playoff

A day after general manager Raegan Pebley was fired, the Sparks were in Atlanta and seemingly still focused on trying to reach the playoffs this year.

The suggestion that Pebley’s removal was a sign that the team is performing poorly didn’t sit well with coach Lynne Roberts.

“I don’t think we underachieved last year and this year is still going,” Roberts said in Atlanta on Monday before the team’s loss to the Dream. “For where we want to get, that’s not where we want to be, but we tripled our win total in my first year — that’s not underachieving. We haven’t hit our stride, we’ve been injured all year. Hopefully we get [Kelsey Plum] and Cam [Brink] back. Our system is designed around KP. I’m not close to thinking we are underachieving.”

Pebley and the rest of the Sparks’ organization signaled a clear intention to compete this season, signing veterans Nneka Ogwumike and Erica Wheeler in the offseason, signing Dearica Hamby to a three-year deal and trading for Ariel Atkins.

The Sparks’ Rae Burrell protects the ball under pressure the Chicago Sky’s Natasha Cloud at Crypto.com Arena on July 10.

(Luiza Moraes / Getty Images)

They are still in the playoff race midway through the season, but have the second-worst defensive rating in the WNBA and sit a game below the postseason cutoff line.

They have competed without Plum, their top scorer, for 12 games and former No. 2 overall pick Brink during the past nine contests.

But even with their struggles, culminating in an 82-64 loss to Seattle on July 6, the Sparks responded well with consecutive home wins against Indiana and Chicago. After those games, Roberts seemed to think the team was moving in the right direction, but team owners made a major change.

The Sparks have a decision to make about how hard they want to push the rest of this season as the team flirts with missing the playoffs for a sixth consecutive season. With the trade deadline on Aug. 2, they could make some moves to improve this season or sell off their veteran assets and attempt to rebuild again.

The Sparks haven’t made the playoffs since 2020 and have made some controversial moves while trying to snap out of the slump.

In addition to the questionable trade of 2024 fourth overall pick Rickea Jackson to Chicago for veteran Atkins this offseason, Pebley traded the picks that would become Storm post duo Awa Fam and Dominique Malonga for Plum and Kia Nurse. In her sole season with the Sparks, Nurse averaged 7.6 points per game.

Pebley also traded the No. 8 pick in 2024 (that later was used to draft Alissa Pili) to Chicago for Julie Allemand and Li Yueru, then lost Allemand in the expansion draft. Yueru was sent to Seattle in the Plum trade and is now playing with Dallas. The Sparks’ 2025 first-round draft pick Sarah Ashlee Barker was left unprotected and went to Portland in the expansion draft.

The Sparks waived their top pick in this year’s draft, Ta’Niya Latson, after barely playing, and she has gone on to join Las Vegas. Sania Feagin, a 2025 first-round draft pick, was waived and signed with Portland.

Most of those moves, though, came after the Sparks lost the top spot in the 2025 draft lottery to Dallas, which selected Paige Bueckers with the No. 1 pick. Before the lottery result, it seemed like the Sparks — who went 8-32 in 2024 before that draft — were lining up for a youth movement led by Brink and Bueckers. A lineup of those three, a healthy Feagin, Barker and Allemand would be an entirely different kind of team.

Once that failed, they focused on adding veterans who could win now and have only managed modest improvement.

The Sparks have their next two first-round draft picks and four players still on rookie contracts after this season (Brink, Chance Gray, Kate Martin and Pili). Brink is their lone lottery pick left from their disappointing past six seasons. (Pili was a top-10 pick, but she has struggled to stay on a WNBA roster and just signed a player developmental contract with the Sparks this month.)

Pebley told The Times in an interview on Friday that she was open to making moves to compete at the deadline this year.

Players on the Sparks’ bench celebrate during a win over the Chicago Sky at Crypto.com Arena on July 10.

(Luiza Moraes / Getty Images)

“We are in a space where we are here to win,” she said. “This is a city that wants to win. We have an ownership that wants to win. You see what they’re doing with the Lakers. You see what they’ve done already with the Dodgers. … We have to always continue to invest in the roster. We have a responsibility to always listen and be aware of what’s out there.”

A league source not authorized to discuss trade conversations publicly told The Times that Pebley had been aggressive ahead of the deadline, and now teams are unsure what approach the Sparks will take moving forward.

“I found out when everybody else did,” Roberts said of Pebley’s firing. “It was a surprise. She’s a good friend of mine. I think the tone is set that we need to keep building and get the Sparks back to where they have been. That’s been the tone. Raegan did some great things for our org in that regard and improved a lot of things. That work can’t go undenied. It’s full-steam ahead and I’m focused on what I can do.”

It would be difficult to move some of their heftier contracts, especially since WNBA teams cannot take on more salary than their remaining cap space allows in a trade. Hamby, 32, is signed for two more years for more than $1 million per season. Atkins is also signed for two years at $1 million-plus and is having a career-worst offensive season, shooting 36.4% with 8.7 points per game.

Wheeler, 35, has another year left on her deal, but a $625,000 cap hit for a player who would be a backup point guard on most teams is a tough sell.

Plum and Ogwumike are on expiring deals, and the Sparks’ most valuable roster asset, Rae Burrell, is a restricted free agent, but one of the few young players left on the Sparks’ roster.

The Sparks have a limited $86,000 in cap space, too, so if they decide they want to buy at the deadline, they have to find a way to clear space.

They enter the trade deadline period in a difficult spot as a team in purgatory that just fired its general manager.

Yet what they decide to do in the next month might be the most clearest sign of their ambition and hope for the future.

Mike Trout last played in an All-Star Game seven years ago. It’s crazy, really. The best player of the previous decade, the link that ties Barry Bonds and Albert Pujols to Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, has not taken an All-Star at-bat this decade.

