fan

“It’s so intimidating to walk through here,” says an arena staffer as she scurries under the sight line of a video camera on a tall tripod. It’s a couple of hours before the Sparks’ home opener against the Las Vegas Aces on Mother’s Day. None of the photographers or videographers or security guards respond. She says it again. Still they don’t react, but they’re not being rude. They’re just all laser-focused on a 6-foot-4 blond wearing a stunning white Alaïa runway set that happens to be both a perfect ab showcase and an unmistakable style gauntlet thrown.

As every WNBA fashion watcher already knows, the blond can only be Sparks forward Cameron Brink, a Vogue favorite and a staple on LeagueFits, the Instagram account that has amassed a million followers since 2018 with a curated stream of tunnel fits. How do they differ from regular off-court attire? These are highly stylized, high-stakes pregame outfits that many professional athletes wear when arriving at the stadium or arena, capitalizing on the opportunity to get seen on their own terms.

Cameron Brink wears an Alaïa top and skirt and Louboutin shoes.

The popular images share a common visual language: The players show up in outfits so expressive they raise an exhilarating middle finger to the very idea of quiet luxury. The backdrops are always drab; concrete floors and metal doors. The stark contrast between the two, and the suggestion of backstage access, make the photos irresistible to fans.

No one skips the tunnel walk. The Sparks rookies are here early, Ta’Niya Latson first, followed by Ji-Hyun Park and then Chance Gray, all arriving while the last section of sparkly black carpet is still being laid down on the literal tunnel, which is finally emblazoned with the team logo. That’s the one they’ll all walk in uniform to get onto the court. We are in the proverbial tunnel, it is the bustling back-of-house that players must traverse on their way to the locker room, which means that all around us the enormous task of staging a pro ballgame is unfolding in a practiced frenzy.

Less than a month ago, Latson went classic Hollywood at the WNBA draft with a glamour girl dress, meticulously laid spit curl and elbow gloves, but today she comes in sporty and fun, in a Puma top and jeans with a folded-down waistband. It’s her very first league game, and the moment is surreal, joyful. “It doesn’t even feel like I’m here, but I am,” she says.

A team staffer pulls a forgotten wad of blue painter’s tape off the floor. A photographer checks her light levels. Three gaffers rush by with heavy coils of electric cord slung over their shoulders. Park is next to arrive. A basketball star in Korea, she’s new to L.A. but already wearing a sweatshirt from a local brand, Madhappy, and does not seem at all intimidated by the cameras, giving them a playful pose, head cocked and leg kicked out. Not long after, Gray, in a plaid mini, is also posing at the photographers’ request, switching effortlessly between signature Gen Z stances, chin resting atop a bent hand. She, too, showed up at the draft in a flawless gown, but today all three rookies seem to have wisely cast themselves in a sort of spirited younger sibling role.

Ta’Niya Latson wears a Puma top and Louis Vuitton bag.

Jihyun Park arrives for her tunnel walk in a Madhappy sweatshirt and Nike sneakers.

Chance Gray wears a Revolve top and shoes, I.am.Gia. skirt and Ganni bag.

Word spreads that Sparks starter Kelsey Plum will be there soon and everyone straightens up. More team staffers rush by. To play basketball you need only a ball and a basket. To magic a WNBA production into existence, you need so much more. A man bearing a dozen brand new jerseys, designed as a callback to the original 1997 uniform, weaves past a line of people going the other way, carrying orange Gatorade coolers and stacks of branded blankets wrapped in thin plastic. An assistant speeds back and forth, loaded down with pallets of snacks, her long hair streaming behind her.

And then Nneka Ogwumike steps into view. After two seasons in Seattle, her return to L.A. is triumphant. As president of the Women’s National Basketball Players Assn., she helped secure a historic new agreement, signed March 24, with salary numbers that mean real money across the board. And in case there were any lingering doubts about her loyalty, she’s made a pointed clothing choice: a pair of custom tapestry pants constructed from a Lakers logo blanket, created by KA Originals designer and former player Kristine Anigwe. The message is simple. “L.A. for life,” says Ogwumike.

Nneka Ogwumike wears custom KA Originals tapestry pants constructed from a Lakers blanket.

Now the rush begins. As we’re talking to Ogwumike, Sania Feagin slips by in a multicolored knit beanie, smile unmissable, holding a bouquet of Mother’s Day flowers from one of the league’s social media managers. Then Emma Cannon embraces the holiday by pulling her son and twin daughters behind her in a wagon. As the family is photographed, several Aces members come in and pause for a brief hug and coo before ducking quickly out of frame. The energy could not be more different from a boxing weigh-in. No spotlight stealing. No antagonistic peacocking.

It is, indisputably, the home team’s turf. And Plum, next to arrive, treats it like her runway. Willy Chavarria sunglasses on, textured Ferragamo trousers glittering with each camera flash, she strides through without pausing. The look has her signature rebel edge, but the guard is working with a new stylist, Karla Welch, who’s known for transforming actors into fashion darlings — her client Greta Lee (“Past Lives”) is the face of Dior’s latest campaign.

Soon after, we get another speed strut from guard Erica Wheeler, whose giant “EW” initial chain from the GLD Shop is the iced out topper to an outfit that’s a master class in artful layering, composed with the assistance of stylist Miguel Moss. Wheeler dipped into Willy Chavarria’s Adidas collab with both her shorts and a pair of black sneakers with a metal-tooled toe in a floral pattern that the designer named after the Compton Cowboys.

WNBA LA Sparks player Emma Cannon with her three children.

Kelsey Plum wears Ferragamo top and pants, Willy Chavarria sunglasses and Jude boots.

The entire time players are walking through, music has been booming through the hallways. Gradually, it becomes clear that the game DJ and host are also getting ready, running through their playlists and patter. When Rae Burrell enters, the game announcer is rehearsing, exhorting the not-yet-arrived crowd to cheer for their team. Burrell may have worked with a shopper to procure options, but she styled herself in this cheer-worthy outfit — a gray minidress that satisfyingly contrasts with a pair of bright white Moon Boots, all pulled together the night before.

Star stylist Brittany Hampton, who has worked with Brink and Plum, says, “historically, [the players] were told to kind of put themselves in a box … to shrink themselves.” The league had very narrow standards for how women were expected to look. But now, according to Hampton, their fashion choices are a projection of power: “It’s an act of their own ownership.”

Before she headed to the locker room, Burrell thanked everyone and called out a cheerful invocation, “Successful first game!” That’s the appeal of the tunnel walk. You cannot stay suspended in pure potential. There is always a ticking clock. A game will be played. Someone will win and someone will lose. None of us know yet that the Sparks are about to get trounced by the Aces, losing by 27 points. It might seem like it would be more sensible for this ritual to take place after the game, for the victors to stage a triumphant, high-style parade and for everyone else to slink out, unnoticed. But where’s the glory in that? To be an athlete is to prove yourself constantly, to always be risking your ego and your body. Without these stakes, without the backdrop of the tunnel and the promise of the competition, it would just be a runway.

In the third quarter, as the Aces’ points keep piling up, the Jumbotron lingers on a fan wearing a simple white T-shirt, probably self-made, emblazoned with an iconic 2024 image of Kelsey Plum in black sunglasses and head-to-toe black leather. Plum is braless, her vest open to reveal a shimmery pile of silver chains, her abs on defiant display. It is a potent, and lasting, assertion of self. The fan in the T-shirt smiles as their image, and Plum’s, looms over the arena.

Dearica Hamby poses with her daughter, Amaya, and wears an Ottolinger set, Steve Madden shoes and Balenciaga.

Rae Burrell wears Prada sunglasses and Diesel bag.

Ariel Atkins wears Zara pants, Charles Keith top, Bape shoes and Ganni bag.

Sania Feagin wears Mnml pants and jacket and Supreme beanie.

Head coach Lynne Roberts.

Jade Chang is the author of the novel “What a Time to Be Alive.”

This article contains spoilers for the penultimate episode of “The Boys.”

There’s just one episode to go in the fifth and final season of Prime Video’s irreverent superhero satire, “The Boys.” The topical, darkly funny, whip-smart series from Eric Kripke follows a band of vigilante misfits who fight to expose the all-powerful, corrupt conglomerate Vought International and its stable of villainous superheroes.

Among the ragtag crew of antiheroes is Frenchie, played by Tomer Capone. Frenchie is the de facto chemist and inventor of the group, a former assassin for hire whose drug-addled brain is constantly concocting news ways to kill immortal Supes (superheroes). Yet he’s deeply connected with the feral Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara), who was nonverbal when he helped save her from human traffickers who sought to cash in on her Supe strength. Their bond — both are outsiders who suffered abuse as children — is one of the few emotional soft spots in the otherwise fast-moving series about America’s rotten power structure, manipulative media and the gullibility of the public.

Though fans of the show are already mourning the end of “The Boys,” they were dealt another major blow Wednesday, when in Episode 7 beloved Frenchie met his fate at the hands of the sociopathic head Supe, Homelander (Antony Starr). Israeli actor Capone talks about the scene, the end of the show and how to cope with the loss of Frenchie. This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

OK, so the big question first. Do you actually speak French?

En vous? Moi? [Laughs] OK, a little bit, but it’s a different kind of French. But that wasn’t the difficult part. Frenchie, to me, is one of those characters for an actor, that’s a gift. It’s something I prayed for. It’s a full-on character. He’s an outsider. He’s a foreigner. The way he walks, the way he talks. We can also talk about the crop tops and the hairstyle …

He’s a full-on character, and the French aspect was only part of it. There was also the sign language with Kimiko, and the connection. For me, the emotion and connection was the bigger aspect of portraying Frenchie.

Are you ready for all the tears of your fans once they witness Frenchie’s demise? He sacrifices himself to lure Homelander away from Kimiko. She is saved, but he is killed in the process.

Oh my God, I can’t watch it. I didn’t watch it. I can’t. I’m too involved.

Tomer Capone on the scene with his character’s demise: “Oh my God, I can’t watch it.”

(Jasper Savage/Prime)

So you really haven’t watched the scene yet?

No. It’s the longest character I ever had in my career, and I can’t. Something tells me not yet.

When you shot that scene, was there an intensity on set? How did that play out?

Intensity is always around the show because there’s so much to accomplish doing “The Boys.” But funnily enough, that specific scene was the most tranquil and quiet set I’ve experienced. I remember standing there with the amazing people of the cast and crew, and we’re talking about how the scene is going to play out. I felt this quietness, like everybody was like inside themselves, so I started to get nervous. I said, “Oh my God, they’re expecting something.”

But very quickly, I decided that I’m just going release all the [plans], thoughts or ideas that I had about the scene. I literally went into this mantra that said, “Frenchie, here’s the keys. Drive the car.” And you know what? It was the right way to go. It made sense. It felt very respectful and spiritual. Those kind of scenes come once in never, where you feel like you’re letting the character drive, and you’re just gliding behind it.

“The Boys” is based on the 2000s comic book series of the same name by writer Garth Ennis and artist Darick Robertson. But the show is unlike any comic book adaptation out there. In fact, it mocks superhero culture.

The biggest gift of working [with] Eric Kripke, the writers and this show is that even as things are moving fast and big things are happening, they’re emotionally backed up. And as a character and an actor, it’s like, OK, I understand what I’m doing. This is the world and what we’re playing. You get where it is going, and why it needs to happen.

Were you surprised when you first learned about Frenchie’s fate?

