Reincarnate gives Bob Baffert his seventh straight Los Alamitos Derby win

• July 9, 2023

Death, political debates on social media and Bob Baffert winning the Los Alamitos Derby.  The Hall of Fame trainer has practically owned the race since it was transferred from Hollywood Park to Los Alamitos in 2014, and the 10th running was no different Saturday.

Reincarnate, the even-money favorite who was freshened coming off a 13th-place showing in the Kentucky Derby on May 6, gave Baffert his seventh consecutive victory in the race, formerly known as the Swaps Stakes when run at Hollywood Park, and eighth in the past nine editions.

Jockey Juan Hernandez, who swept the three stakes races run during the nine-day L.A. County Fair meet that ends Sunday, was aboard for the victory and has ridden the Good Magic colt in two of his three lifetime victories. He broke sharply, carved out fractions of 23.23, 47.75 and 1:11.99 while going gate to wire and finished the mile and an eighth in 1:48.72.

“I loved his race,” Hernandez said. “He broke really, really sharp. He was comfortable all the way.”

Baffert, who used the Los Alamitos Derby as a prep for West Coast before he won the Travers Stakes in 2017, has similar plans with Reincarnate, who’s been a model of consistency throughout his nine starts. He’s finished off the board only once and improved his bankroll to $420,650 with the winner’s check Saturday for $75,000.

“We’d like to do the same with this colt (run in the Travers),” Baffert said. “I told (Juan) that he was back to how he was when he won the Sham (Jan. 8 at Santa Anita). It was very important to get the win with him, especially when you know how good Skinner is.”

Skinner, who was scratched the day before the Kentucky Derby when he spiked a fever and again before the Affirmed Stakes at Santa Anita on June 4 when trainer John Shirreffs reportedly didn’t like the way he galloped preparing for the race, went postward as the 6-5 second choice and closed for second under Mike Smith, 2 1/2 lengths behind the winner.

“These stakes races always come up tough in California,” Baffert said. “We’re like the SEC (Southeastern Conference) out here.”

Hernandez had a ton of horse underneath him the whole way.

“He looked like he was just waiting for company because he put his ears up,” he said. “When the company came around the three-eighths pole, I asked him and he picked it up really well. In the stretch he switched leads and he opened up again. Bob had him ready today.”

Skinner, third in the Santa Anita Derby, held second by 2 1/2 lengths over 23-1 longshot Prince Abu Dhabi. Abeliefinthislivin and Smart Mo completed the order of finish in a field shortened to five with the scratch of Yellow Brick.

Ramon Vazquez has virtually clinched his fourth consecutive Los Alamitos riding title heading into the final day of the meet. He has nine victories and is scheduled to ride in five of Sunday’s 10 races. Only Geovanni Franco, who has five victories and is slated to ride five horses Sunday, has an outside chance to tie or catch Vazquez.

In the trainers’ race, Baffert, who won two races Saturday, leads with five victories, one more than Peter Miller, Hector Palma, Jesus Uranga and Milton Pineda.

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NBA reveals long-awaited plans for in-season tournament that’ll start in November

• July 9, 2023

By TIM REYNOLDS (AP Basketball Writer)

LAS VEGAS — Coming soon: the NBA Cup.

The NBA unveiled the details Saturday of its inaugural in-season tournament, which will have a prize pool of about $18 million and will be capped by a championship game — which won’t count in the standings — in Las Vegas on Dec. 9. It’s an event that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver wanted for years, giving teams a trophy to play for during the regular season.

And now, it’s finally reality.

“This is a concept that has been rumbling around the league office for about 15 years,” Silver said. “It’s not a new concept in sports. For those that follow particularly international soccer, it’s a long tradition of having in-season tournaments … so we thought, what a perfect opportunity for a global league like the NBA and it’s a perfect fit for our game.”

The tournament payouts for players on standard contracts will be $500,000 apiece for those on the winning team, $200,000 apiece for those on the runner-up, $100,000 apiece for those on the teams that lose semifinal games and $50,000 for those on the teams that lose in the quarterfinals.

