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While concentrating on the Lakers and Clippers the last few months I didn’t see many of UCLA’s basketball games. So, when UCLA played Oregon Saturday for the Pac-12 Conference lead I watched carefully. It was a day to form opinions about a Bruin team that got off to an embarrassing start this season but then went on an impressive winning streak. How good is UCLA? Unfortunately, the Bruins lost to Oregon, 76-67, and were crushed on the backboards. The outcome confirmed what I had thought abo...
In the last few football seasons Oregon and Stanford have been the dominant teams in the Pac-12 Conference. There was no reason to think that would change this season, but somehow a USC team with an inexperienced defense was ranked No. 1 in the nation. I didn’t understand why, and the Trojans finished the season as one of the few teams ever to start at No. 1 and conclude its schedule unranked. Oregon won the Rose Bowl Game last season and Stanford won it this season with a 20-14 victory over W...
Before going any further I want to congratulate Jim Mora Jr. on waking up the UCLA football program which had been slumbering for a decade. The new coach raised the culture of UCLA football with his no-nonsense approach and had the courage to install a freshman at quarterback when older ones were available. And also to move Anthony Barr from running back to outside linebacker, where he made a huge impact. Mora instilled toughness and Brett Hundley gave the offense a new dimension, proving far...
IN WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC QUALIFIER Former Wildcats Kesley Kondo (left) and Gabriel Asakura (right) pitched for victorious Brazil in the World Baseball Classic Qualifier in November 2012. Former West Los Angeles College baseball players Kesley Kondo and Gabriel Asakura starred for Brazil in the World Baseball Classic Qualifier from November 15 - 19, 2012 in Panama City, Panama. The World Baseball Classic is the top international baseball tournament in the world. Brazil won the Qualifier and will play the next round in March 2013. Kondo and...
UCLA, 6-2 in the Pac-12) snapped a five-game losing streak to crosstown rival USC , 5-4 in the conference) with a 38-28 victory on Saturday at the Rose Bowl and earned a spot in the Pac-12 Conference championship game. After many years in the shadow of the Trojans, the Bruins finally get the limelight thanks to first-year head coach Jim Mora, freshman quarterback Brett Hundley and running back Jonathan Franklin. Hundley passed for 234 yards, threw for a touchdown, and rushed for two more...
I was impressed by the large turnout for UCLA’s victory over Utah Saturday, and also the way the Bruins conquered a tough opponent. Coach Jim Mora has brought enthusiasm to the Bruins’ football program in his first season as head coach. Brett Hundley is a big improvement over Bruin quarterbacks of recent seasons. There are more quality athletes on defense than in the recent past. And Jonathan Franklin is an outstanding running back and senior leader. So, I would like to tell loyal Bruin fan...
Centaurs Flub Chances In Defeat In only its second matchup against a team from the CIF-Southern Section’s highest division, the Culver City High football team had every opportunity to pull off a big upset. Instead, the Centaurs beat themselves as much as —or maybe even more than — Bishop Amat did. The Centaurs certainly had their chances last Friday against the Pac-5 Division Lancers, but despite having the football inside the Bishop Amat 20-yard line the first three times they had the ball, they came away with zero points. Eventually the m...
When Brett Hundley arrived at UCLA a year ago as a heralded football recruit he was walking on campus when a coed recognized him. “Here comes the savior,” she said. A bit embarrassed, Hundley replied: “I’m not the savior. I’m just a freshman trying to find my way.” Today Hundley is a redshirt freshman, and Saturday night in the Rose Bowl he certainly appeared to be the savior. He directed UCLA to a eye-popping 36-30 victory over Nebraska, a victory that propelled the Bruins into No. 22 in the we...
Mitch Chortkoff Here we go again. USC, still in the process of escaping penalties from the Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo scandals, now is in the news again about possibly illegal gifts to former football running back Joe McKnight and basketball player Davon Jefferson. Without rushing to judgment in the latest case, I can say it looks like trouble, the last thing the Trojans needed in their first year off NCAA probation. USC is eligible for a bowl game this season but is still paying heavily for the...
Many Reasons For Optimism Last year the Culver City Centaurs made a dramatic run through the CIF football playoffs, made it to the finals against Arroyo Grande and played them tough through three quarters. Unfortunately, the dream was not to be but the Cents did something no other Centaur team has done in the last 33 years, which was to make it to a conference final. Last year’s senior-laden squad was easily the deepest class in Culver City history because there was at least over 20 players who could go on and play college football. Culver City...
USC, which lost several football players two years ago when the NCAA penalized the Trojans, got one back this week. Silas Redd, a running back who gained 1241 yards and scored seven touchdowns for Penn State last season, left there and has two years of eligibility left for USC. He is the highest profile player of several leaving Penn State following the NCAA’s harsh penalties to the school, including letting players transfer without sitting out a year, in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child a...
In recent months it was proper to wonder if Ben Howland would continue to be the UCLA basketball coach. Howland had guided three Bruin teams into the Final Four, but what had he done lately? UCLA hadn’t even qualified for the NCAA Tournament two of the last three years. Howland had to survive a meeting with Athletic Director Dan Guerrero before an announcement was made that he would return. I now have a pretty good idea of what took place in that meeting. Howland assured Guerrero that help was o...
In Ben Howland’s nine years as the UCLA basketball coach there have been three Final Four appearances. Howland took over a sagging program and restored it better than any of the other men who had tried to follow in the footsteps of the legendary John Wooden. That’s why the current season was so disappointing. Not only did UCLA plunge to a fifth place finish in a very weak Pac-12 Conference it was the subject of a Sports Illustrated article detailing major problems in the program. One jou...
It’s quite a compliment to the Culver City High football program that three players have signed letters of intent to play in the Pac-12 Conference. On national signing day Wednesday linebacker Khalil Pettaway and receiver Alex Jackson chose (Washington State) and safety Yamen Sanders Arizona. Two others announced their decisions -- Kevin Porsche (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo) and Michael Horchin (Western New Mexico)....
Culver To Play At Arroyo Grande Five weeks ago, when the Culver City High football team was beaten by Santa Monica on its home field, the Centaurs’ season was hanging by a thread. But since then, the Centaurs have stitched together an improbable CIF-Southern Section playoff run that now has Culver City one victory away from a championship. Avenging that loss to the Vikings, the Centaurs (10-3) routed Santa Monica in a rematch 37-6 last week in a Western Division semifinal game, and advance to Friday’s championship game against Arroyo Gra...
Everyone could see it except Rick Neuheisel. UCLA was losing the all-important recruiting wars. The Bruins were 21-28 in Neuheisel’s four years as head coach. A 50-0 loss to USC Saturday night clinched it. Losing in such a humiliating fashion would be hard for fans, boosters and students to accept. And on Monday, Neuheisel was fired by athletic director Dan Guerrero even before the Bruins play in the Pac-12 championship game Friday at Oregon. Neuheusel will be permitted to coach in that game but...
Contrary to popular belief, it’s possible USC can represent the Pac-10 in the Rose Bowl Game this season. The Trojans’ chances seemed to end with losses to Washington and Oregon, but a three-way tie for first place is possible, and the tiebreaker system favors the Trojans. As we were waiting for Coach Pete Carroll to begin his weekly press session Tuesday in Heritage Hall, Trojan radio announcer Pete Arbogast explained the situation to several writers. If USC defeats Stanford Saturday, then als...
