Bruin Bites: UCLA NFL Special Teamers, Big Red's Love of Cycling, and Ekbatani's Speech

Two weeks.  We are just two weeks away from kick-off between our Bruins and the Nevada Wolfpack. All of the summer waiting comes down to just two final weeks in the homestretch.  As we gear up for the final day of fall football camp in San Bernardino, there's a handful of bits of news from around the wider UCLA-iverse.  Here's your Bruin Bites for your final Saturday in San Bernardino:

• Beginning with football, former UCLA punter Chris Kluwe wrote an outstanding piece for Sports Illustrated, where he talks about his journey through the NFL for the past eight years, the transition from young rookie looking to make the roster, to established veteran, and back to new guy on the team, following his move from Minnesota to Oakland this off-season.  It's a fantastic read from an outstanding human being.
• Sticking with UCLA football players in the NFL, former Bruin long snapper Christian Yount has job security in Cleveland locked down for a while, agreeing to a five-year contract extension with the Browns.  While NBC Sports is a bit dismissive of the long snapper (perhaps NBC is bitter that the only football they get to broadcast is Notre Dame), this is great news for Christian, so congrats!
• If you want to see an amazing talk, then check out this YouTube video of former UCLA offensive lineman Nick Ekbatani speaking at the Wooden Academy, the leadership development program for Bruin student-athletes. It's definitely worth a watch.
• Switching over to hoops, the Denver Post has a cool story on former UCLA great Bill Walton and his love of cycling, and his own hero worship of dominating cyclist Greg LeMond. It's a great piece about Walton and the love of a sport that allows him to stay physically active despite the debilitating injuries he suffered that short-changed what could have been a truly special NBA career.
• Finally, in case you missed it, former Bruin point guard Jordan Farmar is not just back with the Lakers, but he's back to visiting sick kids in Los Angeles, making a stop at the UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica.  Really great stuff from a great kid, who with a big assist from AA, helped make the Bruins special until it all came off the rails.  Here's to hoping his second stint with the Lakers is a successful one.

Alright folks, those are your bits and pieces of news from around the UCLA-iverse as we count down to the beginning of the final fall football practice in San Bernardino.  Fire away with your comments, thoughts, opinions, etc. in the comment thread and stayed tuned for more San Bernardino coverage.

GO BRUINS