UCLA scored an 8-0, run-rule, victory over Arizona in the opener of the teams' three-game series in Los Angeles. Saturday's (6:00 pm Pacific) and Sunday's (1:00 pm Pacific) games will be televised on ESPN 2. As the above-linked article notes, the Bruins have now won nine straight games. Six wins during this stretch were over the Pac 12's two weakest teams, Cal and Stanford, but UCLA's win over Arizona suggests the Bruins really may be getting hot with the postseason approaching.
NiJaree Canady, whose sub-1.00 ERA helped lead Stanford to the Women's College World Series in both her years with the Cardinal, announced on July 24 that she is transferring to Texas Tech. I've lived in Lubbock for 27 years and can say that the town has been improving with a greater selection of restaurants and shops, and a new downtown performing arts center. Likewise, nice new facilities have been dotting the Texas Tech campus . Still, it seems unlikely that Canady would have become a Red Raider without the $1 million annual Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deal for her, made possible by the donation of a Texas Tech alumni couple. So stunning an event is this, even in the ever-changing world of collegiate athletics, that the New York Times even ran a behind-the-scenes story on Canady's path to Texas Tech. I look forward to being in the stands to watch Canady pitch next spring, an opportunity I never expected to have.