Capistrano Unified School District’s Aliso Niguel High celebrated its Class of 2019 at a commencement ceremony on Thursday, June 6, at the campus stadium in Aliso Viejo.

The early schedule for boys basketball summer leagues and tournaments in Orange County.

(More to come)

LOARA TOURNAMENT

Thursday, June 6

Loara vs. Pacifica, 3:15 p.m.; Godinez vs. Northwood, 4:30 p.m.; Sunny Hills vs. El Modena, 5:45 p.m.; Western vs. Century, 7 p.m.

Friday, June 7

Losers bracket games, 3:15 and 4:30 p.m.

Winners bracket games, 5:45 and 7 p.m.

Saturday, June 8

Seventh-place game, 11:30 a.m.; fifth-place game, 12:45 p.m.; third-place game, 2 p.m.; final game, 3:15 p.m.

MATER DEI TOURNAMENT

Friday, June 7

Court 1 — Saddleback Valley Christian vs. Los Alamitos, 3:30 p.m.; Farimont Prep vs. Newport Harbor, 4:45 p.m.; Marina vs. Aliso Niguel, 6 p.m.; El Toro vs. Mater Dei3, 7:15 p.m.

Court 2 — Mater Dei2 vs. San Juan Hills1, 3:30 p.m.; San Juan Hills2 vs. Servite, 4:45 p.m.; Orange Lutheran vs. Los Alamitos, 6 p.m.; Sonora vs. Mater Dei2, 7:15 p.m.; Mater Dei1 vs. Corona del Mar, 8:30 p.m.

Court 3 — Westminster vs. Crean Lutheran, 3:30 p.m.; Capistrano Valley vs. Long Beach Jordan, 4:45 p.m.; Dana Hills vs. Mater Dei3, 6 p.m.; Newport Harbor vs. Long Beach Jordan, 7:15 p.m.

Saturday, June 8

Court 1 — Aliso Niguel vs. Servite, 8:30 a.m.; San Juan Hills1 vs. Newport Harbor, 9:45 a.m.; Palm Desert vs. Ventura, 11 a.m.; Rio Hondo Prep vs. Orange Lutheran, 12:15 p.m.; Corona del Mar vs. Sonora, 1:30 p.m.; Laguna Hills vs. Crespi2, 2:45 p.m.; Dana Point vs. Fairmont Prep, 4 p.m.; Capistrano Valley vs. Calvary Chapel, 5:15 p.m.; San Ysidro vs. Dana Hills, 6:30 p.m.; San Marcos vs. Saddleback Valley Christian, 7:45 p.m.; St. Mary’s vs. Los Alamitos, 9 p.m.

Court 2 — San Juan Hills2 vs. Ventura, 8:30 a.m.; Marina vs. Sonora, 9:45 a.m.; Servite vs. Laguna Hills, 11 a.m.; Dana Point vs. San Juan Hills1, 12:15 p.m.; Palm Desert vs. Aliso Niguel, 1:30 p.m.; Mater Dei1 vs. Taft, 2:45 p.m.; Orange Lutheran vs. San Marcos, 4 p.m.; El Toro vs. Edison, 5:15 p.m.; Mater Dei1 vs. St. Mary’s, 6:30 p.m.; Crean Lutheran vs. Edison, 7:45 p.m.; Long Beach Jordan vs. San Gabriel, 9 p.m.

Court 3 — Mission Viejo vs. Mater Dei2, 9:45 a.m.; San Juan Hills2 vs. Aliso Niguel, 11 a.m.; Marina vs. Mission Viejo, 12:15 p.m.; Fairmont Prep vs. Crespi, 1:30 p.m.; Rio Hondo Prep vs. Calvary Chapel, 2:45 p.m.; San Ysidro vs. Crespi, 4 p.m.; Crespi2 vs. Saddleback Valley Christian, 5:15 p.m.; Taft vs. Los Alamitos, 6:30 p.m.; El Toro vs. Mater Dei2, 7:45 p.m.; Dana Point vs. Mater Dei3, 9 p.m.

Sunday, June 9

Court 1 — Laguna Hills vs. San Marcos, 8:30 a.m.; Calvary Chapel vs. San Ysidro, 9:45 a.m.; Ventura vs. St. Mary’s, 11 a.m.; Aliso Niguel vs. Crespi, 12:15 p.m.; Palm Desert vs. Dana Point, 1:30 p.m.; Fairmont Prep vs. Mission Viejo, 2:45 p.m.; Newport Harbor vs. Rio Hondo Prep, 4 p.m.; Crean Lutheran vs. Marina, 5:15 p.m.; Saddleback Valley Christian vs. Mater Dei3, 6:30 p.m.

Court 2 — Ventura vs. El Toro, 8:30 a.m.; San Juan Hills1 vs. Crespi, 9:45 a.m.; Dana Point vs. Capistrano Valley, 11 a.m.; Edison vs. San Marcos, 12:15 p.m; Calvary Chapel vs. Mater Dei1, 1:30 p.m.; San Gabriel vs. St. Mary’s, 2:45 p.m.; Mater Dei1 vs. Long Beach Jordan, 4 p.m.; Orange Lutheran vs. Corona del Mar, 5:15 p.m.; Sonora vs. Taft, 6:30 p.m.

Court 3 — San Juan Hills2 vs. Crespi2, 8:30 p.m.; Edison vs. Fairmont Prep, 9:45 a.m.; Palm Desert vs. Laguna Hills, 11 a.m.; San Ysidro vs. Corona del Mar, 12:15 p.m.; Capistrano Valley vs. Rio Hondo Prep, 1:30 p.m.; Crean Lutheran vs. Dana Hills, 2:45 p.m.; Taft vs. St. Mary’s, 4 p.m.; Mission Viejo vs. servite, 5:15 p.m.; Los Alamitos vs. San Gabriel, 6:30 p.m.

UC IRVINE CAMP

Friday, June 7

Bren 1 — Santa Margarita vs. REV, 3 p.m.; Fountain Valley vs. San Marcos2, 4 p.m.; El Dorado vs. San Diego, 5 p.m.; West Torrance1 vs. San Marcos2, 6 p.m.; Balboa vs. King Drew, 7 p.m.; Cerritos vs. Aquinas, 8 p.m.

Bren 2 — West Torrance1 vs. Burroughs, 3 p.m.; Diamond Ranch vs. Yorba Linda, 4 p.m.; Aquinas vs. King Drew, 5 p.m.; Fountain Valley vs. Burroughs, 6 p.m.; Showcase: Capistrano Valley vs. Servite, 7 p.m.; San Marcos1 vs. Hoover, 8 p.m.

Bren 3 — St. Anthony vs. Palos Verdes, 4 p.m.; San Marcos1 vs. San Clemente, 5 p.m.; Diamond Ranch vs. Santa Margarita, 6 p.m.; Palos Verdes vs. San Diego, 7 p.m.; San Clemente vs. West Torrance2, 8 p.m.

Crawford — Balboa vs. Cerritos, 4 p.m.; REV vs. Yorba Linda, 5 p.m.; Hoover vs. West Torrance2, 6 p.m.; St. Anthony vs. El Dorado, 7 p.m.; Showcase: Servite vs. Diamond Ranch, 8 p.m.

Saturday, June 8

Bren 1 — Santa Margarita vs. Yorba Linda, 10 a.m.; Balboa vs. Aquinas, 11 a.m.; Capistrano Valley vs. Cerritos, noon.

Bren 2 — Showcase: Capistrano Valley vs. Gardena, 10 a.m.; West Torrance1 vs. Fountain Valley, 11 a.m.; San Marcos1 vs. West Torrance, noon.

Bren 3 — St. Anthony vs. San Diego, 10 a.m.; Burroughs vs. San Marcos2, 11 a.m.; Showcase: Gardena vs. Serra, noon.

Crawford — Palos Verdes vs. El Dorado, 10 a.m.; REV vs. Diamond Ranch, 11 a.m.; San Clemente vs. Hoover, noon.

