LA Phil goes Hollywood with a trio of concerts featuring the movie scores of composer John Williams

• July 8, 2024

The LA Phil is taking audiences to the movies this month with a trio of shows that will feature popular film scores performed live by the orchestra.

“It’s more akin to a classical music rock concert,” said Maestro David Newman, who will lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the concert dubbed “Maestro of the Movies: The Music of John Williams and More.”

The shows will take place at the Hollywood Bowl July 12,13 and 14. Williams was scheduled to share the stage with Newman during the concert, but according to LA Phil officials, due to a recent health concern he will be unable to perform.

Williams has scored more than 100 movies and created some of the most iconic film scores of all time for films like “Superman,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,” as well as films in the “Star Wars” franchise.

“Everyone has movies that they love, and a lot of them are John Williams movies, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas movies,” Newman said. “And the music in them is a big integral part of it and John Williams is a huge part of these films,” he said.

And Star Wars fans tend to bring the force with them to these concert since many bring lightsabers to the show and wave them around during the “Star Wars,” portion of the show.

“It’s a very visceral kind of nostalgic experience,” Newman said.

Besides Williams’ music, the night will also include scores from movies made during Hollywood’s “Golden Age,”  Newman said.

“It’s all an ecstatic celebration of the music of the music of John Williams and also of the entire output of Hollywood,” he said.

‘Maestro of the Movies: The Music of John Williams and More’

When: 8 p.m. July 12-13, 7:30 p.m. July 14

Where: Hollywood Bowl, 2301 Highland Ave, Los Angeles

Tickets: $54-241

Information: hollywoodbowl.com

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

After time away, Dodgers’ Blake Treinen enjoying chance to compete again

• July 8, 2024

LOS ANGELES — A proudly religious man, Dodgers relief pitcher Blake Treinen relied on reading the Bible to get through nearly two years of shoulder pain, surgery and rehabilitation.

But there were a couple other proverbs that stayed in his mind. He remembered hearing Kobe Bryant’s advice once – don’t fall in love with the game, fall in love with the process. And that great philosopher Mike Tyson, Treinen recalled, advised that discipline is when you do the things you hate like you love them.

“Sitting for two years isn’t fun,” said Treinen, who pitched just five innings in 2022 while dealing with a capsule tear in his shoulder, had shoulder surgery that fall to repair his rotator cuff and labrum and spent all of 2023 rehabbing from that procedure.

“God saw me through a lot the last two years. I tell my wife all the time you never know how much longer you have or how much you want to be doing it. But I’m thoroughly enjoying this stretch of however much longer I have.”

It was a lot to go through for a 34-year-old (now 36) with a full career behind him. Treinen’s return this season was even delayed until May when he was hit by a line drive during one of the last games of the Cactus League schedule this spring. Add cracked ribs and a bruised lung to the list of injuries he had to overcome.

But Treinen said he never wavered or considered retirement.

“I didn’t want to end injured,” he said. “My wife and I have both prayed since I entered the game that I would get to walk away on my own terms – not from someone telling me I’m not good enough, not from an injury putting me out.”

Treinen said he was confident all along that “I’d come back and play and I’d be just as good if not better than I was.”

He certainly doesn’t seem far off.

In his first 23 appearances this season, Treinen has allowed seven runs in 20⅔ innings. Six of those runs came on two swings – a grand slam by Kansas City’s M.J. Melendez to end a 12-pitch at-bat on June 15 and a walk-off home run by Brett Wisely in San Francisco on June 28. Batters are hitting just .195 (15 for 77) with 26 strikeouts against him this season.

“I know the big question mark after the shoulder surgery and whatnot was what was the velo going to be,” Dodgers assistant pitching coach Connor McGuiness said. “But he’s actually averaging the best depth on his sinker of his career. He holds himself to this incredibly high standard of the 97, 98 (mph) but 94 to 96, zero-vert sinkers are still very good pitches and a lot of guys around the league would kill to have a pitch like that. He had the sweeper that came into play more in ’21. He’s fine-tuned that.