I wasn’t surprised when I heard from Eric that Frenchie was continuing on to the big field [in the sky]. I had this feeling. I didn’t want to say it out loud. It’s like, at this point, the fifth season, we all felt it. We knew where it was going,

But Frenchie is the empathy and compassion of this series. I actually cried when he was killed off. The empathy is gone, and now we’re left with soulless, terrifying Homelander.

But Kimiko lives.

True, but I haven’t seen the finale. How does Kimiko go on without Frenchie?

Well, let me tell you… [laughs]. I can’t tell, but I can say that I do think Episode 8 is going to blow the audience and fans’ minds with where it goes. That’s the only thing I can say. It evolves into something that resonates.

When it comes to pushing the envelope, “The Boys” is renowned for going where most shows won’t. It drove a speed boat into the side of a whale, imbued superheroes with powers such as toxic vomit and a giant killer penis. Then there was the flying killer sheep. Was there ever a moment too far for you?

Almost every episode has those moments … I remember they told us about the whale, and they said they were still figuring out how. It was a surprise. So I’m driving to set, and it was a sunny day on the shore of Toronto, then all of a sudden, my windshield, everything is covered with this [big shadow], and I’m like what’s going on? Clouds? Is going to rain? The day is ruined! Then I look up and see them [trucking] in a real-size animatronic whale. People that had nothing to do with the show were stopping their cars and looking at this whale moving on the Toronto shore. It was like, OK, here we go.

And there was the musical sequence [in Season 3, Episode 5, when a hospitalized Kimiko imagines her and Frenchie dancing to “I Got Rhythm.”]. Karen and I were on set, and there’s like 30 professional dancers stretching behind us, beautiful and fresh and clean. And we’re looking at each other like, what is this show? What are we doing here? As an actor, you pinch yourself. It’s an experience.

Frenchie (Capone) and Kimiko (Fukuhara) in Season 3’s musical number.

(Amazon Studios)

The musical number, did you actually have to practice the choreography for that?

Oh, day in and day out. I thought I knew how to dance. Apparently I needed some work. Luckily, Karen is a total badass in terms of her commitment, and we practiced it day and night, even working on it off set between other scenes, just working in the movements, trying to get it right. But I learned something very fun about myself. Usually, I don’t like to watch myself on screen, like a lot of actors don’t. From time to time, I would watch an action scene or me fighting because I want to see if I got the choreography right. And I learned that I can watch myself dance too.

With all the fighting in that show, that’s also requires quite a bit of physical acting.

We have the best stunt teams in the business. They made our life very easy compared to the crazy stuff we had to do. Saying that, I don’t miss the harnesses that they put on us. I will not miss that

Harnesses?

I remember when we shot the first episode where Frenchie, Hughie (Jack Quaid)and Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso) are captive in the camp. And then I think Starlight flies me off out of the camp. It was like minus 40, snowing. We’re on our harnesses, and we’re just flying away. It’s an experience.

“The Boys” has brilliantly captured the political craziness in America, but told through the world of egotistical superheroes. For example, Homelander claimed he was lord and savior around the same time President Trump posted an AI image of himself as Jesus.

How they predicted some of the stuff, it beats me. You’re going to have to ask Kripke and his writers. But I love that the show tackles all that. For me, portraying Frenchie is about humanity. About how in chaos and in fear and in the craziness of “The Boys’” world, people still choose love and compassion and that’s really the heart of “The Boys.” Or maybe that’s just from Frenchie’s perspective, where it’s all about family, loyalty and protecting the ones you love.

How did you imagine the character of Frenchie when you first learned of the show?

When I got the audition, I didn’t know about the source material. I didn’t know about the novel, or the graphic comic book. So I went online, and I started researching Frenchie. And the first picture that came in was this buzz cut, crazy, goggle-wearing character. I said, what really? Frenchie specifically is illustrated and drawn so different from volume to volume. It gave me so much space to create something in between those worlds. Then picking the brain of Eric Kripke and building a whole story and backup story for the characters. We already knew, in a way, where it was going, so we had the privilege of understanding the arc of the bigger picture for “The Boys.”

Do you have a favorite Frenchie moment?

Yeah, I do, but it’s not what you might expect to hear. It’s from Season 1. There was this scene with Frenchie and Petit Hughie. Hughie comes out of his father’s house [and he’s upset]. I say that I understand because my father was bipolar too, and [he tried to smother me with a] Hello Kitty duvet. It’s just it’s one of those moments when we couldn’t get those two lines out. We kept breaking. I think it’s the longest scene Jack and I ever had in the show. It was something like 14 takes. All the cast and crew were breaking too. It was like, should we just give it up? But I was fighting for it. No, I can do this! Now it’s a [fan] favorite quote. So that means a lot. I fought for that line!

Have you thought about how you’ll console distraught fans once they’ve seen Episode 7?

Oh, my God. Do you have any tips for me, please?

Sorry, no. I’m in mourning too.

Frenchie will live forever. Viva la Frenchie.

CELEBRITY Juice star Leigh Francis has revealed a nasty face injury after an encounter with a fan during his DJ set in London.

The TV star, 53, was spinning tunes at Sound Bites festival in Syon Park when an overzealous fan left him with a gory wound.

Explaining on TikTok, Leigh said: “I went into the crowd and someone was overcome with joy, so that was a nice feeling, and she went ‘I love you’ and put her hands towards my face and her thumbnail, which was quite long, did that.”

He then showed a raw red scratch that ran across his temple and stopped very close to his eye.

Leigh added: “Could’ve been worse, could’ve gone in my eye but yeah bit of a naughty one that, innit?”

His followers were shocked by the scratch, with one writing: “Omg Leigh that’s awful.”

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Another said: “Ouch! I’m glad you are OK!”

A third wrote: “Blimey! Close one, cool shirt! Heal fast mate.”

In a follow up video, Keith adopted his alter-ego Avid Merrion and said the injury made him look like a “sexy action hero” but warned people from getting too drunk.

The event, which celebrated all things music and food, featured other star DJs Sister Bliss, Denise Van Outen and Laura Whitmore.

Last autumn, Leigh told fans he didn’t know when he’d return to TV after Through The Keyhole and Celebrity Juice were put on ice.

“I haven’t pitched any ideas for TV shows in ages,” he said.

“If I do and someone likes it then I’ll be back but if I don’t, I won’t.”

He continued: “It’s gone mad, you can’t make anything without it upsetting people. If you think you’re gonna be offended you shouldn’t watch but I can’t be bothered to get into this deep conversation.”

The Sparks signed guard Kate Martin to a developmental player contract Sunday just hours before their first game of the season. About 45 minutes before tipoff, Martin arrived in Los Angeles.

“It’s been chaotic, but honestly, found a lot of clarity, a lot of confidence, and where I’m at and where the future of my career is heading,” she said. “So honestly, kind of all over the place, but feeling really good and having a lot of clarity right now.”

Martin was a surprising end-of-training camp cut for the Golden State Valkyries after she averaged 6.2 points per game in 42 contests last season. But Golden State was deep at the wing position, making Martin expendable with its other positional needs.

Speaking publicly for the first time since being cut, she was emotional, but excited for the opportunity with the Sparks.

“I chose L.A. because of the way they approached me,” she said. “I just feel honored for the opportunity. And opportunities don’t always come around in this league. And so for the year that I got cut to be the year where there are development spots, I feel very grateful for that.”

The Sparks had one developmental spot left after signing Louisville graduate Laura Ziegler during training camp.

Martin will be available to be on the active roster for 12 games, while receiving a weekly stipend of $750 in addition to a pro-rated minimum salary of $6,000. She has the most experience of any player signed to a developmental contract across the league with two full seasons under her belt.

“(Martin is) great in the locker room, great teammate, super hard worker,” said Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon, who coached Martin in her rookie season. “She’s somebody who came in with pro habits and a lot of times from college, that’s hard to do, but she came in and was a nice piece for us.”

The 25-year-old was a fan favorite with the Valkyries and had the third highest-selling jersey in the WNBA last season despite coming off the bench for Golden State.

Martin first went viral during the 2024 draft when she was selected 18th overall by Las Vegas and was in the room to support her Iowa teammate, Caitlin Clark. She averaged 2.6 points per game in 34 games as a rookie with the Aces before being selected by the Valkyries in the expansion draft in December 2025.

“Now my expectations for myself are to buy into being an L.A. Spark,” Martin said. “I know that roles are ever changing throughout the season, but right now, I’m gonna be where my feet are, and I’m going to buy into this role as a development player. I’m going to learn, I’m going to grow, and I’m just going to make the most of this opportunity.”

It’s unclear how much Martin will play with the Sparks, but she might have a path because they lack wing depth. The Sparks are backcourt heavy, then have three bigs in Nneka Ogwumike, Cameron Brink and Dearica Hamby. Rae Burrell and Sania Feagin fill that role, but Martin could bring a three-point shot and energy off the bench.

“It’s a great fit for us,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. “Thrilled how that worked out. It’s no secret, I love shooters. I think it’s a great add. And I think this gives her a chance in the developmental spot to just kind of settle and really pour into the player development. Her work ethic is unbelievable.”

MUSIC fans were divided after Oli Sykes slammed them for leaving his band’s gig early.

Oli, 39, fronts the massive band Bring Me The Horizon and went on the rant at their recent gig in Nashville, USA.

Kneeling on the stage wearing a large cowboy hat with a pink feather hem, Oli angrily pointed in the direction of the crowd in a video posted to TikTok by user @professionalconcertgoer.

“Now I start seeing t***s leaving early to beat the traffic… I can see one there, that c***t and he’s a VIP one too,” Oli said looking into the audience.

“Why did you pay all that money for?”

Fans of the band explained their reasons for needing to leave gigs before they finished and also slammed Oli’s attitude.

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“I always think it’s wild when artists talk about the fans that lined their pockets like this. I thought better of Oli,” wrote one person in the comment section of the TikTok.

Another added: “Oli my brother in Christ the last bus / train home is like 10:45 we have to leave early or we’re sleeping on the street.”

But a third commented: “I’ll never understand why people leave early. I’ve done it a couple of times and have regretted it every time.”

While a fourth posted: “He said this in toronto too, i felt bad but he’s gotta take it up with go transit 😭 if i miss my train i’m stranded in the city, i don’t have money or a credit card to get a hotel for the night.”

Bring Me The Horizon formed in 2004 and have released six studio albums.

They have been nominated for two Grammys and this year won a Brit for Best Rock/Alternative Act. They’ve also scooped seven Kerrang! gongs in a career that dates back 20 years.

There was no greater sign of a mainstream breakthrough than when they collaborated with Ed Sheeran for a souped-up version of his hit Bad Habits at the Brit Awards in 2022.

Adding rocky riffs and synths to the catchy pop tune, the heavier element clearly thrilled Ed who performed the collab with a big grin.

Last year, Oli officialy became a dad after his Brazilian model wife Victoria Alissa Salles Silva announced she had given birth to twins.

In an Instagram post, she shared an image of the tots – writing, “amor infinito,” which translates to “infinite love”, adding, “grey & zélia.”

I walked around a street fair in Irvine over the weekend, checking out the crowd while waiting for my daughter’s dance team to perform. We were a few short miles from Angel Stadium, but you wouldn’t have known it: lots of people wearing Dodgers caps, someone wearing a Shohei Ohtani cap, someone else wearing an Ohtani jersey, someone else wearing a Clayton Kershaw jersey, a dog wearing a Dodgers bandana, and people repping the Padres, Giants, Athletics and Yankees.

After 25 minutes, someone walked by in an Angels cap.

If the passion wanes, apathy can set in. I wondered if that is where the Angels might find themselves now, with a slice of their fan base finding a more enjoyable way to spend its summers than watching one losing season after another, and with the shadow of baseball’s best team extending ever more securely into Orange County.