All — Crossover games, 1:15 p.m., 2:15 p.m., 3:15 p.m.

Sunday, June 9

Games from 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

GODINEZ/CENTURY SUMMER LEAGUE

(Varsity games)

Monday, June 10

At Godinez — Edison vs. Santa Ana, 4 p.m.; Godinez vs. Laguna Beach, 5 p.m.; Santa Ana Valley vs. Santiago, 6 p.m.; Godinez vs. Irvine, 7 p.m.

At Century — Capistrano Valley Christian vs. Costa Mesa, 4 p.m.; Segerstrom vs. Tustin, 5 p.m; Saddleback vs. Corona del Mar, 6 p.m.; Century vs. Northwood, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, June 12

At Godinez — Edison vs. Santiago, 4 p.m.; Laguna Beach vs. Santa Ana Valley, 5 p.m.; Santa Ana vs. Irvine, 6 p.m.; Saddleback vs. Godinez, 7 p.m.

At Century — Capistrano Valley Christian vs. Century, 5 p.m.; Segerstrom vs. Costa Mesa, 6 p.m.; Corona del Mar vs. Northwood, 7 p.m.

HIU SUMMER LEAGUE

At Hope International University

Tuesday, June 11

Court A — Sonora vs. Brea Olinda, 7 p.m.

Court B — Whittier Christian vs. El Dorado, 5:45 p.m.; Tustin vs. Beckman, 7 p.m.

Thursday, June 13

Court A — Whittier Christian vs. Sonora, 5:45 p.m.; Whittier Christian vs. Tustin, 7 p.m.

Court B — Beckman vs. Brea Olinda, 5:45 p.m.; El Dorado vs. Brea Olinda, 7 p.m.

The defending national champion USC women impressed in the second day of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday in Austin, Texas, with several sprinters earning spots in Saturday’s event finals.

Both Trojans relay teams – the 4×100-meter (42.53 seconds) and 4×400 (3:28.31) – finished with the best qualifying times for their events. In the 100 hurdles, Anna Cockrell (PR of 12.69) and Chanel Brissett (matching her PR of 12.70) placed third and fourth in qualifying, respectively, to earn spots in the final.

Two USC women will also participate in both the 100 final – Angie Annelus (PR of 11.06) and Twanisha Terry (11.08) – and the 200 final – Annelus (PR of 22.35) and Lanae-Tava Thomas (PR of 22.65). Cockrell had the best qualifying time in the 400 hurdles, a season-best mark of 56.05, while Kyra Constantine will be the lone USC representative in the 400 after placing second in her semifinal heat (51.71).

USC freshman Ayden Owens, one of the favorites in the decathlon after winning three of the first six events, fell from contention on Wednesday after failing to clear the bar in the high jump in any of his three attempts. After winning the decathlon’s 100 and 400 on Wednesday, he won the 110 hurdles to begin Thursday’s events, but he did not finish after pulling out due to right knee pain following the pole vault.

UCLA’s Alyssa Wilson placed third in the hammer throw, with her best mark of 228 feet, 10 inches. Wilson also finished seventh in the shot put (56-2.5)

After five of 21 events, the UCLA women are tied for ninth in the team standings with eight points.

Long Beach State sprinter Courtne’ Davis finished 18th in the women’s 100 to earn Honorable Mention All-American honors.

The championships continue on Friday with the men’s track and field finals and the start of the heptathlon.

ANAHEIM — Angels starter Tyler Skaggs slogged through a tough fourth inning Thursday, a series of singles frustrating like paper cuts.

The fifth inning cut like a saw blade.

On a day when the Angels could have used their first complete game of 2019 – Manager Brad Ausmus even joked about it in the dugout Thursday afternoon – Skaggs matched his shortest start of the season. The Angels needed Jaime Barría to mop up the final five innings of a 7-4 loss to the Oakland A’s before an announced crowd of 34,109 at Angel Stadium.

Wednesday, the bullpen tossed 6⅓ innings in relief of Felix Peña – 7⅓, if you include the work of “opener” Cam Bedrosian. At least that dark cloud held the silver lining of a walk-off victory, but the game continued a trend that’s perturbed the club all season.

Angels relievers lead all of baseball in innings pitched, largely due to their use of one-inning “openers.” Even excluding the 41 innings pitched by Peña and other starters in relief, only five teams have demanded more innings from their bullpen than the Angels.

There was no silver lining Thursday after Skaggs (4-6) completed four innings, then bequeathed a pair of runners to Jaime Barría in the fifth without recording an out. Skaggs threw 15 pitches in the inning, six for strikes. He walked Chad Pinder and Matt Chapman, then allowed an RBI single to Khris Davis that put the Angels in a 4-1 hole.

“I just didn’t have it today,” Skaggs said. “It was just a disaster.”

After touching 93 mph in the fourth inning, Skaggs’ fastball topped out at 89 mph in the fifth. He was not removed for any medical reason; rather, a series of long at-bats simply wore him down.

Skaggs didn’t need reminding about the season-long burden on his bullpen.

“It’s frustrating,” he said. “I really wanted to go out there and give the team some length and win the series and complete opposite today. I wouldn’t say it’s embarrassing but it’s probably the worst outing I’ve had in a long time. Nobody’s more frustrated than me. I let my team down, I let the bullpen down. Just one of those days.”

Barría, who was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake earlier in the day, didn’t fare much better than Skaggs initially. A pair of sacrifice flies sandwiched around a walk allowed the A’s to extend their lead to 6-1. Both of those runs were charged to Skaggs, whose final line was arguably his worst of the season: four walks, six hits and six runs (five earned) allowed over four-plus innings.

A two-run home run by Mike Trout against A’s starter Mike Fiers (5-3) pulled the Angels within 6-3 in the bottom of the fifth inning. But a solo home run by Stephen Piscotty in the seventh inning off Barría extended the A’s lead. Jared Walsh doubled and scored on a groundout in the ninth inning to provide the final score.

Trout’s home run was his 16th of the season and his second in as many days. Kole Calhoun and Tommy La Stella each had two of the Angels’ nine hits; Calhoun also stole a base. But the Angels did not induce much stress on Fiers or relievers Ryan Buchter, Liam Hendriks, Lou Trivino or Joakim Soría. They finished 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position.

Fiers was not the pitcher who no-hit the Reds on May 7. He allowed seven hits in six innings, but he allowed only three runs. That was enough to subdue the Angels for the second time in two head-to-head starts this season.

“We had a little trouble with Fiers,” Ausmus said. “We were able to score, but he pitched very well. He mixes it up. He’s got a four-seam fastball he can ride up in the zone. Mixes in a curveball, a little slider, an occasional change. You really never know what you’re going to get because he stays out of patterns. He’s a smart pitcher.”

The first three innings were a brisk affair, as Skaggs matched Fiers zero for zero. In the fourth, consecutive singles by Piscotty, Mark Canha, Ramon Laureano and Jurickson Profar allowed the A’s to take a 2-0 lead. A sac fly by Josh Phegley made it 3-0 before the inning was over.

The Angels committed three errors. The worst: a comically bad throw by left fielder Brian Goodwin in the fifth inning, when the ball slipped out of his hand and landed no more than 10 feet in front of him.

After winning eight of their last 12 games to pull within two games of .500, the Angels (30-33) are now 12½ games behind the first-place Astros in the American League West, matching their largest deficit of the season. They host the reeling Seattle Mariners (26-40) for three games beginning Friday.

The Angels don’t have a starting pitcher for Saturday. It will not be Barría, who was the closest thing to a metaphorical silver lining on a literal cloudy day.

“It’s a really bright silver lining that he was able to keep the bullpen from having to come in or even get up and throw the baseball,” Ausmus said.

