season

Jayden Daniels and Joe Burrow both played quarterback at LSU. Both won a Heisman Trophy.

Burrow’s No. 9 has not been worn by a Tigers player since he left for the NFL after the 2019 season. Daniels’ No. 5 hadn’t been worn since he did the same in 2023, until sophomore cornerback DJ Pickett was issued the jersey when preseason workouts began a week ago.

Daniels isn’t pleased, informing LSU through his attorney that he “feels profoundly disrespected” and forbidding the school to use his name, image and likeness.

Pickett’s family isn’t happy either. Damien Pickett, DJ’s father, told Nola.com on Thursday that his son has worn No. 5 “his whole life” and has the number tattooed on his left arm.

“Honestly, man, this right here makes us want to wear the number more,” Damien said. “He’s been put in the middle of something that has nothing to do with him.”

A five-star recruit out of Florida Zephyrhills High, Pickett asked finalists LSU, Oregon, Miami and Georgia if he could wear No. 5. All four schools, his father said, agreed to the request.

“If we would have been told during our recruiting process and they had said, ‘Hey, No. 5 is not being issued. We can’t promise you No. 5, but we can talk to Jayden and see what Jayden has to say. If he gives his blessing, he does. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t,’ [and we would have] moved forward,’” Damien said.

On Wednesday, Daniels made it clear that he isn’t giving his blessing.

“Jayden and his family had every reason to believe that his number would remain a meaningful part of his LSU legacy and would be honored and protected in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to the university,” a statement from Daniels’ spokesperson said.

Current and former LSU coaches have scrambled to explain how and why the awkward situation unfolded as it did.

Lane Kiffin, in his first year at LSU after leaving Mississippi, told reporters on Aug. 5 that Pickett had been promised the No. 5 when he signed with the Tigers before last season.

Then-coach Brian Kelly told ESPN he reneged on the promise because Daniels objected, but Kiffin sided with Pickett this summer.

“That was promised to him in recruiting here, for him to sign here,” Kiffin said. “I’ve done a lot of research on that with the family and the representatives and the people, so really I didn’t have a decision to make. It was promised to the kid.”

Kelly, now a college football analyst at CBS Sports, said that despite the promise, he held off giving Pickett No. 5 unless Burrow agreed to let his No. 9 go to another player.

“I just wasn’t prepared to do it until we got a full commitment from another Heisman Trophy winner,” Kelly said. “We didn’t want to issue No. 9, so you can’t treat one differently from the other.”

LSU’s policy regarding jerseys being retired is nebulous, stating that any number retired after Jan. 1, 2007, “does not preclude a current student-athlete in that sport from wearing the jersey number in that or any other sport, subject to the discretion of the head coach.”

Running back Billy Cannon’s No. 20 jersey is the only number retired before 2007. Cannon led LSU to a national championship in 1958 and won the Heisman a year later.

Daniels has been criticized on social media for objecting to Pickett wearing No. 5, primarily because Burrows led LSU to a national title while Daniels did not.

The Tigers went 15-0 in 2019, the year Burrows won the Heisman. Daniels’ Heisman came four years later with the team going 10-3, losing to Florida State, Mississippi and Alabama. However, he amassed 50 touchdowns and nearly 5,000 yards from scrimmage, while passing for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns and rushing for 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns.

“Jayden made it clear that he did not want his number given to another player, and he believed his wishes would be respected,” his statement said. “His Heisman Trophy-winning season and everything he accomplished on and off the field cemented his place in LSU history. To see his number given to another player is incredibly disappointing and feels like a failure to honor the significance of what Jayden accomplished at LSU.”

Daniels’ attorney Adam Kenner sent a letter expressing his wishes to LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry on Aug. 5, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN. The letter noted that Daniels’ contract permitted LSU to use his name, image and likeness for only 180 days beyond his final game in college.

