Jeremy T. Ringfield's Blog, page 351

Pro Soccer: Union’s scoreless streak continues in draw with Orange County

SEASIDE — An historic scoreless streak is not the ingredient for chasing a playoff spot.

Yet, through Monterey Bay F.C.’s string of five straight matches without a goal, it has managed to collect a point in three of them, including Saturday’s scoreless draw with Orange County at Cardinale Stadium.

As a result, the Union are just two points out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference of the United Soccer League Championship, which is currently held by Orange County.

The Union have now gone a franchise record 10 straight matches without a win, a streak that dates back to July 6 when they beat Pittsburgh 1-0 on the road.

Having been shutout 13 times this season, Monterey Bay F.C. is next to last in scoring in the USL. It’s 0-5-5 during its current skid — 0-3-3 since the hiring of Jordan Stewart as its new head coach.

The Union have five matches remaining on the year, including next Saturday’s home game against Detroit. The final four matches are against Western Conference rivals all ahead of them in the standings.

While Monterey Bay F.C. still controls its fate, three of its final four matches are on the road, where it has struggled to a 3-9-2 mark. It’s 4-4-7 at Cardinale Stadium. Adding to the challenge is it’s 1-2-1 against its final four opponents.

Carlos Herrera earned his second straight shutout between the pipes with eight saves. The goalkeeper has been subbing for Antony Siaha, who still leads the USL in saves this year with 102.

The Union played the match without single-season goal record holder Alex Dixon and current scoring leader Tristan Trager, both of whom are nursing injuries — a theme all season for the third-year snakebitten franchise.

Earlier this year Orange County shutout the Union 2-0 and had won three of the previous five matches between the California and Western Conference rivals.

 

College football: Gibson, defense lead Lobos past Redwoods

MONTEREY — Milestone moments have become a common theme, perhaps an expectation since Ronnie Palmer arrived on the Monterey Peninsula College campus.

Having put together the best three year stretch in program history with three consecutive American Golden Coast Conference titles — along with a 15-1 conference mark, the Lobos and Palmer added another magical moment to cross off their list.

For the first time since Palmer’s arrival as the head football coach in 2021, MPC is off to a 3-0 start, ending a regular season losing streak to Redwoods in the process Saturday with a 21-7 decision.

Redwoods and Foothill are the only teams that have beaten Palmer multiple times in the regular season. The Lobos did beat them in the Grizzly Bowl in 2022.

“Redwoods is a well-coached team,” Palmer said. “They gave us four full quarters of football. I’m glad our guys showed up. We had a great week of prep and made big plays to win this game.”

Through the first two games of the season, the Lobos were the highest scoring team in the state at 58 points a game. Defense took some of the spotlight Saturday by shutting out Redwoods for three plus quarters.

“Our defensive line played extremely well,” said Palmer, whose defense has allowed just two touchdowns in the last six quarters of play.

Pacific Grove graduate Noah Garry recorded his second interception of the season, while Palma product Drew Molinari had his first collegiate pick. Hollister alum Ricky Navarro had a sack to halt one Redwoods drive.

The Lobos, who should earn a state ranking this week, turned to LSU transfer quarterback Eric Gibson, who fired three touchdown passes, two to Nokoa Villanueva, helping build 21-point lead.

“Nokoa had a career day,” Palmer said. “He had some really big catches. We mixed our quarterbacks like we usually do. We try to find ways to move down the field.”

That included pounding the ball on the ground as Kieryus Boone went over 100 yards rushing for the third straight game, giving him over 400 yards. The sophomore came into the game leading the state in rushing.

“We knew it was a solid defense we were playing against,” Palmer said. “We just tried to execute, take care of the ball and go 1-0 for the week.”

Gibson, who tossed three touchdowns in the Lobos season opening 72-20 win over Chabot, also connected with Casey Miller, while Devin Ellison kept three drives alive with clutch third down receptions.

“I told the head coach I feel like we have a rivalry going on,” Palmer said. “They circle the calendar, just like we circle them. They put it on us last year. I thought we prepped well this week and returned the favor.”

The Lobos will have a bye week before traveling for an overnight trip to College of the Siskiyous, who is 2-1 after falling to San Jose City on Saturday.

“Our guys are pretty sore,” Palmer said. “It’s the perfect time for us for a bye week.”

De Anza 42, Hartnell 12: The Panthers are in need of an identity on offense after suffering a 30-point loss to undefeated De Anza in their home opener at Rabobank.

With quarterback Adam Shaffer likely out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, the offense has sputtered in his absence with just 12 points.

