How one coach’s strict grading is helping shape USC’s rushing attack

• September 16, 2026

USC running backs coach Anthony Jones Jr. uses a grading scale with only two letters.

“Any grade that’s not a 90 and above, it’s basically an F to him,” running back Waymond Jordan told reporters. “He grades really strictly.”

Jones is in his third season of coaching the USC running backs, and the standard has never changed. That’s especially important, considering the 12th-ranked Trojans (3-0) are looking for stronger bursts and longer rushes as they begin Big Ten play this weekend at Rutgers (0-2).

USC’s rushing offense ranks eighth out of 18 teams in the conference with 172.67 yards per game. The best game in terms of rushing yardage was Saturday’s 49-30 victory over Louisiana, in which the Trojans ran for 214 yards.

King Miller led the attack with 18 carries for 128 yards and one touchdown, and Jordan was next with 47 yards on 10 carries. Miller has had more total touches (48) than Jordan (29), who missed the last seven games of last season and most of spring practices due to an ankle injury.

Miller told reporters on Tuesday that his own performance against Louisiana wasn’t up to his standard – a standard that’s been reinforced by Jones.

“It’s what we need,” Miller said. “Any good RB (coach) is going to be rough on you. Every day, it’s like he’s a father to us. Everything he instills in us, we need to put on tape and just go out there and try to do our best each and every day.”

USC has deployed 21 personnel – which uses two running backs – on 16 occasions in the first three games of the season, according to Hudl IQ analytics. The offensive grouping has a 68.8% success rate and gains an average of 5.8 rush yards per play.

“We trust each other; we can communicate easily. We’re both unselfish. We don’t care who gets the ball,” Jordan said with a smile. “We actually tell each other to get the ball and then we almost rock, paper, scissor who gets the ball.”

Head coach Lincoln Riley sees Miller and Jordan as almost co-starting players, and he chooses which one to send in based on what defensive looks the opponent is giving USC.

Another benefit is keeping fresh legs in the game.

“We gotta balance it,” Riley said. “We’re not always gonna be on a perfect rotation. If a guy gets hot and gets going just like any other position, we’ll probably ride that hot hand a little bit longer and allow us to get some of that, but we’re going to need them both.”

WEEKLY AWARDS

Freshman tight end Mark Bowman was named the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week for the first time in his career.

Bowman scored two touchdowns in USC’s victory over Louisiana and his six catches for 83 yards were the most receiving yards by a tight end in a single game since Anthony McCoy’s 153 yards against Notre Dame in 2009.

The Trojans’ offensive line was named Pro Football Focus’ offensive line of the week after six O-linemen who played at least 30 snaps earned PFF grades of 70.0 or higher. They kept quarterback Jayden Maiava from being sacked in the game, and helped USC rush for 214 yards.

Left tackle Elijah Paige and left guard Hayden Treter were also named to the PFF National Team of the Week.

OREGON GAME TIME

USC’s Sept. 26 home game against Oregon will be played at 4:30 p.m. It will be the Trojans’ first home game of the Big Ten season after starting the conference slate at Rutgers this weekend.

The Oregon game will be broadcast nationally on NBC (Ch. 4) as well as on ESPNLA (710 AM).

​ Orange County Register 

Ryan Johnson pitches Angels to victory over Mariners

• September 16, 2026

ANAHEIM — It was clear immediately that Ryan Johnson was going to go right at the Seattle Mariners.

Johnson didn’t throw a ball until the second inning, on his way to six strong innings and another statement about his place in the Angels’ rotation next season.

After pitching the Angels to a 2-1 victory over the Mariners on Tuesday night, Johnson has 2.03 ERA over his past eight starts. Josh Lowe provided the go-ahead run with a solo homer in the sixth.

Johnson, a 24-year-old right-hander, has flourished by relying on an 89 mph cutter and a sweeper, with only a sprinkling of 92 mph sinkers.

The stuff isn’t eye-popping, but lately he’s shown he can put it where he wants it.

His first 16 pitches of the game on Tuesday were strikes. He retired the first six hitters in order, on 18 pitches.

By the time his night was over, Johnson had thrown 67 strikes among his 90 pitches. Johnson threw a first-pitch strike to 18 of the 25 batters he faced.

