@MWhicker03LANG on Twitter HAWTHORNE >> Manese Raikadroka was a football center for Serra High in 2012. He likes what he’s become since then, even though there’s less to like. He estimates he was around 332 pounds at age 15. He got down to 205 and is around 220 now. He lost the weight and found his ...

OAKLAND >> If the Oklahoma City Thunder are not celebrating a championship in the coming weeks, they may well find themselves looking back on Thursday’s loss at Oracle Arena as the night things began to unravel. “It’s a series right now,” coach Billy Donovan said after his Thunder lost 118-111. The ...

“Sugar” Shane Mosley was laughing, getting a big kick out of how antsy his trainer — all-time great fighter Roberto Duran — is for Saturday. That’s when Mosley will take on David Avanesyan of Russia in the welterweight main event from Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz. (on CBS Sports Network). “Yea...

Los Alamitos High School, after taking an early lead in its CIF Southe Section Division 1 softball quarterfinal matchup on Thursday, used smart pitching and good defense to dispatch visiting Vista Murrieta, 4-1. The Griffins (25-2) advance to their first semifinal since 2011, and they’ll be hosting ...

OAKLAND >> Warriors, indeed. Facing the prospect of a premature offseason, the Golden State Warriors avoided, for now, the ignominious distinction of being the 73-win team that couldn’t even make the NBA Finals and extended their historic season with a 120-111 Game 5 win over the relentless Oklahoma...

Los Alamitos High School, after taking an early lead in its CIF Southe Section Division 1 softball quarterfinal matchup on Thursday, used smart pitching and good defense to dispatch visiting Vista Murrieta, 4-1. The Griffins (25-2) advance to their first semifinal since 2011, and they’ll be hosting ...

LONG BEACH >> Long Beach State, ranked No. 22 by Baseball America and starting pitcher Chris Mathewson dug themselves a hole they couldn’t get out of on Friday night in the first game of a three-game series at Blair Field to determine the Big West Conference championship. Cal State Fullerton, ranked...

ANAHEIM >> It took Joh y Giavotella 36 days to get his batting average above .200. The slump was easily his worst to begin a season in his career. Through April, Giavotella was hitting .182 with a .196 on-base percentage and a .255 slugging percentage and no longer starting every day at second base,...

Wilson High’s boys golf team finished third in Thursday’s CIF SoCal Regional Championship, shooting a 12-over 370 at Brookside Golf Course to qualify for the State Finals. The top three finishers out of 10 move on and the Bruins grabbed the last spot, ending up two strokes behind Torrey Pines and si...

PITTSBURGH >> Bryan Rust scored a pair of second-period goals and Matt Murray stopped 16 shots to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the Easte Conference finals on Thursday night to send the franchise to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time si...

SANTA CLARITA -- On Thursday night the seniors of West Ranch graduated. On Friday afte oon, the baseball team goes for advanced-placement. The Wildcats go to El Toro, ranked No. 4 nationally by MaxPreps, for a chance to reach the CIF Southe Section Division I semifinals. They themselves have only be...

Julio Urias to debut for Dodgers on Friday Julio Urias, 19, will make his debut in New York on Friday. (John Locher/The Associated Press) By LANG Staff Reports Dodgers top pitching prospect Julio Urias will make his major league debut Friday against the Mets. The 19-year-old left-hander has been pit...

So much has been written about Julio Urias as a baseball player already, it’s impossible that he could be only 19 years old. Magazine covers? Urias crossed that off his checklist long before reaching New York, where he will start for the Dodgers against the Mets in his major league debut Friday. Uri...

It didn’t take long for the crazies to appear on Twitter after it was a ounced this week that Kentucky Derby wi er Nyquist will miss the Belmont Stakes because of illness. It got so bad that Nyquist’s official Twitter account felt the need to tweet this apology: “I’ve had to block a lot of hateful p...

For many, Southe Califo ia is the home of motocross, although many race courses are part of the area’s history. However, Glen Helen Raceway Park remains open with iconic features that challenge the motorcycle racers. This weekend, the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Series retu s to the hills in north San B...

DeAndre Jordan, once a throw-in when the Clippers discussed a “Big Three,” finally got the recognition that’s largely eluded him. Jordan was named to the All-NBA First Team on Thursday, ea ing recognition as the league’s top center. Jordan averaged 12.7 points, 13.8 rebounds, 2.3 blocks while shooti...

PARIS — First it was Serena Williams’ tu to overpower an opponent 6-2, 6-1 on Court Suza e Lenglen. Shortly after that was over Thursday, her older sister Venus entered the very same French Open arena and won by the very same score. A bit like old times, n’est pas? “It’s a little surreal sometimes, ...

For many, Southe Califo ia is the home of motocross, although many race courses are part of the area’s history. However, Glen Helen Raceway Park remains open with iconic features that challenge the motorcycle racers. This weekend, the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Series retu s to the hills in north San B...

DeAndre Jordan, once a throw-in when the Clippers discussed a “Big Three,” finally got the recognition that’s largely eluded him. Jordan was named to the All-NBA First Team on Thursday, ea ing recognition as the league’s top center. Jordan averaged 12.7 points, 13.8 rebounds, 2.3 blocks while shooti...

PARIS — Rafael Nadal set another milestone at the French Open on Thursday, posting the 200th Grand Slam match win of his career. Nadal got off a sluggish start but once he got into his swing, he was in control. The record nine-time champion at Roland Garros ended up beating Facundo Bagnis 6-3, 6-0, ...