Oct. 6, 2009
BLVR covers the Bruins, Lakers, Vikings and Reds, who by fate or destiny became the favorite teams long ago of a young kid growing up in Southern California.
BRUINS
I'm taking full responsibility for the loss Saturday at Stanford. I was looking ahead to the Oregon game. My bad. The Bruins (3-1, 0-1) face the Ducks at 12:30 p.m. this Saturday at the Rose Bowl with the oddsmakers listing Oregon as 6 1/2-point favorites.
The quarterback spot appears to be a bit of a mystery for both teams. Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli had to leave Saturday's blowout win over Washington State with a knee injury and he hasn't practiced so far this week. UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince may be back at the helm after suffering a broken jaw in the Bruins' win Sept. 12 at Tennessee.
The big question surrounding the Ducks is this: Which one of their hideous uniforms will they pick for the game? The Ducks have 80 different garish jersey/pant/helmet combinations in their closet.
In a previous posting, I predicted a 31-9 UCLA victory. I still like the sound of it.
In other UCLA news, there's a good feature story today in The New York Times about professional basketball players going back to campus over the summer to work on their degrees, including former Bruin star Russell Westbrook. The Times reported that about 45 players, or roughly 10 percent of the league, hit the books over the summer.
Also, UCLA will induct eight new members into its Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday, with quarterback Cade McNown, point guard Tyus Edney and wide receiver J.J. Stokes leading the class.
LAKERS
The world champion Los Angeles Lakers begin their title defense in exactly three weeks when they play the Clippers at the Staples Center.
Lakers point guard Derek Fisher, 35, tells the Los Angeles Times that he's not contemplating retirement yet, even though he's entering his 14th season in the league and final year of his contract. D-Fish, who made two clutch 3-pointers in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, trained hard over the summer, wrote a book and held his first basketball camp in Los Angeles.
Surprise Lakers tweet of the day: @LakersReporter Phil Jackson said that Adam Morrison has been the team's best shooter in camp. "He's played really well, shot the ball very well."
VIKINGS
The showdown at the Metrodome took place last night and Brett Favre prevailed, leading the Vikings to a 30-23 win over his former longtime employer, the Green Bay Packers. Favre was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his 271-yard, 3-TD performance. This was probably the most hyped Monday Night Football game of all-time and it certainly delivered, especially in the first half, which ended with Minnesota clinging to a 21-14 lead. Favre, who will turn 40 on Saturday, completed 24 of 31 passes with no interceptions and had an ear-to-ear grin after several of his big plays.
Brett Favre (4) celebrates with Chester Taylor (29) after Favre threw a touchdown pass during the first half Monday against the Green Bay Packers in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Tom Olmscheid)
The win gave Favre his first victory over the Packers and made him the first player in NFL history to beat all 32 teams in the league.
Defensive end Jared Allen also had a monster game for the Vikings, finishing with six tackles, 4.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Allen had plenty of opportunity to show off his celebratory sack dance based on calf roping.
Kudos also to former Bruin and current Vikings punter Chris Kluwe who launched several kicks that pinned the Packers deep in their own territory. You can't put a price on field position in the NFL and Kluwe made sure the Packers didn't have a short field to work with.
The game, by the way, was the most watched cable TV program in history.
REDS
The Reds finished in fourth place in the National League Central Division with a 78-84 record, 13 games behind front-runner St. Louis. This is the ninth losing season in a row for Cincy, which is their longest slump in more than 50 years. Injuries dashed all hopes for the Reds before the All-Star break. Four of their five starting pitchers and seven of the team's eight opening-day regulars spent time on the disabled list this season.
On the bright side, the Reds did win 27 of their last 40 games and pitcher Homer Bailey, 23, went 6-1 with a 1.70 ERA down the stretch.
In other Reds news, the team will induct three players into the Reds Hall of Fame: third baseman Chris Sabo of the 1990 World Series-winning team, pitcher Pedro Borbon of the 1970s Big Red Machine and turn-of-the-20th-century pitcher Tony Mullane, an Irish immigrant who pitched both right- and left-handed. Mullane's good looks prompted the nickname "The Apollo of the Box" and his popularity with female fans lead the then-Cincinnati Red Stocking to start Ladies Day on the Mondays when he pitched.
--Paul Chavez, BLVR
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