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Gov. George Deukmejian named on Monday Ventura County Superior Court Judge Kenneth R. Yegan to join the state 2nd District Court of Appeal, fulfilling the judge’s longtime dream of becoming an appeals court justice.

If a judicial review panel confirms Yegan’s nomination to the court’s 6th Division on Dec. 27, he will replace Justice Richard W. Abbe, who retired Nov. 28 after eight years on the three-member court.

“If I get confirmed on the 27th, I’ll take the oath right on the spot and hope to report to work the next day,” said Yegan, 43, of Westlake.

The review panel, composed of Supreme Court Justice Malcolm Lucas, Atty. Gen. John K. Van De Kamp and presiding 2nd District Court of Appeal Justice Lester Roth, is scheduled to meet next week in Los Angeles to discuss Yegan’s qualifications.

If confirmed, he will consider appeals cases from Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties with Justices Steven J. Stone and Arthur Gilbert, who have served on the 6th Division bench since it was established in 1982.

“Without even thinking about it, I’m really ecstatic about the appointment,” said Gilbert, who has reviewed Yegan’s Superior Court opinions on appeal and worked with him when Yegan served as a temporary appeals justice in the summer of 1986.

“I think he’s as good as you can get. He’s just first-rate,” Gilbert said. “He supports his point of view with well-reasoned statements of decision on the Superior Court, and he did the same thing when he was here.”

Stone said Yegan has a reputation for being able to handle all levels of appeals work, from doing legal research to writing the final draft of opinions.

“I have a lot of respect for Ken and I think that he will work very well with us,” Stone said. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Yegan said that Deukmejian called him Friday to offer him the seat. He said the governor swore him to secrecy until Monday, but gave him permission to tell his family.

“My wife was home with my oldest daughter and she was screaming, and my daughter was screaming,” Yegan said. “After they calmed down a little bit she asked me if I could pick up my youngest daughter from ballet and asked if I could go to the store and pick up some things. . . .and that’s when I knew things hadn’t changed.”

The focus of Judge Yegan’s work has not changed much from his first days in law. He said he has been fascinated by appeals work ever since law school.

“I took all the courses I could in law school in appellate practice,” Yegan said. “It’s intellectually challenging and it’s very stimulating to figure out where the facts meet the law and. . . .which is the better-reasoned opinion.”

Yegan graduated in 1972 from the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento and began work as a deputy in the Ventura County public defender’s office, handling trials and appellate cases.

Beginning in 1975 he worked as a senior attorney in the appeals court’s 5th Division in Los Angeles, researching cases and helping justices write opinions. In January, 1983, Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. appointed him to the Ventura County Municipal Court.

Deukmejian elevated him to the Superior Court in July 1986, where he tried criminal, civil and cases appealed from Municipal Court.

In recent months, Yegan said, letters urging his nomination have flowed into the governor’s office from County Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury, Sheriff John V. Gillespie, three Supreme Court justices and a variety of appeals court justices, trial court judges and lawyers.

Abbe said of Yegan’s appointment: “His work when he was. . . .here was excellent. He was knowledgeable, he was able to evaluate cases quickly and accurately and make sensible decisions.”

Sept. 1 (UPI) — A North Carolina grand jury has indicted a 17-year-old girl as an adult on charges of murder stemming from allegations that she aided and abetted two other teens who killed three people in a hate-filled attack on a San Diego mosque before taking their own lives.

Caleb Vazquez, 18, and Cain Clark, 17, are alleged to have shot and killed three people, including a security guard, at the Islamic Center of San Diego in California on May 18. Their bodies were found dead from apparent self-inflicted gunshots in a car parked near the scene.

On Monday, Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neil told reporters during a press conference that a 17-year-old girl was arrested last week in North Carolina and that a grand jury indicted her on three counts of first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, on allegations that she livestreamed the attack, disseminated the recording afterward and released the manifesto the attackers authored to justify their crime.

Court documents identified the suspect as 17-year-old Sarah Lindsey Santiago.

“Today’s indictment sends a clear message: physical distance from an attack does not place someone beyond accountability for the role they allegedly played in making it happen,” Special Agent in Charge Mark Remily of the FBI San Diego Field Office said in a statement.

“In today’s threat environment, individuals may believe they can encourage or facilitate acts of violence from hundreds of miles away without facing consequences. This case demonstrates that law enforcement will aggressively investigate those connections and pursue accountability wherever the evidence leads, including when juveniles are involved.”

According to the indictment, she is also alleged to have purchased a “Sonnenrad” patch for Vazquez, which he wore during the attack. According to the advocacy organization Anti-Defamation League, the Sonnenrad, which translates to “Black Sun,” is a symbol associated with White supremacy and was adopted by the Nazis in the 1930s.

The court document states that the conspiracy charge stems from allegations that she, Clark and Vazquez planned to murder worshipers at the Islamic Center of San Diego but also worshipers at Kehilat Ariel Messianic Synagogue, which is also in San Diego, and Black students at an unnamed public high school.

O’Neil, in the press conference, said that aiding-and-abetting charges in North Carolina come with the same penalties as if the accused had perpetrated the crime.

“So, she didn’t have to be in California. She’s in our jurisdiction. And today, a grand jury indicted her and held her responsible for her actions,” he said.

According to police, the shooting occurred at about 11:42 a.m. on May 18.

Shortly before, at about 9:40 a.m. that morning, San Diego police received a call from Clark’s mother reporting her son was suicidal and that several of her weapons and her vehicle were missing. Her son was with a companion, both dressed in camouflage, she said.

San Diego police were working to locate the teens when the first calls of the shooting at the mosque came in.

The suspects parked in the Islamic Center’s parking lot, ran past security and opened fire, hitting 51-year-old Amin Abdullah, who exchanged gunfire, wounding Clark. Abdullah has been heralded as a hero who saved lives by initiating lockdown protocols before dying from his injuries. O’Neil said there were 140 children on the premises at the time of the shooting.

The two suspects entered the building, but then exited through the back door and into the parking lot, where they encountered Mansour Kazhia, 78, and Nadir Awad, 57, whom they shot and killed.

The suspects fled the scene in their vehicle, from which they shot at a gardener who was uninjured, before dying by suicide.

Searches of residences associated with the suspects uncovered more than 30 guns and a crossbow, including rifles, along with ammunition, tactical gear and electronics.

“There exists in our world an underground subculture. It’s an echo chamber of intense hate against different cultures and religions. Cain and Vasquez, by what is contained in their manifesto, seemed to hate everyone, regardless of skin color, politics, religion or ethnicity,” he said.