Something else happened over the weekend that made me wonder. On the heels of a winless road trip, and on the day before the Angels would claim the worst record in the major leagues, Angels general manager Perry Minasian said this to reporters: “Our best baseball is in front of us. There’s no doubt about that.”

No doubt?

Angels general manager Perry Minasian declined to predict in the team would make the playoffs this season.

(Elsa Garrison / Getty Images)

On the Angels’ broadcast the previous night, reporter Erica Weston presented play-by-play announcer Wayne Randazzo with a birthday gift: a figurine of Grogu, a character in the Star Wars family. Randazzo said he would keep Grogu in the broadcast booth, as a good luck charm for the Angels.

“We certainly could use one,” Randazzo said.

Minasian, the sixth-year general manager, has yet to deliver a team that finished better than 17 games out of first place. On Wednesday, I asked him to explain why he was so confident in saying he had “no doubt” the team’s best days were ahead.

“We’ve been very competitive,” Minasian said. “Our wins and losses aren’t where we want them to be, but we have lost a lot of one-run games, a lot of tough games.”

The Angels have lost six one-run games. So have the Yankees, the team with the best record in the American League.

The Angels’ run differential is minus-14. They are four games behind in the AL West, where the first-place Athletics have a .500 record and a minus-21 run differential. You never know.

So far, however, the Angels’ offense is all about the three true outcomes: They strike out the most of any major league team and rank among the top six in walks and home runs, but they do not rank among the top 10 in runs. Only five teams have given up more runs.

“Going to the bullpen has been a harbinger of danger for the Angels,” Randazzo told viewers. The Angels’ bullpen entered Wednesday with a 5.35 earned-run average, the highest in the AL.

Owner Arte Moreno cut payroll this year, amid the implosion of the FanDuel regional sports networks. Edwin Díaz was not walking through the bullpen door.

Angels owner Arte Moreno.

(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)

But the Dodgers find solid bullpen arms in ways beyond buying them: Evan Phillips was cast off by the Baltimore Orioles during a 110-loss season; Alex Vesia was acquired from the Miami Marlins after putting up an 18.69 ERA in his first five major league games.

“We’ve had guys like that,” Minasian said.

He cited Brock Burke, a waiver claim who gave the Angels two solid seasons in middle relief. Minasian traded him last winter for outfielder Josh Lowe, and any general manager would trade a middle reliever for a middle-of-the-order bat. To this point, Lowe has a .198 on-base percentage and a .287 slugging percentage.

Lowe is but a data point in illustrating this primary point: Minasian’s margin for error is smaller than it otherwise would have been if Moreno had not withdrawn from the market for top-tier free agents or had approved trading Ohtani for elite prospects that would have accelerated rebuilding. Smaller, but other teams do more with less.

“We’ve got to be able to develop our own players,” Minasian said.

On the day Minasian said he had “no doubt” better days were ahead for his team, the Angels, their triple-A affiliate and their double-A affiliate all were in last place.

Analysts perennially rank the Angels’ farm system among baseball’s worst. Minasian said he’ll put his faith in four homegrown starters: José Soriano, Reid Detmers, Jack Kochanowicz and Walbert Ureña. Their combined ERA so far: 2.99.

“When you look at good teams and sustainable winners, they build rotations, whether that’s through trades or free agency or your own,” Minasian said. “We’re doing it with our own. You can’t microwave that overnight.”

You can’t make fans wait forever for October either. Angels fans have heard enough about building a competitive team and needing patience.

They have not seen their team in a playoff game in 12 years. When are they going to see that?

Angels pitcher Walbert Ureña delivers against the New York Mets at Angel Stadium on May 1.

(Luke Hales / Getty Images)

“I’m not in the prediction business,” said Minasian, whose contract expires after this season. “They’re going to see a team that plays hard every day. They’re going to see young, talented players day in and day out.”

That’s fine, but when are they going to see a winning team?

“The proof will be in the pudding,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what I say. I could say all these things. At the end of the day, we’re going to go play 162 games. We’ll see where we end up and who’s done what, and we’ll go from there.”

On Wednesday, the Angels won a series for the first time since April 12. They’re 3-2 with Grogu in the broadcast booth.

The schedule gets more challenging: a trip to Toronto and Cleveland, then back to the Big A to play the Dodgers. The same distant Angel Stadium seat available on the resale market for Wednesday’s game for $5 (fees included) is available for $103 for the opener of the Dodgers series.

Orange County loves a winner. There was a long line at that Irvine street fair to collect souvenirs from one booth — the one for the Anaheim Ducks.

The Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the 2026 World Cup announced on Monday the details of the 10 official fan zones that will be set up at locations throughout the L.A. region during the 39-day tournament.

These venues will complement the start of the tournament following the opening of the FIFA Fan Festival Los Angeles, scheduled for June 11–14 at the Coliseum, which will serve as a central gathering point for fans.

The goal is to transform the city into an extended celebration of the World Cup, providing live broadcasts of the matches and various experiences designed to bring the tournament atmosphere to communities throughout L.A.

Match broadcasts in the fan zones will be available via Fox and Telemundo, allowing attendees to follow the tournament live throughout the competition. Each venue will have different programming, so fans are encouraged to check the schedule in advance to be sure they catch their preferred games.

The organizing committee urged fans to plan their travel in advance, highlighting the Metro public transit system as the most convenient option for getting to both FanFest and the various Fan Zones located throughout the region.

Here is the watch party schedule:

The Original Farmers Market: June 18–21

Ticket prices: $5 per day/$17 multi-day pass; free admission for children 3 and under.

It will feature a full lineup of group stage matches, including the United States vs. Australia and Mexico vs. South Korea.

The event will include soccer zones for the whole family, beer gardens, and international cuisine from more than 40 restaurants and specialty market shops.

City of Downey: June 20

Free community event with optional VIP packages available for purchase.

It will feature highlight matches from the group stage, such as Germany vs. Ivory Coast and Tunisia vs. Japan.

There will be an opening ceremony, a massive viewing area, entertainment, soccer exhibitions, an arts and crafts fair, interactive booths, and food and beverage vendors.

Union Station: June 25–28

A free multi-day event in the heart of downtown Los Angeles.

It will feature live broadcasts of key matches and international games, including the United States vs. Turkey.

It will include DJ performances, meet-and-greets with guests, interactive challenges, competitive activities, and immersive experiences.

Hansen Dam Lake: July 2–5

Ticketed outdoor event: $25 general admission, with VIP options available.

The event will feature round of 16 and quarterfinal matches in a festival-like atmosphere.

The event will feature a transformed lakeside area with DJs, international cuisine, beer gardens, an outdoor movie theater, muralists, games with prizes, and continuous entertainment.

Earvin Magic Johnson Park: July 4–5

Free community celebration.

Will include quarterfinal games.

It will feature activities, a community market, local resources, music, food trucks, drinks, and more.

Whittier Narrows Recreation Area: July 9–11

Free community celebration.

It will feature semifinal matches and other moments from the tournament.

It will include cultural activities, a community market and a variety of local dining options. After the matches, fans can tour the park and explore the San Gabriel Valley.

Venice Beach: July 10–11

Ticketed fan zone on the waterfront: general admission starting at $10, with VIP options available.

Will feature single-elimination matches at one of the city’s most iconic destinations.

There will be international food vendors, beverage areas, live music, DJs, cultural performances and additional family-friendly programming.

Fairplex: July 14–15 and 18–19

Ticketed event.

$10 for all four days through May 31; $20 after that date.

VIP options available.

Packages will include multiple matches, including the semifinals, third-place match, and final.

There will be interactive games, recreational activities, appearances by local mascots, educational exhibits on the “science of soccer” and a resident DJ.

San Pedro’s West Harbor: July 14–15 and 18–19

Waterfront experience with ticket: $5 per ticket, with VIP options available.

Will feature the tournament semifinals and final.

Will offer soccer-inspired activities, interactive experiences, food, drinks, and live DJ music.

Downtown Burbank: July 18–19

Ticketed event starting at $25.

The event will feature the tournament’s final matches, including the World Cup final.

The event will include live entertainment, family-friendly games, VIP experiences, and an adjacent free international fair showcasing cuisine and cultural expressions from around the world.

This article first appeared in Spanish via L.A. Times en Español.

Chris Clarke had gone the traditional route, pitching for three years at USC after starring at Newbury Park High, then toiling for six more seasons in the Chicago Cubs’ minor league system after being a fourth-round draft pick in 2019.

But his big-league dream abruptly became a wake-up call last August when the Cubs released him a week before his wife gave birth to their first child. No more paychecks. No more health insurance.

So imagine how jarring it was for Clarke to take the mound in front of a record 102,000 fans in the Texas A&M football stadium Saturday, which had been converted to accommodate (sorry Dodgers) the most popular team in baseball: the Savannah Bananas.

“It was surreal,” Clarke said. “In fact, it was so incredible, I didn’t feel anything. My body went numb. There was a moment in the third inning when everybody was screaming. I couldn’t hear myself talk.”

It was the most people ever crammed into Kyle Field, the nation’s fourth-largest college stadium, trailing only Michigan (107,601), Oregon (106,572) and Ohio State (102,780).

Clarke pitched for the opposing team, the Texas Tailgaters, one of five squads created by Bananas founders Jesse and Emily Cole that serve as touring partners to face the yellow-clad star attraction. All six teams practice at a complex in Savannah, Ga.

The game in College Station attracted the largest crowd in the Bananas’ six-year history, and Clarke shined, striking out five in four innings. He also entertained, as all players in the Banana Ball Championship League are cheerfully required to do.

“The amount of joy it brings to fans and even people online, it’s really something,” Clarke said. “There definitely is a winner and a loser — which holds some weight — but for the most part, fans are there because it’s a really good show.”

Clarke, a 6-foot-7 right-hander, was the third overall pick in the inaugural Banana Ball draft held in November. Tailgater coaches contacted him beforehand to gauge his interest and he told them, “Pick me.”

March 2019 photo of former USC pitcher Chris Clarke during the 2019 Dodger Stadium Classic.

(John McGillen/USC Athletics)

That level of bold fits right in. Banana Ball is fast-paced, hilarious and maximizes fan engagement. It features innovative rules: Fouls caught by fans count as outs, for example, and batters who walk get to run the bases until all nine defensive players have touched the ball. Choreographed dances, acrobatic tricks, a pitcher on stilts and other antics keep the entertainment flowing.

“I like to think of every game as a stepping stone to the next show,” Clarke said. “Whether it goes well or is terrible, we will make it better for next time. Banana Ball is a relaxed culture, so when it comes to the entertainment stuff, there is no fear of failure. We are seeing what works and what doesn’t.”

Guest stars are frequent and on Saturday, the Bananas sent Texas-grown YouTube sensation Tyler Toney, a member of the sports comedy troupe Dude Perfect, to the plate as a pinch-hitter. Clarke struck him out on four pitches: a called strike, a swinging strike, a ball Clarke purposely launched high into the stands for laughs, then strike three swinging on a cut fastball.

It was a rare humbling moment for Toney, who, with fellow Dude Perfect members Cody Jones, Garrett Hilbert, and twins Cory and Coby Cotton, generates more than $20 million annually from YouTube, merchandise and tours.

Clarke had watched Dude Perfect videos religiously when he was at USC and was starstruck to meet them in person.

“Dude Perfect is the reason I failed econ twice,” he said. “I watched every single Dude Perfect video. To meet them and shake their hands was fun. It was the only moment in my life where I was a fanboy.”

