Like him or not, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is making a huge splash. He has already become a marquee figure in national politics as the Big City Mayor. And he also happens to be a Bruin.
Apparently, Mayor Villaraigosa recently went over to South Central and visited Pom Pom's football practice and spoke to his goon squad last season. He also apparently gave a speech on campus earlier this year and delivered the commencement speech last month. Hey, those clowns live in his city after all. But he came back to the Westwood campus last week to give a commencement speech and set the record straight:
``For the record, I addressed the graduates in West Adams on the subjects of rivalry and respect.
``And even though I stood before that sea of Trojans and swore my allegiance to the blue and gold, they were generous enough to confer another honorary doctorate.
``So . . . you can imagine my excitement when I got a call from UCLA...When they invited me to come here today, I thought I might as well get a jump on things and order the frame! So I asked the Chancellor's office to send over the dimensions of the degree I'd be receiving. They said, "Sorry, Mr. Mayor. We don't do honorary degrees."
"You've got to earn your diploma from UCLA!"
Now if only our football team can provide that kind of punch in December 2006, everything in the City of Angels will be all right.
GO BRUINS.