Connect with us

College Sports

UCLA

IRVINE, Calif.  – The No. 14-ranked UCLA baseball team dropped the series finale to USC, 11-5, on Sunday afternoon at Great Park.   The Bruins (34-13, 17-7 Big Ten) seized early momentum when Roman Martin launched a three-run homer in the first, but USC responded with nine unanswered runs to take control. The defeat marked just the […]

Published

on


IRVINE, Calif.  – The No. 14-ranked UCLA baseball team dropped the series finale to USC, 11-5, on Sunday afternoon at Great Park.
 
The Bruins (34-13, 17-7 Big Ten) seized early momentum when Roman Martin launched a three-run homer in the first, but USC responded with nine unanswered runs to take control. The defeat marked just the second weekend series loss of the season for UCLA.
 
USC reliever Andrew Johnson silenced the Bruins’ bats, delivering 6.1 dominant innings without allowing an earned run in his relief outing.
 
In addition to Martin’s early homer, AJ Salgado enjoyed a three-hit day at the plate to help lead UCLA’s offense charge.
 
The loss marked a first for the Bruins, snapping their perfect 17-0 record when scoring first this season.
 
UCLA struck first when Martin unleashed a mammoth three-run homer to left field in the opening frame. The towering blast was Martin’s second 400-plus foot shot of the weekend.
 
Martin’s home run proved doubly damaging, as it knocked USC starter Mason Edwards out of the contest after recording just one out.
 
USC roared back in the fourth, launching consecutive homers, a two-run blast followed by a solo shot, to erase the deficit. An inning later, the Trojans rallied four runs with two outs to storm into the lead.
 
The hosts added a pair in the sixth to make it nine unanswered runs.
 
UCLA showed signs of life in the top of the seventh when back-to-back RBI base hits from Roch Cholowsky and Mulivai Levu cut the deficit to four.
 
USC continued its offensive onslaught when Augie Lopez belted a solo shot after the seventh-inning stretch, pushing the lead to five. Ethan Hedges followed with a solo blast in the eighth as the Trojans completed its run of five consecutive scoring innings. 
 
The Bruins will travel to Long Beach State for their final midweek game of the regular season on Tuesday, May 6 at 6 p.m. The game will be available to watch on ESPN+.
 



Link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

College Sports

College sports lurches forward, hoping to find a level playing field with fewer lawsuits

Associated Press MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. (AP) — On the one hand, what this new version of cash-infused college sports needs are rules that everybody follows. On the other, they need to be able to enforce those rules without getting sued into oblivion. Enter the College Sports Commission, a newly created operation that will be in […]

Published

on


Associated Press

MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. (AP) — On the one hand, what this new version of cash-infused college sports needs are rules that everybody follows.

On the other, they need to be able to enforce those rules without getting sued into oblivion.

Enter the College Sports Commission, a newly created operation that will be in charge of counting the money, deciding what a “fair market” deal for players looks like and, if things go well, helping everyone in the system avoid trips to court whenever a decision comes down that someone doesn’t like.

With name, image, likeness payments taking over in college, this group will essentially become what the NCAA committee on infractions used to be – the college sports police, only with the promise of being faster, maybe fairer and maybe more transparent.

In a signal of what the CSC’s most serious mission might be, the schools from the four biggest conferences are being asked to sign a document pledging not to rely on state laws – some of which are more permissive of payments to players — to work around the rules the commission is making.

“We need to get out of this situation where something happens, and we run to our attorney general and file suit,” said Trev Alberts of Texas A&M, one of 10 athletic directors who are part of another group, the Settlement Implementation Committee, that is helping oversee the transition. “That chaos isn’t sustainable. You’re looking for a durable system that actually has some stability and ultimate fairness.”

Number crunching to figure out what’s fair

In this new landsacpe, two different companies will be in charge of two kinds of number crunching.

The first, and presumably more straightforward, is data being compiled by LBi Software, which will track how much schools are spending on every athlete, up to the $20.5 million cap each is allowed to distribute in the first year of the new arrangement expected to begin July 1.

This sounds easy but comes with the assumption that universities – which, for decades, have sought to eke out every edge they can, rulebook or no – will provide accurate data.

“Over history, boosters have looked for ways to give their schools an advantage,” said Gabe Feldman, a sports law professor at Tulane. “I think that will continue even with the settlement. It’s anyone’s guess as to how that manifests, and what the new competitive landscape looks like.”