“For me, it’s just more remarkable that with all the stuff he’s been through to be this version of himself. It’s arguably a better version of what he’s been in previous years.”

At his peak in 2019-21 – before his shoulder issues – Treinen’s sinker averaged 97 mph. This year, that is down to 94.6 mph. His slider – or sweeper – has also lost a little velocity, down to 83.9 this year.

The results indicate the changes haven’t made Treinen any easier to hit. His strikeout rate is actually up slightly from his career norm. In particular, hitters are swinging and missing at his slider at a higher rate than ever (52.9%).

But one thing has changed – an extreme ground ball pitcher throughout his career, Treinen has actually got more fly balls this year than ground balls (21 to 20).

“Who knows?” McGuiness said when asked to explain the change. “The league knows him. … They kind of know what we’re trying to do. I’m sure they’re trying to cheat to that sinker to get underneath it. That could be producing it. Even the sweeper, if you’re trying to stay on plane with that thing, it’s more two-plane and they end up popping it up. I think that could just be more a strategic thing where they’re trying to counteract the movement that he’s creating.”

Asking Treinen how he has changed as a pitcher in this post-surgery phase of his career produces a moment of silence.

“I don’t know how to answer that question,” he said. “Maybe competing like I still have the same stuff and not really paying attention to the velo. So maybe I’m not going to be able to bully people as much with velo and shorter reaction time. But I think my movement patterns are a little better than they were in the past.”

Treinen isn’t ready to admit his days of throwing 97, 98 mph consistently are behind him. He thinks he will regain that velocity “if it continues to track the way it has so far.”

Related Articles

“Last year I had aspirations to be back (by the) end of July or early August,” said Treinen, who made three rehab appearances in the minor leagues. “It just didn’t work out. I tried it. My body just wasn’t ready. I needed a whole year to get to a point where I could throw on a regular basis without being stiff.

“Based on that trajectory, this year if I want to be this version of myself I can’t chase velocity because my results will probably reflect that I’m not focused on the moment. There are times when I feel really good and my arm is in position to really hammer, trust it and throw the crap out of it. Those are the days when it’s (9)5 to (9)7. Other days, it’s – throw with a purpose and pitch and I’m (9)3 to (9)5, touching (9)6.”

McGuiness won’t bet against Treinen recovering more velocity. He points to recent work with Dodgers vice president for player performance Brandon McDaniel putting Treinen’s mechanics “in a really good spot.”

“With everything that we had seen with that shoulder injury and whatnot, there were a lot of question marks about whether he could do it,” McGuiness said of Treinen’s return to form. “But if you know the human, it’s no surprise to me that he could do this.”

Dodgers relief pitcher Blake Treinen watches from the dugout during the eighth inning of their game against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday night at Dodger Stadium. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

​ Orange County Register 

Bronny James has 4 points in summer league debut for Lakers

• July 7, 2024

By JANIE McCAULEY AP Sports Writer

SAN FRANCISCO — Once that second-quarter layup went in and he finally had his first NBA points after a trio of misses, Bronny James could exhale and everything began to slow down.

He hardly expects to be perfect at this early stage of his professional career, and every touch and possession will provide an opportunity for growth and learning.

He sure felt the love and support Saturday, even playing in the Bay Area ruled by Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.

“The atmosphere, it was more than I expected,” a grinning James said. “It’s a big game for me, but I didn’t know the people of Golden State would come and rep for me, so that was pretty nice to see.”

Oversized headphones on his ears and dressed in full Lakers gold as he geared up for his NBA Summer League debut on Saturday afternoon, the rookie looked so much like his famous father, LeBron, it caused some at Chase Center to do a double-take.

Down to their familiar mannerisms, facial expressions and the way they run or shuffle back on defense. Bronny James took his place in the starting lineup for the Lakers and his professional career was formally underway, with plenty of scouts in the building to witness it as he wore jersey No. 9 – not to be confused with his dad’s former No. 6 uniform he sported before switching to 23.

