Clippers reportedly adding 3-time All-Star Ben Simmons

• February 8, 2025

Ben Simmons, a three-time All-Star, reportedly is expected to sign with the Clippers after clearing waivers Saturday morning, according to multiple sources.

The 6-foot-10 swingman has spent three injury-plagued seasons with the Brooklyn Nets, never appearing in more than 42 games. A lower-back nerve issue has limited his playing time. Simmons averaged 6.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.9 assists in 25 minutes over 33 games this season.

The former Rookie of the Year gives the Clippers another big body around the perimeter as well as a playmaker and ball handler behind James Harden and Kawhi Leonard. Simmons, 28, brings the type of all-around skills that Terance Mann gave the Clippers. Mann was traded to the Atlanta Hawks this week in a deal that brought Bogdan Bogdanovic, who is expected to add more offense to a team that ranks No. 22 offensively in the league.

The Clippers also will be looking for Simmons to be a solid defender and rebounder on their highly rated defense as they aim for a top six spot in the playoffs. The Clippers slipped to No. 7 after losing three consecutive games, most recently a 119-112 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Thursday.

Simmons is in the final year of a five-year, maximum contract he signed with the Philadelphia Sixers, who made him the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NBA draft. He’s set to hit free agency this summer.

In addition to the Clippers, Simmons also met with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.

​ Orange County Register 

Santa Margarita girls soccer earns spot in CIF-SS Open Division playoffs

• February 8, 2025

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Santa Margarita’s girls soccer team will be the lone Orange County representative in the CIF-SS Open Division playoffs.

The Eagles (13-1-2), who have reached the section finals the past two seasons, were seeded third Saturday and paired with No. 6 Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks (16-2-3) in the section’s premier division made up of eight teams.

Santa Margarita and Notre Dame open a home-away first round series in Sherman Oaks on Wednesday.

The Eagles, who are ranked No. 1 in the county, lost in the Open finals last season to Corona Santiago and captured Division 1 in 2023.

JSerra, Los Alamitos, Newport Harbor, Edison, Mater Dei and Orange Lutheran were among the top O.C. teams placed in Division 1.

More coverage to come. 

​ Orange County Register 

CIF-SS boys soccer playoffs: First-round schedule for all divisions

• February 8, 2025

CIF-SS BOYS SOCCER PLAYOFFS

The Open Division uses Champions League format (two-game series decided by cumulative score) to determine the two finalists for the championship game.

All other divisions are single-elimination format.

All games start at 3 p.m. or 5 p.m.

OPEN DIVISION

First round, Thursday, Feb. 13

JSerra (1) at Arlington (8)

Crossroads (4) at Santa Monica (5)

Mira Costa (3) at Hart (6)

Mater Dei (2) at Loyola (7)

Second round, Saturday, Feb. 15

Arlington (8) at JSerra (1)

Santa Monica (5) at Crossroads (4)

Hart (6) at Mira Costa

Loyola (7) at Mater Dei (2)

