Arena

We could hear the band before we saw it: a group of retirement home residents with trumpets and drums waiting to greet us as we approached. Others using wheelchairs waved homemade flags. As we swarmed into the building and up the staircase, a bottleneck formed. I slowed down as a nurse put a stamp on my sweaty arm, then I jogged off down the corridor.

Running through a retirement home is just one of the many surreal moments that participants signing up for the Nîmes Urban Trail (NUT) get to experience on this 24km race around the city, which takes place each February. Not only does the route give you a whistlestop sightseeing tour, taking you past the town’s impressive Roman monuments and landmarks, it also grants you access to places that would normally be off limits to outsiders.

Earlier in the day, I’d cantered through the lobby and bar of a five-star hotel, a Michelin-starred restaurant, the hôtel de ville (city hall), a barracks, a chapel and an olive grove. I even ran through a nightclub – easily the most wholesome sweat I’d ever worked up there. The school classrooms were particularly fascinating: I moved to France aged 28 so I’d never seen the inside of a French primary school. The retro maps pasted to the walls were the same pink as French toilet paper.

Crowds had gathered to cheer us on at various points along the route, but nowhere was the welcome more enthusiastic than at the retirement homes where the residents and carers had spent weeks preparing for our arrival. As I left the building, I realised my cheeks were damp – but not from sweat. This was the first time a running race had moved me to tears.

Running tourism has been gaining momentum for years. A third of participants in the Paris Marathon aren’t French, and in the Berlin Marathon, roughly two-thirds are from outside Germany. A recent survey found that 18% of Britons were planning to travel abroad for sports this year, many to take part in marathons, half-marathons and triathlons. Urban trail running, however, has really taken off in France, and 98% of NUT runners in 2025 were French.

Europe’s first organised urban trail run was in my home city, Lyon, in 2008. I’ve participated in the Lyon Urban Trail for the last three years, pounding up and down stairs, helter-skeltering down the muddy slope of the city’s former ski piste, la Sarra, and jogging through the grounds of old forts. It’s enormous fun, and now there are more than 100 urban trail runs in France, but none quite like Nîmes.

At the starting line I checked out my fellow competitors. I was sandwiched between Queen Elizabeth II and a couple of gladiators. Many of the fancy dress outfits had a Nîmois theme. Nîmes became part of the Roman empire around the first-century BCE, when it was known as Colonia Nemausus, and alongside the emperors and gladiators, I saw crocodiles and palm trees. Crocodiles may be about as native to Nîmes as lions and unicorns are to Great Britain, but they’ve become the symbol of the city. In the 16th century, a Roman coin showing a crocodile and a palm frond, to depict Roman victory over Egypt, was unearthed here. Now the Nîmois crocodile appears on paving stones and fountains, and there are even four stuffed ones hanging from the ceiling of the hôtel de ville.

Although my running attire was relatively dull, the race promised to be anything but. The people running the full marathon had been released into the (urban) wild half an hour earlier; I, surrounded by gladiators and crocodiles, was about to tackle the shorter, but still hilly, 24km race. After us would come runners participating in the 16km and 10km races, and finally the 10km hikers (breaking into a trot was strictly forbidden), so there’s something for all fitness levels and abilities.

When he co-founded the NUT 10 years ago, Benoît Goiset was clear he wanted to create something more than just a calf-buster. He envisioned a run that broke down social barriers and got the whole city involved.

The route changes each year, with new and unusual sites being added. “After the pandemic we were seeing an epidemic of loneliness, so I added in the EHPADs [retirement homes],” said Goiset. “The five-star hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants were [included] because so few people get to experience them, particularly people who live in Nîmes. I didn’t want anywhere to be off limits.”

At the end of the race, we burst into the Roman arena with a rush of pride, feeling like warriors, to be greeted by trestle tables loaded with snacks and beer and lemonade. This had been my first full day in Nîmes, and I’ve never had such a complete introduction to a city. Not only had I seen all the Roman sites – the arena, Tour Magne (watchtower), the Temple of Diana and even the Musée de la Romanité (we ran across the roof terrace) – I’d also had a glimpse of “the real Nîmes”, behind closed doors. I’d seen where children go to school, where soldiers train, and where some of the city’s older residents spend their later years. The tiered Jardins de la Fontaine, an 18th-century park full of stone fountains set over canals, was so beautiful that as soon as my legs had recovered that afternoon, I went back again.

At the risk of sounding like so many obnoxious yogis, who told me the reason I don’t like yoga is that I haven’t found the right class, if you don’t like running, perhaps you haven’t found the right race.

Registration is open for the next Nîmes Urban Trail, which takes place on 15 February 2026. Prices vary depending on distance, but the 24km trail run is €38pp. Appart’City is opposite the race start line, with double rooms from €105 (room only).

FOR SIX YEARS, Gov. George Deukmejian has successfully run a state bigger than most nations. But to the po litical elite of his own country, he couldn’t be much less visible than if he were the mayor of California’s insular state capital.

Interviews with more than two dozen Republican political consultants, Reagan Administration officials, California congressmen, and independent national policy analysts found that Deukmejian, for the governor of the nation’s largest state, has a remarkably low profile in national political circles–even as his name appears on lists of potential running mates for George Bush. The Iron Duke to his supporters, Deukmejian is virtually the Invisible Duke in national political terms. At best, with Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis poised to accept the Democratic presidential nomination in Atlanta this month, Deukmejian has acquired an identity as the Other Duke.

“There are people I’ve run into in the higher reaches of the federal government who don’t even know who the governor of California is,” says Martin Anderson, former chief domestic policy and economic adviser to President Reagan and now a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. “He is largely unknown in Republican circles,” agrees Republican political consultant John Buckley, press secretary for New York Rep. Jack F. Kemp’s presidential bid. “There is no perception of him,” says Roger J. Stone, another leading Republican political consultant.

Not all governors, of course, are national figures. But it has become increasingly common for the governors of major states to wield national clout. Many governors–from Republicans Thomas H. Kean of New Jersey and John H. Sununu of New Hampshire to Democrats Mario M. Cuomo of New York and Bill Clinton of Arkansas–are influential in shaping both the political agenda of their parties and the policy agenda of Congress, particularly on issues confronting the states.

By and large, Deukmejian hasn’t been among them. Deukmejian has not been a force on Capitol Hill. His relations with the California congressional delegation are cordial but distant, several members and aides say, and he has never testified before Congress. Nor has he been a significant participant in the Republican Party’s intramural ideological debates; he remained distant from the presidential primaries this year until the result was long decided. He rarely interacts with the national press corps or national conservative activists.

This parochialism is remarkable considering the lineage in which Deukmejian stands–one that traces back not only to such nationally prominent California governors as Ronald Reagan and Earl Warren, but also in a sense to New Yorkers Franklin D. Roosevelt and Thomas E. Dewey. In the first half of this century, when New York was the nation’s most populous and powerful state, its governors consistently shaped the national agenda. In the 12 presidential elections from 1904 to 1948, a New York governor headed the ticket for one or the other party nine times.

