Sehat Gembira

Pac-12 football: Cal holds off Northwestern, 31-24

Written By kolimtiga on Minggu, 31 Agustus 2014 | 22.26

Jared Goff threw for 281 yards and three touchdowns, Jalen Jefferson had a key interception, and California hung on to beat Northwestern, 31-24, Saturday in a season opener at Evanston, Ill.

The Golden Bears looked like they were on their way to an easy victory up 31-7 in the third quarter. Instead, they had to sweat this one out.

Northwestern got two touchdowns in a 25-second span late in the third to pull within 10. Jack Mitchell added a 24-yard field goal with 5:18 left in the game to make it 31-24, and the Wildcats were threatening to score again when Jefferson came up big.

With Northwestern on the California 27, he sacked Trevor Siemian for an 11-yard loss. On the next play, he picked off a tipped pass that was intended for Pierre Youngblood-Ary at the 15, and the Golden Bears came away with the win after dropping 16 straight to FBS opponents.

Coming off a 5-7 season, the Wildcats couldn't slow Cal's up-tempo offense or get anything going when they had the ball.

Goff, who threw for more than 3,500 yards as a freshman, completed 21 of 34 with an interception.

Trevor Davis caught a 76-yard touchdown. California racked up 414 yards to come away with the win after going 1-11 in Coach Sonny Dykes' first season.

No. 3 Oregon 62, South Dakota 13

Marcus Mariota threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns and ran for one more score for Oregon before sitting out the second half in Eugene, Ore.

Running back Byron Marshall was Oregon's top receiver with eight catches for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman Royce Freeman, a five-star recruit out of Imperial, California, ran for 75 yards and two more scores.

The Ducks have won 10 straight home openers.

Mariota's 62-yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Stanford on Oregon's first series of the game gave him the Ducks' career record for touchdowns with 79 (64 pass, 14 rush and one reception), surpassing Joey Harrington.

at No. 11 Stanford 45, UC Davis 0: Ty Montgomery returned a punt for a touchdown and caught five passes for 77 yards and another score, and the Cardinal tuned up for a date with USC next week by routing the Aggies.

The All-American kick returner, who was cleared by team doctors to play earlier this week after off-season surgery on his right shoulder, looked ready to be the Cardinal's do-it-all playmaker again. He ran his first punt back 60 yards for a TD and lined up all over the field, including once as a wildcat quarterback.

Stanford led 38-0 at the half and rested most of its starters the final two quarters.

Kevin Hogan threw for 204 yards and three touchdowns to help the two-time defending Pac-12 champions get off to a mostly smooth start. He completed 12 of 16 passes and had one interception.

Stanford's retooled defense held the Aggies to 115 total yards, forced three turnovers and sacked London Lacy four times to overwhelm the lower-tier Football Championship Subdivision team. UC Davis didn't crossed midfield until the final play of the game.

The Cardinal's first shutout since beating Colorado 48-0 on Nov. 3, 2012 showed just how far it has come since losing 20-17 at home to UC Davis in 2005.

No. 25 Washington 17, Hawaii 16

John Ross scored on a reverse and a 91-yard catch and the Huskies off Hawaii despite a weak second half in Coach Chris Petersen's debut.

The Huskies overcame late pushes from Hawaii and offensive problems late in the game, when their best accomplishment was running out the clock.

Jeff Lindquist threw for 162 yards in his first start for Washington after Cyler Miles was suspended for the game. But most of Lindquist's total came on the big play to Ross.

Washington's defense struggled early, spotting Hawaii a 10-0 lead on its first two possessions. The Rainbow Warriors lost the advantage in one quick second-quarter burst, turning the ball over on downs and then allowing the Huskies' second-longest pass play in school history.

Hawaii's Joey Iosefa rushed for 143 yards and a touchdowns.

at Oregon State 29, Portland State 14: Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion passed for 328 yards and one touchdown and rushed for another score as the Beavers rallied from a 14-13 halftime deficit to avoid a season-opening loss at home to an FCS school for the third time in four seasons.

Oregon State forced turnovers on five of Portland State's first six possessions of the second half and took the lead for good on Garrett Owen's 26-yard field goal with 10:58 to play in the third quarter.

Owens added field goals of 25, 25, 31 and 23 yards, Oregon State's Storm Woods had 16 carries for 126 yards rushing and the Beavers finished with 505 yards of offense to Portland State's 215.

Portland State backup quarterback Paris Penn finished with nine carries for 112 yards and two touchdowns for the Vikings of the Big Sky Conference, who managed only 40 yards offense in the second half.

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Focused Trojans romp past Fresno State in opener, 52-13

USC's new no-huddle offense moved up and down the field with speed and efficiency, veterans and talented freshmen adding spectacular accents.

The Trojans' new defense was mostly stout and created opportunities.

On Saturday at the Coliseum, the No. 15 Trojans looked nothing like an unfocused team after enduring a week of bizarre and inflammatory distractions.

Instead, they gave new Coach Steve Sarkisian his first victory, a 52-13 rout of Fresno State.

"That was fun," Sarkisian said. "Gosh."

Quarterback Cody Kessler passed for four touchdowns as the Trojans' no-huddle offense rolled up 701 yards in 105 plays, a Pac-12 Conference record.

Junior Nelson Agholor caught two touchdown passes and freshman receiver Adoree' Jackson and freshman tight end Bryce Dixon each caught one while freshman JuJu Smith amassed 123 yards in receptions as new players contributed in all three phases.

It should get decidedly more difficult next Saturday when the Trojans travel to Stanford for their Pac-12 opener.

But for a night anyway, the Trojans can bask in the glow of an impressive start.

"The best part," said Kessler, who passed for a career-best 394 yards, "was that it felt like we've been playing with Sark for years.

"It didn't feel like a new era."

Kessler torched Fresno State for a Las Vegas Bowl-record four touchdowns last December, but that was under an entirely different set of circumstances.

Sarkisian, hired earlier that month, had watched that game from the press box and the sideline, itching for his chance to coach the Trojans.

Preparations appeared interrupted this week after cornerback Josh Shaw's tale of sustaining ankle injuries while saving a potentially drowning nephew last Saturday came crashing down, putting NCAA sanctions-free USC back in the national limelight for another off-the-field controversy. Shaw was suspended indefinitely after his admission to school officials that the story was fabricated, and a police investigation into his involvement in an incident last Saturday at a downtown apartment complex that night continues.

A day after Shaw's admission, a post to former player Anthony Brown's Instagram account accused Sarkisian of racism, a charge denounced by several current and former Trojans players.

But the Trojans did not appear distracted Saturday.

"I maybe brought it up to them twice all week," Sarkisian said.

Kessler rushed for a touchdown and passed for three more as USC rolled to a 31-7 halftime lead.

Fresno State scored to start the second half. But for the second time in eight months the Bulldogs were no match for the Trojans.

Sarkisian had hoped that the high-speed attack he brought with him from Washington would allow the Trojans to push the pace and run more plays.

USC started the game with a 90-yard, 17-play drive that featured seven players touching the ball.

Unlike predecessor Lane Kiffin, who often seemed fixated on a laminated, menu-sized play-call sheet, Sarkisian moved freely about the sideline, sometimes taking a crouching position 25 yards behind the line of scrimmage.

The offense was not perfect — tailbacks Justin Davis and Javorius Allen lost first-half fumbles — but the performance had to give Stanford and the rest of the conference something to think about, especially with so many freshmen seemingly unfazed by the college stage.

It was also the debut of defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox's 3-4 scheme.

With the exception of the first series of the third quarter, the unit appeared aggressive and engaged.

Safety Gerald Bowman, defensive lineman Leonard Williams and linebackers Anthony Sarao and Michael Hutchings intercepted passes.

The Trojans were not distracted by the off-the-field incidents, players said.

"We pushed that to the side," cornerback Kevon Seymour said. "We were just focused."

Twitter: @latimesklein

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Padres turn back Dodgers in extra innings again, 2-1 in 10th

KEY MOMENT: Jamey Wright gave up a leadoff single in the 10th inning to Will Venable, who stole second base. Venable scored the winning run on a single to center field by Alexi Amarista.

ON THE MOUND: Zack Greinke limited the Padres to a run and four hits over eight innings. He struck out eight and walked two. Greinke has pitched seven or more innings in five of his last seven starts. With the game tied, 1-1, J.P. Howell uncharacteristically allowed the first two batters he faced to reach base, as he gave up a hit to Abraham Almonte and walked Seth Smith. Howell forced Yasmani Grandal to line into a double play. Brian Wilson recorded the final out of the inning to send the game into extra innings.

AT THE PLATE: Adrian Gonzalez tied the game, 1-1, in the sixth inning with his team-leading 19th home run. The home run was Gonzalez's 61st at Petco Park, the most of any player in history. No other player has hit more than 38. The Dodgers had only one hit in the first five innings, a fifth-inning single by Carl Crawford. The left fielder stole second base and reached third on a fly ball to center field by Justin Turner. But Drew Butera struck out with Crawford on third base, setting up an inning-ending fly out by Greinke. Padres starter Ian Kennedy held the Dodgers to a run and four hits over seven innings.

EXTRA BASES: Yasiel Puig snapped a 0-for-22 skid with an eighth-inning single Former closer Trevor Hoffman was inducted into the Padres Hall of Fame in a pregame ceremony.

SPECIAL EVENT: Clayton Kershaw and his wife, Ellen, will host their second annual celebrity pingpong tournament Thursday at Dodger Stadium. The event will raise money for Kershaw's Challenge, a nonprofit foundation that works with low-income communities and underprivileged children in Los Angeles, Dallas and Zambia. For information on tickets and sponsorship packages, visit http://www.kershawschallenge.com/pp4p.

ON THE FARM: Outfielder Alex Verdugo, the Dodgers' second-round selection in the 2014 draft, was named to the Arizona League All-Star team. Verdugo, 18, batted .347 with three home runs, 14 doubles and 33 runs batted in.

UP NEXT: Hyun-Jin Ryu (13-6, 3.28 earned-run average) will face Eric Stults (6-14, 4.63) and the Padres at Petco Park on Sunday at 1 p.m. On the air: SportsNet LA. Radio: 570, 1020.

