Osso to work as assistant for University football

Jeremy Osso, the former Costa Mesa High football coach, will work as the offensive line coach at University High, he said Wednesday.

Osso went 20-33 with two league titles in five seasons before being fired as coach at Costa Mesa last month. Costa Mesa Principal Phil D’Agostino said he wanted the school to go in a different direction. Osso said he was removed because he didn’t have a teaching credential.

Wally Grant, a former assistant at Tustin and Mesa, took over as the interim coach. Osso was asked to stay at Costa Mesa as the offensive coordinator, but he declined the offer.

“To me that was them trying to save face,” Osso said at the time.

Osso is now starting over at University.

He led the Mustangs to a share of the Orange Coast League title in 2007 and an outright league championship in 2008. He guided Costa Mesa to the playoffs, 2007, 2008 and 2009, each time losing in the first round.

Uni is a great fit for Osso, who will work under longtime coach Mark Cunningham.

Taylor Dent to play for Breakers

Taylor Dent, a former Corona del Mar High tennis star, will play for the Newport Beach Breakers on July 11 at The Tennis Club Newport Beach.

Sam Querrey is not playing World Team Tennis this season because of an injury. He would have played for the Washington Kastles on July 11 against the Breakers. Instead, Dent, a former ATP player, will play for Newport Beach at the site where he conducts his Dent Tennis Academy.

Getzlaf charity event raises $160K for autism

The inaugural Ryan Getzlaf Golf Shootout raised more than $160,000 for Talk About Curing Autism, according to TACA.

Getzlaf, a team captain of the Anaheim Ducks and an Olympic gold medalist, was recently featured in the Daily Pilot. I’ll be writing a column about the two-day charity event later in the week.

More than 200 people participated in the two-day charity event, beginning with a kickoff pre-event reception at Sutra in Costa Mesa Saturday night (I attended). Then Getzlaf and his friends, including MVP Corey Perry and actors Kevin Dillon and Kevin Connolly from Entourage, played golf at the Pelican Hill in Newport Coast Sunday.

… Continue Reading

Roger Goodell sends letter to Mr. Irrelevant

Even though there is a lockout in the NFL, commissioner Roger Goodell was able to provide a highlight during Irrelevant Week in Newport Beach.

Goodell sent a personal letter to Cheta Ozougwu, nicknamed Mr. Irrelevant for being the final pick in the NFL Draft, selected by the Houston Texans.

The letter was read at the Arrival Party Monday at the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort, and again at the All-Star Lowsman Trophy Banquet Wednesday at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa.

Here is the letter:

Congratulations on being selected as the 36^th “Mr. Irrelevant,” a unique and special annual NFL tradition.

If you can survive “Irrelevant Week,” it means you probably have the ingenuity to survive everything that head coach Gary Kubiak and defensive coordinator Wade Phillips will throw your way.

We in the NFL are proud that you are among the select group of college players drafted by NFL teams and that you also are now part of the “Irrelevant” fraternity. As other young players – such as the 34^th “Mr. Irrelevant” Ryan Succop, who set a Kansas City Chiefs rookie record with 25 field goals – have discovered, it is not where you are drafted that counts. Rather, it is the strength of your commitment and your will to succeed. That will go a long way toward determining your success in life and the NFL.

We wish you much fun as “Mr. Irrelevant” and great success with the Texans.

Please extend best wishes to our many friends in Orange County.

Sincerely,

Roger Goodell

Ryan Getzlaf charity event in Costa Mesa, Newport Beach

Ryan Getzlaf (Photo by Debora Robinson / NHLI via Getty Images)

From the Daily Pilot:

Ryan Getzlaf chuckles when he reveals where he keeps his gold medal.

“In the drawer of my nightstand,” said Getzlaf, the Anaheim Ducks captain who was on Canada’s gold-medal winning team at least year’s Winter Olympics. “I want to put it in a case. I just moved into a new house in September. It’s kind of tough to do anything during the season. I have work to do.”

Getzlaf, a Tustin resident, probably won’t have his gold medal encased anytime soon. That’s because he’ll be busy with his inaugural Getzlaf Golf Shootout. It’s a two-day charity event for Talk About Curing Autism that will take place in Costa Mesa and Newport Coast next week.

The event is close to Getzlaf’s heart.

“I have a cousin who is autistic,” he said. “It was something I always wanted to get involved with. The kids need so much attention and I’ve seen how much it helped him.”

