Volleyball Nations League: Team USA squanders chances in 5-set loss to Argentina

• July 8, 2023

ANAHEIM — In the end, Team USA wasted so many opportunities in a pivotal fourth set of its Volleyball Nations League match against Argentina on Friday night that U.S. coach John Speraw couldn’t keep them all straight.

“I don’t remember all of them off the top of my head,” Speraw said.

The U.S. blew five match points in a marathon fourth set that ultimately proved soul-crushing and let a series of early leads slip away in Argentina’s 25-18, 23-25, 23-25, 43-41, 15-12 victory at the Anaheim Convention Center.

“Certainly disappointed to have some of those swings and not finish it off,” Speraw said after the 2-hour, 36-minute match. “And so we’ll have to go back and try and learn from it.”

The U.S. players will need to be fast learners. Up next is a Saturday night match against France, the reigning Olympic champion.

“I thought of that in the middle of the fourth set. This is where this tournament gets really, really hard,” Speraw said. “I’m looking at some of our players and I just don’t know if we can roll out the same team tomorrow.”

Team USA was never able to find its rhythm in the opening set but seemed to take control of the match in the second and third sets.

“They came out pretty hot,” U.S. libero Erik Shoji said. “They were just crushing side out and also transition. They played great that first set, then we kind of settled in a little bit and started to slow them down a little bit and so they made some changes and we played well.”

The shift in momentum was due in part to Speraw’s decision to replace Jeff Jendryk with David Smith at middle blocker.

“We were looking for a little more offense,” Speraw said. “Jeff is a really offensive player and he was hitting .125 when I took him out, just hasn’t scored well enough. So I was looking for Dave to come in, maybe look for a little bit more of a serve, look for a little bit more experience against a team that runs a pretty unique offense, has a pretty unique setter. I think Dave did do that. He stuffed a bunch of really nice out-of-system balls. He killed some really nice balls but unfortunately had some errors I wish he could get back.”

Smith wasn’t alone in a fourth set that got away from the hosts.

The U.S. led 21-17 in the fourth before the wheels came off. Argentina had six service errors in the set only to be outdone by Team USA’s 12 errors.

“When we’re up on a team, especially late when they’re making mistakes we can’t mirror that. We can’t give them their points back that they gave us,” U.S. opposite hitter Matt Anderson said. “Those are the opportunities that great teams take advantage of and I consider us a great team. Unfortunately, we let ourselves down with those mistakes. The good thing to take away is (if) we get rid of those mistakes, we win these sets and we win these matches so that’s on us and that’s completely controllable by us.”

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

Max Christie shines again as Lakers beat Warriors for first summer league win

• July 8, 2023

LAS VEGAS — Max Christie’s impressive summer league play continued on Friday night at the Thomas & Mack Center, and his latest effort helped the Lakers secure their first win of the summer exhibition slate.

Christie had 22 points on 6-of-11 shooting (3 for 5 from 3-point range) to go with seven rebounds and two blocked shots in the Lakers’ 103-96 victory over the Golden State Warriors to close out the first day of play at the league-wide summer tournament.

Christie also drew the Lester Quinones assignment defensively, helping limit the Warriors guard to 15 points on 5-of-15 shooting.

The 6-foot-5 Christie, a second-year guard out of Michigan State, averaged 21 points on 54.2% shooting (62.5% from behind the arc), five rebounds and four assists in the Lakers’ two California Classic games earlier this week in Sacramento – losses to Miami and San Antonio.

Christie is looking to showcase his development as a ball-handler and on-ball creator this summer, and he is looking to become a more consistent part of the Lakers’ 2023-24 rotation.

“His habits are very unique,” Lakers assistant/summer league coach JD DuBois said. “He’s always there early, takes care of his body, he eats right [and] does the extra work. All the things that you know are needed to be good in this league, he does them. We’ve tried to put him in positions to showcase his overall skillset. It’s been good to watch him develop on both ends of the floor.”

Cole Swider added 19 points, going 5 for 8 from 3-point range. Colin Castleton (13 points, seven rebounds, six assists), D’Moi Hodge (11 points) and Sacha Killeya-Jones (10 points) also scored in double figures.

