Newport Harbor’s undefeated boys water polo team sinks Harvard-Westlake to capture Elite 8

• October 6, 2024

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STUDIO CITY — Newport Harbor’s boys water polo team isn’t losing sight of the finer points as it continues to rack up goals and victories at an impressive pace.

The Sailors showed their situational execution on Saturday night in defeating host Harvard-Westlake 16-7 in the finals of the Elite 8 tournament to improve to 19-0.

In the finals seconds of first period, No. 1 Newport Harbor coolly pulled goalie Luke Harris for a 7-on-6 player advantage on an after-goal play.

With 15 seconds left, the Sailors placed a spare goalie cap on attacker Weston Hartel and had him join a possession that ended with left-hander James Mulvey scoring off an assist from left-hander Mason Netzer for a 5-3 lead with one second on the clock.

Harris quickly re-entered after the goal and closed the frame with a save.

Newport Harbor then scored eight unanswered goals to put away the Wolverines, who dethroned reigning tournament champion JSerra 11-10 in the semifinals.

The Sailors outscored Harvard-Westlake 6-0 with a sizzling second-period performance but their execution at the end of the first stood out. The rule that allows a goalie to join the attack has only existed about three years but coach Ross Sinclair’s team made it seem like a common play.

“It’s the first time we scored this season on it,” Sinclair said with a chuckle. “(It’s) ‘Hey, seven-on-six, let’s go.’ … We practice it.”

The play seemed to typify Newport Harbor’s approach to a season in which it is increasingly being viewed as a heavy favorite for the CIF-SS Open Division title. The Sailors won the South Coast Tournament last month.

“There’s always more work — that’s kind of our thing,” said Newport Harbor junior attacker Kai Kaneko, who scored two of his three goals in the second period. “The details.”

Newport Harbor also used the tournament to insert its sitout transfers — Mulvey (JSerra) and Santino Rossi (Mater Dei) — to its rotations.

Mulvey shined in the second period with a goal and assist. Rossi added a goal from center in the frame in which he emerged from below to the surface to beat three crashing players.

“I’ve felt acclimated from Day 1,” Mulvey said of his transition at Newport Harbor.

Mulvey helped cap the second period by tossing a cross pass to Lucca Van Der Woude for a power-play strike and 11-3 lead.

Harvard-Westlake notched its first victory against JSerra under third-year coach Jack Grover but dropped its fourth match to Newport Harbor this fall and eighth straight overall.

Harris played a key role in Harvard-Westlake struggling with the extra attacker. The USC committed senior made six of his nine saves against the power play.

Jack Shapiro snapped a 9-0 run by Newport Harbor with a power-play goal with 2:48 left in the third.

“It’s promising,” Grover said of the Wolverines’ runner-up finish. “This Newport team is really, really strong. What they do really well is any time you make a mistake, they capitalize.”

“You can’t deny at all that they are a very-well coached team,” he added. “It’s one thing to get transfers. … but it’s a whole another thing to actually coach them and incorporate them in your system.”

Newport Harbor beat Oaks Christian 13-5 in the semifinals.

In the third-place match:

JSerra 13, Oaks Christian 9: Taylor Bell scored five goals to lead the Lions, who led 9-5 going in the fourth period.

In roster news, strong-shooting sophomore Porter Birdsall is no longer with JSerra, coach Brett Ormsby confirmed.

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​ Orange County Register 

Dodgers ‘closing the door’ on Clayton Kershaw pitching in 2024

• October 6, 2024

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers are “closing the door” on Clayton Kershaw pitching again in 2024, Dave Roberts said Saturday.

Kershaw has not pitched since leaving his Aug. 30 start in Arizona with pain in his left foot. The pain is being caused by bone spurs and ligament damage. But Kershaw had been continuing to throw, trying orthotics and different cleats to try to relieve the pain. He even threw an approximately 80-pitch bullpen session during the Dodgers’ series in Miami near the end of the regular season.

“It was getting pretty mentally exhausting to continue to pitch,” Kershaw said Saturday. “It just kept hurting so I got another MRI. And I made it worse. So there’s no point at this point to keep going.

“It’s unfortunate. I mean, obviously, super frustrated but, yeah, it’s not getting better so I can’t pitch.”

Kershaw said he had to give himself “a chance” at pitching in the postseason but repeated “I probably made this worse – but I had to try.”

