ALCS: Jose Altuve’s 3-run homer in 9th gives Astros 3-2 series lead after benches clear

• October 21, 2023

By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Baseball Writer

ARLINGTON, Texas — Jose Altuve hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning and the Houston Astros, after getting into another bench-clearing scuffle with the Texas Rangers, rallied for a 5-4 victory in a wild and testy Game 5 of the American League Championship Series on Friday.

After winning all three games at rival Texas, the defending champion Astros head home to Houston needing one win to reach a third consecutive World Series. They lead 3-2 in the best-of-seven playoff going into Game 6 on Sunday night.

“We’ve done it so many times. We never give up until the last out,” Altuve said.

Adolis García punctuated his towering three-run homer in the sixth with a slow trot and an empathic spike of his bat after watching the ball clear the wall to give Texas a 4-2 lead.

When the slugger came to bat again with a runner on first in the eighth, Bryan Abreu hit García on the left arm with a pitch. An angry García immediately turned to get in the face of catcher Martín Maldonado – the two also jawed nose-to-nose when García touched home plate after his grand slam in Houston on July 26.

Both benches and bullpens cleared, although it didn’t appear any punches were thrown as the teams grabbed hold of each other near home plate. Once things settled down, García, Abreu and Astros manager Dusty Baker had been ejected during a delay that lasted almost 12 minutes.

After the game, umpire crew chief James Hoye told a pool reporter Abreu was ejected for throwing with intent, and García was tossed for being the aggressor in the situation.

“The guy hits a three-run homer; the next time up he gets smoked there,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said. “I’d be upset, too, if I was Doli. But like I said, it just took too long to get things back in order, that’s what was frustrating me.”

Rangers closer José Leclerc gave up a leadoff single to pinch-hitter Yainer Diaz and walked pinch-hitter Jon Singleton at the bottom of the lineup to begin the Houston ninth. Altuve then pulled an 0-and-1 changeup over the left field fence, just beyond the glove of a leaping Evan Carter.

It was the 26th career postseason homer for Altuve, second in major league history behind Manny Ramirez (29). The 5-foot-6 star second baseman was playing in his 101st postseason game – all with the Astros.

“Number one, he wants to be up there. Number two, he’s got a high concentration level – because that’s what it takes in big moments like that, is concentration, desire, and relaxation all encompassed into one,” Baker said. “This dude is one of the baddest dudes I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen some greats.”

García connected off three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander, who took a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth before Corey Seager doubled, Carter singled and García homered in a span of three pitches.

Nathaniel Lowe also went deep for the wild-card Rangers, tying it 1-all in the fifth.

Ryan Pressly pitched two scoreless innings for the win after replacing Abreu following his ejection. Pressly gave up consecutive singles to start the bottom of the ninth before retiring the top three batters in Texas’ lineup. Marcus Semien lined out to shortstop, Seager flied out to deep center and Carter struck out to end it.

Alex Bregman homered early for Houston, which is in its seventh straight ALCS and is trying to get to its fifth World Series in that span.

The AL West champion Astros are 40-45 this year at Minute Maid Park, including 1-3 in the postseason. But they are 5-0 on the road and have won 19 of their past 22 games away from home overall.

Houston went 9-1 at Globe Life Field this season, winning its last eight in a row while outscoring Texas 79-36 during that span.

García, the Cuban slugger known as El Bombi, took a couple of slow steps out of the batter’s box after connecting and was about halfway down the baseline when the ball landed in the first row of seats a few feet beyond the left-center wall. It was his fourth homer this postseason.

That go-ahead homer in the 42nd inning of this series was the first time the home team took the lead at any point through the first five games.

Houston took a 2-1 lead in the sixth when José Abreu reached out to hit a 79 mph curveball from starter Jordan Montgomery and the sharply hit ball took a tough hop off Seager at shortstop for an RBI single.

Josh Sborz entered with the bases loaded and one out but prevented further damage with the help of a diving play by Semien at second base.

Verlander retired 13 of his first 15 batters in his 21st postseason start for Houston until Lowe went the opposite way for a 380-foot homer to left field. The 40-year-old right-hander allowed four runs and six hits over 5⅔ innings.

ROOF CLOSED

A day after the retractable roof at Globe Life Park was open during a game for the first time since May 21, it was closed again on a sunny afternoon. The temperature outside at first pitch was 91 degrees. It was 74 inside with the roof closed.

