ANAHEIM — Albert Pujols has not only been playing a lot of first base lately for the Angels, but he’s also playing pretty well.

Pujols made a diving stop to save at least one run in Friday’s 10-inning victory, a day after he made a nice sprawling backhand play.

“That’s why Albert was such a special player for all those years in St. Louis,” Manager Mike Scioscia said Saturday. “You can see the Gold Glove caliber defense he played for all these years. When he’s healthy and feeling good and has his legs under him, he still brings that presence at first base. There is no doubt he’s made a difference.”

The downside, though, is that every game Pujols plays at first puts more strain on his legs. Pujols, 38, was in the lineup at first for the 53rd time on Saturday night, more than the 34 games he played in the last two years combined.

After his dive on Friday night, Pujols jogged awkwardly enough that Scioscia said he was initially worried that he might be hurt.

“You are concerned, but Albert is tough,” Scioscia said. “He’s playing at a high level on both sides of the ball. We’ll look to get him the rest he needs to stay at this level, but he’s tough.”

Sunday would be a natural day for Pujols to get a day back at DH, if not off entirely. It’s a day game after a night game, and the Seattle Mariners are starting left-hander Marco Gonzales, so the Angels may chose to sit Shohei Ohtani. Also, it’s the day before an off day, so Pujols could have two straight days without playing first.

Looking ahead, the Angels are about to play three straight games on the artificial turf at Tampa Bay’s Tropicana Field. Although the surface is tougher on the outfielders than the infielders — the infield is all dirt — it’s still a consideration.

WATCHING WARD

Prospect Taylor Ward has made a strong impression on the Angels while putting up big numbers this year in the minors, Scioscia said.

Ward, the Angels’ first-round pick in 2015, is hitting a combined .351 with a .998 OPS, splitting his season between Double-A and Triple-A. It’s a dramatic improvement from his .787 OPS last year, split between Class-A and Double-A.

Scioscia said that “taking some of the pressure” off him by moving from catcher to third base has helped his offense.

“From the offensive side, he’s really blossomed,” Scioscia said. “I think the third base switch is great for him.”

Scioscia said defensively, Ward is “making progress.”

Ward, 24, is due to be added to the 40-man roster this winter already, so that makes it more likely that he could get promoted sometime this year. His best chance is probably if Ian Kinsler is traded or hurt, which would allow David Fletcher to move to second and Ward to play third. If Kinsler remains on the roster, Ward isn’t likely to be called up before September.

ALSO

Ohtani has increased the intensity of his throwing program. He is now throwing in a pitching motion, including breaking balls, as he plays catch. He’s still at a distance of about 90 feet, though. Pitchers generally extend to about 150 feet before getting on a mound for a bullpen session. Ohtani, who is recovering from a damaged ulnar collateral ligament, could be back by the start of September, if all goes well…

Since Martín Maldonado was traded, Francisco Arcia, a left-handed hitter, has started the two games against right-handed pitchers and José Briceño, a right-handed hitter, started the game against a lefty. Scioscia said the two catchers will split the time, but it won’t necessarily be a pure platoon based on offense.

UP NEXT

Angels (RHP Felix Peña, 1-3, 3.34) vs. Mariners (LHP Marco Gonzales, 11-5, 3.38), Sunday, 1 p.m., Fox Sports West, KLAA (830 AM).

Zombies, werewolves, ghosts, killers and indescribable creatures have descended on Long Beach, but instead of running scared or chasing them down with pitchforks, people have embraced the horror with open arms by flocking to the annual Midsummer Scream Halloween Festival.

For the third year, the growing event returned to the Long Beach Convention Center, continuing to establish itself as one of the premier horror events in Southern California.

Midsummer Scream, which started on Saturday, July 28, and continues Sunday, July 29, is expected to attract more than 20,000 people who will visit various haunts by professionals and amateurs, attend panels, watch horror movies and check out more than 250 horror-centric vendors as creatures lurk about.

When it debuted in 2016, the event included about 150 vendors and 8,000 attendees, but now this is where the major Halloween players like Knott’s Scary Farm, Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights and the Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor hold panels and even offer sneak peeks at their plans for Halloween mazes and scare zones.

The Hall of Shadows has become its own mini-theme park of 80,000 square feet, housing more than a dozen haunts by amateurs and professionals that preview the scares that will pop up throughout Southern California in the fall.

Six Flags Magic Mountain became the first major theme park to participate in the Hall of Shadows, bringing its Fright Fest characters to the Convention Center floor. And the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood makes its convention debut Sunday with a presentation about its upcoming backlot attraction “Horror Made Here: A Festival of Frights.”

Here are the top five things we saw on day one of the third annual Midsummer Scream:

1. Hall of Shadows

This is where real fear happens at Midsummer Scream, housing more than a dozen haunted mazes.

One of the haunts, Hyde Street Massacre, sends people through hallways and rooms of a demented killer’s house as deranged women in gowns give chase.

The surprisingly simple Deadzone 805 puts guests in a room facing some sort of a violent creature sitting on a chair behind a door. It can be seen through a small window and then the lights go out, you hear noises, the door starts to creak and suddenly the creature is free.

But the most frightening maze is Annelise. Created by a group of high school art students who go by the name Twisted Mind Productions, this terrifying maze tells the story of a young girl undergoing an exorcism. Inside you’ll see girls twisting their bodies in all sorts of unnatural shapes. One clings to a wall. Another crawls like an animal towards you and chases you until you run out of the maze.

2. “Urban Death”

This performance art piece takes place at various times throughout the day in one of the Convention Center rooms on the second floor and it is a must-see. Be warned though, there is full nudity so it is absolutely not for kids.

The theatrical horror show is told though a series of wordless vignettes that at times can be scary, gross and deeply intense. One scene features a nude man crawling like a wild beast sniffing a pile of bodies before he chooses one to drag away. Another begins in total darkness as an older woman sparks a lighter. At first you only see her, but when she raises the light you get a glimpse of a smiling demon standing behind her.

There’s no real theme that runs through the show, but it’s unforgettable.

3. Creatures everywhere

Comic-Con may have cosplayers, but Midsummer Scream seems to have every horrifying creature imaginable. And you’ll need to be on your toes because they will all try to scare you. Whether professionals hired by the convention or attendees dressed up, you’ll see monsters, killers and frightening clowns walking around. Krampus the anti-Santa? There were several. Freddy Krueger? Yep, there were a bunch. One guy in the costume was even pushing a baby stroller with presumably his baby in it. Other popular costumes included Michael Myers, Pennywise, a bunch of bloody brides, clowns and, of course, zombies.

You’re pretty safe in the vendor area, since most are just walking around, but in the darker Hall of Shadows is where they chase you or sneak up on you unexpectedly.

4. Collectible art

It may not have been the scariest booth, but Inland Empire-based artist David Everett had one of the busiest ones at the convention. Specializing in creating papier-mâché Halloween-inspired art, Everett’s Chicken Lips sculptures are whimsical skeletons, witches, pumpkins, crows and other mischievous-looking characters.

And the man is insanely popular. He only does about four shows a year and pretty much sells out within an hour.

Everett brought about 70 pieces ranging from $125 to $1200 to Long Beach and within six minutes minutes after the convention opened at 11 a.m. he had already sold more than a dozen sculptures.

5. Scary supplies

If you dream of creating your own haunt one day, Midsummer Scream is pretty much your Costco.

Vendors sell everything, including incredibly realistic looking masks and props like foam chainsaws, axes, hammers and bloody knives. There are all sorts of severed body parts for sale, as well a video illusions, fog machines, blood, tattered clothes for zombies and even tombstone shaped soap to clean up after yourself.

If you go

When: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. July 29

Where: Long Beach Convention Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd.

Tickets: $30 Sunday

Information: www.midsummerscream.org

Thank you for reading this newspaper.

