Rams gathering information following Derion Kendrick arrest

• October 17, 2023

Rams cornerback Derion Kendrick was arrested early Monday morning, head coach Sean McVay confirmed in his Monday afternoon Zoom call with reporters.

TMZ first reported Kendrick’s arrest on Monday. According to the outlet, Kendrick was pulled over in the early morning for a traffic violation and law enforcement found a gun and marijuana in the car. He was charged with a felony count of carrying a concealed weapon.

The Los Angeles Sherriff’s public inmate database shows that Kendrick was at booked 2:14 a.m., and shows no record of his being released from custody.

McVay said he was informed of Kendrick’s arrest Monday morning. The Rams are currently gathering information and spoke with NFL officials about the situation as part of standard operating procedures.

McVay declined to share whether Kendrick would be allowed to practice with the team or play against the Steelers on Sunday while the internal investigation continues. He also declined to share any details about how the Rams were going about their inquiries into the arrest.

“I’m just going to kind of leave it at that until I have all the appropriate information,” McVay said. “I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to speak on things that I don’t have the totality of it, other than knowing he was arrested early this morning.”

This is the first time McVay has dealt with an arrest of one of his players since taking over as Rams head coach. He said he hoped he could turn it into a teaching moment for the rest of the team, though he’s waiting to address it with the roster until he has better grasp of the facts of the situation.

“I don’t want to be quick to pass judgment before I know everything,” McVay said. “I care about these guys a whole lot, I want to continue to help them to make all the right decisions and try to avoid decisions like this. But I also know that life isn’t perfect. I’ve certainly made my mistakes, and how can we continuously educate guys on how to avoid these?”

Kendrick, a second-year player out of Georgia, has started all six games for the Rams this season and has recorded three passes defended and 20 solo tackles.

Running backs take a hit

The Rams’ first- and second-string running backs, Kyren Williams and Ronnie Rivers, are both expected to miss some time after leaving Sunday’s win over the Cardinals early with injuries.

McVay said it was too early to project how long Williams (ankle) and Rivers (knee) will be out, and the coach expects more information on their return schedules by Wednesday. But neither is expected to play Sunday vs. the Steelers.

The injuries are a big blow to the Rams’ running back depth. Williams took over as the starter in Week 2, prompting the trade of Cam Akers to the Minnesota Vikings. He had a career day in this weekend’s win over Arizona, rushing 20 times for 158 yards and a touchdown after being limited to two carries and five yards in the second half.

Rivers, meanwhile, is averaging 4.4 yards per carry in his reserve role.

Related Articles

The Rams are left with rookie sixth-round pick Zach Evans on the roster and Royce Freeman on the practice squad.

When Williams and Rivers left the game against the Cardinals, Evans got his first carry carries, taking the ball four times for 10 yards. He would seem like the natural fill-in while Williams and Rivers are out, but McVay made no such commitments on Monday.

“Working through a lot of those things right now,” McVay said. “We’ll probably have a little bit better idea once you get the full gauntlet of what it exactly is looking like projection wise on both Ronnie and Kyren, how that will affect any sort of decisions as it relates to the roster and then what it looks like for the landscape of the league.”

​ Orange County Register 

Albano’s Orange County football Top 35 rankings, Oct. 16

• October 17, 2023

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

OCVarsity’s Dan Albano votes each week in the Orange County football Top 25 poll.

Here are his rankings for Oct. 16, plus the other schools he views as his “Next 10”:

ALBANO’S TOP 35

1. Mater Dei 7-1

2. Orange Lutheran 5-3

3. Santa Margarita 5-3

4. San Clemente 7-1

5. JSerra 4-4

6. Servite 4-4

7. Los Alamitos 6-2

8. Mission Viejo 5-3

9. San Juan Hills 8-0

10. Edison 5-3

11. Tustin 8-0

12. Newport Harbor 3-5

13. Corona del Mar 4-4

14. Tesoro 5-3

15. Yorba Linda 6-2

16. Villa Park 7-1

17. Capistrano Valley 7-1

18. Trabuco Hills 5-3

19. Western 7-1

20. Cypress 5-3

21. Foothill 5-3

22. El Modena 4-4

23. El Dorado 4-4

24. Crean Lutheran 6-2

25. Laguna Beach 7-1

Albano’s Next 10

26. Huntington Beach 4-4

27. Laguna Hills 7-1

28. Santa Ana 7-2

29. Troy 5-3

30. La Habra 4-4

31. Dana Hills 6-2

32. Aliso Niguel 5-3

33. Irvine 5-3

34. St. Margaret’s 4-4

35. Orange 4-4

Also considered: Esperanza

Please send feedback to Dan Albano at [email protected] or @ocvarsityguy on Twitter or Instagram

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

Dodgers figure to be at center of things during ‘Winter of Ohtani’

• October 17, 2023

Winter is coming – the winter of Ohtani.

After months of speculation and anticipation, the Angels’ two-way star will become a free agent in a couple weeks when the World Series concludes. The most unique player in baseball history, Shohei Ohtani’s free agency will also be unique with projections of a half-billion dollar contract and equally unprecedented challenges for suitors who must weigh Ohtani’s future value based on his recovery from elbow surgery last month.

The Dodgers have been linked with Ohtani even longer than Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have been an item. They nearly signed Ohtani out of high school but he chose to play in Japan first, establishing he could play both as a pitcher and hitter. The Dodgers were reportedly on Ohtani’s list of finalists when he jumped to MLB in 2017 but the National League did not have the DH at the time, effectively eliminating them from contention.

The DH is in both leagues now and the Dodgers are considered front-runners to sign Ohtani this time around. A narrative even took root last winter that the Dodgers were doing everything they could to clear their payroll for Ohtani – they made only one-year commitments to a handful of free agents – even if it meant fielding a lesser team in 2023.

“Obviously I wouldn’t get into specific players,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said in April, getting as close to mentioning this specific player as he would. “But also – our mindset would never be, ‘Hey, let’s wait a year or two for this.’

“That would never be our mindset.”

So – what is their mindset now after another 100-win regular season followed by another postseason failure?

The arbiter’s decision regarding Trevor Bauer’s appeal of his record suspension left the Dodgers saddled with $22.5 million of his 2023 salary, scuttling any chance of getting under the Competitive Balance Tax threshold this year. Other roster decisions took their 2023 payroll to approximately $265 million.

As much as $95 million of that could be subtracted for 2024 including Bauer’s salary and 12 free agents (some of whom the Dodgers could look to re-sign). Decisions on six club options – Max Muncy, Daniel Hudson, Blake Treinen, Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly and Alex Reyes – will likely trim more from the 2024 payroll.

Six players are under contract for next season at approximately $84 million in salary – Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Chris Taylor, Austin Barnes, Miguel Rojas and Tony Gonsolin (expected to spend the 2024 season recovering from Tommy John surgery). Eleven more are arbitration-eligible with some likely to get big salaries (Will Smith, Evan Phillips, Walker Buehler). Low-cost young players like Bobby Miller, James Outman and others could fill out the roster – leaving room to absorb the $50 million annual salary Ohtani could command.

It might be the most exciting way the Dodgers could spend that money – but is it the most practical?

Starting pitching has to be the team’s top priority this offseason – a point hammered home by their historically inept attempt to win in the postseason without it.

As it stands heading into the offseason, the Dodgers’ 2024 rotation would feature one pitcher recovering from a second Tommy John surgery (Buehler), a career swingman (the arbitration-eligible Ryan Yarbrough) and this year’s rookie class (Bobby Miller, Emmet Sheehan, Gavin Stone and Ryan Pepiot) backed up by another wave of young talent. Clayton Kershaw’s retirement decision adds another unstable element to the mix.

Ohtani wouldn’t help that in the short term. He won’t be a starting pitcher in 2024 and his second elbow surgery raises questions about his long-term viability as a front-line starter.

