sport world

Long Beach native and longtime sports executive Jack Teele passed away Wednesday night at the age of 87. Teele was a sportswriter at the Independent Press-Telegram for 10 years and then spent 33 years in the front offices around the National Football League, including 21 years with the Los Angeles Rams, where he rose to the rank of vice president of administration. Teele was a long-familiar face i...

By the time Lonzo Ball begins his first training camp with the Lakers on Sept. 24 he will have already released several versions of his signature shoe, starred in a reality show chronicling the daily lives of his family and dropped a rap single. It has been, by any measure, a busy summer for the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft and the NBA Summer League MVP. “I look at it pretty simply,” Ball said Mond...

LONG BEACH >> The Long Beach State women’s soccer team started life without senior captain Ashley Gonzales with an inspired performance and 2-0 win over No. 16 Northweste on Thursday at George Allen Field. “We owed ourselves that performance,” LBSU coach Mauricio Ingrassia said. “We only had two days of training but the players did a good job leaing and evolving.” Gonzales, who was the B...

For the first time since 1984, the Long Beach State women’s volleyball team opens its season with a new head coach. Recently retired head coach Brian Gimmillaro didn’t miss a match in the last 32 years, and only missed one practice in that time (not due to illness but to recruit a high school player). Gimmillaro didn’t even miss practice after he had knee surgery, hobbling into the gym that afte...

LONG BEACH >> The future is now for Long Beach Poly. With numbers dwindling, increased competition for talent from St. John Bosco and other private schools, there’s no telling what will happen next year or after that. Head coach Antonio Pierce’s recent aouncement that the school will drop its junior varsity team was a reminder that there will be consequences for having the two smallest fre...

Long Beach State Athletics Director Andy Fee aounced Monday that Dirtbags head coach Troy Buckley signed a contract extension through the 2022 season. The extension includes four additional years, increased base salary and supplemental compensation based on success on and off the field. “I am very grateful and appreciative of this opportunity to continue to lead this historic program going forwa...

The hype and trash talk between boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. and mixed martial arts champ Conor McGregor is about to come to and end and now it’s time to put up or...well it’s time to rumble. And it’s also time to start making plans for where to see the Mayweather vs. McGregor fight in Long Beach, the South Bay and nearby areas for those who want to see it with other fight fans. Here’s a verified li...

Apparently, Jim Mora had seen enough. The head coach abruptly ended UCLA’s training camp early Sunday when he cancelled the team’s final practice. His players celebrated wildly in the team room upon hearing the news that they would finally receive a night off after 17 practices in 18 days. Here are five things we leaed in those 17 training camp practices with UCLA less than two weeks away from its season opener against Texas A&M on Sept. 3. Josh Rosen is at home in Jedd Fisch’s offense When asked of what he likes about Fisch’s system, Rosen said he most appreciated its versatility. With ...

LOS ANGELES >>When UCLA opened its training camp on Aug. 2, a picturesque sunset tinted the sky over Wasserman Football Center pink and purple. Admiring the view from afar, former UCLA receiver Jordan Payton, who is currently in his second NFL training camp with the Cleveland Browns, perhaps felt a small tinge of jealousy. “@UCLAFootball spoiled now,” the school’s all-time leader in receptions tweeted. “I still remember San Beardino.” Not only did the Bruins not have to spend training camp at Cal State San Beardino for the first time in Jim Mora’s six-year tenure, but their head coa...

COSTA MESA >> Yes, folks, there was a time when an NFL training camp was not a spectator sport or a marketing opportunity. What would Vince Lombardi or George Allen think? They’d probably consider today’s open-to-the-public practices akin to a three-ring circus and wonder how anyone got anything done. For the new team in town, though, training camp is the First Impression. And the Chargers, following the example of the Rams, have extended themselves this preseason on the grounds of the Jack Hammett Sports Complex, located next to Costa Mesa High School. Their 13 training camp practices ...

LONG BEACH >> A 73rd-minute penalty kick and a shot cleared off of the line in the last seconds of overtime helped the Long Beach State women’s soccer team avoid a season-opening upset to Cal State Northridge on Friday night at George Allen Field. LBSU dominated possession and outshot the visiting Matadors, but the Big West Conference foes finished tied 1-1 in the nonconference match. The game will not count toward the conference standings, but will help both teams’ RPI in the long run. The 49ers (0-0-1) will visit CSUN (0-0-1) on Oct. 26 for the conference regular-season finale. LBSU be...

