Rams WR Puka Nacua staying grounded on heels of record-breaking season

• September 6, 2024

LOS ANGELES — It wasn’t long ago – a little over a year, to be exact – that, as Puka Nacua walked off the Rams’ practice field at training camp, fans yelled his jersey number out when seeking an autograph, unsure of the rookie’s name.

This summer, however, fans screeched his first name, desperate for a moment of his time during practices at Loyola Marymount.

“Definitely not like training camp last year,” he said at the time, “in the best way.”

A lot has changed for Nacua. He’s no longer the relatively anonymous fifth-round pick out of BYU, fighting for the third or fourth receiver job. Instead, he’s a household name, the record breaker who caught more passes and gained more yards than any rookie receiver in NFL history.

That success has led to many life-changing opportunities, from sponsorships with Jordan Brand, Gatorade and Toyota to an appearance at the NBA All-Star Game to a meet-and-greet with Brazilian soccer star Neymar. As all the rewards of his labor have arisen, Nacua has leaned on his family to keep him grounded.

“My mom is my No. 1 help for that. She’s my No. 1 fan but also one of the people that knows me the best,” Nacua said. “All the media stuff that I get to do, she’ll tell if I’m slipping on something. She’ll call me and say, ‘What are you thinking about on this stuff?’ But my family is the people I rely on the most, the people I get to talk to the most, that know me in and out and they can call me some mean names and it won’t digest the way it would from somebody else. … I’ve wanted them to be a part of the success that I’ve had.”

The only other person who can call Nacua those names is Rams receiver Cooper Kupp, even if the mean name is Nacua’s actual first name, Makea. Navigating his new success was one of many things that Nacua picked Kupp’s mind about this offseason.

“He’s a special dude,” Kupp said. “I know there’s a lot of things that he’s navigating and going from a fifth-round pick to having the success he had so quickly. But he’s done a great job of that.”

Nacua worked out with Kupp at the latter’s home during the offseason, trying to glean more from the role model who helped him transition to the NFL as a rookie. He’d arrive as early as 6 a.m. as the pair would go through weight training, conditioning and route running.

An improved diet, including decreased McDonald’s consumption, helped Nacua drop from 218 pounds as a rookie to 210 entering training camp. When Nacua started running tighter routes at practice, receivers coach Eric Yarber joked it was because he no longer had baby fat pulling him in the wrong direction.

Nacua also focused on eliminating dropped catches, a statistic in which he led the NFL a year ago. Tennis balls were a useful tool, but mostly Nacua wanted to work on watching the ball all the way into his hands, and trust that quarterback Matthew Stafford’s passes are leading him in the right direction.

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That work allowed Nacua to feel confident when he returned to practice last week after a knee injury kept him out for a month.

“It’s been feeling good,” Nacua said of his knee. “It’s been nice to get back and get my feet under me. It was a lot of anxious feelings of being out there and watching everything, knowing that we’re trying to find that rhythm and flow of what we ended the season with.”

Injury report

Rams right tackle Rob Havenstein (ankle) and cornerback Decobie Durant (hamstring) were limited in practice Thursday for the second consecutive day.

​ Orange County Register 

Tritium detected in water at San Onofre, but Edison says it poses ‘no risk’

• September 6, 2024

The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in 2019.  (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Elevated levels of tritium — a radioactive form of hydrogen — have been found at the shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, but pose no risk to public health or safety, officials from Southern California Edison said on Thursday, Sept. 5.

The Environmental Protection Agency has set a “maximum contaminant level” of 20,000 picocuries per liter for tritium in drinking water. Routine monitoring at San Onofre found a low concentration of 3,430 picocuries per liter in one well, and a higher concentration of 19,100 picocuries per liter in an adjacent well.

Neither, however, is a drinking water well, officials said.

The plant is just yards from the ocean, so groundwater beneath and around it is salty. It typically flows east to west — that is, inland toward the ocean — and wouldn’t enter the drinking water supply, said Ron Pontes, Edison’s decommissioning manager.

