UCLA Times: Confident Kahlil Bell trying to instill the same into teammates

UCLA senior tailback Kahlil Bell certainly does not have a problem with confidence.

"I was told a long time ago that if you don't believe in yourself, who is going to do it for you?" said Bell, who has rushed for 1,380 yards, averaging 5.3 yards a carry in his UCLA career. "I truly believe that when I put on the pads that I can play with anybody and, until otherwise proven, that's how I'm always going to think about myself."

For the Bruins, Bell's self-assured nature is probably a good thing because they will be counting on him to be an offensive force against Tennessee in the season opener for both teams Monday at the Rose Bowl.

—Lonnie White

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Photo by Ric Francis / Associated Press

Also in today's L.A, Times: Sam Farmer looks at where UCLA and USC rookies stand in the NFL, with an extra focus on former Bruin Matthew Slater.

Rick Neuheisel previewing Tennessee

We asked Rick Neuheisel what stands out to him about the Tennessee Volunteers, UCLA's season-opening opponent Monday:

Also on Friday, Neuheisel addressed the biggest challenge presented by the Vol's defense:

Speed and ability to change directions. They just have great athletes on the defense. Certainly no knock to anybody on their staff — I think that they're brilliant in that they try to keep it simple. They let their athletes play. What looks like a big-time opening all of a sudden isn't any longer because they react so quickly. They're well-schooled and they've got enough change up to keep you off balance. They're very well coached and it's a sound defense.

—Adam Rose

GoMoJo

Former UCLA Bruin and current Jacksonville Jaguar Maurice Jones-Drew is on one of the regional covers of this year's Sports Illustrated NFL Preview.

If you look at the cover (with a picture by Sam Greenwood of Getty Images), then click on this link, you'll understand why the 5-foot-6 tailback is nicknamed Mighty Mouse.

Last year, Jones-Drew piled up just shy of 2,000 all-purpose yards in his second NFL season. This year, he'll play a key role in Jacksonville's explosive backfield.

—Adam Rose

Rick Neuheisel's direct approach

After playing quarterback at UCLA, Bruin head coach Rick Neuheisel learned a different football skill: tackling.

Tackling his past.

Tackling his team's expectations.

Tackling the elephant in the corner (well, technically, across town).

Neuheisel hasn't been mincing many words since returning to Westwood this year. In fact, he's been extremely direct. For those new to Neuheisel, it doesn't necessarily gel with the reputation that preceded him.

College football is a sport in which reputation matters so much that national championships are awarded partially on style points. Hiring a coach once dubbed "Slick Rick" caused some serious hand-wringing. Columnists were leery. Reporters referenced past transgressions. UCLA fans, while excited for the coaching change, posted bulletin board messages that were tinged with trepidation.

Yet for the last few months, the slickest thing about Neuheisel might be how he seems to let it slide off his back. His charisma has lived up to expectations, but his candor has exceeded them.

UCLA Times: Receiver Taylor Embree shows quick hands

Wide receiver Taylor Embree remembers the tennis balls coming at him and that split second it took to identify the small colored dots on them.

That is how he and his father, Kansas City Chiefs assistant Jon Embree, would play catch.

It explains a lot.

"He catches everything," said Bruin quarterback Kevin Craft.

Taylor Embree, a freshman, acquired that skill through "catch" sessions with his father, a former UCLA assistant.

"He'd throw the ball and I'd have to say the color, like 'black' or 'red' before you caught it," Taylor Embree said. "And he'd throw pretty hard too. You'd have to look at them and catch one-handed."

—Chris Foster

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Bruin coaches medal in Beijing after all

It turns out coaches can walk away from the Olympics with a medal.

UCLA's Jeanette Boldon and Bobby Kersee have been honored by the U.S. Olympic Committee for coaching athletes to medal-winning performances in the Beijing Games. They were inducted into the Order of Ikkos and given the medal pictured here.

The USOC started the program this year since coaches don't receive medals along with their athletes. The medal, made of antiqued nickel and weighing 1.25 pounds, was designed by a University of North Carolina professor who used to work for the U.S. Mint.