A brief look at the Chargers’ joint training-camp practice with the Saints on Friday at Jack Hammett Sports Complex: BIG MOMENT Ruing back Austin Ekeler scored on a red-zone catch-and-run, sticking the ball over the pylon before being knocked out of bounds — a play that sparked cheers on the Chargers’ sideline. Ekeler also had another impressive touchdown on Thursday, and is arguably the most natural pass-catcher among reserve tailbacks. The 5-foot-9, 195-pound back went undrafted out of Weste State Colorado University, a Division II program where he set career records with 5,857 rushing y...

MANHATTAN BEACH >> While players down on the sand Thursday were trying to qualify to get into the main draw of this week’s Manhattan Beach Open, four rather terrific beach volleyball players were up on the pier for the Walk of Fame ceremony honoring their 2016 championships at the granddaddy of them all. Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson, and Emily Day and Brittany Hochevar were the happy recipients of plaques they could take home. And they were overjoyed knowing that identical plaques would be forever embedded in the concrete deck of the pier. For Gibb, it was his third such honor, so his ...

A brief look at the Rams’ training-camp practice on Thursday: BIG MOMENT It’s been a nice week for the Rams’ receivers. First, Sammy Watkins showed up and made some nice catches, and rookie Josh Reynolds flashed some moves. On the last official day of training camp, one of the veterans stood out, as Robert Woods made a couple nice catches in traffic, including one long ball for a touchdown. INJURY REPORT Coach Sean McVay didn’t offer an official list in advance of Saturday’s preseason game at Oakland, but it seems likely that the players who were held out for most of practice this week won’t p...

A brief look at the Chargers’ joint training-camp practice with the Saints on Thursday at Jack Hammett Sports Complex: BIG MOMENT The Saints’ defensive backs came out on top during one-on-one drills, but the Chargers’ receivers responded emphatically during full team drills. Keenan Allen was responsible for one of the top highlights, cradling a pass from Philip Rivers with one hand. It was yet another sign that Allen, who tore his ACL in last year’s regular-season opener, is set to reclaim his spot as one of the league’s top receivers. “I would say he’s still not right where he was,” Rivers s...

A brief look at the Trojans’ training-camp practice on Thursday at Howard Jones-Brian Keedy Field: BIG MOMENT Quarterback Sam Daold coected with senior receiver Steven Mitchell for a pair of touchdowns in a 7-on-7 period late in practice. On the first scoring toss, Mitchell hauled in the pass while keeping in one foot along the back line of the end zone. INJURY REPORT Receiver Velus Jones remained out with foot soreness. Jones has a walking boot on his left foot. DEPTH CHART For a week, Mitchell has continued to work with the first-team offense at outside receiver, a group that appears s...

A brief look at UCLA’s training camp practice at Spaulding Field: Everyone wins Instead only the wiing side run at the end of the team competition, both the offense and defense took a celebratory lap after the final team period. The No. 1 offense scored a touchdown against the No. 2 defense with quarterback Josh Rosen coecting with receiver Darren Andrews from 10 yards out. The No. 2 offense went backward for the majority of its drive, thanks to a false start, delay of game and sack from Jacob Tuioti-Mariner that came on back-to-back-to-back plays. The No. 3 defense settled for a 45-yard f...

A brief look at the Chargers’ training-camp practice Tuesday at Jack Hammett Sports Complex: Big moment A candidate to replace injured linebacker Denzel Perryman (ankle), third-year pro Nick Dzubnar broke up a pass in the end zone while working with the first-team defense. Dzubnar led the Chargers in special teams tackles as an undrafted rookie, but missed much of last season with a to ACL. Injury report Perryman underwent ankle surgery Tuesday, and is expected to be out for at least two months. Defensive end Jerry Attaochu is week-to-week with a hamstring injury he sustained during the Char...

LOS ANGELES >> Darren Andrews could do nothing but watch. The senior wide receiver stands on the sideline, surrounded by the rest of his offensive teammates, and watches the UCLA defense jog across the field and back. He’s mad. He wanted to run. That’s how these Bruins gloat. The unit that win...

A brief look at UCLA football’s training camp practice at Spaulding Field on Thursday: Phillips booted from practice Defensive end Jaelan Phillips lasted only 18 minutes during Thursday afteoon’s practice. The Bruins did an early red-zone team period and Phillips got tied up in a scuffle near the ...