He still had to work out of a few jams. In the third, the Mariners loaded the bases on two infield hits and a hit batter, but Johnson got Dominic Canzone on a pop-up to escape. An inning later, he struck out Lazaro Montes to strand two runners.

The Mariners finally got to him in the sixth, when Canzone led off with a triple off the center field fence. He scored on a Julio Rodríguez double.

Johnson stranded Rodriguez, to finish another quality start. He hasn’t allowed more than three runs in a game since July.

It was only the second time in Johnson’s 17 starts this season that he didn’t walk anyone. The other was also against the Mariners, in June.

Johnson was in line for a no-decision when he threw his final pitch of the game, but Lowe homered in the bottom of the inning to put the Angels ahead, 2-1. Vaughn Grissom had driven in the first run of the game with a two-out double in the fifth.

The embattled bullpen protected the one-run lead over the final three innings, with left-hander Tayler Saucedo, right-hander José Fermin and right-hander Ryan Watson each working an inning to lock down the game.

While the Angels (58-93) have been relegated to the quest to avoid 100 losses – they need five more victories in their last 11 games – they can take some solace in the fact that they are helping to bury a Mariners team that has been one of baseball’s biggest disappointments. The Angels won the first two games of this three-game series.

After being within a few innings of reaching the World Series last year, the Mariners were considered the favorites to win the American League West.

They are now 6½ games back in the division and seven back in the wild card race, with 10 games to play. The Angels handed them their 82nd loss, ensuring their first losing record in a full season since 2019.

More to come on this story.

​ Orange County Register 

South OC Cars and Coffee co-founder was the one driving in fiery Irvine crash, police say

• September 16, 2026

South OC Cars and Coffee co-founder James Wehr was the person who was behind the wheel of the speeding McLaren that spun out of control, struck a tree, split in half and burst into flames early Sunday, Sept. 13, in Irvine, killing him and his 22-year-old passenger, police said Tuesday.

Though authorities have not officially identified the pair as of Tuesday evening, a family member told the California Post the passenger was 22-year-old Alexis “Lexi” Kramer. Wehr was ID’d on social media by family members on Sunday.

Kramer, from Lakeland, Florida, worked at Hooters and appeared as a model in the restaurant chain’s 2026 calendar, according to her Instagram account. Her recent posts included images of her on a sleek Kawasaki motorcycle and in a race car.

At one point on Saturday, Newport Beach police stopped Wehr for a modified exhaust and issued him a warning, Irvine police spokesman Kyle Oldoerp said.

The 2019 McLaren was traveling north on Culver Drive near Deerfield Avenue at a high rate of speed when it struck a tree around 12:20 a.m., the Irvine Police Department said.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze and found both occupants dead inside the car. Police initially did not publicly say who was behind the wheel, but on Tuesday they confirmed that Wehr was driving.

Wehr, 27, co-founded South OC Cars and Coffee with his father, Simon Wehr. The free event, which bills itself as “the world’s largest weekly car show,” is held Saturday mornings at The Outlets at San Clemente and regularly attracts hundreds of exotic, vintage and specialty vehicles.

Wehr’s wife, who was not involved in the crash, joined other family members and South OC Cars and Coffee in announcing his death on social media Sunday. Members of Southern California’s automotive community remembered him as an energetic community builder.

Kaitlin_Grace, Kramer’s sister, paid tribute to her in an Instagram post.

“Lexi was so much more than just my best friend, she was all of my love, my heart, my attitude, and my humor wrapped into a smaller, more chaotic, less filtered, package. She was my other half,” she wrote.

“I wish now I could go back and express to her more about how much that really meant to me. When either of us were going through hard times we were always curled up in each other’s beds just trying to figure it out together,” Kaitlin_Grace posted. “I don’t know how to figure this one out without her. I don’t know what to do now without her. The love of my life.”

Police have not said what caused Wehr to lose control of the McLaren; nor have they released a precise or ballpark speed. The crash remains under investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Irvine Police Department at 949-724-7047.

​ Orange County Register 

Cutter Gauthier, Ducks agree to 6-year, $81M deal

• September 16, 2026

The Ducks re-signed forward Cutter Gauthier to a six-year deal worth $81 million on Tuesday, locking into place perhaps the final piece of an offseason of tumult and turbulence ahead of Thursday’s opening of training camp.