Excavators demolish the control building at San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant on Aug. 1. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

“We’re bringing this up now so you know we’ve got an issue here, we’re aware of it, monitoring it, taking action,” Pontes told the Community Engagement Panel at its quarterly meeting. “We’ve engaged a hydrogeologist so we can understand the spread of this tritium, where it is exactly, and how to mediate it,” he said.

It’s not the first time tritium has been found at the site. In 2006, it prompted the temporary closure of one drinking water well in southern Orange County (tests revealed no detectable radioactivity and the well was returned to service); in 2009, it was found in the ocean off the coast and in groundwater protection wells (attributable to sampling shortly after a planned discharge of filtered wastewater from the plant); and in 2012, pumps extracted tritium water from near Unit 2 (pumps were shut off in 2015 and there was no rebound of tritium in that area, Pontes said).

Dry storage of spent fuel at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in 2021. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Small tritium leaks were common at aging nuclear plants, but the health and safety threats of such leaks were characterized as “next to zero,” an investigation by the Associated Press reported more than a decade ago. A person could drink 130 gallons of the most radioactive water found beneath San Onofre in 2006 and still have no cause for health concern, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said at the time.

The new findings are so low that reporting isn’t required, but Edison made courtesy notifications to federal, state and local authorities nonetheless, spokesman Jeff Monford said. It will also be monitoring wells more frequently as it decides how to proceed.

Tritium is a byproduct of nuclear reactions, but it’s also produced naturally when cosmic rays collide with nitrogen molecules in the upper atmosphere, the EPA says. It’s used to make luminous dials, as a source of light for exit and similar safety signs, and as a tracer for biochemical research, animal metabolism studies and groundwater transport measurements.

A radiological monitoring program mandated by the NRC requires Edison to test the environment surrounding the plant, including ocean water, sediment and beach sand. The NRC’s threshold for tritium in an ocean water sample that prompts reporting is 30,000 picocuries per liter, and San Onofre’s findings remain well below this level, Monford said.

Pontes also provided more detail on two self-reported, low-level violations revealed in a recent NRC inspection report of San Onofre. The first involved a “failure to ensure a package for shipment was leakproof and properly closed and sealed to prevent release of radioactive content as required by U.S. Department of Transportation regulations,” and the second involved a “failure to ensure, by examination or appropriate tests, that the packaging for the Unit 2 pressurizer (main function: to keep reactor’s coolant below boiling) was proper for the contents being shipped as required by DOT regulations.”

“Weep holes” in a pressurizer were blocked, Pontes said, so about 190 gallons of radioactive water remained inside when it should have been dry. New protocols will ensure that doesn’t happen again, he said.

The panel got an update on demolition progress — still on track for finishing up in 2028, more or less — and, as always, there was spirited discussion about the ocean releases of wastewater from the plant. Those releases have been happening regularly for decades, and are smaller now than they were when the plant was actively splitting atoms. Nearly 1 million gallons have been released so far this year, and another 850,000 gallons are slated to be released by the end of the year, Edison said.

Dan Stetson, volunteer chair of the Community Engagement Panel, thanked Edison for “a robust discussion.” The next meeting is slated for December.

​ Orange County Register 

Severe wind and fire: Tips to prepare your property

• September 5, 2024

Fire season is year-round in California, but the time we have the most Santa Ana wind events is coming. Here are some tips to prepare your home.

Home hardening

The most disastrous fires in terms of loss of human lives and property are tied to extreme wind events. Here are some steps to help your home become more secure from harmful embers that can travel a mile ahead of a wildfire.

1) Roof

Ember-resistant material. Gaps are filled with ignition-resistant material. No loose roof flashing

2) Eaves

Eaves are maintained with all gaps filled with caulking and painted over.

3) Vents

⅛-inch metal mesh screen or ember-proof vents.

4) Chimney

½-inch spark arrestor screen. Clear tree branches and/or vegetation at least 10 feet away from opening.