Two-way players on any of those teams are eligible for up to half those amounts, depending on how many games they spend on a roster during the tournament.

“I can see what the aim could be,” said Miami guard Josh Richardson, who follows global soccer closely and understands the parallels Silver makes when comparing it to in-season tournaments that sport has around the world. “It gives you another chance to win something, for real. I think that’s a big part.”

Games will start on Nov. 3, being played mostly on Tuesdays and Fridays in November — except for Nov. 7, when the NBA will play no games to commemorate Election Day. That announcement came Saturday, and will mark the second consecutive year when the NBA has no games on that date with hopes of promoting civic awareness and engagement.

The Final Four will be in Las Vegas.

“This city knows how to host big events,” Silver said.

Teams were assigned to a five-team group. They’ll play one game against each other; the six group winners will make the quarterfinals, as will the best two second-place teams from the groups.

They were chosen as follows:

West Group A — Memphis, Phoenix, the Los Angeles Lakers, Utah and Portland.

West Group B — Denver, the Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans, Dallas and Houston.

West Group C — Sacramento, Golden State, Minnesota, Oklahoma City and San Antonio.

East Group A — Philadelphia, Cleveland, Atlanta, Indiana and Detroit.

East Group B — Milwaukee, New York, Miami, Washington and Charlotte.

East Group C — Boston, Brooklyn, Toronto, Chicago and Orlando.

“I’m excited about this midseason tournament,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. “I think it’s going to add an element of energy and excitement for the players and coaches and the fans. I think it’s a great idea.”

Joe Dumars, the league’s executive vice president of basketball operations and a Hall of Famer as a player, said he thinks players will like the idea — even if it takes some time.

“Everybody’s not going to buy in right away,” Dumars said. “That can’t be the goal, that everybody’s going to buy in from Day 1. These things take time. And I think as time goes on you can build this up and people can really get into it.”

Tournament games, except for the championship game, will all count in the standings — much in the same way that the WNBA runs its Commissioner’s Cup event.

It’s been known for some time that teams will be getting only an 80-game schedule when the 2023-24 slate is released by the NBA in the coming weeks.

Games 81 and 82 will be added in December; this is where things get tricky.

Teams that don’t make the knockout stage will be assigned two games against other non-knockout qualifiers, and those will be the missing two games on their schedules.

For the eight teams that make the knockout stage, the quarterfinal game becomes the 81st game added to their schedule. Quarterfinal losers — two from the East, two from the West — will play each other, and that’ll be the 82nd game on their schedules. Semifinalists — again, two from the East, two from the West — will play, and that game becomes the 82nd game on their schedules.

That means the championship game will be one of 83 games on the schedule for the last two teams standing. And since the season is 82 games, that game won’t count in the standings, nor will the stats count for anything. They’ll be playing for money and the trophy.

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Julio Urias will open Dodgers’ second half, Clayton Kershaw’s return uncertain

• July 9, 2023

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers’ starting rotation has been unsettled and in flux for most of the first half. Why should the All-Star break change that?

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Julio Urias will start the team’s first game of the second half Friday at Citi Field against the New York Mets. Everything else, Roberts said, is still under discussion.

Left-hander Clayton Kershaw will be eligible to come off the injured list for the series in New York, but Roberts was noncommittal about whether Kershaw will be ready to pitch then.

“I think every day has been better,” Roberts said of Kershaw, who has not pitched since June 27 in Colorado due to a sore shoulder. “From what I saw (in Kershaw’s flat-ground throwing session), it looks good. And he’ll just take his break. And we’ll see what we do from there.”

Roberts said Kershaw has thrown only a handful of pitches off a mound this week. He would likely have to throw at least one bullpen session to test his shoulder and prepare for a return to the rotation. But Roberts said he doesn’t think Kershaw would need to throw to hitters – whether in a live batting practice session or on a rehab assignment – before coming off the IL.

Meanwhile, rookie right-handers Emmet Sheehan and Bobby Miller threw live batting practice to hitters briefly Saturday afternoon.

