Stalking Ben Braun Is Not Creepy Part I

I know, I know I said I’d be posting up Part II of the photos from the Cal-UDub game soon after Part I.  But I was so devastated after we lost the CFN award, I just couldn’t focus.  I fell into a pretty strong shame spiral.  Not even the retirement of Brett Farve could raise me from these doldrums!  I hit rock bottom when I found myself at a Bjorkestra Concert (nah, just kidding that rocked).  So, I’m now coming out of the fetal position to make this post.

Of course, I wrote most of this up Saturday morning before the Cal-UCLA game.  I figured we’d probably lose by a lot and Ben Braun would look constipated out on the Court.  Well, I was half right.  I don’t think that there are too many people out there who want to relive those last 20 seconds.  Certainly, there might be some people out there saying things like "THE REFS DONE SCREWED US AGAIN!  GET THE SHOTGUN CLETUS, WE BE DRIVING TO WESTWOOD" regarding the tackle on Anderson.

Hey, I can understand that point of view.  Nonetheless, looking at UCLA’s last two shots you have to wonder if it was just some sort of wicked destiny for Cal to fail like this.  The extra pain from the blown lead perhaps forcing Sandy Barbour’s hand.  I mean Kevin Love, who has a total of 16 3 pointers on the year, making that awkward and contested 3 (with the sweet leg double pump!).  And then Josh Shipp hitting that apparently illegal HORSE shot. 

I say apparently illegal, because I am only a probate attorney, not a basketball attorney.  So, my knowledge of the 2008 NCAA Men’s b-ball law is spotty.  Looking at the Rulebook (found here in PDF format), the law seems fairly clear:

Art. 3. The ball shall be out of bounds when it passes over the backboard from any direction.

That seems pretty cut and dry to me.  But I’ve seen enough situations in the world where judges interpret the law in delightfully wacky ways.  So, maybe even though the law says one thing it is interpreted in another way.  I do not know.  All I know is that from the replay I saw (and I do NOT want to watch another replay of it, thanks ABC for showing 4,000 replays of that shot and 0.00 replays of the Anderson mugging), it looked like the ball definitely went over the backboard.  Too late now. 

And really, isn’t this most fitting?  Joe Shipp’s little brother putting what might be (hopefully!) the nail in Braun’s coffin.  The only way it could be more fitting is if Marquise Kately or Shantay Legans hit the shot.  But I don’t think they have anymore eligibility.  

So, yeah, there you go.  A painful ending to a painful game in what has easily become a very painful year.  Congratulations to UCLA and its ever so classy fans (link fixed)(and that’s one of the mods there, too).  May you represent the Pac10 well in the NCAA Tournament.  

Now that we’ve discussed the disaster today, I’m sure you definitely would love to see photos of the Cal-UDub b-ball game from last week.  Good news!  You are in luck!

Of course, no Cal men’s b-ball photo set would be complete without the token "Hardin Shocked At Live Sporting Event Occuring Right In Front Of Him" faces.  To wit:

 And, double of course, no album could ever be TRULY complete without SuperBad grabbing his crotch (kinda blurry, sorry):

Hilariously enough at the end of the game when it looked like we might win, the security guards came out to keep the student section from rushing the court.  Yeah, look, it’s been a rough year, but I don’t think we’re that desperate for a win.  I’d like to think not.  

Luckily, crisis was NARROWLY averted when we lost.  Praise be to Tedford (PBUH!) for who knows what sort of calamity might have befallen our students in the melee when they tried to rush the Court.  Could have been terrible. 

Bee Tee Dubya, as a final aside, while I was waiting for the BART at Rockridge, the sun was setting.  It was amazing.

So, there you go.  Potentially illegal shot.  Hardin either receiving sexual pleasure from the game of basketball or is continuously confused that there is a live sporting event going on right around him.  And Shantay Legans coming back to maybe put the nail in Braun’s coffin.  

I look forward to stalking a new and exciting coach next year.  Until then, GO BEARS!