Angel City and Gotham FC play to scoreless draw

• July 3, 2023

HARRISON, N.J. — Goalkeeper DiDi Haracic made three saves for Angel City in a 0-0 draw with Gotham FC in the lone match Sunday in the National Women’s Soccer League.

Haracic stopped a pair of shots by Gotham’s Delanie Sheehan and Yazmeen Ryan in the space of four minutes in the first half.

Angel City (3-6-5) is undefeated in three straight matches, but remains mired in 11th place in the league standings. Gotham (6-4-4) is in fifth.

There was a touching moment when Mana Shim subbed into the game in the second half and was greeted with a warm ovation.

Shim was one of the players who came forward in 2021 with allegations of misconduct and sexual coercion against former NWSL coach Paul Riley, spurring a pair of investigations that misbehavior was systemic in the league. Riley, who no longer coaches in the league, denied the allegations.

Shim had not played in an NWSL game since 2018.

Ange City’s Jun Endo, who is on Japan’s roster for the upcoming Women’s World Cup, returned from a knee injury that has kept her sidelined since late May. She came in as a substitute in the 77th minute.

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Cam Talbot finds reason to celebrate with Kings

• July 3, 2023

While the Kings may have acquired their crown jewel in the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade, the deal only created greater anticipation as to who would fill their egregious void between the pipes.

That question has been answered in the form of soon-to-be-36-year-old Cam Talbot, who celebrated his new contract and wedding anniversary simultaneously Saturday before introducing himself to the Kings faithful Sunday.

“This team is built to win right now, and they are very goalie-friendly with the system that they play,” Talbot said. “I’m just going to try to step in and make it as seamless as possible.”

The move reunites Talbot not only with former Minnesota Wild teammate Kevin Fiala, who was the first King to reach out to Talbot over the weekend, but with Coach Todd McLellan, for whom he played (and played and played and played) for in Edmonton for four seasons. That included making 140 starts in just two campaigns between 2016 and 2018, what Talbot described as some of his best years.

“History is repeating itself, in the sense that Mr. McLellan is now his coach in L.A. There is a relationship that is already there and some faith from what he knew he did in Edmonton,” said Patrick DiPronio, who has coached Talbot privately for 26 years and counting.

Talbot also mentioned the Kings’ depth down the middle. Already possessing one of the top all-around centers of his era in Anze Kopitar, they added a shutdown guy in Phillip Danault two seasons and Dubois, whom they hope can become a prototypical top-line pivot, this summer.

“We’ve got two of the best two-way centers in the game, then you bring in a guy like Pierre-Luc Dubois, now you’re pretty stacked down the middle,” Talbot said. “Then, playing in Todd’s system, obviously I’m very comfortable with that.”

Talbot will continue to work with DiPronio, as he has since he was in grade school. He also credited longtime New York Rangers goalie coach Benoit Allaire with shaping his game at the outset of his pro career. Since New York, he’s had half a dozen other addresses in the NHL, but none of his success may have come if not for Allaire.

“If I didn’t sign with the Rangers out of college, I don’t know if I would have made it to the NHL. He helped rebuild me, honed what skill I already had but also kind of took me back a little bit,” Talbot said. “I played a lot more like Jonathan Quick coming out of college than Henrik Lundqvist, so he kind of found that happy medium.”

While Talbot said the situation at the rink was what lured him to Los Angeles, its location, along with its natural wonders and theme-park adjacence, was a nice bonus for Talbot, wife Kelly and twins Sloan and Landon, who will turn 7 in October.

“The city and the climate is a huge bonus. We’ve been in some of the coldest climates throughout my career –– Edmonton, Calgary, Minnesota, Ottawa –– so this is definitely going to be a nice change of pace, and we’ll leave the Canada Goose (parkas) at home this summer,” Talbot said.

“They’re going to be excited that they can just walk outside in shorts everyday instead of putting on a snowsuit,” added Talbot, whose briefest stop was in not-always-sunny Philadelphia.

Talbot’s ability to walk around or, more specifically, man his goalcrease was not always a given last season. His campaign was fettered by three separate injuries, but Sunday he expressed equal confidence in his present health and his offseason training regimen.

