The best running headphones that won’t slip or fall

• February 5, 2025

Which running headphones are best?

Running is challenging enough without the added pain of your headphones slipping off your head or falling out of your ears. Running headphones are specially designed to stay in place while running or when engaging in other forms of vigorous exercise.

This guide will give you all the information you require to find the best running headphones.

What to know before you buy running headphones

Headphone type

While some people find standard in-ear or over-ear headphones work for them while running, the majority of folks have issues with these styles staying put. Enter the ear-hook headphones. These are essentially standard earbuds with an extra part that hooks over the ear to keep them in place. Most runners find these effective for running in. For the minority of people who still can’t stop them from slipping off their ears, there are models with a solid band that sits around the back of the neck, connecting the two earbuds together. Despite being bulkier, they tend to stay where they’re meant to be during exercise.

Wired vs. wireless

Wired headphones feature wires that run from each earpiece and plug into the headphone jack of your phone or other music-playing devices. Wireless headphones usually have a wire connecting the two earpieces, and then they connect to your device via Bluetooth. Wireless headphones are generally much less of a hassle for exercising in because you don’t have a wire in the way or restricting where you can stash your phone. Plus, it’s becoming more common for phones to do away with headphone jacks altogether. On the other hand, wired headphones tend to be cheaper than wireless models, don’t need recharging and can’t run out of battery.

What to look for in quality running headphones

Water-resistance

We’d recommend choosing running headphones with some degree of water resistance, so they won’t be damaged by sweat and they’re safe to run in the rain with.

External controls

Quality running headphones should have external controls to allow you to change the volume of the music you’re listening to, pause, play, and skip between tracks.

Noise cancellation

While noise cancellation can help you focus on running in noisy environments, running headphones should still let in a small amount of ambient noise so you’re aware of any hazards in your surroundings.

Cases

Some running headphones include cases to store them in when they’re not in use.

How much you can expect to spend on running headphones

If you’re looking for budget-friendly running headphones, you can find options between $10-$20. Midrange headphones cost about $20-$40, and high-end choices land between $50-$150.

Running headphones FAQ

Q. Can I take calls with my running headphones?

A. Many, but not all, running headphones have a built-in microphone, which allows you to easily take hands-free calls when your headphones are connected to your phone, either wirelessly or through the headphone jack. If this is a feature you want from your headphones, also ensure there’s a button positioned on the headphones or on their wires to answer incoming calls easily.

Q. Are ear-hook headphones suitable to wear with glasses?

A. If you’re a glasses wearer or you regularly wear shades while out on a run, you might be wondering if the ear hooks will interfere with your glasses. Luckily, in most cases, it’s comfortable enough to wear ear-hook-style headphones with glasses or sunglasses.

What are the best running headphones to buy?

Top running headphones

JLab Epic Air Sport ANC True Wireless Bluetooth 5 Earbuds

What you should know: These top-quality wireless running headphones are comfortable to wear for long periods and won’t come loose.

What you’ll love: They have active noise cancellation and automatically pause what you’re listening to when you take them out of your ears. They’re durable and do a good job staying in your ears, even during long sprints.

What you should consider: Some customers had trouble with the battery life decreasing after using them for a few months.

Worth checking out

mucro Foldable Wired Running Sports Headphones

What you should know: These headphones are a slightly different design with a solid band that runs around the back of the head — great for anyone who struggles to keep other headphones in place while running.

What you’ll love: They’re foldable, so they don’t take up too much room in your bag. They have a decent sound quality. They come with interchangeable earbuds of different sizes for a correct fit.

What you should consider: They lack volume control and are not wireless.

Prices listed reflect time and date of publication and are subject to change.

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​ Orange County Register 

USPS has suspended parcels from Hong Kong and China. Here’s what it means for Shein and Temu

• February 5, 2025

By ZEN SOO, Associated Press Business Writer

HONG KONG (AP) — Americans are likely to pay more for products from popular Chinese e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu as the U.S. Postal Service said it would stop accepting parcels from China and Hong Kong.

The move was announced Tuesday, coming after the U.S. imposed an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods and ended a customs exception that allowed small value parcels to enter the U.S. without paying tax. Canada and Mexico managed to negotiate a month-long reprieve from 25% tariffs threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump.