He’s also a breadwinner again for his family. The burgeoning popularity of Banana Ball has made the gig more lucrative than playing in the minor leagues.

“I’m making five times as much and playing half the time,” Clarke said. “My contract is also for 12 months of the year. In affiliated baseball, it’s only six months. So, there’s that. I’ve never met anyone in baseball who has had the luxury to spend time with a newborn child. To come to Banana Ball and actually feel like there is respect, a culture and guidelines, that was something I hadn’t experienced.”

It is also giving him notoriety. Twenty-five Banana Ball games this year are being streamed on the ESPN app and Disney+, with select games airing across ESPN networks and ABC. The first Bananas broadcast on ABC will take place at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore., June 27 and 28. The games have been sold out since October.

Highlights from Saturday’s game flooded social media and traditional outlets alike. Family friends and former teammates reached out to Clarke. What was it like pitching in front of 100,000 people? Are you improving your dance moves?

“The entertainment side of it takes pressure off performance,” he said. “Performing well is still very much there, but there is a level of relaxation that makes it easier.”

Clarke admits he thinks back to USC and the 2019 season, when he posted a stellar earned-run average of 1.03. He also occasionally misses the heightened competition and quest to make the major leagues of affiliated baseball.

He pitched two seasons in triple A and is only 27. Would he leave Banana Ball next year if an MLB team offered him an invite to spring training?

“I’m not in a situation to close any doors,” he said. “That’s the mindset that got me here. I wanted to investigate Banana Ball and I told them I’d give them a full year for us both to evaluate it. Either way, I think it’s a win. Just comes down to what’s best for my family.”

Meanwhile, more games in packed stadiums await. In addition to a handful in football stadiums against the Bananas, the Tailgaters will play three games a week against other Banana Ball League teams throughout the summer, mostly in minor league baseball stadiums from Tulsa, Okla., to El Paso, Texas, to Nashville, Tenn., to Charlotte, N.C.

Exponentially larger crowds than those venues are accustomed to are a given.

Kid Cudi has fired M.I.A. as an opening act on his Rebel Ragers tour following backlash over her onstage comments in Dallas, where she said she “can’t do illegal” and appeared to accuse audience members of being in the country illegally.

The controversy first gained steam on Reddit where concertgoers expressed their concerns about her comments at Saturday’s show, including that she reportedly claimed she was canceled for being a brown Republican voter, prompting boos from the audience. Although she is not a U.S. citizen, she endorsed Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.

In one video, she says she “can’t do illegal, though some of you could be in the audience,” drawing audible gasps.

In a statement Monday, Kid Cudi announced that M.I.A. was no longer with the tour and noted that he had previously had his management tell her team that he “didn’t want anything offensive” in his shows and that he was assured this message was understood.

“After the last couple shows, I’ve been flooded with messages from fans that were upset by her rants,” he wrote in a statement on Instagram. “This, to me, is very disappointing and I won’t have someone on my tour making offensive remarks that upsets my fanbase.”

The rant came as she introduced her song “ILLYGIRL,” which has lyrics that say “I’m illegal, f— your law.” In another video, she can be heard saying, “I’m illegal, half my team are not here because they didn’t get the visa,” before instructing the audience not to listen to “what the bots say on the internet.”

After Cudi’s announcement about her being removed from the tour, she responded in an all-caps message on X, writing, “I WROTE BORDERS AND ILLYGAL AND PAPER PLANES BEFORE YOU THOUGHT IMMIGRANT RIGHTS WERE COOL. I’VE HAD [THESE] BATTLES BY MYSELF WITHOUT THE HELP OF MILLIONS OF FANS BACKING ME.”

M.I.A., whose real name is Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam, is a British-born rapper with Sri Lankan parents. She spent her early childhood in Sri Lanka before her family returned to London as refugees during the country’s civil war.

She is best known for her 2008 smash hit “Paper Planes,” which includes the lyrics “If you catch me at the border I got visas in my name.” Several of her songs deal with themes of immigration, politics and war.

In 2022, she announced her conversion to born-again Christian, which inspired her recently released album M.I.7, featuring heavy Christian themes.

In her X statement on Monday, she accused people of gaslighting her song lyrics, noting that “IS THE WORK OF SATAN.” She also made comments about Jesus being an immigrant and a rebel and said he returned to lead the world to fight injustice. She ended the post with a call for everyone to listen to M.I.7.

Kudi’s 33-show Rebel Ragers tour kicked off March 28 with M.I.A. and Big Boi billed as the opening acts. On Monday, he also announced that his Tuesday show in Birmingham, Ala., was canceled due to low ticket sales. The tour is set to continue with Big Boi as an opener and A-Trak, Me N Ü and Dot Da Genius slated to open at certain shows.

NEW YORK — John Sterling, the longtime New York Yankees radio broadcaster known for extravagant, individualized home run calls, died Monday. He was 87.

Sterling had undergone heart bypass surgery this winter and after the procedure was attended to by health care aides at his home in Edgewater, New Jersey. He died Monday at Englewood Hospital, according to his former wife, Jennifer.

“John Sterling breathed life and excitement into Yankees games for 36 years while wearing his passion for baseball and the Yankees on his sleeve,” the team said in a statement. “He informed and entertained generations of fans with a theatrical and unapologetic style that was uniquely his own. John treasured his role as the voice of the New York Yankees, and his enthusiasm for the art of broadcasting perfectly complemented our city and our fans. The symmetry between John and his audience was both undeniable and magical, and his signature calls will resonate for as long as we put on pinstripes — especially after every Yankees win.”

He had called 5,631 games — 5,420 regular season plus 211 postseason — when he retired in April 2024 just after the season’s start, citing fatigue. Sterling broadcast 5,060 consecutive games from September 1989 through July 2019 after beginning with the Yankees as a pregame host. He came out of retirement to broadcast Yankees games during the 2024 postseason.

Sterling’s call for a player’s home run became as treasured a part of a Yankees identity as an initial set of pinstripes or a championship ring. As rookies prepared for debuts and former opponents arrived in trades, fans speculated how he would label the newcomer’s first longball.

From “Bernie goes boom! Bern, baby, Bern!” for Bernie Williams, to “It’s a Jeter jolt!” for Derek to “It’s an A-bomb from A-Rod!” for Alex Rodriguez, “The Giambino!” for Jason Giambi and ”A thrilla from Godzilla!” for Hideki Matsui, Sterling created personal stamps resonating from the clubhouse to the bleachers.

“It wasn’t meant that way. I just happened to do something for Bernie Williams. He hit a home run and I said, `Bern, baby, Bern!′ And it kind of mushroomed from there,” Sterling said at the time of his retirement. “But it never was intended for every player, because, frankly, I’m not smart enough to do something for every player. But I did the best I could, and it’s amazing what started out as — became so big.”

“I did say `A-bomb from A-Rod!′ when he hit a home run and I did say: `Robbie Canó, don’t you know,′ and I think those were pretty good,” Sterling said of calls for Rodriguez and Robinson Canó.

Born Josh Sloss on July 4, 1938, Sterling grew up in Manhattan and left college to work for radio stations. He had wanted to be a broadcaster since hearing “The Eddie Bracken Show” in the 1940s.

“I didn’t want to be Eddie Bracken. I wanted to be the guy who says: `Live from Hollywood!’” Sterling said. “And I knew that maybe a year or two later, but before puberty I knew I was going to be on the air. And it really helped me because I didn’t worry about school, because I knew what I was going to do. And it was a good thing because I was a terrible student — terrible.”

He started his radio career in 1960 at a station in Wellsville, New York.

“I was preparing this all my life. It was easy,” he said. “I could always open my mouth and talk.”

Sterling cited Mel Allen, Russ Hodges and Jim Karvellas as influences. He wound up joining Allen in the history of memorable Yankees broadcasters along with Red Barber, Phil Rizzuto, Bill White and Frank Messer.

Sterling announced the NBA’s Washington Bullets and Morgan State football in his early years and gained notoriety for shrieking “Islanders goal! Islanders goal!” during the hockey team’s games from 1975-78. He broadcast for the NBA’s Nets from 1975-80.

Sterling’s first connection with the Yankees was during WMCA pregame radio talk shows from 1971-78. He moved to Atlanta and worked for the Braves from 1982-87 and Hawks from 1981-89 before switching to the Yankees, where he replaced Hank Greenwald.

Sterling was seldom in the clubhouse and dressed in Brooks Brothers suits even though he was on the radio.

He partnered with Jay Johnstone (1989-90), Joe Angel (1991), Michael Kay (1992-2001), Charley Steiner (2002-04) and Suzyn Waldman (since 2005). Sterling and Waldman were inducted into the New York State Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2016.

He was married to the former Jennifer Contreras from 1993 to 2004. In addition to her, he is survived by triplets Bradford, Derek and Veronica, and daughter Abigail.

Sterling was proud of his unique style.

“Harry Caray told me some years ago,” he recalled in 2024 of the famous Chicago Cubs and White Sox broadcaster, “and he says, ‘John, all the guys are great. We just have different styles.’ And no one has a more different style than I have.”

Our two England fans fly out of Heathrow on Monday, 15 June with return flights to JFK in New York costing just over £500 each – which is good value.

With the Three Lions’ final group game taking place in New Jersey, it is the most cost-effective way to travel to the US and back, with the first stop being Dallas.

After landing in the States, they pick up a flight to Dallas the same night – this costs £283 per person.

Four nights at the Hampton Inn & Suites Dallas Market Center cost £624 (£156 a night) for a twin.

Double rooms, which are more available in all cities, come in cheaper at the Hilton Dallas Medical District at £560 (£140 a night).

Both properties have breakfast included, meaning Dallas – which also has free shuttle buses from stations to the stadium in Arlington – is an affordable start to the trip.

The England supporters fly to Boston on Friday, 19 June with the fare £378 each.

Boston is at the other end of the scale as one of the more expensive host cities for accommodation.

Our couple stay at the Hampton Inn & Suites Boston Crosstown Center, costing £1,650 (£330 a night), including breakfast, for five nights.

The cheapest twin-bed option in the city itself is £2,041 (£408 a night) without breakfast at the Courtyard Boston Downtown/North Station.

It is possible to book a hotel near the airport £500 cheaper but with five days in the city, it may not be worth the saving.

With England’s third game being in New Jersey, there is no need to take a flight. The supporters can hop on the Amtrak train to New York on Wednesday, 24 June with tickets £42 each.

Unlike in Boston, there are still lots of hotel options in New York with a five-night stay before the flight home on 29 June.

A double at the Truss Hotel Times Square costs £1,184 (£237 a night) while a twin at the AMTD Idea Tribeca Hotel is £1,275 (£255 a night).

This time, however, you will need to head out for breakfast.

But the last two games come with a sting – train tickets to the stadiums cost £59 per person from Boston and £114 from New York.

Just to get to the States and travel around, the estimated costs for two friends are £6,273 and for a couple £5,855.

And what of the family? It is going to cost £9,008 to get to the States, get around and put your heads down.

Costs are helped by some hotels offering free stays for children.

In Dallas, the Comfort Inn Dallas Medical-Market Center costs £627 (£156 a night).

The same Hampton Inn is used in Boston with a higher cost of £1,763 (£353 a night).

Over in New York, the Holiday Inn in Times Square costs £1,589 (£318 a night).

Guardians fan Evelyn Moore got a pretty cool souvenir from Monday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays — a two-run home run ball hit by Cleveland second baseman Daniel Schneemann.

The 11-year-old softball player from New Philadelphia, Ohio, almost got the ball right after Schneemann hit it in the bottom of the fifth inning.

