Spring is the season of creation, a time of renewal and new beginnings. In Los Angeles, alas, we were, last spring, a city of cinders. It was a time to mourn.
A hard year followed with floods, ICE, AI, etc., menacing our native optimism. Making matters worse, in December we lost L.A.’s grand visionary vizier, the architect who time and again built us out of civic funk and transformed L.A., inspiring the city he so loved to look good, feel good and do good.
But that is still the case. So many plans Frank Gehry imagined for L.A. still remain. Gehry bequeathed blueprints and models, sketches and concepts, for his large and devoted team of younger architects and next-generation visionaries equipped to fabricate our way out of angst.
Isn’t there supposed to be an Olympics on the way for which the city appears ill-prepared? Spring 2026 is the time to build.
A couple of springs ago, L.A. County dubbed the blocks around Gehry’s masterpiece, Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Grand Avenue Cultural District. This includes the rest of the Music Center, Museum of Contemporary Art, the Broad and Colburn School. The Grand, Gehry’s resplendent complex across the street from Disney, had recently opened and ground was about to be broken for the Colburn Center, a 1,000-seat concert hall equipped to also serve dance, opera and whatever yet-to-be-invented genres Gehry designed it to enable.
The Colburn Center is well on its way to completion next year. Bits of the building’s pink skin have started to peek out like spring blossoms on the construction site at 2nd and Olive. The Broad has begun an expansion. But after two years, nothing else has been done to make this the cultural district it must become, one unlike anything else in any city.
Four springs ago I toured Grand Avenue with Gehry to gather what he had in mind for an arts district. When Disney Hall opened in 2003, it instantly became an enduring symbol of L.A., overtaking the Hollywood sign in many cases. The Dodgers want to parade joy in winning their second World Series in row last October, where else but in front of Disney? But not in front of all Gehry had in mind.
We will soon have a pair of futuristic new museum buildings to show off this year: the David Geffen Galleries, the controversial Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Peter Zumthor building (I predict it will prove a sensation), and the new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art (no predictions on that one) next door to the Coliseum. But the fact that each is a 15-minute ride away from the cultural district’s new Metro station only makes the district even more of a center.
A center, indeed. Gehry’s vision included completing the original plans cost-cut out of Disney a quarter-century ago, along with new modifications and much more throughout the area. Some are more costly than others. Enough could be done on Grand Avenue in time for the Olympics to make a difference if we begin this minute.
Since its opening, Disney has been — shamefully — the most poorly lit building of its stature in the world. Gehry had chosen the specific steel for its capacity to reflect light. His idea was to project on the building whatever concert was taking place that night. No sound, just imagery. Belt-tighteners didn’t want to commit the $2 or $3 million or whatever and go through the trouble.
It was spectacularly tested at the hall’s 10th anniversary, but with tacky prerecorded video and crummy amplification. Facilities are now included in the Grand for projectors. It would have been amazing in 2003 and will be amazing now. The Grand has been disappointingly slow to attract the restaurants, bars, cafes and shops it needs to create a scene. The projections could change all that and even create enough of a ruckus to get a reluctant, car-crazed city to make that Grand Avenue block pedestrian.
There is much more for Disney. Gehry wanted to turn BP Hall, where preconcert talks occur, into a small chamber music hall with a suspended balcony. He had plans for reconfiguring the seldom-used small outdoor Keck Amphitheater into an enclosed jazz club for Herbie Hancock and turning the little-used 1st Street entrance into a glass-enclosed bar that would be named the Ernest, in tribute to Ernest Fleischmann, the L.A. Phil executive director who was responsible for building Disney.
Disney was supposed to have a pit for the orchestra, allowing for staging opera and dance. The plans exist. That could be done in a summer for a couple million. Bottom-liners had also nixed Gehry’s original design for a more gracious lobby with a cafe out front, not the gloomy one installed against his will.
The Colburn Center has the potential for being another game changer for the area, a vibrant new hall where we are promised upward of 200 events a year from all walks of musical life, local and international. But Gehry had in mind even more.