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Will Power gets first IndyCar title as Tony Kanaan wins Fontana race

Turns out the fourth time was the charm for IndyCar driver Will Power.

The Australian driver captured his first Verizon IndyCar Series championship Saturday night, while Tony Kanaan won the series' season-ending race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.

Power finished ninth in the MAVTV 500, and his teammate and closest pursuer in the title chase, Helio Castroneves, finished 14th. That gave Power a 62-point advantage over Castroneves in the final standings.

"I was crying over the [finish] line," Power, 33, told a television audience from Victory Lane. "It's for real, man. I can't believe it. My hands are like numb from holding onto the wheel so tight."

It was sweet redemption for Power, who was poised to win the championship in three consecutive years — 2010, 2011 and 2012 — only to see the title slip away in the season's final race.

For Kanaan, the victory Saturday night was the veteran's first of the season, and it ended a frustrating year in which he had come close to winning several other races in his first season with the Target Chip Ganassi Racing team.

"It was a long time coming," Kanaan said of his win, his first since he won the Indianapolis 500 last year.

Kanaan's teammate Scott Dixon, the reigning IndyCar champion, finished second.

Ed Carpenter was third and Power's other teammate, Juan Pablo Montoya, finished fourth.

Power, Castroneves and Montoya drive for owner Roger Penske, and this was Penske's first IndyCar title since Sam Hornish Jr. won it in 2006.

"What a night, you couldn't ask for anything more," Penske said.

Much of the field Saturday night, including Power, moved up one spot before the race started because of rookie Mikhail Aleshin's crash during practice Friday night.

Aleshin suffered multiple injuries and was in stable condition at a local hospital Saturday. But his team opted not to race his car with a replacement driver. Aleshin had qualified eighth, so everyone from ninth to 22nd gained a spot.

Power, who qualified a poor 21st, started 20th because of the Aleshin situation and then methodically picked off one car after another through the first 160 laps of the 250-lap race to reach sixth place.

At the same time, the race was running at a blistering pace because there were no incidents that triggered caution periods.

But the race's complexion changed on Lap 176 when Ryan Hunter-Reay spun out in Turn 4 of the two-mile Auto Club Speedway oval to bring out the first caution flag.

After the restart, Power decided to be aggressive and in one lap he stormed to first from fourth by passing Castroneves, Dixon and Kanaan.

With 34 laps left, Castroneves' title hopes all but vanished when he was penalized for a pit-road violation that dropped him to 14th.

"After that it was just bring it home," Castroneves said. "It gives me a reason to come back stronger next year."

French driver Simon Pagenaud was third in the title standings when the race started, 81 points behind Power, but his championship hopes ended before 25 laps were completed.

Pagenaud had to make an early pit stop with an ill-handling car, then his team struggled to get him out of the pits quickly. That dropped the Frenchman to the rear of the field and he ultimately finished 20th.

Follow @PeltzLATimes for more motor racing news

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USC opener is a Sark easy one for new coach

The swatch of cardinal flew down the sidelines, arms pumping, feet skipping, play card flapping.

In Saturday's brilliant homecoming parade, Steve Sarkisian was the prettiest of floats.

He hugged helmets, smacked shoulder pads, leaped into the thick air, crouched on the warm grass, fittingly rollicked along the Coliseum sidelines Saturday as if it were the backyard of his youth.

His USC players? They were the parade's high-stepping band, new and shiny, twirling and trilling, entertaining and, oh yeah, resounding in victory.

USC 52, Fresno State 13.... Sark-nado 3?

"It's great to be back, great to be home, great to be a Trojan, fight on," Sarkisian said afterward, bathed in sweat and hugs after the most lopsided Trojans coaching debut since Howard Jones beat Whittier, 74-0, in 1925.

The last few controversy-filled days were endless, but his debut was breathless. The questions were suffocating, but his answers were scintillating.

Sarkisian promised fast and, man, was that Trojans offense crazy fast and furiously effective, 702 total yards on a stunning Pac-12 record 105 plays.

Sarkisian promised tough, and, goodness, the Trojans defense was battering tough, creating four turnovers and holding the Bulldogs to 317 total yards.

Sarkisian also promised fun, and the entire evening was a blast, Trojans sprinting down sidelines, diving across the middle, flying into backfields and freshman tight end Bryce Dixon even leaping over an end zone barrier after catching a 22-yard touchdown pass.

"It's a new beginning for all of us," said freshman guard Viane Talamaivao.

Nobody partied harder than Sarkisian, whose sideline emotions peaked in the third quarter when he actually bumped chests with quarterback Cody Kessler, who perfectly fit the new offense with 394 yards passing, four touchdowns and zero interceptions.

"You better check our verts," Sarkisian said. "I might have been higher than Cody."

The players loved the emotion that has been missing from this program since Pete Carroll left town five years ago, even joking afterward about Sarkisian's young legs and endless energy.

They also loved the inclusion that led to eight different players carrying the ball and 10 different players catching the ball, and touchdowns by freshman Adoree Jackson and Dixon. It turns out, Sarkisian not only brought in a new offense, but unearthed a bunch of buried talent.

"Real recognizes real," said Talamaivao. "Players can tell which people are real, and Sark is real."

It was a game filled not only with a sense of renewal, but also relief, a party at the end of a week that felt like a wake.

The problems began Tuesday with the news that Sarkisian had been snookered by one of his captains and most trusted players.

Make no mistake, it was Sarkisian who bears the ultimate responsibility of USC believing and releasing Josh Shaw's story that he had injured his ankles jumping off a balcony in an attempt to save his 7-year-old nephew from drowning.

No sooner was Shaw suspended for the lie — the real story was that he jumped off an apartment balcony for reasons still unknown — then Sarkisian came under fire again when former Trojan Anthony Brown accused him of being a racist.

Those who have played for Sarkisian during his 15-year coaching career immediately exposed those accusations as absurd, but Sarkisian nonetheless bore the weight of their stress.

"I maybe brought it up to them twice all week," Sarkisian said of the distractions. "I wasn't going to let an external factor motivate us or not motivate us, it never will. We found out a lot about this team. We dealt with the week like professionals."

All of which led Sarkisian into the searing heat Saturday afternoon on sort of a homecoming mission, returning after a six-year absence to show fans the former offensive coordinator was the head coach who stalks the sidelines with his head up, his body language strong, his presence huge. Sure, he could have successfully followed Lane Kiffin by simply keeping air in the football, but still….

"Good to get a win, good to be home. I'm going to go to the band, guys, sorry," he said immediately, ending an on-field interview by running with his players over to the Coliseum corner to be serenaded by the Trojans marching band.

On the way, he jumped on the back of safety Su'a Cravens. Once there, he remained in the middle of the pack of players, pumping his arm with two fingers outstretched like everyone else, just another Trojan.

When the band finished, Sark walked over to a pack of Torrance neighbors and friends, hugging everyone as if they were meeting at a barbecue.

Then, finally, he met his family, hugging and posing for photos with his three children, kissing his wife, and then putting his arm around his 9-year-old son, Brady, and walking with the boy back to the locker room.

"Sark ... Sark ... Sark!" chanted fans.

Next week these new Trojans will face their first real test at Stanford, but Steve Sarkisian didn't seem to be thinking about that as he and Brady headed into the tunnel, heading for home.

Twitter: @billplaschke

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Trojans' kids are better than all right in season-opening win

Outstanding performances by USC freshmen abounded in the 52-13 season-opening victory over Fresno State on Saturday at the Coliseum.

Receiver JuJu Smith and offensive linemen Toa Lobendahn and Damien Mama started for the Trojans and receiver/cornerback Adoree' Jackson and tight end Bryce Dixon also played large roles.

Smith caught four passes for 123 yards.

Lobendahn and Mama started at left and right guard, respectively. It marked the first time two freshmen offensive linemen started an opener for the Trojans.

Lobendahn, Mama and Viane Talamaivao were among the linemen that helped the Trojans rush for 277 yards, including 133 by junior tailback Javorius Allen.

Jackson caught three passes, including an 18-yard touchdown. He also broke up a pass and a returned a punt 10 yards. Dixon caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from Cody Kessler in the third quarter.

Agholor starts fast

USC receiver Nelson Agholor showed why he is regarded as Kessler's top target.

The junior from Florida caught two touchdown passes and finished with five receptions for 57 yards.

Agholor scored on 10- and five-yard passes in the first quarter.

He returned three kickoffs for 43 yards.

Bowman steps up

Senior safety Gerald Bowman intercepted a pass in the second quarter.

It was the second career interception for Bowman, who transferred to USC from Pierce College before the 2012 season.

Bowman, from Philadelphia, redshirted last season after suffering a shoulder injury.

Defensive lineman Leonard Williams also had a second-quarter interception, the second of his career.

Junior linebacker Anthony Sarao got his first interception in the third quarter, sophomore Michael Hutchings in the fourth.

Good hands

Receiver Darreus Rogers was slowed during training camp because of an Achilles' tendon injury, but he looked at full speed against Fresno State.

The sophomore caught five passes for 60 yards, many of them clutch.

On the first drive, he caught three third-down passes as the Trojans drove 90 yards for a touchdown.

Rogers had receptions of nine, 17 and 18 yards to keep alive the 17-play march.

Shaw substitutes

Chris Hawkins started in place of suspended cornerback Josh Shaw and made one tackle.

Junior cornerback Kevon Seymour, the defensive player of the game in last year's Las Vegas Bowl victory over Fresno State, had three tackles.

Seymour is roommates with Shaw, who admitted to school officials that he fabricated a story about how he injured his ankles.

Seymour said he has talked to Shaw, but has not asked him about what happened.

"That's none of my business," Seymour said. "I just hope the best for him.

"Everybody makes mistakes. I'm just hoping the best for him and praying for him and things like that so things can work out for him."

Quick hits

Redshirt freshman quarterback Max Browne played for the first time and completed three of four passes for 30 yards. Browne entered with three seconds left in the third quarter and played the rest of the game. ... USC held a moment of silence for the late Louis Zamperini, the former USC distance star, Olympian and war hero. The crowd then erupted with an ovation. ... Former USC All-American Tony Boselli led the Trojans out of the tunnel before the game.

