Sports
It’s high school football playoff time, with new teams trying to crash the championship party
For the first time in years, the Southern Section and City Section football playoffs will start with a hint of uncertainty as to which team finishes as champion in the highest divisions.
Since 2016, every Southern Section Division 1 championship game has been won by St. John Bosco or Mater Dei. This season, Mater Dei has losses to Corona Centennial and Santa Margarita. St. John Bosco’s invincibility was punctured with a 35-31 regular-season finale loss to Mater Dei.
“We have to pick ourselves up. We’re still a good football team,” St. John Bosco coach Jason Negro said.
Then there’s Sierra Canyon, which is 10-0, has the best defense anywhere with five shutouts and still gets ranked No. 4 by a computer that decides Southern Section playoff pairings. Do you think the Trailblazers have something to prove?
“We’re kind of the new kids on the block,” coach Jon Ellinghouse said. “We’ve gained some valuable experience. We have a team that belongs on the stage.”
Sierra Canyon is opening the playoffs in two weeks, hosting Santa Margarita as part of an eight-team Division 1 bracket released on Sunday. St. John Bosco is seeded No. 1, Corona Centennial No. 2, Mater Dei No. 3. The championship game is set for Friday, Nov. 28, at the Rose Bowl.
Sierra Canyon will be facing a gauntlet of Trinity League teams, something it has prepared for in the last two seasons by playing Trinity teams in nonleague and playoff games. That Santa Margarita matchup features perhaps the two best defenses in the Southland and six of the players in the game are USC commits.
Don’t forget the best quarterback in Southern California comes from No. 6-seeded Mission Viejo. Ohio State commit Luke Fahey passed for a school-record 569 yards this past week against Los Alamitos. And the Diablos have wins over Santa Margarita and San Diego Lincoln as part of a 9-1 record but injury problems on defense will make it a tough task to get by defending champion Mater Dei.
And Centennial coach Matt Logan, who has passed the 300-win plateau, has his team ready for the big games ahead with an offense that has scored 59 and 60 points, respectively, the past two weeks. His team plays Servite at home, a team it beat 42-14 in August. St. John Bosco hosts Orange Lutheran, a team it beat 48-0.
In the City Section, Birmingham will take a 54-game unbeaten streak against City opponents into the Open Division playoffs as the No. 2 seed, but Carson is the No. 1 seed after winning the Marine League and making weekly improvement behind junior quarterback Chris Fields III.
There’s lots of intriguing City Section story lines. Palisades is 10-0 after its campus was shut down because of the Palisades fire, with coach Dylen Smith having to scramble to form a team without a weight room or home field and players losing homes. The team has won a series of close games with a dynamic passing attack featuring quarterback Jack Thomas, who has 42 touchdown passes.
Crenshaw won the Coliseum League title even though its veteran coach, Robert Garrett, has been on administrative leave all season. He has 298 career victories. Interim coach Terrance Whitehead will send his team against San Pedro.
The 11-time City champion Colts will open against King/Drew, which lost to Crenshaw in the Coliseum League title decider but wanted to play in the Open Division. Be careful what you wish for.
Birmingham coach Jim Rose is so busy coaching his team and the school’s flag football team in next week’s Division II playoffs that he’s teaching everyone how to multi-task. Last week, after the flag team won a game, they wanted to stop the bus at Chick-fil-A.
“No, the boys have practice,” Rose said.
It’s been a strange season with more than 40 transfer players declared ineligible for two years for violating CIF rule 202, which bans providing false information to the Southern Section on transfer paperwork. This past week, Norco forfeited six victories when an investigation found a violation of CIF rule 510, which bans undue influence with prior contact before enrolling several players. San Juan Hills forfeited nine games but received an at-large berth to the Division 2 playoffs. Long Beach Poly, which had six players declared ineligible, decided not to enter the playoffs despite finishing second in the Moore League.
Then, on Saturday, JSerra announced it is parting ways with third-year coach Victor Santa Cruz following an 0-5 Trinity League record. JSerra’s season is over after not receiving an at-large berth.