Injuries, mostly. And he turns 35 next month.

Next week’s All-Star Game takes place in Philadelphia, about 40 miles north of Trout’s hometown of Millville, N.J. Major League Baseball reserves a potential All-Star roster spot or two each summer for distinguished players: Bryce Harper and Justin Verlander this year, Clayton Kershaw last year, Pujols and Miguel Cabrera in past years.

That could have been Trout’s spot this summer: a worthy honor for a three-time most valuable player, a local hero feted on the national stage the Angels have failed to provide him.

“I wouldn’t have done it,” Trout said.

Not even at home?

“It’s an honor to get voted in and represent the American League,” he said. “For me, I don’t want any handouts.”

Trout is an All-Star for the 12th time, the old-fashioned way: He earned it.

Fans voted him into the starting lineup, with the most final-round votes of any AL outfielder. His peers voted him as one of the top three outfielders in the AL.

“It means a lot,” he said. “I’ve been through a lot of hurdles, a lot of adversity. I put some hard work in, and I did not let up. I could have easily got down on myself and not pushed through it and not come back.

“I know what I am capable of. I know I have the confidence to get back to the player I used to be.”

His .874 OPS entering play Thursday ranks second among AL outfielders, a career season for many players. In 11 of his 14 full seasons — all but the previous three — he has posted a higher OPS.

In April, in a four-game series against the New York Yankees, Trout hit five home runs and drove in nine runs.

“Everything was clicking,” he said. “When I first came up, that’s how I felt the whole season.

“Just to be able to get that feeling back, that little spark, to know it’s still in there, it makes you feel pretty good.”

For him, so does playing in Philadelphia. The first time he played there with the Angels, Millville basically closed down for the night, and just about everyone in town boarded a bus to the game. Then Trout had an exceptionally rare experience, a visiting player cheered at the home of the boo.

Mark Gubicza can testify to that. Gubicza, the two-time All-Star pitcher and now the Angels’ television analyst, grew up in Philadelphia.

“I don’t care if you were God himself, if you were wearing a different color uniform, I was still booing you,” Gubicza said. “But he was cheered.”

Still is. Trout is a diehard Philadelphia Eagles fan, with his season tickets not in some climate-controlled luxury suite but along the sideline.

“The players all walk by him and say ‘Trouty!’ ” Gubicza said. “Before they all go out to get their heads beat in, they’re all saying hi.

“He’s not one of those guys that comes there to be seen. He’s going there to root. That’s why they love him: He’s one of us.”

Said Trout: “I know how passionate I am about the Eagles. From my experience as an Eagles fan, it’s just different.

“It’s like win or die.”

It’s not like that in Southern California, where almost no one listens to sports-talk radio, and where a nice day is always a day away.

No one would begrudge Trout for living year-round along the Orange County coast. (OK, maybe Philadelphia fans would.)

Roy Hallenbeck, Trout’s high school coach, remembered visiting years ago on what he called “a perfect day” and asking Trout how he could ever get tired of all that sunshine.

“Yeah, coach, I couldn’t live here,” Trout told him. “‘I need my seasons.”

Trout built a family home near his boyhood home. He built his Trout National golf resort, with a course designed by Tiger Woods, in Millville.

He is as loyal to the Angels as he is to Millville. He appreciates the team that “took a chance on a kid from a little town in southern New Jersey” and signed him to two nine-figure contract extensions.

Trout was the last Angels player to take a postseason at-bat, in 2014. Even amid baseball’s longest playoff drought, he still considers Anaheim a special place, and always will.

“It’s where it all began,” Trout said. “I think the fuel of people doubting us kind of makes it more of a fire for me to try to get back to the playoffs. I think that’s the biggest key for me.

“Could I take the easy way out and just leave? Yeah. But I think — I said this last year around this time, but it’s the same feeling I’ve been having — I really haven’t sat down and talked to anybody about it specifically, but I know there’s a time where, if things change, who knows? I don’t know. But, for me, right now, my focus is on trying to get this club back in the playoffs.”

At the All-Star Game, Trout might well hear Phillies fans beseech him to come play for the home team. However, Hallenbeck said, the hometown folks no longer are as strident in that long-held wish.

“I think the overriding sentiment of most people I talk with, even Phillies fans, is we would all — as people that know him, love him and care for him — love to watch him play relevant baseball in August and September,” Hallenbeck said. “It doesn’t matter where. It doesn’t matter who. Just being relevant late in the season would be something we would all love to see.

“Hopefully, it’s with the Angels. They’ve been so good to him. We’d love to see it there.”

So would we. In the meantime, in the absence of a World Series, Trout deserves to enjoy his homecoming game.

While veterans jockey for new contracts during free agency, young players are getting their tryout opportunities with NBA summer league games beginning this week.

First-round draft pick Cameron Carr and second-year forward Adou Thiero highlight the Lakers summer league roster that was announced Wednesday. The 16-man team will be coached by Lakers assistant coach Ty Abbott and begin summer league play Friday against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center.

The Lakers also face the Miami Heat (July 5, 1:30 p.m.) and San Antonio Spurs (July 6, 4:30 p.m.) in the California Classic before playing in the Las Vegas summer league from July 9-19. The Lakers play Oklahoma City (July 10), Dallas (July 11), the Clippers (July 14) and Chicago (July 16) in Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack Center.

The Lakers traded up in the draft to get Carr, a 6-foot-5 guard out of Baylor, with the 24th overall pick. He will make his unofficial NBA debut, along with former Indiana State and Saint Louis star Robbie Avila. The 6-10 center became a bespectacled college basketball cult hero known affectionately as “Cream Abdul Jabbar” while leading Indiana State to the NIT championship game in 2024. He transferred to Saint Louis, where he was named Atlantic-10 player of the year as a senior when the Billikens won a school-record 29 wins.