The toe problem has plagued Kershaw for some years. This most recent stretch was “more acute, a little different” and might require surgery during the offseason if Kershaw wants to pitch in 2025.

“It’s definitely in the conversation,” he said. “I haven’t solidified anything yet. But there’s a chance that I might need to fix it, yeah.”

Kershaw had surgery last offseason to address a shoulder injury and didn’t make his 2024 debut until July 25. He made seven starts for the Dodgers, going 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 30 innings. He is 32 strikeouts short of 3,000 in his career. Only 19 pitchers in baseball history have struck out 3,000 or more.

Kershaw’s incentive-laden contract paid him just $7.5 million this season and includes a player option for 2025. The 36-year-old would not talk about his plans for next season.

“I’ll talk about it after the season,” he said. “Right now, I think the focus should be trying to beat the Padres and that’s what I’m thinking. I’m gonna try and be a good cheerleader as best I can.

“But yeah, we’ll think about it. The offseason comes quick.”

Kershaw said he does feel healthy – except for the big toe on his left foot.

“Yeah, my shoulder feels great. My back feels great. All that stuff,” he said. “Look, I don’t know. Obviously I don’t want to get hurt all the time. Like, it’s not fun to do that But I also really love to pitch, too. So you just have to weigh everything. I’ll talk to Ellen (his wife) and figure it out. We’ll see how it goes.”

FREEMAN STATUS

Hours before Game 1, Roberts was asked if Freddie Freeman would be in the starting lineup.

“I’m still hopeful – maybe not as hopeful as I was yesterday,” Roberts said.

Freeman said his injured right ankle was “sore” after he went through a full workout for the first time Friday. But it improved as he received treatment during the day Saturday and he was in the lineup when it came up.

Roberts acknowledged that Freeman’s mobility will be watched carefully. Replacing him with a pinch-runner or defensive replacement in a close game will definitely be considered.

ROSTER CHOICES

The Dodgers announced their roster for the NLDS on Saturday morning. It included four rookies – pitchers Landon Knack, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the biggest surprise, Edgardo Henriquez, as well as outfielder Andy Pages.

Henriquez made his big-league debut just 11 days ago and pitched only 3⅓ innings before making the roster. A spot became available when veteran reliever Joe Kelly came down with a sore shoulder again after pitching in a simulated game this week.

“Joe Kelly, his last pitch in a simulated game, throwing a change-up, he felt something in his shoulder. So that kind of put him out of the conversation,” Roberts said. “That was really disappointing, obviously, for Joe. He’s just not even viable being such a big piece of this and what he’s done in past postseasons.”

Kelly will not be an option again until a potential World Series roster, Roberts said. He spent time on the injured list with shoulder inflammation during the regular season as well.

GAME TWO

Right-hander Jack Flaherty will start Game 2 on Sunday. Over his last two regular-season starts, Flaherty’s fastball velocity was down – just 91.8 mph against the Miami Marlins on Sept. 19 and again Sept. 25 against the Padres, compared to a season average of 93.3 mph.

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the drop was due to “a little bit of delivery stuff that I know Connor (McGuinness, assistant pitching coach) and Mark (Prior, pitching coach) and BMac (Brandon McDaniel, vice president for player performance) have been attacking.

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“Jack’s great. He gets it, gets after it,” Friedman said. “He feels really confident that his delivery is in a really good place.”

Flaherty said he was less concerned with recovering velocity and more concerned with his command of all of his pitches.

“The velocity is going to be whatever it is,” he said. “It just comes down to executing. But we just put in the work over the week and try to figure some things out. Just try to be more consistent more than anything. Gotta locate the ball and spin the ball the way I want to.”

​ Orange County Register 

Red hot Mets rally in 8th to stun Phillies in NLDS Game 1

• October 6, 2024

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Mark Vientos and Brandon Nimmo keyed another late comeback in New York’s electric run through the National League playoffs, helping the Mets break through for five runs in the eighth inning against a pair of All-Star relievers as they rallied past the Philadelphia Phillies 6-2 on Saturday in Game 1 of their Division Series.

The Mets had been stymied by Phillies ace Zack Wheeler, held to just one hit while trailing 1-0 and unable to muster any real scoring chances over the first seven innings.