The Dodgers used an opener, left-hander Alex Vesia, for right-hander Michael Grove on Saturday “to give Shohei (Ohtani) different looks … that’s probably the impetus, the driver,” Roberts said.

TAYLOR TIME

Chris Taylor will be ready to rejoin the Dodgers when they open the second half in New York, Roberts said.

The utility player was assigned to the Dodgers’ team in the Arizona Complex League and began a minor-league injury-rehabilitation assignment Friday. Taylor played five innings in left field and went 1 for 2 with a single, a strikeout and a walk.

Roberts said Taylor will get additional at-bats in simulated-game settings arranged at Camelback Ranch but won’t need to continue his rehab assignment before rejoining the Dodgers.

“The hope is that he’ll be back with us when we start this road trip,” Roberts said. “I don’t think he needs to play more. I think that he’ll get some at-bats, some simulated things we’ll kind of put together. But as far as games, I don’t think he needs it.”

Taylor has been sidelined since June 16 with a knee injury, though he made pinch-hit appearances on June 20 and 21.

MOOKIE MAGIC

Over the 10 games before Saturday, Mookie Betts had reached base in 28 of 47 plate appearances – 12 walks, two singles, eight doubles and six home runs – while driving in 14 runs and scoring 13.

According to OptaStats, Betts is just the seventh player since 1920 to have a dozen extra-base hits, a dozen walks, a dozen runs scored and a dozen RBI in a 10-game span. The others were Babe Ruth in 1921, Rogers Hornsby in 1928, Mel Ott in 1929, Lou Gehrig in 1935, Vic Wertz in 1950 and Ted Williams in 1950 and 1951.

Betts was the runner-up for the National League MVP in his first season with the Dodgers, the abbreviated 2020 season. But Roberts said Betts “is as comfortable as he’s been in a Dodger uniform” and is playing even better now than he did in 2020.

“I think so. Yeah,” Roberts said. “You know, 2020 was a sprint. Everything was new to him. I think this is the true authentic version of Mookie. And so I think for me, yeah, this is probably the best version I’ve seen.”

UP NEXT

The Dodgers are off for the All-Star break.

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Angels’ Brandon Drury gets good news from MRI on shoulder

• July 9, 2023

LOS ANGELES — In a season in which the Angels have gotten so much bad medical news, they were relieved with what they learned after Brandon Drury underwent an MRI exam on his sore left shoulder.

The tests showed only inflammation, with no structural damage, so the Angels infielder received a cortisone injection.

Drury said on Saturday, a day after the MRI, that he already felt better.

“I have more range of motion,” he said. “I’m feeling a little better each day now.”

Asked when he thinks he could play again, Drury said: “If it keeps progressing like I think it’s going to, hopefully right after the break or shortly after the break. I’ll probably start to hit and start taking some ground balls in the next couple days.”

The Angels are already without Mike Trout for at least another month after he fractured a bone in his wrist. Anthony Rendon is currently out — although not on the injured list — with a shin contusion from a foul ball.

A setback for Drury would have been another difficult blow for the Angels. Drury is hitting .277 with 14 homers and an .822 OPS. Drury was also hitting .303 with runners in scoring position.

He hurt his left shoulder on a diving play on June 28. Initially, he didn’t think it was anything serious, so he didn’t think he needed an MRI.

“I was just hoping I jammed it and needed some days to let it rest,” Drury said. “But it wasn’t getting much better so I decided to get the MRI yesterday.”

MORE INJURY NEWS

Left-hander Matt Moore (strained oblique) threw a simulated game on Saturday morning.

Moore threw 20 pitches and said he “felt great.” Manager Phil Nevin said Moore will face hitters again on Tuesday in Arizona.

One of the hitters who stood in the box against Moore on Saturday was shortstop Zach Neto (strained oblique). Neto did not swing the bat against Moore, but he will be ready to swing against live pitching in the coming days. Neto will also be sent to Arizona during the All-Star break.

“He’ll come back on Thursday and we’ll re-evaluate where he’s at,” Nevin said. “If he’s ready, we’ll get him out there.”

Rendon (left shin contusion) remained on the active roster, even though he was too sore to start.

