US men’s volleyball rebounds against France

• July 9, 2023

ANAHEIM — The morning after Team USA’s fourth set from hell U.S. coach John Speraw worked the room at his team’s practice trying to see if there was anything left in the tank.

“I was trying to gauge it today at serve and pass and I was walking around and talking to the guys, ‘how are you feeling? What do you think? Are we going to be able to go full speed?’” Speraw recalled.

The answers would be late in the second set of Team USA’s Volleyball Nations League match with reigning Olympic champion France Saturday night at the Anaheim Convention Center.

In a scenario that eerily resembled the U.S.’s meltdown, the pivotal fourth set of Friday night’s upset loss to Argentina, the team dropped a trio of set points before nailing down the second set and rolling to a 3-0 (25-23, 27-25, 27-25) victory.

The win was a tribute to the resiliency of a veteran squad that found a way to bounce back after wasting five match points before losing Friday’s fourth set 43-41 and then, shell shocked, dropping the fifth of the 2 hour, 26 minute match.

The U.S. closes out VNL pool play against Bulgaria Sunday (8:30 p.m.)

“I don’t know if there was one difference,” Speraw said. “There wasn’t a change in some mentality. It’s just that we made that play tonight.

“I still don’t think we were perfect. Some of the issues that hurt us last night hurt us tonight as well but we just made a couple more plays. I was really impressed with how we came out even though we were battling some obvious fatigue.”

The match was also a reminder of the parity within elite men’s international volleyball.

“Ten of the 12 teams at the Olympics next summer could win a medal,” Speraw said.

France, the gold medal winner in Tokyo and last year’s inaugural Volleyball Nations League champion beating the U.S. in five sets last July, won’t be among the eight teams advancing to the VNL final eight later this summer in Poland.

Not that France didn’t give Speraw and the U.S. some nervous moments even in the third set when the Americans couldn’t close out the night on two match points late.

“If it had gone four it could have been anybody, it could have been anybody on the court,” Speraw said. “I was looking back there and I almost told everybody on the bench to start warming up, just because I wasn’t sure how that was all going to end. But it worked out great.”

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UFC 290: Alexander Volkanovski beats Yair Rodriguez with third-round TKO for featherweight title

• July 9, 2023

LAS VEGAS — Alexander Volkanovski re-asserted himself as the featherweight champion with a technical knockout over Yair Rodriguez at 4:19 of the third round Saturday night in UFC 290.

Rodriguez was the interim champion after Volkanovski temporarily moved up to lightweight, but the Australian left little doubt who was the better fighter in running his record to 26-2 in what was scheduled as a five-round bout.

Former President Donald Trump, who is running for the Republican nomination in 2024, was among those in attendance. He entered the venue shortly before the main card began, walking next to UFC President Dana White and drawing roars from the T-Mobile Arena crowd. Trump shook hands with Las Vegas Raiders star defensive end Maxx Crosby, a major UFC fan who sat behind him. Jamal Murray of the NBA champion Denver Nuggets also had a floor seat.

Volkanovski, a minus-390 favorite according to FanDuel Sportsbook, took Rodriguez (16-4) to the mat near the 2-minute mark of the first round and kept him there to dictate the pace. That became a theme as the second round played out much the same way, with Volkanovski, 34, also delivering several shots to Rodriguez’s face.

Rodriguez, who is from Mexico, then took the fight to Volkanovski in the third round, preventing the ground and pound with a series of kicks to put him on the defense. But with a minute left, Volkanovski slammed Rodriguez, 30, to the mat and pounded him with rights and lefts before referee Herb Dean stepped in.

This was Volkanovski’s first fight since a loss by unanimous decision to lightweight champion lightweight Islam Makhachev on Feb. 11. That ended Volkanovski’s 22-fight winning streak, and after the brief elevation to lightweight, he dropped back down to featherweight for this fight.

Before moving up, Volkanovski had won five title fights to make a strong argument as the best featherweight of all time. He also has been in the conversation for the top current pound-for-pound fighter, and Volkanovski is second in the UFC’s official rankings to Jon Jones.

The Volkanovski-Rodriguez match highlighted the International Fight Week card that included a second championship bout.

Brazil’s Alexandre Pantoja captured the flyweight belt by beating champion Brandon Moreno of Mexico, winning by split decision. Judges Derek Cleary and Junichiro Kamijo gave the Pantoja the victory at 48-47 in the five-round fight, but Ben Cartlidge saw the bout quite differently with a 49-46 score in favor of Moreno.

Pantoja (26-5) collapsed to the mat after the decision was announced. He has beaten Moreno (21-7-2) in all three meetings.

“I worked so hard,” Pantoja said. “I left everything I had.”

Moreno, a minus-196 favorite, dominated the second round, but had a hard defending Pantoja’s ground game in the other four. Even so, the battle was fairly even for the most part, and the blood on both fighters’ faces underscored how much each went after the other.

