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Five takeaways from UCLA's crushing yet encouraging loss to Arizona

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Five takeaways from UCLA's crushing yet encouraging loss to Arizona

They get it. They finally get it.

UCLA basketball fans would be wise to mark Jan. 20, 2024, on their calendars just as many had circled Jan. 19, 2020, as the day things clicked for coach Mick Cronin’s first batch of Bruins who won 11 of their final 14 games.

It didn’t matter that this current group of Brubabes — seven freshmen among the eight newcomers — lost leads of 19 and 17 points in a crushing road loss to No. 12 Arizona on Saturday during the teams’ final matchup at the McKale Center as Pac-12 rivals.

This defeat might have been more encouraging than recent victories over Washington and Arizona State given that the Bruins played their best 30 minutes against the toughest opponent they’ve faced all season in the most hostile environment.

Yes, they lost those leads and Cronin lost his cool, appearing to yell an obscenity at the referees while earning a technical foul as part of a four-point sequence that allowed Arizona to tie the score on the way to its 77-71 victory.

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But UCLA’s offense is no longer on its point-a-minute pace and the team is playing with a collective freedom and swagger that was missing through the season’s first 2½ months. Here are five takeaways from the loss to the Wildcats:

Mack attack

In the second halves alone, Sebastian Mack scored 16 points against Arizona, 11 points against Arizona State and 10 against Washington.

The freshman guard is no longer just driving fearlessly toward the basket, hoping to fling in a layup or draw a foul. He made two three-pointers in the second half against the Wildcats. He notched two assists in the second half against the Huskies.

While Mack certainly has a lot of strides to make on defense, his unselfish approach on offense has made him far more valuable than just being the team’s leading scorer with an average of 14.1 points per game.

UCLA guard Sebastian Mack looks to pass the ball against Arizona State on Wednesday in Tempe.

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(Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)

“We just wanna win, and I’m fine with whatever,” Mack said of his role. “If you need scoring, [Saturday] I was there, but if you need assists and zero points I’m there. Just doing what it takes to win.”

Call him ‘Laser’

Lazar Stefanovic was brought in from Utah for his shooting, veteran savvy and leadership.

For more than two months, he had gone two for three, fulfilling every desired role except the shooting. But a recent uptick in accuracy has sparked the team’s turnaround, Stefanovic making two of three three-pointers against Washington and three of seven from long range against both Arizona State and Arizona.

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Stefanovic made all three of his three-pointers in the first half against the Wildcats before experiencing a dropoff in the second half as the Bruins struggled with ball movement against stickier defense.

“They were more aggressive, and we kind of backed up instead of going at them,” Stefanovic said. “And we didn’t pass as much, and that’s why our shooting percentage went down.”

Sous Vide?

Jan Vide cooked in his six second-half minutes against the Wildcats, the freshman guard getting a three-pointer to drop and completing a three-point play after getting fouled on a jumper in the lane.

He was less successful on a fast-break drive blocked by Pelle Larsson when he probably should have passed to a teammate, but the offensive output in limited playing time was encouraging. Vide has also shown promise handling the ball as a possible part-time alternative to Dylan Andrews.

Hindered by an ankle injury for several weeks, Vide has averaged just 2.3 points in 6.5 minutes per game but appears on the brink of a far larger role.

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Some major upside

At 8-11 overall and 3-5 in the Pac-12, there’s almost nothing UCLA can do the rest of the regular season to make the NCAA tournament barring an improbable 12-0 run.

That means the Bruins must do everything possible to prepare themselves for the Pac-12 tournament the way Cronin had readied his team for the NCAA tournament over the three previous seasons. Continue to find the winning players, perfect the rotations and load manage if necessary.

Only two games out of fourth place in the conference standings, the Bruins can still easily secure a top-four seed that comes with a bye into the Pac-12 tournament quarterfinals. That’s essential since only three teams — Colorado in 2012, Oregon in 2019 and Oregon State in 2021 — have won four games in four days as part of the current conference tournament format adopted in 2012.

Trojan takeover?

With Isaiah Collier and Boogie Ellis sidelined by injuries, USC has gone into a free-fall, losing four consecutive games.