DIVISION 1

First round, Thursday, Feb. 13

Granite Hills at Oak Hills

Millikan at Chino Hills

Oxnard at Littlerock

Bonita at Vista Murrieta

Etiwanda at Ayala

San Clemente at Sultana

Valencia/P at Upland

Pacifica/Oxnard at Palos Verdes

El Toro at Cate

Fontana at Pasadena

Brea Olinda at El Segundo

Arroyo Valley at Redondo

Villa Park at Corona

Cathedral at Servite

San Gorgonio at North Torrance

Orange Lutheran at Bishop Amat

DIVISION 2

First round, Thursday, Feb. 13

Patriot at Moorpark

Edison at Eastside

Kaiser at South El Monte

Canyon/Anaheim at Riverside Poly

Nogales at Santa Paula

Palmdale at Rancho Cucamonga

Harvard-Westlake at Great Oak

Aliso Niguel at Notre Dame/SO

Newbury Park at San Juan Hills

Valley View at Redlands East Valley

Rialto at Artesia

Shadow Hills at Santa Margarita

Cajon at Calabasas

Santiago/Corona at Norco

Foothill at Thousand Oaks

Jurupa Hills at Walnut

DIVISION 3

First round, Thursday, Feb. 13

Gahr, bye

Dunn at St. Francis

Torrance at Arroyo

Leuzinger at Dana Hills

Beaumont at Rancho Mirage

Elsinore at Paramount

Warren at Fountain Valley

Chino at Banning

Anaheim at San Marcos

Perris at Saugus

San Jacinto at Katella

Crescenta Valley at Westlake

Moreno Valley at Montclair

Colony at Palmdale Aerospace Academy

Sonora at Sunny Hills

Troy at Norte Vista

DIVISION 4

First round, Thursday, Feb. 13

Long Beach Poly at Ramona

University at Culver City

La Quinta/LQ at Indian Springs

South Hills at Laguna Beach

West Valley at Lakeside

Santa Ana at Burbank

Huntington Beach at West Torrance

Coachella Valley at Oak Park

Camarillo at Peninsula

Magnolia at West Ranch

Beckman at Los Altos

Salesian at El Monte

Pacifica/GG at Temecula Valley

Dos Pueblos at Yucaipa

Fillmore at Barstow

California at Edgewood

DIVISION 5

First round, Thursday, Feb. 13

Westminster at Los Amigos

Golden Valley at Savanna

Orange Vista at Garey

Northview at Norwalk

Brentwood at Rio Mesa

Dominguez at Covina

Santa Fe at Mountain View

Hueneme at Long Beach Wilson

Laguna Hills at Summit

Schurr at Godinez

Baldwin Park at Northwood

Lakewood at El Rancho

Apple Valley at Desert Mirage

Bishop Montgomery at Los Alamitos

Highland at Diamond Ranch

Montebello at Cerritos

DIVISION 6

First round, Thursday, Feb. 13

La Puente at South Pasadena

Linfield Christian at Pioneer

Liberty at AGBU

Western at Woodcrest Christian

Monrovia at Lawndale

Ontario Christian at AB Miller

Glendale at Garden Grove

Segerstrom at St. Margaret’s

Cal Military at University Prep

Coast Union at Hillcrest

Cypress at Downey

Wilson/HH at JW North

Windward at Channel Islands

Riverside Prep at Saddleback

Bell Gardens at Indio

Ganesha at Animo Leadership

DIVISION 7

First round, Thursday, Feb. 13

Tarbut V’Torah at Orange

Pasadena Poly at Samueli Academy

Pacifica Christian/Newport Beach at Lennox Academy

San Jacinto Valley at Rim of the World

Whittier Christian at Silverado

Maranatha at Beverly Hills

International School/LA at Cobalt

Le Lycee at Foothill Tech

Laguna Blanca at Glenn

Temecula Prep at Flintridge Prep

Village Christian at Nuview Bridge

St. Anthony at Hawthorne MSA

Bolsa Grande at Temple City

Geffen Academy at Kennedy

St. Paul at Western Christian

Big Bear at La Quinta/Westminster

DIVISION 8

First round, Thursday, Feb. 13

Cornerstone Christian at Oakwood

Milken Community at Newbury Park Adv.

Beacon Hill at Desert Christian/Lancaster

Don Bosco Tech at Redlands Advent.

Public Safety Academy at Environmental Ch.

Loma Linda Academy at Rio Hondo Prep

Silver Valley at Glendale Advent.

Cantwell Sacred Heart at Chadwick

La Sierra Acad. at Magnolia Science

Compton Early College at Webb

Academy of Career Exp. Holy Martyrs

Pilgrim at Santa Rosa Academy

Southlands Christian at New Roads

Norton Science/Language Acad. at Villanova Prep

St. Monica Prep at Calvary Chapel/Downey

Grove at Vasquez

​ Orange County Register 

Galaxy sign Uruguayan midfielder Lucas Sanabria

• February 8, 2025

The Galaxy officially announced the arrival of midfielder Lucas Sanabria on Saturday, signing the Uruguayan to a five-year contract through 2029.

The 21-year-old midfielder joins from Nacional in Uruguay. His rise has been quick. He signed his professional contract in January 2024 and in 46 appearances, he recorded five goals and four assists.

Sanabria will occupy an MLS U22 Initiative roster spot.

The Galaxy midfield has undergone a revision, with Gaston Brugman (Nashville SC) and Mark Delgado (LAFC) being traded away, Riqui Puig recovering from his ACL injury and the arrival of Elijah Wynder (Louisville City FC).

“He’s an 8, who in a pinch he can play as a 6,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said of Sanabria. “The things I’ve seen from him, I really like him having some freedom to be more up and down, mobile and find his moments to be involved in the attack.

