knee injury

While some flag football teams have been playing for weeks, one of the City Section’s expected top teams, Birmingham, finally debuts on Wednesday at Arleta.

Coach Jim Rose has only two seniors on his team and has been working to get his players familiar with new rules, from punting to the defense getting to be only one yard away from the line of scrimmage before hiking the ball.

Bella Gonzalez, a second baseman on the softball team, will handle quarterbacking duties early while waiting for the No. 1 quarterback to recover from a knee injury.

Rose is particularly excited about freshman Ellie St. Hubert, a safety and receiver. “She is really good,” Rose said.

Banning is the defending City Open Division champion. Birmingham won the first title in 2023.

“We always think we’re going to be one of the top teams,” Rose said. “Athletically we’re better than last season.”

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Basketball usually took a backseat in early conversations between Eric Musselman and prized recruit Alijah Arenas.

On one side was a teenage phenom navigating an early jump to college. On another was a USC men’s basketball coach seemingly more interested in other aspects of Arenas’ life, including his mood, when he woke up and how he made sense of the people and the world around him.

So when USC’s coach stood in front of the Galen Center’s vibrant new scoreboard Friday morning — two days after it was announced that Arenas would miss six to eight months with a knee injury — Musselman found himself stammering, stitching together the words to encapsulate what the freshman meant to him.

“I probably feel closer to him than anybody that I’ve coached in a two-month span since he’s been on campus,” Musselman said.

The bond has already weathered more than most would in four years.

First came the reclassification — Arenas skipped his senior year of high school to join USC. Then came the rush course into collegiate basketball as he prepared spring practice. Then, on April 25, Arenas was in a serious car crash that led to him being placed into a coma.

After recovering from his injuries, Arenas was barely two weeks back from being medically cleared to practice when he sustained a slight meniscus tear and bone bruise.

But even in those 14 days — and just one full practice with Musselman present — Arenas proved enough to be the centerpiece of his coach’s vision for USC.

“We built the roster around some of the stuff that he could do, and knowing that he could play the one and the two, and when he played the one, would have great length,” Musselman said. “And I told people from the beginning of the recruiting process what a great passer he was.”

At 6 feet 7, Arenas averaged 30.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game at Chatsworth High before landing 13th in ESPN’s Class of 2025.

In Arenas’ absence, Musselman said he has weighed adding a 14th player to the roster, but would do so only if it “could help us.” The bigger hurdle, the coach added, would be revenue-sharing limits.

Arenas will still be traveling, learning and rehabbing alongside USC. And he’ll continue to shadow Musselman in a role the coach never had to explain to him.

“To some people during the recruiting process, you call them and you can’t wait to get off the phone, and you’re just kind of calling them to try to develop a relationship,” Musselman said. “The reason that Alijah and I are in such a good spot is because he picked up the phone when I called him.

He added: “We already had a built-in trust before he got here.”

Etc.

Musselman said Friday that Terrance Williams II (wrist), whose injury he called “one of the weirdest injuries I’ve seen,” will return Aug. 25 when the Trojans report for practice on the first day of the academic year. … Musselman noted that Jordan Marsh has been the team’s “biggest surprise” of the summer, while Rodney Rice will take over as the Trojans’ primary ball handler.

Puka Nacua is using organized team activities to hone his craft and prepare for his third NFL season.

But the Rams’ star receiver also recently took time to help others prepare to avoid potential health challenges.

Nacua last week returned from a trip to Samoa, where he and his mother joined medical professionals from Utah Valley University to provide testing, clinics and education about diabetes.

Nacua said his father, who died when Nacua was a youngster, experienced complications from the disease.

So the opportunity to travel with his mother to his maternal grandmother’s village was “kind of a full-circle moment” for his family, Nacua said Tuesday.

“To be able to go and improve the situation in the homeland was something sweet,” Nacua said after the team went through a workout.

Nacua, who missed the Rams’ first on-field workout because of the trip, appeared to be at full strength Tuesday, with no evidence of the knee injury he fought through last season.

Nacua is part of a remade Rams receiver corps that is expected to elevate the offense for a team regarded as a Super Bowl contender.

The Rams released veteran Cooper Kupp, who signed with the Seattle Seahawks, and replaced him with three-time All-Pro Davante Adams. They also re-signed Tutu Atwell to a one-year, $10-million contract. Second-year pro Jordan Whittington and rookie Konata Mumpfield also are competing for roles.

“It definitely is a little bit different,” Nacua said of Kupp’s absence from the receivers’ meeting room. “The spot he used to sit in, I think, it’s definitely occupied by somebody now, so everybody’s getting used to it.”

But Nacua said Adams, who was absent Tuesday, has come in and provided leadership.

“Somebody who’s played at a super high level his whole career — and the knowledge he has is something different from what we’re used to, having Coop in the system a long time,” Nacua said. “It’s been great to have him around and I feel like I’m learning something new every day.”

Nacua, 24, proved a quick study after the Rams selected him in the fifth round of the 2023 draft out of Brigham Young.

With Kupp sidelined at the start of the season because of injury, Nacua became quarterback Matthew Stafford’s primary target. Nacua enjoyed a record-setting season, catching 105 passes for 1,486 yards and six touchdowns. He was a finalist for the NFL offensive rookie of the year.

During training camp before last season, Nacua suffered a knee injury during a joint workout with the Chargers. He then aggravated the issue in the opener against the Detroit Lions, and was sidelined for five games. He still caught 79 passes for 990 yards and three touchdowns for a Rams team that finished with a 10-7 record and advanced to the divisional round of the NFC playoffs before losing to the eventual Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles.

Offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said Nacua was “continuing to work on his craft,” during organized team activities.

“He’s naturally just a leader,” LaFleur said. “Just the way he goes about it.”

In a few weeks, Nacua will play a prominent role for the Rams when they travel to Maui for a minicamp that will conclude voluntary offseason workouts. Nacua, who also is of Hawaiian descent, is expected to be warmly embraced by the locals during some activities that will be open to the public.

“I’m excited,” he said. “I can’t wait for everybody to come out there and have some shaved ice. I’m sure they’ll be waiting for us.”

Etc.

The Rams have four coaches working with them during organized team activities as part of the NFL’s Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching fellowship program. The coaches are Taylor Embree (tight ends), Chris Marve (defensive backs), Va’a Niumatalolo (outside linebackers) and Greg Stewart (offensive line).