Although he is entering his second season with the Lakers, Thiero will be playing his first summer league games. Persistent knee injuries hampered his rookie season. The athletic 6-7 forward averaged 1.9 points and 1.1 rebounds in 25 appearances last season. He said after the Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs that he wanted to improve on his three-point shooting during his second year. He attempted only five three-pointers during his rookie season, regular season and playoffs, making one.

Lakers summer league roster

Robbie Avila, C, 6-10, 240
Cameron Carr, G, 6-5, 190
Jon Elmore, G, 6-3, 190
Luke Goode, F, 6-7, 210
William Hickey, G, 6-4, 203
Arthur Kaluma, F, 6-7, 225
William Kyle III, C, 6-9, 230
Chris Mañon, G, 6-4, 212
Robert McCray V, G, 6-4, 188
AK Okereke, F, 6-7, 245
Chase Ross, G, 6-5, 210
Zhaire Smith, G, 6-4, 205
Peter Suder, G, 6-5, 215
Adou Thiero, F, 6-7, 234
Anton Watson, F, 6-8, 225
Jacari White, G, 6-3, 180

The Lakers will seek to use their 25th pick in Tuesday’s first round of the NBA draft on a player who fills a need on a roster that could have up to nine free agents this summer. Yet the Lakers also are aware that picking that late in the round could leave them selecting the best player available.

They probably will be in search of a center who can be a lob threat or an athletic wing who can play defense and knock down three-pointers, two positions the Lakers crave as they try to build a team around star Luka Doncic that fits best with his style of play.

Names that NBA executives and mock drafts attached to the Lakers are Kentucky center Jayden Quaintance, Texas forward Dailyn Swain and Duke wing Isaiah Evans.

The Lakers spent time in Spain looking at 20-year-old guard Sergio de Larrea, but many NBA scouts see him going later in the first round or even in the second. According to people not authorized to speak publicly, the Lakers were impressed by their workout with Purdue point guard Braden Smith. But he’s on the smaller side (6 feet) and played four years in college, leading scouts to believe his upside is not that high and that he’ll be drafted in the second round.

The Lakers don’t have a pick in Wednesday’s second round.

After the Lakers were swept by a deep and athletic Oklahoma City team in the second round of the playoffs, president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka outlined what it takes when trying to compete in the uber-tough Western Conference against the likes of the Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs, who became the second-youngest team to reach the NBA Finals.

Pelinka looked at how Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell was drafted in the second round and how he flourished in just his second season, especially in the playoffs, in which he averaged 15.1 points and 4.3 assists in 11 games.

“Depth is really important, athleticism and youth. We have a lot of components of that on our roster, but we need to add to it,” Pelinka said last month during his exit interview with the media. “I think those are some of the key North Stars that we need to look at.

“One of the players that they had who played really well, Ajay Mitchell, they got in the second round. So there’s ways to add to your roster if you commit to doing the hard work and commit to the process of adding the right pieces. … We’ll be doing that through the draft and free agency and through trades. We’ve gotta find a way to have a roster that will compete with any team in the NBA. That’s what we do here.”

The Lakers do have three tradable first-round picks — 2026, 2031 and 2033 — but the latter two can’t be moved until after the draft.

Lakers star LeBron James is an unrestricted free agent and is looking for a deal from the Lakers, while Austin Reaves is expected to opt out of his $14.8-million deal so he can sign a contract with them for up to five years and about $241 million.

Still, the Lakers have to proceed with the draft to find a player.

Texas forward Dailyn Swain, left, vies for a loose ball against Purdue guard Braden Smith during an NCAA tournament game in March.

(Godofredo A. Vásquez / Associated Press)

Swain (6-7) and Evans (6-6) are the kind of athletic wings the Lakers could use, but both might be chosen before the Lakers make their pick.

The 6-9 Quaintance could slide to the Lakers because of health concerns. He played in only four games last season at Kentucky because the team was being cautious following knee surgery after he tore an anterior cruciate ligament when he played at Arizona State.

Scouts still view him as mobile, athletic and young enough — he turns 19 next month — to develop. But, Quaintance will need to rehab his knee and probably won’t be ready for the upcoming season. When healthy, scouts said, he can be the lob threat and defender that Doncic yearns to have.

Here’s a bit of Dodgers trivia for the bandwagon fans in our midst: Who was the manager before Dave Roberts?

That was 11 years ago. He is Don Mattingly, who returns to Dodger Stadium on Friday as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Phillies were 9-19 when they fired Rob Thomson and replaced him with Mattingly. They are 20-8 since then, a better record than the Dodgers have posted over the same span.

In Philadelphia, Mattingly got his chance because the Phillies were losing. In Los Angeles, Mattingly departed amid a run of winning.

For Mark Walter and what was then a new Dodgers ownership group, that was not enough. As Walter enters his first offseason as the Lakers’ controlling owner, it’s worth keeping that in mind.

“They have a hunger for victory that is the greatest I’ve ever seen, without exaggeration,” former Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti told me.

In two seasons with Rob Pelinka as president of basketball operations and JJ Redick as coach, the Lakers won division titles both times, failing to get out of the first round of the playoffs one year and failing to get out of the second round of the playoffs the next.

In 2013 and 2014, with Colletti as GM and Mattingly as manager in the first full seasons of Walter’s ownership, the Dodgers won division titles both times, failing to get out of the first round one year and failing to get out of the second round the other.

The Dodgers replaced Colletti with Andrew Friedman.

In 2015, the Dodgers won the division but failed to get out of the first round of the playoffs. Friedman offered Mattingly a short-term extension, and Mattingly opted for a long-term deal to manage the Miami Marlins.

