dismal

There’s no need to rehash what might have been UCLA’s most deflating football season opener since …

The Bruins produced a dud against Cincinnati in Chip Kelly’s 2018 debut?

Karl Dorrell acknowledged not knowing where to stand on the sideline while losing his first game to Colorado in 2003?

Manual Arts High blew UCLA out, 74-0, in the program’s first game in 1919?

Regardless of your choice, what happened Saturday night at the Rose Bowl was awful. Putrid. Dreadful.

UCLA’s 43-10 setback against Utah — the Bruins’ most lopsided loss in a season opener since they absorbed a 38-3 thrashing by top-ranked Oklahoma in 1986 — came largely as a result of losing the battle on both lines of scrimmage.

The offensive line couldn’t help the run game produce anything of note on the way to 37 yards from its three running backs.

The defense looked lost from the first snap. There was no containment of Utes quarterback Devon Dampier, who often saw more open field in front of him than closing defenders.

Quarterback Nico Iamaleava, appearing overly amped in his UCLA debut, overthrew several receivers on the way to completing only half of his passes but showed flashes of why his arrival was such a big deal. His slippery runs and perfect touch on a 19-yard touchdown pass to running back Anthony Woods were a possible harbinger of far greater success.

The big hope is that the Bruins accelerate their rebound from a year ago. Remember, UCLA looked equally pitiful in its home opener against Indiana last season (a 42-13 drubbing) as part of a 1-5 start, only to turn things around and nearly make a bowl game.

Defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe moved players around until he found the right combination, putting Oluwafemi Oladejo at edge rusher and inserting linebacker Carson Schwesinger into the starting lineup on the way to one of the greatest individual seasons in school history.

But is there enough talent on this team to spark a turnaround? These guys looked slow-footed and couldn’t tackle very well. Finding a capable edge rusher or two must be a top priority.

For UCLA to have any meaningful success this season, it’s going to have to pile up wins against the soft patch of its schedule that starts next weekend. A road game against Nevada Las Vegas (2-0, albeit with victories over Sam Houston and Idaho State) will be followed by a home game against New Mexico (0-1) and the Big Ten opener on the road against Northwestern (0-1).

Was the Bruins’ opener just a bad night against a good team or an omen? We’ll know soon enough.

Joey and Dante watch

Former Bruin Joey Aguilar had a nice game against Syracuse on Saturday.

(Mike Stewart / Associated Press)

Compounding UCLA’s misery was the success that two former Bruins quarterbacks enjoyed in their season openers.

Joey Aguilar, briefly a Bruin in the spring before transferring to Tennessee as part of the so-called trade for Iamaleava, starred in his Volunteers debut. Joey Football, as he’s been known since his gunslinger days at Appalachian State, looked like a gamer Saturday during Tennessee’s 45-26 victory over Syracuse, throwing for 247 yards and three touchdowns.

Dante Moore, who looked so spectacular early in the 2023 season at UCLA before throwing a pick-six in three consecutive games and losing his starting job to Ethan Garbers on the way to the transfer portal, returned to a starring role during Oregon’s 59-13 victory over Montana State. Moore completed 18 of 23 passes for 213 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.

It’s important to note that Aguilar and Moore thrived against far lesser competition than Iamaleava faced in the Utes, a possible College Football Playoff contender. Iamaleava also projects as the best of the bunch in terms of NFL upside and could eventually lead UCLA to a renaissance in what’s likely to be his only season as a Bruin.

Perhaps the overriding takeaway after one week is that Iamaleava doesn’t have nearly the supporting cast that he enjoyed last season at Tennessee. The big question: Can he make something worthwhile out of what he has to work with and will others step up to help him?

New fan loyalty program

Airlines, hotels and even local coffee shops have loyalty programs, so why not college sports?

In an effort to strengthen the connection between UCLA and its fans while generating additional revenue, the Bruins athletic department last week announced the creation of the Blue & Gold Society, a loyalty program in partnership with sports marketing agency Two Circles.

Daniel Cruz, UCLA’s deputy athletic director and chief revenue officer, said he wanted to find a new way to connect with fans both inside and outside of Southern California.

“For our fans in New York or the Midwest,” Cruz told The Times, “how do they get access to different things that are cool and memorable and have that connection to the school and contribute directly to the student-athlete so that we can continue to support them and continue driving this program to winning?”

Fans who join the Blue & Gold Society will have access to limited-edition merchandise, behind-the-the scenes tours and specially curated game-day experiences, among other perks. Among the items that fans could secure are surplus jerseys or maybe a piece of the old Pauley Pavilion floor. Experiences could include getting to watch a select team practice.

The program has three tiers with a corresponding level of benefits. The signature tier (priced at $39.99 per month, or available at a discounted annual price) provides a welcome pack, exclusive video and editorial content, an annual merchandise box, quarterly sweepstakes opportunities and an Olympic sports card good for admission to every UCLA sporting event besides football and men’s basketball.

The premium tier ($59.99 per month) comes with enhanced benefits, including two merchandise boxes per year, two tickets to a UCLA sporting event and behind-the-scenes tour of Pauley Pavilion. Those who splurge for the elite tier ($99.99 per month) will receive four merchandise boxes per year, four tickets to two UCLA sporting events and behind-the-scenes tours of both Pauley Pavilion and the Wasserman Football Center, among other benefits.

