Sam Allen

Latest stories

• Bizarre basketball game makes season hard to predict

  Nov. 5, 2009 at midnight

  They had UCLA uniforms, but they weren’t playing UCLA basketball. They ran beneath the bright lights at Pauley Pavilion, but they didn’t look like a Bruin team. The game was an exhibition – it won’t even count toward their record – but they made it feel like a Pac-10 thriller.

• Contract between ABC and Pac-10 diminishes drama of UCLA-Oregon State game

  Nov. 2, 2009 at 2 a.m.

  You have to remember that college football is a business.

• Extra Points: Neuheisel’s team falling apart

  Oct. 26, 2009 at 1:59 a.m.

  What happened?

• Mediocre team frustrates coach

  Oct. 19, 2009 at 1:33 a.m.

  In the press room beneath the Rose Bowl there are four big plasma screen televisions. One of these televisions was showing the thrilling game between USC and Notre Dame Saturday afternoon.

• Extra points: Saturday’s loss is only logical

  Oct. 12, 2009 at 2:18 a.m.

  Bruin fans shouldn’t be baffled by their football team’s disappointing Saturday in Pasadena. The Bruins’ 24-10 loss to Oregon really wasn’t so complicated. UCLA did all the things that mediocre football teams tend to do.

• Extra Points: Kickers punt power into football team

  Oct. 8, 2009 at 12:16 a.m.

  A good onside kick must fly 10 to 12 yards, hang high in the air, and land near the numbers on the field. After that, there’s not much more a kicker can do.

• Extra Points: Energy high on the offensive line

  Sept. 8, 2009 at 1:53 a.m.

  The quietest, most somber corner of the UCLA football locker room following home games last season was often the one occupied by the team’s offensive linemen.

• In time, UCLA will get a day in the sun

  Aug. 31, 2009 at 4:39 a.m.

  So this is the column where I predict the Bruin football team’s record this season and I’ll do it immediately: seven wins, five losses, and a victory in a lower-level bowl game.

• Extra Points: Strong defense, but uncertain offense

  Aug. 24, 2009 at 2:28 a.m.

  Since the UCLA football team began its fall training camp at the start of this month, we’ve been hearing about all these new features of the Bruins’ offense.

• Walk-on works hard for nickelback position

  Aug. 17, 2009 at 1:57 a.m.

  I bet even among UCLA football fans the name Matt Barkley sounds a lot more familiar than Andrew Abbott.