Sports
Column: The Orange County Hall of Fame is a silly idea. Here's how to do it right
Los Angeles doesn’t have a municipal Hall of Fame celebrating notable natives and residents. Nor does New York. Nor Chicago. Nor any of the largest cities and counties in the United States …
except Orange County!
Established last year by the Board of Supervisors, the Orange County Hall of Fame seeks to “honor the brilliant minds, influential leaders, and remarkable talents that have shaped the cultural, economic, and social fabric” of O.C.
Each of the county’s five supervisors nominates five people and sends them to an ad hoc committee that makes the final picks. There will be a ceremony in the coming months for the newest batch of Hall of Famers, and perhaps a permanent display in some county building or other.
Halls of Fame at their best — whether the baseball one in Cooperstown, the California Museum in Sacramento dedicated to Golden State luminaries or the National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame (which is actually in Euclid, Ohio) — choose people that exemplify the profession, place or era being honored. They don’t just honor the obvious pioneers and greats of yore: They uplift the overlooked, deal with the controversial and show a knowledge of the world to present to, well, the world.
The Orange County Hall of Fame is none of that.
It comes off as goober posturing, not worthy of the sixth-most populous county in the nation. Then again, I’m giving my beloved homeland too much credit. For decades, the powers that be have told a very specific narrative about us: triumphalist and trite, self-congratulatory and sappy, while staying far away from our difficult parts.
The Orange County Hall of Fame continues this sad tradition. It comes off, so far, as nodding to political favorites, fanboy posturing and history done via Google and Wikipedia searches.
Seven of the 10 inaugural inductees were entertainers or athletes, for chrissakes, while the three others were developers.
The 2024 class is better than the first, but most members aren’t that influential in the overall Orange County story. Nick Berardino was the longtime head of the Orange County Employees Assn., the largest public employee union in the county. Carl Karcher founded Carl’s Jr., the once-good burger chain that knocked down its longtime Anaheim headquarters last year after moving all operations to Tennessee. Richard Nixon — who was born in Yorba Linda, attended Fullerton High, had his first law office in La Habra and summered in San Clemente during his presidency — might seem like an obvious choice. But that was the extent of his Orange County living, and there are Republicans far more important in creating O.C.’s peculiar brand of conservatism.
Wing Lam? His Wahoo’s Fish Tacos chain isn’t bad and his philanthropy is great, but Glen Bell, the founder of Irvine-based Taco Bell, had far more influence on Mexican food in O.C. and beyond. Michelle Pfeiffer, who grew up in unincorporated Midway City? Great performer, but please — the choice should’ve been John Wayne, thought so essential to who we are by a previous generation of Orange Countians that our airport bears his name.
Gwen Stefani attends a ceremony honoring her with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023. The Anaheim native was inducted into the Orange County Hall of Fame last year as well.
(Chris Pizzello / Invision/AP)
The Orange County Hall of Fame shouldn’t exist at all, honestly. But since it’s probably not going anywhere, it should at least try to do better — and that’s not hard.
Take that inaugural class of 2023. Kobe Bryant lived most of his adult life in Newport Coast, but his worldwide fame happened representing Los Angeles as a Laker. The late William Lyon was a prominent developer, yes, but far more fundamental to Orange County is his contemporary, Don Bren, whose Irvine Co. spans the county’s eras, from rancho days to master-planned suburbs. His idea of what O.C. should look like is mimicked worldwide, for better or worse.
Or consider Greg Louganis, perhaps the greatest Olympic diver ever, who learned his craft across the county. You know who’d be a better choice? His coach, Sammy Lee, a two-time gold medalist and Korean War veteran. Lee made national headlines in 1954 when he tried to buy a home in Garden Grove, only to be refused on account of being Korean American. He settled in Santa Ana instead and had a decades-long career as a beloved community doctor as well as elite diving coach.
I don’t mean to come off as a hater. As a native who never plans to leave — unlike 2023 Hall of Famers Gwen Stefani and Tiger Woods — I have made O.C. history a central part of my adult life. I’ve authored a book on the subject, co-wrote another, teach a course on Latino O.C. at Chapman University and have covered it through my journalism career. I’ve learned that knowing about your hometown’s past, and the stories of the people who made it happen, allows communities to better confront their present and future.
I’m not the only Orange County Hall of Fame skeptic, either. Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento — who as mayor of Santa Ana prompted the city to formally apologize for its role in burning its Chinatown in 1906 — didn’t bother to submit any names last year.
“I thought, ‘Is this something that warrants our time and attention?’” he told me.
Sylvia Mendez visits students in 2022 at Mendez Intermediate School, which is named after her parents, Felicita and Gonzales Mendez, who were part of a landmark school desegregation case. Sylvia was announced as an Orange County Hall of Fame inductee this month.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
But the supervisor made nominations for the 2024 class once he realized most of his colleagues were sticking with it. He decided to pick O.C. residents who offer “a different story from a different perspective.”
“If done well, this could show the evolution of where we came from,” he said.
