Utah
UCLA adds Cal, Utah to future football schedules
The UCLA football program announced several changes to its future schedules on Wednesday that will rekindle a pair of previous Pac-12 rivalries.
The changes – which include adding games against Cal and Utah and dropping games against Georgia and Auburn – impact the 2025-2030 seasons.
Utah is scheduled to return to Pasadena on Aug. 30, 2025 before the Bruins complete the home-and-home series in Salt Lake City on Sept. 7, 2030. The Bruins lead the all-time series against the Utes 12-9.
UCLA and Cal had played one another every year since 1933 but that streak will end this fall with Cal playing an Atlantic Coast Conference schedule while UCLA plays a Big Ten Conference schedule.
The rivalry almost ended when an initial schedule for the pandemic-shortened 2020 season did not have the two teams playing against one another. However, when each team had one of their respective opponents back out of games due to COVID-19, the in-state rivals put a game together on short notice. UCLA leads the all-time series against Cal 57-35.
UC Davis is also slated to play the Bruins in the future as a nonconference opponent on Aug. 28, 2027 and Sept. 1, 2029 at the Rose Bowl.
UCLA reached mutual agreements with a pair of Southeastern Conference teams, Georgia and Auburn, to negate previously scheduled home-and-home series.
Georgia was scheduled to travel to the Rose Bowl in 2025 for a nonconference game against the Bruins before hosting a matchup between the teams in 2026.
Auburn was to visit the Rose Bowl in 2027 and host UCLA in 2028.
UCLA had previously had Wisconsin as a nonconference opponent for 2029 and 2030 but those games became nullified when the Bruins joined the Big Ten. Northwestern also had an agreement for a home-and-home series with UCLA for September of the 2033 and 2034 seasons, which was nullified for the same reason.
GAME READY
UCLA’s NIL collective Men of Westwood announced on Monday that it will host an event on July 16 to celebrate the launch of the EA Sports College Football 25 video game.
The game returns for the first time since 2013 and will feature 85-player rosters to represent the 134 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision teams.
“The launch of this game is a huge milestone for the players who finally get to be compensated for their likeness in a video game, as well as for fans who have patiently waited for its return,” said Ken Graiwer, the founder and CEO of the Men of Westwood. “We couldn’t let the moment pass without a celebration, and this event is a great way to bring fans and the football program closer together ahead of an exciting season.”
Fans will have an opportunity to purchase a ticket package that will provide opportunities to play the game with current players, take photographs and take a tour of the football facility.
All proceeds from the event will go toward NIL opportunities for the players.
EA Sports has slowly announced different features and aspects of the games in recent weeks and announced its top 100 ranked players in the game on Wednesday. A Bruin was not featured among that list.
The official UCLA roster in the game or official overall ratings has not been revealed but quarterback Ethan Garbers, running back TJ Harden and receiver J.Michael Sturdivant are expected to be featured.
Garbers was one of several college football players who initially announced he would be in the game with a social media post in February. Sturdivant’s and Harden’s likenesses had previously been featured in some of the released trailers for the game.
The game will be available on July 16 for those who preorder it. It will be available to everyone when it is officially released on July 19.
NEW HIRE
UCLA has hired Corey Miller as its new head football performance coach.
Miller will be tasked with leading the team’s strength and conditioning program, replacing Keith Belton who has departed the program for another opportunity.
Miller previously worked for the Bruins as the director of speed and movement from February 2022 until June 2023 before taking a job as an assistant director with the Carolina Panthers in the NFL.
“I was impressed by Coach Miller’s ability to get the most out of players during his previous time with our program,” UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster said in a statement this week. “With his added NFL experience, I feel there is no one better to uphold our pillars while preparing the Bruins for Big Ten Conference play and beyond.”
Utah
Keller wins it in OT, Mammoth recover from Jets’ late rally | NHL.com
The goal was Connor’s 300th in the NHL. He is the third player in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers history to hit the mark, behind Scheifele (353) and Ilya Kovalchuk (328).
“Just a pretty cool milestone,” Connor said. “Once you look back on your career, that’s kind of the stuff you’ll remember. But right now it’s focusing on winning, trying to be the best player I can, and helping out.”
