How ‘Wayne’s World’ director Penelope Spheeris became a true-crime podcaster

• October 17, 2023

It’s hard to know where to start with the story of Peter Ivers.

There’s the time in 1968 when blues legend Muddy Waters declared Ivers – who sat in and played with Waters while still a student at Harvard University – to be the greatest living harmonica player.

Or maybe you start in the mid-’70s, when Ivers, now living in Los Angeles, dipped into film music with works such as co-writing and singing “In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)” for David Lynch’s “Eraserhead.”

Around that same time, he recorded several avant-garde pop albums, such as 1974’s “Terminal Love.” Ivers even opened for Fleetwood Mac at Universal Amphitheatre in 1976, but bombed. (Could it have been that he took the stage wearing only a diaper? Perhaps!)

Jump ahead to the early ’80s, and Ivers was the host of “New Wave Theatre,” the first show to put L.A. punk bands such as Fear, 45 Grave, Suburban Lawns, Angry Samoans, Grey Factor and Bad Religion on TV.

But all that crazy, beautiful, now mostly forgotten creativity ended up overshadowed by his death.

On March 3, 1983, Ivers was found bludgeoned to death in his apartment. Four decades later, the crime remains unsolved.

“I mean, all of us thought Peter Ivers was going to go to the top of the charts, and then everything flopped,” says filmmaker Penelope Spheeris, a friend of Ivers through the punk rock scene she chronicled in the 1981 documentary “The Decline of Western Civilization.”

Spheeris, whose films include “Wayne’s World” and “Suburbia,” is the host of “Peter and the Acid King,” a new podcast about Ivers’s life and death from iHeartPodcasts and Imagine Audio.

However, given all the mystery and menace that still swirls around the circumstances of his death, at first she wasn’t sure she wanted to get involved.

Spheeris signs on

TV producer Alan Sachs, the co-creator of “Welcome Back, Kotter,” was a close friend of Ivers. He’s also the creator of “Peter and the Acid King,” an outgrowth of his years of looking for the truth about Ivers’ death.

“I knew Alan Sachs from back in what I call the punk rock days,” Spheeris says. “So that would be right around ’79, ’80 through ’84. I knew him very well back then because we were at clubs together all the time.

“I hadn’t seen him for a long time, and I ran into him in a parking lot and he asked me I would do an interview about Peter, our mutual friend,” she says. “And I said, ‘Only if so-and-so is not alive anymore.”

Sachs told her that so-and-so, the person Spheeris had long thought might have killed Ivers, was dead. She did the interview, and that was that for a little while.

“A couple of years later – that’s how long Alan’s been working on this – I get a call,” Spheeris says. “And he said, ‘Can you maybe think about being the host for a podcast based on Peter’s life and that period of time?’

“I said, ‘I don’t know, I make movies, I’m not a podcast person,’” she says.

Eventually, and only after she was comfortable the podcast wouldn’t focus too much on the grim, grisly details of Ivers’s death, Spheeris was in.

“It was a concern, which has dissipated as I’ve gone through it and done narration,” she says. “I think the team over there at Imagine has done an amazing job at respecting Peter and the request I made about not getting into anything too graphic. I did have some apprehension about sensationalizing someone’s murder, you know.

“It’s a thin line; it’s like a tightrope here,” Spheeris says. “We’re trying to give respect to him and remember his legacy, and then not be too exploitive.”

An instant appeal

Spheeris isn’t quite sure when she first met Ivers. She thinks it was probably at the Zero Club, the notorious after-hours punk club at the time.

“He just sort of made you want to know him,” Spheeris says.

Before long, they were fellow travelers of the nightlife of Hollywood bars, punk circles, and house parties in Laurel Canyon.

“I bought a house in Laurel Canyon in 1974, which I still own, thank god,” Spheeris says. “So I know all the back roads here, and we used to have these lines of cars following each other, going to parties. So I would go to parties with him, and we’d see each other and got to know each other pretty well by hanging out.”

Ivers, who was born in 1946, was a decade or so older than most of the kids in the punk scene spun out of the Masque in Hollywood into clubs from the San Fernando Valley to Chinatown and the South Bay.

“He was so charismatic. It didn’t matter if he was really a punk or not,” she says. “He emitted this vibe like he was a star already. But he wasn’t. I think that’s what kind of drew everybody to him.

“Plus, you know, if you’re really a punk you’re not going to be judgmental about somebody. You’re just gonna let them be who they are.”

