Practices Turning Into Bonding Experiences

The four-game losing streak and embarrassing showing against USC remain on the minds of the Bruins as they prepare for the Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose on Tuesday. But that doesn’t mean football practices are somber. Camaraderie, in fact, is at an all-time high.

The team whooped and hollered through a short Tuesday morning practice that finished moments before the rain hit Westwood. And as drops started to fall, the players gathered near an equipment shed and howled with laughter as a trio of defensive backs competed against two tight ends in a singing contest.

“We’re getting to know each other better,” Coach Karl Dorrell said. “We’re making progress as a team during these practices, but we’ve kept it light.”

The Bruins are off until Saturday, when they will practice at the San Francisco 49er training facility in Santa Clara.

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Forget that the formula used by the NCAA to determine graduation rates is flawed because transfers, junior college players and players who take more than six years to graduate count against schools.

Forget that even the title of the study, “2003 NCAA Graduation Report,” is misleading because the rates used are the averages of the four classes enrolling from 1993-94 to 1996-97.

UCLA felt the need to respond to a report in The Times that said USC had the highest graduation rate among BCS bowl teams. The Bruins issued a news release pointing out that although they are headed to a lesser bowl game, they ranked higher than USC in the report.

UCLA had a rate of 63%, sixth among all bowl teams. USC, although first among BCS bowl teams, was a tick behind at 61%. Northwestern was No. 1 at 83%.

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All-American defensive end Dave Ball practiced Tuesday, a day after he was inadvertently tripped by teammate Ryan Boschetti during conditioning drills and suffered a slight ankle sprain. Ball, who leads the nation with 16.5 sacks, said he was fine and there was no chance it would keep him from playing Tuesday.

Tackle Steve Vieira’s recovery from a knee injury is ahead of schedule and he is expected to play. However, Dorrell said Shane Lehman probably would start because he had practiced with the first unit for two weeks.

Tight end Marcedes Lewis is one of several Bruins who has flu. “These guys need some home cooking over Christmas,” Dorrell said.