UCLA is the third college to launch a fan loyalty program in collaboration with Two Circles, joining Kentucky and Colorado.

“It’s not just going to a game or buying a piece of merchandise; it’s really, truly like an immersive experience for the fan,” said Nick Garner, executive vice president for Two Circles. “We want them to know that by joining the Blue & Gold Society, you will have the opportunity to do something that you couldn’t otherwise.”

Cruz said the venture could be instructive in letting UCLA know where fan strongholds exist outside of Los Angeles.

“It could maybe help one day dictate, like, OK, we have a massive fan base in this state,” Cruz said, “why don’t we try to play a game there or do something special there when we do play a team in that region, so I’m pretty excited about that.”

Heard on campus

Delays in the completion of UCLA’s new football practice fields outside the Wasserman Center, which have forced the Bruins to use Drake Stadium and the intramural fields, were twofold, according to an athletic department spokesperson.

The new grass and artificial turf fields were not completed before the season because of extended approval and bid processes after the project was submitted for campus approval in August 2024. Once construction started in July, the schedule for completion has remained on the expected timeline.

The Bruins could start using their new practice fields as soon as the last week of September. The estimated cost of the project is $2.9 million.

A blue-and-golden anniversary

There was another season debut at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.

The UCLA Alumni Band, entering its 50th anniversary, performed before the game to kick off a yearlong celebration.

The band will perform a two-hour concert in the Fan Zone outside the Rose Bowl starting three hours before every home UCLA football game — including a show with the UCLA spirit squad 90 minutes before kickoff — followed by a 30-minute concert in the Court of Champions starting 45 minutes before kickoff. All fans are welcome to attend.

Olympic sport spotlight: Women’s volleyball

The free agency era of college sports could be a great thing for this team.

Coming off a sub-.500 season, the UCLA women’s volleyball team restocked its roster with a bunch of highly coveted transfers. Among the new arrivals are outside hitter Maggie Li, a former Pac-12 Conference freshman of the year at California; Zayna Meyer, a former Big West Conference setter of the year at Long Beach State; middle blocker Phekran Kong, a onetime star at Louisville; and defensive specialist-libero Lola Schumacher, a former All-Big Ten freshman from Wisconsin.

They will join senior outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette, a returning first team All-Big Ten selection, in the bid for a breakthrough. UCLA opens the season Monday evening against Long Beach State at the Pyramid in Long Beach.

Opinion time

So, does UCLA’s football team rally immediately against the soft pocket of its schedule — consecutive games against UNLV, New Mexico and Northwestern — or fall further into despair before facing Penn State on Oct. 4 at the Rose Bowl?

The Bruins go 3-0 over their next three games

The Bruins go 2-1 over their next three games

The Bruins go 1-2 over their next three games

The Bruins go 0-3 over their next three games

Click here to vote in our survey.

Poll results

We asked, “How do you see the season playing out for UCLA and its new quarterback?”

The results, after 564 votes:

Iamaleava leads a resurgence to a bowl game, 68.6%

Iamaleava plays well but his team struggles, 16.7%

Iamaleava leads UCLA to the CFP, 7.6%

Iamaleava struggles for a losing team, 7.1%

In case you missed it

Plaschke: DeShaun Foster drags the Bruins into another embarrassment

UCLA’s big training camp secret exposed by Utah in Bruins’ blowout loss

College football is back! Can USC and UCLA bounce back into relevance?

His Tennessee turmoil behind him, Nico Iamaleava forges a happy UCLA homecoming

It just changes things’: Donovan Dent’s arrival quickens UCLA’s pace, pulse

Have something Bruin?

Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email me at [email protected], and follow me on X @latbbolch. To order an autographed copy of my book, “100 Things UCLA Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die,” send me an email. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

US President Trump alleged that the data had been manipulated to make him look bad.

United States President Donald Trump has removed the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported.

Trump, in a post on his social media platform on Friday, alleged that the figures were manipulated for political reasons and said that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, should be fired. He provided no evidence for the charge.

“I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump said on Truth Social. “She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified.”

Trump later posted: “In my opinion, today’s Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.”

After his initial post, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said on X that McEntarfer was no longer leading the bureau and that William Wiatrowski, the deputy commissioner, would serve as the acting director.

“I support the President’s decision to replace Biden’s Commissioner and ensure the American People can trust the important and influential data coming from BLS,” Chavez-DeRemer said.

Friday’s jobs report showed that just 73,000 jobs were added last month and that 258,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than previously estimated. The report suggested that the economy has sharply weakened during Trump’s tenure, a pattern consistent with a slowdown in economic growth during the first half of the year and an increase in inflation during June that appeared to reflect the price pressures created by the president’s tariffs.

“What does a bad leader do when they get bad news? Shoot the messenger,” Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in a Friday speech.

Revisions to hiring data

Trump has sought to attack institutions that rely on objective data for assessing the economy, including the Federal Reserve and, now, the BLS. The actions are part of a broader mission to bring the totality of the executive branch – including independent agencies designed to objectively measure the nation’s wellbeing – under the White House’s control.

