Rams QB Matthew Stafford preparing for another round with Aaron Rodgers

• December 19, 2024

LOS ANGELES — A Hail Mary that left the Detroit Lions stunned. A fourth-quarter comeback that came up a touchdown short. Trading touchdowns until a failed two-point conversion ended the Lions’ two-decade-long road losing streak to the Green Bay Packers.

Quarterbacks Matthew Stafford and Aaron Rodgers will face each other again on Sunday when the Rams (8-6) travel east to face the New York Jets (4-10). It will be the 18th meeting between the two, who played for NFC North rivals Detroit and Green Bay, respectively, for much of their careers.

Asked to pick any games that stand out between the two in the series, which Rodgers leads 13-4, none came to mind immediately for Stafford.

“I’ve had too many to even think about, to be honest with you,” Stafford said. “It’s always a good battle.”

Entering this weekend, the two quarterbacks are facing different circumstances.

Rodgers, 41, was traded to the Jets prior to the 2023 season with Super Bowl expectations. But a torn Achilles suffered in Week 1 ended that campaign, and the aftereffects have lingered into 2024. Just now in December is he starting to regain some of the mobility and effectiveness that have defined his career.

But it’s come too late to save the Jets’ season, or the jobs of the head coach, offensive coordinator and general manager who helped orchestrate Rodgers’ arrival in the Tri-State Area.

On the other hand, Stafford, 36, has led the Rams to three straight wins and a 7-2 record since the bye, putting them in position to win the NFC West for the first time since 2021.

“I’m just excited to go out there and play,” Stafford said. “Obviously meaningful football in the month of December is an awesome thing to be a part of. We’ve earned that and we’ve got to continue to earn that opportunity to play games that matter. This just happens to be the next one on the list. Obviously have a ton of respect for Aaron and competed against him a bunch of times in my career. He’s a helluva player and does a great job.”

Whether or not this is the last meeting between Stafford and Rodgers remains to be seen. The latter spent most of his press conference on Wednesday fielding questions about whether or not he would retire after this disappointing Jets season.

Regardless, the two former Super Bowl winners figure to be tied together as players who helped define their generation of quarterbacks.

“The essence of playing quarterback involves so many different things, but you talk about changing arm slots, creating off-schedule, understanding of what are the defensive structures and how do you move and manipulate defenders,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said. “Both of those guys have been doing those types of things at a really high clip. … It’s two greats, two guys that I look at as Hall of Famers.”

NOTES

Rams cornerback Cobie Durant (lung contusion) was medically cleared to return to practice and was a limited participant on Wednesday. McVay said Monday that the starting corner was on track to return against the Jets after a one-game absence.

​ Orange County Register 

Lakers’ ‘low man’ comes into focus for improved defense

• December 19, 2024

EL SEGUNDO — When it comes to the Lakers’ defense and their improvement on that end of the court, multiple people within the organization point to a responsibility that can be in the hands of several players on any given possession.

“The low man and the low-man presence and the high-shift presence that we talked about all season, that, to me, is what’s probably improved the most,” Lakers head coach JJ Redick said after the team’s practice on Wednesday. “Our low man is consistently in there.”

The low man – the defender closest to the rim on the weak side of the floor – is usually responsible for providing the first wave of help defense when the opposing team’s offense either penetrates the defense or appears to be about to.

The Lakers have been getting better performances from the players in this position more often, helping them to their best defensive stretch of the season so far.

Statistically, the Lakers’ three best defensive performances have come in their last three games: the 107-98 home win against Portland on Dec. 8; the 97-87 road loss to Minnesota on Dec. 13 and Sunday’s 116-110 home win against Memphis.

The Lakers’ defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) in those games, according to Cleaning The Glass:

• Portland: 100;

• Minnesota: 99 (season-best mark);

• Memphis: 100.9.

The Lakers didn’t record a single-game defensive rating below 105 this season, according to Cleaning The Glass, until the victory over the Trail Blazers.

“We’re just covering for each other,” All-Star big man Anthony Davis said. “We [weren’t] having a lot of that. A guy gets beat, it wasn’t a guy there to protect him. We’ve got some practice time to kind of take care of that. And it’s shown and translated onto the court.”