Adding some level of transparency to the process, along with the CSC’s ability to deliver sanctions if it identifies cheaters, will be key to the new venture’s success.

“There’s legal risk that prohibits you from doing that,” Alberts said. “But we want to start as transparent as we can be, because we think it engenders trust.”

Good intentions aside, Alberts concedes, “I don’t think it’s illogical to think that, at first, it’s probably going to be a little wonky.”

How much should an endorsement deal be worth?

Some of the wonkiest bookkeeping figures to come from the second category of number crunching, and that involves third-party NIL deals. The CSC hired Deloitte to run a so-called clearinghouse called “NIL Go,” which will be in charge of evaluating third-party deals worth $600 or more.

Because these deals aren’t allowed to pay players simply for playing – that’s still technically forbidden in college sports — but instead for some service they provide (an endorsement, a social media shoutout and so forth), every deal needs to be evaluated to show it is worth a fair price for what the player is doing.

In a sobering revelation, Deloitte shared with sports leaders earlier this month that around 70% of third-party deals given to players since NIL became allowable in 2021 would have been denied by the new clearinghouse.

All these valuations, of course, are subject to interpretation. It’s much easier to set the price of a stock, or a bicycle, than the value of an athlete’s endorsement deal. This is where things figure to get dicey. Though the committee has an appeals process, then an arbitration process, ultimately, some of these cases are destined to be challenged in court.

“You’re just waiting to see, what is a ‘valid business purpose’ (for an NIL deal), and what are the guidelines around that?” said Rob Lang, a business litigation partner at Thompson Coburn who deals with sports cases. “You can see all the lawyer fights coming out of that.”

Avoiding court, coordinating state laws are new priorities

In fact, elements of all this are ripe to be challenged in court, which might explain why the power conferences drafted the document pledging fealty to the new rules in the first place.

For instance, Feldman called a law recently enacted in Tennessee viewed by many as the most athlete-friendly statute in the country “the next step in the evolution” of state efforts to bar the NCAA from limiting NIL compensation for athletes with an eye on winning battles for recruits and retaining roster talent.

“What we’ve seen over the last few years is states trying to one-up each other to make their institutions more attractive places for people to go,” he said. “This is the next iteration of that. It may set up a showdown between the schools, the NCAA and the states.”

Greg Sankey, the commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, said a league spanning 12 states cannot operate well if all those states have different rules about how and when it is legal to pay players.

The SEC has been drafting legislation for states to pass to unify the rules across the conference. Ultimately, Sankey and a lot of other people would love to see a national law passed by Congress that does that for all states and all conferences.

That will take months, if not years, which is why the new committee drafted the document for the schools to sign.

“We are all defendant schools and conferences and you inherently agree to this,” Alberts said of the document. “I sat in the room with all of our football coaches, ‘Do you want to be governed?’ The answer is ‘yes.’”

___

AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports




Link

Continue Reading

College Sports

Rudy’s Gym: Legendary World-Champion Powerlifter Marks 51st Year

SHOREWOOD, IL — Off the beaten path, a couple blocks south of busy Route 52 is a tan, windowless industrial building at 400 Earl Road that stands out among the rest inside the small business park. Rudy’s Gym is where dreams are made. It’s where three NFL Super Bowl champions trained, all under the tutelage […]

Published

on


SHOREWOOD, IL — Off the beaten path, a couple blocks south of busy Route 52 is a tan, windowless industrial building at 400 Earl Road that stands out among the rest inside the small business park. Rudy’s Gym is where dreams are made. It’s where three NFL Super Bowl champions trained, all under the tutelage of legendary world-champion powerlifter Francis “Rudy” Ruettiger.

Tucked inside the Earl Road business park, Rudy’s Gym has remained a fixture for the past 29 years and counting, and 51st year overall. Ruettiger opened his Rudy’s Gym back in 1974 on Joliet’s Richmond Street. He later moved to Black Road in Shorewood for about 15 years, before leasing the warehouse building owned by Charles Sharp.

“He’s a phenomenal human being,” Ruettiger said of Sharp.

Find out what’s happening in Shorewoodfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

The 1972 graduate of Providence Catholic High School is the younger brother of Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger, another larger-than-life Joliet sports legend who achieved world-wide acclaim thanks to the iconic 1993 underdog sports movie, “Rudy.”