Could Ohtani be willing to take a short-term contract this year, re-establish his two-way status and then head back into free agency later? His limited interactions with the media during his time in Anaheim have left Ohtani’s motivations a mystery. And the Dodgers have already been burned by an attempt to be creative in contract negotiations with a high-end free agent. They tried to sign Bryce Harper in March 2019 for a short-term, high-dollar contract (four years, $180 million) only to watch him sign with the Phillies for 13 years and $330 million – a contract that looks like more of a bargain with every postseason home run.

Another Japanese star would address the Dodgers’ need.

At 25 years old, right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto is expected to be posted this winter by the Orix Buffaloes and have a number of high-dollar suitors with the Dodgers prominent among them. They have thoroughly scouted Yamamoto over the past year (including his time as Ohtani’s teammate with Team Japan in the WBC) –which doesn’t make them unique.

“It’s been a pilgrimage over there from front office people to see him,” Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said recently on the ‘Giants Talk Podcast.’ “He’s really one of the top starting pitchers in the world. I know it sounds like an exaggeration but it’s not.”

With the Buffaloes this year, Yamamoto went 17-6 with a 1.16 ERA, 176 strikeouts and 28 walks in 171 innings. He has thrown no-hitters each of the past two seasons in Japan.

If the Dodgers choose to stay closer to home, Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola and Padres left-hander Blake Snell are the top starters on a free agent market depleted by Julio Urias’ off-field issues.

Related Articles

Signing Ohtani would also lock the Dodgers in at DH – not a position of need. J.D. Martinez was an All-Star at DH this season and a bargain at $10 million. The 36-year-old Martinez won’t come that cheaply again this winter but he has added value to the Dodgers. It is not a coincidence that Betts’ two best seasons (2018 and 2023) came with his close friend, hype man and swing mechanic as a teammate.

The Dodgers could spend some of their money this offseason on Blue Jays third baseman Matt Chapman, perhaps the best position player on the free agent market (two-way DHs aside). The 30-year-old OC native’s offense has dropped significantly the past three seasons but he remains a Gold Glove-caliber third baseman – and would allow the Dodgers to move Muncy to DH (if the position is vacant) or decline his club option after a historically low batting average (.212) for a 100-RBI hitter, freeing up even more money to upgrade elsewhere.

All roads this offseason don’t have to lead to Ohtani. One way or another, though, he will be at the center of things.

​ Orange County Register 

How LGBTQ rights and parental notification bills fared in the California Legislature this year

• October 17, 2023

With school boardrooms becoming a dramatic front in the culture war over LGBTQ students and their privacy, California Gov. Gavin Newsom this fall signed a handful of bills intended to protect such students.

School boards across California have begun debating new policies around transgender and gender non-conforming students and other LGBTQ issues. State lawmakers, meanwhile, engaged in their own debate with nearly a dozen bills in the California Legislature this session directly affecting the LGBTQ community, including one that was the model for many of the proposed school board policies this year.

Newsom had until Oct. 14 to decide the fate of those bills. Here’s a look at how they fared:

Assembly Bill 5

Status: Signed by Newsom on Sept. 23.

About the bill: AB 5, the “Safe and Supportive Schools Act,” sponsored by Assemblymember Rick Zbur, D-Los Angeles, requires the implementation of new “LGBTQ cultural competency training” for teachers and school staff in California.

“AB 5 is the product of nearly a decade of advocacy that reflects the fact that LGBTQ+ students face higher dropout rates, rates of homelessness, and suicidal ideation, and we know that if a student is facing bullying in school, hostility in their community, or lack of a supportive home environment, the person they’re most likely to turn to is a school teacher or school counselor,” Zbur is quoted as saying in a news release. “This bill aims at helping these vulnerable students by giving teachers and school staff the tools and training they need to give these kids a shot at success.”

Assembly Bill 223

Status: Signed by Newsom on Sept. 23. The law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2024.

About the bill: AB 223, the “Transgender Youth Privacy Act,” sponsored by Assemblymember Christopher Ward, D-San Diego, requires courts to seal any petition by minors to legally change their gender or sex identification, in order to protect their privacy. Parent authorization would not be needed to change the vital records of a non-emancipated minor.

