We're quickly closing in on the weekend and it's once again time to check in with some Bruin Bites for the tail-end of the work week.  Since we last checked in on Monday, we've discussed practice reports for Monday's and Tuesday's practices, analyzed how UCLA baseball struck out at the MLB signing deadline, highlighted Jet Ski's aspirations off the football field, took a look at the football/basketball school matrix and where UCLA stacks up, and talked about the NCAA investigation into the University of Miami's football program.

With that, let's turn to your bits and pieces of news from around the UCLA-iverse:

• Staying in Florida, unfortunately Brian Price has yet to return from his hamstring and pelvis injuries, with his timetable for returning pushed back one month.  Let's all hope that Brian has a speedy and full recovery so he can start getting nasty in the NFL trenches.
• Speaking of UCLA football players in the NFL, the Washington Post has a really good piece on the Denver Bronco's newest starting safety, Rahim Moore.  Rahim discusses his upbringing, what drives him, growing up without his father in the picture, and his man-crush on boyhood idol Brian Dawkins.
• Turning to basketball, the Daily Bruin has a great article contrasting Jerime Anderson, the highly-touted recruit who failed to live up to his potential and disappoint UCLA by his acts of criminal misconduct, and a former USD walk-on PG named Andrew Daou, who after beating cancer was tragically murdered by his own father.  Perhaps Jerime can learn something (read: humility and responsibility) from those not blessed with the physical gifts and opportunities he was given and turn himself around before he runs out of time in Westwood.
• In non-revenue news, the UCLA men's soccer team has been picked in a conference coaches' poll to win the Pac-12 crown this season.  Having come off a NCAA quarterfinal appearance, this year's Bruin squad looks to go further, kicking off their season on August 27.
• On the recruiting front, UCLA's women's water polo team landed a fresh face in Alexa Tielmann.  The soon-to-be-freshman (she's entering her senior year in high school this year) is a regular in Canada's youth national team set-up, and when she arrives in the fall of 2012, will be UCLA's first Canadian female water polo player. Welcome to Westwood Alexa.
• Finally, a pair of Bruin fans got together to raise over $30,000 for the UCLA Blood and Platelet Center.  Let's all give Peter Heumann and Howie Neftin a big round of applause for working so hard to help not just a worthy cause, but a live-saving cause.  This is great stuff.  And don't forget: donate blood.

And those are your Bruin Bites for the back-half of the work week.  Just one more day until the weekend,with more bits and pieces of news from around the UCLA-iverse.

GO BRUINS