First-round draft pick Jalen Hood-Schifino had nine points, five rebounds, four steals, three assists and a block.

The Warriors were led by forward Gui Santos’ 25 points and seven rebounds.

The Lakers next face the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Thomas & Mack Center, the second of five games they will play in Las Vegas.

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

Mookie Betts, Dodgers’ All-Stars lead way in 9th straight victory over Angels

• July 8, 2023

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers’ All-Stars are steaming toward Seattle on hot streaks.

Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, J.D. Martinez and Will Smith, who are all headed to the All-Star Game next week, each hit homers as the Dodgers beat the free-falling Angels, 11-4, in the Freeway Series on Friday night at Dodger Stadium.

“It’s great and it’s contagious,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s hard not to say it started with Mookie. But Mookie, Freddie, Will, J.D. – when those guys are swinging the bats the way they are, we put up a lot of runs. Everyone followed suit tonight. A lot of action on the bases.”

Betts hit a pair of homers, and Freeman, Martinez and Smith each hit one. All told, the four players combined for nine hits and nine RBIs. Betts is now 15 for 31 with five homers in the past nine games.

“I don’t know,” Betts said. “I’m just trying to get good pitches to hit. I’ve got Freddie behind me so that always helps getting me some pitches to hit. And Smitty as well. It’s really just getting good pitches to hit and not missing them.”

The four All-Stars alone produced more than enough for the Dodgers to win their ninth consecutive game against the Angels, the longest streak since the teams began meeting in interleague play in 1997.

The Angels are desperate for a victory against anyone, let alone their rivals from up the freeway. The Angels have lost eight of their last nine games.

“It’s been rough,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said. “I said it the other day, we’ve got to play better. It’s little things in a lot of different areas that need to get better. Making no excuses.”

The Angels had two players selected to start the All-Star Game, but only Shohei Ohtani will actually be there. Mike Trout is hurt, as are Brandon Drury, Anthony Rendon, Zach Neto, Logan O’Hoppe and Gio Urshela.

The patchwork lineup that remained could not keep up with the Dodgers’ four All-Star hitters, who will be joined in Seattle by left-hander Clayton Kershaw (who will sit out the game).

Angels starter Griffin Canning gave up Freeman’s 16th homer of the season on a hanging curveball in the first inning. He allowed solo homers to Martinez and Betts in each of the next two innings.

Canning would have given up another homer, but center fielder Jo Adell robbed Max Muncy of a homer with a leap at the fence to end the first inning. Adell’s defense has been an issue for most of his major league career, but he’s improved enough for the Angels to trust him in center now.

“He really looks good out there,” Nevin said.

Martinez, who came into the game in a 2-for-28 slump, then doubled home a run to put the Dodgers ahead 4-0 in the third.

“My stuff just wasn’t very sharp,” Canning said. “Left some pitches up. And with good hitters, that’s what they’re going to do.”

Canning had been on a roll with a 2.25 ERA over six starts, but he’s now allowed nine runs in 8⅔ innings in his last two starts.

At that point, the Angels summoned former Dodger Tyler Anderson, who was available out of the bullpen because they didn’t pick him for a start in one of the final two games before the All-Star break.

Anderson saved the bullpen by pitching 4⅓ innings. He gave up Betts’ second homer of the game and his two-run double in the sixth, but before that, the Angels briefly had hope of getting back in the game against recently struggling Dodgers right-hander Tony Gonsolin.

Gonsolin retired all nine hitters he faced in the first three innings, but he gave up singles to Ohtani and Taylor Ward in the fourth. He then left a curveball to Mickey Moniak up in the zone, and Moniak drilled it for a three-run homer, pulling the Angels within 4-3.

That also snapped the Angels’ 23-inning scoreless streak against the Dodgers, which dated to last season.

Gonsolin also surrendered a Mike Moustakas homer in the seventh, but that was all he gave up in 6⅔ innings, which showed improvement from his recent work. Gonsolin had given up 15 earned runs in 14⅓ innings in his previous three games, all Dodgers losses.

“Take out the four runs tonight on a couple bad pitches and I’m very pleased with the outing overall,” Gonsolin said. “I felt I was really efficient, attacked the zone, attacked all the hitters.”