“At a time when many of our public documents have become digitized and easily accessible by those who would do transgender youth harm, AB 223 will allow transgender youth the ability to share their personal information with whoever they wish when they are ready to disclose it,” Ward is quoted as saying in a news release. “The Transgender Youth Privacy Act protects these youth from being bullied so they can navigate their daily lives as themselves.”

Assembly Bill 957

Status: Vetoed by Newsom on Sept. 22.

About the bill: AB 957, sponsored by Assemblymember Lori Wilson, D-Suisun City, would have required the court to consider whether a parent affirms their child’s gender identity in order to be granted custody or visitation rights. In his veto statement, Newsom cautioned against dictating legal standards, saying such efforts could be used to undermine civil rights in vulnerable communities. Courts already have the ability to factor in whether a parent affirms a child’s gender identity when determining what is best for a child, Newsom wrote in his veto.

“I’ve been disheartened over the last few years as I watched the rising hate and heard the vitriol toward the trans community,” Wilson wrote on Twitter. “My intent with this bill was to give them a voice, particularly in the family court system where a non-affirming parent could have a detrimental impact on the mental health and well-being of a child.”

Assembly Bill 1078

Status: Signed by Newsom on Sept. 25. The new law took effect immediately.

About the bill: AB 1078, the “Safe Place to Learn Act,” sponsored by Corey Jackson, D-Perris, requires the state Board of Education to develop a policy that local education agencies, including school districts, must follow before removing any instructional materials, abandoning any curriculum or removing any books from school libraries.

Agencies must get state Board of Education approval for any such removals from the curriculum or the library, or face fines, according to the bill. New instructional materials must also “accurately portray the cultural and racial diversity of our society,” including LGBTQ Americans, people with disabilities and members of other ethnic and cultural groups. New instructional material must also include “proportional and accurate representation of California’s diversity,” including by race, gender, socioeconomic status, religion and sexuality.

Jackson sponsored the bill after Temecula Valley Unified made national headlines when it tried to ban a social studies curriculum that briefly touched on assassinated LGBTQ civil rights icon Harvey Milk, drawing the ire of Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

“It is the responsibility of every generation to continue the fight for civil and human rights against those who seek to take them away. Today, California has met this historical imperative, and we will be ready to meet the next one,” Jackson is quoted as saying in a news release issued by his office.

California is the second state in the nation to pass a book-banning ban. Illinois passed a similar law in June.

Assembly Bill 1314

Status: Died in committee.

About the bill: AB 1314, the bill that has inspired new school board policies around California, sponsored by Assemblymember Bill Essayli, R-Corona, would have required school districts to notify parents in writing within three days of their child declaring that they did not wish to identify by their birth sex. AB 1314 died without getting a hearing in education committee, a preliminary step before being heard by the entire Assembly.

Essayli blasted the decision in a news release.

The decision to deny the bill a hearing “is symbolic of where Sacramento Democrats stand on parental rights,” Essayli is quoted as saying in the release. “They believe the government owns our children and that parents do not have a right to know what is happening with their own children at school.”

Although the bill died, it lived on in the form of school board measures across California, including in Chino Valley, Murrietta Valley, Orange Unified and Temecula Valley. The policies — and policies that forbid districts from notifying parents when their child declares they do not wish to identify by their birth sex — are making their way through the courts.

A proposed November 2024 ballot measure would enshrine a version of AB 1314 into the state Constitution, should it pass. As of Oct. 13, advocates for the ballot measure have not yet begun collecting the 546,651 signatures from California registered voters — equal to 5% of all ballots cast in the 2022 gubernatorial ballot — needed to qualify for the 2024 ballot.

Assembly Bill 1432

Status: Vetoed by Newsom on Oct. 7.

About the bill: AB 1432, sponsored by Assemblymember Wendy Carillo, D-Los Angeles, would have required out-of-state healthcare insurance providers who provide coverage to California residents to comply with the state’s constitutional amendment that makes abortion and gender-affirming care a right. The bill was intended to prevent insurance companies headquartered in other states from denying such care.

