Griner dunks, Taurasi gets hot as Mercury pull out win over Sparks

• July 10, 2023

PHOENIX — Brittney Griner scored 29 points, including her 25th dunk as a professional, and the Phoenix Mercury held on for a 78-72 win over the Sparks in a matchup between two struggling teams on Sunday.

Nneka Ogwumike had 20 points and 14 boards to lead the short-handed Sparks (7-12), who have lost five straight. Jordin Canada scored 16 points, Azura Stevens added 13 and Jasmine Thomas 10.

The Sparks were without five players and lost starter Dearica Hamby with a sprained ankle midway through the first half.

Diana Taurasi added 12 of her 22 for the Mercury (4-14) in the fourth quarter to put her less than 100 points from 10,000 in her career. Moriah Jefferson scored 11 for the Mercury (4-14), who had lost three straight and nine of 10 for the worst record in the WNBA. Griner, who matched her season high for points, also had 11 rebounds.

Griner had 16 points in the first half as the Mercury took a 42-36 lead. Griner was 7-of-11 shooting, including a dunk early in the second quarter. It was her 18th in the regular season to go with five in all-star games and two in the playoffs.

“It felt good, felt good,” Griner said. “I thought I forgot how to dunk for a little bit there.”

Griner converted a three-point play to put Phoenix on top 68-55 with six minutes to play but Ogwumike scored eight points before Canada drilled back-to-back 3-pointers and the Sparks were within 72-69 with two minutes to go.

Stevens made a free throw and then the Sparks had a chance to tie with a minute left but a Taurasi foul on Canada was overturned on a coach’s challenge. Taurasi made four free throws and Griner two to secure the win.

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Angels take Florida Atlantic first baseman Nolan Schanuel with 1st-round pick

• July 10, 2023

Nolan Schanuel hopes to follow in the footsteps — literally — of Zach Neto.

Schanuel, who the Angels took with the 11th overall pick in the first round of the 2023 draft on Sunday, said he drew inspiration from Neto, the Angels’ first-round pick in 2022, in the way he swings the bat.

Schanuel also has an exaggerated leg kick. Schanuel, who is also from Florida, said he played with Neto in the summer before his freshman year at Florida Atlantic.

“I wouldn’t say he influenced me but it definitely made me more comfortable for what my swing is, especially how unorthodox it is and how different it is from other players,” said Schanuel, a first baseman. “Scouts were saying the same thing about his swing throughout college and he’s playing with flying colors. He’s insane. So it just shows that throughout my progression I could do the same thing.”

Neto, of course, went from Campbell University to the majors in nine months. Schanuel (pronounced SHAN-yew-EL) would love to do the same thing.

Tim McIlvaine, who took Neto with his first selection as Angels scouting director last year, said the similarities to Neto are a coincidence. He said they didn’t pick Schanuel to fit any sort of mold, but simply because they like what he does as a hitter.

“We looked at a ton of players, and in the end, Nolan did a lot of things that that we really liked, that we sought out to look for,” McIlvaine said. “He’s got power. He can hit. He knows his zone. He’s very patient. He doesn’t get himself out, rarely ever strikes out, took a lot of walks this year. A lot of extra base hits. He can hit the ball over the wall. He’s a good player. He’s a really good baseball mind.”

Schanuel, 21, hit .385 with 46 homers in his three-year career at Florida Atlantic. This season he led all of Division I in batting average (.447), on-base percentage (.615) and walks (71), on his way to winning the Conference USA Player of the Year Award.

Schanuel, who is listed at 6-4, 220 pounds, hit 19 homers and struck out 14 times during his junior year.

McIlvaine said they will start him at first base, but will also try him in the outfield at some point later this year.

One of the knocks against Schanuel is that he did not fare well last summer when playing with a wood bat in the Cape Cod League. McIlvaine said they talked to Schanuel about his performance, and came away convinced that he had made the proper adjustments.

“He’s better now,” McIlvaine said. “We watched him a lot last year, a lot this year. He proved beyond a doubt to us that he’s ready. He’ll do fine.”