Gauthier, 22, led the Ducks in goals (41) and points (69) last season, and now joins 21-year-old Leo Carlsson among Ducks with an eight-figure salary cap hit. He and Carlsson are the first such salaries for the Ducks in the cap era, which began in 2005. The only other sum that crossed that threshold was paid to Paul Kariya for four seasons between 1999 and 2003.

“We are pleased to get Cutter signed to a long-term deal and have him in camp on time,” General Manager Pat Verbeek said in a statement. “He’s a major part of our young core, a pure goal-scoring talent that will continue progressing into an elite NHL player.”

While Gauthier and Carlsson were always viewed as foundational components of the future, the tandem will earn more combined next season than the established superstar duos like Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl or Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.

“This is a very exciting day for my family and I,” Gauthier said in a statement. “I’m so pleased to be able to sign long term with the Ducks and be part of what I believe is a great future.”

While Verbeek was no stranger to protracted negotiations – he went to the mat with Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale in 2023 and then Mason McTavish last fall, with all three missing much of training camp before ultimately being traded – this offseason was uniquely daunting.

There was some level of intentionality with Zegras and Drysdale, neither of whom he viewed as cornerstones commensurate with their high draft standing. Similarly, McTavish’s footing never felt entirely firm despite being a No. 3 overall pick, even higher than his pals Zegras and Drysdale.

Yet Gauthier, Carlsson and, to a lesser degree, defenseman Pavel Mintyukov were seen as lottery picks that were long-term pillars for the Ducks. Though Verbeek was quick to get top defenseman Jackson LaCombe locked down last fall with terms that have already aged well, he saw an entire season pass and all three of those remaining restricted free agents go past July 1’s opening of free agency without contracts.

That proved costly.

Carlsson, who rejected early offers before his camp “slow-walked” the Ducks in Verbeek’s words, did give Verbeek a final chance to sign him on more favorable terms before inking an onerous offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers. Although he’ll soon be surpassed by Makar and San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini, who signed more lucrative extensions that kick in next year, Carlsson became the NHL’s highest-paid player ever in terms of guaranteed annual salary. His five-year deal is worth $90 million and loaded with up-front payouts.

For much of their time with the Ducks, Mintyukov was neck-and-neck with Olen Zellweger, who was traded to Buffalo and signed a three-year contract worth $9.3 million. Yet Mintyukov ended up costing the Ducks $7.2 million a year for the next five seasons.

Gauthier’s $13.5 million cap hit will tie Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel for the fifth-highest in the NHL next season. He had reportedly turned down a $13 million per campaign offer earlier in the process.

Wednesday’s date loomed large because it was the last day before the NHL’s new collective bargaining agreement took effect. Creative structures, bonus payouts and contract lengths were all set to become more restrictive at midnight ET, less than three hours after the deal was announced. Gauthier’s deal is roughly 85% bonus money, $69 million of the $81 million total, and Carlsson’s was nearly 95% bonus cash.

The Ducks started the offseason by trading Zellweger and also McTavish, jettisoning the forward’s $42 million contract ($7 million AAV) that he signed just a year earlier. What seemed like luxury cap space for a team that had plenty proved essential, even after all three of the Ducks’ veteran right defensemen strolled away in free agency.

So tight against the cap were the Ducks that they not only had a very tempered free-agent foray, but they also ended up having to work out a mutual contract termination with winger Chris Kreider. He played significant minutes last season, often on Carlsson’s flank, and will now pursue a Stanley Cup with one of the last year’s Eastern Conference finalists, the Montreal Canadiens.

With this move, the Ducks appear to have their roster set for opening night, save perhaps for a peripheral addition or waiver claim. Carlsson, Gauthier, LaCombe and second-year sensation Beckett Sennecke will all be counted on to grow up fast as they seek to return to the playoffs after their first appearance in eight years last season and their first playoff series win since 2017.

​ Orange County Register 

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers’ bullpen combine on 3-hit shutout to beat Reds

• September 16, 2026

CINCINNATI — The Dodgers can only hope it looks this good in October.

One night after Tarik Skubal went seven innings in his first scoreless outing as a Dodger, Yoshinobu Yamamoto matched him, allowing only one hit in his seven scoreless innings as the Dodgers shut out the Cincinnati Reds, 4-0, on Tuesday night.

