Jeremy T. Ringfield's Blog, page 145
April 29, 2025
PCAL golf championship results
Pacific Coast Athletic League golf championships
At Laguna Seca (par 71)
Gabilan Division
Team scores
1. Stevenson 358; 2. Carmel 384; 3. Palma 404; 4. Salinas 408; 5. Hollister 453; 6. York 481
Individual results
1. Luke Brandler (Stevenson) 65; 2. Johshveer Chadha (Stevenson), 70; 3. Steven Lai (Stevenson) 72; 4. Jonathan Chen (Carmel); 73; 5. Julien Cho (Carmel) 73; 6. Zachary Hawkins (Stevenson) 74; 7. John Georgariou (Salinas) 74; 8. Alex Jarvis (Salinas) 75; 9. Carson Varney (Carmel) 76; 10. Marc Gabriel Sasetia (Stevenson) 77.
Mission Division
Team scores
1. Monte Vista 442; 2. Pacific Grove 477; 3. Monterey 500; 4. Alisal 507; 5. Alvarez 585; 6. North County 593
Individual results
1. Nicholas Cardinalli (Monterey) 72; 2. Thomas Daniels (Monte Vista) 76; 3. Johnny Finney (Monte Vista) 80; 4. James Lowen (Pacific Grove) 81; 4. Jeremiah Baloca (Alisal) 82; 6. Jonathan Lizaola (Alvarez) 88; 7. Jack Friesell (Monte Vista) 89; 8. Will Madsen (Monte Vista) 91; 8. Oscar Calderon (Alisal) 91; 10. Victor Chavez (Pacific Grove) 93.
PCAL golf all-league teams
Pacific Coast Athletic League all-league golf team
First team
Luke Brandler, Stevenson
Jonathan Chen, Carmel
Steven Lai, Stevenson
Julien Cho, Carmel
Marc Sasetia, Stevenson
Johsh Chadha, Stevenson
Second team
Zachary Hawkins, Stevenson
Calvin Etcheverry, Stevenson
John Georgariou, Salinas
Alex Jarvis, Salinas
Cullen Pritchard, Carmel
Carson Varney, Carmel
The US government has a new policy for terminating international students’ legal status
By MORIAH BALINGIT, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government has begun shedding new light on a crackdown on international students, spelling out how it targeted thousands of people and laying out the grounds for terminating their legal status.
The new details emerged in lawsuits filed by some of the students who suddenly had their status canceled in recent weeks with little explanation.
In the past month, foreign students around the U.S. have been rattled to learn their records had been removed from a student database maintained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Some went into hiding for fear of being picked up by immigration authorities or abandoned their studies to return home.
On Friday, after mounting court challenges, federal officials said the government was restoring international students’ legal status while it developed a framework to guide future terminations. In a court filing Monday, it shared the new policy: a document issued over the weekend with guidance on a range of reasons students’ status can be canceled, including the revocation of the visas they used to enter the U.S.
Brad Banias, an immigration attorney representing a student whose status was terminated, said the new guidelines vastly expand ICE’s authority beyond previous policy, which did not count visa revocation as grounds for losing legal status.
“This just gave them carte blanche to have the State Department revoke a visa and then deport those students even if they’ve done nothing wrong,” Banias said.
Many of the students who had visas revoked or lost their legal status said they had only minor infractions on their record, including driving infractions. Some did not know why they were targeted at all.
Lawyers for the government provided some explanation at a hearing Tuesday in the case of Banias’ client Akshar Patel, an international student studying information systems in Texas. Patel’s status was terminated — and then reinstated — this month, and he is seeking a preliminary court ruling to keep him from being deported.
In court filings and in the hearing, Department of Homeland Security officials said they ran the names of student visa holders through the National Crime Information Center, an FBI-run database that contains reams of information related to crimes. It includes the names of suspects, missing persons and people who have been arrested, even if they have never been charged with a crime or had charges dropped.
In total, about 6,400 students were identified in the database search, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes said in the hearing Tuesday. One of the students was Patel, who had been pulled over and charged with reckless driving in 2018. The charge was ultimately dropped — information that is also in NCIC.
Patel appears in a spreadsheet with 734 students whose names had come up in NCIC. That spreadsheet was forwarded to a Homeland Security official, who, within 24 hours of receiving it, replied: “Please terminate all in SEVIS.” That’s a different database listing foreigners who have legal status as students in the U.S.
Related Articles Voters resoundingly backed paid sick leave. Now lawmakers in 3 states want to roll back the benefits FACT FOCUS: Trump touts his accomplishments at 100 days but at times falls short on the facts Judge skeptical of Trump administration argument that federal courts can’t review border declaration Wisconsin high court suspends Milwaukee judge accused of helping man evade immigration authorities Trump administration tells Congress it plans to label Haitian gangs as foreign terror organizationsReyes said the short time frame suggested that no one had reviewed the records individually to find out why the students’ names came up in NCIC.
“All of this could have been avoided if someone had taken a beat,” said Reyes, who was appointed by President Joe Biden. She said the government had demonstrated “an utter lack of concern for individuals who have come into this country.”
When colleges discovered the students no longer had legal status, it prompted chaos and confusion. In the past, college officials say, legal statuses typically were updated after colleges told the government the students were no longer studying at the school. In some cases, colleges told students to stop working or taking classes and warned them they could be deported.
Still, government attorneys said the change in the database did not mean the students actually lost legal status, even though some of the students were labeled “failure to maintain status.” Instead, lawyers said, it was intended to be an “investigative red flag.”