Continue reading: Getzlaf busy with event

Costa Mesa fights on Showtime

Pat Bennett faces Kenny “Deuce” Garner in Costa Mesa July 8, part of a night of fights that will air live on Showtime.

The rematch of the 2010 M-1 Selection Americas Tournament heavyweight finalists is the featured fight of a mixed martial arts event titled “M-1 Challenge: Bennett vs. Garner” in the Hangar at the OC Fair & Events Center. M-1 GLOBAL in association with Roy Englebrecht made the announcement today.

Garner (6-3) last faced Bennett (4-2) in the 2010 M-1 Selection Amercias tournament finals, where he won a convincing first-round TKO. Garner has four knockout wins and is seeking another.

“I’ll fight anyone, anytime for M-1 GLOBAL,” Garner said in a release. “I’ve got to do better than what I’ve done before and this is my opportunity to chase down my belt! I’ve been training hard and I’m not losing to Pat Bennett; he’s not making it out of the first round.”

Bennett wants revenge.

“This is an opportunity to avenge my loss to Kenny and it’s a fight I’ve wanted badly,” Bennett said. “He’s the only one on my mind and I’ve got a point to prove.”

Tickets are priced at $75 for the front row and all other seats are $50, and can be purchased online at www.fightcluboc.com or by calling Roy Englebrecht Promotions at (949) 760-3131.

Paul Salata gearing up for 36th Irrelevant Week

From the Daily Pilot:

There is irony usually intertwined with Irrelevant Week when you think of the owner of the quirky concept.

Who could find relevance with so much laughter, joking and silliness? Look deep. Look at the man who owns the trademark of Mr. Irrelevant and Irrelevant Week.

Paul Salata, 84, has built a nationally known product based on celebrating someone for no reason at all. It seems crazy to think there could be so much fun when throwing a huge party for the final pick of the NFL Draft. But look deeper, find Salata, and you realize why it’s so much fun.

Salata, a Newport Beach resident, has lived his life like a long party. Along the way he made some significant accomplishments. Along the way, he experienced hurt and despair. Along the way he found a way to win.

Continue reading: Salata’s wonderful life …

Henry Owens pick No. 36 in MLB Draft

Edison High standout pitcher Henry Owens was taken No. 36 in today’s major league baseball draft by the Boston Red Sox.

Owens, a 6-foot-6 lefty, was picked as Boston’s Round-A Compensation pick. His fastball reportedly peaks at 94 mph.

Owens went 12-1 with a no-hitter, leading the top-seeded Chargers to the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs. Edison finished 25-4, the 25 wins tying the program’s all-time mark for victories in a season, set by the 1981 team that won a CIF title.

Steinberg featured at USA Today

Leigh Steinberg’s new weekly column in the Daily Pilot was featured at USA Today’s The Huddle blog.

Steinberg’s column debuted in Thursday’s Daily Pilot. He wrote about concussions and an intriguing story about Troy Aikman, who dealt with a concussion during his game against the San Francisco 49ers.

This week, Steinberg plans to tackle parenting in youth sports. It is a timely column, considering the Daily Pilot Cup youth soccer tournament starts today in Costa Mesa. There are 207 teams in the Daily Pilot Cup, the largest tournament in Orange County that features elementary school classmates as teammates.

Leigh Steinberg, Daily Pilot columnist

Leigh Steinberg, the famous sports agent, is now a Daily Pilot columnist.

His column, Steinberg Says, debuts in Thursday’s Pilot. Leigh’s column will appear Thursdays. He will touch on a variety of topics. His first column is about concussions.

He writes:

In 1995, I saw something that terrified me after the Dallas Cowboys defeated the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship.

Troy Aikman, the winning quarterback, suffered a concussion and I visited him that night in a darkened hospital room at Baylor Medical Center in downtown Dallas.

The city was awash with celebration, horns honking, fireworks in the sky. Troy greeted me with a confused look on his face.

“Where am I?” he asked. “Did I play today? How well did I play? Did we win? Are we going to the Super Bowl?”

I answered the questions and his face brightened. Five minutes later, he looked at me in confusion and asked the same questions again and I answered before he smiled.

But five minutes later he asked the same questions once again as if we had never talked. I became terrified at the toll a concussion took on the tender thread separating sentient consciousness from dementia.

Continue reading: Much more is needed