Sports
In the Gold Rush birthplace of downhill ski racing, the longboarders are back
Fast — as befits a query about downhill ski racing: The place did it start?
If Scandinavia involves thoughts, contemplate this: Years earlier than there have been organized races in Europe, miners have been competitively hurtling down mountains in part of California generally known as the Misplaced Sierra, a mom lode of forests, lakes and small, distant cities in Sierra and Plumas counties about an hour north of Truckee.
This heritage is well known and reenacted every year at Johnsville Ski Bowl in Plumas-Eureka State Park. However COVID-19 halted the festivities for 2 years and through that time, the Dixie hearth devastated the encircling areas.
So this 12 months’s Longboard Revival Races, concluding this weekend, have a good time not solely the resilience of early Californians, however the modern-day fortitude of hard-hit mountain communities.
“As you possibly can see, we wanted a vacation,” stated Pete Bartels, waving at a crowd that was jostling, dancing, hollering, and ingesting beer at 10 a.m. throughout February’s occasion.
The historical past goes like this: The Gold Rush drew fortune-seekers from everywhere in the world, and miners trapped by snow 30 toes deep discovered to longboard ski from a pioneer born in Norway, the place longboard snowboarding originated. Pushed by boredom, they started racing, recurrently clocking speeds above 85 mph on skis as much as 16 toes lengthy, which weren’t designed to show or cease.
Members choose numbers out of a bucket to get their race positions.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Instances)
Within the Nineteen Nineties, a bunch of males who now name themselves the “Grey Beards” introduced again the longboard races that started circa 1850 and petered out within the Nineteen Fifties. An early poster from the relaunched occasion declared the races would start at excessive midday with the tipping of the flask.
Bartels, then a professor at Feather River Faculty in Quincy, had develop into enamored of the outdated, wood skis he noticed within the native museum and that locals typically unearthed of their sheds. He began a category crafting them.
As soon as they made the skis, they had to race on them, Bartels defined.
The trick to hurry was — because it was within the Gold Rush days — the wax, referred to as dope. Which defined the checkered hats on sale at February’s occasion proclaiming “Dope is King.”
No trendy fluorocarbons are allowed, and everybody has their very own recipe. Again when Bartels raced as Eureka Pete, he used to favor paraffin, a little bit turpentine and a few WD-40.
Official starter Phil Gallagher, middle, units racers on the beginning line.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Instances)
Bartels has lived in Plumas County since 1972 which he says makes him a newcomer in these elements.
“Once I first bought right here, there was one stoplight in the entire county,” he stated. “Now there’s 4 or 5.“
The races are held the third Sunday of January, February and March. By early morning ultimately month’s occasion, the park’s parking zone was full.
Individuals with youngsters and canine — and in a number of circumstances canine pulling youngsters in sleds and vice versa — trudged up an extended, steep highway on a blue-skied morning when the solar glinted off a dusting of contemporary snow.
In entrance of a ski lodge constructed circa 1958, the Feather River Jubilation Orchestra performed a full of life mixture of bluegrass, old-timey jigs, Japanese European classics and the rest the newbie musicians fancied. The banjo participant had nearly misplaced his home within the fires. The accordion participant had been evacuated for weeks and stayed with one of many fiddlers.
The CEO of the occasion was ingesting his second Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. If the race ended up with an odd variety of contestants, he stated, he can be pressured to race, and that required libations.
Members of a historic society on the longboard ski races. Rivals and spectators costume in 1860s interval garb and undertake fictional names for the day.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Instances)
Robin Adrian-Murray, holding her grandson Mason, pointed and stated, “Look, there’s your cousin Sierra.”
It was the third time a reporter had heard a Sierra identified — every time referring to a unique girl.
“I suppose it’s a widespread title round right here,” Adrian-Murray stated. “However not likely. I can solely consider 4 or 5 Sierras that I do know.”
She discovered learn how to ski on this hill when she was 4 years outdated. Later, she and her husband — who additionally grew up within the space — left to seek out their futures.
Skis used within the onboard race are selfmade pine boards with customized leather-based bindings. They have to be 9 to 16 toes lengthy to compete.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Instances)
“However I all the time liked the mountains and being up excessive, so I talked him into shifting again.”
They’re one in every of ten households that dwell in Johnsville year-round. Their youngsters discovered to ski right here and now carry their youngsters.
For a very long time, the mountain communities have been attempting to boost cash to place in a chairlift and reopen these runs on what’s believed to be America’s first downhill ski space.
However there was hardly any snow for six years.
“There was a dusting at Christmas that bought our hopes up, however not a lot since. And with the fires, there’s so many issues gone,” Adrian-Murray stated.
Bryson Schrader melts “dope” wax onto wood skis earlier than competing within the Historic Longboard Race Revival Collection.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Instances)
“However we’re fairly fortunate up right here. That is our yard,” she stated, nodding at craggy, snow-covered Eureka Peak, as soon as referred to as Gold Mountain due to the $25 million in gold produced from hard-rock mining in the course of the late 1800s.
The races have been held in heats, two racers at a time. In one of many day’s first males’s races, a skier fell instantly, struggling to face again up on his prolonged planks.
The opposite fell. Each gave up on regaining a vertical stance and sat on their skis for a photograph end of two awkward tobogganers.
Cheering loudly was Monica Rutter, a first-time customer from San Rafael.
In the course of the pandemic her household had painted rocks, raised butterflies, baked bread.
“We’re shut, and we imagine in case you consider what you’ve as a substitute of what you don’t have, you’ll persevere.” she stated.
However she’s an legal professional for the U.S. Postal Service, and hundreds of these employees fell in poor health with COVID-19. A number of who died have been shut co-workers. Her aunt and cousin again in South America died. Her daughter spent her senior 12 months of highschool at dwelling. Her 14-year-old son has grown more and more cautious of getting contaminated. She and her husband, each authorities attorneys, have been underneath extra work stress than ever earlier than.
Spectators cheer as racers compete within the Historic Longboard Race Revival Collection in Johnsville.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Instances)
“We’re actually fortunate. However…” she stated, pausing for an extended second. “It’s nonetheless onerous. I’m so glad to be right here proper now. There’s pleasant folks. There’s beer. There are canine. What’s to not love?”
She stated she was going to inform her 82-year outdated father, who performs soccer 4 occasions per week, concerning the occasion.
“As a result of outdated males have a factor for Gold Nation,” she stated, as a number of folks round her nodded in settlement.
Announcer John Sheehan put out the decision for a brand new occasion: The Pooches on the Podium Photograph Shoot. (Get your “Canine of Longboards” calendar this spring.) About 25 house owners with a number of pets gathered on the platform.
The malamute was circled to face the digital camera. A Labradoodle climbed right into a lap. The proprietor of a shiny black lab propped his canine’s entrance leg within the air as if waving whats up. However the native newspaper reporter put her digital camera down.
“The place’s Annie?” she shrieked. “Annie will not be within the image.”
A racer cheers as he crosses the end line to win his warmth.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Instances)
A small wiry canine was produced, positioned within the entrance row, and the portrait taken.
Sheehan has been emceeing the occasion for 20 years, and earlier than the final warmth, he requested over the loudspeaker that the gentleman within the purple jacket transfer, as he was making it tough for the inebriated judges to see the purple end line. The Clampers — a company identified for placing up historic plaques, and, effectively, ingesting — function judges for the occasion. The spectator held his prized spot however took off his coat.
Now it was time for the skilled racers to swoosh down the mountain.
Two native males raced, which consisted of holding a immobile crouch atop two dashing, waxed boards straight down a mountain.
“There’s pleasant folks. There’s beer. There are canine. What’s to not love?”
Monica Rutter, a spectator ultimately month’s longboard ski races.
Ryan Murray, 32, received a warmth that assured a spot within the World Longboard Championship on Sunday. He’s the daddy of Mason, cousin of Sierra, and belongs to a bunch referred to as the Younger Weapons by the Graybeards.
Bartels, who gave Murray additional credit score for his artistic trash-talking earlier than the race, stated the Graybeards had held onto their titles longer than they thought they might, largely as a result of the youthful ones used to occasion too late the evening earlier than.
However now, stricken by dangerous joints, weak hearts and messed-up shoulders, they’ll not fly down a mountain at 80 mph on skis twice as tall as they’re.
However they run the present, egg on the trash-talk and fend off sure Norwegians who insist downhill racing began in Norway.
“They don’t have a shred of written proof,” Bartels stated.
A whole lot of spectators watch a competitor full on the Plumas Eureka Ski Bowl in Johnsville.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Instances)
He continues to dig into the historical past and lately learn how within the 1800s, miners from China have been trusted with judging duties and holding the sizable wagers.
“Possibly children raced each other dwelling from college in Norway on snowshoes, however actual downhill racing began proper right here in California,” he stated.
Sheehan, the announcer, stated the races — which encourage “whiskeying” and historic apparel, thus explaining the numerous prime hats, gingham skirts and flasks — are an essential legacy.
“The way it works round right here, is we give a superb deference to having enjoyable,” he stated. “When occasions are robust, it’s essential to get your thoughts off issues and focus on having fun with one another.”
The Boras Classic began Tuesday with No. 1 Corona, No. 2 Huntington Beach and No. 4 La Mirada all coming away with impressive victories to set up playoff-like matchups in the quarterfinals Wednesday.
Corona (8-0) will play Santa Margarita (7-2) at 3 p.m. at JSerra. Huntington Beach (7-0) will play La Mirada (7-1) at 3 p.m. at Mater Dei.
Corona 6, Gahr 0: For the seventh time in eight games, the Panthers recorded a shutout. This time it was sophomore Mason Sims going the distance, striking out six and giving up three hits. Jesiah Adrade had two doubles.
Santa Margarita 13, Paloma Valley 2: Warren Gravely had three RBIs for the Eagles. Gavin Spiridonoff homered and Brody Schumaker had two hits.
Huntington Beach 4, Aquinas 1: Trevor Goldenetz hit a two-run double and Otto Espinoza struck out seven in five innings to help hand Aquinas its first defeat.
La Mirada 7, Birmingham 0: A grand slam in the first inning by Travis Friend and a two-run homer by Bear Calvo gave pitcher Jacob Oropeza all the run support he needed in five scoreless innings.
Vista Murrieta 2, Maranatha 1: A sacrifice fly by Michael Velardez in the sixth inning broke a 1-1 tie and lifted Vista Murrieta to a win in the Boras Classic. Vaughn Necker struck out eight in 5 2/3 innings. Zach Strickland struck out nine in five innings for Maranatha, which received a home run from Trevor Rivas.
Carlsbad 8, Cypress 4: Lucas Johnson had three hits for Carlsbad. Paul Dominguez homered for Cypress.
Oaks Christian 11, Calabasas 1: The Lions opened Marmonte League play with an impressive victory. James Latshaw was four for four and Carson Sheffer had three hits. Ty Hanley gave up one run in six innings.
Servite 5, Oregon Jesuit 4: The Friars (9-2) won in nine innings. Tomas Cernius homered for Servite.
Josh Stonehouse celebrates a double to help Crespi improve to 11-0 with a 9-0 win over Loyola.
(Craig Weston)
Crespi 9, Loyola 0: Jackson Eisenhauer threw four scoreless innings to raise his scoreless innings streak to 30 this season as the Celts improved to 11-0 and 6-0 in the Mission League. Josh Stonehouse had three RBIs.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 2, Sierra Canyon 1: The Knights won their fourth straight Mission League game. Juju Diaz-Jones gave up one run in five innings and Patrick Arranaga got the save.
Bishop Alemany 15, St. Francis 2: Sophomore Chase Stevenson collected four hits to help the Warriors pick up their first Mission League win under new coach Randy Thompson.
Harvard-Westlake 12, Chaminade 2: James Tronstein was three for three with two RBIs and Jake Kim had a home run and three RBIs for Harvard-Westlake.
Bishop Amat 4, St. Paul 1: The Lancers scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to win the Del Rey League game. Izaac Muniz struck out 11 in 5 2/3 innings. Joaquin Ortiz had three hits.
Thousand Oaks 10, Agoura 5: Dane Holt homered and also drew four walks to lead the Lancers.
Westlake 6, Newbury Park 5: Mason Charles had a walk-off hit in the seventh for Westlake. He finished with three hits and four RBIs.
Newport Harbor 3, Edison 2: Gavin Guy drove in the winning run with two out in the 10th inning for Newport Harbor. Cody Kruis had three hits for Edison.
Marina 7, Los Alamitos 3: A six-run seventh led Marina to victory. Luke Pratali finished with a double and single for Marina.
Corona del Mar 4, Fountain Valley 2: Marc Solomon homered for Corona del Mar.
Softball
Granada Hills 20, North Torrance 4: Elysse Diaz contributed three doubles and Annabella Ramirez hit two home runs for Granada Hills.
Brazil have endured so many low ebbs over the past 15 years that it can be hard to remember them all.
