Euro 2024: England tops Switzerland in penalty shootout

• July 6, 2024

DUESSELDORF, Germany — Three years on from losing the European Championship final on penalties, England beat Switzerland in a shootout to reach the semifinals of Euro 2024.

Trent Alexander-Arnold scored the winner as England swept all of its penalties to win the shootout 5-3 after a 1-1 draw in extra time on Saturday.

“The team showed a lot of character, belief, heart and spirit out there,” Alexander-Arnold told the BBC.

England converted its first four penalties and Alexander-Arnold won the game with the fifth, blasting his shot into the top corner. Another who scored was Bukayo Saka, who missed the last penalty kick of the final shootout in 2021 and was racially abused on social media.

Saka also equalized earlier to ensure the game went to extra time after the Swiss took the lead.

The other shootout scorers were Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham and Ivan Toney, who returned in January from an eight-month ban for breaching betting rules.

England was in the lead in the shootout after goalkeeper Jordan Pickford saved from Manuel Akanji, who took Switzerland’s first penalty kick.

England goes on to play Turkey or the Netherlands in Dortmund on Wednesday for a spot in the final.

Switzerland, which has never reached the semifinals of a major tournament, exits the European Championship on penalties in the quarterfinals for the second time running after defeat to Spain three years ago.

It was the second game in a row that England left it late to win, after beating Slovakia 2-1 in extra time in the last 16.

The quarterfinal went to extra time after England forward Saka scored with a shot off the post in the 80th minute to cancel out Breel Embolo’s goal five minutes earlier for Switzerland. It was the first shot on target for England in what was otherwise a cagey and cautious performance from the 2021 runner-up.

The Swiss had the better chances to win in extra time, including substitute Xherdan Shaqiri hitting the frame of the goal direct from a corner. Pickford saved from substitute Zeki Amdouni in the 119th to keep England in the game.

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England was without captain and striker Harry Kane for the shootout after he collided with manager Gareth Southgate on the touchline while challenging for a ball and appeared to be hurt. He was replaced by Toney.

Taking charge of his 100th game on Saturday, Southgate has now taken England to at least the semifinals in three of the four major tournaments in his eight-year tenure.

​ Orange County Register 

Angels’ Kevin Pillar celebrates career milestone

• July 6, 2024

CHICAGO — Kevin Pillar wore a suit to the ballpark Saturday, and then he found his locker decorated with streamers and balloons.

It was all part of the celebration of the day he reached 10 years of major-league service, a threshold that only about 7% of major-leaguers reach.

“It’s important to me,” Pillar said. “I felt like it was an appropriate day to put a suit on and show up to the field and be proud of this accomplishment.”

Pillar, 35, did not get drafted out of Chaminade High in West Hills, and then he went to Cal State Dominguez Hills and was taken by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 32nd round of the 2011 draft.

10 years! pic.twitter.com/FQT4t1kU8V

— Kevin Pillar (@KPILLAR4) July 6, 2024

Perry Minasian was a member of the Blue Jays’ front office when Pillar was drafted. As Angels general manager, Minasian brought Pillar back to the big leagues in late April, after he’d been released by the Chicago White Sox.

Minasian spoke during a team meeting to recognize Pillar’s accomplishment Saturday morning. Pillar then spoke, and manager Ron Washington said he gave a perfect message to the rest of the team.

“He made sure that everybody in there, especially the young guys, understand that you never know where your career is going to go and where it’s going to end,” Washington said. “During the time you have a career, cherish it and do everything you can get to get the best out of it. It was a class act. He gave a great speech.”

Before that, Pillar told reporters that he’s at peace with what he’s done in his career, which he doesn’t expect to continue beyond this season.

“I think this is it,” he said. “Pretty sure this is it.  I was pretty open and honest about that answer. I definitely came in this year. Individually wanting to accomplish things. Ten years being one of them, a couple of statistical accomplishments.