Since then, California has muscled its way to clear economic pre-eminence among the states, the economic boom fueling an explosion in population. Inexorably, if unevenly, political influence has followed. California now sends as many representatives to Congress as New York did at the height of its power; after the next congressional reapportionment (which will follow the 1990 Census), California will command a larger share of the Congress than any state in history. In the four decades before Deukmejian took office, every California governor save one made at least an exploratory run at the presidency. Earl Warren sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1948 and 1952. In 1960, Democrat Edmund G. (Pat) Brown seriously examined challenging John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and the rest of the Democratic field before deciding not to make the race.

Once California passed New York as the most populous state in 1964, it cemented its reputation as the launching pad for political trends, and its governors emerged as national figures almost as soon as they finished taking the oath of office. At the 1968 Republican convention, Ronald Reagan, just two years into his tenure as governor, offered himself for the presidency as the hero of the nascent anti-government conservative revolt. In 1976, Jerry Brown, also just two years into his term, declared the dawning of the “era of limits” and rocketed into the political stratosphere with a string of late primary victories over Jimmy Carter.

After Brown came Deukmejian, and as far as the spotlight of national attention was concerned, the heavy drapes fell around Sacramento. “I just sort of sensed the public at the time I came in was looking for a governor who would not be off running for some other office, and in fact, was going to be carrying a hands-on approach to state government,” Deukmejian says in a relaxed, wide-ranging interview in his small office in the state Capitol. “Also at the beginning we had some very severe financial difficulties (namely a $1.5-billion budget deficit he inherited from Brown). And when I won in my first election, it was by a very, very narrow margin, and I felt that I really had to concentrate on . . . what goes on in the state capital and building a much greater degree of support from the public before . . . taking some steps out toward more exposure on the national scene.”

Since then, though, Deukmejian has come a long way politically, which makes his low national profile remarkable for a second reason: None of his recent predecessors have been more popular or politically successful within the state than Deukmejian. His crushing reelection over Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley in their 1986 rematch was a more decisive victory than Pat Brown, Ronald Reagan or Jerry Brown ever managed. Two years into his second term–when most of his predecessors had been hobbled by nicks and bruises–Deukmejian’s job approval ratings from Californians remain buoyant; his latest numbers in the Field Institute’s California Poll exceed Reagan’s highest marks at any point during his two terms. “He’s been a far better governor than Reagan,” says conservative Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove).

Sometimes governors get into trouble for paying too much attention to Washington and the bright lights of national politics. But Deukmejian has so secured his position in the state that no one would be likely to grumble if he examined the national terrain more purposefully. If anything, some Republicans are puzzled about Deukmejian’s passivity in pushing the cause of the party, the state and, not incidentally, himself. “Deukmejian is the first governor of the state that is the largest who is not a national factor,” Dornan says.

Politics, as much as nature, abhors a vacuum that immense, and events may be pulling Deukmejian, inch by inch, toward the national stage. Even though most Republican leaders have only vague impressions of Deukmejian, the popular governor cannot entirely escape notice. When the party gathers for its convention Aug. 15-18 in New Orleans, Deukmejian is bound to appear on the short list of Republicans positioned to compete not only for the vice presidency in 1988, but also for the party’s presidential nomination in the 1990s. And for all of his reticence, Deukmejian in recent months has become more willing to expose himself to audiences outside of the state. It is much too early, many national Republicans agree, to write off George Deukmejian as a force in the future of his party, well beyond the borders of California.

TODAY, however, Deukmejian stands on square one in national Republican circles. “People have no sense of him,” says political consultant Edward J. Rollins, who ran Reagan’s presidential reelection campaign and served as his chief political adviser in the White House from 1981 to 1985. “There is no question when he was first elected six years ago the potential was there for him to have a very big national profile, and I think a lot of people turned to him. There were a lot of comparisons between him and (New York Gov.) Cuomo, who was elected the same year. But he has sort of stayed where he’s at, and Cuomo has gone on to be a big national player.”

Cuomo has emerged partly because of his restless ambition, but also because he seems genuinely fascinated with public debate over the most fundamental social and moral issues. That’s a fascination Deukmejian, the diligent manager, doesn’t appear to share. He has always operated on the assumption that politicians who seek attention often find problems instead.

Whether for lack of interest or lack of time–as aides note, a governor of California has more to manage than a small-state governor such as Sununu or Clinton–Deukmejian simply hasn’t done the drill necessary to achieve national notice for himself and for issues affecting the state. Not much for mingling with the media at home, he has been aloof from the national media. His June appearance on ABC’s “This Week With David Brinkley” was his first on one of the national Sunday-morning interview shows, and his lack of experience in the fast-moving format showed. “It has been a mystery to those of us who are national conservatives why he will turn down appearances on the ‘Today Show,’ ‘Good Morning America,’ ‘CBS Morning News’ (and) ‘Nightline,’ ” Dornan says.

Deukmejian says he considers it “important, particularly on issues that affect California” to influence national-policy debates. “That’s why we have become very, very active in areas” such as national trade policy, he says. “Little by little, but in a very determined way, we’ve been trying to indicate our presence in that field of trade policy.” But almost all the outside observers interviewed had difficulty naming a front-burner national issue–trade or otherwise–on which Deukmejian has been a force.

“He has not become a national spokesman for quality education as an investment of the foundations of our economy; he hasn’t become a national spokesman on our relationship with Asia, which as a California governor he could do,” says Derek Shearer, a professor of public policy at Occidental College who has advised several Democratic presidential candidates.

Similarly, Deukmejian has had relatively little contact with the Republicans in the California congressional delegation. He has occasionally offered them opinions on pending legislation–he opposed, for example, protectionist amendments in the recent trade bill–but “there aren’t many such examples,” acknowledges his chief of staff, Michael Frost.

One California Republican representative, who asked not to be identified, complains that Deukmejian has virtually ignored Washington. “He has no dynamic presence, he hasn’t really pitched for anything, he hasn’t testified on stuff, he hasn’t looked for a role to play,” the representative says. “There are things the governor could do if he was looking to build a national base. Instead he comes back here quietly, has a quiet dinner and then quietly slips out of town. There has never been a closed-door, discuss-the-issues meeting with him and the delegation. He has come back a couple of times, but they have been very formal, overly organized, stilted lunches.”

Rep. David Dreier (R-La Verne), by contrast, defends Deukmejian, noting that “it bodes well” that the governor nominated a member of the congressional delegation, Rep. Daniel E. Lungren (R-Long Beach), to replace the late state treasurer, Jesse M. Unruh.

Nor has the Deukmejian Administration unveiled the dramatic initiatives that would bring Washington to him. Although Frost cites programs to combat AIDS and to commercialize research performed in state university labs, Deukmejian hasn’t turned many heads among Washington’s policy junkies–the analysts, authors and think-tank fellows who watch new ideas percolating in the state and bestow intellectual credibility on the creative politicians in the provinces. “In the 1980s, California has been in a state of governmental stagnation compared with previous decades,” says Jerry Hagstrom, author of “Beyond Reagan,” a recent book examining politics and policies in the 50 states.