“Accordingly, LSU must immediately cease and desist from any further issue use, display, publication, distribution, promotion, commercialization, or other exploitation of Mr. Daniels’ NIL in any manner or medium,” Kenner wrote. “Any use of Mr. Daniels’ NIL occurring after LSU’s receipt of this notice will be deemed knowing and willful and will be pursued vigorously through all available legal and equitable remedies.”

Daniels and Burrow are now NFL stars. Daniels is quarterback of the Washington Commanders and was NFL Rookie of the Year in 2024 before missing 10 games because of injuries in 2025. Burrows is a three-time Pro Bowl selection in six seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Pickett, who wore No. 3 last season, was named a freshman All-American after totaling three interceptions and 37 tackles.

“We never in a million years would have thought that it would come to this about a number, but we’re here,” Damien Pickett said. “Again, my boy doesn’t really care for the attention. It’s disappointing considering that we’re getting ready to start the season.

“To have a situation like this happen right now, considering that Jayden is a legend at LSU and it’s out that he’s not supportive of my son wearing his number, is very disappointing.”

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. Mark Walter sold the Lakers for $12.5 biillion after owning the franchise for 10 months. If every reader of Dodgers Dugout can chip in $50 million, we might be able to buy the Dodgers.

Series with Brewers is important

The Dodgers begin a four-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers tonight at Dodger Stadium. Remember, the three division winners automatically qualify for the postseason, but the division winner with the worst record will have to play in the first round, while the other two skip the first round. And, if teams are tied, the first tiebreaker is head-to-head record. Let’s look at those three teams as of Wednesday night:

1. Milwaukee, 74-47
2. Atlanta, 73-48
3. Dodgers, 73-48

The Dodgers are 2-1 against Milwaukee and 1-2 against Atlanta. So, the Dodgers will need to at least split the four games to maintain tiebreaker advantage over the Brewers. Of course, winning three of four or sweeping would be even better. If the Brewers win three of four, or sweep the Dodgers, then they will be in the driver’s seat for best record and home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

The Dodgers have three games remaining against the Braves, Aug. 25-27 at Atlanta.

Let’s take a look at how the Dodgers and Brewers compare this season, through Tuesday.

Runs per game
Dodgers, 5.02 (third in the majors)
Milwaukee, 4.91 (fifth)

Batting average
Dodgers, .261 (first)
Milwaukee, .252 (sixth)

On-base percentage
Dodgers, .338 (second)
Milwaukee, .336 (third)

Slugging percentage
Dodgers, .428 (second)
Milwaukee, .396 (19th)

Doubles
Milwaukee, 214 (third)
Dodgers, 198 (ninth)

Triples
Milwaukee, 20 (seventh)
Dodgers, 12 (18th)

Home runs
Dodgers, 152 (seventh)
Milwaukee, 110 (30th)

As you can see, the Dodgers have more power than the Brewers, but Milwaukee makes up for it some in the next two categories.

Stolen bases
Milwaukee, 118 (fifth)
Dodgers, 46 (28th)

Sacrifice bunts
Milwaukee, 29 (second)
Dodgers, 12 (22nd)

ERA
Milwaukee, 3.54 (fourth)
Dodgers, 3.72 (seventh)

Rotation ERA
Dodgers, 3.54 (fourth)
Milwaukee, 3.56 (fifth)

Bullpen ERA
Milwaukee, 3.51 (fourth)
Dodgers, 4.02 (16th)

Pitcher strikeouts
Milwaukee, 1,169 (second)
Dodgers, 1,073 (eighth)

Pitcher walks
Dodgers, 373 (10th fewest)
Milwaukee, 376 (11th)

Home runs allowed
Milwaukee, 123 (seventh fewest)
Dodgers, 143 (20th)

Saves
Milwaukee, 38 (third)
Dodgers, 32 (14th)

Blown saves
Dodgers, 16 (T15th)
Milwaukee, 15 (T19th)

Inherited runners who scored%
Dodgers, 35.5%, 49 of 138 (23rd)
Milwaukee, 41.9%, 54 of 129 (28th)

The two teams are pretty evenly matched.