Outfielder Taylor Ward (groin) felt a tweak during Tuesday’s game, but he and the Angels believed he was well enough to play on Friday night. After the game, Nevin decided that Ward needed some more time, so he did not start him on Saturday.

“He said he felt OK but some of the lateral movements were a little off,” Nevin said. “It was worrisome enough for me to say ‘Let’s keep him out today and give him six days off.’”

NOTES

David Fletcher was not in the lineup for the fourth straight game on Saturday, with Andrew Velazquez starting instead. He had started nine of the first 10 games after he was recalled from Triple-A. “I just like the way Squid is playing defense,” Nevin said. “He’s putting the ball in play, doing everything we’re asking as far as bunting. The defense has been the deciding factor.” …

Nevin said Ohtani is scheduled to start the first game after the All-Star break, against the Houston Astros next Friday at Angel Stadium. Reid Detmers and Tyler Anderson will start the following two games of the series. The Angels are then undecided in which order Griffin Canning and Patrick Sandoval will pitch against the New York Yankees, with Jaime Barría working in the series finale.

UP NEXT

Angels (RHP Shohei Ohtani, 7-4, 3.32) vs. Astros (TBD), Friday, 6:38 p.m., Angel Stadium, Bally Sports West,  830 AM.

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Lakers’ Jalen Hood-Schifino progressing as floor general, defender

• July 9, 2023

LAS VEGAS — Lakers first-round draft pick Jalen Hood-Schifino knew it would take time to adjust from the collegiate game to the professional level.

But even after three summer-league games, progress has already been made.

“Every game I’ve gotten better and been more under control, playing my game more,”  Hood-Schifino said after the team’s Saturday practice. “Overall, it’s been good.”

Hood-Schifino’s stat line from Friday’s win over the Golden State Warriors, while well-rounded, doesn’t jump off the page: nine points, five rebounds, four steals, three assists and a block.

It was his first game not scoring in double figures during summer league.

But Hood-Schifino’s offensive impact goes deeper than his scoring numbers.

The Lakers are looking for him to be a steady ball handler and playmaker. That’s where the progress is being made.

“The beginning of game one [against the Heat], he was a little passive,” forward Cole Swider said. “Then, he got super aggressive and I think [Friday] he found that medium.

“He wasn’t as efficient as he may have wanted to be, but he was able to find guys, he was passing, getting other guys involved. He was a floor general, more than anything.”

Hood-Schifino didn’t record a turnover in the 29 minutes he played Friday. He had three giveaways in the 29 minutes he played in the summer league-opening loss to the Warriors and five in his 31 minutes against the Spurs.

Being aggressive, getting downhill and creating scoring opportunities for his teammates is what the Lakers are emphasizing for him offensively.

But defensively is what the Lakers are looking for the most – and what will give Hood-Schifino the best chance of cracking the rotation once the 2023-24 season starts.

“We challenged him and [second-year guard Max Christie] to take the defensive matchup,” Lakers assistant and summer-league coach JD DuBois said. “And that’s going to be his calling card early. Can you guard point of attack, get into the ball, pursue and guard without fouling?

“As long as he can progress in those areas, we have enough guys on offense to where he’ll be able to fit in. Defense will be that foundation for him.”

DuBois has liked what he’s seen from Hood-Schifino defensively while acknowledging improvements can be made.

“We’re happy with it, but we always know there’s improvement in that,” DuBois added. “And that comes with reps. Understanding the coverages, the actions and the speed of the game. There’s a normal lack of understanding just because he’s three games in.”

Rookie signings

The Lakers signed Hood-Schifino and Maxwell Lewis to their rookie contracts Saturday.

The NBA’s collective bargaining agreement includes rookie-scale contracts for first-round picks based on where the player is drafted.

First-round picks sign four-year deals, with the first two seasons fully guaranteed and the final two being team options. Hood-Schifino, who was selected at No. 17, likely signed a four-year, $17.88 million contract with a 2023-24 salary of $3.69 million, according to Spotrac.