“Everybody needs to a good teacher and it fills my heart up to see that they’re successful in life,” Francis “Rudy” Ruettiger, owner of Rudy’s Gym in Shorewood, explained. John Ferak/Patch

Last week, during an unscheduled late-afternoon interview, Rudy’s Gym was a hectic madhouse — as you might expect. High school and college athletes were constantly coming and going. These athletes make it a point to show their reverence to “Rudy,” or “Coach,” as they call him.

Find out what’s happening in Shorewoodfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Ruettiger said he easily has over 100 athletes training at Rudy’s Gym heading into the summer.

Athletes training at Rudy’s Gym come from Joliet Catholic Academy, Providence, Plainfield South, Lincoln-Way, Minooka, Morris, Wilmington and even as far away as Benet Academy in Lisle.

“It’s closed to the public,” Ruettiger explained to Joliet Patch. “It’s basically invitation only. They can contact me. Any sport they need it, they come in. Tennis, swimming, football, baseball, the kids will talk and contact me. “

Ruettiger said he invites prospective athletes inside for a one-on-one interview before they can join his gym.

“I see why the kid wants to come here, because I don’t allow parents in here. Just the kids,” he said. “I don’t want kids looking over their shoulder. If the parents want to come in and see the place one time, that’s it.”

Rudy’s Gym has several girls who train here, athletes in cheerleading, softball and soccer.

Ruettiger said he will accept kids as young as seventh grade “if I believe they’re mature enough. In high school, it’s all ages. Right now, I got all the college kids coming back. It’s nice to have college kids. For me, it’s not the sport. I want to know what you’re going to do after school. It’s teaching them about life.”

Ruettiger says he arrives at his gym around 4:30 a.m. because he has a 5 a.m. fitness class. The gym usually stays open until 5 or 6 p.m.

“Four days a week,” Ruettiger explained. “Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. We go hard at it Monday and Tuesday then a day off and go hard back at it for two more days.”

‘Discipline Is A Huge One’

Joliet Catholic Academy graduates Malachi Hood, who plays linebacker at the University of Illinois, and Jabrill Williams, who plays cornerback for the Army at West Point, pose for a photo with Rudy’s Gym owner and trainer Francis “Rudy” Ruettiger. John Ferak/Patch

Ruettiger said he tries to instill life lessons upon the high school and college athletes he’s training. He wants his athletes to treat their parents with dignity and proper respect.

“And being good with people in general,” he remarked.

“Discipline is a huge one,” Ruettiger emphasized. “And being a good teammate. If you’re going to be here, act like you want to be here. Set goals reasonable. Don’t set goals too high or too fast that you will be depressed.”

How does Ruettiger see his role at Rudy’s Gym?

“Everybody needs to a good teacher, and it fills my heart up to see that they’re successful in life,” he explained. “You’ve got to be tough on them sometimes. I feel it’s my job to be a little tough on them … and teach them to be good to your parents. You only get one mom and dad, right?”

Another Rudyism is to make sure his athletes don’t develop an elitist mindset.

“Don’t ever look down on another athlete. Don’t look down on them,” he said. “Be humble.”

“You Treat Them Right And They Come Back”

Athletes training at Rudy’s Gym in Shorewood come from Joliet Catholic Academy, Providence, Plainfield South, Lincoln-Way, Minooka, Morris, Wilmington and even as far away as Benet Academy in Lisle. John Ferak/Patch

It would take days, probably weeks, for Rudy to go through all the newspaper articles, photographs and autographed portraits displayed on his walls inside Rudy’s Gym.

His walls are donned with autographed photos of Joe Paterno, Penn State University football coaching legend, along with Lane Kiffin, Luke Butkus and Chris Collins.

“Coaches from all over the country come in here,” he said. “Most will come during the spring. They want to see exactly what kind of kids they’ll be dealing work, their work ethic and how they get along with their teammates.

“That’s the first thing that many of these coaches that come in here and say, ‘this place looks like a museum.’ Every article that a kid from my gym is in I clip and put on the wall to honor them,” Ruettiger said.

The walls of Rudy’s Gym also feature photographs of Pittsburgh Steelers star running back Franco Harris, Duke University basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, Walter Payton and plenty of star athletes from the Joliet area including Mike Alstott, John Ivlow, Rob Nickovich, Tom Thayer and John Scully, who played center at Notre Dame and for the Atlanta Falcons, baseball player Mike Grace, North Carolina State basketball star Terry Gannon and Walter Downing, who played college basketball at DePaul and Marquette.