“Every first game that I step on the next level there’s always some butterflies in my stomach, but as soon as the ball tips and we go a couple times down it all goes away and I’m just playing basketball,” he said. “It’s always going to be there but get through it.”

The younger James wound up shooting 2 for 9 from the field for four points, missing all three of his 3-point attempts, with a pair of assists, two rebounds and a steal in just under 22 minutes of court time – 21:43 to be exact – as the Lakers lost to the Sacramento Kings, 108-94.

First-round pick Dalton Knecht (No. 17 overall out of Tennessee) had 12 points on 3-for-12 shooting (1 for 4 from 3-point range) and went 5 for 9 from the free-throw line to go with four assists, two rebounds and two steals in 26 minutes.

Blake Hinson had a team-high 17 points on 5-for-8 shooting (5 for 7 from behind the arc) to pace the Lakers, and Tommy Kuhse had 15 points (6 for 10 shooting) and eight assists. Maxwell Lewis had 14 points on 6-for-13 shooting.

James missed his initial two shots while playing nearly six minutes in his first action – grabbing a defensive rebound 1 minute, 20 seconds into the game then missing a 21-foot jump shot moments later. He came up short on a 26-foot 3-point try at the 4:23 mark of the opening quarter before getting a breather.

There were cheers and a warm ovation when James returned to the court at the 8:17 mark of the second quarter. He was initially whistled for his first career foul on a 3-point attempt by Sacramento’s Xavier Sneed on the right wing with 7:23 remaining, and James argued briefly before the play went to replay review and was overturned. James missed a 3-point attempt off the front rim from the top of the arc at 7:04.

Then, at last, James scored his first NBA points on a driving layup 5:51 before halftime.

“Moments like that can slow the game down for you especially because I wasn’t as productive as I wanted to beforehand,” he said. “… I couldn’t get the 3-ball to fall, but all the reps it’s going to come more smooth.”

James missed a pair of free throws at the 4:43 mark of the third period in his first trip to the line.

At one point during his warmup routine, the 6-foot-2 guard stood with hands on hips in a resemblant position to one of his father. And during the game, the son leaned over by the baseline 3-point corner, gripping his knees while waiting for the offensive possession to begin.

The younger James was drafted by the Lakers with the 55th overall selection in the second round out of USC.

He will get another chance to play Sunday at 3:30 p.m., when the Lakers face the Warriors, again at the Chase Center. Lakers summer league coach Dane Johnson plans to give James plenty of chances to acclimate and gain valuable experience in the coming days and weeks.

“Hopefully he’ll play all the games, we’ll see how it goes,” Johnson said. “We’re going to try to integrate him and get him as many reps as we can. He needs more experience playing.”

Johnson applauded James’ keen court awareness, noting, “we all know he has good instincts already, so finding the consistency within those he’ll build as we keep going forward in the summer league and throughout the coming season. His instincts are there, we’ve just got to keep building habits.”

If all goes as planned, the 19-year-old James and his dad would become the first father-son pair to play in the NBA at the same time – and on the same team no less.

Related Articles

“What he does in the California Classic and Summer League, it doesn’t matter if he plays well and it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t play well,” LeBron James said at USA Basketball’s training camp in Las Vegas. “I just want him to continue to grow, practices, film sessions, his individual workouts. You can’t take anything as far as stat-wise from the California Classic and Summer League and bring it once the season starts. The only thing that matters is him getting better and stacking days.”

Bronny is NBA career scoring leader LeBron’s oldest son. He survived cardiac arrest last July 24 during an informal team workout at USC and it was later determined he had a congenital heart defect. The younger James signed a four-year contract that will pay him $7.9 million.

He will remind himself along the way to stay aggressive and “believe in myself knowing I can make plays for myself and my teammates.”

“Looking at my mistakes and looking at the things I did right is really good for me,” James said. “But also just game by game growing that comfort in my playing my game, I feel like that’s a big part of why I come out here and get those reps in.”

AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds contributed to this report.

