WASHINGTON — The United States struck another small boat accused of carrying drugs in the waters off Venezuela, killing six people, President Trump said on Tuesday.
Those who died in the strike were aboard the vessel, and no U.S. forces were harmed, Trump said in a social media post. It’s the fifth deadly strike in the Caribbean as Trump’s administration has asserted it’s treating alleged drug traffickers as unlawful combatants who must be met with military force.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the strike Tuesday morning, said Trump, who released a video of it, as he had in the past. Hegseth later shared the video in a post on X.
Trump said the strike was conducted in international waters and “Intelligence” confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics, was associated with “narcoterrorist networks” and was on a known drug trafficking route.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to an email from the Associated Press seeking more information on the latest boat strike.
Frustration with the Trump administration has been growing on Capitol Hill among members of both major political parties. Some Republicans are seeking more information from the White House on the legal justification and details of the strikes. Democrats contend the strikes violate U.S. and international law.
The Senate last week voted on a war powers resolution that would have barred the Trump administration from conducting the strikes unless Congress specifically authorized them, but it failed to pass.
In a memo to Congress that was obtained by The Associated Press, the Trump administration said it had “determined that the United States is in a non-international armed conflict with these designated terrorist organizations” and that Trump directed the Pentagon to “conduct operations against them pursuant to the law of armed conflict.”
The Trump administration has yet to provide underlying evidence to lawmakers proving that the boats targeted by the U.S. military in a series of fatal strikes were in fact carrying narcotics, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The strikes followed a buildup of U.S. maritime forces in the Caribbean unlike any seen in recent times.
Last week, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino told military leaders that the U.S. government knows the drug-trafficking accusations used to support the recent actions in the Caribbean are false, with its true intent being to “force a regime change” in the South American country.
He added that the Venezuelan government does not see the deployment of the U.S. warships as a mere “propaganda-like action” and warned of a possible escalation.
“I want to warn the population: We have to prepare ourselves because the irrationality with which the U.S. empire operates is not normal,” Padrino said during the televised gathering. “It’s anti-political, anti-human, warmongering, rude, and vulgar.”
Price and Toropin write for the Associated Press. AP writer Ben Finley contributed to this report.
Diane Keaton, the actress who starred in some of the biggest movies of the last half-century, including the “Godfather” and “Annie Hall,” while serving as a style trend-setter and a champion of Los Angeles’ past, has died. She was 79.
Her death was first reported by People and confirmed by The New York Times.
In an extraordinary run during the 1970s when she was dominant, her career spanned the high points of American cinema: Francis Ford Coppola’s mafia saga and several of Woody Allen’s urbane comedies, climaxing in an Oscar win for her culture-changing turn as the title character in 1977’s “Annie Hall.” Keaton’s catchphrase, “Well, la-di-dah,” became iconic.
Over her career, she received four Oscar nominations for lead actress, winning for “Annie Hall.”
Born in Southern California, Keaton achieved fame in the 1970s through her frequent collaborations with Woody Allen and Francis Ford Coppola. She appeared in three “Godfather” movies as well as eight Allen films. Her star turn as Annie Hall earned her critical raves and made her a fashion icon of the era with Annie’s fedora hats, vests, ties and baggy pants. The Times once called her look “fluttery, vulnerable, almost unbearably adorable.”
“Annie’s style was Diane’s style — very eclectic,” designer Ralph Lauren said in a 1978 story in Vogue, soon after the movie came out. “She had a style that was all her own. Annie Hall was pure Diane Keaton.”
She was often asked if she got tired of the notoriety “Annie Hall” brought her, including the magazine covers, think pieces and fashion homages.
“No, I’m not. Everything is because of ‘Annie Hall’ with Woody. He has a great ear for women’s voices. I’m so grateful to him; he really gave me an opportunity that changed my life,” she told The Times in 2012. “I’m never disappointed about people talking to me about ‘Annie Hall.’ But I will say, a lot of people don’t know ‘Annie Hall’ exists, and that’s just the way it goes — goodbye! It’s bittersweet.”
She managed to capture the cultural zeitgeist in later films. In 1987, she played a successful businesswoman who upends her life to care for a relative’s baby in “Baby Boom.” In 2003, she won acclaim in “Something’s Gotta Give” for playing a successful writer navigating with romance in her 50s.
Keaton also got Oscar nominations for “Reds” (1982), “Marvin’s Room” (1996) and “Something’s Gotta Give.”
Keaton was a patron of the L.A. arts scene and also gained note as a champion of architecture preservation, remaking grand homes across the region. In collaboration with the Los Angeles Public Library, she edited a book of tabloid photos called “Local News” that ran in the Los Angeles Herald-Express.
In a 2018 interview with The Times, she said she felt privileged to still be working.
“I know what I am by now,” she said. “I know how old I am. I know what my limitations are and what I can and can’t do. So if something appeals to me, I’m definitely going to go for it.”
Later in life, Keaton became a major voice in architecture preservation.
She grew up Santa Ana during the post World War II housing boom in the 1950s and told The Times in an interviews she loved going to open houses with her father
“My father took me to see model homes, which I thought were palaces,” Keaton said.
She began buying and fixing up landmark homes around L.A., especially those of the Spanish colonial style.
“You have to get to know a house and try to keep its integrity. I try to honor the architect,” she said. “I love to go into an empty house. You look at the house and start to feel what it might need.”
“There are so many house treasures, unsung gems, all over Los Angeles,” she said.
Explaining how she came to edit the book of L.A. tabloid photos, Keaton told The Times the L.A. city library came up to her at a swap meet.
The librarian said, ‘There’s these files in the basement of the Central Library’ — the most beautiful building. I took a look. There are books and books to be made out of those images. This is a brilliant archive.”
In recent years, Keaton had become a hit on Instagram, posting photos of architecture, fashion and more. In an interview in 2019, she said she was still very active, eager to work and try new things but was also thinking more about her mortality.
“Of course, you think about it. How can you not?” she said. “I mean, I’m 73. How long do you live? It’s really important what those years are like.”
Keaton death brought tribute across Hollywood and beyond.
“She was a very special person and an incredibly gifted actor, who made each of her roles unforgettable. Her light will continue to shine through the art she leaves behind. Godspeed,” said Nancy Sinatra.
WASHINGTON — A grand jury has indicted New York Atty. Gen. Letitia James on a fraud charge in the latest Justice Department case against a perceived enemy of President Trump, a person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press on Thursday.
James was indicted in the Eastern District of Virginia on one count after a mortgage fraud investigation, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.
James’ office had no immediate comment Thursday.
The indictment, two weeks after a separate criminal case charging former FBI Director James Comey with lying to Congress, is the latest indication of the Trump administration’s norm-busting determination to use the law enforcement powers of the Justice Department to pursue the president’s political foes and public figures who once investigated him.
The James case remained under seal Thursday, making it impossible to assess what evidence prosecutors have. But as was the case with the Comey charges, the prosecution followed a strikingly unconventional case.
The Trump administration two weeks ago pushed out Erik Siebert, the veteran prosecutor who had overseen the investigation for months but had resisted pressure to file a case, and replaced him with Lindsey Halligan, a White House aide who was once Trump’s personal lawyer but who has never worked as a federal prosecutor.
Halligan presented the case to the grand jury herself, as she did in the case against Comey, according to the person familiar with the matter.
Trump has been advocating charging James for months, posting on social media without citing any evidence that she’s “guilty as hell” and telling reporters at the White House, “It looks to me like she’s really guilty of something, but I really don’t know.”
James, a second-term Democrat, has denied wrongdoing. She has said that she made an error while filling out a form related to a home purchase but quickly rectified it and didn’t deceive the lender.
Her lawyer has accused the Justice Department of concocting a bogus criminal case to settle Trump’s personal vendetta against James, who last year won a staggering judgment against Trump and his companies in a lawsuit alleging he lied to banks and others about the value of his assets.
The Justice Department has also been investigating mortgage-related allegations against Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook, using the probe to demand her ouster, and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), whose lawyer called the allegations against him “transparently false, stale, and long debunked.”
But James is a particularly personal target. As attorney general, she sued the Republican president and his administration dozens of times and oversaw a lawsuit accusing him of defrauding banks by dramatically overstating the value of his real estate holdings on financial statements.
An appeals court overturned the fine, which had ballooned to more than $500 million with interest, but upheld a lower court’s finding that Trump had committed fraud.
Richer, Sisak and Tucker write for the Associated Press.
WASHINGTON — The State Department said Wednesday that it has fired a U.S. diplomat over a romantic relationship he admitted having with a Chinese woman alleged to have ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
The dismissal is believed to be the first of its kind for violating a ban on such relationships that was introduced late last year under the Biden administration.
The Associated Press reported earlier this year that in the waning days of President Biden’s presidency, the State Department imposed a ban on all American government personnel in China, as well as family members and contractors with security clearances, from any romantic or sexual relationships with Chinese citizens.
Tommy Pigott, a State Department spokesman, said in a statement that the diplomat in question was dismissed from the foreign service after President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio reviewed the case and determined that he had “admitted concealing a romantic relationship with a Chinese national with known ties to the Chinese Communist Party.”
“Under Secretary Rubio’s leadership, we will maintain a zero-tolerance policy for any employee who is caught undermining our country’s national security,” Pigott said.
The statement did not identify the diplomat, but he and his girlfriend had been featured in a surreptitiously filmed video posted online by conservative firebrand James O’Keefe.
In Beijing, a Chinese government spokesperson declined to comment on what he said is a domestic U.S. issue. “But I would like to stress that we oppose drawing lines based on ideological difference and maliciously smearing China,” the Foreign Ministry’s Guo Jiakun said at a daily briefing.
Lee writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Ken Moritsugu in Beijing contributed to this report.
BATON ROUGE, La. — The immigration detainees sent to a notorious Louisiana prison last month are being punished for crimes for which they have already served time, the American Civil Liberties Union said Monday in a lawsuit challenging the government’s decision to hold what it calls the “worst of the worst” there.
The lawsuit accuses President Trump’s administration of selecting the former slave plantation known as Angola for its “uniquely horrifying history” and intentionally subjecting immigrant detainees to inhumane conditions — including foul water and lacking basic necessities — in violation of the Double Jeopardy clause, which protects people from being punished twice for the same crime.
The ACLU also alleges some immigrants detained at the newly opened “Louisiana Lockup” should be released because the government failed to deport them within six months of a removal order. The lawsuit cites a 2001 Supreme Court ruling raised in several recent immigration cases, including that of the Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, that says immigration detention should be “nonpunitive.”
“The anti-immigrant campaign under the guise of ‘Making America Safe Again’ does not remotely outweigh or justify indefinite detention in ‘America’s Bloodiest Prison’ without any of the rights afforded to criminal defendants,” ACLU attorneys argue in a petition reviewed by The Associated Press.
The AP sent requests for comment to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry.
The lawsuit comes a month after state and federal authorities gathered at the sprawling Louisiana State Penitentiary to announce that the previously shuttered prison complex had been refurbished to house up to 400 immigrant detainees that officials said would include some of the most violent in ICE custody.
The complex had been nicknamed “the dungeon” because it previously held inmates in solitary cells for more than 23 hours a day.
ICE repurposed the facility amid an ongoing legal battle over an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” and as Trump continues his large-scale attempt to remove millions of people suspected of entering the country illegally. The federal government has been racing to to expand its deportation infrastructure and, with state allies, has announced other new facilities, including what it calls the “Speedway Slammer” in Indiana and the “Cornhusker Clink” in Nebraska. ICE is seeking to detain 100,000 people under a $45 billion expansion Trump signed into law in July.
At Angola last month, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told reporters the “legendary” maximum security prison, the largest in the nation, had been chosen to house a new ICE facility to encourage people in the U.S. illegally to self-deport. “This facility will hold the most dangerous of criminals,” she said.
Authorities said the immigration detainees would be isolated from Angola’s thousands of civil prisoners, many of whom are serving life sentences for violent offenses.
“I know you all in the media will attempt to have a field day with this facility, and you will try to find everything wrong with our operation in an effort to make those who broke the law in some of the most violent ways victims,” Landry, a Republican, said during a news conference last month.
“If you don’t think that they belong in somewhere like this, you’ve got a problem.”
The ACLU lawsuit says detainees at “Louisiana Lockup” already were “forced to go on hunger strike” to “demand basic necessities such as medical care, toilet paper, hygiene products and clean drinking water.” Detainees have described a long-neglected facility that was not yet prepared to house them, saying they are contending with mold, dust and ”black” water coming out of showers, court records show.
Federal and state officials have said those claims are part of a “false narrative” created by the media, and that the hunger strike only occurred after inaccurate reporting.
The lawsuit was filed in Baton Rouge federal court on behalf of Oscar Hernandez Amaya, a 34-year-old Honduran man who has been in ICE custody for two years. He was transferred to “Louisiana Lockup” last month from an ICE detention center in Pennsylvania.
Amaya fled Honduras two decades ago after refusing the violent MS-13 gang’s admonition “to torture and kill another human being,” the lawsuit alleges. The gang had recruited him at age 12, court documents say.