This year, Talbot figures to share time with Pheonix Copley, who could have been considered at various points the Kings’ No. 3, No. 2, No. 1, No. 1A or No. 1B goalie. The Kings also signed another goalie with NHL experience, David Rittich, who made the lion’s share of starts in Calgary during the 2019-20 season, only to see Talbot claim the Flames net down the stretch and into the playoffs. Last season, both Talbot and partner Anton Forsberg, who tore both his MCLs in February, were limited by injuries as well as a less-than-stalwart defense.

In between, Talbot operated at both ends of a tandem in Minnesota, with neophyte Kaapo Kahkonen and then potential hall-of-famer Marc-Andre Fleury. DiPronio said that while Talbot has been a rhythm goalie who plays better the more work he gets, that he was also highly adaptable and almost never turned in two subpar efforts in a row.

He offered an example, the lone blemish on Talbot’s 7-1-0 run to a gold medal at the 2016 World Championships with Canada in which he also posted a 1.25 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage.

“He played well until the (first) Finland game and he struggled; they ended up losing that game. I told him, ‘Learn from it. Focus on your little things,” DiPronio said. “Well, they ended up playing Finland in the final and, obviously, he proved himself.”

In addition to the two goalies, the Kings have been looking to make low-cost signings to restock depleted organizational depth following a hectic series of player transactions. They made another such signing Sunday, adding defenseman Joe Hicketts, 27, to a mix of players destined for their top minor-league affiliate.

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Alexander: Angels end losing streak, and can they now turn it around?

• July 3, 2023

ANAHEIM – This could be a make-or-break juncture in the Angels’ season. And by those standards, Sunday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks might have been about as must-win as you can get for the first weekend of July.

You will never hear that in a major league clubhouse, of course. The message there is about the process, about things evening out over the course of a season and the necessity of staying on an even keel. And after the Angels’ 5-2 victory over Arizona Sunday afternoon, there was relief in ending a four-game losing streak but little concern that another loss might have started a major tailspin.

“I don’t think we look too deep into the numbers, so to speak,” said leadoff hitter Mickey Moniak, who had probably the day’s biggest number, a three-run homer in the bottom of the second that made it 4-2 and provided the margin of victory.

“I think we try to take everything one day at a time, and we’re going into each and every game confident that we can win that game. … It’s baseball. Four-game skids are going to happen. But to be able to cut it off right there and, you know, beat a good pitcher like (Arizona ace Zac) Gallen is huge. And, you know, we just want to ride the momentum into the next series.”

Anyone remember the old line from the movie “Bull Durham” about how cliches are your friends? That applies here, as it does anywhere athletes are asked to explain themselves to the media.

But there’s a point here. Players concern themselves with the process. Especially in this day-to-day sport, the big picture is always the most important … and just maybe the next winning streak is right around the corner. You have to think that way, just to stay sane.

Outside of that clubhouse bubble, we take note that the Angels (45-41) were once among the three wild-card teams in the American League but are now two games behind the Yankees for the No. 3 spot. And we also take note of history, and the nine-year postseason drought, and previous cold streaks that have ground promising Angel seasons into dust.

The 14-game losing streak that got Joe Maddon fired last year, turned summer into a bummer at Angel Stadium and might have helped Arte Moreno consider selling before reconsidering, is the most recent and freshest in the memory bank. But it’s happened before. The 2019 team had 2-8 and 5-17 stretches after the All-Star break. In 2017 the Angels were 2-7 in September to drop from the wild-card race. The 2015 team, defending division champions, went 1-9 in July to drop from a tie for first, and was blown out of wild card contention with a 7-16 stretch in September.

Yes, different players, different manager and coaches, but are there questions remaining about why Angels fans can be so fatalistic? Or why, outside of the clubhouse, a July 2 game might have outsized importance?

“Well, I’m having some of my coaches over at my house tonight,” manager Phil Nevin said following the game. “And I was gonna cancel everything if we lost five in a row,” he added, drawing laughs.

“We’re going to probably lose three in a row at some point again. That’s just the way baseball works. I think every team goes through that, and it’s how you come out of it at the end. And there’s a strong room in there and I believe in ’em. And so I’m not too concerned when we do have our down moments, because when we break out of ’em it’s usually in a good way.”

