Sports

By Johnni Matthews

The Los Angeles Sparks came home to Staples Center from a three game road trip on Thursday, July 2 to play three homes games in a 96 hour period.  Coming home to their own beds and their faithful fans, the Sparks were ready to put a spark in July!

The Sparks took care of business against the San Antonio Stars on Thursday night 86-81, then played a back to back Friday night against the Tulsa Shock when the Sparks’ fans witnessed Kristi Toliver score 43 points to break a franchise record set by Lisa Leslie’s 41 points.  The Sparks won 98-95!

Sunday, July 5 the defending WNBA Champions, Phoenix Mercury came to town for the first time this season.  The game was well played requiring an extra five minutes to decide the winner with the Mercury sliding by the Sparks 94-91 in overtime.

The LA Sparks have eight more games in the month of July to continue to make it a hot July!  The Sparks hit the road again for another three game road trip before returning home to Staples Center on July 16 against the Atlanta Dream coached by former LA Sparks Coach and Lakers great, Michael “Coop” Cooper.  Game will be an early 12:30 p.m. (PST) tip off.

By Johnni Matthews

The Los Angeles Sparks ended a tough three game road trip in New York on Sunday against the New York Liberty losing 79-70 in another hard fought battle with only eight players available to run on the hardwood.  With All-Star, Nneka Ogwumike back from injury, starting her second straight game another veteran All-Star teammate, Kristi Toliver made her debut this season for the Sparks leading her team in scoring with a career high 30 points on 9-15 from the field.  Oliver was 3-5 from the long range three ball and a perfect 9-9 from the charity stripe.  Jantel Lavender, the most consistent Sparks player this season had another strong game with 14 points and 6 rebounds.

It was a very competitive game for thirty five minutes of the forty minute game as the Liberty took control in the last 5:07 minutes of the game.  The game was tied at 63 a piece with 5:07 in the fourth quarter, but the Sparks had another melt down as the Liberty outscored the Sparks 16-7!  As one Sparks commentator said, “The Sparks ran out of gas; their out of town and out of luck!”

Guard, Sugar Rodgers was special for the Liberty with a team high 23 points.  Sugar got help from teammates, Tina Charles and Tanisha Wright respectively with 14 and 12 points.

The win kept the New York Liberty above .500 with a 5-4 record, while the LA Sparks head home 0-7 to get acquainted with each other and regroup to get ready for the San Antonio Stars who come to town on Thursday, July 2 to play the Sparks.  It is a 7:30 p.m. tip off from Staples Center.

By Johnni Matthews

The Minnesota Lynx’s big three of Seimone Augustus, Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen are difficult for any of the WNBA teams to deal with on a nightly basis, but the Los Angeles Sparks found out it’s even more difficult when you’re shorthanded of players!  The Los Angeles Sparks had only eight players in uniform for their second home game in two days at Staples Center against the league leading Minnesota Lynx.

The Minnesota Lynx who are in a three way tie for the WNBA’s best record had to come from behind to earn the victory against the hungry winless LA Sparks.  Maya Moore and Seimone Augustus combined for 44 of the team’s 67 points while point guard, Lindsay Whalen dished out seven dimes to her fellow teammates on their way to a 67-52 win over the Los Angeles Sparks.

The Los Angeles Sparks held a five point lead at the half 28-23, but the absence of veterans, Alana Beard, Nneka Ogwumike and a cold shooting Erin Phillips didn’t spell victory at the end of the game.  Jantel Lavender continues to lead the Sparks offensively scoring a double with 12 points and 13 rebounds while center, Marianna Tolo shot 5 of 6 from the field to score 10 points.  It was a tough shooting night for Erin Phillips only chipping in 6 points on 3 of 12 shooting from the field.

The Sparks actually outrebounded the Lynx 32-28, but the cold shooting from the field at only 39% compared to the Lynx’s nearly 53% shooting was the difference of the game.  Neither team played aggressive enough to get any easy points at the charity stripe with just eleven free throws shot in the entire forty eight minute game!  The Lynx shot 4 of 7 and the Sparks just 1 of 4.

The victory kept Minnesota Lynx 4-1 in a three way tie for league’s best record with the Connecticut Suns and the Tulsa Shock.  The Los Angeles Sparks drop to 0-3 at the early stages of the WNBA season.

It doesn’t get any easier for the Sparks as they will have three days to prepare for another league leading team, the Connecticut Sun who comes to town, Sunday June 21^st to complete an early three game home stand at Staples Center for the Los Angeles Sparks.

Warriors win NBA Finals in character, being themselves, EXPLOSIVE!

By Johnni Matthews

The scene at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio after Game 6 of the NBA Finals was a somber one for the Cleveland Cavaliers’ fans as they watched the Golden State Warriors celebrate and hoist the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy on their court.  The Warriors outlasted the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-97 to win the series 4-2.  It is the first championship for the Warriors since the 1975 Warriors team led by under hand free throw player and sharp shooter, Rick Barry accomplished the goal against the Washington Bullets led by Wes Unseld.

