The great part of being a blogger/writer/reporter is that you simply never know what kind of fun information you’re going to come across on a daily basis. How one innocuous sentence, in one meaningless article, will take you to a place that you never imagined going. It’s a sick and twisted world we live in, but also one that can be insanely entertaining at times too.
Well, today was one of those days.
As I was researching something completely unrelated, I came across a little nugget in the Los Angeles Times, about former UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel.
You do remember Neuheisel right? The guy who spent the last four years running the UCLA football program into the ground? The guy who’s biggest feat in four years at his alma mater was a 2009 EagleBank Bowl win over Temple? That guy?
Yeah, well as you might’ve guessed, Neuheisel was fired after this past season. Simply put, when you’re judging success and failure on EagleBank Bowl wins, it might be time to start updating your resume. Neuheisel officially got the pink slip in early December.
Still, apparently it’s not all that bad to be Rick Neuheisel these days. Sure he’s unemployed and will probably never work as a head coach in college football again, but he did get a nice chunk of change transferred into his PayPal account today. That’s because according to the Los Angeles Times, Neuheisel’s Bel Air house sold for just a shade under $5 million today.
This, from the Times:
Former Bruins head football coach Rick Neuheisel has sold his house in Bel-Air for its list price of $4.995 million.
The Cape Cod-style traditional, built in 2008, contains 6,000 square feet of living space. The ocean- and city-view house includes five bedrooms and six bathrooms.
Neuheisel, 51, was UCLA football coach from 2008-11. The Bruins won the first Pac-12 South Division title last year, but Neuheisel was fired after the 6-6 season.
He bought the property in 2008 for $4.5 million.
Cindy Ambuehl of Partners Trust in Brentwood was the listing agent. Ginger Glass of Coldwell Banker’s Beverly Hills North office represented the buyer.
However, if you think this story is just about Neuheisel taking his epic failures in Westwood and turning them into a $5 million balloon payment, well think again. That’s because in an attempt to find a picture of Neuheisel’s old digs, I came across this nugget: Neuheisel’s relator, Ms. Ambuehl, is actually quite a prominent figure in the Los Angeles community. The 46-year-old is a former model, and actress with quite an extensive list of credits to her name.
Her most famous role? Well, you probably know her from an episode of Seinfeld.
For those of you who are regular viewers of the show like I am, I bet you’re wondering what episode that would be. Well, she played Sophie, Jerry’s girlfriend in the famous “Tractor Story” episode. Yes, that happened. And yes, she just sold Rick Neuheisel’s old house.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=O7fQHKA9yRQ
For those who aren’t familiar with the episode, watch the video above, or click here for details.
Regardless, we really should thank Neuheisel. Even after getting fired, he truly is the gift that keeps on giving.
For all his insight, opinions and articles on sports, be sure to follow Aaron Torres on Twitter @Aaron_Torres.
