Picture the length of a Volkswagen Beetle. Then picture another one parked right in front of it. Long Beach State senior long jumper Willie Alexander jumped further than that on his way to wi ing his event at the USC Trojan Invitational earlier this month. His mark of 25 feet, 10 inches was a person...

Mark.Whicker@langnews.com Who will win the American League in 2016? L.A. Daily News columnist Mark Whicker breaks down the league. AL WEST TEXAS RANGERS 2015 Record: 88-74 Wins, last 5 years: 88, 67, 91, 93, 96 Rank in 2015 Runs: 3rd Runs Allowed: 13th Manager: Jeff Banister Rotation: Cole Hamels, D...

Who will win the National League in 2016? L.A. Daily News columnist Mark Whicker breaks down the league. NL WEST SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS 2015 Record: 84-78. Wins, last 5 seasons: 84, 88, 76, 94, 86. Rank in Runs Scored: 5th. Runs Allowed: 6th. Manager: Bruce Bochy. Rotation: Madison Bumga er, Joh y Cue...

Hector Santiago’s final spring training tuneup went a little better than Kenta Maeda’s. Santiago twirled five shutout i ings at Dodger Stadium, leading the Angels to a 5-1 victory over the Dodgers in the second game of the Freeway Series. The Angels can sweep the a ual exhibition set when the series...

Key play: Emerson Etem scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period and the Vancouver Canucks held on for a 3-2 victory Friday over the Ducks at the Honda Center. Etem, a former Ducks right wing and a Long Beach native, scored for only the fourth time in 54 games this season. Playoff update: The ...

Senior linebacker Scott Felix’s USC career ended Friday when the NCAA denied his appeal for taking a ba ed substance. Felix was suspended after failing an NCAA drug test at Holiday Bowl but his status was in doubt until the NCAA made its final ruling. “In life, people make mistakes and I am no diffe...

Mayfair High’s Justin Pichedwatana continued his storied senior season Friday with three victories at the boys wrestling National Championships in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The area’s top finisher at last month’s State Championships (fourth place at 160 pounds) has advanced to today’s 160-pound nati...

LONG BEACH >> Sometimes mistakes are more important than highlight plays, and that was the case on Friday night at Blair Field, where Long Beach State miscues gave visiting UC Santa Barbara the opportunities to edge the Dirtbags, 4-3. It was the Big West Conference-opening series for both teams. The...

As the Angels begin a new season following a fairly quiet winter, it’s worth remembering the loud winters that came before. In December 2011, owner Arte Moreno splurged on the free agent market’s best hitter (Albert Pujols) and best pitcher (C.J. Wilson). One year later, Moreno again bought the mark...

The Dodgers will likely begin the regular season Monday with 10 players on the disabled list: Alex Guerrero, Howie Kendrick, Andre Ethier, Brett Anderson, Brandon McCarthy, Brandon Beachy, Mike Bolsinger, Frankie Montas, Josh Ravin and Hyun-Jin Ryu. Together the group will be paid more than $70 mill...

The heatpacks covered seemingly every body part as Kobe Bryant sat on the bench and experienced another humbling reminder of Father Time’s strength. The Lakers’ 37-year-old star lasted only nine minutes in Wednesday’s game against Miami because of soreness in his shoulders and knee. Still, Bryant wi...

The competitive juices usually spill out in a Lakers practice during a closely contested scrimmage. The Lakers’ practice on Friday became what Lakers coach Byron Scott called a “nice spirited” session for different reasons. Tension has brewed this week between D’Angelo Russell and Nick Young over a ...

Who will win the National League in 2016? L.A. Daily News columnist Mark Whicker breaks down the league. NL WEST SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS 2015 Record: 84-78. Wins, last 5 seasons: 84, 88, 76, 94, 86. Rank in Runs Scored: 5th. Runs Allowed: 6th. Manager: Bruce Bochy. Rotation: Madison Bumga er, Joh y Cue...

Mark.Whicker@langnews.com Who will win the American League in 2016? L.A. Daily News columnist Mark Whicker breaks down the league. AL WEST TEXAS RANGERS 2015 Record: 88-74. Wins, last 5 years: 88, 67, 91, 93, 96. Rank in 2015 Runs: 3rd Runs Allowed: 13th. Manager: Jeff Banister. Rotation: Cole Hamel...

There was that time a few years ago, at the Townsend Hotel near Detroit, when Kobe Bryant rallied everyone together for a Thanksgiving Day meal. All the TV guys included. The Lakers’ star wasn’t happy that the team decided against organizing a holiday party in the middle of a long road trip. This wa...

The Los Angeles Rams are just over two weeks away from starting their offseason workouts. On Friday, the NFL a ounced offseason program dates for all 32 teams, and the Rams are set to open theirs in Oxnard on April 18. They will hold organized team activities (OTAs) on May 31, June 1, June 3, June 7...

Will he or won’t he? That was the tone of a conference call hosted by Ma y Pacquiao, his promoter Bob Arum and his trainer Freddie Roach on Friday mo ing. Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs) on April 9 will take on Timothy Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs) a third time at MGM Grand in Las Vegas (on HBO pay-per-view). ...

Jamal Crawford scored 32 points in the Clippers’ 119-117 loss Thursday night at Oklahoma City. The Clippers, mind you, nearly won without starters Chris Paul, J.J. Redick and DeAndre Jordan, who were being rested. That’s not to mention Blake Griffin again was out, though he is slated to retu Sunday ...

On the Dodgers’ first day back in Los Angeles since getting taken out of the National League Division Series by the New York Mets last year, Clayton Kershaw glanced around the clubhouse, smiled and said: “There’s a lot of new faces. That’s always exciting.” That’s one way of looking at it. Another i...

LOS ANGELES — Victor Espinoza, who rode American Pharoah to thoroughbred racing’s first Triple Crown since 1978 last year, will throw the ceremonial first pitch before tonight’s Los Angeles Dodgers-Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Freeway Series game at Dodger Stadium. The national anthem will be sung ...