Trainwreck TV

“New Wave Theatre” was created by David Jove, a British expat in L.A. with musical aspirations, and Ed Ochs, a former Billboard editor. The show, which aired weekly on a little-viewed UHF channel, was only reluctantly embraced by punk bands such as the Dead Kennedys, the Plugz, and Ivy and the Eaters.

Part of that was the name – few self-respecting punks wanted to be called New Wave – and part of that was Ivers, who as host, wearing a sparkly pink jacket and rambling in a rapid-fire stream-of-consciousness patter about life, art and music made them cringe.

“It was actually brutal to watch,” Spheeris says. “Because it was so bad – in my opinion. I’m sorry. I don’t want that to be a negative reflection on Peter, but it was really bad.

“I mean, the original, real deal punk groups had great objections to the show because it seemed like they were trying to out-weird the real punk scene,” she says. “And I think that’s what they were doing, and that’s why it was a bit offensive.”

Still, people watched it enough that the fledgling USA Network eventually picked it up as part of its “Night Flight” late-night arts and variety show. And the bands kept going on to perform.

“It was a train wreck, that’s a good way to put it,” Spheeris says. “The fact is there were no outlets for the music back then, visual outlets. The reason the DIY concept came about was because punk bands couldn’t get record deals. And punk bands certainly could not get TV broadcast time. There was no place to be seen other than that show.”

So who done it?

“New Wave Theatre” ended with Ivers’ death. For Spheeris, the L.A. party scene ended for her that day too.

“I remember the fear of thinking that there was somebody that we all knew that probably did it,” she says. “I remember being afraid. And even though there were other serial killers and all that around that time, to have someone so close get murdered was really shocking.

“It did change things,” Spheeris says. “It was a big wake-up call. Let me tell you, we were partying back then. I mean, I can’t believe I lived through it. Every single night and a lot of times every weekend during the day and night.

“But when he got killed, it was like a screeching halt. I didn’t want to go out. I was convinced that whoever killed him was in the room.”

Spheeris, who knows how “Peter and the Acid King” ends, says she did not expect the story to go where it did. She had her own suspicions about who murdered her friend.

“Here’s what has really surprised me,” she says. “Back in the day, after Peter died, if was going into a room and that person was there, in a party situation, I would turn around and leave. I remember going back to my house and my heart was beating so fast because I even laid eyes on that guy.”

“But now that people have done all this research, I have to say I’m not convinced anymore that who I thought did it did,” Spheeris says. “So it’s a little unnerving. I’ve learned that person could still be alive and still be dangerous.”

Even with that undercurrent of dread in the story the podcast tells, Spheeris says she’s glad that her friend is getting recognized for what he created during his life, even if it was just a bit too far outside the mainstream for his rock star dreams to have succeeded.

“It had a certain performance art aspect to it, ‘New Wave Theatre,’ and all of his work, really,” she says. “And that’s the thing about good art, you know. It breaks the rules. And good rock and roll, it breaks the rules.

“And Peter was always breaking the rules.”

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​ Orange County Register 

Leaving California: What’s the best state to move to in 2023?

• October 17, 2023

During the past two years, 1.6 million Californians left for other states.

I figured they might want some help choosing a new place to live. So, I embarked on my “Leaving California” voyage — seven columns ranking the potential of other states for ex-Californian wannabes.

My trusty spreadsheet examined stats on state economies, demographics, health, climate and politics to weigh appropriate landing spots. The 49 other states were graded for costs, wellness, jobs, fun, culture and safety. And just to make sure I didn’t goof, other “best state” rankings also were reviewed.

What did I learn? When those seven scorecards were combined, the top state for an exiting Californian was New Hampshire. It scored three, top-five grades among the seven rankings.

Next on my scorecard for a highly compatible California exit were Utah, Minnesota, Utah, Idaho, and Washington.

At the other end of this spectrum, the top state to avoid was Mississippi. It had four grades in the bottom five. The next lowest were Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama and New Mexico.

And by the way, some states that are popular destinations for Golden State exits scored middling grades: Florida was No. 17 while Texas was 28th. Plus there’s Oregon (No. 26), Arizona (No. 27), and Nevada (No. 34).

EXODUS SLOWDOWN?: California exits drop 3%, arrivals rose 10%. READ HERE!

As you digest this scorecard, think about the variety of folks who might bolt from the Golden State. It’s a flock that includes young adults just starting out, families seeking better opportunities and seniors seeking a cheaper place or slower pace.