But, as seen in video footage that quickly went viral on social media, a man appeared to snatch it away as Evelyn was trying to pick it up near the rail in the left-center field stands at Progressive Field.

He eventually gave it to her, however, and now the girl’s mother wants folks on social media to leave him alone.

“This man’s life shouldn’t be ruined over this,” Nikki Moore-DeVore said. “Jokes and memes are one thing, but it’s getting excessive. It’s too much.”

Moore-DeVore said her family — which also includes her husband, Jon DeVore, and her son, Theo Moore, 9 — attend several Guardians games a year. They sit in the outfield stands, where Evelyn — an avid baseball fan and baseball card collector — likes to take her glove down to the rail and try to persuade Cleveland outfielders to toss her a ball.

Video of Schneemann’s home run shows the ball flying over the left-center field wall, where a bearded man wearing a throwback Cleveland Indians hat and T-shirt tried to catch it in the air. Instead, it bounced off his hands toward the rail to his left.

Cleveland Guardians’ Daniel Schneemann, right, is greeted at the plate by teammate David Fry after hitting a two-run home run in the fifth inning of a game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday in Cleveland.

(Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)

Evelyn ran down from her seat two rows up, dropped to the ground and attempted to secure the ball in front of her. The man ran over and also dropped to the ground next to her, starting a brief struggle for control of the ball.

The man eventually emerged triumphantly.

“I did not really see how the ball came over to us. I just saw it bounce in our direction and my daughter go down to get it,” Moore-DeVore said. “And I saw the scuffle kind of from behind, but I couldn’t see much of the hands or anything like that. I just saw the shoulders shifting around.

“And then she got up empty-handed, and people started booing. The guys sitting in front of me were like, ‘That was her ball!’ My husband was booing. He was not happy, but we didn’t want to ruin the game.”

Evelyn also was upset by the turn of events, her mother said, “but she didn’t cry.”

“She actually took it like a champ,” Moore-DeVore said. “Every inning, she still went up to the rail to try to get one of the players to throw a ball to her. She didn’t give up.”

Meanwhile, Theo approached the man to request he return the ball to his sister. Moore-DeVore said her son told her the man politely refused.

“I was just proud of him for going over there and taking it upon himself to try to help his sister,” Moore-DeVore said.

The Rays broadcast of the game showed the incident involving Evelyn and the man, with the announcers taking the girl’s side. On social media, fans shared the video and shamed the man for his behavior, with some looking to make his identity public.

Later in the game, Rays sideline reporter Ryan Bass visited the family at their seats and presented both kids with baseballs.

That’s when Evelyn became emotional.

“She cried happy tears,” her mother said. “I think she just felt seen. The incident made her feel small, and Ryan made her feel seen.”

Bass posted about the moment on X.

“We had to make it right,” Bass wrote, adding in a separate post: “We got the chance to make a sweet little girl’s night. There’s nothing better. Kindness is free. Always remember that.”

Before the bottom of the eighth inning, Evelyn went down to her usual post at the rail to try to persuade an outfielder to toss her a ball. She returned with the home run ball from three innings earlier.

“She came back with the biggest smile on her face: ‘Mom, he gave it back to me!’” Moore-DeVore said. “The guys in front of me were like, ‘yeah, he’s, like, getting a lot of social media flack.’ … I’m sure he realized eventually that it was probably the wrong action to take, just not good etiquette.”

In return, Moore-DeVore said, Theo offered the man — whose name has not been revealed despite the internet’s attempts — one of the balls that Bass had given him and his sister.

“He respectfully declined,” she said, “so my son gave it to another kid.”

Moore-DeVore said both of her kids are “on cloud nine” over how everything turned out — and she wants everyone else to get over it as well.

“I don’t want this one moment to ruin this guy,” she said. “And my kids, they wouldn’t want that. They’re sweet kids. I feel like, if kids their age can forgive and offer him a peace offering, grown adults and other fans can, too.”

Audacy’s Los Angeles news radio station KNX is ending its simulcast on 97.1 FM, which will move to a sports talk format on May 11.

The New York-based audio company announced Tuesday that the frequency will be re-branded as the Fan, becoming the first all-sports FM station in the Los Angeles market.

Sports talk listeners are currently served by KLAC, an AM station co-owned by iHeartRadio and the Dodgers, ESPN LA 710, and KLAA at 830 AM, owned by the Los Angeles Angels.

KNX will continue its all-news format on its AM frequency 1070. The station will also be heard on 97.1 HD2, mostly available in vehicles equipped with digital radios.

Chris Oliviero, chief business officer for Audacy, said the moves are aimed at providing more local content to listeners in the Los Angeles market. The Fan will be stocked with on-air talent well-versed in the area’s teams.

“We’re going to be providing twice as much original local L.A. content than we were previously,” Oliviero said. “We are taking these two broadcast frequencies, and getting more out of them.”

KNX’s news format benefited from the FM simulcast, with its share of the audience up more than 25% since it began in December 2021. Oliviero said Audacy remains committed to the format, which has a significant number of listeners through the station’s app and other streaming platforms.

Audacy has a proven track record in sports talk radio, which is attractive to advertisers. Los Angeles was the only top 10 market where the company did not have a station carrying the format.

Oliviero noted that the upcoming sports calendar that includes the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles will likely drive up listener appetite for the station.

The Fan will launch without any live play-by-play of Los Angeles teams. KLAC has the audio rights to the Dodgers, the Clippers of the NBA, the Chargers of the NFL and UCLA football.

Oliviero said Audacy will look at acquiring audio rights to Los Angeles teams as they become available. He noted that the Fan will carry local hosts during daytime hours when KLAC offers syndicated hosts Dan Patrick and Colin Cowherd. KLAC has a popular local team, Petros and Money, in the afternoon, and a Dodgers-focused talk show in the evening.

In addition to KNX, Audacy owns classic hits station KRTH-FM (101.1), rhythmic hits outlet KTWV-FM (94.7), adult hits station KCBS-FM (93.1) and KROQ-FM (106.7), which has an alternative rock format. The stations broadcast out of studios on the Miracle Mile.

Audacy has owned KNX since 2017, when it merged with the radio division of CBS Corp. The company was known as Entercom at the time of the transaction.

Welcome to the first edition of Mr. Todd’s Wild Ride, a weekly newsletter all about theme parks.

Theme parks, I’ve long believed, are art. Here in Southern California, they are institutions.

And here at The Times, I have been writing about theme parks for more than a decade. As a journalist but also as a fan, even attempting to analyze my own love for these spaces and why I keep going back.

My entry to theme parks were trips to Florida’s Walt Disney World. These vacations were the highlight of my youth, helping a shy, awkward kid get out of his shell and discover a safe world of play. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to see parks as places that reflect our popular myths back to us, allowing us to live inside them and define a role for ourselves. I still insist on riding Pirates of the Caribbean each Disneyland visit, just as my father used to. It’s the second-greatest ride at the park, after all.

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That’s not to say theme parks are perfect. They are crowded, they are expensive and increasingly they separate the haves and the have-nots. We’ll talk about some of that here, too, in addition to theme park history, theme park artistry, SoCal theme park news and how to maximize your day. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the ride.

Take on a character and quest at Universal Studios

I am standing in front of a makeshift cemetery. On the paths between gravestones are colored footprints, as if left by cartoon characters. These are the trails of a suspect. Purple imprints are what I’m seeking.

I am on the case, and the Scooby-Doo gang is here to help: Velma, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy and, of course, Scooby-Doo himself. Left in the thorny bushes of the graveyard is a clue. Once the latter is discovered, I am one step closer to solving the mystery, one that has unleashed a host of Universal’s classic movie monsters on the ol’ Europe section of the studio’s backlot.

A mash-up of Universal’s classic monsters and “Scooby-Doo!” characters is featured in a game-like experience at Fan Fest Nights.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Can I and a few hundred strangers restore order and save the day?

Universal’s Fan Fest Nights is in its second year, and after a mixed debut last spring, the after-hours, specially-ticketed event has hit its stride. The centerpiece of the fest, which runs on select nights through May 16 with tickets starting at $74, is a mash-up of “Scooby-Doo!” and Universal’s Monsters, a lengthy game-focused quest with escape room-worthy puzzles.

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The experience, as well as those focused on the worlds of “Harry Potter,” “Dungeons & Dragons” and anime sensation “One Piece,” are hefty, limited-time installations that would be worthy of including in a theme park’s daily operations, as the best of them experiment with character interactions and role play.

While exploring these pop-up worlds, I couldn’t help but think about how stagnant Disney’s own specially-ticketed events have become. Fan Fest and Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights change yearly, yet Disneyland’s popular Oogie Boogie Bash has become repetitive and its other themed nights are too reliant on photo ops and traditional character meet-and-greets.

Taken as a whole, Fan Fest resets expectations for what an after-hours, theme park event should be.

Here there are photo ops and limited-run food, sure (and I highly recommend the graham cracker-like Scooby Snack cookies), but Universal’s live theatrical team has placed the emphasis on exploratory attractions. Actors abound, allowing guests to lean in and take on an active role.

A “Harry Potter” experience at Fan Fest Nights is a walk through a fantastical forest looking for a magical creature.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

In the Potter-focused “Forbidden Forest: Search for the Hippogriff,” we are amateur wizards on the prowl for a magical creature, in this case a majestic, oversized puppet. It reminded me of being a young Boy Scout and going on evening hikes into the woods with a guide regaling us with mysterious tales. In “Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep,” a returning experience from last season, we are alternately adventurers and thieves.

And in the Scooby gang’s “The Case of the Phantom Director,” we are cast as extras in a film production. The Scooby Doo quest, the heart of the night, comes complete with a 14-page manual full of character bios, clues and missions. You’ll have to read, but it’s a bet that today’s guests are craving personal and interactive attractions that pull as much from immersive theater as they do classic theme parks. I applaud this sort of tinkering with the formula, even as I wonder how attendees will take to having to complete actual brain-teasers in a theme park. At least there is a payoff with a mini show (you do not need to complete the challenges to see the finale).

It took my friend and me more than an hour to solve the Scooby game, and, I confess, we didn’t complete one of the four mini-puzzles. While none of the head-scratchers individually are all that stressful, they are more complex than typical theme park fare and require guests to get out of a mindset of rushing from event to event. (Another friend of mine declared herself too “stupid” to complete the missions, but Scooby fans may simply enjoy living in the make-believe world and playing with the actors).

More of this kind of playful inventiveness, please. Magic isn’t always a fancy animatronic. Sometimes it’s just personalization.

A “One Piece”-inspired stunt show is a popular offering at Universal’s Fan Fest Nights.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

The week in SoCal theme parks

• Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will roll out some major changes on Wednesday. Out with Kylo Ren and in with Darth Vader (and Luke, Han and Leia). I’ll have more on this next week.
• It’s your last chance to meet a Wall-E and Eve robotic figure at the Pixar Place Hotel. Wednesday is the final day currently on the schedule. This has been a popular meet and greet at the Disneyland Resort, so give yourself at least an hour, maybe more, to stand in line if it’s a priority for you.
• Looking for a Disneyland deal? If you can get there midweek, single-day, single-park tickets can be had for $104 on Wednesday and Thursday. The friendlier price is also available next week, on May 5-6.
• Universal Fan Fest Nights returns Friday through Sunday and while I clearly had a positive experience, if you’re considering going, be prepared for lines. The “Harry Potter” walk-through was a two-hour wait most of the evening. Queue up early, too, for the crowd-pleasing “One Piece” stunt show, as there were only three performances on opening night.
• Disneyland has announced a host of new food options coming to the park this week, including blueberry cobbler doughnuts at Lamplight Lounge and a Philly cheesesteak at Pym Test Kitchen.
• Facial recognition is now being used widely at Disneyland entrance gates. Disney isn’t the first theme park or major SoCal venue to utilize such technology, but Times news writer Hannah Fry spoke to guests about its implementation and delved into the ethical concerns surrounding it.

