NORMAN, Okla. — Dorian Thompson-Robinson ran onto the field at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in enemy territory, a curtain of noise enveloping the true freshman as he prepared to make his first career start. Back straight and head up, the quarterback raised his hands in the air.
Bring it on, he motioned to the sold-out Oklahoma crowd.
The Bruins, led by just the eighth true freshman quarterback to start a game in UCLA history, showed glimpses of what might be a bright future under first-year head coach Chip Kelly, but soon got overpowered 49-21 by No. 6 Oklahoma.
Facing intense pressure from an aggressive Oklahoma defense for most of the day, Thompson-Robinson flashed the play-making ability that has many thinking he’ll be the future of UCLA football. He wiggled away from tacklers in the backfield to extend plays and showed his arm strength pushing the ball downfield.
He airmailed his first pass of the day — perhaps a momentary sign of nerves for the freshman — but finished 16 of 26 for 254 yards. He threw the first touchdown pass as a Bruin when he connected with fellow true freshman Michael Ezeike for a 9-yard score with 3:44 remaining.
But even the quarterback’s athleticism could not save him behind a struggling offensive line that gave up five sacks in the first half and six total. The Bruins mustered just 133 rushing yards while falling to their first 0-2 start since 2010.
UCLA stunned the sold-out Oklahoma crowd — the school’s 118-straight announced home sellout — with a 65-yard reception from Thompson-Robinson to tight end Caleb Wilson in the first quarter. Wilson stiff-armed a defender as he ran downfield for 50 yards after the catch. UCLA capped the drive with a 3-yard touchdown from Bolu Olorunfumi to take a 7-0 lead.
It was short-lived.
Tre Brown returned the ensuing kickoff 86 yards and the Sooners (2-0) cashed in three plays later for the tying touchdown. In all, UCLA’s lead lasted just seven minutes of real time and just 99 seconds of game time.
Aided by a key fourth-down stop in the second quarter, the Bruins kept it a 14-point game at halftime. The UCLA defense gave up touchdown drives on three consecutive drives, then locked the Sooners down for the rest of the first half. Defensive lineman Osa Odighizuwa stuffed Trey Sermon for a 2-yard loss on fourth-and-1 to force a turnover on downs.
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Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray attacked the strongest part of the UCLA defense, throwing 306 yards on 19-of-33 passing and three touchdowns, averaging 16.1 yards per completion. He added two rushing touchdowns and rushed for 69 yards.
UCLA has now lost seven consecutive games against Top 10 teams and 11 consecutive true road games.
Fullerton police are warning people to stay away from an area where an explosion in a garage occurred.
Also, a building at Cal State Fullerton was evacuated early Saturday afternoon, apparently from a chemical spill.
Please stay clear of the 200 blk of W. Valencia Ave. due to Police and Fire activity. FPD received multiple 911 calls at 12:44 PM of a possible explosion in the area. No major injuries and only one minor injury has been reported.The cause of the explosion is under investigation. pic.twitter.com/Nx9MZK32OG
As California prepares to spend $68 billion — $2.2 billion more than it spent last school year — to educate more than 6 million students in the 2018-2019 school year, funding intended for students, especially the neediest students, will continue to be diverted to pay for long-term debts.
According to estimates from the state Department of Finance and the Legislative Analyst’s Office, California schools may have to use half of the new state education funding that they’re supposed to get over the next three years to cover their growing pension obligations, which now stand at $107 billion.
While California has directed more than $20 billion in new funding to California schools since 2013, this money isn’t necessarily reaching the schools and classrooms where the most-disadvantaged students enroll. A 2017 Education-Trust West report noted the districts with the highest concentrations of lower-income students were getting more funding than wealthier school districts but that individual, high-poverty schools within those higher-funded districts were not seeing the extra money. The report found districts were using the extra funding — intended for disadvantaged students — to instead reduce district-wide budget holes on things like health care and pensions.
California’s largest school district, Los Angeles Unified School District, is a prime example. A recent Reason Foundation study showed that in next four years the combination of pension costs, health and welfare costs, and special education costs are projected to take up 57.5 percent of unrestricted general fund revenue (LAUSD’s main operational funding) before the district spends a single dollar to run a regular school program.
Similarly, a recent Stanford study, which projected LAUSD pension costs through 2030, found LAUSD’s general fund expenditures for pension costs have risen from 6 percent in 2002–2003 to 9 percent in 2015–2016. The Stanford study argues these rising pension costs are crowding out spending for other priorities, especially on needy students. The study projects that “pension expenditures in 2029-30 appear likely to crowd out an additional $335 million in nonpension spending” that could go to classrooms.
In addition, a June 2018 report by the University of California, Berkeley finds that LAUSD fails to equitably fund high-poverty schools, slowing the district’s efforts to close achievement gaps and help disadvantaged students. The news release for the study noted that “spending per pupil in Los Angeles has climbed by two-fifths since the Great Recession. But dollars are often spread evenly among low-income and middle-class schools, countering Sacramento’s priority to narrow racial and economic disparities in pupil achievement.”
Diverting state revenue that is intended for California’s highest-need students has ongoing negative consequences for these students. In fact, a new lawsuit charges the state with denying hundreds of thousands of students an equal education opportunity because they failed to teach students how to read and write. As the Ella T. v State of California lawsuit notes at La Salle Elementary, where Ella T. is a second grader, the proficiency rate in reading was 4 percent in 2016-17, about 1 child per class.
These kinds of failures have real, long-term consequences. For example, data on students who passed the course requirements known as A-G for admission to the University of California and the California State University systems show that only 41.5 percent of disadvantaged students qualified for admission to UC or CSU in 2017, while 39.6 percent of African Americans, 42.4 percent of Hispanic, 54.8 percent of white and 76.3 percent of Asian students qualified.
These students are first denied basic literacy in elementary school and then denied access to the economic benefits of a college education. If the state legislature’s intent is to increase equity and positive education outcomes for California’s most disadvantaged students, leaders must make pension reforms work and address school districts’ long-term liabilities. If they don’t, taxpayers’ extra investments intended for California’s high-poverty and at-risk students will continue to be misappropriated and futile.
Lisa Snell is director of education at Reason Foundation.
While on the campaign trail prior to the 1988 election, Republican presidential candidate George H.W. Bush uttered the now infamous words, “read my lips, no new taxes.” Of course, this was a pledge he broke, which likely cost him reelection.
The mission of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association is to protect Proposition 13 and to advance taxpayers’ rights, including the right to limited taxation, the right to vote on tax increases and the right of economical, equitable and efficient use of taxpayer dollars.
Unfortunately, this value set is shared by too few politicians in Sacramento.