The historically embarrassing 7-1 defeat to Germany at their own World Cup? Sure, but don’t forget the moronic reappointment of Dunga as coach in the immediate aftermath or the twin Copa America meltdowns of 2015 and 2016. The doomed, drawn-out pursuit of Carlo Ancelotti has to be on the list, too, as should about six other federation-level failures. You’d need a team of forensic experts to properly sift through all this rubble.
There is also a more recent option that might have passed you by. In November 2023, led by their second interim coach of the year, Brazil welcomed Argentina to Rio de Janeiro for a World Cup qualifier. They lost 1-0, a predictable result that nonetheless tipped the crisis-o-meter towards ‘existential’.
It was Brazil’s third defeat in the first six rounds of qualification. It left them sixth in the 10-team South American group. Venezuela, no one’s idea of a major football power, were above them in the standings. So were Ecuador and they had started the campaign with a points deduction.
The expansion of the World Cup and an extra automatic qualifying spot for the CONMEBOL region (there are now six, with an inter-continental play-off for the nation finishing seventh) ought to have reduced Brazil’s chances of failure to nought. Instead, they were flirting with disaster.
Sixteen months on, the situation is under control. A hard-fought victory over Colombia last week lifted Brazil to third. There is an eight-point buffer between them and seventh. We can say with some certainty that they will be at the 2026 World Cup. The drama is over.
That, though, is not to say that all is sunshine and roses. Indeed, as Brazil prepare to face Argentina for the first time since that reversal in Rio de Janeiro, there is a lingering sense of unease about the direction of travel.
Vinicius Junior celebrates his late winner in Brazil’s 2-1 win over Colombia on Friday (Buda Mendes/Getty Images)
Brazil’s results have improved, but it would be generous to say they have been playing well. They were stodgy in the extreme at last summer’s Copa America and recent matches have followed the same template: there are little spurts of inspiration, most of it individual, but also long periods when Brazil are fretful and frantic. They started well against Colombia but let all momentum seep away, as they often do.
Vinicius Junior’s late winner, a deflected strike from range, owed more to pluck and luck than any collective plan. “I hope it unlocks something,” Vinicius Jr said after the game. He is not the only one.
Dorival Junior, who took over as coach in January 2024, is a likeable character. He arrived with a reputation as a firefighter, someone who could avert the impending crisis. On that count, it’s job done. Mathematically, Brazil are safe. The question now is whether he has the tactical acumen to turn them into a proper team.
The jury is very much out on that one. He says he wants his star forwards — Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr, Raphinha — to play with freedom, but more structure is needed against organised defences. His system can leave Brazil’s two midfielders exposed and he is slow to react to shifts in the pattern of a match. “Sometimes it’s difficult to get your message across clearly,” he said after the Colombia game, an admission that was far more revealing than he can have intended.
Another line from his press conference — “We’ve seen a considerable improvement in every game” — drew the ire of the Brazilian press. “You need a magnifying glass to see any progress,” deadpanned Jessica Cescon of GloboEsporte. “We need something different, a gust of originality,” wrote Tostao, the former Brazil striker.
The juxtaposition with Argentina is a painful one on every level. Few would ever admit to such heresy, but all sensible Brazilian football fans will feel an acute pang of jealousy when they look across their southern border.
Most obviously, there are the trophies. Argentina won the World Cup in 2022, something Brazil have not managed in over two decades and don’t look like doing any time soon. The last two editions of the Copa America have gone Argentina’s way, too. Brazil won that competition in 2019, but that seems a long time ago now. For the past six years, this has been an incredibly one-sided rivalry.
Part of the charm of this period of Argentine dominance is that it was so unexpected. Argentina, like Brazil, spent the 2010s lurching between crises, yet found a winning lottery ticket down the back of the sofa. Lionel Scaloni has not solved every issue behind the scenes — he came close to walking away from the job last year after allegedly falling out with the federation hierarchy — but he has filtered out the noise and the nonsense to transformative effect. Brazil would kill for a little slice of the same.
Dorival Junior took over as Brazil head coach in January 2024 (Evaristo Sa/AFP via Getty Images)
On the pitch, Argentina are everything Brazil are not: settled, drilled, coherent. Obviously, the presence of a world-historical footballer is always likely to swing things in your favour, but Argentina know how to get by when Lionel Messi is absent, as he will be in Buenos Aires on Tuesday. This is Scaloni’s seventh year in charge and you can tell. Brazil’s players, as Marquinhos put it this week, “are still getting to know each other”; Argentina’s dogs of war know each other inside out.
Perhaps the most stark contrast, though, is to be found in the stands and in the streets.