“Mr. Patel is lawfully present in the U.S.,” Andre Watson of the Department of Homeland Security said. “He is not subject to immediate detention or removal.”
Reyes declined to issue a preliminary injunction and urged lawyers from both sides to come to a settlement to ensure Patel could stay in the U.S.
The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
FACT FOCUS: Trump touts his accomplishments at 100 days but at times falls short on the facts
BY MELISSA GOLDIN, Associated Press
In a visit Tuesday to Warren, Michigan, President Donald Trump celebrated his first 100 days back in office by touting his accomplishments, while embellishing some and misrepresenting others.
The speech of about 90 minutes was reminiscent of a campaign rally and covered much of the same ground as he lobbed insults at the previous administration and detractors.
In highlighting his accomplishments, he made a number of false and misleading statements on topics such as the state of the economy and the price of eggs.
Here’s a look at the facts.
Trump exaggerates drop in gas pricesTRUMP: “Gasoline was almost $4 not so long ago. And now, Mike, we just hit $1.98 in a lot of states. Think of it.”
THE FACTS: As of Tuesday, no state had an average gas price of $1.98. Mississippi had the lowest price, at $2.67 per gallon of regular gas. Trump previously made this claim about the level of gas prices on April 16, but they had not fallen as low as $1.98 that day either — or any day in the last two weeks. Mississippi and Tennessee were tied for the lowest average price on April 16, at $2.707 per gallon of regular gas.
National average prices rose under former President Joe Biden to a high of $5.01 in June 2022 before falling to $3.09 in December of that year. Prices rose again to a high of $3.88 in September 2023, but were down to $3.139 in December 2024. They were at $3.13 nationally as of Tuesday. The last time prices surpassed $4 was in August 2022.
Related Articles Voters resoundingly backed paid sick leave. Now lawmakers in 3 states want to roll back the benefits The US government has a new policy for terminating international students’ legal status Judge skeptical of Trump administration argument that federal courts can’t review border declaration Wisconsin high court suspends Milwaukee judge accused of helping man evade immigration authorities Trump administration tells Congress it plans to label Haitian gangs as foreign terror organizations Cost of eggs not as low as Trump saysTRUMP: “Since I took office, the cost of eggs is down 87% now.”
THE FACTS: The retail price of a dozen large eggs decreased in price to $2.07 in September 2023, but has been on the rise since October 2024. As of March, they were up to $6.23.
Wholesale egg prices, on the other hand, fell significantly in March, but not by 87%. They were at a high of $8.17 for a dozen large eggs on March 3 and had dropped to $2.92 by March 26 — a decrease of approximately 64%.
University of Arkansas agricultural economist Jada Thompson told the AP earlier this month that because the wholesale prices did not start dropping until mid-March, there may not have been enough time for the average price for the month to decline. And grocery stores may not have immediately passed on the lower prices.
Inflation was already falling under BidenTRUMP: “We’re ending the inflation nightmare. The worst that we’ve had, probably in the history of our country.”
THE FACTS: Inflation started falling long before Trump started his second term. Inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022 after rising steadily in the first 17 months of Biden’s presidency from a low of 0.1% in May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. As of December, it had fallen to 2.9%. The most recent data shows that, as of March, it had fallen to 2.4%. Other historical periods have seen higher inflation, such as a more than 14% rate in 1980, according to the Federal Reserve.
Coal production is cleaner, but it still creates emissionsTRUMP: “We stopped their crusade on coal. Did you see what I did the other day? Clean, beautiful coal.”
THE FACTS: The production of coal is cleaner now than it has been historically, but that doesn’t mean it’s clean.
Planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions from the coal industry have decreased over the past 30 years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Energy lobbyist Scott Segal told the AP earlier this month that “the relative statement that coal-fired electricity is cleaner than ever before is true, particularly when emissions are measured per unit of electricity produced.”
And yet, coal production worldwide still needs to be reduced sharply to address climate change, according to United Nations-backed research.
Along with carbon dioxide, burning coal emits sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides that contribute to acid rain, smog and respiratory illnesses, according to the EIA.
Trump misleads on Biden-era ‘electric vehicle mandate’TRUMP: “I terminated Joe Biden’s insane electric vehicle mandate where you were mandated to buy an electric vehicle. You were mandated within just a few years to buy an electric vehicle.”
THE FACTS: It’s misleading to claim that the Biden administration implemented such a mandate. In April 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency announced strict limits on greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles. The agency said these limits could be met if 67% of new-vehicle sales are electric by 2032.
And yet, the new rule did not include a requirement for automakers to boost electric vehicle sales directly. It set emissions limits and allowed automakers to choose how to meet them.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced on March 12 that the agency would reconsider the rule, but it has not yet been terminated.
In 2019, Kamala Harris co-sponsored a bill as a U.S. senator called the Zero-Emission Vehicles Act that would have required 100% of new passenger vehicles sold to be zero-emission by 2040. The bill, which stalled in committee, did not ban ownership of vehicles that produce emissions.
Trump marks his first 100 days in office with a rally in Michigan, a state rocked by his tariffs
By WILL WEISSERT and JOEY CAPPELLETTI, Associated Press
WARREN, Mich. (AP) — President Donald Trump is holding a rally in Michigan on Tuesday to mark the first 100 days of his second term, staging his largest public event since returning to the White House in a state that has been especially rocked by his steep trade tariffs and combative attitude toward Canada.