Because of that, taxpayers rarely are able to obtain meaningful reform in the state Capitol. California’s reputation for high taxes and burdensome regulations is well deserved and taxpayers are usually able to obtain relief only through the powers of direct democracy including initiative, referendum and recall.
While many wish this wasn’t the case, the stark reality is that legislators have voted for eight taxes (six of which became law) since 2012. In nearly all instances it was Republicans (usually opposed to higher taxes) who joined with tax-and-spend Democrats to provide the final vote for tax increases ranging from car registrations, to gas taxes, to lumber and battery assessments and mattresses.
Thankfully though, no taxes were approved in 2018.
Don’t misunderstand, the tax-and-spend lobby wasn’t taking the year off just because of the upcoming November election. If anything, they were eager to follow up on their three victories last year, which included the infamous gas tax and a tax on recorded documents. Governor Brown made it clear in 2016 that he desired a permanent source of revenue to fund transportation, affordable housing, and clean water programs. He got the first two last year so only the water tax remained.
The fight over the water tax was very contentious. First, no one doubted the importance of having access to clean water, particularly in the Central Valley where decades of neglect and mismanagement of water systems created the problem in the first place. But imposing a dollar-a-month tax on all residential water users in the state to address a local problem made no sense. The cost to fix the problem was estimated to be $120 million of one-time money, which reflects a tiny percentage of California’s General Fund budget. Thankfully, Senate Bill 623 failed before the Legislature’s summer recess in July and taxpayers and their allies, mostly California’s local water agencies, breathed a sigh of relief.
A last-minute attempt was made to revive the tax by making it a “voluntary opt-in” levy. Despite intense lobbying for the bill, the water tax still didn’t have the votes and, like the earlier version, was killed in the waning hours of the session.
Then there was the proposed tax on cell phone service to fund upgrades in California’s emergency 911 system. Like water, this too is a legitimate problem, with a one-time cost to fix of about $170 million. And, as with the water tax, HJTA suggested that this program could have been funded out of the General Fund. After all, it was unquestionably a critical issue of public safety as well as a state-wide problem. But the tax on cell phone service proposed by the Legislature was grossly flawed as it would have generated far more than $170 million and the tax would have been permanent. Given these flaws, Republicans in the state Senate held the line and the tax failed to receive a two-thirds vote.
Taxpayer victories in 2018 were not limited to stopping these two tax proposals. Proposition 13’s property tax cap and two-thirds vote remains 100 percent protected. Taxes on opioids, fireworks, guns, a sales tax on services and taxes on small businesses that contract with prisons all went down to defeat. At least for the few remaining months of 2018, taxpayers can smile and say “read my lips, no new taxes!”
Jon Coupal is president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.
Who knew that in 2018 the YMCA song would still deliver victories?
And while that was happening Friday night, another student section landed on the moon.
It just goes to show you that turning back the clock has its benefits.
There was also a student section that had a “Party in the USA” on Thursday night – and no it wasn’t a Miley Cyrus theme.
Thanks to those who used the all-important hashtag – #ocvfans – we found so many great student sections this week that it was hard to name one section as the OCVarsity Student Section of the Week.
Yes, it was a fantastic evening in the stands Friday, and let’s get to the list of finalists before we name our winner for Week 3.
FINALIST #1: THE ST. MARGARET”S KITCHEN
We don’t ignore the small schools and we definitely can’t ignore them when they have food races on the football field at halftime.
The Kitchen has been cooking up some fun for a while, and Friday night was no exception as they cheered on the Tartans in their 41-7 victory of Salesian.
Sometimes we don’t include the student sections that have games on Thursday nights due to usually low numbers that turn out to support their teams. Some student stay home to get ready for bed with school on Friday.
But this is Los Locos we are talking about.
Los Locos, also known as Los Griffans or the Goonsquad, went patriotic on us Thursday and did it well. It was a red-white-and-blue-type of evening for Los Alamitos in a 49-13 victory over Banning.
The Los Alamitos student section had a USA theme for its game against Banning on Thursday night. (Photo courtesy of Los Alamitos High activities)
You might want to thank the huge momentum the school received from the Griffins’ win over Long Beach Poly last week for that. You can also thank your student section as well.
That’s one small step for man, one giant leap in the student section for The Asylum.
The Asylum did it again! They seem to come up with the craziest things. This time they went back to the 1960s and walked on the moo . . . excuse me, the student section.
Just like Los Al, it was a USA theme for the Friars and the stands were roaring during Servite’s 32-13 victory over Roosevelt.
FINALIST #4: THE VALENCIA TIGERS DEN
The Den came in and delivered a knockout punch that made us run in and ring “The Bell” during its rivalry game against El Dorado.
That was a TKO.
The city of Placentia took a night off and went to Bradford Stadium for that Battle of The Bell. El Dorado had owned “The Bell” for the last two years, but this year it will belong to Valencia.
Valencia’s student section is ready for the start of Friday’s game between El Dorado and Valencia. (Photo by Manny Alvarez, Contributor)
The Tigers Den has plenty to cheer about and they had no chill as well. The Den chanted “Two year rental!” in regards to the Golden Hawks’ two-year run with the trophy.
The Valencia teachers even got in on the action, coming up with a pretty cool dance number at halftime.
It makes me wonder if Steve Fryer and Dan Albano have one for us as well?
A sea of blue-and-yellow rocked the stands. No, for real. I was in the press box covering the game and the press box shook several times during the Tigers’ 31-3 victory over El Dorado.
I kept going back to the Tigers Den and this student section. The Den came very close to taking the title this week … but another section beat them out by going with a proven winner from the old student section play book.
AND THE WINNER IS … THE VILLA PARK BLACK PACK
After impressing many with its showing for a far-away road game last week, the Black Pack showed up in much larger numbers Friday night at Fred Kelly Stadium.
And if you couldn’t find the student section . . . well, you need to see an eye doctor, because it was impossible not to see them as they rocked the neon colors.
The Black Pack must have heard that The Tigers Den was coming in hot because they had to go with “YMCA” by the Village People. Although it has been used many times, The Black Pack executed the song perfectly. A good choice of music from, I believe, the Spartans cheerleaders.
Villa Park had a tough 28-13 loss to Mission Viejo, but give credit to the Spartans for taking on the challenge of facing a team like that.
The Spartans host Servite next week, which gives us – The Asylum vs. The Black Pack. I can’t find the right adjective to describe how insane that one is going to get.
Back to this week’s games . . .
The neon shirts, the glow sticks, the cheers and the singing were all excellent, and The Black Pack is the OCVarsity Student Section of the Week.
And is the Black Pack happy about it? We’ll let an email from Lisa Hedspeth, the school’s activities director, talk about that:
“BLUE IS BACK!!! Put your V’s up for Villa Park!!!
