Sports
Memories flood back of the newest inductees into City Section Hall of Fame
Having covered high school sports in Southern California since 1976, when there’s a Hall of Fame induction ceremony, it makes me go back in time to when they were teenagers showing early signs of greatness before people knew their names.
The City Section is holding its latest Hall of Fame induction ceremony Sunday, so let me offer some memories of several being inducted.
It’s 1999. Taft football coach Troy Starr is standing by the goal posts for a junior varsity game and pointing out a freshman receiver named Steve Smith, who’s too young to play on varsity. Starr insists the kid is going to be a phenom. Taft was already in the spotlight, having produced 1992 Olympic 400-meter champion Quincy Watts, so now the excitement is returning.
“I’ve never seen anything like him,” Starr said of Smith. “I’ve struggled to contain my excitement. Not only did I see him make outrageous plays catching the ball, but outrageous blocks.”
Smith scored 27 touchdowns as a freshman receiver and safety on the JV team. He got to play varsity basketball because there was no age limit and immediately became a starter.
“People come to the game and go, ‘Whoa, who’s No. 11?’” assistant basketball coach Derrick Taylor said in 1999.
The rest is history. Smith, in three years of varsity football, set state records by catching 271 passes for 4,545 yards. He went on to star at USC and win a Super Bowl with the New York Giants. In 2023 he had his Taft jersey number retired. He’s got two sons headed to the high school ranks. He’s long deserved to become a City Section Hall of Famer.
It’s 1994, the senior year for El Camino Real pitcher Randy Wolf. I had gotten to know the family well while visiting with his parents, James and Judy, at games. Suddenly, without warning, James died. I’m walking into an El Camino Real game and Randy is about to pitch. He’s standing on the mound with the national anthem playing. Tears are streaming down my face thinking about what he’s feeling with his father gone.
A left-hander who thrived under pressure, Wolf twice pitched at Dodger Stadium to deliver City Section championships. By 1997, Randy and his older brother, Jimmy, an aspiring baseball umpire, were on their way to the majors. Randy played for Pepperdine, then was drafted in the second round by the Philadelphia Phillies. He made his major league debut in 1999 and played his last game in 2015, going 133-125.
It was so fun to watch him succeed, particularly when he pitched for his hometown team, the Dodgers, in 2007 and 2009.
Reggie Morris Sr. was one of most influential basketball coaches in City Section history. At Manual Arts he had to battle against the juggernaut of Crenshaw and coach Willie West, yet found the way to be the disruptor with a little help from Dwayne Polee.
It was 1981 when Polee scored 43 points and led Manual Arts to an 82-69 win over Crenshaw in the City championship game before 14,123 at the Sports Arena. Crenshaw had won three straight City titles until Polee’s remarkable performance.
Then in 1988, after losing twice to Crenshaw, including in the 4-A City final, Manual Arts won the state Division I championship, eliminating Crenshaw in the regional playoffs.
You have to remember those were the glory days of City Section basketball. The championship games would end around 11:30 p.m. at the Sports Arena and watching the fans interact and go crazy was memorable itself.
Morris put himself right in the middle of all the action and all the greatness, then passed along his coaching genes to his son, Reggie Jr., who is on his way to his own Hall of Fame coaching career.
Fairfax had this coach, Steve Miller, who’d wear John Travolta-like attire from the 1977 film “Saturday Night Fever.” Miller went to UCLA when John Wooden was coaching and even officiated practice games for him. Before there was a shot clock, he had the audacity to have his team hold the ball for long periods of time without attempting a shot. The halftime score for a game against Locke was 4-2.
He went on to win City championships at Fairfax and North Hollywood. Dana Jones, his star player, scored 29 points and had 29 rebounds in the 1990 City 3-A final for North Hollywood against Fremont.
Players wanted to attend North Hollywood so badly that there was a joke that the school’s zoo magnet program had become filled with basketball players instead of future doctors or veterinarians. He did produce one doctor who was a basketball player. He also guided the North Hollywood girls’ golf team to a City title and once coached the triple jump for the track team. There’s nothing he couldn’t coach.
Ryan Braun was getting hit after hit at Granada Hills High. The Highlanders were competing in the toughest league in the City Section, the West Valley League, which Chatsworth and El Camino Real were dominating, so Braun was overlooked at times.
Yet he kept finding ways to break through, including hitting a home run at Dodger Stadium in the 2002 City Invitational final.
Braun succeeded at each higher level, first at Miami, then with the Milwaukee Brewers, with whom he won the 2011 National League most valuable player award.
Laurie Healy, then known as Laurie Romero, was the first dominating pitcher for softball power El Camino Real. In 1983 and 1984, she went 34-1 with nine no-hitters and 23 shutouts.
Then she became a private coach, helping many others become great pitchers. Then she became a mother, and her son, Ryon, was a star at Crespi and reached the major leagues.
In 2009, Ryon acknowledged he was skeptical of his mom’s athletic achievements. “I always bagged on her, ‘Mom, you were never that good,’” he said. “One day she pulled out these articles from back in the day. I was pretty impressed. She was legit. She was the real deal.”