The Lakers’ defense will be tested when they travel to Sacramento to play the Kings at Golden 1 Center on Thursday night and again Saturday afternoon.

In addition to Davis not switching on to perimeter players as often defensively and playing in coverage more frequently, the Lakers’ improved presence from their low man has led to better rim protection.

The Lakers allowed opponents to shoot just 50% within six feet of the rim when a defender is nearby in their last three games, the league’s best defensive mark in that small-sample size, after allowing 66% shooting on these shots (ranked No. 24) over their first 24 games.

“That’s what we do in the practice, literally, [work on] our low man, help defense and all that,” forward Rui Hachimura said. “We have [the] potential to be a good defense team. Low man’s going to be really important, especially with me. I’ve been in a lot of low man side, so I’m more like watching film with the coaches, and then trying to make sure I’m in the right position.”

BRONNY TO SHOWCASE

Bronny James, the Lakers’ second-round pick from this past June’s NBA draft, will play in the G League Winter Showcase in Orlando, Florida.

James, the 20-year-old son of Lakers star LeBron James, has been back and forth between the Lakers and the organization’s G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, as a rookie.

He’s averaged 14.4 points (37.7% shooting), 2.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists in five games with South Bay.

His best performances have come in the last 1½ weeks after returning from a bruised left heel injury that sidelined him for three weeks: 16 points (6-of-15 shooting) and four rebounds in a victory over the San Diego Clippers on Dec. 7; 30 points (13-of-23 shooting) in a loss to the Valley Suns last Thursday; 16 points (6-of-20 shooting) in another loss to the Suns on Friday.

“Where I’ve seen, on court in the G League, I think some decision-making with the basketball, being on ball and making good decisions both as a scorer and as a playmaker,” Redick said of Bronny. “Continuing to see the flashes defensively of what we’re really excited about. What we’ve stressed with him throughout the summer, preseason, early season was getting himself into elite shape so that he could be a high-level impact player on the defensive end. He has the heel injury and has to lose some of that momentum. We’re excited about what he’s done over the last two games and looking forward to see what he does in the lineup.”

The annual G League showcase, which was previously in Las Vegas before moving to Florida, runs from Thursday-Sunday.

“I’ve told him this, he’s got to get to the point where it’s OK to fail,” Redick said of Bronny. “I think he has a real reservation to fail. A lot of that is he’s had a camera on him since when he was 8 years old. I can’t imagine Knox and Kai (Redick’s sons) having cameras at their rec league games.

“I think once he develops that, he’s gonna take off, like literally take off. He will do anything he asks to do, he’s done everything we’ve asked him to do. It’s just really part of player development, not just the physical skills and the physical development, but it’s the mental development as well.”

LAKERS AT KINGS

When: Thursday, 7 p.m.

Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento

TV/radio: Spectrum SportsNet, 710 AM

​ Orange County Register 

Fullerton hires former Sunny Hills coach Pete Karavedas as its new football coach

• December 19, 2024

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A strong desire to coach and several factors aligning at Fullerton High has Pete Karavedas headed back to the football field.

Fullerton principal Jon Caffrey announced Wednesday that his school has selected Karavedas as its new football head coach.

Karavedas coached Sunny Hills to the CIF-SS Division 8 championship in 2019 and was The Register’s O.C. coach of the year that fall.

After the 2021 campaign, he resigned after seven seasons to pursue opportunities in school administration.

“I got the itch and couldn’t stay away (from coaching),” said Karavedas, who has been serving as an assistant principal at Sunny Hills. “I realized I have a lot more in the tank to give.”

“You get the itch but it has to be the right situation,” he added. “It’s exciting.”

At Fullerton, Karavedas, 40, will reunite with Caffrey, who served as his athletic director at Sunny Hills.

Caffrey also hired Karavedas as his defensive coordinator at Whittier Christian when he was the coach and athletic director at the school.

“We’re thrilled to get him,” said Caffrey, in his first year as the Fullerton principal.

Karavedas said the presence of Caffrey helps make the position at Fullerton intriguing.