Yet no scorecard can fit any one person’s exact needs. These rankings are broad compilations of various medians, averages and indexes – mathematical cliches for the commoner.

These grades, at best, speak to the “typical” Californian. You tell me who that is?

The math

This best-place-to-relocate scorecard reflects my spreadsheet’s seven previous rankings of the 49 other states. These 2023 gradings looked at the pros and cons of places for a Californian’s relocation.

Here’s what those rankings found …

Best bargain: Where would your dollars go the furthest, mixing incomes and cost of living? The top states were Colorado, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Illinois and Utah. The worst? Hawaii, Mississippi, Arkansas, New Mexico and Maine.

Healthiest: Where will you find ideal medical services and statewide wellness? Tops were Massachusetts, Hawaii, Minnesota, New Jersey and Maryland. Worst? West Virginia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Oklahoma.

Best job market: For those seeking employment, where is your best chance at a solid paycheck? Tops were Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Arizona and Texas. Worst? Connecticut, Rhode Island, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia.

Most fun: Where’s the best mix of indoor entertainment and outdoor activities? No. 1 is Florida, then Hawaii, Massachusetts, Colorado and Minnesota. Last for leisure was Indiana, Alabama, West Virginia, Kansas and Kentucky.

AFFORDABILITY: Who can afford to live here? What’s being done? CLICK HERE!

Best culture: Where can you find the most anti-California vibe? The best fits were in South Dakota, North Dakota, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Idaho. And New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Illinois had the worst scores.

Safest: Where might you feel the most secure from risks of crime, climate or collisions? Tops were Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Rhode Island. Worst? Louisiana, Arkansas, South Carolina, Mississippi and Oklahoma.

Other ‘best’ grades: As a double-check of my thinking, other “best state” rankings were reviewed. My composite “best of best” said the top states were New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Minnesota. At the bottom were Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, New Mexico and Alabama.

Bottom line

Do not forget that scorecard creators are human.

Look, there’s bias in any “best state” scorecard no matter how hard an author tries. The choice of data and how the math is applied can sway the final results – intentionally or not.

Let’s contrast my relocation rankings with the “best of best” composite grades I created from other similar scorecards.

Four states got the same grades, including No. 1 New Hampshire plus Nebraska (15), Oregon (26) and West Virginia (41). Seven others had a one-rank difference: Montana (my No. 24 vs. No. 25 “best of best”), Tennessee (31 vs. 32), Kentucky (44 vs. 43), New Mexico (45 vs. 46), Alabama (46 vs. 45), Arkansas (48 vs. 47), and Mississippi (49 vs. 48).

Politely speaking, there seems to be lots of agreement on where Californians should NOT go. For 14 states, however, there was a gap of 10 ranking spots or more.

My grades were far kinder to Utah (No. 3 for me vs. No. 21 “best of best”), Idaho (4 vs. 18), Maryland (10 vs. 23), South Dakota (11 vs. 22), North Carolina (19 vs. 30), Georgia (23 vs. 34), Arizona (27 vs. 37) and Texas (28 vs. 38).

Meanwhile, I was harsher on Vermont (No. 16 vs. No. 2 “best of best”), Maine (20 vs. 8), Connecticut (21 vs. 11), New York (32 vs. 13), Delaware (35 vs. 20) and Ohio (43 vs. 33).

My excuse? Well, it appears I primarily favored states with strong anti-California vibes.

Remember, though, I had a built-in bias. My goal was to find the best state for a departing Californian.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at [email protected]

Leaving California?

Which state ‘culture’ is your best alternative?
Where do ‘best state’ rankings tell you to move?
What states are the safest places to live?
Here are the healthiest states to consider
If you want ‘fun’ lifestyle, here are states to move to
States with the strongest job markets
What state is the best bargain?

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​ Orange County Register 

Niles: Price hikes show that Disneyland needs some changes

• October 17, 2023

October brings a new fiscal year — and a new round of theme park price increases — for The Walt Disney Company. But Disneyland visitors have every right to question why they got it so much worse this year than fans of Walt Disney World.

At Disneyland, the company raised the price of daily tickets up to 15.7% and Magic Key annual passes up to 21.5%. Meanwhile, at Walt Disney World, annual pass prices increased up to just 10%, while the Florida resort held the line on daily ticket prices.

More from Robert Niles

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Different choices drive creativity at Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights

Walt Disney World also further relaxed reservation requirements for its parks while bringing back all-day Park Hopping, starting in January.