Amaya came to the United States, where he worked “without incident” until 2016. He was arrested that year and later convicted of attempted aggravated assault and sentenced to more than four years in prison. He was released on good-time credits after about two years and then transferred to ICE custody.
An immigration judge this year awarded Amaya “Convention Against Torture” protection from being returned to Honduras, the lawsuit says, but the U.S. government has failed to deport him to another country.
“The U.S. Supreme Court has been very clear that immigration detention cannot be used for punitive purposes,” Nora Ahmed, the ACLU of Louisiana’s legal director, told AP. “You cannot serve time for a crime in immigration detention.”
Mustian and Cline write for the Associated Press. Mustian reported from New York.
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. Basketball season is a month away, and the big question is did everyone learn something from the football scandals this fall?
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The Southern Section has made more than 40 fall athletes ineligible for two years for violating CIF bylaw 202, which involves providing false information on transfer paperwork. The majority are football players. Players have left California to play elsewhere. Bishop Montgomery, which had 24 transfers declared ineligible, has seen students move to Arizona and Florida. A Long Beach Millikan player also left for Arizona.
Athletic directors will soon start submitting transfer paperwork for numerous basketball players. How many will try to gain immediate eligibility with a valid change of residence? How many will seek sit-out period eligibility? How many will be declared ineligible because of undue influence, otherwise known as illegal recruiting?
Southern Section commissioner Mike West has received support from some football coaches for having his assistant commissioners enforce and uncover rule violations among transfers. But there’s lots of skepticism whether basketball will face the same scrutiny since powerful programs have been relying on transfers for years and one of the continuing public perception issues, right or wrong, has been “unequal” enforcement of rules.
West has insisted the Southern Section is committed to using its new investigative tools to determine the accuracy of transfer paperwork submitted by schools as filled out by parents, so athletic directors and principals have been put on notice to investigate before making a decision to send in the paperwork.
If there are lots of sit-out period athletes, it will mean teams won’t be at full strength until Dec. 26, the day the sit-out period ends for boys and girls basketball. And, as shown during football season, just because the Southern Section initially approves or denies a transfer, it doesn’t mean the athlete’s status won’t change when additional facts are brought forward.
Call it Crampgate. While Sierra Canyon rolled to a 30-0 victory over Gardena Serra, a controversial decision by the Trailblazers to purposely fake cramps in retaliation for what it thought was Serra’s repeated issues with cramps caused quite a debate. Here’s the story.
There were a number of losses by top 25 teams. No. 8 Orange Lutheran lost 25-10 to No. 4 Mater Dei. No. 9 Vista Murrieta lost 28-20 to Chaparral. No. 10 Servite lost 17-7 to No. 6 Santa Margarita. No. 11 Damien lost 24-22 to Rancho Cucamonga. No. 12 San Juan Hills lost 33-10 to No. 17 Corona del Mar.
Leuzinger defeated Inglewood 43-32 for the first time since 1999 in a Bay League showdown. Next up is another great league matchup, with Palos Verdes playing Leuzinger on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. at SoFi Stadium.
Mary Star took control of the Camino Real League with a 21-12 win over St. Genevieve. Sophomore running back Johnny Rivera, with nearly 800 yards rushing, has provided a big boost this season.
Corona Centennial coach Matt Logan (right) receives trophy from athletic director Tony Barile after 300th coaching win.
Crenshaw wide receiver Deance’ Lewis (11) celebrates his touchdown with tight end De’Andre Kirkpatrick (10) against Dorsey.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Crenshaw continues to make strides, knocking off rival Dorsey 12-8 in a game that featured a halftime concert by Mustard. Here’s the report.
The Western League began with the expected wins by Hamilton, Venice and Palisades. Hamilton won’t find out where it stands until facing Palisades on Oct. 24 and Venice on Oct. 30. The big matchup is on Friday when Venice hosts Palisades.
Van Nuys defeated Sylmar for the first time in more than 30 years 49-46. Coach Ken Osorio credited his offensive line that features right tackle Ernesto Gomez, right guard Jiancarlos Lopez, center Omar Hernandez, left guard Angel Avendano and left tackle Eli Taitz. Quarterback Carlos Herrera ran for four touchdowns and threw another.
Gardena began Marine League play with a 29-6 win over Banning. Quarterback Kevin Martinez had two touchdowns passing and two touchdowns running.
Eagle Rock handed Marshall its first defeat 41-7 in a Northern League opener.
Quarterback Brady Smigiel of Newbury Park, The Times’ reigning player of the year in Southern California, suffered a torn ACL knee injury on Friday night against Santa Barbara, ending his high school career, his father, Joe, said. He’s committed to Michigan and will undergo surgery.
Newbury Park quarterback Brady Smigiel suffered a torn ACL injury to his knee on Friday.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
He came into this season with 11,222 career yards passing and 147 touchdowns. This season, in six games, he passed for 1,624 yards and 15 touchdowns.
From the moment I saw Brady Smigiel as a freshman in a summer passing tournament, I was convinced he had the ability to be a top quarterback. He got better every season. A leader. A fighter. To see him and his father together for four years was special at Newbury Park.
His work ethic combined with surgery should allow him to have a complete recovery. He will go down as one of the most prolific football players in Ventura County history.
JSerra quarterback Kate Meier reaches across the goal line for the winning touchdown an instant before her flag is pulled.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
The showdown between No. 1 Orange Lutheran and No. 2 JSerra turned out as fun as expected, with JSerra winning 18-7 on the strength of four interceptions. Here’s the report.
Dos Pueblos quarterback Kacey Hurley and coach Doug Caines bump fists.
It was a big week for Sierra Canyon. The Trailblazers went to five sets to win their Mission League showdown against Marymount 25-19, 24-26, 25-22, 25-27, 15-11.
Then Sierra Canyon won the Mira Costa/Redondo Union tournament championship over Archbishop Mitty, which pretty much makes the Trailblazers the top team in Southern California and perhaps the state.
Shalen Sheppard has left Brentwood for Crossroads.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Shalen Sheppard, a 6-foot-8 sophomore who was expected to be the standout basketball player at Brentwood, has transferred to rival Crossroads. Brentwood coach Ryan Bailey developed him into one of the top freshman players last season. …
Tyran Stokes from Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and Brandon McCoy from Sierra Canyon have signed NIL deals with Nike. …
Tajh Ariza of St. John Bosco, last season’s co-City Section basketball player of the year at Westchester, has committed to Oregon. …
Three-time Olympic gold medalist Melissa Seidemann is the new girls water polo coach at Orange Lutheran. Here’s the report. …
Adam Goldstein was named baseball coach at Agoura. …
Junior lacrosse player Brody Booen of Santa Margarita has committed to Virginia. …
Tight end Keawe Browne of Corona Centennial has committed to Boise State. …
San Pedro softball player Caroline Baker has committed to Louisiana Tech. …
Quarterback Kade Casillas of Lakewood has committed to Wayne State. …
Former Crespi and UC Riverside basketball player Kyle Owens has died after a bout with cancer. He was 24. …
Pitcher Abby Ford of JSerra has committed to Washington for softball.
From the archives: Romeo Doubs
Green Bay Packers’ Romeo Doubs.
(Morry Gash / Associated Press)
Former Jefferson High standout Romeo Doubshas become a standout receiver in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers. His is a great story to tell, having been a double-wing T quarterback at Jefferson in the City Section. He got a scholarship to Nevada and kept improving as a receiver.
From Substack, a story on former Sherman Oaks Notre Dame star Giancarlo Stanton.
From the Washington Post, a story on a high school football team with two former Super Bowl winners on the coaching staff.
From the Orange County Register, a story on former Loyola linebacker Scott Taylor contributing for UCLA as a freshman.
Tweets you might have missed
Hunter Greene is the third pitcher in MLB history to pitch 100 or more innings and average at least 10 strikeouts per nine innings in each of his first four seasons (2022-25). The others are Yu Darvish (first five seasons: 2012-17; DNP in 2015) and Mark Prior (2002-05). pic.twitter.com/FBqyrIyOB1
What can coaches do anymore. You coach, you sit down a player to get him to understand what you want, they either learn or rebel. It’s a crazy time to coach. Criticism is forbidden. Saying only good things is a must even if it’s untrue. Good luck to all.
Two great football coaches. Dick Bruich and Dave White. They had some battles in the 1980s and 1990s at Fontana and Edison, respectively. pic.twitter.com/agELy3KtWc
The Marmonte League needs to change its league name for teams in the league playing football only next season. Options: Surfer League. 101 League. We shake hands League.
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McALLEN, Texas — The Trump administration said Friday that it would pay migrant children $2,500 to voluntarily return to their home countries, dangling a new incentive in efforts to persuade people to self-deport.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement didn’t say how much migrants would get or when the offer would take effect, but the Associated Press obtained an email to migrant shelters saying children 14 years of age and older would get $2,500 each. Children were given 24 hours to respond.
The notice to shelters from the U.S. Health and Human Services Department’s Administration for Families and Children did not indicate any consequences for children who decline the offer. It asked shelter directors to acknowledge the offer within four hours.
ICE said in a statement that the offer would initially be for 17-year-olds.
“Any payment to support a return home would be provided after an immigration judge grants the request and the individual arrives in their country of origin,” ICE said. “Access to financial support when returning home would assist should they choose that option.”
Advocates said the sizable sum may prevent children from making informed decisions.
“For a child, $2,500 might be the most money they’ve ever seen in their life, and that may make it very, very difficult for them to accurately weigh the long-term risks of taking voluntary departure versus trying to stay in the United States and going through the immigration court process to get relief that they may be legally entitled to,” Melissa Adamson, senior attorney at the National Center for Youth Law, said in response to the plans Friday.
ICE dismissed widespread reports among immigration lawyers and advocates that it was launching a much broader crackdown Friday to deport migrant children who entered the country without their parents, called “Freaky Friday.”
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said Wednesday that it was putting a hold on roughly $18 billion to fund a new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey and the city’s expanded Second Avenue subway project because of the government shutdown.
The White House budget director, Russ Vought, said on a post on X that the step was taken due to the Republican administration’s belief that the money was “based on unconstitutional DEI principles,” a reference to diversity, equity and inclusion.
But an administration official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and insisted on anonymity to discuss the hold, said the government shutdown that started at midnight meant that the Transportation Department employees responsible for reimbursing workers on the projects had been furloughed, so the money was being withheld.
The suspension of funds is likely meant to target Senate Democratic leader Charles E. Schumer of New York, whom the White House is blaming for the shutdown.
In a 2023 interview with the Associated Press, Schumer said he and then-President Biden were both “giddy” over the rail tunnel project, adding that it was all they talked about in the presidential limousine as they rode to the site.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, reacting to the news at a news conference about the federal government shutdown, told reporters, “The bad news just keeps coming” and that “they’re trying to make culture wars be the reason why.”
“That’s what a partnership with Washington looks like as we’re standing here. We’ve done our part, we’re ready to build, it’s underway,” she said. “And now we realize that they’ve decided to put their own interpretation of proper culture ahead of our needs, the needs of a nation.”
The Hudson River rail tunnel is a long-delayed project whose path toward construction has been full of political and funding switchbacks. It’s intended to ease the strain on a 110-year-old tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey. Hundreds of Amtrak and commuter trains carry hundreds of thousands of passengers per day through the tunnel, and delays can ripple up and down the East Coast between Boston and Washington
The Second Avenue subway was first envisioned in the 1920s. The subway line along Manhattan’s Second Avenue was an on-again, off-again grail until the first section opened on Jan. 1, 2017. The state-controlled Metropolitan Transportation Authority is working toward starting construction on the line’s second phase of the line, which is to extend into East Harlem.
Boak writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Anthony Izaguirre in Albany, N.Y., and Jennifer Peltz in New York contributed to this report.
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. If all goes as expected, Matt Logan of Corona Centennial will earn career victory No. 300 on Thursday night, becoming the 15th coach in state history to achieve that mark, according to CalHiSports.com records.
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Corona Centennial coach Matt Logan is in his 29th season.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
It’s going to be party time in Corona on Thursday night when Centennial hosts Eastvale Roosevelt. Centennial will be a heavy favorite to deliver win No. 300 for coach Matt Logan, who has made his program one of Southern California’s most consistent and perhaps the top public school football program in his 29th season.
Centennial is the last team to win the Southern Section title in 2015 other than St. John Bosco and Mater Dei. His teams have won 10 Southern Section titles and a state title in 2018. His influence has been immense.
Twenty-two former Centennial players have reached the NFL, including five on current rosters. More than 250 players have reached the college ranks. He became a trendsetter with his quick tempo, no-huddle offense that required officials to be in good shape because of the speed in which the Huskies would snap the ball after the whistle had been blown. He became the coach not afraid to play anyone, scheduling home and away games with Mater Dei, playing Florida’s IMG Academy and playing three Trinity League opponents this season.
Through the years, any time there was an opening at a top private school, Logan’s name got mentioned as a candidate. But the Norco High graduate was never going to leave the community he grew up in.