“And this underground subculture of hate, they listen to each other, they talk to each other in encoded platforms. It radicalizes one another to the point where they carry out these horrific crimes of violence and murder.”

Perhaps best of all, on that little fishing pier often half hidden by anglers and eager diners, stands Fathom Bistro, Bait and Tackle. Fathom has a far more ambitious menu that your average bait merchant, including lots of craft bees and sausages, kimchi and beignets made in house. I loved my Baja Dog there (onions and pico de gallo are involved), but bolder eaters may opt for the Explodo Dog, which brings a Vienna Beef hot dog, bacon, pepper jack cheese, kimchi and mustard together at last.

Given all these assets, I’m ready to forgive Shelter Island for not really being an island. This mini-peninsula is connected to the mainland by Shelter Island Drive. It was created in the 1950s, when the San Diego Port District dredged the bay, built up a peninsula and zoned it for tourist businesses with a tiki/Polynesian theme.

From the Bali Hai restaurant (since 1954) at the north end of the mile-long isthmus to the Kona Kai resort at the other end, that theme survives. The hotels include Humphrey’s Half Moon Inn, whose annual summer Concerts by the Bay series runs from April into November and brings acts like Tower of Power, Pat Metheny, Judy Collins, Robert Plant and Rodrigo y Gabriela to an amphitheater at water’s edge. Savvy kayakers paddle up nearby and listen for free.

Also found on Shelter Island: several yacht brokers and boat repair operations, a Tunaman’s Memorial Sculpture, a Friendship Bell from Yokohama, a longstanding osprey nest atop a light pole by the friendship bell, a boat ramp and the kid-friendly Grace Beach (which gets no waves).

By the way, back when San Diego’s Port District was creating almost-islands (and the California Coastal Commission didn’t exist), it also made nearby Harbor Island, which has a few more marinas and hotels, along with a closely grouped trio of restaurants with perhaps the best downtown skyline views in the city: Coasterra (modern Mexican), Island Prime (steakhouse) and C Level (seafood).

If you have a first-time California visitor on your hands, take them to one of those. Suddenly, our real estate prices will make a little more sense.

What’s more impressive: Dylan O’Leary, the 25-year-old rookie football coach at San Dimas High, or Dylan O’Leary, the math teacher who graduated from UCLA and got his master’s at La Verne?

He’s good in both roles. San Dimas has started 2-0, with wins over Glendora (24-21) and Chaffey (44-8). His father, Tim, was a longtime baseball coach at Covina. Dylan spent four years as an assistant coach at South Hills.

He used to be a three-sport athlete at San Dimas, which has long used the Wing-T offense in football. When O’Leary was interviewed for the job, one of the first questions was, “Are you going to run the same offense?”

He was truthful in saying no.

San Dimas has switched to a spread offense. O’Leary has helped himself by adding lots of experienced assistant coaches and former head coaches.

Even though O’Leary is young, he’s earned respect in the classroom and on the field. He’s a full-time math teacher with a teaching credential. Even when he was 22 and teaching math to 17- and 18-year-olds at Chino Hills, few were skeptical about his youth.

“I’ve never really had an issue with my age,” he said.

In a time when it’s tough getting a full-time teaching job at such a young age and when coaches are mostly walk-ons, O’Leary is in position to make himself very valuable.

And, if the wins keep piling up, San Dimas might need to put a fence around his classroom so no one steals him away.

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

There are so many boys, girls, men and women with the name Rex living in Southern California that they could form their own football team.

“We have like 28 cousins,” said San Clemente High strong safety/receiver Jaxson Rex.

Every Christmas, the Rex adults and their children, ranging in age from 4 to 28, come together but the family football games have been put on hold.

“We don’t play football anymore because everyone will get hurt and the dads try too hard,” Jaxson said.

There were eight Rex siblings who grew up first in Hawaii, then Bellflower. All are married. The most famous is Bryon, who was an All-American tight end at Brigham Young and is Jaxson’s uncle. Byron’s son, Isaac, played tight end at San Clemente and BYU, and another son, Preston, is a senior running back at BYU.

Jaxson will follow the family tradition of playing at Brigham Young, committing during the summer despite a strong bid by UCLA’s new coaching staff to pull him away. “I loved how UCLA’s new coaching staff is,” he said.

Jaxson is so talented there isn’t a position he can’t play in emergency except on the line. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound senior was recruited by several schools to be a receiver but sees himself as a strong safety.

“What I’ve enjoyed is the physicality in football,” he said. “I grew up playing basketball and football and realized I wasn’t going to be 7-foot tall, so I tried to focus on football once I hit eighth grade.”

A motivational moment came when he was in sixth grade and moved from Long Beach to San Clemente. He ended up playing against seventh- and eight-graders, which meant he hardly played.

“I never want to be not on the field,” he told himself.

Jaxson doesn’t leave the field for San Clemente (2-0), returning punts and kickoffs besides catching passes and making tackles and interceptions on defense. If you like someone who creates turnovers, that’s Jaxson. He’s always trying to take the ball away from running backs, quarterbacks and receivers.

Last season he had five interceptions, two returned for touchdowns, and 68 tackles. He also caught 10 touchdown passes. He averaged close to 30 yards on kickoff returns. He had 12 solo tackles in the Southern Section Division 2 final loss to Los Alamitos.

“He does everything and then some,” coach Jaime Ortiz said. “He has a high football IQ. He’s tenacious.”

Former NFL tight end Dennis Pitta, an assistant coach with the Tritons, said, “He’s as hard of a worker and as good as an athlete you could ask for.”

Jaxson calls living in San Clemente “paradise.”

“We always have an ocean breeze, not too hot, not too cold,” he said. “I can always work out any time of the day.”

The end of the summer practices for San Clemente involves jogging from campus 1.8 miles to the San Clemente Pier.

“Everyone is honking their horn while we’re going,” Jaxson said.

Imagine if 28 Rex cousins were participating. The noise would be so loud the town might think a parade was taking place.

Jaxson has an 11-year-old brother learning to play safety.

As long as players named Rex keep coming through San Clemente, the football team will be more than fine.

John “Jed” York, the owner and CEO of the San Fransciso 49ers, was arrested this weekend in his home state of Ohio and pleaded guilty to a pair of misdemeanor charges, according to local court records.

York, 45, pleaded no contest to charges of disorderly conduct and possessing criminal tools, Columbiana County Municipal Court records show.

He was arrested Sunday and released on $5,000 bail, court records show. He returned to court Monday morning to be arraigned on charges that were initially listed as engaging in prostitution and possessing criminal tools, but the former was changed to disorderly conduct in his plea.