Rob Nickovich, Tom Thayer and John Ivlow have the distinction of being three NFL Super Bowl champions who all trained at Rudy’s Gym. John Ferak/Patch

Nickovich, Thayer and Ivlow have the distinction of being three Super Bowl champions who all trained at Rudy’s Gym. Ruettiger said he now has three current NFL players training at his gym.

Thayer became one of the first major super star athletes who trained under Ruettiger.

“We’re still very close to this day,” Ruettiger said of Thayer, who serves as a Chicago Bears radio announcer. “That’s what’s so great. You treat them right and they come back.”

Ruettiger One Of 14 Siblings, 7 Boys, 7 Girls

Francis Ruettiger was one of 14 siblings, seven girls and seven boys. Only his father and his brother Daniel — of “Rudy” movie fame — went to Joliet Catholic.

“The rest of us went to Providence,” he said.

Inside Rudy’s Gym, Ruettiger has several autographed photos of showing his older brother Daniel playing and running on the field for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish of South Bend. There are several promotional movie posters of “Rudy” displayed inside Rudy’s Gym.

There are several promotional movie posters of “Rudy” displayed on many of the walls inside his younger brother Francis Ruettiger’s Rudy’s Gym. John Ferak/Patch

The warehouse occupied by Rudy’s Gym contains more than 10,000 square feet of space.

“Ninety-nine percent is free weights, there’s also Pacific football machines and other exercise machines and training equipment for people that are hurt and a couple of older people that I train,” Ruettiger remarked.

As for Ruettiger, he turns 71 years old in June and shows no hint of slowing down. He said he plans to keep Rudy’s Gym thriving and operating in Shorewood into the future.

Ruettiger has been inducted into the Joliet Catholic Academy Athletic Hall of Fame, Joliet Area Historical Museum’s Hall of Fame, St. Mary Magdalene Grade School’s Hall of Fame, the National Fitness Hall of Fame, Illinois Powerlifting Hall of Fame.

Ruettiger Has 82 Achieved World Records

Ruettiger said he will accept kids as young as seventh grade “if I believe they’re mature enough. In high school, it’s all ages. Right now, I got all the college kids coming back. It’s nice to have college kids.” John Ferak/Patch

When asked about his powerlifting world records, Ruettiger told Joliet Patch, “I have 82 of them. Different age groups, 26 world titles. My very first was in Canada in 1989. I was in the 165-pound class, 551-pound squat, bench 330 pounds and 551-pound dead lift. Powerlifting has taken me all over the world. Seven gold medals from the World Police And Fire Games and one bronze medal for boxing.”

According to his 2024 Joliet Catholic athletic Hall of Fame write-up: “Everybody knows Francis Ruettiger. Almost nobody calls him Francis. Almost everybody calls him ‘Rudy.’ And everybody loves him. Rudy lettered in three sports in high school, earning all-conference and all-area honors in football. He also wrestled and played baseball before graduating in 1972. In 1974, Rudy married Kathleen, his high school sweetheart, and founded the now-famous ‘Rudy’s Gym’ in Shorewood. He worked as a police officer and detective for 28 years in Joliet, retiring in 2013.”

Like the rest of his siblings, he’s used to everyone just calling him “Rudy.”

“Hell, nobody calls me Francis, unless they’re trying to be funny” he smiled. “I’m just proud that I became a good father and good husband. My two daughters each have three kids. All involved in sports. I think it’s super important to get involved in something. My wife has been an angel and if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be able to do all this. She’s been very supportive of my career.”

Francis “Rudy” Ruettiger spent his career with the Joliet Police Department, where he became a detective. He retired from the agency in 2013.
It would take days, probably weeks, for Rudy to go through all the newspaper articles, photographs and autographed portraits displayed on his walls inside Rudy’s Gym. John Ferak/Patch
It would take days, probably weeks, for Rudy to go through all the newspaper articles, photographs and autographed portraits displayed on his walls inside Rudy’s Gym. John Ferak/Patch
It would take days, probably weeks, for Rudy to go through all the newspaper articles, photographs and autographed portraits displayed on his walls inside Rudy’s Gym. John Ferak/Patch

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.