“I don’t think our school district and our area would be recognized without him,” said Anthony Catalano, a former quarterback and current assistant coach. “It changed the outlook of our community and kept a lot of people home. It set the standard for what our expectations are.”
One moment that is always most memorable comes at the end of the final game or final practice. The whole team lines up to salute every senior. Logan gives a hug to each senior offering words of appreciation and encouragement. That embrace to a teenager preparing to become an adult makes them Matt Logan fans for life.
Quarterback Taylor Lee of Oxnard Pacifica had four touchdown passes in 42-14 win over Hamilton.
(Craig Weston)
The Trinity League begins football action this week. Get ready for a five-week grind that ends on Halloween, with St. John Bosco hosting Mater Dei. On Friday, St. John Bosco is at JSerra, Mater Dei is playing Orange Lutheran at Orange Coast College and Santa Margarita is playing Servite at Santa Ana Stadium.
All six teams remain in contention for the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. The key will be how many teams are chosen for Division 1. Corona Centennial, Mission Viejo and Sierra Canyon are certain selections. If the Southern Section only goes with eight teams, then one Trinity League team won’t make it. Last season there were 10 teams selected. Los Alamitos is 7-0 and a contender going into its three league games against Edison, San Clemente and Mission Viejo. The rankings are done by hsratings.com.
Monrovia has lost sophomore quarterback Jesse Saucedo for the rest of the season after a knee injury.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame unveiled 6-foot-8 basketball star Tyran Stokes at receiver. Here’s the report.
Los Alamitos earned a long-deserved break after improving to 7-0 with a win over Calabasas. The surprising Griffins don’t play again until their league opener on Oct. 16. They can become a Division 1 playoff team by beating Edison, San Clemente and Mission Viejo over their final three games. Quarterback Colin Creason was 17 of 19 passing for 296 yards and three touchdowns against Calabasas. Talented tight end Beckham Hogland had seven catches for 140 yards.
Taylor Lee of Oxnard Pacifica has 19 touchdowns in his last three games after a 42-14 win over Hamilton. Here’s the report.
The City Section is closing in on booking L.A. Southwest College to host its Open Division championship game on Nov. 29. Birmingham would host championship games on Nov. 28.
Last week, L.A. Jordan (0-6) forfeited its game to Fremont because of lack of healthy players and first-year coach James Boyd is out. Boyd was a former Jordan standout. Leonard McConico was named interim coach. Also Dymally has officially canceled its season.
Carson had a breakthrough nonleague win over St. Pius X-St. Matthias. Sophomore defensive end Kingston Sula had four sacks.
Palisades receiver Go Moriya makes a sliding catch in the second half of Friday night’s 35-28 intersectional win.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Palisades improved to 5-0 by rallying to beat Mary Star 35-28. Here’s the report.
Birmingham begins West Valley League play this week against El Camino Real and has a 49-game winning streak against City Section opponents.
Crenshaw hosts Dorsey on Friday night in a big Coliseum League game that will decide the main challenger to King/Drew.
Marshall is 6-0 after a 42-18 win over Jefferson. Junior quarterback Nathaniel Cadet has been a key player for the Barristers. Marshall will find out where it stands in a Northern League opener against Eagle Rock on Friday night.
Elyjah Staples is a star junior defensive end for Marquez and also straight-A student.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
It’s a tradition for the Marquez High football team to raise a black Gladiators flag up the stadium pole after each victory.
Imagine how often that flag could be raised each time Elyjah Staples, the school’s star outside linebacker, earned an A on his report card? That’s the only grade he’s gotten in three years of classes, no matter taking Chemistry, Algebra 2 or advance placement U.S. History.
It’s the game of the year in high school flag football.
On Tuesday at 5:45 p.m. at Orange Lutheran, the unbeaten Lancers (18-0) take on unbeaten JSerra (19-0) in a game that should attract a large crowd and produce a memorable matchup.
Orange Lutheran and quarterback Makena Cook are the defending Division 1 flag football champions. JSerra, bolstered by a group of talented freshmen, have been surging and preparing for this showdown. Freshman quarterback Katie Meier and freshman receiver Ava Irwin get to test themselves on a big stage.
LIONS POSTGAME: Junior G.G. Szczuka produced five catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns, while freshman quarterback Kate Meier threw for two touchdowns and ran for another score, as the JSerra Girls Flag Football team improved to 19-0 on the season with a 34-19 victory over… pic.twitter.com/QKUaOyreon
Venice continues to be a City Section title contender in girls volleyball, handing Palisades its first defeat in Western League play, 25-23, 22-25, 12-25, 25-21, 15-9.
Mira Costa came through with a win over rival Redondo Union to go to 4-0 in the Bay League and 14-7 overall.
Marymount hosts Sierra Canyon on Monday night in the first of two Mission League matches.
San Clemente athletic trainer Amber Anaya helped save a soccer assistant coach who went into cardiac arrest.
(San Clemente HS)
For those high schools in California that still don’t have an athletic trainer, what happened at San Clemente High was another reason why they are so valuable for the safety reasons. And also proven was the requirement that coaches be certified in CPR every two years.
Calabasas senior Elie Samouhi took out his electric guitar and played the national anthem before the Calabasas-Los Alamitos football game last week. What a performance. You can hear it here.
Basketball
Fall basketball is picking up steam more than a month away from the official start of the season.
Former St. John Bosco guard Brandon McCoy made his fall debut for Sierra Canyon, which has a number of transfer students that still need to be cleared by the school and Southern Section.
In fact, most of the Mission League is loaded with transfers, and if they’re eligible, it will be quite a league season ahead.
Freshman Nico Mecilli should be a contributor for Sherman Oaks Notre Dame basketball.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame might start a little slow with several players on the football team, including standout Tyran Stokes, but that will only give the newcomers the opportunity to play, such as 6-foot-5 Bishop Gorman transfer Ilan Nikolov and 6-5 freshman Nico Mecilli.
Three of the big risers have been 6-7 junior Kevin Keshishyan of Los Altos, 6-9 junior Nick Welch Jr. of Rolling Hills Prep and senior guard Josiah Johnson of Mayfair.
In girls basketball, Etiwanda and Ontario Christian are gearing up to be the top teams again, but watch for big improvement from Troy, where future Hall of Fame coach Kevin Kiernan has returned after being at Mater Dei and not coaching last season. Oak Park could be on the rise with several transfer students.
Transfer warning
Southern Section commissioner Mike West (left) addressed the Southern Section Council on Thursday.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
I’ve been trying to find a way to educate parents, fans, coaches and players about the ongoing crackdown of Southern Section transfer rules, and commissioner Mike West made a brief presentation at the Southern Section Council meeting to provide an update.
In the latest development, five Long Beach Poly football players and one volleyball player have been declared ineligible for two years for violating CIF bylaw 202, which involves providing false information. Also Victor Valley lost four football players to two-year punishments. Pacific in San Bernardino lost two football players for one year.
Notes . . .
Chris Huber is the new girls lacrosse coach at Newbury Park. . . .
Tressa Beatty of Bonita has committed to Azusa Pacific for women’s basketball. . . .
Softball standout Mireya Gonzalez of La Mirada has committed to Connecticut. . . .
Emilia Krstevski, a 6-4 center at Sierra Canyon, has committed to play women’s basketball at Oregon. . . .
Rio Hondo Prep and Brentwood have moved their football game to SoFi Stadium on Oct. 16 at 4:30 p.m. . . .
Outfielder James Tronstein of Harvard-Westlake has committed to Vanderbilt. . . .
Junior outfielder/pitcher Carson Richter of Newbury Park has committed to Michigan. . . .
Junior Ivy Burnham of St. Anthony has committed to Stanford softball. . . .
South Hills softball standout Charli Moreno has committed to Washington. . . .
Junior pitcher Andrew Carlson from Trinity Classical Academy has committed to Texas Christian. . . .
Junior pitcher Tate Belfanti of Cypress has committed to Texas Christian. . . .
Pitcher Owen Shannon of Mater Dei has committed to Pittsburgh. . . .
Adam Goldstein, who has been an assistant baseball coach at Agoura, has emerged as the leading candidate for the vacant head coach position. . . .
Former standout offensive line Mark Schroller from Mission Viejo has medically retired from football at UCLA. . . .
Quarterback Wyatt Brown of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame takes off on a touchdown run against Culver City.
(Craig Weston)
Quarterback Wyatt Brown of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame has committed to West Virginia. . . .
Linebacker Glenn Baranoski of Newport Harbor has committed to San Diego.
From the archives: Peyton Woodyard
Peyton Woodyard during his St. John Bosco days in 2022.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Freshman safety Peyton Woodyard, a St. John Bosco grad, is making an impact at Oregon.
It’s no surprise, since Woodyard was a key contributor for St. John Bosco over three seasons.
From the San Diego Union Tribune, a story on Torrey Pines having the best girls golf team in the nation.
Tweets you might have missed
The next Servite phenom. 6-4 freshman Tetairoa McMillan. Starter in basketball and volleyball. Football coaches drooling over his potential. pic.twitter.com/tOQA2W4Xvi
I’m so passionate about covering high school sports that I’ve spent 49 years doing it. But some are taking it too seriously. It’s not college, it’s not pros. No matter how angry you get, you can’t change the mission it will always be about _ to prepare teenagers for adulthood.
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ROME — Acclaimed Italian actor Claudia Cardinale, who starred in some of the most celebrated European films of the 1960s and ’70s, has died, AFP reported Tuesday. She was 87.
She starred in more than 100 films and made-for-television productions, but she was best known for embodying youthful purity in Federico Fellini’s “8½,” in which she co-starred with Marcello Mastroianni in 1963.
Cardinale also won praise for her role as Angelica Sedara in Luchino Visconti’s award-winning screen adaption of the historical novel “The Leopard” that same year and a reformed prostitute in Sergio Leone’s spaghetti western “Once Upon a Time in the West” in 1968.
She died in Nemours, France, surrounded by her children, her agent Laurent Savry told AFP. Savry and his agency did not immediately return emailed requests for comment from the Associated Press.
Cardinale began her movie career at the age of 17 after winning a beauty contest in Tunisia, where she was born of Sicilian parents who had emigrated to North Africa. The contest brought her to the Venice Film Festival, where she came to the attention of the Italian movie industry.
Before entering the beauty contest, she had expected to become a schoolteacher.
“The fact I’m making movies is just an accident,” Cardinale recalled while accepting a lifetime achievement award at the Berlin Film Festival in 2002. “When they asked me, ‘Do you want to be in the movies?’ I said no, and they insisted for six months.”
Her success came in the wake of Sophia Loren’s international stardom, and she was touted as Italy’s answer to Brigitte Bardot. Although never achieving the level of success of the French actor, she nonetheless was considered a star and worked with the leading directors in Europe and Hollywood.
“They gave me everything,” Cardinale said. “It’s marvelous to live so many lives. I’ve been living more than 150 lives, totally different women.”
One of her earliest roles was as a black-clad Sicilian girl in the 1958 comedy classic “Big Deal on Madonna Street.” It was produced by Franco Cristaldi, who managed Cardinale’s early career and to whom she was married from 1966 to 1975.
The sensuous brunette with enormous eyes was often cast as a hot-blooded woman. As she had a deep voice and spoke Italian with a heavy French accent, her voice was dubbed in her early movies.
Her career in Hollywood brought only partial success because she was not interested in giving up European film. Nonetheless, she achieved some fame by teaming with Rock Hudson in the 1965 comedy thriller “Blindfold” and another comedy, “Don’t Make Waves,” with Tony Curtis two years later.
Cardinale herself considered the 1966 “The Professionals,” directed by Richard Brooks, as the best of her Hollywood films, where she starred alongside Burt Lancaster, Jack Palance, Robert Ryan and Lee Marvin.
In a 2002 interview with the Guardian, she explained that the Hollywood studio “wanted me to sign a contract of exclusivity, and I refused. Because I’m a European actress and I was going there for movies.”
“And I had a big opportunity with Richard Brooks, ‘The Professionals,’ which is really a magnificent movie,” she said. “For me, ‘The Professionals’ is the best I did in Hollywood.”
Among her industry prizes was a Golden Lion for lifetime achievement that she received at the Venice Film Festival nearly 40 years after her initial appearance onscreen.
In 2000, Cardinale was named a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for the defense of women’s rights.
She had two children. One with Cristaldi and a second with her later companion, Italian director Pasquale Squitieri.
Simpson, the principal writer of this obituary, is a former Associated Press writer.
That was among the first things Tim Skipper said this week, the interim UCLA football coach’s opening remarks part introduction, part pep rally, part ritualistic cleansing.
The Bruins needed drastic change after an 0-3 start led to the dismissal of coach DeShaun Foster, and Skipper provided a promising start. He was engaging, energetic and about as insightful as one could possibly be only four days into the job.
It was a refreshing departure from a predecessor who displayed little of the enthusiasm that he preached.
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In perhaps the most encouraging early sign, Skipper disclosed that there had been no immediate player defections, though that could change given that everyone on the roster has 30 days to enter the transfer portal. Defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe’s mutually agreed-upon departure was certainly a blow, but the team is finalizing the addition of veteran assistant Kevin Coyle — a former longtime college and NFL defensive coordinator — to help coach the defense for the rest of the season.
