Mark.Whicker@langnews.com @MWhicker03LANG on Twitter LAS VEGAS >> When it was over, and another championship belt had floated just past his grasping fingers, Vanes Martirosyan said he would seize another chance to win one “right now.” Which means he knows just how late it is. Martirosyan, the ex-Oly...

NORWALK >> Having recorded 24 sweeps on the season, Valley Christian High’s boys volleyball team hasn’t had to play from behind much at all. So when it fell back two sets to one and trailed 8-3 early in the fourth during Saturday afte oon’s CIF Southe Section Division 3 championship match at Cerrito...

SAN DIEGO >> Whatever malevolent strain of virus has infected the Dodgers’ bullpen, it acts fast. Chin-Hui Tsao was minding his own business in Oklahoma City a few days ago. Saturday night, he became the latest Dodgers reliever to let them down, walking in the deciding run in the bottom of the 11th ...

After the UCLA softball team flirted with perfection in the first round of the NCAA Los Angeles Regional, coming one batter away from a perfect game from pitcher Joha a Grauer, the Bruins were far from flawless in Saturday’s wi ers’ bracket game against Cal State Fullerton. Despite three errors, UCL...

SANTA ROSA, Calif. >> Someone finally had the legs to beat Peter Sagan at the Tour of Califo ia. Alexander Kristoff followed an impressive ride by his Katusha teammates, then outsprinted Sagan — the wi ingest cyclist in race history — to win Stage 7 on Saturday. Julian Alaphilippe held onto his over...

TORONTO >> DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points, Bismack Biyombo set a Toronto playoff record with 26 rebounds and the Raptors beat Cleveland 99-84 on Saturday night, handing the Cavaliers their first loss this postseason. Kyle Lowry scored 20 points, Cory Joseph added 14, and Patrick Patterson and DeMarr...

The Cerritos College women’s track and field team captured its second consecutive CCCAA State championship and sixth in 11 seasons Saturday afte oon at Mesa College in San Diego. The group ga ered seven first-place finishes – Najia Hudspeth (200 meters, 23.69 seconds), Hudspeth, Nylia Hudspeth, Rabi...

NORWALK >> For the first time since 2007, someone other than Long Beach Poly hoisted the CIF Southe Section Division 1 girls track and field championship plaque on Saturday at Cerritos College. That honor went to Great Oak whose 49 points (mostly from the distance races where Destiny Collins doubled...

NORWALK >> Having recorded 24 sweeps on the season, Valley Christian High’s boys volleyball team hasn’t had to play from behind much at all. So when it fell back two sets to one and trailed 8-3 early in the fourth during Saturday afte oon’s CIF Southe Section Division 3 championship match at Cerrito...

BALTIMORE >> Exaggerator has finally beaten Nyquist, and it came in the Preakness on Saturday to end any chance of another Triple Crown. Seizing the lead at the top of the stretch, Exaggerator splashed past the tiring Kentucky Derby wi er and went on for a 3 1/2-length victory over Cherry Wine on a ...

NORWALK >> Having recorded 24 sweeps on the season, Valley Christian High’s boys volleyball team hasn’t had to play from behind much at all. So when it fell back two sets to one and trailed 8-3 early in the fourth during Saturday afte oon’s CIF Southe Section Division 3 championship match at Cerrito...

Brian Shaw is nearing a deal that will bring him back to Los Angeles as the Lakers’ lead assistant coach, this time on Luke Walton’s staff. Multiple sources confirmed to the Southe Califo ia News Group that a reunion between the sides is “very close.” The Los Angeles Times first reported the pending...

FOLSOM, Calif. >> Eighth place felt like first for Julian Alaphilippe on Friday. The French cyclist known for his climbing ability tu ed in a surprising performance in the Stage 6 time trial at the Amgen Tour of Califo ia, minimizing his losses in a discipline that has proven difficult for him in th...

ANAHEIM >> Only one American League team entered this weekend with more home runs than the Baltimore Orioles. The Angels saw that power first-hand Friday night in a 9-4 loss that snapped their two-game wi ing streak. Baltimore hit four home runs, and they wasted little time getting started. They hit...

SAN DIEGO >> The one thing the Dodgers thought they could depend on let them down Friday night. Closer Kenley Jansen gave up a two-run, game-wi ing home run to Melvin Upton Jr. in the ninth i ing as a seesaw game ended with a thud for the Dodgers. Jansen’s first blown save since last August left the...

As the idea of perfection danced in UCLA pitcher Joha a Grauer’s head, her teammates kept her calm. One pitch at a time, one i ing at a time. Grauer came one out away from UCLA’s first seven-i ing perfect game since 1991, giving up a walk with two outs in the seventh, but she tossed a no-hitter to l...

ANAHEIM >> The Angels’ pursuit of free-agent pitcher Tim Lincecum officially ended with his signing Friday. Lincecum, a two-time Cy Young Award wi er with the San Francisco Giants, signed a one-year, $2.5 million major-league contract with consent to be optioned, according to General Manager Billy E...

SAN DIEGO >> For now, the Dodgers’ approach to their unreliable bullpen is to throw numbers at it. But one number, in particular, caught Dave Roberts’ eye and could figure into the bullpen picture at some point in June — 100. Talking before Thursday’s game in Anaheim, the Dodgers manager said he ant...

Long Beach area CIF playoff scores and schedule Millikan’s Logan Misajon picks up a bunt for a throw to first for an out against Lakewood in a Moore League championship high school baseball game at Blair Field in Long Beach CA. Wednesday, May 11, 2016. (Thomas R. Cordova-Southe Califo ia News Group)...

Luke Walton stood on the outer edge of the huddle, bending his 6-foot-8 frame to listen as Steve Kerr gave the Golden State Warriors their final pregame instructions. Before Kerr finished, Walton peeled off from the group, and wandered toward center court, where he planted himself to be the last to ...