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Once again, it's Friday morning, and with the weekend comes, after long last, the return of college football, with our Bruins opening up their fall camp at CSUSB tomorrow afternoon. Yes, that's right, at long last, the summer slowdown is finally ending and it's time to ramp up for football season. So, with the weekend (and football season) about to get underway, let's get straight to the various bits and pieces of news floating around the UCLA-iverse:
- Starting with, what else, football, the UCLA Today news service on the university's official website has a pretty awesome story about Sam Tai and a group of young men who are doing some heartwarming work over the summer: working at UCLA's Krieger Child Care Center, taking care of infants and toddlers. Despite being rusty at changing diapers, Tai was able to get back into the groove of childcare, having plenty of experience in his large, close-knit Tongan family (he has three siblings and scores of younger cousins). Pretty awesome story.
- Turning to a story from last Friday's edition of Bruin Bites, missing UCLA student David Goeser is believed to be heading north toward Vancouver, Washington, by means of public transportation. The honors students has been missing since July 22, and if anyone has any information on the whereabouts of Goeser, who is struggling with depression, please contact the Los Angeles Police Department at (213)-996-1800 or (877)-527-3247.
- Likewise, looping back to a story we've been tracking since the May 7 edition of Bruin Bites, former UCLA basketball player Gavin Smith remains missing, and has not been seen since May 1. Now, in a twist that comes as no surprise to BN, with at least one detective indicating that "foul play" is strongly considered a factor in Smith's disappearance (gee, we called that one). Apparently, the suspicion is that Smith's disappearance is tied to an alleged affair with Chandrika Creech, the wife of drug dealer John Creech, who had his home raided in June by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Lesson to learn kids: don't sleep with a drug dealer's wife. Anyone with information regarding the case is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department at (323)-890-5500.
- Turning to another former UCLA basketball player, MassLive.com has a profile on Hall of Famer Jamaal Wilkes, who was in Springfield, Massachusetts as part of a speaker's program, all leading up to his enshrinement at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in September. Nice read and great to read about another one of our outstanding Bruins.
- Finally, the El Dorado Hills Telegraph (located about 20 miles east of Sacramento) has a profile of local running sensation and current UCLA junior Amjed Aboukhadijeh, who is gearing up for what he hopes will be his best year running cross-country for the Blue and Gold. After lowering his mile time to 4 minutes, 11 seconds (damn!) this past spring, Aboukhadijeh is looking to lead UCLA to a Pac-12 crown, hoping to top rivals Stanford and Colorado. Let's keep our fingers crossed that Amjed can exceed his goals for this year.
Alright folks, those are your Bruin Bites to end the week with, as we gear up for the official beginning of the UCLA football season tomorrow with the opening of fall camp at CSUSB. Fire away with your thoughts, takes, and additions in the comments thread. And enjoy the sunny weekend and get excited for the return of football!
GO BRUINS