Big Dumper, San Diego FC, MLB Draft, Summer League and More

25+ Pro Sports Headlines from the Pacific time zone this week

Jul 19, 2025

West Coast Footy Stars Head to Austin

The MLS All-Star game will occur on July 24. Sounders midfielder Obed Vargas, Earthquakes midfielder Cristian Espinoza, LAFC forward Denis Bouanga and Timbers midfielder David Da Costa will represent teams from the West Coast.

San Diego FC will send the strong representation with forward Chucky Lazano, midfielder Anders Dreyer and defender Jeppe Tverskov all headed to Austin on Wednesday at 6 PM. Bouanga and Dreyer will play in the All-Star Skills Challenge on Tuesday.

California Headlines the MLB Draft

The MLB draft happened. The Angels took Tyler Brenner out of UCSB with the second overall pick. Seattle landed LSU’s Kade Anderson at No. 3. He helped them win the College World Series.

Corona High School became the first High School to have three players drafted in the first 50 draft picks. The White Sox selected Billy Carlson, Pirates drafted Seth Hernand and Brady Ebel landed with the Brewers.

Several other players were selected from high schools in Oregon and California. The Dodgers selected two players from Arkansas.

Raleigh Takes Over All-Star Game

Seattle Mariners Cal Raleigh won the home run derby in his first All-Star game. Raleigh became the first catcher to win it and he had a great family moment while doing it. He proceeded by signing a partnership with a portable toilet company due to his name being, “Big Dumper.” Raleigh has had 38 homers, just one short of Barry Bonds’ first half of the season record.

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw received a bunch of flack for getting into the game as the commissioner’s “Legend Pick.” A’s shortstop Jacob Wilson started and joined his father as the only father-son duo to start the All-Star game at that position.

Ultimately, the game came down to the first-ever Home Run Derby tiebreaker. The National League came away with the win.

Another story line at the All-Star game centered around the use of automation. Buster Posey liked it though. Meanwhile, Juan Soto, Shohei Ohtani and more folks got roasted at the ESPYS.

NBA Summer League Update

Only a couple of games into the Summer League, Cooper Flagg looked like the real deal. He shut down his time in Vegas after going off in the second game. He called the first game one of the worst he has ever played.

It was hot but I was glad that I got to see Flagg and a number of other stars from the NBA Draft. Spurs guard Dylan Harper looked good as his team took on Flagg’s Mavericks. Portland center Yang Hansen showed some good flash. I only made it out one day but there were also plenty of West Coast legends out in Vegas for the Summer League action.

Not that it matters, but the Kings and Clippers sit atop the Las Vegas Summer League standings. The Lakers have only won one game. LeBron showed up to watch Bronny too.

I digest thousands of headlines and links to find the best sports stories from the Pacific time zone each week.

MLB All-Stars, Gold Cup, NHL Transactions and More

45+ West Coast Sports Headlines

Jul 12, 2025

NHL and NBA offseason headlines dominated the last few weeks. MLB All-Star week should be fun to watch next week. We also got the NBA Summer League taking over Vegas the next few weeks. Catch me out there this weekend.

All—Star Game

The MLB’s finest will head to Atlanta this week for the annual All-Star Game.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Shohei Ohtani (Utility/DH, Starter) — led the NL in home runs (30) and OPS (1.024), and was the top vote-getter
Freddie Freeman (First Base, Starter)
Will Smith (Catcher, Starter)
Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Pitcher, Reserve)
Clayton Kershaw (Pitcher, Legend Pick — Commissioner’s selection)

San Francisco Giants

Logan Webb (Pitcher, Reserve)
Robbie Ray (Pitcher, Reserve)
Randy Rodríguez (Relief Pitcher, Reserve)

San Diego Padres

Manny Machado (Third Base, Starter)
Fernando Tatís Jr. (Outfielder, Reserve)
Robert Suárez (RHP) — bullpen All-Star via player ballot
Jason Adam (LHP) — bullpen All-Star via player ballot
Adrián Morejón (LHP) — replacement All-Star, joining the Padres relievers

Los Angeles Angels

Yusei Kikuchi (Pitcher, Reserve)

Seattle Mariners

Cal Raleigh (Catcher, AL Starter; first All-Star, )
Bryan Woo (Pitcher, Reserve, CA native)
Andrés Muñoz (Pitcher, Reserve)
Julio Rodríguez (Outfielder, Reserve)

Other All-Stars born in the Pacific time zone

Drew Rasmussen (Pitcher, Rays)
David Peterson (Pitcher, Mets)
Paul Skenes (Pitcher, Pirates)

Gold Cup

Team USA came up short in the Gold Cup versus Mexico in the Final. However, San Diego FC midfielder Luca de la Torre represented the West Coast as the only Cali native on the roster. Orlando City defender Alex Freeman also grew up in Seattle.

