Sports
Chargers veterans join rookies for first practice together
The Chargers’ offseason program continued Monday with a workout at their headquarters in Costa Mesa.
The practice featured the team’s veterans and rookies together for the first time, coach Jim Harbaugh last week explaining the blending process by likening it to merging onto the 405 Freeway.
With the opening of the second phase of workouts, here’s a look at some recent Chargers happenings:
In the spotlight
The status of the Chargers expanded the instant the team hired Harbaugh in late January, a celebrity head coach just off a college national champion giving the franchise a 120-proof shot of credibility.
The high-profile adjustment has worked both ways, Harbaugh beginning to experience the benefits of his increased stardom in fame-loving Southern California.
In the last 10 days, he and wife Sarah have attended a charity gala hosted by the Dodgers, the wedding of former Chargers executive Nicoletta Ruhl and actor Jaleel White, and the roast of Tom Brady.
“There were celebrities everywhere,” Harbaugh said. “Jaleel is a celebrity. Actors from ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm.’ Shohei Ohtani. I just turned to her and said, ‘We’re not in Ann Arbor anymore, Sarah.’ ”
Another deep threat
Among all the things Justin Herbert gives the Chargers, his presence alone affects the team’s fortunes. Harbaugh referenced that reality when asked about the signing of veteran wide receiver DJ Chark Jr.
“We really liked him a lot,” Harbaugh said. “He liked us. He liked what we have going. I’m sure No. 10 helps the most. Really good receivers want to play with a really good quarterback. I’m not going to take any credit for that. It’s mostly, I think, Justin.”
Chark confirmed Harbaugh’s assessment Monday when he met with reporters for the first time since joining the Chargers, calling Herbert “a top-five QB in this league in any given year.”
Entering his seventh season, Chark is expected to provide the Chargers with a much needed down-the-field element, his career average of 14.5 yards per reception an indication of that ability.
Chark said Herbert “can only really bring me up a notch,” noting that the quarterback has teamed with a variety of wide receivers — including Mike Williams and Tyron Johnson — to produce explosive moments.
“If you notice, there’s always been guys making big plays here no matter who it was,” Chark said. “Just being able to get on that same page with him, I think the rest will take care of itself.”
A Charger for life
Seventh-round draft pick Cornelius Johnson wore his official Chargers gear for the first time during rookie minicamp. It wasn’t, however, his first time in the team’s colors.
Growing up in Connecticut, Johnson was a fan of Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson and often wore No. 21 as a tribute. He explained that he also loved the Chargers’ uniforms.
Shortly after the draft, a picture of Johnson emerged on social media showing him in a Tomlinson jersey and with his hair shaved into a bolt. He was 8 at the time.
“I just loved LaDainian’s game, loved his highlights,” Johnson said. “Then, all of those guys like [Antonio] Gates and [Philip] Rivers, that whole squad. … It’s amazing that they were the team that ended up drafting me to be my dream.”
Johnson’s older brother, Cassius, played football at the University of San Diego, which gave Johnson an opportunity to see Qualcomm Stadium — from the outside, at least.
“I remember me and my dad [Claude] tried to get in there when they were still trying to demolish it,” he said. “They kicked us out.”
Looking in from the outside
New Chargers cornerback Kristian Fulton mentioned the importance of being in sync with the coaches multiple times during his first session with reporters Monday.
His time with Tennessee soured in 2023 to the point where he was benched as the 2020 second-round pick struggled with consistency. Fulton also dealt with repeated soft-tissue injuries during his four seasons with the Titans.
“If your coaches and players are on two different pages, then your players on the field are still second-guessing,” he said when asked about last year. “It’s kind of like that, just taking indecision out of calls and all those things.”
In need of a starting outside cornerback opposite Asante Samuel Jr., the Chargers signed Fulton in March to a deal that guarantees him $2.445 million for this season.
He started 35 games over the last three years and has four career interceptions. Fulton, however, is coming off a season in which Pro Football Focus gave him his worst overall defensive grade.
He explained that — in retrospect — he didn’t believe going to Tennessee was best for his career. He said he thinks a fresh start with the Chargers and new defensive coordinator Jesse Minter can only help.
