The sisters from Compton both advanced to the Wimbledon semifinals July 5.

Venus advanced by defeating Yaroslava Shvedova in straight sets, 7-6 (5), 6-2, while Serena had an easier time against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6-4, 6-4.

Venus will face Angelique Kerber of Germany in her semifinal match July 7 while Serena will face Elena Vesnina of Russia in the other semifinal.

If the Williams’ sisters both win, they will face each other in a grand slam championship match for the first time since Serena defeated Venus in the 2009 Wimbledon championship, 7-6 and 6-2.

The sisters, who were born 15 months apart and are still extremely close, dislike playing each other. Serena holds the career edge over Venus, 16-11, and Serena has more grand slam titles, 21-7.

For the last five years, Venus has been playing with Sjogren’s Syndrome, an autoimmune disease that causes chronic fatigue and muscle soreness, but she is still the ninth-ranked player on the women’s tennis tour.

Venus hasn’t made it to a semifinal at a grand slam tournament since the U.S. Open in 2010, which she lost.

She hasn’t made it to a grand slam final since 2009, when she lost to Serena at Wimbledon and hasn’t won a grand slam title since 2008, when she defeated Serena at Wimbledon.

Serena, the number-one ranked woman player in the world, is one grand slam title away from catching Steffi Graf for second on the all-time list at 22. Margaret Court holds the record with 24.

She won the first three grand slam tournaments last year before getting defeated at the U.S. Open last September. She was the runner-up at both the Australian and French opens earlier this year.

The Williams’s sisters also remain alive for the women’s doubles title at Wimbledon. The sisters have won 13 grand slam doubles titles in their career, five at Wimbledon.

Not bad for a couple of girls who learned to play tennis on the courts at Compton parks.

Kevin Durant’s decision to sign with the Golden State Warriors doesn’t necessarily guarantee the Warriors a title next season. It depends how well Durant meshes with his new teammates, who include all stars Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
(Courtesy photo)

A SUPER TEAM?: Does the addition on Kevin Durant to the Golden State Warriors make the Warriors a super team?

Only time will tell, but history hasn’t always been kind to NBA teams that figured that three or four stars were better than two or three.

The Warriors fell one win short of a second straight NBA title this year with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green in the lineup. Adding Durant to the mix gives the Warriors the third-leading scorer in the league this year after Curry and the Houston Rockets’ James Harden.

But since the NBA only uses one ball at a time it is hard to see both either Curry or Durant leading the league next year.

And having four superstars in your starting lineup isn’t always a good thing. Think back to the 2004 Lakers.

That team had Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton and Karl Malone in the starting lineup. Four hall of famers.

The Lakers lost to the Detroit Pistons, 4-1, that year after Malone hurt his knee in game four of the finals, but the Lakers offense never really meshed that year and O’Neal, Payton and Malone — along with head coach Phil Jackson — were gone before the next season started.

Everyone thought the Celtics would have a dynasty when Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen joined Paul Pierce before the 2008-09 NBA season.

The Celtics won the title that season, but lost in seven games to the Lakers the next year and never made it back to the finals again.

Even the Miami Heat’s trio of stars — LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh — only won two titles, although they made the finals four seasons in a row, so nothing is guaranteed for the Warriors next year.

Curry, Thompson and Green will have to figure out how to integrate Durant into their high-flying offense.

It should be fun to watch, but the Warriors can’t start counting championship rings yet.

The Lakers improved their depth by signing Luol Deng, most recently of the Miami Heat, in the first days of free agency last week. The Lakers also signed former Cleveland Cavaliers center Timofey Mozgov. (Courtesy photo)

MORE FREE AGENCY: The Clippers and the Lakers have had modest success in the first week of free agency. Although the Clippers were eliminated in the early rounds of the Durant sweepstakes, they still managed to retain ace sixth man Jamal Crawford and also retained key reserves Austin Rivers and Wesley Johnson.

They did lose backup center Cole Aldrich to the Minnesota Timberwolves, but the Clippers should remain a top four team in the NBA Western Conference next year as long as their core players — Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan stay healthy.

The Lakers made a big splash in the first hours of free agency by singing Timofey Mozgov, who lost his job as starting center with the Cleveland Cavaliers last year, to a four-year $64 million deal that made many fans shake their heads in wonderment.

Mozgov played only 25 minutes during the NBA finals. But in 2014-15, he averaged more than 10 points and 6.9 rebounds a game for the Cavs, before having off-season knee surgery.

The Lakers hope Mozgov will have a better season after being a year removed from the surgery.

The signing of Luol Deng probably will pay more dividends.

He has averaged more than 15 points and six rebounds a game during his career and will provide good veteran leadership to the young Lakers while also defending the opponents top forward night in and night out.

If rookie Brandon Ingram plays like a number-two overall draft pick, D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson continue to grow and Mozgov and Deng pay off, the Lakers should be able to double their win total next season.

That still will place them short of a playoff berth.

Dodgers rookie shortstop Corey Seager was selected to the National League All Star team this week and will play in San Diego July 12, backing up Chicago Cubs shortstop Addison Russell. (Photo by Nick Koza)

ROOKIE ALL STAR: Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager was selected to play in baseball’s All Star Game July 12 in San Diego.

Seager has been better than advertised during his rookie season.

After hitting .337 with four home runs and 17 runs batted in for the Dodgers last September, Seager is playing like a rookie of the year candidate this season.

As of July 6, he is hitting .304 with 17 homers and 41 RBI this year, leading the Dodgers in all three categories. He currently has an 18-game hitting streak, the best in the National league this season.

He will back up the Chicago Cubs’ Addison Russell on the National League team.

Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen also was selected to the National League All-Star team, the first time he has been chosen to play in the game.

Jansen has 22 saves this year for the Dodgers.

Clayton Kershaw would have been on the all star team, but he was placed on the disabled list with a mild herniated disc in his back last week and will miss the game. If it’s any consolation to Dodgers fans, Zack Greinke also went on the disabled list last week.

The Angels’ Mike Trout was voted onto the American League All Star team and will start in center field. No other Angeles were selected.

Sprinter Allyson Felix qualified for her fourth Olympics last weekend in Eugene, Ore., winning the women’s 400 meters with the fastest time in the world so far this year. Felix has four gold medals and two silver medals in her three previous Olympics. (Courtesy photo)

OLYMPIAN AGAIN: Congratulations to Allyson Felix for qualifying for her fourth Olympics last weekend in the U.S. Olympic trials by winning the women’s 400 meters in 49.68 seconds, the fastest time in the world so far this year.

Felix could still qualify in the 200 meters as well.

Felix won the gold medal in the 200 meters in the 2012 Olympics in London, and also won gold in the 4×100 and 4×400 meter relays.

Felix first came to prominence in track at tiny Los Angeles Baptist High School. At 18, she won a silver medal in the 200 meters in 2004. She also won a silver in the 2008 Olympics in the 200 meters and won a gold medal that year in the 4×400 meter relay.

Now 30, she has been fighting through an ankle injury this year. Her showing in the 400 meters indicated she is still a favorite to medal in this year’s Olympics in Rio De Janeiro, which begin Aug. 5.

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In the words of old Brooklyn Dodgers fans, “wait till next year.” It’s not going to happen this year.

That became apparent last weekend when Kevin Durant, the star of this year’s free agent class, announced the teams he would meet with to discuss his free agency.