Since Shaffer was injured late in the first half of their season opening loss to Redwoods, the Panthers have been outscored 77-12.

“We can’t worry about who is under center,” Hartnell coach Ruben Lerma said. “As a former offensive lineman, we have to do our part, either create holes or give the quarterback time to make his reads.”

While the numbers have nearly doubled this year in terms of turnout for Hartnell after last year’s surprising 7-4 season, over 40 players on the squad are freshman, getting their feet wet at the collegiate level.

“We just have to get better at what we do,” Lerma said. “We have a young team, a ton of freshman. We have to keep progressing. I definitely saw some spotlights, some sparks. We have to build rhythm on the field. We’re taking our lumps right now.”

The Panthers have also faced two of the better teams in the American Division in falling to Redwoods last week and 3-0 De Anza this week.

“I’m not one to back away from a challenge,” Lerma said. “No one has the same team two years in a row at the JC level. Each week is a challenge. It’s getting guys to step up and realize you can’t take a play off. We have to play technically sound football.”

Hartnell was staring at a 24-point deficit before Alisal High graduate Damion Gonzales provided some life with a 1-yard touchdown run. Maximus Castro caught a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

Reigning all-conference defensive back Jonathan Grey led the Panthers in tackles with eight, while Elijah Perkins finished with six. North Salinas product Justin Pascone rushed for 68 rushing yards on the ground.

The Panthers path won’t get any easier as they will host Los Medanos next Saturday at Rabobank.

 

Saturday football: Top-ranked Carmel sends a message in beating Monterey

CARMEL — There may be little left to prove until the postseason rolls around for a football program that has posted three signature wins over the last four weeks.

What division Carmel High, the Herald’s No. 1 ranked team in the region, belongs in is an argument social media will crave. What it has proved in the first four weeks of the season is it can score points in bunches against elite teams, while its defense provides big play potential.

“We’re not trying to prove anything, other than improve as a football team,” Carmel coach Golden Anderson said. “We have a league opener coming up with a team that’s had our number. Now we start to face coaches that know what we do.”

The Padres are approaching uncharted waters, closing the preseason Saturday with 41-28 win over Monterey for their 16th straight regular-season win, leaving them two wins shy of the school record for wins in the regular season.

“Obviously we’ve been exposed to a lot of close games, physical games,” Anderson said. “We’ve done a good job with that. We do not take the wins for granted. The goal in the preseason is to improve and identify our deficiencies.”

The Padres preseason has included a win over Christopher, which won 11 games last year and is 3-1 this fall, North Coast Section champion Miramonte and the Toreadores, who are coming off of back-to-back eight-win seasons.

“Carmel is a very good football team,” Monterey coach Alex Besaw said. “We respect the hell out of their program. That’s what you want in nonleague. I hope we can internalize this and push toward our goal of playing into late November.”

While Carmel passed numerous tests over the past four weeks, the physicality of the opponents it has faced in the preseason has taken a toll as eight players didn’t dress Saturday because of injuries sustained in the first three weeks of the season.

“The unfortunate trade off when trying to play a tough schedule is you’re going to get beat up a little,” Anderson said. “There is a lot that goes on with that. It is a cost with a school our size. Our JVs have had running clocks on them twice this year.”

No one is feeling sorry for the 4-0 Padres, who have eight league titles in the past 14 years, with seven seasons of 10 or more wins, starting last season 10-0 before falling to eventual State Division 4AA champion Soquel in the CCS Division II playoffs.

Ironically, Carmel’s run of consecutive wins in the regular season started in Week 9 of the 2022 regular season when it defeated the Toreadores 51-44.

“It has been a unique week,” said Anderson, whose team begins Mission Division South play next Friday in Soledad. “We still have a lot of things to clean up. But I’m proud of how our kids behaved, prepared and performed.”

About the only test Carmel hadn’t faced in the preseason was playing from behind, which occurred on the Toreadores’ first drive when Preston White connected with Kavon Collins for a touchdown and a 6-0 lead.

“I thought we got off to a great start,” said Besaw, who has taken Monterey to back-to-back playoff appearances. “We did what we intended to do. Carmel gave us the look we were expecting.”

The deficit, however, was brief as the Padres struck quickly when Hudson Rutherford tossed the first of his four touchdown passes, finding Ty Arnold for six. On their next possession, he connected with Matt Maxon to put them up 14-6 in the first quarter.

“We were fine,” Anderson said. “There are 75 to 80 plays a game. We knew Monterey had two weeks to prepare for us. We had to feel it out and break some tendencies. I thought Monterey had some good changeup than what we anticipated.”