York was sentenced to two days in county jail, with credit for the day he has already served, and ordered to pay a $1,150 fine, the court file shows. The order also noted that $160 that had been confiscated in the arrest would be forfeited to MVHTTF, which appears to stand for the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force. The records also said that officials were to return a phone to York, and that York had “completed online course,” but additional details were not immediately available.

A mugshot from York’s arrest was published by local news site WKBN-27, who said he was arrested Sunday by the East Palestine Police Department. That agency told the news outlet that any additional information from the case would come from the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force, a regional task force that includes the East Palestine Police Department and the Columbiana County Sheriff’s Office.

York grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, which is just north of East Palestine.

York had already filed a request to have the charges expunged Monday.

The Times attempted to contact the attorney listed in York’s sentencing records, but he did not immediately respond. The 49ers have not yet addressed the arrest.

SACRAMENTO — A state lawmaker from San Diego has proposed fast-tracking the construction of an arena and housing project, drawing criticism from opponents who argue the site is not suitable for large-scale development because of flooding.

State Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson (D-La Mesa) wrote a letter last week to a powerful Assembly chair that outlines proposed amendments to Senate Bill 344 to help Midway Rising, a project backed by Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke, avoid potential lawsuits related to its environmental review.

“As amended, SB 344 would deem the Midway Rising Specific Plan Subsequent Environmental Impact Report to be in full compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA,” Weber Pierson wrote to the Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco, chair of Assembly Rules Committee.

“In order to promote the swift and deliberate development of affordable housing in the City of San Diego, an urgency clause is needed for this measure.”

Developers are seeking to replace the decades-old Pechanga Arena, and build a new 16,000-seat facility, 4,254 homes, including up to 2,000 affordable units, and commercial and outdoor space. The site is south of Mission Bay.

Parts of the development could rise to a maximum height of 25 stories, according to project’s environmental impact report.

Sports teams, including minor league hockey team the San Diego Gulls, play at the Pechanga Arena. The arena is surrounded by parking lots, which are used for weekend swap meets.

The Assembly Rules Committee on Monday approved an urgency clause to Senate Bill 344, which mean it needs a 2/3 vote of both houses to pass and would go into effect immediately upon the governor’s signature.

Weber Pierson told the Times Monday that the amendments intended to help Midway Rising “haven’t crossed” the desk, meaning that the language hasn’t been inserted into Senate Bill 344. If the amendments go into the bill, “then at that point, I think we can have a conversation,” she said.

Brad Termini, the chief executive of Zephyr, one of Midway Rising’s development partners, said the proposed legislation “will help prevent frivolous lawsuits from causing unnecessary delays and keep the project on track to break ground next year, accelerating the delivery of much-needed housing in San Diego.”

The Kroenke Group didn’t immediately provide comment. Kroenke, the owner of the Rams, was announced as the major investor in Midway Rising in 2023.

Former San Diego Assemblymember Lori Saldaña, a longtime critic of the proposal, called the proposed amendments “reckless and rushed.”

“It removes the opportunity for the public and organizations to weigh in,” said Saldaña.

State lawmakers routinely carve out environmental exemptions for proposed sports stadiums, sometime in the closing days of the legislative session. The legislature has until the end of August to pass or reject scores of bills.

Former Senate Leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) led his colleagues in passing a bill in 2013 that helped the Sacramento Kings arena by limiting environmental lawsuits. The new arena for the Golden State Warriors basketball team in San Francisco also benefited from CEQA reforms passed by state lawmakers in 2011.

The landmark 1970 legislation is credited with helping to protect the state’s environment, but it is also criticized for blocking development.

Since it passed, the CEQA has been a consideration in how most major projects get approved in California. The law requires the disclosure of any effects a development might have on the environment, an evaluation of alternatives and, in many cases, proposed changes that would reduce those environmental effects to a level of insignificance.

Weber Pierson also previously authored Senate Bill 958, another bill that will help the arena, that is awaiting a vote in the Assembly.

That bill states that the environmental impacts of a project that are associated with increased building height, including noise, shadows, or the potential to attract wildlife, shall not be considered significant impacts on the environment.

The bill only applies to specific developments, including those that are proposed on an graded infill site and those that pay construction workers a prevailing wage.

Weber Pierson said that SB 958 “is not special-interest legislation” during a Aug. 9 public forum about the project, describing it a broad-based housing tool, according to the Peninsula Beacon.

The publication reported that the forum “got testy at several points, with some audience members openly booing” the speakers.

Eric Law, chairman of the Penisula Community Planning Board, criticized the state senator’s proposed amendments in an interview Monday.

“The continued efforts to push legislation specific to Midway is misguided and unneeded,” said Law, whose group provides input to the city on planning issues.

Law said his group isn’t opposed to development, but wants the city to stick to the current three-story limit for the area.

“We absolutely endorse the idea of redevelopment — that place is kind of an armpit,” Law said of Pechanga Arena. “They need affordable housing and better housing — you just don’t need to do it over 30 feet.”

The San Diego City Council still needs to approve the project.

Saldaña said the developers are ignoring the growing sea-level rise that is causing nearby street flooding.

Saldaña said she was out Tuesday night in the area with volunteers from community planning groups, including Law, and witnessed groundwater “literally coming up and flooding the streets.”

“Not a drop of rain had fallen,” she said. “It’s just the higher sea level pushing the groundwater to the surface.”

Weber Pierson told the Times that Saldaña should bring her concerns about flooding to the developer and city officials.

Dennis Pitta has a little gray on his beard and has slimmed down to a fit 235 pounds from his days as an All-American tight end at Brigham Young and NFL tight end for the Baltimore Ravens.

Living in Ladera Ranch, he’s entering his fourth season as an assistant coach at San Clemente and has started developing tight ends just like his former high school coach at Moorpark, Tim Lins, used to do.

There’s lots of former NFL players coaching high school football as head coaches but even more as assistant coaches, and Pitta is a great sounding board for those who have dreams of playing beyond high school. San Clemente has produced such tight ends as Isaac Rex and Cole Fotheringham. Last year’s tight end, Shane Kiley, is now at San José State.

Pitta looks in such good shape he could probably demonstrate himself how to catch a pass over the middle. The Tritons are fortunate they have someone with his knowledge and expertise.

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

Anders Dreyer scored on a penalty kick in the 89th minute and CJ dos Santos finished off a clean sheet as San Diego FC pulled off a 1-0 victory over LAFC on Saturday night.

Dreyer scored the winner after a video review led to a hand-ball foul on LAFC defender Ryan Porteous. It was his eighth goal this season and his 27th in 53 career appearances.