Hoops

Lakers add Jake LaRavia and DeAndre Ayton

Frank Vogel joins the Mavs

Magic keep Moe Wagner

Bradley Beal could end up in the Pacific time zone

Carlos Boozer appears in a dating show

Uncle Jeff expected to keep playing

PJ Tucker finally free

Lonzo Ball lands with the Cavs

Nico Batum returns to the Clippers

Harden stays with the Clippers

Knicks name Mike Brown their head coach

Where will Dame Lillard land?

Storm add Tiffany Mitchell

Ben McLemore gets jail sentence

Warriors were involved in huge trade

Clippers trade Norman Powell to the Heat in three-team deal for John Collins

NFL

Steelers acquired Jalen Ramsey

Najee Harris had a firework mishap

Demarcus Robinson gets probation for DUI

MLB

Jays could have gotten Randy Johnson

Nationals add Luis Garcia

Brewers acquire Steward Berroa

MLB leveraging bots

NHL

Ducks re-sign Ville Husso

Anaheim trades for John Gibson

Mikael Granlund signs with the Ducks

Kings keep Andrei Kuzmenko

Los Angeles signed Corey Perry and Joel Armia

Sharks trade for Alex Nedeljkovic

San Jose signs forward Adam Gaudette and defenseman John Klingberg

William Eklund re-ups with Sharks

Jakub Skarek joins the Sharks

San Jose adds Dmitry Orlov and Ryan Lindgren too

Vegas keeps Kaedan Korczak

Randy Couture going through it

Nevada is fighting the Gaming tax

A’s owner bought a secret Vegas mansion

Sorry, I took last week off with the Holiday! Vegas should be fun this weekend.

MLS Club Cup Results, New Ownership, Ron Washington, Draft Updates and More

40+ West Coast Headlines to round out June

Jun 28, 2025

This week’s newsletter is jam-packed with the NBA and NHL Drafts, MLS International play, NBA and MLS ownership changes, and protests that swept from Los Angeles to Seattle.

MLS on the World Stage

MLS regular season play resumes this week and weekend. The Seattle Sounders were bounced from Group Play in the Club World Cup. Seattle drew one of the best teams in the contest. LAFC did not do much better. They had two losses and one draw in group play after a controversial decision landed them in the cup.

LAFC’s big offseason acquisition Olivier Giroud is set to leave the MLS after ending his one-year deal with the team. Giroud agreed to a new deal with Lille this week.

Meanwhile, the Earthquakes’ owner made moves to sell the team.

A Week of Los Angeles Headlines

Lakers fans were both happy and sad as the team announced a major ownership shift. For the first time in decades, the Los Angeles Lakers will have a new majority owner.

Mark Walter had been part of the ownership group since 2021. He now takes majority stake at a valuation over $10 billion. Jeanie Buss holds onto her governor role, despite her family divesting their majority stake.

Kike Hernandez spoke up against ICE and the treatment of immigrants while his organization stayed quiet. The Dodgers faced backlash for an ICE raid that occurred outside of the stadium as well as the banishment of singer who sang in Spanish after they asked her not to.

Angels manager Ron Washington was sidelined indefinitely with a health issue.

New Champs Out West

This year’s NBA and NHL champions didn’t feature a lot of folks born in the Pacific time zone. Shout out to Branden Carlson. The OKC Thunder guard is from Northern California.

Other NBA Championships with California ties include Isaiah Hartenstein and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who both played with the Clippers once upon a time.

In the NHL, Jaycob Megna and Jonah Gadjovich are familiar names from their times with the Shark. Megna also has experience with the Ducks, Sharks and Kraken. Both will now get to drink from the Stanley Cup.

NFL

Deommodore Lenoir got arrested

Shaquill Griffin returns to the Seahawks

Aaron Rodgers announces this will be his final season

Don’t call Bruce Irvin a bust

Cowboys add Robert Rochell at corner

Rams waive Derion Kendrick

Chargers will add patches to their jerseys

The Raiders embrace AI

NBA

Lakers add Sarunas’ son

Warriors say Kuminga needs to sign

Clippers made Zu untouchable

Clippers add former Kings Gm to their front office

MLB

Rafael Devers is at first base for the Giants

A’s remain on track

Seattle could add Josh Naylor or Ryan O’Hearn

Sean Hjelle responds to allegations of abuse

Rangers could add JD Martinez.