The best thing I ate at the parks

Universal Studios’ Scooby Snacks cookies are a delightful treat.

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)

I mention this above, but as part of Fan Fest, Universal Studios has released a box of “Scooby Snacks.” They come in bundles of four, packaged in cute purple and green Girl Scout-inspired boxes. They are a delight, and only about $10. The honey & cinnamon dog tags also make a fine coffee accompaniment with breakfast as these are slightly oversize, graham cracker-style cookies. The only negative is you’ll need a Fan Fest ticket to snare them.

Ride report

There was recently a tweak to Universal Studios’ tram tour.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

The past couple weeks I’ve spent a significant amount of time at Universal Studios, partly in prep for Fan Fest and the arrival of the Fast & Furious coaster this summer, but I also wanted to take in its studio tram tour (officially designed as the World Famous Studio Tour). Aside from being a historic attraction, there was recently a change to its “King Kong” section. Namely, 3-D glasses are no longer required. As someone prone to motion sickness, this is a welcome change and I’m pleased to report it looks spiffy. Now if we could just do something about that stomach-churning “The Simpsons” ride.

Tell us your stories. Ask us your questions.

Have a theme park tale to share? Whether it was a good day or less-than-perfect day, I would love to hear about it. Have a question? A tip? A fun photo from the parks to share? Email me at todd.martens@latimes.com. I may feature your note in an upcoming newsletter.

Ride on,

Todd Martens

P.S.

I often work remotely from theme parks — find me on my laptop at Flo’s V8 Cafe at Disney California Adventure, near the Calico Saloon at Knott’s or out in back of the Three Broomsticks at Universal Studios. But even when I’m in a normal office, I still like to write with a bit of theme park optimism. So I turn to music.

My favorite bands (Wilco, the Clash, Sleater-Kinney) will distract, so lately I’ve been seeking instrumental fare. And Disneyland Paris has just released a gem of a work soundtrack. It re-imagined its second park as Disney Adventure World, and while I’m confused as to why my editor didn’t send me to Paris to review it (nudge, nudge), I’ve been consoling myself with the “Adventure Way Symphonic Suite” from the London Symphony Orchestra and French composer Philippe Rombi. It’s calming, a bit majestic, and reminds me of early days music at Florida’s Epcot. That is, it’s music that aims to conjure wonder.

[Update: At of 8:42 p.m., the festival advised via its mobile app that Stagecoach will resume momentarily. “We are working to open doors and prep the site for your safety,” the alert said. Just before 9p.m. the gates were reopened.

Stagecoach updated its schedule for Saturday night after a temporary evacuation due to high winds. Journey, which had been scheduled to play the Mustang Stage, will no longer perform; Riley Green, set to play the Mane Stage will also not perform. Lainey Wilson, who was set to headline the Mane stage, will play an hour later than originally scheduled at 10:30 p.m.]

Due to high winds at Stagecoach, the festival promoter Goldenvoice postponed the festival Saturday night until further notice and crowds are currently being evacuated.

An “Emergency Evacuation” message showed up on screens on the festival’s Mane Stage saying “the festival is been postponed until further notice. Please move quickly and calmly to the nearest exit.”

The city of Indio where the fest is located is under a strong wind advisory until 11 a.m. Sunday morning. The advisory issued by the National Weather Service was in effect at 2 p.m. but the gusts didn’t pick up until Teddy swims’ Mane Stage set just after 5 p.m.

Thousands of people poured out of the festival. Despite there being messaging on the screen to evacuate, some emergency exits were still closed by security staff between the main stage and the main entrance. In addition to messaging on screens, the Stagecoach app sent an alert for people to evacuate.

Fans at the festival reported that the winds earlier were much stronger than the evening gusts that resulted in the spontaneous postponement.

“The show was pretty windy when we got there but we went into a saloon to see one of our friends do karaoke,” said Krystine Malins, 58. “When we came out palm trees were like bending in half.”

Malins, who has attended the festival since the first installment in 2007, said an evacuation was “the best call.”

“I just feel bad for these girls walking around half-naked in this wind,” she said.

Two Stagecoach festival attendees, Ellie, 27, and Angelique, 22, sat at tables farther back from the stage watching people filing out of the festival.

“We were trying to see Pitbull at the end of the night, so that’s kind of like our whole night, I don’t know, ruined I guess,” Angelique said. “We were kind of hoping for a refund.” Asked about whether the wind felt seriousness enough to stop the show, the pair were cautiously optimistic. “Honestly I would say yeah [it’s bad], but I feel like there could still be potential for it to go down, but it felt worse earlier,” Angelique said.

Despite the evacuation, the general atmosphere among many festival goers was calm as crowds were walking back to their cars.

“I didn’t even know what was going on until I saw the screen [at the Mane Stage] and then I started hearing “Hey they’re evacuating, get out,” one festival goer told the Times. “But then we had to sit it out because there was a clog at the exit. It’s not that bad.”

Thousand-dollar tickets and hundreds of dollars in fees shocked some hopeful Olympic fans this month, but they did not keep LA28 from boasting strong sales in the committee’s first ticket drop.

LA28 announced Thursday that it sold more than 4 million Olympic tickets during the first ticket drop. The private organizing committee will have a second ticket drop in August with “refreshed inventory across all Olympic sports at a range of price points.”

But after the popularity of the first purchasing period, many of the lower-priced tickets have already been scooped up.

LA28 said roughly half of the total 1 million $28 tickets were sold during the locals presale, which was limited to people living near venue cities in Southern California and Oklahoma City.

The average price per Olympic ticket is less than $200, which includes a mandatory 24% service fee, and LA28 said about 75% of all tickets, including final events, will be under $400. The premier seats at high-demand events command more than $1,000 per ticket, but the highest priced categories make up about 5% of the total ticket inventory.

Artistic gymnastics sold out the quickest in Drop 1. Four Olympic sports — flag football, lacrosse, softball and squash — sold all their available inventory for the first drop. After five days of local presale, global ticket sales opened and drew fans from 85 countries and all 50 states and U.S. territories. The largest international sales came from the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico and Japan.

For the first female-majority Olympic Games, LA28 reported that women’s Olympic sessions outsold men’s 93% to 88% during the first drop.

“The response to our initial on-sale was nothing short of historic. Fans from near and far have spoken: the world wants to be part of the LA28 Games,” LA28 chief executive officer Reynold Hoover said in a statement. “The success of Drop 1 is about more than momentum — it reflects LA28’s commitment to delivering a fiscally responsible Games that create a lasting legacy for Los Angeles and its communities.”

Drop 2, which will begin in August, will have additional tickets across all Olympic sports, including those that may have sold out during the first purchasing windows. The registration period for Drop 2 opened Thursday at tickets.la28.org and will continue until July 22. Fans who registered for the first drop of tickets but did not receive a time slot and fans who did not buy their maximum 12 general ticket allotment will automatically be entered into the random lottery Drop 2. The new registration period is only required for anybody who did not sign up for the initial drop.

Fans are still limited to 12 Olympic tickets and up to 12 soccer tickets that don’t count toward the general maximum. There is a four ticket per ceremony limit for the opening and closing ceremony that count toward the 12-ticket maximum, which is cumulative across all LA28 presales and ticket drops.

LA28 will have multiple ticket drops with assigned purchasing time slots before ticket sales move to a first-come, first-served format closer to the Games, which open on July 14, 2028. LA28 began its ticketing process earlier than most other Olympic Games with tickets going on sale more than two years in advance of the opening ceremony. The early timeline has created excitement for the first Summer Olympics in the United States since Atlanta 1996, but also prompted concerns about scheduling. Fans clamored for tickets with little information about which teams or athletes would be competing in most sessions.

Tickets are not refundable, but fans can opt for verified resale when LA28 launches its official resale system in 2027. AXS and Eventim is the official secondary ticket marketplace of the LA28 Games and Ticketmaster and Sports Illustrated Tickets have also signed on as additional verified resale platforms.

LA28 will have 14 million tickets available for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which would eclipse the record of 12 million tickets sold for the Paris Games. Paris 2024 sold an about 9.5 million tickets for the Olympics, but used a different ticket system than LA28. For Paris, 3.5 million tickets were sold during the first phase, during which fans were required to buy tickets to at least three different sports instead of the option for single-event tickets available during LA28’s Drop 1 process.

Tickets for the 2028 Paralympics, which will be the first in L.A.’s history, will go on sale in 2027. Ticket sales and hospitality are expected to cover about $2.5 billion of LA28’s expected $7.1 billion budget for the first Games in L.A. in more than 40 years.

Cameron Collins was sick of Joe Biden.

The owner of concert promoter Brew Ha Ha Productions describes himself as a libertarian-leaning conservative who built his career in San Juan Capistrano. He’d kept his personal politics out of his popular SoCal events, like the ska fest OC Super Show and the nationally touring Punk in the Park fest, a staple for bands like Bad Religion and Pennywise.

On May 30, 2024, Collins felt dismayed that Biden had pursued reelection. In a fit of anger, he donated $225 to Donald Trump’s campaign.

“It was just an impulsive thing,” Collins said in an interview. “Biden had said he was going to run again. I was like, nope. He’d said he wasn’t. It was more about that than anything. I don’t post anything political or talk about anything politically. I’ve never donated to anything like that before.”

That donation proved fateful. After a small punk label discovered and decried Collins’ donation, the scene turned on him. Influential bands pulled out of his festivals or said they wouldn’t return.

On Feb. 27, Collins canceled every Punk in the Park date for 2026.

“The current climate surrounding the events has created challenges that make it impossible for us to move forward,” the organizers wrote on Instagram.

It’s no surprise that an underground music scene would loathe a Trump-donating promoter. Amid the Iran war, raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Epstein files, many Americans want Trump supporters gone from their lives, some viewing any form of support for him as an attack on their and others’ safety and dignity.

Yet until this donation, Collins was a respected promoter whose events sustained hundreds of acts, including progressive bands. Some artists who relied on Collins’ festivals — even if they hate his politics — said the backlash will hurt their livelihoods too.

“It was the worst money I ever spent,” Collins said. “It was not worth this.”

On a March afternoon after canceling his tours, Collins spoke to The Times on a Zoom from his home in Texas. He wore a thick gray beard and the chunky glasses of an aging rocker. His home office was plastered in concert posters from his decades of shows, which include Punk in Drublic (a long-running collaboration with his friends in the left-leaning band NOFX), Silverado Showdown in Orange County and SoCal rock radio station KLOS’ Sabroso Festival.

He expressed bewilderment over the fan revolt that turned him from a scene mogul who gave to pediatric cancer research charities to a villain with a gutted festival business.

“I feel like my reputation with every artist I ever worked with was that they would say, ‘The guy’s got integrity. He treats everyone right. He fights for this scene,’ ” Collins said. “I’m wondering what is happening right now that this has become so polarizing.”

Asked what Trump policies he supported, Collins sighed and said, “A vote for a candidate is not an endorsement of everything they stand for. I am very antiwar. There were promises that Trump made — no more foreign wars, supporting Ukraine by ending that war, lowering prices on gas and on groceries. Dinner table topics.”