As sharp as Rutherford was in his reads in passing situations, the Padres brought the “Wildcat” out, in which Ashton Rees took off on a 55-yard touchdown run, giving him nine rushing touchdowns this year.

Yet, if there was a turning point, it came in the fourth quarter when Carmel’s defense stopped the Toreadores on fourth down when Skyler Brown came up on a reverse and made a tackle for a 2-yard loss.

”That one hurt,” said Besaw. “That was a bad call on my part. I was expecting something else. I didn’t get the look I wanted. I should have called a timeout. I put the kids in a bad position.”

Two plays later Rutherford found Rees in the end zone for his fourth touchdown pass, expanding the Padres lead to 41-21 with 10:15 left in the fourth quarter.

“That was a huge swing,” said Anderson, whose squad ran off 20 straight points during one stretch. “We stopped them three times on fourth down. But we have to clean up the penalties. We have to be better before and after the whistle.”

Besaw echoed a similar sentiment, as Monterey has dropped two straight going into its Gabilan Division opener next Friday against Alvarez, having been called for over 300 yards in penalties in its first three games.

“We committed another 12 penalties,” Besaw said. “We have to clean that mess up. We have a reputation of being undisciplined. We can’t allow that to be a reason to not get off the field on defense or finish drives on offense.”

Enobong Wirth rushed for a pair of touchdowns for Monterey in the second half, while Preston White added a 2-yard touchdown run. Semion Brown and Brooklyn Ashe added touchdowns for Carmel.

“I thought the kids competed and fought to the very end,” Besaw said. “There was a clear difference between two weeks ago when I felt we gave up when things got tough. The kids were encouraging each other, which was great to see going forward.”

SF Giants score early and often with 5 home runs to power Landen Roupp’s first career win in 9-0 rout of Royals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Don’t look now, but are the Giants suddenly a force to be reckoned with in the early innings?

Since hitting the road after their latest home stand, the Giants have scored first in all five contests and once again built an early and overpowering lead while slugging five home runs on a steamy Saturday afternoon at Kaufmann Stadium to secure their fourth win of the trip, 9-0, and clinch their third consecutive road series.

Matt Chapman and LaMonte Wade Jr. went back-to-back to lead off the fourth inning and each added another homer before Mike Yastrzemski turned it into a rout with the final blow of a six-run sixth. All nine of the Giants’ runs came in the first six innings, bringing their total on the trip to 19, tied for the fifth-most in the majors dating back to Tuesday’s 10-0 win in Baltimore.

“You know, we always talk about it but maybe not as much recently,” manager Bob Melvin said of getting to the opponent’s starting pitcher. “It always sets the tone for the game. When you score a run in the first inning, it’s always a momentum thing. Next thing you know, we have two and then we put up a crooked number. It’s been a lot better here recently.”

When the Giants boarded their charter flight for their final road trip of the season, they were having a hard time scoring in any portion of the game, having been shut out their past three games. But over the course of the season, their offensive troubles have been magnified in the early innings.

They had scored 412 runs in the first six innings, fifth-fewest in the majors, and 241 in the seventh or later, tied for the seventh-most.

But the trend has turned in the opposite direction over the past five games, to positive effect. Wade started things with a solo shot off Royals starter Brady Singer in the first and the Giants piled on from there, improving to 4-1 on the trip with all but 10 of their 29 runs coming in the first six innings.

“We’re trying to be aggressive, but that’s something we’ve gone through over the course of the season,” Melvin said. “At times we’re a little bit passive. You’re always trying to make a starter work a little bit harder and run his pitch count up. Maybe a little bit recently we’ve been going after that and not worried about pitch counts with starters.”

The early run support powered one rookie starter, Mason Black, to his first career win Friday night and a second, Landen Roupp, on Saturday.

“The offense was unreal today. Once they (put up a six-spot in the sixth), I was like, I think we’ve got it in the bag and I was going to get my first win,” said Roupp, who became the second Giants pitcher in as many days to be dumped in a laundry basket and doused with everything in sight. “I got to do it last night for Mason and got it done to me tonight. Can’t beat that.”

The Royals put runners on base in all five of Roupp’s innings but weren’t able to cash in against the 26-year-old right-hander, who used a heavy dose of his lethal curveball to complete five shutout innings, limiting Kansas City to three hits and three walks while striking out three.

“I think he did it, what, two or three times today to get out of jams, with not his best stuff early on,” said Curt Casali, who quarterbacked three pitchers to the Giants’ 10th shutout of the season and contributed a pair of hits and RBIs. “It just kind of goes to show what kind of pitcher he can be. He’s got four quality pitches and it’s just really hard to handle if he’s landing all of them.”

