Jeremy T. Ringfield's Blog, page 478

Jung Hoo Lee leaves injured in 1st inning as SF Giants can’t catch a break

SAN FRANCISCO — Injuries can come in bunches, as Giants manager Bob Melvin lamented Sunday morning.

But this?

Not even an hour had passed since one Giants outfielder was placed on the injured list when another, Jung Hoo Lee, was forced to leave their Sunday matinee against the Reds in the top of the first inning with a significant injury to his left arm.

The rookie centerfielder dislocated his left shoulder when he crashed into the wall while making a play on a fly ball, manager Bob Melvin said after Giants rebounded for a 6-5 win in extra innings. While they will know more once he undergoes an MRI, the initial prognosis was “not great,” according to Melvin.

“He goes all out,” Melvin said. “When he hit the wall and he went down and didn’t get up, I didn’t have a great feeling about it.”

Only making his return to the starting lineup after missing the past three games with a bruised foot, Lee leaped into the center field wall while giving chase to a fly ball from Jeimer Candelario. He missed the ball, which cleared the bases in a three-run inning, and was in noticeable pain as he crumpled on to the warning track.

San Francisco Giants’ Jung Hoo Lee (51) injuries himself while attempting to catch a fly ball hit by Cincinnati Reds’ Jeimer Candelario (3) in the first inning of their MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, May 12, 2024. Jung Hoo Lee would leave the game after injuring himself during the play. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)

Lee’s left arm appeared to get jammed into the wall, and that is where he motioned to head trainer Dave Groeschner, who raced from the dugout to his side along with interpreter Justin Han and Melvin. Lee walked off under his own power, but Groeschner held his left arm in place.

As Lee returned to the dugout, the crowd on hand for the sunny Sunday afternoon series finale chanted his name.

“That guy leaves it all out there,” said starting pitcher Kyle Harrison, who watched the play transpire from the mound. “I have so much respect for him. Hopefully he’s all right. The guy’s just a gamer. He’s going for that ball and, yeah man, comes up with most of the time, too, which is awesome.”

Tyler Fitzgerald took over in center field, leaving Matt Chapman, LaMonte Wade Jr, Wilmer Flores and Mike Yastrzemski as the only regulars left in the Giants’ batting order. Catcher Patrick Bailey had been penciled in to bat fourth as the designated hitter but was scratched approximately 10 minutes before first pitch.

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Bailey made his return from a weeklong absence in concussion protocol on Saturday, and the Giants were already missing Jorge Soler (shoulder), Austin Slater (concussion), Nick Ahmed (wrist) and Tom Murphy (knee).

Before the game, Michael Conforto became the sixth Giants position player to be placed on the injured list in just the past eight days. He strained his right hamstring on a single in the fourth inning Saturday night.

Lee could become the seventh.

“It just goes on and on,” Melvin said. “It’s just one of those times during the season where you have to persevere and other guys get some opportunities. Those guys came through today. We won the game. That’s all it’s about. We’ll regroup tomorrow.”

Jung Hoo Lee exited today's game after appearing to injure himself on a collision with the center field wall pic.twitter.com/ocXon6JI8F

— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) May 12, 2024

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Newsom’s latest insurance move could help Californians avoid canceled policies — but they’ll have to pay

As some Californians continue scrambling for ways to affordably insure their homes, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday announced a push to expedite how quickly insurance companies can increase rates.

Speedier approvals for rate hikes is one of the key reforms insurers say is necessary for them to stay afloat amid a growing number of costly claims in the Golden State, especially tied to recent wildfires and other mounting costs of climate change.

Newsom said he is drafting a “trailer bill” that could cut the current approval process down to 60 days — legislation he hopes will quell an exodus of insurers bailing their business out of California and soothe residents’ financial anxieties around canceled policies.

The current process allows the Department of Insurance up to 84 days to approve filings for insurance rate increases, but that timeline can take substantially longer if a public hearing is requested by consumer advocates or other groups.