When we changed our mindset to make sure to include EVERYONE … this happens!!!
The power of “ONE SCHOOL” has changed the entire culture of VPHS and created a FAMILY!
We are so proud of our BLACK PACK Student Section as they took our SPARTAN SCHOOL SPIRIT to a whole NEW level!.
Oh What A Night! A Big Shout Out to our Football Team, Dance Team, Cheerleaders, ASB, Marchin’ Spartans, Black Pack Student Section, and Spartan Families! We LOVE spending Friday Nights with all of you.”
There is also this from Villa Park students:
“It was so exciting to see everyone show up for the game and with so much energy. Black Pack is back and we’re bringing the spirit!” – Caroline Beinlich, junior
“I’ve truly never felt that much energy from a crowd, and for them to still be pumped all the way through the 4th quarter was amazing.” – Payton Seip, junior
“We had a lot fun planning for our Friday Night BRIGHTS game, and it was so exciting to see it all come together. We really brought the spirit and we will continue to bring it every game!” – Nathan Pham, junior
It’s truly a fun atmosphere for the Villa Park Black Pack. They have everything for the students to enjoy and it’s fun to hang out with their football players.
Looking at Orange County’s overstuffed arts calendar for 2018-19 makes one wonder if there’s room for the kind of expansion that some local arts leaders foresee for their institutions.
The impressive and still underutilized Musco Center for the Arts, which opened in 2016 on the Chapman University campus, is clearly angling to become a more prominent player, especially in the realm of classical music. It hosts the most ambitious local operatic event of the season in October when Plácido Domingo’s Los Angeles Opera brings its production of “Don Carlo” south for one magnificent night. Could the handsome hall, relatively intimate at 1,044 seats, serve as a more regular home for opera, which has been largely missing from the local scene since Opera Pacific’s 2008 demise? The Musco Center would become an integral part of the performing-arts community if that came to pass. It has the technical capacity – despite its size, it boasts a full-scale stage house.
At the Irvine Barclay Theatre, president Jerry Mandel continues to develop his jazz and cabaret seasons while maintaining healthy offerings in dance and world music, adding big-name Broadway and jazz stars for those who already enjoy the excellent line-up of both genres at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.
The Segerstrom Center has a new venue of its own, which opened less than a year ago with the inauguration of the George and Julianne Argyros Plaza. The Center has promised that it plans to program concerts and events at least 30 weekends a year on the large stage that occupies the public plaza’s north side, which would make it the largest free performing-arts program in Orange County once it comes to fruition.
Behind the scenes, significant leadership changes are in the works. South Coast Repertory has been looking for several months for an artistic director to replace the departing Marc Masterson; John Mangum, who helmed the Philharmonic Society for less than four years, left in the spring to be executive director and chief executive of the Houston Symphony. The 64-year-old institution is looking for the right candidate to serve as president and artistic director.
Such sea changes almost always portend a change in programming philosophy, though they’re not felt for a while. So put that out of your mind, take a deep breath, and dive in to a season of great choices and artistic possibilities.
Consensus box of picks come from handicappers Bob Mieszerski, Art Wilson, Terry Turrell and Eddie Wilson. Here are the picks for Sunday, Sept. 9 at Los Alamitos.
LOS ANGELES – Caltrans plans to close two Los Angeles-area freeways for improvements.
The Terminal Island (47) Freeway will be shut down from 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. Monday through Thursday between Gaffey Street and Harbor Boulevard for pavement rehabilitation, Caltrans officials said.
The Vincent Thomas Bridge will remain open in both directions, officials said.
Various sections of the roadway will be repaired as part of a $1.1 million project scheduled to last through October 1.
Caltrans crews also will close lanes of the Long Beach (710) Freeway between Atlantic Boulevard and the Pomona (60) Freeway overnights starting next week.
Between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. Monday through Thursday up to four northbound lanes from Atlantic Boulevard to the Santa Ana (5) Freeway will be closed as well as the Atlantic/Bandini boulevards and Washington Boulevard offramp and the Atlantic Boulevard onramp and the connector road from the northbound Long Beach Freeway to the northbound Santa Ana Freeway.
Up to four lanes of the southbound 710 could be closed from the Santa Ana Freeway to Atlantic Boulevard as well as the Washington Boulevard on and offramps, The Atlantic Boulevard onramp and the Atlantic/Bandini boulevards offramp.
The 710 Freeway closures Friday will last from 7 p.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday and Saturday from 7 p.m. to 12 p.m. Sunday, officials said.
Jews will begin the observance of Rosh Hashana, the two-day holiday marking the Jewish New Year, at sundown Sunday, Sept. 9.
Services ushering in the year 5779 on the Hebrew calendar will feature the blowing of the shofar, a ram’s horn mentioned in the Torah.
Rosh Hashana is a time when Jews gather with family members and their communities to reflect on the past year and the one beginning. Celebrants also eat festive meals featuring apples dipped in honey, symbolic of the wishes for a sweet year.
Rosh Hashana begins a 10-day period of contemplation and repentance leading to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Judaism’s most solemn and somber day.
During the High Holy Days, Jewish tradition holds that God records the fate of each person for the coming year in the Book of Life, which is sealed at the end of Yom Kippur.
In a call to Jewish leaders on Thursday, President Donald Trump said, “The Jewish practice of reflection, atonement, and remembrance during this holy period not only strengthens Jewish communities, but inspires all Americans.
“Over the centuries, the Jewish people have suffered unthinkable persecution, yet you have not only endured, you have thrived and flourished as an example of humankind.”
Although most congregations require membership and tickets for High Holy Days services, some synagogues and organizations have services and Rosh Hashana observances that are open to the public for no charge.
For example, the Chai Center will hold a no-cost service from 6:45-8:30 p.m. at the Writers Guild Theater at 135 S. Doheny Drive in Beverly Hills.
The service will be followed by what is billed as “The Largest Jewish New Year’s Eve Party” from 8:30-10:30 p.m.”
Another service will be held from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday.
The Chai Center describes itself as “a very nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the Jewish community of Greater Los Angeles” with such events as a “Dinner for 60 Strangers” each Friday evening, classes on a variety of topics of Judaism and singles parties “for Conservative, Reform, non-affiliates and any Jew that moves.”
A free service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at the Laugh Factory at 8001 Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood, conducted in the Reform Jewish tradition by Rabbi Bob Jacobs.
This is the 35th year High Holy Days services will be held at the Laugh Factory. Due to high attendance, people are asked to arrive at 10 a.m. More information on the service is available by calling (323) 656-1336 or by emailing info@laughfactory.com.