Back-to-back nights with a @MikeTrout homer. pic.twitter.com/V5uJAUOYBN

— MLB (@MLB) June 7, 2019

Former Bolsa Grande football coach Jim Lamb, 58, who stayed positive in the face of struggles on the field and was beloved by his athletes, died Tuesday night of a heart attack, Matadors athletic director Scott Snyder said.

Lamb coached Bolsa Grande from 2002 through 2012 and teamed with Snyder as a physical education teacher at the school. Lamb coached the freshman football team this past fall.

“We was a fun-loving guy. Always kept people smiling,”  Snyder said Thursday night. “He was always positive with kids.”

Bolsa Grande was coming off consecutive 0-10 football seasons when Lamb took the reins in 2002 after arriving from Hawthorne, where he coached football and boys volleyball.

The Matadors continued to struggle on the field but showed progress in 2006 by winning four games under Lamb, the most victories for the program since 1996. Lamb also led Bolsa Grande to four wins in 2008.

Lamb also coached boys and girls soccer, swimming and the throws in track and field.

Snyder said students were drawn to the popular coach. Lamb’s office at Bolsa Grande has been adored with photographs, flowers, a signed football from the freshman team and letters since his death.

The son of two teachers in Orange County, Lamb graduated from Fountain Valley High. He is survived by children Crystal, Jacob and Cody, according to Bolsa Grande.

Bolsa Grande has already been dealing with the death Coleton Mondy, 17, and Joshua Morales, 19, from a car accident May 25 in Silverado. Mondy was a Bolsa Grande baseball player and Morales had graduated from the Garden Grove League school.

Another Bolsa Grande student in the accident, senior softball player Unique Valdez, remains fighting for her life, Snyder said.

“It’s been tough,” Sndyer said. “(But) we have a great student-body. They’re strong-minded kids.”

A tree dedication for Lamb has been scheduled for June 12 in front of the athletic office at 8 a.m. Bolsa Grande’s graduation ceremony is June 14 at Garden Grove High.

Record-setting Western passer Anthony Munoz along with quarterbacks Michael Nadeau of La Quinta and Noah Hickman of Ocean View highlight the Orange County roster for the inaugural L.A. vs. O.C. SoCal Prep Bowl on Friday, June 7 at Pioneer High in Whittier.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

The all-star football game was formerly known as the 605 All-Star Football Classic, a long-running event.

Western’s Dan Davidson, the Register’s reigning coach of the year, and Mayfair’s Derek Bedell are the coaches for the game.

Munoz passed for an Orange County-record 5,010 yards last season and tied JT Daniels’ county record for touchdown passes in a season with 67.

Munoz also led the nation in passing yards and TDs in 2018.

Orange County’s roster also features All-County running back Mike Carrillo of Garden Grove and All-County linebacker Michael-Allen Reddy of Los Alamitos.

Admission is $12.

O.C. roster

Mike Nadeau, QB, La Quinta

Bobby Blandino, DB, Los Alamitos

Dylan Bonilla, WR/DB, Villa Park

Noah Hickman, QB, Ocean View

Jalen Todd, WR, Bolsa Grande

EJ Gowdy, RB, Buena Park

Dayten Zepeda, WR/DB, Rancho Alamitos

Matthew Lua Mu Poching, RB/LB, Dana Hills

Sebastian Jimenez, WR/LB, Buena Park

Noah Sanchez, WR/TE, Villa Park

Anthony Muñoz, QB, Western

Bobby Palacios, K/P, Western

Kermel Anwell, DB, Ocean View

Jaydon Medina, WR/DB, Sunny Hills

Dylan Crook, WR/TE, Los Alamitos

Edward Williams, WR/TE, Katella

Josh Gonzales, WR, Sonora

Mike Carrillo, RB, Garden Grove

Carey Martin, DB, Fullerton

Kobe Jordan Lopez, RB, Edison

Nathan Sandoval, RB/DB, Valencia

Marco Navas, OLB, Western

Jose Carrillo, LB, Garden Grove

Michael Garcia, DB/WR, Valencia

Dallas Burke, DB, Los Alamitos

Edwin Medina DB Sonora

Anthony Moran, RB/DE/P, Valencia

Jared Johnson, FB/RB, Villa Park

John Gosney, MLB, Huntington Beach

Mattias Arreguin, LB, Sonora

Keane Maae, NT, Anaheim

Michael Arreguin, OLB, Sonora

Michael-Allen Reddy, LB/RB, Los Alamitos

Samuel Henderson, DT, Pacifica

Jose Lopez, DL/OL, Sonora

Ethan DePriest, LT/DT, Valencia

Anthony Antolin, DL, Huntington Beach

Mario Lopez, RG/DT, Godinez

Akaljit Rai, RT, Sunny Hills

Douglas Deras, OL, Western

Dayrian Salcido, OL, Western

James Mendoza, LB/TE, Western

SACRAMENTO – Delegates to the California Democratic Party convention last weekend drew national attention after they booed a presidential candidate, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, for saying that “socialism is not the answer.” Conservative writers were aghast. Look at those crazy California Democrats, they insisted, who get upset at a few jabs at an ideology that’s long been associated with collectivism and misery.

Yes, there’s a deep rift within the Democratic Party between its traditional-liberal and progressive wings, with the latter moving in some troubling ideological directions. But Republicans, who have gleefully warned the public about Democratic flirtations with socialism, shouldn’t be quick to gloat given the emergence of an anti-freedom movement on the right.

While Democrats were airing their internal strife in San Francisco, Republicans were having a knock-down, drag-out ideological battle in a couple of journals read mostly by intellectuals. The fault lines are strikingly similar. Two factions are fighting for the soul of the party, with one side proposing that the GOP scuttle — or strongly soften — its historic support for pluralism, freedom and markets.

The first volley was lobbed by Sohrab Ahmari, in a May 29 column in First Things called “Against David French-ism.” Few people know that obscure religious journal and even fewer have heard of “French-ism.” Even French, the target of the piece, seemed bemused by the term. Both are conservatives. Both are pro-life Christians. French is a lawyer who has filed religious-liberty cases. Yet Ahmari, an editor at the New York Post, tarred him as an ideological softy who is too interested in “individual autonomy” to fight the culture war with sufficient zeal.

French fired back at Ahmari, arguing that “there is no political ‘emergency’ that justifies abandoning” a political order that goes back to our nation’s founding. He found it odd that Ahmari would tout the libertine Trump as the key to restoring traditional values.

This looked like some insider blog debate, but it garnered wide attention among conservatives. Even mainstream media writers in The New York Times and Vox wrote about the dust-up. That’s because the argument wasn’t really about two conservative writers, but about the future of the conservative movement and the visions each of them represent.

French holds to the classical tradition that champions liberty, market economics, civility and decency in the public square. I disagree with him on many issues (foreign policy, for instance), but agree strongly with the traditional American idea that government should try to neutrally protect individual rights — rather than be used to advance cultural preferences.

Ahmari believes Americans are fighting a “cultural civil war” and that the “only way is through — that is to say, to fight the culture war with the aim of defeating the enemy and enjoying the spoils in the form of a public square re-ordered to the common good and ultimately the Highest Good.” It’s a bizarre argument given that cultural conservatives lose every culture war that they fight.

Ahmari essentially complains that the left is doing to the right (re-ordering the public square) exactly what the right would like to be doing to the left. That makes me more committed than ever to this neutrality thing. Maybe neither side should be using the government to force its culture on others?

Ahmari never specifies what policies he would endorse once his allies grab control of the levers of power — perhaps because such policies might seem authoritarian to the average American. But one needn’t take too many leaps to see where this populist-religious conservatism is headed.

“Government intervention will not be the answer to every social ill,” Ahmari writes. “In many instances, free markets and individual enterprise can best serve the common good, albeit indirectly.” So, Ahmari won’t use big government to control everything. He might allow some individual enterprise provided, of course, the rulers believe that it conforms to the “common good.” Well, that’s a relief.

