The Rundown: Jan. 12

Check out a breakdown of the UCLA sports stories you might have missed this week.

Laced with regret

Jeff Locke’s main job is punting, but it was his side job that brought him an outbreak of negative attention this past weekend. His role as the holder for Minnesota Vikings kicker Blair Walsh’s missed 27-yard field goal at the end of Sunday’s 10-9 loss to the Seattle Seahawks drew a storm of scrutiny.

Replays revealed that Locke, wearing gloves to deal with the frigid game conditions, placed the ball improperly, aligning it with the laces facing toward Walsh. Former NFL kicker Jay Feely, after seeing replays of earlier kicks on which Locke committed the same error, pointed out the danger of presenting the ball with the “laces out.” Feely tweeted about it right before the crucial miss.

Sure enough, Locke made the mistake again. Walsh’s subsequent miss cost the Vikings their season and sent the internet into a flurry – both Walsh and Locke received death threats on Twitter, and Locke’s Wikipedia page was edited to pillory his performance:

Locke publicly took the blame for the missed kick.

“I’ve got to spin it,” Locke told the media. “Simple as that. In these conditions, it’s very difficult to do, to control the spin. But that’s part of my job. So I’ve got to do it.”

The punter said he and fellow ex-Bruin Kevin McDermott, the Vikings’ long snapper, shared the responsibility with Walsh.

“Kevin and I both feel like we missed the kick,” Locke said. “It’s all three of us. We’re a unit. It feels terrible. … Kevin and mine jobs is to make it look as easy as possible for Blair, and that picture is not the laces staring him in the face.”

But Walsh, whose three made field goals accounted for all nine of Minnesota’s points, absolved McDermott and Locke of the blame.

“I can tell you this: It’s my fault. I don’t care whether you give me a (poor) hold, I should be able to put that one through,” Walsh said. “Jeff did his job. Kevin did his job. I’m the only one who didn’t do his job. That’s on me.”

UCLA softball players to represent the U.S.

There will be plenty of Bruins competing on the national stage for USA Softball this summer. Junior infielder Delaney Spaulding and alumna Ally Carda were named to the 2016 U.S. Women’s National Team, while freshman catcher/utility Paige Halstead and UCLA commit Madilyn Nickles will compete on the 2016 USA Softball Women’s Elite Team.

The Women’s National Team will compete in the in summer in the World Cup of Softball XI, the XV World Baseball Softball Confederation Women’s World Championship and the Japan Cup. This is Carda’s second time on the WNT roster and Spaulding’s first.

The Elite Team will play exhibition games against the National Team and will also compete in the World Cup of Softball XI. Nickles will graduate from Merced High School and join the Bruins in 2017.

Lowe shines on the international stage

Former UCLA women’s volleyball standout Karsta Lowe is one step closer to the Olympics.

The U.S. Women’s National Team defeated the Dominican Republic on Saturday to clinch its NORCECA Olympic Qualification Tournament victory. The win earned the Americans a berth into the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Lowe, coming off the bench in each of the tournament’s three matches, contributed 22 kills on a .733 hitting percentage to help the United States go undefeated. Last summer, the former All-American helped the U.S. win the 2015 FIVB World Grand Prix Finals with 65 kills, and she could be representing her country again in 2016.

Compiled by Matt Cummings, Korbin Placet and Tanner Walters, Bruin Sports senior staff.