“We need to stabilize this market,” Newsom said during a Friday press conference about his revised budget proposal. “We need to send the right signals, we need to move.”

While this change may temporarily usher in more expensive bills for consumers, proponents argue the changes will make home insurance more available. In turn, more options may also allow residents to avoid taking their chances with California’s “FAIR Plan,” the state’s “insurer of last resort,” which offers exorbitant premiums compared to regular insurance, and is also inching towards insolvency.

Denni Ritter, the American Property Casualty Insurance Association’s department vice president for state government relations, praised the news about expedited approvals Friday afternoon.

“Expediting the rate review process is a vital component to addressing California’s insurance crisis,” Ritter said in a statement. “We look forward to working with the Administration, Legislature and Department of Insurance on this crucial reform and other reforms necessary to fix our broken regulatory system and increase the availability of insurance for California homeowners, drivers, and businesses.”

The governor said he opted to work with state lawmakers on this “trailer bill,” rather than pursue an executive order to move the process along.

California’s Insurance Commissioner, Ricardo Lara, started working with Newsom last fall to modernize and overhaul three decades of state’s regulations, including efforts to allow insurance companies to use catastrophe models to set rates, as well as bill consumers for the costs of reinsurance, which is insurance for insurers.

Lara said that ongoing work, however, isn’t expected to materialize until December.

That timeline isn’t fast enough in the governor’s eyes. If Newsom’s bill is passed within the state’s budget for 2024-25, it may take effect as early as July 1.

“(Lara’s) team is working their tails off, I know how concerned the legislature is on this,” Newsom said. “But December? I don’t think we have that much time.”

Rather than push back on Newsom’s announcement of his new bill, Lara thanked the governor’s support of his own effort, which has been dubbed the Sustainable Insurance Strategy.

“Newsom is right: time is of the essence,” Lara posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Friday. “Our partnership with the Governor and Legislature are essential to stabilizing our market. We’ve taken significant steps forward, but there is more to do.”

Injuries begin to pile up for SF Giants as Michael Conforto lands on IL

SAN FRANCISCO — Bob Melvin sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s just something you deal with,” the Giants manager said Sunday morning, addressing the latest injury to strike his group of position players. “We’re going through it right now. Sometimes it happens in bunches. Seems like that’d the case at this point.”

Before their series finale against the Reds began, the Giants announced a transaction that is beginning to feel repetitive. Another member of their starting lineup was placed on the injured list with a prospect called up from Triple-A Sacramento to take his place.

On Sunday, it was Michael Conforto who became the sixth San Francisco position player to hit the IL in the past eight days when an MRI revealed a strain in his right hamstring. Patrick Bailey (concussion) and Jung Hoo Lee (foot) only returned to the lineup the past two games, and the Giants are still missing Jorge Soler (shoulder), Nick Ahmed (wrist), Austin Slater (concussion) and Tom Murphy (knee).

Making matters worse, Conforto was one of the few hitters producing for a lineup that has averaged 3.0 runs per game since April 24. Lacing a single in the fourth inning of Saturday’s 5-1 win, Conforto notched his eighth his in his past 16 at-bats, including a pair of homers, three RBIs, three runs scored and three walks.

But as he took a wide turn around first base, Conforto pulled up limp.

It wasn’t long before Luis Matos had been removed from the River Cats’ lineup and was on a flight from Salt Lake City to San Francisco. The 22-year-old outfielder was officially recalled from Triple-A and activated shortly before first pitch.

“We have some guys doing well in Triple-A and we knew at some point in time these guys would be here,” Melvin said. “There’s a bunch of them here now.”

With a head of bushy hair replacing the cornrows he wore in spring training, Matos arrived in a home clubhouse that had plenty of familiar faces. The final four spots of the Giants’ batting order Sunday were all occupied by players who started the season with Matos in Sacramento.