To the extent Deukmejian has a national reputation, it is as a steadfast fiscal conservative, a skilled and dogged manager. “On the state level,” Deukmejian says, “I think people first of all expect us to run government in an efficient manner.” In his first term, Deukmejian withstood pressure to raise general taxes and used his line-item veto repeatedly to resist spending increases. From 1982 to 1986, the share of personal income claimed by state taxes in California declined slightly, whereas it increased in the states overall. That resistance to spending provides the one hook on which many national Republicans hang their vague images of Deukmejian. “The perception I find in many of my colleagues (outside of California) is that George Deukmejian exudes a kind of quiet competence,” Dreier says.

Deukmejian’s hesitant response to the recent state revenue shortfall–first proposing revenue-raising measures, then dropping them after Republicans rebelled–may stain that image, particularly if budget problems continue through the remainder of his term. But Deukmejian’s decision to back away from his tax proposal also enabled him to loudly reaffirm his opposition to new taxes. And that should serve him well over the long haul since anti-tax sentiments remain strong not only in the GOP but throughout the electorate. “I don’t think the average person feels as though they are overtaxed now,” Deukmejian says, “but they also aren’t asking for a tax increase.”

THIS SPRING’ Spersistent discussion about Deukmejian as a potential running-mate for George Bush has provided the governor with his first serious national attention. No matter how the rumor mill treats his prospects in the weeks leading up to the Republican convention, some Republican strategists believe the importance of California–which alone provides 17% of the electoral votes needed for victory–guarantees that Deukmejian “is absolutely permanently fixed in the top three vice-presidential choices,” as conservative political consultant David M. Carmen put it.

In the fall campaign, California may be not only the largest prize, but the pivotal one. Since World War II, the Republicans have owned this state in presidential politics, losing only twice. But they have almost always had the advantage of a native son on their ticket. In eight of the past 10 campaigns, the Republicans have nominated a Californian for President or vice president: Earl Warren was the GOP’s vice-presidential nominee in 1948; Richard M. Nixon was the party’s vice-presidential choice in 1952 and 1956, and its presidential nominee in 1960, 1968 and 1972; Reagan carried the GOP banner in 1980 and 1984. Only Warren, running with Dewey against Harry Truman, failed to bring home the state for his party.

No Democrat has carried this state in a presidential campaign since Lyndon Johnson. (Even without a Californian on the ticket, Ford edged Carter in 1976.) But Bush faces a surprisingly uphill battle. Independent polls show Dukakis leading Bush by double digits in California–a spread slightly larger than Dukakis’ margin in most national surveys. If Bush continues to trail so badly by the time the Republicans gather in New Orleans, he will undoubtedly face pressure for a dramatic vice-presidential selection. Those options are few: his chief rivals, Kansas Sen. Robert Dole or New York Rep. Jack F. Kemp perhaps, a woman such as Elizabeth Dole or Kansas Sen. Nancy Kassebaum to fight the gender gap, or Deukmejian to try to sew up California and block the Democrats from assembling an electoral college majority.

Deukmejian has said repeatedly he couldn’t take the vice-presidential nomination because, if the ticket won, he would have to turn over the statehouse to Democratic Lt. Gov. Leo T. McCarthy. Deukmejian has insisted about as firmly as he plausibly can that he does not want to take the job and hand over the reins to McCarthy. “I just can’t see any situation–I really can’t see any situation–where I would be able, even if I were asked . . . to accept it,” he says. “I honestly don’t expect to be asked. I really think he can carry California without . . . me on the ticket, and there will probably be either some other areas of the country Bush will want to shore up. I’ve said for a long time if they see there is a very major gender gap, he might very easily pick a woman.”

But Deukmejian’s certainty in June and July may be irrelevant in August. Even such a close adviser as former chief of staff Steven A. Merksamer agrees that, for all the governor’s firmness today, it is impossible to predict what Deukmejian would say if Bush actually offers him the position. If Bush’s advisers decide that he can win only by carrying California and only do that by picking Deukmejian, most national Republicans doubt that the governor would hesitate for long. In those circumstances, how could Deukmejian argue that maintaining control of the statehouse is more important than holding the White House? “It would be” difficult to make that case, Deukmejian acknowledges, “but I hope I don’t have to.”

Few analysts today expect it to come down to that. To some extent, Bush’s advisers have accepted the conventional wisdom that choosing Deukmejian would so roil local Republicans that his selection could hurt the campaign here. And if Deukmejian joined the ticket, his recent problems with an unexpected budget deficit would complicate Republican efforts to criticize Dukakis for the similar shortfall he faces in Massachusetts.

In all likelihood, though, neither of those arguments are compelling enough to disqualify Deukmejian. The Massachusetts revenue shortfall is unlikely to be a decisive issue in any case. And as Bush’s problems deepen, local opposition to Deukmejian as vice president diminishes. Instead, the key question is whether Deukmejian’s presence on the ticket really could ensure Bush victory in California. If Deukmejian can’t deliver California, there’s no reason to nominate him since he is unlikely to help much anywhere else.

Early polls differ on how much Deukmejian would help Bush. Pollster Mervin Field believes Californians are unlikely to vote for a ticket just because it has a local office-holder on it, though the state’s recent electoral history certainly suggests otherwise. On a more tangible level, Deukmejian may not have enough appeal for the crucial blue-collar suburban Democrats to put Bush over the top. “I think it is unlikely he will be chosen because I don’t think you would see any numbers where George Deukmejian would add that much to the ticket,” says one Bush adviser. Still, the talk of Deukmejian won’t die down soon because it may not take that much to turn the result in California–and the nation.

EVEN IF Deukmejian comes out of New Orleans with nothing on his plate but some gumbo and a return ticket to Sacramento, many local and national Republicans believe the governor could yet become a significant factor within the GOP, if he decides to work at it. As governor of a state this large, Deukmejian can always make himself heard. “It is inevitable,” predicts former Reagan aide Anderson, “that Deukmejian will become a major, if not the major, figure in the party in future years.”

If Bush doesn’t succeed this fall, and Deukmejian wins reelection in 1990, the objective factors for a Duke-in-’92 presidential bid are intriguing, some Republicans believe. Deukmejian’s name usually appears on the early lists of potential contenders, though admittedly more because of where than who he is. “He gets mentioned because The Great Mentioner turns to Republicans (and says) California is a big state and you have to mention Deukmejian,” says Washington-based Republican media consultant Mike Murphy.

In 1992, the Republican field mobilizing against a President Dukakis could be much like the Democratic field in 1988, with no clear front runner and no candidate with a deep national base of support. Texas-based Republican pollster V. Lance Tarrance, who advises Deukmejian, thinks that if Bush loses, some candidates (for example Sens. Phil Gramm of Texas and William L. Armstrong of Colorado) would run as issue-oriented ideological revolutionaries and another group would run as capable, tested administrators. As governor of this sprawling nation-state, Tarrance argues, Deukmejian brings to the table solid administrative credibility.

Deukmejian would bring another significant advantage to such a hypothetical nomination contest. As Dukakis demonstrated this year, in such a murky atmosphere, a candidate who can raise the large sums it takes to cut through the clutter is difficult to stop. With a huge and prosperous home state on which to draw, and a skilled team led by Karl M. Samuelian, Deukmejian’s fund-raising potential matches that of any Republican.