The 6-foot-6, 215-pound Hood-Schifino was Indiana’s second-leading scorer last season, averaging 13.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 32 games. He was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a second-team All-Big Ten honoree.

The Lakers acquired the draft rights to Lewis, the No. 40 pick in the draft, in a four-team deal the day after the draft.

The team likely used the new second-round pick exception in the new collective bargaining agreement to sign Lewis.

With the exception, players selected in the second round can sign a three-year deal in which the first season’s salary is worth up to the minimum salary for a player with one year of service ($1.8 million) or a four-year contract in which the first year’s salary is worth up to the minimum salary for a player with two years of service ($2 million). Both must have a team option for the final season of the contract.

The second-round exception allows teams to sign their second-round picks without having to use their midlevel exception, which was common.

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Boy killed, man injured in La Habra shopping center shooting

• July 9, 2023

A boy was killed and a man was injured Friday evening in a La Habra shopping center shooting, police said.

The shooting was reported around 8:35 p.m. in the area of 1340 S. Beach Boulevard, near Imperial Highway, where a boy was found with gunshot wounds and died despite lifesaving efforts, according to a news release from the La Habra Police Department. A man was also shot and transported to UCI medical center, but the release did not state his condition.

Their exact ages were not immediately released.

Police did not identify a suspect in the release, but said there was no ongoing threat to the community. It wasn’t immediately clear whether a weapon was recovered at the scene, which is in the Westridge Plaza shopping center.

Authorities urged anyone with information to contact the La Habra Police Department at 562-383-4300.

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Wimbledon: No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz admits he’s aiming for Novak Djokovic

• July 8, 2023

WIMBLEDON, England — Let other players downplay their championship chances at Wimbledon. Let other players profess – feign? – humility. Let other players express caution in Week 1 that it’s still way too early to be talking about the possibility of reaching the final at the end of the fortnight.

Carlos Alcaraz is not interested in any of that. He is No. 1 in the ATP rankings and No. 1 in the seedings at the All England Club and embraces that status. Every bit of it.

So on Saturday, after reaching the fourth round at the All England Club with a 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 7-5 victory over No. 25 Nicolas Jarry at Centre Court, when he was asked whether it comes as something of a shock to him to already be one of the faces of the Grand Slam tournament, and already one of its favorites, at the ripe old age of 20, Alcaraz shrugged.

“Well, I’m not surprised, honestly, ’cause I know my skills. I know what I’m capable of,” Alcaraz said, wearing the white bucket hat that’s become his signature news conference accessory. “(It’s) something that I work really hard (for): to be in that position, to be what I am right now.”

And when he was asked how difficult it is to avoid thinking about a potential matchup against Novak Djokovic – owner of four consecutive trophies, and seven overall, at Wimbledon; owner of a men’s-record 23 major championships in total – Alcaraz again dismissed the premise.

“Well, not only tennis fans, sports fans, want (that) final,” Alcaraz said, his ever-present smile melting into a chuckle. “Myself, as well, honestly.”

He then briefly, but ever so briefly, trotted out the types of things athletes are often trained to think they’re “supposed” to tell the media – about how he’s “really focused on the next round” … and how the next player he’d meet produces “great tennis on grass” … and how that’ll “be really tough” … and blah, blah, blah – before course-correcting and returning to a more frank glimpse into his mindset.

“But obviously,” said Alcaraz, who will face 2021 runner-up Matteo Berrettini for a quarterfinal berth, “my dream is to play a final here. Even better (if it) is Novak.”

Soon enough, the reigning U.S. Open champion was back on a roll, discussing how he feels “really comfortable” in the grass-court event’s main stadium … how he has “a lot of confidence right now” … how his style doesn’t “change too much,” no matter what the surface is … how his flexibility and explosiveness are the two qualities of his game he’s proudest of.

None of it sounded unduly arrogant. None of it seemed untrue, either. Especially when taking into account what other players say about Alcaraz.

“He’s showing who he is,” said Berrettini, who missed Wimbledon a year ago because he tested positive for COVID-19 and beat Alexander Zverev in straight sets Saturday. “The first time I played him two years ago, I felt this kid is special.”