With Thairo Estrada receiving a day off, the Giants’ double play duo consisted of Casey Schmitt at shortstop and Brett Wisely at second base. Patrick Bailey was given a day at designated hitter, so Blake Sabol slotted in behind the plate. And the star of Saturday’s win, Heliot Ramos, started in left field.

Ramos, 24, is already in his eighth stint in the major leagues but has received consecutive starts only a handful of times and never lasted longer than his 17-day look last August. Without two of their right-handed hitters in Slater and Soler, Ramos is looking at “probably as good of an opportunity he’s had in a while,” Melvin said. “Especially if Michael goes down, there are a couple spots in the outfield.”

Throwing out two runners at second base from right field and making another pair of highlight-reel catches in left field Saturday, Ramos showed the coaching staff a side of himself they weren’t exposed to during spring training. His athleticism sets him apart from a position player group that is the third-oldest in the majors.

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“To go from making two plays in right field with his arm to two plays in left field – the first ball I didn’t think he was going to get to at all and that ended up being a big play – so really getting to see how well he moves around basically for the first time,” Melvin said. “Because in spring training he wasn’t challenged that often.”

Matos, 22, put together a strong spring at the plate but hadn’t translated the results to Triple-A. Whereas Ramos was batting .296 and leading the River Cats with eight home runs, Matos was batting just .218 with a .663 OPS through his first 31 games after posting a 1.004 OPS in 22 Cactus League games.

“He was so good in spring training. Maybe not swinging the bat like he was then,” Melvin said. “But you get to the big leagues and it’s a whole different thing. Obviously a little more inspiring and so forth and we know he has the ability to swing the bat well. We’ll see what kind of opportunity he gets.”

Without lottery luck, Warriors lose first-round pick

As their odds foreshadowed, the Warriors are giving up their first-round pick to the Portland Trail Blazers.

The ping pong balls didn’t bounce the Warriors’ way on Sunday during the NBA draft lottery, as their selection landed at No. 14 — where Portland will pick.

The only way the Warriors could have used the pick this year is if they had jumped from 14th into the top four of the lottery, an outcome with just a 3.37% chance based on the lottery’s odds. The Warriors traded their 2024 first-round pick in 2019 to Memphis in a package that included Andre Iguodala. The pick has changed multiple hands since, from Memphis to Boston to Portland, and will now end up with the Blazers.

Because of its 46-36 record, Golden State was the lottery team with the lowest odds — less than 1% — of winning the top pick.

While the Warriors didn’t beat the odds, Atlanta did. The Hawks, who finished 36-46 and had a 3% chance at landing the top pick, won the lottery and will have the opportunity to select French center Alex Sarr, whom many experts consider the top prospect.

The Warriors’ silver lining is that next year’s class is considered much stronger than this one. If Golden State had landed in the top four this year, its 2025 pick (protected only in the No. 1 spot) would have been conveyed to Portland.

The Warriors now have their own pick in every upcoming draft until 2030 (outgoing to Washington in the Jordan Poole trade). Teams must keep at least one first-round pick in every other draft; for example, the Warriors could only trade future firsts in 2026 and 2028.

While catapulting into the top four of this draft would have given general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. more immediate options, some teams may value future draft capital more than present picks, anyway.

Not having a first-round pick, even in a weak class, makes some of the Warriors’ offseason objectives difficult. On Golden State’s to-do list: getting younger and more athletic, adding a secondary shot creator next to Steph Curry, and either retaining or replacing Klay Thompson.

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The Warriors had the most expensive roster in league history this past season and mostly healthy years from Curry, Thompson, and Draymond Green, but still missed the playoffs. At 36, Curry is still elite, but the margin for error in building a contender around him diminishes by the year.

Golden State’s only selection in the 2024 draft, as of the lottery, is the 52nd overall selection. Finding talent at the bottom of the draft isn’t impossible — just last year, Dunleavy selected Trayce Jackson-Davis at No. 57 — but the likelihood is slim even for the shrewdest executives.

The Warriors won the lottery once, in 1995, the year they selected Joe Smith with the No. 1 overall pick. In 2020, they drafted James Wiseman second overall.

