Sports are in full swing all year long – from the prep level to the professional ranks. Each Monday, Daily Bruin Sports will highlight a few moments from former UCLA greats over the past week.
Cari Champion, CNN+
Cari Champion, a former ESPN SportsCenter host, has stories to tell.
The UCLA and Daily Bruin alumnus announced Thursday she would be co-hosting a new show on CNN+ with Jemele Hill.
Champion and Hill – who previously co-hosted a show on Vice TV – will continue collaborating on Cari & Jemele: Speak.Easy. The weekly program will cover sports, entertainment, politics and cultural stories.
The Bruin alumnus began her journalism career in West Virginia, shooting and editing stories as a one-person band. Champion worked for the Tennis Channel before taking a job with ESPN’s First Take in 2012. From there, Champion ultimately co-hosted a show on SportsCenter with David Lloyd.
The UCLA English graduate left ESPN in 2020 to concentrate on her craft of telling stories. She debuted her podcast with iHeartRadio in early 2020 called “Naked with Cari Champion,” and within the same year joined forces with Hill in a commentary show on Vice TV called “Cari and Jemele (Won’t) Stick to Sports.”
Women’s basketball: Jordin Canada, Los Angeles Sparks
Jordin Canada will continue her legacy in her hometown.
After four seasons with the Seattle Storm, Canada – who played for UCLA women’s basketball from 2014-2018 – signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Sparks, her hometown team.
Back in the LAnd where it all started 💜💛 https://t.co/knnBVOXnJ3
— Jordin Canada ✨ (@jordin_canada) February 8, 2022
In 2018, Canada was selected by the Storm as the fifth-overall pick in the WNBA draft. She helped lead the team to two league championships in 2018 and 2020. In 2019, Canada had a career high in steals and made the WNBA All-Defensive First Team.
Men’s basketball: Aaron Holiday, Phoenix Suns
Another Los Angeles resident will be switching teams.
The Washington Wizards traded Aaron Holiday to the Phoenix Suns for cash considerations Thursday. Holiday averaged 6.1 points and 1.9 assists per game during his stint with the Wizards in the 2021-2022 season.
The current Suns guard was the 23rd overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft after playing with UCLA men’s basketball from 2015 to 2018. Selected by the Indiana Pacers, Holiday averaged 7.2 points per contest in the 2020-2021 season before he was traded to the Wizards before the 2021-2022 campaign. Holiday played 41 games with the Wizards before being traded.
