Sports
Prep talk: Councilmember looking into helping fix fire damage at Encino Franklin Fields
The office of Los Angeles City Councilmember Imelda Padilla has begun working with agencies to find a solution to repair infrastructure damage caused by a fire last month that went through a tunnel at Encino Franklin Fields and has limited access to three softball fields used by youth organizations and the high school teams at Harvard-Westlake, Louisville and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.
The fire on Jan. 22, believed to have been set by a homeless person, took out wooden framing below an asphalt bridge connecting access to a parking lot, making it unusable for safety reasons. Parents have since paid for a temporary scaffold bridge that allows people to traverse the condemned bridge. The parking lot remains out of commission along with handicap access. Notre Dame has not practiced or played games there since, moving to Valley College. Harvard-Westlake and Louisville have resumed practices and games.
The land is owned by the Army Corps of Engineers. The bridge spans a culvert, maintained by the city. The fields are leased.
A spokeswoman for Padilla said in a statement: “Our team has taken the lead in convening City departments and have engaged the Mayor’s Office to help accelerate coordination and solutions. While agencies work through jurisdictional and cost responsibilities, our priority is preventing unnecessary delays and advancing immediate solutions. As damage and improvement needs are evaluated, we are focused on restoring safe access, including exploring a secondary access point to improve parking safety and ADA accessibility for families and field users. Student athletes and families should not bear the burden of administrative complexity, and we are pushing for a coordinated path forward that prioritizes timely repairs and safe access.”
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
Sports
Eli Manning hilariously shuts down comeback talk as Giants explore Odell Beckham Jr reunion possibility
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The New York Giants have had an active offseason, but fans still want to see a reunion with Odell Beckham Jr.
A video of Beckham scoring a touchdown from his time with the Giants went viral on social media.
“All these Giants signings have been great and all, but there’s still one final piece missing…,” the user posted.
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NFC coach Eli Manning looks on during the NFL Pro Bowl Skills Competition at the UCF Nicholson Fieldhouse in Orlando, Florida, on Feb. 1, 2024. (Nathan Ray Seebeck/USA TODAY Sports)
Eli Manning, who threw the touchdown to Beckham in the clip, had some fun with it.
“Guys, I’m not coming back to play! Stop asking,” Manning posted on X.
Manning retired after the 2019 season, ending a 16-year run with the team. Toward the end of his career, Manning struggled, as the team went 9-26 in his starts over the last three seasons of his career.
Before Manning’s play declined, Beckham was one of his favorite targets. Manning threw more touchdowns to Beckham (44) than to any other player in his career.
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New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. warm up before a preseason game against the Miami Dolphins at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Aug. 12, 2016. (Danielle Parhizkaran/USA TODAY NETWORK)
Beckham was electrifying in New York. In five seasons with the Giants, Beckham played 59 games, catching 390 passes for 5,476 yards and 44 touchdowns.
He was then stunningly traded to the Cleveland Browns and never recaptured that same form, spending just two and a half seasons with them before they released him.
The Giants recently brought Beckham in for a workout. He played under coach John Harbaugh with the Baltimore Ravens in 2023. The 33-year-old was productive as a depth receiver, catching 34 passes for 565 yards and three touchdowns.
Harbaugh called Beckham one of his favorite people in the world in March.
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Odell Beckham Jr. started his career with the New York Giants. (Danielle Parhizkaran/USA TODAY NETWORK)
“He and I do talk. We do text,” Harbaugh said. “We’ve maintained a really great relationship. He’s one of my very favorite people in the world. It’s not like you don’t talk to guys on things like that. And certainly we have.”
“We’ll just have to see where it all goes, what’s best for him, what’s best for the Giants.”
While the Giants have to see where it goes with Beckham, they know for sure Manning is staying in retirement.
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Sports
Prep talk: Servite, Notre Dame to qualify athletes at Division 3 track and field prelims
The Southern Section will hold its four track and field prelims on Saturday at four high schools, but lots of focus will take place at the Division 3 meet at Yorba Linda.
Servite, with its outstanding sprinters, and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, with sprinters, hurdlers and shotputters, will be trying to qualify their best athletes in preparation to battle it out at the Southern Section championships on May 16 at Moorpark High.
“We’re trying to qualify but also build upon all our races,” Servite coach Brandon Thomas said.
Servite looks finally healthy. Robert Gardner, a sprinter who was hurt all season, ran 10.87 seconds last week in the 100 meters in his comeback race. He’ll be one of four Servite athletes trying to qualify in the 100. Another previously injured athlete, Jaelen Hunter, has also returned and will be in the 400.
Notre Dame’s Brayden Borquez recovered from his spill at the Arcadia Invitational to win the 110 hurdles last week at the Mission League finals. JJ Harel, the defending state champion in the high jump, is also gearing up to score points in the long jump and triple jump.
Other finals will be held at Trabuco Hills (Division 1), Ontario (Division 2) and Carpinteria (Division 4).
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
Sports
Draymond Green refuses to let Charles Barkley bury the Warriors, delivers cutting Rockets jab on air
Wednesday night on “Inside the NBA” was less of a pregame show and more of a roast session as Draymond Green joined the desk.
The Golden State forward started going at it with Charles Barkley as the Mound Round of Rebound poked fun at the sinking ship that is the Warriors dynasty.
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Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors reacts during a game against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif., on April 10, 2026. (Rocky Widner/NBAE)
The tension started when Sir Charles decided to eulogize the Dubs while looking Green dead in the eye.
“It’s over for the Warriors. No disrespect. It ends for every old team,” Barkley said.
“You had your run; you get old; you let Klay go. You and Steph are on the backside of your careers; it just passed you by.”
WARRIORS’ STEPH CURRY GETS CANDID ABOUT EVENTUAL NBA RETIREMENT
Barkley kept his foot on the gas.
While he gave the Warriors credit for “one of the greatest runs ever,” he made it clear that Father Time remains undefeated in the paint.
“Sports … listen, sports are for young people,” Barkley added. “You hope to have a great long career, but sports … nobody wins when they’re 37, 38.”
NBA TV analysts Charles Barkley and Chris Webber speak to Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green after Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, on June 7, 2017. (John W. McDonough/Sports Illustrated)
In predictable fashion, Draymond was unable to stomach the banter.
He waited for the opening and went for the jugular, referencing Barkley’s infamous sunset years in Texas.
“Yeah, I mean, I think the goal is just to not look like you in the Houston Rockets uniform,” Green fired back.
The jab was a direct hit on Barkley’s ring-chasing era in Houston, where the Hall of Famer was famously a shell of his MVP self.
Green then shifted into a rare moment of veteran self-awareness and admitted the Warriors are in a transitional phase, but insisted the pedigree matters more than the box score.
“I think understanding what is success at this point is key for us,” Green explained. “Knowing and understanding that it may not be realistic to win a championship, but can we continue to build to that so that once we leave this organization, it’s still in a great space?”
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Despite Draymond’s talk about maintaining a winning pedigree, this year was a harsh wake-up call for the Golden State faithful.
Draymond Green and head coach Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors react during the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Ga., on March 21, 2026. (Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
The Warriors’ season went out with a whimper as they finished 10th in the West and were bounced immediately in the play-in tournament.
Barkley might think the light is fading, but Draymond is clearly going to keep swinging on his way out.
Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela
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