Real Housewives of Orange County: Friend-zone celebration

• November 15, 2024

Here’s one of the big differences between the real world and the reality TV of “The Real Housewives of Orange County.”

In the real world, it’s a good thing, as Martha Stewart might say, to be called a friend.

But in the reality of the “Housewives,” and especially in the mouth of a very angry housewife, that might be the most cutting putdown of all. Housewives are Olympians, you see. Friends of housewives? Mere mortals, with less airtime and smaller paychecks.

Shannon Storms Beador is very, very angry as the second of three reunion shows for “The Real Housewives of Orange County” gets underway. She knows that joining the reunion this hour is Alexis Bellino, who on this 18th season of the series that, for better or worse, launched this whole franchise, has been Shannon’s biggest nemesis.

Shannon, you’ll recall, dated John Janssen for four years until last year. Then John met Alexis, who had been a fulltime housewife on Season 5 through Season 8 when she was replaced by Shannon.

When Alexis returned to the series this season – as a “friend of” the housewives, – she and John were a hot item.

In the final segment of the episode, Alexis walked onstage to a snarky welcome from Bravo host Andy Cohen and the first of many eyerolls from Shannon.

After a bit of chit-chat – she and John are engaged, she’s happy to be back – Andy asks for an update on the lawsuit that John brought against Shannon. Shannon says that while she does not believe she owes him the $75,000 the suit is asking for, she’d offered him $70,000 to make it go away.

“That’s a really hard thing for me to do,” she says, getting emotional. “But I said I would give him $70,000, and he wouldn’t sign the non-disclosure agreement, which Emily can confirm is standard.”

Housewife Emily Simpson is an attorney, which gets mentioned often on the show. If “attorney” was the word in a drinking game, you’d be as drunk as Tamra Judge, said she was when the dinner party at Katie Ginella’s house was shot this season.

“I was just plastered,” Tamra says. “I didn’t even remember the next day. I don’t ever want to be like that again.”

Back to the Shannon-Alexis showdown. There’s an argument too confusing to explain.

The other housewives accuse Alexis of being her boyfriend’s “mouthpiece” and repeating things he’s said.

“You have a really strange relationship with the truth!” Alexis shouts at Shannon.

“That’s exactly what John said,” Emily says about Alexis’s last line as an archival clip arrives showing Alexis repeating Johnny J’s comments on Shannon from a few episodes back.

“Stop being John’s mouthpiece!” Shannon yells.

“I have to!” Alexis replies without any explanation of why she must.

As the bickering continues, Emily and Gina eventually start to lose it and are laughing.

But then, as Shannon tells Alexis she should have never come back on the series if she was dating John Janssen, and Alexis replies that Shannon could also have quit the show, things get good again.

“It’s my job. I’ve been here 10 years,” Shannon says.

“And this is my job, too,” Alexis replies.

“I took your job 10 years ago and I’m still sitting here!” Shannon shouts.

“And I came back 10 years later, didn’t I?” Alexis smirks.

“Yeah, as a friend!” Shannon says, sticking the I’m-a-housewife-and-you’re-not shiv between Alexis’s ribs. “A friend. You’re a friend.”

Referee Andy should have called the fight at this point, but he’s too busy making OMG-I-can’t-believe-this faces for the cameras, while most of the others, but particularly Gina and Emily are holding back laughter.

“Still, it’s a job,” Alexis weakly retorts.

“Oh, no, no, no,” Shannon says, like Popeye throwing back cans of spinach, getting stronger by the moment.

“Alexis, it’s your ‘career,’” she says, delivering the word career dripping with sarcasm.

“I’ve been on TV for 15 years, Shannon, five different shows,” Alexis counters.

“Ohhh!” Shannon thunders like Hera from “The Real Housewives of Mount Olympus.” “You’re a TV star!”

​ Orange County Register 

Trump election won’t impact Olympics, LA28 officials say

• November 15, 2024

LOS ANGELES — Officials organizing the 2028 Olympic Games said on Thursday that they do not expect the election of Donald Trump as president to impact the funding of Los Angeles’ third Olympics.

LA28 has a $6.9 billion budget funded by television rights, corporate sponsorships, marketing and ticket and merchandising revenue streams.

But security for the Games is expected to cost an additional $1-2 billion, which will largely be covered by the federal government. The Los Angeles Olympics have been designated as a National Special Security Event, and security will be handled by the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service. No federal funds will be used in the funding of the Games.

“I guess one of the effects of having done this for 10 years is this will be our third president but fourth administration,” said Casey Wasserman, the LA28 chairman and a prominent Democratic Party donor.

Putting on the Games, Wasserman said “requires cooperation and coordination. We’ve had great success with both Republican and Democratic administrations and have no doubt that will continue and starting during the election process, or the election cycle.”