Lakers rookie Bronny James Jr. looks on during the first half of his team’s California Classic summer league opener against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday afternoon at the Chase Center in San Francisco. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

​ Orange County Register 

Sticking with Biden or Harris all but hands away the presidency to Donald Trump

• July 7, 2024

Reports are flooding in about the fallout within the Democratic party from President Joe Biden’s disastrous performance during last week’s presidential debate. For many, the fact that something like this would happen could not have been more obvious. Democratic leadership saw exactly what the rest of us saw, so how could they believe that it was a good idea to have Biden run for a second term?

I know why the average Democratic voter thought it was a good idea. They trusted the “stutter” narrative fed to them by the left-friendly media. As is common with highly politicized topics, the public can be led to deny what is right in front of their faces. But how did Democratic leaders not see this coming? 

For years now, Biden’s decline could not be fully explained by a simple stutter. He often fails to recall crucial details about his own life including the nature of his own son’s death, struggles to form coherent sentences, and regularly appears disoriented. Are we to believe that they did not expect this to happen? 

It’s hard to believe this caught them off-guard given how much they have shielded him from the public eye. He has held the fewest press conferences since Ronald Regan, which was clearly necessitated to limit opportunities for gaffes. Their awareness of the issue makes it all the more puzzling how so many Democrats are just now suggesting that it may be time for Biden to step aside.

According to some reports, many Democratic donors, governors, and lawmakers are upset that Biden’s inner circle kept his limitations a secret from them by carefully curating his exposure. What sort of strange dogmatic perspective must one have to ignore so much readily available evidence?

You don’t need to look much further than Biden’s last State of the Union address to understand how severely compromised our president is. 

Now only four months away from the presidential election, they have put themselves in a position where they can no longer deny the obvious truth that Biden is too impaired to be the president and must consider alternative candidates. 

Some of Biden’s aides came to his “defense” claiming that Joe Biden operates better between the hours of 10am and 4pm. It’s astonishing that they thought that this rehabilitates Biden’s image in any way. Unfortunately for Biden, matters of importance are not guaranteed to happen within his six hour period of productivity.

This is starting to sound more like hubris and brute incompetence. Democrats made a catastrophic miscalculation. They demonstrated hubris by thinking that they could just continue to spin every mistake that Biden did. Given what we know, it seems more likely than not that they were aware of the president’s limitations but thought that they could squeak out a win anyway. 

Democrats have given themselves the difficult choice between sticking with Biden, who everyone now knows is ill-equipped for office, or choosing a candidate from an uninspiring field to start a new campaign. 

With more Democrats voicing their desire that Biden withdraw from the election, the decision may have already been made for them. You can’t put up a candidate when so many of your own party are questioning their mental competence can you?

Related Articles

That is, unless they double-down on their poor decision making. But the genie is out of the bottle now and the only sensible way forward for the Democratic party is to force Biden to withdraw and hold another primary as quickly as possible. 

They could have acknowledged privately well ahead of time that it was necessary to prepare for an election without Biden given what was plainly visible for all to see. They could have taken the time to raise some moderate Democrat’s profile. Apart from what we may believe about the Democratic party’s general policy preferences, they have a history of not doing themselves any favors with respect to beating Republicans. 

My bet is that Democrats will continue their losing tradition by either sticking with Joe Biden or by supporting some polarizing figure like Kamala Harris who is only somewhat more coherent than the president and who’s awful track record would provide bountiful ammunition for Republicans. This is a crisis of the Democrat’s own doing and with it, they’ve all but handed Trump another victory.

Rafael Perez is a doctoral candidate in philosophy at the University of Rochester. You can reach him at rafaelperezocregister@gmail.com

​ Orange County Register 

LAFC heads to Houston expecting to feel the heat

• July 7, 2024

With the emotional and stressful Fourth of July victory over the Galaxy at the Rose Bowl behind them, the Los Angeles Football Club heads to hot and muggy Houston for a rematch of the 2023 Western Conference final on Sunday.

