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Whether it’s on the O-line or hitting the lanes, San Diego State’s Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli eager to go bowling

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2 weeks ago

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Whether it’s on the O-line or hitting the lanes, San Diego State’s Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli eager to go bowling


The New Mexico Bowl represents a full-circle moment for San Diego State center Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli.

The senior has spent the past five seasons at SDSU. He redshirted as a freshman in 2021, mostly watching as the Aztecs won a school-record 12 games capped with a win over UTSA in the Frisco Bowl. Ulugalu-Maseuli started as a redshirt freshman in 2022 on a team that lost to Middle Tennessee State in the Hawaii Bowl.

Saturday’s bowl game against No. 23 North Texas is a fitting finish to his career.

“I didn’t realize how fast it was going until it’s, like, senior night (against San Jose State), our last game at Snapdragon Stadium,” said Ulugalu-Maseuli, who was born in La Mesa and grew up in Spring Valley. “I’m not looking too far into the past, just waiting for this next game and finish off the season right. …

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“It feels like the team that I came in knowing. It feels right. It feels like the SDSU I knew growing up. So it’s nice to have that feeling again.”

SDSU turned things around with nine victories this season. A win over the Mean Green would give the Aztecs the distinction of being only the 10th team in the program’s 57-year Division I history with double-digit wins.

Ulugalu-Maseuli, selected a team captain before the season, has been right in the middle of it.

A four-year starter who has played both guard positions as well as center, Ulugalu-Maseuli earned first-team all-Mountain West honors this season. He was the glue on a much-improved offensive line.

SDSU went 4-8 and 3-9 the previous two years. The only bowling Ulugalu-Maseuli did was at a bowling alley. He is, in fact, a two-sport standout. Bowling has became more than just a pastime. It’s a passion.

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San Diego State center Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli joined teammates on Christmas Eve for a New Mexico Bowl for some bowling at Main Event Entertainment. (Justin Truong / SDSU Athletics)

Ulugalu-Maseuli and former teammate Rambo Mageo became regulars three years ago at the 12-lane on-campus alley. It’s a great deal for students, who get two free games and pay only $1 for any games thereafter.

The center enjoyed an even better deal on Christmas Eve after the Aztecs landed Wednesday afternoon in Albuquerque, N.M., ahead of the bowl game. The players and coaches were treated to dinner and activities — including arcade games, laser tag and bowling — at Main Event Entertainment.

“When football’s not too crazy, I might bowl five or six games in one day,” said Ulugalu-Maseuli, whose competitiveness on the football field follows him into the bowling alley.

Soon enough, it wasn’t enough to throw the house balls provided behind each lane. Ulugalu-Maseuli got a couple of custom-made bowling balls — one ball for strikes and another for picking up spares — and had his own shoes, a bowling bag on wheels and a special towel to rub the lane oil off his ball.

At 6-foot-4 and 335 pounds, Ulugalu-Maseuli is a massive presence when he steps to the line. Bowling requires more than just power, though. Precision is necessary to pick up spares. Knowledge is needed to adjust your game to lanes that could be oily, dry or somewhere in between.

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Ulugalu-Maseuli said he averages 215, which is elite. Only 10-15% of league bowlers average 200 or more. Members of the general public are fortunate to break 150.

Even more impressive: Ulugalu-Maseuli has bowled a pair of perfect games, rolling 12 straight strikes to reach 300. How much pressure did he feel stepping to the line for that final throw?

“I mean, you can’t feel more pressure than in the fourth quarter with 20 seconds left (for a game-winning drive),” Ulugalu-Maseuli said. “Pressure doesn’t affect me too much. You work best when you’re under pressure. At least I do. It’s something that I had to deal with and something that, you know, it just comes.”

SDSU offensive lineman Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli poses for a photo during Wednesday's Mountain West media day in Las Vegas. (Justin Truong, SDSU athletics)
SDSU offensive lineman Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli poses for a photo during Wednesday’s Mountain West media day in Las Vegas. (Justin Truong, SDSU athletics)

As a true freshman in 2021, Ulugalu-Maseuli was on the scout team. He had to look across the line at guys like Keshawn Banks, Jonah Tavai and Cameron Thomas, players who were all-conference talents as well as pro prospects.

“They made me the player I am today,” Ulugalu-Maseuli said. “You never realize how valuable (the) scout team is until they’re gone, and you’re up next, and you’re going up against players who aren’t the same as they were.”

Life in the trenches has taken its toll on Ulugalu-Maseuli, who has had three knee surgeries during his college career. His coaches and teammates helped him push through the pain to stay on the field. His 40 career starts for the Aztecs are more than any other player on the team.

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San Diego State quarterback Jayden Denegal (4) and center Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli (63) celebrate after a touchdown against the Boise State Broncos during their game at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025 in San Diego, California. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
San Diego State quarterback Jayden Denegal (4) and center Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli (63) celebrate after a touchdown against the Boise State Broncos during their game at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025 in San Diego, California. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

“The love that the coaches always showed me, the players, everybody was always reaching out to me,” Ulugalu-Maseuli said. “And it’s just, like, I knew I wasn’t in it alone. But I also knew I had to push hard to get back in time for the next season. That’s all it was. I just love ball.”

Ulugalu-Maseuli, like all of his teammates, hopes to have an opportunity at the next level. Regardless, the memories and relationships acquired the past five years will last a lifetime.

“I have a whole bunch of guys that are like my brothers now,” he said. “There are guys that have left that I still talk to every day. Jonah Tavai is one of those guys. I’m on the phone with him every day, every week, and it’s just like, you know, the bonds and relationships that I’ve built here. Even outside of football, there’s relationships that are set in place. It’s just nice having the brotherhood that SDSU builds, and that’s what I love most about it.”