Some of the reasons why such a tailspin shouldn’t happen were on display Sunday. Besides Moniak’s three-run shot, Mike Trout homered. And so did Shohei Ohtani, continuing his historic season with a 454-foot home run in the eighth, not only a companion piece to his 493-footer Friday night but one that was hit even harder, 115.4 mph to 115.1.

This team, with these players, shouldn’t ever have a prolonged losing streak, right? Add another strong start from Reid Detmers (three hits, nine strikeouts in six innings), adding to a rotation that entered the day third in the majors in ERA (3.32). And on top of that, there was another lockdown performance from closer Carlos Estévez, who is 21 for 21 in save opportunities with a 1.85 ERA but still found himself omitted from the American League All-Star pitching staff announced Sunday.

Felix Bautista and Yennier Cano of Baltimoire, Emmanuel Clase of Cleveland and Kenley Jansen (remember him?) of Boston were relievers selected for the AL staff, and Jansen was his team’s only representative. It’s safe to assume there will be health-related changes to the roster in the week before next Tuesday’s game in Seattle, so Estévez – whom Nevin referred to as his “All-Star closer” – might get there anyway.

“If I get in I get in,” he said after the game. “But at the same time … I shouldn’t be a reserve guy, just saying. I should have been one of the guys. But like I said, I can’t control that. I can’t worry about it. I’m just gonna enjoy my five days off (if not added) and be ready to go in the second half.”

In the meantime, there are five games before baseball takes its midsummer break: The next three nights in San Diego against the underachieving Padres, and then Friday and Saturday nights in Dodger Stadium against a team that just lost two out of three to the Kansas City Royals, who are now 25-59 and can only look down on the Oakland A’s in the AL standings.

Do the Angels have a hot streak in them? It certainly would make their fan base feel better.

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With internet and TV ads, hypochondriacs are having a field day

• July 3, 2023

By Shaun Tumpane

Laguna Woods Globe columnist

I admit, I don’t understand hypochondriacs. One of my friend’s ex-wives was a hypochondriac. He can’t remember which one. Maybe that’s why she’s his ex.

Anyway, in a less complicated time, when all us self-aware bipeds weren’t bombarded with information from smartphones, smart TVs, TV watches (remember when we all thought how preposterous Dick Tracy’s talking watch was?) and laptops, hypochondriacs were at the mercy and whim of their family doctors, who had to a) determine whether the patient did in fact have a medical problem, and if not, b) decide how to counsel the patient about the dangers of “crying wolf.”

In those days, the physician was the sole oracle of medicinal remedies, the expert replete with knowledge of all new concoctions, incantations and ointments to soothe and solve any and all maladies. Doctors had it made, with no one other than Hippocratic colleagues to challenge a diagnosis or prescription. Little wonder some acquired a god complex.

Fast forward to the present day. Hypochondriacs rejoice! A perfect storm of your federal government’s acquiescence to the pharmaceutical lobby’s request to be allowed to advertise prescription drugs and global instantaneous data availability via digital Shell Answer Men on the World Wide Web.

There’s no shortage of electronic know-it-alls to be a hypochondriac’s co-dependence co-pilot; Web MD, Medicine Plus, Medscape, Healthline, Medicine Net, Everyday Health, Epocrates and RxList are all sources for medical information. These websites can also be unwitting accomplices as hypochondriacs unleash an avalanche of queries to their doctors about the latest drugs to hit the market to cure all sorts of ailments, real and imagined.

But allowing pharmaceutical companies to advertise their potions, with the disclaimer “contact your doctor to see if Incontinence-Be-Gone is right for you” seems a dereliction of duty.

I have come up with an interesting, if unscientific, method of determining whether I should consult my doctor about a drug I saw advertised: If the required recitation of the possible side effects takes up more time than championing the efficacy of the medication, forget it.

One drug advertised listed among possible side effects both diarrhea and constipation. That one’s a head scratcher.

And while I believe that the requirement to list all known possible side effects makes sense, a more enlightened approach might have been to not allow drugs to be hawked in the electronic public square foisted upon the easily manipulated masses. And remember, sometimes hypochondriacs are actually ill. Take two aspirins and …

Shaun Tumpane is a Laguna Woods Village resident.