He intended to lower the steep and pedestrian unfriendly 2nd Street hill, so that it would be an easy walk from the new Metro station two blocks away, and add two more pedestrian blocks by diverting traffic to the 2nd Street tunnel. This would connect the cultural district with Grand Central Market on one end and the Broad on the other. Then 2nd could itself become a lively street with the stores and restaurants a “district” needs.
A model of architect Frank Gehry’s design of an addition for Colburn School.
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
The extraordinary original plans for the Colburn Center included turning the parking lot across 2nd from the hall into a public plaza with a giant video wall and high-end outdoor sound system, for projecting nightly concerts in the hall. Gehry was a devoted outdoor-indoor architect, and he designed for the hall a balcony on which musicians can perform.
That initiative has thus far been blocked by City Hall officials, fearful of the tunnel’s aging infrastructure. Although if that’s the case, I’m not all that eager to be in the tunnel as it currently is when the Big One comes along. This is where L.A. shows its moxie. Upgrade the tunnel. Now! If this were Beijing, New Delhi or Hanoi, it would be a no-brainer.
Gehry next proposed building low-cost artist housing in Grand Park directly across from the Music Center, which would further create a true arts community. There has been talk of renovating the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion for three decades and that’s all it’s been. The corporate-esque recent Music Center plaza could use a little excitement, maybe a Phase II.
Arts make a city. The Edinburgh Festival in Scotland was created after World War II to help bring the city back to life. After its fire-bombing, Tokyo founded a bevy of symphony orchestras as a phenomenal experiment in mass antidepression. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony played no small role in lifting the collective mood, preparing Tokyo to create what now feels like the world’s most arresting capital.
Unlike Scotland, unlike England, unlike Germany, unlike France, unlike Italy, unlike Poland, unlike Russia, unlike Finland, unlike the Czech Republic, unlike China, unlike any number of countries, America has no major international arts festival these days. We had one in L.A. in 1984 with the Olympic Arts Festival. The Cultural Olympiad in 2028 has shown no bones. But if we make the cultural district what it could be, there would be no better place anywhere for a major festival.
We have the goods. L.A. artists helped make the modern Salzburg Festival the meaningful model for all others. In 1992, the summer before Esa-Pekka Salonen became music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, he and the orchestra were invited to shake up clinging Austrian tradition. With the help of director Peter Sellars, they staged Messiaen’s epic opera “Saint François d’Assise,” with pyramids of televisions, resulting in music and monitors upending, in Mozart’s hometown, the role of the modern opera and, so to speak, the sound of music.
Over succeeding decades, both Sellars and Salonen have been Salzburg Festival lodestars. Last summer they were back staging two monodramas, Schoenberg’s “Erwartung” and “Abschied” (the last movement of Mahler’s symphonic song cycle “Das Lied von der Erde”). Conductor and director looked with shocking depth into the “Expectation” of death and gave a “Farewell” to the “Song of the Earth” we all await. I saw it twice and can’t imagine how anyone came away from it quite the same person, not more alive, not more fragile. Art on the stage doesn’t get deeper than “One Morning Turns Into an Eternity,” as Sellars named the production. Salonen, who conducted the production with Vienna Philharmonic, is now about to become the L.A. Phil creative director in the fall and will bring the production to Disney with the L.A. Phil next season. It is thus far the most important opera news of next season in America. All the more reason to build that pit in the hall and get started on much bigger plans.
Salzburg, which manages to come up with around $80 million from here and there, also helped with the question I’ve evaded: Who’s going to pay for all this? I’ve evaded it because it’s the wrong question. Money only started pouring into the building of Disney Hall when people got wind of what it was going to become. Five years ago, Crypto.com paid more than $700 million to change the name of Staples Center. That amount, which created nothing but an advertisement for a product of dubious value to society, is the price of two Walt Disney Concert Halls and probably all of Gehry’s projects put together. It is the amount that could fund nearly nine Salzburg-scale festivals.