5) Gutters

Install gutter guards. Remove combustible debris on a regular basis.

6) Exterior siding

Exterior siding is maintained with all gaps filled with caulking and painted over.

7) Doors

Weather-stripping around door frames and doors adjusted for a “tight fit” within the frame.

8) Windows

Multi-pane windows, with at least one pane being tempered, and metal framing.

9) Fence

Non-combustible or ignition-resistant material. Maintain fencing by keeping vegetation clear.

10) Patio covers

Ignition-resistant material. Fill all gaps and crevices. Install metal flashing between the patio and outside wall.

11) Balconies and decks

Ignition-resistant material. Fill all gaps between the deck and outside wall with caulking or metal flashing. Remove or replace combustible items stored above and below.

12) Immediate zone

Changes made to the immediate zone can make a big impact in reducing structure loss during a wildfire.

No woody vegetation located within 5 feet of the home. No combustible items located within 5 feet of the home (trash bins, patio furniture, storage, mulch, etc.)

Use hardscape like gravel, pavers, concrete and other noncombustible material. No combustible bark or mulch.

Remove all dead and dying weeds, grass, plants, shrubs, trees, branches and vegetative debris (leaves, needles, cones, bark etc.).

Remove all branches within 10 feet of any chimney or stovepipe outlet.

Limit plants in the area to low- growing (below 2 feet), nonwoody, properly watered and maintained plants.

Limit combustible items (outdoor furniture, storage, planters, etc.) on top of decks.

Relocate firewood and lumber 30 feet away from buildings.

Replace combustible fencing, gates and arbors attached to the home with noncombustible alternatives.

Consider relocating garbage and recycling containers outside the zone.

Consider relocating boats, RVs, vehicles and other combustible items outside this zone.

Extreme wind events by month

Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Forecast System.

During an outage: The CPUC recommends that if the power goes out, unplug all electric appliances to avoid overloading circuits and fire hazards caused by the restored power. Turn your appliances back on one at a time when power is restored. Learn more about outage preparation online at cpuc.ca.gov

Check your neighborhood

The State Fire Marshal is mandated to classify lands within State Responsibility Areas into Fire Hazard Severity Zones. Fire Hazard Severity

Zones fall into one of the following classifications:

Moderate (yellow)

High (orange)

Very High (red)

The map to the below was released in April.

Enter your address

If you search online for fire hazard severity zones you will be able to enter your address and see where the most severe areas near your address are.

You can find the map for desktop computers here.

Note: In the last 20 years, most wildfires in California have burned in non-conifer ecosystems (64% of the acreage) such as shrublands in Southern California.

Over five million hectares have burned in the last 20 years, which is double the area burned in the previous two decades.

Gone in 90 minutes

In 2017, the Tubbs fire in Sonoma County had a huge concentration of embers that were pushed by heavy winds (40-60 mph) across four-lane Highway 101, igniting more than 1,000 structures and causing $1 billion in property damage in 90 minutes. This was a wake-up call for insurance companies and fire prevention officials because the area was considered low risk and was outside Cal Fire’s high-risk zones.

In 2018, the Woolsey and Hill fires in Los Angeles and Ventura counties began during Santa Ana winds. The Woolsey fire burned 8,000 acres in 90 minutes. The embers in the recent fire in Lahaina, Maui were said to travel 1 mile per minute.

Sources: County of Orange Area Safety Task ForceCal Fire, U.S. Forest Service, Orange County Fire Authority, California Public Utilities Commission, Nature.com, PSE Healthy Energy, NOAA, The Associated Press, Wildland Fire Assessment System, Irvine Ranch Conservancy, California Fire Science Consortium

​ Orange County Register 

Bellator MMA’s Lorenz Larkin isn’t getting any younger, but possibly better

• September 5, 2024

As UFC 202 got underway in Las Vegas, Lorenz Larkin sat in the recesses of T-Mobile Arena getting ready for his fight with fellow veteran welterweight Neil Magny, then turned to his coach with a revelation.