Moreno won the belt nearly a year ago and successfully defended it in January.

Robbie Lawler, who was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on Thursday, heads into retirement on a high note after knocking out Niko Price just 38 seconds into the first round of their welterweight bout.

Lawler, 41, ends his career with a 30-16 record and one no-contest. He teared up watching a video tribute to him following the fight, and the crowd roared chanting his first name.

“It was a hard training camp,” Lawler said. “Nothing felt good. Today was the first day I felt good.”

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Clippers fall to Jazz in summer league opener

• July 9, 2023

LAS VEGAS — Xavier Moon made six 3-point shots on his way to a team-high 26 points, but the Clippers could not stop Utah Jazz rookie Keyonte George (33 points, 10 rebounds) and dropped their NBA Summer League opener, 104-99, on Saturday night.

George, the No. 16 overall selection in last month’s draft, finished 12 for 24 from the field (6 for 15 from 3-point range) and Ochai Agbaji had 21 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots to lead Utah (1-0). Micah Potter scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds and UCLA product Johnny Juzang added 13 points (3 for 5 from 3-point range) for the Jazz.

Moon finished 10 for 14 from the field and 6 for 8 from behind the arc in 24 minutes for the Clippers (0-1).

Second-year guard Jason Preston had 15 points and 10 assists in 29 minutes and second-year center Moussa Diabate had 11 points, 12 rebounds (six offensive) and two blocked shots in 24 minutes. Kobe Brown finished with 11 points and nine rebounds and Jordan Miller scored 12 points.

The Clippers trailed 49-39 at halftime and trimmed the margin to six after three quarters, but they could not make up any more ground in a high-scoring fourth quarter for both sides (39 points each). Utah extended its lead back to 16 points on a George 18-foot jumper with 4:25 left, but a trio of Moon 3-pointers in the final 25 seconds tightened the final margin.

The Clippers finished 4 for 13 from the free-throw line compared to 11 for 12 for the Jazz.

The Clippers’ next game is Monday at 7:30 p.m. PT against the Sacramento Kings. They have afternoon games on Wednesday (vs. Memphis, 12:30 p.m.) and Friday (vs. Philadelphia, 1:30 p.m.) before a fifth game against an opponent to be determined at a day and time to be announced.

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Denis Bouanga’s goal gives LAFC 1-1 draw with Earthquakes

• July 9, 2023

LOS ANGELES — Feeling downright quaint compared to Tuesday’s record-setting attendance at the Rose Bowl, the Los Angeles Football Club returned home to BMO Stadium on Saturday hoping to end a three-match losing streak.

A draw against the San Jose Earthquakes in front of an announced crowd of 22,033 — some 60,000 fewer than the Fourth of July crowd that watched LAFC lose 2-1 to the Galaxy — was enough to stop their slide.

Denis Bouanga scored his 12th goal of the season, smashing a penalty kick down the middle that leveled the match in the first half. The French MLS All-Star earned the opportunity when he was fouled in the box attempting to sidestep a defender.

San Jose captain Christian Espinoza, also an All-Star, finished his 10th league goal of the year minutes earlier, giving the Earthquakes a short-lived lead.

LAFC (9-7-6, 33 points) dictated terms of the second half, especially after opposing goalkeeper Daniel De Sousa Brito was shown a red card in the 56th minute for a handball outside the box that disrupted an LAFC breakaway by Mateusz Bogusz following a perfectly weighted pass from Kellyn Acosta.

“We did enough to win tonight,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said. “We’re just having trouble crossing the finish line now.”

Still, the result produced the first home points for LAFC since June 21. They have tallied eight points over their last six matches at BMO Stadium, including a 2-1 victory over San Jose in May, when Carlos Vela connected on a game-winning penalty kick in the 95th minute.

The last of three regular season meetings between the California clubs on Saturday — the first draw in 15 all-time meetings — featured the return of Senegalese center back Mamadou Fall off a 12-month loan to La Liga’s Villareal CF.

Fall was slotted into the middle of the LAFC back line alongside Honduran Denil Maldonado, who has been the team’s most reliable interior defender for the past two months.

“He’s been here a few days,” Maldonado said of Fall. “So to have the opportunity to build the friendship and more importantly everyone is here to provide and put their input and give their all from the team. So it is a good feeling to get that vibe from players that are coming back or incoming.”

With injuries, international duty, and fatigue stretching LAFC center back options thin, Fall’s availability was welcome, albeit challenging, the 20-year-old defender said.

“Throwing Fall in right away without a proper preseason and having to play 90 minutes is never easy,” Cherundolo noted after the match.

In Spain, Fall primarily played with Villareal’s B team, registering nearly 2,000 minutes after 22 starts with that group. He played a pair of appearances with the senior squad.

