Connect with us

Sports

Prep talk: How Van Nuys turned around its football program

Published

on

Prep talk: How Van Nuys turned around its football program

Van Nuys High School is 109 years old, with the likes of Don Drysdale, Robert Redford, Bob Waterfield and Marilyn Monroe among the famous alumni. Its football program has been pretty much struggling for years, going 2-8 in 2022 and 0-9 in 2021.

Ken Osorio, a Van Nuys grad, took over as coach last year and welcomed the opportunity to teach the many players with no experience who came out for the team. One of those was Carlos Herrera, who joined the junior varsity team in 2022 when Osorio was coach. He was a soccer player who didn’t know how to put on shoulder pads and said it was “nerve-racking” putting on a helmet for the first time.

Fast-forward to Saturday. Van Nuys (8-5) will be playing Panorama in the City Section Division III championship game with Herrera serving as the Wolves’ standout quarterback. Herrera has passed for 21 touchdowns and run for 10.

Van Nuys picked up another soccer player who has made major contributions. Leelen Castro, at 5 feet 5, 140 pounds, is six for six on field goals. See what happens when a coach teaches fundamentals and gets students from other sports to buy in? …

St. John Bosco football center Matthew Perdue is one of the smartest players on any field. He has a 4.3 grade-point average and is considering San Diego, John Hopkins and Amherst among his college choices. …

Advertisement

Ernest Nunley (17) makes the interception to start celebration with Narbonne teammates Michael Ashford (5) and Ke’Von Williams.

(Craig Weston)

Ernest Nunley of Narbonne is a junior defensive back who won’t turn 17 until next August. He entered high school when he was 13. He’s been playing against some 19-year-olds and showing no fear. …

Trevor McSween of Serrano carried the ball 46 times for 301 yards against Hemet on Nov. 15 and insisted he wasn’t hurting afterward, so who knows how many times he might get the ball Friday night in the Southern Section Division 8 final against St. Pius X-St. Matthias. …

Advertisement
Koen Glover of St. Bonaventure.

Koen Glover of St. Bonaventure.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Koen Glover of St. Bonaventure has had quite a two-year run playing running back. Last season he rushed for 1,189 yards and 15 touchdowns. This season he has rushed for 2,023 yards and 26 touchdowns. He credits better strength for his improvement with no injuries. St. Bonaventure plays Oxnard Pacifica on Saturday for the Southern Section Division 4 championship at Rio Mesa. …

Here’s the complete weekend championship football schedule for City Section and Southern Section.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please send to eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

Advertisement

Sports

Chiefs and Browns make first trade of 2026 draft and both eventually fill needs

Published

on

Chiefs and Browns make first trade of 2026 draft and both eventually fill needs

The Cleveland Browns, rumored to be willing to trade down from their No. 6 overall selection in the 2026 NFL draft, did just that Thursday evening when the traded the pick to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Cleveland traded the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft to the Chiefs, in exchange for the ninth overall pick, as well as pick No. 74 in the third round and No. 148 in the fifth round.

The Browns now hold the No. 9 and No. 24 picks in the first round of the draft. They have a total of 11 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns watch from the sidelines during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 7, 2025. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)

So the Chiefs gave up three picks in making the first trade of the first round.

Advertisement

BROWNS EXECS RAISE EYEBROWS WITH REACTIONS AFTER DRAFTING SHEDEUR SANDERS FOLLOWING HISTORIC SLIDE

And we know what the fan bases of both clubs were thinking prior to the selection:

Chiefs fans were thinking we know something they don’t. And then the Chiefs selected cornerback Mansoor Delane from LSU — a move no doubt forced by the club’s trade of Pro Bowl cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams earlier in the offseason.

So, the Chiefs fill a major need, assuming Delane is indeed the quality corner they believe.

LSU Tigers CB Mansoor Delane celebrates a defensive stop against the Clemson Tigers at Memorial Stadium in South Carolina. (Ken Ruinard/USA TODAY Network)

Advertisement

GREG OLSEN’S ADVICE FOR NFL DRAFT FIRST-ROUND PICKS ON HANDLING HIGH EXPECTATIONS

ESPN’s Mel Kiper didn’t like the pick, by the way. He had Delane as the 14th best player in the draft.

“It was a necessity,” ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, a former NFL defensive back, responded.

Browns fans weren’t thinking that way.

BROWNS MAKE STUNNING KENNY PICKETT TRADE TO RAIDERS AS BACKUP QUARTERBACK ROLE REMAINS WIDE OPEN

Advertisement

They were probably thinking something akin to “We screwed up.”

This is understandable because they’re Browns fans and this could have been the Browns Browning.

Well, the Browns, moving down three slots, gave up a shot to draft linebacker Sonny Styles of Ohio State to the Washington Commanders, receiver Jordyn Tyson to the New Orleans Saints and then the Browns got their chance with the newly acquired No. 9 pick:

ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!

Offensive tackle Spencer Fano of Utah.

Advertisement

Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Ind., on Feb. 24, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

Fano is good. And he makes the Browns offensive line instantly better because he’s going to likely start at left tackle for them.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

So what will Browns fans think of this pick?