Trump is making an afternoon visit to Selfridge Air National Guard Base for an announcement alongside Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. He’s expected to speak at a rally at Macomb Community College, north of Detroit, allowing him to revel in leading a sprint to upend government and social, political and foreign policy norms.
FILE – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer gives a policy speech at an event, April 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)His Republican administration’s strict immigration polices have sent arrests for illegal crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border plummeting, and government-slashing efforts led by billionaire adviser Elon Musk have shaken Washington to its core. Its protectionist import taxes imposed on America’s trade partners have also sought to reorder a global economy that the U.S. had painstakingly built and nurtured in the decades after World War II.
Trump has also championed sweeping U.S. expansionism, refusing to rule out military intervention in Greenland and Panama, suggesting that American developers could help convert the war-torn Gaza Strip into a Riviera-like resort and even suggesting annexation of Canada.
“I run the country and the world,” Trump told The Atlantic magazine in an interview. He told Time of his first 100 days, “I think that what I’m doing is exactly what I’ve campaigned on.”
That doesn’t mean it’s popular.
Only about 4 in 10 Americans approve of how Trump is handling the presidency, and his ratings on the economy and trade are lower than that. Additionally, 46% of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s immigration policies, with about half of Americans saying he has “gone too far” when it comes to deporting immigrants living in the country illegally.
Just 33% of Americans, meanwhile, have a favorable view of Musk, the Tesla CEO and world’s richest person, and about half believe the administration has gone too far in working to pare back the government workforce.
“The bottom line for the first hundred days is, lots of damage being done to the fundamentals of our government,” said Max Stier, founding president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit dedicated to better government.
Stier noted that there’d been “a lot of interest in this idea of trying to make our government more efficient, and what we’ve seen instead is the most substantial destruction of our core governmental capabilities in history.”
Michigan was one of the battleground states Trump flipped from the Democratic column. But it’s also been deeply affected by his tariffs, including on new imported cars and auto parts.
President Donald Trump arrives to welcome the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles NFL football team to the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, April 28, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)Michigan’s unemployment rate has risen for three straight months, including jumping 1.3% from March to reach 5.5%, according to state data. That’s among the highest in the nation, far exceeding the national average of 4.2%.
Automaker Stellantis halted production at plants in Canada and Mexico after Trump announced a 25% tariff on imported vehicles, temporarily laying off 900 U.S. employees. Industry groups have separately urged the White House to scrap plans for tariffs on imported auto parts, warning that doing so would raise prices on cars and could trigger “layoffs and bankruptcy.”
That seemingly would make the state an odd choice for Trump to hail his own accomplishments.
“I’m not sure that he is at all interested in doing the smart thing,” said Bernie Porn, a longtime Michigan pollster. “He is what I would call an in-your-face president. ‘This is what I’m going to do.’”
Trump is also visiting Selfridge, which was established after the U.S. entered World War I in 1917, and the community college campus in Warren. Both are near the Canadian border and home to many people with deep business and personal ties to that country.
“Michigan always feels very, very positively toward Canada,” said the pollster, who noted that its voters “can’t be reacting well to the kinds of things he’s done.”
Typically, presidents use the 100-day mark to launch multiple rallies. But Trump is doing only the Michigan stop before giving the commencement address at the University of Alabama on Thursday.
Administration officials say the Republican president is at his most effective staying at the White House, having meetings and speaking to reporters nearly every day. Indeed, Trump’s Macomb Community College speech will be one of the few large in-person crowds he’s addressed since Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.
Except for a trip to tour hurricane damage in North Carolina and wildfire devastation in Southern California and a Las Vegas speech that included briefly chatting with gamblers on a casino floor, Trump’s early months have been characterized by little domestic travel.
The exceptions have been flying most weekends to golf in Florida or attend sporting events, including the Super Bowl and the Daytona 500, where Trump relished the crowds but didn’t speak to them. The limited travel to see supporters is a major departure from his first term, when Trump held major rallies in Florida, Tennessee and Kentucky before celebrating 100 days in office with a Pennsylvania speech in 2017.
Also in the spotlight will be Whitmer, who is frequently mentioned as a future presidential candidate. Long a Trump critic, Whitmer has sought to find common ground with the president lately, visiting him at the White House and discussing the future of Selfridge specifically.
Whitmer is concerned about the A-10 aircraft stationed at the base being phased out, though Trump recently said he hoped to keep Selfridge “open, strong, thriving.”
The Michigan pollster noted that Whitmer has continued to criticize Trump on key issues like the environment. But, he added, “She does, I think, more so than a lot of other Democrats, realize that the guy’s in office, and it probably makes sense to try and — to the extent possible on those things where they agree — work together with him.”
49ers sign George Kittle to four-year extension, extending his team legacy
SANTA CLARA – George Kittle’s days as the most prolific tight end in 49ers history are now numbered … through at least 2029.
Kittle, a league source confirmed, has agreed to a four-year extension on his contract, which was set to expire after the 2025 season.
The $76.4 million deal averages $19.1 million per year and makes Kittle the NFL’s highest-paid tight end, as first reported by Bussin’ With The Boys, a show featuring former NFL players Will Compton and Taylor Lewan. Kittle gets $40 million guaranteed, including $35 million at signing and $5 million in 2027.
Kittle was slated to make a $14.4 million base salary this season and count $22 million against the salary cap, the latter of which ranks highest among NFL tight ends. However, the Arizona Cardinals’ Trey McBride reset their market April 3 when he agreed to a four-year contract worth $19 million per season, vaulting him ahead of Kittle, Kansas City’s Travis Kelce ($17 million per year) and Minnesota’s T.J. Hockenson ($16.5 million).