“I’m the old guy of the card now,” recalled Larkin, who was all of 29 on Aug. 20, 2016, before he dismantled Magny with an assortment of withering body and leg kicks and head-clattering elbows en route to a first-round TKO victory.

Eight years later, Larkin is still going and going well heading into Saturday’s co-main event against Levan Chokheli at Bellator Champions Series: San Diego at Pechanga Arena.

To be fair, the welterweight, who just turned 38 on Tuesday, was younger than illustrious fighters like Glover Teixeira, Nate Diaz and Donald Cerrone on that summer night in the desert. But the age factor snuck up on the Riverside native.

For that victory, his third in four fights, was his last time in the UFC Octagon. Larkin’s contract was about to expire and he had expected negotiations to begin before being thrown in against the seventh-ranked Magny, who had won three in a row and 10 of his last 11 going into that bout.

But Larkin said the UFC paused, wanting to see how the fight went before looking to re-sign him. And in Larkin’s world, respect is paramount.

So as the UFC hedged its bet, Larkin pushed all his chips into the middle and opted for free agency.

“I just think a lot of fighters, they want the name to be a UFC fighter so bad. They overlook a lot of the things that they’re really fighting for,” Larkin said. “You’re really fighting for money, man, or the belt. But you’re doing this as a living. You’re trying to make as much money as you can. You can’t all do this forever, and you’re trying to make as much money as you can in the smallest amount of time.”

Larkin ended up signing with Bellator MMA. His tenure began shakily in 2017 with two losses – via unanimous decision in a title shot against 170-pound champion Douglas Lima and via second-round KO against Paul Daley.

He has since corrected course, with only two marks against him in his past 10 fights.

In July 2022, an illegal elbow against undefeated Muhamed Berkhamov ended with the fight being ruled a no contest – an elbow Larkin has long disputed wasn’t heavy enough to render Berkhamov unable to continue. Larkin made a statement in their rematch seven months later at Bellator 290 at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, this time with a clean and short elbow to the temple in the opening round that dropped his opponent face first and handed him his first loss.

In his next fight, Larkin traveled to Saitama, Japan, to take on Andrey Koreshkov in July of last year. He dropped a split decision that didn’t sit right with him.

“My thing is, like, I respect wrestlers, but if you want to wrestle, wrestle the guy down and inflict damage. But if you’re just taking somebody down and just holding them and not trying to punch, then, you know, I don’t think you should be rewarded for that,” Larkin said.

“I think that if you take somebody down, I don’t expect you to finish them if you can’t finish them, but you have to do damage. You have to show that, you know, that you want to hurt the person. Don’t just hold me and … have your corner, you know, counting down your minutes and things like that.”

Larkin returned with an impressive first-round TKO victory over Alan Dominguez in June, setting up a quick return to the cage Saturday in San Diego, not far from his hometown of Riverside.

And in no surprise, Larkin (26-8, 1 NC) will be the older fighter, albeit one with significantly more time in the cage.

“I just see another young guy that’s hungry, that wants to make a name for himself. I’ve seen it before,” Larkin said of the 27-year-old Chokheli (13-2, 1 NC). “I always welcome young guys that want to grow their name off of me. That’s the reason why I fight, is to test myself against the best guys. If I can’t do that, why? Like, there is no drive for me to train hard and to love the sport the way that I do.”

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Count Larkin as another person who believes age is just a number. No one is getting any younger, but Larkin wonders if he might be the exception, not unlike the fictional titular character in a 2008 Brad Pitt movie.

“You know, it’s crazy. I think my body’s starting to look better, you know, than it was when I was younger,” Larkin said. “I’m starting to fill it out more, so I don’t know, man. Maybe I have that Benjamin Button going on.”

Bellator Champions Series: San Diego

Main event: lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov (18-0, 1 NC) vs. Alexander Shabliy (24-3)

Co-main event: Lorenz Larkin (26-8, 1 NC) vs. Levan Chokheli (13-2, 1 NC)

When: Saturday, 5 p.m.