“But it’s been an unbelievable journey to have accomplished so much in this game. My family sacrificed a lot over the last couple of years. I would never rule out continuing to play, but I definitely want to have the mindset that, if this is it, I was going to enjoy every single day, the good, the bad, the ugly, the successes, the failures. Just really dive all in and enjoy whatever happened.”

Pillar has given the Angels more than they could have asked on the field, hitting .299 with six homers and an .867 OPS.

Now, as the Angels approach the July 30 trade deadline, it’s possible that a contender could have a spot for him. Although the Angels wouldn’t expect to get a top prospect back for Pillar, Minasian likely wouldn’t stand in the way of Pillar having an opportunity for one last playoff run.

Otherwise, the Angels would be happy to keep Pillar because of the influence he has on the young players.

“His presence here has meant more to us than his performance and his performance has been pretty good,” Washington said. “It’s just his presence has made a big difference. With us having a young club, you need to understand how he got where he is, and the struggles it took to get where he is.”

NOTES

Infielder Luis Rengifo is set to see a hand specialist when the Angels return home. Even though he’s been placed on the injured list with what the team has called wrist inflammation, apparently the holiday weekend has complicated the process of getting a more specific diagnosis. …

Third baseman Anthony Rendon came out of his first day of facing live pitching with no physical problems, but his timing was understandably off, Washington said. Rendon is set to hit again Saturday. “Maybe him taking those at-bats will tell him something,” Washington said with a smile. The Angels would like Rendon to do a rehab assignment, but players must consent to do that, and Rendon apparently believes facing minor-league pitchers at Angel Stadium will be sufficient. …

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Washington wanted the Angels to skip on-field batting practice for all three of the games in Chicago – all day games – because he felt the team needed a mental break. However, hitting coach Johnny Washington disagreed, so the manager relented and the Angels had batting practice.

UP NEXT

Angels (RHP José Soriano, 4-6, 3.77) at Cubs (RHP Hayden Wesneski, 2-5, 4.14) at Wrigley Field, 11:20 a.m. PT Sunday, Bally Sports West, 830 AM.

​ Orange County Register 

Vikings rookie Khyree Jackson among 3 killed in car accident

• July 6, 2024

Vikings rookie cornerback Khyree Jackson has died in an car accident in his hometown of Upper Marlboro, Md.

The fatal crash occurred shortly after 3:14 a.m. Saturday in Prince George’s County, according to Maryland State Police, and Jackson was pronounced dead at the scene.

Jackson, 24, was in the front passenger seat of a Dodge Charger that was struck by an Infiniti Q50 attempting to change lanes at high speed, the police said. The collision sent the Dodge off the right side of the roadway, where it struck tree stumps.

The crash also claimed the life of Jackson’s friends Isaiah Hazel, 23, and Anthony Lytton Jr., 24.  Hazel, the Dodge’s driver, was  pronounced dead at the scene, and Lytton was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The driver of the Infiniti was unharmed, as were the occupants of another car involved in the crash. The preliminary investigation suggests alcohol may have played a role in the fatal crash and charges are pending.

Hazel played college football at Maryland and Charlotte, and Lytton played at Florida State and Penn State. The three won state championships together at Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. High School in Maryland, according to On3.com.

“We are deeply saddened by the news of Khyree’s passing,” Vikings owners Mark and Zygi Wilf said in a statement. “Khyree had an extremely bright future ahead of him as a player, and it was clear he was dedicated to being a tremendous person who made a positive difference in people’s lives.”

Jackson was selected by the Vikings in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft — another highlight on an incredible journey that spoke to his resilience as a person.

Khyree Jackson, then a defensive back with Oregon, poses at the NFL Combine, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Indianapolis. (Doug Benc / Associated Press for the NFL)

After stepping away from football as a teenager, he returned home and worked at a grocery store before eventually returning to the game he loved. He steadily worked his way up the ranks from there and ended up at the highest level with the Vikings.