Schanuel said another key to his improvement was that he was diagnosed with an astigmatism in his right eye last winter. He now wears a contact lens, and he said the difference in his vision has been dramatic.

“It was like the ball was not even in 3D, it was in 4D,” Schanuel said.

The slot value for the 11th pick is $5.25 million. McIlvaine did not indicate any concern about getting him signed. He said he expects him to start somewhere in Class-A.

Schanuel said he was “ready to fly out today” to get his pro career started. He was fully aware that Neto and Ben Joyce, the Angels’ third-round pick from last summer, have already been in the big leagues.

“I want to be right there with Zach Neto, Ben Joyce, Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani,” he said. “I’m ready to be a teammate of theirs and get going. I’m stoked to call myself an Angel.”

The Angels did not have a pick in the second round, because they forfeited their selection when they signed left-hander Tyler Anderson.

Their next pick will be in the third round, the 79th overall pick, on Monday. The draft will continue through the 10th round on Monday, and conclude with the 20th round on Tuesday.

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Allisen Corpuz wins the US Women’s Open at Pebble Beach for her first LPGA title

• July 10, 2023

By DOUG FERGUSON (AP Golf Writer)

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Allisen Corpuz became the first American in 20 years to make the U.S. Women’s Open her first LPGA title, closing with a 3-under 69 on Sunday and handling her historic moment at Pebble Beach as if she had been there before.

Corpuz, a 2021 USC graduate, pulled away with a big par putt and back-to-back birdies on the back nine to enjoy the most scenic walk in golf up the 18th fairway, the Pacific Ocean on her left and her place secured as the first U.S. Women’s Open champion at Pebble Beach.

She won by three shots over Charley Hull (66) and Jiyai Shin (68) and claimed the $2 million prize, the richest ever for an LPGA major champion.

Corpuza, 25-year-old from Hawaii, was so calm and cool on the grandest stage in women’s golf, regardless of the shot or the circumstances, until reality hit as she walked toward the 18th green with a three-shot lead in hand. She wiped away tears with her Aloha-print towel when it was over.

Hilary Lunke in 2003 at Pumpkin Ridge was the last American to get her first win at the U.S. Women’s Open, that one in a three-way Monday playoff.

Corpuz never gave anyone much of a chance. Nasa Hataoka lost her one-shot lead on the opening hole when Corpuz hit her approach to 5 feet for birdie, and the 24-year-old from Japan dropped too many shots down the home stretch.

Corpuz, who finished at 9-under 279, was the only player to break par all four days.

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‘We lost 6 wonderful souls’: French Valley plane crash victims are mourned

• July 10, 2023

A moment of silence was held on Sunday during an early morning sermon at the Rolling Hills Covenant Church for the families of the six people killed in a fiery plane crash near French Valley Airport.

Clyde LaGue, chairman of the Elder Board, broke the news to congregants and shared a message from Rod Lenders, a fellow church elder who lost his 25-year-old son Riese Lenders of Rancho Palos Verdes in the crash.

“Yesterday, the Lord took our beloved son Riese in a plane crash. We are grieving deeply, but our hope is in the Lord,” LaGue shared on behalf of the Lenders family.

Lenders received his commercial pilot certificate in April, records from the Federal Aviation Administration show. He was piloting the Cessna C550 business jet along with co-pilot Manuel Vargas-Regalado at the time of the crash, said Michael Morris, the plane’s owner. Lenders’ 31-year-old girlfriend, Huntington Beach resident Lindsey Gleiche, also died in the accident.

“We lost six wonderful souls (who) unfortunately left behind 11 kids,” Morris said. They range in age, he added, from a newborn to 11 years old.

Morris said he had received a call from Vargas-Regalado, manager and lead pilot of his flight company, who told him he wanted to take a few people to Las Vegas and asked if he could use one of his planes. The company owner agreed and said he didn’t ask questions because he knew the 32-year-old pilot, who had flown for him for two years, was responsible.