But the Trojans have something going for them heading into the rivalry matchup Saturday evening at the Galen Center: They have gone 4-0 against UCLA under Cronin on their home court.

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It’s the only Pac-12 venue in which Cronin has not won. This would be an opportune time to reverse those fortunes if the Bruins want to build upon their mid-season momentum.

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ESPN’s Stephen A Smith hears boos from WrestleMania 42 crowd

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ESPN’s Stephen A Smith hears boos from WrestleMania 42 crowd

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Danhausen’s curse may be real after all – just ask Stephen A. Smith and the New York Mets.

While the latter dropped their 10th game in a row, Smith got his share of the curse on Saturday night during Night 1 of WrestleMania 42. Smith was in attendance for WWE’s premier event of the year and heard massive boos from the crowd.

Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)

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Smith was sitting ringside to watch the action. The ESPN star appeared on the videoboard above the ring at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. He appeared to embrace the reaction and smiled through it.

The boos came after Danhausen appeared on “First Take” on Friday – much to the chagrin of the sports pundit. Smith appeared perplexed by Danhausen’s appearance. Smith said he heard about Danhausen and called him a “bad luck charm.”

Danhausen said Smith had been “rude” to him and put the dreaded “curse” on the commentator.

WWE STAR DANHAUSEN SAYS METS ‘CURSE’ ISN’T EXACTLY LIFTED AS TEAM DROPS NINTH STRAIGHT GAME

Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)

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Smith is far from the only one dealing with the effects of the “curse.”

Danhausen agreed to “un-curse” the Mets during their losing streak. However, he told Fox News Digital earlier this week that there was a reason why the curse’s removal didn’t take full effect.

“I did un-curse the Mets. But it didn’t work because, I believe it was Brian Gewirtz who did not pay Danhausen. He did not send me my money so it did not take full effect,” Danhausen said. “Once I have the money, perhaps it will actually work because right now it’s probably about a half of an un-cursing. It’s like a layaway situation.”

Danhausen enters the arena before his match against Kit Wilson during SmackDown at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on April 10, 2026. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

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On “Friday Night SmackDown,” WWE stars like The Miz and Kit Wilson were also targets of Danhausen’s curse.

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After 55 years as a broadcaster in L.A., Randy Rosenbloom is leaving town

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After 55 years as a broadcaster in L.A., Randy Rosenbloom is leaving town

It’s time to reveal memories, laughs and crazy times from Randy Rosenbloom’s 55 years as a TV/radio broadcaster in Los Angeles. He’s hopping in a car next Sunday with his wife, saying goodbye to a North Hollywood house that’s been in his family since 1952 and driving 3,300 miles to his new home in Greenville, S.C.

“When I walk out, I’ll probably break down,” he said.

He graduated from North Hollywood High in 1969. He got his first paid job in 1971 calling Hart basketball games for NBC Cable Newhall for $10 a game. It began an adventure of a lifetime.

“I never knew if I overachieved or underachieved. I just did what I loved,” he said.

Randy Rosenbloom (left) used to work with former UCLA coach John Wooden for TV games.

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(Randy Rosenbloom)

John Wooden, Jerry Tarkanian and Jim Harrick were among his expert commentators when he did play by play for college basketball games. He called volleyball at the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games for NBC and rowing in 2004. He’s worked more than 100 championship high school events. He did play by play for the first and only Reebok Bowl at Angel Stadium in 1994 won by Bishop Amat over Sylmar, 35-14.

“There were about 5,000, 6,000 people there and I remember thinking nobody watched the game. We ended up with a 5.7 TV rating on Channel 13 in Los Angeles, which is higher than most Lakers games.”

He conducted interviews with NFL Hall of Famers Gale Sayers and Johnny Unitas and boxing greats Robert Duran, Thomas Hearn and Sugar Ray Leonard. He’s worked with baseball greats Steve Garvey and Doug DeCinces. He called games with former USC coach Rod Dedeaux. He was in the radio booth for Bret Saberhagen’s 1982 no-hitter in the City Section championship game at Dodger Stadium. He was a nightly sportscaster for KADY in Ventura.

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Randy Rosenbloom, left, with his volleyball broadcast partners, Kirk Kilgour and Bill Walton.