After falling during the regular season to the Houston Dynamo twice in less than a week last year, LAFC won when it mattered most with to a 2-0 triumph at BMO Stadium in early December that sent the club to its second consecutive MLS Cup.

Sandwiched between El Trafico and a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal match Wednesday, LAFC’s first meeting with Houston this season presents the hosts with a chance to be the first team to beat the Black & Gold in more than a dozen matches since early of May.

“We traditionally have not done well there and we’re looking to change that,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said Saturday as his team prepared to travel to Texas.

In MLS play, LAFC has taken five out of 15 points in Houston, and also lost a U.S. Open Cup semifinal match in 2018.

Houston comes in losing once in its last seven matches, a 3-2 defeat at Real Salt Lake on July 3, and occupies the seventh spot in the West.

“We know we can respond,” Houston center back Erik Sviatchenko said. “We have a solid group that are at a high level.

“We need a full stadium. It could be nice against LAFC to put them under pressure at Shell Energy.”

The Dynamo (8-7-6, 30 points) have hung tough in the league despite injuries on the back line. Under head coach Ben Olsen, who took over last year and proceeded to lift the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, Houston has allowed the third-fewest goals in its conference while using a possession-based style to control matches.

“Even at home they put us under pressure,” LAFC midfielder Ilie Sanchez said. “We had to play a very complete game for us to advance to MLS Cup. On top of that, they are at home and they always show their best version when they are down in Houston, not just against LAFC but against any other opponent in this league. I remember going with Kansas City and having tough times getting results at that place, and again with LAFC experiencing the same difficulties.”

For Houston, fullback Franco Escobar, a member of LAFC’s 2022 MLS Cup championship squad, won’t play due to yellow card accumulation.

As challenging as the Dynamo can be, no team in MLS has been a bigger challenge for opponents the past two months than LAFC, which has conceded the fewest goals in the West (24) and is tied for the second most in the league (43).

Attempting to extend its club record unbeaten streak, which stands at 12 in all competitions, LAFC is “doing our best to stay with the same mentality, same attitude and discipline because we know that’s the shortest way for us to get the results,” Sanchez said.

Cherundolo’s starting lineup was consistent the past three games, though alterations could come Sunday and then Wednesday for the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal contest against New Mexico United at BMO Stadium.

Related Articles

In Houston, LAFC (13-4-4, 43 points) will take the field without midfielder Timothy Tillman, who is suspended one match after receiving a yellow card versus the Galaxy. Defender Aaron Long is also questionable after taking a knock Thursday.

“There’s plenty of important games moving forward,” Cherundolo said. “Thinking game to game is really important without obviously losing sight of long-term freshness and health of the players. But it’s a tough task.”

LAFC AT HOUSTON

When: 5:39 p.m. PT Sunday

Where: Shell Energy Stadium, Houston

TV/Radio: Apple TV (MLS Season Pass)/710 AM, ESPN LA App, 980 AM

​ Orange County Register 

Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani slumping with strikeouts soaring

• July 7, 2024

LOS ANGELES — It wasn’t a happy birthday.

Shohei Ohtani turned 30 on Friday night by going 0 for 5 and striking out in his first three at-bats, extending a career-long streak of strikeouts to six consecutive at-bats.

The strikeouts have multiplied recently. Going into Saturday, Ohtani was 6 for 29 (.207) with 15 strikeouts in the previous seven games.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has diagnosed the problem.

“Chasing down,” Roberts said of Ohtani’s swing decisions. “It’s that simple.”

Correcting it is a little more difficult but Roberts said he has confidence in Ohtani making the adjustment.

“I think Shohei knows that he’s being too aggressive on the ball down below,” Roberts said. “(Saturday’s Brewers starter Freddy) Peralta is a guy that elevates the fastball, doesn’t throw the ball down very often. So I think it lines up really well with Shohei – albeit he’s a really good pitcher.

“I think that Shohei is very well aware of what he’s doing. And so I do think that you know, from here going forward, we’re going to see a little bit of a reset, controlling the strike zone.”