Even creepier is this reality: Many influential conservatives no longer value liberty or the marketplace. Fox News host Tucker Carlson recently praised some of leftist Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s economic agenda and blasted Republicans as “libertarian zealots” controlled by banks who yammer about entrepreneurship. Conservatives might have a problem if some of their thought leaders start channeling Warren and Huey Long.

The Democrats are dealing with a socialist-friendly left that despises economic freedom, but Republicans are facing a resurgent nationalist right that shares many of the same hostilities. There’s a clear and present danger on both horizons.

Steven Greenhut is Western region director for the R Street Institute. He was a Register editorial writer from 1998-2009. Write to him at sgreenhut@rstreet.org.

SAN FRANCISCO — Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.

Even as the San Francisco Giants have slid to the bottom of the National League West and the Dodgers continued collecting division titles, the two ancient rivals have remained very close. Fifty of the 83 matchups between the Dodgers and Giants since the start of the 2015 season have been decided by two runs or fewer.

Friday night’s tussle was the 35th of those decided by just one run as the Giants handed the Dodgers a 2-1 defeat. Four of the seven meetings this season have been one-run decisions – three in the favor of the Giants who are an MLB-best 14-5 in such games despite having a better record than only one National League team (the hapless Miami Marlins).

Meanwhile, the NL leaders in runs scored have done that just three times in their past 20 innings. As a result, the Dodgers lost back-to-back games for the first time since April 23-24 in Chicago. Between the two “losing streaks,” they went 29-8.

“Great team,” Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw said of the six-week stretch between consecutive losses. “We’re a great team. We know that. A little bump in the road here.”

It was a pretty big bump actually.

With the count 0-and-2 and the game scoreless, Brandon Belt lofted a pop-up down the left-field line in the bottom of the sixth inning. Left fielder Chris Taylor gave chase and might have had a chance to make a play in foul territory – until he tripped over the Giants’ bullpen mound and went sprawling.

“Yeah, I would have caught it,” Taylor said. “Trying to watch the ball and be aware of it (the bullpen mound) with your peripherals is easier said than done, I guess.

“I don’t know if maybe the better approach is to look down and take your eye off the ball. I was trying to kind of high-step, but it’s a pretty steep back edge so you don’t really know when it’s coming full speed.”

Oracle Park is one of the few major-league ballparks that have the old-style bullpens in foul territory rather than beyond the outfield walls.

“I’m glad CT’s okay,” Kershaw said before taking a playoff jab at the Giants’ first-year president of baseball operations. “Let’s go, Farhan (Zaidi), clean it up over here. It’s a relatively new ballpark. So they should have thought about it. But I’m sure Farhan will make a change here soon.

“He (Taylor) was right there. CT is a great runner, good instincts and got there quickly. Nothing else to say. Both teams have to deal with it. It just sucks.”

Given new life, Belt worked a leadoff walk – Kershaw’s only walk of the night. Two singles later, Belt scored from second base, beating Taylor’s wide throw home.

“It absolutely changes that inning (if Taylor gets to Belt’s pop-up),” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

A wild pitch moved the runners up and brought the infield in. Brandon Crawford hit a ground ball right at second baseman Max Muncy (who made two outstanding defensive plays earlier in the game). But Muncy’s throw home was late and Evan Longoria scored the second run of the inning.

“I think Longoria had a really good jump on that ball,” Roberts said. “It was one of those things where it was hit good but a little bit off the end of the bat so it seemed like it was going to come harder than it did. It wasn’t the cleanest of exchanges but the credit goes to Longo there and Max did the best he could.”

“I just thought his stuff was pretty good,” Taylor said. “He had kind of a sneaky fastball and that big breaker and he had both of those pitches working tonight.”

The Dodgers didn’t get on the board until a solo home run by Taylor off Giants reliever Tony Watson in the eighth inning ended a 15-inning scoreless streak for the Dodgers. But Giants closer – and attractive trade chip – Will Smith retired the Dodgers in order in the ninth.

While one streak started, another ended. The loss was the first for the Dodgers in a regular-season game started by Clayton Kershaw since last Aug. 13, also against the Giants, ending a streak of 17 consecutive wins. Kershaw hadn’t been charged with a loss since last July 21.

“Yeah, I was (aware of the streak),” Kershaw acknowledged. “Just another sign of a great team. For a streak like that to happen, you’ve got to be on great teams because there are going to be days when you pitch bad and get a win or a no-decision. Sometimes nights like these happen. It’s just part of being on a great team.”

Dave Roberts on @ClaytonKersh22's outing and tonight's #Dodgers loss in SF. pic.twitter.com/GJsJYZRrRK

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) June 8, 2019

CT3 pic.twitter.com/ir7ZFuceDR

— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) June 8, 2019

There was a piece on “Marketplace” by Meghan McCarty Carino about youths and the workplace: “Younger generations always get a lot of flack for not being as hard working as their elders. We all know the stereotype of the lazy, entitled avocado-toast-eating millennial. But there does seem to be evidence that kids these days really are taking a different approach to their work.”

I liked that her lede was the plain fact that every group of age-associated humans, no doubt since we mixed it up with Neanderthals, has seen the group that comes after as total slackers.

The nth degree of that from down the eons was probably the conflict between the Greatest Generation, who kicked butt in World War II and then created the beginnings of the contemporary information and tech economies in the 1950s, and the older members of my cohort, the Boomers. Flappers may have set the tongues wagging in the Jazz Age, but didn’t have much on dudes and chicks revolting en masse against a war in our cities and then lighting out for the territory to live naked in treehouses while taking psychedelic drugs.

Man, that was the life.

But it also marked a sea change in relations between the old and the young. Parents who graduated from college in the 1970s, as we did, have a far different — I would say much better — relationship in general with our kids these days, now in their early adulthood. We are cooler with them, given what we went through; they are cooler with us, giving us a break perhaps because we opened some doors to well … doing your own thing rather than the “Mad Men” thing.

That doesn’t mean the avocado toast thing can’t be a joke told by the old on the young. That doesn’t mean we can’t make light, speaking of high cuisine, of the sushi and salad bars the kids’ college dorm dining halls feature these days. But who wouldn’t want better food than that crap we had to eat?

And they make fun of us, too. They call us The Olds. I got in a lousy argument with my precious goddaughter a year or two ago over my objections to the dweeby-sounding term “cis-gender.” Now, I say call me what you like, young ‘uns. Just give me a bite of that there fancy toast.

What Carino reported is that a “Marketplace-Edison Research poll found workers age 18 to 34 were more likely to rank flexible schedule and remote work opportunities as important in a job than workers 35 and older.”

And the Youngs have never known a working life in which they are always expected to be in touch by mobile devices. So naturally, since they have to bring their work home, “they also want to bring their home life to work.”

And they want to be able to hit the pause button after they start out on a work-life path without their careers suffering for it. And we should support that kind of sanity. That goddaughter, for instance, in her early 30s, just left town in a camper van with her husband for a long drive across our country, and a long visit with her sister on an upstate New York winery, and then a long trip to Europe for a wedding and to see friends. They’ll be gone seven months. They’ve both been working hard since college. I profiled her in this space several years ago when her full-time job was teaching kids to plant edible gardens at urban Los Angeles elementaries. He’s been in communications for green lobbying groups and start-ups.

Get ticked off like some old git because for my generation this was right when you had to start climbing the workplace ladder hard or get left behind? Nonsense. It makes much more sense to balance work and your adult lives from the beginning. Take some retirement time early. Your back’s in better shape.

Larry Wilson is on the Southern California News Group editorial board. lwilson@scng.com.

To the list of things that threaten to end civilization as we know it, add candle-shaped light bulbs.

That’s the issue in California’s latest threatened lawsuit, or one of them, against the Trump administration. The Department of Energy is about to finalize a federal rule that would reverse an Obama-era rule that changed the definition of a light bulb.

