The Verdict is IN: And Ben Braun is OUT! Time to Partayyyy!

The Daily Cal will probably publish a story that goes: “Goodbye Ben Braun! Cal Hoops Rejoice!”

Or maybe not.

Anyhow, I’m not taking credit for Ben Braun’s departure; however, did I call it? If ever I have lost faith, my hope is now restored that Cal can be good! I would like to thank all readers, anyone who participated in firebenbraun.com, and to all the Cal players for their patience and hard work despite poor coaching. Cal deserves better. And I’m looking forward to seeing our basketball team being better than our football team next year. (Oh yeah, it’s going to happen!)

Wow, let’s take a second to bask in all this wonderfulness.

Another second.

And lastly.

"Give me a five, up high, down low! Oh yeah, here's to future victories!!!"

You think I’m being mean about this predicament? You think we here at TPIC enjoy the downfall of one man named Ben Braun?

You’re wrong!

I will not lie though: I think everyone is happy, taking shots of buttery nipples, grabbing someone’s butt at a bar (with permission, of course), and drinking lots of water to recover in the morning. Why? Well, for those who haven't been paying attention to the men's basketball team this season: the Bears placed 9th in the Pac-10, made the NIT, and lost in the second round to Ohio State on Monday night. It was not pretty.

Kccal also adds: Braun was also acting like a bit of a douche as of late. Recently, the Daily Cal ran an article about how Braun was on the hot seat. To quote Braun, "If we're in the Tournament a year from now, which I think we will be, people will say I'm a better coach." Well, no duh, dipshit, but how do you have the audacity to claim that people will be licking your balls if we make the tournament considering the disappointing seasons we have had of late. Do you really think that making the tourney as a 12 seed and losing to the likes of Louisville in the first round is really going to make people say, "Hey that Ben Braun is a coaching genius!" ? I think not.

Even more ridiculous is what Braun says later on in the article, "A lot of people said Jim Boeheim (at Syracuse) couldn't win one. They said that about Dean Smith, too. Those coaches were at their schools 20 years before they won a championship, and you know what, they're good coaches." Yeah, they are good coaches, something you are not. That's pretty high company to compare yourself to, and considering you haven't earned an ounce of respect to even be in the same stratosphere as them, well that just shows that Braun deserved to be in the hot seat in the first place. As I reiterate, what a douche.

After 12 years, Braun leaves Cal with a 219-154 record at the school. His most successful season was his first. The Bears went 23-9 in 1996-97 and went to the third round of the NCAA tournament.

Oh how we miss the past.

But we're in the present. And my initial title of this post was going to be "How it hurts to be a Cal Fan…."

It's the truth though, and I'm still hurting. Our men's team kept losing, but when all hope was fading, I could at least say, "Our women's bball team is SOOOOO LEGIT, you don't even know!!!!"

And then our women's team (#3) lost to George Washington (#6) at the last second in the second round of the NCAA tourney. The whole debacle was basically "Chris Webber's timeout mistake, the female version."

DAMN. (I really thought we had that one too)

Alas, we lose even when we're supposed to win. And it is Cal's tradition: not knowing how to win.

But as a fan, you don't want to accept this. You want to believe your school can win, that other schools suck, and that by some divine miracle, your team will come out on top!

And with enough heart, faith, and beer drinking, that does happen! Example: Giants vs. Patriots!

This last week has made me envy other schools. I thought to myself, "Oh I wish I were from LA." Because as Tony Toni Tone say it, "it never rains in Southern California." Ok, maybe that's not the truth. But it probably doesn’t rain on the hearts of So Cal kids as much as it does for us up here in the North.
Damn I was hating sports. But today is another story, I don't hate Cal sports anymore!

And you know why?

Because Ben Braun is GONE!

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Former Olympic star tries out for football [Shot to Nothing]