The planes registered to Morris’ company, Prestige Worldwide Flights LLC, are based in Temecula.

Vargas-Regalado and his 33-year-old wife, Abigail Tellez-Vargas from Murrieta, died in the crash, leaving behind seven children, Morris said. Tellez-Vargas was a real estate agent, according to her Instagram profile. Also killed were Temecula residents Alma Razick, 51, and car dealership owner Ibrahem Razick, 46, who had four children.

Details on the cause and circumstances of the crash are being investigated by the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board.

The crash was reported around 4:15 a.m. on Saturday. The plane, engulfed in flames, landed in a field about 500 feet short of the French Valley Airport runway, Eliott Simpson, an aviation accident investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, said.

FlightAware, a third-party flight tracking site, showed a plane that took off from the Las Vegas airport around 3:15 a.m. and bypassed the runway at the French Valley Airport heading southbound. The Cessna then fell short of the runway after attempting to circle back around for a second approach.

Weather data from Ogimet, a website that provides weather conditions at airports in 20-minute intervals, showed mist and fog at French Valley Airport, with clouds roughly 300 feet above the surface and about a half-mile visibility in the time period of the crash.

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Trinity Rodman scores two second-half goals, USWNT beats Wales heading into Women’s World Cup

• July 10, 2023

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Megan Rapinoe and Trinity Rodman stood side by side at the top of a stairwell waiting to return to the field for some final cheers and fanfare before the Americans departed for the Women’s World Cup Down Under.

The Old Guard and Young Guard of U.S. Soccer are mixing, meshing. These women are still learning from each other and about each other. And U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski is confident the kinks will be worked out over the coming couple of weeks in training for the Americans to shine.

Rising star Rodman scored for U.S. in the 76th minute and again in the 88th, and the Americans finally capitalized on their many offensive chances to beat Wales 2-0 on Sunday in a final tuneup for the Women’s World Cup.

Several players are dealing with injuries so Andonovski had to adjust his lineup.

“Changes were necessary and with those changes now we’re going to need maybe a couple more weeks until we get in sync,” Andonovski said. “We’re very confident in where we’re at right now and we can see how good we’re likely going to look and when that happens it’s going to look good.”

First, Rodman broke up a scoreless tie when she one-touched a pass from Sophia Smith then later emphatically delivered again to provide a glimpse of Americans’ youth movement headed to the big stage in Australia and New Zealand.

Smith corralled a pretty ball from Lynn Williams — who subbed in during the 64th minute — sent from the center circle and raced past her defender on the left side to find a charging Rodman for the initial goal.

Rodman, the highly touted 21-year-old forward, set up her own shot the next time. She entered for Alex Morgan to begin the second half challenged by Andonovski to raise the pace.

“This team does a really good job of setting a standard,” Rodman said over the chants of “USA! USA!” an hour after the final whistle.

Rodman doubled her number of goals for the U.S. to give her four over 18 matches for the Americans — and she even had another chance on a header in the 74th. The U.S. hardly looked in sync for much of the afternoon less than two weeks from the World Cup opener but the backups brought some new energy.

Andonovski is mixing and matching lineups featuring veterans and unproven new talent on the 23-woman World Cup roster with nine returners from the 2019 World Cup champion team and 14 players making their debut on the biggest world stage.

Alana Cook nearly found the net on a header in the 68th minute that Wales forward Kayleigh Green headed away near the post and Sofia Huerta had a nice look in the 73rd minute.

Alyssa Thompson missed from just outside the penalty box in the 61st minute — so it was a game of missed chances on a picture-perfect Bay Area afternoon for the sold-out friendly match that had its share of physical moments and hard hits.

A scrappy Wales team fought on its defensive end to limit the Americans’ chances for open looks at the net yet the U.S. did get ample chances to work on various set pieces throughout the game. The Welsh didn’t manage their first shot until the 74th minute on an attempt by Hannah Cain.

Wales defender Lily Woodham exited briefly and was examined by medical personnel following a head-to-head collision with Alyssa Thompson in the 23rd minute that gave Woodham a swollen right eye immediately. And forward Carrie Jones took a shoe to the head moments before the halftime whistle.