In 22 games, Roupp owns a 2.70 ERA and has been even better since moving into the starting rotation at the start of September. Including his four-inning stint out of the bullpen that prompted the move, he has logged 19 frames while allowing just two runs — a 0.95 ERA — on 11 hits.

“I was really kind of tempted to let him go back out there (for the sixth),” Melvin said of Roupp, who used a season-high 87 pitches. “But, man, he’s really focused out there. He’s intense. All this is building up with confidence and you’re seeing the type of stuff he has and what he can accomplish.”

San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Landen Roupp throws during the third inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

The Giants’ five home runs tied their most in one game all season, matching their April 13 win at Tampa Bay, while Chapman and Wade’s power display accomplished an ever rarer feat. It was the first time two Giants players hit multiple home runs in one game since Thairo Estrada and Joc Pederson on June 11, 2023.

“I think guys are just really clicking right now,” said Wade, who collected his first multi-homer game since July 25, 2021, and has now homered three times in eight at-bats against Singer. “The offense has really improved these last couple series, which is a really good sign, to see guys aren’t just throwing in the towel. We’re disappointed in how the year went, but that doesn’t mean we can’t finish strong.”

Chapman, a new dad, and Wade, who had 120-plus friends and family in the stands in Baltimore, were both riding emotional highs. As for Yastrzemski, well, he’s just been hot. His two-run shot in the sixth was his seventh homer of the month, tied with July 2021 for the second-most he has hit in one month and giving him 18 on the year.

Chapman only arrived in Kansas City about 3 hours before gametime Saturday after his wife, Taylor, gave birth to their first daughter, Gia, on Thursday. Before catching his 8 a.m. flight from Arizona, he said, “I told her I was going to hit a homer for her. I was thinking about her when I was running around the bases.”

With seven games left, he could set his sights on a notable number in Giants lore: the 30-homer threshold, which no San Francisco hitter has reached since Barry Bonds.

“I don’t know, I’m going to have to go on an Ohtani run,” grinned Chapman, whose pair of homers still made him one of four Giants to reach 26 since 2010.

If ever was the time, it’s now. One thing everyone in the clubhouse could agree on was the boost of becoming a new dad.

“With Chappy’s newfound dad strength, not that he needed anymore pop in his bat,” Casali said. “It happens all the time. It’s just so crazy how when you have a kid, you’re going to homer that day. It’s wild. To do it twice is a really special thing to do.”

“I think dad strength is real,” added Wade.

“I guess so,” Chapman said. “They talk about it. I’ve seen guys hit a lot of homers on the first day they’re back from having a baby. So I’m glad I got to join that club.”

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IF Marco Luciano was optioned to Triple-A to clear a roster spot for Chapman, who was reinstated from the paternity list. But with only one game left in the River Cats’ season, Luciano will report to Arizona, where he will begin taking reps in the outfield for the first time in his career, Melvin said.

Up next

Rain is in the forecast for most of Sunday, but if they play the series finale it will feature LHP Blake Snell (4-3, 3.31) against former Padres teammate RHP Seth Lugo (16-8, 3.05). If weather renders the game unplayable, it could create a chaotic chain of events as the Royals are in the thick of the AL wild card race but don’t share any remaining off days with the Giants. First pitch is scheduled for 11:10 a.m. PT.

Liza Horvath, Senior Advocate: The power of the pop-in

Dear Readers: This column was originally published in 2015 but the message is as important today as it was then. Also, I get to revisit the days when I first met my Emma. Now at age 22, Emma continues to be happy, healthy and brings joy to our lives every day.

I first met Emma when she was moved into the barn where I kept my horse. Everyone was immediately taken with the Clydesdale mare. Her sheer size made her formidable and intimidating, but her soft brown eyes and obvious intelligence revealed her exceptional and kind nature. Day after day I would stop by her stall to say hello and, other than a daily turnout by the stable owner, no one else seemed to pay much attention to her. It turned out that her owner, though well-intentioned, was extremely busy with a young family and had no time for her beautiful mare.

Over time, I began to notice that the stall was often not as clean as it could be and she was not regularly given fresh bedding. Before my eyes Emma seemed to be fading away – she was losing the animation we saw when she first arrived and she began to have health problems.

After much prompting, the owner agreed to sell Emma to me and this is when I noticed two things: first, with the love and attention we relished upon her, Emma sprang back to life. The light returned to her eyes and her health did a complete turnaround. Something else became apparent, as well. When I started stopping by the barn at odd hours on a daily basis and because I was the one who now paid her bills, she got better care from the stable owners. The stall was cleaner, fresh bedding was added daily and she began to get a meal at mid-day – which, for a horse of her size was absolutely necessary. Ah, the power of the pop-in!

This “pop-in power” translates directly to us humans. When a parent or older friend is hospitalized or placed in convalescent care, if you and I pop-in, that loved one will receive better care. Nurses and attendants know when a patient has someone who will be visiting and, as a result, they strive to make sure that patient is getting the best care possible. The attendants also know that we will speak up and request better care if we see our loved ones in need.

If you and I are too busy to stop in a couple of times a day or if our loved one is in another city, in-home caregivers can be retained to provide either a pop-in service or other supporting services.

Most hospitals and care homes have the requisite number of staff required by law but caregiving is a difficult and demanding job – one small gap in oversight and a patient can take a fall or otherwise suffer an injury – the consequences of which can be grave. If we are there to advocate for them, if we “pop-in,” our loved one will receive better care. It is not uncommon for a family to retain outside caregiver staff to be with their loved one at the hospital or facility 24/7. It can be costly, no doubt, but it assures the family that the patient is getting the absolute best care.

With care and attention, my Emma is thriving and I have the pleasure of knowing that just by sharing my time and devotion, a being that could not advocate for herself is getting the best care possible. Consider this when your loved one needs care – extra effort on your part can make a real difference.

Liza Horvath has over 30 years of experience in the estate planning and trust fields and is a Licensed Professional Fiduciary. Liza currently serves as president of Monterey Trust Management. This is not intended to be legal or tax advice. If you have a question call (831) 646-5262 or email liza@montereytrust.com.

Kathryn Crosby dead at 90, wife of Bing had fond memories of Pebble Beach

PEBBLE BEACH >> In 2006, Kathryn Crosby told the Herald it felt wonderful, after an absence of 20 years, to be back at the tournament her husband, Bing Crosby, founded and brought to the Monterey Peninsula in 1947.

She recalled the old times here fondly to Herald reporter Karen Ravn.

“Every year there were favorite memories,” she said.

Crosby, 90, died of natural causes Friday night at her Hillsborough home, a family spokesperson said Saturday.

Kathryn Crosby loses her hat after her tee shot on the first hole at the Pebble Beach Golf Links in 1982 during the annual Crosby Pro-Am. (Monterey County Herald Archives)

Born Olive Kathryn Grandstaff on Nov. 25, 1933, in West Columbia, Texas, she came to Hollywood and began her movie career in 1953. She appeared in such movies as “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad”, “Anatomy of a Murder,” and “Operation Mad Ball” before marrying Crosby, the famed singer and Oscar-winning actor.

She met Crosby while doing interviews for a column she wrote about Hollywood for her hometown newspaper. They were married in 1957.

She curtailed her acting career after the wedding, although she appeared often with Crosby and their three children on his Christmas television specials and in Minute Maid orange juice commercials.

In 2006, her two sons — Nathaniel and Harry — brought her back to the tournament which had since changed its name to the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Crosby herself had hit the Pebble Beach fairways in her younger years, but by 2006 at age 72 she just watched.

“A lot?” Ravn asked her.

“A lot when my sons play,” she said.

“Does anything about their golf remind her of Bing?” Ravn asked.

“Their swings,” she said, “and their love of the game.”

Ravn wrote that though Crosby’s “memories were warm, sunshine wasn’t always a part of them. … The phrase ‘Crosby weather’ refers to rain and wind that golfers have so often had to contend with in the tournament.

“… Not that a little storminess — or a lot of it — ever bothered her husband.”

“It never rains on a golf course,” Crosby told Ravn. “That was Bing’s saying.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

49ers rule out George Kittle — could Nick Bosa be next?

SANTA CLARA — Tight end George Kittle officially will miss the 49ers’ visit Sunday to the Los Angeles Rams, and defensive end Nick Bosa is no sure thing to play either.

In downgrading Kittle on Saturday from doubtful to out, the 49ers also announced two practice-squad elevations, one of which predictably is his potential replacement, second-year tight end Brayden Willis.

The 49ers’ other practice-squad elevation was for defensive end Sam Okuayinonu. That likely is in relation to Bosa’s questionable status with a rib injury that coach Kyle Shanahan said was incurred during Thursday’s practice; Bosa was limited Friday.

The 49ers (1-1) on Friday ruled out wide receiver Deebo Samuel (calf) while listing cornerback Charvarius Ward (hamstring, knee) as questionable along with Bosa, who’s appeared in all but one game since 2021.