The strain of the previous week was apparent in the words of offensive tackle Garrett DiGiorgio, who spoke glowingly of both Foster and Malloe while discussing the players’ role in the struggles that led to the coaching change.
“I think he could tell that we all felt that way,” DiGiorgio said, referring to the team’s brief farewell meeting with Foster, “like we knew we had responsibility as a team and we knew that it wasn’t all on him.”
Skipper acknowledged the need to change the style of play for a team that has been badly outperformed on both sides of the ball. He said the Bruins must play harder, faster and more physical, with coaches helping to make that possible by simplifying schemes so that players could perform without having to do so much thinking.
The new man in charge has considerable experience making the best of a bad situation. Skipper guided Fresno State to a victory over New Mexico State in the 2023 New Mexico Bowl while filling in for sidelined coach Jeff Tedford, and then helped the Bulldogs reach the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl last season after Tedford had to step down because of ongoing health problems.
But Skipper has never stared down a schedule such as the one he faces, with games against Penn State, Ohio State and Indiana just part of a punishing Big Ten slate that starts with a road game against Northwestern on Saturday.
A win over the Wildcats could do far more than reengage fans; it could also prevent a rash of players from using their available redshirt and sitting out the rest of the season. Sticking around to play out the season at 0-4 might feel far less enticing than preserving additional eligibility. Players will need to decide soon because they cannot play in five games and redshirt.
For all his admirable traits, the 47-year-old Skipper is probably not a serious candidate to land the permanent job unless the Bruins go unbeaten the rest of the way. But he’s already shown a willingness to embrace these difficult circumstances, a strong showing undoubtedly putting him in the running for a head coaching job somewhere.
“There’s still nine games left,” Skipper said. “You know, there’s a lot to be motivated about.”
Recruiting fallout
Six high school players backed out of their nonbinding verbal commitments to UCLA in the wake of Foster’s dismissal, including four-star offensive tackle Johnnie Jones.
That left 16 players committed to the Bruins as part of a 2026 high school class that dropped to No. 52 nationally in the 247Sports.com rankings.
What will be the recruiting approach of a staff that might need to seek new jobs as soon as the season ends?
“We have a whole recruiting staff and this is where they’re going to make their money,” Skipper said. “So, they’re in communication with those guys, and they know this is a great place to be. It’s a tradition-rich university, so we’re just gonna keep on sending the message. But ultimately, when everybody turns on the TV and our style of play looks the way that everybody wants it to look, they’ll want to be here.”
In the good news department, teams can restock rosters quickly because of the transfer portal and the tendency of coaches to bring a good chunk of their old team with them to their new destinations. The elimination of the spring transfer portal window will place increased significance on the 10-day window that starts Jan. 2, 2026.
Heard on campus
On the same day that UCLA fired Foster, a group of about 100 former Bruins players representing multiple eras met with athletic director Martin Jarmond via Zoom.
The point of the meeting wasn’t to weigh in on the coaching change or to make suggestions for Foster’s replacement — it was to vent.
According to two people on the call who spoke with The Times on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private, the players talked about getting back to the days when football mattered at the school.
There was also sentiment expressed about feeling shut off from the program, largely as a result of practices established under former coach Chip Kelly. One former player said it was difficult to get a field pass for games and asked how can players give back to a program that makes it hard to be around? The same player noted that at USC, it’s easy for alumni to go back and feel like part of the program.
Another former player who said he was around the program almost daily last season said he would suggest transfer prospects who wanted to come home to Southern California and could be impact players but received no follow-through. Some of those players went on to start at Alabama, Utah and USC.
Jarmond told the former players he appreciated the feedback and provided his email address. Former player James Washington, who helped organize the meeting, said there would be future meetings to keep the discussion going.
Among those on the Zoom — first reported by the website Last Word on College Football — were Cade McNown, Troy Aikman, Donnie Edwards, Dennis Keyes, Bruce Davis II, Datone Jones, Audie Attar, Matt Stevens, Joe Cowan and Ben Olson.
Olympic sport spotlight: Men’s soccer
Maybe UCLA football can follow the model of this team.
After a winless start to the season, the Bruins men’s soccer team defeated Northwestern in its Big Ten opener and is now 2-0 in conference play after a 3-1 victory over Wisconsin on Friday.
Forward Sergi Solans Ormo, who scored the only goal during UCLA’s 1-0 triumph over Northwestern, gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead with a shot into the bottom right of the goal in the second half against Wisconsin. Forward Francis Bonsu added an insurance goal about eight minutes later.
Once saddled with an 0-3-2 record, UCLA (2-3-2 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) has some significant momentum going into another conference game on the road Friday against Indiana.
Opinion time
Who would you rather have as UCLA’s next football coach?
An exciting lower-level coach such as Tulane’s Jon Sumrall?
A rising star such as Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein?
An existing Power Four coach such as Arizona’s Jedd Fisch?
Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email me at [email protected], and follow me on X @latbbolch. To order an autographed copy of my book, “100 Things UCLA Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die,” send me an email. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. After five weeks of high school football, you think you know who’s good and who’’s not. Guess again. The sit-out period for transfers is ending, and the cavalry is about to arrive to change the fortunes of teams.
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Here comes help
The sit-out transfer period ends for City Section players Thursday and for Southern Section players on Sept. 29. Some teams will be getting better.
Carson is adding receiver Jordin Daniel (Dominguez) and defensive lineman Tion Marshall (Gardena). King/Drew is picking up several players that will boost its chances of winning the Coliseum League.
Cathedral, which started the season as a top 25 team, is 1-4. A group of linemen become eligible to help protect quarterback Jaden Jefferson and add to the defensive front. Linebacker Daequan Jeffes from Loyola and lineman Mike Watson (6-4, 265 pounds) from Warren will help immediately on defense.
Unbeaten Sierra Canyon adds talented kicker Carter Sobel, who was a standout at Chaminade. Orange Lutheran’s running game will get a big boost with the arrival of Sean Morris, a transfer from Loyola. Corona del Mar adds standout lineman William Herrington from Newport Harbor.
Offensive lineman Saik Fiataugaluia, a transfer from Santa Margarita, becomes eligible at Corona Centennial. He’s 6 feet 5 and 350 pounds. Cornerback Jacob Whitehead, who was a star at Inglewood, joins an already talented St. John Bosco secondary. Cornerback Khalev Patrick Hall joins Mater Dei from Crean Lutheran. Richard Dunn, who was a standout at Hamilton last season as a freshman,, becomes eligible at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. He’ll play on the defensive line.
Murrieta Valley will get two new defensive starters in linebacker Erick Romo from Orange Vista and defensive end West Gomes from Vista Murrieta.
There’s dozens of players becoming eligible around the Southland, so prepare for some new names to be heard on the public address system at games.
Chris Henry Jr. of Mater Dei prepares to make touchdown catch against Corona Centennial.
(Craig Weston)
It was gut-check time for Mater Dei in its trip to Las Vegas to face Bishop Gorman. The Monarchs were facing the possibility of losing two games for the first time since the 2013 season.
They came away with a 27-24 victory to resurrect their season behind tight end Mark Bowman, receiver Chris Henry Jr. and quarterback Ryan Hopkins. Here’s the report.
Highlights from Sierra Canyon’s dominating 41-9 win over Orange Lutheran courtesy Interscholastic Films. A trick play, a sack, a punt return, an interception. pic.twitter.com/rTPvzO7dNI
Sierra Canyon stayed unbeaten and earned respect with a dominating win over Trinity League power Orange Lutheran. Here’s the report.
Freshman quarterback Jonah Tuaniga of Long Beach Millikan passed for 508 yards and nine touchdowns in a 63-0 win over Cabrillo. That’s a freshman record for touchdown passes.
Verbum Dei won its first game since the 2022 season with a victory over Belmont. Here’s the report.
Rocco Thomkins had 16 tackles and sophomore quarterback Gino Wang rallied JSerra to a 39-35 win over Leuzinger.
There’s plenty of parity at the top in the City Section. Birmingham, Carson, San Pedro and Banning continue to lose to Southern Section teams, so it leaves lots of questions when league play begins.
Carson lost in double overtime to North Torrance 42-35. Birmingham lost to Calabasas 49-38. San Pedro lost to El Modena 34-14 at SoFi Stadium. Banning lost to Palos Verdes 52-0. They’re all following the Birmingham example that losses to Southern Section opponents can turn out to be victories by preparing teams for City Section play.
Elyjah Staples of Marquez had four touchdown catches and two sacks in a win over La Puente.
Quarterback Liam Pasten of Eagle Rock was 17 of 19 passing for 309 yards and five touchdowns in a 56-21 win over Taft.
Junior quarterback Taylor Lee of Oxnard Pacifica has 15 touchdown passes in his last two games.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
“Wait your turn.”
Those three words are repeated again and again by parents trying to teach their young sons and daughters good manners, whether it’s at the dinner table, the amusement park or the ice cream shop.
So why do parents suddenly forget or ignore their words of wisdom when their kids become teenagers, find themselves in sports competitions, lose out on a starting job or don’t receive the attention they think they deserve and decide to flee rather than “wait your turn.”
Two of the top quarterbacks this season, Luke Fahey of Mission Viejo and Taylor Lee of Oxnard Pacifica, waited their turn and are thriving. Here’s the report.
Basketball standout Tyran Stokes of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame made his first appearance in a football uniform on Monday.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
On Monday, the No. 1 high school basketball in the country for the class of 2026, Tyran Stokes of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, started practicing with the football team. He’s 6 feet 8, 245 pounds and will play receiver. He needs 10 days of practices before he can play in a game.
With an injury at quarterback, Camarillo turned to its best athlete, Mya Rei Smith, to move from receiver to quarterback, and she has adjusted as if she’s been playing the position all season. She’s the starting point guard for the basketball team and is receiving lots of interest from college programs. Camarillo is 16-1.
One of the top flag football teams is Camarillo, led by basketball point guard Mya Rei Smith, the quarterback. Athlete. This is what happens when you get your top girl athletes out for flag football. Camarillo is 16-1. pic.twitter.com/eEUoUe3i2R
Orange Lutheran’s Makena Cook passed for a season-high 410 yards and seven touchdowns in a 46-20 win against Aliso Niguel. Orange Lutheran is 17-0 and begins league play on Thursday against Mater Dei.
Other top teams are JSerra (18-0), Newport Harbor (16-1) and Dos Pueblos (16-1).
In the City Section, Panorama has won its first 16 games. Quarterback Yadhira Hermenegildo has thrown 41 touchdown passes.
Girls volleyball
Middle blocker Elle Vandeweghe of Marymount.
(Steve Galluzzo )
There was a terrific national tournament in Las Vegas, the Durango Classic, and Marymount emerged as champion by knocking off No. 1 Sierra Canyon in the final. Redondo Union, Mater Dei and Mira Costa were also in the tournament.
“Elle Vandeweghe was awesome,” coach Cari Klein said.
Vandeweghe had eight kills in the 21-25, 25-15, 25-12 win over the Trailblazers. Teammate Sammy Desler was named tournament MVP.
Thousand Oaks won the Chatsworth tournament, defeating Palisades in the semifinals and Canyon Country Canyon in the final.
Senior setter Hailey Lauritzen of the Lancers was named tournament MVP.
Cross-country
The Woodbridge Classic brought out lots of top runners from outside California. Here’s the report.
Ivy League play begins
Former St. John Bosco quarterback Caleb Sanchez is playing for Columbia in the Ivy League.
(Columbia Athletics/Stockton Photo)
Former St. John Bosco quarterback Caleb Sanchez has returned for his second season playing in the Ivy League for Columbia. The season began last week, and there’s 39 former Southern Section players on rosters.
In an interview with NBC Los Angeles, former Bishop Montgomery football coach Ed Hodgkiss said he was approached before the season to change the philosophy of the football program.
Last December, according to Hodgkiss, he met with Bishop Montgomery’s now former President Patrick Lee and two others, who previously worked for football powerhouse St. John Bosco.
“They approached me and said we can do the same thing at Bishop Montgomery,” Hodgkiss said, adding the three men had planned to hire a new coaching staff, build a new stadium and bring top players to the Torrance high school. Hodgkiss ended up being fired and the school canceled its varsity season after an Archdiocese investigation and CIF penalties that resulted in 24 players being declared ineligible.
Also the high school association that runs Arizona passed an emergency bylaw to disallow out-of-state transfers to play who transfer in the middle of the season. At least four former Bishop Montgomery and one Long Beach Millikan football player have transferred to Arizona after being declared ineligible for two years in California. They transferred before the bylaw went into effect and are eligible. . . .
Sage Hill standout guard Amalia Holguin has committed to Texas for women’s basketball. . . .
Pitcher Noah Darnell of Santa Margarita has committed to Harvard. . . .
Junior pitcher Sean Parrow of Sierra Canyon has committed to LSU. . . .
Delan Grant, who played basketball at St. Francis until transferring this year to Sierra Canyon, has committed to New Mexico State. . . .