Where: Pechanga Arena

How to watch: Max

​ Orange County Register 

Fryer: Why does CIF-SS say ‘no’ to some transfers but ‘yes’ to most?

• September 5, 2024

The CIF Southern Section will do all it can to get high school kids eligible to play.

Sometimes, the facts of a transfer situation just won’t allow that to happen.

It’s always bigger news when transfers happen in the bigger sports at ranked schools. So it became social media conversation when Arizona State-committed senior quarterback Michael “Butter” Tollefson was declared ineligible to play at Tustin after transferring from JSerra, and All-County offensive lineman Jacob Maiava (SMU commit) was declared ineligible to play at Crean Lutheran after transferring from Santa Margarita.

Tollefson and Maiava would be playing at their third high schools had they been eligible at Tustin and Santa Margarita, respectively.

Many conditions established in the CIF-SS constitution and by-laws will prohibit a transfer from becoming immediately eligible at his or her new school.

“Our intent is to find what the evidence is and what are the facts in any given case to determine if our rules have been violated or not,” said CIF-SS commissioner Mike West. “If we find that they’ve been violated then we’re obligated to enforce the by-laws.”

CIF Southern Section commissioner Mike West speaks at the annual press conference luncheon on Nov. 20, 2023, in Long Beach. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

They include following a coach who has moved from School A to School B or a private tutor who is coaching at School B, the school athlete transferred to. This is called in CIF parlance “pre-enrollment contact” which includes contact with any coaches, staff, faculty, administration or parents at School B.

If it’s found that a transfer was made under “undue influence,” which includes recruiting, that will make a student-athlete ineligible. With NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) endorsement income available to high school school athletes, and with the high-profile school programs perhaps providing more NIL opportunities than others, this could come into play. So far NIL opportunities have not been heavily prevalent in local high school athletics.

Athletes who left a school for disciplinary reasons are not going to be athletically eligible when they enroll at School B. Sometimes change-of-residence requirements are not met.

The preceding does not comprise the complete list of why student-athletes are denied eligibility. They are among the more common reasons.

By the way, verifying that a change of residence has been made, which has to include the student-athlete’s entire family, is made by the school and not by the CIF-SS office. An example is the transfer of quarterback Dash Beierly from Chaparral of Temecula to Mater Dei. The CIF-SS website states of his eligibility status: “CIF (d)efined ‘Valid Change of Residence’ certified by the receiving school in accordance with bylaw 206 and all other applicable eligibility rules; student is eligible in all sports at any level.”

Athletes who do not make the verified change of residence that grants immediate athletic varsity-level eligibility must observe a sit-out period that equals 50 percent of the total number of days of that season of sport. If the student-athlete transfers after the season has begun, his/her sit-out period still starts from the first day of the season of sport.

One of the better cross country and track distance runners in Orange County is junior Summer Wilson. When she transferred from JSerra to Irvine before this school year she did not make a change of residence. Wilson has to sit out 50 percent of the days of the cross country season and 50 percent of the days of the track and field season.

A transferred athlete who does not make the verified change of residence can play the entire season at the junior varsity level.

The sit-out period or option to play at the junior varsity level is not available to a student-athlete whose transfer violated one of the conditions set for athlete eligibility at the new school.

It’s happened that a transfer who played during the regular season is suddenly found during the playoffs to be ineligible. Then a school has to forfeit the games in which the transfer participated and is removed from the playoffs.

“We’re doing our best to protect the schools,” West said. “If we just give it a once-over and we say ‘OK, you’re good’ and then some information comes up in the second round of the playoffs, that’s something we don’t want happening.”

August was a busy month for the CIF-SS office in Los Alamitos to process transfer requests. There were 1,705 total transfer requests made last month in the Southern Section that has 562 member schools. That’s a bit of a decrease from the 1,741 requests made in August 2023.