It will likely impact online shopping destinations like Shein and Temu, popular with younger shoppers in the U.S. for cheap clothing and other products, usually shipped directly from China.

Cheap, direct postal service helps these companies keep costs low, as did the “de minimis” exemption that previously allowed shipments to go tax-free if their value is under $800.

The temporary suspension by USPS is likely to delay shipments and could mean higher prices in the long term.

What exactly did the USPS announce?

The U.S. Postal Service said in a notice that it would temporarily stop accepting inbound parcels from the China and Hong Kong Posts until further notice.

Letters and flats — mail that measures up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) long or 3/4 inches (1.9 centimeters) thick — are not affected.

Why did it happen?

The USPS did not state a reason in a brief announcement, but the suspension came after Trump closed the “de minimis” customs exemption this week that allowed shoppers and importers to avoid duties on packages worth below $800.

The exemption was removed as part of an executive order to levy a 10% tariff on Chinese goods.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection previously stated that it processes an average of over four million “de minimis” imports each week.

What is the impact and who is most affected?

Consumers and companies alike will no longer be able to send parcels to the U.S. from Hong Kong or China.

This move is likely to impact Chinese e-commerce firms like Shein and Temu, although Shein is likely to be more affected, according to Jacob Cooke, CEO of e-commerce marketing agency WPIC Marketing + Technologies.

Both companies have significant market share in the U.S.

“Compared to Temu, Shein relies more heavily on USPS for direct-to-consumer shipping from China, and without this channel, it will have to rely more on private carriers,” said Cooke.

“That will increase logistics costs, which along with the recent scrapping of the de minimis exemption for most products from China, could erode its price advantage.”

Cooke said Temu operates on a semi-consignment model and often ships bulk orders to the U.S. before fulfilling orders domestically.

“Temu’s model of sourcing low-cost goods should also enable the platform to absorb higher logistics costs and remain price competitive,” he said.

Shein and Temu did not immediately comment.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said China would take “necessary measures” to protect its companies, and urged the U.S. to “stop politicizing economic and trade issues and using them as a tool, and to stop unreasonably suppressing Chinese companies.”

What are possible ways for companies to work around the issue?

It is unclear how long the USPS suspension will last, but the effort to crack down on the de minimis excemption seems like a longer-term shift in policy, Cooke said.

“Shein and Temu will simply need to rely more on private carriers as a workaround to the USPS suspension,” he said.

In the long term, Shein could accelerate its warehouse expansion in the U.S., while Temu can double down on its semi-consignment model. By shipping in bulk to the U.S. and fulfilling orders domestically, logistics cost can be reduced, Cooke said.

“Shipping in bulk to the U.S. and fulfilling domestically can reduce logistics costs, but for Shein, this poses a longer-term disruption to their business model which has depended on rapidly developing new SKUs and shipping them directly to consumers,” Cooke said.

​ Orange County Register 

Trump’s administration is pulling almost all USAID workers off the job worldwide

• February 5, 2025

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER and MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration said Tuesday that it is pulling almost all U.S. Agency for International Development workers off the job and out of the field worldwide, moving to all but end a six-decade mission to shore up American security by fighting starvation, funding education and working to end epidemics.

The administration notified USAID workers in emails and a notice posted online, the latest in a sudden dismantling of the aid agency by returning political appointees from President Donald Trump’s first term and billionaire Elon Musk’s government-efficiency teams who call much of the spending on programs overseas wasteful.

The order takes effect just before midnight Friday and gives direct hires of the agency overseas — many of whom have been frantically packing up households in expectation of the announcement — 30 days to return home unless they are deemed essential. Contractors not determined to be essential also would be fired, the notice said.

The move had been rumored for several days and was the most extreme of several proposals considered for consolidating the agency into the State Department. Other options had included closures of smaller USAID missions and partial closures of larger ones.

Thousands of USAID employees already had been laid off and programs worldwide shut down after Trump, a Republican, imposed a sweeping freeze on foreign assistance. Despite outcry from Democratic lawmakers, the aid agency has been a special target as the new administration and Musk’s budget-slashing Department of Government Efficiency look to shrink the federal government.

They have ordered a spending stop that has paralyzed U.S.-funded aid and development work around the world, gutted the senior leadership and workforce with furloughs and firings, and closed Washington headquarters to staffers Monday. Lawmakers said the agency’s computer servers were carted away.

“Spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” Musk boasted on X.

The mass removal of thousands of staffers overseas and in Washington would doom billions of dollars in projects in some 120 countries, including security assistance to partners such as Ukraine as well as development work for clean water, job training and education, including for schoolgirls under Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

The U.S. is the world’s largest humanitarian donor by far. It spends less than 1% of its budget on foreign assistance, a smaller share of its budget than some countries.

Health programs like those credited with helping end polio and smallpox epidemics and an acclaimed HIV/AIDS program that saved more than 20 million lives in Africa already have stopped. So have monitoring and deployments of rapid-response teams for contagious diseases such as an Ebola outbreak in Uganda.

Hundreds of millions of dollars of food and medication already delivered by U.S. companies are sitting in ports because of the administration’s sudden shutdown of the agency.

Democratic lawmakers and others say the USAID is enshrined in legislation as an independent agency, and cannot be shut down without congressional approval. Supporters of USAID from both political parties say its work overseas is essential to countering the influence of Russia, China and other adversaries and rivals abroad, and to cementing alliances and partnerships.

The decision to withdraw direct-hire staff and their families earlier than their planned departures will likely cost the government tens of millions of dollars in travel and relocation costs.

Staff being placed on leave include both foreign and civil service officers who have legal protection against arbitrary dismissal and being placed on leave without reason.

The American Foreign Service Association, the union which represents U.S. diplomats, sent a notice to its members denouncing the decision and saying it was preparing legal action to counter or halt it.

Locally employed USAID staff, however, do not have much recourse and were excluded from the federal government’s voluntary buyout offer.

USAID staffers and families faced wrenching decisions as the rumored order loomed, including whether to pull children out of school midyear. Some gave away pet cats and dogs, fearing the Trump administration would not give them time to complete the paperwork to bring the animals with them.

Tuesday’s notice said it would consider case-by-case exceptions for those needing more time. But with most of the agency’s staff soon off the job, it was unclear who would process such claims or other paperwork needed for the mass removal of thousands of overseas staffers.

Musk’s teams had taken USAID’s website offline over the weekend and it came back online Tuesday night, with the notice of recall or termination for global staffers its sole post.

The announcement came as Secretary of State Marco Rubio was on a five-nation tour of Central America and met with embassy and USAID staff at two of the region’s largest USAID missions: El Salvador and Guatemala on Monday and Tuesday.

Journalists accompanying Rubio were not allowed to witness the so-called “meet and greet” sessions in those two countries, but had been allowed in for a similar event in Panama on Sunday in which Rubio praised employees, particularly locals, for their dedication and service.

At a news conference earlier Tuesday, Rubio said he has “long supported foreign aid. I continue to support foreign aid. But foreign aid is not charity.” He noted that every dollar the U.S. spends must advance its national interests.

The online notice says those who will be exempted from leave include staffers responsible for “mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs” and would be informed by Thursday afternoon.

“Thank you for your service,” the notice concluded.

Lee reported from Guatemala City.

​ Orange County Register 

Fast fashion, laptops and toys are likely to cost more due to US tariffs on Chinese imports

• February 5, 2025

By HALELUYA HADERO, Associated Press

A sweeping new U.S. tariff on products made in China is expected to increase the prices American consumers pay for a wide array of products, from the ultra-cheap apparel sold on online shopping platforms to toys and electronic devices such as computers and cellphones.

An additional 10% tariff on all Chinese goods took effect Tuesday, while the U.S. Postal Service announced it will stop accepting parcels inbound from China and Hong Kong until further notice.

The previous day, President Donald Trump agreed to pause his threatened tariffs against Mexico and Canada for 30 days following negotiations on Trump’s demands for the North American nations to take steps to reduce illegal immigration and the flow of drugs such as fentanyl into the U.S.

After failing to get a similar White House reprieve, China struck back with retaliatory tariffs on some U.S. goods that are set to begin next week.

The sheer volume and variety of the China-made merchandise sold in the U.S. means residents would probably see the prices of many typically inexpensive items tick higher if the tit-for-tat tariffs persist.

These are some of the products most likely to be impacted:

Electronics, home supplies and car parts

The U.S. imported about $427 billion worth of goods from China in 2023, the most recent year with complete data, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Consumer electronics, including cellphones, computers and other tech accessories, make up the biggest import categories.

China is a dominant production engine for tech gear, including for American companies like Apple that have their products assembled in the country. In 2023, China accounted for 78% of U.S. smartphone imports and 79% of laptop and tablet imports, the Consumer Technology Association trade group reported.

The tariffs also may affect how much consumers pay for typically inexpensive clothing, shoes and kitchen items like pots and pans, as well as the big-ticket items, such as appliances, furniture and auto parts.

Jay Salaytah, 43, who runs his own auto repair shop in Detroit, said he bought some pieces of equipment sooner than he might have, anticipating they would cost more if Trump implemented his campaign promise to use import tariffs as a tool to promote U.S. manufacturing.

“I knew the costs were going to go up, and these are manufactured in China,” Salaytah said of a probe test light he purchased before Tuesday’s tariff went into effect.

Low-cost apparel and accessories

In addition to imposing a new tariff on Chinese imports, Trump’s executive order also suspended a little-known trade exemption that allowed goods worth less than $800 to come into the U.S. duty-free. The order left open the possibility for the loophole to still be used with shipments from other countries.

The trade rule, known as “de minimis,” has existed for nearly a century. It came under greater scrutiny in recent years due to the rapidly growing number of low-cost items coming into the U.S. from China, mainly from prominent China-founded online retailers such as Shein, Temu and Alibaba’s AliExpress.

Former President Joe Biden’s administration proposed a crackdown on the loophole in September, but the rules did not take effect before Biden left office.

Shein and Temu have gained global popularity by offering a quickly updated assortment of ultra-inexpensive clothes, accessories, gifts and gadgets shipped mostly from China, allowing the two e-commerce companies to compete on the home turf of American companies.

Seattle-based Amazon is trying to compete with them through an online storefront that mimics their business model by offering cheap products shipped directly from China.

Chinese exports of low-value packages soared to $66 billion in 2023, up from $5.3 billion in 2018, according to report released last week by the Congressional Research Service. In the U.S., Temu and Shein comprise about 17% of the discount market for fast fashion, toys and other consumer goods, the report said.

How much will prices go up?

It’s unclear. Under de minimis, Shein, Temu and AliExpress could bypass taxes collected by customs authorities. But under the changes effective Tuesday, company shipments from China will now be subject to existing duties plus the new 10% tariff imposed by Trump, analysts said.

“The vast majority of these orders are valued less than $800, which means all or virtually all of them are going to get caught in that,” Youssef Squali, an analyst at Truist Financial, said.

Juozas Kaziukenas, founder of e-commerce intelligence firm Marketplace Pulse, said he thinks the price increases on platforms like Shein and Temu will be “pretty small” and the products they sell will remain cheap. However, the rule change is likely to result in delivery delays since the packages now have to go through customs, Kaziukenas said.

The new tariffs will also hit third-party sellers on Amazon that import products from China, according to Squali. He expects sellers to eat some of the costs and pass the rest onto customers, which he thinks could result in percentage price increases in the mid-single digits. Other e-commerce sites that host businesses, such as Etsy, are also going to be impacted, Squali said.

Temu, which is owned by China’s PDD Holdings, has previously said its growth did not depend on the de minimis policy. Though most of its products are shipped from China, Temu has been recruiting Chinese merchants to store inventory in the U.S., a move that experts said would allow it to not be as exposed to changes around the trade rule.

In January, China also introduced measures to help cross-border e-commerce build overseas warehousing by offering them tax rebates or tax exemptions

What are US retailers saying?

The day after November’s U.S. presidential election, Brieane Olson, CEO of teen clothing chain PacSun, went to Hong Kong to meet with factory executives to figure out ways to prepare for Trump’s tariff plan.

Roughly 35% to 40% of PacSun’s garments are made in China, even as the chain has accelerated moves to diversify with suppliers in countries like Cambodia and Vietnam.

But Olson said Trump’s 10% tariff on Chinese goods was less extreme than the company anticipated. For now, PacSun doesn’t plan to increase prices on its products or move its manufacturing of knitwear and denim out of China.

Toys are another category of consumer products that relies heavily on imports from China. Greg Ahearn, the president and CEO of The Toy Association trade group, said he thinks toy companies that source in China are going to absorb the cost of the new tariff in the short term.

Eventually, those price hikes will be moved onto the consumer, Ahearn said.