One is tempted by these numbers to assume that attendance has been much stronger in California than in Florida. The company has suggested as much in its recent earnings calls, even though Disney does not release specific attendance numbers for its theme parks. While that’s good news for the Anaheim-area economy, Disneyland’s Magic Key holders may be left wondering if they ever will get the freedom from reservation requirements that Walt Disney World’s annual passholders soon will enjoy.

Personally, I hope that they won’t.

Removing Magic Key reservation requirements would create a disaster for Disneyland fans. The reservation system has helped the park avoid much of the evening gridlock that plagued Disneyland before the pandemic lockdowns forced Disney to change its annual pass system. One way or another, Disneyland needs to cap the number of people in the park, and it does not want to risk turning away out-of-town visitors. That makes capping Magic Key attendance a must.

But there is another way — just do away with annual passes. With date-specific daily tickets and no Magic Key, requiring advance reservations would become unnecessary. Without tens of thousands of Magic Key passholders visiting the park daily, Disneyland likely would have to reduce daily ticket prices to fill its parks, making the resort a more attractive destination for lucrative out-of-town tourists and infrequently visiting locals.

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Theme parks introduced annual passes to encourage loyal fans to visit more often. Their fixed price means that the cost per visit drops each time a passholder returns to the park. But when Disneyland is raising ticket prices the way that it just did, an annual pass system becomes counter-productive. Why raise daily ticket prices and potentially drive tourists away so that the park has space for passholders who are visiting 30, 40 or 50 times a year?

Disneyland can serve its loyal local fanbase with seasonal discounted multi-day tickets, such as it offered twice earlier this year. And if it really wanted to reward frequent visitors, Disneyland could introduce an annual pass for vehicles, charging something like $150-200 for parking on non-holiday dates throughout the year. Implement license plate reading for that, and the resort could speed up the lines at its parking tollbooths, too.

I would hate to see Disneyland become a place that welcomes wealthy Magic Key holders dozens of times a year while no one else can afford to visit. But that seems to be the resort’s future if something doesn’t change.

​ Orange County Register 

Construction starts on Be Well OC mental and behavioral health services hub in Irvine

• October 17, 2023

With the success of its first location in Orange, Be Well OC will be bringing its mental health and substance abuse treatment services to Irvine with the construction of its newest campus.

Be Well OC officials were joined by local leaders and community members to celebrate the groundbreaking on what will become a 75,000-square-foot facility on 22 acres of county-owned land on Marine Way, not far from the Great Park. The campus will provide services such as a mental health urgent care center and a sobering center, as well as residential and outpatient programs. Another area is planned for family supportive programming.

The first phase is expected to be completed in March 2025, and the rest to be completed September 2025. The facility will be open to Orange County residents, regardless of what insurance they have or their ability to pay, though requires a referral.

“It’s a beautiful day to celebrate Orange County’s commitment to a world class behavioral health system,” said Rick Afable, chairman of Mind-OC, a nonprofit that focuses on accessible care for all, and interim CEO of Be Well OC. “The Be Well Irvine campus will offer an enhancement to the county system with an additional 150 beds for adults, adolescents and families across treatment programs, ranging from crisis services to residential care for mental health and substance use disorders.”

Scott Anderson, guest services coordinator at Be Well OC, knows firsthand how valuable the center’s services are.

“This was around COVID time. I was going through a little bit of a mental health issue, and I didn’t necessarily know how to cope,” Anderson said. “I worked in the restaurant industry for six years and restaurants were shut down. I had recently gotten out of a relationship and I was depressed. I was isolating myself, and the only thing that I resorted to was drinking.”

Anderson said he tried an outpatient program, but his drinking started up again after and got progressively worse. His mom had heard about Be Well OC, a private-public effort to provide mental health care opening in Orange, and gave him an ultimatum: Get help or get out.

“For me, the answer was obvious. I knew I didn’t like living how I was living and the feelings I was feeling, the withdrawals, the pain, the suffering. It was just getting worse,” Anderson said. “So I said I want help. And I went in the car and she drove me to Be Well.”

Anderson detoxed for 11 days in the sobering center before a spot in the residential program opened up.

“I was basically taught that I’m not alone, and that was the biggest thing for me,” Anderson said. “I isolated myself and my pain, my sorrow, and Be Well showed me that I am not alone in this fight and that there’s help out there.”

Anderson said he is excited for the program’s expansion into Irvine to serve more of the county, especially since it will be larger than the campus in Orange. 