Make no mistake, this franchise feeds off his leadership, positive spirit and on-field production, perhaps more than ever amid this offseason’s rebound from a roster overhaul.
Whether or not Kittle plays his entire career with the 49ers — a goal both he and the 49ers’ brass have declared — remains to be determined. That has happened with only six of their 28 players enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Jimmy Johnson, Leo Nomellini, Bob St. Clair, Dave Wilcox, Bryant Young and Patrick Willis.
“We want George to retire a Niner. He’s a Niner through and through. We want that to become a reality,” general manager John Lynch said at February’s NFL scouting combine. “…. That’s something we all want to see become a reality, including George.”
Kittle, the seven-time captain, six-time Pro Bowler and five-time AP All-Pro, showed up Friday to work out as the 49ers concluded the first week of their voluntary offseason program.
Kittle’s deal comes as the 49ers are negotiating an extension with Brock Purdy before he enters the fourth and final year of his rookie contract, not to mention the potential revision of linebacker Fred Warner’s contract that expires in two years.
Wide receiver Jauan Jennings and right tackle Colton McKivitz are the only other sure-fire starters entering the final year of their respective contracts.
Kittle trails Terrell Owens by 54 catches and 1,192 yards for the No. 2 spots in 49ers receiving lore behind Jerry Rice (1,281 catches, 19,247 yards).
“Hopefully I can eventually catch T.O.,” Kittle said before last season’s home finale against the Detroit Lions. “I don’t think I’ll ever catch Jerry Rice on anything but that’s totally fine, I’m OK with that. I don’t think I want to play that long.”
Kittle turns 32 on Oct. 9, about three weeks before the NFL’s so-called National Tight Ends Day celebration (the fourth Sunday of October) that was sparked by Kittle and then-teammates tight end Garrett Celek and Jimmy Garoppolo in 2018.
Kittle led all 49ers receivers last season with 78 catches, 1,106 yards and eight touchdowns. He is the only tight end in 49ers history to reach the 1,000-yard mark, doing so in 2018, ’19, ’23, and ’24. That matches Tony Gonzalez, Rob Gronkowski and, Jason Witten as the only NFL tight ends to do so four times, behind Kelce’s seven straight seasons (2016-22).
“I’m just very excited I got to spend eight years with the San Francisco 49ers, hopefully will continue to play here, because it’s a storied franchise,” Kittle said Friday when asked about his place among NFL all-time time ends.
Related Articles 49ers depth chart: New-look defense dotted with top draft picks 49ers depth chart: Is offense too familiar around Purdy, McCaffrey? Former 49er Dre Greenlaw is hurt again, although severity is in dispute 49ers add six undrafted free agents, still no offensive tackles Son of former 49ers LB Ulbrich admits to prank call to Shedeur SandersKittle is entering his ninth season and technically has bragging rights as the longest-tenured player on the 49ers’ roster. His close friend, fullback Kyle Juszczyk, was released March 11 and spent a week investigating free agency before re-signing to a two-year deal.
Kittle said four months ago he planned to play “until the wheels fall off or until my wife tells me to stop playing.”
Since then, Kittle has enhanced his global presence as a superstar, between accepting the Salute to Service Award at NFL Honors on Feb. 6 before the Super Bowl in New Orleans, and more recently enjoying ring-side life at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas. He has taken side trips to Manhattan and Montana, and gone international from Mexico to Canada to France. He has also hosted teammates at his offseason home and practice field in a Nashville suburb.
Come this season, he could be sent on more receiving routes with fewer pass-blocking duties, courtesy of the 49ers’ other big financial move thus far this offseason, the signing of free agent Luke Farrell (three years, $16 million).
“Kittle is really good in pass protection but you don’t always want to use a guy in pass protection when he’s really good in routes and everything,” coach Kyle Shanahan said at last month’s NFL owners’ meeting. “So having another tight end with the length to block defensive ends is important. You can double-team inside guys with him and get somebody like Kittle out in routes.”
His out route from the 49ers? Contractually, it won’t come until after 2029.
Horoscope April 29, 2025: Uma Thurman, romance and self-improvement are yours
CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Andre Agassi, 55; Uma Thurman, 55; Michelle Pfeiffer, 67; Jerry Seinfeld, 71.