Before we pull this Deukmejian train out of the station, a few reality checks might be in order. Reality check No. 1: This is not a man who sets hearts aflutter. Deukmejian’s detractors–and even some of his friends–point out that as far as charisma goes, he makes “Dukakis look like the Beatles.” But if charisma was the key to national success, Dukakis and Bush would be looking for other work. Besides, Deukmejian’s campaign presence is usually underrated. It’s not hard to imagine Deukmejian performing at least at the level of this year’s nominees. Somewhat prosaic and uninspiring, Deukmejian is far from the best campaigner in the world, but he’s not the worst either–with an easygoing, unassuming amiability that wears well on voters. With the press he is personable and unaffected, and though he is sometimes defensive, Deukmejian can defuse tension with unexpected flashes of self-deprecating humor.

Second reality check: This is not a man who suffers from a visible need to make himself a household name. Deukmejian has always enjoyed governing more than campaigning, and many Republican strategists believe he lacks the fire to push himself through the demanding course that any effort to emerge nationally would require.”I just don’t know if the energy and the ideas and the intensity is there,” said an adviser to another Republican angling for the presidency in the 1990s.

While some of those around him would probably like the governor to seek the White House, Deukmejian clearly isn’t consumed with ambition to move up. Seeking the presidency someday now seems to him, “out of the question,” he says. “When I started in the Assembly and later in the Senate, I could say, yes, in my mind that if the opportunity presented itself I’d like to be governor. But I’ve never really had as a goal that I would want to seek the presidency.” He speaks with a combination of amazement and scorn of politicians “who seem to live and breathe and eat politics.”

On the other hand, Deukmejian only became governor by winning an arduous primary against Lt. Gov. Mike Curb, the choice of the California Republican establishment, and then hanging tough against Los Angeles’ popular Mayor Bradley. That is not the profile of a man impervious to ambition’s insistent tug. “He is modest in his demeanor,” says state Republican chairman Bob Naylor, “but there is ambition there.”

Midway through his second term, Deukmejian has shown flashes of interest in examining the world beyond Sacramento. The governor has not pursued opportunities as systematically as Kean and some others, and insists the recent increase in his out-of-state activity “has been primarily just to be of help to the national ticket.” Deukmejian denies any interest in raising his own profile for its own sake. “I’m not out looking for things to do,” he says, “but we do get requests, and I feel a little more comfortable in accepting some of those.” Whatever the motivation, his recent activity and upcoming schedule add up to a typically cautious effort to broaden his horizons.

In April, Deukmejian visited Texas to address a Republican party fund-raiser and drew high marks for a speech in which he gleefully bashed Dukakis. Deukmejian has scheduled four more out of state appearances at Republican fund-raisers through the campaign–including speeches in New York City and Florida. And in recent months he has become more active in governor’s activities. This winter, he assumed the chairmanship of a National Governors Assn. subcommittee on criminal justice–the first time he’s accepted such a responsibility. He’s currently vice chairman of the Western Governors Assn. and is scheduled to become chairman of the group next year. In the second term, he has also seasoned himself with international trade missions to Japan and Europe; later this month he’s scheduled to visit Australia, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Korea. He has formed a political action committee, Citizens for Common Sense, to build a statewide grass-roots political organization and fund his travel.

Deukmejian still isn’t looking for excuses to visit Washington. “I’m not anxious to make that trip back and forth anymore often than I have to,” he says. Earlier this year, he turned down an invitation to attend the Gridiron dinner, the annual closed-door gathering of the capital’s journalistic and political elite. But he did make a well-received address to the conservative Heritage Foundation last fall, and aides say his recent ABC appearance may signal a more open attitude toward the national press.

Third reality check: Even if he’s willing to hit the road, does Deukmejian have anything to say? Now that the Reagan era is ending, the GOP is groping for new direction. But unlike Reagan with his anti-government insurrection, or Kemp with his supply-side economic populism, or New Jersey’s Kean with his brotherly “politics of inclusion” aimed at broadening the party’s base, Deukmejian has offered no overarching vision of the Republican future. Asked to define the fundamental principles that have informed his administration, Deukmejian first listed “a common sense approach to running government.” Try constructing a banner around that. In Jesse Jackson’s terms, this is a jelly-maker not a tree-shaker.

The brightest ideological line running through Deukmejian’s politics is suspicion of government expansion. In that, he’s closer to Reagan than most of the emerging GOP leaders. In office, Deukmejian, like Reagan, has generally been more successful at saying no than yes. His first term, dominated by his unyielding resistance to Democratic spending, had a much sharper focus than his second term. That could be because the times are subtly changing. The polls have shifted, with more people demanding more services from government, and Deukmejian has been somewhat uncertain in his reaction– hesitancy demonstrated by his ultimately passive response to the revenue shortfall. (After he dropped his tax plan, the governor essentially told the Legislature to solve the problem.) He has pushed bond issues to pay for transportation and school construction needs, and increased education spending faster than his predecessors. But unmet needs are accumulating too; huge enrollment growth, for instance, is consuming the increases in school funding and driving the state back below the national average in per capita spending on elementary and secondary school education.

Those concerns about infrastructure and education, Deukmejian acknowledges, could threaten the state’s economic future. But so too, he maintained, would a tax hike that might make firms less likely to settle or expand here. “Our two main challenges are growth and the competition we’re faced with from other states for business investment,” he says. “So you have to try to strike a balance so you can meet the needs of the people in terms of growth, and at the same time be aware . . . that all the other states are out there competing very strongly for jobs, and foreign nations are out there competing.”

Democrats believe Deukmejian has struck too penurious a balance and hope the 1990 gubernatorial race will pivot on Deukmejian’s tough line against expanding government in a period of expanding needs. “They are too trapped in the present, worrying about this budget year, how much is it going to cost, and they are not thinking through in a systematic way how to plan for the future,” charges State Supt. of Public Instruction Bill Honig, who may challenge Deukmejian in 1990 as a Democrat.

Those accusations may ultimately cause Deukmejian problems, and the law of political gravity–which holds that everyone eventually comes down–virtually guarantees that his approval ratings will sag at least somewhat. Some Democrats believe Deukmejian has never really been tested because in his 1978 election as attorney general and his two gubernatorial races he bested liberal black Democrats–a tough sell statewide. His opposition in 1990 should be more formidable, with Honig, Atty. Gen. John van de Kamp, former San Francisco Mayor Diane Feinstein and Controller Gray Davis all considering the race.

But his position is solid, especially for a governor so long on the scene. After the June defeat of the Honig-backed proposition to loosen restrictions on state spending, the Democrats may have trouble constructing a campaign around the argument “that the government isn’t spending enough tax dollars,” says chief of staff Frost. With the economy roaring, public opposition to taxes undiminished, and his government free from scandals, even many Democrats and independent analysts believe Deukmejian must be favored for a third term. He says he will decide whether to run again “by the end of this year or early next year.”

