It’s good to be Alex Palou. This year’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach champion has taken plenty of checkered flags during his meteoric ascent to the top of IndyCar. Remarkably, he’s won 11 of the last 22 IndyCar races he’s run in, and he has taken a podium spot in fully half of the […]
The Long Beach sports scene is filled with big personalities and big egos–superstar athletes, boisterous coaches, and attention seekers of all types. It’s also filled with a very different personality, that of the quiet helper who isn’t looking for big showy recognition. These are the people who keep things running, who make sure gyms get […]
As the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach embarks on its next 50 years racing through the streets of Downtown Long Beach, the 2026 edition feels like a new start in many ways. In that spirit, we sent three of our writers wheeling around the course for the first time–either in an Acura pace car […]
I’ll never forget the feeling I had sitting in the Pyramid at Long Beach State in January of 2016 covering a men’s volleyball match against Cal Baptist. The Beach were rolling out three true freshmen starters that night in TJ DeFalco, Josh Tuaniga, and Kyle Ensing. They came in with a ton of hype, topping […]
Jim Michaelian loved a sunny day. He loved them so much, in fact, that it became a running joke between myself, JJ Fiddler, Tyler Hendrickson, and anyone else who ever covered the Grand Prix of Long Beach for us over the last two decades. There are many fun and revered traditions associated with the race, […]
If there’s ever a day where you’re allowed to be a little selfish and wrapped up in yourself, it has to be the day you’re drafted by a Major League Baseball team. A lifetime of work recognized by the recitation of your name; a draft party, just for you, in the middle of your street; […]
Ding! My phone chimes as I push open the door of the science building, exiting my fifth period chemistry class, my last of the day. I’m headed to the locker room to get changed into my running clothes before practice, and as I walk across campus, I swing my backpack around to grab my phone […]
Note to editors: I apologize for missing my deadline for this column. For reasons that will be apparent, I typed it with one hand and knocked on my wooden desk with the other hand the entire time I was working on it. I’m an anxious sports fan, so it’s been a stressful NFL playoffs for […]
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 […]
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 […]