Monthly Archives: June 2014

Seali’i Epenesa signs with New England Patriots as final roster addition

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One more Bruin is keeping his NFL dream alive.

Nose tackle Seali’i Epenesa wasn’t among the five UCLA players drafted last month, but signed with the New England Patriots as its 90th roster addition. The 6-foot-1, 310-pound lineman started 17 games over his last two seasons in Los Angeles, but was beaten out late last fall by true freshman Kenny Clark.

Epenesa recorded 16 tackles as a senior, as well as the lone sack of his career.

NFL teams cut their rosters to 75 players after the third preseason weekend, and to the regular-season maximum of 53 shortly after that.

Brett Hundley, Eric Kendricks to represent UCLA at Pac-12 Media Days

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Junior quarterback Brett Hundley and senior linebacker Eric Kendricks will represent UCLA at Pac-12 Media Days in late July, alongside Bruins head coach Jim Mora.

The event will be held at Paramount Studios in Hollywood on July 23 and 24, expanding to two days for the first time. UCLA will be available to most media on latter of the two days, taking the podium at 10:50 a.m.

You can see the full Pac-12 Media Days schedule below. Continue reading “Brett Hundley, Eric Kendricks to represent UCLA at Pac-12 Media Days” »

UCLA listed as early favorite in all but one game in 2014

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Heading into a season with national title hopes, UCLA has Las Vegas on its side.

The Golden Nugget released lines this week for 200 “Games of the Year” and have the Bruins as favorites in eight of the nine games featured. Oregon is a 3-point favorite at the Rose Bowl on Oct. 11, after romping to a 42-12 win over UCLA last season in Eugene.

The downtown Vegas casino gave UCLA narrow edges over Washington (-3.5), USC (-4.5) and Stanford (-3), but also made the team a three-touchdown favorite in the season opener at Virginia and again on Oct. 18 at Cal.

Odds weren’t listed for games against Memphis, Utah and Colorado — teams that combined for a 12-24 record last season.

The full set of early lines for UCLA: Continue reading “UCLA listed as early favorite in all but one game in 2014” »

Alumni Q&A: Darren Collison looks back on first season with Clippers

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Since helping UCLA to three straight Final Fours, Darren Collison has embarked on what is turning into a bit of a journeyman’s career. He’s played for four teams in five seasons, and transitioned from being a starter in Indiana to a capable backup in Dallas and Los Angeles.

But even though he’ll be a free agent again this summer — opting out of $1.9 million — he insists he wants to stay in his hometown.

Collison talked a bit this week about his first season with the Clippers, the current state of UCLA basketball, as well as his basketball camp for middle schoolers starting June 23.

How did your first season with the Clippers go?

I think as far as the team, we expected to go deeper. We expected to win it all. That didn’t quite go well. It’s stuck with us even now. I think it’s going to be a motivating factor even now. we understood the road that we came from. we felt like we were right there.

My intention is to stick with the Clippers. They’re a good team. Good teams like San Antonio and Miami have stuck with the same core. I’d love to stay for three to four years, but there has to be a mutual agreement.

How does this summer of free agency for you compare to last year’s?

Last year, it was just putting myself in a position where I could find myself again as a player mentally. I’ve been through a lot. The previous season with Dallas, I still had a good season, but mentally I just felt like I needed to be a part of a team that was going to try to win it all. That was my intention. To try and be a part of a team that was going to win a championship.

This year, it’s pretty much the same thing. It’s just my value went up. I understand that. But I don’t want it to affect my decision with the Clippers. Continue reading “Alumni Q&A: Darren Collison looks back on first season with Clippers” »

Pac-12 links: O’Bannon trial continues with testimony from economics professor

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» O’Bannon v. NCAA rolled on through Tuesday with testimony from Roger Noll, a Stanford professor emeritus of economics. Noll, who calls the NCAA a ‘cartel’, has testified for seven-and-a-half hours through the first two days and will take the stand again Wednesday.

Former UCLA star Ed O’Bannon took the stand on Monday.

» Jeremy Bloom, a two-time Olympic skier and former Colorado All-American receiver, shared his thoughts on the NCAA. Bloom was declared ineligible for football in 2004 due to endorsements he received as a pro skier, but was still taken in the fifth round of the NFL draft.

» Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez said eliminating National Signing Day could make sense. Continue reading “Pac-12 links: O’Bannon trial continues with testimony from economics professor” »