“Two of the main reasons I love doing this is it gives so many actors, writers, comedians, and the entire Hollywood community who are away from their families a place to pray for the holidays,” club owner Jamie Masada said.
“So many people cannot afford the high cost of tickets that most temples charge in order to attend services. At the Laugh Factory Temple, all are welcome to come and pray.”
It was over so quickly that if you weren’t glued to C-SPAN you surely missed it, but a spontaneous moment of grace took place during the relentlessly partisan confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. It came when Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, asked Kavanaugh how he’d like to be remembered at the end of his life.
The question seemed to take the nominee by surprise. “A good dad,” Kavanaugh replied haltingly, “a good judge.” As he hesitated, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, prompted the witness: “A good husband.”
As laughter rippled through the room, Graham quipped, “Thanks, Dianne, you helped him a lot.” Temporarily reprieved, Kavanaugh smiled and told Feinstein, “I owe you.”
This brief respite was a reminder that those at that hearing — senators on both sides of the aisle, political advocates on opposite ends of this political fight, even the loudmouth protesters and Capitol Police officers who kept arresting them — live in one common country. It also offered Americans a brief glimpse into how the Senate once operated, even while grappling with issues of great national import.
No longer. The Democrats’ stalling tactics, rudeness, grandstanding, demagoguery, and organized disruptions — aided by demonstrators who shrieked intermittently at the nominee — reminded Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn of “mob rule.” That’s probably too strong a phrase, but the Democrats’ guerrilla tactics raised questions that go to the heart of self-governance: Is this the new norm on Capitol Hill, and in U.S. politics generally? If so, can the two-party system still function? And how did the confirmation process come to this?
The answers to those all questions are varied — and certainly not the fault of only one political party. Here are four factors that have helped create legislative chaos:
The Garland Factor: By any objective standard, Brett M. Kavanaugh is highly qualified to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Although he worked in exclusively Republican legal circles – and on the staff of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, whose investigation led to President Clinton’s impeachment — Kavanaugh has also served for the past 12 years as a judge in the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. There, he penned more than 307 opinions and 100 dissents. Senate Judiciary Republicans insisted all week that if Democrats want to know what kind of Supreme Court justice Kavanaugh would be, all they have to do is read those cases. He’s also, by all accounts, a nice guy.
But there is a glaring weakness in the Republicans’ argument. If Kavanaugh’s tenure on the D.C. Circuit qualifies him to serve on the court, certainly Judge Merrick Garland is just as qualified, if not more so: Garland is the chief judge on that court. He, too, is regarded as a good dude — Kavanaugh says so himself. Yet, after Garland was nominated by President Obama to fill Antonin Scalia’s seat in 2016, the Republicans wouldn’t even grant him a hearing.
Sen. Ted Cruz pointed out Thursday that Garland joined in 27 out of 28 opinions written by Kavanaugh, while Kavanaugh returned the favor, joining in 28 out of 30 of Garland’s rulings. “I think we are trying hard to find common ground and as I’ve said before, he is a great judge,” Kavanaugh explained. “Those statistics reflect the reality of how judges go about their business.”
Fair enough, but Cruz’s ploy revealed the cynicism of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s 2016 gambit. If Garland was so reasonable, why did Republicans treat him so shabbily? And why is it even reasonable to expect Democrats to just forget about it?
Court Balance: The man eventually tapped to fill Scalia’s seat was Neil Gorsuch. Democrats weren’t thrilled, but they didn’t lose their minds over it, as they have this time. The reason is that both parties tacitly accepted the logic that a “conservative seat” was being filled. This time, President Trump is replacing Justice Anthony Kennedy, who was a pivotal swing vote on the high court for three decades. Democrats are acting as though replacing him with a conservative is the end of democracy as we know it.
There’s a certain amount of revisionism here: Justice Kennedy, appointed by President Reagan, was usually on the conservative side of the court’s numerous 5-4 decisions. And as recently as earlier this summer, liberals were complaining about him bitterly. But he was not a movement conservative and the fear is that on such hot-button issues as affirmative action, gun control, abortion – especially abortion — Kavanaugh will be the deciding vote who swings public policy in this country in a decidedly conservative direction.
In this regard, it’s the Democrats’ argument that has a flaw – two, actually. The first is that had she won the 2016 election, President Hillary Clinton would have done the same thing in reverse: the Scalia and Kennedy seats would have gone to two progressives expected to show fealty to all the Democratic Party’s sacred cows.
The second problem is that such litmus tests are not what the high court is supposed to be. Those justices are supposed to be legal scholars who adjudge the weighty constitutional questions before them without fear or favor. The current system is designed to reduce them to the status of dependable (if coy, at least during their confirmation hearings) political hacks who can be counted on to finesse their rulings in ways that won’t offend the special interest groups that bankrolled the president who appointed them.
Presidential Politics: Two other Judiciary Committee Democrats, both attorneys themselves, have what any good lawyer would recognize as an obvious conflict of interest: They want to be president themselves. We’re talking about California’s Kamala Harris and Cory Booker of New Jersey, participants in what might be called the “Kavanaugh Primary.”
Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley was 13 words into his introductory remarks when he was interrupted by Harris. She wasn’t being rude. Well, let’s rephrase that: It wasn’t mere rudeness. Harris was less concerned with offending Grassley than in getting the jump on Booker.
Booker rebounded the next day with an inspired performance in which he claimed repeatedly that he was releasing Kavanaugh White House emails that had been marked confidential even though it meant he could be expelled from the Senate. This penalty was unlikely, given that Grassley has previously acceded to requests to make the emails public. It might best be described as “fake grandstanding.” In the Kavanaugh Primary, apparently there is no such thing as bad publicity.
The Trump Factor: That said, it is a fact of life that Kavanaugh is in Democrats’ cross-hairs because of the man who appointed him. “You are the nominee of President Donald John Trump,” Sen. Dick Durbin told Kavanaugh. “This is a president who has shown us consistently that he’s contemptuous of the rule of law.
Durbin then went on to say that Trump had canned James Comey when he decided that the FBI director “wouldn’t bend to his will,” and that Trump “harasses and threatens his own attorney general.”
“It’s that president who decided you are his man,” Durbin added
To some Democrats, it seemed Durbin was reading stage directions, but what he was raising is on every Senate Democrats’ mind: Will it be harder to impeach Trump with Kavanaugh on the court? Perhaps Brett Kavanaugh is that partisan. Then again, maybe he’s faithful to the rule of law. Bill Clinton might be the Democrat to ask.
Carl M. Cannon is executive editor and Washington Bureau chief of RealClearPolitics.
A 40-year-old man who had argued with a motorist and was standing in the center median of a Long Beach street was struck and killed by a hit-and-run suspect, police said.