Associated Press writers Anne D’Innocenzio in New York, and Christopher Rugaber and Didi Tang in Washington contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

Trump to sign executive order barring transgender female athletes from competing

• February 5, 2025

By WILL GRAVES, Associated Press National Writer

President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Wednesday designed to prevent people who were biologically assigned male at birth from participating in women’s or girls’ sporting events.

The order, which Trump is expected to sign at an afternoon ceremony, marks another aggressive shift by the president’s second administration in the way the federal government deals with transgender people and their rights.

The president put out a sweeping order on his first day in office last month that called for the federal government to define sex as only male or female and for that to be reflected on official documents such as passports and in policies such as federal prison assignments.

Trump found during the campaign that his pledge to “keep men out of women’s sports” resonated beyond the usual party lines. More than half the voters surveyed by AP VoteCast said support for transgender rights in government and society has gone too far.

He leaned into the rhetoric before the election, pledging to get rid of the “transgender insanity,” though his campaign offered little in the way of details.

Wednesday’s order — which coincides with National Girls and Women in Sports Day — will involve how his administration will interpret Title IX, the law best known for its role in pursuing gender equity in athletics and preventing sexual harassment on campuses.

“This executive order restores fairness, upholds Title IX’s original intent, and defends the rights of female athletes who have worked their whole lives to compete at the highest levels,” said U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina.

Every administration has the authority to issue its own interpretations of the landmark legislation. The last two presidential administrations — including Trump’s first — offer a glimpse at the push-pull involved.

Betsy DeVos, the education secretary during Trump’s first term, issued a Title IX policy in 2020 that narrowed the definition of sexual harassment and required colleges to investigate claims only if they’re reported to certain officials.

The Biden administration rolled back that policy last April with one of its own that stipulated the rights of LGBTQ+ students would be protected by federal law and provided new safeguards for victims of campus sexual assault. The policy stopped short of explicitly addressing transgender athletes. Still, more than a half-dozen Republican-led states immediately challenged the new rule in court.

“All Trump has to say is, ‘We are going to read the regulation traditionally,’” said Doriane Lambelet Coleman, a professor at Duke Law School.

How this order could affect the transgender athlete population — a number that is incredibly difficult to pin down — is uncertain.

The Associated Press reported in 2021 that in many cases, the states introducing a ban on transgender athletes could not cite instances where their participation was an issue. When Utah state legislators overrode a veto by Gov. Spencer Cox in 2022, the state had only one transgender girl playing in K-12 sports who would be affected by the ban. It did not regulate participation for transgender boys.

“This is a solution looking for a problem,” Cheryl Cooky, a professor at Purdue University who studies the intersection of gender, sports, media and culture, told the AP after Trump was elected.

Yet the actual number of transgender athletes seems to be almost immaterial. Any case of a transgender female athlete competing — or even believed to be competing — draws outsized attention, from Lia Thomas swimming for the University of Pennsylvania to the recently completed season of the San Jose State volleyball team.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

​ Orange County Register 

LeBron James had ‘seen it all’ until Lakers traded Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic

• February 5, 2025

INGLEWOOD — Lakers star LeBron James, in his own words, had “seen it all.”

After 22-plus years and counting in the NBA, there isn’t much that can surprise NBA’s all-time leading scorer.

But this past weekend, the Lakers pulled off the unimaginable, shocking even James by acquiring five-time All-Star Luka Doncic in a three-team trade that sent 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks, Doncic’s former team.

“I have seen it all up until this one,” James said after the Lakers’ 122-97 road victory over the Clippers on Tuesday night. “I have never been a part of one transaction like that. That was different.”

There’s a reason why James hasn’t seen a transaction like the one that brought Doncic to Los Angeles, with the 25-year-old perennial MVP candidate holding his introductory press conference on Tuesday morning in El Segundo.

And it wasn’t just because of the stealthiness that the Lakers and Mavericks operated under, with James not finding out about the trade until he was at a late dinner with his family after the Lakers defeated the New York Knicks on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

“I thought it was for sure fake,” James said. “I thought it was a hoax, people messing around or whatever. But then when A.D. called me, A.D. Facetimed me and I talked to him for quite a while and even when I got off the phone with him it still didn’t seem real and it still pretty much didn’t seem real until I saw Luka [on Tuesday] and I saw a clip of A.D. at the Dallas shootaround.