It is impossible to think about Argentina’s World Cup win without remembering those amazing scenes of support and jubilation in the country’s cities: the swaying seas of fans in city squares, the tears, the singing, the lads clinging to telephone poles, hollering themselves hoarse.
Success always breeds attachment, but there is something extra here, genuine communion. Argentines do not just watch these players; they feel in tune with them, represented by them, ennobled by their many attributes. (And, less positively, defensive of their flaws.)
Things are different for Brazil. There is, understandably, no great groundswell of support for the Selecao in its current iteration. More interesting is the lack of any great national outrage about the team and its diminished standing. The overriding feelings are apathy and drift.
This is not a new phenomenon. Brazilian pundits have wrung their hands about the lack of connection between the national team and the public for years, maybe even decades. The players are asked about it all the time. Every game is painted as an opportunity to get people onside, to start forging a new, united front. It’s an impossible thing to track empirically, but the persistence of the discourse tells its own story.
A few factors are usually cited as reasons for the malaise. One is that many national team players have no real links with the Brazilian public, having left the domestic scene before playing much — or any — senior football. Another is that Brazil spent years playing friendlies all over the globe, prioritising revenue over kinship.
Then there are the usual, tired tropes about players caring more about their bank accounts and club teams than they do for their country, an argument completely undermined by the willingness of those same players to cross the Atlantic multiple times per year to get jeered whenever they don’t win 3-0. (It would be unfair to conduct any analysis of the team-fan relationship without noting the strains of entitlement and impatience that exist within the Brazilian fanbase.)
It’s not clear how you solve any of this. It’s not clear that you even can. The best hope, you’d say, is simply to start winning things — to kickstart a virtuous cycle that obscures all of the fissures, much as Argentina did when they appointed Scaloni in 2018.
As Brazil head to Buenos Aires, to another raucous stadium, to yet another exhibition of symbiosis between team and public, they will know that there is a path out of purgatory. Bottling lightning like Argentina did, however, will not be easy.
(Top photos: Getty Images)
Sports
Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark send prayers to JuJu Watkins after USC star's heartbreaking injury
JuJu Watkins has taken the college basketball world by storm. But, the Southern California guard suffered a devastating, season-ending knee injury during a second-round game in the NCAA women’s tournament on Monday.
Watkins, 19, was carried off the court in the first quarter of USC’s eventual victory over Mississippi State. ESPN, citing sources, later reported that Watkins tore her right ACL and would miss the remainder of the tournament. A team spokesperson confirmed plans to have the sophomore undergo surgery and then start rehabilitation.
The heartbreaking moment sparked a considerable amount of reaction across the sports world, with WNBA star Angel Reese being among those who shared a message of support to Watkins.
Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5) looks to pass the ball against the Las Vegas Aces during the first half at Wintrust Arena. (Kamil Krzaczynski/USA TODAY Sports)
“Prayers for Juju,” Reese wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, along with a sad-face and praying hands emoji.
Caitlin Clark, the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year, also shared a message of support for Watkins. “Sending all my thoughts and prayers to JuJu. Kid will come back stronger than ever,” Clark wrote on X.
Watkins was fouled as she drove to the basket on a fast break around five minutes into Monday’s game. Her right knee appeared to buckle on the play, which caused her to fall onto the hardwood. She remained on the floor for well over a minute and was in visible pain as she grabbed her knee.
Southern California guard JuJu Watkins (12) controls the ball against Mississippi State guard Jerkaila Jordan (2) during the first half in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
The Trojans’ 96-59 win on Monday secured a spot in the Sweet 16, but losing Waktins will likely have a drastic impact on the tournament’s landscape. USC entered March Madness with a top seed as the program eyed a potential run to a national title.
USC’S RAYAH MARSHALL GETS HELD BACK IN HEATED MOMENT AFTER MARCH MADNESS WIN
Watkins put together an outstanding freshman campaign during the 2023-24 season, and her impressive performance continued this year. The Los Angeles native averaged 23.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.4 assists over 33 games this season.
Southern California guard JuJu Watkins (12) reacts on the floor after an injury during the first half against Mississippi State in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Monday, March 24, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
Watkins averaged 27.1 points per game during her freshman year. Clark, the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer across men’s and women’s basketball, is the only player to average more points than Watkins that season.
Watkins earned Big Ten Player of the Year honors and was a unanimous first-team All-American for a second consecutive year. USC will meet No. 5 Kansas State in the Sweet 16 on Friday in Spokane, Washington.
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