The victim was identified as Victor Salvador Herrera of Long Beach.
At about 11 p.m. Saturday, officers were dispatched to Market Street and Orange Avenue regarding the collision, the Long Beach Police Department said.
Officers learned the victim had been walking in the area of Market Street and Orange Avenue, when he got into an argument with the male driver of a red sedan, police said in a statement.
The argument went on and as the victim stood in the median, the suspect ran him over and fled westbound on Market Street, police said. Herrera was transported to a hospital, where he died.
Shortly after the crash, officers said, in the area of Temple Avenue and Willow Street, they observed a driver who appeared to be intoxicated, and they tried to make a traffic stop. The car collided into a parked car at 10th Street and Obispo Avenue, police said, and the suspect was taken into custody.
Police determined it was the same vehicle that struck the man.
The suspect was identified as 29-year-old Sokhorn Hor of Long Beach. He has been booked on suspicion of murder and is being held at the Long Beach City Jail on $2 million bail.
Anyone with information is asked to call Long Beach Police Homicide Detectives Malcolm Evans and Robert Gonzales at (562) 570-7244. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), texting TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or visiting www.lacrimestoppers.org.
UCLA update: UCLA fell to 0-2 for the first time since 2010 after a 49-21 loss to No. 6 Oklahoma on the road. … True freshman Dorian Thompson-Robinson made his first career start and didn’t shrink away from the big moment in front of a sold-out crowd as he threw for 254 yards and one touchdown on 16-of-26 passing. He was just the eighth true freshman quarterback to start a game for UCLA, and did so without spring practices. … Grad transfer quarterback Wilton Speight, the Week 1 starter, was out with a back injury. Head coach Chip Kelly did not provide an update on Speight’s injury status after the game Saturday. … The Bruins struggled up front, allowing six tackles and rushing for just 129 yards on 50 carries (2.6 yards per carry). … UCLA is in danger of its first 0-3 start since 1971 and going winless in the first three games for the first time since a 0-2-1 start in 1983.
Fresno State’s last game: With a chance to force overtime against Minnesota, Fresno State put the ball in the hands of running back Josh Hokit. Then he threw it. On first-and-goal from the Minnesota 4-yard line with a seven-point deficit, Hokit took a handoff from quarterback Marcus McMaryion and tried to loft a pass to tight end Jared Rice, but Minnesota Antoine Winfield Jr. picked off the attempt and sealed a 21-14 Minnesota victory on Saturday night. The Bulldogs were down 10-0 at halftime, but briefly took a 14-13 lead in the fourth quarter before allowing a touchdown and two-point conversion with 3:28 to go. … McMaryion, the former Oregon State quarterback, was an All-Mountain West honorable mention last season. He has completed 42 of 58 passes in two games this season with 412 yards and two touchdowns.
Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani, left, slides safely into second base with a double ahead of a tag by Chicago White Sox’s Yoan Moncada during the eighth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jim Young)
Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani, left, laughs with Chicago White Sox’s Jose Rondon as they wait for the review of a play during the eighth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jim Young)
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Chicago White Sox’s Ryan Cordell makes a diving catch for an out on a ball hit by Los Angeles Angels’ David Fletcher during the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jim Young)
Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout hits a single against the Chicago White Sox during the sixth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jim Young)
Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani flips his bat after a walk against the Chicago White Sox’s Reynaldo Lopez during the fourth inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jim Young)
Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Scioscia, left, speaks to home plate umpire Ben May about a call during the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jim Young)
Los Angeles Angels’ Andrew Heaney pitches against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jim Young)
Los Angeles Angels’ Andrew Heaney pitches against the Chicago White Sox during the second inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jim Young)
Chicago White Sox’s Reynaldo Lopez pitches against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jim Young)
Los Angeles Angels’ Andrew Heaney pitches against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jim Young)
CHICAGO — Andrew Heaney provided impressive bookends to the Angels’ 10-game trip.
Heaney struck out a career-high 12 over seven innings in the Angels’ 1-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday afternoon, after working six scoreless innings to get the victory in the trip’s opener last week in Houston.
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Heaney, who lowered his ERA to 3.98, gave up three singles and he did not walk a batter, making for one of the best of his 56 career starts.
He and Reynaldo Lopez were locked in a duel for six innings, with Lopez striking out 10, before the Angels finally got the game’s only run against the White Sox bullpen in the seventh.
José Fernandez led off the inning with a single and eventually scored on a two-out hit by Kole Calhoun, against lefty Caleb Frere.
The run was all the Angels needed to finish the sweep of the White Sox and go 7-3 on the trip. They improved to 71-72, as they try to avoid a third straight losing season.
Heaney gave up a leadoff single to start the game, but that runner was erased on a double play to end the inning. Heaney retired all nine hitters over the next three innings, including seven strikeouts.
The next hitter to reach base against him was on … a strikeout. Matt Davidson whiffed but got to first when the ball got away from catcher José Briceño.
The White Sox put two runners on that inning, but Heaney escaped with … a strikeout of Adam Engel.
Heaney worked around another leadoff single in the seventh, recording his final strikeout, of Ryan LaMarre, to end the inning.
Ty Buttrey worked the eighth, escaping with the help of a run-saving sliding catch by Justin Upton in left field. Buttrey has now allowed one run in his first 10-1/3 innings since the Angels got him in the Ian Kinsler trade.
Blake Parker got the first two outs of the ninth, but he gave up a hit and hit a batter. José Álvarez got the final out, stranding two runners, to pick up his first save in his league-leading 71st appearance.
OAKLAND – To believe the hype is to believe that the Raiders shouldn’t even show up Monday. Why bother, if they won’t be able to run or pass on this new, ominous Rams defense.
Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh up front. Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib in the back. It sounds great for the Rams, and sounds like a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks, but what if it’s not?
“We have a lot of confidence in ourselves going into this game,” Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said this week. “But we’re playing a very tough team with a really good quarterback, really good offensive team, great offensive line, so it will be a big challenge for us.”
The Rams’ offseason moves were shocking in their boldness, but in hindsight, not surprising. During his 41 years in the NFL, Phillips’ defenses have thrived on strong pass rushers and cornerbacks.
So while the Rams severely (and indirectly) weakened their group of linebackers in order to acquire Suh, Peters and Talib, the thinking is clear. If the Rams terrorize the passer with front-middle pressure, and utilize ball-hawking cornerbacks, there’s far less of an emphasis on linebackers.
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Plus, perhaps these Rams linebackers are being underrated a bit.
Those who buy into the (reasonable) idea that Donald, Suh and Michael Brockers will be an unblockable trio up front also can do some math. Double teams often are going to be necessary, and the versatility of those three linemen means that the Rams can mix things up and make blocking schemes more difficult.