If Deukmejian punches through that historic third-term barrier–something only Earl Warren has done–he may be in a much better position to emerge as a national Republican leader than it now appears, particularly if Bush falls this November. Though Deukmejian hasn’t produced the bold initiatives that attract the national press and political elite, his political identity rests on positions consonant with the mainstream Republican electorate: a tough stand against crime, taxes and government spending. “He fits the Republican party like a glove,” says Anderson.

And he has, in California’s blistering economic performance, a powerful calling card. Dukakis’s experience may be suggestive of Deukmejian’s possibilities. Unlike his California counterpart, Dukakis had the advantage of some innovative policies (welfare reform, and a tax amnesty program) to sell, and much more exposure to the national elite, which gave him early credibility. But ultimately Dukakis based his presidential campaign on a story of state economic success. Deukmejian has at least as compelling an economic success story.

Deukmejian’s tough stand against taxes and conservative approach to government regulation may or may not explain California’s success, but questions about Dukakis’ role haven’t hurt his efforts to identify with the Massachusetts miracle. (In both places, Reagan’s defense build-up deserves a significant share of the credit.) And if Massachusetts is a miracle, what’s the right word to describe California, which created 2.1 million new jobs–almost five times as many as Massachusetts, and nearly one of every six non-agricultural jobs in the nation–from 1983 through 1987? In the last five years, California has created almost half of the nation’s new manufacturing jobs, according to the state Department of Commerce. For Deukmejian, the path to prominence could be built on nothing more complicated than promising “to do for the nation what he did for California,” insists pollster Tarrance.

True, Deukmejian faces the risk that the state’s problems in education, infrastructure and growth will tarnish that claim. But if this stubborn governor can demonstrate the flexibility to confront those challenges without violating his conservative principles–the key open question looming before him–he can convincingly hold up California as the prototype of a state that’s racing pell-mell into the future. In a recent speech before a business group, Deukmejian offered what might become his slogan: “Each day our state gives the rest of the nation a glimpse of tomorrow–of the progress that is within our reach.”

Although he’s done little to cultivate them, California’s success has placed possibilities within Deukmejian’s reach, too: Now the question is, does the Duke have the right stuff to reach out and grab them?

More details are emerging about a company that allegedly paid Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard millions to circumvent the NBA’s salary cap, including that the team came close in 2021 to granting naming rights for its Inglewood arena to Aspiration Partners.

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer nearly granted naming rights to the company, but ended up choosing financial services firm Intuit to grace the $2-billion venue, a source familiar with the matter said. Intuit, which has a $186-billion net worth and developed TurboTax, Credit Karma and QuickBooks, ended up paying a reported $500 million over 23 years for the naming rights.

Four years later, Aspiration, a sustainability firm that also generated and sold carbon credits, is out of business. Co-founder Joseph Sanberg has agreed to plead guilty to defrauding multiple investors and lenders. Listed among creditors in Aspiration’s bankruptcy documents is Leonard, raising questions about whether his $28-million endorsement deal with the company skirted NBA salary cap rules.

One of the investors Sanberg defrauded was Ballmer, listed by Fortune magazine as the sixth-richest person in the world, with a net worth of $157 billion. The Clippers owner invested $50 million in Aspiration, which in turn entered into a $330-million sponsorship agreement with the team.

This week, the Athletic reported allegations that Aspiration agreed to pay Leonard $28 million for a job with no responsibilities, in an effort to circumvent the NBA salary cap. Ballmer was interviewed Thursday night by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and denied involvement in Leonard’s deal with Aspiration, but the NBA has launched an investigation.

Ballmer said he was “conned” by the company and that the Clippers did not circumvent NBA salary cap rules, which the team was accused of doing in a podcast report by Pablo Torre of the Athletic.

A plane flies over the Intuit Dome in Inglewood.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Ballmer told Shelburne that Aspiration offered more than Intuit for dome naming rights, and a Clippers spokesman confirmed that account. However, Ballmer insisted that the Clippers did not violate NBA rules against skirting the salary cap, and the team had agreed to a contract extension with Leonard and the sponsorship deal with Aspiration before the player and the company met.

“We were done with Kawhi, we were done with Aspiration,” Ballmer said. “The deals were all locked and loaded. Then, they did request to be introduced to Kawhi, and under the rules, we can introduce our sponsors to our athletes. We just can’t be involved.”

The Clippers signed Leonard to a four-year, $176-million contract in August 2021 even though he was recovering from a partially torn ACL in his right knee that kept him sidelined the entire 2021-22 season. Ballmer said the sponsorship deal with Aspiration was completed in September 2021 and that the Clippers introduced Leonard to Aspiration two months later.

“As part of our cooperation with the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission, we produced texts and emails,” Ballmer said. “It was part of the document production in their investigation. We even found the email that made the first introduction [between Aspiration and Leonard]. It was early in November.

“Where could any of this circumvention happened? It couldn’t have, it didn’t. The introduction got made and they were off to the races on their own. We weren’t involved.”

The Boston Sports Journal reported that Leonard did not appear in promotional material as other endorsers did because Aspiration executives “saw no brand synergy with Leonard and chose not to use his services. They instead preferred to partner with climate-focused influencers.”

Ballmer couldn’t explain why Leonard did no marketing or endorsement work for Aspiration, telling Shelburne that he never spoke with the player about his deal with the company.

“I don’t know why they did what they did and I don’t know how different it is, I really don’t,” he said. “And, frankly, any speculation would be crazy. These were guys who committed fraud. Look, they conned me. I made an investment in these guys thinking it was on the up-and-up and they conned me. At this stage, I have no ability to predict why they did anything they did.”

The salary cap is a dollar amount that limits what teams can spend on player payroll. The purpose of the cap is to ensure parity, preventing the wealthiest teams from outspending smaller markets to acquire the best players.

Circumventing the cap by paying a player outside of his contract is strictly prohibited. Teams that exceed the cap must pay luxury tax penalties that grow increasingly severe. Revenues from the tax penalties are then distributed in part to smaller-market teams and in part to teams that do not exceed the salary cap.

The NBA said it will investigate the allegations laid out by Torre. Ballmer said he welcomes the probe. If allegations were made against a team other than the Clippers, “I’d want the league to investigate, to take it seriously,” he said.

“We know the rules, and if anything is not clear, we remind ourselves what the rules are. And we make it absolutely clear we will abide by those rules.”

The cap was implemented before the 1984-85 season at a mere $3.6 million. Ten years later, it was $15.9 million, and 10 years after that it had risen to $43.9 million. By the 2014-15 season it was $63.1 million.

The biggest spike came before the 2016-2017 season when it jumped to $94 million because of an influx of revenue from a new nine-year, $24-billion media rights deal with ESPN and TNT.

Salary cap rules negotiated between the NBA and the players’ union are spelled out in the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Proven incidents of teams circumventing the cap are few, with a violation by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2000 serving as the most egregious.

The Timberwolves made a secret agreement with free agent and former No. 1 overall draft pick Joe Smith, signing him to a succession of below-market one-year deals in order to enable the team to go over the cap with a huge contract ahead of the 2001-02 season.