Link

Continue Reading

College Sports

WCWS FINAL: Texas 3, Florida 0

WOMEN’S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES / FIRST ROUND OKLAHOMA CITY  – Texas first baseman Joley Mitchell smacked a pair of solo home runs and Teagan Kavan threw a complete-game, two-hit shutout Thursday as the sixth-seeded Longhorns defeated third-seeded Florida 3-0 in the opening game at the Women’s College World Series at Devon Park.  The outcome dumped the Gators […]

Published

on


WOMEN’S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES / FIRST ROUND

OKLAHOMA CITY  – Texas first baseman Joley Mitchell smacked a pair of solo home runs and Teagan Kavan threw a complete-game, two-hit shutout Thursday as the sixth-seeded Longhorns defeated third-seeded Florida 3-0 in the opening game at the Women’s College World Series at Devon Park. 

The outcome dumped the Gators into the tournament loser’s bracket, where they’ll play for their WCWS lives Friday in an elimination game. It marked the first time UF lost its first game in Oklahoma City since 2019, which was also the last time the Gators were swept from the event.

Mitchell opened the scoring when she dug into a Keagan Rothrock (16-7) pitch low in the strike zone and poked it over the left-field wall for a solo homer to start the second inning. Mitchell clubbed her second to open the Texas fifth, sending that one over the right-field wall and just over the out-stretched glove of leaping UF center fielder Kendra Falby. The next hitter, Katie Stewart, greeted Rothrock with a second straight homer that landed deep into the right-field bleachers. 

The Gators, meanwhile, struggled offensively; even in making solid contact. Kavan (25-5) faced just 24 batters, three over the minimum, with UF’s out distribution showing 13 by grounders (including one double play), two infield pop-ups, one strikeout and five fly-outs (two of warning-track depth). Florida’s two hits were a Korbe Otis two-out ground single and Taylor Shumaker’s swinging bunt that checked up in front of the plate two out in the sixth. The Gators left just three runners on base. 

Texas, which beat Florida three of four in head-to-head matchups this season and shut out the Gators 10-0 here in second-round play in 2024, finished with seven hits, five against Rothrock, who was relieved after the back-to-back sixth-inning homers. Ava Brown gave up two hits, then gave way to Olivia Miller and Katelynn Oxley to finish the last two innings. Miller and Oxley faced three batters each and set them down in order.

Keagan Rothrock 

PLAY OF THE GAME: Even with Mitchell’s first two homers, a 2-0 lead still seemed manageable, but Stewart’s shot immediately after — though just one more run — gave the game a different feel from the UF side. 
 
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: In three games against the Gators this season, Kavan is 3-0 in pitching 15.2 innings, allowing 12 hits and just one earned run for a sparkling ERA of 0.46. 

STAGGERING STATISTIC: UF fell to 1-17 all-time when trailing after the fourth inning at the WCWS. The lone victory came in 2013 when the Gators erased a 2-0 deficit against Nebraska in the fifth and eventually defeated the Cornhuskers 9-8 in 15 innings.   

UP NEXT: Florida (48-16) will face either four-time defending champion and second-seeded Oklahoma or seventh-seeded Tennessee, who played the second game of Thursday’s opening round, in a Friday night elimination game starting at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2. UF took two of three in a home series against OU during the regular season, but did not face the Volunteers. 

QUOTES

Coach Tim Walton 

* (Opening statement): Good game, obviously. Softball. We were on the losing side. But thought both teams played well. We weren’t able to string anything together consistently, but overall thought we played well. Ready to play. And they just did a little bit better job than we did.”

* (On Rothrock and the team bouncing back Friday): “Yeah, the cool thing for me is you guys get a small sample size of these guys, but just listen to their answers and listen to the way they answer questions in a tough moment. Obviously, it’s a huge letdown to lose the first game of the College World Series, and the way they go about their business just tells me everything I need to know about the people that I coach. They take it serious. They compete. They work hard, and they enjoy what they do. So to me, no matter what we do tomorrow, today was a learning opportunity.”

Keagan Rothrock  

* (On the loss): “Nobody wants to be a loser on the elimination bracket side of it. But I also think we’re a team that when our back is against the wall, for whatever reason, we play a little bit more free, which seems really backwards, but at the same time I think the experience last year does help us. But with the new people, just learning how to continue to play Gator softball and just to continue to focus on us and make sure that we’re doing the things that we need to be able to do.”

* (On Mitchell’s two homers): “She just hit a softball, honestly. Anybody is going to hit a ball on any day. I don’t really have a better answer for that other than she just hit pitches.”

Korbe Otis  

* (On Kavan’s performance): “I mean, she’s a good pitcher. Everybody that we’re going to face at the College World Series is going to be a good pitcher. She just made a few better pitches than we were able to hit, so she did a good job.