“When you’re writing in the lineup and you see those guys, and one trying to up the other guy, and then now you got Snell going tomorrow – you feel good about preventing runs,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

“A team like the Reds right now, where they’re scuffling a little bit, it’s daunting when you see a starter like those guys that we’re running out there.”

The win moved the Dodgers within one day of clinching their 13th NL West division title in the past 14 seasons. Their magic number is two with the second-place San Diego Padres playing later Tuesday night.

The Dodgers also extended their lead over the Atlanta Braves for the No. 2 seed in the National League to four games (with the Braves also playing later Tuesday). Their magic number to clinch a first-round bye is eight.

All of that makes the final two weeks of the regular season a chance for the Dodgers to get things right for October and their three-peat pursuit. The starting rotation appears to be there already.

Skubal has a 1.73 ERA over his past four starts. With Tuesday’s outing, Yamamoto’s ERA is 1.79 over his past seven starts. Blake Snell starts on Wednesday – and he has given up a total of only four runs in six starts since returning from elbow surgery. Only fourth starter Tyler Glasnow (eight runs in 10 innings over his past two starts) seems to have some work to do before being October-ready.

“Yeah, pretty good,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said after his first three-hit game since Aug. 17. “You have Blake Snell going tomorrow. Tyler on the back end of that too. Roki’s on his way back.

“It’s a special pitching staff. It really is. So as an offense, we just need to score a few runs for them, just like we did last year.”

Yamamoto started Tuesday by giving the Reds hope – he walked the first two batters he faced – then he took it away, retiring 21 of the next 22 batters he faced.

“They took a little moment for me,” Yamamoto said through his interpreter of the mound visit from catcher Hunter Feduccia and pitching coach Mark Prior that followed the walks. “They came up to me and, ‘Hey, how you doing?’ and just checked in on me. And then I was able to get back to my normal rhythm.”

Elly De La Cruz had the only hit off Yamamoto, a double into the left-field corner with two outs in the third inning.

But even that was a victory – Yamamoto kept him in the ballpark after De La Cruz had hit a home run in each of the previous four games between the Dodgers and Reds. He then retired the next 13 batters in order, getting six of his seven strikeouts.

“After the first two hitters, it was vintage Yama,” Roberts said. “Just attacking, not trying to be too fine. Not giving these guys too much credit. And yeah, at first, it didn’t look promising as far as pitch count, the two walks. But then he kind of dialed things in, like he’s been known to do.”

The Dodgers gave him a lead in the second inning when Max Muncy was hit by a pitch and Tommy Edman and Hunter Feduccia followed with singles. They added to it in the third inning with a two-run home run from Teoscar Hernandez, who remains hot – 24 for 63 (.381) in his past 18 games.

“It’s been very helpful,” Roberts said of Hernandez’s late-season renaissance. “As certain guys are not seeing the ball as well, it’s nice to kind of backfill with guys like Teo swinging the bat. And when you can slug like he can, you can win baseball games, and he can carry us for a while. The last 10 days, something like that, it’s been really good from him. The defense ticked up. The at-bat quality, the taking walks, all of it. I can’t say enough about what he’s done the last 10 days.”

Alex Freeland added a solo home run in the seventh inning.

De La Cruz had another hit, a single in the ninth inning that put runners on the corners for the Reds with no outs. Tanner Scott struck out Sal Stewart, Jose Trevino and Eugenio Suarez to close out the shutout.

​ Orange County Register 

Orange County scores and player stats for Tuesday, Sept. 15

• September 16, 2026

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now

Scores and stats from Orange County games on Tuesday, Sept. 15.

Click here for details about sending your team’s scores and stats to the Register.

The deadline for submitting information is 10:45 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 p.m. Saturday.

BOYS WATER POLO

EMPIRE LEAGUE

Mark Keppel 16, La Quinta 14

GOLDEN WEST LEAGUE

Ocean View 19, Tustin 6

Westminster 11, Kennedy 9

GIRLS GOLF

SUNSET LEAGUE

Corona del Mar 221, Edison 237

COAST LEAGUE

Estancia 297, Western 366

Costa Mesa CC – Mesa Linda (par 35)

Low score: Dora Alliman (Est) 45

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

St. Margaret’s 216, Woodbridge 232

EMPIRE LEAGUE

Kennedy 171, Garden Grove 177 (only 6 holes played due to darkness)

