Mick Cronin on going to play at Utah on Thursday: "I think what will help us is to run out of a tunnel and play in front of fans. I think it’s hugely demoralizing to our guys to play games in empty arenas when there’s 80,000 people at the Rams game yesterday."
The Rose Bowl, Dodger Stadium, Banc of California Stadium, SoFi Stadium, City Hall and US Bank Tower will illuminate in blue and gold this evening in support of UCLA in the Final Four.
Under Armour has informed UCLA that it is attempting to terminate its record $280-million apparel deal with the school. In an email to UCLA constituents, athletic director Dan Guerrero wrote "We are exploring all of our options to resist Under Armour's actions."
Mick Cronin said when his team got off the bus at the Mo Ostin Center, everybody was staring at each other, nobody wanting to leave.
Finally, Cronin broke the silence.
"Pool party at my house," he said.
Story to come.
Oregon's Dana Altman on exit of UCLA/USC: "Since I've been in the league, USC hasn't won the conference title or the tournament. UCLA maybe won one tournament, one league title. Arizona's been up there. We've won 4 conference titles. So our basketball league is going to survive."
Mick Cronin: "I told our guys hopefully the fans that have embraced me is because they know I think it’s a privilege to coach at UCLA, like I’m not doing UCLA a favor by being the coach—they’re doing me a favor by letting me have John Wooden’s job."
Mick Cronin, when I told him I spoke with Joe Lunardi about needing to win Pac-12 tournament to get a No. 1 seed: “You spoke with who?”
“Joe Lunardi.”
“I’m not sure who that is. I really don’t have any comment on that.”
UCLA women's soccer team rallies from two goals down in the 80th minute to stun North Carolina in overtime, 3-2, and win the Bruins' second national championship in coach Margueritte Aozasa's first season.
Martin Jarmond has arranged for tickets for UCLA seniors in band, dance and spirit teams for last 2 rounds and Final 4: "This is their senior year, this is their last experience of March Madness and I wanted them to be a part of it as well, even if they had to be in the stands."
Declin Manz, 12, a lifelong Trojans fan, wanted to get UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s signature on a hat at halftime because DTR had thrown him a glove at the Coliseum two years ago. So when DTR scored, Declin gave him his hat and got the memory of a lifetime.
Tip for journalists: It's a truly inane question, but ALWAYS ask if there's anything else that's noteworthy about a person/topic/issue at the end of an interview. I can't tell you how many times it's led to something that unexpectedly became the focus of a story.
Early in their careers, Tyger Campbell, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and David Singleton could have sulked. They could have rebelled. Heck, they could have transferred.
Instead, they stayed to help restore UCLA to national prominence and a shot at banner No. 12.
Dick Vitale told me he hopes to call UCLA-Gonzaga as he goes through chemo because his doctors want him to stay active and he will have had at least 72 hours since his most recent treatment. Everybody in college basketball is on Team Dickie V.
UCLA’s heartbreaking loss to Gonzaga hurt so much because it wasn’t just the end of a season, it was the end of an era in which Jaime Jaquez Jr., Tyger Campbell and David Singleton didn’t raise a banner but restored the fabric of a program.
Mick Cronin: "My takeaway is an offensive foul not called, they hit a three. An offensive foul not called on a guy who had the best dunk of the season."
UCLA is offering promotions for the Washington game Friday at the Rose Bowl: Former season ticket-holders can get $55 tickets for $20 or $119 tickets for $40. Six local Costcos are offering four sideline seats for $99. Also, free tickets are being given to various student groups.
UCLA legend Cade McNown, the only quarterback in the UCLA-USC rivalry to go 4-0 in those games, is being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on Saturday in Las Vegas.
A great day for UCLA sports has gotten better. Freshman forward Berke Buyuktuncel has been cleared by the NCAA and can play Monday against No. 4 Marquette in what would be his season debut.
This wouldn’t be possible without my family, God, and my friends. I appreciate everyone who always believed in me and supported me throughout this journey. Thank you to Coach Savino and everyone on the UCLA staff for believing in me and helping me reach my dreams.💙💛
#GoBruins
Also, Tyger Campbell overtook Tyus Edney for No. 2 on UCLA's all-time assist list last night and now has 655.
A reminder that Campbell and Jaime Jaquez Jr. each have one more season of eligibility remaining ...
Just seeing this now, from Dana Jacobson interviewing Mick Cronin and Jaime Jaquez Jr. on TNT after the game, another example of Jaylen Clark always remaining with the team.