If you’re wondering why anyone made a federal case out of that, it’s because in 2007, Congress passed a law that required light bulbs to meet energy-efficiency standards. Not every type of light bulb was covered by the law. Congress defined a “general service lamp” or “general service incandescent lamp” very precisely: omnidirectional light, designated range of lumens, screw base, typical household size, pear-shaped except for spiral-shaped compact fluorescent lights.

Candle-shaped bulbs were not included, and neither were those reflector bulbs that are used in recessed or track lighting. Round light bulbs, the kind you’d find in a bathroom light fixture around a mirror, were not included, either.

That left roughly half the bulbs in the United States without a federal regulation governing energy efficiency. So on Jan. 19, 2017, one day before Donald Trump was sworn in as president, the Obama administration finalized a federal rule changing the definition of “general service lamp” and “general service incandescent lamp” to include candelabra bulbs, reflector bulbs, dimmer and brighter bulbs, and bulbs in voltage ranges used in Europe. The definition change brought these previously excluded bulbs under the federal energy efficiency standards in the 2007 law, effective Jan. 1, 2020.

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) took legal action almost immediately, arguing that including the specialty light bulbs in the definition of “general service lamp” was inconsistent with the text of the law. Congress had said specifically that these types of bulbs were “not included.”

The Department of Energy settled with NEMA, agreeing to review the rule. And last February, the government issued a “notice of proposed rulemaking,” seeking public comment on a new federal rule that restored the old definitions.

Some states, Washington and Colorado among them, passed laws to preserve the federal energy efficiency standards on specialty bulbs within their borders. California and other states are poised to sue over what critics call a “rollback” and NEMA says is a return to compliance with the law that Congress passed.

On Thursday, New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, brought out one of Thomas Edison’s great-grandsons to criticize the Trump administration’s decision to restore the 2007 definitions.

Barry Edison Sloane said Edison would have agreed that “given the urgency climate change presents, this kind of action is like throwing gasoline on our burning house.”

It was a big week for apocalyptic rhetoric on the climate-change issue. A think tank in Australia released a report warning that unless we take “immediate drastic action,” we’ll be living in a world of “outright chaos” where “political panic becomes the norm.”

The argument can be made that climate-change alarm increases in direct proportion to the money available to those who are most alarmist. Consider the likely effect of an announcement last week by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He said he will donate $500 million to a new campaign called “Beyond Carbon.” The money will fund lobbying efforts by

environmental groups at the state and local level, as well as the campaigns of candidates for local office.

The dangled cash virtually guarantees that thousands of candidates and lawmakers across the country, all raising money at the same time for the 2020 elections, will be scowling into cameras and repeating warnings that the world will come to an end — unless we give the government the power to decide what type of energy we may use and how much more we’ll have to pay for it.

The problem with climate-change alarmism is that it spreads a generalized sense of fear and panic that leads people to say things like, “Who am I to know? The experts must know. We have to do what they tell us to do.” People who are afraid will believe what their rational minds can’t verify.

That’s how freedom can be eroded, or even abolished. Freedom is a condition that exists under a government of limited power. When people are frightened, and they allow the government to take actions that exceed any limits on power, even the most advanced countries can descend into dictatorship, unleashing unimaginable horrors.

The 75th anniversary of D-Day is a reminder that this isn’t an alarmist fantasy, it has actually happened. Another anniversary in June, 30 years since the Tiananmen Square massacre, is a reminder that a government of unlimited power is not a benevolent organization.

The fight over light bulbs is about the use of the federal rulemaking process to rewrite laws passed by Congress. It’s a battle over limits on government power.

The Trump administration is right to reverse the Obama-era rule and restore the definitions in the 2007 law. If Congress wants to impose the new standards on non-standard bulbs, it will have to pass new legislation to do that.

This is the design of the Constitution, which places protective restrictions on the power of government. People can be frightened into believing that the government must exceed any restrictions on its power in order to protect us from some danger, real or imagined. But think twice before giving up any of your freedom. It’s always a long way back, if it’s even possible to get there.

Susan Shelley is an editorial writer and columnist for the Southern California News Group. Susan@SusanShelley.com. Twitter: @Susan_Shelley.

Would you trust a doctor who said you had high blood pressure but prescribed the following remedy: eat more salt, grease and sugar, spend more time on the sofa, and by all means start smoking?

Probably not.

Yet, when it comes to homelessness this is exactly what we’ve been doing. We continue to let the very people who created this health and humanitarian outrage to double-down on the policies that fuel it.

Lack of affordable/sustainable housing is obviously part of the problem. But why is housing so expensive here? Supply and demand explains part of it. But ideological and special-interest lobbying play an equal part. How did the cost per unit of Measure HHH housing balloon from an already sky-high $350,000 per unit to an astronomical $500,000? That’s a 43-pecent hike in less than two years. In Houston, Texas, $500K buys a four-bedroom/three-bath, 4,000-square-foot palace. In California, encumbering state and local laws, including Project Labor Agreements for homeless housing projects, have sent costs into the stratosphere.

California’s sanctuary laws continue to be a magnet for the poorest of the hemisphere’s poor. The influx of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of illegal immigrants have driven up demand for even sub-standard housing. The resulting price spikes shoved the most vulnerable to the streets. Nobody in elective office will (publicly) acknowledge this. That does not make it less true. Leaving out illegal immigration’s impact on housing costs is like trying to diagnose hypertension with only systolic blood pressure numbers.

Bad laws make for bad results.

The exodus of inmates from the state prison system via propositions 47 and 57 have also contributed to the mushrooming homeless population. Fresh from jail, without jobs and often without family support, these folks are among the most difficult to house. Homeless former inmates quickly fall back into the insidious cycle of drugs and crime leaving a trail of wreckage in their wake.

And while there is no excuse for the garbage that fouls our streets and alleys, we are offered plenty. Yet, not a word about the coincidental timing of the sudden spike in trash and the creation of trash-hauling monopolies by the city. Some unscrupulous business owners have even taken to paying the homeless to dump their trash anywhere as a workaround.

Then there are organizations that purportedly advocate for the homeless but actually ensure their continued suffering. It is not compassion to allow the mentally ill and drug addled to live on the street. By tying the hands of law enforcement and the courts, compassion has become cruelty.

It’s divisive demagoguery to blame homeowners and businesses for NIMBYism when the core issue is lack of trust in local representatives. Not everything is Trump’s fault. Local government earned this distrust with a track record of broken promises, temporary taxes that become permanent  and overly rosy reports that point to success while our eyes observe failure. What is on us is the regurgitation of the same failed candidates from office to office. The political carousel rotates city councilors to mayors’ offices, mayors to the governor’s mansion, state senators to city councils and assemblymen to county boards of supervisors.

The current mayor of Los Angeles was previously the president of the L.A. City Council, a position of great power. Eric Garcetti has had his fingerprints on public policy for 13 consecutive years. Before Garcetti, Alex Padilla (currently California’s secretary of state) served as council  president. The current council president, Herb Wesson, is the former speaker of the California Assembly. Jackie Goldberg, former member of the L.A. City Council, LAUSD school board and California Assembly has just been recycled back to the Los school board.

Year after year, the same people trade places while thousands live out their lives in their own filth on our streets. Our leaders continue to misdiagnose the problem and stifle any meaningful debate. What was a frustration has metastasized into a genuine health emergency: typhus, MRSA, tuberculosis, sexually

transmitted diseases and hepatitis A — which two years ago killed 20 in San Diego — are proliferating.  Rev. Andy Bales, CEO of L.A.’s Union Rescue Mission, had a leg amputated after picking up a flesh-eating virus while working the streets. The vermin infested LAPD Central Division station would be shuttered by the health department if it were a taco stand. So would L.A. City Hall.

There are times when Southern California is a joy and times when it breaks your heart. When I see an aged woman, her skin sun-cracked and cancerous, her hands trembling from hunger or palsy or the DTs, it makes me want to cry. It’s asking a lot for the people who can’t fill a pothole or repair a cracked sidewalk to save her. It doesn’t have to be this way.