The Lakers aren’t on the list. The Clippers are, but Durant made it very clear he isn’t interested in the Lakers. He wants a team that can win a title next year and he doesn’t think the Lakers are one of those teams. And he’s correct in that assessment.

The Lakers got another building block in their efforts to rebuild their once proud franchise last week when they drafted Brandon Ingram out of Duke with the number two overall pick. A tall, slender outside shooter (like Durant), Ingram will fit in nicely with the Lakers young nucleus of D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. Those are five solid young players who, if they continue to develop as professional basketball players, could all be good players someday.

How long someday will take to get here is anyone’s guess right now, but it won’t be 2017.

The Lakers right now should win more than 17 games next year, no matter who fills out the rest of the roster.

A good big man like the Atlanta Hawks Al Horford, could make them a 30-game winner. A better big man — Miami’s Hassan Whiteside — might make them a 35-win team. But it takes at least 45 wins for a team in the Western Conference to make the playoffs so even if the Lakers double their win total from last season (34) or equal the combined win total of the last two seasons (38), they probably will miss the playoffs anyway.

If I were Kupchak and Buss, I would go after Horford or Whiteside as my main free agent acquisition this year, fill the remainder of the roster with solid veterans who can teach Ingram, Russell, Randle and the rest of the kids what it takes to win in the NBA and wait until the 2017 offseason when more free agent stars will be on the market and the Lakers front office will have a better idea of how the kids project over an NBA career.

This is a crucial year for the Clippers. They waited for years to be able to compete with the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder only to get passed by the Golden State Warriors. Those are three real good teams the Clippers are trying to keep up with, and the Clippers are one of the few teams that actually have salary cap issues this year.

Even though Durant has agreed to talk to the Clippers, don’t expect him to sign here. The only way I can see that happening is if he agrees to a sign-and-trade deal with Oklahoma City in which they trade him for Blake Griffin.

And if that happens, the Clippers might as well throw in Chris Paul for Russell Westbrook (a free agent next year) and see if Durant and Westbrook can win a key playoff series together in Los Angeles or if Paul and Griffin would have better luck in Oklahoma City. I don’t really think that will happen, either, but it might make for a couple of more column topics while I’m waiting to see what the Dodgers are going to become this year.

After losing his second game of the season June 26 against Pittsburgh, Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw was sent home two days early from the Dodgers road trip to see back specialist Dr. Robert Watkins, The Dodgers can’t afford to lose their ace. (Courtesy photo)

AN ACHING BACK: Speaking of the Dodgers, the entire organization and fan base as well are holding their breaths waiting to see how Clayton Kershaw’s visit to the back doctor June 29 went.

After carrying the Dodgers for the first three months of the season — a heavy load — Kershaw’s back has started bothering him and the team sent him home from the current road trip a couple of days early to see back specialist Dr. Robert Watkins.

Kershaw is the only starting pitcher that manager Dave Roberts can count on going more than six innings a start. Losing him for any length of time will put more strain on the bullpen, which for the most part has been carrying the Dodgers pitching staff.

The offense continues to be up one week and down the next. When Justin Turner and Yasiel Puig start hitting, Adrian Gonzalez and Trayce Thompson stop.

Andrew Friedman and the rest of the Dodgers front office can’t decide who they should chase at the trade deadline until they know what they need the most. I expect them to trade for both a starting pitcher and a big bat by this time next month.

Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks had her best game of the season June 28. While thinking of her college coach, former University of Tennessee coach Pat Summitt who died earlier in the day, Parker scored 31 points, added 13 rebounds and seven assists in the Sparks come-from-behind victory over the Dallas Wings. (Courtesy photo)

Tom Kelly

A SPARKS COMEBACK: Candace Parker played with a heavy heart June 28. Earlier in the day, her college coach, the legendary Pat Summitt of the University of Tennessee, died of Alzheimer’s disease.

In tribute to her college coach, Parker wore orange shoes (Tennessee’s colors) and wrote the word rebound on each shoe.

She then went out and played one of her best games of the year, scoring 31 points pulling down 13 rebounds and handing off seven assists as the Sparks improved their record to 14-1 with a come-from-behind 89-84 win over the Dallas Wings at Staples Center.

Parker said it was difficult playing with a heavy heart but “I got a lot of strength from [Summitt].”

That may have led to those 13 rebounds, which were a season high for Parker.

“I could see coach’s glare and hear her voice screaming at me to rebound,” she said after the game.

The Sparks trailed 54-33 at halftime before roaring back in the second half.

Their 14-1 record is the best start to a season any team has had in the WNBA’s 20 years.

R.I.P. TOM KELLY: Closer to home, the USC family lost its longtime voice June 27 when Tom Kelly died at the age of 88.

Kelly was the voice of USC football on radio from 1961 through 1965 and then again from 1973 to 1988 and on television from 1989 to 2003. He saw five national championship teams, five Heisman Trophy winners and 92 first-team All Americans as a broadcaster.

He also did games for the Lakers, the Clippers, the San Diego Chargers.

He was admitted to the USC Sports Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2005.

USC Sports Information Director Tim Tessalone praised Kelly as “one of Southern California’s most versatile and accomplished announcers. He did play-by-play for just about every sport imaginable — from football, basketball, baseball, track and boxing to billiards, swimming and golf.”

Current USC football play-by-play man Pete Arbogast told KNX Newsradio that Kelly was “an idol of mine, no question.”

“He, to me, has always been the voice of the Trojans,” Arbogast said. “It’s a terrible loss to the Trojans and to broadcasters in Southern California.”

Kelly “seemed to be everywhere,” Arbogast said of the late sportscaster’s prolific body of work. “He had that voice that you could hear from six blocks away.”

Kelly, 88, died after a long bout with cancer.

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On June 19, Walton sat helplessly as the Golden State Warriors, the team he has served as an assistant coach the last two seasons, lost in historic fashion to the Cleveland Cavaliers in game seven of the NBA Finals.

The next day he spent driving from the Bay Area to Southern California to assume his new job as the Lakers head coach. June 21 was meet the media day and June 23 is the NBA Draft.

Oh, and Walton’s wife, Bre, is expected to deliver their second child, also June 23.

Surprisingly, Walton didn’t seem overwhelmed by it all while talking to media members on his first full day as coach of the Lakers.

He preferred not to look back at the Lakers’ last two seasons, the two worst in franchise history.

“What I can affect is what’s going to happen next year and the year after that,” he said. “And we’re going to put, you know, our stamp on the culture that we want.”

Walton, who won two titles during a nine-year career with the Lakers, said he envisions a franchise that will be exciting for both the players and fans alike.

“Our players are going to like coming to practice every day,” he said. “We’re going to play a brand of basketball that the L.A. fans will appreciate. We’re going to compete. All of these things going forward with my vision of how we’re going to do things is what I can control.

“I don’t know how that’ll be different from the previous two years because I wasn’t in here for those years.”

Walton’s hiring was announced on April 29, but it was agreed that he would remain as an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors until they completed their season. The Warriors season ended with a 93-89 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals June 19, becoming the first team in history to blow a 3-1 lead in the finals.

The Lakers had a franchise-worst 17-65 record in the 2015-16 season and have missed the playoffs for three consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history.

Walton spent two seasons as an assistant coach with Golden State. He had a 39-4 record as the Warriors interim coach to begin the 2015-16 season when Steve Kerr was unable to coach because of back problems, including a 24-0 start, the best in NBA history.