Dreyer will be suspended for San Diego’s next match after picking up a red card in the seventh minute of stoppage time.

Dos Santos had three saves for San Diego (6-7-6) to earn his first shutout in six starts this season after posting 10 in 30 starts last year.

Hugo Lloris turned away one shot for LAFC (10-6-4), which had piled up 11 goals in its previous four matches.

LAFC’s Son Heung-min saw his four-match streak with a goal come to an end.

LAFC rallied from a two-goal deficit to earn a 2-2 draw in San Diego in April.

Dreyer scored on a PK in the 64th minute to help San Diego earn 1-1 road draw with Minnesota United last time out.

Up next for LAFC: at Colorado Rapids on Wednesday.

During the 1970s, San Fernando High football coach Bill Marsh created something scarier than Frankenstein: the wishbone offense.

In 1974 and 1975, the Tigers were the most electrifying, explosive and entertaining team in Southern California, winning back-to-back City Section titles behind the trio of fullback Charles White, running back Kevin Williams and quarterback Kenny Moore, all of whom went on to USC.

Another halfback, Ray Williams, also starred and went to Washington State. Kevin Williams won the state 100-yard dash in 1975. Moore was a two-time City player of the year. White would win the state 330-yard hurdles championship and become a Heisman Trophy winner.

Former San Fernando High football coach Bill Marsh.

(San Fernando HS)

“I had sleepless nights worrying about keeping these guys from being envious or jealous of one another,” Marsh said in 1999.

Marsh, who grew up in Pacoima and played at San Fernando before becoming a coach, P.E. teacher and businessman, died on Monday in Porter Ranch, according to current San Fernando football coach Charles Burnley. Marsh was 79.

“He was a great man,” said Al Coney, who played for Marsh in 1976.

Burnley got into trouble while attending another high school when Marsh intervened to get him another chance.

“He saved my life,” Burnley said.

Those championship San Fernando teams kept running off big plays and using their speed while relying on lots of talent from Pacoima. They were the days when kids went to their neighborhood schools, and Marsh took advantage with a run-oriented offense that left defenses unable to stop the Tigers. In one game against Reseda, the Tigers rushed for 529 yards, with Kevin Williams running for 180 yards, White 152, Raymond Williams 110 and Moore 82.

“It was very hard to stop because Kenny Moore ran the offense like a college quarterback. He learned to read the defensive end,” said receiver DeWayne Jett. “We probably had the top talent in the Valley all at once.”

Five of the offensive players made it to the NFL — Jett, White, both Williamses and Moore.

The 1975 team was ranked No. 1 in the nation to start the season. Sportswriters tasked with selecting City player of the year ended up making White, Moore and Kevin Williams tri-players of the year, which certainly made Marsh happy trying to spread the fame.

Jett almost went to Monroe because of the Vikings’ passing attack, but he remembers Marsh confronting him. “I’m hearing you’re going to Monroe. You’re not going. You’re gold and black.”

Marsh retired after the 1979 season.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

SAN DIEGO — This is where it all started for Jim Harbaugh, this idyllic hilltop University of San Diego campus with its sweeping views of the city and ocean, Spanish Renaissance architecture and courtyards lined with palm trees.

Harbaugh had been an assistant coach elsewhere, learning the ropes as an offensive consultant at Western Kentucky and quarterbacks coach for the Oakland Raiders, but this was his first chance to be a head coach. It launched a second career for the longtime NFL quarterback, taking him to Stanford, the San Francisco 49ers — where his team fell just short of a Lombardi Trophy — to a national championship at Michigan, and now to the Chargers, with whom he’s beginning his third season.

The Chargers have moved training camp to USD for Tuesday and Wednesday this week, reuniting Harbaugh with a place legendary Raiders owner Al Davis advised him not to come.

“Awww, Jimmy, Jimmy, I thought you wanted to be a pro coach,” Davis, voice dripping with disappointment, told him in 2004 when he learned Harbaugh was leaving his Raiders gig.

“But Mr. Davis, you coached college football,” Harbaugh countered.

“Yeah,” Davis said, “but that was at USC, not U-S-D.”

Harbaugh knows he made the right decision, and never doubted it, even when he and defensive coordinator Dave Adolph — another NFL fixture — had to roll up their sleeves and scrub down the cramped and filthy USD locker room themselves; even when he and his assistant coaches routinely made hundreds of PB&J sandwiches to provide late-night snacks for their players, who don’t receive scholarships at the NCAA Division I FCS level; and even when he pushed himself so hard at practice — he was the head coach, mind you — that he got sick all over himself.

“He was very demanding of us,” recalled former Toreros linebacker Matt Gabbard, “but it wasn’t something he didn’t demand of himself.”

They still call it Harbaugh Hill, a steep dirt road overlooking the practice fields on campus. Football players would plod up it as part of their training camp, and Harbaugh would run with them and urge them along. It bothered him that nobody could keep pace with receiver Nick Garton, who also excelled in soccer and track in high school, and could breeze up the grade like it was nothing.

“Isn’t anybody going to challenge this guy?” Harbaugh said. “Finally, I said, ‘I’ll do it.’”

Jim Harbaugh smiles during a practice with the University of San Diego in November 2005.

(Lenny Ignelzi / Associated Press)

So he did, matching Garton stride for stride before losing his breakfast all over himself. The coach didn’t stop running, though.

“I finished second,” he said, recalling the episode after Chargers practice this week and clearly still proud of his accomplishment.

Harbaugh coached at USD for three seasons, starting in 2004, and was three years removed from his playing career. He was 40 when he took the job and still had thoughts of putting the pads back on. He even looked into playing arena football and entertained the idea of playing for the Los Angeles Avengers, but that thought only lasted a day or so. He really wanted to be a coach, and brought along his dad, Jack Harbaugh, to oversee the running backs in that first season.

Jim and Jack would carpool to campus every day from their Coronado homes, father and son talking plays, personnel, family and life.

“What I saw was passion,” said Jack Harbaugh, who spent six decades coaching high school and college football. “If I could use one word, it’s Jim’s passion for the game. He would coach as if that was maybe the last job he’d ever had.”

That resonated with the players.

“When we saw coach Harbaugh come in and have that next-level intensity, you kind of get chills running down your spine,” defensive back Phil Bretsch said. “Like, ‘Oh boy, this is going to be different.’ But you’re ready for it, right? We’re not there for any other reason other than we love football.”

The turnaround was abrupt. Harbaugh inherited a historically mediocre program and coached his team to a 29-6 record in three seasons. The 2006 team went 11-1, won the Pioneer League, and Harbaugh was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, presented to the top coach in the FCS.