“I am absolutely crushed by this news,” Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said in a statement. “Khyree brought a contagious energy to our facility and our team. His confidence and engaging personality immediately drew his teammates to him. In our short time together, it was evident Khyree was going to develop into a tremendous professional football player, but what was more impressive was his desire to become the best person he could be for his family and those around him. I am at a loss for words. My heart goes out to Khyree’s family, friends, teammates and coaches.”

The winding road that was Jackson’s collegiate career featured stops at Arizona Western College, Fort Scott Community College in Kansas, East Mississippi Community College, the University of Alabama, and finally, the University of Oregon. He finished last season with 34 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 interceptions and 7 pass breakups on his way to being named first-team All-Pac-12.

The infectious demeanor with which Jackson carried himself drew the Vikings to him throughout the predraft process. It ultimately led to them selecting him with the No. 108 pick.

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​ Orange County Register 

Man dead after being hit by 2 cars in Huntington Beach

• July 6, 2024

A 55-year-old man said to be jaywalking near a major intersection in Huntington Beach died after he was hit by two cars Friday night, July 5, authorities said.

Huntington Beach police were called to the area of Warner Avenue and Beach Boulevard about 10 p.m. and found the man in the roadway, HBPD spokeswoman Jessica Cuchilla said. He died at a hospital.

Police learned the man, a Huntington Beach resident, was crossing Warner Avenue west of Beach Boulevard and was outside a crosswalk when he was hit by a Lexus sedan in the right eastbound lane, Cuchilla said. The man was then hit by a Ford sedan in the middle lane moments later.

The drivers of both cars stayed and cooperated with investigators, Cuchilla said. Neither driver was believed to be driving impaired and no arrests were made.

The identity of the pedestrian was withheld by police pending notification of his relatives.

The crash was the second in Huntington Beach in two days. On the Fourth of July, a 27-year-old West Covina woman riding a motorcycle died in a crash with a pickup truck and a car along Pacific Coast Highway.

The woman was traveling westbound and making a lane change when she lost control and collided with the pickup truck in the left lane and the car in the middle lane just east of Coral Cay Lane, Cuchilla said Friday. The crash occurred about 11 a.m. Thursday.

The woman later died at a hospital, the spokeswoman said. Whether impairment factored into the crash was not known.

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​ Orange County Register 

Tour de France: Biniam Girmay wins his second stage

• July 6, 2024

COLOMBEY-LES-DEUX-EGLISES, France — Eritrea’s Biniam Girmay won a second stage at the Tour de France when he edged a closing sprint on Saturday.

Two-time Tour champion Tadej Pogacar kept the yellow jersey.

Girmay, who became the first Black rider to win a Tour stage this week, timed his effort perfectly at the end of the long stretch of road leading to the finish of Stage 8.

The false flat finish suited his style, and he made the most of it to beat Jasper Philipsen and Arnaud De Lie, extending his lead at the top of the ranking for the best sprinter.

The stage finished in Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises, the home and final resting place of the late Charles de Gaulle. The former French President launched the French Resistance from a base in London and along with the Allies liberated France from the Nazis in 1944.

There was no major change in the general classification. Pogacar kept a 33-second lead over Remco Evenepoel, and two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard was in third place, lagging 1:15 behind.

The stage started with a high-octane pace as three riders — Neilson Powless, Stefan Bissegger, Jonas Abrahamsen — immediately jumped out of the peloton to open a 30-second gap at the front.

Despite having two men in the breakaway, EF Education-EasyPost riders later attacked from the main pack on hilly, wet roads and a group including Mark Cavendish got dropped.

Chasing points in the best climber’s classification, Abrahamsen went solo to the top of the Cote de Vitteaux and added more points on the slopes of the Cote de Verrey-sous-Salmaise and the following hills to further cement his polka dot jersey.

Helped by his teammates, Cavendish later merged with the yellow jersey group while Bissegger and Powless sat up. Meanwhile, Abrahamsen kept pushing hard on the pedals to increase his lead.