The big difference between the two is the Brewers just can’t seem to breakthrough in the postseason. They have made it in seven of the last eight seasons, but reached the NLCS only twice, losing both times to a very familiar team. Let’s look:

2018: Lost in NLCS to Dodgers, 4-3
2019: Lost NL wild-card game to Washington
2020: Lost in NL wild-card series to Dodgers, 2-0
2021: Lost in NLDS to Atlanta, 3-1
2022: Did not make postseason, finished with 86-76 record
2023: Lost in NL wild-card series to Arizona, 2-0
2024: Lost in NL wild-card series to New York, 2-1
2025: Lost in NLCS to Dodgers, 4-0

This is why it was such a surprise they didn’t do more to acquire Tarik Skubal. That would have given them a devastating 1-2 punch in Skubal and NL Cy Young favorite Jacob Misiorowski. Instead, they acquired former Dodger Dustin May.

Keep in mind, it is not imperative to finish in the top two. The Dodgers had to play in the first round last season and that worked out OK. In fact, this season is looking amazingly like last season, with the shaky bullpen and strong starting pitching.

L.A. radio/TV icon Steve Edwards discusses the team

Steve Edwards, who had done just about everything in the local TV and radio landscape and is probably best remembered as longtime host of “Good Day L.A.,” is a longtime Dodgers fan and newsletter subscriber. He agreed to answer a few questions recently, and we thank him for his time. This was conducted via email.

Q. How long have you been a Dodgers fan, and do you have a favorite Dodgers memory and player?

Edwards: To a certain extent it started before the Stone Age. I was a kid in New York in a glorious time for baseball. We had three teams. We had the famous Willie, Mickey and the Duke playing center field for the three teams. The teams were always going to the World Series every year in some combination and it was an incredible time when baseball was the king of all sports and to be a kid in the middle of all of was nirvana (a word that didn’t exist in the a nine year old’s vocabulary-but sounds good now). As a Bronx Kid I was geographically predisposed to the Yankees.

But I loved the Dodgers, who couldn’t? Jackie Robinson was a heroic figure in my part of the world and you had Pee Wee and Campy and Hodges, Oisk, Skoonj and of course The Duke. Over the years I gradually flipped allegiance — falling more in love with the Dodgers — and falling out of love with The Steinbrenner Yankees, mainly because of Steinbrenner. Moving to L.A. sealed it. When I came to L.A. the teams were playing in The World Series and I realized I was clearly rooting for the Dodgers, a thing that would’ve made my mother, who was from Brooklyn, very happy.

Q. How do you assess this season’s team?

Edwards: Really good and yet disappointing. We are like spoiled children — we get more of everything — and of course want even more. Of course it will come together in time for the playoffs where Kiké will hit .900, Glasnow and Snell will pitch no-hitters and Freddie will hit a couple of walkoffs. Now if Tucker and Díaz can really come around……

Q. A genie grants your wish and says you are the owner of the Dodgers and can make three immediate changes. What changes do you make? It can be to the team, the stadium, whatever you want.

1. Keep Yordan Alvarez.

2. Have Frank McCourt never buy The Dodgers (or at least not hold on to a share of the land and parking lots).

3. I am a BIG BIG fan of Joe Davis and Stephen Nelson. We are so fortunate to have them, but I still wish we could hear Vin’s voice — a voice that was the soundtrack of so many of our lives — not only the best ever, but connected us as a community and help define Los Angeles.

Q. Recently, a website listed their 10 greatest Dodgers. A lot of fans were unhappy that Shohei Ohtani wasn’t among the top 10. Seems way too soon to consider him one of the 10 greatest Dodgers. What do you think?

Edwards: Shohei didn’t become the Face of Baseball until he became a Dodger. All those years, even with everything that he personally accomplished on a team with Mike Trout,didn’t really move the needle that much (that’s a whole other Q&A).

