pick

Gains and losses were shaped by quarterly earnings, technical momentum (for CSGP), sector-specific news such as SpaceX’s interest in cell sites (boosting CCI), and factors like changes in investment guidance (pressuring BNL) or reduced revenue from amortization (impacting CCI).

A look at two of this week’s top high school football games in the Southland:

FRIDAY

San Pedro (6-1) at Carson (7-1), 7 p.m.

The intensity level on the field and in the stands will be something to see in this Marine League title-decider. It really comes down to the quarterback. Seth Solorio of San Pedro has 23 touchdown passes. Chris Fields III of Carson has passed for 16 touchdowns and run for 12 more . Stop Fields and everything changes. The pick: Carson.

San Clemene (7-0) at San Juan Hills (7-1), 7 p.m.

San Clemente is on the verge of a Southern Section Division 1 playoff berth but needs to win out. The Tritons’ defense will be tested by San Juan Hills receiver Luke Frith, who will have a new quarterback because of an injury. San Clemente QB Preston Beck is also hurting, with receivers Ryan Matheson and Jaxson Rex potential big-play weapons. The pick: San Clemente.

The Lakers waived former first-round pick Dalton Knecht on Monday to reach the NBA’s maximum roster requirements before the season begins this week.

The 17th overall pick in the 2024 draft had fallen out of the rotation in the last two seasons but had a chance to prove himself during training camp and the preseason, when the Lakers had 16 players on guaranteed contracts. Knecht, who averaged 4.2 points per game and 10.2 minutes per game last season, played just 14 combined minutes in the last two preseason games.

Knecht’s role had greatly diminished since he flashed his scoring potential as a rookie. After scoring 37 points in a win over the Utah Jazz in November 2024 and tying the single-game rookie record with nine made three-pointers, Knecht looked as if he could have been the steal of the draft. But after a trade to Charlotte for center Mark Williams was rescinded, Knecht never settled back into the rotation.

The Lakers brought in nine new players during an offseason roster overhaul, further burying Knecht on the forward depth chart.

“The team changed,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said of Knecht ahead of the Lakers’ preseason finale last Friday. “The needs changed, the fit changed. I think he got better as a player over the last two years.”

The Lakers looked into acquiring center Jericho Sims from the Milwaukee Bucks during the preseason in exchange for Knecht, sources close to the situation but not authorized to speak publicly told The Times. But talks broke down when the Lakers were unwilling to part with multiple second-round draft picks.

The Lakers, who wanted to solidify their backup center position behind Walker Kessler, have only three second-round draft picks (2031, 2032 and 2033) available to trade. They already don’t control their first-round pick until 2032 after sending two first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps to Utah to acquire Kessler this summer.

Knecht was given an “excused absence” from practice Monday, Redick said. The deadline for teams to reach the maximum of 15 standard contract players was 2 p.m. PDT Monday before regular-season games begin Tuesday. The Lakers open their season Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena against the Golden State Warriors.

Redick also said guard Bronny James was excused from practice, noting there were players who were “under the weather.” The third-year guard who was picked 55th overall in the same draft as Knecht remained on the Lakers’ updated roster.

James worked his way into the postseason rotation last season while the Lakers were struggling with injuries to their backcourt. He averaged 2.9 points and 1.2 assists during the regular season while shooting 38.6% from three.

Injury update

Lakers guard Collin Sexton speaks during the team’s media day in El Segundo on Sept. 28.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

For the first time since training camp started, Collin Sexton was a full participant in practice with the Lakers on Monday. Still, Sexton wasn’t ready to fully commit to playing in the Lakers’ season-opener Wednesday.

Sexton missed all five preseason games and a lot of practices with a lower right leg injury.

Sexton, who said he felt good at practice, was asked about playing against the Warriors.

“We’ll be taking it day by day,” he said. “At the end of the day, I had a really good practice today, felt good. Super excited to be back out there with the guys, so I look forward to it.”

Sexton said he had some “tightness and stuff” in his lower leg, “but I feel pretty good.”

He was asked what caused the injury.

“Nothing particular,” Sexton said. “I think we figured it out and now we’re just moving forward and just continue to get these reps in, continue to play five on five, and get out there as soon as possible.”