Big Sur: Looking back on Nepenthe’s 75 years

Depending on where you sit, on deck or inside at the edge of the world, it can feel like the bow of a boat. Located on the coast of Big Sur, overlooking a breathtaking expanse of the Pacific Ocean, Nepenthe, a restaurant established by Bill and Lolly Fassett in 1949, is a “Valhalla,” characterized in mythology as a place of near-perpetual food, drink, pleasure. The property was previously owned by Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth, who had married in 1943 and fell in love with the view while their driver, a Mr. Joseph Cotton, was ferrying them from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Four years later, as part of their divorce settlement, the property had gone to “Rita Hayworth Welles,” the name recorded on the deed.

In 1947, the actress sold the 12-acre parcel to the Fassetts, who were looking for a place to live where they could support a family of five children. They paid $14,000 for the property, a lot of money for most folks in 1947.

At the time, the only structure on the property was a log cabin build in 1920s by the Trails Club, who would ride over the Santa Lucias to the south coast. Sam Trotter, a “Paul Bunyon” homebuilder and pioneer of Big Sur, built the cabin as their base of operations. It was Trotter’s sons, Frank and Walker, who eventually built Nepenthe Restaurant 1949 and, later, the Phoenix Shop.

“It’s a magical visual that really allows one to appreciate so much of the majesty and remarkable environmental qualities of the Big Sur Coast,” says Kirk Gafill of the views from Nepenthe. (LiPo Ching/Bay Area News Group file)

As the Fassett family prepared to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Nepenthe, General Manager Kirk Gafill, a family owner and member of the third generation of Fassetts to take the helm, took some time to talk about the history of this legendary place. Here’s how it all began.

Jane Gallatin married Frank Hubbard Powers, a San Francisco attorney who, with real estate developer James Franklin Devendorf, founded the Carmel Development Company in 1902, through which they established Carmel. The Powers’ daughter, Grace Madeleine, had two daughters, Madeleine (Lolly) and Elizabeth, who were raised in Carmel.

“Prior to marrying my grandfather, Bill Fassett, my grandmother, Lolly, lived for a time on the isle of Capri, where she was very influenced by Old World values and aesthetics,” Gafill said. “My grandfather had gone to Cornell Restaurant & Hotel Management School in New York, yet he and Lolly met in San Francisco in the ‘30s, during the Depression.”

Ultimately, living on the Peninsula, faced with economic challenges and five children to raise, Fassett was looking for entrepreneurial opportunities. He got into publishing with the magazine, “What’s Doing in Carmel,” he worked for SFB Morse at Hotel del Monte, and tried a number of other things, said Fassett, without much success.

“In the search for a place to live where they might be able to support their family,” said Gafill, “it was, perhaps, an odd choice for them to go away from developed areas and down into Big Sur. But my grandmother had visited what became the Nepenthe property as a child and had some notion of it as an adult.”

The qualities of this property are, he says, pretty exceptional, starting with the astonishing south-coast view from an elevation that provides a really remarkable foreground before ever looking out to the horizon. On the coast, where the ocean so big, so expansive, it’s hard to put the view into perspective.

“In most Big Sur properties,” said Gafill, “you’re either looking straight out toward the ocean, or your view is blocked by the nearest ridge. Even if you have a coastal perspective, at 808 feet of elevation, you’re looking south to a 60-mile view. It’s a magical visual that really allows one to appreciate so much of the majesty and remarkable environmental qualities of the Big Sur Coast. Jaws drop for what Mother Nature has provided us.”

Besides, with a southern exposure, temperatures are ambient, and the geography of the coast shelters the property from typical northwesterly winds. This was, says Gafill, a kind of Shangri-la.

Creating a culture

Bill Fassett was working for the Madonna Brothers, doing highway construction to keep his family afloat, when he came up with the idea to build a food-service operation on his property. His first idea was to put a hamburger shack down on the highway level.