“That’s when it finally hit me, like, ‘Oh [expletive], this is real.’”

The deal is the first in NBA history in which two reigning All-NBA players have been traded for each other midseason, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

“It’s something I haven’t seen before, obviously,” James said. “It was shocking when I heard the news, but at the end of the day, I understand the business of basketball. I didn’t make the decision. But it was just, it was shocking in the sense of who was involved, obviously, with Luka and A.D. I don’t know. I don’t have much words for it.”

Like Coach JJ Redick and many of his teammates, including Doncic himself, James was balancing the emotions of the excitement of now being teammates with Doncic – who James referred to as his favorite player in the NBA for a while – and lamenting no longer having Davis on the team after they were teammates for 5½ seasons.

The on-court success of the Lakers’ James-Davis era is easy to see: the 2020 NBA title, which ended the franchise’s 10-year championship drought; four playoff appearances in five seasons, including a trip to the 2023 Western Conference finals; the 2023 NBA Cup; simultaneously receiving All-Star honors as teammates four times and All-NBA honors twice.

But James’ relationship with Davis extended beyond the court.

“It was great – it was everything and more,” James said. “Literally became brothers over the last 5½ years. What we were able to accomplish on the floor, obviously that goes without saying.

“But more importantly, what we were able to accomplish off the floor, us growing together, knowing each other’s families, seeing each other grow, seeing each other’s kids grow. It’s pretty … it’s pretty unique. Obviously I was at his wedding, when he got married. It’s been … it was special. It was special, for sure.”

James’ personal connection with Davis made it difficult to fully absorb the magnitude of the trade over the nearly 72 hours between it first being reported on Saturday night and when he spoke with reporters for the first time post-trade on Tuesday night inside the visiting team locker room at Intuit Dome.

But James made it clear he’s excited to be teammates with Doncic, who remains sidelined with a strained left calf injury he suffered on Dec. 25 but could return in Saturday afternoon’s home game against the Indiana Pacers.

“It’s kind of hard right now to kind of digest what it’s going to look like on the floor,” James said. “Obviously, two selfless, competitors. Love seeing the success of our teammates. Luka’s been my favorite player in the NBA for a while now. I think you guys know that. And I’ve always just tried to play the game the right way and inspire the next generation. And Luka happens to be one of them.”

James thinks his pairing with Doncic, who talked and laughed with James while watching Tuesday’s game from the bench, will be a “very seamless transition.”

“Whatever we want it to be,” he responded when asked what it will take for the star duo partnership to be productive. “It won’t take long. I can play with anybody, and he can as well. So we’ll work well together.”

Clippers coach Ty Lue, who coached James during his star pairing with Kyrie Irving for three seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2014-17), also pushed back against the notion that the James-Doncic pairing won’t work because of their high on-ball usages.

“They’re not right,” Lue said before Tuesday’s game. “It’ll work. When you have LeBron James, who’s been the best player in the league for the last 15 years. And you have Luka, who’s a top-three/top-five player in the league, they’ll figure out how to make it work.

“LeBron can play with anybody. The way he plays, he’s smart enough to understand how to play with certain guys, how to play off of guys and when to pick and choose his spots. JJ will do a good job of staggering those guys, so they each have their own unit, kind of like we did with Kyrie and Bron. But they’ll figure it out. It’s not a tough problem to have, I’ll tell you that. So they’ll make it work.”

The future – building a roster around Doncic and Redick’s coaching philosophy – was a significant theme of Doncic’s introductory press conference, with very little mention of James outside of when questions about him were directly asked.

The NBA trade deadline is Thursday, and James pushed back against the notion that he would be concerned the Lakers only care about the future with Doncic leading the way and not maximizing the twilight years of James’ career.

“What’s wrong with that? If I had concerns about it, I’d waive my no-trade clause and get up out of here,” James responded when asked if he had any concerns about the organization’s priorities possibly shifting from the present to the future.

James added: “I’m here right now. I’m here right now. I’m committed to the Lakers organization. I’m here to help Luka and Maxi [Kleber] make the transition as smooth as possible. [Markieff Morris] been here before, so he already know what we’re about. I won a championship with him in 2020, so I ain’t worried about him. But as the leader of the team, as one of the captains of the team, it’s my job to make it as seamless as possible.”