That should leave some room for the linebackers, even though that is the least-settled group on the team.
One outside linebacker, Matt Longacre, started only one game last season but recorded 5 1/2 sacks in a key reserve role. On the other side, Samson Ebukam had two sacks as a rookie backup in 2017. Their ability to play on the edge, alongside the up-front disruptors, shouldn’t be underestimated.
Moreover, concerns about chemistry seem to have dissipated. Donald and Suh, in short time, have settled in as two low-key locker-room personalities, neither of whom seems concerned about alpha-male status. Their lockers are next to each other at the Rams’ Thousand Oaks practice facility.
Two rows over, the cornerbacks turn every post-practice period into a party. At the start of training camp, Talib said he wasn’t concerned about being considered a team leader. Now he’s clearly the magnet of the defensive side of the locker room and Peters, in particular, seems to have taken to him as a mentor.
“We have a group that really likes football,” Phillips said. “Some players that I’ve been with, they played because they were good at it or whatever. This group, they like football, they like playing football. Some of them even like practicing, which is a little different. But especially football. I enjoy that about them.”
It all seems awesome, so what could go wrong? Well, some of the same things that went wrong in 2017.
Last season, the Rams’ defense allowed opponents an average of 6.8 yards per pass attempt, which was above average. The Rams struggled in run defense, as they allowed an average of 4.7 yards per rushing attempt, which was tied for second-worst in the NFL. They also allowed 15 rushing touchdowns.
So while last year’s defense, led by Donald, finished second in the NFL with 48 sacks, running backs often made it to the second level of the defense and sometimes got the better of the middle linebacker.
Now, the Rams almost certainly will be without their most experienced middle linebacker, Mark Barron, who is still recovering from Achilles surgery, and the other starter, Cory Littleton, has never started a game at middle linebacker. And while the linebackers in general are solid in pass rushing, their pass-coverage skills might be a bit shaky.
Maybe it won’t matter. There’s been a quiet confidence among the Rams’ defenders since Donald’s return, and perhaps that starts with Phillips. The Rams put their trust in him and revamped their defense in his image, and Phillips was in good humor this week.
“To be able to approach the game the way that he does, you can just feel he really loves it,” McVay said. “He’s got such a great way about himself with the way that he relates to players and it’s just Wade being himself. I think he’s one of those people that when you’re around Wade, you can’t help but be in a good mood.”
Awkward: one of the first sensations I felt during my portfolio review for the Master of Fine Arts program at Cal State Fullerton.
Awkward: the reality setting in that my sister and I created a grassroots nonprofit, Sight & Sketches, seemingly on a whim.
Awkward: a fleeting observation when I was appointed president for the Fine Arts Society.
Awkward: the overriding feeling of responsibility I felt when I first stepped into the classroom, this time as an instructor, with 25 pairs of eyes staring silently at me on the first day of school.
Awkward: the thought that slammed into my mind, quickly followed by trepidation, when first initiating contact with refugees for my art collaboration.
Almost everything incredible that has happened to me began with feeling awkward. I recall standing in front of a rack of Arches drawing paper at Art Supply Warehouse questioning my sanity and challenging my decision to purchase a $200 roll of paper for a new series I was mulling in my head. I had never done anything of this caliber before.
While I stood staring at a roll of paper, enough time passed that three different workers awkwardly approached me, asking if I needed help. I definitely felt odd walking up to the cashier with a giant roll of paper hoisted on my shoulder. And then, as I walked out to the car, I realized I did not know how I would transport the roll back to the studio. And I most definitely had not thought of how to cut and hang the paper for me to work on. Talk about awkward …
Once I was back in the studio, after a three-hour battle, the paper was finally hung and ready for me to begin. Then it hit me. I had never free-handed a portrait on this scale before. To give my nerves a break, I began sifting through all the notes I had written for this new series and decided that the best thing to do was pull out the interviews I had conducted with refugees and review the list of contacts from my nonprofit. After rereading stories and choosing images, I was ready.
Working with charcoal and graphite, I began creating larger-than-life-size drawings that captured candid moments of Syrian refugees going about their daily lives. Whether it was cooking, walking a dog or gazing at the sky, these seemingly ordinary poses captured moments of heightened internal struggles that do not often translate outwardly. I was interested in the duality of these scenes, where suppressing a traumatizing memory, reaffirming life or surveying the sky for missiles can look like an everyday act.
While looking at these potentially unremarkable scenes, I explored the multiplicity of their nature and expanded on layers to create visually engaging portraits that capture the deceptively peaceful, seemingly subdued, quiet nature of the internal struggles these individuals face as they try to normalize themselves under abnormal circumstances. These forced migrants are constantly battling inner demons that threaten to wreak havoc and unravel their newly patched lives after their harrowing experiences.
My hope is that my current series can de-propagandize the refugee crisis to give the audience, regardless of their knowledge on the subject, a behind-the-scenes glimpse of what I believe to be the most important part of their struggles: their daily routines.
It is awkward, nerve-wracking, relaxing and satisfying to work on these large portraits. However, when my emotions threaten to overwhelm me, I have the opportunity to step out of my studio and either teach my beginning drawing course or directly work with refugees at one of my nonprofit’s events. Being surrounded by college students or refugees eager to learn about drawing is my weekly reset button. Watching them try new techniques and explore materials never fails to put a smile on my face.
I am eternally grateful for the initially awkward situations that led me to where I am today: a CSUF visual arts graduate student who is entrusted to teach a foundations course at my alma mater while co-directing a nonprofit that offers the underserved art therapy and vision exams at no cost.
I understand that I am on the right track as long as I embrace the awkward energy at the beginning of a new experience.
Yara Almouradi graduated with a BFA in art – drawing and painting from Cal State Fullerton and is pursuing her MFA in drawing and painting at CSUF. She is the co-founder and co-director of Sight & Sketches, a nonprofit aimed at providing free eye exams, glasses and art therapy to underserved and forced migrant populations domestically and abroad. To learn more about her nonprofit, visit sightandsketches.com.
The struggles of immigrants and refugees are hardly a problem unique to the United States.
Those working to serve these groups here can learn from the experiences of other countries, says Yuying Tsong, associate professor of human services at Cal State Fullerton.
Tsong took a group of students to Spain and Morocco for a month this past summer so they could see how various populations transition to a new country.
Cal State Fullerton student Desiree Sanchez Magana joins a Senegalese street vendor preparing food for a weekend street fair in Barcelona. (Photo courtesy of Cal State Fullerton)
In Barcelona, the CSUF human services majors attended seminar classes and interned with nongovernmental organizations serving recent immigrants and refugees.