Those goals are significantly at odds with the president’s track record. Did Trump deliver on Collins’ donation?

“The way that this whole fiasco has gone down — no one would have voted for that,” he said.

Punk has long struggled with a reactionary streak. British bands in the ‘70s wore swastika armbands for shock value. The Sex Pistols’ Johnny Rotten and the Ramones’ Johnny Ramone turned rightward, and Orange County’s hardcore scene has had neo-Nazi extremists. Gen X punk fans who consider themselves anti-establishment might see online leftists as imposing on their ability to have consequence-free political speech.

Yet the vitality of today’s punk scene is driven by young, racially and sexuality-diverse fans who believe they are in grave danger from Trump’s policies.

Last year, Brandon Lewis, the founder of the Columbus, Ohio-based label Punkerton Records, was poking around on the donor database Open Secrets. He was curious how his scene was donating, and he’d attended Brew Ha Ha events like the Ohio punk festival Camp Anarchy. He checked where Collins put his money and was appalled that it went to Trump.

“We refuse to support, defend, or stay silent about someone who gave money to a man actively destroying everything we care about, deporting our friends and families, erasing the existence of our trans community, stripping away civil liberties, civil rights, and workers’ rights, while dismantling the Constitution itself,” Lewis wrote from Punkerton’s Instagram.

“I’m a combat veteran, and this administration is just pushing everything I believe in about freedom out the window,” Lewis told The Times. “When I would listen to Trump’s rhetoric about ICE — I’ve got friends who are undocumented. Supporting that in a financial way, supporting someone saying my trans friends don’t exist, and to do so coming from a music scene that to me is accepting and kind and certainly not ripping families apart, I couldn’t in good conscience let that go.”

Other bands in the scene, like Dillinger Four, found more donations — around $100 or $200 each — from Collins going to the Trump-supporting political action committees WinRed and Never Surrender and the Trump National Committee. Collins’ support ran deeper than a one-off gesture.

Left-leaning fans demanded that bands drop off Collins’ festival bills.

Dropkick Murphys, a rough-and-ready enemy of Trumpism in punk, had played Collins’ past events. When word of his donations spread, the band came out swinging.

“Punk Rock and Donald Trump just don’t belong together,” they wrote in an Instagram post . “So, upon finding out that Brew Ha Ha promotions donated to the Trump campaign, we will not be playing any more Punk in the Park shows.”

Some acts, like old-guard punks the Adicts and ska group the Aquabats, canceled sets at Collins’ events. Other bands, like Dead Kennedys, said they opposed his beliefs but fulfilled their contracts.

“Dead Kennedys have always stood firmly against authoritarianism, racism, and fascism. That has not changed,” the group wroteon social media. “After these scheduled appearances, we will not be participating in future Punk In the Park events.”

Collins said he understood why bands jumped ship. “There was so much pressure building,” he said. “The bands are a business. You have to say, at what level is the pay worth the headache?”

Yet he insisted that “anyone that pulled off did not pull out because they were standing for something, but were being pummeled to the ground by everyone that said they’d better do it or else. I don’t want those bands to go through that.”

Many fans say that Collins is seeing the predictable consequences of supporting a politician the scene despises.

Others struggled with what to do in response. Monique Powell, the singer for the Orange County ska band Save Ferris, describes herself as a “queer anarchist anti-Netanyahu Jewish child of a North African immigrant,” and far from a Trump sympathizer. Yet Save Ferris played Collins’ OC Super Show event in spite of the protests and bands pulling out.

She said that, while she opposes MAGA, she “wasn’t willing to disappoint fans and put hundreds of people out of work just because someone had a view I didn’t agree with.”

She said Collins “has been an important part of creating and nurturing this scene. He gave a lot of people work. From onstage, I see all the vendors, the stage crew, all providing jobs for people of all backgrounds. He’s given a place for fans to come together, even if they don’t all believe the same stuff.”

Save Ferris was a breakout act in the ‘90s and is now a working-class band on the ska and punk festival circuit. “I see the midsized, hometown venues that the bands of my ilk play — they’re being bought out or dying,” Powell said. “I’m not about to start getting out pitchforks for someone who did something that’s nothing compared to the effects of larger companies.”

Take, for example, Beverly Hills-based concert giant Live Nation, which was in the news last week after a federal jury in New York ruled against it in an antitrust case. Live Nation’s chief executive, Michael Rapino, has donated to Democrats Kamala Harris, Sens. Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Adam Schiff of California, and the music biz-friendly Texas Republican John Cornyn. Live Nation’s PAC has given to Republican Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, alongside several Democrats. Billionaire Philip Anschutz, whose namesake firm AEG is the parent company of Coachella promoter Goldenvoice, has donated millions to Republican politicians, PACs and party organizations for decades — exponentially more than Collins ever did.

It’s fair for to wonder why music fans who hold the line on supporting a Trump donor like Collins might attend those other shows. Lewis said he struggles with that contradiction too but said it hurt worse coming from a punk promoter.

“Donating to Trump is antithesis of what punk means. Hating people for their sexuality or skin color is not punk in the least bit. People clearly expected better from a punk rock festival,” he said.

“I think Live Nation should be broken in half,” Lewis added. “But it’s no knock on someone who wants to see Social Distortion at a Live Nation venue; they need escape as well. I’m just not going to pretend Live Nation is a beacon for good things.”

Those punk communities are pushing back beyond Collins’ events. The SoCal gothic-cumbia DJ collective Los Goths pulled out of the Orange County festival Los Darks after learning its organizers, Peachtree Entertainment, produced the MAGA-champion Kid Rock’s controversial Rock the Country festival. The Los Angeles crust-punk event C.Y. Fest was scrapped after its organizer, Ignacio “Nacho Corrupted” Rodriguera was accused of sexual misconduct (he called the claims “false allegations and misinformation,” but stepped back from the festival).

Collins’ company produces events outside the punk scene, focused on craft beer and other music genres. He recently revamped his upcoming Me Gusta festival into Sublime Fest after the rap group Cypress Hill pulled out. (Last year, Sublime played at the Trump National Doral golf course for the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour.)

Collins is not sure how he’ll find his way back into the punk scene or if the fans will want him there again.

“I still go out into the audience because I just want to see, is it real? Do people hate me?” he said. “We have bands up there like the Casualties, who are flying [anti-ICE] flags. People are like, ‘You’re a fascist,’ but I’m paying a band to go on my stage to say whatever they want, and then signing a check and going, ‘Thanks for doing it.’ ”

In America‘s current political climate, left-leaning punk fans may not have patience for Trump sympathizers. Having heterodox beliefs is one thing; financially supporting the president is another. Collins is a free market guy, and the punk market has spoken.

Yet huge companies that donate to Trump and his allies are consolidating the industry. It’s harder for progressive punks who want the scene to reflect their values.

“I feel like we created a sustainable, realistic scene that can keep going for years, and bands can earn the money that they need to anchor those tours,” Collins said. His donation caused this avoidable backlash, but “if you take away festivals that are their anchors, like we have been for so many of these artists over the years, how do they tour? This is what the bands are telling me, that ‘we’re the ones getting killed here.’ ”

There is anger directed at Rosenior, but many Chelsea supporters also point the finger at Eghbali, Boehly and the rest of the BlueCo ownership.

The latest protest saw supporters march from The Wolfpack Inn pub to Stamford Bridge before kick-off, having grown from a turnout of about 200 before the Brentford match to more than 500 before Saturday’s tie.

There were flares, banners and chants directed at the owners, as well as calls in support of former owner Abramovich.

Under the terms of the takeover agreement in 2022, the current ownership group cannot sell the club until at least 2032. However, there are signs they are willing to listen to some of the criticism, including calls to recruit more experienced players.

“We recognise we need balance. You tweak a model, you improve and you learn from mistakes,” Eghbali said. “We have a strong core, but we need to add experience to take the team to the next level and achieve consistency. That is not lost on us.”

However, failure to qualify for the Champions League would undermine any rebuild. Chelsea have already spent about £1.5bn on signings under the current ownership and, despite recouping approximately £750m in sales, they remain under financial scrutiny from Uefa, having faced fines for breaching their regulations.

The club has announced Premier League record pre-tax losses in its latest accounts and – without the additional revenue generated by Europe’s premier competition through broadcasting, sponsorship and ticket sales – questions remain over whether Chelsea can recruit effectively in the summer.

Before kick-off, Cole Palmer told TNT Sports: “If we’re not in the Champions League, everything changes.”

Asked about Palmer’s comments and the potential financial implications, Rosenior replied: “The honest answer is I don’t know. We’re still fighting and we’ll address that situation at the end of the season, whatever the situation is.”

Meanwhile, Enzo Fernandez’s agent, Javier Pastore, has said his client would view missing out on Champions League football as an issue, despite the midfielder’s two-match internal ban – imposed following comments linking him with a move to Real Madrid – coming to an end on Saturday.

While the protest movement has largely been driven by younger supporters, there are signs of apathy among older match-going fans. Boos were heard at full-time, with the atmosphere inside Stamford Bridge growing quieter with each game.

Meghan Trainor is turning off the microphone.

The singer announced in an Instagram Story that she is canceling her Get in Girl tour. “This is the right decision for my family and me right now,” Trainor explained Thursday, saying that the decision came “after a lot of reflection and some really tough conversations.”

“Balancing the release of a new album, preparing for a nationwide tour and welcoming our new baby girl to our growing family of five has just been more than I can take on right now, and I need to be home and present for each and all of them at this time,” Trainor wrote.

Trainor apologized to her fans, but promised that she will be “back soon.” She also shared that she “can’t wait” for fans to hear her new album, “Toy With Me,” which will be released April 24.

“I know this will come as a disappointment to my fans, and I am so sorry to let you down,” Trainor said. “I’m endlessly grateful for your love and support always.”

Trainor announced the Get in Girl tour in November and was set to kick it off June 12 in Clarkston, Mich. The tour included stops at Madison Square Garden in New York City and the United Center in Chicago and was to conclude at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles.

Social media users speculated that the tour’s cancellation was due to low ticket sales, with Ticketmaster seating charts in some stadiums showing very few seats sold. Influencer and Trainor’s close friend Chris Olsen took to TikTok to push back against the “predictably vicious” online comments about the tour.

“This is a bigger conversation than just her and people’s feelings toward Meghan,” Olsen said. “The question that always comes up for me is ‘Why? And what is the end goal?’”

The singer welcomed her third child with her husband, Daryl Sabara, via surrogate in January. Trainor, who has been candid about her struggles during her first two pregnancies, explained on Instagram that she was “forever grateful to all the doctors, nurses, teams who made this dream possible.”

“We had endless conversations with our doctors in this journey and this was the safest way for us to be able to continue growing our family,” Trainor wrote.

I’d heard Arte Moreno had told people recently that he thought the Angels could command $4 billion. He might sell the team. He might not. But the figure seemed ambitious, since no major league team ever had sold for even $3 billion.

Until Friday, that is, when the Wall Street Journal first reported the San Diego Padres were about to be sold for $3.9 billion.

The new owners: a group led by Jose Feliciano of Santa Monica-based Clearlake Capital, which manages more than $90 billion in assets, and his wife, Kwanza Jones. In 2022, Feliciano and Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly led the investment group that bought Chelsea of the Premier League for $5.2 billion.

The new money should enable the Padres to build upon the legacy of late owner Peter Seidler, who simply disregarded the fact that San Diego ranks as one of the smallest media markets in the major leagues. He spent to win, and the Padres have made the playoffs four times in the past six years — after making the playoffs five times in their first 51 years.