A day after Rapinoe announced she will retire after her fourth World Cup and finish the National Women’s Soccer League season with the OL Reign, the 38-year-old forward didn’t get on the field as a precaution with her nursing a calf injury over the past month. She received huge cheers when she came outside for warmups and again running through the tunnel after going through her pregame routine.

“One thing people know about P is it’s hard to know what age she is because she fits in so well with everybody on the team,” said defensive leader Crystal Dunn. “And that’s the kind of veteran-ship and leadership we have on this team is we want to stay connected to the young ones, they’re always teaching us new things, these new TikToks that are out. We’re trying to stay young and hip and I think it’s important as a team we’re one unit.”

Rapinoe will have to wait for the World Cup to make her 200th career national team appearance over a 17-year career with the Americans — and will become just the 14th U.S. player to reach the mark.

Rapinoe debuted in the 2011 Germany World Cup and also played in 2015 in Canada and France four years ago. She and the Americans are chasing a third straight title when the Women’s World Cup opens July 20 in Australia and New Zealand.

Instead of seeing Rapinoe, the home fans in a sellout crowd of 18,000 were treated to their first chance seeing Rodman at PayPal Park, home of the MLS San Jose Earthquakes.

Midfielder Savannah DeMelo entered midway through the second half for her first career appearance with the Americans, who are 8-0-0 this year outscoring opponents 19-1.

The U.S. will begin group stage play in Group E facing Vietnam on July 22 at Auckland’s Eden Park. The Americans face 2019 runner-up The Netherlands in the second match July 26 then Portugal on Aug. 1.

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Lakers not done with roster moves, looking to add another big

• July 10, 2023

LAS VEGAS — The Lakers have already made several moves since free agency start over a week ago, but general manager Rob Pelinka made it clear they’d like to make at least one more addition before training camp starts in the fall.

While speaking with reporters during halftime of Sunday’s 93-75 summer league win over the Charlotte Hornets at the Thomas & Mack Center, Pelinka said the Lakers are “actively in the market to add another big.”

“Coach and I have talked a little bit with Anthony [Davis] in the offseason about more minutes of some of the 2020 success we had where Anthony got to play with a big. Adding Jaxson Hayes [in free agency] was key to that. Jaxson, much like Dwight Howard in that [2020] stretch for us: big body, rim protector, active roller.

“When you have on-ball guys like D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves, having someone who’s willing to sacrifice their body and set a screen is important. Jaxson is going to be big there. But we are looking to add an additional center as well.”

Among the top unrestricted free-agent centers are: former Dallas Mavericks big man Christian Wood, former Phoenix Suns center Bismack Biyombo, former San Antonio Spurs big Gorgui Dieng and former Philadelphia 76ers center Dewayne Dedmon.

The Lakers have 13 players signed to standard NBA contracts, leaving them two open roster spots.

Pelinka said the greatest likelihood is that they’ll “fill the 14th position before training camp,” before adding “the 15th one is more open.”

He added that they’d like to diversify the skillsets in their big-man rotation. Wood and Dieng would help in this regard because of their ability to stretch the floor as shooters from beyond the arc.

The 6-foot-10 Wood, who’s a Long Beach native, has shot 37.9% on 3-pointers (3 ½ attempts per game) for his career. He’s made 38.1% of his 3s (4.7 attempts per game) over the previous three seasons.

The 6-foot-11 Dieng has shot 35.5% on 3s for his career, albeit on low volume (0.9 attempts). He’s shot 36.7% on 3s the last four seasons on 2.1 attempts.

“Dimensionalizing the skills at that position would be important,” Pelinka said. “So we don’t want to sign someone who replicates the skills that Jaxson Hayes has. So if we can diversify the big position and have different looks, that would be good.”

Pelinka said before free agency started on June 30 that the Lakers were prioritizing continuity and maintaining the core of the team that went 18-9 to close out the regular season post-trade deadline before the playoff run to the Western Conference finals.

