Brigham Young

Ben Olson, a 6-foot-5 left-handed quarterback from Thousand Oaks High who's considered by several recruiting services as the No. 1 prospect for his position in the nation, announced Sunday he has committed to Brigham Young. Olson had narrowed his list of schools to the Cougars, Stanford and UCLA. In baseball, two-time All-City infielder Ryan Braun from Granada Hills announced he has committed to Miami.

This place isn't unexpected for the UC Irvine men's volleyball team. It is in the NCAA final again, for the fourth time. And the second-seeded Anteaters will get the chance to defend their national title after beating third-seeded Loyola of Chicago, 26-24, 25-18, 29-27, Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion in the national championship semifinals. The Anteaters (24-7) will meet top-seeded Brigham Young at 6 p.m. Saturday for the championship. The Cougars (26-4) swept fourth-seeded Penn State (23-8)

Brigham Young used a second-half push for a 77-66 victory over UC Irvine Wednesday night before 9,574 at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah. It was another bungled opportunity for the Anteaters to step up in class. Much like games against Oklahoma and California, Irvine didn't have the staying power to secure the upset. The Anteaters were outscored in the second half, 48-35. Guard Terrell Lyday gave the Cougars breathing room, scoring 10 consecutive points.

Rafael Nadal won the Barcelona Open for the eighth time Sunday, defeating Nicolas Almagro, 6-4, 6-3, in Spain for his fourth title of the year. This latest victory, with next month's French Open approaching, is a promising sign that Nadal is getting back to full strength from a knee injury that sidelined him since last summer "I am very happy," he said. "It has been an important week for me to win here again and a great source of joy after everything I have been through. " Nadal has made six straight finals since returning from his knee injury.

Luke Staley ran for three touchdowns, Charlie Peterson threw for 324 yards in his first start and Brigham Young (3-4) played its best game of the season in a 38-14 victory over Utah State (1-4) on Friday night at Provo, Utah. The game was played on Friday because of this weekend's semiannual general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which owns and operates BYU.

Los Alamitos quarterback Kevin Feterik has made an oral commitment to play at Brigham Young, his mother, Terri, said Wednesday. Feterik, a 6-foot-2, 192-pound senior also will play baseball at BYU, his mother said. Feterik, a two-time all-county selection, passed for 6,222 yards in his career, making him one of only six quarterbacks in county history to have thrown for more than 6,000 yards.

Kim Smith had 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Utah defeated No. 18 Brigham Young, 70-52, Wednesday at Provo, Utah. The Utes are 16-5 overall and 7-3 in the Mountain West Conference. Smith scored seven points in a 14-3 run midway through the first half after the Cougars (19-2, 9-1) had cut the deficit to 38-34. No. 9 Oklahoma 86, Kansas 57 -- The host Sooners (20-4, 10-0) became the first team to start Big 12 Conference play with 10 wins and dropped the Jayhawks (14-7, 3-7) to 0-5 on the road. No.

Max Hall threw for 303 yards and two touchdowns, and No. 8 Brigham Young extended its winning streak to 15 games by beating Utah State, 34-14, on Friday night at Logan, Utah. The Cougars (5-0) converted three turnovers into 17 points while pulling ahead, 24-0, in the first quarter, then held on for their ninth straight victory over the Aggies despite some sloppy moments.

LaVell Edwards, who won a national title and built one of the most prolific passing offenses in college football history, is retiring as coach at Brigham Young after this season. Under Edwards, who will be 70 in October, the Cougars won the 1984 national championship with a 13-0 record, and he was selected the national coach of the year. "You reach a point where it's time to move on and let someone else take a run at it," Edwards said Thursday.

BOISE, Idaho - Nose tackle Mike Atkinson returned an interception 36 yards for a touchdown and No. 24 Boise State held off Brigham Young, 7-6, on Thursday night in a game dominated by defense. Boise State (2-1) forced five turnovers and held the Cougars (2-2) to 200 total yards. The Boise State offense wasn't that much better, managing 261 total yards. Atkinson's big play came early in the third quarter when he dropped back into coverage, picked of Riley Nelson's short pass and rumbled into the end zone.

