Sports
Column: Camarillo boys' basketball team's hot start is elementary
Jaime Jaquez Jr., with no facial hair and looking every bit like the teenager he was, took time out after a basketball game at Camarillo High to take a photo in 2018 with five smiling members of the local youth basketball team made up of 11-year-olds. They attended the game and got a chance to meet the neighborhood star, who was a junior averaging 30 points a game.
Jaquez would become a hometown hero, showing you can grow up in Ventura County, get a scholarship to UCLA and make it to the NBA as a first-round draft pick for the Miami Heat.
In 2018, members of this year’s Camarillo basketball team took a photo with Jaime Jaquez Jr. They are Shane Frank, left, Brendan Widerburg, Josh Castaniero, Evan Dela Paz and Jackson Yeates.
(Ross Widerburg)
Now those five players in the photo — Shane Frank, Brendan Widerburg, Josh Castaniero, Evan Dela Paz and Jackson Yeates — are seniors at Camarillo and following in Jaquez’s foosteps as best friends trying to lead the Scorpions to basketball success. The team is 17-1 and to say chemistry plays a big part would be an understatement.
They’ve known one another since third grade. They still hang out together at the local park on Friday nights, go for a swim in the community pool, play video games, scream and laugh while riding the rides at Six Flags Magic Mountain, and compete for highest grade-point average. They get excited when someone takes a charge, because that means a free milk shake is the reward.
Their only loss this season was to Rolling Hills Prep, and its legendary coach, Harvey Kitani, recognized the kind of team he was facing. “The kids all know their role,” he said. “They’re a unit. They’re not going to beat themselves.”
It’s a parent-driven origin story of how they met. Fathers came together to form a youth basketball team. The players got to know one another, became friends and joined in playing soccer, baseball and other sports. Nothing has changed through the years. They enjoy their company. They recently took a trip together to Yosemite National Park, staying in a cabin, going for hikes and talking basketball. When driving to games in the school vans, there are singing competitions.
Other Camarillo players have joined the group, including senior Cajun Mike-Price, the son of former Sylmar High and UCLA football standout Durell Price, and senior Ty Chisholm, who arrived as a freshman when his father, in the Navy, moved to the area. “They welcomed me with open arms,” Chisholm said.
What makes Camarillo so successful are the many contributors for coach Brendan Garrett. During any given game, there could be a different leading scorer or leading rebounder. Yeates, a guard, leads the team in scoring at 13 points per game. He also has the highest grade-point average at 4.6. Widerburg was the school’s quarterback and only wishes he could have recruited some of his friends to be receivers.
To see the interaction of these players is inspiring. They’re playing for fun and friendship. There’s unselfishness, togetherness and an understanding of playing for each other. Whatever helps the team succeed, that’s what matters most.
“We’ve played in so many championship games together, gone to so many places, won so many tournaments together,” Paz said.
Said Yeates: “I feel the reason we’re so good is we play as a team. No one plays for themselves. We know if someone has a bad game, they’ll bounce back the next time. We trust everyone.”
On Jan. 14, the school will be honoring Jaquez by retiring his No. 24 jersey before a game against Simi Valley. He’s in town because the Miami Heat are playing the Clippers and Lakers that week. Jaquez is a big fan of the program. After all, his younger brother Marco played for the Scorpions and his sister, Gabby, was a McDonald’s All-American who now plays for the No. 1-ranked UCLA’s women’s team. Jaquez provided every player with black sweatsuits, along with the coaching staff and custodial staff at Camarillo.
Camarillo is a high school that embraces sports participation. The principal, Matt La Belle, is a former Simi Valley baseball coach who understands how sports can fit into a school’s culture. The school’s athletic director, Mary Perez, is the daughter of the legendary football coach from Moorpark College, the late Jim Bittner.
La Belle has seen the players around campus and says, “It’s absolutely true” of how good they are as teenagers on and off the court.
“They’re fantastic students. They’re a great group,” he said.
When neighborhood kids are doing well, it makes it easy for an entire community to have fun rooting for them to succeed. With the new Southern Section playoff seeding process starting this season relying on computer rankings, it remains unknown where Camarillo might end up. The early rankings didn’t exactly inspire confidence and might need some re-tooling. For now, Camarillo is No. 33, which might make it difficult to compete for a championship among Division 1 powerhouses.
Just don’t ever count out this Camarillo team that can overcome plenty with the help of chemistry and trust. And when the games end, don’t worry about these players.