Sexton is a 6-1 point guard the Lakers signed to back up Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves in the backcourt. The Lakers signed him to a two-year, $19.2-million deal.

“He’s another guy that can bring the ball up and can create his own [mismatch],” Doncic said. “So we’re excited to have him back.”

Second-year forward Adou Thiero and rookie guard Cameron Carr both missed practice Monday.

But having Sexton back was a good sign for the Lakers.

“It felt good, super excited to be back out there, honestly, just getting out there and getting up and down, legs felt a little heavy, but it was great,” Sexton said. “It was definitely a great day, great practice for the team as well, and the guys were really competing.”

Los Angeles Times NFL writer Sam Farmer examines the matchups and makes his predictions for Week 6 of the NFL season.

All lines and over/under numbers are according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Last week, Farmer posted an 11-5 (.688) record. Through the first five weeks of the season, he is 37-27 (.578).

Using point spreads with the scores Farmer predicted, his record against the spread in Week 5 would have been 9-7 (.563). For the season, his record against the spread is 25-39 (.391).

All times are Pacific and TV reflects broadcasts in the Los Angeles area. The Bengals, Dolphins, Lions and Vikings do not play this week.

Anyone have a helicopter available for Friday night?

This is the weekend when high school football fans and sportswriters across the Southland need air transportation or multiple screens on a computer or cellphone or at a sports bar to watch the many top games during Week 8.

It doesn’t get any better than No. 1-ranked Santa Margarita (7-0) playing at No. 2 St. John Bosco (6-1) in a Trinity League game that will feature big-boy football at its best. The NFHS Network will be streaming the game.

It’s not the only game you’ll want to see.

Let’s review the choices so you can use Google Maps or a TV remote control or just never let go of your phone on Friday night.

Santa Margarita coach Carson Palmer, center, with offensive coordinator Lenny Vandermade, left.

(Craig Weston)

Santa Margarita at St. John Bosco, 7 p.m.

Last week, St. John Bosco avenged last year’s stunning Southern Section Division 1 first-round playoff loss to Orange Lutheran, a team it beat 48-0 in the regular season. This week, the Braves finally get to play Santa Margarita, the school that won the state Open Division championship because St. John Bosco was nowhere to be found. Santa Margarita has a 13-game winning streak since losing to the Braves last October.

This isn’t the same Santa Margarita team. Trent Mosley is now at USC, where he looks like a Heisman Trophy candidate when not injured. The Trojans are off this week, so look for Mosley to be on the sideline supporting brother Grant, an Eagles receiver. Santa Margarita’s strength is running the ball with undersized Adrian Petero (5 feet 5, 175 pounds) to set up the pass for quarterback Fletch Palmer, son of coach Carson Palmer.

St. John Bosco has become more of a running team with Maliq Allen, but quarterback Koa Malau’ulu remains a dangerous weapon with receivers DJ Tubbs and Kuika Moaalii. This game likely comes down to a chess match each play, testing defensive coordinators Steve Fifita (Santa Margarita) and Chris King (St. John Bosco). Both have great respect for each other. Turnovers, penalties and special teams must be watched closely. The pick: St. John Bosco.

Bishop Amat (6-1) at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (7-0), 7 p.m.

Spectrum 1 chose to televise this game, which will decide who gets to finish second in the Mission League behind Sierra Canyon. Notre Dame is a surprise being unbeaten at this point, but Tahj Skinner has proven to be one of the best athletes at quarterback, and the Knights are filled with fast players on both sides of the field from their successful track program. Bishop Amat must worry about Notre Dame’s speed, but Notre Dame must deal with the Lancers’ physicality. The pick: Bishop Amat.

Mission Viejo (6-1) at San Clemente (7-0), 7 p.m.

Home-field advantage matters in this annual rivalry game in the recently renamed Alpha League. Mission Viejo’s offensive line is elite. Receiver Jack Junker got to play running back last week and showed his big-play skills. San Clemente has its own versatile star in receiver/safety Jaxson Rex. In the end, it’s about which young quarterback can avoid mistakes, with Mission Viejo relying on sophomore Brett Burnor and San Clemente turning to junior Preston Beck. The pick: San Clemente.

King/Drew (4-3) at Crenshaw (5-2), 7 p.m.