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Kittle just played his 100th career regular-season game in last Sunday’s loss at Minnesota, during which he was carted to the locker room for what the 49ers said was an IV to treat cramps. He reported a hamstring issue Thursday after being listed as a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, as was the case with Ward.

Perhaps in a positive sign, the 49ers did not place Kittle on the Injured Reserve list and thus sideline him at least four games. The eighth-year veteran has missed 17 games in his career and gone on IR only for a 2020 foot fracture.

The Rams (0-2) are not a healthy bunch, either. They have 11 players on Injured Reserve, including Puka Nakua but not counting fellow wide receiver Cooper Kupp, whose ankle injury Sunday ruled him out for this coming game, along with tight end Davis Allen (back). Questionable for the Rams are defensive tackle Bobby Brown (ankle), cornerback Cobie Durant (toe), and kicker Joshua Karty (groin).

Horoscopes Sept. 21, 2024: Bill Murray, reach for the stars

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Alfonso Ribeiro, 53; Nancy Travis, 63; Bill Murray, 74; Stephen King, 77.

Happy Birthday: Candor, a simple lifestyle and a set budget will help you find your road to peace of mind and happiness. Taking care of personal needs and health and building confidence will contribute to your ability to reach for the stars and to trust and believe in who you are and what you can offer. Personal gain and tweaking your appearance and agenda to your satisfaction are apparent. Your numbers are 5, 17, 20, 28, 33, 39, 45.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Check out what’s available and interests you and take advantage of the opportunity to explore possibilities. Spend time with someone who brings you joy and stimulates your mind; it will offset stress and make you feel you aren’t the only one facing tough choices. Romance is favored. 3 stars

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Check out the want ads and job markets, and raise your qualifications or market your skills to suit what’s available. Put more energy into the presentation and how you deal with the people you encounter. Being resourceful will give you the edge you need to reach the success you desire. 3 stars

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Someone will take advantage of you if you are too eager to help. Verify information, ask for proof and be skeptical of any deal that sounds too good to be true. Protect your assets and reputation. Be a good listener and keep your thoughts and secrets to yourself. 3 stars

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Take heed of the suggestions loved ones make. Address health issues and redesign your lifestyle to balance diet, mental stimulation and exercise to ensure a fit body, mind and soul. Research, ask questions and get hands-on help to ensure personal success. 4 stars

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Make alterations at home to make your life easier. A function with close friends or family will offer insight into what’s available in your community. Practicality coupled with charm regarding an emotional matter is necessary if you want to avoid backlash from someone causing trouble. 2 stars

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Distance yourself from indulgent situations and people. Look for opportunities to make personal improvements and gains. How you use your energy and apply your skills will determine how well you do and feel. Focus on progress, rejuvenation and new beginnings. Gravitate toward what and who comforts you. 5 stars

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Be open to suggestions, learn all you can and take care of matters personally to avoid unnecessary costs or interference. Misinformation can lead to trouble. Verify and go through the proper channels to avoid repercussions. Take care of yourself first, and you’ll be better equipped to help others. 3 stars

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Say what’s on your mind. Clear up any misconceptions, and commit to someone you love. A change will be healthy and boost your confidence and emotional well-being. Let your creative imagination lead the way and pursue what makes you happy and grateful. 3 stars

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): An unexpected offer is apparent, but before you decide to participate, verify the facts on costs and returns. Don’t bank on everyone involved being honest about what they have to offer and what they want in return. It’s better to be safe than sorry. 3 stars

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You’re in an excellent position. Let your intuition and intelligence take over and allow your actions to carry you to the finish line. Keep your eye on your target and trust in your ability to make a difference. A unique approach to a financial matter will prove advantageous. 5 stars

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): A systematic approach to whatever comes your way will help you avoid mistakes. Refuse to feel pressured to give anyone information that is personal or might infringe on your financial, medical or emotional well-being. Don’t hesitate to decline. Take control and do what’s best for you. 2 stars

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Go over your expenses and reset your budget and lifestyle to reflect what you can afford. Refuse to let anyone cost you or bully you into something you don’t want or need. Use your energy and physical skills to bring in extra cash. Declutter and move forward. 4 stars

Birthday Baby: You are persistent, responsive and innovative. You are helpful and thorough.

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.

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Decades of national suicide prevention policies haven’t slowed the deaths

If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing or texting “988.”

When Pooja Mehta’s younger brother, Raj, died by suicide at 19 in March 2020, she felt “blindsided.”

Raj’s last text message was to his college lab partner about how to divide homework questions.

“You don’t say you’re going to take questions 1 through 15 if you’re planning to be dead one hour later,” said Mehta, 29, a mental health and suicide prevention advocate in Arlington, Virginia. She had been trained in Mental Health First Aid — a nationwide program that teaches how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illness — yet she said her brother showed no signs of trouble.

Mehta said some people blamed her for Raj’s death because the two were living together during the covid-19 pandemic while Raj was attending classes online. Others said her training should have helped her recognize he was struggling.

But, Mehta said, “we act like we know everything there is to know about suicide prevention. We’ve done a really good job at developing solutions for a part of the problem, but we really don’t know enough.”

Raj’s death came in the midst of decades of unsuccessful attempts to tamp down suicide rates nationwide.

During the past two decades federal officials have launched three national suicide prevention strategies, including one announced in April.

The first strategy, announced in 2001, focused on addressing risk factors for suicide and leaned on a few common interventions.

The next strategy called for developing and implementing standardized protocols to identify and treat people at risk for suicide with follow-up care and the support needed to continue treatment.

The latest strategy builds on previous ones and includes a federal action plan calling for implementation of 200 measures over the next three years, including prioritizing populations disproportionately affected by suicide, such as Black youth and Native Americans and Alaska Natives.

Despite those evolving strategies, from 2001 through 2021 suicide rates increased most years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Provisional data for 2022, the most recent numbers available, shows deaths by suicide grew an additional 3% over the previous year. CDC officials project the final number of suicides in 2022 will be higher.

In the past two decades, suicide rates in rural states such as Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming have been about double those in urban areas, according to the CDC.

Despite those persistently disappointing numbers, mental health experts contend the national strategies aren’t the problem. Instead, they argue, the policies — for many reasons —simply aren’t being funded, adopted, and used. That slow uptake was compounded by the covid-19 pandemic, which had a broad, negative impact on mental health.

A chorus of national experts and government officials agree the strategies simply haven’t been embraced widely, but said even basic tracking of deaths by suicide isn’t universal.

Surveillance data is commonly used to drive health care quality improvement and has been helpful in addressing cancer and heart disease. Yet, it hasn’t been used in the study of behavioral health issues such as suicide, said Michael Schoenbaum, a senior adviser for mental health services, epidemiology, and economics at the National Institute of Mental Health.

“We think about treating behavioral health problems just differently than we think about physical health problems,” Schoenbaum said.

Without accurate statistics, researchers can’t figure out who dies most often by suicide, what prevention strategies are working, and where prevention money is needed most.

Many states and territories don’t allow medical records to be linked to death certificates, Schoenbaum said, but NIMH is collaborating with a handful of other organizations to document this data for the first time in a public report and database due out by the end of the year.

Further hobbling the strategies is the fact that federal and local funding ebbs and flows and some suicide prevention efforts don’t work in some states and localities because of the challenging geography, said Jane Pearson, special adviser on suicide research to the NIMH director.

Wyoming, where a few hundred thousand residents are spread across sprawling, rugged landscape, consistently ranks among the states with the highest suicide rates.

State officials have worked for many years to address the state’s suicide problem, said Kim Deti, a spokesperson for the Wyoming Department of Health.

But deploying services, like mobile crisis units, a core element of the latest national strategy, is difficult in a big, sparsely populated state.

“The work is not stopping but some strategies that make sense in some geographic areas of the country may not make sense for a state with our characteristics,” she said.

Lack of implementation isn’t only a state and local government problem. Despite evidence that screening patients for suicidal thoughts during medical visits helps head off catastrophe, health professionals are not mandated to do so.

Many doctors find suicide screening daunting because they have limited time and insufficient training and because they aren’t comfortable discussing suicide, said Janet Lee, an adolescent medicine specialist and associate professor of pediatrics at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University.

“I think it is really scary and kind of astounding to think if something is a matter of life and death how somebody can’t ask about it,” she said.

The use of other measures has also been inconsistent. Crisis intervention services are core to the national strategies, yet many states haven’t built standardized systems.

Besides being fragmented, crisis systems, such as mobile crisis units, can vary from state to state and county to county. Some mobile crisis units use telehealth, some operate 24 hours a day and others 9 to 5, and some use local law enforcement for responses instead of mental health workers.

Similarly, the fledgling 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline faces similar, serious problems.

Only 23% of Americans are familiar with 988 and there’s a significant knowledge gap about the situations people should call 988 for, according to a recent poll conducted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness and Ipsos.

Most states, territories, and tribes have also not yet permanently funded 988, which was launched nationwide in July 2022 and has received about $1.5 billion in federal funding, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Anita Everett, director of the Center for Mental Health Services within SAMHSA, said her agency is running an awareness campaign to promote the system.