One of his biggest accomplishments was luring Adolph out of retirement. The defensive specialist was almost 70 and was a turnaround artist with all sorts of NFL franchises — Cleveland, Kansas City, Raiders and Chargers — but in his later years was the primary caregiver for his ailing wife. Harbaugh asked and asked and asked, and finally got a yes when he helped arrange for in-home care for the Adolphs for several hours a day.

Coaching at this level was about making sacrifices for the love of the game. There was no school money to feed the hungry players after their team meetings, so Harbaugh and the other coaches — essentially volunteers — shelled out for tubs of peanut butter, vats of jelly and dozens of loaves of bread every night.

“We were always on the hunt for calories,” Bretsch said. “I think I stayed alive off Carl’s Jr. 99-cent chicken sandwiches for about six months throughout my career. We always joked, ‘What if we would have had the training table the big programs had? What would we have been like?’”

But those teams had something different. They had Harbaugh.

“We had a competitive advantage from a coaching standpoint every game we went into,” said running back J.T. Rogan, who went on to work with Harbaugh at Stanford and Michigan. “I would refer to him as my father in football, but that would probably be diminishing the impact he’s had on my life.”

It wasn’t just about Harbaugh’s football mind or unwavering intensity and enthusiasm. He had connections. When he took his team up to play Menlo College, he had Jerry Rice deliver the pregame talk. Steve Mariucci spoke to the team as well. So did longtime college basketball coach Tom Crean, Harbaugh’s brother-in-law.

Jim Harbaugh huddles with his teammates during a game between the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos in October 2000.

(Stephen Dunn / Getty Images)

When the Toreros needed cold-weather clothing for a game at Dayton, Harbaugh cajoled the Chargers, with whom he spent part of his playing career, into donating some of their mothballed gear.

“We got turtlenecks with the Chargers insignia on them,” Rogan recalled. “We’d have these jackets with a big Chargers lightning bolt, the dark-blue stuff before the baby-blue stuff was en vogue.”

For Harbaugh, the job was part-coaching and part “Let’s Make a Deal.”

When Saint Mary’s dropped its football program, he called the East Bay school not only to recruit players but to round up equipment that would otherwise go unused. He wound up buying virtually everything the program had, writing a $10,000 check out of his personal account.

“I got all the practice pants, the helmets, the thigh boards, everything,” he said.

He rented a U-Haul and drove to Moraga to collect the stuff. When Harbaugh was about to head out, the Saint Mary’s coach asked one more question:

“You need goalposts?”

Harbaugh was all ears.

“He showed me these year-old goalposts,” he said. “They were beautiful. I put them in the U-Haul and took them too.”

Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh watches training camp at the University of San Diego on Tuesday.

(Gregory Bull / Associated Press)

With the truck loaded and as he was preparing to pull out, Harbaugh got a call on his cell. It was an unheralded USD quarterback recruit from Oakland named Josh Johnson. He was supposed to be at freshman orientation but didn’t have a way to get from the Bay Area down to San Diego.

Harbaugh was quick on his feet.

“He said, ‘My parents are working and can’t take me down there,’” Harbaugh said. “I said, ‘Tell you what, can you be ready in an hour?’ He said he could be, so I drove the U-Haul over to his place and picked him up an hour later.”

The two spent the next seven hours together, driving to USD. Even now, Harbaugh made clear he wasn’t bending the rules.

“It wasn’t an extra benefit for Josh Johnson,” he said. “I put him to work. He unloaded the whole truck.”

In his first practice, Johnson went from seventh on the quarterback depth chart to second. He would go on to become one of the greatest players in the history of the program, leading the Toreros to back-to-back Pioneer League championships. He set many school records, including his 2007 season in which he threw 42 touchdown passes with one interception.

Johnson, now playing for the Cincinnati Bengals, has played for 14 NFL franchises, some more than once. That’s the most in league history for a quarterback. It’s an astounding rise from a tiny, non-scholarship university in San Diego. An odyssey of an ascent.

Harbaugh, for one, can relate.

Aug. 3 (UPI) — Myanmar’s detained and ousted democratically elected leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi met with the International Committee of the Red Cross resident representative in Myanmar on Monday morning, the junta-controlled President’s Office said.

Myanmar’s Presidential Press and Information Bureau published four photos of Aung San Suu Kyi, two showing her with Arnaud de Baecque. In one, she is seen shaking his hand. In a second, they are sitting around a coffee table.

A third photo published by the President’s Office is of a birthday cake with the words “Happy Birthday Aunty Suu, 19.6.2026” written in icing on top of the cake. The fourth photo is of Aung San Suu Kyi cutting the pink-and-white cake with a spatula.

The one-sentence statement accompanying the photographs did not provide context for the meeting or say what Aung San Suu Kyi and de Baecque discussed.

Little information and visual evidence of Aung San Suu Kyi have been made public by the junta government since it detained her and seized control of Myanmar on Feb. 1, 2021. It also appears to be the first confirmed meeting with a foreign representative since her detention.

Aung San Suu Kyi is currently serving an 18-year sentence sentence on multiple charges, including corruption and election-related offenses.

In late April, she was moved from prison to house arrest.

This is a developing story.

Why go now?

One of Europe’s hotspots, central Rome has increasingly come to resemble a tube station during rush hour: stifling, overpacked and claustrophobia-inducing. Last year, the Eternal City welcomed a record number of tourists, driven in part by the 2025 Vatican Jubilee – 22.9 million arrivals stayed in the city, almost 10 times the number of residents.

There is no sign of the great tourist boom slowing down, either, with local sources indicating that 2026 could steal the crown from 2025.

Yet while holidaymakers stream out of Rome’s main railway station, Termini, making a beeline towards the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and Piazza Venezia, few realise that a 20-minute walk in the opposite direction leads to one of Rome’s most overlooked quarters: San Lorenzo.

Built in the late 19th century for the working-class community, San Lorenzo carries more modern historical weight than many of its city-centre counterparts. During Benito Mussolini’s rise to power, both local residents (sanlorenzini) and the Arditi del Popolo (AdP) – an anti-fascist military group – were involved in acts of resistance.

During the little-documented 1922 battle of San Lorenzo, members of the AdP resisted squadrist incursions into the neighbourhood, forcing them to retreat under gunfire. Five months later, during the March on Rome, barricades were erected to prevent the blackshirts from entering the area. Though 13 people were killed in the unrest, fascist forces never fully controlled the neighbourhood. It became known as the red zone, symbolising its leftwing politics.

Tragedy struck again towards the end of the second world war, when allied bombing destroyed swathes of the area and killed about 1,500 sanlorenzini.