After Walter and Co. took over the Dodgers, Mattingly told me Wednesday, there was one year he thought he might be fired: 2013, when the Dodgers started 30-42 and fell 9 1/2 games out of first place in mid-June. The Dodgers then reeled off 42 wins in 50 games and won the division by 11 games.

He appreciated that Walter, team president Stan Kasten and eventually Friedman did not simply bring in a new manager at their first chance.

“You get to evaluate and see,” Mattingly said, “and you have your vision for where you want it to go, and sustain it. That’s the thing they’ve been great at: sustaining it. It’s been year after year. You can’t really doubt what they’re doing.”

Kasten’s first move was not to fire Colletti, but to ask what ownership could provide for him so that he could do a better job. The owners quickly responded by funding the addition of impact players (Adrián González and Hanley Ramirez), extending the contract of a popular home-grown player (Andre Ethier), revitalizing the Dodgers’ Latin American talent pipeline (Yasiel Puig and Julio Urías), renovating the clubhouse and, at Mattingly’s suggestion, refreshing the family room.

“We started to be able to compete with a different mindset, which was invaluable,” Colletti said.

Similarly, with Friedman and former Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi as consultants, the Lakers have added two positions for assistant general managers, overhauled the scouting staff, created more room at team headquarters by relocating their G League affiliate to the Coachella Valley, and borrowed from the Dodgers’ playbook in modernizing medical and biomechanical facilities.

This summer could be critical in determining the future of the Lakers, including who runs them. Walter can spend all he wants, as he does with the Dodgers, but the luxury-tax penalties in the NBA are more severe than in baseball and could restrict the roster flexibility so coveted by the likes of Friedman and Zaidi. A star-studded roster beyond Luka Doncic — say, a trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo? — could require the Lakers to sacrifice the draft picks that also would limit roster flexibility.

The Lakers will have the resources. Walter will want to see the creativity and the championships — or, at least, the path to them. Ultimately, he will decide what he did with the Dodgers: Does he have the best people he can get running the team?

“You see many organizations that win, and then they take a step back,” Colletti said. “They feel like they have some goodwill in the bank, they don’t have to chase the biggest free agents, and they don’t need to re-invest in the team or the stadium.

“From my vantage point, all the way up and down that organization and especially at the ownership level, it’s almost like they’ve never won, and they’re hungry to get there. To be there and be unsatisfied — that quest to be as great as you can be — is one of the great indicators of the excellent ownership it is.”

In the meantime, any advice for Pelinka and Redick? Colletti let out a hearty laugh.

“Do your best,” he said, “and turn it up a notch.”

US President Donald Trump was loudly booed when he was shown on screens during the national anthem before Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks.

Peter Laviolette will be the next head coach of the Kings, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told the Associated Press on Monday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Kings hadn’t yet announced the results of their lengthy search for a permanent replacement for interim coach D.J. Smith, who replaced Jim Hiller in March.

The 61-year-old Laviolette is expected to get a three-year contract to take over his seventh NHL team. The Kings have made the playoffs in five consecutive seasons, but they’ve also endured five straight first-round exits under three head coaches and two general managers.

Laviolette is returning to the NHL after being fired by the New York Rangers in April 2025. He has also led the New York Islanders, Carolina, Philadelphia, Nashville and Washington during a 23-year head coaching career highlighted by a Stanley Cup championship with the Hurricanes in 2006.

Laviolette’s teams have reached the postseason in 11 of the past 14 seasons he finished behind a bench, and he also led the Flyers (2010) and the Predators (2017) to the Stanley Cup Final. His 1,594 career games coached are the ninth most in NHL history.

In his first West Coast NHL job, Laviolette is taking over a good team that is stuck in a profound rut, unable to become a Stanley Cup contender.

General manager Ken Holland fired Hiller shortly after the Olympic break in the coach’s second full season in charge, and the Kings went 11-6-6 after Smith stepped up from his assistant’s role. Smith, who was a candidate for the permanent job, got the Kings into the final Western Conference playoff spot — but Los Angeles was swept out of the first round by the Colorado Avalanche.

The Kings’ four previous first-round exits were all at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers, leading to the departure of general manager Rob Blake a year ago.

The Kings still haven’t won a playoff round since raising the Stanley Cup in 2014, but the roster has a solid core of talent despite the retirement of longtime captain Anze Kopitar.

Holland acquired high-scoring forward Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers last winter, and high-scoring forwards Adrian Kempe, Quinton Byfield and Kevin Fiala are all returning.

The intense Laviolette became known for creating aggressive offensive attacks and making quick franchise turnarounds in his previous stops. He could be part of an organizational shift for the Kings, who have spent two decades as a philosophically defense-first team — to the regular detriment of their offense.

The Kings finished 29th in the NHL in scoring last season with just 220 goals, easily the fewest among playoff teams. They are in the bottom half of the NHL in scoring over the past five seasons despite making the playoffs every year.

Holland publicly wondered whether the Kings are too defensive-minded after they scored just five goals in their four-game sweep at the hands of the Avalanche, but he didn’t commit to a change in team philosophy.

Beacham writes for the Associated Press.