“Not just sitting in front of the back line. What I see of his characteristics are very interesting. His high-level of awareness, great work rate, technically very clean, all good qualities for midfielder inside of our group. He’s young and I think he’s going to be a dynamic player who is going to grow inside of our team.

“Part of it is getting used to the players around him so he can connect in that regard. The sooner we can get him on the training field and working in collaboration with Joe (Joseph Paintsil) and Gabe (Gabriel Pec), Miki (Yamane), John (Nelson) and Julian (Aude), depending on which side we see him on once he gets used to those guys and their tendencies, that will help him as well.”

Preseason continues

The Galaxy will face Charlotte FC at 10 a.m. Sunday in Indio at the Coachella Valley Invitational. The exhibition game will air on KCOP (Ch. 13).

The Galaxy begin defense of their MLS Cup championship on Feb. 23 against expansion club San Diego FC at Dignity Health Sports Park.

​ Orange County Register 

Super Bowl: Can the Chiefs stop the Eagles’ tush push?

• February 8, 2025

NEW ORLEANS — They are two of the more delightful – in Philadelphia – and detestable – to the rest of the league – words that have escalated into the fast-evolving NFL lexicon.

Tush push.

No team has taken advantage of the rugby-style scrum – deemed so unstoppable that the NFL had flirted with the idea of banning the play – quite like the Eagles under coach Nick Sirianni and QB Jalen Hurts.Sirianni likes to say that every first down for the Eagles is first-and-9.

No example summed up how much the tush push can be a pain in the butt to the opposition quite like when the Eagles used it to maddening perfection against Washington in the NFC championship game. The Commanders jumped offside four times in a sequence of five plays while trying to stop the tush push – earning them a warning from the referee that he could award the Eagles a touchdown if the Commanders did it again.

It sounded implausible but it was true, right there in Rule 12, Section 3, Article 2 of the league’s rule book.

Titled “Fouls To Prevent Score,” it states, “The defense shall not commit successive or repeated fouls to prevent a score.” Further, the rule reads that “if the violation is repeated after a warning, the score involved is awarded to the offensive team.”

Hurts, as he inevitably does, scored a touchdown.

“It’s a great concept, great play, hard to stop,” Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner said. “If I was them, I would run it, too.”

Oh, they do, on repeat: The Eagles were successful on 28 of 34 tush push attempts this season, according to

Next Gen Stats. Overall, Hurts converted 35 of 43 attempts this year on third- or fourth-and-1 from anywhere on field, plus any other runs from the 1-yard line.

That’s the incredulous part – teams know the tush push is coming, fans at Lincoln Financial Field go wild when the Eagles line up in TP formation and yet defenses still can’t stop the score.

Just don’t tell Kansas City.

The Chiefs, who have mastered the art of everything from the improbable comeback win to defying the odds and the injuries that seem insurmountable en route to a third straight Super Bowl, might have unlocked the cheat code on stopping the tush push.

In the AFC title game, the Buffalo Bills converted only twice on six attempts with their tweaked version of the tush push. While the Eagles like to bunch together and push Hurts forward, the Bills and QB Josh Allen tend to lean left in their first-down attempts.

“(KC) put their big guys inside and their linebackers were coming downhill pretty hard,” Allen said after the game. “They played it well.”

Well enough to stop the Eagles?

The Eagles fell short to Kansas City 38-35 when they played each other in the Super Bowl two years ago, but it wasn’t because of the tush push. Hurts scored two touchdowns on the play against the Chiefs in the Super Bowl – and threw for 304 yards and accounted for four total TDs – and then used the play against the Chiefs in the 2023 season to score the winning touchdown.

Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, whose complicated defensive playbook and reliance on blitzes are a big reason why the team is back on the NFL’s biggest stage, has had at least two weeks to devise a scheme to stop Hurts.

“I think the Eagles have perfected this thing over however many years it’s been and that offensive line, I think they’re built for it,” Spagnuolo said. “They could take that O-line and win some rugby tournaments. They’re that big and physical and they’ve really perfected the way they do it. I think it’s really tough to stop.”

Those teams that can’t stop it start making excuses.

Consider, Green Bay president and CEO Mark Murphy wrote on the team’s website after the Packers were eliminated by the Eagles that the tush push is ” bad for the game.”

