TORRANCE TRIBUNE July 23, 2015 Page 3 “Perhaps the biggest challenge for coach Sain and the rest of the South High Spartans will come in the starting pitching department.” Burkley & Brandlin LLP A T T O R N E Y S A T L AW Living Trusts/Wills, Probate, Employment Law, Personal Injury Trust and Estates Litigation, Business Litigation, Civil Litigation 310-540-6000 *AV Rated (Highest) Martindale - Hubbell / **Certified Specialist Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law, State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization From Bust to Boom By Adam Serrao Only a few weeks ago, we all thought that the Los Angeles Clippers were doomed. DeAndre Jordan verbally committed to join the Dallas Mavericks, thus leaving a void at the center position for L.A. and the team was, from that point on, significantly weakened. Unfortunately for the Mavs, but very fortunately for the Clippers, verbal agreements don’t mean anything in the National Basketball Association. Jordan went home to his house in Houston, Texas and got cold feet. After being surrounded by his former Clipper teammates, Jordan’s verbal agreement with Dallas dissolved. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was sent home empty handed and with tears in his eyes. Not only did Jordan’s decision to rejoin the Clippers essentially take Dallas out of the playoff picture, but it also instantly made Los Angeles championship contenders. After all of the twisting and turning and lobbying by owners, coaches, and players, DeAndre Jordan settled on a four-year deal worth 87.7 million to stay with the Clippers. Not only did his decision to stay in L.A. make him a very rich man, but it also made the Clippers a very scary team. “We know what he does and what he’s capable of,” said Jordan’s teammate Blake Griffin. “He’s a game changer.” Jordan may not be the best center in the league and he may not know how to shoot free throws, but as Griffin said, his presence is certainly consistently felt on the court. Should Jordan have committed to going to Dallas, his weaknesses as a player would have been glaring. Staying with the Clippers, however, is the perfect fit for Jordan among teammates who all have very specific roles. What we know of the Clippers from last season is that they blew a 3-1 series lead against the Houston Rockets in what quickly became one of the biggest postseason meltdowns in the history of the league. A lot of times, teams just don’t come back from that. Should the Clippers have lost DeAndre Jordan, they certainly wouldn’t have. With Jordan back in the fold, the center joins Griffin, Chris Paul and a completely revamped supporting cast that just may push coach Doc Rivers and his squad over the edge this season. The biggest thing that cost the Clippers their two-game lead in the playoffs last season was depth. Rivers wasted no time in addressing that this offseason. The team lost Matt Barnes, but replaced him with Paul Pierce. They re-signed backup point guard Austin Rivers, traded for Lance Stephenson, acquired Wesley Johnson and backup center Cole Aldrich and most recently picked up Josh Smith on a veteran’s minimum deal that was a huge steal for the Clippers. Not only did acquiring Smith make the Clippers better off of the bench, but it also weakened the Rockets, who knocked L.A. out of contention last season. Naturally, critics will arise and point out the fact that Pierce is another year older, Smith is a ball-stopper who makes teams worse and Stephenson is a lost cause. Some of those things may be true, but on paper, the team is still light-years better than they were last season. This newly revamped Clippers club not only has what it takes now to make a deep run into the playoffs, but they have also arisen as one of only four teams that have the ability to make it out of the Western Conference next season. The See Bust to Boom, page 4 SOUTH BAY WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD ASSISTS JOB SEEKERS, EMPLOYERS AND YOUTH THROUGH GOVERNMENT-FUNDED PROGRAMS For more than 30 years, the South Bay Workforce Investment Board (SBWIB) has administered employment and training programs for LA County’s South Bay Area. Within the 11 cities serviced (Carson, El Segundo, Gardena, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Inglewood, Lawndale, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Lomita and Torrance), the SBWIB accomplishes its goals through partnerships with local committees handling business and economic development, One-Stop locations, performance and evaluation, as well as a Youth Development Council. Through workforce investment funds, the SBWIB offers dislocated workers with free training programs and job-searching resources. Job-searching equipment, as well as seminars, workshops and job placement assistance are available at the four One-Stop Business & Career Centers (Gardena, Inglewood, Carson and Torrance). The SBWIB assists businesses through an innovative Rapid Response Program geared towards layoff aversion. Parker Hannifin Corporation’s Carson facility is a recent success story. An initial meeting revealed that nearly 60 employees lacked sufficient English skills and were facing potential layoff. A layoff aversion plan was formulated that resulted in the SBWIB approaching a local adult school partner to assess the employees’ English skill levels and set up on-site training. Since September, the affected employees have been attending Business English classes three days a week with several of those individuals now being considered for promotions. Recruitment assistance, pre-screening of applicants, On-The-Job training and Transitional Subsidized Employment (TSE) are other programs available to local