PIERCE

More than a month after he was arrested on suspicion of felony assault with a deadly weapon with great bodily injury, UCLA backup quarterback Pierce Clarkson has taken a major step toward being able to resolve his case while avoiding charges altogether.

After the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office referred the case to the L.A. City Attorney for possible misdemeanor consideration, the latter agency has decided to handle the matter via a city attorney hearing, according to Ivor Pine, deputy director of communications for the City Attorney.

A city attorney hearing is an informal proceeding that allows individuals who face certain misdemeanors to resolve their situation with a hearing officer without a criminal filing.

The resolution of such hearings, including conditions imposed to remediate and rehabilitate, are fact-dependent and vary matter to matter, according to Pine. If the participant successfully complies with the conditions, the case is diverted and no charges are filed. If the participant fails to comply, then criminal charges may be filed.

A UCLA athletic department spokesperson said Tuesday evening that there was no update on Clarkson’s status with the team. He had been suspended from all team activities pending the resolution of legal proceedings after his Sept. 5 arrest.

Before his suspension, Clarkson had been one of the top backups to quarterback Nico Iamaleava. The son of quarterback guru Steve Clarkson, Pierce Clarkson had transferred to UCLA this offseason after having spent last spring at Mississippi. The former St. John Bosco High standout spent his first two college seasons at Louisville, where he played sparingly.

Luke Duncan has been UCLA’s top backup in Clarkson’s absence, playing briefly at the end of the Bruins’ victory over Michigan State.

UCLA backup quarterback Pierce Clarkson was arrested Friday on unspecified felony charges and has been suspended indefinitely from the team pending the outcome of legal proceedings.

The arresting agency was the Los Angeles Police Department’s Southwest Division and bail was set at $30,000, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department website. Clarkson’s first court hearing is set for Oct. 3.

“We are aware of the charges against Pierce Clarkson,” a UCLA athletic department spokesperson said in a statement. “He has been indefinitely suspended from all team activity pending the outcome of the legal process. This situation will be evaluated by the UCLA Office of Student Conduct and any further action taken will be in accordance with that evaluation and University policy.”

One of the top backups to starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava, Clarkson was not spotted on the field before the Bruins lost to Nevada Las Vegas 30-23 on Saturday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

The son of quarterback guru Steve Clarkson, Pierce Clarkson joined the Bruins this offseason after having spent last spring at Mississippi. The former St. John Bosco High standout had played sparingly in two seasons at Louisville.

The Pierce College cross-country course in Woodland Hills, used by thousands of runners since the 1960s, has been closed and will be unavailable to host the City Section finals and other high school meets this fall.

At a meeting last week attended by officials from the City Section and West Valley Eagles youth organization, Pierce College officials informed them that a new grass soccer field will be constructed in the area where races have previously started and which was also used as a warm-up area for runners.

Officials also told Jack Dawson of the Eagles and City Section commissioner Vicky Lagos they would revamp the whole course. They have already smoothed out path areas on the hilly course and fixed fencing.

A water truck and construction materials were seen in the area of the flat surface on Wednesday. Few people were made aware a soccer field would be built on a much beloved area used by runners. The school has a men’s and women’s soccer team. A school security officer said he was unaware of the plans, and he would be directly affected since security is hired weekly whenever a high school meet is held.

Dawson said, “The course is going to be beautiful. It’s, how are we going to use it?”

Either revisions have to be done on the soccer field or a new starting point for races has to be created.

Dawson and Lagos said they were informed that there would be no permits issued this year for the course. High schools that previously used the course are scrambling to find alternatives.

Monroe coach Leo Hernandez said his league is investigating using Woodley Park in the Sepulveda Basin as a possible replacement. Birmingham High once set up a course on its campus when Pierce College was unavailable because of heavy rains and could be used by the City Section for the finals.

Pierce College is also being used as a site to take in large animals during wildfires, so developing another course on campus this year is unlikely considering the uncertainty of the weather this fall.

PIERCE BROSNAN has hit back after being widely mocked for struggling to master an Irish accent – despite being born in Ireland.

He got ridiculed for his lilt while playing mobster Conrad Hannigan in Paramount+ show, MobLand.

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It contributed to uncertainty over whether the Guy Ritchie-directed thriller, which also stars Helen Mirren and Tom Hardy, would get a second series.

But Pierce told the Radio Times: “My own accent is very soft. Conrad’s accent is a million miles away from me.”

A dialect coach recommended he speak with someone whose voice he could use as inspiration.

Pierce explained: “I told him I needed a Kerry accent, so he gave me the name of a man and I Googled the guy and that was it.

“It was a Kerry accent. And so, I just gave it full tilt.”

Sadly, reviews were mixed.

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MARTIN KEMP might regret his comments about his sex life on Loose Women yesterday.

During a debate on scheduling intimacy, he said: “I don’t think you can.

“If I had to look in my diary and it says Thursday night, I’m go­ing to do it – I don’t think it works.

“I even feel under pressure if it’s a Sunday morning.”

JOHNNY: C4 LACKS IDENTITY

JOHNNY VAUGHAN has slammed Channel 4 for failing to back the 2022 reboot of The Big Breakfast.

The presenter, who fronted the show from 1997 to 2001, said the channel had lost its identity without a flagship early-morning programme.

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He also criticised TV execs’ obsession with cooking shows, saying they’re full of “boring, middle-aged, white chefs”.

The 2022 reboot of just four episodes, was hosted by Mo Gilligan and AJ Odudu.

Johnny told Mo’s podcast he watched the reboot and that the show “just needs time”.

He added: “It’s meant to be an alternative to dreary daily breakfast shows.

“Without it, I think it’s like school without an assembly. You’ve got to say who you are every day. This is what’s on.”

I couldn’t agree more.

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