Twitter: latimesklein

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Dodgers' offense shrivels in extra-inning loss, lead shrinks

SAN DIEGO -- The Dodgers have spent the last five weeks in first place in the National League West, yet their lead remains uncomfortably small.

In the wake of a 10-inning, 2-1 loss to the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on Saturday night, the Dodgers' edge over the second-place San Francisco Giants was reduced to 2 1/2 games.

The Giants won their fifth consecutive game, 3-1 over the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Dodgers have 26 regular-season games left, the Giants 27. Six games will be against each other.

With no guarantee of a division title, the Dodgers remain in search of reinforcements.

Some of them will be players returning from injuries, such as Hyun-Jin Ryu, who is scheduled to be activated from the disabled list Sunday to start to the series finale against the Padres.

Others will come from the minor leagues starting Monday, when major league rosters can expand by as many as 15 players.

Help could also come from the outside, if the Dodgers can claim a player on waivers or trade for a player who has cleared waivers. For a player to eligible for postseason play, he would have to be in the organization by Sunday.

The Dodgers have already received some uplifting news. Hanley Ramirez returned to the lineup Saturday, a day after tightness in his left leg forced him to make an early departure from Friday's series-opening defeat.

Ramirez initially wasn't listed as a starter by Manager Don Mattingly, who figured the shortstop was unlikely to be sufficiently recovered. But Ramirez worked out on the warning track at Petco Park under the supervision of team trainers and Mattingly.

"He obviously looked really good," Mattingly said. "Everything was easy."

That being the case, Mattingly rewrote his lineup and slotted Ramirez into the No. 2 spot. Yasiel Puig, who started the day in an 0-for-19 slump, was dropped to fifth in the order.

"I want to get Hanley the extra at-bat," Mattingly said.

Before Ramirez was removed from Friday's game, he was three for four with a home run and a double.

"I thought he looked good," Mattingly said. "I think it's the first time we've seen him with better timing since he's been back. To me, it looks like he's swinging better."

Others could also be returning, starting with Ryu, who has been sidelined by a strained buttock muscle.

Juan Uribe also could be activated Sunday. The third baseman went on the disabled list Aug. 16 because of a strained right hamstring.

If Uribe doesn't return Sunday, he'll be back Monday, when rosters expand. Delaying Uribe's comeback would spare the Dodgers from having to send Darwin Barney or Miguel Rojas to the minor leagues. A player who is demoted wouldn't be eligible to return to the majors until the minor league season is over.

Whenever Uribe is activated, Mattingly said he will be the team's everyday third baseman.

Justin Turner, who before Saturday was batting .375 since the All-Star break, will return to a utility role. Mattingly said he wants to prevent Turner from wearing down.

Reliever Chris Perez, who has been battling bone spurs in his ankle, is expected back Monday. Left-hander Paco Rodriguez, who is dealing with a strained back muscle, is aiming to return some time in September.

The Dodgers will round out their roster with a handful of minor league players, among them triple-A outfielder Joc Pederson, who was the most valuable player of the Pacific Coast League.

Others who could be promoted include infielders Alex Guerrero, Erisbel Arruebarrena and Carlos Triunfel, catcher Tim Federowicz and reliever Yimi Garcia.

Twitter: @dylanohernandez

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Cory Rasmus gives Angels strong start, but fifth spot still a question

Cory Rasmus' brief but superb start Saturday night, in which he allowed one hit and struck out six in three scoreless innings of a 2-0 win over the Oakland Athletics, gave the Angels some hope that they've found a replacement for the injured Garret Richards.

It would take Rasmus several starts to build up the endurance to go five or six innings, and Manager Mike Scioscia wouldn't commit to starting the 26-year-old right-hander again Saturday in Minnesota, but the Angels might not need Rasmus to chew up that many innings.

Having exhausted their efforts to trade for a veteran starter such as Bartolo Colon, Scott Feldman, Trevor Cahill or A.J. Burnett, the Angels could fill Richards' spot by committee, an unconventional approach made possible by a deep and talented bullpen and an expanded September roster.

"We have the ability to put together a game with depth as opposed to relying on one guy, and right now, that's our best option," General Manager Jerry Dipoto said. "If we can get through the fifth or sixth inning of a game, then we have a particularly deep bullpen that can get us through in winning a game. We're not looking at this like it's doomsday."

The Angels, needing length in the bullpen this weekend, recalled Michael Roth from double-A Arkansas on Saturday, and the left-hander, who allowed one hit, walked two (one intentionally) and struck out one in the fourth inning Saturday night, could emerge as a rotation candidate.

The Angels did not announce that Rasmus would start Saturday until after Friday night's game, but his 49-pitch effort Saturday—and his five years experience as a minor league starter—could remove some of that uncertainty over the fifth rotation spot.

"Certainly, you want to get someone who can give you some kind of length as a starter, even if it's only five innings," Manager Mike Scioscia said. "If that surfaces, great. If it doesn't, then you mix and match as much as you need to.

"I think you have to get it done however the situation presents itself. If it becomes more of a start-to-start decision, so be it. If one guy is very comfortable and doing the job, that's obviously preferable. But that doesn't always happen."

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I.K. Kim takes first-round lead in LPGA's Portland Classic

Written By kolimtiga on Jumat, 29 Agustus 2014 | 22.26

I.K. Kim birdied the first four holes on the back nine Thursday and finished with a seven-under 65 to take the first-round lead in the Portland Classic in Oregon.

The South Korean player birdied seven of the first 13 holes and closed her afternoon round with five straight pars. She won the last of her three LPGA Tour titles in 2010.

"I hit the ball well and made some putts coming down … there was a couple of tricky holes coming down the stretch, so I'm very pleased with how I finished. Solid round, yeah," Kim said. "My game's feeling good. Just need to keep playing."

Kim, the winner of a Ladies European Tour event in England in July, tied for 42nd last week in the Canadian Women's Open.

Amelia Lewis and Jennifer Song were a shot back in ideal conditions at Columbia Edgewater. Lewis, winless on the tour, had a bogey-free round.

Anna Nordqvist, a two-time winner this year, was another stroke back at 67 along with Mina Harigae, Julieta Granada, Laura Diaz, Alison Walshe, Emma Jandel and Paula Reto.

Juli Inkster, making her 28th appearance in the event at age 54, topped the group at 68.

Home favorite Francesco Molinari and Austria's Bernd Wiesberger both shot 66 to share the first round lead at the Italian Open in Turin, while Stephen Gallacher's bid to earn a late spot on Europe's Ryder Cup team ran into trouble.

Molinari and Wiesberger managed six birdies each in their bogey-free rounds to finish six under par. They lead a group of five players, including early leader John Hahn of the United States, by one stroke.

Gallacher, who needs a top-two finish to dislodge former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell from Europe's team, opened with a par-72. The Scot is the only player still capable of moving into the automatic Ryder Cup places in the final qualifying event.

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USC football's fresh start quickly meets with controversy, distraction

This was supposed to be a back-to-the-business-of-football season for USC.

NCAA penalties were in the past. Unpredictable Lane Kiffin was out as coach.

Steve Sarkisian was ready to make his debut at the controls of a new-look, nationally ranked team.

Yet, as USC prepares for Saturday's opener against Fresno State at the Coliseum, the talk has been about anything but football.

The hot topic has been the off-field shenanigans of a senior cornerback who won't be playing, a furor interrupted briefly Thursday by a ruckus prompted by a player who is no longer on the team.

After practice, Sarkisian was again bombarded with questions about Josh Shaw's fabricated story of injury. And less than an hour after he was finished navigating that, he was compelled to seek out reporters working in the sports information office inside Heritage Hall in order to address racism claims made by running back Anthony Brown, who quit the team.

A day earlier, Sarkisian had been asked if he sought the advice of other coaches about handling distractions.

"I'm not a newbie," said Sarkisian, who coached five seasons at Washington. "I've been around it enough. I think I have a good grasp of how to keep my team focused and attentive to the details and prepared to play."

His confidence will be tested Saturday.

Shaw, a team captain, has been suspended indefinitely after admitting to school officials that he lied about the cause of his recent ankle injuries. He had claimed the injuries occurred when he leaped from a balcony and saved a nephew from drowning in a swimming pool at a family gathering in Palmdale last Saturday night.

Shaw's attorney said this week the player was hurt when he fell off a balcony at a downtown apartment complex.

The Los Angeles Police Department said it responded about 10:40 p.m. Saturday to a report of a "screaming woman" inside an apartment at the Orsini Apartments on North Figueroa Street. Officers knocked on the door of the third-floor unit where the screams were heard but there was no answer, Officer Sara Faden said. The officers then broke open the door and conducted a brief search of the apartment, finding no one inside. Officers noticed "the window had been pried open," she said.

Faden said witnesses told police they had seen a black man with dreadlocks climbing from the third-floor balcony of the apartment. The woman who resides in that unit then arrived on the scene. Given the description of the man provided by witnesses, she said it fit that of her boyfriend, Shaw.

The woman, whom police have not identified, reported nothing stolen from the apartment. The LAPD has not accused Shaw of wrongdoing but has said it is still investigating and would seek to interview him.

Shaw has not spoken to reporters. Sarkisian said that when Shaw admitted his lie to USC officials, the player did not explain what actually did happen.

"We weren't privy to ask," Sarkisian added, noting that Shaw had been accompanied by his attorney.

About the time the tumult over Shaw was starting to wane, a post on running back Brown's Instagram account started making the rounds on social media.

The post read: "Couldn't play for a racist man!!!! Sark treated me like a slave in his office... Can't play for a racist MAN!!!!!!"

Sarkisian announced Brown had quit the team but said the player's claim was "ridiculous." "That's about the furthest thing from the truth," Sarkisian added.

Brown confirmed that the post was made on his account, but he did not respond to text messages asking whether he wrote the post accusing the coach of being a racist. The post was removed Thursday afternoon.

Sarkisian said he had encouraged Brown to continue to play. "We thought he could be an asset to our team, especially if he's healthy," he said.

Players came to Sarkisian's defense.

"Coach Sark is a great person/coach! Please disregard comments that have been made by someone," defensive tackle Antwaun Woods wrote in a tweet. Later he said he "Never, ever in a lifetime" had heard racist remarks by Sarkisian.