Connor scored his second goal at 15:23 of the third period, beating Vejmelka blocker side with a one-timer to cut the lead to 3-2.
“I think we just knew that we needed to be better,” Connor said of the comeback. “I think we were on our toes more, jumping and making plays and hemming them in.”
Barron scored just 25 seconds later, beating Vejmelka glove side with a snap shot tie it 3-3.
“That first period was ugly. It was really ugly,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “We got better in the second, certainly dominated in the third, but at the end of the day, you can’t play two periods in this league and look to have success.”
Crouse gave the Mammoth a 1-0 lead at 5:20 of the first period. Guenther skated in from the blue line and shot through the legs of Jets defenseman Logan Stanley to put the puck on Hellebuyck. The rebound of his shot then found Crouse in front, where he scored blocker side with a slap shot.
“We made it interesting on ourselves,” Crouse said. “Definitely not the way we wanted the third period to go, but credit to our group, that’s not easy. They scored two right away and then we went right into OT pretty much, so credit to the group for having the right mindset and being able to get the win.”
Utah
Utah man with autism found after 10-day search
SALT LAKE CITY — August Beckwith, a 29-year-old Utah man with autism, has been found safe after disappearing for a second time in a matter of weeks.
“We are overjoyed and deeply grateful,” Lori Beckwith, August Beckwith’s mother, said in a post on Facebook Sunday. “Thank you to the many remarkable people who helped with compassion and kindness throughout. Wishing everyone a loving and peaceful Christmas.”
Beckwith had been missing for 24 days after disappearing from the University of Utah campus on Nov. 17. Lori Beckwith, August’s mother, had taken to Facebook to report when he had first been found.
The Beckwith family wishes for privacy at this time.
This story may be updated.
Utah
UDOT celebrates early opening of Mountain View Corridor connection to Utah County
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — The Mountain View Corridor project connecting Salt Lake and Utah Counties was completed early, opening just in time for holiday travel.
The Utah Department of Transportation celebrated the early completion of the years-long project in a Friday event, with attendees able to walk the new road and take photos with Santa. The road and trails were opened to traffic after the event.
UDOT officials posted a video of the celebration, with the caption reading, in part, “This road and these trails are now yours.”
Commenters praised their work on the project—and the video itself—with some saying they’ve already driven on the new road.
“I almost cried when I went on the corridor today! It was done sooner than I thought so thank you!” one commenter wrote.
Another user called it the “best Christmas gift EVER!”
MORE | Mountain View Corridor:
Some Utahns were less pleased, bringing up concerns about the lights not operating correctly on the north end or complaints about future construction.
However, the video itself addressed the negative comments UDOT receives, specifically complaints about constant construction.
“The truth is, if you want a DOT that never does anything and therefore never inconveniences you…Well, that just ain’t us,” the post read. “We don’t do construction to you, we do it FOR you, because we ARE you. We all live here too.”
The Mountain View Corridor project, also known as the 2100 North Freeway Project, was designed to improve east-to-west traffic flow between I-15 and Redwood Road in Lehi. It also included “shared-use-paths” for pedestrians and cyclists.
UDOT officials said Redwood Road is one of the most congested roads in Utah County, following Interstate 15 and Pioneer Crossing.
Officials expect this could reduce Redwood Road delays by 75% and also help alleviate I-15 traffic in the area.
The project began in Spring 2024, with construction expected to finish in Spring 2026. UDOT officials said the project was completed four months ahead of schedule.
In order to complete the road and trails, crews moved 1.5 million tons of dirt and paved more than 350,000 square yards of concrete and asphalt.
“This new stretch of Mountain View Corridor provides meaningful relief for drivers in fast-growing Utah County,” said Carlos Braceras, UDOT Executive Director. “Opening this stretch ahead of schedule improves regional connectivity and provides drivers with safer, more dependable travel options as the area continues to grow.”
While the new extension is complete, UDOT officials plan to continue to extend the Mountain View Corridor in the future. They said the goal is for it to be a 35-mile freeway connecting Interstate 80 in Salt Lake County to State Route 73 in Utah County.
The next phase of the project is planned to begin in 2027 and will address the stretch from Porter Rockwell Boulevard in Herriman to Old Bingham Highway in West Jordan.
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