There have been a lot of names thrown out there for the UCLA men’s basketball head coaching job. The thing is, I’m just not impressed. John Beilein and Tony Bennett aren’t going anywhere. Michigan and Virginia are top-five teams with big money behind them, so UCLA can’t offer those two anything they don’t already have. […]
Category Archives: Sports Columns
Un-Connon Opinions: UCLA football will grow under Chip Kelly, while USC will head into a slump
UCLA and USC football are at a crossroad yet again. The Trojans’ recently hired offensive coordinator, Kliff Kingsbury, jumped ship to take the Arizona Cardinals’ head coaching job Tuesday. Multiple reports last week said that USC athletic director Lynn Swann initially blocked Kingsbury from interviewing for NFL head coaching jobs but eventually allowed him to […]
Smith Says: In the post-Alford era, UCLA’s faster tempo gives it a shot at a Pac-12 title
This coming offseason for UCLA men’s basketball will be a pivotal one. The program is expected to launch an expansive coaching search for Steve Alford’s replacement, and while the Bruins accomplished just a 7-6 nonconference record including home losses to Belmont and Liberty, do not write off this season’s team. Since naming Murry Bartow the […]
Gabe’s Grumbles: Men’s volleyball has opportunity to find balance between new, experienced players
The 2019 season is set to feature new faces on the volleyball court. No. 2 UCLA men’s volleyball has entered the new season, not necessarily in a rebuilding year phase after the success of last season, but instead has to balance new players with the leftovers from last year’s team. Only time will tell to […]
Fresh Off the Grill: Insights into UCLA Athletics’ search for Alford’s successor
The search for Steve Alford’s replacement has begun. Following the firing of the UCLA men’s basketball coach Monday morning and the appointment of assistant coach Murry Bartow as the interim head coach, the athletic department said the search for a new coach will begin immediately. [Related: UCLA fires men’s basketball coach Steve Alford days before […]
Un-Connon Opinions: Building a new baseball stadium on campus would be a grand slam for UCLA
I love baseball. It’s a great, historic sport I grew up obsessing over. As a Massachusetts native, I grew up in a culture where everyone was a die-hard Red Sox fan, and it has made me the aggressive and bombastic sports fan I am today. When I came out to Westwood, I was under the […]
Fresh Off The Grill: Women’s volleyball needs consistent, diverse lineup to avoid future embarrassment
Three weeks ago, Michael Sealy said his team was an embarrassing representation of UCLA. And he wasn’t wrong. The coach failed to lead UCLA women’s volleyball (13-14, 8-12 Pac-12) to the NCAA tournament after the team lost nine of its last 11 games and finished with a losing record for the first time in the […]