USC's older players have plenty of experience dealing with distractions.

In 2012, the Trojans were ranked No. 1 in preseason polls but stumbled to a 7-6 record while navigating a series of controversial moves by Kiffin.

First, Kiffin's comments about voting in the USA Today coaches poll ignited a controversy, then he banned a beat reporter from practice for revealing that a player had undergone surgery. Kiffin and his staff also came under scrutiny after then-freshman quarterback Cody Kessler was ordered to switch jerseys during a game against Colorado. And USC was fined $25,000 after it was discovered that a USC student manager had intentionally deflated footballs against Oregon.

The season ended with an embarrassing loss in the Sun Bowl and players arguing in the locker room.

Last season, Kiffin was fired after five games — in the middle of the night at Los Angeles International Airport after the Trojans returned home after being crushed by Arizona State in Tempe.

USC rallied under interim Coach Ed Orgeron, but he then bolted the program before the Trojans' bowl game after the school hired Sarkisian. Offensive coordinator Clay Helton coached the Trojans to victory over Fresno State in the Las Vegas Bowl as USC finished with a respectable 10-4 record.

"We've had to deal with so much more adversity in past years, even before this," junior defensive lineman Leonard Williams said Wednesday, about six hours before USC announced that Shaw was suspended. "Our team has become adjusted to playing through adversity."

Senior linebacker Hayes Pullard said the veterans will help the younger players as the Trojans prepare for the season opener.

"This is exactly when the leadership role comes in," he said, adding, "Just being able to talk to them and meet with the young guys and tell them this is something little.

"You don't worry about it and you just focus."

As for Shaw, Sarkisian said Thursday that he could "potentially" be reinstated to the team this season. "Obviously, there are some things that have to take place," the coach said, adding, "When the time's right, if the time's right to bring him back, we will."

Follow Gary Klein on Twitter @latimesklein

Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.

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CiCi Bellis' teenage tennis success put in perspective by Pam Shriver

There was one especially understanding observer to the two-day CiCi Bellis sensation at the U.S. Open tennis tournament. Pam Shriver had been there, done that.

Certainly, when 15-year-old Bellis of Atherton, Calif., lost in three sets Thursday night to Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan, 6-3, 0-6, 6-2, Shriver was watching somewhere, feeling empathy.

It was 1978. Shriver had just turned 16 — "I was a Fourth-of-July baby" — and was about to make the kind of run in the U.S. Open that shows the upheaval here and in the media over Bellis' first-round victory to be both shallow and overdone.

Hours before Bellis was to take the court Thursday, Shriver articulated the positives in Bellis' game.

"She's a really good young player," she said. "She attacks and has great energy."

Shriver also added perspective.

"It will be exceptional if she makes a big run here," Shriver said, speaking as if she hoped she would and knew she probably wouldn't.

"It's a different time now, a different kind of media," she said. "Everything is just bigger."

Shriver, 52, is part of that media. She is a broadcaster for ESPN. She has kids and lives in a world of iPhones, instant gratification and everything needing to happen right now. She understands why Bellis became an overnight sensation. She also understands the good and the danger in that.

Shriver came to the U.S. Open as an amateur, still a high school student, weighing the prospects of pro tennis or Stanford University. She was 6 feet tall, played with an oversized Prince racket and served and volleyed with it.

"That struck a lot of people as strange," she said. "It was supposed to be a racket for older people."

She had played in enough tournaments leading into the U.S. Open to actually be seeded.

"They only seeded 16 then, and I was No. 16," she said.

Still, she was far from a known quantity and her big game attracted immediate attention. But by the time she got to the semifinals, and beat Martina Navratilova, there was as much sensation as possible in a world before thumb-typing and Twitter.

"It still wasn't as big as it would be now," she said. "This was the age of teenage girls, making big moves in tennis. Chris Evert did it. And Tracy Austin."

Still, when 16-year-old Shriver rode the train from Baltimore and started running through the draw, it was a big deal. Her coach, Dan Candy, kept things low-key.

She stayed in a midtown hotel, took the subway's No. 7 train that goes to Flushing Meadows, as it still does. No limos, no official escorts. Just the subway with everybody else.

"I don't remember any offer of transportation from the tournament at all," she said.

Her mother, Margot, got nervous during her matches and usually spent the time doing needlepoint. Her dad, Sam, watched from the highest corner of then-center court, Louis Armstrong Stadium.

"I remember [famed tennis writer] Bud Collins climbing all the way up there to talk to him," Shriver said.

When she lost to Evert in the final, she was given an immediate mandate by her parents. Get home and get to school. The next day, that's where she was.

Her high school called an assembly to honor her, and on the way into school, a reporter from the National Enquirer stopped her and asked her whether she knew where Pam Shriver was. She said she was Pam Shriver and talked to the reporter for a couple of minutes. That got her in trouble with her parents.

"The family had agreed to get things back to normal. No talking to reporters," Shriver said. "My mother threw a couple of them from People magazine off the front porch."

Eventually, she decided to turn pro, rather than go to Stanford. Things calmed down.

"I went to take my driver's test," she said, "and I flunked it when I couldn't parallel park.

"That was my worst loss of the summer."

That summer of 1978 was the closest she ever came to a Grand Slam singles title. She got to six more major semifinals, and had a Hall of Fame career that included 21 Grand Slam doubles titles (20 in women's, one in mixed), most of them with Navratilova. She ranked in the top five in singles most of her career and won 21 tour singles titles.

Yet her toughest year of all was the year after her 1978 U.S. Open run.

"It was such a burden," she said.

So she watches with interest and concern as Bellis begins to spend her teenage years in tennis' bright spotlight.

In her three-set loss Thursday night, Bellis showed both talent and maturity.

She was properly grateful and happy in her on-court, post-match interview, as ESPN did its usual ugly American thing and bypassed the winner to get to the American first.

Her dad watched quietly from the seats in packed Court 17. Like Margot Shriver, Bellis' mother is too nervous to watch in person. Bellis is home-schooled and lives in an upscale Atherton neighborhood, with a swimming pool and tennis court in the backyard.

At her news conference, she was typically, and refreshingly, a teenager. She said she was surprised she could play with these pros, that she was excited to stay around and play in the juniors. And when told people had started to line up to get a seat on the court for her match starting at 10 a.m., she said, "That's crazy. It's an honor to have people doing that for me."

She also was asked about being the future of American tennis.

Shriver would have answered that easily: "Whoa, slow down there."

bill.dwyre@latimes.com

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Kenny Hill's record night leads Texas A&M past South Carolina, 52-28

Kenny Hill broke Johnny Manziel's single-game passing record with 511 yards and No. 21 Texas A&M opened the season beat No. 9 South Carolina, 52-28, on Thursday night, ending the Gamecocks' 18-game home win streak.

Hill's performance in his first career start proved there is plenty of life in the Aggies' offense without Manziel, a Heisman Trophy winner and first-round selection in the NFL draft. Hill completed 44 of 60 passes with three touchdowns.

Hill was steady and confident in the pocket, leading Texas A&M to a 31-14 halftime lead and finishing up with the most passing yards allowed in Steve Spurrier's 10 seasons with the Gamecocks.

The Gamecocks played their first game since the departure of star defensive end Jadeveon Clowney — and it showed. South Carolina gave up seven touchdowns on the Aggies' first 11 possessions.

Tra Carson ran for three touchdowns and receiver Malcome Kennedy had 14 catches for 137 yards. The Aggies had 680 yards of offense, the most South Carolina's given up since Arkansas went for 650 in 2007.

Manziel held five of the Aggies' six best passing marks, topped by his 464 yards in a loss to Alabama last season. Hill moved past them all with his flawless showing on the road.

Hill's 44 completions were also a single-game school record, moving past Jerrod Johnson's mark against Oklahoma State in 2010.

Ole Miss wins

Bo Wallace threw four touchdowns passes in a sloppy season opener, and No. 18 Mississippi pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Boise State, 35-13, in Atlanta.

Shaking off Wallace's three first-half interceptions, the Rebels got the victory before a sparse crowd in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game. Ole Miss led only 7-6 entering the fourth quarter before Wallace threw for touchdowns on three consecutive throws, ruining the debut of Broncos Coach Bryan Harsin.

Utah rolls

Kaelin Clay had two returns for touchdowns and Devontae Booker rushed for two more scores to boost Utah past Idaho State, 56-14, in Salt Lake City.

The game marked the return of Utes quarterback Trevor Wilson, who was discovered to have a damaged intracranial artery while recovering from a concussion last season. Wilson missed the final three games but was cleared to play.

Wilson looked sharp against the overmatched Bengals and had 265 yards passing, while playing the first half. Dres Anderson caught four of Wilson's tosses for 111 yards.

Etc.

Notre Dame added reserve safety Eilar Hardy to the list of four Irish players being withheld from practice and games as the university completed its investigation into whether they may have turned in homework and papers completed by others.

Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer received a two-year contract extension through the 2018 season.

North Carolina said the NCAA cleared defensive tackle Ethan Farmer to play after resolving an unspecified eligibility issue. The fifth-year senior started all 13 games last year.

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Jordan Downs in Watts marks three years without a homicide

Posted Aug. 28, 2014, 9:53 p.m.

The last time someone was killed inside the Jordan Downs Housing Development in Watts, a man chased 48-year-old Antonio McNeil and shot him in a drug dispute in broad daylight. Video cameras installed in the development captured the chase and subsequent killing.

That was three years ago today.

It's a different kind of anniversary in an area long known for gang violence: No one has been killed within the boundaries of the development since Aug. 28, 2011.

"It's really incredible to think there are kids who have been in Jordan Downs for the last three years and can say, 'I've never seen a homicide,' " Capt. Phil Tingirides told the city's housing authority commission Thursday at a meeting in Watts.

Tingirides, who has headed the Southeast LAPD station more than 7 years, said that from 2001 to 2011, 78 people were killed within the housing developments that include Nickerson Gardens, Imperial Courts and Jordan Downs.

Police credit the absence of killings to a combination of efforts, including those of community activists and gang interventionists. There are also security cameras in the developments to capture criminal activity. But in 2011, LAPD, along with funding from the housing authority, launched a program called the Community Safety Partnership, which places officers on the ground in the housing developments in Watts and in Ramona Gardens in Boyle Heights. Each development is staffed with about 11 officers who walk foot beats, patrol and connect with the community through various activities like youth sports.