Double thank you if you plunked down cash at a newsstand, and triple thanks if you fished today’s paper from under the mini-van while trying not to step in that little stream of runoff from your neighbor’s poorly aimed sprinklers. Self-serving, you say? Damn right. Groceries are popular at my house.

Still, thanking you for supporting this newspaper, or any newspaper for that matter, is self-serving for a higher purpose than paycheck preservation. America needs newspapers. In the age of disinformation, more than ever.

Last week, the 99-year old New York Daily News announced the termination of half its editorial staff, including the editor-in-chief and nearly the entire sports department. The publication known as “America’s Picture Newspaper” now employs exactly zero photographers. This Sunday, 260,000 readers will thumb through the New York Daily News. In its heyday that number was 4.7 million.

That was 1947.

In 2018, it’s hardly “stop the presses!” when a newspaper announces layoffs. Print-anything is tilting at windmills against the digital wave. What started as a technological revolution has degenerated into a cultural paradigm shift from literacy to a semi-hieroglyph world of memes and emojis rather than actual words. Abraham Lincoln slugged it out with Stephen A. Douglas in phrases that have echoed through the ages. Today, Oscar-winning actors shout expletives at the president during award shows while the president trolls the universe 140 characters at a time. Darwin is spinning.

In my relatively short lifespan (relative to the San Gabriel Mountains) newspapers have gone from the heroes of one presidential scandal, Watergate, to the Fake News “enemies of the people” in the Trump era. We are not blameless. The firewall separating opinion from reporting was breached decades ago. Today’s news media is nearly universally hostile to President Trump and conservatives in general. And this president, like many before him, is thin-skinned. But unlike any of his predecessors, even Richard Nixon, President Trump roots for the collapse of newspapers. Correction; He is an active participant in their destruction.

Last week, the president banned CNN’s Kaitlan Collins from an official White House event because she had asked “inappropriate questions” related to the release of the president’s personal attorney secretly recording phone conversations. Collins was the pool reporter that day. Her banishment was more than a slap at CNN, it was a shot across the bow of a free press. This prompted outcry #35,245 of the Trump era, including a statement of support from Fox News. “We stand in strong solidarity with CNN for the right to full access for our journalists as part of a free and unfettered press”, said the news organization most on-board with the president.

If you don’t find this paper relevant to your life, you’ll move on. Still, before newspapers are entombed next to butter churns and VHS tapes in the Museum of the Obsolete, consider what we lose every time a paper folds; local sports, a City Hall or school board watchdog, dirty restaurant closings, the obits (maybe someone you hated died?), brilliant columns like this one or an inspiring profile of a hometown hero and so much more.

By subscribing to this paper or ponying up to read it online, by patronizing our advertisers, you make it possible for this paper to continue to serve our community, our state and our country. Warts and all, America needs newspapers the way baseball needs umpires. Sometimes we blow a call. You’ll always let us know.

Personally, I love the tactile feel of the printed page. The Wife and I spend the first hour of every Sunday morning in bed with hot coffee and three papers. This tradition is unlikely to survive. Eventually it will be online only and I’ll have to live with it. Still, there are many millions who get no news of any kind and rely on social media, late-night comedians or hearsay to form the basis of their opinions.

And opinions are fine. I’m in the opinion business, but I’m not driving over a bridge built on an opinion. We need facts to make public policy and be the informed electorate that keeps us a self-governing people. Newspapers are the fact-finders of a free people.

Somebody should print that.

Doug McIntyre’s column appears Sundays. Hear him weekdays 5-10 on AM 790 KABC. He can be reached at: Doug@KABC.com.

It has seemed as if the Galaxy has been hit with the third game in eight-day syndrome for the majority of the season.

Tonight concludes another one of those stretches as the Galaxy hosts Orlando City SC (6:30 p.m.; Fox Sports 1). Fortunately for Coach Sigi Schmid, the bodies are healthy enough for some sort of lineup rotation.

“We’re actually pretty OK, just sore,” Schmid said. “It was a game that was two days ago, so usually two days out from the game is when you’re the most sore or irritable.

“It is a mentality more than anything (playing on a short turnaround). Your body is going to say, I’m a little sore and a little achy and it’s just what your mind tells your body to do. For the guys who have done all of the right things in terms of resting, cold baths, food intake, it is such a science these days, it’s just a matter of them feeling good tomorrow (Sunday).”

One player possibly in line for an increase in minutes Sunday is Sebastian Lletget. Lletget (high ankle sprain) had been out for the previous five games before making a 15-minute appearance as a sub Thursday against LAFC.

With Romain Alessandrini suspended due to yellow-card accumulation, Lletget walked off the training field Saturday knowing that he could get an extended run.

“It was definitely a tough game to come into,” Lletget said of Thursday. “But after a couple of days of training, we felt it was OK to go. I feel great, so hopefully I do get a couple of more minutes.”

Lletget has played in 16 games and started 12.

“At the beginning of the season we were trying to find our ways, but I think now we’ve found a good direction,” Lletget said. “Individually, it has been a little up and down, but I kind of saw that coming back from last year’s injuries. It is always going to be a rocky road at the beginning, but hopefully now it is smooth sailing.”

The Galaxy is currently on an eight-game unbeaten streak, jumping from eighth in the Western Conference to fourth. The Galaxy’s last loss came on May 30.

Sunday and next Saturday, affords the club with a strong chance at six points with two struggling clubs (OCSC tonight and Colorado, Aug. 4).

“You never think about this is a team we should beat,” Schmid said. “You have to make sure you’re prepared properly and you don’t do anything differently and the team has to know they have to go out and play to as high a level as high as they can.

“There’s still some things we’re working on as a team, we’re still trying to get better every day and now it is matter of us continuing to get points and climbing the ladder (in the West) even higher, if we can.”

All-Star Festivities on the horizon

Zlatan Ibrahimovic will depart after the game for Atlanta and the start of MLS All-Star Game activities. The MLS All-Stars will face Italian power Juventus on Wednesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Also representing the Galaxy will be teenager Efrain Alvarez. Alvarez, 16, will participate in the MLS Homegrown Game against the U-20 team of Tigres, Tuesday at 5 p.m.

Alvarez, who the Galaxy signed to a Homegrown Player contract in March, has scored eight goals, in nine games while playing for Galaxy II in the USL.

ORLANDO CITY SC (7-13-1, 22 points) at L.A. GALAXY (9-7-5, 32 points)

Kickoff: 6:30 p.m. at StubHub Center

TV/Radio: Fox Sports 1; KWKW/1330; LAGalaxy.com (English)

Update: Orlando City SC enters tonight in ninth place in the Eastern Conference on 22 points. Perhaps the most eye-opening stat concerning the Lions is their goal differential on -18. They’ve currently lost four of their last five games, including a 2-0 defeat to New York City FC, Thursday. Dom Dwyer leads OCSC with eight goals and Sacha Kljestan has five. Yoshimar Yotun has six assists.

After last week — heck, after the last year-and-a-half — it’s difficult to know where Donald Trump is heading. It’s conceivable, given the latest news about a certain former Playboy centerfold, that we’ll see the first White House divorce. If his enemies have their way, he’ll be the third U.S. president impeached — and the second hounded from office. Given his age, diet and unorthodox views about exercise, a heart attack isn’t out of the question, either, although the president would certainly prefer Dwight Eisenhower’s medical experience to Warren Harding’s.

Then again, perhaps Trump’s future is as a Nobel laureate. I don’t mean the peace prize, which Barack Obama won on spec and some Trump fans have mentioned in relation to his North Korea disarmament talks. I mean the Nobel for physics. He seems to be the first human being who’s learned to defy the rules of gravity. “What goes up, must come down,” Isaac Newton taught the world. But Newton never met Trump. No matter what he says or does — and no matter what’s said to him or about him — the man’s poll numbers hang in suspended animation. It’s as if the famous apple in Newton’s garden fell from the tree and just hung there above his head.