If we let ourselves believe that L.A. wealth only cares for mega-crypto advertising, mega-mansions and mega-yachts, then L.A. is over. It isn’t. Do we want to show only that to the world? Downtown, and prominently Crypto.com Arena in L.A. Live, have been designated a center for LA28, as we’re calling the Olympics. That makes a graciously glorifying cultural district, which functions as creation being existential not commercial, just up the road from L.A. Live, L.A. live.
When one morning turns into an eternity, you don’t ask for the bill.
Phoenix — A sparse crowd braved the heat, which was approaching 100 degrees when Dodgers right-hander Shohei Ohtani walked off the mound at Camelback Ranch. But those who did were treated to a dominant pitching performance from the four-time MVP in his first start of spring training.
They repaid the favor with a standing ovation.
Ohtani limited the San Francisco Giants to one hit and overshot the innings goal manager Dave Roberts laid out Wednesday morning by pitching to one batter in the fifth inning. Ohtani didn’t give up a run in those 4 ⅓ innings, and the only other blemishes on the performance were a pair of walks and a hit batter.
“I was pretty happy with the pitch count today,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “In terms of the next outing, I do want to be better at executing in two-strike counts. I just didn’t finish off hitters as much as I wanted to.”
Ohtani is scheduled to make a start in the Freeway Series against the Angels before his first start of the season. If the rest of spring training goes smoothly, Roberts said he expects Ohtani to be ready to throw about five innings in his first regular-season start.
At that length, the Dodgers won’t need to designate long relievers to piggyback Ohtani’s starts. But Roberts stressed the importance of still carrying relievers who can throw multiple innings as the starters continue to build up early in the season.
“Once the season starts you’ve got to see how he’s feeling, how his stuff looks, how he’s throwing the baseball,” Roberts said after the Dodgers’ 5-1 win that was stopped after the eighth inning due to the heat.
Most of Ohtani’s build-up has taken place outside of competition, as he balanced playing in the World Baseball Classic for Team Japan as a position player, and addressing pitching on the side. By last week, he’d ramped up to a four-inning live batting practice session against his teammates on the national team in Miami.
“It actually didn’t feel like it was my first spring training outing,” Ohtani said. “I do see this as more of an extension of a live BP situation. So it didn’t feel too bad going into this game.”
Ohtani didn’t hit on Wednesday. With the heat and his unique spring, the team wanted to let him focus on pitching. He’s expected to be the designated hitter in Cactus League play Friday.
“In terms of the hitting, it did help that I played in an atmosphere that was pretty intense and competitive,” Ohtani said. “So the fact that I had to get things going earlier in the offseason maybe was the only thing that really affected my preparation. But I think it helped me more so than it hurt me, as I played through these meaningful games in the World Baseball Classic.”
Ohtani used a wide range of his arsenal Friday, landing an especially effective curveball for a called third strike against Heliot Ramos in the fourth inning.
“Never really surprised with him,” catcher Dalton Rushing said. “Everyone knows what he’s capable of. Everyone knows his main goal when he goes out there. He expects perfection every single time. And I think he was very, very close to it today.”
THE UK’s busiest and largest airport is launching a number of new routes over the coming months.
Last year, London Heathrow Airport saw around 84.5million passengers and is expecting to break the 85million mark this year.
Sign up for the Travel newsletter
Thank you!
London Heathrow Airport has a number of new routes launching over the next couple monthsCredit: AlamyThese include Tivat in Montenegro (pictured) and St Louis in AmericaCredit: Alamy
And this spring and summer, the world’s most connected airport is launching several new routes.
Dubbed America’s ‘gateway to the west’, the route will be launching as the famous Route 66 celebrates its 100th anniversary.
The stretch of Route 66 in St Louis, called ‘The Mother Road’ goes past landmarks including the Gateway Arch, the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge and Ted Drewes Frozen Custard.
Winding through the city, drivers on the route can stop off at neon-lit diners and a number of roadside attractions including the Route 66 Rocker – a massive 12.8metre-tall rocking chair.