​ Orange County Register 

JSerra boys basketball dominated by St. John Bosco with Trinity League title at stake

• February 5, 2025

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — In the Trinity League boys basketball game between St. John Bosco and JSerra on Tuesday, it was apparent very early that one team was playing to win a league championship and the other team was having a bad night.

St. John Bosco dominated JSerra 71-53 to earn a share of the Trinity League championship.

The Braves (24-4, 8-2) will share the league title with Santa Margarita (8-2 league), which beat Servite on Tuesday. St. John Bosco and Santa Margarita split their two league games this season.

“Obviously we’d like to win it by ourselves, but with the schedule we played and the travel, I’m really proud of these guys,” St. John Bosco coach Matt Dunn said. “This is the best league in the country so to win it is a big honor.”

St. John Bosco overwhelmed JSerra (21-7, 6-4) with its defense in the first half. The Braves held JSerra to single-digit scoring in the first two quarters and the Lions made just 5 of 26 field goal attempts.

“I thought we were great defensively,” Dunn said. “The guys were really locked in with what we were trying to do.”

St. John Bosco went on a 9-1 run in the first quarter and a 12-2 run in the second. The Braves led by 20 points at halftime and outscored JSerra in the paint 20-4.

JSerra coach Keith Wilkinson praised St. John Bosco but was very disappointed in his team’s effort.

“They are really talented and their length and athleticism disrupts us,” Wilkinson said of the Braves. “That was the most embarrassed I’ve ever been in terms of our competitive effort. We weren’t rotating on defense, playing with any physicality or any effort. If you do those things against one of the best teams in the country, that’s going to be the result.”

St. John Bosco’s two star players delivered on both ends of the court. USC commit Elzie Harrington had a complete game with 20 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. Brandon McCoy Jr. had 20 points with six rebounds and a pair of steals.

Wilkinson has coached against players like Jalen Green and Josh Christopher who went on to reach the NBA, and he praised Harrington as one of the best players he has ever coached against.

“He does everything. He rebounds, defends, he’s smart, plays with pace and makes shots,” Wilkinson said. “I can’t wait for him to be gone because he’s so darn talented. They have so many talented pieces, but he really connects them. And Brandon McCoy is so talented.”

St. John Bosco was able to score from inside and out against JSerra’s defense. The Braves outscored JSerra 34-16 in the paint and made 45 percent of their 3-point shots. Max Ellis made his first three 3-pointers of the game and Chris Komin made two 3-pointers in the second quarter.

SMU commit BJ Davis-Ray led JSerra with 18 points and had a team-high eight rebounds. Brannon Martinsen and Grayson Sinek each had eight points. Sinek made two consecutive 3-pointers to open the second half.

Both teams are likely going to be placed in the Open Division of the CIF-SS playoffs. St. John Bosco is No. 4 overall in the latest CIF-SS rankings and JSerra is ranked No. 7.

The playoff pairings will be announced Saturday at noon.

“I think when we compete with the right energy level, we can play with anyone in the country,” Wilkinson said. “If we put the effort out we did tonight, we aren’t winning any playoff games in any division.”

​ Orange County Register 

John Gibson dazzles on milestone night as Ducks edge Stars

• February 5, 2025

ANAHEIM — On a night of milestones, the Ducks had plenty to celebrate before the puck dropped and even more after the final horn sounded in their 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night at Honda Center.

Leading the way was goaltender John Gibson, whose 500th career game was a masterpiece in which he made 26 saves to topple the NHL’s third-best team by points percentage and move the season series to 2-0 in the Ducks’ favor. Gibson, who debuted for the Ducks in 2014, has now played 53 more games than any other goalie in franchise history as he became the 85th goalie in league history to cross the 500-game threshold.

“Tonight, obviously, was a little more special, but we’re just trying to win hockey games,” Gibson said. “The guys did a great job in front of me, blocking shots and shutting it down in the third. It was a great team effort.”

Mason McTavish, who played in his 200th game, wasn’t credited with an assist but made a key defensive play that led to Cutter Gauthier’s goal before Trevor Zegras scored the game-winner early in the third period. Jacob Trouba, whom the Ducks acquired in December, played career Game No. 800, registering four shots, three blocks and two hits.