The fans rewarded him, packing Petco Park. As of Friday, the Padres had the second-best record and second-highest attendance in the major leagues. The Dodgers, of course, had the best record and the highest attendance.

The party most immediately interested in the Padres’ sale price? The players’ union, since Commissioner Rob Manfred has cited sluggish appreciation in sale prices as one reason to pursue cost controls on player salaries, whether through a salary cap or some other restriction. In recent years, the owners of the Angels, Minnesota Twins and Washington Nationals all have put their teams on the market without completing a sale.

But Moreno should be interested, too. He turns 80 this summer.

The comparison with the Padres only goes so far. In San Diego, in a city without a team in the NFL, NBA or NHL, the Padres are virtually unchallenged for dollars from fans and corporate sponsors.

And, in San Diego, the Padres play in Southern California’s best ballpark, one the team has turned into a year-round events center, with major concerts in the stadium itself and smaller ones within a delightful park beyond center field.

Could Moreno get $4 billion without a resolution to the long-running ballpark stalemate in Anaheim? It sounds borderline insane to consider that the only available team in America’s second-largest market might not be worth as much as the team that just sold in America’s 30th-largest market.

In Anaheim, however, two deals that would have anchored the Angels there for decades collapsed, and the 60-year-old stadium is in serious need of renovation or replacement. A buyer likely would have to account for the billion-dollar cost of a new ballpark and might ask for a credit against the purchase price, effectively lowering how much profit Moreno could make on the sale.

Any potential buyer should be keeping a close eye on a bill slowly winding its way through the state legislature this year. That bill, if enacted into law, would give the city the ability to loosen development restrictions on the stadium property for a team owner willing to call the team the Anaheim Angels.

Still, even without that legal assist, there should be no shortage of parties interested in acquiring two rarely available assets in one transaction: an MLB team in the Los Angeles market, and a 150-acre site perfect for the mixed-use development coveted by owners in every sport these days.

Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob, who once worked as a peanut vendor at Angel Stadium, lost out in the Padres’ bidding and could take another run at the Angels.

Rams owner Stan Kroenke, who lost out in the Dodgers’ bidding in 2012, surrounded the Rams’ Inglewood stadium and Woodland Hills training site with major development and could consider replicating those successes in Anaheim.

Ducks owner Henry Samueli has denied interest in the Angels, but he could consider extending and complementing his OC Vibe development across the 57 Freeway — and his hockey team already wears the Anaheim name.

That assumes, of course, that Moreno opts to sell. He enjoys owning a team and, in a season in which the Angels are one-half game out of first place entering Friday in what appears to be a weak American League West, there is no hurry.

It is considered more likely that Moreno waits until after a new collective bargaining agreement is reached next year to determine whether to sell. All I can tell you for sure Friday is what one baseball official texted me when I asked for reaction to the Padres’ sale: “Great news for the Angels.”

Earlier this year, tickets to see SZA perform at the Crypto Arena in Los Angeles were selling for $600 the day before they officially went on sale at $35 a piece.

In San Francisco, tickets to see Sam Smith at the newly renovated Castro Theater went on sale for $120, only to be quickly snatched up by scalpers and resold for upwards of $600.

Those are some of the stories that California lawmakers are citing as they advance two plans to change the ticketing landscape. One caps the extent to which resellers can mark up the original ticket price while the other prohibits resellers from selling tickets they don’t yet own.

Democratic Assemblymembers Issac Bryan of Culver City and Matt Haney of San Francisco are each carrying bills that they say would protect consumers from fraudulent and deceptive ticket sales.

Both measures are backed by the ticket market’s dominant seller, Beverly Hills-based Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster. Its support has some worried that the bills will help the company crush its competitors and jack up prices.

A federal jury in New York this week found that the company illegally acted as a monopoly in a victory for, among others, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who with colleagues in other states sued the company two years ago and kept going after federal prosecutors settled. Live Nation is now awaiting penalties.

Despite these headwinds, the ticket bills are sailing through the Legislature.

Supporters say the legislation has nothing to do with the antitrust case against Live Nation and helps consumers. Opponents disagree.

“The state Legislature should really be standing up for consumers instead of advancing bills that are there to help a monopoly that has been caught on record calling its fans stupid and has bragged about robbing them blind,” said Jose Barrera, national vice president for the far west region at the League of United Latin American Citizens, a civil rights advocacy group.

Ticketmaster’s competitors in the online resale market are lobbying against the measures, a sign that they view the proposals as a threat to their business.

Jack Sterne, StubHub’s head of policy communications, wrote to CalMatters, stating, “Passing laws that hand the Ticketmaster monopoly more power and don’t actually make tickets more affordable is the last thing California’s leaders should do.”

But Stephen Parker, executive director of the National Independent Venue Association, which is co-sponsoring the bills, argues that they will regulate the marketplace to better protect fans by limiting price gouging and encouraging the face value — or below face value — exchange of tickets.

“Ultimately, that is what these bills will do, in addition to making sure that the tickets are actually real,” he said. “That is a good thing for California consumers. It’s a good thing for artists and it’s a good thing for these small businesses and nonprofits that make up the independent stages across the state.”

A Live Nation spokesperson said in a statement to CalMatters, “The resale lobby constantly tries to change the subject by pointing fingers at Ticketmaster, even though it has less than 25% of the resale market. This has nothing to do with anyone’s monopoly, but rather is about protecting fans from scalpers and the resale sites that cater to them.”

The company has spent roughly $165,000 on lobbying efforts this legislative session, including to support Bryan’s bill.

‘Unlikely allies’

Bryan’s Assembly Bill 1349 would ban the sale of speculative tickets — or tickets that are not in the possession or ownership of the people who list them online. In an April hearing, Bryan said the bill protects consumers from predatory mark ups.

“This bill is so important that, after our introduction, it brought unlikely allies together,” Bryan said, according to the CalMatters Digital Democracy database. “In fact, this bill brought the Giants and the Dodgers together, brought the National Independent Venue Association and Live Nation together. It brought Kendrick Lamar and Kid Rock together. It brought Isaac Bryan and Donald Trump together.”

Several secondary ticket sellers are fighting the measure, including StubHub, SeatGeek and Vivid Seats. The three companies have spent roughly $1.1 million dollars on lobbying efforts this legislative session, which included opposition to Bryan’s bill.

People watch fireworks during Bad Bunny’s halftime show from a parking garage outside Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Feb. 8, 2026. Photo by Jungho Kim for CalMatters

Opponents including Robert Herrell, executive director for the Consumer Federation of California, argue that the bill strengthens Live Nation Ticketmaster’s grip on the ticketing and live entertainment industry. According to them, the measure would give Live Nation complete control over the ticket even after it has been purchased — meaning, for example, that consumers could lose the ability to sell it or give it away.

“There’s no consumer choice in the matter,” said Herrell. “They can keep people out of shows if they want to. There have been situations where, if you bought a ticket on the secondary market, you’ve been denied entry into a show.”
Proponents say Herrell and other opponents are mistaken. They say they are not trying to prevent transferability but rather, they want to protect fans from speculative costs.

“We want those rooms full,” said Ron Gubitz, executive director of Music Artists Coalition, which is co-sponsoring both bills. “So you have to be able to transfer a ticket. We just want it to be in a way that’s safe, trustworthy and not creating this run on the market that exists now.”

Gubitz pointed to a recent Bruno Mars concert, where tickets were on StubHub for $400 to $2,000 before they were on sale through Ticketmaster.

“That’s crazy,” he said. “That’s a speculative ticket that Bryan’s bill is trying to stop. That shouldn’t happen. It’s not fair to anybody, except for the secondary (market). It seems great for them.”

Price caps in a free market

Haney’s Assembly Bill 1720, also known as the California Fans First Act, would put a 10% cap on resale event ticket markups, inclusive of the ticket fees. In other words, a reseller could not charge more than 10% higher than the original ticket price.

In an interview with CalMatters, Haney said artists, independent venues and downtowns are currently being “screwed over and exploited” by scalpers and brokers.

“We can’t allow the status quo to continue if we want to ensure Californians have access to affordable tickets to see their favorite artists or if we want independent venues or the broader landscape of musicians and artists to thrive in our state,” he said.

Haney rejected the idea that his bill would strengthen the Live Nation Ticketmaster monopoly, saying that the company is one of the biggest operators and profiteers of the secondary ticket market and would therefore be subject to the same restrictions as any other platform or broker.

“I don’t think it’s a free market to allow folks to come in and buy up all these tickets and then create scarcity and then you’re now required to buy your ticket at a much higher price from someone who had nothing to do with the event,” he said. “This is not something we would ever allow for airplane tickets or even dinner reservations.”

The bill has been criticized by opponents like Diana Moss, vice president and director of competition policy at Progressive Policy Institute, who said price caps notoriously distort the market, describing them as “anti-consumer, anti-competitive and anti-artist.”

“If you shut down the resale market with price caps then guess what? Ticket buyers have no place to go but right back to Ticketmaster,” said Moss. “If (Live Nation) succeed(s) in decimating the resale market, then they steer millions and millions of fans back to their own ticketing platform where they charge monopoly ticket fees and where fans are hostage to their glitchy online platform and all of their data, privacy and security concerns that we always hear about in the news.”

Those concerns didn’t stop the bill from passing out of the Assembly Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports and Tourism last week with a 6-1 vote. The bill also passed out of the Assembly Committee on Privacy & Consumer Protection on Thursday with a 9-4 vote.

Mihalovich is a California Local News fellow for CalMatters.

A LOVE Island star has been forced to address backlash from fans, who slammed his business’s “shocking customer service.”

Sean Stone shot to fame after appearing on series 11 of the summer dating show before he most recently made a comeback on All Stars in January.

The 26-year-old, dubbed the “Candyman,” has owned sweet business, Sweet Delivery since 2019.

His business journey started in the back of his VW Polo, where he sold pick and mix out of pizza boxes in his local area, Hertford.

But now, it seems the TV star has faced a slew of backlash from fans who are simply not happy with the business’s customer service.

Taking to TikTok Sean was forced to apologise for his business’s mishaps.

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He said: “Our customer service has been shocking. I sincerely apologise for this. Recently we’ve had a large amount of orders come through the door, where to be honest we had a system in place for our customer service but there was not enough time and effort put into that.

“However, I have got some exciting news we now have a dedicated staff member that will be working Monday to Friday on all your customer queries.”

Despite the addition of a new staff member, fans are still waiting to hear back on their orders.

Sean continued: “Now I know there’s some of you still waiting to hear back from us; I do kindly ask as annoyed as you may be please send us another email.”

The Islander then confessed: “If I’m being honest it’s been an eye-opener for myself to see how important customer service is. I do apologise to anyone being upset and frustrated that they haven’t received their order yet.

“I’m making a change and it’s going to be an amazing change moving forward.”

Fans in the comments of his apology video were very divided.

One fan penned: “Honestly this kind of accountability is really refreshing to see, and it’s clear you’ve taken the feedback seriously and put steps in place to fix things…”

Another fan wrote: “Are you for real! How can you not realise customer service is important it’s what makes and breaks a business.”

A third person said: “Well said Sean, holding your hands up is always the best way.”

Meanwhile, a fourth fan added: “I think you just blew up faster than you thought you would.”

Sean returned from the Love Island villa back in February and after a short break in Paris with his new girlfriend Lucinda Strafford, who he met on the show, he has been back to business.

Lucinda, 26, and Sean coupled up on day 18 of the show and after backlash from their co-stars they managed to finish in fourth place.

The loved up couple have gone from strength to strength despite Sean living in Hertford and Lucinda living in Brighton.