Author name: Irene Church

The attention that comes with being one of the top high school recruits in the nation at their position can be a distraction for many players but not so for Orange Lutheran senior center fielder Kai Minor. For her, the game is all about winning, and coming so close last year only to lose to […]

Earlier this week, Birmingham baseball coach Matt Mowry sent 15-year-old freshman Carlos Acuna to the mound, and he responded with eight strikeouts in five innings while yielding one hit in a 4-1 victory over Westlake. That’s big news for City Section power Birmingham. Mowry had been excited about Acuna during winter ball but until he

TEMPE, Ariz. — Troy Percival, then a rookie setup man with 26 big-league appearances under his belt, watched from the visiting dugout in the Oakland Coliseum as Lee Smith, then the Angels’ 37-year-old closer, gave up a walk-off grand slam to Mark McGwire in an 8-5 loss to the Athletics on June 30, 1995. It was just

The text messages about Bill Walton’s latest on-air absurdity pinged the UCLA basketball staffer’s cellphone with only a few minutes left in the game. It wasn’t what the broadcaster was saying that was as remarkable as what he was singing … and who he was serenading. The staffer. “Happy birthday, dear Alex,” Walton warbled on

For all of her talent and skill, Ontario Christian sophomore sensation Kaleena Smith demonstrated Saturday she possesses another quality that all champions have — heart. With less than 90 seconds left and visiting Sierra Canyon making a desperate surge to stay in the game, the diminutive guard chased down a loose ball near midcourt, dove

Clinging to an eight-point lead going into the fourth quarter of its Southern Section Division 1 semifinal playoff, Mira Costa made sure there would be no Santa Barbara comeback. The Mustangs held Santa Barbara scoreless for more than five minutes to start the quarter and came away with a 61-40 victory Saturday night. Eneasi Piuleini

DENVER — Trips here basically had gone the same the last two seasons, with the Lakers showing signs they might have figured out ways to exploit the Nuggets’ deficiencies only for Denver to slam the door and run the same script. Eight straight times, including five in the playoffs, the Lakers came to Denver and left with

LAFC headed into its eighth MLS season Saturday with more questions than answers, few of which were solved in its 1-0 victory over Minnesota United before a sun-splashed crowd of 22,310 at BMO Stadium. The only goal came from newcomer Jeremy Ebobisse in the 78th minute. On the other end, goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was called

During the Rams’ run to three playoff appearances and a Super Bowl title in the last four seasons, quarterback Matthew Stafford was more valuable than perhaps any other player. How much do other teams value the 16-year veteran? The Rams have given Stafford and his representatives permission to speak with teams about potential contract terms