“My grandfather met with the County,” said Gafill, “and the County Planner said, ‘Why would you build something on the highway, when you have such beautiful, coastal property? Put it on the hill.’ In 1947, this was well before the Coastal Commission and Big Sur Land Trust that created standards and guidelines for Big Sur.”

Nepenthe restaurant chef Tod Williamson carries a shovel while doing a perimeter check of the property for spillover fires as the Basin Complex. (David Royal, Monterey Herald file)

Fassett reconsidered his plan. Surrounded by a remarkable array of artists and artisans in Big Sur, he went to work to design and build a restaurant overlooking the coast. Rowan Maiden, a former student at UC Berkeley’s School of Architecture, who had trained with Frank Lloyd Wright, designed the restaurant, informed by the notion of blending it in with the nature of the property, and built it with locally milled redwood.

Zev Harris, a Seaside-based artist, who created mosaics and sculpture, came up with the logo for the restaurant and introduced aesthetic contributions that complemented the vision my grandparents had for their restaurant. It was he who introduced the name, “Nepenthe.”

When the Fassetts were considering a name for the restaurant, Harris came up with Nepenthe, “That which surceases from or puts an end to sorrow.” Its source is “The Raven,” by Edgar Allen Poe, which said, “Quaff, oh quaff this kind Nepenthe” or “Come and forget your worldly care.”

“And my grandparents said, ‘That’s it.’ The mythical Phoenix bird, which rises from the ashes, became our logo and symbol,” said Gafill, “so when we later opened our gift shop, we named it the same.”

In 1976, a big oak tree, which had long stood on the Nepenthe deck, died. Sculptor Edmund Kara, a friend of Bill Fassett’s, sculpted a Phoenix out of a piece of redwood, which has been sitting on the side of the highway. He gave it to Lolly Fassett, says Gafill, and installed it, during a grand ceremony, where the oak tree had been and where it remains.

“Before it even opened,” said Gafill, “Architectural Digest featured Nepenthe, as did the German press, creating international notoriety and recognition of the property and drawing people to the Big Sur coast. There were no other comparable guest-serving facilities on the Big Sur coast at the time. There were a few other small places in the Big Sur valley, but nothing with a full bar and expansive views, an aesthetic that appealed to guests from all over the world.”

Visitors enjoy the view looking south from the back deck of Nepenthe Restaurant in Big Sur at sunset. (Photo David Royal — Monterey Herald file)

As they established their restaurant, Bill and Lolly Fassett had a shared notion of the guest experience they sought to create. They understood their guests, who’d stepped away from the hectic nature of their day-to-day lives, would come to this extraordinary place to forget their worldly cares.

“They didn’t want tablecloths and waiters in uniforms, all these things,” said Gafill, “which would create a sense that you had to conform to some standard. They really wanted to celebrate people’s individual personalities, so many of whom were Bohemians and rugged Big Sur characters. But even the Hollywood Glitterati sought this. This mentality fostered a lot of the early decisions of how Nepenthe would present itself.”

From folklore to famous

Nevertheless, Nepenthe’s early days were challenging. By 1949, Highway 1 had been open only a dozen years. The Depression had ended a decade before, but recovery continued. And the war had ended just four years before the Fassetts founded their restaurant.

“Nepenthe became a seasonal business,” Gafill said. “It wasn’t easy to get up or down the coast during the winter, so there just wasn’t enough business to warrant staying open. It became like farming, borrowing funds in the winter, and paying it back in the summer. My grandparents held a costume Bal Masque to close the season on Halloween, and reopened on April 1.”

In 1959, Hearst Castle opened, an event Bill Fassett called “a game changer.” With so many people traveling Highway 1, suddenly Nepenthe picked up business as a welcome way station between San Francisco and San Simeon.

In 1963, the restaurant’s next transformative event, was the filming of “The Sandpiper” movie at Nepenthe. Director Vincente Minnelli, Producer Martin Ransohoff, and the biggest stars of the day: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Eva Marie Saint, and Charles Bronson were filming numerous scenes on the property.

