Do You Swear to Tell the Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth?

I could not believe my eyes when I read Diane Pucin’s May 27, 2008 article “Love works to lift his NBA stock” When Love was a Bruin, he was a perfect SUPERSTAR! Oh, what an outlet pass! Pac-10 player of the year! All-American! Now that he is “one and done” and no longer a Bruin, the unbiased truth is finally being written. What took you so long, Diane? Quotes from her article are as follows: “ to have his (Love’s) game criticized with brutal honesty --- lose weight, refine post game, show a mid-range game, prove you can defend taller, quicker players”. Joe Abunassar, founder and owner of Impact Basketball, who Love has signed up with, said, “With Kevin, it is about playing angles, holding defenders off, defending guys bigger and quicker, and can he get in shape. NBA guys are asking, is he quick enough to guard this guy, that guy? Is his endurance good enough for an 82-game season? My unbiased, TRUTHFUL answer is NO!

Hold that TIGER!

When the UCLA women won the NCAA Water Polo crown on 5/11/08 over USC, the Briuns got a picture, headline and an article the next day in the (UC)LA Times.

When the UCLA women won the NCAA Tennis crown on 5/21/08, the Bruins got a half-inch headline and article the next day in the (UC)LA Times "Newswire" section.

When the USC women won the NCAA Golf crown yesterday over UCLA by six strokes, the Trojans got a three paragraph mention this morning in the (UC)LA Times "Newswire" section. (I should say two paragraphs since the last paragraph was about a Bruin who finished #2 individually)...NO HEADLINE!

The title of the "Newswire" this morning was "Woods won't play Memorial". A golfer, Tiger Woods, was headlined, just not a TROJAN!

When will the UCLA bias ever end?

When is a Compliment really a Compliment?

Kudos to Bill Dwyre on his heart-warming article today about Haley Scott DeMaria, the Notre Dame swimmer who survived a fatal bus crash, overcame paralysis and had two children, against all odds. This is journalism at its best!

Contrast Bill Dwyre's sincere, complimentary article to David Wharton's "This year's school of choice" article on Monday 5/19/08. At first glance it was complimentary to the seven Trojans who went in the first two rounds of the NFL draft. Then, the article digressed to a "back-handed compliment"...Quotes from the article are as follows: "The talk about USC on draft day included murmurs of doubt"; "The concern is that too many of the players who emerge from the Trojan program love the SoCal lifestyle more than they love football"; "pedigree and success in college don't always translate to the next level." I wonder why the (UC)LA Times doesn't write a truly complimentary article about UCLA?...then I realized that no Bruin was drafted in the first two rounds. What's to compliment?

Six Days of Reckless Sensationalism!

After enduring five (UC)LA Times condemning articles about O.J. Mayo, headlined by Bill Plaschke's "Control Yourself" article on Wednesday 5/14/08, I am disillusioned! I thought that the (UC)LA Times was a reputable newspaper, not a TABLOID! On Thursday 5/16/08, they did print O.J.'s denial that he took any improper benefits, but the (UC)LA Times disgraced themselves again when they published yet another article on Friday 5/17/08 based on the accusations of convicted attempted cocaine seller Louis Johnson. A reliable source, indeed! Worst of all, the six selected Viewpoint letters on Saturday 5/18/08 all convicted O.J. and USC. What ever happened to "innocent until proven guilty"? Six days of pure reckless sensationalism!

Will a USC athlete ever be STELLAR?

Did anyone notice the front page of the (UC)LA Times sports page on Wednesday 5/14/08? There was Bill Plaschke's "Control Yourself" condemnation of USC's Athletic Director Mike Garrett, Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo, (based on supposition only) Ben Bloch's wishful thinking that basketball recruit DeMar DeRozan will decommit to USC and Diane Pucin crowning J'Mison Morgan (who may commit to UCLA) a STELLAR center. Two negative articles about USC and one, as always, positive article about UCLA. When will the bias end?

What Basketball Dynasty?

UCLA is no longer known for its basketball...It is now a Women's Water Polo school! The (UC)LA Times even published a first ever water polo picture of the victorius Lady Bruins... Where was USC's championship picture in 2004? 2005?

Truer Words Were Never Spoken...and May Never Be Again!

The (UC)LA Times sports commentator Jerry Crowe better stop "crowing" (as he did this morning) that USC's Rodney Peete was better then UCLA's Troy Aikman in college. Truthfully, Peete was BETTER and should be voted into the College Football Hall of Fame also! But... Crowe's "non-biased" journalism may get him fired!