LA28 officials were in contact with both the Trump and Harris campaigns and the Biden administration prior to last week’s election, Wasserman said. Trump was in office in 2017 when Los Angeles won its bid to host and signed federally binding documents for the government to deliver security and transportation for the Games.

“We had outreach from both transition teams so that they could get up to speed and get running once the election was over,” said Wasserman, who noted the Los Angeles Games are 1,338 days from opening on July 14, 2028. “And obviously, now that there’s an administration in place and that staff starts to fill up, we will continue to engage with them, just as we did previously, and we will continue to do through the end of the process.”

Wasserman’s comments came following three days of meetings between LA28 officials and International Olympic Committee Coordination Commission.

Los Angeles remains on track to deliver an “unparalleled” Olympic Games in 2028, said Nicole Hoevertsz, the head of the IOC commission.

The IOC commission’s first visit to Los Angeles since 2022 focused on “key areas of progress” with LA28’s plans for the city’s third Olympic Games and “key advancements” in the Games’ venue plan, Hoevertsz said. The commission on Thursday visited the Rose Bowl, the new Intuit Dome in Inglewood and the Long Beach Convention Center, waterfront and Marine Stadium.

With the meetings, Hoevertsz said, LA28 enters “a new phase, moving from strategy to action.”

“Los Angeles offers infinite possibilities setting the perfect stage for the Olympic and Paralympic Games and inspiring us all to work towards delivery of unparalleled Games in 2028,” Hoevertsz said.

“L.A. is the land of imagination, you see, and when the world looks at the city, it expects to be wowed, and with spectacular venues and landscape, the passion for sport, vibrant communities, and it’s breadth of culture and innovation, L.A. has all the ingredients to exceed those expectations.”

The venues and competition schedule for the 2028 Games could be completed by early next summer, LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover said.

That schedule could include the Olympic cricket competition being played on the East Coast. Wasserman said LA28 will find a venue for the sport that is best for both cricket and the Games. Softball and canoe slalom have already been moved 1,300 miles east to Oklahoma City.

“These Games are incredibly focused on L.A. and Southern California and being responsible and making hosting the Games fit our city and our community as opposed to fitting our city to host the games,” Wasserman said, “which is the mistake that has been made in the past and the promise we have made to the city and the community not to make going forward.”

Hoover said LA28 doesn’t have a timeframe for delivering an updated budget to the Los Angeles City Council. Earlier this year an LA28 official said the group would provide an updated budget to the city by the end of the year.

LA28’s next big milepost, Hoover said, is the organization’s move into its new headquarters in downtown Los Angeles this spring.

In 2026, the organizing committee will “get into some of the fun stuff,” Wasserman said, which includes opening up ticketing and hospitality options to the public, organizing the torch relay, creating a mascot, Cultural Olympiad and volunteer program.

“We cannot wait to host the world,” he said during a news conference on the campus of UCLA, which will host the athletes’ village.

​ Orange County Register 

‘Senseless act:’ Man arrested after popular great egret killed in San Bernardino Mountains

• November 15, 2024

People who frequent Lake Gregory in the San Bernardino Mountains are seething and grieving after authorities say a man trampled on the beauty and tranquility there by throwing rocks and injuring a great egret, leading to its death.

The bird was so beloved that visitors gave it a name: Arthur.

“The egret stands out all the way across the lake. It’s really a showy kind of bird,” Nathan Godwin, general manager of the Lake Gregory Company, which manages the park near Crestline for the county, said in an interview Thursday.

A 36-year-old Claremont man was arrested on Tuesday, Nov. 12, on suspicion of animal cruelty and killing of a non-game bird, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said.

Deputies received a report of a man throwing rocks at ducks, and a witness filmed the attack. The man wounded an egret sitting on a dock with one of his throws, and a second person pulled the bird out of the water and broke its neck to end its suffering, the sheriff’s news release said.

Witness statements and the video led investigators to the Claremont man’s home, where he was arrested.

Godwin said he began receiving messages about the attack within minutes.

He said there are several egrets at the lake. They can grow to four feet tall with a wingspan of 50 inches. They were once endangered because they were frequently killed as their feathers were coveted to make hats. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 makes it a crime to kill an egret or destroy their nest.

“It’s a sense of outrage that a person would come here and kill a bird this way,” Godwin said. “It’s just a senseless act of violence in the mountains where everyone comes to enjoy the natural beauty. A lot of people were really upset at how it happened and shocked and surprised that this would even happen.”

Godwin said he doesn’t know of any other birds there that have been named by visitors. There is a mama mallard duck that migrates back to the lake every year and produces several ducklings.

“We know who she is,” Godwin said. “You kind of get used to seeing a bird and recognizing a bird. There is something special about that. That’s what people liked about Arthur.”