Barry Bonds is next for a statue

Severino hates his home park

NHL

Knights keep Saad and Reilly Smith

Sharks buy out Marc-Edouard Vlasic

Ducks add to coaching staff

Ex-Ducks coach lands in Iowa

Breaking down the Trevor Zegras trade

How the Kings will keep their top restricted free agent

Kraken add Frederick Gaudreau in exchange for a 2025 fourth round pick (the No. 102 overall selection)

Evander Kane lands with the Canucks

MLS

Who will be LAFC’s next head coach?

Sounders not discouraged by group losses

Timbers add forward sign Gage Guerra

California Clasico heads to Stanford Stadium

New San Diego FC Podcast

Three SDFC players make the MLS All-Star team, one from the Timbers and LAFC also earn honors

UNLV changes schedule for Canelo Fight

Pac-12 adds Texas State

Sacramento State set on joining D1

2025 NHL Draft

The NHL and NHLPA agreed to extend their season in CBA talks. The current deal expires in September of next year, but an agreement could come as early as next week. Here’s what you need to know about the NHL Draft:

San Jose Sharks

2nd overall: Michael Misa (C, Saginaw Spirit – OHL)
30th overall: Joshua Ravensbergen (G, Prince George Cougars – WHL)

Anaheim Ducks

10th overall: Roger McQueen (C, Brandon Wheat Kings – WHL)

Los Angeles Kings

31st overall: Henry Brzustewicz (D, London Knights – OHL)

Seattle Kraken

8th overall: Jake O’Brien (C, Brantford – OHL)

Vegas Golden Knights

Traded their first round pick to Nashville in a prior deal.

NBA Draft 2025

Fresno-native Cedric Coward was selected by the Blazers before getting traded to Memphis. The Washington State wing was one of the few drafted players born in the Pacific zone.

Portland ended up with center Yang Hansen out of China. The Kings traded for No. 24 pick Nique Clifford (Colorado St. guard) too.

Nevada guard Kobe Sanders landed with the Clippers via trade after the Knicks selected him with the 50th pick. The California native also spent some time with Cal Poly. Other West Coast Highlights from the NBA Draft:

Los Angeles Clippers

1st Round (30th overall): Yanic Konan Niederhauser, center from Penn State

Sacramento Kings

2nd Round (42nd overall): Chose Maxime Raynaud, center from Stanford

Golden State Warriors

2nd Round:
- 41st: Drafted Koby Brea (from Kentucky) but traded his rights to Phoenix
- 52nd: Alex Toohey (Sydney Kings) and traded for his rights
- 56th: Will Richard (Florida) via an acquired pick

Los Angeles Lakers

2nd Round (36th overall): Adou Thiero, a forward from Arkansas, originally drafted by Brooklyn and moved via Phoenix to the Lakers
2nd Round (55th overall): Australian Lachlan Olbrich, then flipped him to Chicago

PS the Summer League schedule dropped AND Bronny James is expected to play again.

Also sorry for being late as the news cycle was crazy the last two weeks. ALSO I took last week off to go wine tasting with my Love and we went to the Dodger game.

Kreider to the Ducks, International Footy and Last-Minute NFL Free Agency Adds

22+ Pro Sports links from the Pacific time zone this week + an important Graduation update!

Jun 13, 2025

Anaheim is dominating trade talks right now. Long-time Rangers forward Chris Kreider agreed to a trade to the Anaheim Ducks. Kreider scored 326 regular-season goals and owns the franchise’s record for most post season goals.

Anaheim sent Carey Terrance and a draft pick for Kreider and a pick swap. Kreider spent 13 seasons with the Rangers and he was owed $6.5 million through the end of the 2026-27 season. He joins his former teammate Jacob Trouba with the Ducks. Anahiem is also expected to pitch Mitch Marner, along with the rest of the teams rebuilding on the West Coast.

The NBA is still gassing up the West Coast with expansion. Las Vegas and Seattle have long been rumored to be the NBA’s next destinations. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver finally talked expansion, teasing that talks could heat up this offseason.

“We’re not there yet, but this is the offseason we’ll really look into it,” Silver said via ESPN.