“Great school and great community and great leadership,” he said.

Last season, Fullerton finished 0-10 for its first winless campaign since beginning football in 1915.

In November, Richard Salazar resigned after seven seasons as the team’s coach.

Karavedas will transition back to teaching at Fullerton. He said his father Nick, one of his assistants at Sunny Hills, will be part of his staff in some capacity.

Karavedas posted a 51-28 record at Sunny Hills.

One bright spot last season for Fullerton was the performance of its teams on the lower levels. The freshman team went 10-0 and the JV posted a 8-2 record.

“We spent a long time attracting kids back to Fullerton,” Salazar said. “It showed at the lower level.”

Fullerton will remain next season in the Lambda League with Sunny Hills, Beckman, Marina, Kennedy and Valencia.

Please send football news to Dan Albano at dalbano@scng.com or @ocvarsityguy 

​ Orange County Register 

USC lands speedy New Mexico running back Eli Sanders in transfer portal

• December 19, 2024

LOS ANGELES — He hadn’t been home for a week, the campus invites flooding Eli Sanders’ phone as soon as his name dropped in the transfer portal.

First he hopped on a plane to East Lansing, and Michigan State, the very Monday and Tuesday the portal opened. Then came a trip westward, to Arizona, the following Wednesday and Thursday. Friday yo-yoed him back east to Arkansas. Saturday and Sunday was Virginia Tech. All of these programs pitching themselves, across the country, to one of the most productive backs in the portal, the 5-foot-11 Sanders coming off a season in which he rushed for 1,063 yards and nine touchdowns for New Mexico.

And then, on Sunday night, Sanders returned to his hotel in Virginia and checked his phone. There, waiting, was a text from USC running backs coach Anthony Jones. They got on a brief call, Jones inviting the Oceanside native to Southern California for one final visit.

It was over in a matter of days, from there, Jones visiting campus across Monday and Tuesday and officially committing to USC on Wednesday.

“Growing up a USC fan, definitely always wanted to play there, always wanted to at least attend school there,” Sanders, who went to high school in Arizona, told the Southern California News Group on Wednesday. “So, you know, having that opportunity was a dream. And once I got the opportunity, I couldn’t pass it up.”

It’s a much-needed import for USC, after a brutal couple of weeks of departures via the portal. Last week, in a shocking move, standout sophomore back Quinten Joyner transferred, leaving the program barren in the backfield coming off a 6-6 regular season.

“I know this isn’t the message y’all were expecting or hoping for, and it honestly wasn’t what I thought I’d be writing as we looked to next season either,” Joyner wrote on Twitter on Dec. 14, in a message to USC’s fan base announcing his departure.

With starting back Woody Marks heading to the NFL and Joyner gone, USC desperately needed transfer portal help at running back, sending a slew of offers to portal options. And Sanders brings intriguing upside with true game-changing speed, a back who averaged 7.2 yards per carry in a breakout 2024 season.

“I feel like I can take the top off the defense with my speed,” Sanders said, asked how he felt he could fit into head coach Lincoln Riley’s offense at USC. “Fitting in with their run schemes, and their offense, how they get the back into space, just felt like the right fit.”

Sanders spent three years at Iowa State before transferring to New Mexico, producing one of the more quietly underrated seasons of any running back across the country in 2024. He broke out, in particular, across his final four games; the highlight was a 16-carry, 173-yard performance in a victory over San Diego State, a defense that held – held is relative – Boise State Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty to 149 yards on 31 carries.

It’s unclear if Sanders will be an immediate bell-cow in USC’s offense, and he could well end up playing a complementary role next to current true freshman Bryan Jackson, who will have his own audition for USC’s RB1 job in 2025 in the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 27. But Sanders repeatedly referenced the opportunity to “compete” in USC’s room as a large factor in his decision, a back who projects as a large part of Coach Lincoln Riley’s plans in 2025 in any capacity.

“I think everybody’s dream is to be the starting running back for USC. So that’s what I’m trying to go in there to do.”

