Sports
Column: This City Section soccer rivalry takes competition to the limit
They’ve been playing soccer together for four years at Birmingham High, Adrian Diaz, the scorer, and Steven Ramos, the defender.
Next season they will move on to college and play at rival schools, Diaz for UC Riverside and Ramos at Cal State Northridge. Almost every practice, they joke about what will happen when they are no longer teammates.
“Who’s going to win, who’s going to lose,” Ramos said.
“We’re already preparing,” Diaz said.
El Camino Real’s Rey Lara is unable to stop game-winning goal from Birmingham’s Steven Ramos that made the score 3-2 in a game last season.
(Craig Weston)
Ramos won’t reveal his strategy for stopping Diaz, who has 14 goals this season.
“It’s a secret,” he said.
Fortunately, they still have several months to go as teammates, and one of their biggest games is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday when they play at rival El Camino Real in a West Valley League match.
The teams last met in last season’s City Section championship game, won 2-0 by Birmingham. A fight broke out afterward, and the consequences were swift: Both teams were banned from participating in the Southern California regional playoffs.
Ramos said fighting “was a dumb decision. It ruined our season.”
Said Diaz: “I was very surprised and we’re all friends and know each other from soccer. It wasn’t supposed to happen.”
Now it’s time to see what lessons were learned. Coaches and administrators from both schools have been adamant that fighting won’t be tolerated.
“I have talked to our kids and I’m sure they’ve talked to theirs, and I think both teams understand they can’t do this ever again,” Birmingham athletic director Rick Prizant said.
Said El Camino Real coach Ian Kogan: “I addressed it at the beginning of the season and reminded them that what we did was not the standard. We respect Birmingham as an opponent. It shouldn’t happen again.”
These are two of the top teams not only in the City Section but also in Southern California. Birmingham is 13-1; El Camino Real is 8-1. Birmingham’s only loss was to Oxnard, a team El Camino Real defeated. El Camino Real’s only loss was to Hart, a team Birmingham defeated. Two of Birmingham’s best players are El Camino Real transfers, brothers Carlos and Christian Esnal. Carlos had six goals in two games since becoming eligible following the sit-out transfer period.
Every season the schools battle it out for the league title and they frequently end up meeting for the City title.
The matches are intense and fans in the stands also get excited. Many alumni get fired up just remembering their rivalry experiences.
“Going into my fourth year, I feel the rivalry gets better,” Diaz said.
Ramos has friends at El Camino Real and learned they are real friends because they didn’t attack him during the fight.
“We can’t let that happen again,” he said. “It’s just an intense rivalry on the field. Off it, I don’t have a problem.”
Kogan said Ramos always seems to have his best games against the Royals.
El Camino Real has a top scorer in Jonathan Rabinovitch, who has 13 goals. “He’s had an amazing season,” Kogan said.
But Birmingham has the duo of Diaz and Ramos.
“I’m hoping they will let their guard down and let us beat them,” Kogan said.
Sports
NFL reporter responds to fake death rumor in hilarious fashion: ‘Glitch in the matrix’
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An internet rumor swirled last week that a longtime NFL reporter had died at the age of 40.
News of Jane Slater’s supposed death on social media, but she was quick to shut it down.
An X user posted a screenshot of a post on Facebook that showed Slater in black and white with the graphic “1980-2025” saying she had died at 40. Slater, 45, was born in 1980, but the years written in the post would mean she died at either age 44 or 45.
NFL Network sideline reporter Jane Slater stands on the sidelines prior to an NFL football game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Chicago Bears, at Soldier Field on Dec. 26, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images)
“A veteran reporter who covered the Dallas Cowboys—having followed the team for over a decade—has passed away at the age of 40 after a tragic domestic violence incident, leaving behind a 5-year-old child. Her years of dedicated work, along with the heartbreaking circumstances surrounding her death, have left loyal fans stunned, devastated, and praying for her and her family,” the post read.
The user asked Slater, “did you pass away??”
Jane Slater speaks with T.Y. Hilton of the Dallas Cowboys after the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at AT&T Stadium on Dec. 24, 2022 in Arlington, Texas. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
STEELERS’ AARON RODGERS HILARIOUSLY TRASH TALKS STAR DEFENDER IN MIC’D UP MOMENT
“I don’t think so? But does this mean there is (a) glitch in the matrix? I’m gonna wrap myself in bubble wrap until NYE,” Slater joked.