UP NEXT

All-Star pitchers Nathan Eovaldi and Framber Valdez will start Game 6, the same matchup as Game 2 when the Rangers won, 5-4. Eovaldi struck out nine and allowed three runs in six innings to win Monday. Valdez had six strikeouts in 2⅔ innings, but he allowed five runs (four earned).

JOSE ALTUVE FOR THE LEAD!! #ALCS pic.twitter.com/uUlrRc9b5f

— MLB (@MLB) October 21, 2023

The @Astros head back home with a series lead! #ALCS pic.twitter.com/DYVM3FnrDH

— MLB (@MLB) October 21, 2023

Alex Bregman is in awe of Jose Altuve. #ALCS pic.twitter.com/1tOJKW7MjW

— MLB (@MLB) October 21, 2023

Breg-Man on the Moon: This ball was up, up, and away. #ALCS pic.twitter.com/kyaUxoFxvc

— MLB (@MLB) October 20, 2023

This is what 110 Texas-sized decibels sounds like. #ALCS pic.twitter.com/SAtmrtAv2F

— MLB (@MLB) October 20, 2023

​ Orange County Register 

Santa Anita horse racing consensus picks for Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023

• October 21, 2023

The consensus box of Santa Anita horse racing picks comes from handicappers Bob Mieszerski, Art Wilson, Terry Turrell and Eddie Wilson. Here are the picks for thoroughbred races on Saturday, October 21, 2023.

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​ Orange County Register 

Driver gets 10 years for crash that killed Irvine man in Laguna Beach

• October 21, 2023

A 36-year-old Rancho Santa Margarita man pleaded guilty Friday and was immediately sentenced to 10 years in prison for an alcohol-fueled crash that killed a man in Laguna Beach nearly 10 years ago.

Francisco Acuna Sanchez pleaded guilty to a felony count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. As part of the plea deal, charges of second-degree murder and driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs causing injury were dismissed along with sentencing enhancements for inflicting great bodily injury on three victims.

Sanchez, a previously twice convicted drunk driver, was involved in a four-vehicle crash that injured several and killed 29-year-old Erik Valencia of Irvine on Jan. 26, 2014. The crash happened around 1:30 p.m. on Pacific Coast Highway near Irvine Cove Drive in Laguna Beach, police said.

Sanchez was arrested on Nov. 24, 2021, and has been in jail since then.

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​ Orange County Register 

Analysis: 3 takeaways from Lakers’ 2023-24 preseason

• October 21, 2023

The Lakers’ 2023-24 preseason is now behind them after Thursday’s loss to the Phoenix Suns, with the focus now turning toward Tuesday’s regular-season opener against the Denver Nuggets in Colorado.

While experimentation and varying player availability makes it difficult to learn too many lessons, the exhibition games aren’t meaningless and observations can be made.

Here are three takeaways from the Lakers’ preseason:

Fifth starter

Going into training camp, the competition for the fifth and final starting spot – alongside LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell – was expected to be between Rui Hachimura, Taurean Prince and Jarred Vanderbilt.

It appears the competition came down to Prince and Vanderbilt.

Prince started all three of the exhibition games when the other four known starters were available. But Vanderbilt, a starter during the team’s run to the Western Conference finals last year, missed five consecutive games because of left heel soreness.

Before the loss to the Suns, Ham wouldn’t confirm whether Russell, Reaves, Prince, James and Davis would be the starting unit against the Nuggets, mentioning that forward Vanderbilt wasn’t available Thursday.

Prince and Vanderbilt bring different skill sets to the group. Prince is the better shooter and scorer. Vanderbilt has the edge as the better overall defender and rebounder.

But the Lakers appear to be confident in either option.

“They’re two totally different players and bring totally different things,” Reaves said. “What’s similar about them is they both play the game the right way, know how to fit in with any group and I think it all stays the same. Play the right way, make the extra pass.

“We’ve got a lot of talent on the court. Whoever it is or whatever lineup we have on the court in any given moment, we feel comfortable with what we got.”

Jaxson Hayes’ play

There might not have been a Lakers player who benefited more from the preseason than Jaxson Hayes, the 6-foot-11 big man they signed as a free agent during the offseason.

Hayes wasn’t the only player who had standout moments or games during the exhibitions.

Russell’s scoring and playmaking shined, as did his increased commitment to the defensive end. Davis, James, Reaves and Prince were among the players who had strong moments.

But most of the other players’ roles were either defined or seemed to be clear before training camp even started.

Before camp, there were questions about how Hayes would get consistent playing time in light of the team’s other frontcourt options.