No. 10 Frances Tiafoe, a 25-year-old American, was among the players whose third-round contests were affected by yet more rain Saturday: His match was early in the third set after he dropped the first two against three-time major semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov when they were sent home for the evening.

The winner of that one will go up against No. 6 Holger Rune, the 20-year-old from Denmark who saved two match points – and benefited from his foe’s questionable decision to try an underarm serve at 8-all in the final tiebreaker – along the way to edging No. 31 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10-8).

Rune was twice a point from losing at 5-4 in the fifth set; then he trailed 8-5 in the first-to-10 concluding tiebreaker before racing to the finish, helped in part by taking advantage of that short serve that he punished with a winning return.

“Yeah,” Rune said about the underarm offering, “I wouldn’t have done it.”

A big matchup in the women’s fourth round will be 2022 runner-up Ons Jabeur against 2011 and 2014 champion Petra Kvitova. Also moving on were defending champion Elena Rybakina, No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 13 Beatriz Haddad Maia, No. 21 Ekaterina Alexandrova and No. 25 Madison Keys.

All of the wet weather wreaked havoc on the schedule; Alcaraz was on court for the second day in a row, for example. That was nothing compared to No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas, whose 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-4 win over Laslo Djere came on the fifth consecutive day of competition for the runner-up at the 2021 French Open and the 2023 Australian Open.

Tsitsipas next faces unseeded American Chris Eubanks, who extended what is by far the best stretch of his career by tacking on another 23 aces and 65 total winners while beating Christopher O’Connell 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2).

Eubanks, never before past the second round at any Slam, complained about hating playing on grass as recently as a month ago, but he’s now won eight matches in a row on the green stuff, including a run to his first career ATP title last week in Mallorca, Spain.

“I think it’s slowly, slowly growing on me,” he said. “But at this point, I think borderline I might say it’s my favorite surface.”

​ Orange County Register 

Taps restaurant and brewery empire closes all locations

• July 8, 2023

“Taps will be closed until further notice,” read the sign taped to the front entrance of the Brea Taps Fish House and Brewery on Friday, July 7. The restaurant had served the community since 1999 and sparked an empire that grew to five locations.

The sudden announcement extends to Taps’ other restaurants and breweries in Tustin, Yorba Linda, and Corona. Roughly 200 employees are affected.

“This is nothing remotely close to a restaurant closure of any normalcy,” Taps founder Joe Manzella said Saturday. “It is the complete and total collapse of a $30 million restaurant group that has been in business for a quarter century.”

The restaurant and brewery, which has produced award-winning lagers and ales over the past two decades, helped lead the craft-beer movement in Orange County while cementing Brea as a destination-dining spot.

Manzella, chief executive of Manzella Restaurant Group and recognized as one of Orange County’s most successful independent restaurateurs, opened Taps Fish House and Brewery in Brea in 1999 along with his sister and late father.

“Manzella hit the bull’s-eye with Taps, which appealed to everyone from wealthy businessmen to sports fans to date-night couples,” the Orange County Register reported in 2014. Following the success of his first eatery, he opened locations in Yorba Linda, Anaheim, Tustin (a sprawling 19,000-square-foot brewery), and Corona.

The closure of all Taps restaurants comes on the heels of Manzella’s other ventures shuttering.  The Catch in Anaheim closed in 2021, reportedly due to pandemic-related reasons, and Lillie’s Q ceased operations in 2017.

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In 2020, Manzella Restaurant Group tapped restaurant industry veteran Randy Teffeteller, founder and managing partner of West Coast Ventures and Resources, as acting CEO. He was terminated in September 2022, according to a letter provided by Manzella. The letter alleges dozens of problems with the restaurants’ management.

Teffeteller said by email on Saturday that he is unable to comment at this time.

Manzella contends that financial mismanagement eventually forced the company into debt consolidation, which, in part, led to the closures.

“There was no operational issue,” he said. “We didn’t suddenly forget how to serve Chilean sea bass and Irish Red.”

When asked if he hopes to reopen Taps, Manzella says, without hesitation, “Absolutely.”

​ Orange County Register