The other developments in the Community Safety Partnership have seen only four homicides in the past three years. In each case, an arrest was made within two weeks thanks to help from the community, Tingirides said. Police didn't see any retaliatory shootings.

Donny Joubert, a gang intervention worker and co-founder of the Watts gang task force, called the drop in homicides "huge."

"We knew we had to change and help change the community," he said.

Others, such as Kathy Wooten, a longtime Watts resident who works with the Jordan Downs community, was "speechless" upon hearing about the anniversary.

In 2008, Wooten lost two sons within two months. After her first son was shot, the killing triggered a series of retaliation shootings in Watts that left nearly a dozen dead and almost 20 wounded.

"Gang banging just isn't as interesting or important," she said. "A lot of people have died that was really important or cared about."

Tingirides said there's enormous trauma that comes with having a friend of family member killed, even if the person was not involved.

"It creates the numbness; it creates a lot of the anger we see in future violence," he said after the meeting.

Sgt. Emada Tingirides, who heads up the community safety partnership program, said that it's not only officers on the streets but community members taking ownership of their neighborhoods.

"We are working in a community that has historically distrusted the police," she told the commission.

On Thursday afternoon, 34-year-old Miguel Orozco swept the sidewalk outside his apartment in Jordan Downs while his children played in the grass with a hose.

A single father, he keeps his four children inside. "If I don't go out, they don't go out."

He said it's been a "miracle" that no one's been killed in the past three years, but violence is still happening.

He pointed to the fence near his apartment. "It's just past this fence."

-- Nicole Santa Cruz

Photo: An LAPD officer and members of the community get ready to play Bingo in the Jordan Downs gym in January. Credit: Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times

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Obama suggests he'll need more time on immigration policy

President Obama is suggesting that he will defer his self-imposed deadline for announcing an expected change in immigration policy, as the White House wrestles with the political and legal dilemmas involved in making significant alterations without congressional approval.

Fed up with congressional gridlock, the president has said he'll use his executive power to make changes. One proposal under discussion would delay a decision on the more sweeping and controversial changes under consideration until after the November midterm election, according to a White House official familiar with the discussions.

Under that plan, the president would first announce measures aimed at tightening enforcement of current law, then put off until the end of the year a decision on a more sweeping program that could temporarily shield millions of immigrants from deportation.

The two-step plan would bow to the concerns of Democratic lawmakers running in Republican-leaning states who have expressed opposition to Obama's plans to act unilaterally on the hot-button issue. Some Democratic senators have said he should wait for Congress to pass legislation.

And some Democratic strategists fret that the move would spark opposition among Republicans and energize the GOP base just weeks before the midterm election. The GOP is expected to maintain its House majority and needs a net gain of six seats to take control of the Senate.

Aides say the president has not made a decision on precise actions or timing. The official familiar with the talks, who would not be identified discussing internal deliberations, said the two-step proposal was one of several on the table.

At a White House news conference on Thursday, the president hinted that he may need more time than expected.

Obama declared in June that he was fed up with lawmakers' deadlock on immigration legislation and ordered Homeland Secretary Secretary Jeh Johnson to recommend a series of changes that did not require lawmakers' approval.

Obama said he expected the recommendations "before the end of summer" and intended "to adopt those recommendations without further delay."

He has not yet received Johnson's review.

On Thursday, Obama reiterated his plans to take some action, but did not repeat his deadline.

Instead, Obama noted that a recent surge of unaccompanied minors turning themselves in at the border appears to have subsided. The crisis had consumed headlines for much of the summer, adding to Democrats' worry that public support for easing the path to citizenship for illegal immigrants could slip.

Obama said Thursday that the crisis "changed the perception of the American people about what's happening at the borders," and argued that it demonstrated the need for changes. The situation also demanded his administration's attention and resources, he said.

"Some of these things do affect timelines and we're just going to be working through as systematically as possible in order to get this done," Obama said at the news conference. "But have no doubt: In the absence of congressional action, I'm going to do what I can to make sure the system works better."

White House officials say the president wants to enact broad changes, including a program modeled on one he established in 2012 for so-called Dreamers -- those illegally brought to the U.S. as children who have met other qualifications, such as a high school diploma or military service.

The new program could protect some groups of immigrants -- such as those who have deep roots in the U.S. or who have children living in the U.S. legally, for example -- from deportation.

Delaying that action until after November could give lawmakers more time to find consensus on immigration. Although few on the Hill think that is likely, Obama said he had not closed the door.

"Hope springs eternal," he said Thursday.

A delay is far more likely to frustrate immigration advocates who have been pushing Obama to act -- and who are expecting the announcement soon.

Complicating Obama's deliberations is the budget fight awaiting lawmakers when they return from their August recess early next month.

Congress must pass legislation to fund the government in the upcoming fiscal year by Sept. 30, when the current law expires. Key conservatives have warned that Republicans may try to stop the president's actions by attaching prohibitions to the spending bill.

Such a move could resemble last fall's 16-day government shutdown, when Republicans tried unsuccessfully to undo Obama's landmark healthcare law.

Some Democrats have welcomed the shutdown scenario as an opportunity to portray the Republicans in Congress as extremists, particularly on immigration -- an issue especially important to Latino voters. But others have suggested that such a fight could damage both parties as voters have grown weary of crisis politics in Washington.

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Kenny Hill, Texas A&M cost furniture store $1 million in win

Texas A&M's Kenny Hill helped deliver a big 52-28 win Thursday night over South Carolina, and in the process provided over $1 million in free furniture for Aggie fans.

Go ahead, make the money sign.

A promotion at a College Station Ashley Furniture HomeStore promised customers that the cost of all purchases made between Aug. 16 and Aug. 27 would be reimbursed if the Aggies beat the Gamecocks by more than 10 points.

No. 9 South Carolina (0-1, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) had an 18-game win streak at home heading into Thursday night, and the Gamecocks were 10 1/2 point favorites over No. 21 Texas A&M (1-0, 1-0), which was playing without Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, who was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in May.

The Gamecocks were also the preseason favorites to win the SEC East.

More than 600 people took advantage of the store's gamble, with one person grabbing up over $20,000 in merchandise, according to ESPN. In total, the store had over $1 million in sales during the period.

Against South Carolina, Hill completed 44 of 60 passes for three touchdowns and 511 yards, breaking Texas A&M's single-game passing record, set by "Johnny Football" against Alabama in 2013.

The store, which is an official sponsor of Texas A&M Athletics, bought insurance in the event that the Aggies were able to beat the spread -- which they did handily -- so it's not a total loss. The store will just be paying its insurance company about 15% of the amount it will actually return to customers.

Now, Hill just needs a cool nickname.

"I don't really like 'Kenny Football,'" the sophomore signal-caller said after the game.

Well, on Thursday, you could have called him Kenny "the furniture delivery man" Hill.

Follow Matt Wilhalme on Twitter @mattwilhalme

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Using light, scientists make bad memories good in mice

Can a bad memory be turned into a good one? Scientists say they've been able to do just that in a group of mice by activating certain parts of their brain with light.

The findings in the journal Nature show that memories can potentially be modified without drugs or extra training -- simply, if that's the word, by breaking the memory into its components in the brain and rewiring the faulty connection.

You might think of memory as something fixed, a historical recording that's as unchangeable as the past. That's far from reality, senior author Susumu Tonegawa of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said in a news briefing.

"Recording memory is not like playing a tape recorder, but it is a creative process -- sometimes even leading to an entirely false memory," Tonegawa said.

After all, a family vacation in the Bahamas is a very positive memory -- unless there's a swimming accident, which could suddenly make that same happy time seem like a very negative one.

Memory, then, is malleable. And a single memory isn't stored in just one place in the brain. The context of a particular memory -- where it took place, what happened -- seems to be coded in a part of the brain called the hippocampus. But that same memory's emotional valence -- how positive or negative that experience felt -- is actually coded in a different region of the brain called the amygdala.

To take advantage of this division, the researchers took two groups of male mice that had been genetically modified so that neurons in the hippocampus and amygdala would respond to light. They exposed one of the groups to an unpleasant experience (small electric shocks to their feet) and gave another group a pleasant experience (some hangout time with female mice).

Later, when the male mice were hanging out in a particular corner, the researchers shone blue light to reactivate the same neurons that had just learned from that bad (or good) experience. The mice who'd gotten the shock treatment fled from the blue light, while those who had hung out with the female mice lingered and basked in the glow.

Could those bad memories be switched to good ones -- and vice versa? In a second set of experiments, researchers gave the bad-memory mice some pleasant private time with the female mice. At the same time, the researchers shone blue light at the mice, which artificially activated the old foot-shock neurons.

But this time, rather than running away, the mice started reacting positively to the blue light. (The opposite happened with the mice who'd hung out with the female mice first and gotten shocked later.)

Here's what researchers think is happening in the brain: In the amygdala, the positive response to the female mice was overriding the negative response to the artificially activated shock memory. The neurons weren't being rewritten -- the negatively responding amygdala neurons were still there. But the hippocampus neurons were now starting to form connections with the positively responding amygdala neurons instead. The experiment didn't overwrite the cells; it overwrote the connections between them.

There are limits to the researchers' light-driven technique, researchers Tomonori Takeuchi and Richard G.M. Morris of the University of Edinburgh, who were not involved in the paper, wrote in a commentary. That's particularly true when a memory is linked to a series of neuron firings -- like a musical tune.

But, they added, "molecular engineering is nonetheless shedding light on our understanding of the underlying physiological networks of memory."

Remember, follow @aminawrite for more fascinating science news

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Alan Gordon helps Galaxy roll over D.C. United, 4-1

Written By kolimtiga on Kamis, 28 Agustus 2014 | 22.26

There's a case to be made that the Galaxy's game against D.C. United on Wednesday might have been a preview of this year's Major League Soccer title match, the MLS Cup.

If so, the Galaxy would like the game's outcome to prove true as well.

Newly acquired forward Alan Gordon scored 67 seconds into the game — the quickest goal for the Galaxy this season — and the Galaxy never relinquished the lead as it rolled past D.C. United, 4-1, at StubHub Center.