Roberts has said that has been a topic of conversation between him and Ohtani at other points during this season. But he’s leaving Ohtani to his own devices this time while feeling confident he will reverse the current trend.

“I think it’s easy (to trust him) because he’s had stretches of a couple, two, three, four games where he does that and then he resets and gets back in his zone,” Roberts said.

INJURY UPDATES

Left-hander Clayton Kershaw will throw to hitters in a simulated-game setting Sunday morning at Dodger Stadium. Kershaw could resume his rehab assignment after that and make two starts before he and the Dodgers’ decision-makers “have a conversation … if it makes sense, for him to join us.”

Roberts wouldn’t characterize it as a setback, but he said Max Muncy is no longer swinging a bat as part of his workouts. Muncy had started hitting off a tee and coaches’ soft tossing last week but continues to experience problems with his strained oblique muscle.

“He’s had additional scans and nothing has kind of come up,” Roberts said. “I wouldn’t say setback. I would just say more of there’s no progression. It just continues to remain stagnant as far as kind of this discomfort, soreness, so we just haven’t been allowed to continue to progress because he just has that same sensation.

“Everything he does turning and rotating is good except swinging the bat. So that’s kind of the weird thing. He has stopped swinging the bat.”

Related Articles

Joe Kelly (shoulder) will continue his rehab assignment with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga. Kelly has thrown just 18 pitches in two scoreless innings in his first two outings.

Ryan Brasier (calf) and Brusdar Graterol (shoulder) are rehabbing at Camelback Ranch but neither is near returning.

UP NEXT

Brewers (LHP Dallas Keuchel, 0-0, 6.75 ERA) at Dodgers (LHP Justin Wrobelski, MLB debut), 1:10 p.m. Sunday, SportsNet LA, 570 AM

​ Orange County Register 

Good Samaritan shot at during fatal Fashion Island robbery wishes he could have done more

• July 7, 2024

Beau Bayless was sitting outside Sushi Roku at Fashion Island on Tuesday, July 5, smoking a vape pen, when he heard a commotion near the Barnes & Noble.

“I didn’t think anything of it or even bother to look that direction until someone said, ‘Oh my God, that woman’s getting robbed’,” Bayless, 43, of Fountain Valley, said in a phone interview Saturday. “I saw her in the street fighting two gentlemen for her purse, so I tried to get over there to help her out.”

Bayless knew he had to intervene. “It could be someone’s grandma, could be someone’s mom,” he said. “She needed help.”

But, he mused, “I wasn’t quick enough.”

By the time he got there, three men had attacked and run over 68-year-old Patricia McKay, a New Zealand tourist, dragging her 65 feet under a car and killing her, authorities said. In the moments that followed, Bayless managed to tackle one of the suspects to the ground but was shot at by another. The trio fled in a white Toyota Camry, but Newport Beach police would arrest them hours later in Cypress and South Gate.

Bayless wishes he could have done more, but is hopeful the McKay family will see justice done.

“Anything that’s going to help that poor family,” Bayless said. “I feel so bad for all of them.”

Leroy Ernest Joseph McCrary, 26, Malachi Eddward Darnell, 18 and Jaden Cunningham, 18, were charged with special-circumstances murder with a sentencing enhancement for causing the death of someone older than 65, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday. They also face attempted robbery charges and other felonies. That the murder occurred in the commission of a robbery could make it a death-penalty case.

‘I saw the barrel’

McKay and her husband were outside the Barnes & Noble bookstore with their packages, waiting to be picked up, when the Camry approached and two masked men, identified by the DA’s office as Darnell and Cunningham, got out and fought with McKay’s 69-year-old husband, pointing a gun to his head, forcing him to the ground and demanding his watch, the DA’s office said.

Unsuccessful, they then turned their attention to McKay, who was holding shopping bags. Cunningham grabbed the bags and threw McKay to the ground, then dragged her into the street in front of the Camry, prosecutors said.

