University of California-Los Angeles

The Wait Is Finally Over!!: Way-Too-Early Odds On March Madness 2014 Are Out

As is the case in almost everything in 2013, the shelf life for enjoyment of the 2013 NCAA men's championship game (a thrilling 82-76 Louisville win over Michigan) was a total of about five minutes before we started looking ahead to 2013-2014. Almost immediately after the game was over, already odd ... More >>

March Madness Final Four: Championship Game Prediction and Prop Bets!

So, here we are. Championship Monday. A lot of you had Louisville in the finals, almost none of you had Michigan in the finals, and you sure as shit didn't have then knocking off Wichita State (barely) and Syracuse (barely, again), respectively, to get there. So let's establish that right out of th ... More >>

March Madness: Further Evidence The 2013 NBA Draft Is Going To Be Terrible

When it comes to rebuilding a professional sports team, the ultimate sign of the desperate fan is to take one possible outcome that has worked for a few teams before, apply it as gospel, and then shout from the rooftops that "[fill in name of favorite team here] needs to [do that thing that's worked ... More >>

Top 5 Food Trends on College Campuses

Dining halls in colleges have changed for the better over the last several years. Thankfully, we have said good-bye to mystery meat and slop, and are saying hello to upscale cuisine, various methods of service and eco-friendly options. Over the last four years I have been in school at Baylor Univer ... More >>

Special Navidad Gift Guide Edition

What books on Mexicans should I buy this Christmas?

Maybe The Cougars Should Just Forget About Playing Games In The Rose Bowl

The Houston Cougars last started a season 0-3 in 2001. They also failed to win any games in 2001. But one would think that with both UAB and Tulane still on this season's schedule, the Cougars will at least win one game this season. But hoping and praying for wins against the likes of UAB and Tulane ... More >>

Six Custom License Plates For UH's Horrendous 2012 Start

The 2012 football season promised to be a tough one for the UH Cougars -- their coach had moved on to greener pastures, their record-setting quarterback graduated to the NFL, a lot of adjustments had to be made -- but we're not sure anyone thought it would be this tough. An opening-day loss to a p ... More >>

Are You Ready For Some Football? Well, The Rice Owls Sure Weren't

Stop me if you've heard this before. Rice beating Rice. The little mistakes leading to big plays. The Owls thought they could win the game. Then stop me if you've heard this before. The Owls come out slow, fall behind by a huge amount, rally, then fall way short in defeat. The college football seas ... More >>

The New-Look Cougars Prep For A New Day In The Sun

It's a new day for Houston Cougars football. A new coach and a new coaching staff. A new quarterback. New receivers. New helmets. New uniforms. New logo. They're going to a new conference next season. They've got one year left in the old stadium. But all of the newness brings questions. Questions l ... More >>

Peyton Manning and Like-Minded Concussion-Test Cheaters: You Might Not Be Able to Get Away With It

A just-published study shows that even if you try to bomb a concussion test, you might very well get caughtcaughtcaught. That includes you, Peyton Manning. According to a study published in the Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, it's not all that easy to purposely fail a pre-concussion baselin ... More >>

UCLA Festival of Preservation: Cry Danger

UH Releases Schedule for Last Season in Robertson Stadium & Conference USA

The UH Cougars will be ending some relationships after this season -- they'll be leaving Conference USA for the Big East, and demolition crews will begin working on Robertson Stadium in December 2012. The school isn't sure yet where the 2013 football team will play while a new stadium is being buil ... More >>

Comment of the Day: UCLA Represent!

We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it's time we paid some damn attention to them. So we'll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning, from the previous day's work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula involving wit ... More >>

Doctors Who Rock: 9 Musicians With Their Ph.Ds

Alice Cooper recently received an Honorary Doctorate from The Musician's Institute in Los Angeles. After receiving the award, he said, "One more of these and I can write prescriptions." Now you know that Alice Cooper could one day write you a prescription... to rock. You're welcome. Out of sheer c ... More >>

One Year After Woman Gets Masters In The Beatles, We Hunt Down Most Bizarre College Music Courses

A year ago today, Mary-Lu Zahalan-Kennedy of Ontario became the first person in the world to earn a master's degree in The Beatles. I'm not quite sure what she's doing now, but I do know she could probably kick anyone's ass in Beatles trivia. This little anniversary of her graduation got me think ... More >>

SPECIAL BEST-OF EDITION

What Part of Illegal Don't Mexicans Understand? And why do so many homes have wrought iron fences?

The Coogs Go 13-0. Does Anyone Notice?