The Guernsey route will then operate daily, also from Terminal 5, and cost from £101 return per person.
The new connection means that Guernsey residents will now more easily be able to travel across the globe by flying from Heathrow.
Guernsey is the largest of the Channel Islands and is known for having a mix of French and British culture.
One top spot to see is St Peter Port, a pretty harbour with charming houses.
As for the route to Tivat in Montenegro – this will launch on May 14, from Terminal 3 and cost from £172 return per person.
British Airways will be launching a route to Guernsey, creating a better connection for the island to international destinationsCredit: AlamyRecently named the most under-the-radar country, there will be new British Airways flights to MontenegroCredit: Alamy
Montenegro was recently named one of the most under-the-radar countries in the world, according to US News.
Tivat is found on the coast in the UNESCO-listed Bay of Kotor and features a large marina full of luxury yachts and pretty beaches such as Plaza Ponta.
Heathrow is also dubbing Tivat “one of Europe’s trendiest summer hotspots” thanks to its Adriatic scenery and offering travellers the perfect blend of sun, adventure and culture.
Low-cost Spanish airline Vueling will be launching a new daily service to Seville on March 29.
The route will operate from Terminal 4 and cost from £36 one-way, per person.
Spain is always popular with Brits and Seville is no exception.
The historic Andalusian city is great for both families and weekend city breaks with historic sites including the Cathedral – which is the largest Gothic temple in Europe – with La Giralda tower which has amazing views of the city.
Low-cost Spanish airline, Vueling, will be launching a route to SevilleCredit: AlamyThe city is home to the largest Gothic temple in EuropeCredit: Alamy
For a pretty souvenir, head to the Triana Neighborhood which is the historic district of the city and is known for its ceramics.
Another European route launching on the same day will be to Rome Fiumicino in Italy, with ITA Airways.
There will be two flights each day, operating from Terminal 2 costing from £138.24 return per person and the airport is about a half-an-hour drive from the city.
Rome, the capital of Italy, boasts several famous historical sites including the Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum, and the Pantheon.
And whilst you are in the city, you can even head to another country – Vatican City – where you can see St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museums and Michelangelo’s masterpiece in the Sistine Chapel.
ITA Airways will be launching a route to Rome Fiumicino – just 30 minutes from the capitalCredit: Alamy
A second US route launching soon will be to Seattle with Alaska Airlines.
Starting on May 22, the route will operate daily from Terminal 3 and cost from £523.04 return per person.
Seattle is one of America’s fastest-growing tech hubs and notable landmarks include the Space Needle observation tower and the Olympic Sculpture Park.
Foodies can also visit Chinatown, which is also home to the only pan-Asian art and history museum in America.
Pakistan International Airlines will also be launching two new routes by the end of March, marking the airline’s return to Heathrow after six years.
The first will be to Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, on March 29, operating three times a week from Terminal 4, with return fares costing from £764.
The second route will be to Lahore, which is the second largest city in Pakistan.
The route will launch a weekly service on March 30, from Terminal 4.
And Alaska Airlines is launching a route to Seattle in AmericaCredit: Alamy
There are several travel warnings in place for Pakistan, so it is worth checking the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office travel advice before travelling.
Ross Baker, Heathrow’s Chief Customer Officer, said: “Every route launched from Heathrow gives passengers and businesses a new way to explore the world.
“Whether travelling for work or leisure, we are proud to collaborate with our airline partners to open up opportunities for passengers, exporters and importers.
“Greater connectivity is something passengers and businesses consistently say they want, which is why Heathrow expansion is so critical.
“It will add new routes and introduce more choice.
“Our plans will ensure the country gets the infrastructure it needs to stay competitive, connecting the whole of the UK to global growth.”
Breaks at the DWO Sirius -Adults Only start from £249 per person in MayCredit: UnknownThe hotel has an outdoor swimming pool with plenty of sun loungersCredit: loveholidays
The most affordable, but still with everything you need for a sunshine filled break, is at the DWO Sirius -Adults Only hotel on the Costa Brava in Spain.