The NBA voided his contract, fined the Timberwolves $3.5 million, and stripped them of five first-round draft picks — two of which were later returned. Also, owner Glen Taylor and general manager Kevin McHale were suspended.

Then-NBA commissioner David Stern told the Minnesota Star Tribune at the time: “What was done here was a fraud of major proportions. There were no fewer than five undisclosed contracts tightly tucked away, in the hope that they would never see the light of day. … The magnitude of this offense was shocking.”

According to Article 13 of the CBA, if the Clippers were found to have circumvented the cap, it would be a first offense punishable by a $4.5-million fine, the loss of one first-round draft pick, and voiding of Leonard’s contract. However, the Clippers don’t have a first-round pick until 2027.

Gilbert Arenas and Skip Bayless have made news lately for reasons they would rather forget. Now, they will attempt to put an entertaining spin on NFL news in a digital program launching Tuesday and airing three times a week.

Arenas, a Van Nuys Grant High product who played 11 seasons in the NBA, will rebrand his current channel. Bayless, who had long runs on ESPN’s “First Take” and FS1’s “Undisputed,” will be featured on “The Arena: Gridiron” along with former NFL coach Jay Gruden and former NFL cornerback Aqib Talib.

Arenas was arrested July 30 and charged along with five others with conspiracy for allegedly running illegal poker games at his Encino mansion, court records show. Arenas, 43, rented out the mansion “for the purposes of hosting high-stakes illegal poker games,” according to a news release issued by the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles.

The three-time All-Star guard — who went by the nickname “Agent Zero” according to federal authorities — was charged with conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, operating an illegal gambling business and making false statements to federal investigators.

Among the others charged was Yevgeni Gershman, 49, a.k.a. “Giora,” of Woodland Hills, who the U.S. attorney’s office described as “a suspected organized crime figure from Israel.” Arenas pleaded not guilty and was released on a $50,000 bond.

Bayless has also been sifting through court filings. He is a defendant along with Fox Sports, broadcaster Joy Taylor and executive Charlie Dixon in a lawsuit by former FS1 hairstylist Noushin Faraji, who alleged that Bayless offered her $1.5 million for sex.

Faraji filed a request to dismiss the lawsuit this month in L.A. Superior Court, which legal experts said is an indication that a settlement has been reached.

Bayless told the Athletic that he isn’t bothered by the criminal charges against Arenas.

“I’ve talked to Gil,” he said. “He has no concerns. I mean, he’s obviously concerned, but he believes he did nothing at all wrong, except rent out his space, and I believe in him.”

Underdog, a five-year-old gaming and media firm, will own and produce the show. Arenas’ two digital basketball programs under “Gil’s Arena” have become one of Underdog’s biggest draws.

Shifting to football prompted the addition of Bayless, whose spirited back-and-forth on social media with Arenas grew into a professional relationship.

“I’m back in the saddle in the debate arena,” Bayless said. “I live for this. I love this.”

Chance the Rapper is opening up about co-parenting with his ex-wife as he prepares to release a new album and go on a national tour.

The rapper from Chicago stopped by the “CBS Morning” studio on Monday to discuss the release of his second studio album, “Star Line.” Chance, whose real name is Chancelor Bennett, described the new EP as his “most expansive work.”

“It covers a lot of different areas in my life,” he said.

Chance etched his way into the music world after recording a mixtape during a high school suspension. He self-released “10 Days” in 2012 and began his career as an independent artist, a path that he continues to follow.

He followed up his debut LP with “Acid Rap” a year later, and “Coloring Book” in 2016. In 2023, Chance celebrated the 10th anniversary of his second mixtape by performing the entire tape at the Kia Forum.

“I wrote [Acid Rap] when I was opening up for artists playing 300-cap rooms. I’m rapping about doing open mics but closing my eyes and seeing arenas. Going back and playing arenas for that project just makes me proud,” Chance said in a 2023 interview.

Now, the rapper behind tracks like “Cocoa Butter Kisses” and “No Problem” said his new album reflects the change his personal life has gone through in the last six years, including his divorce from Kirsten Corley, with whom he shares two children.

“It’s always just a good thing to, as an artist … release and to like, you know, just share with the world,” he added.

The couple married back in 2019 and announced their separation last year on their Instagram. Corley filed for divorce in December 2024. They continue to raise their two young daughters together.

“You know, family is like one of the biggest things for me, for [Corley], for my kids, for my mom and dad, so I think the most important thing for anybody that’s ever navigating [parenting after a divorce] is making sure that you keep an environment for the kids where they understand that [family is] the priority,” Bennett said.

His last album, “The Big Day,” was released in 2019. Chance the Rapper is releasing his follow-up on Friday and will go on tour starting in September, with a stop in L.A. on Oct. 20.

An 18-year-old man has been arrested after the sex toy he allegedly threw during a WNBA game in Phoenix hit a man and possibly a young girl sitting in front of him.

It is one of at least five recent incidents of such objects being thrown by fans at a WNBA game and the second so far to result in an arrest.

Waddell, Ariz., resident Kaden Lopez was booked on suspicion of one felony count for public display of obscene materials and two misdemeanor counts for assault and disorderly conduct. He appeared in court Wednesday and was released on his own recognizance, with his next court appearance scheduled for Aug. 21.

According to a probable cause statement filed by the arresting officer from the Phoenix Police Dept. and viewed by The Times, Lopez was attending the Mercury’s game against the Connecticut Sun at PHX Arena on Tuesday when he “threw a green dildo towards the seats in front of him.”

The statement initially indicates that the object allegedly struck an “adult male victim as well as the victims 9 year old niece.” The document later states that the “male victim” told officers that the object hit him on the back and “then fell to the ground next to them.”

Lopez then attempted to leave the arena, the statement reads, but an arena volunteer who witnessed the alleged incident followed him, tackled him and waited for authorities to arrive.

According to the statement, Lopez told the arresting officers that he bought the toy the previous day to take with him to the game but had not intended for it to “hit anyone” or “fall next to a child.”

“Lopez stated he was very sorry, that it was just a stupid prank that was trending on social media,” the statement added.

The trend of throwing sex toys — seemingly always colored green — at WNBA games appears to have started July 29, when one of the objects was tossed onto the court while the Golden State Valkyries played the Atlanta Dream at Gateway Center Arena. The WNBA announced Saturday that “the subject involved in the incident in Atlanta has been arrested.”

According to an ESPN report, 23-year-old Delbert Carver was arrested on Saturday by College Park, Ga., police in connection with that incident. Carver allegedly told police that the stunt was meant as a joke to go viral.

Court records show that Carver faces counts of criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and public indecency. He was released on bond for an undisclosed amount on Sunday and was scheduled to appear in court the following day.

On Aug. 1, a sex toy was tossed under the basket during a game between the Valkyries and the Chicago Sky. Then, during the Sparks’ win over the Indiana Fever at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday, another such object landed in the paint near Fever guard Sophie Cunningham with 2:05 remaining in the first half.

A fan video also appears to show one of the objects being thrown toward the court and nearly hitting a child while the Dallas Wings played the New York Liberty at Barclays Center on Tuesday.