Fall noted that the key lesson he took from training and competing in Spain over the past year was to “keep it simple and smart.”

Over two seasons with LAFC, Fall played 35 regular season matches and made 29 starts. In the months before transferring last August, Fall appeared to fall out of favor with Cherundolo, starting one of the last 11 games he was available after doing so in 13 of the club’s first 14 matches.

Fall returned to LAFC with a maturity he did not have when he left, coaches and players said.

On the field, they welcomed his physical play, ability to run down attackers, close spaces, and to be a threat for headers on set pieces. As well as strong passing out of the back.

“That’s what I expect to see,” Cherundolo said. “I would also expect to see a few tactical mistakes here and there, which is completely normal and natural and common for younger defenders anywhere in the world.”

After creating a couple dangerous chances with passes deep into the San Jose end, a Fall foible prompted the Earthquakes (7-7-8, 29 points) goal a half hour into the match.

Moments after he had put Fall in the spin cycle, San Jose captain Christian Espinoza outraced the long-legged defender on a counterattack. A cutback of the ball toward the middle of the box created plenty of room to hit a left footed shot past John McCarthy.

“I made a couple mistakes,” Fall said. “I think it was a terrible defensive play from me. I will take it on myself that they scored.”

The finish, which Cherundolo described as another soft goal, was the Argentine midfielder’s fourth against LAFC, the most for any Earthquakes player.

“That’s always difficult to find some continuity and to understand each other’s movements and habits you want and need in a backline,” Cherundolo said. “We’re fighting that at the moment. Sometimes it’s an individual mistake. Sometimes a tactical error. Sometimes it’s a little unlucky. Sometimes a collective failure. It’s always something and those somethings need to go away fast.”

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Doctor practicing in Riverside arrested again on allegations of sexual assault of patients

• July 9, 2023

RIVERSIDE — A doctor with a practice in Riverside was arrested a second time on suspicion of alleged sexual assault of patients, authorities said Saturday.

Dr. Sam Sannoufi was arrested Friday after additional alleged victims came forward and told Riverside police he sexually assaulted them during examinations, said Riverside police Officer Ryan J. Railsback. Sannoufi was held without bail at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.

The 52-year-old Newport Beach resident was first arrested June 27, Railsback said. The arrest came after a “customer” made an allegation. “The adult female victim reported the assault occurred during a consultation exam at Timeless Skincare Laser Clinic, located in the 6900 block of Brockton Avenue in Riverside,” police said.

Sannoufi was released on $1 million bail after that arrest, he said.

“Investigators still believe there are other victims who have not yet come forward,” Railsback said.

Anyone with additional information is urged to contact Detective Stanley Hua at 951-353-7950 or SHuaRiversideCA.gov. Those wishing to remain anonymous can email RPDTipsRiversideCA.gov

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Dodgers hammer Angels for 10th consecutive win in Freeway Series

• July 9, 2023

LOS ANGELES — If the Angels head into the All-Star break with any confusion over how they should approach the looming trade deadline, the Dodgers did their best to convince them of a direction.

Depleted by injury, the Angels looked nothing like a team capable of making a second-half push as they were swatted aside 10-5 by the Dodgers Saturday afternoon.

Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, J.D. Martinez, Max Muncy and David Peralta each hit a home run. In the two-game series with the Angels, the Dodgers’ four All-Stars (Betts, Freeman, Martinez and Will Smith) hit eight home runs.

Betts’ homer led off the game for the Dodgers Saturday. It was his 10th leadoff home run this season, a franchise record, and 46th of his career, tied with Jimmy Rollins for seventh most all-time.

Shohei Ohtani did his usual solo star turn for the Angels, belting his 32nd home run of the season along with his sixth triple. Both totals lead the majors. Ohtani also had a single, drove in three of the Angels’ runs and finished one hit short of matching his 2019 cycle for the sixth time this season.

The Dodgers never looked back after the latest jump start from Betts. The win completed their second mini-sweep of their neighbors this season. The Dodgers have now beaten the Angels 10 consecutive times dating back to August 2021, winning those 10 matchups by a combined score of 60-17.

Never have the two teams seemed farther apart than this weekend.

The Dodgers reached the break with a four-game winning streak, five in their past six games, and sit a mere half-game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West.

The Angels, meanwhile, are spiraling in the wrong direction. They lost their season-high fifth consecutive game and haven’t even held the lead at the end of any single inning during the losing streak. Nine losses in their last 10 games have dropped them below .500 (45-46) for the first time since April 24 (11-12).

Injuries to Mike Trout, Brandon Drury, Zach Neto, Logan O’Hoppe, Gio Urshela and Anthony Rendon have reduced the Angels to the literal version of what they annually seem unable to evolve above – Ohtani surrounded by players striving to be replacement-level.