It’s been a season of unusual happenings, so prepare for a postseason of the same.
Sports
‘Demon’ Finn Balor settles score with Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 42
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LAS VEGAS – Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio were once brothers in arms in the Judgment Day. The two helped the faction run “Monday Night Raw” for several years.
As championships and opportunities came and went, the rift between Balor and Mysterio grew. It came to a head when Balor caused Mysterio to lose the Intercontinental Championship to Penta. Balor leaving the Judgment Day left Mysterio and Liv Morgan as the leaders with JD McDonagh, Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez sticking around.
Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The latter four chose to ride with Mysterio and attacked Balor on one episode of Raw.
The bitter war led to a match Sunday night at WrestleMania 42. To make matters more interesting, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce made the match a street fight hours before the show was set to begin.
Balor had vowed to bring the “Demon” out and he certainly did.
JACOB FATU PUTS DREW MCINTYRE IN THE ‘REAR VIEW’ IN UNSANCTIONED MATCH AT WRESTLEMANIA 42
Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Balor made his way to the ring in his “Demon” gear, dripping with red and black paint. Mysterio was in a mask with other Mysterio supporters.
The two then proceeded to beat the crud out of each other.
Mysterio wrapped Balor’s head in between a chair and hit a 619 on him. He tried to pin Balor, but to no avail. At another point, Mysterio tossed Balor through a table set up in the corner.
As many have learned, it’s hard to keep your demons down. Mysterio learned the hard way.
Balor would not give up. Balor clotheslined Mysterio, hit him with a chair multiple times before wrapping his head in between the chair and drop-kicking him into the corner. Balor put Mysterio onto a table and hit the Coup de Grâce for the win.
Dominik Mysterio is introduced before his match against Finn Balor during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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Balor excised his own demons, while Mysterio is still haunted.
Sports
Ryan Ward has a solid debut, but bullpen blows it again as Dodgers lose to Rockies
DENVER — What do you know? The once-stampeding Dodgers have been caged by the Colorado Rockies.
With a 9-6 loss Sunday at Coors Field, the two-time defending World Series champions lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Dodgers again couldn’t hold a lead, letting the Rockies tee off for 15 hits.
Nor could the Dodgers keep up offensively at the hitter-friendly park — though they put some pressure on in the ninth inning, when Shohei Ohtani led off with a ground-rule double and the Dodgers scored twice to cut the lead to three runs. Then the new guy, Ryan Ward, made the final out in his big league debut, robbed of a hit and a chance to keep chipping away by a diving Troy Johnston in right field.
Before that, the Rockies — who beat the Dodgers twice in 13 meetings all of last season — chased starter Roki Sasaki from the game in the fifth inning and then ruffled the Dodgers’ relievers. That included closer Edwin Díaz, who came on in the eighth and promptly gave up three singles, a walk and two runs before being pulled with the Dodgers trailing 8-4.
Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki gave up three runs on seven hits in 4-2/3 innings Sunday against the Rockies in Denver.
(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
He and Blake Treinen combined to face eight batters without getting an out.
“They both weren’t sharp,” said manager Dave Roberts, who had theories but not many answers — though he did have real concern, especially about Díaz, who recently had his right knee checked out by the medical staff.
Roberts said the closer wanted to pitch after nine days off, even though it wasn’t a save situation. But his velocity was slightly down (95.4 mph vs. 95.8) and so, “today was a tough evaluation,” the manager said.
“It really was,” Roberts said. “Because, you know, I know what it’s supposed to look like, and when it doesn’t look like that, it gets a little concerning, really.”
And losing for the second time to the Rockies, who are now 9-13? Being in danger of losing their four-game series, after arriving in Denver without having lost to a National League opponent, against a club that hasn’t made the postseason since 2018?
It’s well below the bar the Dodgers have set, and it added a bitter note to Ward’s otherwise sweet debut.
Ward punched a big league clock for the first time wearing No. 67 and cranked his first hit off Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen in the fourth inning, lining a changeup to right field for a single that scored Andy Pages, made it 3-0 and got the 20-some members of Ward’s party up, jumping in place, hugging and high-fiving.