The best doctors guard against the trap of preconceived assumptions. Repeating “housing crisis, housing crisis, housing crisis” is a deflection from years of failed policies. If only there were a Hippocratic oath for politicians.

Doug McIntyre’s column appears Sunday. He can be reached at: Doug@DougMcIntyre.com.

ANAHEIM — Justin Upton played a rehab game 48 miles from here Friday. Andrelton Simmons still isn’t allowed to move laterally on a baseball field. The Angels’ injured list had a few more excuses at the ready, but not enough to explain a 6-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners.

The Mariners practically had a monopoly on excuses. Only two teams began the day with a larger deficit in their division than Seattle, which hadn’t won a road game since May 8. Adding injury to insult, All-Star right fielder Mitch Haniger went on the injured list earlier in the day with a ruptured testicle.

Yet by the ninth inning, the Mariners had the Angels pressed so firmly against the ropes that emergency pitcher Jared Walsh was warming up in case things got out of hand. On a night when the Angels mustered four hits, their ability to keep the scoreboard close was tested.

“Truthfully, they pitched better,” Manager Brad Ausmus said of the Mariners. “They hit better. They played better. They deserved to win.”

For the second consecutive day, the Angels couldn’t coax enough innings out of their starting pitcher. Tyler Skaggs pitched a mere four innings Thursday. Andrew Heaney lasted 5⅔ on Friday. Both started strong but ended poorly, ultimately resulting in a loss. The Angels (30-34) have lost four of five.

Heaney got through five innings with a 2-1 deficit, then waned in the sixth. Daniel Vogelbach led off with a single. Heaney hit Tim Beckham with a two-strike curveball. Kyle Seager struck out, Mac Williamson hit a popup for the second out, and Heaney got ahead of light-hitting catcher Tom Murphy 0-and-2.

Then Heaney laid a sinker over the middle of the plate. He said later that he intended to jam Murphy up and in, but the catcher crushed it 391 feet for a three-run home run.

“I think I had good stuff,” Heaney said. “Just really let some stuff get away from me. In the fourth and fifth I had two outs, nobody on and let those innings continue on, creep. I give up a run in each one of those, and then start off the sixth with some trouble. Did a good job to be in the position you want to be in with two outs and an 0-2 count. It sucks.

“That was the nail in the coffin for me, for the team, for the game.”

The home run gave Seattle a comfortable 5-1 lead that it did not relinquish. Domingo Santana hit a pair of solo home runs – one against Heaney, another against reliever Luis Garcia.

In his third start of the season, Heaney allowed five runs. The left-hander walked just two batters and struck out 10 for the second consecutive start. He didn’t allow a hit until the third inning, but by the time of his 21st and final pitch in the sixth he had thrown one pitch too many. Heaney threw a season-high 107 pitches in all.

“The last time he pitched he went 102 pitches so I was comfortable with him going 110,” Ausmus said. “He was still sharp and getting ahead of the hitters. It just didn’t work out.”

Kole Calhoun hit a home run against Mariners starter Marco Gonzales (6-6) in the second inning, giving the Angels a 1-0 lead, but Gonzales didn’t allow another hit until the sixth. That hit, a single by Albert Pujols, ended Gonzales’ day after 109 pitches.

Gonzales allowed only those two hits and walked three batters in 5⅔ innings. He struck out five.

Mariners right-hander Cory Gearrin relieved Gonzales and faced pinch hitter Tommy La Stella. The lefty-on-righty matchup worked in the Angels’ favor, as La Stella drove in Mike Trout with a single. That run aroused the final cheer from the announced crowd of 41,495 at Angel Stadium.

Trout, Calhoun, Pujols and La Stella accounted for the Angels’ four hits. The paltry effort continued a string of unpredictable matchups against Gonzales. The Angels faced him last Sunday in Seattle and clobbered him for 10 runs in 4⅔ innings. They also mustered one run against him in 8⅓ innings in an early April matchup on the road.

“I don’t know if we solved (Gonzales) a week ago or if he just had an off-day,” Ausmus said. “And if we did solve him, we clearly forgot what it was.”

Walsh wasn’t needed because Cody Allen pitched two scoreless innings of relief, his fifth consecutive outing without allowing a run.

That’s enough to elevate Allen among the team’s hot hands. Ausmus said he was trying not to use three of them – Hansel Robles, Ty Buttrey and Cam Bedrosian – on Friday. One of the three might open Saturday’s game against the Mariners, but the manager wasn’t prepared to say Friday night.

Lucky number 13 for MR. CALHOUN!! @Angels up early! pic.twitter.com/p3aOlvZF05

— FOX Sports West (@FoxSportsWest) June 8, 2019

Against formidable odds, taxpayers scored a significant victory last week against big progressive interests. Measure EE, sponsored by the Los Angeles Unified School District, would have imposed a $500 million dollar annual property tax on all property owners within the district’s boundaries.

Because the tax was being advanced by the second largest school district in the nation, its potential impact was obviously huge. But Measure EE was more than just a local tax proposal. The outcome of the election was bound to have ramifications throughout the state, not just in Los Angeles.  That is why so many political interests were watching the campaign and its outcome so closely.

LAUSD backers claimed that they had a huge disadvantage because Measure EE, as a “special tax” under Proposition 13, needed a two-thirds vote of the voting electorate to pass. This complaint is not compelling given that EE didn’t even receive a simple majority of those voting.

Against this claimed disadvantage, let’s balance all the advantages possessed by the Measure EE proponents. The first is money. At latest count, it appears that the backers spent five times more than the opponents. It is always easier to raise campaign funds from those who stand to personally benefit financially from a ballot measure because the return on investment is so high. Public sector labor, especially the teachers’ union, were the biggest contributors. Also contributing to help pass the tax hike were various interests that do business with the city and were vulnerable to “requests” or retaliation from Mayor Eric Garcetti. Only a fool would believe that most of these campaign contributions were truly voluntary.

The second advantage also has to do with money, but not your typical campaign contributions. No, this has to do with the extraordinary amount of taxpayer dollars and resources expended by the district to push Measure EE. Large banners on school grounds, using school children as political conduits to their parents with pro-Measure EE “informational” material, requiring teachers and staff to engage in thinly disguised campaign activity — all of this gave proponents a huge public relations advantage relative to the opponents.

The third advantage proponents had was the power of the L.A. political establishment. Garcetti made passage of Measure EE a top priority and he spent a lot of political capital supporting it.

Despite all these advantages, LAUSD was also the victim of multiple self-inflicted screw-ups. First, the language of Measure EE placed before the voters didn’t match what the LAUSD board actually approved in the official resolution. This not only drew a lawsuit from opponents but raised real issues about what property was actually being taxed.

Unlike the proponents’ campaign, the opposition campaign was nearly flawless, notwithstanding the relative disadvantage in dollars. The message came through clearly that LAUSD had failed to enact any reforms to address its structural deficit. Thanks to a coalition of the business community and ordinary taxpayers whose interests were being advanced by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, voters saw the real threat that Measure EE presented, not only to their interests, but also to the broader interests of education in Los Angeles by giving the district a free pass on meaningful reforms.

There are many take-aways from the Measure EE fight. First, it is possible to win a tax fight in a progressive jurisdiction as long as the voters are well-informed about the underlying issues. Overcoming the tired “it’s for the kids” mantra isn’t easy, but voters are no longer reflexively supportive of higher taxes if they perceive that it really isn’t helping the kids.

Second, the abysmal failure of EE has reverberated throughout California and caused the education establishment to rethink the entire strategy of “let’s first strike and then ask for a tax hike.” If that model doesn’t work in Los Angeles, it probably won’t work elsewhere.

Jon Coupal is president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

The NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships continued on Friday, with several USC and UCLA athletes competing in their respective event finals in Austin, Texas.

UCLA’s Dotun Ogundeji placed fourth in the men’s discus final, reaching 198 feet on his best attempt, while freshman Sean Lee recorded a personal best of 7 feet, 3 inches in the high jump to place sixth, 1¼ inches shy of the winner.

