Sports
Southern Section basketball: Championship preview for each division
The Southern Section high school basketball championships will take place this weekend at five sites around Southern California. Here’s a look at the games. Ticket information can be found here.
Boys
Friday at Cal Baptist
Open: Harvard-Westlake vs. Eastvale Roosevelt, 8 p.m. No game will have a better collection of top guards on the same court. Harvard-Westlake has Trent Perry (USC commit), Robert Hinton (Harvard), Christian Horry (UCLA). Roosevelt counters with highly recruited junior Brayden Burries, juniors Issac Williamson and Myles Walker, plus seniors Darnez Slater (Colorado State). If there’s one player who could be a difference maker, watch for 6-foot-8 Nikolas Khamenia of Harvard-Westlake.
Friday at Azusa Pacific
2AA: Rolling Hills Prep vs. St. Anthony, 8 p.m. Former Fairfax coach Harvey Kitani is going for another championship at Rolling Hills Prep. His young team has been led by junior guard Mateo Trujillo. St. Anthony is surging after routing highly regarded Heritage Christian in the semifinals and playing a tough schedule, making it out of the competitive Del Rey League.
5AA: Castaic vs. El Segundo, 4 p.m. El Segundo has been a different team since three transfer students became eligible at midseason, going 13-3. Castaic reached the final despite going 0-12 in the Foothill League.
Saturday at Ontario Toyota Arena
Division 1: Windward vs. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, 8 p.m. This could be the best game of the weekend. These teams can shoot threes and score off fast breaks with the best. Both could have been Open Division teams. Windward relies on four talented juniors, led by point guard Gavin Hightower. Notre Dame has one of the best seniors in the state in Mercy Miller. You could be watching a future state champion.
3AA: La Habra vs. St. Bonaventure, 2 p.m. La Habra is making its first final appearance. Junior Jaedon Anderson made five threes in the semifinals. St. Bonaventure is led by 6-foot-8 senior Dyan Benner, averaging 18 points. Coach Wolfgang Wood was an unsung Santa Margarita assistant until he was hired by St. Bonaventure in 2020-21. He is the son of the great Southern California player and NBA official Leon Wood.
4A: Covina Northview vs. Temecula Valley, 4 p.m. Senior guard Sam Osi leads Northview. Temecula Valley, at 18-14, got hot in the playoffs to reach the final.
Saturday at Edison
2A: Marina vs. Long Beach Poly, 3 p.m. The Jackrabbits are led by standout junior guard Jovani Ruff. Marina is surging with a nine-game winning streak and knocked off San Gabriel Academy and Cypress in its last two playoff games.
4A: YULA vs. Cerritos, 8 p.m. YULA upset Price in the semifnals. Cerritos went 10-0 in the 605 League.
Saturday at Colony
3A: Bosco Tech vs. Bishop Alemany, 6 p.m. Alemany made the playoffs by winning its final regular season game to go 15-15 and qualify for an at-large berth. The Warriors competed in the tough Mission League and have size and good guards, including Mike Lindsay, the nephew of Reggie Miller. Bosco Tech has been building up for this moment, led by veterans Jaden Erami, Ryan Osborne and Darius Benitez.
5A: Big Bear at Lynwood Firebaugh, 2 p.m. Big Bear players are fighting hard to stay off the slopes so they can win a championship. The team is 24-5 and led by 6-foot-2 junior Aiden Brewer, averaging 16.3 points. Firebaugh has won eight of its last nine games.
Girls
Friday at Cal Baptist
Open: Etiwanda vs. Sierra Canyon, 6 p.m. It’s the game of the year in girls basketball, with elite players, elite coaches and an expected rematch looming in the regional playoffs. Last season, Sierra Canyon won this game but lost to Etiwanda in the regionals. Sierra Canyon’s big three of Mackenly Randolph, Jerzy Robinson and Izela Arenas are used to big games. So are McDonald’s All-American Kennedy Smith and center Grace Knox of Etiwanda. If anyone gets into foul trouble, that might help decide the game.
Friday at Azusa Pacific
5A: Antelope Valley vs. St. Pius X-St. Matthias, 2 p.m. Junior guards Niya Price and Jenesis Deering are both averaging above 20 points per game for Antelope Valley. St. Pius X-St. Matthias is a young team with freshmen contributors.
2AA: St. Anthony vs. Moreno Valley, 6 p.m. St. Anthony is trying to win boys and girls titles this weekend. Ryann Bennett, a 5-foot-9 senior, is averaging 16 points for St. Anthony. Moreno Valley is 28-4 and owns a 12-game win streak.
Saturday at Ontario Toyoto Arena
Division 1: Brentwood vs. Corona Santiago, 6 p.m. It’s been a historic season for Brentwood, which finally toppled nemesis Windward in league play. Lev Feiman and Jocelyn Pascual have been having standout seasons for Brentwood. Corona Santiago has been a powerhouse program in the Inland Empire and eliminated Harvard-Westlake in the semifinals.
4AA: Rancho Cucamonga vs. Anaheim Canyon, 10 a.m. Rancho Cucamonga finished fourth in the tough Baseline League, which includes Etiwanda. The Comanches knocked off Newbury Park in the semifinals to advance to the final.
4A: Palos Verdes vs. Lancaster Eastside, noon. Palos Verdes won only three games last season. Freshmen Quinn Tamashiro and Katie Golden have been key contributors in the turnaround. Niela Marshall and April Medrano leads a 22-4 Eastside team.
Saturday at Edison
3A: JSerra vs. St. Margaret’s, noon. JSerra is having quite a rebound season after going 0-14 last year and losing games 73-8 and 72-5. At 22-9, the Lions are led by freshman Rosie Santos, who had 30 points in a semifinal win over Dana Hills. St. Margaret’s, which won Division 5AA last season, is back in the final. Sophomore Lila Wohlgemuth has been a major contributor.
3AA: Oak Park vs. Cerritos, 6:30 p.m. The hiring of coach William Burr from Viewpoint in 2022 has paid dividends for Oak Park. They went from winning one game to 5A champions. Now comes another championship bid. Sophomore Delaney White had 26 points in last year’s championship game. Cerritos is on an 11-game win streak.
Saturday at Colony
2A: Louisville vs. Lakewood, noon: Point guard Miye Kodama has been having the time of her life, helping the soccer team reach the championship game while playing simultaneously with the basketball team. Two rings in the same season would be more than impressive. Taylor Westbrook also has been a standout. Lakewood, the second-place finisher in the Moore League, presents a tough challenge. Junior Nyemah King is averaging 26.3 points.
5AA: Adelanto vs. Colton, 4 p.m. Senior Nina Lacy is the top player for Adelanto. Colton is 23-6 and coming off a 43-42 win over La Mirada in the semifinals.
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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