Foster looks to change culture, results at UCLA
The Sporting Tribune's Arash Markazi sat down with UCLA football coach DeShaun Foster for an exclusive interview about his team.
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1. Foster looks to change culture, results at UCLA
The Sporting Tribune's Arash Markazi sat down with UCLA football coach DeShaun Foster for an exclusive interview about his team.
DeShaun Foster laughed as he walked into his penthouse-sized office on the third floor of the Wasserman Football Center at UCLA.
He had just wrapped up meeting a group of eighth graders and couldn’t stop thinking about one of them who was a USC fan, raised in a household that despised UCLA.
“I asked him what was the score the last time USC played UCLA,” Foster said. “I asked him what was the score the last two times UCLA went to the Coliseum.”
UCLA defeated USC, 38-20, last season and the Bruins beat the Trojans, 62-33, in their previous meeting at the Coliseum, giving them two straight wins on USC’s home field. In the never-ending and ever-changing world of recruiting sometimes the most impactful thing is simply pointing at the scoreboard.
The crosstown rivalry with USC is always on Foster’s mind as he sits on his sprawling couch overlooking UCLA’s practice fields. There’s a California license plate resting above a cabinet that reads, “KILL SC.” When Foster committed to UCLA out of Tustin High School in 1998, the Bruins were in the midst of an eight-game winning streak over USC. In his first season at UCLA, the Bruins won the Pac-10 Conference championship, played in the Rose Bowl and were ranked as high as third in the country going into the last week of the regular season. It’s a level the program hasn’t reached since but one Foster is hoping to recapture after being named the head football coach earlier this year.
Foster recently sat down with The Sporting Tribune for a wide-ranging interview about returning to UCLA for his dream job and his plans for the football program this season and in the future.
2. Bird watching: All eyes now on the Dodgers’ relief flock
The Sporting Tribune's Doug Padilla writes about the Dodgers' improved bullpen and their role in the team's success this season.
The chicken coops of baseball sit some 340 to 400 feet away from the action, often behind a fence in a fully confined area with its occupants mindlessly scratching at the dirt while biding their time.
Water to share, seeds to eat, an adjacent and smaller covered area to get away from the outside commotion, the comparisons go on and on.
Welcome to a major league bullpen, where relief pitchers gather in a flock, seek higher ground to get warm and then bolt from the scene one at a time at the moment a crack appears in the gate.
The most common similarity of all is that relievers, like chickens, have always established a pecking order. Low leverage, high leverage and closer is the hierarchy. Other identifiers include set-up man, specialist, flame thrower. The “fireman” is from a bygone era.
The Dodgers are among a growing number of clubs who appear to be working on a newer era. A mixed bag of interchangeable parts is the goal. Multitools, with an ability to handle all tasks in one versatile vessel.
3. Marchessault at the top of McCrimmon’s off-season to-do list
Jonathan Marchessault is coming off a career-best season and will be an unrestricted free agent unless he can reach a contract agreement with the Golden Knights by July 1, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Steve Carp.
For fans of the Vegas Golden Knights, they’re about to find out about the harsh, cruel side of professional sports.
If you thought losing by a goal in Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs was tough to handle, watch what happens in the coming weeks as we approach July 1 and the start of free agency in the NHL. The spotlight will shift from coach Bruce Cassidy and his players to general manager Kelly McCrimmon, president George McPhee and the hockey operations staff.
Be prepared for changes to the roster. Your favorite Golden Knight may no longer be with the team. The reality of the salary cap is about to truly hit home.
McCrimmon said as much Tuesday at City National Arena as the players came back to collect their belongings and head out for the summer, much earlier than they had anticipated and hoped. For some, it could be the last time they visit the facility, some who have been there from the very beginning.
4. Meet the Preakness 149 field
The Sporting Tribune's Louie Rabaut breaks down the excitement for the Preakness 149 field.
I make the trip to Baltimore for the Preakness every year. It’s a staple of my broadcasting life, and it’s a weekend I always look forward to. My wife and I have four kids 14-and-under, and while it’s nice to not travel for the Derby, I’m always helping someone with their personal plans here in Louisville. I love all of it, but it’s nice of Baltimore to do the work this week. And if you’re a parent, you know some time away is an OK thing, too. (Happy Mother’s Day!)
Thoroughbred racing has some of the oldest traditions in the world, and like many sports before and after it, takes so much of it for granted. We casually say things like “Preakness 149,” as though 149 freaking years isn’t a huge deal. New York will run its 156th Belmont Stakes in a month.
The 148th rendition last year – in simple terms – wasn’t great. The Derby winner, Mage, made the trip. But as is the case with many colts, he simply didn’t have it that day. Trainer Bob Baffert extended his record of Preakness wins to eight with National Treasure, who has since won another Grade 1 race in the Pegasus World Cup. So, the winner was a worthy one. Only one other horse to go on to win a graded stakes out of the field is the Steve Asmussen-trained Red Route One, who won the Grade 3 West Virginia Derby, and this year picked off the Grade 2 New Orleans Classic.
5. Nielsen stuns Angel City in 1-0 loss to Houston Dash
The former Angel City defender scored a game winner against her previous team, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Kamran Nia.
Paige Nielsen was a crucial part of Angel City. She played for the club since its first season and became a pivotal part of its back line as the team made the playoffs for the first time in 2023. At the same time, Nielsen built a life in Los Angeles.
But before the NWSL trade deadline in April, Angel City traded her to the Houston Dash. Nielsen knew about the trade talks the day before the deadline and was told the move was verbally agreed upon on deadline day.
Despite a difficult adjustment in which Nielsen had to move away from her wife and family, she persisted and is growing into her new team. Meanwhile, she returned to BMO Stadium on Sunday to play her former squad, Angel City, for the first time.
There, Nielsen became the Dash’s hero.
In the dying minutes of stoppage time, Nielsen received a bouncing ball off a corner kick and fired a shot past goalkeeper DiDi Haracic. She won the game for the Dash, 1-0, and ran towards the bench, bringing the entire team together around her.
6. Lugo has career-high 12 K’s against the Halos
Royals' Seth Lugo recorded 12 strikeouts and allowed only one run to lead his team to a 4-2 victory over the Angels on Mother's Day, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Fredo Cervantes.
Left-handed pitcher Patrick Sandoval struggled in the fourth inning as the Royals scored four runs to secure a 4-2 victory over the Angels on Sunday at Angel Stadium.
The Angels were held scoreless for the first six innings by Seth Lugo, until Willie Calhoun hit an RBI double to right. Lugo maintained control and earned his sixth win of the year (6-1).
Willie Calhoun hit a solo home run over the right field wall in the bottom of the ninth, scoring the second run for the Angels and collecting his third hit of the game.
7. Video of the Day
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8. Ticket Time
Here are the “get in” prices for tickets if you’re thinking about going to a game today:
6:30 p.m. – Cardinals at Angels – $3
9. On the Air
Here are the game times and television channels for professional teams in the region today:
6:30 p.m. – Dodgers at Giants – SportsNet LA
6:30 p.m. – Cardinals at Angels – Bally Sports West
10. The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune
Listen to The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune on The Mightier 1090 ESPN Radio in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and the Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii. You can also listen to the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher. You can also watch every Friday on BLEAV on FuboTV.
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That’s it for today. Talk to you tomorrow!