When he arrived with the Dodgers, it wasn’t just the needle moving, it was a seismic shift. He is already one of the most memorable Dodgers (or all of baseball) in history — so to ask if you should be considered top 10 is crazy, maybe some think he needs a few more years but he’s definitely should be considered and — come on —he’s in.

Q. Way back in the ancient times of 1991, I won WrestleMania tickets from you while you were hosting a show on KABC 790 (which may have been the greatest talk station in history). You have been a TV host and have done virtually everything. What was your favorite?

Edwards: That’s like choosing among your children or grandchildren. I’ve been incredibly lucky and grateful for all of it. But I really did love doing Sportstalk…

Q. My two favorite shows of yours were “Two on the Town” with Melody Rogers and “Good Day L.A.” with you, Jillian Barberie and Dorothy Lucey. We recently did a story on the three of you hosting a podcast. What was the genesis of that podcast, and how can readers listen to it?

Edwards: It came around organically, we’ve remained really good friends through the years with all the ups and downs of life. We were approached to do this, and it seemed like a natural thing to do. There were a lot of people who loved that show — there also a lot of people who were annoyed by it. For me it brings back a familiar feeling of trying to finish a sentence. Funny you mention Two on the Town — I’m about to have a FaceTime with Melody Rogers right after this. You can find the podcast on YouTube — “So Unanchored” with Jillian Barberie, Dorothy Lucey and Steve Edwards. It’s a good deal at the price — it’s free. You can find it by clicking here.

Up next

Thursday: Milwaukee (*Shane Drohan, 6-4, 3.87 ERA) at Dodgers (Roki Sasaki, 5-5, 4.54 ERA), 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Friday: Milwaukee (*Robert Gasser, 3-4, 4.57 ERA) at Dodgers (Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 11-7, 2.65 ERA), 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Saturday: Milwaukee (Jacob Misiorowski, 11-5, 2.76 ERA) at Dodgers (*Justin Wrobleski, 11-4, 3.44 ERA), 4:15 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Sunday: Milwaukee (Logan Henderson, 6-2, 2.88 ERA) at Dodgers (*Tarik Skubal, 6-2, 2.93 ERA [0-1, 4.09 ERA with Dodgers]), 1:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

All times Pacific

*-left-handed

In case you missed it

Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman appears to avoid serious injury in fall down dugout steps

Dodgers’ Dalton Rushing provides promising update on his elbow injury

Shaikin: The Shohei Ohtani Economy: A two-mile ride to Dodger Stadium, for $85

And finally

Highlights from the final game of Vin Scully‘s career. Watch and listen here.

Until next time …

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

The ITV crime series is returning with a familiar face leading the expos command

Trigger Point will soon return to television screens with a much-loved actress joining the bomb disposal experts.

The fourth season of the ITV crime drama sees Vicky McClure’s Lana Washington and her bomb defusal unit take on an explosive new case as they seek to keep the people of London safe from explosive devices and terrorist threats.

McClure has shared her excitement about the new episodes ahead of the release: “I love working with the team, we have a great time making the show, and I cannot wait to continue Lana’s journey on Trigger Point.”

The first look trailer confirms the team’s new challenge is “unprecedented”, with Lana noting that they seem to know how her team works. The scale of the attacks is made even clearer when Lana confirms, “The threats feel bigger, the bombs are closer.”

Returning on-screen alongside Lana is Eric Shango as Danny, Nabil Elouahabi as Hassan “Hass” Rahim, Natalie Simpson as DS Helen Morgan, and Maanuv Thiara as DCI Amar Batra.

Shetland star Julie Graham has also joined the star-studded cast as Commander Nia Quentin.

In the trailer, viewers see Nia confirm that this could be “the biggest terror attack this country has seen,” as the expo team battles to save the capital.

Away from Trigger Point, fans of crime dramas will know Julie as Rhona Kelly in the BBC series Shetland between 2014 and 2022.