​ Orange County Register 

Anaheim man convicted of killing partner in Garden Grove following multi-day meth binge

• December 19, 2024

An Anaheim man who shot his sexual partner in the face at a Garden Grove home and then led police on a high-speed pursuit in a rented U-Haul pickup in Riverside County was convicted Wednesday, Dec. 18, of second-degree murder.

An Orange County Superior Court jury deliberated for several hours before finding Ali Samoodi, 53, guilty of shooting 57-year-old Dave Abbott during the early morning hours of May 7, 2022, following a multi-day methamphetamine and sex binge in a room Abbott was renting at a home in the 5300 block of Santa Barbara Avenue.

Deputy District Attorney Harris Siddiq told jurors during the trial that a delusional Samoodi was driven by “guns, drugs and paranoia,” which the prosecutor referred to as a “recipe for disaster, and in this case it was a recipe for murder.”

Samoodi’s attorney, Ed Welbourn, alleged during the trial that Abbott had raped Samoodi prior to the shooting. The defense attorney accused investigators of jumping to conclusions and failing to look into the possible sexual assault.

The prosecutor at the outset of the trial told jurors that Samoodi had been acting erratically for days prior to the shooting, at one point forcing his mother to call 911 after he pointed a gun at imaginary people at his Anaheim home. But the mother refused to testify during the trial, leading to her being held in contempt and fined.

In an encounter with one of Abbott’s roommates, Samoodi said he was upset that Abbott owed him money for drugs, according to testimony. But that same roommate also testified that she had seen what Abbott told her was a water bottle with GHB — also known as the date rape drug — inside of it prior to the shooting.

Moments before the shooting, that roommate described hearing Samoodi yell something to the effect of “No, no stop raping me!” or “You’re not going to rape me anymore!”

After hearing the gunshot, the roommate said she and her boyfriend grabbed their dogs and ran outside the home. But when she ran back in to grab another roommate’s dog, the woman recalled encountering Samoodi leaving the residence with a gun in his hand.

The roommate said she begged for her life, while Samoodi told her to get out of the way. The roommate testified that she didn’t think Samoodi was exactly pointing a gun at her, but was instead motioning at her with it.

Samoodi drove off in a U-Haul pickup he had rented. Officers quickly tracked the vehicle to Menifee, kicking off a 26-mile high-speed chase on and off freeways in which Samoodi reached speeds of up to 80 mph before being taken into custody.

Five days after the shooting, Abbott died from his injuries.

While the jurors found Samoodi guilty of second-degree murder for the killing of Abbott, they acquitted him of an assault charged tied to his encounter immediately following the shooting with Abbott’s roommate.

Samoodi is scheduled to return to court for sentencing on Feb. 28.

​ Orange County Register 

Luxury perfume, Dyson Airwraps among $150,000 in stolen items recovered in Costa Mesa, police say

• December 19, 2024

An undercover operation in Costa Mesa on Tuesday, Dec. 17, led to the recovery of roughly $150,000 in stolen retail goods, including luxury perfumes and high-end styling hair dryers.

The bust came after an undercover officer responded to an ad on Offer Up and purchased stolen merchandise from a 35-year-old Costa Mesa man.

A police-bodycam photo shows the seller getting detained in a parking lot, where he was arrested by detectives. Detectives found counterfeit Apple headphones inside his vehicle and an estimated $54,000 in stolen goods from large retail stores, including Macy’s, Costa Mesa police said.

A search warrant served at the suspect’s residence yielded more than $23,000 in cash and in excess of $100,000 in stolen high-end merchandise, from Dyson Airwraps to Chanel and Versace perfumes, authorities said. More stolen products were also recovered from a storage unit in Orange County, police said.

Details on how the suspect allegedly accrued a large inventory of stolen goods was not disclosed.

He was booked on suspicion of intending to sell counterfeit goods and for receiving stolen property. At this time, he is the only suspect connected to the case, Costa Mesa police spokesperson Roxi Fyad said.

Police credited a Macy’s manager for assisting with the investigation.

​ Orange County Register 

Diocese of Orange to pay $3.5 million settlement over alleged child sex abuse involving former Mater Dei principal

• December 19, 2024

The Diocese of Orange has agreed to pay a $3.5 settlement to a man who alleged he was sexually abused as a young teen decades ago while attending Mater Dei High School by former Monsignor Michael Harris, attorneys said Wednesday.

During a news conference announcing the settlement outside Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove on Wednesday, Dec. 18, victims rights attorneys alleged that their ongoing legal battle against the Diocese of Orange, which oversees Mater Dei, has unveiled “at least 13 child predators” who had worked at the campus over the years.

A once-popular and high-profile figure in Orange County, Harris served as principal at Mater Dei and Santa Margarita Catholic high schools before leaving the priesthood after the clergy scandal erupted more than two decades ago. Though Harris denied molesting minors and was never criminally charged, more than a dozen former students have accused him in lawsuits of sexual abuse.

The accuser tied to the new settlement — who is referred to in court filings by the pseudonym John Doe — wrote in a statement read by one of his attorney’s that he still struggles to overcome the abuse he suffered 40 years ago, when he was 14 years old.

“Harris, Mater Dei and the Diocese of Orange made promises to me and promises to my parents,” the man wrote. “They promised I would be safe at school. They promised I would be part of a community — a community that would help me grow as a student, as a Catholic and as a human. Instead, they put me in the path of a serial predator, Michael Harris, who took all those promises and broke them.”

The man wrote that he decided to come forward two years ago when he realized he could “stand up, not just for me, but for all the kids who were sexually abused.”

“No amount of money will ever give me back what Michael Harris stole from me,” the man wrote. “No amount of money will ever make Harris, Mater Dei or this diocese feel my pain — pain I have to live with every day of my life. I do have hope that other survivors continue to come forward, to break the silence, to speak out until Mater Dei and Bishop (Kevin) Van are forced to reconcile with every child whose soul they murdered through sexual abuse and coverup, through secrecy and silence.”

The settlement was reached on the eve of a pending jury trial in Orange County Superior Court, attorneys said. Representatives for the Diocese of Orange said the plaintiff had alleged he was sexually abused by Harris “one time in 1978 at Mater Dei High School when Harris was Mater Dei’s vice principal…

“The Diocese vigorously defended this decades-old claim and was prepared to take it to trial,” Jarryd Gonzales, a Diocese spokesman, said in a statement. “However, all parties—the plaintiff, the Diocese’s insurers, and the Diocese—agreed that a pre-trial settlement was most beneficial to everyone involved.  The Diocese’s insurers funded the settlement entirely, and we are grateful for their participation.”

Diocese of Orange officials say they have since created a “comprehensive safe-environment system,” including requiring that clergy, employees and volunteers undergo fingerprinting, background checks and “recurring safe environment training.”

“In all claims alleging child sexual abuse, the Diocese is committed to seeking justice, fostering healing and providing unwavering support to survivors,” Gonzales said. “The Diocese of Orange deeply regrets the harm caused any and all incidents of abuse.  The events alleged in this case occurred more than four decades ago; we recognize that such events have lasting impacts, and we are committed to ensuring the Diocese of today is safe for all.”

Attorney Jeff Anderson urged Diocese officials to “come clean” and release a list of all known offenders in their ranks. Anderson and the other victim right’s attorneys alleged that Diocese and Mater Dei officials for decades covered up abuse by transferring predators to new locations, allowing staff accused of wrongdoing to quietly resign and refusing to disclose accusations to parents and students.

“For decades, the bishop and the administrators at Mater Dei have allowed offenders to prosper, to teach, to build trust and then to prey on kids,” Anderson said.

Diocese of Orange officials argue they have provided transparency by publishing on their website a list of “credibly accused priests.”

The lawsuit was part of a wave of civil complaints filed against Roman Catholic dioceses statewide by now-adult survivors who were given a three-year window under state law to file complaints regarding decades-old abuse. Roughly 2,000 childhood sexual abuse cases involving the Catholic church were filed across Southern California, including around 200 related to the Diocese of Orange.

That wave of litigation has also kicked off a series of settlements.