“We’ll be friends for life,” Yeates said.
Sports
Dashcam video shows former WWE executive Vince McMahon rear-ending vehicle on Connecticut highway
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Police have released new video showing former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon speeding before crashing his 2024 Bentley Continental GT into another luxury car on a Connecticut highway last summer.
McMahon appeared to be followed by a state trooper in Westport moments ahead of the eventual collision. McMahon’s vehicle reached speeds of more than 100 mph, state police said.
A trooper’s dashcam video showed McMahon accelerating and then braking too late to avoid rear-ending a BMW. The car McMahon was driving then swerved into a guardrail and careened back across the highway. A cloud of dirt, apparently mixed with vehicle debris, was visible in the immediate area of the crash.
WWE owner Vince McMahon enters the arena during WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium on Apr 3, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. (Joe Camporeale/USA Today Sports)
“Why were you driving all over 100 mph?” a state trooper asked McMahon after catching up to the wrecked Bentley.
“I got my granddaughter’s birthday,” McMahon replied, explaining he was on his way to see her. The encounter was recorded on police bodycam video.
No serious injuries were reported in the July 24 crash, which happened the same day former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan died of a heart attack in Florida.
In an image taken from Connecticut State Police police bodycam video, Vince McMahon is questioned in his car after an accident on July 24, 2025, in Westport, Connecticut. (Connecticut State Police via The Associated Press)
Aside from the damage to the rear of the BMW, another vehicle driving on the opposite side of the parkway was struck by flying debris. The driver of that third car happened to be wearing a WWE shirt, police video suggested.
McMahon was cited for reckless driving and following too closely. In October, a state judge allowed him to enter a pretrial probation program that could erase the charges if he completes it successfully.
He was also ordered to make a $1,000 charitable contribution. His attorney, Mark Sherman, called the crash simply an “accident.”
“Not every car accident is a crime,” Sherman said. “Vince’s primary concern during this case was for the other drivers and is appreciative that the court saw this more of an accident than a crime that needed to be prosecuted.”
Vince McMahon attends a press conference to announce that WWE Wrestlemania 29 will be held at MetLife Stadium in 2013 at MetLife Stadium on Feb. 16, 2012 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Michael N. Todaro/Getty Images)
State police said a trooper was trying to catch up to McMahon on the parkway and clock his speed before pulling him over. They said the incident was not a pursuit, which happens when police chase someone trying to flee officers. They also said it did not appear McMahon was trying to escape.
“I’m trying to catch up to you, and you keep taking off,” State Police Det. Maxwell Robins said in the video.
“No, no no. I’m not trying to outrun you,” McMahon clarified.
An accident information summary provided to the media shortly after the crash did not mention that a trooper was following McMahon.
The trooper’s bodycam video also shows him asking McMahon whether he was looking at his phone when the crash happened. McMahon said he was not and added he hadn’t driven his car in a long time.
After Robins tells McMahon that his car is fast, McMahon replies, “Yeah, too (expletive) fast.”
Fox News Digital submitted a public records request to obtain the police video, which was first acquired by The Sun.
McMahon stepped down as WWE’s CEO in 2022 amid a company investigation into sexual misconduct allegations. He also resigned as executive chairman of the board of directors of TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of WWE, in 2024, a day after a former WWE employee filed a sexual abuse lawsuit against him. McMahon has denied the allegations. The lawsuit remains pending.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Sports
‘Just go out and pitch.’ Dodgers’ Tyler Glasnow is efficient in his first spring start
PHOENIX — Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow is an admitted overthinker. But you wouldn’t know it based on his efficient first spring training start Thursday against the Chicago White Sox at Camelback Ranch.
Glasnow pitched two-plus innings, retiring the first six batters before coming out after giving up a single to start the third inning. Using a pitch mix that included a fastball that sat at 97 mph, Glasnow struck out the side in the first inning before recording another strikeout to close out the second. Having thrown just 28 pitches, Glasnow started the third inning and threw three more pitches before coming out of the Dodgers’ 7-6 win.
“Very in rhythm,” manager Dave Roberts said after the game. “Very efficient, used his entire pitch mix, it was really good. Good to see him get into the third inning. Positive day.”
The 32-year-old entering his third season with the Dodgers credits his coaches for keeping his mechanics on point.
“It allows me to just go out and pitch and be athletic,” Glasnow said after his outing. “I’m able to just go out and play baseball as opposed to trying to tinker and fix certain stuff.”