With Wheeler lifted after nine strikeouts and a startling 30 swings-and-misses over 111 pitches, the Mets — whose whirlwind week included a victory in a makeup doubleheader at Atlanta to clinch a postseason spot and three games in the Wild Card Series at Milwaukee — pounced against losing pitcher Jeff Hoffman and fellow reliever Matt Strahm in the eighth.

In true New York fashion this October, the Mets had to rally, not just on the scoreboard, but on a gut-check in each at-bat.

Francisco Alvarez hit a leadoff single against Hoffman before three straight batters reached base after facing 0-2 counts. Francisco Lindor worked a walk from his 0-2 count and Vientos followed with a tying single. Nimmo laced a go-ahead single off Strahm past a drawn-in infield for the 2-1 lead.

Pinch-hitter J.D. Martinez added an RBI single and Pete Alonso, who hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the ninth inning in the Wild Card Series clincher in Milwaukee, and Starling Marte each added a sacrifice fly in the eighth for a 5-1 lead that sent the Mets into a frenzy in the dugout.

Leave it to the Mets to win this one late — they have scored 18 runs in the eighth and ninth innings in six games since Monday. New York joined the 1980 Phillies and 1999 Mets as the only teams to win consecutive playoff games after trailing in the eighth inning or later.

The Phillies were left reeling headed into Sunday’s Game 2 after they wasted their ace’s splendid outing.

Citizens Bank Park, once home to Red October, has turned into a nightmare the last two seasons. The Phillies held a 3-2 series lead last season in the NLCS but lost Games 6 and 7 to Arizona at home.

Kyle Schwarber launched Kodai Senga’s third pitch into the second deck in right field, extending his playoff record for leadoff homers to five.

At 425 feet, the homer — a Schwarbomb, as his homers are affectionately called in Philly — went about as far as the rest of the hits combined by an anemic offense.

Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Nick Castellanos and the rest of a homer-happy offense failed to tack on against Senga and four relievers.

Senga was a surprise starter for New York after throwing just 5 1/3 major league innings all season because of shoulder and calf injuries. He lasted two innings in his second start of the year, throwing 31 pitches. The right-hander struck out three and walked one; Schwarber’s homer was the only hit he allowed.

David Peterson, who earned his first career save in the Wild Card Series clincher against Milwaukee, kept the Mets in the game with three innings of shutout relief. Reed Garrett tossed perfect innings for the win.

The Mets were thrilled just to have Friday off after a wild week that included a doubleheader Monday in Atlanta and then three games in Milwaukee.

“It was much needed,” manager Carlos Mendoza said ahead of Game 1. “Intense games, the traveling, the back-and-forth, doubleheader, celebrations, and just everything that we went through. So being able to get here and have kind of like a reset day for everyone was really good.”

The reset came from — no, not from a playoff pumpkin — but a staff that struck out eight and muted Phillies fans that had spun their red rally towels like helicopter rotor blades from the moment they snagged them at the gate.

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UP NEXT

The Mets send RHP Luis Severino to the mound in Game 2. He won Game 1 of the Wild Card Series in Milwaukee. Severino allowed eight hits and four runs — three earned — in six innings.

The Phillies have All-Star and new dad Cristopher Sánchez on the mound for Game 2.

​ Orange County Register 

Lakers’ LeBron James, Anthony Davis expected to make preseason debuts Sunday

• October 6, 2024

PALM DESERT — After sitting out of the Lakers’ preseason-opening 124-107 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday, LeBron James and Anthony Davis are expected to make their preseason debuts against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday at Acrisure Arena.

James said after the team’s practice Saturday that he plans to play against the Suns, while coach JJ Redick said Davis is also expected to be available.

The Lakers’ star duo sat out the first exhibition, with Redick citing their gold-medal run with Team USA at the Paris Olympics over the summer and their workload during training camp as why they didn’t play.

“We want to carry over with what we did [Saturday] at practice,” James said. “We were very intent on what we want to accomplish going forward. [Friday] was one of those first games. It’s been a while since a lot of guys have played in a game setting. And it looked that way.”

While the moment when James and his son Bronny James, the Lakers’ second-round pick in June’s NBA draft, shared the floor didn’t happen Friday, the elder James had an up-close view of Bronny’s preseason debut.

Bronny James scored two points on 1-of-6 shooting and led the team in blocked shots with three.

“For him, it’s obviously an adjustment,” LeBron James said. “Every rank that you climb, it’s always an adjustment to get used to it. When he went to high school, from middle school from high school to USC and now to the pros, it’s always an adjustment to make. The more time he’s out on the floor with pros, the speed, the cadence, you get better and better the more time you put on the floor.