“I think this type of movement is what is needed in the community,” Anderson said. “I couldn’t be happier about this campus in Irvine and to be able to help more people, because as we know there’s never enough beds for people who want to go to treatment. Just being able to increase the amount of beds and resources is just amazing.”

The new center was made possible with funding from county, state and federal leaders. The OC Board of Supervisors approved $40 million toward the project, and an additional $15 million was provided by CalOptima Health. A $37.6 million grant came from the state’s Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program, $12 million in state funding was secured by Assemblywoman Cottie Petri-Norris and $2 million in federal funding was secured by Congressman Lou Correa.

The first Be Well OC campus got a $16.6 million boost from the Board of Supervisors and $11.4 million from CalOptima, with $12 million in contributions from private donors and major hospital systems.

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“It is a testament to the foresight that goes into the planning of this facility and indeed the entire Be Well concept,” Third District Supervisor Don Wagner said. “This is what happens when we work innovatively and collaboratively together to bring about improvements that will benefit the people of Orange County regardless of their economic status.”

Fourth District Supervisor Doug Chaffee said the goal is easy access to mental health and wellness care for every resident of the county. There is more to do, Chaffee said, and he looks forward to finding a location for a third facility in north Orange County that has always been part of the plan. Be Well OC also has mobile response teams that provide services in five Orange County cities.

The slogan for the Be Well OC is “Hope Happens Here,” and Mind-OC board member Rabbi Richard Steinberg said the mission is for that to continue on with this new campus.

“We pray that Be Well will continue to fix the world one person at a time,” Steinberg said, “taking their broken universe, giving them healing, giving them blessing, and ultimately giving them hope.”

​ Orange County Register 

Hamas’ massacre of Jews in Israel boosts anti-Semitism on California campuses

• October 17, 2023

Everyone in academe knows anti-Semitism is the world’s oldest bigotry. But at colleges across California and the nation, this prejudice has become increasingly acceptable and visible in the days since the Oct. 7 massacre of hundreds of Israeli Jews by the terror group Hamas.

In many campus demonstrations, students have screamed that the mass slaying of more than 1,200 men, women, children, babies, the elderly and unarmed concert goers was purely the fault of Israel. But it was not Israel that put maps showing the locations of baby nurseries and schools in the hands of killers from the Hamas terror organization.

Meanwhile, college administrators were exposing their own weakness and timidity.

None of this is new in California, where members of a group called Students for Justice in Palestine (SPJ) have a long history of harassing Jewish students who express sympathy or support for Israel, the world’s only country that is expressly a Jewish homeland.

Most such on-campus episodes have been conducted or supported by SPJ, whose first chapter, at UC Berkeley, was founded by “financial patrons…connected to Islamist terror organizations such as Hamas, Hezbollah, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Marxist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine,” according to the Anti-Defamation League. Listed among the founders is UC Berkeley Prof. Hatem Bazian.

SPJ has long claimed it is not anti-Semitic; merely anti-Israel. But applauding the murder of dozens of babies slain solely because they were born Jewish is a pure form of anti-Semitism.

Among other episodes, SPJ once set up a fake checkpoint near Berkeley’s Sather Gate campus entrance, using cardboard guns to stop and frisk anyone they believed to be Jewish. No one was expelled or even reprimanded for this.

At Stanford University, according to a federal discrimination lawsuit, a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program in the student counseling service “advanced anti-Semitic tropes concerning Jewish power, conspiracy and control, and endorsed the narrative that (most) Jews support white supremacy.” In fact, Jews were leading supporters of civil rights in America long before the Freedom Riders of the 1960s, where they made up about half of all white participants.

After the Hamas massacre, SPJ members and supporters at Stanford hung banners on campus saying, among other things, that “The illusion of Israel is burning.” SPJ published a column in the Stanford Daily calling Hamas’ actions, including butchering of babies, “part of the ongoing struggle…”

As on other campuses, there were also graffiti claiming “Israel was solely responsible.” This essentially accused the victims of responsibility for their own murders.

Perhaps the most infamous October campus incident occurred in a Stanford freshman class where an instructor ordered Jewish students into a corner reserved for “colonialists.” The same instructor trivialized the murder of Jews, reportedly asking Jewish students how many died in the Holocaust. When one replied “6 million,” the instructor reportedly responded, “Oh, is that all?”

Stanford quickly pulled the instructor from classes while it “investigates.”