The pace of the peloton picked up in the second half of the stage and Abrahamsen’s long solo effort was brought to an end by the chase about 15 kilometers (nine miles) from the finish before sprinters took center stage.

There’s a tough stage on Sunday that takes the riders on a nearly 200-kilometre (124-mile) trek through the dust of the gravel roads near the Champagne city of Troyes. There will be 14 sections of so-called white roads — including six in the stage finale — that have become a trademark of Italy’s Strade Bianche.

Girmay also made history in Italy two years ago when he won a stage at the Giro d’Italia to become the first Black African to take a victory in a Grand Tour. But Girmay’s Giro victory was marred when he was rushed to a hospital after getting hit in the left eye by a prosecco cork he popped open during the podium celebration — forcing him to abandon the race.

Also in 2022, Girmay became the first rider from a sub-Saharan country to win a single-day classic at the Gent-Wevelgem race.

Riders from only one other African country — South Africa — have won Tour stages: Robert Hunter (2007) and Daryl Impey (2019). Four-time Tour champion Chris Froome was born and raised in Kenya but represented Britain.

​ Orange County Register 

Sparks look to maintain confidence against Mercury

• July 6, 2024

LOS ANGELES — The Sparks have found a recipe for success against one of the elite teams in the WNBA.

That stems from avoiding a franchise-record nine-game losing streak with a rousing 98-93 overtime victory against the Aces on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.

“This league is interesting, there’s just matchups of some teams that you match up better than others,” Sparks coach Curt Miller Miller said. “There’s a confidence in our locker room.”

Miller appreciates his team’s newfound confidence and believes it will remain for the next four games before the league’s Olympic Break in three weeks (July 21-Aug. 14).

The Sparks (5-15), who lost both games to the Mercury this season in Phoenix, will have an opportunity for redemption Sunday afternoon at Crypto.com Arena.

“We just have an opportunity to continue to get better and better,” Miller said.

In their last matchup with Phoenix, the Sparks suffered a 92-78 loss. After leading 45-44 at halftime, they were not able to withstand the Mercury’s second-half surge and Diana Taurasi’s 3-pointer shooting prowess.

The Sparks’ unsung hero of late has been Stephanie Talbot. The veteran forward finished with 13 points, five rebounds and a season-high nine assists Friday in her third start in place of rookie forward Cameron Brink, who is lost for the season with a torn ACL. Talbot is coming off her own ACL injury that forced her to miss last season.

“It doesn’t get talked about, but Steph Talbot is a really good passer,” Miller added.

On Friday night, Talbot hit a game-tying and overtime-forcing shot with less than four seconds left, propelling the Sparks’ emotional win against the two-time defending WNBA champions.

“Steph (Talbot) is so underrated,” Sparks guard Aari McDonald said, who dropped a career-high 23 points on the Aces. “She’s been playing her butt off since entering the starting lineup. She’s been the glue that we needed keeping us together, staying composed and just doing the little things that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet (Friday night) and I’m just proud of her.”

Dearica Hamby’s emboldened play, with 28 points, 13 rebounds and four assists, rubbed off on her Sparks teammates Friday night.

“Staying together, low turnovers, executing, knocking down open shots,” Sparks rookie forward Rickea Jackson said. “I felt like we played with a lot of grit (Friday night).”

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Hamby is halfway through the best season in her career, averaging 18.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists. On Tuesday, she earned her first All-Star nod since being traded by the Aces while pregnant before last season.

Since the trade, the 10-year veteran has played all 60 games for the Sparks, the only player who has not missed a game since Miller took over.

MERCURY (10-10) AT SPARKS (5-15)

When: 4 p.m. Sunday

Where: Crypto.com Arena

TV: Spectrum SportsNet

​ Orange County Register 

County CEO Frank Kim set to retire this week, still no success in finding his replacement

• July 6, 2024

Frank Kim is wrapping up the last week of his nine years as Orange County’s CEO, having shepherded the administration during a global pandemic, a homelessness crisis and major construction. But with his last day arriving, the OC Board of Supervisors has still not picked a permanent replacement.