But his interior activity and efficiency on both ends of the court might make it difficult for Ham not to reward Hayes with consistent playing time. Hayes also flashed good passing skills for a player of his size.

“He was phenomenal,” Davis said. “Catching in the pocket and making the right plays, finishing, protecting the rim, everything that we want out of him and more. Hustling. Things that can [be] better. But for the most part, he was phenomenal.”

Transition defense

Transition defense was a notable deficiency for the Lakers last season, and they still feel that’s one of the team’s biggest areas of concern heading into the regular season.

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“We’ve struggled a little bit [with] transition defense throughout these [preseason] games,” Reaves said. “That comes with energy, effort and also playing alongside each other longer. Having that unspoken chemistry of kind of just knowing where someone’s going to be, rotations and stuff like that.”

To Davis, the solution for their transition defensive woes is simple.

“That’s all it really is: effort and communication,” Davis said. “Those are the two biggest things. Hustling back, running back and realizing that you don’t have a man in transition. You’re not going to your man, you have to find a man and just match up from there. Getting back, not running alongside your man and then communicating.”

​ Orange County Register 

Biden asks Congress for $105 billion for Ukraine, Israel, the border and more

• October 21, 2023

By CHRIS MEGERIAN and MARY CLARE JALONICK

WASHINGTON — The White House on Friday released a sweeping set of proposals to bolster Israel and Ukraine in the midst of two wars as well as invest more in domestic defense manufacturing, humanitarian assistance and managing the influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The total cost of the supplemental funding request was pegged at just over $105 billion. President Joe Biden hopes Congress will move urgently on the legislation, and he made the case for deepening U.S. support for its allies during a rare Oval Office address on Thursday night.

The Democratic president’s plan faces some immediate complications on Capitol Hill, even as most lawmakers say they want to help both countries. The House is at a standstill, unable to pass legislation, as the Republican majority struggles to choose a new speaker. The money could also get bogged down in a divided Senate where Republicans have increasingly opposed Ukraine aid and demanded adding additional border policies to the measure.

But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said the Senate would advance Biden’s proposals as soon as possible.

“This legislation is too important to wait for the House to settle their chaos,” he said. “Senate Democrats will move expeditiously on this request, and we hope that our Republican colleagues across the aisle will join us to pass this much-needed funding.”

Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., also expressed support, but said the Senate “must produce our own supplemental legislation that meets the demonstrated needs of our national security.”

It could take several weeks to write the bill and negotiate its contents. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., and the panel’s top Republican, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, announced an Oct. 31 hearing on the spending request with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters Friday that Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and Hamas’ attack on Israel represent a “global inflection point.”

“This budget request is critical to advancing America’s national security and ensuring the safety of the American people,” Sullivan said.

The biggest line item in the supplemental funding request is $61.4 billion to support Ukraine. Some of that money will go to replenishing Pentagon stockpiles of weapons that have already been provided.

Ukraine has struggled to make progress in a grueling counteroffensive, and the White House has warned that Russia could gain ground if the United States does not rush more weapons and ammunition to the conflict.

“The world is closely watching what Congress does next,” Sullivan said.

Israel would receive $14.3 billion in assistance under the proposal. The majority of that money would help with air and missile defense systems, according to the White House.

While aiding both Israel and Ukraine has broad support in both chambers, some Republicans in both the House and the Senate are wary of linking funding for the two countries. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, said the president’s proposal was discussed in a closed-door meeting of his state’s Republican delegation Friday.

Williams said Biden’s proposal to aid both is “a little disturbing” because “he knows he can’t get it done without Israel.”

The reaction is emblematic of how Biden’s decision to roll together several different issues, in hopes of broadening the potential political coalition to ensure the legislation’s passage, could also lead it to its derailment.

Debates over immigration will likely be the most thorny as Republicans seek to bolster enforcement. Many Republicans have said they won’t support the measure unless new policies are added, and it is so far unclear whether the money that Biden is requesting would be sufficient. A group of Republican senators huddled Thursday to discuss possible proposals that they would support.

“I support aid to Israel and Ukraine,” Texas Sen. John Cornyn posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “But without meaningful and substantive policy changes that will address the #BidenBorderCrisis such aid is in serious jeopardy.”

Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, suggested it would be hypocritical for them to oppose Biden’s proposal after complaining about lax border management.

“We will not be lectured by those who refuse to act,” she said. “As we’ve said repeatedly, Congress needs to take action to provide sufficient resources for the border.”