They accomplished that goal, re-signing forward Rui Hachimura (three-year contract, $51 million), guard Austin Reaves (four years, $56 million deal) and D’Angelo Russell (two years, $37 million with a player option for the second season).

The additions: guard in Gabe Vincent (three years, $33 million), forward Taurean Prince (one year, $4.52 million), wing Cam Reddish (two years, $4.62 million with a player option for the second season) and Hayes (two years, $4.62 million with a player option for the second season).

“We talked a lot after the trade deadline about that being kind of a ‘pre-[free] agency,’ sort of a precursor to what we wanted to do this offseason,” Pelinka said. “And I said over and over that continuity was going to be important, keeping together the core of the success we had with the run we went on to the Western Conference finals. And we were able to do that.

“When you want to win a championship, you have to go through the defending champs and Denver’s size was something that really was apparent to us that we wanted to upgrade our wing depth. And so that was something else accomplished with the group we put together.”

As a result of the Vincent deal, which used the bulk of the Lakers’ $12.4 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception, and using the $4.5 million bi-annual exception for Prince, the team will be hard-capped at the first tax apron level of $172.24 million.

They still have about $1.9 million of their mid-level exception remaining to make roster additions.

“We were intentional about keeping some space and using that,” Pelinka said. “It could come in handy. For instance, in the buyout market.

Lakers GM Rob Pelinka says “dimensionalizing” the skills at the center position will be a priority as the team searches for another big pic.twitter.com/pR60GD3SzV

— Khobi Price (@khobi_price) July 9, 2023

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Quiggle and Schermerhorn-Murphy take Hermosa Beach women’s volleyball title

• July 10, 2023

HERMOSA BEACH — The AVP Women’s Hermosa Beach Pro Open championship match was a battle of the underdogs as the No. 6 seeded duo of Corinne Quiggle and Sarah Schermerhorn-Murphy faced off against No. 13 seeded team of Megan Rice and Savannah Simo.

In a dominating game, Quiggle and Schermerhorn-Murphy came out on top, sweeping Rice and Simo 2-0 (21-15, 21-16) to win their first AVP championship title.

Schermerhorn-Murphy recorded 14 kills on 29 attack attempts along with 5 diggs and 6 blocks. Quiggle added 9 kills and 13 diggs.

“We’ve been working really hard as a team. Beach volleyball is definitely up and down. We had a great year last year, and we’re finding our momentum this year,” Quiggle said. “To be able to come into this tournament and win it feels amazing. It’s something really special that we get to share together forever.”

The journey to the championship match was not easy, but they breezed through the competition sweeping all but one opponent.

In the second round of play, they defeated No. 3 seeded Deahna Kraft and Zana Muno 2-0 (21-19, 21-17) en route to Sunday’s championship.

Rice and Simo defeated fellow underdogs Lexy Denaburg and Carly Kan 2-0 (21-19, 21-18) to set up a matchup with Quiggle and Schermerhorn-Murphy.

Quiggle and Schermerhorn-Murphy came out of the first set on fire, taking an early 9-1 lead. The duo coasted the rest of the way to come out with a 21-15 set 1 win.

The second set was much closer to start, but Quiggle and Schermerhorn-Murphy’s offensive efficiency was too much for their opponents. Quiggle and Schermerhorn-Murphy recorded an attacking percentage of .455 in the closeout set to take the 21-16 victory.

“I think we were confident in ourselves that we were capable of winning this tournament,” Quiggle said. “Being able to follow through and complete that goal of ours is just an unbelievable feeling. It’s a testimony to all the work that we put in, all the work our coaches put in in the gym. It’s really nice to see the work pay off.”

For Quiggle, playing at Hermosa Beach felt familiar as she played her collegiate career at Pepperdine where she was the 2018 WCC Player of the Year. But Schermerhorn-Murphy said the journey to get to this point was difficult as she has been away from her family and friends throughout the season.