Meanwhile, the MLS is gearing up for players participating in the World Cup qualifiers and Gold Cup matches. Over 140 MLS players are participating for their countries. Here’s the folks impacted from the West Coast, per MLS.com. These teams will be thin over the next two weeks, which could impact MLS Cup seeding:

LA Galaxy

Harbor Miller (D, USA U-19)
Rubén Ramos Jr. (M, USA U-19)

LAFC

David Martínez (F, Venezuela)
Nathan Ordaz (F, El Salvador)
Artem Smolyakov (D, Ukraine U-21)
Jude Terry (M, USA U-17)

Portland Timbers

Maxime Crépeau (GK, Canada)
Ariel Lassiter (M, Costa Rica)
Finn Surman (D, New Zealand)

San Diego FC

Luca Bombino (D, USA U-20)
Luca de la Torre (M, USA)
Anders Dreyer (F, Denmark)
Aníbal Godoy (M, Panama)
Paddy McNair (D, Northern Ireland)
Onni Valakari (M, Finland)

San Jose Earthquakes

Ousseni Bouda (F, Burkina Faso)
Josef Martínez (F, Venezuela)
Edwyn Mendoza (M, USA U-19)

Seattle Sounders FC

Osaze De Rosario (F, Guyana)
Stuart Hawkins (D, USA U-19)
Reed Baker-Whiting (D, USA U-20)

Thanks for reading We Are West Coast Sports! This post is public so feel free to share it.

22+ sports links from across the Pacific time zone. I curate the best links from hundreds of sources, so you don’t have to.

Hoops

Knicks wanted Kidd and JJ for vacant head coaching job

Blazers keep calling out Scoot Henderson

Russell Westbrook opts out

Warriors could trade Quinten Post

Aces waive Crystal Bradford

KD talks Steve Ballmer crying

DeMarcus Cousins gets in trouble in Puerto Rico

A look at how the Clippers built a Home Court Advantage

NFL

RIP John Tautolo

Shaq Thompson joins the Bills

Trent Williams wants to play until he is 40

Rams will pass on Jaire Alexander

Raiders add Germaine Pratt

Chargers interior line needs help

49ers corner calls out PFF

JK Dobbins joins the Broncos

Seahawks give their punter a record contract

MLB

Angels call up top prospect

Kike Hernandez took the moon

Giants add Scott Alexander to a Minor League deal

Ohtani not pitching until at least after the All-Star break

Anthony DeSclafani joins the D-Backs

Angels trade for LaMonte Wade Jr.

Angels add Chad Wallach

Padres prospect retires before 25

NHL

Sharks assistant joins the Islanders

Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini finishes third in Calder voting

Anze Kopitar wins Lady Byng trophy for sportsmanship

Shout out to my brother Philip for graduating this week. I’m a few weeks away from him leaving home for CSUN. Raising him and my other two siblings has been one of the toughest and most rewarding experiences of my life. Now that it’s over, wait until you see what is next!

Rodgers, Giants Pride, USMNT and More

30+ Pro Sports Headlines from the Pacific time zone week of June 6, 2025

Jun 07, 2025

LAFC qualified for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup with a comeback win to beat Las Aguillas last week.

Both the Sounders and LAFC will begin group play in two weeks. The Leagues Cup schedule in July was announced too.

Meanwhile, the USMNT kicks off Nations League play at 12:30 PM. So far, Cade Cowell will represent California. Here’s a look at USMNT players from the West Coast, who could end up on the roster due to folks sitting out:

California

Marlon Fossey – Born in Los Angeles (Right Back)
Tristan Blackmon – Born in Las Vegas, Nevada (not CA, but was on your list — moved to NV section below)
Jalen Neal – Born in Lakewood (Center Back)
Aaron Long – Born in Oak Hills (Center Back)
Max Arfsten – Born in Fresno (Left Back)
Ryan Hollingshead – Born in Sacramento (Left Back)
John Nelson – LA Galaxy (Left Back)
DeJuan Jones – San Jose Earthquakes (Left Back)
Cade Cowell – Born in Ceres (Winger)
Haji Wright – Born in Los Angeles (Forward)
Brandon Vázquez – Born in Chula Vista (Forward)
Jeremy Ebobisse – LAFC (Forward)
Diego Luna – From Sunnyvale (Midfielder)
Luca de la Torre – Plays for San Diego FC (Midfielder)
Edwin Cerrillo – LA Galaxy (Midfielder)