The show is based on the bestselling crime novels by award-winning author Ann Cleeves and follows a dedicated police team as they investigate grisly murders and long-buried secrets within the tight-knit, remote island community of Scotland’s Isles.

Scottish actress Julie, 61, has been a seemingly near-permanent fixture on our screens since a Taggart appearance in the mid-1980s.

Her other long-running series commitments include portraying Megan Hartnoll in At Home With The Braithwaites, Abby Grant in Survivors, and playing Sheron Dawson in the adored sitcom, Benidorm.

Most recently, period drama fans saw Julie transform into Ma Hardacre in the Channel 5 show The Hardacres, which follows the sweeping rags-to-riches journey of a working-class family in 1890s Yorkshire.

She also played Annie Marling in Ridley and Elain Phelan in This City is Ours.

Trigger Point series 1-3 is available to stream on ITVX

Third in a series of stories profiling top high school football players by position. Today, Austin Miller, Bellflower receiver.

Dozens of college football recruiters traveling in their rental cars to powerhouse St. John Bosco have learned there’s a new must-stop place on the way to Bellflower.

“Don’t come through Bellflower and not come through Bellflower,” is the motto of Bellflower High, where the emergence of 6-foot-5, 200-pound sophomore receiver Austin Miller is proving to be as attractive as a stop at In-N-Out.

“Bosco is a great program, but we don’t take a backseat to anyone,” said the 15-year-old Austin , whose father, Keith, is the head coach. “We’re here to put Bellflower on the map.”

Videographers covering Bellflower games know Austin is capable of dong something spectacular at any moment because of his speed, size, athleticism and jumping ability. He caught 35 passes for 609 yards and eight touchdowns as a freshman. He rushed for 885 yards and 13 touchdowns. He had four sacks and 35 tackles.

Imagine the highlight films coming this season with added strength and a maturing body.

He’s been fed hundreds of footballs from a Jugs machine to develop hands that don’t drop passes. He has the size and physicality of a tight end, which creates mismatches with smaller cornerbacks. He has no sympathy.

“As a receiver being bigger than everybody, you play to your advantage,” he said.

Because he has been playing multiple sports since he was young, versatility is his superpower, allowing him to catch passes, block, sack quarterbacks from the edge or play any position his father needs him to play.

Just hearing him describe the importance of blocking as a receiver shows the effect having a coach as a father has had on him.

“My dad taught me staying low, driving through your hips and making sure you block for your teammates like they block for you,” he said. “For receivers, sometimes you watch the play instead of doing your job. The biggest thing is putting your man in the dirt. Being bigger receiver, taking contact and delivering contact is a big thing for me.”

Austin is one of those rare teenagers who looks and acts like someone destined to reach the highest level possible because of his physical gifts and mental outlook. He committed to Ohio State in June even though he has three seasons left of high school football. His goals are high, and he feels the Buckeyes are the perfect landing place to fulfill his dreams.

Austin Miller, a 15-year-old sophomore receiver, is helping bring attention to Bellflower’s football program.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

His parents wanted nothing to do with the flavor of the month, holdbacks. It has become so common that most assume a top freshman or sophomore are holdbacks, which means repeating a grade or two to look for a competitive advantage in high school.

Austin welcomes competition of any and all ages, seeing it as a worthy challenge and a path that will only make him better. He certainly more than held his own as a 14-year-old playing against some 19-year-olds.

To understand his journey, you have to go back years and visualize the scene from his days as an 11-year-old.

“We’d wake up, go to football practice, go to basketball practice, go to baseball practice, then work out more,” he said.

Keith Miller wanted the chance to become a head coach after being an assistant to his brother, Jason, who’s coached at Bellflower, Verbum Dei and Leuzinger among his stops. With Austin and his talented friends serving as the early believers, Miller is trying to build a program from the ground up.

“The college coaches say they respect what we are doing,” Austin said. “We don’t take a back seat to any school.”