This was the only regular-season match between the clubs and the Galaxy extended its unbeaten streak against D.C. United to 10 games (five wins and five ties).

The Galaxy (12-5-7) also climbed to second place in the Western Conference, two points behind first-place Seattle, while D.C. United (13-8-4) sits atop the Eastern Conference.

The top five teams in each conference at the end of the regular season qualify for the playoffs.

Robbie Keane, the Galaxy's leading scorer this season with 13 goals, did not play Wednesday because of an injury in the prior game that Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena declined to identify. But Arena said Keane "might be available on Sunday" when the Galaxy plays Chivas USA at StubHub Center.

So Gordon started at forward in Keane's place.

Gordon, who played for the Galaxy earlier in his career, rejoined the club this month after being acquired from the San Jose Earthquakes.

As the game's second minute began, a ball that ricocheted between two D.C. United players in front of the D.C. United goal rolled free to Gordon, who kicked it in from 10 yards.

"We're happy to have him," Galaxy star Landon Donovan said of Gordon. "It's pretty obvious how good he's been and what an impact he makes."

But Donovan said "the biggest catalyst" for the Galaxy's success "is when we defend well it puts us into positions going the other way" toward opponents' goals.

The Galaxy's second goal came in the 25th minute when Donovan's corner kick found Omar Gonzalez, who stuck his right foot around a defender to drive the ball past goalkeeper Bill Hamid from 15 yards out.

In stoppage time after the first half ended, Galaxy midfielder Baggio Husidic scored the team's third goal from eight yards off a pass from A.J. DeLaGarza.

D.C. United got on the board in the 58th minute courtesy of an own goal by Galaxy defender Leonardo. He was tangled up with D.C. United's Eddie Johnson in front of the goal when D.C. United's Alex Caskey's shot from 20 yards bounced off him into the net.

In the 75th minute the Galaxy was awarded a penalty kick from 12 yards, which Donovan drilled past Hamid to lift his MLS career scoring record to 141 goals.

Donovan, 32, recently announced that this would be his final season as a player.

"Landon's obviously committed to complete his career in the right manner," Arena said. "His leadership and quality tonight was terrific."

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Mike Trout powers Angels past Marlins, joins select fraternity

Mike Trout turned 23 less than three weeks ago. But don't let the tender age fool you.

With each passing day, the Angels outfielder proves he's already one for the ages.

Wednesday, in the seventh inning of a game that had long since been drained of suspense, Trout made history by lining a home run into the shrubbery behind the center-field wall at Angel Stadium. With that shot, Trout not only closed out the Angels' 6-1 victory over the Miami Marlins, but also became only the fifth American League player with two 30 home run seasons before the end of his age-22 campaign.

OK, so the record is a bit esoteric. But two of the names on that list, Jimmie Foxx and Ted Williams, are in the Hall of Fame.

Trout could be there someday. And outgoing Commissioner Bud Selig has already nominated Trout's baby face to replace the retiring Derek Jeter's as the face of the game.

"Mike Trout is special," Selig said Wednesday during a brief stop at Angel Stadium. "We're lucky in this sport. We have great young players. And as sad as it is to see Derek go, we go through this every generation.

"Mike Trout is special. He's been great on the field and just as great off the field. So if he is the icon of this generation, I'd be very, very happy."

There is one big thing that separates Jeter from Trout: championships. Jeter has won five World Series rings and Trout is playing in his first pennant race.

"It's always cool to reach 30," the Angels outfielder said of his milestone shot. "But we have other things on our mind. We're trying to reach the playoffs."

And like Jeter, his childhood idol, Trout appears to be rising to the occasion, getting hot just when the Oakland Athletics are coming to town for a four-game series that could go a long way toward determining the American League West pennant race.

The A's trail the Angels in the division by a game with 30 to play.

Although Trout is hitting only .257 in August, with two hits, two runs and two runs driven in Wednesday, Trout is five for 11 with four runs three games into the Angels' homestand. He leads the team with six home runs and 18 runs batted in this month and is well on his way to career highs for home runs, doubles and RBIs.

"I feel good at the plate and I'm not chasing too many pitches," he said. "That's when I get in trouble, when I get too anxious and I chase."

Trout got a lot of help Wednesday with Josh Hamilton and Gordon Beckham each getting two hits. That made it an easy night for left-hander Hector Santiago, who gave up only one run on Adeiny Hechavarria's home run to start the third.

His offense quickly got that run back in the bottom of third, scoring three times on a blooper by Trout, a run-scoring groundout by Albert Pujols and Hamilton's double off the top of the wall in center field that drove in Trout easily from second.

An inning later, Beckham extended that lead by driving a one-out shot into the Miami bullpen in left field for his first home run as an Angel. The Angels scored in the seventh, on Trout's home run, and in the eighth.

Santiago (4-7) was gone by then, having held the Marlins to a run through 5 2/3 innings. He struck out five in a row at one point and gave up only a walk between Hechavarria's home run and Jeff Baker's two-out single in the sixth.

The Angels went to the bullpen to protect the lead with Kevin Jepsen, Fernando Salas and Huston Street combining for 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Street gave up two hits in the ninth but closed the door, giving the Angels their 79th victory.

Staff writer Helene Elliott contributed to this story.

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Angels' Albert Pujols is again showing stellar form

Every now and then, Albert Pujols reminds us of what he once did on a remarkably regular basis, unleashing the efficient, potent swings that were his trademark when he was voted the National League most valuable player three times and was one of the top power hitters of his generation, or any other.

He has been providing an extended flashback to those days, batting .319 with 30 runs batted in in a 47-game stretch from July 4 through Tuesday.

"I think you're seeing Albert closer to where he was in his heyday," Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said. "He's anchored the middle of our lineup."

When Pujols' legs are strong and he can drive the ball, he's still fearsome at 34. And he said he has been healthy lately, a welcome change. He underwent knee surgery after the 2012 season and had to cut short his luckless 2013 season because of plantar fasciitis, leaving a trail of career lows in significant categories, including batting average (.258), on-base percentage (.330) and slugging percentage (.437).

"Last year was last year. I flipped that page," he said Tuesday, before he victimized the Miami Marlins for three hits and two RBIs and extended his hitting spree to seven for 16 over four games.

"2014, this is a new season. And that's it. I don't look at the past. The past is like a wind that comes and goes."

If last season was an ill wind for Pujols, this one has become a pleasant breeze that carries hints of his old exploits.

"I feel great. I think next year will be better but coming through a couple of injuries in 2012 and 2013, to be able to help my ballclub to win, that's my job," he said. "Nobody feels 100% at this point of the season, but anything I can do to help is always a bonus."

For anyone else, Pujols' stats would reflect a fine season. Before Wednesday, he was batting .277 with 32 doubles, 23 home runs, 71 runs and 80 RBIs in a team-high 519 at-bats. His slugging percentage was .472 and his on-base percentage was .333.

But that's still short of what the Angels expected when he signed that 10-year, $240-million contract in December 2011. And everything he does is measured against what he used to do — the 10 consecutive seasons he drove in more than 100 runs for the St. Louis Cardinals, the two NL home run titles, and the five times he led the NL in runs. It's a comparison he can't win. Few players could.

"He hasn't fallen off that far," hitting coach Don Baylor said. "He's going to end up probably with 100 RBIs and 30 homers. Some guys have a complete dropoff, and his is not a complete dropoff. He's in the middle of the lineup. He's productive.

"You look at his strikeouts. You say, he's a power hitter, right? But he has [54] strikeouts. He puts the ball in play. He's just a gamer. He plays injured and you don't know it. He's a great player. He's a Hall of Fame player."

Age and mileage on his legs have, inevitably, dimmed Pujols' brilliance. But he's far from washed up, and said he learned to ignore critics who snipe from afar without all the facts.

"Those genius think that, why they don't come and try and hit a ball? They're sitting behind a desk or punching numbers in a computer or writing in the paper. That's what their job is, to try and be negative towards the players," he said. "But they don't know that this game is tough. This game is not easy. You can be 100% and it's not easy — imagine when you have injuries. At the end of my career, I will know what I have accomplished in this game. At the end of my career, then we can look back. If I can play the seven years I have left on my contract we'll see where we're at."

He's in a pretty good place at the moment.

"I don't have to prove anybody anything," he said. "My numbers speak for themselves."

The Angels need those numbers to speak even louder now that they're without two-fifths of their pitching rotation because of injury. They'll need their offense as they try to win the American League West and avoid a perilous one-game wild-card playoff, and Pujols must be a big part of that.

"I think we have too many great players in this locker room for you to put pressure on yourself. I'm just one of those 25 guys that want to accomplish the dream, and that's to win a championship," he said. "I just want to try and stay healthy the rest of the season. Everybody has goals. My main goal is to try and help this ballclub get to the postseason. Number-wise, that's going to be there at the end of the season if you stay healthy. And hopefully in the next five weeks I can come through a little bit better to help this ballclub win."

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Angels lean on pitching and power to beat Marlins, 6-1

KEY MOMENT: After Adeiny Hechavarria's first home run of the season gave Miami a 1-0 lead in the third inning, the Angels answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning on run-scoring hits by Mike Trout and Josh Hamilton, and a groundout by Albert Pujols.

AT THE PLATE: Trout's home run in the seventh was his 30th, tying a career high and making him only the fifth player in American League history with two 30-home run seasons by his age-22 season. The others are Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams, Jose Canseco and Alex Rodriguez. Trout also had a run-scoring single and scored twice. Hamilton and Gordon Beckham matched Trout with two hits and a home run apiece, and Erick Aybar extended his hitting streak to 12 games.

ON THE MOUND: Hector Santiago was dominant, holding the Marlins to a run through 5 2/3 innings. He struck out five in a row at one point and gave up only a walk between Hechavarria's home run leading off the third inning and Jeff Baker's two-out single in the sixth. In his last nine outings, seven of them starts, Santiago's earned- run average is 1.47. Kevin Jepsen, Fernando Salas and Huston Street combined to strike out five in 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.