Don't get your hopes up, Coogs.​After their impressive win over East Carolina this weekend, talk in Cougar Town is that the team is set to run the table and go undefeated. Such talk has occurred before, of course, like in 2009 when it beat Oklahoma State and a strong Texas Tech team early in ... More >>

Rice Seeks Win Number One Tomorrow While UH Aims for 2-0

Purdue storms into Rice Stadium tomorrow.​Welcome to week two of the college football season. The Cougars go on the road to North Texas for what should be a sure win while the Owls host Purdue in an attempt for win number one. And if there's ever a week where the Owls are going to defeat a p ... More >>

Knocked Out

Medical effects of concussion far worse for kids.

UH's Case Keenum Is a Sexual Beast

A new tweet from Associated Press college football writer Ralph D. Russo: ​ We can't find the original on Keenum's twitter account, but if you can't trust the AP, who can you trust? At any rate, knock yourself out, dude, but save some energy for UCLA. Update: A commenter notes that the quote ... More >>

Case Keenum and the Favre Rules: Notes from UH Media Day

The Cougars would like Case Keenum to be a bit more like Brett Favre this season.​It's safe to say that the 2010 football season didn't pan out the way the Houston Cougars imagined it would. That team, to be paced by senior QB Case Keenum, was poised to take UH football to the next level with ... More >>

More NFL Drama: 75 Former Pros Suing League Over Concussions

Former Texas Longhorn Raymond Clayborn (24) and 74 fellow NFL retirees are suing the league.​The National Football League has been, for the past few years, one of the biggest proponents of concussion awareness. Now, all of that cheerleading may bite them in the backside. The Associated Press ... More >>

All 12 UH Football Games On Air Or Online This Year

A, ummmm, wide variety of viewing methods​If you've got a TV screen or a computer, you can watch every second of UH Cougar football this coming season, the school announced today. The catch is you have to have CBS's college-sports channel and CSS in your cable/dish/whatever package. But if yo ... More >>

Final Four Fashion: What Not to Wear to the Big Dance

The Final Four have finally been determined, and one thing is clear: They were not chosen on the basis of the best-looking uniforms. Instead, wildly arbitrary standards such as "winning games" or some such thing were used to see who got their ticket punched to Houston. With two, not just one, Cinde ... More >>

Rappers: What Are Your Final Four Picks This Year?

Some rappers happen to be thoughtful, intelligent people. Every Monday that isn't a national holiday, Rocks Off will have some of them here discussing issues relevant to their culture. Photo illustration by John Seaborn Gray​This Week's Panel: Uzoy, Eskabel, Renzo, Kyle Hubbard, D-Risha and J ... More >>

The So-So Year In Cougar Sports: 25 Things From 2010

The year in UH sports​Since I'm taking a look at the sports year that is about to come to an end, I thought I would focus on the Houston Cougars, one of the teams that I cover for the Press. So... 1. The men's basketball team shocked the students, alums, administration, fans, C-USA, and the ... More >>

Off the Bus

METRO execs won't be commuting after all.

Going To Texas-OU? Look Out For DPS Troopers On The Way

They're looking for you, Longhorn and Sooner fans​You can't say they didn't warn you: the Department of Public Safety has put out notice that they'll be lining the roads headed to Dallas for the Red River Shootout."Troopers will patrol IH-35, IH-45 and IH-20, and will be looking for drunk drivers, ... More >>

Texans-Cowboys Debacle 2010 -- 5 Winners, 5 Losers

The Texans bombed big-time​In retrospect, we probably should have seen this coming. For all the talk about this being a different Texans team, about the Cowboys coming in as a wounded animal, about Wade Phillips being thrilled about the noon kickoff so he wouldn't miss the early bird special, has ... More >>

UCLA Film & Television Archive's Festival of Preservation: Word is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives

From drag queens to the Kwakwaka'wakw nation, this weekend's screenings glimpse other people's lives

UCLA Film & Television Archive Festival of Preservation

Get a look at some of Hollywood's best during a monthlong film fest

Immigration... and What's In A Name

The John Royal College Football Top 25, Week Three

College Football Preview, Tea Leoni Edition

The College Football Review, With a Little More Ashley Judd

Self-Hating Mexican Americans, and Rednecks of All Colors

John Royal’s NCAA Basketball Picks, Take Two

John Royal’s NCAA Picks

The College Football Preview, Week 14: All These Bowls Are Making Us Groggy

The College Football Preview, Week 11: Sorry, Charlize, I'm Just Not Feeling It...

The College Football Review, Week Eight: Rice Is Just as Good as Notre Dame

The College Football Preview, Week Eight: More Babes. And More Babes.

May Cause Discomfort

May Cause Discomfort

Football U: The Thugs Love Us!

Football U: The Thugs Love Us!

A Man of Letters

A letter to Heather Locklear shakes up a man's life in The Locklear Letters

Checking IDs at Rice

East meets west at the The Asian-American Film and Literature Festival.

News of the Weird