The Angels couldn’t get out of their own way in a five-run second inning that essentially decided matters.

After Muncy led off the inning with his homer, the Dodgers put runners at the corners with one out thanks to a hit batter (one of three by Detmers) and a squibbed single by James Outman.

Having seen enough of one Dodgers All-Star, Angels manager Phil Nevin opted to intentionally walk Betts, loading the bases for another Dodgers All-Star. Freeman ruined the strategy with a slicing two-run double to left field where Luis Rengifo had replaced Jo Adell after Adell injured his oblique during his first at-bat of the game.

It was just Rengifo’s 30th game in the outfield during his career and he made that obvious when another Dodgers All-Star, Will Smith, singled to left, driving in two more runs. Rengifo’s throw was majestic as it sailed high over home plate and to the backstop.

Freeman added a solo home run in the fourth inning, his third consecutive game with a home run. But he hit first base awkwardly trying to beat out an infield single in the fifth and left the game early.

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Los Alamitos horse racing consensus picks, Sunday, July 9, 2023

• July 9, 2023

The consensus box of Los Alamitos horse racing picks comes from handicappers Bob Mieszerski, Art Wilson, Terry Turrell and Eddie Wilson. Here are the picks for thoroughbred races on Sunday, July 9, 2023.

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Crabb brothers put on a show in quarterfinals matchup at Hermosa Beach Open

• July 9, 2023

HERMOSA BEACH — Brothers Taylor and Trevor Crabb are as close as can be. They live together, train together and they even hosted their own Instagram show titled “Drinking Whiskey with the Crabbs.”

But after the two were matched up against each other in the AVP Hermosa Beach Pro Open quarterfinals on Saturday, one could barely tell they knew each other.

During warmups there wasn’t a handshake, head nod or any real type of acknowledgment from the two brothers. During the match, they didn’t smile at each other or shake hands in between sets.

Instead, the two were locked in hopes of advancing to the next round of the tournament and avoiding dropping to the contender’s bracket where the losers would have to play an extra early morning game in order to get back to the winner’s bracket.

In the end, it was Trevor Crabb and his partner Theo Brunner who came out on top beating Taylor Crabb and Taylor Sander 2-1 in the quarterfinals.

“It’s always a battle playing against Taylor,” Trevor Crabb said. “We know each other so well and I think everyone in the crowd loves it. Me and my brother both love playing against each other and it just makes for good competition.”

Though the Crabb brothers grew up in Hawaii, they have long been volleyball royalty in Southern California. Both Taylor and Trevor played indoor volleyball at Long Beach State and reside in nearby Redondo Beach.

As a junior at Long Beach State, Taylor Crabb was named the National Collegiate Player of the Year in 2013 by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

Trevor turned pro after graduating from Long Beach State and was named AVP Rookie of the Year in 2014.

Coming into Hermosa Beach, Taylor Crabb was paired with Olympian volleyball player Taylor Sander while Trevor Crabb was paired with Theo Brunner who won the 2018 and 2022 Hermosa Beach Open.

Taylor Crabb and Sander were able to capture the first set 21-17. The duo took advantage of their attacking opportunities, recording a hitting percentage of 45.8%.

Set 2 went to Trevor Crabb and Brunner 21-15. Led by Trevor Crabb’s 11 kills in the second set, Trevor Crabb and Brunner forced a decisive third set.

The final set was tight with both teams only holding leads less than two, but there was a decisive call that shifted the tide of the game.

With Trevor Crabb and Brunner up 13-11, Brunner spiked a ball that landed just in front of Taylor Crabb and Sander’s side of the net. At first, the point was not counted as one official called a net fault.

But after talking it over with the down official, the call was overturned which gave Trevor Crabb and Brunner a 14-11 lead, and the duo eventually closed it out with a 15-11 set win.

Taylor Crabb, who was unavailable for postgame media availability, was visibly upset after the match was over as he argued with the officiating crew who made the call.

“It was their point,” Brunner said. “We would have won anyway, but that was their point.”

Though Trevor Crabb said he was happy to win the match, he didn’t feel much pressure going into the matchup with his brother.

“(Whenever we play each other) I always just look at him as my brother,” Trevor Crabb said.

Trevor is looking to win his first Hermosa Beach championship while his partner Brunner is looking to win his third championship.

“Winning is the goal for every tournament we come into, so it would be awesome if we can come out on top,” Trevor Crabb said.

Brunner and Trevor Crabb were awarded with an automatic bid to the tournament semifinals which will take place at 10:35 a.m. on Sunday.

Taylor Crabb and Sander still have a shot at making it back to the winner’s bracket.

They will face Miles Evans and former NBA player and dunk contest runner-up Chase Budinger in the contender’s bracket at 8:30 a.m.. The winner will jump their way back to the winner’s bracket and have a spot in the semifinals.

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