“Just me personally looking back, I don’t think I was put in the best position,” Fulton said. “That’s just where I was drafted. So I didn’t have no say-so in that. I finally got an opportunity where I’m put in a position where I think it’s the best opportunity for me.”
Sports
Indy 500: Counting Down The 10 Best Finishes In Race History
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The best Indianapolis 500 finish could be subjective, depending on which driver a fan was rooting for to win.
It certainly is in the eye of the beholder.
So take this list for what it’s worth. One view of the 10 best finishes in Indianapolis 500 history. Of course, it skews to more recent decades when the runs have come a little faster and the finishes have had a tendency to be a little closer.
We’ll add one each day to this list of fantastic finishes ahead of the 110th running of the Indy 500 on May 24 (12:30 p.m. ET on FOX).
10. Ericsson outduels O’Ward (2022)
After a red flag, Marcus Ericsson held off Pato O’Ward in a two-lap shootout. The shootout didn’t last two laps, though, as there was a crash on the final lap behind them. Ericsson had a comfortable lead when the red flag came out for a crash with four laps to go, a situation where in past Indianapolis 500 races, they likely would have ended the race under caution with Ericsson as the winner.
9. Foyt survives chaos (1967)
How does a driver who wins by two laps end up on this list? It’s because the win nearly didn’t happen on the last lap. A big crash with cars and debris littering the frontstretch just ahead of Foyt as he came to the checkered flag forced him to navigate through the wreckage for the win.
8. Sato can’t catch Franchitti (2012)
This was one of those finishes where the leader holds on for the win, but boy did the leader have to hold on. Takuma Sato tried to pass Dario Franchitti early on the final lap but to no avail and Franchitti sped off for the victory. This was one of those Indy 500s that made you hold your breath all the way to the checkered flag.
Sports
UCLA softball pummels South Carolina to advance to NCAA super regional
No. 8 UCLA stuck with right-hander Taylor Tinsley throughout the Los Angeles Regional and that faith in the senior paid off.
During the Bruins’ NCAA tournament opener at Easton Stadium, Tinsley gave up 10 runs before her teammates rallied for a walk-off win. She returned less than 24 hours to pitch against South Carolina, giving up two earned runs in a victory. Tinsley was back in the circle Sunday afternoon, yielding one run in UCLA’s 15-1 victory over the Gamecocks to advance to the super regionals.
“I am proud of Taylor’s resiliency, the ability to do whatever she can to help this team,” UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “She got stronger through the weekend. I am proud of that.”
Tinsley and her teammates will host Central Florida in a super regional that begins Friday.
“I feel good,” Tinsley said after pitching three key games in three days. “I could have gone more innings if needed.”
South Carolina right-hander Jori Heard gave up only one hit through two innings, keeping UCLA’s potent bats relatively quiet. The Gamecocks had runners on first and second with two outs in the second, but Tinsley escaped the inning with a pop-up to left field.
The Bruins got on the board first with a two-run home run from left fielder Rylee Slimp in the third inning. The Bruins followed it up by loading the bases with no outs in the fifth for right fielder Megan Grant.
Grant cooked up a grand slam to make it 6-0. She has 40 home runs, extending her hold on the NCAA single-season home run record. Oklahoma freshman Kendall Wells trails Grant with 37 homers.
“Its just incredible because I am blessed to be able to say the number 40,” Grant said.
South Carolina broke through on an RBI single from left fielder Quincee Lilio to cut UCLA’s lead to 6-1 in the fifth inning after being held to just one hit since the first inning. The Gamecocks couldn’t cash in the rest of the way.
The Bruins resumed scoring in the sixth inning, with the bases loaded and Grant at bat again. Fans at Easton Stadium anticipated another grand slam, holding up their cellphones hoping to catch some magic. Grant served up a two-run RBI single to expand the lead 8-1.
Jordan Woolery added to the scoring with a two-run RBI double down the left-field line, and Kaniya Bragg hit a home run to left-center field. Soo-jin Berry put a bow on the win with one more home run.
Sports
Pro wrestling star learns what ‘land of opportunity’ means in US as he details journey from Italy to America
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Cristiano Argento has been tearing up opponents in the ring for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as he worked his way up the ladder to get a few shots at some gold.
But the path to get to one of the most prestigious pro wrestling companies in the U.S. was long and a path that not many wrestlers have taken.