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Everything you need to know about Lakers summer league

• July 3, 2023

The next two weeks won’t be JD DuBois’ first time leading a summer league team.

But as an Inglewood native who graduated from Westchester High and played at Loyola Marymount while getting his bachelor’s degree, serving as the Lakers head coach for summer league is even more meaningful.

“First and foremost,” said DuBois, who’s going into his second season as an assistant on coach Darvin Ham’s staff, “just the opportunity of being from L.A., Darv allowing me to join the staff and the organization trusting me to lead this summer league group — no words can describe what it means to me individually.”

DuBois quickly shifted to the collective vision for the next couple of weeks.

“But at the end of the day, I’m an assistant coach,” DuBois said, “and my job is to execute what Darv’s plan is and set that vision for our young players.”

Jalen Hood-Schifino, the former Indiana forward the Lakers selected with the No. 17 pick in the June 22 draft, is among the young players on the team’s 12-man summer league roster.

The Lakers will play the first of their pair of games in the fifth annual California Classic against the Miami Heat at 3 p.m. on Monday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.

They’ll play again Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs in Sacramento before competing in the Summer League in Las Vegas.

“The main thing is I want to go there and win games,” Hood-Schifino said. “And just be Jalen. Going back to the long pre-draft process, I’ve been working on a lot of things. Showing my shooting a little bit more, decision-making — I want to go down there and showcase everything.”

Maxwell Lewis, the No. 40 pick out of Pepperdine the Lakers acquired the draft rights to, is also on the roster.

“Just showing I can shoot consistently,” Lewis said of what he wants to show in summer league. “And just guard. I’ve just been focusing on defense, getting up on my guy and just being aggressive. Just showing I’m a better competitor than I was at Pepperdine.”

Second-year guard Max Christie, who the Lakers drafted at No. 35 last year and played in 41 games (nine playoff appearances) in 2022-23, will play in summer league for the second consecutive year.

“Something we saw with him during the year was just his defense,” DuBois said of Christie. “His ability to use his length and size. If he can take another step of just guarding multiple positions, living at the rim [and] attacking out of closeouts, that’d be a couple of areas he’s already developed in and now it’s just giving him the possessions to showcase it.”

After playing in Sacramento, the Lakers’ first game in Las Vegas will come against the Golden State Warriors at 8 p.m. on Friday at Thomas & Mack Center. They have three more games at the same venue scheduled:

Sunday: Hornets (1 p.m.);
July 12: Celtics (7 p.m.);
July 14: Grizzlies (7:30 p.m.).

The date and opponent for the Lakers’ fifth game in Las Vegas will be determined by the results of their first four matchups.

The Lakers summer league roster (No.: Player; position.; height):

29: Damion Baugh, guard; 6-4

26: Colin Castleton, center; 6-11

10: Max Christie, guard; 6-5

30: LJ Figueroa, forward; 6-6

27: Alex Fudge, forward; 6-8

36: Bryce Hamilton, guard; 6-4

55: D’Moi Hodge, guard; 6-4

11: Jalen Hood-Schifino, guard; 6-6

31: Sacha Killeya-Jones, center; 6-11

21: Maxwell Lewis, forward; 6-7

14: Scotty Pippen Jr., guard; 6-1

20: Cole Swider, forward; 6-9

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Lalo Mendoza leaves behind legacy of excellence and racial equality

• July 3, 2023

LAKEWOOD — South Los Angeles has produced some of the best athletes to ever compete at the college or pro level, but there might have not been a coach with as much impact on those athletes as Ladislao “Lalo” Mendoza.

The long-time coach at Verbum Dei Jesuit High School in Los Angeles produced pros such as Hardy Nickerson, Vernon Maxwell, Andre Miller and Kenechi Udeze.

Mendoza died on June 20, but his legacy has been felt, not just from the players he coached, but from the community he lived in.

Mendoza’s life was bigger than the accomplishments he had on the field. For many of his athletes and students, it was what he did off the field that made him so beloved in South Los Angeles.

Whether it was giving one of his players a place to crash for the night or making sure they had their tuition paid, Mendoza made it a point to help out the community any way he could.

“He was just a good man at his core,” said Lalo’s sister ChaCha Parkin. “If someone needed a ride or needed somewhere to crash for the night, Lalo was there. I can’t tell you how many people Lalo paid for their tuition to go to college. There was truly no one like him.”

