Weekend hot links

Hot links are on an irregular schedule because of travel. Enjoy this weekend edition. Another one will be up Tuesday morning. General posting should be slow until Monday evening ...

Hoops:

• Diane Pucin has a full dispatch from the NBA pre-draft camp on Mayo, Love and Westbrook. [L.A. Times]
• Kevin Love seems to be making a great impression compared to his fellow prospects. [Sporting News]
  
• Andy Katz is also at camp and blogged about Mbah a Moute. [ESPN Insider]
  
• The NCAA and Ticketmaster are being sued over how they distribute tickets. [Ticket News]
• If you like to follow them early, this writeup from a Bay Area tourney includes several Bruin prospects. [ESPN]
   

Football:

• The Bruins next quarterback is looking good. [ESPN]
• UCLA Radio interviewed Bruce Davis. [UCLA Radio]
  
• There's a lot of maneuvering to look forward to in college football. Gordon Gekko would enjoy it. [Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel]

Elsewhere:

• UCLA baseball hoped to ride a late season run through the playoffs. It started off on the right foot with a win over Virginia. [L.A. Times]
• Men's golf is leading the NCAA Tournament. [Golfweek]
• The softball team has a photostream. Unfortunately, it lost its opener in the Women's College World Series. [Flickr, UCLA]
   

YouTubin' UCLA

Checking the most recently uploaded UCLA vids on YouTube, it looks like this week had something for everybody: hoops history, current cheerleaders, job prospects, even baseball superstitions.

Above, enjoy some highlights of the 2007-08 dance team. More after the jump ...

Thursday hot links

Hoops:

• The NBA's pre-draft camp is underway in Orlando, Fla. [L.A. Times]
• Jrue Holiday is getting props as the top player entering college. [Scout]
• Ben Howland topped a list of the best college hoops coaches. [Bleacher Report]

Elsewhere:

• The softball team is in hot pursuit of No. 103. [L.A. Times]
• Tab Perry was cut by the Miami Dolphins. [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]
• More on baseball's third straight trip to the College World Series. [Daily Bruin]
• Just like women's golf, it looks like the NCAA men's golf championship will come down to UCLA or USC. [USA Today]
   

Reminder: petition for tradition

I was on the "Dave Dameshek Show" (710 ESPN) on Tuesday talking about the Dodgers at Wrigley, the Indy 500, burgers and, of course, the petition for tradition. In case you missed it, click here to find out about this noble cause. By signing the petition, you're showing support to return to the days when UCLA and USC wore home jerseys against each other, allowing for a rare spectacle of powder blue versus cardinal. Coaches Rick Neuheisel and Pete Carroll are on board ... are you?

Hoops Select-A-Seat is this weekend

For the second year in a row, UCLA is allowing season ticket-holders in men's basketball an opportunity to select their seats — in person — for next season. There's an open house Sunday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion, but you must RSVP by Friday. See the full announcement after the jump.

Last call for UCLA's True Blue Celebration

On the evening of Saturday, June 7, you can support your Bruins (in all sports) with a special fundraiser at  John Wooden Center. UCLA Athletics' True Blue Celebration is almost sold out, so check after the jump for the full announcement and a link to purchase tickets.

Bruins en route to another championship?

Well, two of them, anyway.

UCLA alums Jordan Farmar and Trevor Ariza haven't been seeing a ton of court time for the Lakers, but each has shown some healthy progress in the last week. For Farmar, it was breaking out of his playoff slump by getting some points against San Antonio. He also made a defensive play in the series that was so spectacular that the NBA turned it into a viral-video ad (above). Ariza returned from injury to play against the Spurs for his first game in four months. You can check out some more video highlights on Bruins Nation.

With a win in L.A. on Thursday, the Lakers can close out the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.

Former foes team up in Orlando

UCLA's Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and USC's Davon Jefferson have been assigned to Team 6 at the Orlando NBA Pre-Draft camp.

Also on Team 6 are Brian Butch of Wisconsin; Joey Dorsey of Memphis; George Hill of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis; Joseph Jones of Texas A&M; Marcelus Kemp of Nevada; Shaun Pruitt of Illinois; Sean Singletary of Virginia; and Mike Taylor of Idaho and the NBA D-League.

The team's coach is David Fizdale, a Los Angeles native, a member of the all West Coast Conference team while a player at San Diego and an assistant coach at Fresno State and the Golden State Warriors among other places.

-- via Diane Pucin, whose full story will be on latimes.com later tonight --

Measuring athletes is one tall order

Mark Greenfield from L.A. asks, "I've seen Bobo Morgan listed at 6'9", 6'10" and 6'11". Any idea how tall he actually stands?"

J'Mison (Bobo) Morgan had been listed at 6'10" for awhile, but his high school coach recently told The Times' Diane Pucin that he's now 6'11".

Listed heights for college athletes are frequently unreliable, and it's important to take them with a grain of salt. As early as high school, players/coaches/parents may slightly inflate those type of stats to make a player sound more appealing to colleges, more intimidating to opponents, etc.

It usually continues until they reach a pro level, at which point measurements are much more precise (I believe the NFL is particularly careful about that at combine). Many athletes have magically "shrunk" between their listings in a college team's media guide and a pro team's media guide!

I think most athletes are reluctant to talk about it, but Tony Meola (former U.S. national soccer team goalkeeper) joked about the issue in the early 1990s, admitting that he's 6'0" but is always listed at 6'1" because "it sounds better" (paraphrasing).

I haven't measured Morgan, but since he's usually listed at 6'10" that's what I've used so far. Ultimately, it's just a rough approximation to help people get a sense of relative size. There are many other factors that matter when it comes to a big man who can play above the rim (wingspan, vertical leap, speed/power, strength, etc.). One inch isn't a critical difference for a 6'10"-ish center.

Also, remember that he's still young and it's not impossible that he's grown slightly and may even continue to grow.

Tuesday hot links

Hoops:

• Kevin Love (who has hired an agent and is officially gone) and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute are working hard to get ready for the next level. [L.A. Times]
• If you need an avatar, how about this fark of a Sports Illustrated cover? [Bruin Basketball Report]
• More good farks at USC's expense. [Bruin Roar]

Football:

• Rick Neuheisel will make up to $1.75 million per year for five years. There are some sticks and carrots in the contract too. [L.A. Times]

Other sports:

• Tracy Lin and Riza Zalameda won the NCAA national championship in doubles tennis. [UCLA]
• Women's golf came in second at the NCAA Tournament. [Daily Bruin]
• Baseball made the postseason and has the No. 2 seed at the Fullerton Regional. You can find a concise recap of the season here. [Bruins Nation]
• Softball made the postseason and has the No. 2 seed in the Oklahoma City Regional. [UCLA]