Walton is the son of Basketball Hall of Fame member Bill Walton, who starred at UCLA in the early 1970s before winning titles with the Portland Trail Blazers and the Boston Celtics during a 13-year NBA career that was plagued by injuries.

Now a television analyst, Bill Walton is known for having an opinion on everything and recently said he advised his son not to take the Lakers job.

The son was able to joke about that at his press conference.

“I love my father,” he said. “Sometimes he has great advice, sometimes he doesn’t.

“I’m sure you’ll see him in the hallways wearing Lakers shirts that are too small for him and chanting ‘Lakers’ and all sorts of other things that we’ve come to love about him.”

Walton began thinking about a coaching career before he retired as an NBA player. During the 2011 NBA lockout, he served as an assistant coach at the University of Memphis under coach Josh Pastner, who was a teammate of Walton’s at the University of Arizona.

At Arizona, Walton played under Lute Olson, one of the top college basketball coaches of the last 40 years. With the Lakers, he played under Phil Jackson, just like his boss at Golden State, Steve Kerr.

That’s a pretty good coaching pedigree.

Walton said he likes the youth of the Lakers and compared guards D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson and forward Julius Randle to the Warriors top three players, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.

He also acknowledged that the Lakers needed more than those three players, but still insisted the Lakers could compete for the playoffs next season in the Western Conference.

Russell, who butted heads with former coach Byron Scott throughout his rookie season, was shooting three pointers while Walton met with the press June 21.

“A lot of us are coming out of college and just really want to be able to play and have fun,” Russell said. “[Walton] just mentioned having fun and being able to run as much as possible. So I think that’s what we need.”

The Lakers also need to sign a couple of veteran free agents that the young players, including the second pick in the draft, can learn from.

Kevin Durant would be a wonderful addition, but there are other free agents out there that the Lakers can start building around.

And following the Mike Brown, Mike D’Antoni and Byron Scott coaching eras, there is nowhere to go but up for the Lakers.

“He’s one of the brightest young coaching minds in the game and we feel fortunate that he’ll be leading the on-court future of our team,” general manager Mitch Kupchak said in announcing Walton’s hiring in April.

Let’s hope Kupchak got it right this time.

Dodger relief pitcher Kenley Jansen broke the franchise record for most saves in a career when he notched his 162 save June 20. The record of 161 was set by Eric Gagne between 2001 and 2004. (Courtesy photo)

FINALLY HEATING UP: With summer finally here and the temperatures rising accordingly, the Dodgers are finally showing some life.

After a 3-2 win June 21 sparked by an eighth inning, three-run homer by Yasmani Grandal, the Dodgers have their first five-game winning streak of the season.

The offense still isn’t clicking on all cylinders and Japanese rookie Kenta Maeda seems to be the only starter other than Clayton Kershaw capable of going more than six innings per outing, but the Dodgers are finally playing well enough to worry the Giants, who still lead in the National League West by five and half games.

First-year manager seems to have finally found a rotation in the bullpen that works, with Dodger relief pitchers now the third best unit in the major leagues. Who thought that would happen in April.

Kenley Jansen is the anchor in the bullpen. The closer broke the team record for career saves June 20 when he pitched the ninth inning of a 4-1 win over Washington.

It was save number162 for Jansen, breaking the record sat by Eric Gagne, who got 152 of his 161 saves with the Dodgers between 2002 and 2004.

Of course, Gagne saved 84 games in a row between Aug. 26, 2002 and July 5, 2004, including all 55 save chances in 2003. That’s a record that will probably last forever.

Jansen picked up save 163 the next night after Adam Liberatore and Louis Coleman pitched scoreless seventh and eighth innings.

Chris Hatcher and J.P. Howell are the only two relief pitchers with earned run averages over 4 and Liberatore has given up only two runs in 31 appearances.

Joe Blanton has been a surprise and Pedro Baez may yet prove to be the setup man the Dodgers feel he can be.

Anyway you want to look at, the Dodgers bullpen is carrying a big load right now. Hopefully, that will continue.

Nneka Ogwumike of the Los Angeles Sparks dribbles the ball up the court June 21 in the Sparks loss to the Minnesota Lynx, 72-69. It was the Sparks first loss of the season after they won their first 11 games. (Courtesy photo)

SPARKS FINALLY LOSE: The Los Angeles Sparks don’t get a lot of attention here, but they are off to a great start. They lost for the first time this season June 21 to the Minnesota Lynx, 72-69, dropping their record to 11-1. The Lynx are 13-0.

The game featured 17 lead changes and wasn’t decided until Minnesota guard Renee Montgomery hit a three-pointer with 2.9 seconds left.

The Sparks Kristi Tolliver followed with her own long basket at the buzzer, but the officials ruled she got the shot off after the buzzer and that her toe was on the three-point line when the ball left her hand.

The Sparks led by one at halftime and the game was tied after three quarters.

The Sparks and the Lynx figure to battle all year for supremacy in he Western Conference.

NEW CIF ALIGNMENT: The CIF Southern Section has released new playoff groupings for 11 sports including football, basketball, soccer, softball and baseball. Teams are now evaluated and grouped for the playoffs based on a series of factors that include regular season records, strength of schedule and playoff performances over the past two seasons.

Those factors will be used to compile power rankings that will be used to determine which divisions schools will be placed in for the playoffs.

The rankings for next year were released June 17 and as soon as I figure them out, I will let you know what they are. Corona Centennial is the top school overall.

The objective, as far as the section is concerned is competitive equity. The new system relies on all schools to report the results of all games and matches.

The new power rankings will be used for the upcoming school year.

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James and Irving already performed a never-been-done-before task June 13, when they both scored 41 points to lead the Cavs to a 112-97 win over the Golden State Warriors. No teammates had ever combined to score more than 40 points a piece in a finals game.

Of course, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson could equal that record June 16 and send Cleveland home frustrated again.

The NBA Finals continue June 16 with the Warriors ahead three games to two, but the Cavaliers thinking they still have a shot.

They defeated the Warriors June 13, who were shorthanded with Draymond Green serving a one-game suspension for his third contact with another players’ groin in the postseason.

Klay Thompson shoots over J.R. Smith in game five of the NBA finals. Thompson’s Golden State Warriors hope to close out the Cleveland Cavaliers in game six June 16. (Courtesy photo)

The Warriors will be shorthanded the rest of the series with center Andrew Bogut out with a knee injury he suffered June 13.

Bogut doesn’t do a lot if you just look at the stat sheet, but his size helps clog the middle and keeps James from driving to the hoop all the time.

The Warriors have three other centers on their roster — Festus Ezeli, Marreese Speights and former Cavalier Anderson Varejao — but look for Green to spend most of his time in the post in game six (and seven, if needed) as the Warriors play small ball, try to spread the floor and outshoot the Cavaliers from outside.

The Warriors have the better team, but James remains the best player in the game and he has willed the Cavaliers to their two wins in the series. It would help the Cavaliers if Kevin Love returned from wherever he has been.

It wasn’t that long ago that Love was considered one of the rising stars in the league. But his game, which consisted of regular double-doubles in points and rebounds when he played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, has disappeared in his two years with the Cavaliers and I can’t see any team in the league giving him a maximum contract when he hits free agency.