CIF SOCAL SOFTBALL REGIONALS
TUESDAY’S RESULTS
First Round

DIVISION I
#1 Chula Vista Mater Dei, bye
#5 Point Loma 10, #4 Whittier Christian 1
#6 St. Paul def. #3 Murrieta Mesa, forfeit
#2 La Habra def. #7 Bonita, forfeit

DIVISION II
#2 Riverside Prep 1, #8 Del Norte 0
#5 Redwood at #4 Birmingham, Wednesday at 3 p.m.
#6 Garces Memorial 3, #3 Oxnard 0
#2 Great Oak 9, #7 El Capitan 4

DIVISION III
#8 Mission College Prep 4, #1 Venice 2
#4 Hanford West 19, #5 Eagle Rock 1
#3 Grace 9, #6 Brawley 3
#2 Helix 14, #7 Covina 7

DIVISION IV
#1 San Diego Madison 10, #9 Arleta 4
#5 Grossmont 7, #4 Arroyo 4
#3 Irvine 8, #6 Avenal 7
#2 Woodlake 8, #7 Edgewood 4

DIVISION V
#1 Arroyo Valley, bye
#5 La Jolla 16, #4 Franklin 3
#6 San Bernardino 9, #3 Monte Vista 6
#2 South East, bye

THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 4 p.m. unless noted)
Semifinals

DIVISION I
#5 Point Loma at #1 Chula Vista Mater Dei
#6 St. Paul at #2 La Habra

DIVISION II
#5 Redwood / #4 Birmingham at #1 Riverside Prep
#6 Garces Memorial at #2 Great Oak

DIVISION III
#8 Mission College Prep at #4 Hanford West
#3 Grace at #2 Helix

DIVISION IV
#5 Grossmont at #1 San Diego Madison
#3 Irvine at #2 Woodlake

DIVISION V
#5 La Jolla vs. #1 Arroyo Valley, Wednesday at San Gorgonio
#6 San Bernardino at #2 South East

Note: Finals in all divisions Saturday, June 6 at 4 p.m. at higher seeds.

There’s been speculation for years when club sports, travel ball and showcases might make education-based high school sports obsolete or irrelevant.

The showdown is finally happening.

Ganesha High’s baseball team qualified to play in the Southern Section Division 2 championship game on Saturday against Loyola in Rancho Cucamonga, but the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported that several players and possibly their head coach, Jared Sandler, might not show up if they participate in a baseball camp in Mississippi.

Bring it on. No more playing around. Let everyone know the expectations of being part of the California Interscholastic Federation. When you agree to play in the playoffs, you can’t just decide to leave without notice. Teams and players have dreamed of playing in a championship game. Then one team wants to make a mockery of the final, Ganesha, by using backups.

The YULA and Shalhavet baseball teams were banned from participating in this year’s Southern Section playoffs and placed on probation for pulling out in the middle of the 2025 playoffs to participate in a Jewish baseball tournament in Ohio.

The Southern Section has many options on how to proceed if Ganesha goes through with its decision to violate its commitment to the playoffs, from a postseason ban to removing the school from CIF membership.

In Northern California when a tennis team decided to send its JV team for the regional playoffs, sanctions were imposed. The same penalties might be applied by the Southern Section if it happens in the section championship game.

Ron Nocetti, the executive director of the CIF, said Friday, “We were made aware of this and any decision the Southern Section makes in this matter we support.”

Let’s have this showdown. Let’s see if the Pomona Unified School District, which pays thousands of dollars to support its schools’ athletic program, is going to act and stop this nonsense. Ganesha previously was in the news because many of its players live outside the district and participate through online classes, making the baseball team as close to a travel-ball team as you can get.

As of late Friday afternoon, a Ganesha representative said that most of the players and coach were expected to participate in the championship game.

Ronald Gonzales-Lawrence, director, governmental relations for the Pomona Unified School District, released the following statement:

“At this time, circumstances surrounding Saturday’s CIF Southern Section championship game have been resolved, and Ganesha High School will participate in the championship game as scheduled.

“Questions regarding CIF bylaws, eligibility requirements, championship scheduling decisions are best directed to the CIF Southern Section.

“We are aware of questions regarding travel-related expenses associated with this matter. The district is providing transportation and support for student participation in the CIF Southern Section championship game consistent with its normal practices for student activities and athletic competition. The district is not funding flights, hotel accommodations, or any other expenses associated with the separate out-of-state event.

“The district remains committed to supporting our student-athletes and ensuring compliance with all applicable CIF, district, and school requirements.”

SOUTHERN SECTION FINALS

At Bill Barber Park, Irvine

Thursday’s Results

DIVISION 7

Edgewood 4, Ramona Convent 1

DIVISION 6

Irvine 15, Arroyo 2

Friday’s Schedule

DIVISION 1

La Mirada vs. JSerra, 7 p.m.

DIVISION 2

Whittier Christian vs. Mater Dei, 4 p.m.

Saturday’s Schedule

DIVISION 3

Riverside Prep vs. Great Oak, 7 p.m.

DIVISION 4

Mission Viejo at Oxnard, 4 p.m.

DIVISION 5

Grace vs. Northwood, 10 a.m.

DIVISION 8

Arroyo Valley vs. San Bernardino, 1 p.m.

CITY SECTION FINALS

FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE

At Legacy

OPEN DIVISION

#1 Granada Hills vs. #2 Carson, 6:30 p.m.

DIVISION III

#5 South East vs. #15 Reseda, 4 p.m.

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE

At Birmingham

DIVISION I

#1 Venice vs. #6 Eagle Rock, 2 p.m.

DIVISION II

#1 L.A. Marshall vs. #6 Arleta, 11 a.m.

DIVISION IV

#4 Huntington Park vs. #14 Franklin, 11:30 a.m.

CITY SECTION SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS
Wednesday’s Results
SEMIFINALS

OPEN DIVISION
#1 Granada Hills 12, #4 San Pedro 9
#2 Carson 12, #3 Birmingham 2

DIVISION I
#1 Venice 7, #4 Chatsworth 2
#6 Eagle Rock 5, #10 Verdugo Hills 4

DIVISION II
#1 LA Marshall 5, #5 Sylmar 4
#6 Arleta 8, #18 Taft 5

DIVISION III
#5 South East 16, #9 Palisades 8
#15 Reseda 20, #11 Westchester 9

DIVISION IV
#4 Huntington Park 23, #16 Vaughn 2
#14 Franklin 5, #18 Diego Rivera 3

Note: Finals in all divisions May 29-30 (sites and times TBA).