Argento was born and raised in Osimo, Italy – a town of about 35,000 people located on the east side of the country closer to the Adriatic Sea. He told Fox News Digital he started training in a ring at a boxing gym before he got started on the independent scene in Italy. He wrestled in Germany, Sweden, France and Denmark before he came to the realization that, to become a professional wrestler, he needed to make his way to the United States.
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Cristiano Argento performs in the National Wrestling Alliance (Instagram)
He first worked his way to Canada to get trained by pro wrestling legend Lance Storm. He moved to Canada, leaving most of his friends and family behind and without a firm grasp on the English language.
“At the time, my English was horrible. I didn’t speak any English at all,” he said. “But I was with my friend, Stefano, he came with me and he translated everything for me. I probably missed 50% of the knowledge that Lance Storm was giving to us because I was unable to understand. I was only given a recap and everything I was able to see. I’m sure if I was doing it now with a proper knowledge of English, it would have been a different scenario.
“Eventually, I moved back to Italy after the training and I said, OK, now, I want to go to the U.S. So, I studied English more properly, and eventually I got my first work visa that was in Texas. I was in Houston for a short period of time. I trained with Booker T at Reality of Wrestling. I got on his show, which was my debut in the U.S. That was awesome. I eventually got a new work visa in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where I currently live since 2017. Since then, my wrestling career, thankfully, kept growing, growing, growing and growing until now wrestling for the NWA. One of the bigger promotions in the U.S.”
Argento said that his family thought he was “nuts” for chasing his pro wrestling dream.
He said they were more concerned about his well-being given that he was half-way around the world without anyone he knew by his side in case something went sideways.
“My family, friends, everybody was like why do you want to move to the opposite side of the world not knowing the language, not knowing anybody, by yourself, to try to become a professional wrestler? And I was like, well, we have one life, I love, and that’s what I’m gonna do,” he told Fox News Digital. “Eventually, my family was really supportive. But when I first said, ‘Hey, mom and dad, I want to do that.’ They looked at me like, ‘Are you nuts? Are you drunk or something? What are you talking about?’ And I said, no that’s what I want to do. And they knew I loved this sport because in Italy I was traveling around Europe, spending time in Canada training, so they started to understand slowly that’s what I want to do with my life. They were proud of me.
Cristiano Argento works out in the gym. (Instagram)
“They’re still proud of me. I think more like the fact that you’re gonna try that, that it’s hard than more like you’re gonna leave us. The fact like, oh, my son is gonna go on the opposite side of the world for a six-hour time difference and we’re gonna see him maybe, when, like, I don’t know. Not often. I think it was more that. And for me too, it was really hard. It was heartbreaking not being able to see my family every day or every month. Like once a year if I’m lucky. I think that was the biggest part for them because of concern or that I was here by myself and if I have any issue or any problem, I didn’t have nobody. So they were scared. Like, you get sick, if you have a problem, anything, and they’re not being able to be here next to me. But they were really supportive since day one.”
Argento is living out his dream in the U.S. He suggested that the moniker of the U.S. being the “land of opportunity” wasn’t far from what is preached in movies and literature – it was the real thing.
“I was inspired by people who came to the U.S. and made it big,” Argento told Fox News Digital. “The U.S. was always like the land of opportunity. That’s how they sell it to us and this is what it is. I feel like, in myself, that was true because anything I tried to do so far I was able to reach a lot more than if I wasn’t here. I’m not yet where I’d like to be but I see like there’s so many opportunities in this country. Not just in wrestling but like in any business to reach the goal. I’m really happy of the choices I did here.
National Wrestling Alliance star Cristiano Argento poses in Times Square in New York. (Instagram)
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“But my big inspirations were big-time actors who moved to the country, who didn’t know English, with no money, no support system. I had one dream, I have to go right there to make it happen and I’m gonna go and do it and I’m gonna make it happen. So those people were always the biggest inspiration even if it wasn’t in wrestling, just how they handled their passion, how they pursued their dream without being scared of anything, how far you are, how alone by yourself … You don’t know the language, you’re like, let’s go, let’s do it.”
Outside of the NWA, Argento has performed for the International Wrestling Cartel, Enjoy Wrestling and Exodus Pro Wrestling this year.
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