Coming on the heels of Julio Urías’ six-inning performance on Thursday, the Dodgers have had starters finish the sixth in consecutive games for the first time since June 13-14.

Angels starters have struggled throughout the team’s 1-8 stretch, posting a 6.96 ERA in that span. They’ve allowed 11 homers in 42⅔ innings.

“We talk about hitting being contagious,” Nevin said. “Pitching can be too. You look for a stopper here now and again. I believe we have that tomorrow with Reid (Detmers). He’s been throwing the ball great. We just haven’t jumped out to good starts. Runs are scoring early. We’re not scoring early. You get behind early and it puts a lot of pressure on a lot of people. There’s a lot of areas we have to play much better and we’re not doing that right now.”

Staff writer Bill Plunkett contributed to this story.

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

Steve Kerr sees Lakers’ Austin Reaves as one of NBA’s ‘rising young players’

• July 8, 2023

LAS VEGAS — For Steve Kerr, the Golden State Warriors and Team USA head coach, the decision to add Lakers guard Austin Reaves to the 12-player roster for the upcoming FIBA World Cup was a simple one.

Kerr got a close-up look at Reaves’ impact during their second-round playoff series this spring when the Lakers eliminated the Warriors in six games.

“For me, after watching him kick our butt for six straight games in the Western Conference [semifinals], it was a pretty easy choice,” Kerr quipped during a Zoom call with reporters Friday.

The honor is the latest accomplishment during a meteoric rise for Reaves, who re-signed with the Lakers on Thursday on a four-year, $56 million contract.

“Austin is one of the rising young players in this league,” Kerr said. “What you look for in FIBA is versatility. You want size defensively, the ability to switch and guard multiple positions and you want playmaking. You want guys who can make shots but also put the ball on the floor and are good passers. Austin is just, to me, he’s a basketball player. He’s a guy who impacts winning at a really high level.”

Reaves is coming off a breakout season in which he averaged 13 points, 3.4 assists and 3 rebounds in 28.8 minutes (64 games with 22 starts).

He stepped up in the postseason as the team’s third-leading scorer, averaging 16.9 points, 4.6 assists and 4.4 rebounds in 36.2 minutes (16 games, all starts) during the Lakers’ run to the conference finals.

The 25-year-old, who went undrafted out of Oklahoma in 2021, originally signed a two-way contract with the Lakers in August 2021 before signing a standard two-year NBA deal the following month ahead of the 2021-22 season.

Two years later, he’ll represent the U.S. on one of the biggest stages for international basketball.

“When you look at his story and see how he has kind of busted down the door and created an opportunity for himself on the NBA stage, there’s a real toughness that goes with that feel, shooting, playmaking and everything Steve alluded to,” said Grant Hill, the managing director of Team USA. “That mental, physical toughness that he’s shown, in addition to everything else Steve said, will certainly be an added bonus. [He’s] unafraid, but also a guy who has an incredible IQ and feel for how to play. Looking forward to seeing him with the rest of the team.”

Team USA will open first-round play against New Zealand on Aug. 26, with matchups against Greece (Aug. 28) and Jordan (Aug. 30) to round out the first round of the group play phase. They’ll play all of their group games at Manila’s Mall of Asia Arena.

RUSSELL RE-SIGNS

The Lakers made their final known free agency move official on Friday, announcing the re-signing of guard D’Angelo Russell.

The team made most of their free agency moves official on Thursday, announcing the re-signing of guard Reaves and forward Rui Hachimura and the signings of guard Gabe Vincent, forwards Taurean Prince and Cam Reddish and center Jaxson Hayes.

While the Lakers didn’t reveal the terms of Russell’s contract, a source told the Southern California News Group last Saturday that Russell and the team agreed to terms on a two-year, $37 million deal.

Russell’s contract will have a player option for the 2024-25 season, a source added.

The Lakers acquired Russell from the Minnesota Timberwolves ahead of the Feb. 9 trade deadline. He averaged 17.4 points (48.4% shooting – 55.5% on 2-point attempts, 41.4% from 3-point range) and 6.1 assists in 17 regular-season games (all starts) for the Lakers.