SOUTHERN SECTION BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
TUESDAY’S RESULTS
SEMIFINALS

DIVISION 1
Norco 5, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 2
St. John Bosco 3, Harvard-Westlake 1

DIVISION 2
Ganesha 2, Newport Harbor 1
Loyola 6, Santa Ana Foothill 3

DIVISION 3
Mira Costa 12, St. Francis 0
Agoura 3, Millikan 1

DIVISION 4
Glendora 3, Rio Mesa 0
Laguna Beach 2, Grand Terrace 1

DIVISION 5
Kaiser 3, Irvine 2
Culver City 4, Long Beach Wilson 3

DIVISION 6
Brentwood 8, Trinity Classical Academy 0
Covina 6, Lakewood 1

DIVISION 7
North Torrance 9, Santa Paula 3
South El Monte 3, Norwalk 0

DIVISION 8
Rancho Alamitos 3, Oxford Academy 0
Schurr 4, Duarte 2

DIVISION 9
Webb 24, Crossroads Christian 15
Rolling Hills Prep 5, Temecula Prep 3

Note: Finals in all divisions May 29-30.

Lifelong Angels fan Johnny Gonzalez has reached his boiling point as the team sits at the bottom of the standings, but he’s not giving up. And he’s not alone.

The Angels completed a surprise sweep of the Rangers Sunday, but the team still is tied for the worst record in Major League Baseball with a 20-34. Their fans spent the holiday weekend pushing back against the idea that the franchise would never be more than a bargain option amid rising prices all around them.

Frustrated fans have gone shirtless during the Angels’ homestand and chanted for owner Arte Moreno to “sell the team.” And about 75 fans heeded Gonzalez’s call for a protest, gathering in front of the Angel Stadium State College Boulevard entrance on Saturday chanting “sell the team,” “we want playoffs” and “winning matters.” Drivers passing the spectacle honked their horns in support.

“They’re not doing much for us fans,” said Gonzalez, who organized the protest using the Instagram account @AngelsBoycott. “It seems like every other team is just doing a lot more than us, despite us having a huge following [and] having some of the best players to ever play the game. I mean, it’s just like a lack of commitment, to say the least, and that’s why we’re here today.”

Angels fans wave signs and urge owner Arte Moreno to sell the team to an ownership group willing to invest more in winning during a pregame protest Saturday at Angel Stadium.

(Joaquin Ruiz / For The Times)

It has been three months since Angels owner Arte Moreno told the Orange County Register that, according to Angels survey results, winning was not a top-five priority for fans and that data showed they valued affordability, safety and a “good experience” first.

Outrage over the remarks has grown as the Angels remain anchored at the bottom of the standings.

With a megaphone in his hand, Gonzalez pointed to the Ducks’ recent Stanley Cup playoff run as proof that Anaheim enjoys winning. He also noted how the nearby Dodgers and even the Padres demonstrate how Southern California teams can play for the postseason.

The Angels have missed the MLB playoffs for 11 consecutive seasons — including six with stars Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout on the roster — and have reached the postseason six times since Moreno purchased the team in 2003 after the franchise’s sole World Series title win in 2002.

Team officials did not respond to The Times’ request for comment on the fans’ protest, but manager Kurt Suzuki addressed the “sell the team” chants that are so loud they can be heard during Angels television broadcasts.

“I know it’s a thing, the no shirts and waving,” Suzuki said. “But yeah, we see it. We recognize it. They have the right to their opinion, and … they cheer for the guys, they roll-call them. I think it’s pretty neat for them to have that kind of support.”

A fan wears a bag over his head that says “Sell the Team Arte!!!” during a game against the Rangers on Friday at Angel Stadium.

(Mark J. Terrill / Ap Photo/mark J. Terrill)

Suzuki added that the Angels remain focused on winning and haven’t paid the chants too much attention.

The Angels entered Sunday’s game ranked No. 9 in MLB attendance with 34,555 announced fans per night, according to ESPN. There are swaths of empty seats during every home game, suggesting some season ticket holders are choosing to stay home.

There is an expanding contingent of fans in the upper deck adjacent to the right-field foul pole who have chanted “sell the team” while waving T-shirts, joining in on a trendy “tarps off” fan movement across MLB sparked by Cardinals fans in St. Louis.

Angels fans who haven’t joined the protests are pleased to see the calls for change.

“I think it’s good that there’s fans that are passionate enough to actually speak out, to want to see a better team and really want to get us back into the playoffs,” Darren Shimasaki, an Angels fan from Yorba Linda, said Friday.

Debbie and Reed Olive, meanwhile, said they usually attend games for the promotions.

“You’re not going to come away with the wins,” Debbie said. “So, we got to get something for our ticket price.”

Even the fan experience unrelated to winning that Moreno touted has taken a hit.

Angels officials said they quickly resolved a rodent infestation Orange County health inspectors flagged at an outdoor food stand in View Level Section 432. Videos of stadium workers capturing a possum in one fan section and spraying gnats on the field during the last few weeks haven’t helped the team’s image.

Reed said the rodent infestation “was a bad look” and that the Angels need a new stadium in addition to a new owner.

Catcher Logan O’Hoppe, who has spent his five-year career with the Angels, said he understands the fans’ frustration.