What’s been the overall response of university leaders at the most sought-after California campuses, people charged with maintaining safety for all students, including Jews and Palestinians?

Stanford’s top officials made a brief statement saying they were “deeply saddened by the death and human suffering.” They also said pro-Hamas banners were OK, but should be relocated elsewhere on campus.

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Lambasted for this response, Stanford’s acting president and provost later ate a Sabbath dinner in the Hillel Jewish student center to demonstrate their sympathy. Even so, the response amounted to little.

UC officials were equally tepid. Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ said “…We decry any calls for violence in any form or support for terrorism as we continue to mourn the loss of innocent life…”

And UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said “…We must be vigilant that we do not allow anguish over what is occurring internationally to turn into resentment or mistreatment of our fellow Bruins…”

None mentioned possible action against perpetrators of anti-Semitic actions. This was consistent with UCLA’s never acting against students who once hounded a Jewish student into resigning an elected campus government post she had won.

And so, as is common around the nation, there is no sign yet that any major California campus will even try slightly to prevent the further spread of anti-Semitism.

Email Thomas Elias at [email protected].

​ Orange County Register 

CIF-SS boys and girls cross country rankings, Oct. 16

• October 17, 2023

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The CIF-SS boys and girls cross country rankings released Monday, Oct. 16.

Compiled by PrepCalTrack.com

BOYS DIVISION 1

1 Great Oak

2 San Clemente

3 Mira Costa

4 Trabuco Hills

5 Beckman

6 Crescenta Valley

7 M.L. King

8 Millikan

9 Redondo Union

10 Aliso Niguel

11 Loyola

12 Warren

13 Rancho Cucamonga

BOYS DIVISION 2

1 Ventura

2 Santa Barbara

3 Glendora

4 Newbury Park

5 Hart

6 Woodbridge

7 El Toro

8 Tesoro

9 El Dorado

10 Ayala

11 La Serna

12 Foothill

13 Canyon/Anaheim

BOYS DIVISION 3

1 Dana Hills

2 Santa Margarita

3 West Ranch

4 Thousand Oaks

5 Redlands East Valley

6 Moorpark

7 Oak Park

8 Agoura

9 Corona del Mar

10 Canyon/Canyon Country

11 Mission Viejo

12 Capistrano Valley

13 West Torrance

BOYS DIVISION 4

1 St. Francis

2 JSerra

3 Palos Verdes

4 St. John Bosco

5 Foothill Technology

6 South Pasadena

7 Cathedral

8 Oaks Christian

9 Harvard-Westlake

10 Rim of the World

11 Burroughs/Ridgecrest

12 La Canada

13 El Segundo/Fillmore

BOYS DIVISION 5

1 Ontario Christian

2 St. Margaret’s

3 Woodcrest Christian

4 Viewpoint

5 Brentwood

6 Windward

7 Hawthorne MSA

8 Crossroads

9 Flintridge Prep

10 Desert Christian

11 Samueli Academy

12 Heritage Christian

13 Providence

GIRLS DIVISION 1

1 Santiago/Corona

2 Trabuco Hills

3 Saugus

4 Vista Murrieta

5 Great Oak

6 Redondo Union

7 Santa Monica

8 Mira Costa

9 San Clemente

10 Chino Hills

11 Huntington Beach

12 M.L. King

13 Los Alamitos

GIRLS DIVISION 2

1 Ventura

2 El Toro

3 Claremont

4 Murrieta Valley

5 Ayala

6 Citrus Valley

7 Newbury Park

8 Canyon/Anaheim

9 Tesoro

10 Woodbridge

11 La Serna

12 Westlake

13 Peninsula

GIRLS DIVISION 3

1 Dana Hills

2 West Torrance

3 Yorba Linda

4 Shadow Hills

5 Santa Margarita

6 North Torrance

7 Oak Park

8 Thousand Oaks

9 Capistrano Valley

10 Moorpark

11 South Torrance

12 Fullerton

13 Pacifica/Garden Grove

GIRLS DIVISION 4

1 JSerra

2 La Canada

3 Oaks Christian

4 South Pasadena

5 Palos Verdes

6 Harvard-Westlake

7 Laguna Beach

8 Rim of the World

9 Fillmore

10 Orange Lutheran

11 Covina

12 Burroughs/Ridgecrest

13 Bishop Amat

GIRLS DIVISION 5

1 St. Margaret’s

2 St. Lucy’s Priory

3 Western Christian

4 Providence

5 Sage Hill

6 Viewpoint

7 Samueli Academy

8 Hawthorne MSA

9 Pasadena Poly

10 Flintridge Prep

11 Ontario Christian

12 Temecula Prep

13 Chadwick/Linfield Christian

​ Orange County Register 

Swanson: It’s Monday Night Frustration for Chargers’ offense

• October 17, 2023

INGLEWOOD — Revenge is a dish served cold. But the Chargers misunderstood the assignment.