Mick Cronin on negative recruiting against him no longer being his defensive style: "The new thing is tempo—‘Look at their tempo. Look at their tempo.’ You know what I say? ‘Look at the temperature’ because we’re going home and it’s going to be 75. I’m grilling out on Christmas."
Longtime UCLA broadcaster Chris Roberts has passed away. He was the best in the business and an even better person. Will miss him very much. Can hear his call in my head as I write this. Captured a glorious era in Bruin sports.
Freshman guard Abramo Canka said he owned UCLA clothes before coming to Westwood because UCLA T-shirts and hoodies are sold at H&M worldwide: "People actually buy UCLA stuff in Italy and everybody knows UCLA."
Mick Cronin on being humble: "I tell guys the truth; I’m not very popular in this era but I don’t care. The problem, to really give you a truthful answer is, they’ll be told that I’m the problem from their outer circle and that they’re all great players." [more 1/4]
UCLA has given fans who came to the Bowling Green game in 100-degree heat a $25 credit in their ticket accounts good for any other Bruins athletic event.
I'm a journalist, but I'm also human. I'm devastated. Jalen Hill was such a sweetheart. I'll always remember his smile, even in the worst of times. The last time we spoke, after he announced his retirement, he laughed as we hung up.
Thank you, Jalen. You will always be special.
I am saddened to confirm that former UCLA basketball player Jalen Hill has passed away, his high school coach, Josh Giles confirmed.
"To hear something like this is next-level devastating," Giles said.
Corona Centennial power forward Devin Williams picks up a USC hat, momentarily acts like he's going to put it on and throws it away before revealing a UCLA shirt under his jacket while saying he's committing to become a Bruin.
Mick Cronin held a meeting with his players at the Mo Ostin Center after returning from LAX: "I told them, ‘If this is the worst thing that happens in their life, they’re going to have a great life.’ "
Mick Cronin: "I take it as an insult that other people are surprised that my team is going to play hard and play defense. That people thought we shouldn’t be ranked with the recruiting class we had. To me, it’s insulting that people were surprised the way we played last night."
Gabriela and Jaime Jaquez Jr. have become the first sister and brother to reach the Sweet 16 in the same season. Long before the season started I wrote about their hopes and what playing together at UCLA meant to them.
UCLA quarterback Chase Griffin will donate $11 for every point the football team scores this season to the L.A. Regional Food Bank backpack program. He’s already donated $30,000 of his NIL earnings to the charity.
Mick Cronin: "When you play here, you wear the most important jersey in the history of college basketball. You're not gonna put on a jersey that means any more in college basketball than it does here."
Mick Cronin said there's a grad assistant job open for Houston volleyball player Kate Georgiades after she dove over a table to save a ball and then raced back into the play to help her team win in the NCAA tournament: "It’s the greatest play of the year."
David Singleton on the muted celebration: "We’re going to celebrate, but we know the job’s not finished. We made it to the Sweet 16 but we go to a school that they don’t hang anything but national championships up."
Talking to Jaime Jaquez Sr. about his son's decision to return for one more college season, it was apparent the younger Jaquez knows the NBA and other things will be waiting for him once he moves on. Said Jaime Sr.: "What’s not going to be there is UCLA."
As I asked David Singleton what UCLA was going to do to celebrate, Russell Stong IV threw a triumphant fist into the air and interjected: "Team film session and recovery."
This weekend marks 45 years of
@latsondheimer
covering high school sports in Southern California. I am humbled and honored to have been his colleague for roughly half that time. Let's all pass along congratulations for his peerless work ethic, dedication to preps and good humor.
Spent some time before the NBA Finals finding out what makes former UCLA benchwarmer Josiah Johnson the league’s top Twitter funnyman.
My story for the LA Times:
Wrap your head around this: UCLA and USC could face one another as unbeatens on Nov. 19 at the Rose Bowl and again in Las Vegas on Dec. 2 thanks to the new Pac-12 championship format.
Mick Cronin pounds his chest with a clenched fist and points at his father high in the stands inside Hinkle Fieldhouse as UCLA pulls off a huge stunner, an 88-78 overtime victory over second-seeded Alabama in a regional semifinal.
Chip Kelly: "I think the coaches that are the best, really what they do is make the simple seem complex to their opponents, but they make the complex seem very simple to their own teams."
Mick Cronin: "At a dance contest, you got to be able to dance to every song they play. Some are slow, some are fast. It ain’t the tango every night. You got to be able to win in different ways against different styles. But when you defend, you always got a chance."
UCLA is now removing the two outside tarps at each end for Saturday's game against Colorado at the Rose Bowl, putting capacity at 70,865. That's more than 3,000 above the previous figure released last week.