“I wanted to broaden students’ experiences and exposures to new ideas, the global context and different approaches to working with immigrants and refugees,” said Tsong, who also included lectures on the politics, economics, history and colonization of the communities they visited. “I wanted them to understand the interconnectiveness of everything they do.”
The students already have experience working with nonprofits in this country, said Tsong.
These experiences “challenge them to think differently about themselves and the way they engage and serve in communities.”
The group then spent four days in Marrakesh, Morocco, with international and local organizations working with villages and communities.
“We also met up with a group that works with single moms,” Tsong said. “They train them to work as chefs and skilled workers in the food industry, so they are more independent. Another agency builds preschools in rural areas and offers literacy workshops for women.”
Student Monique Francisco worked with an organization that primarily assists immigrants from Pakistan and North Africa, teaching them English and practicing the language with them.
Yuying Tsong, Cal State Fullerton associate professor in human services, took a group of students to Spain and Morocco this summer. (Photo courtesy of Cal State Fullerton)
“On one of the first days of my internship, my internship partner and I spoke to our clients about their lives … their stories were incredibly powerful and moving,” she said.
“A common takeaway that I had from their stories was the strength and resilience that they displayed in overcoming their struggles,” Francisco added. “Learning their stories and background further motivated me to give my all in helping them reach their personal and professional goals.”
She was glad she took the leap. “It helped me remember why I became a human services student in the first place, and reconnect with my values and vision for peace, justice and equity for all,” she said.
Student Judith Cordero was similarly affected. The experiences were important, she said, “because I will be going into a career where I will try to have a positive impact on the minds of at-risk children and try to help them view the world through a different lens in hopes they will feel motivated to dream less and act more.”
More than a vacation
The Barcelona trip is an example of experiential learning, a trend in higher education intended to prepare and graduate successful students.
Cal State Fullerton students Anthony Flores, left, and Otilia Marquez high-five as they finish preparing the ground for a community farm project in Vieques, Puerto Rico, in summer 2017. (Photo courtesy of Alicia Afshar)
They also include capstone courses and projects, which bring together skills and expertise a student has achieved over years of study.
One objective of Cal State Fullerton’s strategic plan is to ensure that 75 percent of CSUF students participate in at least two of these high-impact practices before graduation.
The university credits such programs with narrowing the achievement gap for underrepresented students. Staff and faculty inform students about experiential learning opportunities years in advance, help them figure out the financing and often bring parents into the planning to assuage any concerns.
Cal State Fullerton News Service contributed to this report.
The National Weather Service issued a Coastal Hazard Statement for beaches from Ventura through south Los Angeles as a swell brought strong surf to Southern California on Monday.
The statement, issued by the NWS office in Oxnard, remains in place through Monday evening.
Surf in select areas is 3-to 5-feet at some south-facing beaches. The high tides will be about 6.5 feet from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.
“There is a high risk of strong rip currents during this time,” the statement reads. “Minor coastal flooding during the evening high tide is possible over low-lying coastal areas such as beach parking lots and harbor walkways. No significant damage is expected.”
The elevated surf may persist through Tuesday, it warns. Dangerous rip currents are likely on beaches with elevated surf.
“A Beach Hazards Statement is issued when threats such as rip currents, longshore currents, sneaker waves and other hazards create life-threatening conditions in the surf zone,” the statement reads.
While there was no hazard statement issued for either San Diego or Orange counties, surf was large along areas of the coast.
In Orange County, waves were estimated in the 5-to-7-foot range, and will continue to be about 4 to 6 feet on Tuesday, according to Surfline.com.
A run of swells will keep waves at 3 to 5 feet through the week along Southern California beaches.
The National Weather Service also issued a small-craft advisory, with strong northwest winds affecting outer waters through at least Tuesday.
Take precautions
Always swim near a lifeguard, though many towers are empty because seasonal guards are back in school.
If caught in a rip current, relax and float. Don’t swim against the current. If able, swim in a direction following the shoreline.
If unable to escape, face the shore and call or wave for help.
“Good Beer” gets poured into one of the signature souvenir glasses from the Fullerton Arboretum’s Brews & Blues in the Garden fundraiser Aug. 18. (Photo by Foster Snell, Contributing Photographer)
Food trucks were available during the Fullerton Arboretum’s Brews & Blues in the Garden fundraiser Aug. 18. (Photo by Foster Snell, Contributing Photographer)
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A variety of beers were available for sampling at the Fullerton Brews & Blues in the Garden fundraiser Aug. 18. (Photo by Foster Snell, Contributing Photographer)
Hector Zazveta, left, nervously plays a game of Jenga Giant with help from his friends during the Fullerton Arboretum’s Brews & Blues in the Garden fundraiser Aug. 18. (Photo by Foster Snell, Contributing Photographer)
Seward and Robert Clark watch the festivities at the Fullerton Arboretum’s Brews & Blues in the Garden fundraiser Aug. 18. (Photo by Foster Snell, Contributing Photographer)
Darrell Long, center, and David Dotson laugh and enjoy the Fullerton Arboretum’s Brews & Blues in the Garden fundraiser Aug. 18. (Photo by Foster Snell, Contributing Photographer)
Joseph Tobin rocks out while playing air guitar during the Fullerton Arboretum’s Brews & Blues in the Garden fundraiser Aug. 18. (Photo by Foster Snell, Contributing Photographer)
The Chris Anderson Group performs during the Fullerton Arboretum’s Brews & Blues in the Garden fundraiser Aug. 18. (Photo by Foster Snell, Contributing Photographer)
Marissa Reynoza laughs while talking to friends during the Fullerton Arboretum’s Brews & Blues in the Garden fundraiser Aug. 18. (Photo by Foster Snell, Contributing Photographer)
Lana Merchant dances with her husband, Joe, during the Fullerton Arboretum’s Brews & Blues in the Garden fundraiser Aug. 18. (Photo by Foster Snell, Contributing Photographer)
A group of people enjoy beer samples during the Fullerton Arboretum’s Brews & Blues in the Garden fundraiser Aug. 18. (Photo by Foster Snell, Contributing Photographer)
Food trucks were available during the Fullerton Arboretum’s Brews & Blues in the Garden fundraiser Aug. 18. (Photo by Foster Snell, Contributing Photographer)
A barrel full of Lagunitas Beer at the Fullerton Arboretum’s Brews & Blues in the Garden fundraiser Aug. 18. (Photo by Foster Snell, Contributing Photographer)
The Brews & Blues in the Garden event Aug. 18 raised money for the Fullerton Arboretum, located on 26 acres of the Cal State Fullerton campus. (Photo by Foster Snell, Contributing Photographer)
An attendee of the Fullerton Arboretum’s Brews & Blues in the Garden fundraiser raises his glass to the blues during the event Aug. 18. (Photo by Foster Snell, Contributing Photographer)
A beer gets poured into one of the signature souvenir glasses from the Fullerton Arboretum’s Brews & Blues in the Garden fundraiser Aug. 18. (Photo by Foster Snell, Contributing Photographer)
Ray and Raquel Andzula dance to the music during the Fullerton Arboretum’s Brews & Blues in the Garden fundraiser Aug. 18. (Photo by Foster Snell, Contributing Photographer)
One of the signature souvenir glasses from the Fullerton Arboretum’s Brews & Blues in the Garden fundraiser Aug. 18. (Photo by Foster Snell, Contributing Photographer)
Nothing says summer better than cold beer on a warm evening while lazy music floats through the air.