* (On what can be done to fix the offense in a day): “There’s nothing that’s broken. There’s nothing broken to fix. Our offense is really powerful. Today obviously we just didn’t get the right … we obviously just didn’t put the right swings on the right pitches, and sometimes that’s how softball goes. So there’s not a huge adjustment to make. We’re just going out and playing Gator softball and staying us.”

Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu 



Link

Continue Reading

College Sports

University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics

The UCLA gymnastics program announced the promotion of BJ Das from assistant coach to associate head coach. Das has been on the coaching staff since 2020 and has helped the Bruins earn three conference titles in the last three seasons, along with a 2025 NCAA runner-up finish. Das has been instrumental in the Bruins maintaining […]

Published

on


The UCLA gymnastics program announced the promotion of BJ Das from assistant coach to associate head coach. Das has been on the coaching staff since 2020 and has helped the Bruins earn three conference titles in the last three seasons, along with a 2025 NCAA runner-up finish.

Das has been instrumental in the Bruins maintaining their status as the best floor team in the nation. A professional dancer and choreographer, Das has choreographed two NCAA Championship floor exercise routines (Brooklyn Moors in 2025 and Jordan Chiles in 2023), four conference championship routines (Chae Campbell and Pauline Tratz in 2021 and Moors and Chiles in 2025) and seven routines that have scored perfect 10s (Gracie Kramer in 2020; Campbell in 2022 and 2024; Chiles in 2022, 2023 and 2025; and Moors in 2025). Das has also created multiple floor exercise routines that have gone viral, including two routines from Nia Dennis that each amassed over 11 million views just on X alone. 

UCLA has finished the year ranked No. 1 in the nation on floor in three of Das’ six seasons as Bruin coach (2025, 2023 and 2020), and the Bruins will enter the 2026 season having scored 49+ in a school record 52 consecutive meets. Das’ floor squads have produced the school’s fourth-ranked floor score of all-time (49.800 twice in 2025 and once in 2020), the Big Ten’s highest floor score ever in a conference meet (49.800 at the 2025 Big Ten Championships), and UCLA’s highest-ever postseason floor score (49.7125 at the 2023 NCAA Semifinals).

“I am so excited to announce BJ’s promotion to Associate Head Coach,” said The R.C. Rothman UCLA Head Gymnastics Coach Janelle McDonald. “The dedication, passion and creativity that BJ brings to the gym each and every day helps instill a confidence and competitive belief in our student-athletes that can be seen and felt on and off the competition floor. She inspires us all to be authentically ourselves and to bring both art and joy into our process. This promotion is well-earned, and we are excited to see BJ continue impact our team and create more Bruin Magic in this role!”

Das first came to UCLA in 2020 as a volunteer assistant coach and has been an assistant coach since the 2023 season. In 2023, she was honored by the WCGA as the West Region Co-Assistant Coach of the Year. Also that season, the UCLA coaching staff was selected College Gym News’ Coaching Staff of the Year. Prior to joining the UCLA staff, Das was the volunteer assistant coach and choreographer at the University of Utah in 2019, when the Utes ranked in the Top 5 in the nation on floor exercise.

As a professional dancer, Das has performed live with Beyoncé, P!nk and Usher and toured with Avril Lavigne. Her music video credits include Beyoncé’s “Run the World (Girls)”, Ariana Grande’s “Baby I” and Justin Bieber/Nicki Minaj’s “Beauty and a Beat”. Das has also performed live at the 2019 Grammy Awards, the 2018 American Music Awards and on the “Ellen Show”, “The Voice” and “Late Show with James Corden”, among others. Additionally, she has choreographed for TV shows “GLOW”, “Fresh Off the Boat” and “The Masked Singer”, along with the Emmy Awards and Radio Disney Music Awards. She also served as an assistant choreographer for the Gold Over America Tour in 2021 and 2024. Her first Hollywood experience was as a gymnast on the movie “Stick It”. 

Das earned her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Washington in 2006. She competed on the Husky gymnastics team for two years.

 



Link

Continue Reading

College Sports

DeSean Jackson compares college football to NFL free agency

Former NFL star DeSean Jackson is a few months from his first season as a head coach at HBCU Delaware State, but he’s already dealing with the way NIL is changing college football. “This process has been different for me. The reason why I say this, is I have some players coming in my office […]

Published

on


Former NFL star DeSean Jackson is a few months from his first season as a head coach at HBCU Delaware State, but he’s already dealing with the way NIL is changing college football.