companies and small businesses. The SBWIB also prepares youth for entry into the workforce by emphasizing education and services that promote relevant workplace skills and experiences leading to industry-recognized credentials and career pathway employment, including apprenticeships. Special emphasis is aimed at the reengagement of disconnected youth through intervention and prevention services. The SBWIB is one of the highest performing Workforce Investment Boards (WIB) in the state and is often recognized by the California Workforce Investment Board (CWIB) for its achievements. Continuous collaborations with business, economic development, education, government, labor and community organizations, helps the SBWIB provide a dynamic, efficient and effective workforce development system, ensuring a skilled workforce and vibrant economy in the South Bay Area. For more information please call: 310-970-7700. www.sbwib.org • www.southbay1stop.org Spartans Still Scorching in Summer League By Adam Serrao Baseball season may be over, but that doesn’t mean that work is done for South High Spartans head coach Grady Sain. After two straight years of making it as close as you can possibly get to a CIF championship trophy without actually getting it, Sain is busy this summer attempting to find the recipe for his team to finally make it over the hump. The Spartans have owned the Pioneer League lately, but this offseason looks a little bit different than previous ones. With a lot of young talent on the team, Sain and the Spartans will take to this season with little senior leadership at the helm. Getting back to the CIF championship game may be a challenge, but Sain wouldn’t have things any other way. Perhaps the biggest challenge for coach Sain and the rest of the South High Spartans will come in the starting pitching department. The Spartans always seem to line up great pitching but replacing two senior starters from last year tends to always serve as a difficult task. Add to the equation that those starting pitchers names are Drake Pingel and Nick Beardsley. Pingel has been the team’s ace for seemingly as long as anyone can remember. His numbers from this past season certainly show why. A 2.18 ERA combined with 11 wins in 93 innings pitched while striking out a total of 95 batters were numbers that placed the senior pitcher among the best in his league. Beardsley’s numbers were about just as good. A 2.11 ERA with nine wins in just about 53 innings pitched while compiling 66 strikeouts during the season made the Beardsley along with Pingel the most feared pitching duo in the Pioneer League and beyond. While other team’s from around the city of Torrance and around the league will send Pingel and Beardsley off to College of a red carpet, coach Sain knows that he will miss his two pitchers sorely. “Pingel and Beardsley, man, they threw a lot of innings,” Sain explained. “Drake was closing in on 100 innings. I never thought that would have been possible. In the playoffs, one starts and the other one finishes it up. That’s the way it goes when you’re hot.” Both Pingel and Beardsley combined for 153 innings pitched and 20 wins last season. They were certainly hot all season long. It was their presence that willed the Spartans to victories in the playoffs and it is their absence that Sain already knows will challenge the club next year. Throughout this summer league, however, the Spartans have been looking just fine without their two starting pitchers from a season ago. Of their first eight games played, the Spartans won six. Not bad for a team without any seniors from a year ago and without players like Trevor Talpas and last year’s starting first baseman, Matt Diederich, who are both in football practice. “It’s one of those summers where whoever we’ve got coming out to the yard, just try to play some good baseball,” Sain said of this year’s summer league. “We’ve got some young guys getting some opportunities. It’s been a good summer so far. We’re playing some pretty decent ball.” Some of those young guys who figure to fit in nicely for the Spartans next season are the aforementioned Talpas and Diederich and junior catcher Matt Mavrosakis. Last year, Mavrosakis batted .362 with 22 RBI’s and 18 runs scored. Those numbers can certainly expect to see a boost as his usage and in turn, production will rise as a key member of next year’s team. Diederich will certainly be back to start at first base for the team while Talpas has the tough task of taking over as the ace of the pitching staff. “Talpas is a guy who’s going to step in and I think he’s capable,” Sain said. “He has really good stuff, he’s pitched some this summer, his stuff has elevated a bit from last season, so that’s good. He’s getting stronger.” With almost 9 months left until next season, Talpas still has a lot of time to get even better as he prepares to take over at the head of the pitching staff. It’s clear that the Spartans have a game plan for next season that is already beginning to take shape this summer. Getting over back-toback championship game losses, however, will undoubtedly be no easy task. With a head coach that has been there before, however, and just a couple of players remaining that have been through the experience, anything is possible. Sain and the rest of the South High Spartans will have to prepare for a year that is going to be much different than any other that has been experienced in the near past, but with a lot of young talent that is sure to be eager to make a big impression on the team, Sain and the rest of the South High faithful can certainly look to expect big things from the Spartans again next year. •
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