He was the team’s starting point guard for 15 of their 16 playoff games, but his statistics dipped in the postseason when he averaged 13.3 points (42.6% shooting – 51.9% on 2-point attempts, 31% from 3-point range) and 4.6 assists. He struggled especially against the Denver Nuggets in the conference finals, averaging 6.8 points on 32.2% shooting in the series and losing his starting spot for the decisive Game 4.

Russell, who also played for the Lakers from 2015-17 after they selected him second overall in the 2015 draft, has career averages of 17.7 points (36.2% 3-point shooting on 6.9 attempts), 5.7 assists and 3.5 rebounds. He’s also played for the Brooklyn Nets (2017-19), Golden State Warriors (2019-20) and Timberwolves (2020-23).

​ Orange County Register 

Sha’Carri Richardson wins U.S. 100-meter title 2 years after doping violation

• July 8, 2023

EUGENE, Ore. — Moments after she was introduced on the starting line, Sha’Carri Richardson reached to her head, pulled her trademark orange wig off and flung it onto the ground behind her.

Then, she took the next step on the long road to proving she’s the real deal.

America’s most colorful sprint star won the 100-meter title in 10.82 seconds at the U.S. championships on Friday night, marking a high point that comes two years after her national title was stripped because of a doping violation.

After her victory, she conceded in a TV interview that she wasn’t ready for the moment at the 2021 Olympic Trials, where, shortly after her victory, she tested positive for using marijuana.

“Now, I stand here with you again and I’m ready, mentally, physically and emotionally,” said the 23-year-old, who ran in her natural black braids with a star shaved into the right side of her hairdo. “I’m here to say, ‘I’m not back, I’m better …’”

She’ll have a chance to put a stamp on that next month at the world championships, which will mark her first major international meet. Earning America’s second and third spots in the event were Brittany Brown (10.90) and Tamari Davis (10.99).

Moments after Richardson’s win, Cravont Charleston pulled an upset in the men’s 100, finishing in 9.95 to edge 2019 world champion Christian Coleman by .01. It was the 25-year-old Charleston’s first final in a major meet and he made the best of it.

“To win,” Charleston said when asked what his goal is for his first world championships. “Of course, to win. That’s the goal. Always to win.”

Noah Lyles finished third, only four days after getting over a bout of COVID. He’ll go for a double at worlds, his spot in his signature event, the 200, already assured because he is the defending world champion.

“I had the dream I could make that double,” Lyles said.

He is one of 10 American athletes, including Fred Kerley (100), Athing Mu (800) and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (400 hurdles) who are defending world champions and have automatic bids into the meet in Budapest, Hungary, next month. On Friday, McLaughlin-Levrone ran 49.60 in the 400 flat to win the semifinal in that event by 1.4 seconds.

Among the summer’s biggest questions is what McLaughlin-Levrone will do come Budapest.

But this week has mostly been about Richardson, whose form has not looked this good since the 2021 Olympic Trials, when she routed the field, only to have the result vacated when her drug test came back positive. She admitted she used marijuana to relieve stress after learning her mother had died. That episode triggered a debate about whether marijuana should really be on the banned list.

Officials elected to leave it on the list because experts determined it was “against the spirit of sport.”

Richardson ran the best time of the year, 10.71, on Thursday in opening heats, but she’ll leave Eugene with only the world’s second-fastest 100 time of the week. A few hours before Richardson’s final, Shericka Jackson won Jamaica’s championships with a time of 10.65 seconds, setting up Jackson and Richardson as the fastest contenders at worlds.

Other winners Friday included Anna Hall in the heptathlon, Harrison Williams in the decathlon, Vashti Cunningham in the women’s high jump and Donald Scott in the men’s triple jump.

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

Laguna Beach home of late Disney Imagineer Marty Sklar seeks $10.8 million

• July 8, 2023

The Laguna Beach home of Marty Sklar, the late Walt Disney Imagineering leader who helped bring Walt’s dreams to life, has hit the market for $10.75 million.

Records show Skylar, who died in July 2017 at 83, purchased the beachfront property in January 1990 for $1.125 million and is still owned by his family.