Of those 1,705 transfer requisitions last month, the CIF-SS reports that five transfers were denied varsity eligibility at their new school: three because of discipline, two because of pre-enrollment contact/undue influence.

The CIF Southern Section office did what it had to do in those cases.

NOTES

Check with the schools before going to any high school event this week. The extreme heat is forcing changes to many schedules. …

Mater Dei did its own live-streaming of its football home game against Centennial of Corona two weeks ago. The CIF Southern Section told Mater Dei that it can’t do that because CIF-SS has an exclusivity arrangement with the NFHS Network for live streaming of CIF-SS events. There is some friction there that could worsen. …

Newport Harbor senior Keaton Robar, whose forte in track and field is the 800 meters, is giving cross country a try this season. She finished first in the Saddleback Cup, a 2-mile race, this past weekend at Trabuco Hills with a time of 10 minutes, 38.9 seconds. Trabuco Hills senior distance ace Holly Barker was second at 10:37.9 and Newport Harbor senior Marley McCullough third at 10:42.6. …

Trabuco Hills senior Dylan Jubak was first (9:08.4) in the boys 2-mile race at the Saddleback Cup. …

Saddleback football ended its 19-game losing streak last week with a 44-0 win over Morningside of Inglewood. The Roadrunners are 1-1. …

Cash O’Byrne of Tesoro, according to MaxPreps, the CIF-SS leader in passing yardage with 782 yards. Canyon’s Alex Lundsberg is second at 774. …

Dave Carlson this week stepped aside as Los Alamitos boys and girls water polo coach for family reasons. He has coached the Griffins in various stints since 1999, including two CIF-SS championships. Rob Grayelli is the interim coach. …

Liberty-Liberty-Liberty! Three Liberty schools are in Orange County to play football games Friday. Liberty of Winchester is at Crean Lutheran, Liberty of Bakersfield plays Santa Margarita at Trabuco Hills High, and Liberty of Henderson, Nev. is at Mission Viejo.

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​ Orange County Register 

Rams 2024 defense preview: Position-by-position breakdown

• September 5, 2024

LOS ANGELES — As the Rams prepare for Sunday’s season opener against the Detroit Lions, Chris Shula is still finding his sea legs ahead of his first game as defensive coordinator.

“You’re just getting into the flow,” Shula said. “Even last year, going into being the linebackers coach again, you just kind of get into the flow of the first couple weeks of the season, get into your routine, when you have certain things studied by, when you have things done by. All that type of stuff and just getting into the rhythm of it but enjoying every day.”

Shula, a mainstay of the Sean McVay era in Los Angeles, was elevated to defensive coordinator following Raheem Morris’ departure to be head coach of the Falcons. Shula served under Morris and predecessors Wade Phillips and Brandon Staley the past seven years, learning from their decisions as he waited for his turn.

But, as they say, experience is the best teacher. And as Shula reviewed his own play-call decisions following preseason games last month, some moments from the past gained newfound clarity.

“It’s a little different when you’re the guy suggesting the calls than when you’re the guy actually making the calls. You kind of realize that there’s a lot of ‘aha’ moments that I’ve seen of some quirks that Wade and Staley and Raheem have had,” Shula said. “And I’m like, ‘That’s definitely the reason why they did that thing,’ whether it’s in the preparation or in the game day. But it’s been fun.”

So what weapons does Shula have at his disposal as he leads the Rams’ defense into Detroit? Here’s a quick positional breakdown of the unit.

Defensive line: Kobie Turner, Bobby Brown III, Braden Fiske, Tyler Davis, Desjuan Johnson, Neville Gallimore

Voted a team captain by his teammates, Turner will try to build on his nine-sack season that left him as the runner-up for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Turner is expected to play more three- and four-technique this season after primarily playing at nose tackle alongside Aaron Donald.

With Donald retired, the Rams expect to have a heavier rotation this year along the line, with more players asked to contribute outside of specific supporting roles. Brown and Johnson should have bigger roles outside of just run stopping. And the Rams want to see how a strong camp translates to the regular season for Fiske, for whom they traded a future second-rounder to move up and select in April’s draft.

Outside linebacker: Jared Verse, Michael Hoecht, Byron Young, Brennan Jackson, Nick Hampton

Verse, the Rams’ first first-round pick since 2016, gives the Rams’ pass rush a swagger with his style of play and willingness to talk with opposing offenses. He provides a dynamic pairing with Young, who broke out as a rookie a year ago, while Hoecht should provide steady play as part of the primary rotation at the position.

Linebacker: Troy Reeder, Christian Rozeboom, Omar Speights, Jacob Hummel, Elias Neal

This group saw a significant shakeup last week when Ernest Jones IV was traded to the Titans. But Reeder provides some leadership to the group with his six years of experience, and he’ll line up with Rozeboom with the first-team defense.

But the Rams also expect big things for Speights, an undrafted free agent out of LSU whom general manager Les Snead deemed a likely a contributor to the defense. Primarily known as a run stopper in college, Speights will need to grow in pass defense as the season goes on.

Cornerback: Tre’Davious White, Decobie Durant, Josh Wallace, Charles Woods, Darious Williams

This group took a body blow Thursday when Williams (hamstring) was placed on injured reserve. With Durant dealing with his own hamstring injury, the Rams are in a situation where they could need to rely on Wallace and Woods, undrafted free agents, opposite of the veteran White, who is coming back from an Achilles tear that ended his 2023.

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Safety: Kamren Curl, John Johnson III, Quentin Lake, Kamren Kinchens, Russ Yeast, Jaylen McCollough

The Rams were high on Curl when they signed him in free agency, and he has rewarded that confidence with a strong camp, quickly grasping the defense and becoming a leader in the secondary alongside the veteran Johnson.

Lake has settled in to his new role as the star cornerback and will also be looked to as a leader after being named team captain. Kinchens is a candidate to contribute as a rookie given his ability to make plays on the ball.

​ Orange County Register 

A day for celebrating the abuelos of the community

• September 5, 2024

Grandparents do so much, and a special event on Thursday, Sept. 5, was all about celebrating them.

The Día de Los Abuelos celebration hosted at the Delhi Center in Santa Ana offered a morning of pampering and entertainment for older adults in the local community.

The early afternoon celebration was hosted by Mint Insurance Agency, the Orange County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Optum Medical Group, with a variety of volunteers jumping in to help.

“This event is our way of showing gratitude and appreciation for the invaluable contributions of our seniors,” said Miriam Ramos Vega, founder of the Mint health insurance agency, who added she was inspired by her grandmother, Nena.

The seniors enjoyed photo shoots, sweet treats and lunch, pampering that included makeovers, and a special performance by the Grammy Award-winning Mariachi DIVAS de Cindy Shea. There was also information on the various resources available to older adults in Orange County.

Getting out the information about the help that is available is so important, said Wendy Reyes-Dorado, CEO of Elite Management Services and Sparkling Events Design, another organizer of the celebration. “There are a lot of services they do not know about. We need to get that information to them. There are a lot of organizations here to help them.”

She also said it is important to make more time for the grandparents and older adults of our community with events like Thursday’s celebration.

“We cannot forget about our values and our traditions,” she said, “and imparting love to our elders.”

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​ Orange County Register 

Should Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, or any full-time DH, win an MVP award?

• September 5, 2024

Shohei Ohtani has been a unicorn since he came to MLB in 2018. So why wouldn’t he be unique in this as well?

Ohtani already has two Most Valuable Player awards to his credit – in 2021 and 2023. He spent most of his time as the Angels’ designated hitter in those two seasons but also made 23 starts as a pitcher each year, going 9-2 with a 3.18 ERA in 2021 and 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA in 2023. His unprecedented two-way stardom made him a unanimous MVP selection each year.

Since the designated hitter rule was adopted by the American League in 1973 and full time in the National League in 2022, though, no player who got most of his playing time as a DH – without pitching – has ever won an MVP award.

When Don Baylor won the AL MVP with the Angels in 1979, he started 65 of 162 games at DH, the highest percentage yet for an MVP winner.

Full-time DHs have finished as high as second in the MVP voting four times. David Ortiz came the closest with the Boston Red Sox in 2005. He received 11 first-place votes and finished behind Alex Rodriguez who received 16.

“If he stole 50 bags, he probably would have won it,” Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts said of ‘Big Papi’s’ near-miss.

And that is the crux of Ohtani’s case to add a third MVP to his trophy case – making him only the second player in MLB history to win one in each league (Frank Robinson won in the National League with the Cincinnati Reds in 1961 then in the American League with the Baltimore Orioles five years later).

“I always thought that (a DH shouldn’t win the MVP award),” said Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, who made two starts at DH while winning the NL award with Atlanta in 2020. “But the things he’s doing this year, it’s hard to argue against it.”

Already the fastest of six players in baseball history to reach 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in the same season, Ohtani will enter play Friday with 44 home runs and 46 steals. The Dodgers have 22 games left for him to become the first 50-50 player.

“I think as baseball people it’s hard to view a DH as winning MVP. But you look up and he has a chance to do something no one’s done before,” Freeman said. “I’ve always thought it would be hard for a DH to win. He’s only out there for four or five at-bats (per game). But when you can potentially go 50-50, we might have to re-think that.

“It would be different if someone else playing was having a ridiculous year too.”

Indeed, no clear challenger has emerged to Ohtani in the NL – even as his offensive production has declined in the second half (he is batting .234 since the All-Star break).

New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor offers voters (two BBWAA members in each MLB city) an alternative candidate who plays exceptional defense at a premium position. Lindor is on his way to a 30-30 season – but his offensive numbers fall well short of Ohtani’s in every single category.

Ketel Marte was building a case during the Arizona Diamondbacks’ second-half surge, but he has been on the injured list the past three weeks.

Marcell Ozuna of the Braves might be the only candidate who can rival Ohtani’s offensive production. Ozuna has a higher batting average (.305 to .290), a comparable OPS (Ohtani leads .988 to .949) and nearly identical RBI totals (99 for Ohtani to 98 for Ozuna).

Like Ohtani, though, Ozuna hasn’t played an inning in the field this season, starting all 139 of the Braves’ games at DH.

“I’m not for it. But no DH has ever done what he’s done either,” said Betts, who made three starts at DH during his AL MVP season with the Red Sox in 2018. “I just think the best player that helps his team win – whether it’s all offense or all defense, that’s the MVP. The Most Valuable Player, that’s what it is.

“There’s no right or wrong. I do know without him we wouldn’t be where we are now. You can go with whatever you go off of. But I know we wouldn’t be here without him.”

Manager Dave Roberts is certainly aware of Ohtani’s contributions to the Dodgers’ best record in baseball and agrees that a DH could be the MVP.

“I do feel he would have to have that much of a better season than the field,” Roberts said. “It’s the same argument of could a pitcher win an MVP? I put it in that same discussion.”

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One-way players – pitchers – have won the MVP award in both leagues multiple times over the years, most recently Clayton Kershaw with the Dodgers in 2014.

“MVP should be all-encompassing on what is the most valuable. Obviously defense plays a part in that,” Kershaw said of a DH winning the award. “But if you’re that good offensively that you’re more valuable, then I think it’s okay.”

Ironically, Ohtani’s best challenger for this year’s award might have been his teammate – Betts. The runner-up to Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr. a year ago, Betts was having another MVP-level season this year while providing positional versatility on defense. But Betts missed nearly two months after fracturing a bone in his left hand.

“Yeah, for sure,” Betts said when asked if that injury might have robbed fans of a two-man, one-team MVP race in the NL. “That’s always a personal goal. Personal goals don’t really matter. You’d like to get them. But stuff like that, that’s ancillary-type things.

“That would have been cool. But God has his plans.”

​ Orange County Register