Some states, including Colorado, are taking other steps. There, state officials installed financial incentives for implementing suicide prevention efforts, among other patient safety measures, through the state’s Hospital Quality Incentive Payment Program. The program hands out about $150 million a year to hospitals for good performance. In the last year, 66 hospitals improved their care for patients experiencing suicidality, according to Lena Heilmann, director of the Office of Suicide Prevention at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Experts hope other states will follow Colorado’s lead.

And despite the slow movement, Mehta sees bright spots in the latest strategy and action plan.

Although it is too late to save Raj, “addressing the social drivers of mental health and suicide and investing in spaces for people to go to get help well before a crisis gives me hope,” Mehta said.

Cheryl Platzman Weinstock’s reporting is supported by a grant from the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation.

High School football: Cabada’s field goal lifts Gonzales past King City

KING CITY– Two weeks ago, Gonzales had not even attempted an extra point. In part, because it does not have any goal posts on its practice facility to work on it.

With its football stadium under construction, the Spartans are using a makeshift field of grass on campus just to conduct practices. It wasn’t until last week that head coach Eddy Ramirez came up with a plan to work on extra points or potential field goals.

“There’s a trap shoot that’s on the ground,” Ramirez said. “So we’re aiming in that direction and kicking it as far as we can. But we hadn’t been able to practice a field goal from an angle.”

Which became the case Friday when Ramirez sent in Luis Cabada to attempt a 17-yard field goal from the left ash mark with one second left in the game.

“We considered going for the touchdown,” Ramirez said. “We called time out. We felt this was our best decision.”

Cabada became a hometown hero, sending the ball through the uprights as time expired, lifting Gonzales to an emotional 24-23 win over King City in the 89th meeting between the two south county schools.

“I was trying not to let the moment get too big for me,” Cabada said. “I was trying not to get too nervous or feel any pressure. I was clearing my mind trying to breath slowly.”

A soccer player for Gonzales, Cabada created a wild celebration as the megaphone is going back to Gonzales for the first time since 2019.

King City still leads the series — which began in the 1920’s — 58-31-0. It is the oldest running rivalry in the county.

“Once the kicked cleared the uprights, the celebration started,” Ramirez said. “There was a lot of emotion on the field. We’ve wanted this for a long time. We did a good job of being composed. But the emotion poured out after the game.”

Until Ramirez devised a plan in practice to at least attempt extra points or field goals, the Spartans had been going for two after touchdowns before reversing course last week.

Cabada won’t have goal posts to practice kicking the ball through the rest of the season. Yet, his kick will go down as one of the biggest in the storied rivalry.

“I felt a great accomplishment,” Cabada said. “I felt happy, excited, proud of not only myself, but the team to get me in a position to kick the game-winning field goal. It felt amazing seeing that ball go through the posts.”

Cabada’s heroics came after King City had rallied from a 19-point deficit to take a 23-21 lead on a touchdown run from quarterback Junior Manriquez, capping a 12-play, 72-yard drive.

“I was proud of how we battled back,” King City coach Mac Villanueva said. “What will help us move forward is we came from being down big and got the lead. We’ve been battled tested in the preseason. But we gave them a short field.”

For the second time in the game, the Mustangs — who were without their kicker — missed an extra point. Unable to launch a kickoff deep, Gonzales got the ball back at midfield with 1:18 left in the game.

“We didn’t have our kicker,” Villanueva said. “If we convert those two extra points, we’re up by five instead of three. That would have forced them to go for a touchdown instead of a field goal.”

The Spartans didn’t waste an opportunity as quarterback Ray Blanco — who tossed three touchdown passes, drove them into the red zone, getting to the 1-yard line with three second left.

“Gonzales made the plays when they had too,” Villanueva said. “Hats off to Eddy and his boys. Gonzales has the megaphone.”

A spirited Spartans squad opened up a 21-2 first half lead on the strength of Blanco connecting with Jayden Vasquez on two touchdown passes, while hitting Alex Anguiano on another.

“Honestly, we learned if we work together for four quarters, we can do great things,” Ramirez said. “We put it together as a team. It gives us the confidence going forward. Trust our schemes. Trust each other.”

With the aid of its second safety of the game, King City ran off 19 unanswered points with Alex Macias producing a pair of scores, one coming from the arm of Manriquez.

“We shot ourselves in the foot,” Villanueva said. “We turned the ball over four times tonight. Gonzales put points up in the first half. You can’t dig yourself into a hole like that.”