“We don’t like not doing well, either,” O’Hoppe said. “It’s not OK to us. It doesn’t matter how much we’re getting paid or that we get treated great throughout the league and things like that. We hate it, too. I think people definitely don’t realize that. I think I can speak for a lot of guys in here that we dedicate our lives to this. … We’re not happy with how it’s going, but we’re doing everything we can to fix it.”

O’Hoppe is a New York Rangers fan and gets frustrated when his team struggles, but he said he reminds himself that “we’re all humans.”

The Rangers’ Josh Jung is tagged out at home by Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe on Friday at Angel Stadium.

(Mark J. Terrill / Ap Photo/mark J. Terrill)

Angels left fielder Wade Meckler, who made his debut on Friday night, is an Orange County native who grew up cheering for the team.

“I mean, I get it,” Meckler said. “It’s a hungry fan base. The fan base is hungry for a winning team. So I understand, you know, being frustrated. They just really want a winning team.”

Meckler has been following the Angels since age 5 and remembers feeling dejected after attending the Angels’ 4-1 home loss to the Royals in Game 2 of the 2014 American League Division Series.

“It’s a super loyal fan base,” Meckler said. “I feel like they show up with energy every day.”

The Angels are on track to miss the postseason for a 12th consecutive season, prompting restless fans to call for new owners who will invest in building a team capable of reaching the playoffs.

“Arte don’t know what he’s talking about,” said Austin Kleschka, an Angels fan who joined Gonzalez at the front of Saturday’s protest. “Winning is a priority. We want that.”

HIGH SCHOOL BOYS VOLLEYBALL

SOCAL REGIONAL FINALS

SATURDAY

DIVISION I

#1 Mira Costa d. #2 Loyola, 14-25, 25-20, 25-23, 19-25, 15-5

DIVISION II

#2 Orange Lutheran d. #1 Francis Parker, 25-21, 25-19, 25-15

DIVISION III

#1 Central East d. #6 Mission Bay, 3-2

DIVISION IV

#1 El Cajon Christian d. #2 Point Loma, 25-19, 23-25, 27-25, 25-17

Note: State Championships May 30 at Fresno City College.

SOUTHERN SECTION SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS

SATURDAY’S RESULTS

Semifinals

DIVISION 1

La Mirada 5, La Habra 1

JSerra 2, Norco 0

DIVISION 2

Whittier Christian 11, St. Paul 6

Mater Dei 4, San Clemente 2

DIVISION 3

Great Oak 4, North Torrance 3

Riverside Prep 4, Dos Pueblos 2

DIVISION 4

Oxnard 1, Monrovia 0

Mission Viejo 5, Burbank Burroughs 3

DIVISION 5

Grace 16, Patriot 10

Northwood 15, Covina 3

DIVISION 6

Irvine 16, Granite Hills 2

Arroyo 11, Hesperia Christian 4

DIVISION 7

Ramona Convent 17, Faith Baptist 9

Edgewood 6, Cathedral City 0

DIVISION 8

San Bernardino 25, Workman 3

Arroyo Valley 18, Capistrano Valley 7

Note: Finals May 28-30 at Bill Barber Memorial Park, Irvine (times TBA).

SOUTHERN SECTION BASEBALL PLAYOFFS

FRIDAY’S RESULTS

QUARTERFINALS

DIVISION 1

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 7, Corona 2

Norco 3, Orange Lutheran 0

St. John Bosco at La Mirada, Saturday at 11 a.m.

Harvard-Westlake 2, Cypress 1

DIVISION 2

Ganesha 4, Elsinore 0

Newport Harbor 8, Aquinas 0

Santa Ana Foothill 3, Yucaipa 1

Loyola 3, Alemany 0

DIVISION 3

Mira Costa 13, Dos Pueblos 6

St. Francis 3, Warren 1

Agoura 4, Fullerton 1

Millikan 1, Summit 0

DIVISION 4

Rio Mesa 2, Saugus 1

Glendora 4, Anaheim Canyon 3

Grand Terrace 4, Marina 1

Laguna Beach 6, Moorpark 4

DIVISION 5

Irvine 2, Cathedral 1

Kaiser 7, Santa Barbara 0

Long Beach Wilson 6, Temescal Canyon 1

Culver City 11, St. Bernard 6

DIVISION 6

Brentwood 9, Foothill Tech 7

Trinity Classical Academy 7, El Rancho 6

Covina 11, Western Christian 6

Lakewood 5, Muir 3

DIVISION 7

North Torrance 10, Carpinteria 0

Santa Paula 7, Patriot 1

South El Monte 5, Golden Valley 2

Norwalk 7, Arroyo 1

DIVISION 8

Rancho Alamitos 4, Chadwick 2

Oxford Academy 7, Wildomar Cornerstone Christian 6

Duarte 7, Nuview Bridge 5

Schurr 2, Artesia 1

DIVISION 9

Crossroads Christian 6, Lennox Academy 3

Webb Ojai 14, Valley 4

Rolling Hills Prep 10, Riverside Bethel Christian 1

Temecula Prep 6, Garden Grove Santiago 3

TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE

(Games at 3:15 p.m. unless noted)

SEMIFINALS

DIVISION 1

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame at Norco

Harvard-Westlake vs. St. John Bosco or La Mirada

DIVISION 2

Newport Harbor at Ganesha

Santa Ana Foothill at Loyola

DIVISION 3

St. Francis at Mira Costa

Millikan at Agoura

DIVISION 4

Rio Mesa at Glendora

Grand Terrace at Laguna Beach

DIVISION 5

Kaiser at Irvine

Long Beach Wilson at Culver City

DIVISION 6

Trinity Classical Academy at Brentwood

Covina at Lakewood

DIVISION 7

North Torrance at Santa Paula

Norwalk at South El Monte

DIVISION 8

Oxford Academy at Rancho Alamitos

Schurr at Duarte

DIVISION 9

Webb at Crossroads Christian

Rolling Hills Prep at Temecula Prep

Note: Finals in all divisions May 29-30.

