We have some football related news and notes to pass on before the start of the long 4th of July weekend.  I am sure many will be taking a long weekend in the coming days. I will be doing the same.  Although I will try to stop by every day,my blogging will be sporadic. Let's get to our roundup.

Looks like Neuheisel and his staff as reeled in another solid commitment on the football recruiting trail. This time the commit comes from out of state. Allen Trieu, Scout.com's Midwestern recruiting analyst reports (HT BruinFaithful)

The UCLA Bruins have been directing a great deal of recruiting attention toward the Midwest this recruiting season, and tonight those efforts paid off with a commitment. Rick Neuheisel corralled one of the top 20 players in the state of Michigan Wednesday in Orchard Lake (Mich) St. Mary’s safety Earnest Thomas.

Orchard Lake (Mich.) St. Mary’s safety Earnest Thomas had accumulated 16 offers and had been fielding strong interest from a number others programs, but decided Wednesday evening to cut his recruitment short by making a PAC 10 pledge.

"I committed to UCLA," Thomas said in a text to Scout.com moments ago.

Despite the distance from home, the 6’2" 190 lb. is extremely comfortable with southern California.  The three-star prospect sited his familiarity with area thanks to his father having coached there and the family members that still call it home.

Great news. Earnest has an impressive offer sheet which includes school such as Michigan, Missouri, Penn State and West Virginia. Here are the highlights via the Tube:

Earnest Thomas III Orchard Lake St. Mary's Football Highlights (via moneymanIII)

He looks fast. He also seems to have a bit of nasty streak. I like that a lot. Welcome to Westwood Earnest. With him UCLA now has 5 commits for the 2010 class.

Speaking football the single-game tickets are now on sale on the official site:

Single-game tickets for the 2009 football season go on sale Wednesday, July 1. Fans wishing to purchase tickets can call the UCLA Central Ticket Office at 310/UCLA-WIN or purchase them online at www.uclabruins.com and go to the Tickets page.

2009 opponents at the Rose Bowl include San Diego State on Sept. 5, Kansas State on Sept. 19, Oregon on Oct. 10, California on Oct. 17, Washington on Nov. 7 and Arizona State on Nov. 21.

September 5 can't get here first enough. Well right now we are in the baseball season. If you are in the San Diego area might want to consider dropping by at the Padres game for the opening pitch:

UCLA alumnus Troy Aikman will be throwing out the first pitch at this afternoon's Padres home game at PetCo Park in San Diego. Aikman is a part-owner of the team.

Aikman seems to be everywhere these days. Doesn't he?

GO BRUINS.