Bayless happened to be at the mall visiting his former coworkers at the sushi bar when the chaos unfolded.

He saw the driver of the Camry, identified by the DA’s office as McCrary, hit McKay once, causing her to fall on her back. McKay’s husband then went to the driver’s side of the car, waved his hands and told the driver “She’s down, don’t go, don’t go,” and that’s when the second suspect, identified as Darnell, got in the car.

McCrary then accelerated again, running over McKay, Bayless said.

“I thought they were leaving the third guy behind and that’s about the time I got involved,” Bayless said. “They stopped the car for the third one to get in and I clotheslined him and we both went down.”

He said he had his hands on the third suspect’s shoulder and sweatshirt when a bullet went by both of their heads. The suspect “went left really quick” and Bayless saw one of the other suspects out of the car pointing a gun in his direction.

Related Articles

“I saw the barrel and realized he was shooting at me and I knew I had to let him go,” Bayless said.

He was not hit by the gunfire. McKay’s husband also escaped injury, officials said.

As a last-ditch effort, Bayless tried to throw a rock at the Camry, to cause damage that would help police identify the car.

But he missed.

A tragic loss

DA’s officials have said Cunningham was the one who attempted to flee on foot, while Darnell was the gunman. Newport Beach police spokesman Sgt. Steve Oberon on Saturday confirmed Bayless’ account of the shooting.

Bayless said he found McKay’s wallet, noticed New Zealand credit cards and “that’s when I figured they weren’t from here.” He said one of the chefs from Sushi Roku attempted CPR on McKay before police and paramedics arrived.

McKay’s husband was identified by the New Zealand Herald as Doug McKay, a prominent Auckland businessman and former board chairman of the Bank of New Zealand and Eden Park Trust.

Though Bayless wasn’t able to stop the man identified as Cunningham, Newport Beach police caught and arrested all three suspects within hours. They were scheduled to appear in court Friday, but were not taken from jail due to “medical holds,” and were rescheduled to appear Monday.

Prosecutors say McCrary has convictions in Los Angeles County for residential burglary, criminal threats and robbery.

Bayless said he went to Fashion Island that day to visit former coworkers at the restaurant. He now works at a Costa Mesa restaurant and is training employees preparing to open another one.

He said he’s never seen anything like what he experienced at Fashion Island on Tuesday. “Nothing with guns, nothing like this. This is kind of off the beaten path.

“It’s a tragic loss that shouldn’t have happened,” he said. “My thoughts and prayers are just with the family right now. I feel so bad for them.”

​ Orange County Register 

Lakers re-sign Max Christie to 4-year contract

• July 6, 2024

The Lakers’ first move of free agency was made official Saturday afternoon, with the franchise announcing it had re-signed Max Christie.

While the organization didn’t announce the terms of the deal, Christie is returning on a four-year, $32 million contract, with the final year of the deal being a player option, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Christie was slated to become a restricted free agent last Sunday when teams were officially allowed to start negotiating deals with free agents not previously on their rosters, but the Lakers and Christie agreed to a new contract an hour before that negotiating period opened.

In a new league rule, teams could start negotiating with upcoming free agents who finished the just-completed season on its roster the day after the NBA Finals ended June 17.

The 21-year-old Christie, who doesn’t turn 22 until February, was the Lakers’ second-round draft pick in 2022 (No. 32 overall).

He’s shown flashes of a 3-and-D skill set in his two seasons with the Lakers, specifically as an on-ball defender, spot-up shooter and defensive rebounder. His role fluctuated last season under previous coach Darvin Ham.

Since joining the Lakers, Christie has averaged 3.8 points and two rebounds and shot 37.8% on 3-pointers in 108 regular-season games (10 starts).

Related Articles

During head coach JJ Redick’s introductory news conference June 24, Redick and Lakers General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka mentioned Christie when discussing the organization’s player-development plans.

The free agency moratorium, a period in which teams may not sign most free agents or make trades, ended at 9:01 a.m. Saturday.

​ Orange County Register