For USC, Earnest Sears finished tied for 12th in the high jump with a high of 7-1¾ inches, and Cameron Samuel placed sixth in the 400-meter hurdles final with a time of 49.83 seconds, earning first-team All-American honors.

UCLA’s Robert Brandt finished ninth in the men’s 5,000 final with a time of 14:10.19. And the Bruins’ Christina Chenault kicked off the heptathlon, in 19th out of 24 competitors after four events. Chenault’s best result came in the shot put, where she finished 11th with a distance of 38-11.

The championships conclude on Saturday, when Chenault will wrap up the heptathlon with the long jump, javelin and 800 and teammate Alyssa Wilson will participate in the discus final. Long Beach State’s Bria Palmer will compete in the women’s high jump final.

But the defending national champion USC women will have the busiest schedule, with eight women competing in event finals. The Trojans qualified both of their relay teams to the finals, with the 4×100 and 4×400 teams finishing with the top qualifying times, 42.53 and 3:28.31, respectively.

In the individual competitions, the Trojans will have two participants in the 100 (Angie Annelus and Twanisha Terry), 100 hurdles (Chanel Brissett and Anna Cockrell) and 200 (Annelus and Lanae-Tava Thomas). Cockrell will also compete in the 400 hurdles and Kyra Constantine will participate in the 400.

OAKLAND — If the Warriors are going to go down as the greatest team in modern NBA history – if they’re to win a third straight title and a fourth championship in five years – they’re going to have to summon something truly special over the next eight days.

And even that might not be enough to get the job done.

The Toronto Raptors have looked better than the Warriors in early every aspect of the sport through four games of these Finals. And after their 105-92 win in Game 4 on Friday, they’re up 3-1.

These Raptors look like champions.

And the Warriors, well, they look like a shell of the team they once were – the team that they have purported themselves to be all season.

Yes, they’re injured and tired, but, the most damning thing is that for large stretches of an all-important game Friday, they looked beaten, despondent, and overwhelmed.

Only one team has come back from a 3-to-1 deficit to win the NBA Finals. Warriors fans remember – it was LeBron James and the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers, who upended Golden State.

“I’ve been on the wrong side of 3-1 before. Why not make out own history?” Draymond Green said.

“I don’t think it’s daunting at all,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “I think we look at it as a challenge.”

But these Warriors, who folded in the biggest moments of their biggest game of the season, don’t look anything like a team capable of rattling off three straight wins – two of them on the road – to win a title. And that’s even if an injured Kevin Durant returns to the fold.

Meanwhile, these Raptors – who have counterpunched so deftly this whole series, dazing the Warriors and setting up a few haymakers down the stretch – have shown zero indication that they will melt under the heat of the moment. They were stone-cold killers on Friday, taking after their leader, the unflappable Kawhi Leonard. Toronto’s execution was close to perfect, taking advantage of every Warriors miscue, which seemed to compound as the game progressed.

“Teams will take cues from their leaders, their star players,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said.

This deficit feels just. The Warriors were able to blitz lesser teams in the last two rounds of the playoffs – short spurts of great play overwhelming shaky overall performances. But they have not played consistent championship-level defense this season or in the postseason, and, as the old saying goes, defense wins championships.

The Warriors did come out with the requisite energy on the defensive side of the court on Friday. It was a championship effort. But the Raptors – as they have shown all season – absorbed the early blow.

“They just took it to us, right from the beginning of the (third) quarter,” Kerr said. “We just sort of lost that defensive tenacity we had in the first half.”

I said before the series that the team that controlled the pace of games would win the title. The Raptors – for the third time in four games – controlled the pace of the game Friday.

“We’re playing a really good team that moves the ball … we haven’t been able to string together the stops that we need to. I give them the credit,” Kerr said.

Green tried to keep the energy up – he tried to will his team to victory, as he has so many times before. He really did. The heart of the Warriors wore it on his sleeve on Friday.

Green played stupefyingly astute defense, dove on the floor for every loose ball, was a menace on the boards, and a deft distributor of the ball on offense. Green always shows up in the biggest of big games and Friday was no exception.

But he couldn’t defend all five Raptors by himself.

Klay Thompson tried, too. After he missed Wednesday’s Game 3 with a hamstring injury, he was back in the starting lineup for Game 4. The hamstring clearly bothered him all game – his defense wasn’t up to its normal All-NBA levels – but the Warriors needed his spacing and every single one of his 26 points on Friday.

Barring the miracle, the question will linger for years: what if Thompson – who was desperate to play – was on the court for Game 3?

Kevon Looney tried – and it’s painful to think about what he went through to make an impact in Game 4. Before Game 3, Kerr said Looney was out for the rest of the series with a non-displaced first costal cartilage fracture of the collar bone. But after a second opinion, Looney was cleared to play Friday. On the bench, he was a mummy of ice wraps, but on the court, he provided his normal understated but irreplaceable impact.

But Steph Curry, a game after taking on the Raptors seemingly one-against-five, looked exhausted. He was hesitating on open 3-point looks, struggling to get around a collapsing, long defense on his way to the basket, and at points, forcing shots instead of continuing to move the ball, which, if it continued to move, would eventually find an open teammate, given Toronto’s defensive attention to the Warriors guard.

Yes, he had 27 points, but he simply wasn’t good enough. Meanwhile, Leonard, who is playing hobbled, was steadily excellent throughout the game. Make that throughout the series.

On top of that, DeMarcus Cousins was unplayable for a second straight game and the team’s “Strength In Numbers” mantra was mere comic relief.

The Warriors have tremendous pride. They have the championship pedigree.

But perhaps too much deference has been paid to what was.

Because what is happening right now is not nearly good enough to win.

Holy guacamole, it’s peak avocado season in California. Americans are eating more avocados than ever, especially the Hass variety, which was created in California.

California’s own

There are more than 1,000 varieties of avocados listed in the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources database. Here are some of the most common varieties grown commercially in California:

Hass

• Pebbly skin that turns from green to purplish when ripe
• Oval shape
• Small seed, 5-12 ounces

Hass is the king of California’s commercial avocado crop, as it makes up 95% of the avocados grown in the state and 80% of those grown worldwide. It was developed in La Habra Heights by Rudolph Hass. Patented in the 1930s, the Hass variety overtook Fuerte avocados as the leading commercial crop in the 1970s. The original tree stood for 76 years before root rot ruined it in 2002. Hass has one of the longest harvest seasons, usually beginning in February. Hass fruit has excellent flavor and shipping qualities. A single tree can produce up to 200 pounds annually (about 500 pieces), but most average around 60 pounds and 150 pieces.

Fruit maturation times are highly dependent on climate and environment, so a Hass avocado is not ready to eat at the same time of year in the Central Valley as it is in a cool coastal climate.

Bacon

• Green skin, oval shape
• Medium/large seed, 6-12 ounces

A bacon-flavored avocado sounds tasty, but this avocado was named for the person that bred it, James Bacon. It originated in Buena Park and was introduced in 1951. Its flesh has an unusually pale yellow/green color and has a high oil content. It matures from November-January in Orange County and December-March in Ventura County. The trees have a good frost tolerance.

Fuerte

• Smooth skin, pear shape
• Medium seed, 5-14 ounces

Trees introduced as budwood in 1911 from Atlixco, Puebla, Mexico. It is a hybrid Mexican variety that is ready to pick in November and is good through March. Fuerte has been a longtime California commercial variety valued for its winter season. Its skin thickness is medium thin and the seed size is medium large.

Reed

• Slight pebbling, round shape
• Medium seed, 8-18 ounces

Originated in Carlsbad by James Reed. Introduced in 1960 from a chance seedling planted in 1948.

Zutano

• Shiny skin, pear shape
• Medium seed, 6-14 ounces

Originated in Fallbrook by W.L. Ruitt. Introduced in 1941 from a selection made in 1926.