Spanning 2,069 square feet, the coastal blufftop home has an updated, all-white contemporary-style interior. It includes three bedrooms and bathrooms, an elevator and an open floor plan.

The kitchen boasts high-end appliances. Living and dining areas make up the great room with a built-in entertainment center.

Upstairs is a private ocean-facing balcony off the spacious primary suite, which includes a glass-enclosed shower and a separate tub in the bathroom and a walk-in closet.

Large windows on the entry-level frame the ocean views and open to a flagstone patio, one of two. It boasts a built-in barbecue kitchen and dining area. Further down the path is a built-in fire pit sitting area. A staircase leads to the shore.

Marcus Skenderian and Luke Sydnor of Coldwell Banker Realty share the listing.

Martin A. “Marty” Sklar served The Walt Disney Co. for over a half-century.

While attending UCLA, Walt Disney recruited Sklar to create The Disneyland News for the theme park in 1955. He wrote scripts, marketing materials and speeches for Disney. Later, he joined what became Disney Imagineering, the division that creates theme park attractions. Some of his contributions include the Enchanted Tiki Room and the 1964 New York World’s Fair attractions It’s a Small World, Magic Skyway and Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.

“He embodied the very best of Disney, from his bold originality to his joyful optimism and relentless drive for excellence,” Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger said on the official Disney Parks blog at the time of Sklar’s death.

Sklar’s retirement in 2009 coincided with Disneyland’s 54th birthday and the park honored him with a window on Main Street, U.S.A. In 2013, he released his autobiography “Dream It! Do It!: My Half-Century Creating Disney’s Magic Kingdoms” followed two years later by “One Little Spark! Mickey’s Ten Commandments and the Road to Imagineering.” The book “Travels with Figment: On the Road In Search of Disney Dreams” was posthumously released in 2019.

Related Articles

​ Orange County Register 

Woman arrested on suspicion of abusing pets while working at Anaheim Hills dog daycare

• July 8, 2023

A 24-year-old Fountain Valley woman was arrested Thursday, July 5, on suspicion of committing felony animal abuse while working at an Anaheim Hills dog daycare and boarding facility, the Anaheim Police Department said.

The woman,  who has since been released from jail on $20,000 bail, is accused of abusing dogs at the facility on the 4500 block of East Eisenhower Circle, according to Sgt. Jonathan McClintock. He said it wasn’t immediately clear how many dogs were affected or what was done to them.

The facility, Dogtopia, has been in business for about seven years, one of its owners, Larry Hartjoy, said in a videotaped interview with a photojournalist Friday.

“After learning about animal abuse by an employee at our Anaheim Hills location, the owners of this center, including myself and my wife, contacted Orange County Animal Care,” Hartjoy told Brentt Sporn, the videographer. “We are devastated by these events … the employee was terminated.” The tape did not detail the alleged abuse.

Dogtopia is conducting an internal investigation, Hartjoy said, adding that “the dogs involved are doing well.”

“We thank and support the staff member at this location that reported this behavior to help ensure justice is served,” Hartjoy said. “Our thoughts are with the (dogs’) families at this time.”

Investigators were still working to put together a timeline of the alleged abuse as of Friday, McClintock said.

There may be additional dogs affected, McClintock said, urging pet owners with any relevant information to contact the Anaheim Police Department at 714-328-8153.

​ Orange County Register 

Alexander: How will sports fans navigate social media going forward?

• July 8, 2023

The world according to Jim:

• Twitter vs. Threads: Who ya got? …

• The Great Social Media Conflict of 2023, which might be either the prelim to the supposed cage match for charity between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg or the main event, gathered steam when Zuckerberg’s Meta unveiled its Threads app this week. It’s suspiciously similar to Twitter aside from a couple of key flaws, which we’ll get into. …

• Why does it matter in this corner of the information galaxy? Because until Musk damaged the Twitter brand with his impetuous decisions and dismantled much of the staff that made the platform work, Sports Twitter was not just a subset of the site but an integral part of the experience. You could say it was this society’s first virtual sports bar, BYO beer and wings. …

• It was where we argued about teams and players and shared jokes and memes, information and rumors and trash talk. And it was where we turned first to learn who was being signed or traded or released. Would TV reporters like Adrian Wojnarowski, Adam Schefter or Jeff Passan have as much breaking news impact without this platform on which to instantaneously break news? …