If there is one thing the Facebook post got correct, it’s that Slater does mainly cover the Cowboys for the NFL Network.
NFL Network reporter Jane Slater on the sideline prior to an NFC Wild Card Playoff game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Dallas Cowboys at Raymond James Stadium on Jan. 16, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. (Perry Knotts/Getty Images)
Prior to joining in 2016, Slater worked for ESPN and the Longhorn Network, having attended the University of Texas. She also hosted a radio show in Dallas.
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Sports
It’s love, set and match: Tennis icon Venus Williams weds actor, model partner in Florida
Tennis legend Venus Williams wed Danish model and actor Andrea Preti over the weekend in Florida, the new bride announced in a shared post.
An Instagram post from Vogue Magazine’s Weddings section announced the nuptials, with the message garnering more than 30,000 likes as of Tuesday afternoon.
“We all love each other so much,” Williams, 45, said in the Vogue post. “It was just the happiest, most beautiful, sweetest day.”
The post was scant on details other than the event took place over five days in and around the couple’s home in Palm Beach Gardens.
An email for comment to representatives for Williams and Preti, 37, was not immediately returned.
The couple met at 2024 Milan Fashion Week and began texting shortly after, according to Vogue.
The couple eventually became engaged on Jan. 31 in Tuscany, according to Vogue. That detail was confirmed in July during what was a historic month for Williams.
The Compton native defeated 23-year-old Peyton Sterns 6-3, 6-4 in the first round action of the D.C. Open after a 16-month hiatus from singles matches.
In victory, Williams became the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match, trailing only fellow legend Martina Navratilova, who was 47 when she won in 2004.
“Yes, my fiance is here, and he really encouraged me to keep playing,” Williams told the Tennis Channel’s Rennae Stubbs in a post-match interview. “There were so many times where I just wanted to coast and kind of chill. … He encouraged me to get through this, and it’s wonderful [for him] to be here. He’s never seen me play.”
Preti has written, acted and directed in a handful of films, primarily in Italy.
The wedding was the second for the couple, who also held a ceremony in Italy in September.
Sports
Lindsey Vonn qualifies for fifth Winter Olympics
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As Philip Rivers has shown he could still tear up the NFL at age 44, American Olympic legend Lindsey Vonn has also proven that age is just a number.
Vonn, 41, qualified for the 2026 Milan Cortina Games, Team USA announced on Tuesday. It will be the fifth Winter Olympics that she competes in.
United States’ Lindsey Vonn reacts at the finish area of an alpine ski, women’s World Cup downhill, in Val D’Isere, France, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Pier Marco Tacca)
Vonn had an impressive run at the World Cup in France over the weekend. She was third in super-G, hitting a high speed of 71 mph. It was her second consecutive podium finish after she was third in downhill. It was the 142nd podium finish in her World Cup career.
“I am honored to be able to represent my country one more time, in my 5th and final Olympics!” she wrote in a post on Instagram. “When I made the decision to return to ski racing, I always had one eye on Cortina because it’s a place that is very, very special to me. Although I can’t guarantee any outcomes, I can guarantee that I will give my absolute best every time l kick out of the starting gate. No matter how these games end up, I feel like I’ve already won.
US OLYMPIANS MADISON CHOCK, EVAN BATES SEND MESSAGE TO OPPONENT WHO TOOK THEIR GOLD BEFORE DISQUALIFICATION
United States’ Lindsey Vonn celebrates on the podium after taking third place in an alpine ski, women’s World Cup downhill, in Val D’Isere, France, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Pier Marco Tacca)
“I am grateful for how the season has gone so far, but I am just getting started. See you in Cortina!”
Vonn has already put together an enviable career in skiing.
She won a gold medal in the 2010 Vancouver Games and two bronze medals in Pyeongchang in 2018. She’s also taken home two gold, three silver and two bronze medals in the World Championships.
The Minnesota native also has 83 World Cup wins and several International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) Crystal Globes.
Notably, she’s back competing for gold after being away from the sport for five years.
Austria’s Cornelia Huetter, left, winner of an alpine ski, women’s World Cup downhill, celebrates on the podium with second-placed Germany’s Kira Weidle Winkelmann, left, and third-placed United States’ Lindsey Vonn, in Val D’Isere, France, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Pier Marco Tacca)
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The Winter Olympics will begin on Feb. 6 and run through Feb. 22.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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