Lalo’s parents Henry and Giuseppina met when Henry was stationed in Italy during World War II. Henry, a Mexican-American from Los Angeles, fell in love with Giuseppina, a woman from Italy, and just 32 days after the war ended, Lalo was born in Marina di Grosseto, Italy.

Shortly after Lalo’s birth, the family settled in Willowbrook and opened a liquor store named Henry’s Market in Los Angeles.

Lalo had a knack for sports, learning to play from his father. Henry Mendoza played guard and punter at L.A. Jordan High School and passed down some of his lessons to Lalo.

Education was a staple in the Mendoza household. Both Henry and Giuseppina emphasized the need for all of their children to attend college and to obtain a degree.

Lalo first got his start at Compton Community College where he then transferred to California State University, Dominguez Hills and received his BA. Lalo then obtained his master’s degree at Azusa Pacific University.

It was during his time at Dominguez Hills that he fell in love with coaching. He started off coaching an 8th-grade Catholic Youth League football team after a close family friend, Father James Henry of Verbum Dei High School, encouraged Lalo to get into coaching.

Lalo loved being a mentor and coaching sports, but needed to find a way to make it a career. That’s when Father Henry told him he needed to become an educator first so that he can make a living off of doing what he loves.

But then tragedy struck in 1974.

Henry Mendoza was killed in what was ruled a homicide, leaving Lalo to be the man of the house.

“I remember Lalo picking us up from school when our father died. It was an emotional moment for all the siblings, but I remember Lalo was so calm. I don’t think he even cried,” said Lalo’s sister DeeDee Mendoza-Bean.

It was that moment when Lalo had to be the one to lead his family that he developed the leadership skills that he would take throughout his coaching career.

During his time at Verbum Dei High School, Lalo won five total CIF Championships. He led the football team to back-to-back state championships in 1981 and 1982. His 1982 team went 26-0 which was a state record at that time.

Lalo also coached football at Compton Community College and Salesian High School in Los Angeles where he officially retired from head coaching.

In 2006, Lalo came back to coach at Long Beach Cabrillo High School where he served as an assistant coach to his brother Elio. In total, Lalo coached for 49 years in the greater Los Angeles area, helping some of the best athletes get to college and beyond.

Lalo’s ability to put winning teams on the playing field along with his success putting his athletes through college caught the attention of bigger high school and college programs around the country.

But Lalo felt that his mission was not to get to the next level of coaching, rather to help shape the young men in his community.

“Lalo was good friends with Joe Kapp who coached at Cal and he would always say ‘Lalo you gotta come help out at Cal,’ ” said Lalo’s brother Kiki Mendoza. “Lalo would say ‘I never did with my heart, my heart was always with my players.’ ”

His ability to relate to people played a big part in why Lalo garnered the respect from players in the neighborhood. Lalo started coaching during the Civil Rights era and saw the way many of his Black and Brown players were treated in the South Central community.

Parkin said that there were many nights that Lalo was pulled over when driving around south central picking up and dropping off players.

“He would be driving in Watts and Compton and when was pulled over he always told his players ‘Just do what the officer says. I know it’s wrong, but I want you to get home safely,’ ” Parkin said.

The injustices that Lalo saw his players go through angered him throughout his coaching career, according to Parkin. Though he often said he could never understand the plight his players faced on a daily basis, he knew through his role in sports and education that he could be an ally to his players and the community he served.

“The man should literally have his name in front of (Verbum Dei),” Udeze said. “I’m gonna try my hardest to push for something like that.”

The Mendoza family has scheduled Lalo’s viewing for 4 p.m. on July 6 at St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church in Long Beach. The funeral will take place at 11 a.m. at St. Cyprian Catholic Church which will be followed by a reception at Verbum Dei High School.

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Sparks can’t stop Rhyne Howard, Atlanta in lopsided loss

• July 3, 2023

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — Rhyne Howard hit six 3-pointers and scored a career-high 43 points to help the Atlanta Dream set their single-game scoring record and the beat the Sparks 112-84 on Sunday.

Nneka Ogwumike led Los Angeles (7-10) with 25 points. Dearica Hamby scored 18 with eight rebounds, Auzra Stevens added 13 points and nine boards, and Zia Cooke scored 11 points.