“This process has been different for me. The reason why I say this, is I have some players coming in my office asking like ‘coach, I want this amount of money and I’m going to the highest bidder,” Jackson said in a recent interview on the Up and Adams Show with Kay Adams.  

The now 39-year-old former Cal Bears receiver tried to put himself in his players’ shoes, but he had a tough time. 

“If I would have went into Nick Saban and Pete Carroll’s office back then and been like ‘I want this and I want that — they would have looked at me like you better get out of here.”

Yes, Jackson admits this is a different era. 

DeSean Jackson, Michael Vick

“I honestly look at this era now as free agency. It’s almost like an NFL system. It’s like a farm system to the NFL,” Jackson said. “The NCAA, they’re going to have to figure this out. There’s no (salary) cap on it. Some schools are going to be able to pay these guys millions of dollars. And then some schools like us we don’t really have the resources — HBCU or black college — we don’t really have the resources to compete with Oregon or Alabama or al these other schools and we’re a Division I school.” 

Jackson says that despite the lack of resources, he’s happy with the results he’s gotten at Delaware State. He says much of that is due to the relationships that he has. 

“I may not be able to offer a million dollars. I may be able to offer $20k in NIL, but my name may be able to make up the rest of that money.” 

DeSean Jackson is hosting a megacamp on June 7 that will feature former NFL star and Miami Hurricanes legend Clinton Portis. He also revealed that talks are on-going between Delaware State, Norfolk State and the Philadelphia Eagles to move the DSU-NSU game featuring Jackson coaching against Michael Vick.

“It may be a different date. We’re trying to work on a date,” Jackson said. “It may be Oct. 30. We’re trying to get that at Lincoln Financial Field. We’re trying to get that at the Eagles’ stadium.”

Jackson said that things are going great on Delaware State’s end and that they are waiting on Norfolk State to accept. No announcements have been made, though. 



Link

Continue Reading

College Sports

Holy Redeemer celebrates Class of 2025

Graduates stand and wait to turn their tassels to the left. Margaret Roarty | Times Leader Valedictorian Cole Taylor Bradley gives the farewell address. Margaret Roarty | Times Leader Graduates are seated during the ceremony. Margaret Roarty | Times Leader […]

Published

on



<p>Graduates stand and wait to turn their tassels to the left.</p>
                                 <p>Margaret Roarty | Times Leader</p>

Graduates stand and wait to turn their tassels to the left.

Margaret Roarty | Times Leader



<p>Valedictorian Cole Taylor Bradley gives the farewell address.</p>
                                 <p>Margaret Roarty | Times Leader</p>

Valedictorian Cole Taylor Bradley gives the farewell address.

Margaret Roarty | Times Leader



<p>Graduates are seated during the ceremony.</p>
                                 <p>Margaret Roarty | Times Leader</p>

Graduates are seated during the ceremony.

Margaret Roarty | Times Leader



<p>Bishop of Scranton Joseph Bambera offers closing remarks.</p>
                                 <p>Margaret Roarty | Times Leader</p>

Bishop of Scranton Joseph Bambera offers closing remarks.

Margaret Roarty | Times Leader



<p>Graduate Allison Frances Van Pelt sings the National Anthem.</p>
                                 <p>Margaret Roarty | Times Leader</p>

Graduate Allison Frances Van Pelt sings the National Anthem.

Margaret Roarty | Times Leader



<p>Graduates toss their caps in the air following their commencement ceremony.</p>
                                 <p>Margaret Roarty | Times Leader</p>

Graduates toss their caps in the air following their commencement ceremony.

Margaret Roarty | Times Leader



WILKES-BARRE — Holy Redeemer High School celebrated is 18th annual commencement ceremony Wednesday at the F.M. Kirby Center for Performing Arts.

Graduates merited over $34,000,000 in scholarships and awards, with 89% of students planning to matriculate to colleges or universities.

Valedictorian Cole Taylor Bradley and Salutatorian Jenna Ann Pipan served as speakers, along with Rev. Philbert Takyi-Nketiah, Superintendent Kristen Donohue and Bishop of Scranton Joseph Bambera.

For more details on the ceremony, along with a full list of graduates, be sure to check out the Times Leader’s upcoming special graduation section.



Link

Continue Reading

Most Viewed Posts

Trending