In his veto statement, the governor wrote that “it is not evident that out-of-state health insurance plans serving Californians do not already cover this care. Further, though well intentioned, this bill could invite litigation where an adverse ruling would outweigh a potential benefit.”

Senate Bill 345

Status: Signed by Newsom on Sept. 27.

About the bill: SB 345, sponsored by state Sen. Nancy Skinner, D–Berkeley, helps protect insurance providers against the enforcement of other states’ laws that criminalize or limit reproductive health care services or gender-affirming health care.

“An estimated 36 million women of child-bearing age now live in states that have outlawed abortion,” Skinner is quoted as saying in a news release issued by her office. “There’s also an alarming movement of states criminalizing gender-affirming care. With Gov. Newsom’s signing of SB 345, health care providers, physically located in California, will be able to offer a lifeline to people in states that have cut off access to essential care, and be shielded from the draconian laws of those states.”

Senate Bill 407

Status: Signed by Newsom on Sept. 23.

About the bill: SB 407, sponsored by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, gives LGBTQ foster youth the right to be placed with foster homes according to their gender identity and with foster families that have received instruction on LGBTQ issues and sensitivity training and have committed to provide a gender-affirming home environment.

“The foster care system can’t be sure if or when a particular child will ever come out as LGBTQ, but we can ensure that all foster homes are affirming of the kids that do,” Wiener is quoted as saying in a news release issued in April, when the bill passed the Senate Human Services Committee. “These are among the most at-risk children in our society, and we have a moral obligation to make sure they are safe and affirmed at home.”

Senate Bill 760

Status: Signed by Newsom on Sept. 23.

About the bill: SB 760, sponsored by state Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, requires all K-12 schools in California to provide access to all-gender bathrooms for students during school hours.

“Let’s face it — at some point during a typical 8-hour school day, everyone is going to have to go,” Newman is quoted as saying in a news release issued by his office on the introduction of the bill. “By requiring all California K-12 schools to provide gender-inclusive restroom facilities on campus, we’ll ensure the well-being of our LGBTQ+ and non-binary students and ensure safer school communities for everyone.”

Senate Bill 857

Status: Signed by Newsom on Sept. 23.

About the bill: SB 857, sponsored by state Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, creates an LGBTQ+ advisory task force to research ways to make a safer and more supportive learning environment for LGBTQ students.

“SB 857 empowers our LGBTQ+ students as school campuses have become a battle ground in the fight for LGBTQ+ dignity and humanity,” Laird is quoted as saying in a news release issued by his office. “These students continue to find themselves caught in the cross fire, lacking the support and resources they need to thrive.”

House Resolution 57

Status: Adopted on Sept. 6.

About the resolution: HR-57, authored by Assemblymember Matt Haney, R-San Francisco, declares August as Trans History Month.

“I believe that as Californians our strongest defense against the anti-trans agenda is just to tell the truth,” Haney is quoted as saying in a news release issued by his office. “Let’s tell the truth about transgender people’s lives, and let’s lift up the history of the transgender Californians who left their mark on our great state. I couldn’t be more proud to have introduced legislation that will designate August as the first statewide Transgender History month in the nation and I look forward to celebrating every August with this community.”

More on the California LGBTQ school board culture wars

Southern California school board meetings now political battlegrounds
LGBTQ students on new school rules: ‘It’s clear our lives aren’t important’
Who’s behind transgender policies in Southern California schools?
What do conflicting judicial decisions mean for parental notification policies?

​ Orange County Register 

Orange County girls volleyball Top 10 rankings, Oct. 16

• October 17, 2023

ORANGE COUNTY GIRLS VOLLEYBALL TOP 10

(Records through Oct. 15)

1. Mater Dei 34-3: The Monarchs went undefeated in the Trinity League, are seeded No. 1 in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.

Previous rank: 1

2. Huntington Beach 27-6: The Oilers slipped in the final week, losing to Edison, but still won the Surf League championship. They are seeded third in CIF-SS Division 1.