There’s also a little bit of pride in father and son proving that talent isn’t just found at top private schools. When a public school kid gains similar attention, it makes him a community hero for life.

Austin is certainly headed on that path. He’s embraced the idea that you can be the youngest on a field and still be one of the best through hard work, dedication, preparation and a belief in yourself.

Friday: Luke Gazzaniga, Santa Margarita tight end.

Receivers to watch

Nico Bland, Orange Lutheran, 6-1, 185, Sr.: Arizona State commit led Lancers with 57 catches

Charles Davis, Westlake, 6-5, 205, Sr.: Cal commit has size and speed

Quentin Hale, Corona Centennial, 6-3, 195, Sr.: USC commit joins a prolific offensive attack

Kingston Celifie, Calabasas, 6-0, 170, Sr.: UCLA commit is even faster after catching nine TDs last season

Jack Junker, Mission Viejo, 5-10, 180, Sr.: San Jose State commit might have best hands in the Southland

Hayden Koo, Tustin, 6-1, 170, Jr.: Has size, speed and work ethic to be standout

Austin Miller, Bellflower, 6-5, 200, So.: Committed to Ohio State after just one high school season

DJ Tubbs, St. John Bosco, 5-10, 175, Jr.: Can be this season’s Trent Mosley by making big plays

Eli Woodard, Chaparral, 6-0, 180, Sr.: Miami commit was the object of big recruiting battle all summer

Blake Wong, Norco, 6-2, 170, Sr.: Brigham Young commit caught 14 passes for 219 yards, three TDs vs. Centennial

The Lakers will open NBA Cup play against the same team they open the season with.

The Lakers start the in-season tournament on Oct. 30 on the road against the Golden State Warriors at 7 p.m. PDT on Prime Video, the NBA announced Wednesday during another stage of the schedule release that will wrap up Thursday. The NBA Cup opener is a second matchup in the first weeks of the season between the Lakers and the Warriors, who begin their regular-season schedules on Oct. 21 at Crypto.com Arena.

The Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings and San Antonio Spurs are also in the Lakers’ five-team Group C. The Lakers have Cup home games against the Trail Blazers (Nov. 6, 7 p.m.) and Kings (Nov. 20, 7 p.m.) and play their last group-stage Cup game at San Antonio at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 27.

With 30 teams split into six groups for the NBA Cup, teams play a round-robin group stage before the top team in each group and the best second-place team in each conference advance to the eight-team quarterfinal stage.

The quarterfinals (Dec. 4 and Dec. 5) and semifinals (Dec. 8 and/or Dec. 9) will be hosted in NBA team markets, a departure from the previous formats that placed only the quarterfinals in team arenas before playing the semifinal and championship in Las Vegas. The championship game, scheduled for Dec. 11, will be played at Butler University’s Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

The in-season tournament, now in its third season, was launched to increase the stakes during a long NBA regular season. It incentivized competition in part by dangling more than $500,000 in prize money for each player on the winning team.

The NBA Cup just produced its first NBA champion, with the New York Knicks becoming the first team to win the regular-season tournament and the NBA title in the same season.

“Bachelorette” alum Joe Amabile is home following brain surgery.

“They got it all!” wrote Amabile, who uploaded an Instagram carousel with pictures of himself post-surgery on Aug. 6.

His wife Serena Pitt — whom he met in 2021 while filming Season 7 of “Bachelor in Paradise” — also updated fans on his recovery, uploading an Instagram carousel with pictures from NYU Langone Health, where the surgery took place.

“A few peaceful moments from the hospital,” Pitt wrote in the caption. “Joe is home recovering and we’re so grateful to have been in such good hands.”

In July, Amabile revealed on Instagram that MRI testing found a “blueberry-sized” brain tumor, which would need to be removed for further examination.

The couple would elaborate further on the health issue on their July 16 podcast “Not Married to This With Serena & Joe,” saying that they both underwent a preventative whole-body MRI scan with Prenuvo (the same private diagnostic company that showed “Extra” and “E!” host Maria Menounos had a full mass on her pancreas, which was later confirmed to be a cancerous Stage 2 pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor).