Kim said his 29 years total working for the county have taught him that local government is the backbone on which Orange County residents and businesses thrive.

“When I think about the county, we run the library system, we run all the regional parks. We have beaches that people enjoy. We help build the streets,” Kim said. “People, I think, don’t think about who does it. They just know that it’s done and they have a super high expectation.”

Kim gave notice of his pending retirement in late November, but supervisors can’t reach a consensus on who will replace him and manage the county’s $9.5 billion budget, along with its more than 18,000 employees.

“My hope is that we continue to work with the candidates and see if the board can come to some understanding because Frank Kim is now going to be gone and there aren’t many options left to us,” Second District Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento said. “We have so many other priorities that we need to take care of.”

Third District Supervisor Don Wagner, who was part of an ad-hoc committee with Fifth District Supervisor Katrina Foley to find candidates to bring to the full board, said one of the reasons the hunt for Kim’s replacement is proving “very difficult,” is the next CEO has big shoes to fill.

“Roughly 20 candidates were looked at by the ad-hoc committee as potentials, some seriously good candidates,” he said. “We narrowed it down to six, interviewed the six, narrowed it down to three for the board as a whole to talk to. And the board liked all three of them for different reasons in different ways, and decided … let’s talk to all six.”

Wagner said he can see any of the candidates, each with unique strengths and weaknesses, being the next CEO. But while a number of candidates have been able to muster three votes, he said none have been able to garner support from the full five-supervisor board.

“One of the weaknesses is that they’re not Frank Kim. They don’t have that institutional knowledge. That provides us with a challenge,” Wagner said.

Fourth District Supervisor Doug Chaffee said Kim’s background, not only as CEO but in his several previous county positions including in finance, has made the hunt for his successor difficult.

“We had a national search, which took some time. I’m not certain that we got a perfectly good pool of candidates under that, so we’ve been looking at some additional people,” Chaffee said. “I have a candidate that I like, I think would do a good job. We all want to do the best for the county, but we’ve not reached an agreement.”

Wagner, who is chair of the Board of Supervisors, said the county’s chief financial officer, Michelle Aguirre, will step in as interim CEO until the board makes a hire.

Kim was tapped to be the top executive of the county in 2015. In August 2022, he agreed to extend his contract through May 2025, but now Kim says he wants to focus on his personal life outside of government and the public eye – you know, clean the garage, mow the lawn, relax.

Addressing homelessness

Kim said the thing he looks back on with the most pride is developing the county’s homeless system of care.

Soon after he stepped in as chief executive, a crisis began unfolding as a large encampment grew along the Santa Ana riverbed, forcing cities and the county to look at how they were addressing homelessness.

“When I first came in, most counties, including Orange, didn’t have a developed system of care,” Kim said. What followed, he said, was “building out our outreach team, developing a structure and a system for how we engage with homeless people where they’re at.”

The county also developed two shelters, adding hundreds of beds to the local supply, as well as worked with nonprofits and cities to streamline access to resources, including mental health and substance use services.

Still, more than 7,300 people reported being without permanent shelter in January when the county took a required point-in-time count – up 28% from the previous survey two years prior.

County officials attributed the stark increase to the loss of pandemic-era resources in place in 2022 that were keeping more people off the streets. (The count still showed a 7% increase in people experiencing homelessness from 2019 to 2024.)

Kim said he doesn’t put much emphasis on the biennial count because it doesn’t show the full picture of homelessness in Orange County. Evaluating the full system of care is more telling of what needs are or aren’t being addressed when it comes to the homeless community, he said.

He is proud of working with cities to build mental health facilities, shelters and affordable housing projects, but said there is still more work to be done.

“When I think about homelessness, you have to give them help. I also think that there has to be consequences,” he said. “I think our community, our society and the state, they’re at the beginning of thinking through what laws and what services, and what mix of laws and services, provide that bookend of help, but also of consequence.”

“We have to help them with their drug use,” he said, but added, “We have to make sure that if they’re committing crimes, that they’re held accountable.

“And so there’s a balance and it doesn’t feel balanced today.”

He also said there remains the need for more buy-in.

“Addressing how to serve the homeless people in the communities that they live in is challenging because most communities don’t want the homeless in and around their community. They want you to help them, but just help them somewhere else,” Kim said. “That’s how we built the service planning area model, saying every region, we would ideally like them to have a shelter, a location where they can connect to services, treatment programs so that they’re connected within their general community.”

Upgrading infrastructure

Another career highlight, Kim said, is the newly opened Civic Center.

Under Kim’s leadership, the county followed through with a $400 million project to build the present-day county headquarters in Santa Ana.

The idea, he said, was to bring in all county departments and create a “one-stop-shop” for residents. Currently, the buildings house the county’s administrative and public health offices, a larger public meeting room and a service center where residents can get copies of important documents, apply for permits and more.

Still to come, he said, is to bring over the district attorney and social services departments.

“People think, great, you spend all this money, you’re just building ivory towers for government employees. No, it’s more than that. We’re bringing a lot of our county departments into the Civic Center because before they were leasing space,” Kim said. “Yes, we had to invest in it, but long term, we’re going to save money because we’re not paying leases forever. We own these buildings and then all the departments are coming in.”

In 2018, the county’s new $35 million, 30,000-square-foot animal shelter opened in Tustin, replacing an increasingly inadequate facility that dated back to the 1940s.

It’s another facility Kim is proud to have been part of bringing online; significantly larger, it provided proper surgical suites, air-conditioned kennels, play areas and more.

But animal advocates have begun to criticize the county’s shelter system again, post pandemic, arguing its hours aren’t conducive to getting the most animals adopted out, there are chronic staffing shortages and its policies lead to too many euthanized animals and overpopulation problems.

“I know we still take a lot of criticism from many of the community members about the condition of animal care, but I generally disagree with them. When I look at the condition of animal care and I look at the individual issues that people bring up, I’m confident that the staff is handling it the right way,” Kim said. “They would want us to be perfect. I would like us to be perfect. Perfection is difficult, and we’re working toward being better always.”

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Navigating the pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic was a challenge, Kim said, but one that he now thinks has helped the county foster better public health decisions.

“When I think about the COVID experience, we all struggled with the various health orders that came down from the state and advice from the federal government,” Kim said. “It was difficult. But the one good thing that came from it is that we understood we had an opportunity to really learn how a large-scale public health disaster affects county residents and businesses.”

But the county’s response was not perfect, he said, and looking back he wishes services were set up more quickly for community members, especially those most at-risk.

“We acted with the best intent, but hindsight is always more accurate,” Kim said. “We could have gotten the testing stations up faster. We could have put the vaccine centers up faster.”

A week sooner here and there, he said. “You always have regrets over stuff like that.”

With COVID-19 came an influx of state and federal rescue funding.

In 2021, the five supervisor districts were each allocated $10 million in federal relief money and another $3 million in general funds to spend in the local communities.

“So the board members had a discussion in public. They said, ‘Every one of our districts is different. We represent our districts, so to address the concerns of our district, either in supporting businesses, restaurants … we would like some of that funding so that we can direct how it’s allocated,’” Kim said.

Last year, questions were raised about the policies surrounding the districts’ discretionary funds and $6.2 million that First District Supervisor Andrew Do directed to a small nonprofit, Viet America Society, after it became public his daughter has been listed at times as a leader of the organization.

Though Do was not legally required to disclose the family connection, it prompted Sarmiento to lobby (ultimately unsuccessfully) for rules that would make it so when any immediate family member is involved in the organization receiving discretionary funds.

Government code, Kim said, gives the publicly elected Board of Supervisors the power to appropriate and spend public tax dollars.