“And you’ve got to think that he lost pretty much a third of last season because of the condition. But he’s gotten better and better every day. He continues to put the work in. And it’s up to us as the veterans and the guys out here to try to help him, help Dalton [Knecht], help all the young guys to get him better and better every day to help them accomplish what we want to accomplish.”

LeBron was complimentary of Knecht, the Lakers’ first-round pick who scored 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and 2 of 5 on 3-pointers.

“He’s a pro,” LeBron said of Knecht. “He’s ready to go now.”

HONEST ASSESSMENT

Redick, coming off coaching his first NBA game, was honest in his assessment of Friday’s game.

“Defensively the carryover from practice, in terms of some of our switching rules and our pick-and-roll coverage, wasn’t great,” Redick said Saturday. “We cleaned that up a little bit. They’ve been really good at it in practice. And sometimes the game starts and it’s the first time playing in a game in a few months and you can lose focus.

“Offensively I mentioned organization [Friday] and that’s the biggest thing that stood out on that end. And then, some small attention-to-detail stuff just in terms of how we want to run different sets.”

The team’s screening was one of the “attention-to-detail” aspects of Friday’s game that could’ve been better.

“The screening was [expletive], but we’ll get better,” Redick said. “It’s something we’ve emphasized. We’ve really implemented it in player development. We didn’t focus – and it was intentional, it’ll be intentional, really, thorough the preseason – we’re not focused right now on the opponent.

“When you play a team like Minnesota, there’s a specific emphasis you have to make on your screens in terms of our four screening options. We didn’t emphasize that in the pregame meeting. That’s on us. But we’re more focused on what we’re doing versus the opponent right now.”

Redick said he was most disappointed with the Lakers’ execution of their one-through-four switching on defense.

“We didn’t execute that at all,” he added. “We maybe executed it less than 10% of the time. It’s something we’ve drilled and it was very clear in the pregame meeting that that’s what we were doing. So you certainly question, like, am I not making this clear? Is it something I’m doing?”

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Redick said before Friday’s game that he’d try to give himself some grace when it comes to some of the nuanced stuff the Lakers are looking to execute.

But when it came time to watch the film, he couldn’t help being hard on himself.

“A little bit,” Redick said. “But again, we talked about it [Saturday] morning in our film session. We’re all on the same page.”

SUNS AT LAKERS

When: 6:30 p.m. Sunday

Where: Acrisure Arena, Palm Desert

TV/radio: Spectrum SportsNet, 710 AM

​ Orange County Register 

OC Pride hosts celebration of LGBTQIA+ community at fairgrounds

• October 6, 2024

OC Pride hosted its Colors of Strength festival and parade on Saturday, trying out a new venue for the annual celebration of the  LGBTQIA+ community.

At the OC Fair & Event Center the day kicked off with the Blaze it Forward parade around the parking lot, a showcase of the culture and unity of the community, and a remembrance of Blaze Bernstein, a 19-year-old Lake Forest man killed in 2018 in what a jury this year called a hate crime. His parents, Jeanne and Gideon Bernstein, served as the grand marshals.

Following the parade, the fairgrounds filled with crowds enjoying music and more. The move from downtown Santa Ana to the fairgrounds offered more room and more security for the event, organizers said.

“OC Pride is more than just a celebration,” Manny Muro, vice president of the OC Pride board, said ahead of Saturday’s festivities. “It is a movement that brings our community together and reminds us of the strength that we find together.”

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​ Orange County Register 

USC LB Eric Gentry out with injury against Minnesota

• October 6, 2024

MINNEAPOLIS — It wasn’t long into Easton Mascarenas-Arnold’s time at USC before he and Mason Cobb started calling themselves yin-yang, the two-man balance at linebacker at the heart of the Trojans’ defense.

If Cobb was down, Mascarenas-Arnold could pick him up. Vice versa. Two complementary spirits. They have found stability, though, in part next to the emergence of a third force, the 6-foot-6 Eric Gentry bringing fire and versatility and production unmatched across most of the nation at large.

“Shoot, I got all confidence when he’s on the field,” Mascarenas-Arnold said of Gentry after USC’s Week 1 win over LSU. “As an offense, I know they’re looking out there like, ‘Damn, they got a 6-foot-6 linebacker, like, I know he’s a threat.’”