Welcome to the City Section Hall of Fame to all those being inducted.
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The WNBA season has been in session for about a week, so it is far too early to make assumptions about teams. That doesn’t mean we won’t make them; it’s just too early to really believe it. I lost my first WNBA bet this season, so I’m hoping to avenge that loss here as the Sky take on the Mercury.
The Chicago Sky are one of the most poorly run franchises in basketball. They have had some great names on their team and only one championship to show for it.
Phoenix Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner shoots over Indiana Fever guard Aerial Powers in the first half at PHX Arena. (Rick Scuteri/Imagn Images)
There really isn’t a clear indication of what is wrong with the franchise, but they’ve never been able to retain their talent. Aside from Kamilla Cardoso, I can’t name a player on this team that they’ve actually drafted. They just seem to get good players and then show them the door.
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Even though they’ve had questionable front office decisions, they seem to have put together a solid team for this season – something I didn’t expect before the season started.
They are 2-0, which is too early to really say they are a good team. I also want to reserve judgment until they face a team with a longer history than last year. The Portland Tempo played their first-ever game against the Sky, and Golden State was good last year, but still is in just their second season of existence.
The Phoenix Mercury are actually considered one of the best franchises in the league. I’m sure there are issues that people have reported, but for the most part, they have good facilities, and people want to play for their team. They made it all the way to the WNBA Finals last season before falling to the Las Vegas Aces. This year, they are looking to restart that journey and see if they can win the last game of the year.
Phoenix Mercury guard Kahleah Copper dribbles the ball in the second half at CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C., on July 27, 2025. (Emily Faith Morgan-Imagn Images)
It will need to come with some better play than they’ve shown through three games this year. They are just 1-2 for the year with a 0-1 home record. The lone win was a blowout victory over the Aces (a clear revenge game if we’ve ever seen one). Then they lost the next two games against Golden State and Minnesota. Losing to the Lynx wouldn’t be a problem, but they didn’t have Napheesa Collier, who still has an ankle injury.
I expect the Mercury to make some adjustments for this game. They haven’t looked very crisp to begin the year, but they’ve been strong on offense, averaging 87 points per game.
The Sky are going to keep relying on their offense to do just enough and their defense to lock in. The Sky do have an edge on the interior, so they can get buckets fairly easily down low. I like the over 166.5 in this game.
Chicago Sky guard Skylar Diggins chases the ball during the fourth quarter against the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on May 13, 2026. (Bob Kupbens/Imagn Images)
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I also think it is worth betting on Kahleah Copper to go over her point total. Copper had two rough games before she broke out in the last game. Now she has the same sight lines and can attack the bigs from the Sky with her athleticism. Since going to Phoenix, she has scored 29, 7, 16, 25 and 28 points in five games against them.
For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024
Tom Harp has been coaching volleyball at Granada Hills High for so long that few remember he won a City Section championship as a co-head football coach with Darryl Stroh in 1987.
In the 1990s, he turned exclusively to coaching boys’ and girls’ volleyball, winning a combined 15 City titles and making 28 finals appearances. The top-seeded Highlanders will try to deliver a seventh Open Division championship on Saturday when they face West Valley League rival Chatsworth in a 4 p.m. final at Birmingham.
The league rivals split their two West Valley matches, with each going five games. Chatsworth knocked off 17-time champion Palisades in the semifinals. MIT-bound Grant Chang is Chatsworth’s 6-foot-6 powerful outside hitter.
All-City volleyball player RJ Francisco of Granada Hills shows off his hitting skills against Chatsworth.
(Craig Weston)
Granada Hills has RJ Francisco, who had 19 kills in a win over Chatsworth.
The Southern Section Division 1 final is Friday night, with Mira Costa taking on Loyola in a 7:30 p.m. match at Cerritos College.
Regional and state playoffs begin next week.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
Sports
Cedric Alexander becomes new TNA X Division champion, crushing Leon Slater’s history-making attempt
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All eyes were on the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) X Division Championship on Thursday night as Leon Slater looked to retain the title over Cedric Alexander and solidify himself as the longest-reigning X Division champion in the company’s history.
Slater knew a legacy was on the line as he looked to break a record set by Austin Aries. But he needed to pin Alexander twice in one match to retain the title. It was a steep mountain to climb as Alexander had been just as dangerous since he entered the company.
The match started off hot with Slater and Alexander trading blows to begin the match. But a quick-thinking Slater rolled up Alexander quickly for the first fall.
Cedric Alexander in the ring during NXT at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., on Sept. 23, 2025. (Bradlee Rutledge/WWE)
Alexander was able to go on offense from there. He hit a nasty German suplex on the outside of the ring. He continued to work on Slater’s tweaked neck. He later hit a Lumbar Check to tie the match at 1-1.
Slater went deep into his bag. He hit an avalanche Styles Clash, which could have kept anyone else down. However, Alexander kicked out. Alexander was able to counter Slater’s high-flying abilities just for a moment and knocked him back out of the ring.