The hotel has 161 rooms all decked out with modern amenities and air conditioning – which you might need in May as average temperatures can be as high as 24C.
Take a dip in the outdoor freshwater swimmingpool or relax on one of the sunloungers.
There’s a sun terrace too, restaurant, cafe, poolside snack bar, as well as an on-site gym – it’ll be quiet too as only guests age 16 and over are allowed.
The Spanish resort is a popular destination near PortAventura World, a theme park with over 40 attractions and huge rollercoasters.
It’s also close to sandy beaches likePlatja de Llevant, and the scenicCamí de Rondacoastal walk.
The hotel itself has rooms with air con, a TV, minibar and private bathroom.
It also has an outdoor swimming pool, restaurant, two bars along with evening entertainment and shows.
One visitor wrote: “Such lovely staff, food and hotel and we would go back again and didn’t want to leave.”
With loveholidays you can take a seven night break from May 2, 2026 from £269 per person.
This includes breakfast and return flights from London Stansted with Ryanair.
The four-star Hotel Best Punta Dorada is Salou on the Costa Dorada coastlineCredit: loveholidaysThe Gara Suites Golf & Spa has over 400 rooms and three outdoor poolsCredit: loveholidays
Or if you fancy jetting off to Tenerife, head to the Gara Suites Golf & Spa in Playa de las Americas.
In May, Tenerife temperatures can reach highs of 30C with around 10 hours of sunshine each day.
The Gara Suites Golf & Spa is a big resort with over 400 rooms as well as three outdoor pools and plenty of dining options.
It’s a top spot for families as it has a smaller pool especially for children, as well as a kids’ club and playground.
For golfing fans, there’s also a golf course short walk away – and the famous Siam Park waterpark is just a three-minutes drive away.
A seven night stay from May 14, 2026 starts from £339 per person – this includes breakfast and flights departing from London Stansted with Ryanair.
The Samos Hotel in Magaluf has a palm-tree shaped swimming poolCredit: Unknown
Another seven-night stay from £339 per person is available to book at the Samos Hotel in Magaluf.
The four-star Samos Hotel is right next to the beach and has a palm-tree-shaped lagoon pool.
It has 444 rooms spread across nine floors – some of which have sea views.
Inside there’s a spa with a small indoor pool, sauna, Jacuzzi and a range of spa treatments.
During the evening, there’s a full-on entertainment programme from shows to live music, bingo and karaoke.
The beach is an eight-minute walk away where there are lots of bars and restaurants.
You can eat at the hotel too as it has multiple bars, and restaurants that serve up classic Spanish food as well as international options too.
Majorca’s capital, Palma, is reachable within half an hour by car.
From ‘Brigadoon’ to ‘Riverdance’ to Bruce Springsteen to Lily Allen, here’s what we’re most looking froward to from April to June in the Los Angeles area arts scene.
If you’re on the hunt for the perfect spring getaway, this beach needs to be on your radar.
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
This spot has some of the best views in the country(Image: Getty)
As the UK welcomes warmer weather and springtime approaches, the allure of the beach becomes irresistible. With an abundance of stunning coastlines to choose from in the UK, deciding on the perfect spot can be a challenge.
Thankfully, the experts at Go Outdoors have done the hard work for you, compiling a list of the crème de la crème by analysing data from across the country. The research considered spring temperatures, rainfall records, sunshine hours and Google reviews of UK beaches, culminating in a definitive list of the nation’s top springtime beaches.
Taking the top spot is a breathtaking beach boasting 7.8 hours of daily sunshine during spring and minimal rainfall.
This idyllic location is none other than Cuckmere Haven in East Sussex, which achieved an impressive score of 9.60 out of ten in the Go Outdoors study. Visitors can enjoy picturesque river walks, a vast coastline and views of some of the country’s most renowned cliffs.