Junior softball player Mattea Stern from Garden Grove Pacifica has committed to Arizona. . . .
Infielder Tate Hammond from Long Beach Poly has committed to UCLA. . . .
Pitcher Mason Sims of Corona.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Junior pitcher Mason Sims of Corona has committed to Texas. . . .
Former Sierra Canyon quarterback Wyatt Becker will be enrolling at Princeton in 2026. He’s taking a Catholic mission this year. . . .
Maddie Smith from Flintridge Prep has committed to Yale for women’s basketball. . . .
Junior softball catcher Riley Hilliard of La Mirada has committed to Oklahoma. . . .
Junior pitcher Ben Lewis of Corona Santiago has committed to Oklahoma State. . . .
Chadrack Mpoyi, a 6-foot-11 center at Crean Lutheran, has committed to Minnesota. . . .
Gardena Serra baseball coach AJ Perry will become the school’s athletic director. He will be replaced by Ryan Odums. . . .
Jordan Myrow is the new baseball coach at Palisades. He played at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, UCLA and Cal State Los Angeles. He has a tough task because the campus baseball field is gone for several years while temporary bungalows are used because of damage from the Palisades fire. . . .
From the archives: Robin Yount
The best baseball player in Taft High history is Robin Yount, a member of baseball’s Hall of Fame who turned 70 years old last week.
He had a 20-year career with the Milwaukee Brewers playing mostly shortstop. He got his 3,000th career hit on Sept. 9, 1992. He made his major-league debut as an 18-year-old.
High school transfer rules are simple. You can move and show legitimate telephone, power and cable services bills with the whole family unit. Or you come up with a fake address, get caught and be declared ineligible for two years. Maybe schools should do a better job checking.
QB Jake Garcia is now at Michigan. He should write a book about his many travels. He’s been to Miami, Missouri and East Carolina and was originally committed to USC. In high school, he was at LB Poly, Narbonne, briefly at La Habra, then moved to Georgia for two high schools.
Gold medals for Harvard-Westlake freshmen Louis Lappe and Mateo Mier for USA 15U national team. Now back home to hit the books and get ready for high school baseball. pic.twitter.com/cUqFZhz9rG
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The Pentagon says it will require credentialed journalists at the military headquarters to sign a pledge to refrain from reporting information that has not been authorized for release — including unclassified information.
Journalists who don’t abide by the policy risk losing credentials that provide access to the Pentagon, under a 17-page memo distributed Friday that steps up media restrictions imposed by the administration of President Trump.
“Information must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released, even if it is unclassified,” the directive states. The signature form includes an array of security requirements for credentialed media at the Defense Department, which Trump has moved to rename the War Department.
Advocates for press freedoms denounced the nondisclosure requirement as an assault on independent journalism. The new Pentagon restrictions arrive as Trump expands threats, lawsuits and government pressure as he remakes the American media landscape.
“If the news about our military must first be approved by the government, then the public is no longer getting independent reporting. It is getting only what officials want them to see,” said National Press Club President Mike Balsamo, also national law enforcement editor at the Associated Press. “That should alarm every American.”
No more permission to ‘roam the halls’
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News Channel personality, highlighted the restrictions in a social media post on X.
“The ‘press’ does not run the Pentagon — the people do. The press is no longer allowed to roam the halls of a secure facility,” Hegseth said. “Wear a badge and follow the rules — or go home.”
The Pentagon this year has evicted many news organizations while imposing a series of restrictions that include banning reporters from entering wide areas of the complex without a government escort — areas where the press had access in past administrations as it covers the activities of the world’s most powerful military.
The Pentagon was embarrassed early in Hegseth’s tenure when the editor in chief of the Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, was inadvertently included in a group chat on the Signal messaging app where the Defense secretary discussed plans for upcoming military strikes in Yemen. Trump’s then-national security advisor, Mike Waltz, took responsibility for Goldberg being included and was shifted to another job.
The Defense Department also was embarrassed by a leak to the New York Times that billionaire Elon Musk was to get a briefing on the U.S. military’s plans in case a war broke out with China. That briefing never took place, on Trump’s orders, and Hegseth suspended two Pentagon officials as part of an investigation into how that news got out.
On Saturday, the Society of Professional Journalists also objected to the Pentagon’s move, calling it “alarming.”
“This policy reeks of prior restraint — the most egregious violation of press freedom under the First Amendment — and is a dangerous step toward government censorship,” it said in a statement Saturday. “Attempts to silence the press under the guise of ‘security’ are part of a disturbing pattern of growing government hostility toward transparency and democratic norms.”
And Matt Murray, executive editor of the Washington Post, said in the paper Saturday that the new policy runs counter to what’s good for the American public.
“The Constitution protects the right to report on the activities of democratically elected and appointed government officials,” Murray said. “Any attempt to control messaging and curb access by the government is counter to the First Amendment and against the public interest.”
From Ben Bolch: The DeShaun Foster era is over after 15 games and just five victories, the former UCLA star running back’s storybook rise to head coach at his alma mater coming to an abrupt, deflating end.
After an 0-3 start that included back-to-back losses to Mountain West Conference teams, Foster was dismissed on Sunday in a move that showed the Bruins will no longer accept their status as the laughingstock of the college football world.
Tim Skipper, the former Fresno State interim coach who was brought in as a special assistant to Foster before this season, will serve as the interim coach for the rest of the season as the school commences a search for a permanent replacement.
UCLA was outscored by a 108-43 margin in its first three losses, leading to trolling tweets from the Big Sky and Pac-12 conferences in addition to widespread ridicule from national media figures who noted that the Bruins had clinched last place in the Mountain West and were the only remaining winless team in the Big Ten.
Athletic director Martin Jarmond said he made the decision to remove Foster after consultation with UCLA chancellor Julio Frenk, acting swiftly because there was no clear path to success in the Big Ten even with an extra week to prepare for the conference opener against Northwestern on Sept. 26.
“I felt with the timing, the bye week,” Jarmond said, “it gave our young men the opportunity to just take a breath, recalibrate and change some things that give them the best chance to finish out the season strong and also as a signal to our fans that this is not what Bruin football is going to be.”
The Dodgers’ Mookie Betts, center, celebrates with Kiké Hernández after scoring on Miguel Rojas’ single during the sixth inning Sunday against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park.
(Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)
From Bill Shaikin: This is the time to bring on the rivals. The Dodgers are used to taking on challengers down the pennant stretch: the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres — and, in a previous version of the National League West, the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds.
The final two weeks of the regular season are upon us. The Dodgers have one remaining head-to-head matchup that really matters — and that series starts Monday at Dodger Stadium, against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Phillies?
The Phillies have not been realigned into the NL West. However, although the three division champions automatically qualify for the playoffs, the two with the best records earn a bye into the division series. The division champion with the third-best record — right now, that would be the Dodgers — must play in the first round.
The Milwaukee Brewers, the presumed champions of the NL Central, boast the best record in baseball. The Phillies, the presumed champions of the NL East, lead the Dodgers by 4 ½ games. The Dodgers have 13 games to play.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford speaks during a news conference after a 33-19 win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
(John Amis / Associated Press)
From Gary Klein:Sean McVay did not plan to wait long to begin dissecting the Rams next opponent: the defending Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles.
After his team stayed unbeaten on Sunday with a 33-19 victory over the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium, McVay aimed to take in the Eagles’ game against the Kansas City Chiefs during the plane ride back to Los Angeles.
“It will be fun to watch it,” said McVay, whose team plays the Eagles next Sunday, “as long as the damn WiFi on the plane works.”
Technical difficulties or otherwise, McVay and the Rams are feeling pretty good about themselves.
And rightfully, but perhaps cautiously, so.
Victories over the Houston Texans and the Titans were nice tune-ups that showed the Rams can indeed be Super Bowl contenders.
Now the real season — and test — begins.
The Eagles are the real measuring stick for the Rams, who are seeking their third Super Bowl appearance in eight years.
Chargers wide receiver Quentin Johnston celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 5.
(Doug Benc / Associated Press)
From Anthony De Leon: The Chargers embracing an opposite approach in play-calling — moving away from a run-heavy philosophy — left many bemused during their season-opening win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Brazil.
Justin Herbert was given free rein to showcase his arm, firing pass after pass against the defending AFC champions. This approach hinged on trust; not necessarily in Herbert’s ability, but in his receivers’ capabilities.
“It’s all about having a clear mind and trust,” Quentin Johnston said. “Trusting the play call, and then trusting yourself to get open. Trusting Justin that the ball will be in the right place when you get open.”
A byproduct of learning a new system last year, with young receivers thrust into pivotal roles, Herbert and his wideouts looked out of sync at times, whether from a lack of trust, chemistry or rhythm.
From the Associated Press: Cal Raleigh tied Mickey Mantle’s season record for most home runs by a switch hitter with his 54th, and the Seattle Mariners extended their winning streak to nine by routing the Angels 11-2 Sunday to take sole possession of the AL West lead for the first time since June.
With the loss, the Angels will finish the year without a winning record for the 10th consecutive season.
George Kirby matched his career high with 14 strikeouts as the Mariners completed a four-game sweep and won for the 20th time in their last 23 home games.
1899 — Willie Smith wins the U.S. Open golf title, beating George low, Val Fitzjohn and W.H. Way.
1923 — Bill Tilden wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championship, beating William Johnston in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4.
1962 — Frank Tripucka of the Denver Broncos passes for 447 yards and two touchdowns in a 23-20 win over the Buffalo Bills.
1971 — Stan Smith wins the U.S. Open title over Jan Khodes and Billie Jean King beats Rosemary Casals for the women’s title. It’s the first time in 16 years both titles were won by U.S. players.
1973 — Three-year-old Secretariat wins the Marlboro Cup Invitational Handicap in the then-world record time of 1:45 2-5 for 11/8 miles.
1973 — Archie Griffin of Ohio State starts his NCAA record string of 31 games of rushing for at least 100 yards, leading the Buckeyes to a 56-7 rout of Minnesota in Columbus.
1978 — Muhammad Ali becomes the first three-time heavyweight champion with a unanimous 15-round decision over Leon Spinks at the Superdome in New Orleans.
1991 — The United States women’s gymnastics team makes history with its first team medal — a silver — at the World Championships in Indianapolis.
1995 — Cards shortstop Ozzie Smith sets record of 1,554 double plays.
2002 — Sam Hornish Jr. wins another incredible race at Texas Motor Speedway, and his second straight IRL title. Hornish side-by-side with Helio Castroneves for many of the last 25 laps in the season-ending Chevy 500, crosses the finish line 0.0096 seconds — only a few inches — ahead of the other driver in contention for the season championship. Hornish wins his IRL-record fifth race of the season and becomes the first driver to win two IRL championships.
2002 — Oakland quarterback Rich Gannon begins NFL record-tying (Kurt Warner, Steve Young) streak of 6 consecutive 300-yard passing games, throwing for 403 yards in Raiders’ 30-17 victory at Pittsburgh.
2004 — NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announces a lockout of the players union and cessation of operations by the NHL head office.
2012 — LSU beats Idaho 63-14 to give the Tigers an NCAA FBS record 40th-straight non-conference regular season victory. LSU also set a Tiger Stadium mark with 20 straight home wins. Kansas State had 39 straight non-conference regular-season wins from 1993-2003.
2013 — Philip Rivers is 36 of 47 for 419 yards and three touchdown passes to Eddie Royal to lead San Diego to a 33-30 victory at Philadelphia. Michael Vick of the Eagles passes for a career-best 428 yards and two touchdowns and runs for a score.
2017 — The Cleveland has its AL record run stopped at 22 straight games as the Indians are beaten 4-3 by the Kansas City Royals.
2018 — Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores his 500th worldwide goal in the Los Angeles Galaxy’s 5-3 loss to Toronto FC. The 36-year-old Swede joins Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the only active players with 500 goals for in club and international play.
2021 — US gymnasts, including Simone Biles, testify against former team doctor Larry Nassar at a Senate Committee hearing, criticizing a system that allowed it to happen.
2022 — Tennis great Roger Federer announces his retirement from professional tennis at 41 with 20 grand slam wins and 103 ATP titles.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Several common themes emerge. These guys are sharp. Passionate. Dynamic. They can command a room. They have won as the guy in charge, after having done so as a coordinator. They have that “it” factor. They know why they win and can pinpoint reasons for falling short.
These are the qualities UCLA must seek in its next football coach after dismissing DeShaun Foster on Sunday. Foster was a nice guy and a great Bruin who loved the program, but he did not have the personality or the wherewithal to get the job done at even a modest level.
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Put aside, for a moment, any qualms about athletic director Martin Jarmond making the next hire after so badly botching the last one. Unless chancellor Julio Frenk intervenes and fires Jarmond or installs a football general manager à la Andrew Luck at Stanford or Ron Rivera at California, all that matters is Jarmond and his search committee getting this move right.
Jarmond, who said he wanted someone who yearns to take the Bruins to the College Football Playoff, should create a checklist of the aforementioned traits. Those who don’t check every box — we’ll make one exception, for promising coordinators — shouldn’t be considered.