Alexander sent Slater into the steel steps, leaving him busted open. Alexander declared that he would be the “greatest” X Division champion. One brainbuster later, Alexander tried to pin Slater, but couldn’t get him down.
Alexander hit a Lumbar Check again, but Slater kicked out. Slater mustered up the last ounce of energy. A tilt-a-whirl slam set Alexander up for a swanton 450. Slater missed and Alexander hit another Lumbar Check, and then again.
Leon Slater enters the arena during NXT at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., on Jan. 6, 2026. (Craig Melvin/WWE)
Alexander pinned Slater for the win, completely shocking the fans in Sacramento, California. It will be the first reign for Alexander and his first title of any kind in TNA.
Alexander is a reminder, at least for TNA, that “The System always wins.”
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Fabian Aichner appears
Fabian Aichner, formerly known as Giovanni Vinci, makes his way to the ring during WWE SmackDown at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif., on Sept. 20, 2024. (WWE/Getty Images)
Moments before TNA went off the air, the lights went out in the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. Emerging from the darkness was Fabian Aichner.
Aichner stared down Alexander and appeared to name himself the next challenger for the X Division Championship. Aichner, known as Giovanni Vinci for much of his run in WWE, hadn’t really been seen or heard from in months since his departure from WWE.
Aichner wrestled under his real name for a stint in WWE before he came back as Vinci in June 22. He was with WWE until 2025. He was a two-time NXT tag team champion and an Evolve champion before it became a WWE brand.
Eric Young earns future shot at TNA World Championship
Eric Young outlasted nine other men in an over-the-top battle royal and earned a shot at Mike Santana’s TNA World Championship to start the show.
The match came down to him and Elijah after the latter was able to toss members of The System out of the ring while also avoiding Frankie Kazarian trying to get back into the match following his own elimination.
Young and Elijah came to blows on the apron, knowing that as soon as their feet touch the ground, they would be eliminated. Young grabbed onto Elijah’s hair to try to hang onto the moment. Elijah broke away with Young’s back turned to him. Elijah, however, didn’t account for his wide stance.
The TNA original kicked Elijah in the groin and pushed him down to the ground. Young won the match and received a shot to win the TNA World Championship in the future.
He also made clear that Santana was next on his list of people to wipe out as he did to Joe Hendry, EC3 and Ricky Sosa in weeks past.
“Mike Santana, you’re gone next,” he declared.
Mike Santana learns his next opponent
Mike Santana stands in the ring during NXT at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., on Sept. 30, 2025. (Kevin Sabitus/WWE)
Mike Santana came out to address the crowd and praised Young for his efforts to help build TNA from the ground up.
“You better be coming with something different because while you may be someone who helped build this place, when it comes to the new era of TNA on AMC, I’m the guy. I’m the man. I’m the one who holds down the fort week after week as your TNA world champion.”
While Young might have earned a title shot, Daria Rae came out and revealed to the crowd that Steve Maclin was cleared to return to action following an injury at the hands of Santana.
Maclin will get a shot at Santana’s TNA World Championship next week on “Impact.”
Santino Marella also came out during the segment after he was “suspended.” He revealed that Indi Harwell re-signed with TNA.
Lei Ying Lee, Xia Brookside rivalry heats up
Xia Brookside attends the “Freelance” screening at Regal Waterford Lakes in Orlando, Fla., on Oct. 24, 2023. (Jose Devillegas/Getty Images)
Lei Ying Lee brought the TNA Knockouts Championship back home last week with a win over Arianna Grace. She addressed the crowd before being interrupted by her former best friend, Xia Brookside.
In all black, Brookside claimed she was already in Lei’s head.
“You’re such a fraud. I’ve destroyed you mentally, I’ve destroyed you emotionally, I’ve destroyed you physically, and that title will be around my waist.”
Both competitors tossed expletives at each other before the segment was over. But Brookside made clear that she had her eyes on the title.
AJ Francis prevails over KC Navarro
A.J. Francis told Fox News Digital before the SacTown Street Fight on “Impact” that he was going to bring the pain to Navarro.
While wearing “Show Stealer” across his back, Francis did just that. Francis took some punishment from Navarro – a few shots from a baseball bat and a drop kick with a trash can.
Francis was able to turn the tide for a few moments, using the baseball bat to his advantage. But Navarro dug deep. He aligned six chairs in the ring, hoping to splash Francis through it. Instead, Francis countered and attempted an avalanche Down Payment. Somehow, Navarro countered with a cutter as both men crashed through the sea of chairs.
It looked like it could’ve been it. Navarro went for the pin, but only got a two count.
Francis turned on the heat from there. He got ahold of Navarro and hit a Down Payment through tables lined up on the outside of the ring.
He rolled Navarro back into the ring and picked up the pinfall victory.
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“Impact” match results
- Eric Young wins the 10-man battle royal to earn a shot at the TNA World Championship.
- A.J. Francis def. KC Navarro in a SacTown Street Fight.
- Rosemary and Allie def. Veronica Crawford and Mila Moore
- Cedric Alexander def. Leon Slater to win the X Division Championship.
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