The beach itself is a sight to behold, but there’s also plenty to discover in the surrounding area. It offers one of the best vantage points of the Seven Sisters – England’s iconic white cliffs – and you can meander along the Cuckmere River towards the sea, reports the Express.
Praise for the beach abounds on TripAdvisor, with one gentleman enthusing: “Absolutely stunning scenery. Long walks and perfect for the family I loved every second of walking these beautiful cliffs. You can also see the Seven Sisters the whole time for those are into history.”
Another commented: “Wow – this iconic sight takes your breath away! The cliffs are blindingly white and the beach and surrounding countryside is so pretty. Everyone should see this once in their lifetime.”
Numerous visitors caution that some of the pathways around the beach can become muddy and slippery, so proper footwear is essential – though there are ample spots to pause and rest along your journey.
Calum Jones, author and outdoor enthusiast at GO Outdoors, advised: “When planning your spring beach trip, keep in mind that British weather can still be unpredictable. Bring a waterproof jacket to stay dry in case of sudden showers, choose supportive, waterproof footwear for any slippery sand or rocks, and layer your clothing so you can easily adjust to changing temperatures.
“Sun protection is also important, even in spring. Apply a generous layer of suncream before you head out, and don’t forget a cap and sunglasses to shield yourself from harmful UV rays.”
AS SPRING emerges, your Instagram feed will soon look like a sea of pink as people head off to find cherry trees blossoming – and the UK has some great free spots to see them.
Known as ‘hanami’, the tradition of seeing cherry blossoms is a centuries-old Japanese custom.
Sign up for the Travel newsletter
Thank you!
There are a number of places you can see blossom trees for free across the UKCredit: AFP
Taking place in the spring, the tradition celebrates the blossoms which symbolise new beginnings, mortality and the beauty of life.
While the UK doesn’t have anywhere near as many blossom trees as Japan does, there are several locations across the UK where you can catch them blooming for free – here’s some of the best.
Battersea Park, London
In South West London, head to Battersea Park and you will find a long run of cherry blossom trees on Cherry Tree Avenue.
If heading to the park, make sure to enjoy a wander next to the River Thames whilst seeing the 40 blossom trees.
The Meadows is a large public park south of Edinburgh‘s UNESCO World Heritage Old Town.
The park is even protected by an Act of Parliament, that was created in 1827.
During the spring, there are avenues of cherry trees.
They are known to bloom a little later than other places, usually starting to bloom in April.
In Edinburgh, The Meadows has an avenue of cherry treesCredit: Getty
Pittencrieff Park, Dunfermline
Up in Dunfermline, Scotland, head to Pittencrieff Park and walk along the path near the main entrance to enjoy a row of cherry trees that line the path.
The cherry trees usually blossom here in late April and whilst you are exploring the park, make sure to look out for its resident peacocks and the Andrew Carnegie statue.
Nearby, you can also visit Dunfermline Abbey and Palace.
Castle Park, Bristol
Castle Park in Bristol is an open space between the city’s Shopping Quarter and the Floating Harbour.
In addition to ruins in the park, visitors will be able to find different cherry trees.
One spot is the cherry avenue, with 21 trees.
And the other spot is a singular, white Japanese Cherry Tree that was planted in 2014 to mark the 70th anniversary of Hiroshima.
This type of cherry tree had actually died out completely in Japan, but was saved when a single specimen of the tree was found in England in 1923.
Paid-for spots to see cherry blossom in the UK
Kew Gardens, London – has a dedicated cherry walk and Sounds of Blossom festival
Alnwick Garden, Northumberland – home to the world’s largest orchard of Taihaku (Great White) cherry trees
Batsford Arboretum, Cotswolds – over 120 Japanese flowering cherry trees
RHS Wisley Garden, Surrey – an avenue of 140 Yoshino cherry trees
PHOENIX — Unable to ramp up through the first month of spring training because of lingering shoulder soreness, Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell took a step toward readiness Thursday, throwing his first bullpen session.