EXTRA BASES: Hamilton will be presented with the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award prior to Thursday's game with the Oakland Athletics. The award is presented annually by Phi Delta Theta, Gehrig's fraternity when he attended Columbia, to the player who best exemplifies the "giving character" of the New York Yankees Hall of Fame member The Angels continue to pursue a trade to fill out their injury-riddled rotation. The team hasn't announced a pitcher for Saturday's game with Oakland and Manager Mike Scioscia hinted that the starter could come from outside the clubhouse. "There's certainly a possibility of some roster adjustments. If they're definite or not we'll see," he said. "We're going to have some in-house options to be able to start that game and hopefully give us some length."

UP NEXT: Four days after the Angels said goodbye to the Athletics in Oakland, the teams renew acquaintances in Anaheim with first place in the AL West and the best record in baseball again hanging in the balance. The A's will start right-hander Sonny Gray (13-7, 3.00 ERA) in the opener. Gray gave up three runs over 8 1/3 innings in beating the Angels last weekend. He is 2-0 against them this season. The Angels will open the series with left-hander C.J. Wilson (10-8, 4.45). Wilson pitched well in his start in Oakland, holding the A's to a run in 6 1/3 innings of a game the Angels lost. Wilson has a 1.96 ERA in his last three starts. On the air: TV: FS West. Radio: 830, 710, 1330.

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

California to hike film tax credits

It's been a slow summer at the box office, but Hollywood got a genuine blockbuster Wednesday — a $330-million deal that will help subsidize film and TV production in California for the next five years.

In a last-minute compromise reached Wednesday, Gov. Jerry Brown said he would approve legislation that would more than triple the annual tax credits available for movies and TV shows produced in California. The bill is aimed at reversing the loss of location shoots to other states that offer rich incentives to studios and producers.

Backers originally sought $400 million in tax credits over four years. Brown cut that by $70 million annually, but agreed to extend the program for one additional year.

Currently, California allows $100 million in annual credits, a fourth of what New York offers.

"This law will make key improvements in our film and television tax credit program and put thousands of Californians to work," Brown said in a statement, indicating he will sign the bill pending its expected approval by the full Senate this week.

The legislation is widely expected to make it easier for California to compete against New York, Louisiana, Georgia and other states and countries that have grabbed a larger share of Hollywood's business in the last decade.

AB 1839 would also make more projects eligible for tax subsidies, including new network television dramas, big-budget studio movies and television pilots. It would also provide an additional 5% credit for projects that shoot outside the Los Angeles area, a measure added to help win support of lawmakers elsewhere in the state.

Additionally, the bill would phase out a controversial and widely panned lottery system used to divvy up subsidies. Instead, tax credits would be allocated based on how many jobs a project would create. Currently, credits are awarded randomly regardless of how many crew members are hired. Funding would start in the 2015-16 fiscal year.

The deal, which has broad bipartisan support, followed intense negotiations involving Brown, Senate President Pro Tem-elect Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) and Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins (D-San Diego). De Leon had pressed for several amendments to the bill, including ending the lottery.

"This is a crown-jewel industry that provides jobs and opportunity for middle-class families in every region of our Golden State," De Leon said. "We're sending a powerful signal today that we are 100% committed to keeping the cameras rolling and bright lights shining in our state for years to come."

AB 1839, which was unanimously approved by the Assembly in May, cleared a major hurdle earlier this month when the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the bill in a 5-0 vote.

The measure is intended to end a sharp decline in film production that has buffeted Southern California's multibillion-dollar entertainment industry, causing widespread job losses and hardship for prop houses, visual effects companies and other vendors that depend on local filming.

A recent report by the Milken Institute found that California lost 16,137 film and TV industry jobs from 2004 to 2012, an 11% decline. During the same period, New York saw its entertainment sector expand by 10,675 jobs — a 25% increase.

"I'm grateful to the governor and the Legislature for this important measure to protect and expand an industry that is integral to our economy and our identity," said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who made expanding the credit one of his top priorities.

Garcetti singled out the contributions of his former film czar, Tom Sherak, who died in January, and his successor, veteran entertainment attorney Ken Ziffren.

Ziffren and his deputy, Rajiv Dalal, quietly worked behind the scenes for months with a coalition of entertainment unions, studios and vendors to lobby for the expanded film tax credit.

"This is a win both for the state of California and the working men and women across this state who will no longer have only one choice — to leave their families to feed their families," said a statement from the industry coalition. "Behind the glitter that most people associate with Hollywood is the glue that holds it together — the many talented and often unheralded men and women whose names fly by in the credits."

Some lawmakers in Northern California had initially resisted the idea of giving more subsidies to the film industry, viewing them as a giveaway to an industry concentrated in Southern California.

But much of that opposition dissipated in recent months, and the bill's sponsors were optimistic they had the votes to get the bill approved.

"We're in a pretty good shape right now," said Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles), who sponsored the bill with Raul Bocanegra (D-Pacoima). "We have an agreement in concept from just about everybody."

Added Bocanegra: "This is a home run for us and the industry."

Whether Brown would support such a large expansion was in question. The governor has preached fiscal austerity in light of the state's past budget shortfalls, and has previously expressed skepticism toward giving tax breaks to industries.

But those close to Brown said the governor was persuaded by arguments that expanding the credit would create and preserve middle-class jobs in California.

The bill would replace a program enacted in 2009 that was intended to make California more competitive with some 40 states that offer tax breaks to the film industry. Jobs also have fled to Canada and Britain.

The program allows filmmakers to claim a 20% to 25% tax credit on qualified production expenses such as building sets and hiring crew members. The new legislation would not change those amounts.

Although the existing credit has kept some lower-budget movies in state, its effectiveness was hindered by limited funds and the fact large studio movies couldn't qualify for the money.

Feature film production in Los Angeles County has fallen by half since 1996, and the region's share of TV pilot production has fallen 73% since its peak in 2007, according to FilmL.A. Inc.

richard.verrier@latimes.com

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

In the matter of USC's Josh Shaw, a leap of faith falls flat

We so badly wanted to believe it. During a time when so many of our football players are running the streets creating chaos, we so badly wanted to believe in the one who jumped from a balcony to save a life.

This was not a football player who assaulted a barfly or drove drunk into a ditch. Josh Shaw wasn't using his athletic skills for something bad, but something pure, the rescue of a child, his 7-year-old nephew who was drowning in an apartment pool, and the mere thought of it gave us goose bumps.

We so wanted to believe that during a Saturday night family function, Shaw saw the boy in peril and leapt from the second floor of a home, injuring his ankles as he landed on the concrete pool deck below. We marveled in imagining him crawling into the water and swimming the child to safety. We thrillingly pictured what happened next, when, "Despite the intense pain in his legs, he was able to grab the ladder and lift himself out of the pool with his upper body."

That quote was from USC, which tweeted and posted the story on its website Monday afternoon. The story was based on an interview with the star cornerback after he reported to campus Sunday with two severely sprained ankles. What a tale! What a guy! The story was soon picked up by media outlets nationwide, including this one, and by golly, we finally had a true hero on our hands, and breathless adjectives tumbled over themselves in recounting his glory.

Of course, USC officials never needed to write the story, or even announce the circumstances of Shaw's injury. They could have treated him like most colleges treat players who suffer odd injuries. They could have listened to his incredible explanation, told him to keep quiet about it because of privacy laws, then announced that he was hurt in a home accident and that there would be no further discussion on the matter.

But the athletic department so badly wanted to believe it, they couldn't wait to shout about it, even before properly checking it, and while that's always bad business, journalism isn't their business. They're not reporters, they're college administrators whose football program was finally shaking free of NCAA probation, shaking loose of Lane Kiffin, and welcoming Steve Sarkisian. It was the perfect time for this perfect story, and they weren't going to let a few nagging doubts stop them from telling it, and they weren't the only ones.

We so badly wanted to believe it, we bought the story literally sight unseen. It ran everywhere without anyone talking to Shaw or any eyewitnesses. Some of the most hardened of editors simply accepted the story from USC as if they were being handed news of a statistic or record. No questions asked. It was as if, at the end of a summer dominated by the wretched stories of Donald Sterling and Dodgers television, this was finally good news, and can't we finally print some good news?

Even some of us who didn't believe it wanted to believe it. When the story broke, I was struck by its improbability, and expressed serious doubts to some co-workers before finally shrugging and making arrangements to interview the kid.

"I don't want to be a cynical old man," I told Sarkisian on Tuesday when I explained this conflict during an interview.

"Me neither," said Sarkisian.

Now, of course, we both look like gullible old fools, along with the rest of USC and the media after the Trojans announced Wednesday that Shaw admitted the story wasn't true. It was delivered in a news release seething with anger and embarrassment, filled with words like "lied," and "complete fabrication."

But, so far anyway, those weren't the worst of Josh Shaw's sins. What he did, more than anything, was steal another tiny bit of our belief. In apparently trying to cover up for a fall in a downtown Los Angeles apartment complex, Shaw took advantage of two things most sports folks still possess, somewhere down deep: faith in greatness and hope in heroes.

You would have thought everyone would have learned this lesson a couple of years ago after wrongly celebrating the fake dead girlfriend of Notre Dame's Manti Te'o, but no. We'll probably never learn. There is a reason the sports world is filled with phrases like "Hope springs eternal" and "Wait till next year." This sort of blind passion is not only sport's blessing, but its curse, and shame on Josh Shaw for trying to run a scam behind it.

USC screwed up. If its athletic department wants to break stories like journalists, then it needs to act like journalists and fully check them out. The local sports media, including the Los Angeles Times, also screwed up. We also didn't act like journalists and, goodness, what's our excuse?

As for Shaw, he has been suspended indefinitely, although he can't play anyway. He has publicly apologized, and has been considered a good kid, so he'll probably come back before the end of the season. At that point, quite amazingly but understandably, Trojans fans will be cheering for him to make a big redeeming play and, if he does, the media will happily chronicle it.

It's sports, and we just can't help ourselves.

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nonito Donaire will be on Golovkin fight card in October

Gennady Golovkin's 17-fight knockout streak will have some power-punching company Oct. 18 at StubHub Center in Carson.

Fight promoter Tom Loeffler said middleweight world champion Golovkin's bid to become the first man in 10 years to knock down challenger Marco Antonio Rubio will be accompanied by a co-main event for the World Boxing Assn. featherweight title between Nonito Donaire and Jamaica's Nicholas Walters.