“Nepenthe was even built into the script,” said Gafill, “as they incorporated the lifestyle of Big Sur’s Bohemian’s beatniks, and artists into the story. There was folk dancing every evening by dancers from Ojai. My uncle, Kaffe Fassett, an exceptional designer who lives in London, did all the choreography for the movie.”

Because Richard Burton’s UK citizenship meant a limited amount of time he could film in the United States due to tax issues, the film crew built a 3/4 set of Nepenthe in a warehouse in Paris, with a big screen in back, painted to resemble the Pacific Ocean. This, says Gafill, added a whole new, international level of awareness around Nepenthe.

Nepenthe and its setting also lured a parade of famous guests, driving up the coast to enjoy the experience in the absence of paparazzi or intrusive fans. If neighbor Henry Miller wasn’t hanging out at the bar, he was playing ping-pong with Bill Fassett. Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw were regulars at the restaurant, as was Kim Novak, whose home was just up the coast.

Creating commerce

In 1954, about the time Nepenthe opened into a year-round business, Lolly Fassett, who loved to collect curios and antiques, opened The Phoenix Shop on the property which, with its eclectic offering of gifts and collectibles for the mind, body, and spirit, added a whole other level of attraction. It still does.

The two-story Phoenix Shop was originally built with an upper deck and exterior room designed as a caretakers quarters, which has morphed, over the years, into various purposes, including Lolly Fassett’s sewing room and, for one season, a juice bar.

“Once again, for just one season, Dominico Vastarella opened Café Amphora, with a fabulous Mediterranean menu, but a volatile character,” Gafill said. “Looking for a lifestyle change, Bob Wilson, who had Carmel Café in town, took over the lease and introduced more of a brunch menu. His wife, Robin, ran the operation until 1991.”

In 1992, after reroofing the entire building, the Fassett family decided to bring the operations of the café in house, to ensure services were inline with family values.

Percy Sledge (center) performs at Nepenthe in front of the ABC televisions cameras during a filming of the show “Where the Action is” on June 20, 1966. The show produced by Dick Clark, was filmed in Monterey County at Fisherman’s Wharf, the Beach Club in Pebble Beach and Nepenthe. (Monterey Herald Archives)

“Cousin Romney Steele and I, mindful of our grandmother’s influences, brought in market umbrellas and concrete tables, and introduced a very Mediterranean-focused brunch. We named it Café Kevah after our grandfather’s mother, a suffragette. It’s a meaningful touchstone to our grandfather’s side of the family.”

As Kirk Gafill and his family arranged plans to celebrate Nepenthe’s 75th anniversary, Gafill said, “But we never know what our fickle weather or road conditions will be like in April.” On March 30, a large stretch of Highway 1 collapsed and fell into the ocean, effectively blocking travel to and from Big Sur.

“I was thinking more along the lines of heavy rains,” Gafill later said. “but it is part of the tradeoff for living in this spectacular stretch along the Central Coast.”

Nepenthe has remained open to local residents and essential workers, creating a sense of certainty and positive morale among family members and staff. Visitors are once again being allowed in the area via a twice day convoy. Highway 1 is expected to open to signal traffic at the Rocky Creek slip-out on Memorial Day weekend.

“We will look forward to multiple celebratory events throughout the months ahead,” Gafill said, “once Highway 1 reopens.”

Lemmon floating around the outfield for New York University

Former Salinas High softball standout Mia Lemmon is hitting .250 in 28 games for the New York University softball team.

Listed as a utility player, the sophomore has made starts in right field and left field this spring for NYU, having ripped a homer with six runs batted in, compiling a .318 on-base percentage.

Lemmon has raised her batting average over .100 points from her freshman season, where she started 25 games, establishing college career highs in five different categories.

Lemmon was a part of the Cowboys Central Coast Section Division IV finals team in 2022, one of five players from that roster playing college softball.