According to a USA Today report Thursday, a cryptocurrency group is claiming responsibility for some of the incidents, although it says neither Lopez nor Carver is affiliated with the group. The “pranks” are part of a protest against the “toxic” environment in the crypto world, according to the report, and more such stunts have allegedly been planned.

The WNBA declined to comment for this article and instead referred The Times to a statement it released Saturday.

“The safety and well-being of everyone in our arenas is a top priority for our league,” the league stated. “Objects of any kind thrown onto the court or in the seating area can pose a safety risk for players, game officials, and fans. In line with WNBA Arena Security Standards, any fan who intentionally throws an object onto the court will be immediately ejected and face a minimum one-year ban in addition to being subject to arrest and prosecution by local authorities.”

Devon Newberry is closing in on two years as a professional beach volleyball player. Yet for the last 731 days, “professional” has always felt like an elusive label.

The former UCLA standout is accustomed to life as a beach volleyball player — hauling her equipment on the beach, tugging her bag across the uneven sand while weaving through sunbathers and surfboards. She’s used to hearing provisional bleachers creak under sunscreen-slathered fans as music buzzes through nearby portable speakers.

There’s charm in that chaos. But it’s nothing like the entrance Newberry made Friday at the Intuit Dome.

Above her, the sweeping halo scoreboard glowed, flashing beneath the thump of blasting pop anthems. Around her, where NBA chants once echoed, beach volleyball fans cheered. And strangest of all, tons of sand created a faux indoor shoreline.

After two years chasing it, Newberry found her label.

“I walked into the Intuit Dome today and I was like, ‘I feel like a professional athlete walking in,’” Newberry said. “I haven’t felt like that as a beach player. There’s very rare moments when you’re like, ‘Wow, I am really a professional athlete.’ And when I was going underground here and looking all around me, I was like, ‘I really am a professional athlete.’ And that’s because we’re playing at the Intuit Dome.”

In what began as a head-scratcher for the players themselves, 300 tons of sand were poured into the Intuit Dome, turning the Clippers’ arena into a pop-up beach — where the L.A. Launch kept their perfect run afloat for the start of AVP League Week 5.

The Launch struck first and last — with Megan Kraft and Terese Cannon opening with a win, and Hagen Smith and Logan Webber closing it out — both pairs dismantling the San Diego Smash. Sandwiched between those victories, Palm Beach Passion’s men’s and women’s teams both made quick work of the Miami Mayhem.

The moment Newberry described — descending into an NBA arena re-imagined as a sand-strewn battleground — was the AVP’s moonshot: to re-imagine the sport in lights, not solely sunlight.

“Playing in such an amazing place, brand new building, with everything going on, with the new building around here, it’s really cool,” said 2016 Olympian Chaim Schalk. “To get to play at such an iconic arena is an honor.”

Logan Webber of the L.A. Launch spikes over Chase Budinger of the San Diego Smash at the Intuit Dome on Friday night.

(Joe Scarnici / Getty Images)

Beach volleyball rarely has ventured beyond its coastal roots. But at the Intuit Dome, the sport embraced a new direction.

“This shows that beach volleyball is growing and it’s trying to adapt to the world we live in, finding a new way for fans to interact with the players, and new ways for the sport to be exciting,” said Chase Budinger, a former NBA player who became a beach volleyball player. “This will get more people in the stands because it’s so new and so different.”

In place of sun-worshiping fans camped out on makeshift bleachers, parents lounged on cushioned seats as kids nestled beside them balancing chicken wings and pizzas on their laps.

The sport welcomed a combination of newcomers hunting for Friday night entertainment and AVP devotees.

“There’s so many people who love beach volleyball, and so many people who would love beach volleyball if they were just given the opportunity to go watch,” Newberry said. “And not everybody can make it out.”

Change comes with tradeoffs. With no wind, the court became something of a power chamber — the compact sand lending itself to higher and cleaner jumps, the still air enabling blistering serves and monstrous spikes that might have drifted wide on the beach.

Rallies became quicker and tighter. The margin for error shrank, tightening the grip on the crowd.

“For a lot of people watching beach volleyball for the first time, it’s really hard to conceptualize how wind, how deep the sand is, might affect play,” Newberry said. “So it feels like more of an even playing field which allows everybody to watch really entertaining volleyball.”

By re-imagining the boundaries of where its sport can potentially thrive, the AVP might have sketched out a novel blueprint for other sports.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if other sports follow and start expanding their ideas of where they could play,” said Olympic silver medalist Brandie Wilkerson. “I’m excited to see where this is going to go and see other sports try to catch up.”

When Wu-Tang Clan and Run the Jewels took over the Crypto.com Arena in downtown L.A. on Sunday night, it wasn’t just a concert — it was a cultural earthquake. Crammed full of rap royalty, fans were packed together tighter than a “36” Chain” in a charged celebration of hip-hop’s powerful lasting impact.

The stop was part of the group’s Wu-Tang Forever: The Final Chamber farewell tour that began June 6 in Baltimore and concludes July 18 in Philadelphia, comprising 27 shows.

The tour features Wu-Tang’s surviving members — RZA, GZA, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Method Man, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa and Cappadonna — along with Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s son, Young Dirty Bastard, and DJ Mathematics.

The night began with an fierce performance from Run the Jewels, who set the tone with their explosive energy and charisma. Killer Mike and El-P, self-described as the new PB&J, commanded the stage effortlessly as they tore through their set list, kicking off with “Legend Has It” and moving into iconic hits like “Gold,” “Lie, Cheat, Steal,” “Ooh La La” and “Close Your Eyes.” The crowd was electric, rapping every word in unison while raising hand pistols and fists in solidarity. The duo’s sharp-witted lyrics, relentless rhythm and uncontainable passion ensured that their performance would be etched in memory as one of the highlights of the evening.

RZA of Wu-Tang Clan performs Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.

(Brian Feinzimer / For The Times)

By 9 p.m., it was officially time for Wu-Tang Clan to “Bring Da Ruckus,” and it did so with the fiery conviction of a team that defined an era in hip-hop. Arguably one of the most influential groups in music history, Wu delivered a performance that was both nostalgic and invigorating. Each member’s unique style and lyrical prowess shone brightly as classics like “C.R.E.A.M.,” “Protect Ya Neck,” “Method Man,” “Can It Be All So Simple” and Triumph” reverberated through the arena, igniting waves of energy throughout the audience. The powerful bass lines and raw, unfiltered sound reminded everyone why Wu-Tang Clan remains one of the most significant outfits in hip-hop.

Inspectah Deck and U-God of Wu-Tang Clan perform Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.

(Brian Feinzimer / For The Times)

Every hit Wu performed was like a time machine, taking the crowd on a ride through decades of influence, innovation and street-born poetry. The chamber members didn’t just perform, they took victory laps in front of a crowd that knew every word. You could feel the respect and weight of history in every moment.

Young Dirty Bastard and Method Man of Wu-Tang Clan perform Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.