That will eliminate many candidates who could probably win six to eight games a year while sustaining the sort of blah existence the program endured under coach Chip Kelly. A lot of them are current head coaches on preliminary candidate lists being widely circulated. And they’re all decent coaches and probably great people … and not good enough to elevate this program to where it needs to go.
Also, let’s make one thing abundantly clear: Being a former Bruin should have no bearing on one’s candidacy.
Several of the most successful coaches in UCLA football and men’s basketball history — John Wooden,Red Sanders and Ben Howland — had no previous ties to the school. The list of failed coaches with UCLA ties would require multiple pages.
Here at The Bolch Group, we think the list of candidates should fall into four broad categories:
Head coaches on the rise: Those who fit into this mold include Tulane’s Jon Sumrall (going a combined 35-9 at Troy and Tulane is no small feat) and Boise State’s Spencer Danielson (took the Broncos to the Fiesta Bowl in Year 2) plus an untold amount of promising candidates at the Football Championship Subdivision level.
Coordinators who deserve a promotion: Defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann (Georgia) and offensive coordinators Will Stein (Oregon), Brian Hartline (Ohio State) and Ben Arbuckle (Oklahoma) could be the next big thing. Don’t you want to be the one who identified great talent before anyone else?
The wildcards: Pat Fitzgerald, who compiled three 10-win seasons at the coaching graveyard known as Northwestern, is back on the market after being essentially exonerated in the school’s hazing scandal. As someone who covered Fitzgerald for the Daily Northwestern when the linebacker helped the Wildcats reach the Rose Bowl in 1996, I can safely say this guy is a winner with integrity. UCLA might be scared off by the optics, but it shouldn’t be.
Big names who might emerge: Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer, who should have been hired by Jarmond after a 2021 season in which DeBoer’s Fresno State Bulldogs toppled the Bruins at the Rose Bowl, could be back on the market if things further deteriorate in Tuscaloosa. Marcus Freeman would be another candidate who should be quickly snatched up if Notre Dame can’t rebound from its 0-2 start.
What’s most important is the person and the potential.
Go ahead, listen to them. Watch them speak.
UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava (9) has struggled to lead the Bruins’ offense so far this season.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
This is sort of like being placed on academic probation three weeks into the quarter and now you’ll be reporting to a substitute teacher.
Quarterbacks: C. At this rate, Nico Iamaleava will either be in the NFL next season … or playing for another college team. Might he hit the transfer portal before the Bruins’ next game?
Running backs: D. Who’s handling the rotation here? Jalen Berger is obviously not the answer in short-yardage situations.
Receivers: C. Rico Flores Jr. and Carter Shaw can’t return from injuries soon enough.
Offensive line: D. Talk about being a double threat, these guys get pushed around and commit penalties.
Defensive line: D. Providing close to zero resistance in the run game after New Mexico rushed for 298 yards and could have had considerably more with better playcalling.
Linebackers: C. These guys continue to be productive in cleanup duty but aren’t making many meaningful plays.
Defensive backs: D. Whether in press coverage or playing way off the line of scrimmage, the results are the same.
Special teams: A. Bids are being solicited for the Mateen Bhaghani statue outside the Rose Bowl.
Coaching: F. Foster clearly wasn’t the only issue here. Offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri and defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe also deserve some questioning. Does anyone know what they’re doing?
Olympic sports spotlight: Women’s soccer
It’s hard to keep a good team down.
After opening the season with two losses in its first three games, the UCLA women’s soccer team has reeled off four consecutive victories, including a 2-0 triumph over Oregon on Saturday in its Big Ten opener.
The fourth-ranked Bruins (5-2 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) are rising quickly after their 2-0 victory over top-ranked Stanford on Sept. 7 showed they are once again one of the nation’s top teams. UCLA’s defense has led the way in the season’s early going, with five shutouts in seven games. Goalkeepers Daphne Nakfoor and Mariangela Medina combined for the shutout against the Ducks.
UCLA will open conference road play against Michigan State on Thursday and Michigan on Sunday.
Remember when?
This one hurt deeply.
As a Northwestern alumnus, it looked like I would be able to savor the Wildcats’ first bowl victory since 1949 when they intercepted three Drew Olson passes in the first quarter and raced to a 22-0 lead over UCLA in the 2005 Sun Bowl.
Then the Bruins did what they had done all season — they came back.
Having already wiped out a pair of 21-point deficits, UCLA decided a school-record comeback was in order. Olson went on to throw three touchdown passes and backup running backs Chris Markey and Kahlil Bell capably filled in for an injured Maurice Drew by combining for 286 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
Perhaps the most stunning part of the comeback was its speed. When Olson completed an eight-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Everett with 29 seconds left in the second quarter, the Bruins seized a 29-22 lead. They would never trail again.
Brandon Breazell added some late-game hilarity when he returned one onside kick 42 yards for a touchdown, only to later grab another onside kick and return it 45 yards for a touchdown, capping UCLA’s wild 50-38 triumph.
Interestingly, I was the UCLA sidebar reporter that season alongside the late, great Lonnie White, who was the Bruins beat writer. I had attended every previous road game, but the sports editors left me off the travel roster, like a sixth-string quarterback, for the game involving my alma mater. Not that I’m bitter or anything, two decades later.
Fortunately, I’m planning to be there for UCLA’s Big Ten opener against Northwestern on Sept. 26 at the Wildcats’ temporary lakeside stadium. It will be the first time the teams have met since the Sun Bowl.
Opinion time
Who will end up as UCLA’s next football coach?
A known commodity such as Michigan State’s Jonathan Smith
A former Bruin such as Florida State defensive coordinator Tony White
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From Ryan Kartje: When he first started spreading the word about Waymond Jordan, Mike Bennett figured the film would speak for itself. The Escambia High coach had been in the South Florida preps scene long enough to know what he was seeing from his new running back.
“Just watching him run the football for the first time, he was amazing,” Bennett said. He figured scholarship offers would roll in soon enough.
Jordan had similar expectations. Since he first picked up football, at 4 years old, he’d always told himself that he’d play at a big school, on the biggest stage. He’d come to Escambia as a senior with that in mind.
But in 2021, four years before Lincoln Riley and USC would see that same star potential, other college coaches, for whatever reason, weren’t paying much mind.
Given where Jordan stands today — the top running back on one of the nation’s top rushing offenses through two weeks of the college football season — plenty of them probably regret that now.
“Every coach in the country, I sent stuff to,” Bennett said. “I mean, everybody. I sent it out to everybody.”
Some smaller schools monitored Jordans’ senior year at Escambia, keeping a close eye as he rushed for 1,225 yards and 12 touchdowns. A few schools said he could walk-on. But none of them extended a scholarship offer. Jordan couldn’t understand why.
Hutchinson Community College, a junior college in Hutchinson, Kan., was one of the only places to give him an opportunity. Hutchinson was a thousand miles from his hometown of Pensacola, and a world away from the major college football he thought he’d be playing. But the staff there knew Escambia well, and they believed in what they saw in Jordan’s tape.
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NBA
Former NBA and UCLA basketball star Reggie Miller rides along a road in the Gypsum Canyon Wilderness.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
From Kevin Baxter: Early on a muggy Saturday morning, seven dozen riders lined up five and six abreast and aimed their mountain bikes toward a narrow, rocky trail leading away from the 91 Freeway and into the wilderness of Anaheim’s rugged Gypsum Canyon.
In their white helmets and monotone synthetic racing kits, the riders were more an indistinct mob than a collection of individuals. But in the middle of the pack, perched on a pricey, Santa Cruz Blur XL, one cyclist stood out if for no other reason than, at 6-foot-7, Reggie Miller was a foot taller than most of the people around him.
Miller is also, it should be noted, a basketball hall of famer and five-time NBA All-Star who seamlessly transitioned into a career as one of the sport’s most-respected TV analysts. He has earned fame and riches most will never know and competed at a level few have ever achieved.
Yet on the day before his 60th birthday, he was about to pedal his way along 19 miles of treacherous trails, swallowing the dust kicked up by cyclists a third his age. And he couldn’t have been happier because bike racing has not just given Miller a competitive outlet, it’s provided an avenue for addressing issues of importance to him, among them equality, inclusion and social justice.
“You see so many retired football, baseball, basketball players turn to golf. That’s their vice,” he said. “Mine is cycling.”
Except, perhaps, fantasy football players who drafted Adams.
“That’s not in the forefront of my mind,” Adams, chuckling, said this week. “I know they think it is. I’m just out here trying to win games and contribute and make plays when I can.”
Nacua brushed off a cut above his eye that required stitches and caught 10 passes for 130 yards. Adams, making his Rams debut, caught four passes for 51 yards.
Exhausted to the point of collapse and parked in the driveway of his Oakland Hills home, he briefly allowed himself to close his eyes — was it for a minute? An hour? — before jolting awake at 4 a.m. in a foggy panic. Had he just returned from his round-the-clock job with the Oakland Raiders, or was he supposed to be on his way back?
Here he was, a first-round pick from Michigan, a 15-year NFL veteran, and now a coaching grunt for the Silver & Black, ready to do whatever was asked.
“I always remember him with the hair all over his head going everywhere,” recalled receiver Tim Brown. “The veteran guys on the team were saying, ‘Jimmy, you don’t have to do this, bro. There’s other ways you can make money. You don’t have to be in here.’ Because he was literally the guy printing the papers, working the copiers. We were like, ‘All right, if that’s what you want to do with your life then OK.’”
Angels star Mike Trout hits a solo home against the Seattle Mariners on Thursday night.
(John Froschauer / Associated Press)
From the Associated Press: Rookie pinch-hitter Harry Ford drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the 12th inning and the Seattle Mariners beat the Angels 7-6 on Thursday night to move into a tie with Houston atop the AL West.
It was the second straight walk-off victory in extra innings for the Mariners, who extended their win streak to six games. Leo Rivas hit a two-run homer in the 13th inning Wednesday night to complete a series sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Mike Trout launched his 399th career home run for the Angels, tying it 4-4 in the fifth inning after they fell behind 4-0 in the second.
Sparks guard Kelsey Plum, right, tries to shoot over Las Vegas center A’ja Wilson during the Sparks’ loss on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena.
(Harry How / Getty Images)
From Anthony De Leon: Being out of postseason contention didn’t make the Sparks’ season finale meaningless.
It was a chance to avoid finishing with a losing record for the first time since 2020. An opportunity to foil the Las Vegas Aces’ push for the No. 2 seed in the playoffs while derailing a 15-game winning streak. And, above all, a matter of pride.
But just as with their season-long goal of reaching the playoffs, the Sparks fell short of their goal, as A’ja Wilson and the Aces dominated in a 103-75 victory at Crypto.com Arena.
From Chuck Schilken: Retired NBA player and former Harvard-Westlake star Jason Collins is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor, the NBA said Thursday in a statement released on behalf of Collins and his family.
“Jason and his family welcome your support and prayers and kindly ask for privacy as they dedicate their attention to Jason’s health and well-being,” the league said.
A 46-year-old native of Northridge, Jason Collins and twin brother, Jarron, led Harvard-Westlake to state Division III titles in 1996 and 1997, with the former being named the state Division III player of the year both seasons. His 1,500 career rebounds stood as a CIF state record until 2010, when Hemet West Valley’s Joe Burton finished his career with 1,721 rebounds.
1895 — Defender wins three straight matches from the British challenger Valkyrie II to defend the America’s Cup for the United States.
1936 — Fred Perry becomes the first foreign player to win three U.S. men’s singles titles when he defeats Don Budge, 2-6, 6-2, 8-6, 1-6, 10-8. Alice Marble ends the four-year reign of Helen Jacobs as U.S. women’s singles champion, with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory.
1955 — Tony Trabert wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championships with a victory over Ken Rosewall. Doris Hart wins the women’s title.
1966 — Australia’s Fred Stolle beats countryman John Newcombe to win the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championships. Stolle wins in four sets, 4-6, 12-10, 6-3, 6-4.
1976 — Jimmy Connors beats Bjorn Borg in four sets to win the U.S. Open.
1979 — Carl Yastrzemski reaches 3,000 hits off of NY Yankee pitcher Jim Beattie.
1981 — Tracy Austin wins her second U.S. Open singles title, edging first-time finalist Martina Navratilova, 1-6, 7-6, 7-6.
1982 — Jimmy Connors wins the U.S. Open, defeating Ivan Lendl, 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
1984 — N.Y. Met Dwight Gooden sets rookie strike out record at 251.
1988 — 1st NFL regular-season game played in Phoenix; Dallas beats Arizona.
1995 — The Harlem Globetrotters’ 24-year, 8,829-game winning streak is stopped. It ends in a 91-85 loss to a team led by basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who scores 34 points in a competitive, unscripted game in Vienna, Austria.
1998 — Lindsay Davenport captures her first Grand Slam tournament singles title, defeating Martina Hingis, 6-3, 7-5 at the U.S. Open.
1999 — Andre Agassi comes back from two-sets-to-one down to win his second U.S. Open singles title. Agassi, who never loses his serve, defeats Todd Martin, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-2. It’s the first five-set U.S. Open final in 11 years.