Howard made 14 of 20 shots and came up one point shy of Atlanta’s single-game franchise record. Allisha Gray scored 15 points and Nia Coffey 13 for the Dream. Atlanta (7-8), which has won back-to-back games following a three-game skid, set a season high for points in a game and topped the 100-point plateau for the second time this season.

Howard made 9 of 12 from the field and scored 25 points before halftime, a team record for points in the first half and the most points scored by a WNBA player in a half this season. Howard’s 40-point performance was the fifth in the WNBA season, a single-season record. The previous high was three (in 2006, ’08, ’15).

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Angels use three home runs to beat Diamondbacks, avoid sweep

• July 3, 2023

ANAHEIM ― The Angels avoided a series sweep the hard way.

Facing the best pitcher on the best team in the National League West, on a day when they mustered only six hits, the Angels escaped their home confines with a 5-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks to snap their four-game losing streak.

Three hits made all the difference: a solo home run by Mike Trout in the first inning, a three-run shot by Mickey Moniak in the second, and the MLB-leading 31st home run by Shohei Ohtani in the eighth inning.

Moniak’s ninth home run of the season traveled 406 feet. Ohtani’s traveled 454 feet before it bounced into the darkness of a tunnel in the right-field bleachers, delighting the announced crowd of 29,167 at Angel Stadium.

“I took BP with Shohei one time and I looked like a 12-year-old hitting after him,” Moniak joked. “I think the biggest key as a left-handed hitter is to not try to do what he’s doing, just try to stay within myself. I think the results ― one, even if I do get one, I don’t think it’s going up there. And two, more often than not if I try to do that it’s not going to end up well.”

Zac Gallen (10-3) struck out Moniak on a two-strike curveball to begin the first inning. When the All-Star pitcher threw the same pitch on a 2-and-2 count in the second inning, Moniak was ready.

“Late spin has been something that’s a little bit of a bugaboo for him,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said of Moniak. “To see him get into a breaking ball there ― a big, big home run obviously.”

The game served as a measure of progress for both Moniak, 25, and the Angels’ 23-year-old starter, Reid Detmers (2-5).

Even though his “stuff wasn’t the best” by his own admission, Detmers made sure the early home runs by Trout and Moniak held up. He allowed three hits in six innings. Both of the runs he allowed came on a two-run homer by Carson Kelly in the second inning.

Detmers walked two batters and struck out nine. He was credited with his first win since June 8 following a string of three consecutive no-decisions. Over his last five starts, Detmers has lowered his ERA from 5.15 to 3.72.

The common thread in each of those games?

“Just pound the zone,” Detmers said. “I feel like my fastball’s been in the zone more, and that helps a lot. Everything can play off the fastball. If I’m in the zone with the fastball, things tend not to be a little easier but I have more success.”

Jose Soriano, Jacob Webb and Carlos Estevez each pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Estevez recorded his 21st save of the season.

The Angels finished their seven-game homestand with a 3-4 record to improve to 45-41 for the season. They’re six games behind the Texas Rangers (50-34) for first place in the American League West, and two games behind the Houston Astros and New York Yankees (46-38) for the final AL wild card berth.

Trout took advantage of a fastball over the middle of the plate, just above the knees, for his 18th home run of the season in the first inning.

After Kelly’s home run gave Arizona a 2-1 lead, Eduardo Escobar banged a long single off the wall in right field in the bottom of the second inning. David Fletcher lined a single into left-center field before Moniak’s three-run blast put the Angels in the lead for good at 4-2.

Ohtani’s home run against left-handed reliever Kyle Nelson was the cherry on top. It marked the 30th time ever, and the eighth time this season, that Ohtani and Trout have hit home runs in the same game.

While Trout and Ohtani will represent the Angels at the All-Star Game, their postseason hopes rest annually on how far the other 24 players on the roster will take them. This year, that includes a number of 25-and-younger players like Moniak and Detmers who are still developing at the major league level.

“This is always a teaching moment for everybody when you come to the field,” Nevin said. “I don’t think development stops when you get to the major league level. That’s our job to keep making them better ― and their teammates, really, teaching them how to learn. We have some good guys around them who are doing that.”

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