New Mexico Bowl: San Diego State (9-3) vs. No. 23 North Texas (11-2)

When: 2:45 p.m. Saturday

Where: University Stadium, Albuquerque

TV: ESPN

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Radio: 760-AM

 



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San Diego, CA

Proposed fuel pipeline draws interest from investors. Can it give San Diego drivers a break?

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11 hours ago

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January 7, 2026

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Proposed fuel pipeline draws interest from investors. Can it give San Diego drivers a break?


Plenty of financial and regulatory hurdles still need to be cleared, but a fuels pipeline project that may lead to lower gas prices in San Diego and Southern California has received a healthy amount of interest from other companies.

Phillips 66 and Kinder Morgan have proposed building what they’ve dubbed the Western Gateway Pipeline that would use a combination of existing infrastructure plus new construction to establish a corridor for refined products that would stretch 1,300 miles from St. Louis to California.

If completed, one leg of the pipeline would be the first to deliver motor fuels into California, a state often described as a fuel island that is disconnected from refining hubs in the U.S.

The two companies recently announced the project “has received significant interest” from shippers and investors from what’s called an “open season” that wrapped up on Dec. 19 — so much so that a second round will be held this month for remaining capacity.

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“That’s a strong indicator that people would be willing to commit to put volume on that pipeline to bring it west long enough for them to be able to pay off their investment and provide a return for their investors,” said David Hackett, president of Stillwater Associates, a transportation energy consulting company in Irvine. “They won’t build this thing on spec. They’ll need commitments from shippers to do this.”

The plans for the Western Gateway Pipeline include constructing a new line from the Texas Panhandle town of Borger to Phoenix. Meanwhile, the flow on an existing pipeline that currently runs from the San Bernardino County community of Colton to Arizona would be reversed, allowing more fuel to remain in California.

The entire pipeline system would link refinery supply from the Midwest to Phoenix and California, while also providing a connection into Las Vegas.

The proposed route for the Western Gateway Pipeline, a project announced by Phillips 66 and Kinder Morgan designed to bring refined products like gasoline to states such as Arizona and keep more supplies within California. (Phillips 66)

A spokesperson for Kinder Morgan told the Union-Tribune in October that there are no plans for the project to construct any new pipelines in California and the proposal “should put downward pressure” on prices at the pump.

“With no new builds in California and using pipelines currently in place, it’s an all-around win-win — good for the state and consumers,” Kinder Morgan’s director of corporate communications, Melissa D. Ruiz, said in an email.

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The second round of “open season” will include offerings of new destinations west of Colton that would allow Western Gateway shippers access to markets in Los Angeles.

Even with sufficient investor support, the project would still have to go through an extensive regulatory and permitting process that would undoubtedly receive pushback from environmental groups.

Should the pipeline get built, Hackett said it’s hard to predict what it would mean at the pump for Southern California drivers. But he said the project could ensure more fuel inventory remains inside California, thus reducing reliance on foreign imports, especially given potential political tensions in the South China Sea.



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San Diego, CA

San Diego sues federal government over razor wire fence near U.S.-Mexico border

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23 hours ago

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January 6, 2026

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San Diego sues federal government over razor wire fence near U.S.-Mexico border


The city of San Diego has filed a lawsuit against the federal government that alleges the construction of a razor wire fence near the U.S.-Mexico border constitutes trespassing on city property and has caused environmental harm to the land.

The complaint filed Monday in San Diego federal court states that razor wire fencing being constructed by U.S. Marines in the Marron Valley area has harmed protected plant and wildlife habitats and that the presence of federal personnel there represents unpermitted trespassing.

The lawsuit, which names the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Defense among its defendants, says that city officials first discovered the presence of Marines and federal employees in the area in December.

The fencing under construction has blocked city officials from accessing the property to assess and manage the land, and the construction efforts have” caused and will continue to cause property damage and adverse environmental impacts,” according to the lawsuit.

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The suit seeks an injunction ordering the defendants to cease and desist from any further trespass or construction in the area.

“The city of San Diego will not allow federal agencies to disregard the law and damage city property,” City Attorney Heather Ferbert said in a statement. “We are taking decisive action to protect sensitive habitats, uphold environmental commitments and ensure that the rights and resources of our community are respected.”



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San Diego, CA

Padres roster review: Sung-Mun song

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1 day ago

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January 6, 2026

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Padres roster review: Sung-Mun song





Padres roster review: Sung-Mun song – San Diego Union-Tribune


















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SUNG-MUN SONG

  • Position(s): Third base, second base
  • Bats / Throws: Left / Right
  • 2026 opening day age: 29
  • Height / Weight: 6-foot / 194 pounds
  • How acquired: Signed as a free agent in December 2025
  • Contract status: A four-year, $15 million deal will see Song make $2.5 million in 2026, $3 million in 2027, $3.5 million in 2028 and $4 million in 2029 if he does not opt out of last year; Half of his $1 million signing bonus is due in January 2026 and the other half in 2027; There is a $7 million mutual option for 2030.
  • fWAR in 2025: N/A
  • Key 2025 stats (KBO): .315 AVG, .387 OBP, .530 SLG, 26 HRs, 90 RBIs, 103 runs, 68 walks, 96 strikeouts, 25 steals (144 games, 646 plate appearances)

 

STAT TO NOTE

  • .214 — Song’s isolated power in 2025, a career high as he prepared for a jump to the majors. Isolated power measures a player’s raw power (extra bases per at-bat) and Song had a .190 OPS in 2018, in his third year as a pro in Korea, before it dropped to .101 in 2019 and then a career-low .095 in 2023. Hitting 19 homers pushed Song’s isolated power to .178 in 2024 and then a career-high 26 homers push it even higher in 2025.

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