Because they froze up on the big stage. Monday night’s showcase game became an exercise in futility for the Chargers’ new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore against the Dallas Cowboys, the team whom he’d coached the previous eight seasons before they parted ways in January.

It was a Monday Night Flunk.

The Chargers lost, 20-17, at SoFi Stadium, replicating the score of a loss to Moore and his old crew two seasons ago in L.A.

That time, Dak Prescott drove Dallas down the field for a game-winning field goal. This time, Justin Herbert, under pressure all night, finally succumbed on the Chargers’ last drive.

He was sacked for the first time on second down and then intercepted a play later, a whimper in tune with the Chargers’ offensive output for most of the contest.

After scoring a touchdown on their opening drive, the Chargers (2-3) passed on a field-goal gimme opportunity, going for it on fourth-and-1 at the 7-yard line with 7:47 to play in the third quarter – and coming up empty when Herbert couldn’t connect with Joshua Palmer in the end zone.

The Bolts scored only one more touchdown after that, a nifty play call freeing up tight end Gerald Everett for a 1-yard touchdown catch with 7:15 to play.

Otherwise, it was Monday Night funk for a stagnant offense that had, at times, shown signs of forward progress in Moore’s first season in L.A.

For one, Herbert had turned over the ball just once before Monday. And coming in, the Chargers’ red zone touchdown percentage was much improved: 68.8% (fifth in the NFL), while Dallas’ was 36.8% (28th).

The Bolts also showed up for work Monday ranked fifth in the league in total offense (388.8 yards per game) and sixth in passing (269.0).

But against the Cowboys (4-2), Moore wasn’t exactly living up to the allegations about him, not quite cutting that swashbuckling figure that Dallas coach Mike McCarthy claimed him to be after the split in January, when the coach said in an interview that his former offensive coordinator was focused on wanting to “light the scoreboard up.”

“I want him to run the damn ball so I can rest my defense,” McCarthy went on. “I think when you’re a coordinator, you know but you’re in charge of the offense. Being a head coach and being a play caller, you’re a little more in tune with (everything). I don’t desire to be the No. 1 offense in the league. I want to be the No. 1 team in the league with the number of wins and a championship.”

On Monday, the Chargers ran the damn ball almost as often as Dallas (23 carries vs. 26) – but to little avail, even with Austin Ekeler healthy and back on the field. The Bolts gained only 53 rushing yards.

Meanwhile, Herbert never could get comfortable, completing 22 of 37 pass attempts for 227 yards, the two TDs and the deciding interception with 1:29 to play.

And Moore – under whom the Chargers were averaging five more offensive points per game than last year, while the Cowboys had been scoring an average of 5.2 fewer – wasn’t able to derive a benefit from any insider knowledge of his former team.

The Chargers scored their fewest points of the season, as Herbert failed to complete even 60% of his passes for the second consecutive game.

“I missed a couple receivers, I threw some bad passes,” said Herbert, the fourth-year signal caller who signed a five-year, $262.5 million contract extension before the season.

Herbert blamed himself and embattled head coach Brandon Staley credited Dallas: “It was a high-level game between two teams that are really, really good.”

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And really, really good at drawing penalties: The Chargers had nine of them for 79 yards and Dallas was called for 11 for 85 – a trend that didn’t help either offense find a rhythm.

Including Moore’s.

He’d said more than once that he wasn’t out for vengeance Monday, telling reporters this week: “I think a lot of that stuff is pretty overrated. At the end of the day, It’s getting on the field and playing 11-on-11.”

But c’mon. He’d have liked it if the Chargers lit up the scoreboard with a big scoring statement.

Instead, it was Monday Night Frustration, and the neon, flashing message, as delivered by Herbert postgame: “There’s a lot to work on, a lot to improve on.”

​ Orange County Register 

NLCS: Harper, Schwarber, Castellanos power Phillies past Diamondbacks in Game 1

• October 17, 2023

By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer

PHILADELPHIA — Bryce Harper smashed the first pitch he saw on his 31st birthday into the seats, Kyle Schwarber hit his first homer of the postseason and Nick Castellanos also went deep again to power the Philadelphia Phillies past the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5-3, in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Monday night.