2004 — Roger Federer becomes the first man since 1988 to win three majors in a year, thoroughly outclassing Lleyton Hewitt 6-0, 7-6 (3), 6-0 to add the U.S. Open title to those he took at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
2005 — Mark Messier announces on ESPN radio that he will retire from the NHL.
2010 — Houston running back Arian Foster rushes for a franchise-record 231 yards and three touchdowns in the Texans’ 34-24 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. Foster is the first player in NFL history to rush for at least 200 yards and three touchdowns for an opening weekend.
2011 — Tom Brady passes for a team-record 517 yards and four touchdowns, including a 99-yarder to Wes Welker, and the New England Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins 38-24.
2011 — U.S. Open Men’s Tennis: Novak Djokovic wins his first US title; beats Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1.
2014 — Diana Taurasi and Candice Dupree score 24 points each and the Phoenix Mercury, playing without star center Brittney Griner, beat the Chicago Sky 87-82 to complete a three-game sweep of the WNBA Finals for their third championship.
2015 — Kent State dominates Delaware State in the Golden Flashes’ home opener, 45-13, but it’s overshadowed by a single point-after kick in the second quarter by April Goss. Goss, a four-year member of the Kent State team and a former high school soccer player, becomes the second female to score in a Division I game in NCAA history. Katie Hnida kicked a pair of extra points for New Mexico in 2003.
2015 — David Ortiz homers twice to become the 27th player in major league history to reach 500 homers, and Boston beats Tampa Bay 10-4.
2018 — Breanna Stewart leads the Seattle Storm to their third WNBA title, scoring 30 points in a 98-82 victory over the Washington Mystics in Game 3 of the best-of-five series.
2020 — Naomi Osaka of Japan wins her second US Open title beating Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was shot and killed during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, a shocking act of political violence that brought widespread condemnation.
Hours after the shooting, the suspected gunman was taken into custody, FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” President Trump said on Truth Social. “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us.”
Videos shared on social media show Kirk sitting under a white canopy, speaking to hundreds of people through a microphone, when a loud pop is heard; he suddenly falls back, blood gushing from his neck.
Before he was shot in the neck, he was asked about mass shootings.
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“Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?” an audience member asks.
“Counting or not counting gang violence?” Kirk responds.
Almost immediately, Kirk is shot in the neck. One video shows blood pouring from the wound. As the crowd realizes what has taken place, people are heard screaming and running away.
A source familiar with the investigation told The Times that a bullet struck Kirk’s carotid artery.
Charlie Kirk speaks before his fatal shooting Wednesday at Utah Valley University.
(Tess Crowley / Deseret News / AP)
Utah Valley University police said in an alert that “a single shot was fired on campus toward a visiting speaker” and that it was investigating the shooting.
Law enforcement sources said Kirk was fatally wounded from a considerable distance, perhaps 200 yards away, by a sniper-style shot.
Videos shared on X, show an older man in handcuffs on the ground whom witnesses claimed was the gunman. The man is heard saying, “I have the right to remain silent.” In another video, police escort the man while the crowd jeers him. One woman is heard screaming, “How dare you!”
Earlier Wednesday afternoon, Trump posted a message about the incident on Truth Social.
“We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!” he said.
Mike Lee, a Utah senator, posted on X shortly after videos circulated online that he was “tracking the situation at Utah Valley University closely.”
“Please join me in praying for Charlie Kirk and the students gathered there,” he said.
The shooting drew immediate words of support and calls for prayers for Kirk from leading conservative politicians.
“Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father,” Vice President JD Vance posted on X.
Crowd members react after Charlie Kirk’s shooting at Utah Valley University.
(Tess Crowley / Deseret News / AP)
Leading Democrats also moved swiftly to condemn the attack.
“The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on X. “In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form.”
Gabrielle Giffords, a former Arizona congresswoman who survived a political assassination attempt in 2011 and is a gun violence prevention advocate, said on X that she was horrified to hear that Kirk was shot.
“Democratic societies will always have political disagreements, but we must never allow America to become a country that confronts those disagreements with violence,” she wrote.
Kirk, a conservative political activist, was in Utah for his American Comeback Tour, which held its first stop at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
The tour, as with many of his events, had drawn both supporters and protesters. Kirk’s wife and children were at the university when he was shot, Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin posted on X.
Kirk, 31, was one of the Republican Party’s most influential power brokers.
The founder of the influential conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, Kirk had a vast online reach: 1.6 million followers on Rumble, 3.8 million subscribers on YouTube, 5.2 million followers on X and 7.3 million followers on TikTok.
During the 2024 election, he rallied his online followers to support Trump, prompting conservative podcast host Megyn Kelly to say: “It’s not an understatement to say that this man is responsible for helping the Republicans win back the White House and the U.S. Senate.”
Just after Trump was elected for a second time to the presidency last November, Kirk frequently posted to social media from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where he had first-hand influence over which MAGA loyalists Trump named to his Cabinet.
Kirk was known for melding his conservative politics, nationalism and evangelical faith, casting the current political climate as a state of spiritual warfare between a righteous right wing and so-called “godless” liberals.
He declared that God was on the side of American conservatives and that there was “no separation of church and state.” And in a speech to Trump supporters in Georgia last year, he said that “the Democrat Party supports everything that God hates” and that “there is a spiritual battle happening all around us.”
Kirk was also known for his memes and college campus speaking tours meant to “own the libs.” Videos of his debates with liberal college students have racked up tens of millions of views.
Matthew Boedy, a professor of rhetoric and composition at the University of North Georgia, has written a forthcoming book about Christian nationalism that prominently features Kirk and his influence. The book, “The Seven Mountains Mandate,” comes out Sept. 30.
“Today is a tragedy,” Boedy said in an interview with The Times on Wednesday. “It is a red flag for our nation.”
Boedy said the shooting — following the two assassination attempts against Trump on the campaign trail last year — was a tragic reminder of “just how divisive we have become.”
In June, a shooter posing as a police officer fatally shot Minnesota state House Democratic leader Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, at their home in an incident that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called “a politically motivated assassination.”
Another Democratic lawmaker, state Sen. John Hoffman, and his wife, Yvette, were also injured at their residence less than 10 miles away.
In April, a shooter set fire to the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion, forcing Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family to flee during the Jewish holiday of Passover.
In July 2024, Trump himself survived a hail of bullets, one of which grazed his ear, at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa. Two months later, a man with a rifle was arrested by Secret Service agents after he was spotted amid shrubs near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago golf resort.
Kirk’s presence at the Utah campus was preceded by petitions and protests. But, Boedy noted, that was typical with his appearances.
“Charlie Kirk is, I would say, the most influential person who doesn’t work in the White House,” he said.
Boedy said Kirk reached a vast array of demographics through his radio show and social media accounts and was “in conversation with President Trump a lot.”
Kirk had said his melding in recent years of faith and politics was influenced by Rob McCoy, the pastor of Godspeak Calvary Chapel in Newbury Park in Ventura County. Kirk called McCoy, who often spoke at his events, his personal pastor.
Boedy said McCoy turned Kirk toward Christian nationalism, specifically the Seven Mountains Mandate — the idea that Christians should try to influence the seven pillars of cultural influence: arts and religion, business, education, family, government, media and religion.
Boedy said Kirk “turned Turning Point USA into an arm of Christian nationalism. There’s a strategy called the Seven Mountains Mandate, and he has put his TPUSA money into each of those.”
Boedy said Kirk was a vocal 2nd Amendment supporter and that the shooting likely would further the desire among his conservative followers who tout the idea of having good guys with guns “to have more guns everywhere, which is sad.”
FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency was closely monitoring reports of the shooting.
“Our thoughts are with Charlie, his loved ones, and everyone affected,” he said on X. “Agents will be on the scene quickly and the FBI stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation.”
Meanwhile, 345 miles to the east, at least three students were in critical condition following a shooting at a high school in Colorado.
The shooting happened earlier in the afternoon at Evergreen High School in Jefferson County. A fourth person may have been hurt as well. Among those injured was the shooter, who was described by authorities only as a juvenile. No other details were provided on the shooting.
Times staff writer Ana Ceballos contributed to this report.
In December, DeShaun Foster touted mass turnover as a reason to think he could win big in Year 2, citing the quick turnaround at Colorado under Deion Sanders.
On Saturday, UCLA’s football coach used mass turnover as an explanation for his team’s 0-2 start.
“I have a lot of new people,” Foster said after his team’s 30-23 loss to Nevada Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium left it as the only winless team in the Big Ten. “I’m not somebody who’s going to come up here and give you guys excuses and everything, but I have a lot of new people and we’re still finding ways to come together and really rely on each other and we’re going to continue to build and it’s a long season.”
In other words, said a coach making $3.1 million this season, don’t blame me.
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Somebody needs to take accountability for spending all this money on such a lifeless product. New UCLA chancellor Julio Frenk posted a picture of himself at the season opener against Utah on social media, calling it a “blast” to cheer on the team, which was an admirable show of support in tough circumstances.
They just got a lot tougher for everyone in blue and gold.
Asked about his restrictive media policies before the season, Foster said winning would do the marketing for his team. Well, how’s that going?
There’s a real chance that the actual crowd inside the Rose Bowl on Friday night when the Bruins face New Mexico (1-1) could fall below 10,000, setting a record low.
Importing 57 new players on any team is going to lead to some misses, but it’s already apparent that UCLA’s talent evaluation was way off the mark. Maybe there was a reason a group filled with transfers coming off injuries and underwhelming starts to their college careers was available.
Compounding this situation in some fans’ eyes is the fact that these players are now getting paid — in some cases making CEO money — to play for a team that looks so woefully unprepared and undertalented, having fallen behind 20-0 against Utah and 23-0 against UNLV.
While quarterback Nico Iamaleava hasn’t been the savior some envisioned after arriving from Tennessee, he also hasn’t been the problem. He’s made some mistakes while also playing at a high enough level to win if he was surrounded by more talent.
He’s also been perhaps the only one associated with the team to take a measure of responsibility for UCLA’s worst start since it lost its first three games in 2019.
“I think that just starts with me, man,” Iamaleava said of the slow starts leading to losses. “I gotta be better coming out. I started off a little slow on the first drive coming out. And, yeah, I think overall, man, we got to clean up a lot of stuff.”
To their credit, UCLA coaches tried making some personnel changes after that clunker of a season opener. Edge rusher Kechaun Bennett and linebacker Isaiah Chisom moved into the starting lineup, and things started to coalesce on both sides of the ball in the second half while the Bruins outscored the Rebels, 20-7. (There was also some puzzling use of the running backs rotation when UCLA failed to score a touchdown after getting a first and goal at the UNLV one-yard line, but we digress.)
The bottom line is that there was a reason UNLV’s last win over a Big Ten team before Saturday had come in 2003 — the Rebels play in the Mountain West Conference and have far fewer resources than their Power Four conference counterparts.
So where do the Bruins go from here? Rebound and beat New Mexico before a smattering of friends and family on the way to four or five wins? Would that be good enough?
Somebody needs to step up and tell UCLA fans why they should still care about this team and spend money on a product that, frankly, isn’t even mediocre right now.
Kicker Mateen Bhaghani during the Iowa game last year.
(MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images / MediaNews Group via Getty Images)
Let’s just say if your kids got these kinds of grades two weeks into the school year, you’d be calling for a parent-teacher conference ASAP.
Quarterbacks: B. Iamaleava sparked his team’s comeback but also threw the pass that sealed defeat. It’s more than a little concerning that he’s the team’s leading rusher through two games.
Running backs: D. Jalen Berger was probably not the best option on those goal-line plays that came up empty. Jaivian Thomas and Anthony Woods need to be the guys moving forward.
Receivers: C. Kwazi Gilmer flashed his big-play potential again with a juggling catch and ability to continually generate separation. But it doesn’t appear he’ll need to clear room on the mantle for the Biletnikoff Award.
Offensive line: D. The lineup shuffle with Garrett DiGiorgio at left tackle and Reuben Unije at right tackle appears to be the way the rest of the season. But guard Julian Armella can’t keep committing dumb penalties.
Defensive line: C-. The Bruins got a sack! The Bruins got a sack! Sacks by Bennett and Anthony Jones that represented the team’s first of the season did little to mask the ongoing issues in generating a consistent pass rush.
Linebackers: C-. JonJon Vaughns has logged double digits in tackles in consecutive games, but does it matter when you’re 0-2?
Defensive backs: D. Getting burned by UNLV quarterback Anthony Colandrea for three touchdowns is not acceptable.
Special teams: B+. Kicker Mateen Bhaghani, now four for four on field goals, is on pace to be the team MVP.
Coaching: F. There’s no way you can justify falling behind 23-0 to UNLV one week after that abomination of a season opener.
Olympic sport spotlight: Men’s water polo
Ben Liechty was also a standout water polo player at Newport Harbor High.
(Raul Roa)
The best team in the country rolls on.