Happy Birthday: Put your energy to work for you this year. Refuse to let anger and frustration steal your thunder when focusing on progress and taking care of business are the better alternatives. Welcome positive change and be open to sound suggestions. Show passion, discipline and commitment; the results will be rewarding. Preparation, reliability and modesty will carry you to your destination of choice. Romance and self-improvement are yours to behold. Your numbers are 2, 13, 21, 29, 33, 41, 45.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Look for the best deal, prepare to barter and make your money stretch. The joy of less debt will be worthwhile. Tidy up your life and your look with the intent of reaching goals and putting your energy toward something that makes you happy. Personal gain is within reach. 4 stars
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Take the initiative and finish what you start. Clearing a path to freedom will offer satisfaction and insight into how to turn your dreams into a reality. Trust and believe in yourself; you’ll gain respect and the support necessary to reach your objective. Prepare to commit. 3 stars
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Distance yourself from those who make you doubt your inner voice. Base the changes you make on what feels right. Put your energy into research, learning and going directly to the source, and you will gain peace of mind. Communication and travel are favored. Change your surroundings, and you’ll gain perspective. 3 stars
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Take a step forward and back your words and promises with action. Your objective is to have an impact on and to influence those who are sitting on the fence. Putting your reputation and expertise to the test will prove gratifying and encourage you to do more to honor your promises and beliefs. 3 stars
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You will attract attention if you are vocal, participate and do your part to spread the word. Now is not the time to sit on the sidelines and act on behalf of those who cannot; speak up, and it will encourage others to do the same. Be a driving force, and your popularity will grow. 4 stars
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Get your facts straight before you share information. Over- or understating the magnitude of any situation you face will cause doubt and a reluctance for others to join forces with you. Take the high road, tout the truth and make the changes necessary to reach your goal. Partnerships require openness and honesty. 2 stars
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Broaden your knowledge, and you’ll gain perspective regarding something you want to pursue. Planning a trip, signing up for a course or engaging in a rally that offers insight into how you can contribute will give you a sense of belonging and purpose. Someone you meet will raise your awareness and enthusiasm. 5 stars
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Use your energy wisely. Exercise, competitive sports, physical challenges and participating in something that motivates you will positively impact your life. An investment looks promising. Research, use intelligence and discipline, and position yourself for victory. A financial gain and lifestyle change are apparent if you are true to yourself and trust your instincts. 3 stars
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Domestic issues will surface if you are reluctant to handle matters upfront. Hesitation will lead to accumulated mistrust with someone you need to get along with. Take an innovative approach, choose your words wisely and make a reasonable suggestion or offer, and you will gain respect and avoid mind games. 3 stars
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Listen, observe and protect your achievements and possessions. Tone down the rhetoric and refrain from bragging about what or how much you’ve got. A change of attitude regarding who you allow in your inner circle will help you maintain your status quo and keep outsiders from guessing your next move. 5 stars
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Stay calm, pace yourself and make only necessary changes. Focus on broadening your outlook, skills and pursuits and pouring your energy into actions rather than discord. A talent, skill or idea will carry you in a direction that offers more significant income, a higher position or self-improvement. Explore the possibilities. 2 stars
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Settle in and look at the big picture. Before making a move or altering how you feel and do things, be sure to study the consequences and who stands to win or lose. Worthwhile change begins with a positive attitude and the intent to choose what works for the majority. Embrace unity, not division. 2 stars
Birthday Baby: You are unyielding, emotional and articulate. You are outgoing and intense.
1 star: Avoid conflicts; work behind the scenes.
2 stars: You can accomplish, but don’t rely on others.
3 stars: Focus and you’ll reach your goals.
4 stars: Aim high; start new projects.
5 stars: Nothing can stop you; go for gold.
Visit Eugenialast.com, or join Eugenia on Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn.
Want a link to your daily horoscope delivered directly to your inbox each weekday morning? Sign up for our free Coffee Break newsletter at mercurynews.com/newsletters or eastbaytimes.com/newsletters.
April 28, 2025
Kurtenbach: Live by Draymond, die by Draymond — the Warriors take Game 4 on Green’s series-turning stop
SAN FRANCISCO — Draymond Green went directly to the camera and put his face mere inches from the lens. He wanted to tell the world that he was still its best defender.
As if there was any question of that after he played picture-perfect defense on Houston center Alperen Şengün’s last-second isolation shot to seal a Warriors win and a 3-1 first-round series lead.
Green might not be the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year (he won something called the Hustle Player of the Year instead), but he’s still the finest defender of this generation. There are four rings on his fingers to prove it.
And after Monday’s win, it’s not nearly as far-fetched as it once was to think he could add one for the thumb this June.
Yet there were the Rockets, trying him in the biggest moment of this slugfest of a playoff series.
Down one with 13.1 seconds to play, they had the time to draw up any play in the book.
Instead, they decided to go directly at Green.
[image error]
“Why him?” Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski said after the game.
Because they wanted to lose, I suppose.
It worked out as you’d imagine; as it has for countless teams before these Rockets.
“He’s the best defender I’ve ever seen in my life. He rises to the occasion,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “On top of being a great defender, he’s an incredible competitor. We’ve seen it. I’ve seen it for 11 years. Game on the line, Draymond making a stop. It’s like having Steph Curry take the shot.”
At 35 years old, this wasn’t a banner season for Green. His offense sputtered, and his DPOY candidacy was just a late push after the Jimmy Butler trade and a hope that his reputation and underfilled cabinet of personal accolades would allow him to win an award with no clear front-runner. He ultimately finished third in award voting.
Everyone knows there will be a day when Green does not have it anymore; a day when he’s a step too slow and his super genius basketball brain can’t make up for it.
And you can almost forgive the Rockets for thinking Monday was that day, given Green’s woeful first 25 minutes of play on Monday.
But the final five minutes told a different story.
That was winning time. And if Green is anything, he’s a winner.
(Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)Related Articles Draymond Green's duality on display in Warriors' Game 4 win over Rockets Warriors in awe as ‘Playoff Jimmy’ makes Game 4’s biggest play vs. Rockets Warriors win Game 4 over Rockets as Butler comes up big late in return Warriors-Rockets scuffle: Draymond, Brooks, Curry T’d up during Game 4 Jimmy Butler injury update: Warriors star to play in Game 4 vs. Rockets It was beyond brash that the Rockets attacked him, of all people, on that final play. Even as the set developed, you could sense in the arena that Houston knew it had made a mistake. This was not Trayce Jackson-Davis or Gary Payton II, whom Şengün had been cooking while Green sat on the bench with foul trouble.
No, it was the man who is still undefeated in battles of brashness.
And because Green won again, the Warriors are one win away — with three games to get it — from eliminating the Rockets for a fifth time in five tries since 2015.
