01 Dec 09

Last Weekend

1. I ate delicious turkey and three different kinds of pie.

2. My Xbox was on and in use as long as somebody in the house was conscious.

3. However, said Xbox scratched my brand new frickin’ copy of Brütal Legend. The circular scratch of death meant that no matter how much disk repair goo I poured into it, I still had to go to GameStop and buy a new copy. FML.

4. While I was engaged in heroic efforts to repair Brütal Legend my little sister asked if I could try fixing her Twilight DVD, which was scratched by her dumb friend who borrowed it. The scratches disappeared lickety split on the first try. Repeat: I was able to fix Twilight but not Brütal Legend. FML.

5. I visited the Griffith Observatory, which is always loads of fun. Win.

6. I got to play with the little bean, who is now three months old and has an awesome laugh.

7. I got to watch USC beat UCLA (again!) at the Coliseum. Epic Win.

I won’t bother with a lengthy recap, but this year’s cross-town rivalry game went basically like this: Boring first half, semi-interesting third quarter, great fourth quarter. Both defenses did okay, both offenses had trouble getting anything started. USC locks it up 21-7, and then their defense shuts down UCLA. Barkley takes a knee, signaling that USC is willing to take the mercy kill. UCLA calls a bratty time out. Coach Carroll says “okay, fine, if you don’t want to end the game it’s on and Barkley throws a long bomb for a spectacular TD. That’s when UCLA tossed their cookies and the entire team started marching across the field. Sure, USC was celebrating and a few players were taunting. But they were doing it from the sidelines. It’s legal, and it’s to be expected in this rivalry.

I don’t know what’s sadder: that the Bruins showed poor form or that they could only muster enough cojones to threaten a fight, not follow through with one? Not like I want to see anybody get hurt but don’t half-ass no class. People are going to think less of you anyway so why bother with wimpy bad behavior? The worst part happened when an official who was attempting to get the Bruins back on the line was shoved — hard — by a UCLA player. The Coliseum went nuts when this happened. I’ve never heard them boo that loud. A note, you sorry Bruin: if you’re going to be a baby and pick a fight, at least don’t do it to a middle-aged guy half your size.

The video don’t lie. You can see the Bruin player shove a referee to the ground at about 2:03. But what has me scratching my head is that for all the commentary on this game, as there is every year, nobody is talking about this incident. The NCAA peed its pants when Oregon player LeGarrette Blount sucker punched Byron Hout during the Boise State game. They’ve had all this talk about good sportsmanship. So why is there such resounding silence when a player assaults an official?? I wouldn’t care if the guy was USC or UCLA. I want him out. This kid should be gone for the rest of the season, including the UCLA’s “big” game at the Toilet Bowl.

What up, NCAA? Are you as blind to this incident of inexcusable assault as your officials were to UCLA’s left tackle being guilty of holding every single time Kevin Prince held the ball? I don’t want to see it handled quietly and internally. I want to know that incidents of bad sportsmanship are met with swift and appropriate punishment.

You can be FIRST!!1!11!!!1!

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