King/Drew has been the upstart trying to win the Coliseum League with Crenshaw always standing in the way. Quarterback Gerald Torres has put together a strong season, passing for 1,363 yards and 13 touchdowns. Crenshaw struggled against Palisades’ passing attack this season, so the Cougars’ defense will be tested. Crenshaw has added more balance on offense with quarterback Ethan Grant. The pick: Crenshaw.

Hamilton (3-4) at Palisades (3-3), 7 p.m.

There should be more than 100 passes attempted in a game that will decide the Western League title. Have ice available afterward for the elbows of quarterbacks Robert Holohan III of Palisades and Thaddeus Breaux of Hamilton. The pick: Hamilton.

For the past eight years, a small group of influential Ventura County Republicans has played a pivotal role in the selection of every new judge in the Superior and Municipal courts.

Working out of the public eye, this little-known group of judicial advisers has helped pick almost half the judges now serving in the Ventura County courts–its recommendations almost always accepted by Gov. George Deukmejian.

The most influential of the advisers–according to several sources–is Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury, who has helped secure judicial appointments for nine assistant prosecutors out of the 11 judgeships that have opened up since Deukmejian’s election in 1982.

In addition to Bradbury’s input, three of the county’s top Republican Party stalwarts serve as an informal judicial screening panel for Deukmejian.

They are Paul Leavens of Ventura, former county campaign chairman for Deukmejian; Gwen Tillemans of Oxnard, county Republican chairwoman; and Katherine H. Haley of Ojai, a major Republican fund-raiser.

The four have helped give a conservative and prosecution-oriented shape to the county’s bench for years to come, but whether they will enjoy a similar advisory role in the administration of Republican Gov.-elect Pete Wilson remains to be seen.

Leavens, Tillemans and Haley say that, in the informal structure of the county panel’s makeup, they see themselves as a separate panel of political advisers to the governor that usually checks with Bradbury before making judicial recommendations to Deukmejian.

Leavens is among those who candidly admit that Bradbury is probably the most influential of Deukmejian’s local advisers, an opinion shared by many in the legal community.

“The district attorney in Ventura County, as I recall, is a very influential person,” said Charles Vogel, president of the California Bar Assn. “I think that he’s not shy about expressing his views and I think that he will endeavor to influence the composition of the court, since it’s important to him.”

“It is not sufficient for Kay Haley to say, ‘Gee, I’d like you to make Chuck Campbell a judge now,’ ” said Wendy Lascher, president of the Ventura County Bar Assn., referring to Municipal Judge Charles W. Campbell Jr.

“That’s how the governor gets the ideas for choosing who to nominate, and if it comes down to one or the other it makes a difference,” Lascher added. “I suspect Mike Bradbury has had more influence than the rest of those people put together.”

And Leavens conceded:

“I would never send a recommendation to the governor without checking with Mike. He’s probably the most influential one of all. He’s in and out of the courts. He knows who they are.”

Bradbury downplays his role in picking the county’s judges, insisting that the governor’s office consults the local district attorney on judicial openings in every county in California.

That statement is supported by Terry Flanigan, the governor’s appointment secretary, but disputed by a spokeswoman for Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner in Los Angeles, a Democrat, who said Deukmejian never consults Reiner or any other Democratic head prosecutors around the state.

“I’m treated no differently than any other district attorney in the state . . . the governor’s office seeks our input and we provide it if we have the pertinent information,” Bradbury said. “The governor is clearly his own person when it comes to judge appointments and he does not simply rubber-stamp the recommendations of others.”

Nonetheless, Bradbury said that all 11 judges appointed by Deukmejian in the last eight years were recommended by him during the initial review process, including the nine former prosecutors from Bradbury’s office.

All the judges are white, nine of the 11 are Republicans and all but one are men.

Deukmejian appointed five out of the 15 sitting Superior Court judges, including Robert C. Bradley in 1984 and Barbara A. Lane, Kenneth R. Yegan, Frederick A. Jones and Edwin M. Osborne in 1986. All were elevated from Municipal Court positions. Osborne, a Democrat, is now presiding Superior Court judge.

