Sunday, September 13, 2009

Winners and losers
One of the biggest winners Saturday in college football was UCLA and its coach Rick Neuheisel. The Bruins, who were 10-point underdogs to Tennessee in Knoxville, upset the Vols, 19-15. Last year, UCLA beat Tennessee in overtime at the Rose Bowl, and most of the blame for the loss went to Vols coach Phil Fulmer's questionable play calling instead of giving credit to UCLA for playing a gutty game.
In Saturday's game, the Bruins took it to the guys in the Orange and White 50/50 ice cream-colored uniforms. UCLA's first drive sent a strong message to new Tennessee Coach Lane Kiffin and his father, Monte, the defensive coordinator, that the Bruins were not going to be intimated by them or the hometown calls or the boisterous crowd. All-star offensive coordinator Norm Chow's play selection was flawless and Neuheisel and the Bruins may have earned some respect among the pollsters. Look for UCLA to break into the national spotlight.
The only downside to the Bruins' win was that quarterback Kevin Prince suffered a broken jaw and will be sidelined for at least three weeks. Prince was injured on a play late in the game when he took a hit to the helmet in the Bruins' end zone. Senior Kevin Craft will probably start against Kansas State this Saturday.

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Serena Williams' surly, big mouth and arrogant attitude got her the loser of the week award for her behavior in the women's semifinals of the U.S. Open. Williams, who was on the verge of losing to Kim Clijsters of Belgium, pushed herself out of the tournament , and quite possibly her career over a cliff, by threatening a line judge which resulted in Williams losing a point and the match to Clijsters.
The officials of the tournament would not let the press interview the line judge, who had earlier called a foot fault on Williams. What Williams said to the woman, an Asian-American, wasn't completely audible on television but enough of it that was heard revealed that Serena would shove the ball down the official's throat.
People like Williams and Joe Wilson, the congressman from South Carolina who called President Obama a liar during his speech to Congress on health care, need to be treated like six-year-olds and sent to the Time Out Chair.

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