He would pose no threat against Minnesota on Saturday, because Gentry wasn’t in the lineup, a massive blow for USC’s defense that’s been largely anticipated since he was carted off in the fourth quarter of USC’s win over Wisconsin last week. In one man sidelined, USC went without its leading tackler and tackler-for-loss and sack artist against Minnesota – placing the onus on the Yin-Yang brothers to stay in balance without him.

“It changes some things, certainly not everything. … I’d still venture to say, you know, 80 to 90 percent of what we’re going to do, we’re probably going to do whether he’s there or not,” Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley said of Gentry’s injury Thursday. “And so we do have a lot of confidence in the other guys at those positions.”

With senior Raesjon Davis out as well after deciding to redshirt, freshmen Desman Stephens II and Elijah Newby stood as next in line on USC’s depth chart behind starters. Gentry’s absence, though, provided a sudden opportunity for junior Anthony Beavers Jr., a former safety who’s played sparingly this season but played in Gentry’s weakside-linebacker spot during practice in the week’s preparation.

Makai Lemon, Akili Arnold return

Two weeks after a brutal blindside hit on a special-teams play knocked sophomore receiver Makai Lemon out for the following week’s contest against Wisconsin, he was back in uniform Saturday against Minnesota, a boost for USC’s young receiver room.

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Arnold, too, was active and back in his starting spot next to Kamari Ramsey at safety after also exiting against Michigan and missing the Wisconsin win. It was a pivotal bill of health for USC, as Oregon State transfer Arnold had previously worn the defense’s green dot for in-helmet communication with defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn.

“It was on different guys all throughout camp,” Lynn said in early September of the choice to dub Arnold with the in-game comms, “and we just felt like Akili ended up being the right person to have it on.”

No more right-guard rotation

After Alani Noa and redshirt-freshman Amos Talalele spent much of USC’s past two games switching across various series, Riley said he didn’t “necessarily have a preference” on keeping the rotation intact or naming a permanent starter at right guard.

In Saturday’s first half against Minnesota, though, Riley and offensive-line coach Josh Henson sent Noa out every series, a show of faith in a sophomore with obvious promise but had his share of struggles in USC’s 3-1 start.

“He’s played physical, he’s certainly, he’s improved so much mentally,” Riley said of Noa, a couple weeks ago. “His communication skills in there have really improved. Our guys have gotten comfortable playing with him.”

​ Orange County Register 

Tiller Days celebrates Tustin community

• October 6, 2024

The Tustin community turned out Saturday for the Tustin Tiller Days parade and festival.

The four-day community celebration, which is in its 67th year, continues Sunday, Oct. 6, with carnival games and rides, lots to eat, a brewery festival, entertainment throughout the day and more at Columbus Tustin Park.

The always funny Kids Say the Cutest Things contest will be at 1 p.m. and there is an an ice cream eating contest at 2 p.m.  Journey USA caps the day’s stage entertainment, playing from 6 to 8 p.m. You can also smash a car for charity.

If you go

When: Noon to 8 p.m. on Oct. 6

Where: In and around Columbus Tustin Park, 17522 Beneta Way

Cost: Free admission

Information: tustinca.org/637/Tustin-Tiller-Days

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​ Orange County Register 

Runners, walkers speed past marine life during 2024 Aquarium of the Pacific 5K

• October 6, 2024

Hundreds of runners and walkers made their way past otters, jellyfish, and other marine life during the Aquarium of the Pacific 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, Oct. 5.

People of all ages took part in the race early Saturday morning, as part of the 40th annual Long Beach Marathon weekend. Long Beach welcomed more than 22,000 runners who are set to participate in events this year, organizers said.

As people ran or walked to beat personal records or have a good time with friends and family, they enjoyed the Aquarium of the Pacific’s exhibits, as well as having mascots, staff and volunteers cheer them on. Participants received some swag for running in the 5K, including an aquarium-themed finishers medal.

The 5K began at the aquarium, with participants then making their way around Shoreline Village Park, past the lighthouse in ShoreLine Aquatic Park and over the Queensway Bridge. After that, they turned around and finished the race by running through the aquarium.

The early morning did not stop adults and kids from smiling ear to ear as they made their way through some of Long Beach’s iconic landmarks and getting to wave at the sharks, fish, and otters.

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​ Orange County Register