California Dolphin

Just two weeks ago, Banning High’s weight room was its training ground. Banning bulked up and lifted together, side by side throughout the preseason with its field still unfinished for practices and Friday night lights as they awaited new turf. Salvador Zamora, a 6-foot-4, 280-pound left tackle, “became an animal” as he worked out alongside teammates, coach Raymond Grajeda said. “Coach makes it mandatory for us,” Zamora said. “I don’t think we’ll be as good as without the weight room.” Grajeda said it’s where Zamora and 16-year-old senior Steven Perez — Banning’s Swiss army knife — continued to blossom into leaders, channeling their “heart and pride” and preaching accountability. The Pilots itched for the go-ahead — the moment to run out onto the field as a team. An itch that was evident in their performance Friday night. With Banning returned to its home turf for its season opener, Zamora and the Pilots’ offensive line paved the way for Perez to burst by Dorsey and never look back. Perez — who started at quarterback and safety — surged for 32-yard and 60-yard touchdown runs in the

Back in sprint training, during Shohei Ohtani’s early days with his new club, people around Dodgers camp couldn’t help but dream of what the two-way star’s debut season with the team could look like. Coming off his second most valuable player award and a record $700-million contract with the Dodgers in the offseason, Ohtani already was viewed as the best player in baseball. And after undergoing Tommy John surgery at the end of last year, he entered this season focused solely on being a designated hitter. The hope at the time was that Ohtani’s offense wouldn’t be burdened by his elbow surgery and rehab. That his production could be enhanced by a season of only hitting. That he somehow could elevate his game further and pursue a new set of historic targets that previously had been beyond his reach. Six months later, Ohtani surpassed even the loftiest of those expectations, becoming just the sixth player in history to produce a 40-home run, 40-stolen base season, and the first to eclipse both thresholds before the start of September. Ohtani completed the first 40-40 season in franchise

A Southern California bakery owner is warning other business owners after she was targeted in an elaborate counterfeit check scam. Loria Stern, the owner of Eat Your Flowers bakery in Highland Park, has been running her business for 12 years. Throughout that time, Stern said she’s seen her fair share of scams, but this latest scheme truly surprised her. It began in early August when she was contacted by email asking for an order of 1,000 cupcakes. The scammer, someone named “Zoe Madison,” said she didn’t want to pay with a credit card or through mobile payment apps, so she sent a check for $7,560 instead. When Sterns cashed the check at the bank, it initially cleared so she began working on the large cupcake order. “There were a lot of specific details in the emails going back and forth with her that really made me believe that this order was happening,” Stern said. The email sent by a scammer named “Zoe Madison” from the email handle “ZoeMadison98@gmail.com,” asking for an order of 1,000 cupcakes from Eat Your Flowers bakery in Highland Park. (Loria Stern)

TJ Lateef, Orange Lutheran’s talented senior quarterback who was slowed last season by a shoulder injury, apparently thought he was Superman on Friday night as he went airborne trying to hurdle Wesley Ace Jr. of Gardena Serra in the first half. Lateef made it but officials gave him a 15-yard penalty (you can’t try to hurdle defenders in high school football). Lateef, a Nebraska commit, was making a point that he wasn’t going to let anyone stand in his way. He later scored a touchdown on a two-yard run and picked up a key first down on a fourth-down run to help the Lancers to a 21-13 victory. “I was trying something new,” Lateef said. “I didn’t know it wasn’t allowed. I got to put that away.” Lateef completed 18 of 25 passes for 185 yards with one interception and had an 11-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Hennessy. The Lancers received big help off the bench after starting running back Steve Chavez was injured on his first carry of the game. Sophomore Jae Nembard, who played in the junior varsity game Thursday, rushed for 93

Rams starting left tackle Alaric Jackson was suspended without pay for the first two games of the NFL regular season for violating its personal conduct policy, the league announced Friday. It was not announced what prompted the suspension. As is team policy for a day before a game, coach Sean McVay was not made available to reporters Friday. McVay is expected to discuss Jackson’s suspension following Saturday’s preseason game in Houston. Jackson started 15 of last season’s 17 regular-season games and the Rams’ wild-card round loss to the Detroit Lions. Among tackles who played more than 500 regular-season snaps in 2023, he tied for first in fewest sacks allowed. Jackson signed with the Rams as an undrafted free agent in 2021 following a college career at Iowa. Jackson will be eligible for reinstatement on Sept. 16 following the Rams’ Week 2 game against the Arizona Cardinals.

An 80-year-old man was seriously injured in a fire at a one-story duplex in South Los Angeles Friday evening. Firefighters responded to the 9000 block of South Orchard Avenue, near Hoover and 90th streets, around 7:40 p.m. Friday to a report of a residential fire, according to Margaret Stewart of the Los Angeles Fire Department. The man was immediately located inside the building and taken to a hospital, Stewart said. The cause of the fire was unclear and under investigation.

Back in sprint training, during Shohei Ohtani’s early days with his new club, people around Dodgers camp couldn’t help but dream of what the two-way star’s debut season with the team could look like. Coming off his second most valuable player award and a record $700-million signing with the Dodgers in the offseason, Ohtani was already viewed as the best player in baseball. And after undergoing Tommy John surgery at the end of last year, he entered 2024 solely focused on being a designated hitter. At the time, the hope was that Ohtani’s offense would be unburdened by his elbow surgery and rehab as a pitcher. That his production could be enhanced by a season of only hitting. That he could somehow elevate his game further, and pursue a whole new set of historic targets that before had been beyond his reach. “I’m sure he’s going to miss not being able to go out there every fifth or sixth day to pitch,” manager Dave Roberts said in February. “But I just really feel good about the way he is right now, and how he looks.”

August 24, 2024 / 12:02 AM EDT / CBS News 8/23: CBS Morning News 8/23: CBS Morning News 20:50 Pop star Justin Bieber and his wife Hailey Bieber announced the birth of their first child Friday. In an Instagram post, Justin wrote “welcome home Jack Blues Bieber,” along with a photo of Hailey holding her baby’s foot. The 30-year-old Justin and the 27-year-old Hailey first confirmed the pregnancy back in May, with a representative of Hailey telling “Entertainment Tonight” that she was about six months pregnant. Hailey told GQ in an interview last year that motherhood “is something that I look forward to. It’s also such a private, intimate thing. It’s something that’s going to come when it comes.” And she explained to W magazine in July that she waited to reveal the news in an effort to maintain her privacy. “I was honestly able to keep it quiet because I stayed small for a long time,” Hailey said. “I didn’t have a belly, really, until I was six months pregnant, which was when I announced it. I was able to wear big jackets and