Author Archives: Andrew Finley

Outside, there were dozens of banners hanging off streetlights. Inside, there was a packed stadium, 550 volunteers, and some of the best amateur tennis the region had to offer. The only thing missing was the meaning. Billed as one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments in the state, Ojai has lived up to its name […]

Attending UCLA has exposed me to a diverse group of people, perhaps none larger in number than Bay Area sports fans. Growing up in Orange County, I never truly gained an appreciation of their background, but in my four years here, I’ve really learned a lot of things just by listening. From the cowbell King […]

To psyche himself up for the biggest fight of his career, a title bout with Tatsuo Hayashida earlier this month, Kahren Harutyunyan pressed the play button on his CD player and immersed himself in the music. It wasn’t his motivational technique that distinguishes the 23-year-old UCLA student from other boxers. It was his choice of […]

It was the kind of phone call that you don’t like receiving from a friend. All set to ditch my alarm clock for the weekend, I got a call last Thursday from Emina Ong, the coxswain on the women’s rowing team. She had a specific request. “I’m inviting you to our race on Saturday,” she […]

It’s an issue that has barely grazed the surface at the professional level and may not even have an impact in collegiate athletics. Nevertheless, the NCAA is working on a proposal to allow transgender individuals to compete in their self-identified gender and plans to present it to the Committee on Women’s Athletics at its July […]

In Washington, Congress is weighing in on steroids. In Hollywood, the Farrelly brothers are glorifying the Boston Red Sox. And at UCLA, the classroom is among those places where sports get dissected so deeply that it seems as though “Fever Pitch” was filmed in a library. Three upper division courses taught on campus in the […]

Remember that phrase “senior leadership?” The one you’d hear UCLA coach Ben Howland mention after Dijon Thompson would erupt for a career-high in points or rebounds. The one that led to national championships back when Ed O’Bannon and Miles Simon seemed to have promising futures in the NBA. These days, senior leadership is about as […]