Today, the living situation in this counterculture quarter is a lot less combative. Students from nearby La Sapienza University mingle with artists, creatives and longtime residents who have remained rooted in their working-class, leftwing identity. Although it has had a cash injection, and clubhouse chains Soho House and Social Hub have opened their doors, the neighbourhood has retained much of the character that sets it apart from Rome’s increasingly crowded centre.

Where to eat and drink

Sticky menus with photos of food on them are thankfully few and far between, as are plates of carbonara for more than €10. The district’s Pizzeria Formula 1 is a rite of passage for those living in the area. The no-frills spot has served up Roman-style thin-crust pizza since 1978, specialising in classic toppings such as margherita. Its interior matches what is served: a wood-lined room with white ceilings that looks like it hasn’t been touched since its opening. Both old and young come for meals that rarely stretch beyond €10 per head.

A few minutes away is Osteria da Marcello, a family-run fixture since 1961. Before Marcello Santececca and his wife, Alessandrina, opened their doors, the premises catered largely to fagottari, diners who bought food from home and wine from the establishment. Typical Roman dishes, such as stewed tripe, deep-fried Jewish-style artichokes (carciofi alla giudia), cacio e pepe pasta, and braised oxtail are served on plates placed on paper-covered tables in a dining room retaining its indoor picnic atmosphere.

It’s not just inexpensive eateries that prevail. Nena Mercato e Cucina, run by Italian actor Cristiano Caccamo and his business partner Lorenzo Biancolella, represents a newer side of San Lorenzo: trendy without pomp. Tiled tables and plates hung on the walls lend a Spanish feel, while the menu reworks old-school Italian staples with a sprinkle of modernity, from duck fettuccine with parmesan foam to carbonara with truffles.

Those with a sweet tooth can cleanse their palates with a bona fide gelato from the aptly named Gelato San Lorenzo, which serves flavours ranging from the obscure (avocado, lemon and pepper) to classic (strawberry).

Nearby, 103-year-old chocolate factory SAID dal 1923 serves up desserts centred on chocolate. Display cabinets show off handmade pralines and truffles, and chocolate-making paraphernalia dangles from the walls, offering a reminder of the zone’s industrial past. Come autumn, the chocolatier’s rich hot chocolate is moreish enough for Augustus Gloop to want to wade in.

As dusk falls, Piazza dell’Immacolata becomes the neighbourhood’s unofficial living room, where raucous university students spill out with beers and plastic cups of wine in hand.

Wine bars are few, but it doesn’t mean they are non- existent. Hidden in plain sight is minuscule Ramnes, a wine bar where patrons and newcomers revel in conversation between sips of local wine (such as the crisp Bellone) and beverages from slightly further afield (such as velvety reds from nearby Abruzzo).

Cultural experiences

Much like central Rome, faith makes up a part of San Lorenzo’s sightseeing. The Basilica of St Lawrence Outside the Walls was built around the tomb of the quarter’s namesake. The basilica is one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and houses the relics of St Stephen. The original church was destroyed by allied bombings in 1943, with the latest facade rebuilt from the rubble.

In keeping with the religious theme, tree-lined Verano Monumental cemetery (known as Il Verano by locals) offers a place of reflection and tranquillity away from the hubbub of the area. The 83-hectare burial ground is divided into Jewish, Catholic and Protestant sections, with a monument to the victims of the first world war. The resting place of Italian acting icons Alberto Sordi, Bud Spencer and Gigi Proietti, it’s Rome’s answer to London’s Highgate cemetery.

Beyond piety, San Lorenzo’s modern spin stands out. Where central Rome is defined by frescoes, San Lorenzo is defined by street art. As in any neighbourhood, there’s a fair amount of graffiti, but then there are standout pieces such as Marina Biagini and Elisa Caracciolo’s Murale contro il Femminicidio (Mural Against Femicide, 2012-13), each of the 107 figures representing a victim of femicide from the year before. Rome-born street artist Alice Pasquini painted a block-long mural called “Welcome to San Lorenzo” along Via dei Sabelli. Street art tours are frequent.

San Lorenzo’s creative identity extends beyond the streets. It is also a key destination for contemporary art in Rome, anchored by the Fondazione Pastificio Cerere, a former pasta factory transformed into a cultural centre in the 1970s, with frequent exhibitions. Independent galleries and creative spaces also contribute to the area’s broader artistic ecosystem, including Collettivo noMade and Monti8.

Where to shop

With not a pristine Gucci bag or a sharp suit in sight, alternative, vintage clothing is high on the priority list for sanlorenzini. There are many secondhand clothes shops, such as Latini 34, where everything from boldly coloured preloved trench coats to shoes can be found. You can also find artisanal leather goods at Laboratorio Pellerossa, and handpicked garments from little-known designers across the globe at L’Anatra all’Arancia. Music-aficionados can pick up a range of vinyl from Ultrasuoni Records Roma.

Don’t miss

It’s pretty hard to miss Giardino Verano in the summer, an open-air space near Il Verano; noise and laughter can be heard throughout the quarter. The four-month-long summer festival hosts (every day until October) free concerts, an outdoor cinema and drinks and games until 2am.

Where to stay

There’s little in the way of plush hotels in San Lorenzo but Ateneo Garden Palace (doubles from €188) is set with a sizable courtyard, and offers spacious, airy rooms. Down the road, the newly opened Social Hub (doubles from €250) offers all the facilities from onsite restaurants to a rooftop pool with a bar.

The state has rescinded a $73.4-million grant for a new mental health and drug treatment facility in San Pedro, putting the future of the controversial project in jeopardy.

Neighbors had picketed outside the property at 2100 S. Western Avenue and packed a town hall in April to oppose the project, with some expressing fears about drug users coming to the area.

The nonprofit Fred Brown Recovery Services was seeking to acquire the five-acre property and turn it into a 106-bed inpatient recovery center for “veterans, the justice-involved, the unhoused, and those with co-occurring conditions.” The facility also would serve about 200 outpatients a day.

About 70 elderly residents who live in a nursing home on the property would have had to move, some opponents of the project said. Others said they supported mental health treatment in general but argued that the proposed center would be too close to nearby schools, day cares and churches.

The grant, which would have covered most of the project’s cost, was funded partially by Proposition 1, a $6.4-billion bond measure approved by California voters in 2024 to improve mental health and addiction treatment.

In a letter dated July 15, the California Department of Health Care Services said it rescinded the grant because Fred Brown Recovery Services failed to meet a cash match requirement and did not address discrepancies in an appraisal document.