Deukmejian also installed half of the 12 Ventura County Municipal Court judges, including Democrat Herbert Curtis III in 1984, John R. Smiley in 1986, Barry B. Klopfer in 1987, Charles W. Campbell Jr. and Ken W. Riley in 1988 and Thomas J. Hutchins in 1989.

Lane and Smiley, the only non-prosecutors, were appointed from private practice.

Bradbury’s influence in the judicial selection process, especially the elevation of Municipal Court judges to the Superior Court, brought an expression of concern from one expert on legal ethics, Dean Gerald F. Uelmen of the Santa Clara University School of Law.

“I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s a conflict that should preclude him from serving on the committee, but I think it’s a legitimate concern,” Uelmen said. “The danger would be that a judge would be more reluctant to rule against the D.A. on an issue that comes before him, for fear that it would jeopardize his prospects for advancement.”

Bradbury retorted:

“Gerry’s comment is the typical BS that he throws out on this and every other issue where he takes a very pro-defense point of view. I’ve never had any judge try and curry favor with me for any reason.”

Bradbury said he has “a fairly combative relationship” with Ventura County’s judges who dislike the fact that his policy against plea bargaining forces 12% to 15% of cases to trial, compared with 5% to 7% in most other counties.

Bradbury vehemently insisted he is “not on any committee” and added that “my views do not carry the kind of weight people attribute to me.” He said that Deukmejian’s office also consults with Sheriff John V. Gillespie on some appointments. Gillespie was out of town and unavailable for comment.

Each of Deukmejian’s judicial appointees in Ventura County began the selection process by calling or being recommended by someone on the informal three-member review panel, Leavens said.

Panel members never meet to discuss their work, but they often call each other and Bradbury to confer on nominees, said Leavens, whose Ventura-based Leavens Ranches company owns more than 1,000 acres of citrus and avocado orchards in Ventura and Monterey counties.

Each sends a letter of recommendation to Deukmejian’s office only “after conversing with people that know these people and learning who is well-respected, who has a good reputation and who would not embarrass the governor,” Leavens said.

Haley, a third-generation Ventura County resident described by some as “Mrs. Republican” in Ventura County, said she agrees with Leavens’ description of their work.

“The gist of it is that when there were people who had contacted us that were interested in serving as a judge . . . we investigated whether they were qualified people who could do the job. We’d write a letter and send it to the governor,” Haley said. “He wouldn’t always take our suggestion.”

Bradbury said that party loyalties play no role in his recommendations to Deukmejian. As for the fact that nearly all of Ventura County’s judges are Republican, he said:

“I have a hunch it’s because people that go into law enforcement organizations, for example, prosecutors, tend to be Republican. But we’ve got our share of Democrats in the office.”

Although the three review panel members do not automatically reject Democrats, Leavens and Tillemans said they screen the legal records, family background and political views of potential nominees to make sure that they will hew to Republican philosophies.

“Through the years, we’ve had so many judges that were very lenient in so many ways . . . so we look for the good Republican principles,” Tillemans said. Asked to outline the principles that are reflected in nominees’ legal briefs and judicial rulings, she said, “It’s more government by the people than government for the people.”

However, the three said that they do not delve into nominees’ personal lives.

“The kind of people we were talking to were all law-abiding citizens that were well-known in the legal community. Besides, isn’t that against the law anyway?” Haley said. “I never had anybody talk to us that had murdered anybody or threw his wife downstairs.”

And Leavens said they do not concern themselves with the nominees’ drinking habits or marital fidelity. “I think those things you wouldn’t have to ask about. You’d hear about them from other sources. Anybody that wants to go up is essentially pretty clean.”

The process of settling on a recommendation can take four to six months, said Tillemans, who when not working for her party promotes housing developments for the Dolphin Group, a Los Angeles-based lobbying and public relations firm with strong Republican political connections.

“We go over their resumes and we recommend the ones who we think are suitable and then the governor’s appointment secretary looks over them and it goes to Deukmejian,” she said.

But before Deukmejian makes any appointment, each nominee is reviewed by the state Judicial Nominees Evaluation Commission, a panel of 20 lawyers and six lay people, which does extensive background checks.

The so-called Jenny Commission also reviews a seven-page questionnaire in which each nominee lists experience on the bench and at the bar, outlines political affiliations and personal history, and answers the question, “Why do you want to be a judge?”