Monday’s game was the duality of Green in a nutshell. Had the Dubs lost Game 4, he would have been the reason, and not just because of a different outcome on the final play.
But he’s also the reason the Dubs’ won.
You have to take the bad with the good with Green. Somehow, the good almost always comes out on top.
Amazingly, that was the case on Monday. Green is the Warriors’ tone-setter, but he was downright unraveling in Game 4. Rockets pest Dillion Brooks had the Dubs enforcer where he wanted him emotionally — fighting proxy battles and failing to lock in on the court. The Warriors didn’t have much focus as a team because Green’s was all over the place.
And if Monday’s game was just a regular-season matchup, Green would have already taken a shower and drank a glass of wine by the start of the second half. He picked up a deserved technical foul in a skirmish with Brooks with seven minutes to play in the second quarter, only to commit a flagrant foul a little more than four minutes later, when Tari Easton stripped him of the ball, and Green retaliated by tackling him.
While two technicals or two flagrant fouls will eject you from a game, a combination of one each keeps you in it. Who knew?
(Well, maybe the refs.)
It left Green eligible to keep playing the game but carrying four personal fouls before halftime. It took him less than four minutes into the second half to pick up his fifth.
He effectively ejected himself.
Pair that with an offensive night where he made the Warriors’ first two shots and didn’t make another basket the rest of the game — an evening where he looked unconfident with the ball in his hands — and perhaps it was a blessing for the Warriors that Green had to sit until the final 7:51 of the fourth quarter, even as Şengün was cooking smaller competition.
(Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)What a mess it all was. The series looked destined to go to 2-2 ahead as it shifted to every-other-day action. You would have been justified in picking the Rocket from that point onwards.
But Green did what he so often does during disastrous games — he found a way to make up for his own sins. Upon returning to the contest in the fourth quarter, he immediately made three stops, using textbook technique for each contest.
Then he secured three big-time, grown-man rebounds on three possessions following that.
And when his number, of all numbers, was called for the final defensive play, he stonewalled the Rockets’ one All-Star.
Again, he did all of it while being one foul away from disqualification. Kerr called it “phenomenal.”
“You can’t play the game worrying,” Green said. “I’ll just go sit down if I’m just going to go out there and be cautious.”
“I always walk that line. That’s who I am: Habitual line stepper.”
“Draymond always walks the line. He always teeters on that line. He’s an emotional force, a physical force. He just can’t cross the line. He knows that. He’s just done a great job of playing through the frustration,” Kerr said.
“The last two games, his fourth-quarter defense keyed everything.”
That’s the difference between great playoff performers and the rest. That’s the lesson these young Rockets are yet to learn — a lesson there’s no guarantee they will ever understand.
(Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)The NBA Playoffs might as well be a different sport than regular-season basketball. The refs let far more go, including Green’s first-half transgressions.
And the final half of the fourth quarter of a tight playoff game? That’s an entirely different game than that. It’s as much a battle of wills and smarts as strength or skill.
That’s Green’s time to shine. And while it hasn’t always been perfect, his track record—even if it seems like ancient history to some of his own teammates—speaks for itself.
There’s a four-time Defensive Player of the Year whose team takes him off the court for their biggest, crunch-time defensive possessions.
There’s another whose team has already been swept who would have almost certainly fouled out within minutes of re-entering a game like Monday’s.
Meanwhile, Green’s defense likely won the Warriors a playoff series.
Green didn’t deserve the DPOY award this year. That’s ok. He’s playing for a much more important prize this summer.
And the Warriors are one step closer to it after Monday.
Kurtenbach: Draymond Green turned around his Game 4 performance and the Warriors-Rockets series
SAN FRANCISCO — Draymond Green went directly to the camera and put his face mere inches from the lens. He wanted to tell the world that he was still its best defender.
As if there was any question of that after he played picture-perfect defense on Houston center Alperen Şengün’s last-second isolation shot to seal a Warriors win and a 3-1 first-round series lead.
Green might not be the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year (he won something called the Hustle Player of the Year instead), but he’s still the finest defender of this generation. There are four rings on his fingers to prove it.
And after Monday’s win, it’s not nearly as far-fetched as it once was to think he could add one for the thumb this June.
Yet there were the Rockets, trying him in the biggest moment of this slugfest of a playoff series.
Down one with 13.1 seconds to play, they had the time to draw up any play in the book.
Instead, they decided to go directly at Green.
[image error]
“Why him?” Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski said after the game.
Because they wanted to lose, I suppose.
It worked out as you’d imagine; as it has for countless teams before these Rockets.
“He’s the best defender I’ve ever seen in my life. He rises to the occasion,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “On top of being a great defender, he’s an incredible competitor. We’ve seen it. I’ve seen it for 11 years. Game on the line, Draymond making a stop. It’s like having Steph Curry take the shot.”
At 35 years old, this wasn’t a banner season for Green. His offense sputtered, and his DPOY candidacy was just a late push after the Jimmy Butler trade and a hope that his reputation and underfilled cabinet of personal accolades would allow him to win an award with no clear front-runner. He ultimately finished third in award voting.
Everyone knows there will be a day when Green does not have it anymore; a day when he’s a step too slow and his super genius basketball brain can’t make up for it.
And you can almost forgive the Rockets for thinking Monday was that day, given Green’s woeful first 25 minutes of play on Monday.
But the final five minutes told a different story.
That was winning time. And if Green is anything, he’s a winner.
Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green (23) fights for the ball against Houston Rockets’ Fred VanVleet (5) and Houston Rockets’ Dillon Brooks (9) in the second half of Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs game at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, April 28, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)Related Articles Kurtenbach: Live by Draymond, die by Draymond — the Warriors take Game 4 on Green’s series-turning stop Warriors in awe as ‘Playoff Jimmy’ makes Game 4’s biggest play vs. Rockets Warriors win Game 4 over Rockets as Butler comes up big late in return Warriors-Rockets scuffle: Draymond, Brooks, Curry T’d up during Game 4 Jimmy Butler injury update: Warriors star to play in Game 4 vs. Rockets It was beyond brash that the Rockets attacked him, of all people, on that final play. Even as the set developed, you could sense in the arena that Houston knew it had made a mistake. This was not Trayce Jackson-Davis or Gary Payton II, whom Şengün had been cooking while Green sat on the bench with foul trouble.
No, it was the man who is still undefeated in battles of brashness.
And because Green won again, the Warriors are one win away — with three games to get it — from eliminating the Rockets for a fifth time in five tries since 2015.
Monday’s game was the duality of Green in a nutshell. Had the Dubs lost Game 4, he would have been the reason, and not just because of a different outcome on the final play.
But he’s also the reason the Dubs won.
You have to take the bad with the good with Green. Somehow, the good almost always comes out on top.
Amazingly, that was the case on Monday. Green is the Warriors’ tone-setter, but he was downright unraveling in Game 4. Rockets pest Dillion Brooks had the Dubs enforcer where he wanted him emotionally — fighting proxy battles and failing to lock in on the court. The Warriors didn’t have much focus as a team because Green’s was all over the place.
And if Monday’s game was just a regular-season matchup, Green would have already taken a shower and drank a glass of wine by the start of the second half. He picked up a deserved technical foul in a skirmish with Brooks with seven minutes to play in the second quarter, only to commit a flagrant foul a little more than four minutes later, when Tari Easton stripped him of the ball, and Green retaliated by tackling him.
While two technicals or two flagrant fouls will eject you from a game, a combination of one each keeps you in it. Who knew?
(Well, maybe the refs.)
It left Green eligible to keep playing the game but carrying four personal fouls before halftime. It took him less than four minutes into the second half to pick up his fifth.
He effectively ejected himself.
Pair that with an offensive night where he made the Warriors’ first two shots and didn’t make another basket the rest of the game — an evening where he looked unconfident with the ball in his hands — and perhaps it was a blessing for the Warriors that Green had to sit until the final 7:51 of the fourth quarter, even as Şengün was cooking smaller competition.
Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30) and Houston Rockets’ Dillon Brooks (9) scuffle in the second quarter of Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs game at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, April 28, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)What a mess it all was. The series looked destined to go to 2-2 ahead as it shifted to every-other-day action. You would have been justified in picking the Rocket from that point onwards.
But Green did what he so often does during disastrous games — he found a way to make up for his own sins. Upon returning to the contest in the fourth quarter, he immediately made three stops, using textbook technique for each contest.
Then he secured three big-time, grown-man rebounds on three possessions following that.
And when his number, of all numbers, was called for the final defensive play, he stonewalled the Rockets’ one All-Star.
Again, he did all of it while being one foul away from disqualification. Kerr called it “phenomenal.”
“You can’t play the game worrying,” Green said. “I’ll just go sit down if I’m just going to go out there and be cautious.”
“I always walk that line. That’s who I am: Habitual line stepper.”
“Draymond always walks the line. He always teeters on that line. He’s an emotional force, a physical force. He just can’t cross the line. He knows that. He’s just done a great job of playing through the frustration,” Kerr said.
“The last two games, his fourth-quarter defense keyed everything.”
That’s the difference between great playoff performers and the rest. That’s the lesson these young Rockets are yet to learn — a lesson there’s no guarantee they will ever understand.
Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30) hugs Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green (23) after their 109-106 win over the Houston Rockets for Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs game at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, April 28, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)The NBA playoffs might as well be a different sport than regular-season basketball. The refs let far more go, including Green’s first-half transgressions.
And the final half of the fourth quarter of a tight playoff game? That’s an entirely different game than that. It’s as much a battle of wills and smarts as strength or skill.
That’s Green’s time to shine. And while it hasn’t always been perfect, his track record—even if it seems like ancient history to some of his own teammates—speaks for itself.
Four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert is taken off the court for his team’s biggest crunch-time defensive possessions.
Another former DPOY whose team has already been swept, Jaren Jackson Jr., would have almost certainly fouled out within minutes of re-entering a game like Monday’s.
Meanwhile, Green’s defense likely won the Warriors a playoff series.
Green didn’t deserve the award this year. That’s OK. He’s playing for a much more important prize this summer.
And the Warriors are one step closer to it after Monday.
Warriors in awe as ‘Playoff Jimmy’ makes Game 4’s biggest play vs. Rockets
SAN FRANCISCO – If this were a regular-season game, Jimmy Butler wouldn’t have even been in the Golden State Warriors’ lineup.
Instead, he added another chapter to his already storied playoff legacy.
Far less than 100% healthy in his first game back from a pelvic injury, Butler made a storybook return to the Warriors lineup on Monday night. Not only did he lead the Warriors with 27 points in 40 minutes, but he was also perfect from the free-throw line and grabbed the game’s most crucial rebound.
It all helped Golden State secure a thrilling 109-106 win over the Rockets in Game 4 of their opening-round series at Chase Center.
“I think my favorite play was the last rebound,” Warriors forward Draymond Green said. “I looked up, I thought it was (Jonathan) Kuminga out there flying. It was Jimmy. That was my favorite play of all of them.”
