Simmer Down, Kids!

Recruiting news has become more popular in the past decade, resulting in more pressure on reporters to break stories on the latest and greatest teenager. I couldn't help laughing when a UCLA spokesperson had to release the following statement after multiple reporters asked for info on an u'nidentified r'ecruit:

To All Media:

UCLA does not comment on prospective student-athletes until such time as he or she has signed a National Letter of Intent or written offer of financial aid.

Thank you.

Sometimes I think we need to switch to d'caf.

Rasshan Will Undergo Surgery

UCLA quarterback Osaar Rasshan will undergo surgery on his left knee. There may be some question over his availability for August training camp, but as of today the school expects him to be healthy in time. Rasshan, who is a junior, was bothered by tendinitis throughout spring practice.

Rasshan is the third Bruin's quarterback to need surgery since Spring practice ended. Patrick Cowan suffered a torn ACL and will miss the 2008 season. Ben Olson fractured a bone in his right foot but is expected to be ready by training camp.

Kevin Craft and Chris Forcier are the only two remaining quarterbacks currently on the roster.

Nick Crissman (Huntington Beach Edison High School) and Kevin Prince (Encino Crespi High School) are incoming freshmen quarterbacks.

Additionally, UCLA announced today that junior tailback Chane Moline is scheduled for surgery on his left wrist on Thursday. He will have a screw placed in the wrist and is expected to be out eight weeks.

-- via Chris Foster --

Wednesday Hot Links

Hoops

• J'Mison Morgan is 99% likely to be a Bruin, according to his mom. He's also apparently grown to 6-foot-11. [LA Times]
• Jeff Goodman ranked the top 20 college basketball assistants, and a pair of Bruins made the list. Donnie Daniels came in at #12 and Scott Duncan came in at #14. The only other high-major programs with two coaches on the list were Texas (1, 20b) and Michigan State (16, 17). [Fox Sports]
• Bill Rankin, WWII-era hoops star at UCLA, passed away. He was 84. [AP]

Other Sports

• A pair of women's tracksters share an Olympic dream, but for different countries. [Daily Bruin]
• Men's soccer added another three big recruits. [CSTV]
• Linebacker Reggie Carter is on the 2008 Nagurski Trophy watch list. The award goes to the nation's top defensive football player. [FWAA]

Not Sports

• Gene Block is officially the new UCLA chancellor. [UCLA]
• UCLA is marketing itself with a $670,000 ad campaign. [Daily Bruin]

Morgan and More

LSU has released 6-foot-10 center J'Mison Morgan and there's wide speculation that he will land at UCLA.

This is huge news for the Bruins, because they need somebody to fill in for Kevin Love (assuming he goes pro). Alfred Aboya may leave for graduate school, but even if he remains Morgan seems likely to get plenty of time on the court. He's ranked as one of the top centers in the nation and joins a recruiting class already considered the best in America.

As much as this is a sigh of relief, it's still frustrating to see what the NBA has done to Ben Howland's team this past month. It's not just that players are leaving early, it's how they're leaving early.

UCLA Women's Water Polo Championship Video

The UCLA women's water polo team won their fourth straight national title (sixth overall) in convincing fashion this weekend. CBS provided this video (above), which gives quick game highlights from the championship showdown against USC. The Bruins beat the Trojans (pre-season #1) four times this year, the final time by a score of 6-3.

With a with a 123-6 career record (33-0 this season), seniors Gabrielle Domanic, Brittany Rowe, Courtney Mathewson, Jillian Kraus, and Kamaile Crowell can boast a stunning four national championships and two undefeated seasons. It's the first time in UCLA women's sports history that an individual athlete has collected four straight national championships. Four men's volleyball players accomplished the same feat in 1984. To put that in perspective, no athletes from the legendary John Wooden basketball teams have four national titles on their resume (the use of freshman teams limited players to three years).

That's truly remarkable.

More info after the jump ...

Checking in ...

Just a quick note to say I'll be picking up the pace here, but things have been a little busy with the USC blog. Many UCLA fans are stoked about the allegations flying around across town. If you want to catch up on the O.J. Mayo ugliness check out latimes.com/trojans, where I'll have "O.J. F.A.Q. 1.0" going up shortly.

Remember, no news is usually good news this time of year (at least for football and basketball). If you're still snickering at Trojan fans, click here for your morning schadenfreude laugh (warning: video link contains language that may be inappropriate for work -- who knew musicals could be so fun?).

Of course, the biggest news around Westwood isn't good ... it's great. I'll post more in a moment, but HUGE congrats to the women's water polo team for winning a fourth consecutive national championship and taking home UCLA's 101st NCAA. This type of dominance is rarely seen, but certainly familiar to Bruin basketball fans.

How ya doin', Rick?

I watched a couple videos this weekend that shed a lot of light on how Rick Neuheisel opperates. This first one is from the spring game but was just posted Saturday. Skip to the 2:45 mark to see Neuheisel give his pitch to the UCLA recruits:

Also, ESPN put together an update on UCLA football. There isn't any news here, but the first minute and a half demonstrates exactly how Neuheisel tries to relate to his players. His attitude is invigorating and, by all accounts, refreshing for the team.

Monday Hot Links

Sports

• Women's water polo picked up national championship No. 101 by beating USC for the fourth time this year. It capped a stunning undefeated season by the Bruins. More later today. [AP]
• Darren Collison talked to UCLA Radio about why he came back to UCLA and what the future holds. [UCLARadio.com]
• Baseball took one of three games from the defending national champs in Oregon State, but the post-season has slipped away from the preseason No. 1. [UCLA]

Elsewhere

• UCLA hater wants a free Tibet. [Outside the Beltway]
• Rutger's football coach explained why he told Notre Dame to take a hike. [NYT Quad Blog]

Monday Moment of Zen

Here's a likely lineup for the 2008-09 basketball team in whenever Darren Collison is taking a breather:

1. Jerime Anderson
2. Jrue Holiday
3. Josh Shipp
4. James Keefe
5. J'Mison Morgan

The last time there was a group called J5 in Los Angeles, the result was golden.

Happy Mother's Day

A big "Happy Mother's Day!" to all UCLA moms out there.

If you're sitting on a computer reading this right now, you should probably be calling your mom instead (don't forget grandmas, wives, moms-to-be, etc.). I know you have time today -- Hallmark didn't set this holiday outside of football season for nothing!

And to my mom ... Thanks for everything, I love you!