Randy Rosenbloom, left, with his volleyball broadcast partners, Kirk Kilgour and Bill Walton.

(Randy Rosenbloom)

He was the voice of Fresno State football and basketball. He also did Nevada Las Vegas football and basketball games. He called bowl games and Little League games. He was a public address announcer for basketball at the 1984 Olympic Games with Michael Jordan the star and did the P.A. for Toluca Little League.

Nothing was too small or too big for him.

“I loved everything,” he said.

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He called at least 10 East L.A. Classic football games between Garfield and Roosevelt. He was there when Narbonne and San Pedro tied 21-21 in the 2008 City championship game at the Coliseum on a San Pedro touchdown with one second left.

Probably his most notable tale came when he was doing radio play-by-play at a 1998 college bowl game in Montgomery, Ala.

“I look down and a giant tarantula is crawling up my pants,” he said. “My color man took all the press notes, wadded them up and hit the tarantula like swinging a bat.”

Did Rosenbloom tell the audience what was happening?

“I stayed calm,” he said.

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Then there was the time he was in the press box at Sam Boyd Stadium and a bat flew in and attached itself to the wooden press box right next to him before flying away after he said, “UNLV wins.”

Recently, he’s been putting together high school TV packages for LA36 and calling travel ball basketball games. He’ll still keep doing a radio gambling show from his new home, but he’s cutting ties to Los Angeles to move closer to grandchildren.

“I’m retiring from Los Angeles. I’m leaving the market,” he said.

Hopefully he’ll continue via Zoom to do a weekly podcast with me for The Times.

He’s a true professional who’s versatility and work ethic made him a reliable hire from the age of 18 through his current age of 74.

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He’s a member of the City Section Hall of Fame and the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. He once threw the shot put 51 feet, 7 1/2 inches, which is his claim to fame at North Hollywood High.

One time an ESPN graphic before a show spelled his name “Rosenbloom” then changed it to “Rosenblum” for postgame. It was worth a good laugh.

He always adjusts, improvises and ad-libs. He expects to enjoy his time in South Carolina, but he better watch out for tarantulas. They seem to like him.

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Becky Lynch enters exclusive WWE club with Women’s Intercontinental Championship win at WrestleMania 42

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Becky Lynch enters exclusive WWE club with Women’s Intercontinental Championship win at WrestleMania 42

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Becky Lynch entered an atmosphere no other WWE women’s superstar has ever reached as she won the Women’s Intercontinental Championship over AJ Lee on Saturday night at WrestleMania 42.

Lynch became the first person to hold the Women’s Intercontinental Championship three times after she pinned Lee. She first won the title against Lyra Valkyria in June 2025 and then again against Maxxine Dupri in November.

Becky Lynch celebrates with the belt after defeating AJ Lee during their women’s Intercontinental Championship match at WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 18, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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She dropped the belt to Lee at the Elimination Chamber, sparking a monthslong feud with her.

Lee gave Lynch the chance at the title in the weeks prior to WrestleMania 42. But it appeared Lee played right into Lynch’s plans. Despite arguing with referee Jessica Carr for most of the match, Lynch was able to tactfully tear down a rope buckle and use it to her advantage.

Lynch hit Lee with a Manhandle Slam and pinned her for the win.

WWE STARS REVEAL WHAT MAKES WRESTLEMANIA SO SPECIAL: ‘IT’S THE SUPER BOWL OF PRO WRESTLING’

AJ Lee reacts after losing to Becky Lynch in their Women’s Intercontinental Championship match at WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on April 18, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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It’s the second straight year Lynch will leave Las Vegas as champion. She returned to WWE at WrestleMania 41, teaming with Valkyria, to win the women’s tag titles. She will now leave Allegiant Stadium as the women’s intercontinental champion.

Lynch is now a seven-time women’s champion, three-time women’s intercontinental champion and two-time tag team champion.

Becky Lynch withstands AJ Lee during their Women’s Intercontinental Championship match on night one of WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 18, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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Lee’s reign as champion ended really before it could really begin. WrestleMania 42 was her first appearance at the event in 11 years. It’s unclear where Lee will go from here.

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