Walters (24-0, 20 knockouts) has won four consecutive fights by early stoppage, most recently decking veteran Vic Darchinyan three times in a May title defense in Macao, China.

Donaire (33-2, 21 KOs) has responded from an April 2013 unanimous-decision loss to Cuba's Guillermo Rigondeaux by scoring a ninth-round technical knockout of Darchinyan in November, and then beating Simpiwe Vetyeka by technical draw after dropping Vetyeka in the fourth round.

Donaire has held either a primary or interim world title belt in five divisions and he won two fights in Carson in 2012.

Golovkin (30-0, 27 KOs) has the most lofty knockout rate (90%) among all world champions. He trains in Big Bear.

Loeffler said less than five hours after tickets were made available Wednesday, more than 1,500 tickets were sold at the 8,500-seat venue.

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Telluride Film Festival to screen 'Birdman,' 'Rosewater,' 'Wild'

When Hollywood wants to shout about a movie, it travels to Cannes or Toronto. When it wants to launch a few well placed whispers, it journeys to an isolated box canyon in southwestern Colorado.

For the last 41 years, that's been the home of the Telluride Film Festival, an eclectic affair that has helped launch recent Oscar best picture winners like "12 Years a Slave," "Argo" and "The King's Speech."

This year's festival, which runs from Friday to Sunday, will feature the first North American screenings of a number of the fall's most anticipated movies, including Alejandro González Iñárritu's black comedy "Birdman," which just premiered to rapturous reviews in Venice, and Bennett Miller's true-crime tale "Foxcatcher," a hit in Cannes.

Telluride's audiences also will be the first in the world to see talk show host Jon Stewart's directorial debut, "Rosewater"; Reese Witherspoon's solo journey on the Pacific Crest Trail in Jean-Marc Vallée's adaptation of Cheryl Strayed's memoir "Wild"; and Benedict Cumberbatch's breaking of Nazi codes as British mathematician Alan Turing in Morten Tyldum's "The Imitation Game."

The festival also will include a tribute to Hilary Swank and screen "The Homesman," a western directed by Tommy Lee Jones in which Swank plays a spinster charged with escorting three insane women across the prairie.

Over the last four decades, Telluride, which keeps its slate secret until the last minute, has earned a reputation as the cinéaste's film festival, the kind of place where an adventuresome traveler could find herself standing in line for a movie next to Francis Ford Coppola or sharing a gondola ride with Clint Eastwood.

But it's Telluride's Oscar-validated taste that has inspired more awards-handicapping press to attend and file dispatches from the mountains, rankling the organizers of the Toronto International Film Festival, another influential but much larger event, which this year opens Sept. 4.

After years of relatively peaceful coexistence at the beginning of the awards season calendar, this year Toronto's leaders adopted a new policy prohibiting any movie that screens at Telluride from also getting one of Toronto's coveted slots in the first four days of the festival.

Asked whether Toronto's new policy has affected her ability to curate, Telluride director Julie Huntsinger seemed unfazed.

"If I looked at my schedule, I would say not at all," said Huntsinger, who directs the festival with Tom Luddy. "We're really proud of this program. We don't have those rules. We're just going to keep showing good movies."

Nevertheless, the policy has caused some distributors and filmmakers to reevaluate their usual one-two Telluride/Toronto punch -- first playing the mountain festival to woo a small but powerful group of tastemakers, including many Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences members, and then playing the Canadian one to win over broader audiences.

This year Canadian director Jason Reitman, who has typically screened his films at Telluride before heading to Toronto, is skipping the Colorado stop for his newest movie, "Men, Women & Children."

"A lot of people are very intimidated by the edict and haven't spoken out, but I feel it's such a disservice to filmmakers," Sony Pictures Classics Co-President Tom Bernard said of the Toronto policy. "One does not survive without the other in terms of creating a reputation for a movie and the quality of the films."

Bernard is bringing "Foxcatcher" and six other films to Telluride, including Mike Leigh's biopic of British painter J.M.W. Turner, "Mr. Turner"; the Russian-language thriller "Leviathan"; and the ice hockey documentary "Red Army."

In an interview last month, Toronto artistic director Cameron Bailey told The Times that the new policy was a response to the effect the Internet has had on film. "Films started being reported on very differently," Bailey said. "There's a rush to judgment to get opinions out there that you didn't have before. The intimate atmosphere that used to happen with a sneak preview has been replaced by a hothouse atmosphere."

In addition to the new movies it programs, Telluride appeals to many for its sense of film history. This year's festival includes a tribute to "Apocalypse Now" followed by an on-stage discussion with Coppola, producer Fred Roos, cinematographer Vittorio Storaro and editor-sound designer Walter Murch. The festival also will screen "Too Much Johnson," the unfinished comedy Orson Welles made three years before "Citizen Kane," unseen by the public until it was discovered in Italy in 2013.

"There are no red carpets at Telluride," said Roadside Attractions Co-President Howard Cohen, whose company is bringing three films, including "The Homesman." "It's not that much about the movie industry, per se. It's a little bit hard to get to, which adds to its allure. It's a beautiful setting and it's far from Hollywood hype in some way. The filmmakers walk around in town and are very accessible."

Though there more condos to rent than there were four decades ago when Telluride launched, the town and the festival haven't changed that much, according to several longtime attendees. That is both a function of geography and design, according to organizers.

"We are the size we want to be," Huntsinger said. "We do not want to grow."

The tranquil environment, attendees say, can make Telluride an ideal setting for a challenging or reflective movie.

Lawyer and dealmaker John Sloss will be in town handling one of the few films there looking for distribution: Ethan Hawke's documentary about pianist and teacher Seymour Bernstein, "Seymour: An Introduction."

"This is a contemplative film. It's about what it means to be an artist," Sloss said. "We're taking it to a thoughtful place full of thoughtful people."

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

Air Force jet crashes in Virginia; pilot's status unknown

Written By kolimtiga on Rabu, 27 Agustus 2014 | 22.26

A military F-15 jet crashed in the mountains of Virginia on Wednesday morning, authorities said.

Sheriffs officials in Augusta County confirmed that the plane crashed in a remote, mountain area near Deerfield, Va.

A spokesman with the Massachusetts Air National Guard confirmed that just prior to losing communication with the jet, officials received an in-flight emergency call from the pilot.

The status of the pilot is unknown at this time.

Becky Coyner of the Augustus County Sheriff's Department said deputies arrived on scene after residents called at about 9 a.m. to report hearing an explosion and seeing smoke.

"They found the wreckage and there's a lot of debris, but we haven't seen any sign of the pilot, so we're hoping he ejected," Coyner said.

The F-15 belonged to the 104th Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, based in Westfield, Massachusetts.

Major Matthew Mutty, a spokesman for the 104th Fighter Wing, said a single pilot was flying the F-15 over the Shenandoah Valley when it crashed. The pilot was en route to a nearby base so that the plane could receive a "system upgrade."

Maj. Candice Ismirle, a spokeswoman for the Air Force, said the plane was from the 104th Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, based at Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield, Mass.

It is not clear why the plane was flying over Virginia at the time, or whether the pilot survived.

For more breaking news, follow me @cmaiduc

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

North Carolina cutting film tax credit program

Even as California looks to substantially boost funding for its film tax credit, North Carolina may be exiting the Hollywood stage.

North Carolina was among the first states to offer film tax credits. The state's incentives, low labor costs and varied geography have made it a popular film location, drawing such major movies as "The Hunger Games" and the TV series "Under the Dome."

But last week state legislators opted not to renew the program, despite heavy lobbying by the local film industry to preserve the incentives.

The state budget signed by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory reserved $10 million for a grant program for the first half of 2015.

That pales in comparison to $61 million in tax credits received by production companies last year. Under the program, companies get back 25 cents for every dollar they spend on qualified production expenses, with a cap of $20 million per project.

Opponents said the film industry should not be singled out for tax breaks and that taxpayer dollars could be used instead to lower taxes for small businesses.

But film industry backers warned that replacing the current program would scare off production.

"If you look at other states that have switched from a program like we had to a grant, you've seen production high-tail it out of state faster than you can say Georgia," said Katy Feinberg, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina Production Alliance. "We're devastated by the upheaval and destruction of a thriving industry here."

The decision not only was a big blow to North Carolina's film industry but also underscores the growing scrutiny that film subsidies are receiving nationwide.

Other states have also voted to eliminate or curtail their film programs by imposing caps and reducing funding. Michigan and New Mexico, for example, took steps to scale back their programs, and Iowa scrapped its program in 2009 after an audit identified widespread abuses.

Still, 39 states offer some form of tax credit, rebate or grant.

Will some of those states now follow North Carolina's lead? Not likely, industry observers say.

"I believe it will have some impact, but likely will not cause other states to follow suit," said Rob O'Neill, a partner and film tax credit specialist at the accounting firm Moss Adams. "Production will just occur in other states, and an industry will likely die in North Carolina."

Joe Chianese, a film tax credit expert at Entertainment Partners in Burbank, agreed.

"I don't think other states are going to follow [North Carolina's] example," he said. "Other states are going to take advantage of the fact that they are going through this political battle.... If one state goes away, another one will come back."

In the 1980s and early 1990s, North Carolina was one of the busiest states for filming outside of California and New York, thanks to a string of movies including "The Color Purple," "Forrest Gump," "Bull Durham" and Academy Award-winner "The Last of the Mohicans," which was filmed in the Pisgah National Forest, among other locations.

When Georgia and Louisiana began to lure business with incentives, North Carolina launched its own film tax credit in 2005. The program was steadily expanded, drawing a string of productions to the state, including the TV series "Sleepy Hollow" and the movie "The Hunger Games," which contributed to a record $220 million in film and TV spending in 2011.

"We've been a major player in the industry for a better part of a decade," Feinberg said.

She and others in the industry are still hoping McCrory might restore the program.

"I am optimistic North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory will call the House and Senate back into session and develop a critical economic plan for North Carolina," said Chris Cooney, chief operating officer and co-owner of EUE/Screen Gems Studios, which has a 10-stage production facility in Wilmington. "We are still committed to maintaining and developing 21st century jobs in North Carolina."

richard.verrier@latimes.com

22.26 | 0 komentar | Read More

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