With the Warriors leading by one, Rockets forward Alperen Sengun, defended by Green, drove the lane but missed an 11-foot turnaround shot. Butler then outhustled at least three Rockets players to the ball, grabbed the rebound with four seconds left in regulation time, and was fouled by Jabari Smith Jr.
After a raucous, sold-out crowd settled down, Butler calmly made both free throws to give the Warriors a three-point lead. Fred VanVleet’s ensuing 3-point try from 28 feet was off target, and Golden State, in another emotional and feisty game with the Rockets, took a 3-1 series lead.
“I saw that I wasn’t battling with Steven Adams the last play, so I was able to go up there and be a semi-athlete,” Butler said. “But I wanted that rebound. I told (Green), if you get a stop, I will get the rebound, and he got a stop.”
Butler also converted three free throws with 58.7 seconds left after he was fouled near the corner by antagonistic Rockets forward Dillon Brooks. For the game, Butler was 7-for-12 from the field and made all 12 free throw attempts, giving Golden State a chance to advance to the second round in Game 5 in Houston on Wednesday.
“They call him ‘Playoff Jimmy’ for a reason,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
Butler sat out Game 3 with a pelvic contusion and deep gluteal muscle bruise he sustained on a hard fall when he was fouled by Amen Thompson early in Game 2. Reports early Monday afternoon indicated the Butler would be back for Game 4, but Kerr would not confirm Butler’s return until after he went through warmups right before tip-off.
Butler started but was still clearly hobbled. But Butler would not be denied in the game’s most decisive moments.
“The first three quarters, he couldn’t move,” Green said. “Not sure how he started moving in the fourth quarter, first three quarters, he couldn’t move. Yet, he never complained. He stuck with it. And I think when it was the most important, when the time was right, everybody on our side looked at him.
“And when you get him the ball, he makes great things happen for himself or for others.”
Golden State Warriors’ Jimmy Butler III (10) takes a shot against Houston Rockets’ Alperen Sengun (28) in the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs game at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, April 28, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)The Warriors on Feb. 5 sent a protected 2025 first-round pick and four players — Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schroder, Kyle Anderson, and Lindy Waters III — to various destinations in the complicated, multi-team deal that brought Butler to the Bay from Miami. Golden State signed Butler to a two-year, $121 million contract extension through 2027.
That type of commitment from ownership was huge for Green and Steph Curry, as well as the Warriors’ fortunes. Starting with Butler’s first game with his new team on Feb. 8 after his acrimonious departure from South Florida, the Warriors went 23-8 following the trade and finished with a 48-34 record and the seventh seed in the Western Conference.
In the 30 regular-season games he played with the Warriors, Butler averaged 17.9 points and 5.9 assists.
Related Articles Draymond Green's duality on display in Warriors' Game 4 win over Rockets Kurtenbach: Live by Draymond, die by Draymond — the Warriors take Game 4 on Green’s series-turning stop Warriors win Game 4 over Rockets as Butler comes up big late in return Warriors-Rockets scuffle: Draymond, Brooks, Curry T’d up during Game 4 Jimmy Butler injury update: Warriors star to play in Game 4 vs. Rockets“His presence, No. 1, is huge,” Green said. “I’ve spoken about it over and over again, just the commitment that our ownership group and front office made to Jimmy, but not only to Jimmy, to Steph and (Kerr). We’ve been here for many years and still feeling like we have a chance, but we’re not quite there and need a little boost, and our ownership group made a two-year, $120 million commitment for us to get that boost.”
In his first 121 career playoff games, Butler averaged 21.2 points and 6.1 rebounds. Monday, in his 122nd playoff game, he had five rebounds, with the last one putting the Warriors on the verge of advancing.
“We had to have him,” Kerr said. “If this were the regular season, he’d probably miss another week or two. But it’s the playoffs. He’s Jimmy Butler, so … this is what he does. The rebound at the end was just incredible, the elevation, the force. Then, of course, knocking down the free throws to clinch it. Jimmy was just amazing.”
Golden State Warriors’ Jimmy Butler III (10) high-fives Golden State Warriors’ Brandin Podziemski (2) during their game against the Houston Rockets in the first quarter of Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs game at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, April 28, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Warriors’ Jimmy Butler III (10) takes a shot against the Houston Rockets in the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs game at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, April 28, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Warriors’ Jimmy Butler III (10) shoots his second free-throw against the Houston Rockets in the final seconds of the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs game at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, April 28, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Warriors’ Brandin Podziemski (2) and Golden State Warriors’ Jimmy Butler III (10) celebrate a foul against Butler III by the Houston Rockets in the final seconds of the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs game at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, April 28, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Warriors’ Jimmy Butler III (10) dribbles against Houston Rockets’ Alperen Sengun (28) in the first quarter of Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs game at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, April 28, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Warriors’ Jimmy Butler III (10) celebrates his basket and foul against the Houston Rockets in the third quarter of Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs game at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, April 28, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Warriors’ Brandin Podziemski (2) hugs Golden State Warriors’ Jimmy Butler III (10) after their 109-106 win over the Houston Rockets for Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs game at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, April 28, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Golden State Warriors’ Jimmy Butler III (10) holds his back after being fouled against the Houston Rockets in the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs game at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, April 28, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)Show Caption1 of 8Golden State Warriors’ Jimmy Butler III (10) high-fives Golden State Warriors’ Brandin Podziemski (2) during their game against the Houston Rockets in the first quarter of Game 4 of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs game at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, April 28, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)Expand