Although there was a lull in migrant arrivals to the U.S. after the start of new asylum restrictions in May, illegal crossings topped a daily average of more than 8,000 last month.

The White House wants roughly $14 billion to, among other things, boost the number of border agents, install new inspection machines to detect fentanyl and increase staffing to process asylum cases.

Sen. Bill Hagerty, a Tennessee Republican, said providing the administration with “more money to fuel its disastrous open-borders resettlement operation is insanity.”

“It would worsen the border crisis, not stop it,” he wrote on X.

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Some Republicans made clear that there was no chance they would support the package. Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton called it “dead on arrival.”

Biden’s funding request includes $7.4 billion for a variety of initiatives geared toward the Indo-Pacific, where the U.S. is focused on countering China’s influence. The money is divided among joint security initiatives in the region, bolstering submarine manufacturing as part of a partnership with Australia and developing financing programs for countries that would otherwise rely on Beijing.

Another $9.15 billion is geared toward humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, Israel, Gaza and other places. Administration officials said they would determine where best to direct the money once it’s approved.

Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said “time is of the essence” for passing the legislation.

“We will be judged on how the United States responds to ongoing crises, whether we honor our commitments to our allies abroad, and how we care for innocent people around the world caught in the wake of devastation,” she said.

Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.

​ Orange County Register 

Hit hard by climate change, Asians and Pacific Islanders grapple with solutions

• October 21, 2023

Climate change is “an urgent issue” for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities, these advocates say. Along with the planet, it affects areas of public policy, the economy, health and immigration.

The AAPI Victory Alliance hosted its inaugural “Climate Justice Convening” this week in Koreatown. From Oct. 18 to 20, community leaders, climate experts and environmentalists came together at The Line Hotel LA to discuss the extreme effects of climate change and finding equitable solutions.

Although climate change “often disproportionately impacts communities of color, these communities are often left out of the conversations on solutions,” conference organizers said in a release.

The fall event followed ongoing and recent natural disasters and climate-related events, including the wildfires in Maui in August. Attendees discussed growing concerns including rising sea levels, cyclones in the South Pacific Ocean, flooding in the Marshall Islands, and thousands of Pacific Islander communities being displaced.

With climate justice a top priority for the AAPI Victory Alliance, organizers hoped the event, which intentionally centered Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders’ voices and concerns, would “most importantly (be) heard by those in power,” a release said.

In a statement, AAPI Victory Alliance Executive Director Varun Nikore said that Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders “have long been sounding the alarm about climate change — particularly because they will be disproportionately affected. Their livelihoods will be the first ones to be fully disrupted.”

“Climate change is the challenge of our decade. We need to amplify and uplift AANHPI narratives, as well as the voices of communities of color, who will disproportionately bear the brunt of climate change,” Nikore said. “We must also be clear-eyed that corporations are the ones marching us towards a climate crisis, and that is why convenings like this to consolidate people power are so important.”

In a Thursday, Oct. 19 session, Nile Bunger, the climate justice director with the Arizona AANHPI For Equity coalition, discussed the ways in which climate change and natural disasters are forcing many Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander groups to lose their land and livelihood.

Bunger said the intersection of climate and racial injustice “go hand in hand” — affecting “all connected” things from global food concerns to the ocean’s biodiversity.

The climate crisis “is something that is a ‘now’ issue, impacting us currently. Climate change doesn’t wait for anybody,” she said later.  “You can’t talk about truly solving and fighting climate crises — in the Pacific Islands, Africa, or parts of Asia; where detrimental climate concerns are happening — without mentioning racial injustice and how these communities are directly impacted.”

Bunger talked about climate refugees who, when displaced from their homes, are also forced to leave their culture and identity behind. There are other losses of language, important cultural practices, and even spirituality that can be affected, she said.

Centering AAPI and NHPI voices is critical, Bunger added, because they are “the experts” in their communities. Giving people the multilingual resources they need, inviting them into environmental justice spaces, and amplifying their work in fighting climate change are all crucial.

Bunger encouraged folks to “get uncomfortable with being uncomfortable talking about climate…. we need to start thinking about our climate crisis not as a political issue, but a human issue.”

For more information on the AAPI Victory Alliance’s climate justice initiatives, visit aapivictoryalliance.com/climatejustice.