The Warriors won it last year in six games and they don’t really want to play a game seven at home against Cleveland June 19. Look for Green to have a strong game in his return to the lineup and the Warriors to win their second straight title in Cleveland in game six.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts speaks with reporters before a recent game in Arizona. Roberts has had to manage an inconsistent team so far this year. The Dodgers have struggled offensively and with their pitching, particularly the starting pitching. (Photo by Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

A TOUGH JOB: It must be hard for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. On nights when Clayton Kershaw isn’t starting, he has to worry if his starting pitcher is going to work past the fifth inning and if the offense will score enough runs to outscore the opponents.

When Kershaw pitches, he has to worry about the offense outscoring the opposition, but he knows three or four runs will probably be sufficient.

The Dodgers are currently six games behind the San Francisco Giants in the National League West and there is still plenty of time to overcome that lead. But two and a half months into the season, the Dodgers only identity is that of an inconsistent team.

When the offense is going well, the pitching staff stumbles. When the pitchers are getting outs, the offense is, too.

There have been bright spots, particularly the hitting of youngsters Corey Seager and Trayce Thompson, but veterans like Adrian Gonzales, Justin Turner, Yasiel Puig and Yasmani Grandal, who were supposed to provide most of the offensive pop, have struggled most of the season, although Turner has hit three home runs in the last nine games.

Most people felt Chase Utley was near the end of his career, but he has played well for most of the season, giving the Dodgers stability at the leadoff spot in the batting order and showing Seager, Thompson and Joc Pederson how a veteran prepares for games day in and day out.

The bullpen has been dreadful at stretches, but has started to solidify, once Roberts realized he can’t keep running Chris Hatcher out there night after night and expect good things to happen.

But it is the starting rotation after Kershaw that is the Dodgers biggest weakness. Kershaw is 9-1. The rest of the staff is 25-31.

Worse yet, none of the starters other than Kershaw has shown an ability to consistently get to the seventh inning, taxing an already overworked bullpen.

The Dodgers front office has been noticeably quiet this year, allowing Roberts to learn the ropes as a major league manager for the first time.

When Andrew Friedman and company do speak, they point out that reinforcements are on the way.

Hyun-Jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy are both making rehab starts in the minor leagues and could be ready for the big leagues in three weeks. Brent Anderson isn’t very far behind them.

Andre Ethier will be back sometime after the all-star break, meaning the need to acquire another bat can wait to see how much he will be able to bring once he is healthy.

Meanwhile, Don Mattingly watches from Miami with a bemused smile on his face. His Marlins are half a game better than the Dodgers at this point of the season, with a lot smaller payroll. And the general manager no longer wants to help him make out the lineup every day.

MAGIC AND THE LAKERS: I don’t know what to make of the announcement that Magic Johnson is no longer listed in the Lakers staff directory.

Johnson has been listed as an unpaid vice president since he sold his stake in the team in 2010 to Patrick Soon-Shiong, now the chairman and CEO of the Chan Soon-Shiong Institute for Advanced Health, in what he called “a bittersweet business decision.”

John Black, the main Lakers spokesman, said Magic himself asked that his name be removed to clarify any confusion over his involvement with the team.

“Earvin will always be a revered and beloved member of the Lakers family, but he does not have a position or role with the organization at this time,” Black said June 11. “He is not an adviser or a consultant, and his opinions, comments and social media posts are solely his, and do not represent or reflect those of Lakers ownership or management. Hopefully this will eliminate any confusion over this issue in the future.”

Magic has never been shy of voicing his opinions about the Lakers’ moves and has recently taken to to Twitter encouraging the team to pursue Kevin Durant and LeBron James when free agency starts in July.

Magic also has been critical of Jim Buss, the head of basketball operations.

Encouraging the Lakers to pursue Durant and James if they hit free agency is a no brainer, but maybe Magic thinks Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchak need a reminder.

Magic remains part of the ownership groups of baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers, the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks and the Los Angeles Football Club, which is set to begin play in Major League Soccer in 2018.

I wonder who Magic would pick with the second overall draft choice in the NBA Draft, which is seven days away.

QUICK HITS: The Los Angeles Rams complete their last off-season practice June 16 in Oxnard with rookie quarterback Jared Goff expected to again tae most of the snaps with the first-team offense, just like he did June 14.

Goff started the workouts taking snaps with the second and third team before moving up this week to the first unit, which practices against the first-team defense. The Rams haven’t conceded that Goff will be the starting quarterback Sept. 12 against the San Francisco 49ers but, barring injury, I think they have already made him their mind to start the rookie.

The U.S. Open loses a little bit of luster this weekend without Tiger Woods in the field. Woods is still recovering from back surgery he had last fall.
(Courtesy photo)

It doesn’t seem like the U.S. Open this weekend with Tiger Woods in the field. Normally, the Open would be must-watch television this weekend, but without Woods playing (he is still sidelined after back surgery last fall) it doesn’t seem like a major tournament.

Jordan Spieth is the defending champion, but he has been up and down since his meltdown at the Masters in April. Jason Day, the number-one ranked player in the world, is the favorite.

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We all know that television determines when the games will be played, but playing twice in six days is no way for the players to maintain any sense of rhythm.

When you factor in the fact that Cleveland had eight days off after eliminating the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference finals, no wonder the Cavaliers have looked sluggish in their first two games, both losses to Golden State.

Things are looking grim for LeBron James and company. James is playing in his sixth straight championship series, but he is 2-4 in the previous six and unless his teammates start playing better, he is going to be 2-5.

The Warriors lead the series 2-0 and they are still waiting for Steph Curry to have a complete game. Pity poor Cleveland when that finally happens.

Despite breaking the NBA record for the best season ever with 73 wins, there were many NBA fans who weren’t sure just how good the Warriors are.

The Warriors have three legitimate all stars in Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Their bench includes last year’s NBA Finals most valuable player (Andre Iguodala), the one-time fourth overall pick in the draft (Shaun Livingston) and a former sixth man of the year (Leandro Barbosa).

They are a better overall team than Cleveland, which is healthier this year than it was in last year’s finals, but too many of the Cavaliers seem to be waiting for James to make a play and, strong as he is, James can’t carry this team on his back like he once could.

Look for Golden State to close out the Cavaliers by June 13.

Dodger rookie shortstop Cory Seager is starting to perform at an all-star level. He hit five home runs in a weekend series sweep of the Atlanta Braves last week and is part of a young nucleus the Dodgers are rebuilding around. (Photo by Nick Koza)

BIG SERIES: If there is any such thing as an important baseball series in June, the weekend series in San Francisco is important for the Dodgers.

After sweeping a weekend series against the lowly Atlanta Braves, the Dodgers returned to their light-hitting ways this week at home against Colorado. In the first two games of their series with the Rockies, the Dodgers were held to six hits total.

Only a walk-off home run by rookie surprise Trayce Thomson June 7 gave the Dodgers a split of the first two games with Colorado.

Yet, they are only three games behind the Giants going into their series June 10 and the Giants have lost right fielder Hunter Pence to another hamstring injury. This could be the time for the Dodgers to make their move.

Obviously a team in transition, the Dodgers are getting younger while trying to win a fourth straight Western Division title. That’s no easy feat.

Fortunately, the youngsters, particularly Thompson and shortstop Cory Seager, are showing they are capable of handling the day-to-day pressure of playing in the big leagues. Whether that will continue into August and September remains to be seen.

Young phenom pitcher Julio Urias still hasn’t won a game after three starts, but he pitched better June 7 than in his first two starts. And remember, he’s only 19.

Many people are questioning how the Dodgers are handling Urias. They wonder why he isn’t coming out of the bullpen if the Dodgers are concerned about the number of pitches and innings he throws or why the Dodgers brought him up to pitch on the road instead of at home.

The main thing is the Dodgers front office thinks Urias can help the team or he would still be in the minors. How helpful he is going to be on a 90-pitch count or a limit of 100 to 120 innings for the year remains to be seen.

But, you can pencil Urias’ name in the Dodgers starting rotation for next year and the only other guy on the roster you can say that about is someone named Kershaw.

TRACK CHAMPS: The Carson High School girls track team captured the state championship June 4 in Clovis.

Carson scored 40 points as a team to easily edge Agoura, which was second with 28 points.

Carson won the first race of the meet, the 4 by 100-meter relay in 45.06 and coasted to the title from there.

Carson also won the 4 by 400 meter relay and star sprinter Kaelin Roberts won the 400 meter race and finished second in the 200 meters to account for most of the points.

Triple jumper Jonon Young finished seventh in that event to account for the rest of Carson’s points.

Serra High girls team finished tied for 14th place with 13 points. The Serra 4 by 100 meter relay team was second to Carson and Jasmin Reed finished seventh in the 100 meters and sixth in the 200 meters.

Ailini Williams of Paramount finished fourth in the discus.

On the boys side of the ledger, Serra finished in a four-way tie for ninth with 13 points.Vista Murrieta ran away with the boys title with 54 points.

Isaiah Diego-Williams led Serra with a fourth-place finish in the 100 meters and a second in the 200 meters. Cahlil Hooper of Culver City High finished ninth in the 200 meters.

Cathedral High placed second in the boys 4 by 400 meter relay and Dorsey High placed fourth. The Dorsey 4 by 100 meter relay team also finished eighth.

Muhammad Ali called himself the greatest of all time and by the time he died June 3 at the age of 74, most people agreed with him. He grew from a heavyweight boxing change to a cultural icon before Parkinson’s Disease took over.
(Courtesy photo)

RIP, GOAT: There will never be another Muhammad Ali. The former heavyweight champion who died June 3 in Arizona transcended boxing, becoming one of the most recognized figures in the world.

Ali went from being an Olympic hero in 1960 to a vilified draft dodger when he refused induction into the U.S. Army in 1966.

He overcame all of that to win the heavyweight title three times and become a beloved figure before being overcome by Parkinson’s Disease, which many people attribute to the many punches he endured during his career.

His three fights with Joe Frazier are considered classic bouts, as is the “Rumble in the Jungle” with George Foreman in 1974, when he captured the heavyweight title for the second time in Zaire in a bout that lasted eight rounds.

That was a fight that to many people epitomized the battle of good versus evil.

Ali was the draft dodger, Foreman was the fighter who held a tiny American flag in his boxing glove after he won a boxing gold medal in the 1968 Olympics.

For most of the first seven rounds, Ali leaned against the ropes, holding his arms in front of his head, daring Foreman to hit him. Foreman exhausted himself trying to get to Ali’s head and he was knocked out in the eighth round.

“It was the rope a dope,” Foreman told radio host Dan Patrick this week, “and I was the dope.”

Twenty years later, Ali had become a beloved figure by the time he lit the Olympic torch to begin the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

By then, Parkinson’s had begun to take its toll on Ali. The man who was known early in his career as the “Louisville Lip” because he always had something to say, could barely speak above a whisper.

If there was a Mount Rushmore of great black athletes, Ali would belong there with Jesse Owens and Jackie Robinson, with maybe former NFL running back Jim Brown as the fourth figure.

He liked to call himself the greatest of all time and by the time he left us, most of us agreed with him.

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Ali, who went from the streets of Louisville, Kentucky, to being one of the most recognized people in the world, died Friday night at a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, with family members at his bedside.

He was 74.

A floral wreath was placed next to Ali’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star Saturday morning.

Ali received the star in 2002 for live theater in recognition of his famous flair and poetry that boosted the popularity of boxing. The star was unveiled in connection with a CBS special honoring Ali’s 60th birthday.

Of the 2,582 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Ali’s is the only one above ground. It is on an exterior wall of the Hollywood & Highland complex.

“I don’t want my name on the ground, [and] people walkin’ on my name,” Ali said at his Walk of Fame ceremony.

A wreath was placed next to Muhammad Ali’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Saturday morning after he died Friday night. Ali’s star is on an exterior wallk of the Hollywood & Highland complex, not on the sidewalk like the other 2,581 stars. (Photo by Marlene Panoyan)

Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable President Earl Ofari Hutchinson paid tribute to Ali’s role as a social justice fighter in brief remarks at the star.

“Ali will be remembered for his greatness in the ring, but he must be remembered for his even more pronounced greatness outside the ring,” Hutchinson said. “Ali spent much time in Los Angeles, even lived in the city for a time, and interacted with many schools and organizations and residents in the city.

Hutchinson and other civil rights activists called on Mayor Eric Garcetti and the L.A. City Council to declare an L.A. Muhammad Ali Tribute Day. The day would be a day to pay tribute to the towering contribution of Ali to the cause of racial and social justice in L.A. and the nation.

“His mission was always one of furthering the cause of social and racial justice,” Hutchinson said. “A day in his honor is a way to show our deep appreciation for his life and work.”

“Muhammad Ali wasn’t just the greatest boxer in history, he was a humanitarian, activist and a warrior for social justice who had the courage and conviction to stand up for his religious beliefs,” said , the director of Project Islamic HOPE. “Ali was one of the greatest and most influential men in history.”

On Saturday night, members of the local American Muslim community paid tribute to Ali with a special prayer and candlelight vigil at the Bilal Islamic Center, a mosque that Ali helped to build.

Ali first came to prominence in 1960 when he won a gold medal at the Rome Olympics, fighting under his birth name, Cassius Clay.

“As Olympians, our role is to inspire others to achieve their dreams, and no person has ever lived that role more than Muhammad Ali,” said four-time gold medal-winning swimmer Janet Evans, the vice chair and director of athlete relations of LA 2024, the group seeking to bring the 2024 Olympics to Los Angeles.

Evans called passing the Olympic torch to Ali to light the cauldron at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics “the defining moment of my career and a memory I will treasure forever, as much as any of the medals I won.”

Ali turned professional in 1960. The 13th fight of his professional career that saw him win the world heavyweight championship three times was at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, a fourth-round technical knockout of George Logan April 23, 1962.

Ali fought three more times in the Los Angeles area, the final time on Sept. 10, 1973, when he won a 12-round split decision over Ken Norton at the Forum, avenging the second defeat of his professional career.

Ali lived in Los Angeles during parts of the 1970s and 1980s.

“We have lost a legend who proved the human spirit knows no bounds,” Mayor Eric Garcetti wrote on Twitter. “Muhammad Ali you will never be forgotten.”

Ali first won the heavyweight championship on Feb. 25, 1964, when the heavily favored Sonny Liston did not answer the bell to start the seventh round at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

After the fight, he dropped what he called his “slave name” becoming Muhammad Ali and disclosing he became a member of the Nation of Islam.

Ali angered many Americans in 1967 by refusing induction into the U.S. Army, citing his religious beliefs. His boxing license was suspended, he was stripped of his title and convicted of draft evasion. The Supreme Court overturned the conviction in 1971.

Ali regained the title in 1974 with an eighth-round knockout of the previously undefeated and favored George Foreman in a bout in Zaire known as the “Rumble in the Jungle.”

After losing the title to Leon Spinks on a split decision in 1978, he regained it later that year when he defeated Spinks on a unanimous decision.

“Muhammad Ali was truly the greatest — an athlete who transcended sports to become a global icon,” Evans said. “He inspired me and millions of others around the world, to be the best version of ourselves.”

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This is the matchup everyone wanted, except maybe for the fans of the San Antonio Spurs, who thought their team could get past the Warriors this year and advance to the finals.

Unfortunately, San Antonio couldn’t get past the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that also gave the Warriors a scare before they managed to regroup and win the last three games are trailing 3-1 in the series.

That showed the resiliency a championship team needs to have. It’s something the Warriors will need more of if they are to win their second straight title.

Most people forget the Warriors trailed the Cavaliers 2-1 in last year’s series. They also forget that Cleveland starting power forward Kevin Love didn’t play in the entire series and that point guard Kyrie Irving missed the last five games. Both are healthy this season.

In other words, it should be a good series.

Stephen Curry leads the Golden State Warriors into the NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Warriors defeated the Cavs in six games. (Courtesy photo)

The Warriors are still led by the shooting of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, but Draymond Green has become a more imposing figure this year and the Warriors may have the most depth off the bench of any team.

Do you remember the championship series most valuable player last year? It was Warriors reserve Andre Iguodala, who was inserted into the starting lineup in the fourth game of the series and went on to play tough defense against LeBron James and helped share the scoring load with Curry and Thompson.

James, who was reduced to a one-man salvation team last year, has more help this year.

Playing in his sixth straight NBA finals — only members of the Boston Celtics 1960s teams can also say that — this is a crucial series for James. Overall, it’s his seventh trip to the finals. His teams have won twice: in 2012 and 2013 with Miami.

The only NBA hall of famers with worst records in NBA final series are Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, whose 1960s Lakers teams kept meeting up with the Celtics in the finals.

If James is to remembered as one of the greatest NBA players ever when he retires, he needs to win another title. If he wins it with this Cleveland team, his legacy is secure.

I think it will be a back-and-forth series that won’t be decided until Game 7 on June 19. That game will be played in Oakland and the Warriors will use the home court advantage to win their second straight title. But it won’t be easy.

Kenley Jansen has been the only consistent relief pitcher out of the Dodgers bullpen so far this season. (Courtesy photo)

BULLPEN BLUES: A friend and I were arguing about the Dodgers bullpen the other day. We both agree the bullpen, except for closer Kenley Jansen, is inconsistent at best, dreadful at worst.

The argument was over how Jansen should be used. My friend said Jansen should pitch the eighth and the ninth whenever the Dodgers have the lead in a close game. I argued that Jansen’s arm would fall off in August, if not sooner, if that happened.

Once upon a time, closers pitching two innings at a time — or even more — was a common practice. Bruce Sutter and Goose Gossage, who pitched in the 1970s and 80s, often threw two innings at a time.

When the Dodgers won game six of the 1981 World Series to clinch the title, Steve Howe pitched the last three and two-third innings.

But around the time Oakland A’s manager Tony La Russa made Dennis Eckersley his closer in 1987, the role of the closer changed.

Instead of being asked to do what ever it took to win the game, the closer was asked to get the last three outs. That made the bridge from the seventh to the ninth inning more important and the term set-up man came in to being. That was the second most important person in the bullpen, the guy to get key outs after the starter had left the game.

And that is where the Dodgers’ problems lie. They don’t have a dependable set-up guy in the bullpen. They have tried using former closers like Brandon league and Brian Wilson, who were both expensive failures.

They didn’t pitch as well in the seventh and eighth innings as they had earlier in their careers in the ninth inning. Perhaps the adrenaline rush wasn’t as high. Who knows.

For the last two years, the Dodgers have looked at cheaper alternatives for the set-up role. Pedro Baez and Yimi Garcia are young and throw hard, but they don’t have the temperament to be set-up men. They wither on the vine in pressure situations. You can see it the longer they hold on to the ball between pitches.

J.P Howell pitched well the last two seasons, but he has been uneven at best this year. Joe Blanton has started getting the ball in pressure situations and has done surprisingly well. Believed to be washed up as a starter two years ago, Blanton reinvented himself in the bullpen at Kansas City and Pittsburgh last year and has been the best off-season acquisition for the Dodgers bullpen so far.

Another key factor in the Dodgers’ bullpen woes is the starting rotation. With the exception of Clayton Kershaw, no one has been able to consistently pitch into the seventh inning. That puts a lot of strain on the bullpen also.

But guess what? The Dodgers aren’t alone in having question marks in their bullpen. The Mets, who played in the World Series last year, saw their closer blow two games to the Dodgers last weekend. The Cubs pen gave the Dodgers five runs in two innings May 31.

The bullpen is one of the Dodgers’ problems, but so is the starting rotation and the offense hasn’t started clicking on all cylinders yet. There are still some good things going on in Chavez Ravie and there are still four months left in the season.

It’s too early for Dodger fans to hit the panic button.

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In 1993, when Garrett was a newcomer to his job as athletic director at USC, he hired Miller to coach the women’s basketball team she had once starred for.

In 2014, as the athletic director at Langston University in Langston, Oklahoma, Garrett hired Miller as the school’s women’s basketball coach.

Last week, the new executive director of athletics at Cal State Los Angeles hired Miller as his women’s basketball coach.

“I’ve known Cheryl as a player, coach and general manager for more than 20 years,” Garrett said in the statement regarding Miller’s hiring. “She is a world-class talent.

“I came to Cal State L.A. to win national championships and Cheryl has done just that. She knows how to get us to where we intend to go.”

Miller, the older sister of Reggie Miller, the former UCLA and Indiana Pacers star, was a star at Riverside Poly High from 1978 to 1982. The team was 132-4 in those four years and Miller was the national high school player of the year in 1981 and 1982. In one game her senior year, Miller scored 105 points.

At USC, Miller led the Trojans to national titles in 1983 and 1984, both times being named the NCAA Tournament MVP.

She also led the U.S. national team to the Olympic gold medal in 1984.

“Graduating and developing women of inspiration and substance is my goal,” Miller said. “Cal State L.A. is the perfect place for that mission.”

As a teenager Miller spent summers playing in the U.S. Olympic development program in the Cal State L.A. gym.

“The first college I played at, literally, was Cal State L.A. I’m glad to be back,” she said.

During her coaching stint at USC, Miller led the Lady Trojans to the NCAA Tournament both years.

In her two years at Langston, her teams went 49-12 and qualified for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics both years.

Cal State L.A. President William A. Covino said Miller “embodies the kind of athlete and human being who will lead our students to successful futures beyond what they’ve imagined.”

It was expected Garrett, who was named executive director of athletics at Cal State Los Angeles earlier this year, would make a splash in his new role.

Garrett’s story isn’t new. He went from Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights to USC, becoming the university’s first Heisman Trophy in 1965.

From USC he went to the American Football League’s Kansas City Chiefs, where he played in two of the first four Super Bowls.

After becoming an attorney in his post-football career, Garrett returned to USC as athletic director, leading the athletic department for 17 years and hiring Pete Carroll to turn around the football program.

After leaving USC when the NCAA put the Trojans on sanctions in 2010, Garrett landed at Langston and tried to put that university on the athletic map.

Expect similar things to happen at Cal State L.A.

UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero, left, and Kevin Plank, founder and CEO of Under Armour, announced a 15-year agreement May 24 for Under Armour to supply sports uniform and equipment for UCLA athletes, beginning July 1, 2117. The contract is reportedly the largest apparel contract in the history of college sports. (Courtesy photo)

UCLA’S BIG CONTRACT: The Bruins made big news May 24 when UCLA officials and sports apparel manufacturer Under Armour announced a 15-year sports apparel contract that is the largest such contract in NCAA history.

The deal will pay UCLA about $280 million over the terms of the deal.

“UCLA has always been about challenging the status quo and breaking through barriers,” UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero said. “Under Armour shares those core values. They are about more than simply making athletes look good, they constantly pursue innovation in order to make athletes better.”

Under Armour is a relative newcomer to the sports apparel game compared to Nike and Adidas, but it is trying to move up quickly.

The Baltimore-based company already has apparel deals with Notre Dame, Auburn and Wisconsin.

“With 113 NCAA championships, UCLA is the most decorated athletic program in history, the benchmark for excellence in performance,” said Under Armour founder and CEO Kevin Plank. “Under Armour’s commitment to growth through innovation and an unwavering mission to make all athletes better aligns seamlessly with UCLA and the pioneering figures that helped build the program, and we look forward to reaching new heights with the Bruins.”

Under the deal Under Armour will design and supply shoes, apparel and uniforms for all 25 of the university’s men’s and women’s varsity athletic teams. The deal will begin July 1, 2017, replacing the university’s deal with Adidas.

The Los Angeles Times reported that UCLA will receive $15 million in cash up front. The school will subsequently be paid approximately $11 million annually in rights and marketing fees.

Under Armour has agreed to supply about $7.4 million worth of clothing, shoes and equipment each school year and contribute an additional $2 million over the next eight years for upgrades at facilities such as the Morgan Center and the Acosta Athletic Complex.

With an equipment deal of this size, coupled with the television money that football and basketball generate, college sports continues to be a cash cow for the adults. Meanwhile, the kids that play the sports (the real generators of the income) are stuck with archaic NCAA rules that limit how many “benefits” they can receive from their universities.

UCLA’s star quarterback Josh Rosen was quick to note that in an Instagram message that said: “We’re still amateurs, though. … Gotta love non-profits.”

The message was removed from Instagram shortly after it was posted.

Former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon, who has sued the NCAA over the use of his likeness in an NCAA-sanctioned video game, also was quick to comment.

“The fact that the college athletes can’t share any part of that money is unreal,” O’Bannon told The Times’ Bill Plaschke.

Yes, college football players receive a scholarship that covers their tuition and some living expenses. They get their meals paid for during the season.

The value of a four-year scholarship for an out-of-state student is set at $240,000. That’s a nice chunk of change, even spread out over four years, but it is a small amount compared to what the athletes generate for their schools. And as the size of coaching, television and apparel contracts grow larger and larger, the outcry from college athletes is also going to grow correspondingly, until the NCAA is forced to do something about it.

EARLY BENEFITS: The benefits of having a National Football League stadium in Los Angeles (er, Inglewood) manifested themselves May 24 when the NFL announced the 2021 Super Bowl would be played in the new stadium.

That means the focus of the average sports fan will be on Inglewood and Los Angeles for the first week of February that year. The Super Bowl will be just one of several major sporting events that the stadium will eventually host.

The NCAA March Madness Final Four will surely be held there one day. Many NFL watchers predict the NFL Combine that tests players just leaving college could be held there as well.

In other words, the stadium will bring big crowds to Inglewood more than just 10 times a year.

And how does this matchup sound for the 2021 Super Bowl: The Los Angeles Rams versus the Las Vegas Raiders.

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Meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, the owners announced that the 2021 Super Bowl would be played in the Rams’ new stadium here.

“Having the Super Bowl awarded to the city of Inglewood is the exclamation point for the story that has been written for the last five years,” Inglewood Mayor James Butts said. “When I took office, the city was six months away from bankruptcy and receiving the Super Bowl takes us from national attention to international notoriety.”

Butts said the game would be good for the city’s economy as well as its image.

“Even our smaller businesses are going to get so much money and opportunity sales,” he said. “Most people are not going to be spending lots of money on expensive meals everyday. They are going to be eating at our mom and pops … smaller restaurants. They are going to shop at our stores. They’re going to get opportunity sales that they would have otherwise not gotten.”

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti also was excited about the news. Garcetti was speaking to the Crenshaw Chamber of Commerce when news of the owners vote came through.

Garcetti said he wanted to expand the celebration to neighborhoods around the stadium, such as Crenshaw. He said he hopes the game serves as an opportunity to showcase all of Los Angeles, so visitors get a good understanding of the city.

“We want to make sure that we have public transportation so people who are going to the Super Bowl can take it, and that they can come to Crenshaw Plaza, so they can see the arts, the music, the culture and that local businesses can get a piece of the action, too,” Garcetti said

He also wants to make sure the jobs to build the stadium go to locals.

“People from Inglewood and South L.A. need to be the construction workers on the new stadium,” he stated.

Local residents interviewed within hours of the announcement also seemed happy with the news. Most of them said they believe it will help the economy and employment.

“It’s wonderful news,” said Inglewood resident Rhonda Hicks. “It brings money to the neighborhood. It makes L.A. a better place. It brings jobs and it does something for our economy and we need it.”

Even neighboring residents hope the big game will help their areas.

“We could use the revenue, definitely,” said Malek Ruben Gomez, a resident of Lennox. “We have LAX right here and the area around it doesn’t have much, so with the Super Bowl coming, it’s going to bring a wave of money into the area which we could use.”

Despite the positive reactions, some remain skeptical on how it will affect housing and rent.

“I think its great they’re bringing it to Inglewood,” Shelby Jones said. “Unfortunately, I’ve heard rumors that people are going to have to move, so that will be bad. My neighbor’s rent increased tremendously, so they had to move, so that was sad.

“I hope everyone will be financially able to afford to move to an area they like. But the positive is, it will bring jobs and more activity to Inglewood.”

The NFL owners awarded the 2019 Super Bowl to Atlanta and the 2020 to Miami, cities that have hosted the Super Bowl multiple times since the Los Angeles last hosted one in 1993. That one was played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

According to the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, which helped spearhead the effort to land the game, the area’s bid included 60,000 hotel room nights, with the possibility of generating up to 100,000 total room nights. Organizers said that while the game will be held in Inglewood, related events will be held throughout the region.

Casey Wasserman, chairman of the bid committee, said he was “honored” at the NFL’s decision.

“The league’s selection of Los Angeles is a testament to its commitment to innovation and diversity, and I couldn’t be prouder of our winning bid,” he said. “[Rams owner] Stan Kroenke’s vision for the Rams stadium and the surrounding campus makes Inglewood an ideal venue for staging the Super Bowl of the future, and we look forward to inviting the nation and the world to L.A. for an historic fan experience.”

Wasserman is also the head of the group that is seeking to bring the 2024 Summer Olympics to Los Angeles. He and Garcetti both said the Super Bowl bid could help with the Olympics as well.

“I think this will give us momentum to the Olympic bid also and it also helps us cue up that L.A. is the best sports town in the world,” Garcetti said. When we do things we don’t just do it for those who are able to afford the luxury. We do it for the next would-be star who can be on that turf in another 10 years.”

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The Lakers will pick second, following the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Draft June 23, just like last year.

