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Basketball Column Wilson

COLUMN: Wilson Basketball Coach Resignation Strikes a Nerve Nationwide

I have to admit that, while I put the same amount of effort into every story I write, I was not expecting a coaching update I did about the girls’ basketball team at Wilson High to be the most-read story I’ve written in 17 years as a sportswriter in Long Beach.  The story, however, touched […]

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Baseball Column LB In MLB Long Beach Poly

COLUMN: Chase Utley Should Be Long Beach’s Next MLB Hall of Famer

When the results of the 2024 Major League Baseball Hall of Fame vote are announced on January 23, it’s unlikely that Long Beach’s Chase Utley will be inducted.  The former Poly Jackrabbit and six-time MLB All-Star is on the ballot for the first time this year, and for the vast majority of players, the first […]

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Column LB In NFL Long Beach Poly

COLUMN: Long Beach Poly Alum DeSean Jackson Retires

With the recent retirement of Long Beach Poly alum DeSean Jackson at the conclusion of a 15-year NFL career, it’s worth taking a look back at Jackson’s historic career, which certainly puts him among the very best pro products every produced by 1600 Atlantic Ave. The school has produced more than 80 NFL alums, but […]

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Cabrillo Column Football Jordan Lakewood Long Beach Poly Millikan St. Anthony Wilson

Long Beach Football Schedule, Week Six

This week, all of The562’s coverage is sponsored by Long Beach Gives. VisitLongBeachGives.org to find your cause and support local nonprofits! Donations will be accepted through Sept. 21. The562’s standings, schedule, and rankings stories are sponsored by International City Plumbers. We’re fired up for the sixth week of football action as Moore League play continues, check […]

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Baseball Column Interns Long Beach Poly Softball The562.org

COLUMN: Pride at Former Interns Having On-Field Success

When we started our student internship program at the562.org, we noticed an immediate trend in the applicants we were receiving from Long Beach Unified School District students. Most of the kids who applied for the paid internship program were athletes, and most of them were…well, they weren’t star athletes. They were athletes like JJ, Tyler […]

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Column Football

COLUMN: New Football Playoff System Is Gold For Moore League

When CIF Southern Section commissioner Rob Wigod was an assistant football coach at Lakewood High, the playoff format bothered him. He felt like the Lancers were a good football team with good athletes and strong coaching–but because they were in the Moore League with Long Beach Poly, Lakewood was staked to the Division 1 playoffs, […]

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Column Football Lakewood

COLUMN: Big History at Stake For Lakewood Football This Week

The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013. Pride runs deep in Lakewood, where the city and its namesake high school have an incredible athletic history. Nationally elite in baseball for much of the last seven decades since the school was founded, Lakewood High has plenty of great history on the […]

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Column Football Long Beach Poly

COLUMN: Should Long Beach Poly Football Be in the Moore League?

The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly athletics in the 2022-23 school year is sponsored by JuJu Smith-Schuster and the JuJu Foundation. The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly athletics in the 2022-23 school year is sponsored by Poly alum Jayon Brown and PlayFair Sports Management. The Long Beach Poly football team is ranked No. 22 in the nation […]