One of his picks was Sylvia Mendez, who has spent decades publicizing the landmark 1940s school desegregation case that bears her family’s name. The ad hoc committee — this year composed of Supervisors Don Wagner and Doug Chaffee — accepted Mendez but rejected the four other Latino families who were co-plaintiffs.
The committee also passed on Dorothy Mulkey, a Santa Ana resident who in 1967 won a Supreme Court case over a California proposition allowing landlords to discriminate against renters.
“I’m going to resubmit next year, and every year, until she’s in,” Sarmiento said of Mulkey. “Those are the types of people I’d like to see celebrated and recognized.”
Sports
Thekla embarrasses Stardom’s Starlight Kid after retaining AEW World Women’s Championship at Forbidden Door
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Thekla has had every reason to talk as much trash as she’s done.
She made her debut in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) last year and quickly moved up the ladder to win the AEW Women’s World Championship in a strap match against Kris Statlander in February. She’s continued to hold the title even when three opponents were thrown her way at Double or Nothing.
COMPLETE PRO WRESTLING COVERAGE ON FOX NEWS DIGITAL
Thekla enters the ring during the women’s pro-wrestling event “Stardom” at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, on Jan. 13, 2025. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
Thekla declared war on Stardom and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in the buildup to Forbidden Door. She demanded that Stardom send its best to challenge her at Forbidden Door, and they obliged. Starlight Kid stepped up against the “Toxic Spider” and the two put on a great match in front of the pro wrestling audience at the SAP Center in San Jose, California.
Thekla taunted Starlight Kid throughout the match and it appeared she got more than she bargained for at points during the match.
Starlight Kid wouldn’t stay down and gave every effort to bring the AEW Women’s World Championship back to Japan with her. Starlight Kid worked on Thekla’s knee toward the end of the match. But the champion would not quit.
Starlight Kid enters the ring during the Women’s Pro-Wrestling “Stardom” 15th Anniversary at Edion Arena Osaka in Osaka, Japan, on Feb. 7, 2026. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
Thekla got out of the submission hold and avoided being pinned by mere seconds. Thekla was put to the test more than any other opponent she’s faced since becoming the champion.
The “Toxic Spider” hit two stomps and finally put away Starlight Kid to retain the title.
With Stardom president Taro Okada in attendance, Thekla continued her assault against Starlight Kid. Skye Blue and Julia Hart came out to support Thekla. Hart handed Thekla a pair of scissors and the champion ripped the mask off Starlight Kid’s head and spit in it.
Thekla taunted Okada with the mask and hit the wrestling executive with it.
Thekla enters the ring during the women’s pro-wrestling event Stardom at Yokohama Budokan in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan, on March 8, 2025. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Thekla stayed the champion and added a trophy to her mantel.
Remember when we were sure the World Cup would suffer from all the issues that had everyone seeing red before the first ball was kicked?
And remember when we were certain soccer could never catch on in this country?
Despite controversies over visas and ticket prices and transportation, and in spite of consternation over expansion and new rules, the game has, as usual, proved too good to fail.
And we, the American people, have become unusually engrossed in it.
We’ve been tuning in on TV in record numbers and, even at exorbitant prices, helping to sell out our 70,000-some-capacity stadiums. Before group play was even finished, this tournament — staged also in Mexico and Canada — already outdrew the 1994 World Cup, which was hosted by the United States and set an attendance record of nearly 3.6 million.
We’ve been loving the healthy cultural exchange, and we’re being reminded that cultural barriers of traditional sports fandom can be breached.
So now, to keep our interest from drying out like a pitch on a hot summer day, the goal should be to keep the market saturated with soccer. That will take Major League Soccer tearing down all the walls.
It’s already turned the page on its calendar, adopting a summer-to-spring season format that will better blend with the global game.
Now MLS needs to make its games easier to watch, and to do its part to make the sport easier to play.
Canada goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau, left, celebrates with teammate Jonathan David after a 1-0 win over South Africa at the World Cup on Sunday.
(Kelvin Kuo / Los Angeles Times)
While the proverbial iron is hot, it needs a strike like Stephen Eustáquio’s winning rocket in the 92nd minute of Canada’s 1-0 victory against South Africa on Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
Eleven players on the two teams were MLS representatives — including Eustáquio, who spent the last six months in LAFC’s midfield.
Goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau, who played two seasons with LAFC and now plays for Orlando City, stopped the only shot he saw for his second clean sheet this World Cup, which saw the Canadians succeed in their first knockout stage appearance.
There’s been no avoiding MLS players in this World Cup. The greatest of them is piling up goals for Argentina: Lionel Messi, the Inter Miami superstar, is now the all-time World Cup goal-scorer (with 19).
MLS has set an attendance record too, with 45 players participating. It ranks as the league with the second-most players apart from the top five European leagues. LAFC had three current players in the mix.
But wait. Record skip. Before you celebrate the MLS’s contributions to this soccer spectacle, check with the VAR. Yep, without the 13 MLS players representing nations that rank 40th or lower in FIFA’s world ranking, there actually would be fewer than the 37 MLS participants at the World Cup four years ago.