Forget the statistics on this game, just know that Stephen Curry, Finals MVP, Andre Iguodala, splash brother, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green, Shawn Livingston and the rest of the team were focused, on point outstanding in their road to this NBA Championship!

For the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron was LeBron simply GREAT, but fatigued, J.R. Smith showed up with some timely three pointers, Triston Thompson making his presence felt on the boards, but Matthew Dellavedova was spent out of energy forcing Coach Blatt to play Shumpert on Curry most of the game as he did in Game 5.  The Cavaliers simply couldn’t match the energy, speed and depth of the Warriors without a healthy Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.  NBA fans will never know if having the two All-Stars on the court with LeBron James would have helped the King crown the city of Cleveland with their first NBA Championship!

NBA Rookie Coach, Steve Kerr made all the significant adjustments to out coach Cleveland’s Head Coach, David Blatt who stuck to a short rotation, never playing former NBA Champion and All-Star Shawn Marion who announced his retirement after the conclusion of this season.

What a night to remember for all Warriors’ fans and the Cleveland Cavaliers as the Cavs found themselves out of gas!  It was evident by Game 4 that several players on the Cavaliers squad was just simply out of gas, but still continued to play scrappy enough to murk up the game to give themselves a chance to win.  It was simply too much of the Golden State Warriors being themselves, running, bagging threes from all over the perimeter, and playing just enough tough defense to capture the beautiful gold Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.

The jingle by a famous rap/actor artist, “I’m going back to Cali, Cali, Cali…I’m going back to Cali, Cali…Well the NBA Championship Trophy is coming back to Cali, a state where Mr. Larry O’Brien feels right at HOME!

Photo credit: Nick Koza

By Johnni Matthews

Home openers for the Los Angeles Sparks bring back a lot of memories at Staples Center over the past 18 years of coverage.

The Sparks just as many WNBA teams are rebuilding their organizations to maintain their role as one of the marquee summer attractions for female professional sports.

Photo credit: Nick Koza

The LA Sparks had great fan support for the 2015 Home opener against the Seattle Storm at Staples Center.  Owner, Earvin “Magic” Johnson and his wife, Cookie were sitting courtside with another Laker legend, Kobe Bryant at Staples Center to support the LA Sparks.

Season ticket holder, Producer/Actress Vivica Fox was also at courtside supporting the LA Sparks in the home opener against the Seattle Storm.

The Sparks started the game with a lot of energy feeding off of the Staples Center fans.  New Head Coach, Brian Agler who was the Storm’s Head Coach for seven WNBA seasons is very familiar with the players, but was unable to get a victory against his former team dropping the second game in eight days 60-54 to them.

Playing without star player, Nneka Ogwumike, and welcoming back home veteran, Temeka Johnson a former LA Spark fan favorite and feisty point guard!

With all the new faces on the Sparks team, it may take a few more games before the team gels the way Coach Agler expects.

The Sparks were in control of the game most of the first half shooting nearly fifty percent from the field while the Storm shot a low 33% from the field.  The Sparks took a ten point lead into halftime while holding Seattle Storm’s All-Star, Sue Bird scoreless.  The 34-24 halftime lead dwindled in the third quarter as the Sparks began to turn the ball over and take tough shots leading to a poor second half performance.

Photo credit: Nick Koza

The Sparks finished the game shooting 38.6% while the Storm didn’t burn the nets shot 38.9% from the field.  The slight field goal percentage in the second half proved to be enough to squeak out the 60-54 victory.

Sue Bird didn’t score until 6:50 seconds left in the game, but she was able to bring the Storm within two points before taking the lead at 4:43 mark on back to back baskets by Abby Bishop who led the Storm with 18 points and the team was able to secure the victory.

Veteran, Alana Beard said, “We just lost our focus in the second half and we came up short tonight.”  Beard also noted there were several positive times the team executed properly and stuck to the scouting reports, so there are things to build on and correct in order for the team to be better the next game.

Sparks forward, Jantel Lavender led the team in scoring with 12 points while Alana Beard and Erin Phillips added 10 each.

Well, the next game is a short turn-around when the Sparks welcome the Minnesota Lynx to Staples Center on Tuesday, June 16^th.  The game tips off at 7:30 p.m.

By Johnni Matthews

Warriors win Game 5 outright take 3-2 …Cavs DEPLETED!

The Golden State Warriors may be labeled the “Young Spurs” of the league after winning Game 5 of the NBA Finals 104-91 against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Oracle Arena in front of their home crowd!  The Warriors were the team with consistent energy all game along as the Cavaliers played a valiant game for three plus quarters to keep it interesting, but were completely depleted midway in the fourth quarter.

League MVP, Stephen Curry saved his best game for this pivotal Game 5 scoring 17 of his team high 37 points in the fourth quarter.  Curry was aggressive for forty eight minutes sensing his counterpart, Cavaliers point guard, Matthew Dellavedova is just out of gas with the number of minutes played in the series to this point.  Dellavedova could only contribute 5 points on offense.   Playing at home made it easier for Curry to get help from his teammates too. Four players scored in double figures while Warriors’ Finals MVP to date, Andre Iguodala starting only his second game the entire season played big again scored 14 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and gave out seven dimes plus 2 steals and playing tough defense on the best player in the world, LeBron James who scored his second triple double of this NBA Finals and his sixth in his NBA Finals career.  James finished the game with 40 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists!

LeBron James and his supporting cast played the Warriors tough for 3 ½ quarters, but the short rotation and high minutes for the Cavaliers starters took its toll midway through the fourth quarter when the Warriors scored back to back three pointers by the Splash Brothers, Curry and Thompson!  There were mental lapses by the Cavs particularly the King.  With less than 30 seconds remaining before halftime, James bringing the ball into the front court was called for an eight second call, and then he picked up a foul after Harrison Barnes slams a follow up miss by Curry with 3.2 seconds left before the half.  Cavaliers went down double digits at halftime.

At the 6:47 mark in the fourth quarter, the back to back three pointers by the Warriors put them ahead 85-80 and the Warriors never looked back.  They were able to stretch the lead and keep the momentum to control the game and take control of the series.

The Warriors can close the series out on the road in Cleveland at Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday, June 16 at 6 p.m. (EST).  If the Warriors are successful in Cleveland on Tuesday, then the Larry O’Brien Trophy comes back to CALI!

Derron Smith

By Naomi K. Bonman

The NFL Draft took place this past weekend from Thursday, April 30 to Saturday, May 2. Young men from all across the Nation seen their dreams of playing for the NFL unfold before their eyes, including Banning resident and Fresno State alumni, Derron Smith, 23. Smith was included in the third day of draft picks where he was picked to join the Cincinnati Bengals as Starting Safety.

Smith finished his college football career with 297 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, and 33 passes defensed—15 of which he intercepted. He was also the 11^th player in school history at Fresno State to be named to the all-conference team three times. Smith is the cousin to the editor of the Westside Story Newspaper, Naomi K. Bonman.

Yolanda Holder

CORONA, CA – Last year Inland Empire resident and 2x Guinness World Record holder of “Most Marathons Run in a Calendar Year”, Yolanda Holder, set foot on a trial of walking from Corona to the Bay Area. That prior year in 2012, she power walked 120 marathons by breaking her own record of 106 marathons in 2010.

The “Walking Diva” is set to break yet another record. On Friday, August 22 to Sunday, August 31 she will be walking from Corona, California to Las Vegas, Nevada to spread the word about healthy living and the benefits of walking 30 minutes a day. This event will also be used as a fundraiser for the American Diabetes Association.

For those who would love to become corporate sponsors or would like to know more about Yolanda Holder and her campaign, visit www.yolandaholder.com.

LtoR-Natia Martin, Sydne Soloman,Chelsey Gore of Nashville ,Tenn-Nighthawks

Photos and story Earl Heath

FORT COLLIN, CO-As summer seasons brings out the best in most of us, Triple Crowns Sports brings together the best young softball from around  the country and  the world. The Sparkler tournament for ages 16U and 18U had more than 500 teams from the USA, Guam, Canada and Australia.

The Junior Sparkler (14U and 12U) took place in the Fort Collins, Loveland and Greeley area. It had more than 200 teams from 38 different states. The tournament had some of the most talented young people anywhere. We will bring you some of the highlight of the Junior Sparkler.

The Players included The Nashville Night Hawks 14U who had a trio that would make many college coaches take notice. Shortstop Chelsey Gore made back handed plays, threw runners out from deep in the hole and on offense had several stolen bases.

“The tournament gives me a chance to play with my friends,” said Gore. “We get a chance to be together and show what we can do as a team.”

Gores father has a horse farm with some 15 horses and she likes horseback riding during her spare time.

 “The game is fun for me” said 14 year old Syde Soloman. “I really like playing with my friends, we all help each other out.” Soloman plays catcher and third base for the Nighthawks. She bats clean-up and is a true leader- her teammates look up to her for inspiration. She already has plans for the future. “I want to play college softball. I like Florida I’ve seen them on TV I think it would be a cool place to play.”

Nataia Martin is the third member of the fantastic trio. The athletic center fielder excelled on offense and defense. She played center-field like a seasoned pro. She chased down line drives that appeared to be hits. In two games she threw out two runners headed to third base and gunned down two more headed for home.

 “I practiced long tossing  with my 12 year-old sister,” said Martin. “That helped me make accurate throws in a game.”

She has jackrabbit speed – She scored all the way from first base on a single to the outfield. She’s is extremely athletic as a freshman played on the girls varsity basketball team at Bowling Green (KY) High School.

 “I want to play softball and basketball in college. This tournament gives all of us good exposure”.