Two hours before Thursday night’s Cactus League game, Snell threw off the mound in front of a group of reporters and fans at Camelback Ranch. Snell threw 15 pitches — all fastballs — sitting between 87 to 89 mph.
“I feel good,” Snell said after his bullpen. “I was very excited to throw off the mound again and pitch. I’ve been looking forward to this for a while. This being like the first one where I actually could have the catcher down. I was still limited to what I could throw. I was throwing 87 to 89 [mph]. It felt effortless, easy, could command the ball, so [I’m] happy with that. [I’m] just happy to continue to grow and get better.”
The two-time Cy Young Award winner says he’s targeting an April return, and that he’s hoping to get back faster than initially expected.
“I want to pitch in April,” Snell said. “That’s my goal. So, I’ve kind of been the one pushing it, and they’re being more cautious. I think we’re just talking a little back and forth, but I think them seeing me throw a pen today, hopefully that just gives them more confidence to keep it going. I think we won’t really know until I throw a live [batting practice], I think that’s when we’ll really know. How do I recover from that? How do I feel? And then that will be like, ‘OK, let’s get him into games.’ That’s what I would envision. I’m not the front office or Dave, but that’s what I would think.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, however, isn’t ready to give a timetable for Snell’s return.
“I think honestly, to think about when he’s going to come back, we’re just a ways away from even really having that conversation,” Roberts said, noting that six weeks is “the floor” when you also account for a potential rehab assignment.
Thanks to the depth of their pitching staff, the Dodgers can afford to be patient with building up Snell. Right-handers Emmet Sheehan and River Ryan, along with left-hander Justin Wrobleski, are all possibilities for starting assignments early in the season.
“We still need him to pitch, and I know he understands that,” Roberts said of Snell. “But we do have the luxury of trying to err on the side of caution. … We are certainly better when he’s pitching for us, when he’s active.”
Snell, for his part, is thankful to be throwing again without shoulder pain.
“The whole offseason, I mean, every throw kind of hurt,” Snell said. “It was just every throw, I could feel my shoulder. It was just cranky and I couldn’t get it going. And I thought I was doing everything I needed to, and I believe I was, and ultimately, I’m feeling better.”
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
This is the best beach for spring(Image: Patricia Hamilton via Getty Images)
As temperatures begin to climb, thoughts naturally turn towards seaside escapes. There’s nothing quite like the sound of crashing waves and the sensation of sand between your toes – but with countless stunning locations dotted around the UK, how do you decide where to visit?
For an ideal spring beach getaway, you’ll want maximum sunshine, pleasant temperatures and minimal rainfall – and that’s precisely where the specialists at Go Outdoors come in. They’ve put together a ranking of Britain’s finest beaches based on average spring temperatures, precipitation levels, hours of sunshine and Googlereviews to identify the absolute cream of the crop.
Every beach featured received a rating out of 10 according to its weather conditions, rainfall and visitor feedback.
Taking the top spot is Cuckmere Haven with an impressive score of 9.60. This breathtaking beach sits in East Sussex and boasts a remarkable 7.8 hours of daily spring sunshine alongside just 52mm of monthly rainfall.
Those visiting the beach can first take in spectacular views of the Seven Sisters — England’s famous white cliffs overlooking the channel — before embarking on a picturesque stroll along the Cuckmere River as it winds its way towards the coast. Hear the cries of seagulls circling above, and feel the fresh sea breeze against your skin, reports the Express.
Claiming second position is Southwold Beach with a rating of 8.68 out of 10. This expanse of sand extends from the River Blyth’s mouth, passing Southwold Pier which offers plenty to discover.
There are arcade games and numerous cafés and restaurants where you can pop in for refreshments or a bite to eat. Securing the third spot, and boasting the highest Google review rating amongst all the beaches, is Druridge Bay Beach.
Google reviews rate this beach at a stellar 4.9 out of five, and the Go Outdoors research awarded it an impressive overall score of 8.53 out of 10.
The beach itself extends for seven miles, and the adjacent woodlands are teeming with wildlife such as roe deer and red squirrels.