“When I was on first base, I got to see them all jumping around up there,” Ward said. “That was a pretty special moment.”
He also singled in the sixth and swung on the first pitch in his first at-bat, a fly out in the third inning.
The Dodgers gave Sasaki a 2-0 lead in the third. Alex Freeland drove in Hyeseong Kim, and Shohei Ohtani doubled in Freeland — and extended his career-best on-base streak to 51 games, moving past Willie Keeler into third place in Dodgers history.
Sasaki went 4-2/3 innings, threw 78 pitches and gave up three runs on seven hits, striking out two and walking two. His ERA after his fourth start: 6.11, worst in the six-man rotation.
The Dodgers fell behind 6-5 in the seventh when Treinen — who was cleared Friday after he was struck in the head by a batted ball during batting practice — gave up four consecutive hits, including a two-run home run by Mickey Moniak.
The result likely will be a minor detail when Ward tells the story years from now about getting the call after first baseman Freddie Freeman was placed on the paternity list.
The Dodgers’ No. 19 prospect and reigning Pacific Coast League MVP spent the last seven years in the minors. Last season, he hit 36 home runs and drove in 122 runs with a .937 on-base-plus-slugging percentage for triple-A Oklahoma City, and he has a 1.020 OPS and four homers this year.
Ward made it a point to improve his chase rate, draw more walks and get on base more frequently, everything the Dodgers asked of him. He also passed the broadest patience test.
“The plate discipline, being a better hitter … he’s done all that,” Roberts said. “He’s improved his defense. But honestly, for me, just not to let his lack of opportunity in the big leagues deter him. That’s easy when you get frustrated and let it affect performance, and he hasn’t done that.”
If anything, Ward said, the waiting made him better.
“I used it to keep going. ‘OK, if I’m not there yet, what do I have to do to get there?’” he said. “‘What part of my game do I need to work on to keep getting better?’
“I used it as fire to keep working.”
That will be the Dodgers’ assignment too.
In the finale of the four-game series Monday, the Dodgers are expected to start left-hander Justin Wrobleski (2-0, 2.12) against Colorado left-hander Jose Quintana (0-1, 5.63).
Sports
ESPN’s Stephen A Smith hears boos from WrestleMania 42 crowd
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LAS VEGAS – Danhausen’s curse may be real after all – just ask Stephen A. Smith and the New York Mets.
While the latter dropped their 10th game in a row, Smith got his share of the curse on Saturday night during Night 1 of WrestleMania 42. Smith was in attendance for WWE’s premier event of the year and heard massive boos from the crowd.
Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)
Smith was sitting ringside to watch the action. The ESPN star appeared on the videoboard above the ring at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. He appeared to embrace the reaction and smiled through it.
The boos came after Danhausen appeared on “First Take” on Friday – much to the chagrin of the sports pundit. Smith appeared perplexed by Danhausen’s appearance. Smith said he heard about Danhausen and called him a “bad luck charm.”
Danhausen said Smith had been “rude” to him and put the dreaded “curse” on the commentator.
WWE STAR DANHAUSEN SAYS METS ‘CURSE’ ISN’T EXACTLY LIFTED AS TEAM DROPS NINTH STRAIGHT GAME
Stephen A. Smith attends WrestleMania 42: Night 1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 18, 2026. (Andrew Timms/WWE)
Smith is far from the only one dealing with the effects of the “curse.”
Danhausen agreed to “un-curse” the Mets during their losing streak. However, he told Fox News Digital earlier this week that there was a reason why the curse’s removal didn’t take full effect.
“I did un-curse the Mets. But it didn’t work because, I believe it was Brian Gewirtz who did not pay Danhausen. He did not send me my money so it did not take full effect,” Danhausen said. “Once I have the money, perhaps it will actually work because right now it’s probably about a half of an un-cursing. It’s like a layaway situation.”
Danhausen enters the arena before his match against Kit Wilson during SmackDown at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on April 10, 2026. (Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
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On “Friday Night SmackDown,” WWE stars like The Miz and Kit Wilson were also targets of Danhausen’s curse.
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