Page 6 March 12, 2015 TORRANCE TRIBUNE If Crisis Strikes, You Risk: • Losing Control • Additional Stress on Your Family • The Loss of What You Spent a Lifetime Building Proper Planning Allows You: • Maintain Control of Your Assets for the Family’s Sake • Give Control to Those you Trust, When You’re not Able • To Afford Long Term Care Costs • Keep Your Family’s Business Private This Workshop covers frequently asked questions and misconceptions on: • WILLS & TRUSTS • ASSET PROTECTION • PLANNING FOR DISABLED CHILD OR LOVED ONE • MEDI-CAL QUALIFICATION FOR NURSING HOME CARE Join Us For A Free Workshop Call (310) 782-6322 to register. Law Offices of R. Christine Brown, APC “The Estate Planning Essentials” Tuesday, March 31, 2015 from 9:30 - 11:30am. Reservations Are Required – Seating is Limited 21151 S. Western Avenue, Suite 153, Torrance, CA 90501 – There is no cost or obligation for the Workshop Life is Complicated Enough, Protecting Your Family Shouldn’t Be Untimely death or disability is tragic for your loved ones. If Crisis Strikes, You Risk: • Losing Control • Additional Stress on Your Family • The Loss of What You Spent a Lifetime Building Proper Planning Allows You: • To Maintain Control of Your Assets for the Sake of The Family • Give Control to Those you Trust Most, When You’re not Able • To Afford Long Term Care Costs • Keep Your Family’s Join Us For A Free Workshop Call (310) 782-6322 to register. This Workshop covers frequently asked questions and misconceptions on: • WILLS & TRUSTS • ASSET PROTECTION • PLANNING FOR DISABLED CHILD OR LOVED ONE Dodgers Hoping For Answers This Spring By Adam Serrao Punxsutawney Phil may have seen his shadow this year, but the six extra weeks of winter won’t stop the Los Angeles Dodgers from beginning their spring training. This season, unlike many of the ones before it, brings with it many questions for a team that has been relentlessly knocking on the door of the World Series recently. Most of the questions that all of that fans want answers to won’t be answered until the season begins, or, most likely, until more than midway through the season. For instance, will Clayton Kershaw be just as good? Will Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford help the team this year? Of course, there are many other questions left to be answered, but this year’s spring training may help us to more firmly get a grasp on the Dodgers team that we will be cheering on for 162 games this season. Perhaps one of the most daunting questions for the Los Angeles Dodgers coming into this preseason and regular is the possible emergence of young prospect Joc Pederson. Pederson tore up Triple-A last year, notching a 30/30 season, which is rare for anyone to do seeing as how they would normally be promoted to the big leagues before they reach the mark. Unfortunately for Pederson, the Dodgers had a surplus of veteran outfielders last year that prohibited him from reaching his goal. The departure of Matt Kemp, however, will give Pederson the perfect opportunity to show that he has what it takes to compete on a major league level. He is a true center fielder, exhibiting both power and speed, but as with all things in Los Angeles, there will be a short leash attached to his major league lifespan. Pederson showed all who watched last year his frequent propensity to strikeout. This season, the questions revolving around the young center fielder will certainly find answers in his ability to shake that tendency. Anyone who knows the Dodgers of a year ago knows that the beginning of the end for the ball club stemmed early on in the season from a horrid bullpen. As easily the team’s biggest weakness, the new front office duo of Farhan Zaidi and Andrew Friedman didn’t waste time in entering four new faces into the bullpen mix. Joel Peralta, Chris Hatcher, and Juan Nicasio have been called to arms to try to heal one of the worst bullpens in the league of a year ago that will already be without their best arm to start the season. Kenley Jansen recently had surgery on his foot and will miss 8-12 weeks of action. “He’s amazing, you can’t really replace that,” starting pitcher Zack Greinke said of Jansen. “So now we have to find someone for eighth and the ninth for a little bit, but I wouldn’t think he’s going to be gone too long and we should be able to find a way to be fine through it.” That way will no longer involve trusting Brian Wilson or Chris Perez. Both former closers did horribly and currently find themselves looking for work outside of LA. Now the question that remains is whether or not the veteran arms assembled by the front office can fill in while Jansen is out and, once he returns, actually form a bridge to the All-Star closer that will be formidable and pad leads created by the starting pitchers. Speaking of starting pitchers, one main question for the Dodgers over the past few years has been who would step up at the back end of the rotation. Obviously, Kershaw, Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu are locks at the front end. After that though, there are question marks abound. A team only needs five starters, but last year, the Dodgers used a total of 12 starting pitchers. That being said, a surplus of good arms is always a good problem to have. Enter Brandon McCarthy and Brett Anderson. Multiple stints on the disabled list over his career certainly scare Dodger fans and anyone who is counting on McCarthy to do his job this year. His $48 million contract, however, states that the front office has faith in him to stay healthy and pitch solidly. Anderson, on the other hand, broke his finger in 2014 and later had back surgery to officially end his season, only three years after undergoing the daunting Tommy John surgery. Neither sound like promising options at first glance, but the Friedman and Zaidi must know something. Spring training will certainly tell us if the Dodgers can get their first solid number four and five starters in over six years. With no Matt Kemp