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Lahaina residents brace for what they’ll find upon return
The Compost: Is another wet winter ahead?
California poised for big climate moves after Newsom backs new laws
Maui fires: County sues Hawaiian Electric Company over negligence
Survey: Californians say extreme weather, climate change are hitting close to home
Scientists: warming globe may bring more infectious diseases

​ Orange County Register 

LAFC’s Denis Bouanga worthy of all MVP consideration

• October 21, 2023

Denis Bouanga has as good a case as anyone among the 30 nominees for the Landon Donovan MLS MVP award.

Leading Major League Soccer with 19 regular-season goals, three ahead of the nearest pursuer heading into the final matchday, Bouanga’s first full season as a winger with the Los Angeles Football Club met the loftiest expectations for what the Frenchman could do in a game model that excels at creating goals.

Even if one of the handful of players trailing Bouanga in the Golden Boot race pulls off a historic performance and passes him for the honor Saturday, it would not change the fact that no MLS player was more prolific than him in 2023.

Entering LAFC’s 34th regular-season contest, Bouanga has 11 more goals than any other MLS player for the calendar year. In 42 games across all competitions, the powerfully nimble forward played a part in 45 goals, scoring 32 of them.

Over the 25 games he made a goal contribution, LAFC stands 16-5-4. The 17 times he did not, LAFC is 3-8-6.

For the purposes of the MVP discussion, only regular-season accomplishments should be considered by the players, coaches and technical staffs around MLS, as well as select media who are invited to participate, according to the criteria.

LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo claimed to not know or care about the voting process, and doesn’t think much of the concept of an individual award like MVP for a professional soccer team.

Asked if Bouanga is the LAFC MVP in 2023, he demurred.

“He’s a very important player amongst others,” the coach said following two momentum-gathering wins that featured five Bouanga goals. “I do not think I would do this group justice to point out one player and I won’t do it.

“If you look over the past six years of this organization’s existence, the one thing that’s been consistent has been scoring goals regardless of who plays.”

Bouanga would be the third different LAFC player to win the Golden Boot in the past five years, joining Carlos Vela (34 goals) during his MVP-winning campaign in 2019 and Diego Rossi (14 goals) in 2020.

As special as Bouanga has been, Cherundolo noted “the interesting fact is all three of those players are playing in a winger position, so that does speak for our game model, our idea of how to score goals and to attack defenses. I’m not sure that’s been replicated anywhere else and that’s pretty cool.”

Scoring is expected to lead to winning, so Bouanga’s impact in that is clear. When he helped LAFC (14-10-9, 51 points) get on the board this MLS regular season, they’re 9-2-3.

With a chance to secure the No. 2 seed in the West, a result against a strong Vancouver Whitecaps FC side vying for a top-four spot would be a convincing entry into the MLS postseason as defending champions.

The Whitecaps (12-10-11, 47 points) have generally played the Black & Gold tough at BC Place over the past six years. Bouanga scored twice at Vancouver in April in a CONCACAF Champions League win, and one more against the Caps at BMO Stadium in June during a rare LAFC loss when his name appeared on the scoresheet.

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“A game changer,” said goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau, who returns to British Columbia for Decision Day after joining the Canadian national team on a quick trip to Japan during the recent international break.

“Denis has been on fire for us the whole year. He took the challenge upon himself with the first year fully integrated with the group and he responded really well.”

LAFC AT VANCOUVER

When: Saturday, 6:09 p.m.

Where: BC Place, Vancouver, B.C., Canada

TV/Radio: Apple TV+ – Free/710 AM, 980 AM

​ Orange County Register 

Alexander: 2026 World Cup will likely skip SoFi Stadium, and here’s why

• October 21, 2023

The world according to Jim:

• Hopefully, you haven’t yet made concrete plans to witness 2026 World Cup matches in Inglewood. And yes, I know it’s a little less than three years out, but there are those who love to plan ahead.

Alas, that classification obviously doesn’t include those who designed SoFi Stadium. SoCal’s state-of-the-art venue is not state-of-the-art enough for FIFA, part of the reason why a stadium that was previously considered a lock to host tournament games is now apparently out of the running. …

• There are two stories circulating as to why, and both come down to money. That figures, considering FIFA exists less to oversee the world of soccer (or football, if you prefer) than to get its grubby hands on as much cash in as many ways as is humanly possible. Exhibit A is the supersized 48-nation field for 2026 – more games, more loot, right? – but the endless parade of tournaments and friendlies wedged between league matches suggests most of the sports administrators are happily following FIFA’s example. …

• As we know, Stan Kroenke’s stadium is built for football of the NFL variety, but its dimensions are not wide enough for a regulation soccer pitch. An NFL field is 120 yards long (counting the end zones) and 53.3 yards wide, compared to soccer’s 115-by-74 dimensions. Yet SoFi has hosted the sport before, including this year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup final and a friendly between Kroenke’s Arsenal and FC Barcelona during the European powers’ annual summertime Cash Grab in the Colonies. Those matches were played on fields that were more narrow than normal – natural sod, by the way, laid over the artificial turf – without incident.