Pitt’s scan revealed two small, innocuous nodules. Amabile’s results indicated that he had a lesion in his brain the size of a marble, prompting him to get an additional MRI with and without contrast.

“We got the good news that it wasn’t enhancing and we got the concerning news that it still was something. It wasn’t nothing,” Pitt said on the podcast.

“There’s no other way around it. There’s something there and you don’t want anything in your brain,” added Amabile.

Before surgery, Amabile shared that he would undergo a craniotomy, a surgery in which a neurosurgeon temporarily removes a piece of the skull to reach the brain and remove the tumor. According to the medical professionals he consulted, the likelihood that the low-grade glioma would turn into something aggressive was high and he was encouraged to treat the lesion while in its early stages.

“We will actually have so much more information once the tumor is removed and they test it and then we can actually create a plan of next steps,” Pitt said on the podcast.

Amabile first came into the spotlight in 2018 after appearing on Season 14 of “The Bachelorette,” featuring Becca Kufrin. While he was eliminated on the first night, he was a beloved participant for his charming, down-to-earth personality as a grocery store owner from Chicago, earning him the nickname “Grocery Store Joe.”

Later that same year, Amabile would participate in Season 5 of “Bachelor in Paradise” and compete in Season 27 of “Dancing With the Stars,” making it to the semifinal round. In 2021, he returned for Season 7 of “Bachelor in Paradise,” proposing to Pitt in the finale.

Now it seems that Amabile is bringing people along on his healing journey, having documented his anxieties before surgery.

“This is my journey, I’m telling it. This is what it is. You can take what you want away from it,” Amabile said on the podcast.

With the blink of an eye, years go by so fast covering high school athletes. It seems like only yesterday Jake Bauers was a senior at Marina High collecting 48 hits with a .571 batting average. Thirteen years later, Bauers has a beard, tattoos and is in his seventh major league season as the first baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers.

The last time I saw him was the Division 1 championship game at Dodger Stadium. His team lost 1-0 to Harvard-Westlake and Jack Flaherty at Dodger Stadium.

Fast-forward to Tuesday afternoon. He’s in the visiting clubhouse at Petco Park preparing to face the San Diego Padres, the team that drafted him in the seventh round in 2017. He’s as levelheaded and as comfortable as he was living in Huntington Beach. He has 21 home runs this season. Not bad for someone who didn’t get to play varsity baseball until his junior season.

Wearing No. 11 on her cheek at Marina games was his girlfriend, Lauren Carr, now his wife and mother of his two children.

“Same one,” he said of his biggest fan.

Not playing varsity until junior year is now considered a little unusual for top players, but Bauers said it’s nothing to think deeply about.

“We had a good team,” he said. “Maybe it was frustrating at the time. In hindsight, it doesn’t really matter. If you’re a good player, you’ll keep playing.”

The Brewers can call themselves the best team with the most Southern California natives. Trevor Megill, a high school teammate of Bauers, joins Joey Ortiz (Garden Grove Pacifica), Brice Turang (Corona Santiago), Garrett Mitchell (Orange Lutheran) and Christian Yelich (Westlake) as the SoCal group.

“We got a lot of guys from Southern California,” Turang said. “It’s cool. A lot of guys played against each other in high school.”

The Brewers also drafted in the last two years the Ebel brothers from Corona, Brady and Trey, so when they make visits to Dodger Stadium, it’s a big deal.

“Crazy,” Turang said of the Southern California players getting asked for tickets.

Bauers, 30, certainly hasn’t lost his passion for fun. He was playing two Brewers in a video game before heading out to the field.

He said people change as they get older.

“Years of experiences, you gain perspective if you’re willing to look at yourself,” he said.

Turang was asked what high school kids today need to do to succeed in their journey to major league baseball.

“You have to practice every day. This doesn’t come easily,” he said.