Take last week, for example. On Sunday, Trump got involved in a Twitter war of words with Iran’s Main Mullah, aka Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. The two leaders apparently were trying to sound like tough guys. Instead, it sounded like two small boys in detention playing nanny-nanny boo-boo, which would be funny if they didn’t have large standing armies at their disposal. That made it harrowing.

On Monday, Trump responded to revelations about the FBI’s wiretaps on former campaign aide Carter Page by reprising his description of special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation as “the discredited Mueller Witch Hunt.” He retaliated against his cable news critics — at least those who once worked for the government — by threatening to revoke their security clearances. Tuesday’s headlines in The New York Times were that the president was “enraged” when Melania had the television set tuned to CNN on an Air Force One trip. Meanwhile, White House officials announced a $12 billion aid package to U.S. farmers hurt in the trade war Trump started.

On Wednesday, Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was destroyed with a pickaxe, no doubt by a liberal apostle of tolerance. That afternoon, Trump’s communications aides banned a CNN reporter from an open Rose Garden press conference with the leader of the European Union because they didn’t like a question she asked earlier in the day. This did not generate positive media coverage. Thursday was the court-mandated deadline for reuniting migrant families separated by administration border policy. The media treatment of that event? Parents were “disoriented and overwhelmed,” their kids “traumatized,” CNN dutifully reported.

All in all, it was a typical week for this White House. How did the electorate respond? Trump’s poll numbers ticked upward. On Sunday, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found Trump’s job approval rating had risen to 45 percent, the highest of his presidency in that survey.

On Tuesday, Gallup reported that Trump’s sixth quarter was his best, in terms of how Americans graded his performance in office. The next day, American Barometer, a poll done jointly by The Hill newspaper and HarrisX, put Trump’s approval rating at 48 percent.

What’s going on here? The pollsters involved in these surveys offered some pithy thoughts, as did other political commentators asked to decipher this riddle. Some mentioned a couple of important caveats. First, Trump is still underwater: More Americans do not approve of his job performance than those who do. Second, his numbers aren’t all that much higher than they’ve been.

“Actually,” says Brookings Institution scholar William A. Galston, “the RealClearPolitics average shows no movement for the past three months, after a substantial recovery from last fall’s low.” Galston believes that when all the polls are in, Trump’s universally panned Helsinki dance with Vladimir Putin will shave a point or two off his popularity.

American Enterprise Institute political analyst Karlyn Bowman also points out that Trump’s job approval is mostly mired in the low to mid-40s, which wouldn’t be high enough if this were 2020. But Bowman also suggests that he’s impervious to traditional gravitational norms.

“I can’t prove this directly by the polls,” she said, “but it is my strong sense that [his supporters] tuned out to the day-to-day developments involving Trump long ago and thus aren’t moved by a Helsinki performance or a [difficult] meeting with Theresa May or NATO leaders.”

HarrisX CEO Dritan Nesho — the proprietor of the outlier poll putting Trump at 48 percent — says that no matter how many hits the president has taken on recent events such as the Helsinki debacle and the mess on the border, he is being bolstered by a wave of optimism on the economy and support for him on other issues as well.

Fred Yang, one of the pollsters who conducted the NBC-Wall Street Journal surveys, was more blunt. “The more Trump gets criticized by the media,” he said, “the more his base seems to rally behind him.”

Now there’s a weird brand of jujitsu, and it understandably chafes the ladies and gentlemen of the Fourth Estate, many of whom tear their hair out while thinking something along these lines: “We keep pointing out this man’s myriad screw-ups, and it reminds you of why you voted for this nut in the first place?”

“My suspicion is that what we regard as ‘screw-ups’ are either irrelevant, which many are, or they are not only not screw-ups, but the very reason he was elected,” said Republican political consultant Alex Castellanos. Although he’s been critical of Trump and the GOP’s response to the president, Castellanos understands the electorate’s impulse to alter the political status quo in this country. “They didn’t vote for [Trump] despite knowing he was a living hand grenade,” he continued. “No, they voted for him because he was a living hand grenade — and that’s exactly what they wanted to roll under Washington’s door.”

“He has redefined everything about American politics,” public opinion guru Frank Luntz told me. “He has redefined political loyalty. He has redefined political language. He has redefined polling. Nothing is as it was. And it will never be the same.”

Luntz added that he’s heard many people say that the 45th U.S. president has re-written the rules of politics. “I don’t think that’s accurate,” he added. “Since Donald Trump took the stage in 2015, there are no rules.”

Not even the law of gravity.

Carl M. Cannon is executive editor and Washington Bureau chief of RealClearPolitics

ALISO VIEJO — Back-to-back home runs by Tony Martinez and Gage Everson gave Huntington Valley of Huntington Beach a brief lead against Parkview in the Southern California Divisional Little League Tournament played Saturday at Woodfield Park.

But Huntington Valley, which was facing elimination, couldn’t cash in on enough of its other opportunities.

Parkview of Chula Vista rallied back with a four-run fourth and went on to a 5-2 victory, clinching a berth in the West Regional, which begins Aug. 5 in San Bernardino.

The winner of the West Regional advances to the Little League World Series Aug. 15 in Williamsport, Pa.

“We just didn’t capitalize when we needed to,” Huntington Valley coach Tony Armand said. “I thought we had good approaches. They (Parkview) played great defense.”

Huntington Valley won its first game of the divisional, 14-4, over Vineyard on July 22.

Then Huntington Valley dropped into the losers’ bracket after losing to Temple City, 4-1

Huntington Valley came back to win three in a row, two in extra innings, setting up the showdown against undefeated Parkview.Parkview, which is undefeated this postseason, won the Little League World Series in 2009, was runner-up to Tokyo in 2015 and is making its third trip to the West Regional over the past nine years.

“We built our team around pitching and defense,” said Parkview coach Jorge Camarillo, who is taking a team to the West Regional for the second time. We take pride in that. When the kids execute, you get good results.”

Michael Rodriguez pitched the first three innings for Parkview, allowing two runs on three hits, with three strikeouts and two walks.Huntington Valley had runners on second and third with no outs in the first, but Rodriguez retired the next three hitters to get out of the jam.

Conner Alonzo entered to pitch in the fourth and didn’t allow a run in three innings of work, thanks in part, to rally-killing double plays in the fourth and fifth innings.

Martinez, who homered in four consecutive games, pitched all five innings for Huntington Valley, allowing just one hit, a home run to Mikey Rodriguez, over the first three innings.

Joseph Anderson’s two-run double and Alonzo’s RBI single, were the key hits in Parkview’s fourth-inning rally.

Cal State Fullerton student Cassie Chang of Orange is one of 10 students to receive a $10,000 Nikon Storytellers Scholarship, a new program by Nikon Inc. designed to support future visual content creators.

The scholarship contest, based on academic achievement and creative portfolio submissions, received over 1,000 entries from students across the United States and Canada. The only other California winners were students from USC and Chapman University.

“By providing these 10 deserving recipients with academic scholarships, we can empower new generations to innovate through storytelling and content creation,” said Jay Vannatter, Nikon executive vice president.

Chang’s short films can be viewed on her YouTube channel.

Humanities undergrads with plans for doctorate get a boost

Four women are the inaugural scholars in the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship program.

Funded by a $444,319 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the program is designed to increase rigorous academic opportunities and provide financial support for students to pursue a doctorate in the humanities immediately after completing their bachelor’s degree.

The recipients are participating in summer programs, and will be paired with faculty mentors to develop research plans, initiate research and spend four weeks conducting research during their first academic year as fellows. They also will meet with top scholars, curators and archivists, community planners, and other humanities professionals to present their research and learn more about specific programs, centers and community needs.