The Sheriff’s Department asks anyone with information on the investigation to call Deputy Ian Buchowiecki at 909-336-0600. Information may be left anonymously on the WeTip website at wetip.com or by calling 800-782-7463.

​ Orange County Register 

Saquon Barkley, Eagles beat Commanders to extend NFC East lead

• November 15, 2024

By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer

PHILADELPHIA — Saquon Barkley ran for 146 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns, Jalen Hurts ran for the go-ahead score after being evaluated for a concussion, and the Philadelphia Eagles stretched their lead in the NFC East with a 26-18 victory over Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders on Thursday night.

The Eagles (8-2) won their sixth consecutive game since their bye, although this one came with a serious scare.

Hurts’ head was spiked into the turf by linebacker Frankie Luvu in the second quarter, and the $255 million quarterback’s head bounced off the ground. Hurts rolled over, face down, and grabbed his helmet. He was examined in the sideline medical tent but stayed in the game, finishing with 221 yards passing.

With the Eagles leading 12-10 in the fourth quarter, Washington was in range for a go-ahead field goal and Coach Dan Quinn elected to go for it on fourth down. Daniels scrambled and was stopped for no gain, and less than three minutes later, Barkley scored on a 23-yard run.

Jake Elliott made the extra point after missing his previous try – along with two of his four field goal attempts – to give the Eagles a two-score lead.

Daniels, who finished 22 of 32 for 191 yards and a late touchdown pass, was intercepted by safety Reed Blankenship on Washington’s next play, and 12 seconds later, Barkley finished off the Commanders (7-4) with a 39-yard touchdown run.

Washington entered with a chance to take over first place in the division but left with its second straight loss.

Elliott, who missed field goal attempts of 44 and 51 yards, was wide left on the extra point after Hurts’ 1-yard tush-push touchdown in the fourth quarter. He made field goals of 21 and 31 yards.

Elliott holds the franchise record with seven field goals of 50 yards or more in a season but has missed all four attempts from 50-plus in 2024.

The matchup was hyped as the biggest game in this NFC East rivalry in nearly 30 years, but the first 30 minutes had all the excitement of a preseason game.

Perhaps affected by the big hit he absorbed, Hurts had an ineffective first half. He underthrew receivers – notably a pair of times to DeVonta Smith – and hung his head when a pass attempt with no nearby open receiver sailed out of bounds.

Washington’s Brian Robinson Jr. ripped off an 18-yard run to the 1-yard line and punched in a touchdown on the next play for a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. Zane Gonzalez kicked a 45-yard field goal in the third quarter for a 10-3 lead.

But Gonzalez, promoted off the practice squad with Austin Seibert dealing with a hip injury, didn’t get another opportunity late in the fourth. The Commanders were stopped on second- and third-and-1 late and Daniels, the No. 2 overall draft pick, was stuffed on Philadelphia’s 26.

The Eagles took over and Hurts instantly connected with Dallas Goedert for a 31-yard gain. Goedert fumbled but the ball was scooped up by fellow tight end Grant Calcaterra.

Barkley scored three plays later.

INJURIES

Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams suffered a foot injury.

UP NEXT

The Commanders play four of their next five games at home, starting Nov. 24 against Dallas.

The Eagles play another night game on Sunday, Nov. 24 against the Rams at SoFi Stadium.

More to come on this story.

​ Orange County Register 

Orange County scores and player stats for Thursday, Nov. 14

• November 15, 2024

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

Scores and stats from Orange County games on Thursday, Nov. 14

Click here for details about sending your team’s scores and stats to the Register.

The deadline for submitting information is 10:45 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 p.m. Saturday.

THURSDAY’S SCORES

FOOTBALL

CIF-SS PLAYOFFS

Quarterfinals

DIVISION 11

El Rancho 40, Los Amigos 20

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

CIF STATE PLAYOFFS

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL

Round II

DIVISION I

Huntington Beach def. San Luis Obispo, 25-13, 25-18, 25-12

Santa Margarita def. Temecula Valley, 15-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-23

DIVISION III

El Dorado def. Corona, 25-16, 25-13, 25-19

DIVISION IV

Walnut def. Laguna Beach, 25-16, 25-21, 25-18

​ Orange County Register 

Pepi goal helps USMNT edge Jamaica in first leg of Nations League quarterfinal

• November 15, 2024

Ricardo Pepi put the United States in good position to advance to the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals, scoring an early goal for a 1-0, first-leg win against Jamaica on Thursday night at Kingston in Coach Mauricio Pochettino’s first competitive match.

“We were here to fight. We knew it was going to be difficult,” Pepi said. “At the end of the day we got the result and now it’s time to go and take care of it at home.”

The second leg of the total-goals quarterfinal is Monday in St. Louis, and the winner advances to a March 20 semifinal at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. The United States won the first three editions of the tournament.