Having already beaten No. 14 Cal Baptist, No. 19 George Washington, No. 12 UC San Diego, No. 14 UC Davis and No. 20 Navy, the top-ranked UCLA men’s water polo team notched its most impressive victory of the season Saturday with a 16-9 victory over No. 4 Fordham.
For good measure, the Bruins added a 24-10 romp over Bucknell later in the day.
The Bruins (7-0) have been so dominant that they have posted 10 or more different scorers in every game this season. Redshirt senior Chase Dodd and junior Ben Liechty led the way against Fordham with one goal and three assists apiece.
The schedule doesn’t get any easier for UCLA, which plays No. 7 UC Irvine in its home opener at noon Friday before facing No. 16 Harvard later in the day. Might Bruins fans have a better time showing up at Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center than the Rose Bowl?
Opinion time
Who is most culpable for the state of UCLA football?
We asked last Monday, “Does UCLA’s football team rally immediately against the soft pocket of its schedule, or fall further into despair before facing Penn State on Oct. 4 at the Rose Bowl?” The results, after 607 votes:
The Bruins go 2-1 over their next three games, 38.9% The Bruins go 1-2 over their next three games, 29.1% The Bruins go 3-0 over their next three games, 21.1% The Bruins go 0-3 over their next three games, 10.9%
Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email me at [email protected], and follow me on X @latbbolch. To order an autographed copy of my book, “100 Things UCLA Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die,” send me an email. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. It was another week of scandal in high school football. And also games with top performances. It’s an interesting balancing act for sportswriters.
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Scandal widens
There’s continuing fallout from an Archdiocese of Los Angeles investigation that self-reported violations by Bishop Montgomery’s football program to the Southern Section, resulting in the school ending its varsity season after playing one game and forfeiting another. Now the rest of the season will be forfeits as the school investigates its 24 transfer students.
President Patrick Lee has been placed on administrative leave, according to a parent who says faculty were told of the decision. The Archdiocese has declined to confirm, saying it doesn’t comment on personnel matters. Most interesting is that Lee was brought in last school year as Bishop Montgomery’s first president. Also faculty members have been directed not to speak to the media. The school’s principal resigned from her role as president of the Camino-Del Rey Athletic Assn.
The school is trying to play a junior varsity schedule while allowing eligible varsity players to participate, but that’s unlikely to gain traction. Hart canceled this week’s JV game with Bishop Montgomery, not wanting to subject its regular JV players that include freshmen to a game against possible varsity players out of concern for player safety.
The Southern Section has to decide whether eligible Bishop Montgomery varsity players can transfer and be eligible immediately since the school dropped its varsity program.
The Southern Section has continued its crackdown of transfer students who submitted inaccurate paperwork. Long Beach Millikan had to forfeit two games for using ineligible players and most of its transfer students are now listed under review on the Southern Section transfer web page. One of those players who didn’t play Friday after previously being cleared was quarterback Ashton Pannell, who transferred from Loyola after previously attending St. John Bosco. Other schools are also dealing with issues involving transfer students.
The Archdiocese held a scheduled meeting with principals and athletic directors. The Catholic schools chief indicated changes are coming on how to handle transfer students within Archdiocese high schools.
Remember, under CIF rules, you have to move physically with the entire family unit to be eligible immediately. Otherwise you get a one-time sit-out period transfer status that lasts for a portion of the season. Schools confirm the transfers through paperwork requirements. The Southern Section appears to be using AI technology to catch students using addresses that had previously been used. That can result in a violation of bylaw 202, which prohibits providing false information. It also is a violation to receive inducements to transfer, such as housing, known as bylaw 510, undue influence.
One good thing is the early season attention on ineligible players can prevent numerous forfeits at the end of the football season that could prevent a school from entering the playoffs because of an anonymous tip.
Marine League coaches who forfeited to Narbonne last season alleging money payments feel vindicated after a booster confirmed during a podcast that he paid parents to transfer their sons to Narbonne. Here’s a report.
Madden Williams of St. John Bosco prepares to make a game-tying 51-yard touchdown catch against St. Frances.
(Craig Weston)
It was the Madden Williams show in Bellflower. He made two spectacular catches in the fourth quarter to rally St. John Bosco to a 21-14 victory over Baltimore St. Frances. Here’s the report.
Los Alamitos improved to 4-0 with a 41-21 win over Gardena Serra. There’s no doubt no coach has done a finer job in the first month of the season than Ray Fenton.
Mission Viejo exposed the weakness in Northern California football, routing one its top teams, Folsom, 53-14. Folsom and De La Salle are considered the top Northern California teams in contention for a CIF state championship Open Division bowl spot. San Mateo Serra comes to town to play St. John Bosco on Friday.
Jason Miller, the Leuzinger coach who used to coach in Northern California, was asked to explain the downward trajectory.
“Lots of traditional football families have moved out of the Bay Area, replaced by tech families,” he said. “Black and white families with generations of football players have found the Bay Area unaffordable. Interest has lacked in college football as well. East Palo Alto and West Oakland were once treasure chests of athletes that have been watered down by gentrification.”
Bishop Amat came up with an upset win over Valencia behind a game-winning 79-yard touchdown run from Ryan Salcedo. Here’s the report.
Huntington Beach quarterback Brady Edmunds.
(James Carbone)
Quarterback Brady Edmunds of Huntington Beach had a big game in win over Western. Here’s the report.
Hamilton coach Elijah Asante poses next to campus mural of Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
The City Section’s top teams continue to struggle in nonleague games against Southern Section opponents, but the strategy is designed to prepare them for league play. Birmingham lost to Moorpark, Carson lost to Palos Verdes and San Pedro lost to Great Oak.
Meanwhile, Palisades and Granada Hills engaged in a passing vs. running scoring marathon before Palisades prevailed 59-44 behind 387 yards passing and six touchdowns from quarterback Jack Thomas.
Robert Garrett, the longtime coach at Crenshaw, continues to be on administrative leave. The Cougars suffered their first team in falling to Hamilton 23-6. Jacob Riley of Hamilton had three interceptions. Here’s the report.
Garfield got its first win for new coach Patrick Vargas over La Palma Kennedy. All-City running back Ceasar Reyes rushed for 172 yards and had 12 solo tackles on defense.
Verbum Dei President Father Travis Russell finally got around to putting up a photo of the new Pope.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Verbum Dei is preparing to play its first football game later this month after dropping its varsity season last year for lack of players. It’s a re-start with a new coach and the backing of an energized school president who carries around a tool box acting like a handy man for any and all problems.
The Stillwell volleyball family. Sophomore Lucy (left), father Tom, a former UCLA All-American, and senior Maya. The daughters play at Harvad-Westlake.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Tom Stillwell won three NCAA titles playing volleyball for UCLA. Now he has two daughters playing for Harvard-Westlake. He’s enjoying life as a Girl Dad. Here’s the report.
Four-year starter Abby Zimmerman has led Redondo Union girls volleyball.
(Steve Galluzzo)
What a week it was for Redondo Union volleyball with wins over previously unbeaten Marrymount and powerful Mater Dei. Here’s the report from the Marymount victory.
The schedule doesn’t get any easier with a home match against Sierra Canyon on Tuesday.
Venice handed Palisades its first defeat in winning its own tournament championship. Gaia Adeseun-Williams and Samantha Lortie was named co-tournament MVPs from Venice.
JSerra is 11-0 and continuing to look like one of the best flag football teams in the Southern Section. The Lions began the El Toro tournament with shutout wins over Classical Academy of San Diego and Edison.
Freshmen receivers Tessa Russell and Ava Irwin continue to be impact players.
The JSerra Girls Flag Football team produced two convincing victories to start the El Toro Girls Flag Football Tournament on Saturday at El Toro High School in Lake Forest.
The Lions opened with a 35-0 triumph over Classical Academy of San Diego.
Infielder Trevor Deack of Orange Lutheran has committed to Utah Tech. . . .
Pitcher Damian Catano of Arcadia has committed to St. Mary’s. . . .
A refurbished outside basketball court at Crenshaw High was dedicated Saturday and painted in the school’s colors. . . .
Sophomore point guard Josh Lowery has transferred to Sierra Canyon. . . .
Swimmer Tori Yamamura of Valencia has committed to Missouri. . . .
Bishop Alemany baseball has picked up Mikey Martinez from Crespi. He was a starting infielder and top relief pitcher as a sophomore for the Mission League champions. Also senior pitcher Jaden Lee, the younger brother of UCLA pitcher Justin Lee, has left Sherman Oaks Notre Dame for Alemany. . . .
Casey Patterson is the new boys volleyball coach at Newbury Park . . . .
The stadium fields at Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks and Westlake will be receiving refurbishment beginning Dec. 1, forcing soccer teams to seek alternative sites. . . .
Long Beach Millikan has forfeited wins over Las Vegas Foothill and Newbury Park for using ineligible players.
From the archives: Ty Dieffenbach
Former Agoura quarterback Ty Dieffenbach
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Former Agoura quarterback Ty Dieffenbach, who originally signed with and spent two years at Pittsburgh, made his debut for Cal Poly last week and passed for 263 yards and ran for 69 yards in a win over San Diego. He accounted for three touchdowns and was named the Big Sky player of the week. On Saturday, things didn’t go as well in a 63-9 loss to Utah. He passed for 82 yards.
TY Dieffenbach already making headlines!
263 passing yards, 69 rushing yards and three total touchdowns in his Mustang debut has earned him Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week honors! 👏 💥#RideHighpic.twitter.com/OZemxKMUwx
From Burlisononbasketball, a story on top girls basketball players making an impression at a local camp.
From Communityforwardredlands, a story on the return of Hall of Fame football coach Dick Bruich.
From SFGate.com, a story on the rapid growth of girls flag football.
From the Los Angeles Times, a story on the soccer Thompson sisters gaining money and attention.
From the Los Angeles Times, an excerpt from a book on Newbury Park’s cross-country success.
Tweets you might have missed
Remember four Marine League coaches last season forfeited to Narbonne trying to get an investigation under way. “We got treated so horribly trying to stand up for something that was right,” former Banning coach Raymond Grajeda said. He was proven right.
The coaching opening that should draw lots of applicants is Harvard-Westlake flag football coach. Coming in winter or spring. Imagine the players who could join. There’s a Thompson soccer sister arriving next year as a freshman.
Everyone is lawyering up in this latest high school football scandal. Whether it leads to reform or the usual “it’s just one program” remains to be seen. At a minimum, the CIF needs to do a better job educating the general public about its rules and penalties.
Two famous Sherman Oaks Notre Dame alumni showed up to Notre Dame-St. Francis football game last night. Former NFL defensive lineman Travis Johnson, who works for the Texans, and TCU basketball coach Jamie Dixon. Travis is known to talk a little bit more than Jamie.
Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at [email protected], and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.
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WASHINGTON — Law enforcement officials Sunday removed a peace vigil that had stood outside the White House for more than four decades after President Trump ordered it to be taken down as part of the clearing of homeless encampments in the nation’s capital.
Philipos Melaku-Bello, a volunteer who has manned the vigil for years, told the Associated Press that the U.S. Park Police removed it early Sunday morning. He said officials justified the removal by mislabeling the memorial as a shelter.
“The difference between an encampment and a vigil is that an encampment is where homeless people live,” Melaku-Bello said. “As you can see, I don’t have a bed. I have signs and it is covered by the 1st Amendment right to freedom of speech and freedom of expression.”
The White House confirmed the removal, telling the AP in a statement that the vigil was a “hazard to those visiting the White House and the surrounding areas.”
Taking down the vigil is the latest in a series of actions the Trump administration has ordered as part of its federal takeover of policing in the city, which began last month. The White House has defended the intervention as needed to fulfill Trump’s executive order on the “beautification” of D.C.
Melaku-Bello said he’s in touch with attorneys about what he sees as a civil rights violation. “They’re choosing to call a place that is not an encampment an encampment just to fit what is in Trump’s agenda of removing the encampments,” he said.
The vigil was started in 1981 by activist William Thomas to promote nuclear disarmament and an end to global conflicts. It is believed to be the longest continuous antiwar protest in U.S. history. When Thomas died in 2009, fellow protesters including Melaku-Bello manned the tiny tent and the banner — which read, “Live by the bomb, die by the bomb” — around the clock to avoid it being dismantled by authorities.
The small but persistent act of protest was brought to Trump’s attention during an event at the While House on Friday.
Brian Glenn, a correspondent for the far-right network Real America’s Voice, told Trump the blue tent was an “eyesore” for those who come to the White House.
“Just out front of the White House is a blue tent that originally was put there to be an anti-nuclear tent for nuclear arms,” Glenn said. “It’s kind of morphed into more of an anti-American, sometimes anti-Trump at many times.”
Trump, who said he was not aware of it, told his staff: “Take it down. Take it down today, right now.”
Melaku-Bello said that Glenn spread misinformation when he told the president that the tent had rats and “could be a national security risk” because people could hide weapons in there.
“No weapons were found,” he told AP. “He said that it was rat-infested. Not a single rat came out as they took down the cinder blocks.”
Monsivais and Amiri write for the Associated Press and reported from Washington and New York, respectively. AP writer Will Weissert in New York contributed to this report.