“(Our relationship) is very much a marriage and a partnership. I live in Florida, my husband’s in Florida. So, emotionally it can be hard for me to be out here,” Schermerhorn-Murphy said. “Corinne’s a great supporter, her family is really supportive out here. We’ve just really pushed through. I think we’ve grown a lot as a team through some of those hardships and it’s just made us better.”

The duo won their first AVP championship with their tournament victory at Hermosa. They said their next big challenge will be back here when they compete in the Manhattan Beach Open on Aug. 18.

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Trevor Crabb, Theo Brunner win Hermosa Beach men’s title

• July 9, 2023

HERMOSA BEACH — The AVP 2023 Hermosa Beach Men’s Pro Open championship match on Sunday saw a familiar matchup as Trevor Crabb and partner Theo Brunner faced off against Taylor Crabb and Taylor Sander for the second time this tournament.

Trevor Crabb and Brunner came out on top, winning 2-1 (19-21, 21-13, 15-10) to take the crown.

Trevor Crabb converted 20 kills on 30 attack attempts. Brunner recorded a game-high eight blocks while also having 13 kills.

Brunner won his third Hermosa Beach Open championship, Trevor Crabb his first. Trevor Crabb is now 13-10 all time in matches against his brother — winning the last five — and holds a 2-1 lead in championship matches involving the two Long Beach State products.

“It’s always an extra tough battle playing against (Taylor Crabb), and then when you add the finals on top of that, it’s even more pressure,” Trevor Crabb said. “The atmosphere is way better for everyone in the championship.

“I’m sure (Taylor Crabb) is pretty bummed right now, but there’s obviously more tournaments to come for him.”

The two teams had some familiarity going into Sunday’s championship showdown as they played each other in the tournament quarterfinals on Saturday, when Trevor Crabb and Brunner won 2-1(17-21, 21-15, 15-11) to advance to the semifinals.

Brunner and Trevor Crabb defeated Billy Allen and Alison Cerutti 2-0 (21-17, 21-19) in the semis.

Taylor Crabb and Sander were relegated to the contender’s bracket after losing in the quarterfinals against Trevor Crabb and Brunner on Saturday, but they were able to jump back into the winner’s bracket after defeating Miles Evans and Chase Buddinger 2-1 (14-21, 21-17, 15-10) on Sunday morning.

In the semis, Taylor Crabb and Sander defeated Tri Bourne and 2022 Hermosa Beach Pro Open champion Chaim Schalk 2-1 (17-21, 22-20, 15-12) to set up a rematch with Trevor Crabb and Brunner.

The championship match started similarly to the quarterfinals matchup, with Taylor Crabb and Sander winning 21-19. Taylor Crabb converted 14 kills on 22 attacks, leading to a set win.

Trevor Crabb and Brunner found their groove in the second set. It went back and forth, but Brunner and Trevor Crabb went on a 10-5 run after leading 11-8 to knot the series at one apiece.

In the decisive third set, Brunner’s defense gave his team an early lead. The former UC Santa Barbara middle blocker recorded five blocks in the team’s first 10 points which stifled the opposition’s offense.

The final set was never in doubt as Trevor Crabb and Brunner had a lead as big as six points. The duo cruised in the last set to a 15-10 victory.

Trevor Crabb said that the quarterfinals matchup against Taylor Crabb and Sander helped the duo figure out a way to win on Sunday.

“(The adjustments) were the same as yesterday, just cleaning up our side of the net,” Trevor Crabb said. “I was shanking some easy digs, those easy balls that we should score on, and I was able to clean it up in the second and third.”

Brunner has never lost when he has entered the Hermosa Beach Pro Open.

When asked if he is the King of Hermosa Beach, Brunner said, “I mean, I usually leave that call to Trevor, but I mean, there could be an argument for that name at this point.”

Trevor Crabb and Brunner asserted their dominance throughout their tournament run. They swept every opponent except Taylor Crabb and Sander in both of their matchups.

“You can’t really take plays off against these teams,” Trevor Crabb said about the competition in the tournament. “You have to play at a high level if you want to win these tournaments.”

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