Pepi scored off a Christian Pulisic pass in the fifth minute, Matt Turner saved a penalty kick and the U.S. won with a shutout on the road for the first time since a 2016 exhibition in Cuba. The Americans had 60% possession but were outshot 12-6.

Jamaica finished a man short after Mason Holgate was given his second yellow card for pushing Brandon Vázquez in the 86th, 10 minutes after his first for kicking Gianluca Busio.

Pulisic sparked the goal when he received a pass from Johnny Cardoso and dribbled up the center of the field. Pepi burst past Amari’i Bell, ran onto the ball and took a touch, then mis-hit his shot but put the ball in off goalkeeper Andre Blake’s far post for his 12th goal in 32 international appearances.

“I just saw Christian between the lines and I thought I had space in behind, so made a run,” Pepi said after his third goal against Jamaica.

Pulisic became the 33rd player to make 75 U.S. appearances. Pepi is the fourth American to score 12 international goals before age 22 after Landon Donovan, Jozy Altidore and Pulisic.

Joe Scally’s giveaway led to Jamaica being awarded a penalty kick by Costa Rican referee Juan Gabriel Calderon. Kasey Palmer passed to Shamar Nicholson, who spun around Mark McKenzie and was pulled down by Turner. The goalkeeper dived to his right to bat away Demarai Gray’s 14th-minute spot kick, Turner’s third save in eight penalty kicks while in the U.S. goal.

Malik Tillman replaced an injured Cardoso in the 20th minute.

Pochettino took over the U.S. after Gregg Berhalter was fired for a first-round Copa America exit and started with a pair of exhibition games last month.

Pochettino made six changes to the starting lineup from last month’s 2-0 road loss against Mexico, inserting McKenzie and midfielders Weston McKennie, Tanner Tessmann and Cardoso along with Pulsiic and Pepi.

McKennie got a yellow card in the 50th minute for pulling down Leon Bailey from behind by the jersey. Antonee Robinson and Bailey received yellow cards in the 69th after teams got into a shoving confrontation. American defender Tim Ream was not called for a possible hand ball in the second half.

Tim Weah served the second match of his two-game suspension for a red card in the Copa America for punching Panama’s Roderick Miller.

Aidan Morris will miss both matches after spraining his right knee in training. Brenden Aaronson had flu-like symptoms and skipped the trip, instead traveling to Missouri ahead of the second leg.

Jamaica forward Michail Antonio was suspended for yellow card accumulation. The Reggae Boyz are led by former England manager Steve McClaren, hired after they went 0-3 in the Copa America.

​ Orange County Register 

Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani wins multiple honors at All-MLB awards

• November 15, 2024

Shohei Ohtani’s historic season continues to earn the first-year Dodgers star awards.

Ohtani was named the National League winner of the Hank Aaron Award as the top offensive player in the league. He also was named the outstanding DH for a fourth consecutive season and joined Mookie Betts on the All-MLB first team as part of MLB’s awards show Thursday night.

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge won the Hank Aaron Award in the American League.

“It’s an honor to win an award named after the legendary Hank Aaron,” Ohtani said in a video shown on the awards show. “My deep appreciation and gratitude goes out to all the fans and Hall of Famers who voted for me. Your support means everything to me.”

Ohtani received the Edgar Martinez Award as the Outstanding DH in MLB for his historic 50/50 season. It was Ohtani’s fourth consecutive season winning the award. He is the first player to win the award in each league.

Ohtani was also named the DH on the All-MLB team for the fifth time since the awards were created in 2019.

Betts was named to the All-MLB first team as an outfielder despite playing right field in just 43 games last season. Betts also played 65 games at shortstop and 18 at second base.

Betts missed five weeks at midseason after suffering a fractured bone in his left hand. He hit .289 with an .863 OPS, 19 home runs, 75 RBIs and 16 stolen bases in 116 games.

Outfielder Teoscar Hernandez was selected to the All-MLB second team after a 2024 season during which he hit a career-high 33 home runs and drove in 99 runs for the Dodgers.

​ Orange County Register 

Construction accident at Villa Park High School leaves 1 dead

• November 15, 2024

One person was killed and another severely injured in an accident in a construction zone at Villa Park High School on Thursday morning, Nov. 14, authorities said.

At around 10:20 a.m., the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the Orange County Fire Authority were dispatched to one of the construction zones at the school, fire Capt. Sean Doran said.

“While no students were involved or injured, we are deeply saddened to share that we have been notified by authorities that one individual was transported to a local trauma center and the one was pronounced deceased,” officials with the Orange Unified School District said in a statement.

OUSD spokeswoman Hana Brake said the victim was either a construction worker or subcontractor who was working on the gymnasium. His or her identity has not been released.

Details regarding the cause or nature of the accident were not available.

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​ Orange County Register