The inaugural fellows — all sophomores during the 2017-18 year — are:

• Daniella Camacho of Fullerton, American studies• Danielle Rieza Narciso of Diamond Bar, linguistics• Ileana Perez of Rosemead, Spanish• Vivian Phong Ngo of Garden Grove, comparative literature

Rebuilt Titan race car finishes in middle of pack

The Titan racing team took 24th place in the Formula SAE in Lincoln, Nebraska, with its newly built formula-style race car.

The collegiate competition June 20-23, presented by SAE International (formerly the Society of Automotive Engineers), drew 67 competitors from across the country and abroad.

About 50 students — engineering and business majors — are involved in CSUF’s year-round Formula SAE project, including many recent grads. The design competition gives students the challenge of applying classroom theories to a real-world engineering experience.

This is the 11th year CSUF students have entered the competition. The best finish for a Titan entry was 12th place overall out of 67 finishers in 2014.

The team’s faculty adviser is Salvador Mayoral, assistant professor of mechanical engineering.

Texas A&M took first place this year. California schools that bested CSUF were UC San Diego, USC, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, San Jose State and Cal State Northridge. Coming in behind the Titans were Chico State, Sacramento State, UC Irvine, UC Berkeley, Cal Baptist, UCLA, UC Riverside and San Diego State.

Rapping grad hired to coach entrepreneurs

Rachael Herzog, who rapped at the Mihaylo commencement ceremony, has been hired by CEO Coaching International in Newport Beach as project manager.

Herzog is the CSUF Alumni Association’s 2018 Outstanding Senior. She also was a President’s Scholar, the 2018 ASI Student Leadership Award winner and Mihaylo College Executive Council’s 2018 Outstanding Student. In 2017, she interned in Washington, D.C., with the Cal State DC Scholars program.

Herzog joined the company because she has a passion for entrepreneurship.

“I’m so excited to grow and learn about value creation, strategy, and leadership alongside the amazing coaches,” she said.

In other alumni news:

Kevin Costner, ’78, is back in the saddle again with “Yellowstone,” a 10-episode drama that premiered June 20 on the Paramount Network. In Parade magazine’s June 17 cover story, Costner is credited with “putting a modern twist on a time-honored genre that he personally revitalized.” Filming was scheduled in Utah this summer for the second season of the series.

• Teri Spoutz has joined the Aerospace Corp. as chief of government relations. She will lead outreach to Congress, the executive branch, and state and local government officials, as well as conduct outreach activities for the company’s Center for Space Policy and Strategy. Spoutz received her bachelor’s degree from CSUF.  She earned the secretary of the Air Force’s Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service in 2011.

• Damon Bell has been selected as interim president for Ventura College, effective July 23, the Ventura County Community College District announced. Bell has 25 years of experience that includes Washington state and California college systems. Bell earned a doctorate in educational leadership with an emphasis in community college leadership from CSUF.

— Wendy Fawthrop

McDonald’s is marking the 50th anniversary of the Big Mac by minting 6.2 million collectible “MacCoins.”

Distribution of what McDonald’s calls “the world’s first fully food-backed currency” begins in 50 countries on Aug. 2, according to a news release. The coins are made from brass sourced in the United States.

McDonald’s customers can get them while supplies last by purchasing a Big Mac or a Big Mac Extra Value Meal. There is no additional charge for the coin.

MacCoins can be saved or redeemed for free Big Macs, the signature burger that went on the fast food chain’s national menu in 1968.

As people exposed to a McDonald’s jingle from the 1970s know, the Big Mac consists of:

Two all-beef patties

Special sauce

Lettuce

Cheese

Pickles

Onions

And a sesame-seed bun

There are five MacCoin designs, one for each 10 years of the Big Mac’s existence. The coin representing 1968-1978 has a psychedelic sun and flowers, while the 2008-2018 coin is covered with emojis.

ATLANTA – As the Dodgers celebrated another “Shirtless Sunday” in the weight room, Atlanta Braves broadcaster Joe Simpson was in the visitors’ clubhouse at SunTrust Park Sunday morning to talk with Chase Utley about the comments Simpson made during Saturday’s broadcast, calling Utley and the Dodgers “unprofessional” and “an embarrassment” for taking pregame batting practice in T-shirts.

The absurdity of that juxtaposition was only slightly higher than this latest clash between the self-appointed keepers of old-school baseball thought and the modern age of social media and individuality itself.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called Simpson’s comments “a cheap shot” and said he was particularly upset that Utley was singled out while wearing a “K Cancer” T-shirt that represents the Jason Motte Foundation, an organization that supports the fight against cancer.

“I did hear those comments and I was very taken aback,” Roberts said before Sunday’s game. “You’re talking about Chase Utley who is a consummate professional not only on the field but off the field, wearing a ‘Strikeout Cancer’ shirt, a cause that is dear to his heart. … Batting practice is to get your work in which Chase does an amazing job of, as do all our players. To see him take ground balls or go through his routine in the cage, that should be the takeaway. When you talk about the fans, that would be my message – to watch him and how he works and prepares for a major-league baseball game.

“To take a shot at him and our guys, I just thought it was unfair.”

The Braves’ front office – most of whom are in Cooperstown this weekend for Chipper Jones’ Hall of Fame induction – sent an apology through intermediaries to Roberts for Simpson’s comments. Roberts, however, said he did not speak with Simpson directly. Utley would not comment about his meeting with the broadcaster.

"I don't know how Major League Baseball allows such attire when the gates are open and fans are watching."

The Dodgers wore t-shirts and shorts to batting practice and Braves’ TV analyst Joe Simpson wasn't happy about it: https://t.co/SkTrpe4q7t pic.twitter.com/VjAg6DNifZ

— Sporting News (@sportingnews) July 29, 2018

“It’s past,” Roberts said. “I think, for us, it’s water under the bridge. If he talked to Chase and Chase is good with it, that’s good by me.”

The latest flap involves a Dodgers team that once had a bubble machine in the dugout to celebrate home runs and a disco ball (complete with smoke machine) in the clubhouse to celebrate victories. They memorably partied in the pool at Chase Field after clinching a division title and were criticized for “Mickey Mouse stuff” by Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright during a playoff series.

That criticism prompted some Dodgers players to flash a mouse ears signal to the dugout after base hits. The Dodgers did not take batting practice on the field before the day game Sunday – sparing everyone from a similar acting out in this case. Some of the Dodgers took to social media Saturday night with ideas for future batting-practice attire, mocking the criticism of Simpson, who came up in the Dodgers’ system and played for them in the mid-1970s.

“Baseball – I think the word we hear the most is ‘grind,’” Roberts said. “When you’re playing 7-1/2 months of baseball, it’s a grind. So to be so non-emotional, stoic, quote-unquote professional every single day is unrealistic in this day and age, in my opinion. And I don’t think it’s necessary. You have to have fun. This game is a game. It’s fun. So to hold players to a certain standard that they have to act a certain way to be professional, for me, is absurd.

“To say I have a loose clubhouse, yes. But I have players that watch the game, they talk about the game, they talk about the opposition, they run balls out, they go first to third, they go on balls in the dirt. When they get hit by a pitch, they take their base. We don’t throw at hitters intentionally to hurt people. We celebrate small victories within our team. And I think that’s a good thing.”

UP NEXT

Brewers RHP Freddy Peralta (4-2, 3.74 ERA) at Dodgers RHP Kenta Maeda (7-5, 3.27 ERA), Monday, 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA (where available), ESPN (out of market only)

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Chipper Jones didn’t bow to the pressure of the moment, and it was considerable.

Jones was inducted Sunday into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and he stood there delivering his speech with wife Taylor staring up at him, hours away from giving birth to a son to be named Cooper in honor of the special day.

Faced with that daunting task, Jones delivered flawlessly, just as he did during a 19-year career with the Atlanta Braves.

“She changed my life forever,” Jones said as his wife brushed away tears. “It took me 40 years and some major imperfections in me along the way to find my true profession. Now we’ve taken our two families and blended them together. It has given me what I’ve been searching for my entire life —true happiness.”

A crowd estimated at about 50,000 gathered on a sun-splashed day to honor six former players. Also enshrined were Vladimir Guerrero, Jim Thome, Trevor Hoffman and former Detroit Tigers teammates Jack Morris and Alan Trammell. Guerrero became the first player inducted with an Angels cap on his Hall of Fame plaque.

A first look at the Vladimir Guerrero Hall of Fame plaque. Milo Stewart Jr. #HOFWKND pic.twitter.com/FldyYiYfUf

— Baseball Hall (@baseballhall) July 29, 2018

Greeted by hundreds of fans waving Dominican Republic flags, Guerrero spoke in his native Spanish in a speech that was translated from Spanish and lasted just five minutes. He thanked his father and mother, who cooked dinners for him and does the same now for his son, and the fans and the people in his hometown of Don Gregorio. His son Vladimir Jr., the top prospect in the minor leagues with the Blue Jays, was in attendance.

The nine-time All-Star outfielder batted .318 with 449 homers and 1,496 RBIs and is the first player inducted wearing the cap of the Angels, the team where he enjoyed his greatest success.

Just as he did in his unflappable role in the bullpen during his career as an ace reliever, Hoffman was flawless in delivering his speech, also closing it by thanking his wife, Tracy.

“You shared with me this amazing journey of ups and downs from the beginning, always never letting me get too high or get too low,” Hoffman said. “I love you.”

Hoffman prepped at Savanna High in Anaheim and played the bulk of his career with the San Diego Padres before finishing with the Milwaukee Brewers. After failing to impress the front office in three years as a shortstop, he switched to the bullpen and became a star. Using a stultifying change-up, Hoffman recorded 601 saves over 18 seasons, second all-time to former Yankees star Mariano Rivera’s 652.

He also credited his parents for his success.

“Mom, dad, you’re the biggest reason I’m on this stage,” Hoffman said. “In fact, you’re all of my reasons. Not a day goes by that I’m not thankful for all both of you have done. I love you both beyond words.”

A first look at the Trevor Hoffman Hall of Fame plaque. Milo Stewart Jr. #HOFWKND pic.twitter.com/q8lKvRCFOO

— Baseball Hall (@baseballhall) July 29, 2018

Jones controlled his emotions in a speech that took the crowd through his entire career, starting with his rookie season when he helped lead the Braves to the 1995 World Series title. He was one of the greatest switch-hitters in baseball history, in the mold of his dad’s favorite player, Mickey Mantle, and finished with a .303 career batting average, 468 home runs, and 1,623 RBIs, credentials that earned him election on the first try.

Jones also heaped praise on his mom and dad — “You’re the reason I’m on this stage,” he said — and ended his speech by thanking the loyal Atlanta fans.

“You stuck by me,” he said. “You’re the reason I never want to play anywhere else. I love you guys. Thank you.”

Emotional during a Hall of Fame visit in February to tour the museum in preparation for this day, Thome held it together despite having to wipe away tears after his daughter Lila sang the national anthem. Like Jones, he heaped praise on his wife, Andrea.

“Obviously, induction into the Hall of Fame is one of the greatest honors of my life,” Thome said. “The best thing, though, that’s ever happened to me is the day you agreed to marry me. You are without a doubt the best teammate I could ever have and, with the world as my witness, I love you more today than ever.”

The lefty-swinging Thome hit 612 home runs, eighth all-time, and had an MLB record 13 walk-off homers, mostly for the Cleveland Indians.

Thome marveled that the genesis of this moment was hitting rocks on a gravel driveway with an aluminum bat as a kid.

“It’s been my great privilege to have played the game for as long as I did,” he said. “And I can say this with certainty, the possibilities are just as important as the outcome. Living the dream that is major league baseball, the best part is not the result but taking the journey with the people whose contributions make it all possible.

“I’m so honored to be part of something so special. Baseball is beautiful, and I am forever in its service.”

Morris, now 63, spent 15 years on the ballot before getting the call from the Hall of Fame last December. Known for his toughness on the mound, he pitched 18 seasons for the Tigers, Twins, Blue Jays and Indians, and played on four World Series champions. The crowning achievement of his career was his 1-0, 10-inning complete-game victory in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series while pitching for his hometown Twins against the Braves.

Among those he thanked were his dad and his late mother and the late Sparky Anderson, who managed the Tigers to the 1984 World Series championship.

“Thank you mom and dad for everything you taught me and have done for me,” Morris said, his voice cracking with emotion as he looked at his dad. “Mom, I know you’re smiling down on us today. Dad, thank you for instilling in me the work ethic that was so vital to my success, but more than that you showed equal love for all your children.

“I know Sparky Anderson is with us here today,” Morris added. “He taught me so many things, especially to respect this great game. He taught me a valuable lesson by allowing me to fail and fight through adversity.”

Trammell, who played shortstop for 20 seasons — all for the Tigers — and Morris were selected together by a veterans committee, which made the day extra special for the Motor City.

“We signed together in 1976, spent 13 years together in Detroit, and now 42 years later, Cooperstown. Wow!” Morris said.

Trammell, who was born in Garden Grove, earned six All-Star Game selections, four Gold Glove Awards and three Silver Slugger Awards. His .977 fielding percentage ranks sixth among shortstops with at least 2,000 games played. During his tenure, the Tigers had one of the great double play combinations in MLB history in Trammell and second baseman Lou Whitaker, who was in the audience on a special day for the Motor City.

“For 19 years Lou Whitaker and I formed the longest running double play combination in the history of baseball,” Trammell said, recalling the two were called up to the Tigers on the same day. “Lou, it was an honor and a pleasure to have played alongside you all those years. I hope someday you’ll be up here, too.”

A first look at the Alan Trammell Hall of Fame plaque. Milo Stewart Jr. #HOFWKND pic.twitter.com/ghBfykutyp

— Baseball Hall (@baseballhall) July 29, 2018

COSTA MESA — Jack Hammett Sports Complex might get a little louder on Monday.

No, not because of fans in the bleachers, or players jawing at each other from the sideline. When the Chargers start their third practice of training camp, they’ll do so with pads on. And that, according to Casey Hayward, should produce some more noise.

“A lot of pads popping, helmets popping,” said the Chargers’ Pro Bowl cornerback. “It’s going to definitely be competitive, especially running backs and linebackers.”

Coach Anthony Lynn likes what he’s seen out of his players through the first two days of training camp, but said Sunday that he didn’t want to “jump the gun” on his early impressions. That said, it was hard for him not to be get excited.

Take, for example, Kyzir White. Drafted in the fourth round this past spring, the safety-turned-linebacker drew effusive praise from Lynn, who pointed out the defender’s speed, explosiveness and instincts. At 6-foot-2, 218 pounds, the West Virginia has potential to blossom into a powerful hitter.

“He’s a headhunter,” Lynn said. “If a guy like that looks good in shorts, I can’t wait to see him in pads.”

The Chargers’ established stars are looking forward to Monday too. Defensive end Joey Bosa, who capped his second season with his first Pro Bowl nod, called padded practices “more efficient,” allowing him to try out a wider array of pass-rushing moves.

“I feel like it’s a little dangerous out here, running full speed with nothing on,” said Bosa, voted the 37th-best player in the latest NFL Top 100. “It’s still pretty much full speed. Once you get the pads on, you can really see where you’re at with your pass-rush technique, because all the power moves come into play.”

Because he used his offseason work on his athleticism rather than on football drills, the 23-year-old has spent the first two days of camp focusing on fundamentals like staying low in his stance, or lining up correctly.

“It takes a week or so to get back in the swing of things,” Bosa said.

Running back Melvin Gordon also admitted to being a bit rusty.

“A lot of moves, I can see me doing but they feel a little forced,” he said. “I didn’t feel smooth. … Everything feels forced right now, but a couple of days, I’ll be all right.”

INJURY REPORT

A day after Austin Roberts limped off the field at Jack Hammett Sports Complex, Lynn confirmed the worst: the undrafted rookie had torn his ACL.

“We’re going to miss him,” Lynn said Sunday. “He was a young prospect that had some speed at that position, and was coming along fine.”

The son of Chargers running back coach Alfredo Roberts, the 22-year-old caught 35 passes for 500 yards and three touchdowns at UCLA. Undrafted this past spring, Roberts signed with the Chargers in late May after being invited to work out during the team’s rookie minicamp.

Roberts might have been a longshot to make the final 53-man roster, even given the Chargers’ needs at his position, but his season-ending injury robs him of a chance to become a preseason surprise.

The Chargers didn’t lose any other players to injury on the second day of training camp, but Lynn said a few dealt with dehydration.

CAMP NOTES

Lynn said rookie Dylan Cantrell, a sixth-round pick, has improved more than any other Chargers receiver this offseason. … The Chargers signed offensive guard Erick Wren, a former Oklahoma standout who made the All-Big 12 first team in 2017.

ANAHEIM — Felix Peña left the Angels in a hole that would require an entire team effort to try to escape.

They almost made it.

Peña gave up seven runs before the Angels even came to bat on Sunday afternoon. They subsequently trailed by eight before coming back to lose 8-5 to the Seattle Mariners, snapping their four-game winning streak.

“We didn’t get the win, but it’s a positive note that down a lot of runs early, we managed to make it a game still,” said Andrelton Simmons, who was robbed of a three-run homer that would have pulled the Angels within one. “We were a couple inches away from a different result.”

Six Angels relievers — including one they certainly hoped not to have to use — combined to hold the Mariners to one run over the final 8-2/3 innings, after Peña recorded just one out.

“I don’t know how the bullpen got us to the ninth, to be honest with you,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “These guys were stretched thin. They did a great job. If we had not gotten back into it, there’s no doubt we would have had to go to Plan B to save some guys.”

Plan B was catcher Francisco Arcia pitching, which would have made him the first Angels position player to pitch in 25 years.

Instead, the Angels relievers and hitters made it a game.

Down 8-0 in the fifth, the Angels got on the board on a Justin Upton two-run homer. The Angels, who have the worst average in the majors against lefties, got nothing else in six innings against lefty Marco Gonzales.

In the seventh, though, Gonzales was gone. Upton and Albert Pujols drove in runs and then Simmons was robbed by left fielder Denard Span of a three-run homer. Instead, it went for a sacrifice fly, pulling the Angels within 8-5.

The Angels, however, could not finish the job. They came up empty in the eighth against Alex Colome and the ninth against Edwin Diaz.

“Even though it’s a loss, it’s a good feeling knowing no matter what the score, we can catch up,” Simmons said.

Simmons said the mood in the dugout was still upbeat, even after Peña gave up seven runs in a nightmare first inning.

“It was night and day from what we had seen in his last start,” Scioscia said of Peña, who gave up two runs in six innings in his last outing. “Usually he’s around the zone, has good life, uses all his pitches. He never got comfortable. He missed his spots. Those guys had good looks at him, obviously.”

Peña allowed hits to the first four hitters and then a walk. After a strikeout, he issued a walk and then gave up two more hits, accounting for seven runs.

Peña, who had a 2.73 ERA in his first six big league starts, sounded undeterred after the game. He said he didn’t even review the outing on video to diagnose what went wrong.

“I felt normal, like any other day,” he said through an interpreter. “It was just one of those days that things didn’t go your way.”

The last time an Angels starter allowed seven or more runs while getting one out or fewer was Joel Piñeiro in 2011.

Peña’s poor performance left the Angels to maneuver 26 outs with a shorthanded bullpen. Of the seven relievers on the roster, two of them were most likely to be used only in an emergency.

Noé Ramírez threw 28 pitches in two innings on Saturday and Hansel Robles had pitched the previous two days. That left Jim Johnson, Cam Bedrosian, Justin Anderson, José Álvarez and Blake Parker to figure out a way to get through the rest of the afternoon.

Johnson got seven outs while allowing one run. Bedrosian got four outs, Álvarez got three and Parker got four, leaving just Anderson with eight outs to go. He got five, before the Angels were left with no choice but to use Robles.

The Angels rarely use a reliever three days in a row. The last one who did it was Keynan Middleton in April. Middleton soon thereafter wound up on the disabled list with an injury that required Tommy John surgery.

“Everyone contributed, everyone did a great job of keeping us in it,” Parker said. “I think our offense did a great job of coming back and scoring some runs. That helps you get into the game a little bit… Just fell a little bit short.”

The Dodgers are promoting pitcher Dustin May, one of the top prospects in their organization, to Double-A Tulsa.

May, 20, is 7-3 with a 3.29 earned-run average in 17 starts this season with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga. The 6-foot-6 right-hander has 94 strikeouts and only 17 walks in 98 1/3 innings this season. Baseball Prospectus ranked May 37th in its annual midseason list of MLB’s top 50 prospects.

The Dodgers drafted May in the third round of the 2016 amateur draft out of Northwest High School in Justin, Texas.

May last pitched Saturday for Rancho Cucamonga, allowing two runs in seven innings.

ATLANTA — Atlanta Braves pitcher Sean Newcomb apologized Sunday for racist, homophobic and sexist tweets he sent as a teenager, calling them “some stupid stuff.”

“I definitely regret it, for sure,” he said.

Newcomb, 25, spoke less than an hour after nearly pitching a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The tweets were sent in 2011 and 2012.

“I just wanted to apologize for any insensitive material,” Newcomb said. “It was a long time ago, six or seven years ago, saying some stupid stuff with friends.”

“I know I’ve grown a lot since then. I didn’t mean anything by it. It was just something stupid I did a long time ago and I didn’t mean anything by it, for sure,” he said.

Major League Baseball dealt with a similar situation this month involving Milwaukee Brewers reliever Josh Hader on the night he pitched in the All-Star Game.

“Such inappropriate comments have no place in our game. We are aware of this serious issue, Billy Bean will meet with Mr. Newcomb this week, and we will identify an appropriate course of diversity training for him in the Atlanta community,” MLB said in a statement.

Bean is MLB’s vice president for social responsibility and inclusion. He is a former big league outfielder and openly gay.

Hader apologized after offensive tweets sent when he was a teen came to light on July 17. The next day, MLB said the 24-year-old Hader will be required to go through sensitivity training and participate in diversity and inclusion initiatives. Hader also met with Bean.

“We are aware of the tweets that surfaced after today’s game and have spoken to Sean, who is incredibly remorseful,” the Braves said in a statement posted on Twitter. “Regardless of how long ago he posted them, he is aware of the insensitivity and is taking full responsibility.”

Statement from the Atlanta Braves regarding Sean Newcomb: pic.twitter.com/T9kP9TF5d1

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 29, 2018

“We find the tweets hurtful and incredibly disappointing and even though he was 18 or 19 years old when posted, it doesn’t make them any less tolerable. We will work together with Sean towards mending the wounds created in our community,” the team said.

Atlanta’s clubhouse had already closed to the media after he answered questions about his career-best moment, a 4-1 victory in which he came within one strike of pitching a no-hitter. Chris Taylor broke up the bid with two out single in the ninth inning.

“This is something obviously that can’t be happening,” he said. “I feel bad about it. I don’t mean to offend anybody. It was six, seven years ago. I didn’t mean anything by it and I definitely regret it, for sure.”

Newcomb said he doesn’t think the tweets will cause fallout among current teammates.

“No, I don’t think so,” he said. “I think people that know me know that’s not the kind of person I am. It’s been a long time since then and at the same time I didn’t mean anything by it.”

TV SPORTS BEST BETSOCCER, SOCCER, SOCCERJuly 31-August 4

What did sports fans do with their free TV viewing time before football (aka soccer) was finally welcomed into the Living Room Athletic Club in America? Before then, it was baseball during the long days of summer and NFL exhibitions.

Just weeks after the World Cup, a potpourri of soccer is on tap, topped by a Thursday (Fox Sports 1, 5:30 p.m.) Tournament of Nations match between the U.S. National Women’s Team and Brazil.

It’s one of the key matches before the CONCACAF Tournament which will be held in the U.S. October 4-17 and where three of the eight teams competing will earn a spot in next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup (June 7-July 7, 2019). The U.S. team is ranked No. 1 in the world.

The team is 8-1-1 in games this year, including a win against Japan and loss to Australia in this tourney. Four locals dot the U.S. roster – Alex Morgan (Diamond Bar HS), Christen Press (Chadwick HS), Amy Rodriguez (Santa Margarita HS, USC) and McCall Zerboni (San Clemente HS, UCLA).

The MLS plays its annual All-Star Game on Wednesday (ESPN, 4:30 p.m.), deviating from the usual all-MLS format this year with the best of the league playing Italian club Juventus, which is playing in the International Challenge Cup this month. Sunday (3 p.m., FS1), the LAFC plays the New York Red Bulls.

The top games in the ICC this week are Tuesday, Manchester United-Real Madrid (5 p.m., ESPN2) and Barcelona-Roma (7 p.m., ESPN); Wednesday, Arsenal-Chelsea (noon, ESPN2); and Saturday, Real Madrid-Juventus (3 p.m., ESPN2).

BEST OF THE RESTLPGA British Open, Royal Lytham & St. Annes GC, England.August 2-5, Golf Channel and NBC

A few weeks after the men’s British Open, the women take over the golf spotlight. The Golf Channel has early coverage Thursday through Sunday (3-10 a.m. first two rounds; 4-8 a.m., third and final) and NBC checks in for the key holes the last two rounds Saturday (8-11 a.m.) and Sunday (8:30-11 a.m.).

The storyline is which player from South Korea will win. Six different players from there have won on the PGA tour in 2018, and that doesn’t include three of the nation’s top players, including defending British champ In-Kyung Kim. The top-ranked American player, Lexi Thompson, withdrew from the field because of on- and off-course issues, leaving Jessica Korda, Christie Kerr and Michelle Wie the top U.S. entries. The last American winner was Mo Martin in 2014; the last UK winner was Catriona Matthew from Scotland in 2009.

There are 20 South Koreans on the early entry list, begging the question of when North Korea will pick up the game. You’d think Donald Trump would invite Kim Jung-Un to Mar-a-lago. North Korea has one golf course, the Pyongyang GC, which is open only to NK elites and tourists. That’s where Un’s dad, Jim Jong-Il, then the country’s leader, allegedly shot a 34 on the course in 1987.

How does one say mulligan in Korean?

The Basketball Tournament, BaltimoreAugust 2-3, ESPN

This is the fifth year of the TBT, an all-comers basketball tournament that has a $2 million prize for the  winning team, and its drawn enough interest with a cross-section of former pros, one-time college stars, international players and playground legends. The tourney started with 72 teams and is down to four. ESPN has the semifinals Thursday (4 and 6 p.m.) and the title game Friday (6 p.m.)

The Overseas Elite, the three-time champ, features players who have starred in foreign leagues, such as top scorer Justin Burrell (St. John’s), who plays in Japan. The Golden Eagles are a team of former Marquette University players, including Jamil Wilson, who played briefly for the Clippers this past season, and Travis Diener, who had a six-year NBA career.

Team Fredette is led by, of course, Jimmer Fredette, the former BYU shooting star and 2011 player of the year whose NBA career sputtered badly. He plays pro in China. The team is built around former BYU players. The other semifinalist will either be Eberlein Drive, which features former Cal star Jerome Randle, who has won pro titles in Australia, Lithuania and Belgium, or Team Challenge ALS, which is coached by former UCLA star and NBA player Darren Collison and features former Long Beach State star Casper Ware.

NFLThursday, August 2 – NFL Hall of Fame Game, 5 p.m., NBCSaturday, August 4 – Hall of Fame Induction, 4 p.m., ESPN

The NFL is back, concussions and anthem kneeling notwithstanding. The annual exhibition opener Thursday will be Chicago vs. Baltimore featuring starters who will make cameos, and then Saturday’s Hall of Fame Induction in Canton, Ohio. Eight players will be inducted, including linebacker Ray Lewis, wide receiver Randy Moss and mercurial Terrell Owens, who won’t attend the induction since he didn’t make the hall on the first ballot.

By JONATHAN J. COOPER and SUDHIN THANAWALA

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — The deadly Northern California wildfire that has forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes slowed down Sunday after days of explosive growth, giving officials hope even as they announced the discovery of a sixth fatality.

Meanwhile officials said a second firefighter died fighting a huge blaze to the south near Yosemite National Park. Brian Hughes, 33, was struck by a tree and killed while working as part of a crew removing brush and other fuel near the so-called Ferguson fire’s front lines, national parks officials said.

In Redding, officials stuck a hopeful tone for the first time in days.

“We’re feeling a lot more optimistic today as we’re starting to gain some ground rather than being in a defensive mode on this fire all the time,” said Bret Gouvea, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s incident commander on the blaze around Redding, a city about 230 miles (370 kilometers) north of San Francisco.

Gouvea spoke at a news conference with fire and law enforcement officials. Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko said authorities found a sixth victim of the blaze at a home that was consumed by flames, though he declined to say where. The victim’s identity was not released.

The sheriff’s department is also investigating seven missing persons reports, Bosenko said. Redding police have an additional 11 reports of missing people, though many of them may simply not have checked in with friends or family, said Redding police Sgt. Todd Cogle.

The so-called Carr Fire that affected Redding — a city of about 92,000 people — was ignited by a vehicle problem on Monday about 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of the city. On Thursday, it swept through the historic Gold Rush town of Shasta and nearby Keswick fueled by gusty winds and dry vegetation. It then jumped the Sacramento River and took out subdivisions on the western edge of Redding.

The latest tally showed at least 517 structures destroyed and another 135 damaged, with the fire having consumed 139 square miles (360 square kilometers). A count by The Associated Press found at least 300 of those structures were homes.

After days of fortifying the areas around Redding, fire crews were increasingly confident that the city would escape further damage. The fire had not grown inside the city limits since Saturday, Gouvea said.

Some of the 38,000 people forced to evacuate said they were frustrated because they didn’t know whether their homes were standing or were destroyed. Authorities had not reopened any evacuated neighborhoods where fires raged due to safety and ongoing investigations and urged people to be patient, saying they would soon let residents back.

Fed up, on Sunday morning Tim Bollman hiked 4 miles (6 kilometers) on trails up steep terrain to check on the Redding home he built for his wife and two sons 13 years ago. He found rubble.

“There’s not even anything to pick up,” he said. “It’s completely gone.”

He took hundreds of photos, recorded video and texted his wife.

“It’s the craziest frickin’ thing you have ever seen,” he said, his eyes filled with tears. But then he composed himself.

“It is what it is,” he sighed, and then hiked off.

Keswick, a mountain town of about 450 people, was reduced to an ashy moonscape of blackened trees and smoldering rubble. The San Bernardino County Fire Department was called in to tamp down smoking piles of debris that were scattered around the town amid downed electricity lines.

“What we’re seeing here is an incomplete burn situation,” Capt. Doug Miles said as his crew used picks, shovels and rakes to open up piles that just days ago were family homes. The flames laid waste to about 25 blocks, and the “mop up” work was likely to take days. He said his crew would be looking for anything salvageable, but there was little left standing.

The fatalities included two firefighters and a woman and her two great-grandchildren.

“My babies are dead,” Sherry Bledsoe said through tears after she and family members met Saturday with sheriff’s deputies.

Her two children, 5-year-old James Roberts and 4-year-old Emily Roberts, were stranded with their great-grandmother, Melody Bledsoe, 70, when flames swept through the family’s rural property Thursday on the outskirts of Redding.

The sixth victim, who was not identified, did not evacuate despite receiving an evacuation warning, Bosenko said.

It is the largest fire burning in California, threatening more than 5,000 structures. The flames were just 5 percent contained, though Gouvea said he expected that number to climb.

“We’re here till the end, and we will get to an end, and we will bring some peace to this chaos,” he said.

The firefighters killed in the blaze included Don Ray Smith, 81, of Pollock Pines, a bulldozer operator who was helping clear vegetation in the path of the wildfire. Redding Fire Inspector Jeremy Stoke was also killed, but details of his death were not released.

The fire around Redding was among 17 significant blazes in the state on Sunday that had forced roughly 50,000 people from their homes, said Lynne Tolmachoff, a Cal Fire spokeswoman.

About 12,000 firefighters were battling the fires, she said.

“We are well ahead of the fire activity we saw last year,” she said. “This is just July, so we’re not even into the worst part of fire season.”

About 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Redding, one of two blazes that started in Mendocino County forced the evacuation of Lakeport, a city of about 5,000 people, after destroying four homes. More than 4,500 buildings were under threat, officials said. The two fires had blackened 39 square miles (101 square kilometers) and were each 5 percent contained.

Authorities also issued evacuation orders in Napa County, famous for its wine, when a fire destroyed eight structures. The blaze had blackened 150 acres, but was 50 percent contained on Sunday.

Hughes, the firefighter killed near Yosemite, was originally from Hawaii. He had been with California’s Arrowhead Interagency Hotshots for four years and reached the rank of captain. Earlier this month, firefighter Braden Varney was killed when the bulldozer he was operating overturned while he was fighting the flames near the national park. At least seven other firefighters have been injured since that blaze broke out July 13.

Some evacuations were lifted but officials said Yosemite Valley, the heart of tourism in the park, will remain closed until August 3.

A big fire continued to burn in the San Jacinto Mountains east of Los Angeles near Palm Springs, but officials lifted evacuation orders for several communities after reporting significant progress by firefighters. The Yosemite and Southern California blazes had burned nearly 100 square miles (260 square kilometers).

___

Thanawala reported from San Francisco. Associated Press writers Martha Mendoza in Redding and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

After years of cooking in renowned kitchens, these five Orange County chefs — Tony Nguyen, Shachi Mehra, Ryan Garlitos, Amelia Marneau, and Ross Pangilinan — have made waves on the Southern California culinary scene. By showcasing their own versions of modern fusion food, these cooks pull inspiration from their pasts and their various ethnic backgrounds — Vietnam, India, the Philippines, Italy, and France — to produce some of the most interesting and inspiring food served today. Coast applauds them for striving to put Orange County on the culinary map. These chefs are expanding minds and spreading culture one bite at a time. They are working to inspire a generation of diners to rethink the concept of fusion food. They also showcase how our county is a melting pot in the most delicious ways possible.

TONY NGUYEN

SHACHI MEHRA 

RYAN GARLITOS

AMELIA MARNEAU 

ROSS PANGILINAN

Kaleidoscope in Mission Viejo will host its annual Kaleido Kids Carnival on Tuesday, Aug. 7. The event will include inflatables, games, a juggler, a stilt walker, face painting, a balloon artist, kiddie train, DJ and more. Admission is free, but select activities require tickets, which are $1 each, $5 for six, or $10 for 15.

Guests who bring a new toy (no guns please) or a new backpack to donate to Make-A-Wish will receive five game tickets.

The fun goes from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Kaleidoscope donates all proceeds from Carnival tickets to Make-A-Wish® Orange County and the Inland Empire, and has raised more than $50,000 for the non-profit organization over the last six years.

IF YOU GO

What: Kaleido Kids Carnival

When: 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 7

Where: Kaleidoscope, 27741 Crown Valley Parkway, Mission Viejo

Cost: Admission is free, but select activities require tickets

Information: 949-542-4407 or visit gokaleidoscope.com.

Free college education has taken its place alongside free health care for all in the list of what many believe government should provide, on both the national and California stage.

At the national level, we may have to await President Elizabeth Warren or President Bernie Sanders. But at the state level, single-party rule means the idea might be adopted sooner; so it would be wise to begin to analyze better and worse ways of implementing this proposal.

Tuition and fees presently pay $3.6 billion (a shade over 10 percent) of the budget of UC campuses, $3.1 billion (just over 50 percent) of the California State University campuses’ budgets and $432 million (5 percent) of the cost of the community college system. Funds needed to replace that tuition money in all three branches total $7 billion. The overall state budget is about $200 billion. Thus, if we restrict the proposal of free college education to public institutions, the goal is not totally implausible.  We might come up with 3.5 percent of the state budget by cutting other expenditures — though it’s more likely that advocates of the idea would push for tax increases instead.

Putting a price on a product or service helps direct how much and what kinds are provided. Once public college education becomes free, we lose that signaling function.

At UC Berkeley, business is the single most popular major.  It costs a California resident $14,000 a year to attend — before adding in books, housing and food and subtracting financial aid. Business majors also earned the most upon graduation. So, it makes sense that students would choose a major that  helps them repay their student loans. The same is true at the CSUs and community colleges: courses that lead to higher-paying careers are more in demand.

It works the same way from the university’s perspective. California’s public professional schools charge higher tuition than other graduate departments. The UCs and CSUs thus have an economic incentive to offer more professional degrees, like engineering and business degrees at CSUs and UCs, and law degrees at the UCs.

Charging tuition creates a system that involves both students and public universities in deciding what courses should be offered in what fields. What would replace that system? A likely answer is suggested by a glance at the courses offered in the relatively small Labor Center at UC Berkeley: “Labor Center workshops and leadership development schools build the capacity of unions and community organizations to address a rapidly changing and challenging political and economic environment.” Divorced from economic signals, the university would be pushed to equalize the number of classes in the business school and the labor center as a superficially appealing political expedient. Indeed, that proposal has been advanced by Sacramento legislators.

Less overtly political but equally likely to take prominence if we eliminate economic guidance is the question of which college majors are valuable to the student or to society. Some majors are less worthy of public investment than others, but it’s anathema to say so. Economics serves that role today, allocating educational resources to what helps students become employable. Without that evidence, faculty pressure will take precedence, and it would be sheer coincidence if the mix of classicists and chemists arrived at was the correct one for California.

The best model is California’s community college system. The state underwrites 95 percent of the cost, but the remaining 5 percent directs students and administrators to the kinds of courses most needed by workers retraining for a changing economy, for parents returning to the workforce and for immigrants to learn English. (Before he was Terminator, let alone governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger learned English at Santa Monica College.) Any plan for free public colleges should be reconfigured to keep at least some tuition, with student loans, to replicate what the community colleges have accomplished: matching classes to student’s career needs, not politically driven agendas.

Tom Campbell is a professor at Chapman University. He was dean of the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, and dean of the Fowler School of Law at Chapman. He has been a professor for 35 years. He was also California finance director, a state senator and a congressman.

Strolling the Santa Monica Farmers Market with chef Richard Mead, owner of Farmhouse at Roger’s Gardens, feels like walking with a rock star. For more than 20 years, Mead has trekked up to Los Angeles to shop at this sprawling outdoor market. Over the decades he befriended farmers, sometimes even cooking for them at intimate family dinners or catering their children’s weddings. Mead has developed relationships with purveyors and he continues to evolve his type of Californian cuisine. “Back in the day, there were all these French chefs. Their backgrounds, their training, were French. They wanted the same ingredients, so they bought the same things. I couldn’t afford to compete so I started talking to the farmers,” recalls Mead. “That’s when I really started to learn.”

Farmhouse at Roger’s Gardens, 2301 San Joaquin Hills Rd, Corona Del Mar,  (949) 640-1415 :: farmhouserg.com