A baby’s first steps are for celebrating, but three decades after the league’s formation, MLS is still searching for a giant leap. It’s still having a mean time of trying to make “fetch” happen for real.
It would help to make its games more readily available — not to the already converted, but to fans who didn’t even know what they didn’t know about soccer until the World Cup began in their backyards.
MLS has already brought MLS from behind Apple’s season pass paywall. And the league and streaming service also reportedly have agreed to a revised media rights deal that will end at the end of the 2028-29 season, three and a half years earlier than expected.
But the hat trick would be to remove the need to subscribe to streaming service to watch MLS games altogether, and then get those matches onto the networks people know to tune into for their sports.
Normalize watching American soccer.
And stop gatekeeping. MLS’s developmental programs are too restrictive and exclusive — they’re not developing more soccer players, they’re curtailing who can play.
It’s in the league’s interests, and the sport’s in this country, to encourage as many players to play as much as they can — including for their high school teams, which MLS Next bars.
They’ve got people in the tent; the goal should be to make them want to stay.
To make them want to join the world’s circus, not to let it pack up and move on, out of sight and out of mind, until it swings back through years from now.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Golf humbles many, including those who are the best in the world.
Just ask J.T. Poston at the Travelers Championship on Sunday.
What started out as a chance to put a low score on the card at the 13th hole after getting greenside in two shots, Poston, the world No. 32 in the Official World Golf Ranking, posted a 12 in an absolute meltdown that derailed his entire day.
J.T. Poston plays a shot from the first tee during the first round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn., on June 25, 2026. (Jordan Bank/Getty Images)
While Poston may not have been in contention, he wasn’t picturing himself at the bottom of the leaderboard by the end of the tournament, but the 12 was the main reason behind finishing 6-over and 1-over on the tournament for 69th place out of the remaining 72 that made the cut.
So, what exactly happened to Poston?
MICROPHONE ENDURES GOLFER SHANE LOWRY’S WRATH DURING MELTDOWN AT US OPEN
Well, the 13th hole began with a perfect tee shot that found the middle of the fairway. Then, his second shot found a greenside bunker, but professionals sometimes don’t mind finding those bunkers because of how great their short game is. A good bunker shot and Poston has a chance at birdie on the par-5.
But things went awry from there, as the bunker shot came out quite short, leaving him with a chipping situation. Again, professionals understand that’s not the end of the world, with a chance at par after a solid chip.
The nightmare was just beginning for Poston, though, as his fourth shot went clear across the green and ended up in the water on the other side.
From there, Poston had to drop not once, but three separate times because he couldn’t get his ball back on the green. On his 10th stroke, he finally got the ball into a putting position.
J.T. Poston stands on the first tee box during the second round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn., on June 26, 2026. (Ben Jared/PGA Tour)
Poston still had to keep going, putting his 11th stroke and missing it before a tap-in 12 and ending the meltdown in front of the fans.
Poston spoke about the multiple drop balls near the water that continued to roll back into the drink.
“It’s not really rough, where you can kind of blast it out,” Poston said, per Golfweek. “It’s into the grain, but it looks like you can get enough golf ball on it, which is why I kept trying to hit a good chip.”
Poston was asked if he even thought about putting it out of the greenside rough with his chips clearly not working out.
“I feel like it’s just going to hop and that takes all the speed out of it,” he responded. “And you’ve got this big false front you got to get it over. So my worry with trying to putt it was it would not have enough speed to really get there.”
J.T. Poston plays a tee shot on the first hole during the second round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn., on June 26, 2026. (Ben Jared/PGA Tour)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Poston didn’t bounce back on the 14th hole either, as he posted a double bogey on the par-4 to put himself down even more. In the end, Poston posted a 76 on the day to finish off his tournament.
Meanwhile, the Travelers Championship will come down to a playoff that must be played on Monday after Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler found themselves deadlocked at 21-under after the latter sank a putt to force it. Hovland’s putt to win it all just missed and Scheffler took advantage of the open opportunity.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
-
Detroit, MI13 minutes agoMichigan House passes bill to restrict big investors from amassing single-family homes
-
San Francisco, CA22 minutes agoSan Francisco rolls out heightened security measures ahead of World Cup knockout match, 4th of July
-
Dallas, TX29 minutes agoKlyde Warren Park reveals expansion plans, construction timeline
-
Miami, FL32 minutes agoPerson hospitalized after fire breaks out at North Miami Beach apartment building
-
Boston, MA37 minutes agoScottish soccer fan who died in Boston was ‘Tartan Army to his core,’ fundraising page says – The Boston Globe
-
Denver, CO44 minutes agoNuggets decline Jalen Pickett’s team option for 2026-27 season, sources say
-
San Diego, CA47 minutes agoFormer City Manager, Jack McGrory: Straight Talk About San Diego, Part 2
-
Seattle, WA47 minutes agoArmed suspects linked to 3 Seattle robberies within 30 minutes – MyNorthwest.com
