EL SEGUNDO HERALD January 5, 2017 Page 5 December Not a Month to Remember for Lakers By Adam Serrao If there has been anything that the Los Angeles Lakers have wanted for Christmas, one might naturally say that it’s an NBA championship. Since no one is slipping any rings on their fingers this year—or on Jeanie Buss’s, whose engagement with Phil Jackson was just called off--then the next best thing might just be to finish the season with a better record than last year. Heading into the month of December, that goal looked easily attainable. Los Angeles stood at 10- 10 in the standings and only needed seven more wins to achieve a better year than the organization’s worst ever from a season ago. The Lakers then went on to lose 14 of their next 16 games in the last month of 2016, leaving head coach Luke Walton and fans scratching their heads. It’s already clear that the Los Angeles Lakers will finish the 2016-’17 season with a better record than the team posted a season ago, barring an utter catastrophe. Though the Lakers may still not make the playoffs, the black cloud had disappeared from atop the Staples Center and has been replaced by a slight feeling of optimism surrounding the organization. Unfortunately for L.A., those feelings of optimism were quickly fleeting during the month of December. The Lakers were thankful for a new season in the month of November, and showed that by notching an impressive win over the Chicago Bulls in the last game of the month. That’s when the winter chill in the air turned Los Angeles cold. The Lakers proceeded to lose their next eight games and 12 of their next 13. “As a group, as a team, we’ve got to learn about winning and how hard it is,” Walton said about his squad. “It’s frustrating, but it’s where we are at. Like I told our guys, we’re going to find a way out. When that is? Time will tell.” The Lakers have shown signs of rising out of their funk recently, most specifically with victories over their roommates, the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Philadelphia 76ers. With a new month and a new year now upon us, the Lakers can only hope to shake their bad luck away and replace it with more optimism. Walton hasn’t necessarily been complacent during his team’s recent stretch of horrible play. Unlike previous coaches to come through the Laker locker room, Walton expects better from his team, despite the youth and inexperience. As Nick Young and D’Angelo Russell noted, Walton’s not shy about letting his players know that. “He raised his voice. He got his point across today,” Young said of Walton after the team’s 107-97 loss to the Brooklyn Nets earlier in the year. Walton was apparently not shy about telling his team that he thought that they were playing “soft” basketball. “I know I’m not soft,” Young continued. “My teammates aren’t soft, so we got to show him and prove ourselves.” Russell explained how he thought Walton was simply daring his team to be better. “He came in, said what he said, and it was just a challenge,” the second-year guard said. The Lakers beat the 76ers two days later, but then proceeded to lose four more in a row. Where the Lakers lost often last year and lost badly, many of the team’s defeats this year have been close games. Whether it was a three-point loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, a four-point loss to the Phoenix Suns, or two losses to the Utah Jazz by a total of eight points, Los Angeles has certainly had its share of chances to walk away with wins despite an otherwise bleak month of December. Walton described “opportunities that would have given us a chance to win the game,” most specifically in the team’s last game against the Jazz in which it lost by just two points. If the Lakers can figure out how to close out games, their record and overall well-being would be a lot different this season. As a young team, it has become clear that the Lakers are certainly going to go through their share of growing pains. There has been no greater sign of that than the team’s overall record in the month of December. Los Angeles looked like an exciting and competitive team to begin the year, but recently submitted to the youthfulness and inexperience that is obviously evident across the roster. Even still, the basketball season is one that is long and trying. One month doesn’t define an entire year and in lieu of all the losing, the Lakers and Russell must keep that in mind. “[Losing] is not what these fans are used to,” Russell said. “It’s not what Coach is used to. Our main focus is turning around the organization, and there’s losses here and there, but eight and 10 and 12 in a row—that’s not us. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I don’t want guys to speak their minds. I just want to come in and get to work.” The Lakers need to get to work soon and grow up in a hurry before the losing months mount up and people begin talking about the draft lottery once again. – Asixlion@earthlink.net • Wrapping Up 2016 in El Segundo Sports Story by Gregg McMullin Photos provided by Gregg McMullin And just like that, another year of El Segundo sports is in the books. With the welcoming of 2017 and the good riddance of 2016, it was a year to remember. Through it all it was another year in sports we won’t soon forget. The El Segundo Little League saw tragedy strike when two fathers, who were volunteer coaches, were killed and left behind grief-stricken families. Having already revisited the first six months of 2016, let’s stroll along memory lane and look back at the remainder of the calendar. The El Segundo Babe Ruth League celebrated its 61st year. The Beavers, under first-year coach Joe Dornblaser; and the Stars, under Larry Robinson, met for the championship and bragging rights. In the first elimination contest the Stars played a clean game behind the pitching of Marquez- Wasson (two innings), Matt Covarrubias (three innings) and Ethan Burner who finished up the last two innings. When Burner got David Brady to fly out to Stars’ right-fielder Kyle McMullin, who made a highlight catch to end the game, the Stars secured a spot in the championship game with a 7-1 win. In the finale, the Stars were outpitched and outhit as the Beavers played flawless defense in a 6-3 win to claim championship bragging rights. David Brady went the distance, throwing 107 pitches (including 77 for strikes), striking out three and allowing up just four hits. At the closing ceremonies, Connor Smith received an award commemorating winning the Home Run Derby. Outgoing President Peter Gianusso stood at the podium and asked for a moment of silence. He told the large crowd of parents, players and friends how our small, tight-knit community had come together and supported the families of Ike Mahoney and Bill Klug in the aftermath of both men tragically being taken from their families. El Segundo Little League (ESLL) made local history. For the first time, a Major Division and a Minor Division team each won the coveted Beach Cup in the same year. The Major Athletics and the Triple-A Giants each went through pool play to win their respective tournaments. In All Star play, the ESLL 9-10-year-olds fell into the losers’ bracket before mauling the Redondo Little League Blue team 11-1 to stay alive. Landon Davis and Dylan Immel led the offensive attack while James Baldino and Benji Kerin were unhittable on the mound. Unfortunately, they fell in the next elimination game. The 12-year-olds had dropped into the losers’ bracket when they lost to Redondo Little League in the winners’ bracket final. The locals then faced Palos Verdes Little League in the losers’ bracket final. The fans may have gone to a baseball game, but it turned out to be a football 20-7 score in favor of El Segundo. In the championship game El Segundo faced Redondo Little League again on a sun-drenched afternoon, but fell 14-3. The American Legion baseball team won the Pacific League for the second time in three years and advanced to the state tournament in Yountville. El Segundo reached the finals, but fell to San Mateo in the championship game. San Mateo ended up winning the Western Regional and advancing to the World Series where they placed third. A reunion of the 1986 American Legion team that reached the 1986 American Legion World Series met this past summer. Members of the team included Kemer Brett, Gary Meza, Mike Gronroos, Scott Talanoa, Tim Williams, Dennis Reed, Jeremy Varner, Dave Lubs, Matt Filson, Chad Stevens, Jose Sanchez and assistant coach Craig Cousins. They were on hand to relive that glory summer. The El Segundo High School cross country teams had a historical year. They hosted their first meet in 25 years. Shane Mahon (12) and Natalie Faivre (12) now hold the boys’ and girls’ El Segundo home course records at 14:44 and 17:55 respectively. The girls’ squad defended its Ocean League title. This was the team’s fourth league championship since the program’s inception (with the other years being 1979, 2011 and 2015). The girls advanced to the State Meet as a team for the third time in program history that included back-to-back years in 2010 and 2011. They took eighth place this year in Division IV at the California State Meet held at Woodward Park in Fresno. The boys’ team advanced to the CIF Division Finals for the second consecutive year--the only two times the program has advanced to that level. A couple of former El Segundo High cross country runners made news at the colligate level. Alum (2013) Anna Farello was the first former Eagle (of any gender) to run in the NCAA Division I National Cross Country Championships, doing so for the University of Portland. The 2016 alum Brianna Harmon was the first Lady Eagle to run in the California State Junior College Cross Country Championships, as she competed for El Camino College The boys’ water polo team had a great season by winning the Ocean League with a relatively young team. The Eagles wound up winning 20 games for the third consecutive season and advanced to the CIF playoffs. Brett Quesada was one of the area’s top goalies, while the play of Kyle Crist, Nolan Young, Owen Hale, Kyle Parker Kaeden Hahn, Visit us online: www.heraldpublications.com Members of the 1986 American Legion baseball team that placed third at the 1986 American Legion World Series gathered for a reunion. See El Segundo Sports, page 7
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