GIRLS TENNIS

NONLEAGUE

Beckman 11, Capistrano Valley 7

Western 10, Kennedy 8

Garden Grove 13, Westminster 5

Sage Hill 16, Whitney 2

Santa Margarita 10, University 8

Crean Lutheran 10, Laguna Beach 8

La Quinta 12, Tustin 6

La Habra 12, Rancho Alamitos 6

Sunny Hills 10, Canyon 8

Pacifica 14, Bolsa Grande 4

Segerstrom 12, El Modena 6

Anaheim 16, Ocean View 2

​ Orange County Register 

TV helicopter crashes in flames in Chatsworth

• September 16, 2026

A TV helicopter has crashed and exploded in flames near the site of a fatal SUV-Metro bus collision in Chatsworth.

NBC4 reports that it is unable to make contact with its helicopter crew. The Los Angeles Police Department has confirmed the helicopter that crashed was from a television station.

One person on the ground was killed in the helicopter crash in the 9100 block of Mason Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

There is no word on the condition of the person or people in the helicopter.

Three people were killed and five others injured Tuesday when an SUV crashed into a Metro bus in Chatsworth.

The bus crash occurred just after 5 p.m. in the 20900 block of Nordhoff Street, near De Soto Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Video from the scene showed firefighters tending to multiple patients, and frantically working to free a woman who was trapped inside the bus. She was eventually freed and quickly loaded into an ambulance in unknown condition with what crews on scene described as “crushing” injuries.

A large number of ambulances and fire engines responded to the scene.

It was unclear what caused the crash.

City News Service contributed to this report.

This is a developing story. Please check back for more.

​ Orange County Register 

Trump administration approves sending powerful bombs to Israel in $2.8 billion weapons sale

• September 16, 2026

By MICHELLE L. PRICE and MATTHEW LEE

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is planning to deliver powerful 2,000-pound bombs to Israel as part of an upcoming arms deal, weapons that prompted such concerns about the possibility of mass casualties in Gaza that the Biden administration paused their delivery two years ago.

The $2.8 billion package includes 40,000 of the bombs, made up of 20,000 Mk84s and 20,000 BLU-117s, according to two U.S. officials and a person familiar with the plan who spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity to discuss the package, which is not yet final.

Congress has been informally notified about the pending deal, most of which is to be paid for with foreign military financing — in which U.S. taxpayer dollars are given to Israel to turn around and buy the weapons from the United States.

The proposed sale is just the latest in a series of Trump administration steps to improve Israeli’s military capacity. The conflict in Gaza has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead and has decimated the enclave. The U.S. brokered a fragile ceasefire, but violence has continued.

The package, which was reported earlier by The Washington Post, comes as Israel has faced increasing international isolation over its war in Gaza in response to the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas.

The sale signals that some strains in the relationship between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, especially since the two countries launched the war against Iran in February, are not impeding the closeness of the U.S.-Israeli alliance. Trump has had a hot-and-cold history with Netanyahu over the years and expressed some frustration with Netanyahu tied to the Iran conflict before their latest meeting in July at the White House.

In 2024, the Biden administration held off on one shipment of the bombs, but Trump lifted that hold when he took office again.

Last year, the Trump administration bypassed a normal congressional review process and approved a nearly $3 billion sale to Israel that included more than 35,500 of the bombs. The administration then approved a new series of arms sales to Israel totaling $6.67 billion in January.

The 2,000-pound bombs have multiple variants, with some designed to penetrate deep, underground targets while others detonate above ground and cause widespread damage.

Though the Israeli military has offered few details about what bombs and artillery it has used in Gaza, experts analyzing strike footage and blast fragments found on-site believe the U.S.-made bombs have been used there, targeting a tunnel network used by Hamas but also killing of people in densely populated areas.

While the heaviest fighting in Gaza has subsided since the fragile ceasefire took hold in October, Israel has continued to carry out strikes in the territory, including some overnight and into Tuesday that killed several people. That is even after Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and a key Mideast negotiator, met with Netanyahu last month in an effort to push the ceasefire deal forward and asked Israel to reduce its attacks.

Militants have carried out shooting attacks on Israeli troops, and Israel says its strikes are in response to those and other ceasefire violations.

The Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in 2023 killed around 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Israel’s offensive in Gaza to retaliate has killed more than 73,264 Palestinians, including those killed since the ceasefire, Gaza’s Health Ministry said.

​ Orange County Register