GEM

• Black skin, pear shap
• Medium seed, 7-11 ounces

Patented in 2003, GEMs might be seen in California stores for the first time this season.

Fruitful facts

Avocados turn brown the longer they are exposed to oxygen. Covering with a plastic wrap can block oxygen. Adding lemon or lime juice, or chilling the avocado, can delay the browning as well.

Heavyweight

According to Guinness World Records, the heaviest avocado was grown in Hawaii in 2018 and weighed 5 pounds, 8 ounces.

Does size matter?

According to the Scoop Blog by Dzung Duong on Californiaavocado.com, the size of an avocado does not indicate the fruit quality or stage of ripeness. An avocado’s seed actually grows with the fruit, so the seed-to-fruit ratio will always be close to the same. Pinkerton avocados are known to yield the most fruit per tree.

Cooking it up

Avocado oil is used as a high heat cooking oil with a smoking point of about 520 degrees.Its oil is also used in cosmetics or as a skin cream.

To learn more about planting, caring and the history of avocados go to the UC Riverside avocado site: ucavo.ucr.edu

U.S. availability of avocados

The U.S. imports about seven times as many avocados as it grows domestically.

Sources: USDA Economic Research Service, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, Californiaavocado.com Photos by staff, The Associated Press and David Stottlemyer for the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources

Titan high-jumper Iesha Hamm earned an 11th-place finish in the high jump at the NCAA Track and Field Championships iin Austin over the weekend.

Hamm cleared 5-10 (1.78m) to become a Second-Team All-American. She cleared the opening bar of 5-7 (1.70m) on her first try, then 5-8.75 (1.75m) and 5-10 on her second attempts before going out at 5-11.25 (1.81m).

She was the first Titan to ever compete at the NCAA Championships in the event. Hamm broke her own school record at the Big West Championships with a 5-11.25 (1.81m) clearance, good for a first-place finish, making her the first Titan to ever win a conference title in the high jump.

REIMS, France — Thailand can dream. It just might not do any good against the U.S. national team.

Thailand kicks off the Women’s World Cup on Tuesday with a daunting challenge against the defending champion United States. The top-ranked Americans are seeking their fourth overall World Cup title, and Thailand coach Nuengruethai Sathongwien said the team is not backing down.

RELATED: A closer look at the players who make up the U.S. women’s team roster

“I think if the dream comes true, we can make history to upset one of the best teams in the world,” Sathongwien said. “And it means Thailand can play with the best teams in the world.”

The Thais are ranked No. 34 in the world but in its 2015 World Cup debut the team finished third in its group with a first win on the sport’s biggest stage, a 3-2 victory over Ivory Coast.

Games against top opponents give Thailand an opportunity to see how the team is progressing, with a goal of growing the game back home.

“We are here in the 24-team final, that is our success, and to play one of the best teams in the world, that is also a success,” Sathongwien said.

For the United States, success will be another star above its crest.

The Americans charged through Canada four years ago to the final, beating Japan 5-2 to raise the trophy. Carli Lloyd scored three goals in the title game’s first 16 minutes.

The United States is also celebrating the 20-year anniversary of the 1999 team that memorably won the title on home soil, downing China on penalties after a scoreless draw at the Rose Bowl. The ’99ers, as they are known, were credited with raising the women’s game in the United States.

HAPPY WORLD CUP GAME EVE #OneNationOneTeam pic.twitter.com/0ewIPKI8IC

— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) June 10, 2019

The United States is not getting ahead of itself at the World Cup, although it’s generally understood that the team’s first two group games — against Thailand and Chile — should not be all that demanding. But in the final group match before the knockout round, the Americans will face nemesis Sweden, who they’ve been grouped with six times in World Cup play.

“I respect every team over here because I think sometimes it’s incredibly hard to get here. So the fact that they’re here, they’re competing, and they’re ready, we know we have to be at our very best,” U.S. coach Jill Ellis said. “That’s the challenge for us, making sure we identify our opponent, but also make sure we focus on ourselves and make sure all our tools are sharpened and ready to go.”

Thailand and the United States are the final two teams in the field to kick off in the group stage. Earlier in the evening, Sweden plays Chile in Rennes.

The team is focused on winning again in France even while at home the players are looking for a different victory. Known for championing women’s rights and equality, the players collectively filed a lawsuit earlier this year that alleges discrimination by the U.S. Soccer Federation and are seeking pay equitable with that of the men’s national team.

That’s on the backburner for now.

Morgan, from Diamond Bar, played at Cal, leading the Golden Bears to the NCAA Tournament in each of her four seasons from 2007-10. Forward Miranda Nild, who went to Cal from 2015-18, has 12 goals in 17 appearances with Thailand.

Morgan said she introduced herself on Monday, joking that it was important to make the first overture. “I’m glad to have the edge on that,” she said.

Cal is also represented on New Zealand’s team. Betsy Hassett (2009-12) played with Morgan for two of her seasons. Daisy Cleverley, a junior midfielder for the Golden Bears, also is making her second World Cup appearance for the Ferns.

midnight hype to bless your feed

ONE MORE DAY #FIFAWWC #OneNationOneTeam pic.twitter.com/88YBntB9rZ

— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) June 10, 2019

Eric Valenzuela promises that attendance will increase at Long Beach State baseball games in 2020.

“I have a big family and they’re all looking forward to coming to games nest season,” the new head coach said. “I think beer sales will go up, too. This is a definite homecoming for me.”

Valenzuela was hired Saturday after six seasons at St. Mary’s, developing a program that had just three winning seasons in the previous 22 years to become competitive in the West Coast Conference. The Gaels won their first-ever WCC title and made their first-ever trip to the NCAA tournament in 2016.

While many alums wanted a former Dirtbags player to succeed Troy Buckley, who was fired in April, Valenzuela checks a lot of boxes in his relationship to West Coast baseball and his coaching approach.

He was raised in the San Gabriel Valley, and played at Bishop Amat before playing for Arizona State in 1998, which lost to USC in the title game of the College World Series. The Dirtbags also reached Omaha in 1998, their last trip to the CWS.

He transferred to Pepperdine and was on the 2001 team that won the WCC title and a trip to the postseason.

“I have a blue collar background, which is how I see Long Beach State baseball,” he said. “I watched a lot of Dirtbags games when I was in high school and respected what Dave Snow built.”

He played in the Long Beach Connie Mack program at Blair Field and remembers playing with and against a lot of players who went on to Long Beach State.

His first coaching gig was as an assistant to Rich Hill at the University of San Diego, which was the top school in the WCC during his six years with the Toreros, including 2008, when USD played in the NCAA regionals at Blair Field.

He then spent four seasons at San Diego State as an assistant for Tony Gwynn, the late Long Beach icon, serving as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator.

The St. Mary’s job was a chance to run his own program. Long Beach State gives him a chance to do that in his hometown.

“My whole family has a background in the San Gabriel Valley and Duarte High School,” he said. “The thing about college baseball is that it’s a small community. Everyone knows everyone else. I know Long Beach State has a strong sense of family, and that’s the way I grew up.”

His father Victor may be better known in his hometown. He has been a boxing coach for 40 years and runs the Duarte Youth Boxing Club. He was a coach on the 1984 U.S. Olympic team and is in the California Boxing Hall of Fame.

“I took boxing lessons from my dad, and my kids, even my daughter, has taken boxing lessons,” Valenzuela said. “Boxing was my first passion as a kid, and my dad is my idol.”

“I’ll bring that same passion to Long Beach.”

Athletic Director Andy Fee was an associate athletic director at USD when Valenzuela was an assistant coach. Fee said his goal was to bring in someone who has been a head coach on the college level.

“He has a strong background in pitching and recruiting,” Fee said. “He took over a program that hadn’t had much success and made it a winning program.”

Valenzuela called all of the players on the 2019 team Sunday. He has yet to make any decisions on his coaching staff.