The ‘Great Communicator’ visits Asilomar, 1964

Horoscopes May 12, 2024: Tony Hawk, control what happens next

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Emily VanCamp, 38; Domhnall Gleeson, 41; Tony Hawk, 56; Ving Rhames, 65.

Happy Birthday: Take the initiative and implement positive change. Start with yourself by resetting your routine to suit your needs. Balance your life to ensure you get the chance to recharge. Put aside time to reflect and initiate what makes you happy and at peace with yourself. Control what happens next by refusing to let outsiders dictate your next move. Love yourself, and everything else will fall into place. Your numbers are 8, 15, 23, 29, 33, 35, 47.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Don’t aggravate situations when TLC will get better results. Choose intelligence over brute force, and put your energy to better use by channeling it into making your world a better place. A kind gesture will do you as much good as the recipient. 2 stars

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Join forces with like-minded people and enjoy the satisfaction that comes with teamwork. Get involved in something that concerns you; make a difference and the rewards will change how you think, live and move forward. Unification can help overcome challenges. 4 stars

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Connect with old friends, attend a reunion or revisit an idea you want to pursue. Expand your life and challenge yourself to do better, and what you discover will change how you live, how you use your cash and the friendships you encounter. 3 stars

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Avoid letting anyone goad you into an argument. Use your energy to pursue a creative dream, initiate self-enhancement or help a cause that makes a difference. It’s what you do that counts, so take the initiative and be positive, and peace of mind will be yours. 3 stars

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Distance yourself from stress-related situations or people trying to take advantage of you. Focus on what you can learn about yourself and how you can make your life better. Put your energy where it counts, and focus on looking and being the best version of yourself. 3 stars

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Step up, make a difference and gain ground. You can make it happen with ingenuity, education and willingness to adopt the necessary changes to reach your destination. Traveling, connecting with old friends and nurturing relationships are favored. 4 stars

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Be direct regarding your intentions. Someone will misinterpret you if given the chance. Focus on getting things done and putting your energy where it will achieve something that does some good. Prepare to move forward alone if that’s what it takes to reach your goal. 2 stars

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You’ll gravitate toward people who share your sentiments and are willing to join forces to bring about positive change. Your foresight and work ethic will put you in a leadership position when dealing with friends, family and concerns. Love and romance are in the stars. 5 stars

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Pay attention to what’s happening at home. Oversee expenses and look for cheaper alternatives. Challenging yourself mentally and physically will encourage you to make positive changes to your routine and lifestyle. Consider an opportunity you encounter, but refrain from buying into someone else’s dream. 3 stars

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Follow your intuition instead of letting someone push you in a compromising direction. Arguing is a waste of time and energy. Focus on changes that make you happy, and look for opportunities to explore what’s new and available to you. 3 stars

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Communication will help solve problems. Be direct, say what’s on your mind, make notes and take action. Refuse to let emotions interfere with doing what’s right and best for you. Monitor a problem at home and call in an expert. 3 stars

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Participation will open doors. The insight you gain into using your skills to the best of your ability will help you succeed. Dedicate time to upgrading and intensifying how you promote yourself and what you have to offer. Personal gain is favored, and romance is on the rise. 5 stars

Birthday Baby: You are dedicated, intense and insightful. You are imaginative 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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Pro Soccer: Trager’s goal enables Monterey Bay FC to earn a tie with Memphis

SEASIDE — Tristan Trager has lived up to the expectations cast upon his arrival.

Acquired in an off-season trade, Trager’s goal in extra time Saturday enabled Monterey Bay F.C. to salvage a 2-2 tie with Memphis 901 FC at Cardinale Stadium.

The tie snapped a three-game losing streak for the Union, who remain tied for third in the Western Conference with Orange County in the United Soccer League Championship, five points behind unbeaten Sacramento.

Trager, who came over in a trade with 2023 USL Championship finalist Charleston Battery over the winter, is second in the Western Conference in goals with five.

In the teams’ first meeting with Memphis, Trager tied the game with a goal in the second half in an eventual 2-1 road win for the Union.