Previous rank: 2

3. Beckman 26-5: The Patriots finished 6-0 in the Pacific Coast League and are seeded No. 1 in CIF-SS Division 3 playoffs.

Previous rank: 3

4. Los Alamitos 31-5: The Griffins, who finished second to Huntington Beach in the Surf League, were selected to play in the elite eight-team Division 1 playoffs.

Previous rank: 4

5. JSerra 25-10: The Lions finished second to Mater Dei in  the Trinity League, are seeded second in Division 2.

Previous rank: 5

6. Orange Lutheran 22-13: The Lancers, the third-place finisher in the Trinity League, are seeded fourth in Division 2.

Previous rank: 7

7. Santa Margarita 16-10: The Eagles qualified for the Division 2 playoffs as an at-large team.

Previous rank: 6

8. Dana Hills 18-2: The Dolphins won the South Coast League championship with a 7-1 league record.

Previous rank: 8

9. San Clemente 16-11: The Tritons beat Aliso Niguel and Tesoro in the final week of the regular season in South Coast League matches.

Previous rank: 9

10. Edison 14-12: The Chargers defeated Huntington Beach in a Surf League match last week and will play in Division 2 in the playoffs.

Previous rank: Not ranked

Others considered: Aliso Niguel 12-12; Canyon 18-3; Capistrano Valley Christian 25-4; Corona del Mar 17-10; Newport Harbor 15-15; San Juan Hills 16-6; Sunny Hills 25-2

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

Kings will see familiar faces in trip to Winnipeg

• October 16, 2023

Still in search of their first win of the young season, the Kings took to the skies for their first road game of the year, in which they’ll be visiting old friends: Gabe Vilardi, Alex Iafallo and Rasmus Kupari, now of the Winnipeg Jets.

All three players were shipped out in the deal for Pierre-Luc Dubois, and the Kings also jettisoned Sean Durzi (who scored in Arizona’s victorious season opener Friday) to facilitate the trade. In two games this season, Dubois has been held scoreless with a minus-2 rating. Vilardi, Iafallo and Kupari have each recorded a point while skating on three different lines.

In a moment reminiscent of an episode of “The Simpsons” in which Mr. Burns was told that an angry crowd was saying “Boo-urns,” Dubois joked to reporters that the “boos” he expects to rain down from the Winnipeg stands might actually be fans chanting “Duuuuuuuuub.”

“If they’re cheering my departure, I think I’d question a little bit more my time there,” Dubois said.

With a blockbuster trade giving way to an early-season meeting, this game has already received more scrutiny than any other Kings-Jets matchup of the past. The Athletic’s Murat Ates got as close to Dubois as anyone has in news coverage with his piece Monday, in which Dubois talked about the guiding principle in his departures from Columbus and Winnipeg as well as his arrival in Los Angeles: you only live once, he said repeatedly, and even more times in so many words.

“People are going to say stuff about me that isn’t true but I have to bite the bullet because I’m doing it to myself,” Dubois told Ates. “It’s my decision that this is happening — I could sign a long-term deal and none of this would happen. Or I could do what I feel is right and get all of this. So that’s how that summer went. ‘One day, this is all going to be over.’ That’s how I saw it.”

Dubois, a bonvivant of sorts whose on-ice pedigree will continue funding both his grueling training in the gym and his gallivanting about the world for the next eight years thanks to a new pact worth $68 million, will face one of his two former teams. At 25, he’s already effectively forced the hands of two franchises, albeit with both receiving plenty in return for his highly desired services.

Dubois can clue the Kings in a bit on what the Jets may have in store Monday, but the Jets had six eyes on their opponents for multiple seasons with their trio of former Kings.

“There’s a lot of their system, the 1-3-1 there, it’s a lot of automatic plays — I don’t want to say robotic — but it’s just reads you’ve got to make, and we’ll see,” Vilardi told reporters in Winnipeg, while also lauding his new club’s depth. “Obviously, I know what they’re doing a lot of the time, but it’s still hockey and there’s a lot of reacting and plays that aren’t scripted.”