McEntarfer was nominated by Biden in 2023 and became the commissioner of the BLS in January 2024. Commissioners typically serve four-year terms, but since they are political appointees, they can be fired. The commissioner is the only political appointee of the agency, which has hundreds of career civil servants.

The Senate confirmed McEntarfer to her post 86-8, with now Vice President JD Vance among the yea votes.

Trump focused much of his ire on the revisions the agency made to previous hiring data. Job gains in May were revised down to just 19,000 from 125,000, and for June they were cut to 14,000 from 147,000. In July, only 73,000 positions were added. The unemployment rate ticked up to a still-low 4.2 percent from 4.1 percent.

“No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers,” Trump wrote. “She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can’t be manipulated for political purposes.”

The monthly employment report is one of the most closely-watched pieces of government economic data and can cause sharp swings in financial markets. The disappointing figure sent US market indexes about 1.5 percent lower on Friday.

While the jobs numbers are often the subject of political spin, economists and Wall Street investors – with millions of dollars at stake – have always accepted US government economic data as free from political manipulation.

June 27 (UPI) — Nike is forecasting a rebound from slow sales and profits in the last quarter and despite $1 billion in added tariff costs on foreign goods of its sneakers and athletic gear.

The company, headquartered in Beaverton, Ore., said Thursday the tariff costs can be mitigated with products made elsewhere, and additional costs will be passed onto customers.

In late 2024, sales dropped 12% to $11.1 billion, the lowest since the third quarter of 2022, according to a report issued Thursday. Net income for the quarter plunged 86% to $200 million.

For fiscal 2025, Nike reported revenues of $46.3 billion — a 10% decline from fiscal 2024. Net income was 3.2 billion, down 44%.

The company posted an earnings per share of 14 cents for its fourth quarter, which is much lower than 99 cents the company posted in the same quarter a year earlier. Dividends were $2.3 billion, up 6% from the previous year.

CEO Elliott Hill said in an earnings call that the company’s worst days are behind it, and profits would begin to moderate in the quarters ahead.

“The results we’re reporting today in Q4 and in FY25 are not up to the Nike standard, but as we said 90 days ago, the work we’re doing to reposition the business through our ‘Win Now’ actions is having an impact,” said Hill on an earnings call, referencing the name of the company’s turnaround plan. “From here, we expect our business results to improve. It’s time to turn the page.”

Hill was brought in to lead the company last year to change its economic situation.

The company’s shares initially fell when it posted results after the closing bell Thursday. At the end of trading, the stock price was $61.56. On Friday, it went above $74, which is a 17% increase.

HSBC also raised its price target to $80. The all-time high Nike closing price was $168.16 on Nov. 05, 2021.

“Don’t hope for a V-shape, more like a Swoosh, but it does seem like a recovery is finally on its way after years of pain,” HSBC analyst Erwan Rambourg wrote in a note released Friday. “Sales momentum gets better from here; gross margin pressures should also start to ease later this year despite tariffs.”

“Long in the making but we think the inflection is finally here,” Rambourg wrote. “We think there is more than tangible evidence that Nike has a path to see its sales rebound in the not-too-distant future, and its margins to be repaired, and this despite an unfavorable tariff headwind.”

Nike confirmed it would take a $1 billion from tariffs, including in two countries where its goods are made: China and Vietnam.

China now manufactures 16% of Nike footwear that goes to the U.S. and plans are to reduce that to single digit.

In April, President Donald Trump placed a 46% tariff on products manufactured in Vietnam and 146% on goods made in China. He later reduced both rates with 10% in Vietnam and 30% in China.

Most U.S. trading partners have had the 10% baseline tariff after Trump paused higher ones until July 9 on the worst offenders, including China and Vietnam. Trump has said the pause could be extended.

Last month, the U.S. and China agreed trade a trade agreement that includes the Asian nation sending more rare earth metals to the U.S. in return for lifting export restrictions.

CFO Matt Friend said during the earnings call the tariffs “represent a new and meaningful cost headwind,” but they will “fully mitigate” the costs by reducing its supply chain reliance on China to single digits.

Hill described the turnaround plans, including boosting sales to female shoppers. During the last quarter, the company launched products in more than 200 female-led shops, including Aritzia. It also added a collection with WNBA star A’ja Wilson.

Nike has begun plans to sell on Amazon.

“Nike, Jordan and Converse teams will now come to work every day with a mission to create the most innovative and coveted product, footwear, apparel, and accessories for the specific athletes they serve,” Hill said. “These sport-obsessed teams will create greater dimension and distinction for our three brands, will make us more competitive, and will accelerate our growth.”

PORTO manager Martin Anselmi is reportedly set to be sacked after the club’s dismal Club World Cup form.

Porto failed to win a single game in the competition as they were dumped out in the group stages – sparking angry reaction from fans.

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Anselmi, 39, was only appointed in January, but Portuguese outlet CMTV have reported that he is now set to be dismissed.

The manager is said to already be aware he will be sacked, despite his current deal running until 2027.

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