Add in the natural beauty of the Fullerton Arboretum, and you have Brews & Blues in the Garden, an annual fundraiser to benefit the 26-acre botanical garden on the Cal State Fullerton campus.
Guests sampled beers from Southern California breweries, nibbled on food truck fare and danced or swayed to the Chris Anderson Group, a three-piece blues rock band from Long Beach.
LAS VEGAS — The stands were filled to overflowing Saturday and Sunday at City National Arena, with NHL scouts and team executives eager to see what the latest crop of prospects had to offer. The mostly gray gentlemen were easy to spot in their black jackets with team logos affixed.
Thousands of fans joined them, clustered in higher numbers, eager for the start of another season and no doubt thrilled to be seated in the chill of the rink and out of the 100-degree temperatures and searing sun. They were easy to identify, too, dressed in their favorite team’s colors.
Mostly, it was a Vegas Golden Knights crowd, but fans of the other five teams participating in the inaugural Rookie Faceoff were present too. The Ducks, Kings, Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks also sent their top rookies.
The games were fast-paced with plenty of scoring to please the fans, especially when the hometown Knights scored. The scouts mostly kept their appraisals to a murmur, speaking quietly about one player’s hands or another’s quickness. They spotted inadequacies quickly.
A thumping beat roared over the sound system during the pregame warmups and during stoppages in play. Cheerleaders, clad in the Knights’ black-and-gold colors, waved their pom-poms and danced in the aisles, earning double-takes from one linesman in a weekend game.
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It was never like this when Todd Marchant, the Ducks’ director of player development, attended his first NHL training camp with the Edmonton Oilers in 1994. Marchant recalled skating with the Oilers’ veterans in the morning and then returning for an afternoon practice with the other rookies.
Rookie games certainly weren’t played with same skill level as they were Saturday and Sunday in the suburban Las Vegas practice rink when San Diego Gulls coach Dallas Eakins played in rookie games with the Washington Capitals against the Philadelphia Flyers in 1988.
“We had three bench-clearing brawls,” Eakins recalled. “It was crazy.”
Troy Terry skated into a brave new hockey world when he and the rest of the Ducks’ rookie team took the ice to face the Kings’ prospects Saturday. There were no fights to mar the proceedings, which turned one-sided in the Ducks’ favor in the second period thanks to their superior skill.
Terry, a right wing, was drafted in the fifth round in 2015. He and his skillful linemates, left wing Max Comtois and center Sam Steel, made it seem as if the Ducks’ future was in capable hands Saturday. They skated, passed and shot with eye-catching efficiency in an 8-3 rout of the Kings.
“I’m trying to make the team and send a statement that I’m not just ready to be among the other rookies, I’m ready to be on the big club and trying to just show that,” said Terry, who turned 21 on Monday. “It’s important to do well and focus on how I’m doing.”
Terry and Steel sat out the Ducks’ 5-2 victory Sunday over the Avalanche, but Comtois played and scored a second-period goal. Comtois and center Tyler Soy and right wing Giovanni Fiore formed a strong second line that the Avalanche could not match.
The Ducks play their Rookie Faceoff finale Tuesday against the Coyotes. They’ll then return to Anaheim for the start of the NHL training camp on Friday, when they’ll no longer be practicing against their peers but against the grownups, veterans with years of experience.
Some rookies will challenge for roster spots with the Ducks. Others will fight for spots with the Gulls. A few will return to their junior-level or European club teams for another year of seasoning. A few more will pack their bags and look for a chance to play elsewhere.
It’s all part of the process, one that’s become more sophisticated with the arrival of the Rookie Faceoff, which will be rotated annually among the six teams. Vegas got first crack as host. It will be the Ducks’ turn in 2019, when it will be played at their new facility at the Great Park in Irvine.
“First of all, it’s all about the players,” said Eakins, who coached the Ducks’ rookie team. “Second of all, these are all our prospects that have come in and you want them comfortable. Before you start to run it’s always good to go for a job or walk a little bit.
“Rather than just being dropped down into an NHL practice, I think it’s great for them to go into a tournament and say, ‘OK, I’m playing against my peers, I’m not jumping on the ice with Ryan Getzlaf or (Ryan) Kesler or (Cam) Fowler.’ Because that is a little intimidating.”
Over the years, the Ducks’ and Kings’ rookies played against each other, as had the Ducks and Coyotes, and Kings and Knights, and Ducks and Sharks. This was the first time the six teams had gathered in one spot to play, with Marchant serving as something of a commissioner.
“We had several conference calls, trying to figure out what we wanted the makeup of the tournament to be,” Marchant said. “These players out here are all a bunch of young kids, either drafted or free-agent signings or invitees, who have all earned an opportunity to show what they can do.”
Ducks goaltender Olle Eriksson-Ek, a fifth-round pick in 2017, wasn’t sure what to expect in his first Rookie Faceoff, but he made the most of his start Saturday against the Kings. Eriksson-Ek made 36 saves, some routine and others more difficult.
“It’s always fun to show what you can do, especially over here,” said the 19-year-old Eriksson-Ek, who plans to return to play for his Swedish club team when the Ducks’ training camp ends. “It’s a little bit different, but I liked it. It was really fun.”
Players such as Terry and Steel have different, more immediate goals in mind. Steel, a first-round pick in 2016, agreed that the Rookie Faceoff was a chance to impress the Ducks’ brass, but he was also mindful of living in the moment.
“It goes back to your really young days of playing bantam or pee-wee,” Steel said of the Rookie Faceoff. “You’re traveling with your team and staying in a hotel together, and just playing in a tournament. You don’t get to do that anymore, so it’s a cool experience. It’s a great setup here.”
Yes… BLUE IS BACK
It has been years since we ran out of room in our BLACK PACK STUDENT SECTION!!! So proud of our Spartan Family! 