“Do I worry about the board members implementing district funds again in the future? I think to be very candid, it is their authority,” Kim said. “I’m not elected by the people to direct how tax dollars are spent. I make recommendations, but it is their authority.”

Looking ahead for OC

Kim said the county’s next CEO faces a handful of pressing issues to address when they take the seat.

There are changes coming with the Mental Health Services Act, which directs hundreds of millions of dollars to the county for behavioral health programs, but is going to start requiring more of the funding to go to housing.

And there’s pressure in general from the state to build more housing, he said.

“We are working with the state to identify the best way for a county that looks like Orange, which is a very high-density community, to be able to incorporate the number of affordable housing units that they’re asking for in a way that doesn’t lose the character that makes Orange County such a wonderful place to live and work,” Kim said.

“We agree that we do need to build more affordable housing units. And we’re doing it as fast as possible. It’s just a challenge because of the density of the county,” he said.

But the job of local government is to keep the ball rolling, Kim said. “That’s a lot of what we do here in the county, we have lots of projects, and you’re just trying to advance them every day.”

Kim is not involved in the hiring process for his replacement, but he says the supervisors are looking at a strong pool of candidates.

“The only advice that I gave the board is that they should look for somebody who can serve the diverse interests of the board. Somebody who is fair, who is apolitical, who will administer the county responsibly,” Kim said.

“It’s been a really good 29 years. I’m really proud of the work that I’ve done here,” he said. “I’m proud of my coworkers. I think every CEO that’s been in has made the county a little bit better.

“I’m happy to leave my mark and make it a little bit better than it was when I came in.”

​ Orange County Register 

Disneyland sells out of Oogie Boogie Bash tickets in 11 days

• July 6, 2024

Disneyland annual passholders snapped up pre-sale tickets quickly to attend Oogie Boogie Bash while the remaining sales moved a lot slower than in past years as the fever pitch surrounding the ticket launch cooled considerably for the wildly popular Halloween event.

Disneyland sold out of Oogie Boogie Bash 2024 tickets by 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 6 after three separate on-sale events for annual passholders and the general public, according to the Disneyland website.

ALSO SEE: Why Disneyland’s Oogie Boogie Bash took so long to sell out

Oogie Boogie Bash 2024 will run on 27 select nights from Aug. 25 through Oct. 31 at Disney California Adventure.

Oogie Boogie Bash pre-sale tickets that went on sale June 25 for Inspire Keyholders sold out in three hours.

All other Disneyland Magic Keyholders got their chance on June 26 and grabbed all the available tickets in just over two hours.

ALSO SEE: Disneyland starts Halloween 2024 earlier than ever before

The general public took nine days to purchase the remaining Oogie Boogie Bash tickets that went on sale on June 27.

Disneyland updated its tech to avoid issues that plagued past sales, make purchases flow more efficiently and process more transactions per minute, according to News Nation reporter Scott Gustin.

ALSO SEE: Disneyland to close Space Mountain during busy summer season

This year’s 11-day sell out was considerably slower than the 12 hours it took last year when the ticket launch took place on a single “nightmare” day. In 2022, tickets sold out in less than a week.

This year, wait times were non-existent after the initial rush of online buyers slowed down following the general public sales launch. Sunday and Thursday night tickets went first with the Tuesday night dates the last to go.

Tickets for Oogie Boogie Bash 2024 cost $134 to $189 depending on the date.

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This year’s edition of Oogie Boogie Bash will include familiar nighttime entertainment like the Frightfully Fun Parade and Villains Grove along with trick-or-treat trails. Character costumes, food and merchandise typically have a seasonal flair.

The Oogie Boogie Bash after-hours party is separate from the Halloween Time decor that takes over the parks during the All Hallow’s Eve season. The 5-hour after-party starts at 6 p.m. with mix-in beginning three hours earlier.

All the Halloween attraction overlays you’ve known from seasons past will be back — including Guardians of the Galaxy — Mission: Breakout, Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree and Luigi’s Rollickin’ Roadsters.

​ Orange County Register