(Brian Feinzimer / For The Times)

Adding a poignant touch to the evening, YDB took the stage to honor his late father, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, with renditions of his hits “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” and “Got Your Money.” The crowd rapped along passionately, creating a collective moment of tribute. The show also featured an unexpected twist, with multiple interludes promoting RZA’s latest action thriller, “One Spoon of Chocolate,” as well as the “Purple Tape Files” doc produced by him and Raekwon, blending entertainment with strategic promotion. Smart? Probably — even if it did seem oddly shoehorned in the middle of the show.

Fans of Wu-Tang Clan cheer as the band performs Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.

(Brian Feinzimer / For The Times)

Sunday at Crypto.com was much more than a gathering of two legendary crews sharing a stage. It was a historic celebration that lighted up Los Angeles with the full force of hip-hop excellence. From the thundering beats to the infectious energy of the crowd, every moment served as an in-your-face reminder that music shapes, inspires, and unites. And the performances? Those were a living testament to hip-hop’s enduring role in culture, and the audience left buzzing with the echoes of greatness that had filled every corner of the arena — Wu-Tang forever.

Two Belgian men have claimed they hid in a toilet at Munich’s Allianz Arena for 27 hours in order to watch last weekend’s Champions League final for free.

Neal Remmerie and Senne Haverbeke told Belgian broadcaster VRT News they managed to get into the ground the day before the match then emerged to watch Paris St-Germain’s 5-0 win over Inter Milan.

The pair uploaded a video, external on the social media platform TikTok which showed them sticking a homemade ‘out of order’ sign on two toilet cubicle doors before they waited in silence for more than a day as stadium staff used the facility.

“We had a backpack with snacks and we played around on our phones to kill time,” Remmerie said.

“The lights were on all the time and the sitting position was uncomfortable, so sleeping was almost impossible. That made it physically and mentally difficult.”

As soon as the duo heard fans using the toilets on matchday they emerged from the hiding place and made it past another ticket check before taking a seat in a stand.

“We looked carefully at which security guard was paying the least attention. While on the phone and with food in our hands, we just walked on, and suddenly we were inside,” Remmerie added.

“PSG won 5-0 and we were also in the supporters’ section of the winning team. It was the most beautiful football match we have ever seen.”

BBC Sport has approached the Allianz Arena and Uefa for comment.

The last time Bruce Arena and Dave Sarachan stood together on the sidelines at Dignity Health Sports Park, the Galaxy were beating the Colorado Rapids in the MLS Western Conference semifinals. That was 2016 and the win was the pair’s 18th playoff victory in eight seasons with the Galaxy.

It was also the last game they coached together in Carson.

They’ll be back on Wednesday, only this time Arena and Sarachan will be in the opposite technical area, standing in front of the San José Earthquakes’ bench. And in some ways it’s a bittersweet return. Because while both men have mostly fond memories of their time with the Galaxy, they return with the home team hungry and winless through 15 games, the longest drought in franchise history.

That makes the homecoming both welcome and challenging.

“I have nothing but good memories of my time in L.A. with the Galaxy. So it’s nice to go back,” Arena said.

“I like watching them and they’ve had tough times. But they’re better than their record indicates. We’re the next team up, which will be in some ways very, very challenging because you know they’re due to have success.”

The Galaxy (0-11-4) have led in each of their last three games, only to lose two of them on goals deep in stoppage time. So Wednesday’s game could be a dangerous one for the Earthquakes (5-6-4), who are unbeaten in their last five.

“It’s almost amazing that they haven’t gotten a win,” Sarachan said. “It’s a double-edged sword because there’s a certain fragility to it. But at the same time, they’re looking to get out of this funk. They’re in a tough situation so we just have to be ready.”

Arena and Sarachan, his top assistant with both the Galaxy and men’s national team, are arguably the most successful coaching duo in U.S. Soccer history, having taken the national team to the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup before winning three MLS Cups and two Supporters’ Shields in five seasons with the Galaxy.

It was the most successful five-year stretch by any team in MLS history. But the Galaxy didn’t win another MLS Cup until last season, ending the team’s longest trophy drought.

Less than two years after leaving the Galaxy to return to the national team, Arena and Sarachan went their separate ways after failing to qualify the U.S. for the 2018 World Cup. They reunited this winter in San José, where they took over a team that had tied the MLS record for losses (25) and broke the record for goals allowed (78) in 2024, guiding it into playoff position after 15 games this year.

“Our goal is to get through the first half of the season where we have a good feel for our team and understand where we need to go in the second half,” Arena said. “At the end of next week we’ll be at the midway point in the season and we have a better feel for where we are.

“We’re improving. Maybe not as quick as I’d like but I think we have a chance to be a good team in the season half.”

Arena’s blueprint for turning the Quakes around is the same one he used to rescue the Galaxy team he took over midway through the 2008 season. In L.A., he remade the roster by shipping out more than 20 players that winter. In San José, he brought in 16 new ones, including former Galaxy defender Dave Romney, who leads the team in minutes played, and former LAFC striker Cristian Arango, who is third in the league with nine goals.

But while Arena celebrates his team’s success, he takes no joy from the Galaxy’s struggles.

“Listen, I did my spell there and it was time to move on, like anything else,” Arena said. “You stay in one place too long, they eventually want you to move on.

“I have the greatest respect for that organization. There are better times ahead for them. The second half of the season is going to be much improved.”

Sarachan agreed. But he’d just as soon the Galaxy hold off on that improvement until the Quakes have left town.

“Yeah,” he said, confessing to harboring no hard feelings. “I’d like to see them 0-12-4. And we can move on from that.”

LIVERPOOL fans who lined the streets to celebrate the club’s Premier League triumph have spoken out after a car ploughed into a crowd.

A 53-year-old white British man from Liverpool was arrested at the scene on Water Street just after 6pm and is thought to have been the driver of the car, police said.

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Some 27 injured people were rushed to hospital – two with serious injuries – and 20 were treated at the scene, with more patients self-presenting later on, the North West Ambulance Service said.

A survivor of the Manchester Arena bombing was one of those knocked to the floor by the car.

Frankie, 24, told the Mail: “I was at the Manchester Arena incident. I don’t want to go out again.

They continued: “The side of the car went into me and I fell to the floor. It’s all a blur.

“I’ve got cuts and bruises and I’ll be fine but there’s loads who have got more severe injuries.”

Meanwhile, supporter Harry Rashid, 48, was a stone’s throw away from the swerving vehicle during the terrifying scene.

“It happened about 10 feet away from us,” he said.

“We were just in a crowd and we had no control over where we would be, because it was a very narrow street. 

“The vehicle came to our right. It emerged from just right next to an ambulance, which was parked up.

“This grey people carrier just pulled up from the right and just rammed into all the people at the side of us.

“It was travelling south, down Water Street, straight towards this strand, which is where the docks are.

“It was extremely fast. Initially, we just heard the pop, pop, pop of people just being knocked off the bonnet of a car.”

Merseyside Police are leading the investigation and were initially supported by counter-terrorism police.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “The scenes in Liverpool are appalling — my thoughts are with all those injured or affected.”

He later praised the “remarkable bravery” shown by the emergency services in Liverpool and added: “Everyone, especially children, should be able to celebrate their heroes without this horror.”

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described the scenes as “truly shocking” and thanked the emergency services for their “swift response”.

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