“There is no skill involved and it is almost an automatic first down on plays of a yard or less,” Murphy wrote. “The series of plays with the Commanders jumping offsides in the NFC Championship Game to try to stop the play was ridiculous. … I would like to see the league prohibit pushing or aiding the run.”

Ban the tush push?

Sirianni can only scoff at critics who hate on the play.

“The success that we have is not always replicated around the entire league,” Sirianni said. “We saw it last week with the game plan we’re studying with Kansas City against Buffalo. Stopped them in a critical situation. I guess I’m lobbying to never change that rule because we’re successful at it. We’re successful at it because of the guys we have up front.”

The Eagles played to near push-perfection this season even after Cam Jurgens replaced the retired Jason Kelce at center. It helps having a quarterback who can squat the weight of about three Saquon Barkleys in Hurts and a stout offensive line that features Pro Bowl stars Landon Dickerson and Lane Johnson.

Controversial or not, just maybe the Eagles can use the push to sneak away with a Super Bowl win.

​ Orange County Register 

Orange County restaurants shut down by health inspectors (Jan. 30-Feb. 6)

• February 8, 2025

Restaurants and other food vendors ordered to close and allowed to reopen by Orange County health inspectors from Jan. 30 to Feb. 6.

Yummy Bakery & Food To Go, 9550 Bolsa Ave., Suite 115E-1, Westminster

• Closed: Feb. 5
• Reason: Cockroach infestation
• Reopened: Feb. 6

Kitchen at San Antonio Catholic Church, 5800 E. Santa Ana Canyon Road, Anaheim

• Closed: Feb. 5
• Reason: Insufficient hot water

Chicken Dinner Restaurant at Knott’s Berry Farm, 8039 Beach Blvd., Buena Park

• Closed: Feb. 5
• Reason: Rodent infestation
• Reopened: Feb. 5

Pho 45, 9240 Garden Grove Blvd., Suite 19, Garden Grove

• Closed: Feb. 4
• Reason: Insufficient hot water
• Reopened: Feb. 4

Donut Boss, 13551 Beach Blvd., Westminster

• Closed: Feb. 4
• Reason: Rodent infestation
• Reopened: Feb. 4

India Cafe, 528 W. 19th St., Costa Mesa

• Closed: Feb. 3
• Reason: Cockroach infestation
• Reopened: Feb. 3

Cha Cha’s Latin Kitchen, 13126 Jamboree Road, Irvine

• Closed: Jan. 30
• Reason: Cockroach infestation
• Reopened: Jan. 30

Mongkut Thai, 212 Avenida Del Mar, San Clemente

• Closed: Jan. 30
• Reason: Rodent infestation
• Reopened: Feb. 3

Updates since last week’s list:

Lan Anh Kitchen at 6944 Westminster Blvd., Westminster, which was ordered closed Jan. 24 because of a cockroach infestation, was allowed to reopen Jan. 31.

Poke + Roll 808 at 129 Avenida Del Mar, Suite A, San Clemente, which was ordered closed Jan. 28 because of a rodent infestation, was allowed to reopen Jan. 31.

This list is published weekly with closures since the previous week’s list. Status updates are published in the following week’s list. Source: OC Health Care Agency database.

​ Orange County Register 

LeBron James won’t play today versus Indiana

• February 8, 2025

LOS ANGELES — Lakers star LeBron James will not be available for Saturday afternoon’s home game against the Indiana Pacers because of left ankle soreness, the team announced in the morning.

Fellow star Luka Doncic (strained left calf), whom the Lakers acquired last weekend from the Dallas Mavericks, also wasn’t available on Saturday. The expectation is that Doncic will make his Lakers debut on Monday when they lost the Utah Jazz.

Austin Reaves (bruised left elbow) and Mark Williams, the latter of whom the Lakers acquired in a deal with the Charlotte Hornets, are listed as questionable as of Saturday morning.

Saturday will be James’ fourth missed game of the season.

He’s averaging 24.5 points (51.6% shooting, 39.1% on 3-pointers), nine assists and 7.8 rebounds in his 22nd NBA season.

James scored a season-high 42 points in Thursday’s home win over the Golden State Warriors, becoming only the second player 40 or older in NBA history to have a 40-point performance along with Michael Jordan.

More to come in this story.

​ Orange County Register 

Final Orange County girls basketball standings: 2024-25 regular season

• February 8, 2025

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Final standings for the Orange County girls basketball leagues in the 2024-25 regular season.

​ Orange County Register