Winnipeg lost its opener to Calgary but won its first home game over the defending Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers. Kyle Connor leads them for four points so far and he’s courted a point-per-game pace against the Kings in his career. The Jets averted the loss of two more core components when they re-signed Connor Hellebuyck and Mark Scheifele to matching seven-year extensions earlier this month.

Related Articles

Anze Kopitar and Kevin Fiala have been among the offensive performers who have delivered for the Kings, but out-scoring opponents has been a tall order because of both the quality of teams the Kings faced and their own lapses.

The Kings surrendered 11 goals in their first two games (nine were ceded by their goalies), a 5-2 loss to Colorado and a 6-5 shootout defeat by Carolina after a Kings rally that fell short. Coach Todd McLellan described the issues as being more isolated as opposed to the team-wide defensive malaise that plagued them early last season.

“This feels a little different than last year, this feels a lot more individual-based than group based,” he said.

​ Orange County Register 

CIF-SS boys water polo polls, Oct. 16

• October 16, 2023

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

The CIF-SS boys water polo polls released Monday, Oct. 16

(Selected by the CIF-SS Boys Water Polo Committee.)

DIVISION 1

1. JSerra

2. Newport Harbor

3. Harvard-Westlake

4. Oaks Christian

5. Corona del Mar

6. Loyola

7. Mater Dei

8T. Huntington Beach

8T. Santa Margarita

10. Laguna Beach

DIVISION 2

1. Ventura

2. San Marcos/Santa Barbara

3. El Dorado

4T. Beckman

4T. Portola

4T. Camarillo

4T. Capistrano Valley

8. Irvine

9. Dos Pueblos

10.  Crean Lutheran

Others: Northwood, Arcadia, Edison

DIVISION 3

1. El Segundo

2. Canyon

3. Murrieta Valley

4. Yucaipa

5. Downey

6. University

7. Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks

8T. Santa Monica

8T. Pasadena Poly

10. Etiwanda

Others: Glendora, Agoura

DIVISION 4

1. Bonita

2. Woodbridge

3. Temecula Valley

4. La Habra

5. Buena Park

6. San Dimas

7. Great Oak

8. Trabuco Hills

9. Hoover/Glendale

10. Sunny Hills

Others: Pacifica/Garden Grove

DIVISION 5

1. Royal

2. Whittier

3. Murrieta Mesa

4. Ayala

5, La Salle

6. Liberty/Winchester

7. Beaumont

8. Cabrillo/Long Beach

9. Webb

10. Paloma Valley

Others: Segerstrom, Cate, La Quinta/La Quinta

DIVISION 6

Did not report.

​ Orange County Register 

Jared Walsh among six players outrighted off Angels roster

• October 16, 2023

Jared Walsh, who was an All-Star in 2021, was among six players outrighted by the Angels on Monday. It’s the first step toward all six of them becoming free agents.

Right-handers Jaime Barria and Carson Fullmer, left-hander Jhonathan Diaz, outfielder Brett Phillips and catcher Chad Wallach were also outrighted.

Walsh, Barria, Phillps and Wallach were all arbitration eligible, making them candidates to be non-tendered in November. This move simply shifts the timeline on their potential free agency up by a month.

All six players will officially become free agents once they refuse the outright assignment. The Angels could eventually re-sign any of the players.

Walsh, 30, never returned to the level he reached in his breakthrough season in 2021, when he hit 29 homers with an .850 OPS. In 2022, he battled thoracic outlet syndrome, hitting .215 with 15 homers and a .642 OPS.

This season, Walsh struggled with insomnia and neurological issues in April and early May. Once he was finally activated, he struggled and was sent back to Triple-A. Walsh returned to the majors in September, in which he was 5 for 37 with 19 strikeouts and no walks. For the season, he hit .125 with four homers and a .494 OPS.

Barria, 27, had a 2.61 ERA, pitching mostly in long relief, in 2022, but he had a 5.68 ERA in 2023.

Wallach, 31, was one of the Angels primary catchers for much of the season, while Logan O’Hoppe was injured.

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register