The matching funds cannot come from the seller of the property, and the match documentation was signed by Brian Dror, a manager for the current property owner, 9 Gem Capital Group, said the letter, which was addressed to Fred Brown Recovery Services. The letter also noted that there is no process to appeal the decision.

Dror, a partial owner of the property, said that state bond guidelines do not prohibit an owner from providing matching funds.

In a statement Thursday, Fred Brown Recovery Services said it is “reviewing the Department’s decision and evaluating next steps. Regardless of the future of this particular project, our commitment to serving individuals and families struggling with substance use disorders remains unchanged, and we will continue looking for opportunities to expand access to treatment for those who need it most.”

Los Angeles City Councilmember McOsker, who represents the coastal neighborhood, opposed the project and rallied community members to send letters to elected officials and state decision makers, urging them to review the grant application.

In a Facebook post, McOsker said he had raised concerns to the Department of Health Care Services for months over the project’s financial structure and lack of transparency.

Previously, McOsker had applauded Fred Brown for its work on recovery group homes elsewhere in San Pedro. But he said he was doubtful that the nonprofit could scale up from 20-person homes to the larger one proposed for the South Western site.

“I am grateful to the many residents, neighborhood organizations, and community leaders who remained engaged throughout this process,” McOsker wrote in the Facebook post. “Today’s action demonstrates why thorough review, public scrutiny, and accountability matter.”

L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who lives in the neighborhood and was booed at the April town hall for saying that rehab facilities like the proposed one are sorely needed, said Thursday that halting the project “might be for the best.”

“There was so much opposition in San Pedro, I don’t think this proposal was ever going to work,” she said.

Richard Scandaliato, president of San Pedro’s South Shores Community Assn., said the reversal was “unbelievable” after months of near-weekly picketing and hundreds of letters that neighbors wrote to state officials.

The most important thing, he said, is that the senior citizens living on the property can stay there. He said he’s gotten at least a hundred phone calls from neighbors since the grant was rescinded.

“It really shows what a community can do,” he said.

July 15 (UPI) — A search for three people missing in San Francisco Bay after their cabin cruiser sank a day earlier will end when the sun sets on Wednesday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

Eleven boats and four aircraft have been searching hundreds of miles of water for those reported missing after a cabin cruiser capsized off the coast of Alcatraz on Tuesday afternoon.

Officials initially said 19 people were aboard the 49-foot, three-level Volare cabin cruiser and that 17 people had been rescued from the water, leaving two people unaccounted for. One person rescued was later pronounced dead. A dog on board also died. But officials have since said 20 people were on the craft and that three were missing.

Capt. Jarod Toczko, sector commander of Coast Guard Sector San Francisco, announced the deadline for the search during a 2 p.m. press conference, explaining that none of the missing had been found, despite a search of more than 950 square nautical miles and more than 1,700 miles of track line.

“We have completely saturated the search area,” he said.

“As I look at the extensive search effort we have put forth to this point, I look at the probability of success of locating a survivor within the search area given everything we’ve put forth and all the environmental conditions, my intention is to suspend active search operations at sunset this evening.”

He said the families have been notified and crews will continue to search until the sun sets.

Dean Crispen, chief of the San Francisco Fire Department, said that three survivors who were transported to the hospital have been released and were “doing okay.”

The person who died was identified Wednesday by the San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner as 79-year-old Clifford Joseph Boisa of Sutter County.

Authorities were notified at 3:37 p.m. PDT about a boat in distress in the San Francisco Bay. Witnesses had incorrectly identified steam emanating from the boat as smoke, leading initial reports to indicate a fire was on board. Civilians boaters were first to arrive on the scene and are being hailed for saving lives.

The cause of the capsizing is under investigation, but Toczko told reporters that survivors and those who responded to the scene said that the boat was hit by a wave that caused it to list heavily, lose its stability and roll over.

Some occupants were thrown into the water, Toczko said, adding that there is a “high possibility” that others had been trapped inside the vessel.

Crispen had said during a Tuesday press conference that all aboard the vessel were adults, mostly family members and close friends who were participating in “some kind of memorial service.”

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said that while he laments the tragedy, he is “incredibly proud of the all hands-on-deck effort.”

“From Marin to Oakland to San Francisco to the good Samaritans, it was truly all hands-on-deck effort to save 16 people,” he said. “And my heart goes out to the families of the victims.”

Maiara Niehues scored for the fourth straight match and Ary Borges added a goal as Angel City defeated the league-leading San Diego Wave 2-0 at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday.

After goalkeeper Luisa Agudelo failed to corral the ball, Niehues beat defender Perle Morroni to the ball and headed it home for the 1-0 lead in the 17th minute.

Sveindís Jonsdottir’s long throw into the box in the 26th minute was put away by Borges to make it 2-0 in the 26th minute.

Angel City attacker Jun Endo went down with a non-contact injury in the 33rd minute and was assisted off the pitch visibly shaken.

Borges took down midfielder Kimmi Ascanio in the box, resulting in a penalty kick for the Wave (9-5-1) in the 86th minute, but Lia Godfrey’s shot from the spot hit the post.

Angelina Anderson had six saves for her fourth clean sheet of the season for Angel City (6-1-6).

San Diego’s shutout streak came to an end at 242 minutes.

June 29 (UPI) — The Archdiocese of San Francisco has reached a $395 million settlement with hundreds of survivors of childhood sexual abuse allegedly committed by members of the clergy, lawyers for the victims and the archbishop announced Monday.

The agreement in principle, which follows three years of bankruptcy proceedings and extensive negotiations between the archdiocese and lawyers representing the victims, affects some 530 survivors, according to lawyer Jeff Anderson, who is among the claimants’ litigation team.

During a press conference streamed live online Monday afternoon, Anderson described the agreement as “a real settlement that provides for a significant measure of accountability, required transparency and an authentic reckoning by those that allowed these indelible horrors to be inflicted upon so many for so long.”

The archdiocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 2023, after hundreds of clergy sexual abuse civil cases were filed against it, which put a stop to all litigation and forced the survivors to reorganize into a committee that was represented by nine claimants.

Those nine claimants then negotiated the settlement on behalf of all of the survivors, according to Anderson, who said the agreement reached also includes a 14-point plan to protect future children from similar abuses and empower survivors.

“This is unprecedented, and this gives me hope and it is the courage of these survivors that has caused it to happen,” he said.

In a letter addressed to members of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone said that they believe “this proposal offers a path toward fair compensation for survivors who have carried the burden of this abuse for a lifetime.”

“We accept the responsibility for the failures that allowed this harm to occur,” he said.

“I sincerely apologize to all those who have suffered because of those failures.”