Having gone 300 plus minutes without a goal, which included a 1-0 loss to Sacramento in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup four days ago, the Union (5-3-2) snapped that drought in the 35th minute when Mobi Fehr scored on an assist from Carlos Guzman.

Owners of two straight wins after five straight losses, Memphis answered with a goal in the 76th minute, then produced another in the 88th minute to take the lead.

That set the stage for Trager’s heroics, as he took a pass from 2022 goal leader Chase Boone and sent it through the bottom left corner to tie the game. Guzman’s assist was his team leading third of the spring.

Memphis, who was playing its first game ever at Cardinale Stadium, had come into the match having outscored its last two opponents 7-1. It has never beaten Monterey Bay F.C. in three career matches on the pitch.

With a handful of saves, goalie Antony Siaha took over the Western Conference lead with 32 stops between the pipes for the Union, who will travel to Loudoun United FC next Saturday in Leesburg, Va.

 

College sports: CSUMB wins CCAA baseball tournament, golf team advances to nationals

POMONA — The road has not always been paved.

Yet, clearing barriers in its path the last two weeks has Cal State Monterey Bay knocking on the door heading into the NCAA Division II West Regionals.

Erupting for five runs in the ninth inning – all with two outs – is sending the Otters home Saturday with two conference baseball banners after rallying for a 12-9 win over San Francisco State at Pomona.

For the second consecutive year, the Otters will be hoisting a California Collegiate Athletic Association regular season crown and a conference tournament title, making its five plus hour ride home in the middle of the night memorable.

Earlier this month, CSUMB won its third straight CCAA conference regular season baseball title, securing a spot in the NCAA Division II West Regionals.

Adding a conference tournament title will likely give the Otters (37-18) a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the regionals, with the potential to host the regionals.

A five-game winning streak in the final week of the regular season catapulted the Otters to a conference title. Two come-from-behind wins in the tournament put them in Saturday’s final as the only undefeated team left.

Yet, falling to hold a 4-0 lead in the seventh inning against the Gators forced a second game between the two teams to decide the tournament title in the double elimination event.

Blowing another four-run lead in Game 2 in the seventh inning had the Otters staring at a two-run deficit and defeat with two outs and down to their last strike in the ninth.

That’s when Jaden Sheppard ignited another comeback in the tournament with his third hit of the game to drive in a run.

What followed was a pair of clutch two-run singles, the first coming from Thursday’s walk-off hero Nico Hartojo to give CSUMB a 10-9 lead. Pinch hitter Jimmy Garcia followed with his biggest hit of the season, lasing a two-run single.

Unable to use closer Ryan Io because he had pitched in the first two games of the series, the Otters turned to Antoine Valerio, who got the final two outs to earn the save and create pandemonium on the mound.

Valerio had made just six appearances all season for CSUMB. Prior to his entrance, Drew Aguiar threw a scoreless inning to pick up the win.

Sheppard finished with three hits, including a homer and two RBI, while Sergio Solis, Hartojo, Cole Murchison and Garcia all drove in a pair of runs. Hartojo also scored four runs.

College men’s golf

The Otters are headed to the NCAA Division II National Championships after placing fifth at the NCAA West/South Central Regionals at New Mexico State University Golf Course.

Sitting a spot out of qualifying coming into the final round, CSUMB leapfrogged Colorado Mesa by seven strokes to earn the final spot — making it eight times in the last 13 years that it will play for a national championship.

The nationals will be held May 21-25 at Orange County National Golf Club in Winter Farden, Florida. The Otters won the national title in 2011.

California Collegiate Athletic Association conference medalist Simon Bjorken carded a 1-under 70, with his birdie on the 17th hole moving CSUMB past Colorado Mesa.

Freshman Will Musson finished with a 73 to place 13th overall at 1-under. Wilhelm Berg von Linde shot a 75, followed by Tommy Kimberling’s 76.

Western New Mexico won the regional tournament, finishing 2-under as a team.