Unnerving as it is to lean on his starting lineup so much, UCLA coach Ben Howland knows he has no choice. Though Howland would like to be able to rest senior Dijon Thompson and freshman Jordan Farmar for 10 minutes per game, he doesn’t have the manpower on his depleted bench to do it. Read more...

As a college sports fan, it’s one of the most gratifying phone calls to make and one of the most annoying to receive. In the past few years, Oski from Cal, the Stanford tree and even Tommy Trojan have been tying up the phone lines around this time of year, calling into Westwood to painfully remind Joe Bruin of things that are already blatantly obvious. Read more...

When we were young, we … I enjoyed reading that basketball is popular again among the students. Back in the early ’70s, before you were even in diapers, students routinely camped out at Pauley to get their favorite seats, even for Washington, which was a doormat in those days (But their coach, George Raveling, was so much fun to torment!) There were several of us from Rieber who came down with our books at the crack of dawn (either on game day or the day before), thinking we would actually get some homework done. Read more...

Back in 2001, my high school buddy Azman and I both chose to attend basketball schools. UCLA and Arizona were permanently in the top 25, boasted impressive rosters of NBA alumni and had each won a championship in the past six years. Read more...

THOUSAND OAKS “”mdash; The season hasn’t started yet, but the UCLA men’s tennis team has already sent a message. Three Bruins advanced to the semifinals of the weekend’s Sherwood Collegiate Cup, held at Sherwood Country Club, and with Luben Pampoulov’s three-set victory over teammate Benjamin Kohlloeffel in Monday’s final, a Bruin has won the event in each of the past four seasons. Read more...

The Bruins may have been on Cloud Nine for quite some time, but this past weekend served as a reality check. The UCLA women’s basketball team realized it can’t take any team lightly, and it can’t rely on talent alone. Read more...

After disappointing early round exits in singles play and the pressure of heading into the season on a low note, UCLA’s top duo of sophomore Daniela Bercek and freshman Riza Zalameda bore down and took charge. Read more...