The lawsuits that prompted the archdiocese to file for bankruptcy were filed after California enacted legislation that opened a three-year window from Jan. 1, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2022, lifting the statute of limitations on allegations of childhood sexual assault so victims of crimes even decades old could seek a civil, monetary resolution from their perpetrators.

Margie O’Driscoll, a survivor of clergy sexual assault and one of the nine committee members, said during the press conference that she was abused as a teenager by a priest at Marin Catholic High School nearly five decades ago.

She spoke directly to those who were similarly abused.

“I, like every survivor, have carried this pain and shame along like a ball and chain for a very, very long time — I see you and I know what you carry,” she said.

“So, while I want to say that today is a significant victory for everyone in the case … it’s really come at a significant cost to the 500 people sexually abused by priests and religious leaders.”

O’Driscoll said some of the victims had been abused more than 70 years ago, during which they carried the shame associated with the crime, while being scorned by the archdiocese and sometimes their accusations not believed by family and friends.

“And I think, today, shame is going to change sides,” she said.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of claims were filed after the passage of Assembly Bill 218, resulting in billions of dollars in settlements for survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

In October 2024, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles reached an $880 million settlement with 1,353 survivors. In April 2025, Los Angeles County reached a $4 billion settlement resolving more than 6,800 claims of sexual abuse allegedly committed at probation department facilities and MacLaren Children’s Center.

NBA legend Charles Barkley branded the San Antonio Spurs “the dumbest basketball team in the history of civilisation” after the New York Knicks pulled off the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history.

The Spurs led by 29 points as they aimed to level the best-of-seven series in New York before hosting game five, but the Knicks fought back to win 107-106.

London-born OG Anunoby claimed a tip-in basket with 1.2 seconds left to clinch victory, much to the delight of a star-studded crowd at Madison Square Garden, which included Taylor Swift and Timothee Chalamet.

It gave the Knicks a 3-1 lead in the series and put them within one win of their first championship since 1973.

The previous biggest comeback in the NBA Finals was 24 points, by the Boston Celtics against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008.

San Antonio went 29 points up in the second quarter and their 27-point lead at half-time (76-49) was the largest for a road team in Finals history, but they then scored just 30 points in the second half.

“That was some of the most mismanaged, stupid basketball,” said ESPN analyst and former NBA most valuable player Barkley.

“When you blow a 29-point lead, the other team has to help, and the San Antonio Spurs helped the New York Knicks win this game.”

Victor Wembanyama scored a team-high 24 points for San Antonio and claimed 13 rebounds.

“I can’t really explain it right now,” said the NBA’s defensive player of the year.

“I don’t know. I think it’s just execution, greediness of some sort. We clearly weren’t the most hungry in the second half.”

The Knicks still trailed 90-75 heading into the fourth quarter but Jalen Brunson put them in front for the first time at 105-104 with 82 seconds remaining.

Anunoby then made a block with 11.1 seconds left, to stop the Spurs leading 108-105, before tipping in the game-clinching score after Brunson’s three-point attempt struck the rim.

“One word that caps that all is just ‘belief’,” Brunson told ESPN. “It was chipping away, one possession at a time. It wasn’t going to be one play to get us back.”

Game five is in San Antonio on Saturday (01:30 BST, Sunday).

Jalen Brunson drilled the go-ahead free throw as the New York Knicks held off a furious San Antonio rally to beat the Spurs 105-104 and take a commanding 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals.

San Antonio player Victor Wembanyama had a crucial late turnover and missed a potential game-winner with two seconds remaining on Friday, leaving the Spurs in need of an unprecedented comeback when the best-of-seven series shifts to New York for games three and four.

No team has lifted the trophy after dropping the first two games of the Finals at home.

Michael Jordan’s 1993 Chicago Bulls and the 1995 Houston Rockets are the only other teams to win the first two games of the championship series on the road, and both went on to win titles.

The Knicks won their 13th straight game of the playoffs – the second-longest streak in postseason history – and will have a chance to close out their first title since 1973 in front of home fans at Madison Square Garden. United States President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend on Monday.

They had to withstand a scintillating fourth-quarter surge from the Spurs, who erased a 14-point deficit with a 14-0 scoring run.

Wembanyama shook off a slow start to score 22 of his 29 points in the second half, his three-point play with 57.3 seconds remaining giving the Spurs their first lead since the second quarter at 104-102.

It was tied at 104-104 with 9.5 seconds left when Wembanyama grabbed the rebound of a Brunson miss but turned it over with a bad pass into the back of teammate Stephon Castle.

Brunson scooped up the ball and was fouled, then made the first of two free throws to put the Knicks back in front.

San Antonio had one last chance, coming out of a time-out with 7.5 seconds left. They got the ball to their superstar, but his jump shot clanged off the rim.

“I threw that one away,” 22-year-old Wembanyama said. “I messed up. We didn’t play great as a team. We needed to win that game.”

Karl-Anthony Towns, who led the Knicks with 21 points and 13 rebounds, admitted he was praying when Wembanyama put the Spurs’ final attempt.

“A great player got a great shot, and it just didn’t go in,” Towns said.

‘What a ballgame’

For the second straight game, Towns delivered a stellar defensive performance that pushed Wembanyama out of his comfort zone.

“He’s a once-in-a-generation player,” Towns said. “You got to make it difficult on him. So, just utilising my experience, utilising my size, my skill, and just trying to make it difficult for him.”

Brunson and Mikal Bridges scored 20 points each, OG Anunoby added 17, and Landry Shamet scored 13 off the bench for the Knicks.

Wembanyama added nine rebounds, four blocked shots and two steals, and De’Aaron Fox scored 20 points for the Spurs.

Desperate not to head back to New York in a 2-0 hole, the Spurs attacked the paint early.

Wembanyama thrilled Spurs fans at the Frost Bank Center – where Knicks supporters were a vocal presence – with his first basket of the night, a left-handed dunk that gave the Spurs a 15-10 lead.

Fox’s alley-oop layup off a feed from Devin Vassell pushed the lead to 10 with less than two minutes to go in the first.

The Spurs pushed their lead to 12 before the Knicks responded in a tense second quarter, taking the lead for the first time, 49-48, on Landry Shamet’s layup with 3:39 left in the first half.

San Antonio regained the lead, but Towns’s three-pointer over Wembanyama gave the Knicks a 56-52 halftime advantage that they pushed to as many as 12 before taking an 84-75 lead into the fourth quarter.

“What a ballgame,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “It’s a fantastic ballgame. They made a run. We made a run. They made a run. We made a run.

“We could have folded a few times, but our guys just kept fighting … No matter what run they went on, no matter what time of the game, our guys just kept uplifting one another.”