Merry Christmas, UCLA Football - Tuesday Updates

The team did practice this morning, but UCLA as of this moment has not uploaded a video of Jim Mora's remarks, probably because not a single beat writer was there. We do have video of the team's activity today - a visit to Sea World!

I hope the players had a nice Christmas day, especially the ones that are far from family that couldn't come in today. We know it's a huge sacrifice to be away from your family today but they all seem to be taking it in stride and bonding.

Yesterday, the team visited the San Diego Zoo.

Absolutely precious. I love the San Diego Zoo.

In a round up of pieces published late last night...

This wasn't Joe Fauria's first visit to SeaWorld.

The last time Joseph Fauria tried to see the orcas, he ended up in the on-site medical clinic. When the tight end was around 12 years old, he sat on the rope that designated the exhibit line. He dangled a little too far back, fell into a backflip, and hit his head on a two-by-four. He needed around five staples to close the wound.

"I'm hoping I stay a little safer this time," he said.

No injuries reported today!

Here's a nice bit from the OC Register about Johnathan Franklin and his mindset heading into the last football game of his UCLA career. I like this bit about how he worked on his fumble issues from last season.

Franklin carried a ball with him everywhere the summer after that homecoming game and asked teammates to try and knock it out unexpectedly when they could. He used rice buckets to strengthen his grip and squeezed a tennis ball often. He watched himself on film and began to learn his own intricacies.

Soon, he realized the experience had been about more than just fumbling.

"It was about me becoming a man," Franklin said. "It really has shaped me into becoming a young man and understanding who I am in life and what I can go through and what I can overcome and how much I can take. It really showed myself to me."

And a bit about Ka'imi Fairbairn. Did you know...

There was the eclectic personality. Fairbairn hunts for octopus. ("He shoots ink, you grab him, he suction-cups your arms and you hook him into the bag," he said.)

Two more days until the Holiday Bowl!