Ikkos of Tarentum was an Olympic champion who later became the first coach in recorded history — and helped a pair of athletes to victory. He also was the first to preach abstinence before competition, and some say the first man to invent the concept of dieting. He reportedly gorged himself on large quantities of wild boar, cheese and goat meat. Go figure. Perhaps he's an ancestor of Michael Phelps (who downs up to 12,000 calories per day while training).

Boldon is the head track coach at UCLA and served in the same role for the women's U.S. Olympic team. She won the award when the 4x400 relay team, featuring Bruin Monique Henderson, captured gold. Kersee, a volunteer coach, earned his medal when Dawn Harper, another former Bruin athlete, won gold in the 100-meter hurdles.

—Adam Rose

Wear blue, thank you

With the possible exception of Notre Dame's green alternates (which actually hasn't worked out too well for the Irish in recent years), it always seems lame when fans wear neutral colors or "alternates" that don't match the real school colors. This reminder went out in a UCLA fan e-mail this week ...

Show the Visitors Our Bruin Pride
Wear Blue!

We want to turn the Rose Bowl Bruin blue! Please do your part.

Season ticket holders received a complimentary official game day t-shirt in the mail. All fans can purchase small sizes of the official game day t-shirt at the marketing tables located on the Rose Bowl concourse prior to the games versus Tennessee and Arizona for just $15.

Bruin blue apparel is also available online or the UCLA Bookstore tent in Area H on game days.

Even if you don't wear the "official" game day shirt (we all know the well-loved, 10-year-old shirt is best anyway), just make sure to wear True Blue ... or Powder Blue, for you traditionalists.

—Adam Rose

'The football monopoly in Los Angeles is officially over'

If you picked up The Times on Monday, you couldn't have missed this ad.

It ran in the sports section and took up a quarter of a page.

Click the photo for a larger version.

Or click here to download the PDF version so you can blow it up and put it on the wall.

If you've got an over-sized printer at work, you might want to make a poster to hang at your desk.

Or put it somewhere on your USC co-worker's desk where he won't see it for awhile.

Not that we know anybody who would do that.

—Adam Rose

Ad created by UCLA marketing department

Talkin' Tennessee

A voice with a gentle twang prodded Rick Neuheisel about his first game as UCLA's starting quarterback.

"I knew it would be a tough night when Uga threw up on my shoes," Neuheisel, now the Bruins coach, said jokingly. Georgia won that 1983 game. A few months later, Neuheisel won the Rose Bowl. That's a comforting thought for UCLA this season, knowing that a rocky (top) start doesn't preclude a strong finish.

You don't always see visiting journalists at news conferences, but the question came from John Adams, sports editor for the Knoxville News Sentinel. He's been in California the last couple of weeks and vacations here frequently. Conveniently enough, Tennessee will take on UCLA in the Rose Bowl on Monday.

Adams, a Southerner, has spent time working in Louisiana, Florida and Mississippi. Add in 21 years as a columnist in Knoxville, and this man knows the SEC — especially Tennessee. I sat down with Adams and L.A. Times beat writer Chris Foster to talk about Monday's matchup between the Bruins and the Volunteers.

—Adam Rose

Image: Tennesse schedule/wallpaper from the team's website.

Adam Rose: You don't normally come out here for football — what do you associate with L.A.?

John Adams: I associate Malibu beaches with L.A. That's where I would want to live. Somebody, feel free to give me a house there! I saw a house that would run $7 or $8 million, right on the beach, that I could live in.

AR: Will write for shelter, eh? So if you think of L.A. you think of Malibu. If you think of UCLA, what comes to mind?

JA: Basketball.

AR: What about UCLA football?

Need a ride to the Rose Bowl?

If you can get to Westwood, you can get to the game. Here's what you need to know about the buses that run from campus to the Rose Bowl:

• Students ride for $5, alumni and other non-students for $20.
• For the Tennessee game, buses will leave from Lot 32. For the other games, the buses will leave from dorms and Lot 32.
• Buses leave 3 1/2 hours before game time.
• Tickets must be purchased by 4 p.m. Thursday in person at the UCLA Central Ticket Office.
• Buses depart the Rose Bowl 20 minutes after the end of the game, so don't wait around too long. You get a little breathing room for the Tennessee game — buses will depart 20 minutes after the fireworks are over.

—Adam Rose
Flickr photo by Pauleon Tan used with permission