Baseball players like to feel comfortable wearing their hats but also look good when taking them off. That’s where sophomore JV baseball player Noah Nolasco from Birmingham High comes into play.

He’s been cutting hair for players in the East Valley, from Birmingham to Poly to Sylmar to Bishop Alemany. He’s been busy because the playoffs are taking place, and players are apparently following the philosophy “look good, feel good, play good.”

One of his customers is Birmingham sophomore pitcher Carlos Acuna, who’s 11-0 and plays in Saturday’s City Section Open Division championship game against El Camino Real at Dodger Stadium.

Nolasco said a taper is the favorite haircut these days and there’s also players bleaching their hair blond for the playoffs. He normally charges $25.

Here’s his instagram page.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL

CITY SECTION PLAYOFFS

FRIDAY’S RESULTS

Quarterfinals

OPEN DIVISION

#1 Granada Hills 3, #8 Granada Hills Kennedy 2

DIVISION I

#1 Venice 2, #9 San Fernando 0

#4 Chatsworth 1, #5 Chavez 0

#6 Eagle Rock 5, #3 Port of LA 2

#10 Verdugo Hills 1, #2 Marquez 0

DIVISION II

#1 LA Marshall 10, #9 Northridge Academy 4

#5 Sylmar 12, #20 Cleveland 1

#6 Arleta 11, #19 North Hollywood 3

#18 Taft 14, #10 Sun Valley Poly 5

DIVISION III

#9 Palisades 18, #16 Van Nuys 6

#5 South East 22, #4 Maywood Academy 4

#10 Westchester 10, #14 VAAS 0

#15 Reseda 15, #7 LACES 8

DIVISION IV

#16 Vaughn 17, #9 Smidt Tech 5

#4 Huntington Park 16, #12 Downtown Magnets 2

#14 Franklin 7, #11 Bernstein 2

#18 Diego Rivera 11, #7 CALS Early College 1

WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE

(Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)

Semifinals

OPEN DIVISION

#4 San Pedro at #1 Granada Hills

#3 Birmingham at #2 Carson

DIVISION I

#4 Chatsworth at #1 Venice

#10 Verdugo Hills at #6 Eagle Rock

DIVISION II

#5 Sylmar at #1 LA Marshall

#18 Taft at #6 Arleta

DIVISION III

#9 Palisades at #5 South East

#15 Reseda at #11 Westchester

DIVISION IV

#16 Vaughn at #4 Huntington Park

#18 Diego Rivera at #14 Franklin

Note: Finals in all divisions May 29-30 at TBD.

HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL
CITY SECTION PLAYOFFS
THURSDAY’S RESULTS
Quarterfinals

OPEN DIVISION
#4 San Pedro 13, #5 El Camino Real 2
#3 Birmingham 6, #6 Wilmington Banning 5
#2 Carson at #7 Legacy

FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3 p.m. unless noted)
Quarterfinals

OPEN DIVISION
#8 Granada Hills Kennedy at #1 Granada Hills

DIVISION I
#9 San Fernando at #1 Venice
#5 Chavez at #4 Chatsworth
#6 Eagle Rock at #3 Port of LA
#10 Verdugo Hills at #2 Marquez

DIVISION II
#9 Northridge Academy at #1 LA Marshall
#20 Cleveland at #5 Sylmar
#19 North Hollywood at #6 Arleta
#18 Taft at #10 Sun Valley Poly

DIVISION III
#16 Van Nuys at #9 Palisades
#5 South East at #4 Maywood Academy
#14 VAAS at #11 Westchester
#15 Reseda at #7 LACES

DIVISION IV
#16 Vaughn at #9 Smidt Tech
#12 Downtown Magnets at #4 Huntington Park
#14 Franklin at #11 Bernstein
#18 Diego Rivera at #7 CALS Early College

Note: Semifinals all divisions May 27 at higher seeds; Finals all divisions May 29-30 at TBD.

SOUTHERN SECTION SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS
(Games at 3:15 p.m. unless noted)
SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE
Semifinals

DIVISION 1
La Habra at Etiwanda
JSerra at Norco

DIVISION 2
Whittier Christian at St. Paul
San Clemente at Mater Dei

DIVISION 3
North Torrance at Great Oak
Riverside Prep at Dos Pueblos

DIVISION 4
Oxnard at Monrovia
Burbank Burroughs at Mission Viejo

DIVISION 5
Patriot at Grace
Covina at Northwood

DIVISION 6
Granite Hills at Irvine
Hesperia Christian at Arroyo

DIVISION 7
Ramona Convent at Faith Baptist
Cathedral City at Edgewood

DIVISION 8
San Bernardino at Workman
Capistrano Valley Christian at Arroyo Valley

Note: Finals May 28-30 at Bill Barber Memorial Park, Irvine.

CITY SECTION BASEBALL PLAYOFFS

WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS

Semifinals

At Cal State Northridge

OPEN DIVISION

#2 El Camino Real 4, #8 Granada Hills 3

#1 Birmingham 4, #4 Carson 1

At Stengel Field

DIVISION I

#10 Taft 2, #3 Venice 0

#13 Verdugo Hills 2, #1 Sylmar 1

FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE

FINALS

At East LA College

DIVISION II

#6 South East vs. #5 LA Roosevelt, 5:30 p.m.

At Fremont

DIVISION III

#9 LA Hamilton vs. #7 Fremont, 2:30 p.m.

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE

FINALS

At Dodger Stadium

OPEN DIVISION

#2 El Camino Real vs. #1 Birmingham, 1 p.m.

DIVISION I

#10 Taft vs. #1 Verdugo Hills