They’ll probably wonder why the Browns didn’t pick Miami’s Francis Mauigoa, who went with the No. 10 pick to the New York Giants and promised “to die for” Jaxson Dart if necessary. They’ll wonder this because Browns fans expect the worst.

Advertisement

Continue Reading

Sports

Defending champion UCLA women’s basketball lands top transfer, continues roster overhaul

Published

on

Defending champion UCLA women’s basketball lands top transfer, continues roster overhaul

UCLA women’s basketball team has added some star power as its revamped roster begins to take shape.

Former Iowa State forward Addy Brown announced Thursday she is committing to UCLA, giving the Bruins one of the top players in the portal.

Brown averaged 11.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 43.1% from the floor and 33.8% from three-point distance with the Cyclones last season. She played just 21 games due to injury, but she is one of the better two-way players in the nation on the transfer market.

The 6-foot-2 forward co-starred with Audi Crooks for Iowa State the past few seasons and was a part of the mass exodus from the Cyclones’ program.

The Bruins reeled in former North Carolina junior guard Elina Aarnisalo and former Texas Christian senior guard Donovyn Hunter a few weeks ago, adding two more experienced players to the depleted starting lineup after a record six UCLA players were selected in the WNBA draft.

Advertisement

UCLA also signed Arkansas sophomore guard Bonnie Deas earlier this month. She is likely to start at point guard for the Bruins and is one of the best rebounding guards in the nation.

Along with returner Timea Gardiner, the Bruins are starting to form somewhat of a core to defend their national championship. Gardiner was a starter during UCLA’s 2024-25 Final Four run, but missed all of this past season with injury and has one season of eligibility left.

A lineup with Deas and Aarnisalo in the backcourt, Hunter at the three and Gardiner or Brown at the four and adding another big or Sienna Betts at the five would be a competitive lineup in the Big Ten.

Before going to TCU, Hunter played two seasons at Oregon State where she earned All-Pac-12 Defensive Team honorable mention and All-Pac-12 Freshman team honors. This past season with a Horned Frogs team that went to the Sweet 16, she was third in scoring with 10.2 points per game and averaged 3.2 rebounds per contest. She also shot 45.7% from the field and was 33.7% from beyond the arc.

Aarnisalo played her freshman year in Westwood after she originally committed to UCLA in 2025. Due to injuries from point guard Kiki Rice at the start of the 2024-25 season, she was forced into action early her freshman season and finished the year averaging 5.1 points per game.

Advertisement

The Helsinki, Finland, native averaged 10.2 points per game for the Tar Heels as a sophomore last season while shooting 47.3% from the field and 40.3% from the arc. The Bruins will desperately need to replace the three-point production lost with the departure of Rice, Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker.

UCLA coach Cori Close said she wanted to sign five players from the portal. She probably needs one more guard and a little more forward depth coming off the bench following the departures of Gabriela Jaquez and Angela Dugalic.

Lena Bilic and Amanda Muse are returners coming off the bench who got a little bit of playing time in the tournament and should have much larger roles, but they are still relatively unproven in late-game situations. They will get a chance to develop as backups with some more Power Four experienced starters now in the fold.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Sports

WWE to hold premium live event in Saudi Arabia amid Iran ceasefire

Published

on

WWE to hold premium live event in Saudi Arabia amid Iran ceasefire

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Saudi Arabia was among the countries seeing missiles fly into their airspace as a conflict broke out in the Middle East between the U.S. and Iran.

Advertisement

The prospect of Iran targeting its Middle Eastern neighbors like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates put some sporting events on hold and questioned others. Formula 1 races in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were canceled and rumors swirled around whether future WWE events could be held in the kingdom.

Roman Reigns celebrates his win during WWE’s Royal Rumble at Riyadh Season Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 31, 2026. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)

As the Trump administration brokered a ceasefire with Iran, WWE announced on Thursday that its Night of Champions premium live event will be held in Riyadh on June 27.

“We are proud to welcome Night of Champions back to Riyadh and look forward to delivering another unforgettable night of WWE action for fans in the Kingdom and around the world,” General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Al-Sheikh said in a news release.

Advertisement

PRO WRESTLING STARS CHRIS SABIN, ALEX SHELLEY TALK POSSIBILITY OF WWE USING TNA’S GIMMICK MATCHES

Sami Zayn makes his entrance during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)

The release touted that WrestleMania 43 will still be held in Riyadh in 2027. It will be the first time that WrestleMania is held outside the U.S.

WWE president Nick Khan was adamant before WrestleMania 42 that the event will still take place in Saudi Arabia despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

“We’re doing WrestleMania next year in Saudi,” he said at a Sports Business Journal event, via The Sporting Tribune. “First time ever, WrestleMania will be outside the United States or Canada. And we’ve had a big, fruitful partnership with them.”

Advertisement

John Cena wrestles CM Punk during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

He added that those complaining about WrestleMania being held in Saudi Arabia were a “vocal minority.”

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending