QB Ricky Town standing tall in Pocket. Photo by Jevone Moore
Los Angeles, Ca – After a Spring ball and 9 Fall camp practices incoming four-star recruit Ricky Town has made up his mind to transfer.
Town was recruited by Marques Tuiasosopo and Clay Helton, and chose the Trojans over Alabama and few others. For the moment coach Sarkisian has verbally said he would ok the release.
Colleges will be popping up fast for this former Army All-American quarterback from St. Bonaventure High School.
Most people would say why transfer now and not finishing competing? Call this a smart business decision or even a good calculated risk. USC doesn’t start school officially till August 24th, a clean break now will allow for Town to transfer to D1 school and red shirt this year and compete in the spring at his new school. We already know Cody Kesslor the starter for this year and not being back up he would probably red shirted here at USC.
Let’s watch and see if Town’s strong arm lands in good spot.
Candace Parker battling on the drive against Elena Delle Donne. Photo by Jordon Kelly
Los Angeles, CA – The Los Angeles Sparks sent The Chicago Sky back to the Midwest on a hot wind with a loss. The Sparks pulled off a tough win over the Sky 76 to 64.
Going into this afternoon game Nneka Ogwumike is currently ranked 6th in the league for average points per game and Jantel Lavender is ranked 3rd for average rebounds per game. And today the Sky made them prove it.
There was a large crowd on hand to witness the clash of the titans at the Staple Center. The heat was on and it all wasn’t coming from the California sunshine. The Sky had something to prove seeing how the Sparks served them up losses on their last two meetings. The Sky came out with their energy turned up. All though the score was tight in the 1st quarter 19 Sparks and the Sky 20, they were all earned with sweat equity. The lead changed hands 4 times in this quarter alone, between the Sky’s ability to get those second chance points and Candice Parker ‘s 7 points. This game was an absolute nail bitter.
The 2nd quarter was all about being at the edge of your seat, with the Sky’s Elena Delle Donne blocking anything and everything going her way, and Jamierra Faulkner throwing up jump shots like confetti made the Sparks sweat a little. The Sparks Kristi Toliver rained on the Sky with her 3 point jump shots and sniper accurate passes. Candice Parker reached in her sack of tricks with her driving lay-up chasers. The crowd went wild!
The 2nd half revealed that there was no clear winner yet. Both teams really brought it. The rebounding, blocking, scrambling for the loose balls, these two teams battled it out to the end. The Sparks were finally able to get the upper hand by slowing the ball down and finding a work around for the Sky’s defense.
LA Sparks All Smiles After The Win. Photo by Jordon Kelly
The Sparks closed the game out with four players in double digits Ogwumike, Parker, Lavender, Toliver and two And-1 one opportunities to send the Chicago Sky back home with one more loss. Chicago has one more meeting with Los Angeles to avenge these losses. I can’t wait… I love a good gladiator show down.
Wide Receiver Deshawn "Shawny Black" Edmond Photo by Jevone Moore
Blackhawks Running back Kendall Gordon finding a hole. Photo by Jevone Moore
Los Angeles, Ca – The Inglewood Blackhawks (6-0) handle the business in LCFL home season opener defeating Cali Ryders 34-12. The Blackhawks came out ready to defend their undefeated record in week two of regular season. Their Head Coach Tony Reid came with a simple game plan lets run the ball and get a win.
Blackhawks offense lead by quarterback Kyle Parrish had good outing spreading the ball around with 3 touchdown pass for 7 yards, 38 yards, & 16 yards. Wide receiver D.J. Carter was the recipient of two of the touchdowns in the air of 7 & 16 yards. Slot receiver Deshawn “Shawny Black” Edmond kept the chains moving for first downs with few moves to make first tackler miss.
On the ground attack was rookie Kendall Gordon who ran hard in a new offense. Gordon scored a tough two yard touchdown run to give Blackhawks 14-0 lead with 15.4 seconds left in first quarter. They also had one big play before the half was a 26 yard pick six for touchdown by corner back Donyea Coleman at 1:51. This gave the Blackhawks 26-0 lead going into the half.
Safety Michael Gilliam on controlled blitz on the tackle. Photo by Jevone Moore
Some teams would hang their heads and stop playing hard in the second half but not this Cali Ryders team. Head Coach Don Daniels rallied his troops to keep competing and good things will happen. The first half for the Ryders had few untimely turnovers that allowed potential scoring drives to be halted. On the Ryders defense Ricky Thomas was all over the field with big hits and being the fire his team needed to keep fighting.
By the end of third quarter the Blackhawks had begun to bring in few subs in secondary to give backups some work to have them ready when called upon. The subs were able to hold the Ryders out of end zone when they made it to the Red Zone. Former player now Defensive Signal Caller Roy Otis called X for the 4th goal from 10 yard line. His boys responded with 15 yard sack by Mike Johnson and few others.
Cali Ryders QB Josh Owes standing tall in the pocket. Photo by Jevone Moore
The resilient Ryders still came back later fighting to get on the scoreboard. Quarterback Josh Owes battled back after rotating with few others at his spot to connect on 20 yard touchdown pass to Damon Ogburn with 5:54 left in 4th quarter. That score made score 34-6 in the 4th quarter. The Blackhawks had sub in dominate running QB in Edmond just to try some different things. Before the game was officially over Owes threw one more touchdown to Austin Daniels for 28 yard score with 25.6 seconds on the clock. Hopefully this momentum will do the Ryders some good to build on for their next game against So Cal Coyotes.
The Blackhawks will have a bye next week and will resume at home August 29th hosting So Cal Golden Bears.
San Diego Chargers Danny scoring a Touchdown. Photo by Jevone Moore
Captain Phillip Rivers vs Dallas. fi360 2013 Photo by Jevone Moore
San Diego, Ca – The NFL preseason is well on its way Thursday night at Qualcomm Stadium with the Chargers defeating the Dallas Cowboys 17-7. Veteran all purpose running back Danny Woodhead scored first touchdown on Chargers first series an 8 yard run through nice size hole for 7-0 lead.
The stars for both teams didn’t play a bunch in this first of four preseason games. Phillip Rivers played only first series where 2/2 for 20 yards. Then the coaching staff had time to evaluate who might be his backup Kellen Clemens or Brad Sorensen behind the center. Dallas QB Tony Romo & TE Jason Witten combo watched from the sideline the who game in baseball caps.
Witten & Romo on day off at Oxnard Camp just like tonight. Photo by Jevone Moore
The Cowboys had short train ride from the California Training Camp home in Oxnard where they have been competing hard against each other. Its always nice to get some game action and face some different competition to get the juices flowing.
The coaches took notice of backup running back Branden Oliver who had some key runs finishing with 53 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown. Free agent from St. Louis Austin Pettis looked good on field with nice routes and big catch for 9 yards. This year team has some nice depth at their skill positions on offense. On the defense side of ball rookie Denzel Perryman was a name you remembered because of his high energy and being all over the field for time his was playing with 5 tackles.
After the game they asked coach what were his thoughts about the game, “I think the stuff we need to work on is obvious,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “It’s about the ball, the ball, the ball. We didn’t take care of it there.”
Both teams will go back to there training camps and work on getting better and competing to make the 53 man roster at the end.
WR Robby Kolanz with nice over shoulder catch. Photo by Jevone Moore
Los Angeles, Ca – Full Pads always brings up the intensity, but this SC team kept level heads during today’s practice. It was a good physical practice where both offense & defense competed hard.
Wide Receiver Steven Mitchell Jr. stood out among his fellow wide outs with some great catches. I think the most impressive part was seeing his quick moves after the catch allowing for extra yards. The SC receivers coached by Tee Martin have a deep core group to push each other. Darreus Rodgers also had a few great practices, ending today’s Final Five with a winning post route for a touchdown. The offense came ready for the final Five taking it 3-1.
WR Steven Mitchell Jr. finding a window in the zone. Photo by Jevone Moore
Coach Sarkisian spoke well of Rodgers, “…shown maturity and good to see him compete, ..put extra time into football and weight room.” When folks can see your off season work it shows a player is focused and dialed in. Coach overall is looking to evaluate the whole team for first 11 practices before making any hard stances. This should be right after full scrimmage, but there will be many others scripted situations for players to compete.
On defense corner back Jalen Jones had back to back interceptions during team segment of practice to shine. Jones being a redshirt walk-on from Serra HS, you always have to work hard to get some attention and that he did. From the defense line adding pressure upfront Antwan Woods has been turning heads from his defense tackle spot. Woods has also been a mentor to fellow DT freshman Jacob Daniels showing him the ropes. Woods happy with the team defense, “Focusing on finishing, attacking and getting negative plays..” These are keys for them to work on and continue to get better.
World Premiere Black Carpet. Photo by Jevone Moore
The whole team will have the day off tomorrow, and coach says they are going to the movies to see Straight Outta Compton. Dr. Dre from the crew N.W.A. aka Andre Young in 2013, he and music mogul Jimmy Iovine donated $70 million to establish the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation.
The last question of the night to coach Sarkisian was from deep field which was his daughter, “What for Dinner?” The Trojans will be back at practice Friday morning back at Howard Jones field.
Tough Defensive by Jenna O’Hea & Crystal Langhorne. Photo by Jevone Moore
Los Angeles, CA – The Los Angeles Sparks felt the full force of the Seattle Storm tonight loosing 85-77 to the Storm.
The LA Sparks went into tonight’s game against the Seattle Storm with the final playoff spot in their hands. Although The Sparks have lost three games against the Storm, recent Sparks games have shown us that the Storm was definitely in for a tough fight.
Nneka Ogwumike driving to the paint. Photo by Jevone Moore
Nneka Ogwumike, determined to lead the Sparks in a winning direction, scored the first game basket but, the Storm’s Sue Bird had a passionate response to the Sparks efforts by putting up 6 points in the first quarter. Which was the momentum needed to start chipping away at the Sparks 11 point lead.
The second half of the game did not lack excitement. Head Coach Jenny Boucek of the Storm received a technical foul for arguing a call, and with that the Storm turned up the heat on their defense, to take the lead by 2 points with 3 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter. With 1 minute renaming the 4th, Storm lead 83-77. The Storm were handing out high five they knew this was going to be a grizzly uphill battle to pull off this win. Final score 85-77, with the Storm once again stealing the win from the Sparks and robbing Candace Parker of a triple double. This was a great game despite the loss. Ogwumike, Parker and Lavender had 50 points collectively but, it was no match for the Storms last minute aggressive defense.
Temeka Johnson looking for a lane. Photo by Jevone Moore
World Premiere Black Carpet. Photo by Jevone Moore
Dr. Dre & Nicole
Corey Hawkins (Dr. Dre)
Aldis Hodge (MC Ren)
Paul Giamatti (Jerry)
Snoop Dogg
Los Angeles, Ca – The World Premiere of Straight Outta Compton had the Black carpet rolled out for this much anticipated film telling the story of N.W.A. life. Producer F. Gary Gary had the whole crew in smiles at this black carpet at Microsoft Theater L.A. Live. They allowed fans who lined up earlier to be in bleacher stands to cheer the celebrities on as went to the carpet. The lucky fans in front who yelled the loudest got opportunities to take selfies with some of the stars.
In the mid-1980s, the streets of Compton, California, were some of the most dangerous in the country. When five young men translated their experiences growing up into brutally honest music that rebelled against abusive authority, they gave an explosive voice to a silenced generation. Following the meteoric rise and fall of N.W.A., Straight Outta Compton tells the astonishing story of how these young men revolutionized music and pop culture forever the moment they told the world the truth about life in the hood and ignited a cultural war.
Starring O’Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins and Jason Mitchell as Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Eazy-E, Straight Outta Compton is directed by F. Gary Gray (Friday, Set It Off, The Italian Job). The drama is produced by original N.W.A. members Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, who are joined by fellow producers Matt Alvarez and Tomica Woods-Wright. Will Packer serves as executive producer of the film alongside Gray.
QB Cody Kessler taking snap from center Max Tuerk. Photo by Jevone Moore
Los Angeles, Ca- Can you smell it? Yes it’s Football season the first professional game has been played in the NFL and The USC Trojans have had their second practice already on Howard Jones field. SC practice tempo looked fast upbeat with the players just in helmets for first two days. Day 3 & 4 they will introduce shoulder pads and see the intensity rise just little bit more. Then this Wednesday will be first day in full pads and players will have to take it one more level.
It’s still earlier but you can appreciate how each position coach seems to be pushing their players to compete. The defensive showed that they are ready, the last 5 plays of practice is a competition. The offensive won the first two plays and had 2-0 lead, then defense stepped up winning three in row. So when dust settled they recorded a coverage sack, stuffed the run and knocked down an out route to win day 2 battle. Its great way to end practice and give little bragging rights for the day. Head coach Steve Sarkisian was pleased with his defense comeback in final 5. Sarkisian spoke on defense, “Group is playing well as a team,…and not looking for one guy to do it.” Everyone is making plays thus far and seems that they are developing a great ‘Team Identity’
TE Caleb Wilson using his height for separation on DB Isaiah Langley during 1 on 1’s. Photo by Jevone Moore
We caught up with Defensive Line coach Chris Wilson to see how he felt guys were doing, “Love the big guys, they been giving nice effort, .. attention to detail.” It’s always tough to replace an all american, but this group applied pressure through out practice and all have a year under their belt in the system so they can just play football.
At then end of practice coach Sarkisian was asked about when the Blue Shirts would be on scholarship, “We have few this year and once all paperwork is done everyone will sign at once.” Some may not know what this blue shirt is all about, Sarkisian began looking at the concept few years ago when Tennessee coach Butch Jones used it. New Mexico State has been doing it for years to get few extra guys now verse later in their program. There is always a catch to everything and blue shirts is just pulling a scholarship from you next recruiting class for a “preferred” or “recruited” walk-on who pays their on way until receive that non bidding scholarship.
One on One’s Compete Adoree’ Jackson (2) & Isaac Whitney (15). Photo by Jevone Moore
Let’s continue to watch this team grow and gain it’s new identity…….
LA Kiss Football Donovan Morgan after Touchdown. Photo by Jevone Moore
SaberCats Defensive Back Fred Obi on Dropped Interception. Photo by Jevone Moore
Anaheim, Ca – LA Kiss (4-14) couldn’t keep pace tonight with the first place San Jose SaberCats (17-1) in a 60-38 defeat. The teams came into the game with series record of 1-1 this year, the Kiss were they only team to beat the Cats this year in an overtime game. This game meant a lot to the Cats which allowed them to tie season win record.
The Kiss showed fans one last time that they will compete and give the fans some exciting plays to cheer for. It was fan appreciation night and t-shirts, hats, and many other prizes were flying into the stands for LA Kiss Dancers. On the field Donovan Morgan added the excitement reaching end zone 4 times and a masking 145 yards receiving. Morgan now moved into 9th place all time 245 receiving touchdowns in Arena Football League History.
Kiss QB Joe Clancy about to Celebrate his Touchdown with a Spike. Photo by Jevone Moore
San Jose had a one man wrecking crew Maurice Purify who had six touchdowns in game. Purify had 3 rushing TD’s, 3 receiving TD’s on 87 yards just in right place at the right time. This MVP performance was just in time for folks to take notice in the upcoming playoffs. Fellow wide receiver D.J. Stephens made 4 big catches for 97 yards.
Kiss Coach Bob McMillen will have long offseason to review how he can get back to his winning ways. The fans will have to wait at least one more year before seeing its beloved in the playoffs. The owners ship group are still all end and were in attendance at the game sitting in front row together.
Donovan Morgan celebrates with Kiss Owners Paul Stanley & Gene Simmons after a touchdown. Photo by Jevone Moore
D. Jordan, D. Pump, & B. Griffin on the Carpet. Photo by Jevone Moore
Los Angeles, Ca – Live at Hyatt Regency Century Plaza was this year site for 15th Annual Harold & Carole Pump Foundation Gala honored Bo Jackson, Oscar Robertson and Thomas Tull with Special Guest Derek Jeter. The red carpet was full with photographers, videographers, and news cameras with bright lights to capture the pre-events. Inside the ballroom was nothing but class and great atmosphere to continue to raise funds for a great cause. The guest were also treated with the opportunity to bid at the silent auction that was filled with all type great memorabilia.
he Harold & Carole Pump Foundation (H&CPF) honors a beloved father who lost his battle with cancer in 2000 and a loving mother who passed away in 2012. Using their unique relationship-building talents and skills, Dana and David Pump, have raised more than $7 million for the Carole Pump Women’s Center, Harold and Carole Pump Department of Radiation Oncology, and the Leavey Cancer Center at Northridge Hospital Medical Center and other non-profit community charities.
Dr. Julius Erving & Wife all Dressed up. Photo by Jevone Moore
The mission of the Harold & Carole Pump Foundation is to raise funds and create awareness for the treatment and cure of cancer. By engaging the community, sports leaders, and those touched by this disease, financial support is given to the development of cancer treatments, programs and services as well as the procurement of advanced medical technology.