Colin Blackwell scored for Dallas, which saw its five-game winning streak come to an end. Jake Oettinger repelled 26 shots. Former Duck Ilya Lyubushkin exited the match with an injury and did not return.

After the game, John Gibson received a Gatorade shower fit for the Super Bowl’s winning coach in the dressing room.

“He’s amazing. I’ve been saying that, I feel like, since I got here,” Zegras said. “He’s one of the best athletes and [best] humans I’ve been around, and to get to experience that moment with him and the room after the game was pretty special.”

The Ducks won for the fifth time in six games and won their fourth straight on their home ice. The Ducks had leading scorer Troy Terry back (illness), while the Stars were without top defenseman Miro Heiskanen, who was deemed month-to-month after undergoing knee surgery on Tuesday morning.

Tuesday marked just the second time this season that the Ducks won with fewer than three goals, the first being a 2-0 shutout of the San Jose Sharks in their season opener.

Dallas pushed late for a tying goal, testing Gibson with his opposite number seated on the bench in favor of an extra attacker but failing to solve him a second time.

With 15:53 to play, the Ducks reassumed control. A clearing attempt was knocked down at the blue line by Olen Zellweger, who sent the puck ahead to Alex Killorn, who moved it on to Zegras for a one-touch shot over the outstretched Oettinger after he had whiffed on his poke check. Though Zegras said he was “cheating” on the play, he had also disrupted Dallas’ breakout initially, applying pressure on the forecheck after a lost faceoff before scoring his sixth goal of the campaign.

“Leo (Carlsson) told me on the faceoff to jump real hard,” said Zegras, whose return from injury has sparked a 5-2-0 stretch. “I think he was taking it on his forehand, so I think I just surprised the ‘D.’ When I said I was cheating, it just meant I had faith in my teammates to win the battles. When you’re playing with a guy like Mr. Killorn, you know he’s going to make a special play.”

Zegras said of Zellweger: “He loves hockey more than anyone I’ve ever met.”

Holding a 1-0 lead at the second intermission, the Ducks then came up empty on their power play and then gave up a tying goal right after Jamie Benn’s penalty expired, 1:29 into the final frame.

Benn exited the penalty box as the Stars were coming up the ice, giving them numbers on the rush to back up the defense. He left the puck for former Duck Sam Steel, who held it patiently while awaiting the trailing Blackwell, who smacked the puck past Gibson.

The second period was even more of a netminders’ duel than the first, with neither goalie allowing a goal. Dallas’ Esa Lindell and the Ducks’ Frank Vatrano exchanged chances from close range, but Gibson and Oettinger were up to those tasks.

Late in the frame, the Ducks earned their second power play of the night, with Killorn producing a promising chance for their second unit. After Oettinger stymied Killorn, Benn went the other way on a short-handed partial breakaway that was thwarted by Gibson. The ensuing dustup in the goal crease left the Ducks with a brief two-man advantage.

Isac Lundeström’s backhand bid and follow-up attempts gave the Ducks a jolt with about 3:30 left in the first period and with 2:13 left they earned the first lead of the night.

McTavish and Robby Fabbri teamed up on the forecheck to strip Blackwell. Fabbri emerged from the corner with the puck, driving the net and leaving a drop pass that banked off Steel’s skate to Gauthier, who placed his shot precisely amid a heap of bodies. It was Gauthier’s ninth goal of his rookie season and his second against Dallas after he had a goal and an assist in a 4-2 victory on Nov. 18.

The Ducks have now beaten both Dallas and the Winnipeg Jets, the West’s top two teams entering Tuesday’s schedule, twice each, with a victory for Gibson and one for Lukáš Dostál in each season series. Overall, they’re 6-2-0 against the NHL’s five best teams by both points and points percentage.

“There’s been a lot of confidence within the group. It started when we beat Winnipeg at home,” Coach Greg Cronin said. “We had that [1-4-1] road trip where we got a little bit sloppy, but I think we got back on the rails pretty quickly. When you win, it builds belief in what you’re doing.”

NOTES

Gibson is the 10th American-born goaltender to reach the 500-game milestone and the third active one. The New York Rangers’ Jonathan Quick has appeared in 797 games and Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck has played in 547. It was also Gibson’s 202nd win, leaving him four wins from tying Jean-Sebastien Giguere for the most in franchise history.

​ Orange County Register