A list of the Southland's top high school senior football players and where they are headed: Darren Andrews; La Puente Bishop Amat HS; WR; 5-10; 175; UCLA Brandon Arnold; Encino Crespi HS; DB, 6-1; 190; Oregon State Jack Austin; Chino Hills HS; WR; 6-3; 205; California Reginald Bell; Los Angeles Dorsey HS; QB; 6-2; 180; Tulane Marcus Baugh; Riverside North HS; TE; 6-4; 255; Ohio State Nick Begg; Santa Margarita HS; DE;...

SAN DIEGO - The Poinsettia Bowl dragged into the fourth quarter, no touchdowns for either team, no excitement for the national television audience. To that point, the star of the game was the punter for Brigham Young, Riley Stephenson. By the time the evening was done, Stephenson had forced San Diego State to start a drive inside its five-yard line four times. The Aztecs started each drive by handing the ball to tailback Adam Muema. This time, after a San Diego State interception, the Aztecs started a drive on their three and tried the pass.

So much for all the talk about the importance of being game-tested, especially at quarterback. Cody Vaz , a fourth-year junior, had played only briefly in five games during his college career, hadn't taken a single snap in a game since 2010, and hadn't started a game since high school. Yet, he was the starter for No. 10 Oregon State on Saturday because Sean Mannion is out indefinitely with a knee injury. The opponent, on the road in Provo, Utah: Brigham Young, which was third in scoring defense and fifth in overall defense among the Football Bowl Subdivision's 120 teams.

Oregon State's fairy tale season hit a possible dam break Monday when it was revealed starting quarterback Sean Mannion would be lost for an indefinite period of time because of a knee injury. Mannion has completed 63% of his passes this season for 1,358 yards and seven touchdowns. Oregon State has been this year's biggest surprise, rebounding from a 3-9 season with a 4-0 start that has landed the school at No. 10 in this week's Associated Press poll. Mannion played the entire game Saturday in Oregon State's 19-6 win over Washington State but was intercepted three times.

BOISE, Idaho - Nose tackle Mike Atkinson returned an interception 36 yards for a touchdown and No. 24 Boise State held off Brigham Young, 7-6, on Thursday night in a game dominated by defense. Boise State (2-1) forced five turnovers and held the Cougars (2-2) to 200 total yards. The Boise State offense wasn't that much better, managing 261 total yards. Atkinson's big play came early in the third quarter when he dropped back into coverage, picked of Riley Nelson's short pass and rumbled into the end zone.

Stephen R. Covey, a former Brigham Young University business professor who blended personal self-help and management theory in a massive bestseller, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," died Monday at a hospital in Idaho Falls, Idaho. He was 79. The cause was complications from injuries sustained in a bicycle accident, said Debra Lund, a spokeswoman for the Utah-based FranklinCovey leadership training and consulting company he co-founded. In April, Covey lost control of his bike while riding down a hill in Provo, Utah.

UCLA's basketball team, unbeaten after two games this season, will take on Brigham Young today at 1 p.m., PST, in the Marriott Center. UCLA is coming off a 91-66 win over Miami Thursday night, when freshman Don MacLean had 19 points and 13 rebounds. Brigham Young (1-2) lost, 80-78, to intrastate rival Weber State Thursday night on a 3-pointer in the final seconds.

Everything is bigger in Texas. UCLA has two quarterbacks in its controversy. Texas has three. The Longhorns will play either sophomore Case McCoy or freshman David Ash against UCLA on Saturday at the Rose Bowl, unless the choice is Ash or junior Garrett Gilbert. Then again, it might be Gilbert or McCoy. To borrow and adjust the old Texas Ranger motto: One riot, three quarterbacks. This is bedlam compared to the quarterback peace that reigned when Colt McCoy rode roughshod over the Big 12 Conference two seasons ago. The line of succession back then seemed clear.

It's doubtful any UCLA player is going to tweet or text "We're No. 109!" in response to the Bruins' latest Ratings Percentage Index figure. But it's a considerable upgrade over their RPI of 182 before an 86-79 victory over No. 16 Brigham Young on Saturday in the Wooden Classic gave them a long-awaited signature triumph. "It's a really big win," junior guard Lazeric Jones said after the Bruins notched their first victory over a ranked team since defeating No. 22 Washington on Feb. 19, 2009.