In October, the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed to pay $880 million to settle childhood sex abuse claims by more than 1,300 alleged victims. And earlier in the year, the Diocese of Orange and Archdiocese of Los Angeles reached a combined $10 million settlement in a clergy child sex abuse case involving two of Orange County’s most notorious predators — former father’s Eleuterio Ramos and Siegfried Widera.

Attorney Mike Reck noted during Wednesday’s news conference that two other cases involving alleged child sex abuse at Mater Dei are scheduled for trial in 2025.

​ Orange County Register 

Kings seek a bounce-back game vs. Philadelphia Flyers

• December 18, 2024

After falling apart in Pittsburgh, the Kings traversed the Keystone State for Thursday’s throwdown with the Philadelphia Flyers and Calder Trophy favorite Matvei Michkov.

In Pittsburgh, the Kings scored in the first period for the fifth straight game and, despite going away from the early jitters of Tristan Jarry to start Alex Nedeljkovic, the Penguins again allowed a goal off the hop.

But the Kings faltered where they’ve typically excelled this season, in the third period, and then again in the frame that has flummoxed them the most, overtime. They fell to 0-0-4 in games that reached an extra session this season, bringing their two-season total to a lackluster 7-0-15.

Despite sitting on a second-intermission lead, the Kings were fortunate to even reach OT as the third period was dominated by the trio of Sidney Crosby, Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust. They piled up menacing opportunities before Crosby set up the equalizer and Rakell secured the victory in overtime.

“Third periods have been our best, I think, that’s been the trend anyway, for a while, and it was not tonight,” Kings coach Jim Hiller told reporters. “We relied on Darcy (Kuemper) way too much. They got some energy with the second goal, they tied it. They had a lot of chances, too many.”

Kuemper was praised widely after the game as he contained more than a few fires once the Crosby line heated up late. Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and winger Adrian Kempe, who had a breakaway go awry in OT and who opened the scoring, respectively, each lauded Kuemper as well as Alex Turcotte, who scored a brilliant goal in transition.

“He’s a skilled guy. You can see that much in the games, but on practice days he’s been outstanding and finally he brought some of that into the game and scored a huge goal for us,” Gavrikov said.

At Wednesday morning’s session with reporters in Philadelphia, Gavrikov spoke in Russian about another “skilled guy,” Philly’s front-runner for rookie of the year, Michkov.

Current Flyers bench boss John Tortorella guided Columbus when Gavrikov and former Kings center Pierre-Luc Dubois played in Ohio’s capital. Gavrikov was asked if he had any advice for Michkov, who despite his immense potential had been benched and scratched multiple times by Tortorella already.

Gavrikov said that he had seen clashes between Tortorella and his players before, including Dubois.

“There were very interesting locker-room battles with Pierre-Luc Dubois,” Gavrikov said. “In the dressing room, we just sat there frozen wondering what would happen next, like we were watching a movie. Tortorella yelled a lot at him, he also shouted back, and I was sitting there thinking someone is going to break someone’s forehead, something will definitely happen.”

Much like the story of a similar confrontation told on Spittin’ Chiclets by former Ducks center Ryan Kesler, who played for Tortorella in Vancouver, Gavrikov said that the veteran coach, who won a Stanley Cup in 2004 with Tampa Bay, appreciated pushback and the passion that came with it.

“He likes it. Torts likes it when they answer him,” Gavrikov said. “It is important to him that the player cares.”

Gavrikov went on to express appreciation for Tortorella’s guidance in his own career and confidence that Tortorella could steward young players, despite a gruff approach that could cause friction with some players.

Michkov may or may not have needed the discipline he’s received, but his talent is undoubted. In an eyelash over 17 minutes a game, he’s racked up 27 points in 29 contests. He leads the struggling Flyers power play in points by a wide margin and trails only Travis Konecny in overall scoring.

He’s been held off the scoresheet in his past two games, but had slathered on 10 points in his prior five games. He’s already drawn comparisons to contemporary Russian stars like Nikita Kucherov and Kirill Kaprizov, as well as consecrated figures like Pavel Datsyuk and Pavel Bure.

Kings at Philadelphia

When: 4:30 p.m. PT Thursday

Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia

TV: ESPN+, Hulu

​ Orange County Register