Professional North American football’s blitzkrieg dominates like glockenspiel schlock in a Potsdam Wienerschnitzel, but local athletes in various sports continue making an impact. In this notebook, we catch up with Alyssa Marin of UC Santa Barbara, Jonathon Larson of Oxnard College, Adam Hess of Texas-El Paso, Cal Lutheran’s top-ranked baseball team, Brandon Madrigal of Columbia, Chad Hansen of the New […]
Sports
Bound for Princeton
FUN HOUSE—Twin sisters Bella and Ella Ganocy committed to play field hockey at Princeton University of the Ivy League after picking up roughly 10 offers apiece from colleges around the country. The juniors, who live in Calabasas, attend Harvard- Westlake High of Studio City. They both carry 4.0 unweighted GPAs. They have suited up for the Team USA Field Hockey […]
Bob Sherwin, young at heart
Westlake resident is still playing baseball at age 72Bob Sherwin grew up playing baseball. He got married, became a partner at a law firm (no one can resist a Bob Loblaw “Arrested Development” joke here), raised children and had grandchildren. By the way, he’s still playing baseball. Cal Ripken Jr., who played 2,632 consecutive major league games, is not. Sherwin, 72, is a player and manager for the […]
Basketball hall of famer Westphal dies after battle with brain cancer
NOTEBOOK /// Local reportThe new year began on a somber note. Paul Westphal, the former men’s basketball coach at Pepperdine University and a Hall of Fame NBA player and coach, died on Jan. 2. He was 70. Westphal was diagnosed with brain cancer last summer. He led the Waves from the 2001-02 season until 2005-06; the Waves went 76-72 during Westphal’s tenure. Pepperdine […]
Uphill from here
YEAR IN REVIEW /// The “best” of 2020The year 2020 has been less pleasant than bathing in hot dog water with a vampiric crocodile who yammers all night about a toothache. It’s almost over, thank goodness, but everyone will feel a little gross and unsettled for a while. The COVID-19 pandemic spoiled sports seasons for spring and fall high school athletes, time they’ll never get back. Many […]
Rip City revelry
Predictions, observations and rants for postmodern basketball fansOut of the bubble and into the fire . . . . The NBA opened its season this week amid an ongoing global pandemic—just in time for the holidays. A season unlike any other, that just ended a few minutes ago in the Orlando bubble, transitions into another season, one that will likely be just as bizarre as the last. […]
Paradise regained
Owen Birg signs scholarship with Division I powerhouseOwen Birg could have played at any volleyball powerhouse in the country. When his dream school offered him a scholarship, Birg didn’t hesitate for a millisecond. He committed immediately. The 6-foot-7 Thousand Oaks High senior, arguably the best boys’ volleyball player in Acorn country, signed a scholarship to continue raining spikes for the University of California at Santa Barbara. “It’s […]
Locals seek new home after Azusa Pacific cuts football
Humboldt State University, surrounded by colossal Redwood trees of Arcata, chopped down its football program in 2018. Occidental College said sayonara to football in 2019. In 2020, amid the most devastating global pandemic in 100 years, another California institution of higher learning dropped football. Azusa Pacific University, the last Division II football team standing in the state, announced on Tuesday […]
The Heat is on for Juzang
Christian Juzang, a Viewpoint High graduate, helped the Saigon Heat seize the Vietnam Basketball Association championship during his first season as a pro athlete. Juzang was named the VBA Heritage Player of the Year, the Favorite Player of the Year and the Best Handle of the Year as a rookie. The point guard out of Harvard University started all four […]
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