Though he was plagued by injuries in his second season with the Dodgers, Glasnow finished on a high note, giving up just four earned runs over 21-1/3 postseason innings, good for a 1.69 ERA, pitching as a starter and a reliever. It was Glasnow’s first taste of the postseason as a Dodger, since a right-elbow injury ended his 2024 campaign in August, and was highlighted by his first career save in Game 6 of the World Series.
Glasnow called the experience “great.”
“When you go in with all those nerves and that pressure and that excitement, it’s just such an unbelievable feeling to go out [there],” he said last week. “Especially to be a starter and a reliever and just to be thrown into different situations. It was awesome. It was extremely memorable for me, and I’m craving to do it again. And hopefully we can do it again and get a three-peat.”
Looking to build off his impressive postseason, Glasnow enters the season with a newfound confidence.
Last year Glasnow was placed on the injured list because of right shoulder inflammation at the end of April and did not pitch again until just before the All-Star Break. The Santa Clarita native has a long history of injuries — including Tommy John surgery in 2021 — and never has clocked more than 135 innings in a season.
Over the winter he got married and made adjustments that he hopes will better his health. A successful season means staying off the IL.
“Pitching well and staying healthy,” Glasnow said when asked about goals. “Just doing all that and trying to make as many starts as I can, and just executing every start and being healthy in the postseason.”
Sports
Tage Thompson Responds To MAGA Hat Criticism After Team USA Gold: ‘Proud To Be An American’
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NEWARK, N.J. – It’s been a long few days for Buffalo Sabres star Tage Thompson. He scored a critical goal for Team USA in the team’s semifinal match against Slovakia, and then went on to help the U.S. ultimately defeat Canada on Sunday to capture the gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Thompson admitted after Wednesday’s game against the New Jersey Devils, the first NHL game for Buffalo since the Olympic break, that he was tired, rusty and sluggish on the ice. But most fans wouldn’t know it. Thompson scored Buffalo’s first goal of the night and assisted on the second as the Sabres emerged with a 2-1 victory over the Devils.
New Jersey Devils’ Jack Hughes, right, and Buffalo Sabres’ Tage Thompson gesture to fans before an NHL hockey game in Newark, New Jersey, on Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Jack Hughes, a Devils star and the Team USA skater who scored the game-winning goal in overtime to defeat Canada, was honored by the team during a pregame ceremony. Hughes pulled an incredibly classy move and brought Thompson out to center ice, so the crowd could cheer the pair together.
Still, as impressive as Thompson’s return to the ice was, the story for much of the media following Team USA’s historic gold medal win revolves around the team’s trip to the White House and appearance during Tuesday’s State of the Union address by President Trump.
White House Visit, MAGA Hat Photo Spark Backlash
Thompson, in particular, found himself in the crosshairs of the radical left-wing media mob because he was photographed wearing Trump’s famous “Make America Great Again” hat alongside press secretary Karoline Leavitt and several teammates.
Karoline Leavitt shared a photo to social media posing with deputy director of communications, Margo Martin, and several members of Team USA. The photo included Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman, Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, Jack and Quinn Hughes, and Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson. Both Hughes brothers wore red and white USA hats, while Thompson sported a “Make America Great Again” hat, prompting widespread backlash on social media. (Karoline Leavitt via Instagram)
I asked Thompson after the game if he had any response to the criticism over his hat choice.
“I’m proud to be an American, and I have my own faith, my own beliefs, and everyone’s entitled to their own opinions and beliefs, as well,” Thompson said diplomatically as he sat at his locker after the game. “I think we should be able to live in peace knowing that not everyone’s going to agree with you.”
Speaking of Thompson’s faith, I also asked him about his Christian beliefs that helped shape everything in his life.
“Jesus is everything to me. Obviously, we’re made imperfect. We’re all sinners, and we need him. And I fall short every single day, and he’s the one I rely on,” Thompson said.
Buffalo Sabres’ Tage Thompson (72) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils in Newark, New Jersey, on Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
“I think when you have that sense of hope, the grace and the mercy that I receive every day from him is something that gives me peace and joy in life, no matter what I do. And he’s blessed me with this game and this opportunity to play the game I love at a high level, a beautiful family and friends, people surround me that I love. And I’m just very grateful.”
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I think American hockey fans can confidently say they are grateful to Tage Thompson and all the players on the Team USA men’s hockey squad that helped deliver one of the most monumental gold medals in U.S. Winter Olympics history.
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