wins so many awards.
by insomniacslounge on Dec 7, 2008 9:14 PM PST up reply actions
I'm gonna check this guy from now on
Thanks SuperBruinMan!
I don’t necessarily hate Plaschke, I dislike his prose and intent. He’s very transparent, yet people feel obliged to read him. I’m not saying he has no talent, it’s more like a “date movie”. You know what you’re getting into, so you gotta be prepared for it. And. . . . .they never let you down. You’ll be sick to your stomach after, but . . . . . . .hopefully there’ll be something “in it” for you?
Funny SBM, very f_cking funny!
(and you insomniacslounge? long time, no see. keep those pics up on your site! damn! don’t ever stop with wonderful pics. love your stuff and commentary)
"I was INVERTED!" -Maverick in Top Gun
by BixBeiderbecke on Dec 8, 2008 7:04 AM PST up reply actions
good date movie analogy
…as for my site- it’s very much on the back burner right now, but I’ll do what I can this season (basketball season, that is).
by insomniacslounge on Dec 8, 2008 11:18 AM PST up reply actions
Could the rivalry withstand that?
Could Plaschke be the unifying force for Trojans and Bruins? Unlikely, but stranger things have happened.
As for the referees… here’s the problem. As long as there are bad referees, we can keep on our lenses that tell us for sure what we’re seeing: that our players, who are virtue and effort personified, are being vicimized by those incompetent officials, who are turning a blind eye to the sin and viciousness of those appalling thugs from the other team. If the referees actually started making consistent calls, it might become obvious that our lenses are a mite distorted ; )
But. . . . .
. . . .did you read today’s TJ Simers?
He’s “at the Bellagio in Las Vegas”. The man is on fire! He’s The Killa AND The Master. The Poison AND The Remedy. I like him. . . . totally dig him, actually. He hates EVERYBODY, and donates a ton of time, PR, and money to the UCLA-Mattel Children’s Hospital. I worked in the pediatric endocrinology dept a few years back with Dr. Fraser so I know it’s a noble cause and it’s quite generous of him. If you can get passed his extreme distaste for prima donna’s, hypocrites, liars, cheaters, and profligate athletes / celebrities. . . . .?? He’s palatable.
And . . . .oh. . . by the way- according to the latest Lexus Gauntlet Trophy points?? USC is ahead of Ucla by a score of : 25 – 10 (10 pts for this past weekend’s game. Yars!)
"I was INVERTED!" -Maverick in Top Gun
by BixBeiderbecke on Dec 9, 2008 2:13 PM PST up reply actions
Three tomatoes are walking down the street!
Daddy tomatoe, momma, and baby, baby starts to lag behind. What does dad do?
And if you get it I got a watch for you!
Paul D. Kelley
by so.cal.native1952 on Dec 9, 2008 8:13 PM PST reply actions

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