Once that process ends, the commission rates each nominee as extremely well qualified, well qualified, qualified or “not ready for appointment at this time,” Flanigan said.

After reviewing the commission’s recommendations and letters on the nominees from local bar associations, the governor picks the nominee he feels is best suited for the slot, Flanigan said.

But this process could change in January–after what is sure to be a flurry of appointments by the outgoing Deukmejian–when Sen. Pete Wilson becomes governor, legal experts and Wilson associates agree.

Wilson has relied on an eight-member merit selection committee to make initial recommendations for federal judge appointments in the Central District of California. The panel included U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Cynthia Holcomb Hall, U.S. District Judge William D. Keller and California Supreme Court Justice Malcolm M. Lucas, who also served while a federal district judge.

Although critics on the federal bench challenged the propriety of letting federal judges help name their colleagues when the Wilson committee’s makeup was first revealed in 1986, the panel has continued to advise Wilson on federal judicial nominees. Federal judges are appointed by the President upon the recommendation of legislators.

And if Wilson’s taste in federal judges is any guide, his appointments to the state bench will differ to some degree from Deukmejian’s, said Vogel, the state bar association chief.

“It appears he is impressed with people who have good academic records,” Vogel said of Wilson. “If you look at his federal appointments, many of them were high achievers in college or law school.”

Vogel continued, “Deukmejian was the attorney general, he did work with prosecutors, he did work with government lawyers. He was pretty proud of them and felt somewhat in line with them and felt their expertise in government would fit them well in the bench.”

However, Wilson’s method of weeding out unwanted nominees probably will change for state appointees because state law requires nominees to be reviewed by the Jenny Commission, said John G. Davies, a San Diego lawyer who served as Wilson’s judicial selection adviser.

“Deukmejian and all the other governors in my lifetime have had local screening committees. I have no idea what Pete’s intentions are on that,” Davies said.

“We have over 4,000 judicial applications on file for Deukmejian,” Flanigan said. He predicted the lame-duck governor will fill many of the judicial vacancies before leaving office. “I think he’ll look at it as his greatest legacy.”

The retirement last week of Presiding Municipal Judge Lee E. Cooper Jr. virtually guarantees that Deukmejian’s local advisers will have further impact on the bench before Wilson takes office.

The Jenny Commission already has pumped nominees through the pipeline and readied them for the governor’s final approval, and the local advisers have made their recommendations for new openings, Bradbury said.

“It’s my sense that Deukmejian will fill every opening that he has available before he leaves office because the judiciary was a very important issue for him,” Bradbury said.

Once Wilson takes office, he will find the California justice system far larger and more of a challenge–with 1,500 judgeships–than the federal system he is accustomed to, said Flanigan, the governor’s appointment secretary.

Flanigan, who has been asked to keep his job through the first year of Wilson’s term, said that relying on a fixed group of people for input “would not be reasonable,” even though “there are lawyers and non-lawyers who we may talk to in the Deukmejian or future Wilson administration.” The ideal situation, he said, “is to talk to as broad a group as possible.”

Flanigan said the work of local advisers such as Bradbury, Leavens, Tillemans and Haley is vital to selecting the nominees that his office sends to the Jenny Commission–that is, the nominees who have a shot at being appointed by the governor.

“Wilson will follow the same road as Deukmejian in appointing conservative judges,” Tillemans predicted, “and we’re on that governor’s council now.”

Leavens’ wife, Carolyn Leavens, who was chairwoman of Wilson’s campaign in Ventura County, said she made a recommendation on one of Deukmejian’s judicial appointees–a duty she would gladly repeat for Wilson.

Bradbury, who actively campaigned for Wilson this year, said he is uncertain what his role will be in helping the new governor select future Ventura County judges.

But he added, “I would hope that Sen. Wilson would continue to seek the input of local public officials.”

Sunday, 1:05 p.m. TV: CBS.

Line: Broncos by 3½. O/U: 42½.

This is a bad time for the Chargers to see Denver. Their offense is still struggling, Justin Herbert took a beating at Seattle, and here comes that Broncos pass rush. With the exception of last week, Denver’s offense has scored on good defenses.

Pick: Broncos 24, Chargers 17