and no Hanley Ramirez, who have both been shipped off to San Diego and Boston, respectively, a Dodgers offense that ranked among the league’s best last season has suddenly lost a lot of firepower. It certainly seems as if the Dodgers were willing to give up offense to attain defense this offseason, as newcomers Jimmy Rollins, Howie Kendrick and catcher Yasmani Grandal are certainly upgrades at their positions. Unfortunately the defensive upgrade leaves holes in the offense and now Yasiel Puig will be somewhat isolated in the batting lineup. Defense wins championships, but you have to score runs to win games. We’ll see if the Dodgers can somehow accomplish both feats this season. These questions and many more are why the See Dodgers, page 10 Girls Own the Town By Adam Serrao It was the moment that the entire North High girls’ basketball team and fan base had been waiting for. After four straight playoff wins that were more like practice sessions for the Lady Saxons than real games, head coach Lauren Kamiyama and her squad had finally arrived at this year’s CIF Southern Section Division 3AA championship game at Azusa Pacific University last Saturday morning to take on the El Dorado Golden Hawks. Thanks in large part to a dominating third quarter, North was able to get themselves back in the game after a slow start. It took extra time to decide the winner in what a nailbiter of a game, but ultimately the Lady Saxons used the grit and determination that they had compiled throughout the course of a long and grueling season to pull out the 51-50 and take home their first section championship in school history. When the North High girls hit the stage of the championship, they simply fell flat. Almost as if they weren’t ready for the bright lights, or a bit anxious because of them, Kamiyama’s team began their biggest game of the year in a hole. “I thought we were hesitant in the beginning of the game,” the coach said. Hesitant may have been an understatement as North managed just nine points in each of the first two quarters. The team shot relied on three pointers early and often and missed them, shooting only 20 percent on the night from behind the arc and before the North girls knew it, they were facing a 27-18 deficit at halftime. It was the third quarter that got North back in the game. Senior guard Kylie Oshiro not only led the way for the Saxons’ offense, but also helped her team hold El Dorado to only four point in the quarter, all but erasing their nine point halftime deficit. Down by just one heading into the fourth, Daylene Taualii gave the Lady Saxons their first lead of the game with a layup in the key early on in the fourth quarter. From there on out, it was a back-and-forth battle between the two teams that were both salivating for the championship crown. The Saxons held a slim two point lead with just seconds remaining on the fourth quarter clock. El Dorado’s Jaylin Jones took the ball out of the inbounds while North picked the worst time possible to loosen up on defense. Jones drove the length of the court and as the buzzer sounded, put up a layup the bounced in and tied the game at the last second possible. That basket meant overtime. In the extra period the gridlocked battle continued as both teams fought for the one bucket that would push them over the top. With only five points in the overtime period, North (27-2, 10-0) outscored El Dorado by one. The game ended at a 51-50 score and North High was finally able to celebrate their first championship ever. “It’s our senior year and I’m so proud of all this hard work,” Oshiro, who finished with 11 points on the night, explained as tears rolled down her face. At last, the long and grueling season was over. There was no “next game” on the schedule. There was no more “practice on monday”. The season was over and the North High Lady Saxons finished their year with a win. Victory was, at last, all theirs. South High The North High girls’ team wasn’t the only girls’ team from Torrance engaged in a close, down-to-the-wire championship game last Saturday morning. As soon as the Lady Saxons vacated the court, the Lady Spartans stepped on to chase their own title in the CIF Southern Section Division 2A title game against Colony at Azusa Pacific University. The game began in much the opposite way of the North High game, with South jumping out to an early lead and exerting dominance to start the first quarter. An 11-4 lead to begin the game for South set the tempo, but Colony would battle back. Destinee Williams and Aries Cowser-Barnes combined for 44 of the teams 56 points and as Colony exerted pressure, South tensed up and began making silly mistakes. “We just had to relax,” South coach Bobby Imamura said of his team. “Shot selection was good, we were just kind of rushing it.” Imamura’s Lady Spartans picked a good time to relax. With about five minutes remaining in the game and his team trailing by 12 points, it looked as if Colony might wrap this one up. Just then, the Spartans hit their stride. An offensive run sparked by two separate three-point plays got the Lady Spartans to as close as 56-55. With just seconds left on the clock, South needed a stop to have a chance at winning the game. Alexis Henry got that stop for her team and as the final seconds were ticking off of the clock, Kristy Takahashi threw up a running floater that sank into the basket to give her team the lead. The buzzer sounded. Takahashi was the hero. The Spartans won the championship. Just like North, No. 3 South is representing the city of Torrance as the CIF Division 2A champions. Takahashi scored a game high 20 points for South (23-7, 6-4) in the victory that has her team ending the season with a victory and as the number one team in the division. A regular season that ended with back-to-back losses to North and West has now been redeemed. Your Lady Spartans are CIF champions. See Girls, page 10
Torrance_031215_FNL_lorez
To see the actual publication please follow the link above