Chances are good that the Lakers won’t be drafting second again next year. Who knows about Philadelphia, which is still finishing last in the league despite having the third overall pick in the last two drafts. Of course, the 2014 pick, Joel Embiid, has yet to play a minute in the NBA.

For the next month, all the speculation will be about whom the Lakers will draft.

The top two consensus choices are Duke forward Brandon Ingram and Louisiana State forward Ben Simmons, both one-and-done freshmen.

Simmons drew early comparisons to Lebron James at the start of last season, but those were tempered by the end of the year when LSU didn’t even make the NCAA Tournament.

Simmons can do everything on a basketball court except shoot. Ingram excels at shooting.

At 6-10, 240, Simmons has the size to get close to the basket where his shooting deficiencies aren’t as noticeable. He averaged 19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists a game for LSU.

Brandon Ingram, a freshman from Duke, is expected to be one of the top two picks in the NBA Draft June 23.
(Courtesy photo)

Ingram is 6-9 but reed thin at about 190 pounds. He said he would go on a diet consuming 5,000 calories a day to add weight, while also bulking up in the weight room. His numbers were 17.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2 assists per game.

Simmons is believed to have more upside, so expect the 76ers to draft him. That leaves Ingram for the Lakers, unless Lakers front office brass Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak fall in love with someone else between now and June 23.

With the Lakers set at guard, the sleeper in the draft becomes Dragan Bender, a 7-1 Croatian who is only 18. Bender is being compared to both Dirk Nowitski and Kristaps Porzingis. Nowitski is nearing the end of a Hall of Fame career. Porzingis was drafted fourth overall by the New York Knicks last year and ended up second in the rookie of the year balloting and is believed to be on his way to superstardom.

If Bender is impressive in his pre-draft workouts, the Lakers would be wise to skip the slender Ingram and go for size and draft Bender second.

A good big man inside would compliment young guards D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson and forward Julius Randle could use Bender’s size to keep heat off him.

The draft should add to the Lakers young nucleus, but the team still has to make a splash in the free agent market this summer if they are going to rise to the level of playoff contender.

It has been a successful off-season so far for the Lakers. They signed Luke Walton to be their new head coach and they kept their first round draft pick.

A solid free agent signing or two could put them near the playoffs next season.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw delivers a pitch against the Angels May 17. Kershaw is off to one of the best starts of his career with a 6-1 record and 88 strikeouts in 70 innings. (Photo by Nick Koza)

SOMETHING SPECIAL: Even if you are not a baseball fan, make an effort to get out to Dodger Stadium and see Clayton Kershaw pitch. The 28-year-old left-handed ace of the Dodgers pitching staff is putting up some historic numbers for the Boys in Blue, who otherwise are struggling.

Kershaw has made nine starts for the Dodgers this season. They are 8-1 in those games. They are 13-18 when someone else starts.

In his nine starts, he has thrown 70 innings (almost eight innings a start), struck out 88, walked four and given up 45 hits and 14 runs. His walks and hits per inning is at .700, a career low, and Kershaw has led the league in that statistic four of the last five years.

The Major League record for best strikeout-to-walk ratio is 11.63 to 1, set by Phil Hughes of the Minnesota Twins in 2014. Kershaw’s ratio this season: 22:1.

In his most recent start May 17, Kershaw defeated the Angels, 5-1. He went eight innings, striking out 11. It was the sixth consecutive start that Kershaw struck out 10 or more batters, a team record that even the great Sandy Koufax never achieved.

Only 28, Kershaw already has won three Cy Young Awards, voted to the best pitcher in the National League each year, and seems headed for a fourth this year.

Players like Kershaw don’t come along very often. We in Los Angeles should enjoy him while we can.

Bo Jackson will be inducted into the Shrine of the Eternals by the Baseball Reliquary during the organization’s annual induction ceremony July 17 in Pasadena.
(Courtesy photo)

BASEBALL SHRINE: The Baseball Reliquary is a Pasadena-based organization that is dedicated to fostering an appreciation of American art and culture through the context of baseball history and to explore the games unparalleled creative possibilities.

The group will hold its annual award ceremony July 17 at the Pasadena Central Library at which time Don Newcombe, Bo Jackson and author Arnold Hano will be inducted into the Shrine of the Eternals, an honor bestowed upon people who have impacted the game on or off the field.

According to the Reliquary rules, honorees shall have been responsible for developing baseball through athletic and or business achievements, in terms of its larger cultural and sociological impact as mass entertainment and as an arena for the human imagination.

Newcombe broke in with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1948, a year after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier.

The Dodgers traded him to the Cincinnati Reds in 1958, the year they moved to Los Angeles and he ended his career with the Cleveland Indians.

During his career he had a record of 149 wins and 90 losses.

He was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1946 and the National league Most Valuable Player in 1956, the year he won the first ever Cy Young Award.

Since the late 1970s, Newcombe has been a member of the Dodgers’ community affairs staff.

Jackson had a mercurial two-sport career in football and baseball, winning the 1985 Heisman Trophy as a running back for Auburn.

Drafted first by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1986 NFL Draft, Jackson instead signed with the Kansas City Royals in baseball, breaking in with them in September 1986 after only 53 games in the minor leagues.

In 1989 he made the All Star Game and was selected the game’s most valuable player after making a fine running catch to prevent two runs in the first inning and then leading off the bottom of the inning with a 448-foot home run.

A football hip injury limited his baseball career and he retired after 1994 with a career batting average of .250 and 141 home runs.

Hano is best known for his book “A Day in the Bleachers” about Game 1 of the 1954 World Series, which was highlighted by Willie Mays’ over-the-shoulder catch of a ball hit by Vic Wertz.

Membership in the Reliquary ranges from $25 to $500 a year and all members vote for three people each year in the Shrine of the Eternals balloting.

More information is available at www.baseballreliquary.org.

GET THOSE TICKETS: The Los Angeles Rams have begun contacting the 56,000 people who paid a $100 deposit to get on the waiting list for season tickets this season.

The Rams will play nine home games (including two exhibition games) at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum this year.

“We are excited to begin the process of building our season ticket fan base and creating the best home field advantage in the National Football League,” Rams Vice President Jake Bye said in a team news release. “Our goal is to reciprocate the passion demonstrated by our fans through a one-of-a-kind game-day experience as we kick off our first season back in Los Angeles.”

Fans that placed a refundable deposit for 2016 Los Angeles Rams season tickets will be grouped into tiered phases based upon the order in which their deposit was first received, Bye said. Over the next several weeks, the Rams will contact deposit holders according to their phase grouping regarding their 2016 seat locations.

Upon being contacted by the club, deposit holders will have the opportunity to select their seat locations for the upcoming season through the “Rams Member Portal.”

Inside the portal, fans can utilize a state-of-the-art, 360-degree seat viewer to see different aspects of the game-day experience from any available seat in the Coliseum. Additionally, the portal will serve as a communications hub from the team to season ticket members. The portal will feature exclusive content and information surrounding Rams events, including special offseason experiences, training camp access, and more.

Season tickets range from $360 to $2,025. Pending availability, single-game tickets will go on sale later this summer and more information will be released at that time, Bye said.

HIGH SCHOOL TRACK: The CIF Southern Section conducts its track and field championship meet May 21 at Cerritos College. The Master’s Meet, which will qualify athletes for the state meet, is May 28, also at Cerritos College.

In the L.A. City Section, the semifinals will be held May 19 at Birmingham High School. The finals will be conducted May 26, also at Birmingham.

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