But FIFA is insistent on a regulation pitch for its showcase event, and to do so at SoFi would require removing the field suites and a few rows of field-level seating. As ESPN Deportes’ John Sutcliffe reported earlier this week, “The information that I have is that SoFi Stadium is no longer going to be a World Cup venue because the stadium’s owner [Kroenke] said, ‘For what it is going to cost me, best skip it’.”

• Construction on the Inglewood stadium began in November 2016. The selection of the U.S., Mexico and Canada as 2026 tri-hosts took place in June of 2018. Still, maybe there should have been greater provisions for soccer in the original plans. …

• The other angle is that Kroenke, as the venue’s owner, is unhappy enough with the terms of money distribution from FIFA – particularly the lack of “commercial assets as advance payment,” as Martina Alcheva of World Soccer Talk put it – to back away. Given that this combined with even temporary renovation means Kroenke would lose money in the process, walking away shouldn’t be unexpected. …

• Then again, Adam Crafton of The Athletic reported that Kroenke isn’t the only stadium operator on this continent resisting FIFA’s ideal of income distribution (which translates to Most For Me, Scraps For Thee). The organization apparently got used to Qatar’s willingness to pay for darned near everything leading up to the 2022 World Cup, and wasn’t ready for the pushback here. …

• This would seem to be good news for Pasadena. If SoFi is truly out, the Rose Bowl should be back in play to host games, since L.A. was officially announced as one of the 11 U.S. host cities in May. Pasadena played host to games in the 1994 men’s World Cup including the final, (a scoreless draw that Brazil won over Italy on penalty kicks) and the 1999 Women’s World Cup (including a memorable final, i.e. the match that made Brandi Chastain a legend). …

• Would FIFA really snub the second-largest city in the U.S. and the biggest and most diverse sports market on this continent just because Stan Kroenke said no? You’d like to think good sense would prevail. But this is FIFA, with a president in Gianni Infantino who has been known to step in it from time to time. So anything’s possible. …

• Elsewhere, should we refer to Michigan’s Wolverines as the Houston Astros of college football? No bats or trashcans were involved, but the sign-stealing allegations here involve in-person advance scouting, a violation of NCAA Bylaw 11.6.1. Then again, this might be a case of the NCAA’s enforcement arm nailing a school for what it can prove to make up for all of the things it suspects are happening but can’t prove (which wouldn’t be unusual among big-time football and basketball programs). …

• Meanwhile, the NCAA continues to lobby for antitrust legislation, even though both houses of Congress have far more to worry about (and one of them is currently frozen in place). Given that the courts could ultimately rule that athletes are not only employees but are entitled to a hefty cut of past TV money, NCAA president Charlie Baker’s insistence that athletes should receive “special status that would affirm they are not employees” does not embrace the reality of College Sports Inc. in 2023.

Calls for a national standard on NIL come with the related, flawed assumption that college sports is a singular industry.
Fixating on NIL, running to Congress for antitrust exemptions… these are distraction tactics and a way to avoid the job of actual, substantive redesign.

— Victoria Jackson (@HistoryRunner) October 17, 2023

(Especially for, say, West Coast Olympic sport athletes who will have to squeeze into that middle seat in coach to fly to competitions in the Central and Eastern time zones beginning in 2024.) …

• Sudden thought: Pro basketball writers already have to look it up every time they have to spell Giannis Antetokounmpo. Now they’re going to have to do the same for 7-foot-4 San Antonio rookie Victor Wembanyama. (And you wonder why the second reference generally tends to be “Giannis” or “Wemby.”) …

• And among the leftovers from this week’s TNT network videoconference was this from Reggie Miller on his first meeting with, uh, Wemby before a San Antonio Spurs preseason game:

“My son was like, ‘Dad, you got to stand back to back because I’ve got to see it, how much taller (is he)?’ Because, you know, my son’s 10, and he thinks I’m the Jolly Green Giant. I’m like, ‘Son, you have no idea.’

“I felt like I was in the third grade.”

[email protected]

​ Orange County Register