Harper held up three fingers on his left hand and one on his right and pretended to blow them out like candles on a cake as he crossed the plate. Harper, who also walked, scored twice and knocked in two runs, hit his 10th homer in two postseasons with the Phillies.

“I’ve always wanted to play on my birthday,” he said before the game.

Zack Wheeler struck out eight in six innings to help the defending NL champions win their seventh Game 1 of the last two postseasons. Wheeler sawed two bats in half during the first two innings, leaving the Diamondbacks with more pieces of busted lumber than hits through five.

José Alvarado got four big outs on 15 pitches and Craig Kimbrel worked a scoreless ninth for the save.

Arizona was stuck with its first loss of the postseason after ripping off five straight wins against the Brewers and Dodgers.

The Diamondbacks were simply the latest team to unravel under the red storm of 45,396 towel-waving, deliriously cheering fans at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies never gave fans a reason to stop – or a chance for Arizona to catch its breath until it was too late.

Schwarber started the home run derby when he launched Zac Gallen’s first pitch 420 feet into the right-field seats. There was some minor consternation that Schwarber – with 47 homers this season and 93 over the last two – had yet to go deep through six playoff games. How easy it was to forget that Schwarber didn’t hit any in the Wild Card Series or NLDS last season before he launched six in the NLCS and World Series. So those Schwarbombs might just be getting started.

“We know what type of guy Schwarber’s going to be for us. He’s huge in that 1 spot,” Harper said. “There’s never a doubt on how good he’s going to be. We’re excited to see what he can do in the NLCS and as we go.”

Four pitches later, Harper homered – the first time in 127 postseason games that Philadelphia went deep twice in the first inning.

When Castellanos lined his fifth homer of the playoffs in the third – all in the past three games – it gave the Phillies 32 home runs in 13 postseason games at Citizens Bank Park over the last two years.

The Kelce Bros approved. Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce – minus celebrity friend Taylor Swift – and Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce went wild. Travis pointed to his brother as Jason pounded a beer in their suite.

Gallen, a South Jersey native, had his name derisively drawn out to “Galll-ennnn” by Phillies fans each time the 17-game winner got into a jam. Too many times, for Arizona.

Trea Turner hit a one-double in the third, leaving first base open. Gallen pitched to Harper instead of walking him and got burned by an RBI single for a 4-0 lead.

J.T. Realmuto added an RBI single in the fifth.

“Gallen, he’s been throwing the ball well all year. Just tried to get on top of him as much as we could, score early,” Harper said. “Schwarber starting the game off right there was huge for us.”

Those runs proved crucial for the Phillies. Geraldo Perdomo hit a two-run homer off Wheeler in the sixth that made it 5-2.

Seranthony Domínguez opened the door in the seventh for the Diamondbacks when his throwing error on a comebacker led to an unearned run. Alvarado retired pinch-hitter Emmanuel Rivera on a groundout to keep it 5-3 and tossed a scoreless eighth.

SNAKE EYES

The Diamondbacks, who at 84-78 squeezed into the playoffs as the final NL wild card, were held to four hits.

GOING DEEP

Schwarber’s fourth leadoff homer in the postseason moved him past Jimmy Rollins and Derek Jeter for most in baseball history.

Harper joined St. Louis’ Kolten Wong, Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria and Kansas City’s Willie Aikens as the only players in postseason history to homer on his birthday.

Castellanos’ five homers in his last three postseason games – he hit two in consecutive games against Atlanta — made him the second player to hit those marks. New York Yankees slugger Reggie Jackson did it in the 1977 World Series.

UP NEXT

Arizona sends right-hander Merrill Kelly (1-0 postseason, 0.00 ERA) to the mound for Game 2. Right-hander Aaron Nola (2-0 postseason, 1.42 ERA) will start for the Phillies.

Nola is eligible for free agency after the World Series after he tabled contract extension talks with the team in spring training. Nola made $16 million this year on the club option that was part of the $45 million, four-year deal he signed ahead of the 2019 season. Nola said he wanted to stay in Philadelphia.

“I hope so. I really do,” Nola said before the game. “I love it here. Obviously, it’s the only place I’ve been. I came up through some special times in the rebuilding era ask and getting to witness and be a part of a lot of different type of teams.”

​ Orange County Register