• It was also where fans gathered, not only during a big event but on spur-of-the-moment occasions such as a West Coast extra-inning game during baseball season, or a multi-overtime Stanley Cup playoff game. We watched, we live-tweeted, and we shared a communal experience. …

• I’m using the past tense consciously but hesitantly. Musk has burned a lot of bridges, and while sports fan users, in particular, seem to have stayed on despite it all, the limits on viewed tweets imposed last weekend – do those still exist, by the way? – and the public unveiling of Zuckerberg’s site Wednesday had lots of folks hedging their bets.

Threads picked up 30 million users in less than 24 hours, many because of the site’s linkage to Instagram, and as of 2 p.m. Friday had 75 million, according to a tracker from Quiver Quantitative. …

• That said, let’s not declare Threads the new virtual sports bar just yet. Those flaws we discussed earlier? They’re significant. …

• First, the algorithm is in charge, a large concern for those of us who would rather have control over what we see. The initial Threads experience feels like a firehose coming at you full blast, and while it is possible to set limits (go to Settings/Notifications/Threads & Replies), I’ve still spent an inordinate amount of time muting people. On Twitter, I can at least use the “Following” feed rather than “For You.” …

• Second, posts are not chronological, and who knows how the order is determined. That pretty much eliminates live-posting anything, be it a game or a news conference or any other developing story. If that changes, it becomes a lot more sports user-friendly. …

• Bottom line: Either the search for a sports social media gathering place will continue, one of these two platforms will win out, or we’ll all go back to calling our friends and yelling into the phone, “Did you see that?” …

• It is also worth noting that Zuckerberg’s Facebook, as well as Google, are not exactly friends of independent news sources these days, blustering in response to a bill in the California legislature that would force them to compensate publishers for the use of their product. That bill, AB 886, passed the Assembly but is now on hold in the state Senate until 2024.

Yes, I’m biased in this case. But paying for the content you use seems fair. We don’t do this for free. …

• Elsewhere, the Dodgers-Angels series this weekend should be commemorated with a reprise of the Spirit of ’76 painting. You know: One man with a fife, one with a drum, one carrying a flag, each bandaged and/or limping. As of Friday afternoon, each team had 11 players on the injured list, and it’s reached a point where you hold your breath each day for roster updates. …

• Best underplayed news of the week: Anze Kopitar’s two-year extension with the Kings, keeping him in their uniform through 2026. He doesn’t get nearly as much attention as he deserves nationally, but this should keep him in a Kings uniform for the rest of his career – though as Jonathan Quick would remind us, there are no guarantees. …

• And when he’s done, Kopitar has a good case for the Hockey Hall of Fame. Can you name the Kings and Ducks players currently enshrined, plus one who played for both teams? (Answer below.) …

• One issue I’ve always had with the NBA’s free agency period: We learn almost instantaneously that deals are made, but teams can’t announce them for a week. Why? Teams aren’t allowed to share the good news but agents are under no such restriction, so the actual team announcements – like the Lakers’ rash of contract confirmations at the end of this week – are an anticlimax.

The league manipulates the process in so many other ways to dominate the news cycle in the weeks following the Finals, but this embargo seems anachronistic and silly. …

• Quiz answer: Kings players in the Hockey Hall of Fame are Rogie Vachon (inducted in 2016), Rob Blake (’14), Luc Robitaille (’09), Larry Murphy (’04), Paul Coffey (’04), Wayne Gretzky (’99, of course), Larry Robinson (’95), Marcel Dionne (’92), Harry Howell (’79), Terry Sawchuk (’71). Also, GM Jake Milford (’84) went in as a builder, coaches Bob Pulford (’91) and Red Kelly (’69) were inducted as players for other teams, and women’s hockey pioneer Cammi Granato (’10) was the radio color analyst alongside Nick Nickson in 1998-99.

Ducks inductees: Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya (both ’17), Chris Pronger (’15) and Scott Niedermayer (’13). And the one inductee who played for both teams: Jari Kurri (’01).

jalexander@scng.com

​ Orange County Register