X Team Tennis National Tournament coming

Six tennis players from Sage Hill School will compete in the X Team Tennis national tournament Saturday and Sunday at the Tennis Club Newport Beach.

There will be eight teams consisting of one boy and one girl in the World Team Tennis event, which features no-ad scoring. The team with the most games won wins, as they battle in singles and mixed doubles.

Sage Hill’s Liana Korber is on the No. 3-seeded team with Hutton McKenna of Laguna Beach.

The Lightning’s Katie Bick and Zuriel Aaron enter as the No. 4-seeded duo, while Sage Hill’s Lauren Hsu and Ryan Lee are seeded No. 6.

Sam Sherman of Sage Hill is paired with “rival” Deena Fahami of St. Margaret’s as the No. 8-seeded team. The tournament is a round-robin format. The teams will play 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday.

A.G. Longoria, who coaches the Sage Hill boys’ and girls’ tennis teams, is the tournament director.

Lofgren, Hogan Henley champions

Esther Lofgren and JP Hogan at the Henley Royal Regatta. (Photo courtesy of Ester Lofgren)

Esther Lofgren and JP Hogan share the same background. They’re both from Newport Beach, where they trained at Newport Aquatic Center. They both attended Newport Harbor High, where they competed in rowing. They both also have ties to Harvard University.

At the 2011 Henley Royal Regatta, they both represented extremely well.

Lofgren, a Harvard alumna who is on the U.S. national team, won two gold medals, helping the Americans win the Remenham Challenge Cup and Princess Grace Challenge Cup. Hogan, entering his third year at Harvard, took home the Prince Albert Challenge Cup as part of the Crimson 4v-plus July 3 at Henley-on-Thames, England.

Lofgren joined the U.S. women’s eight July 2, when another rower couldn’t compete because of injury. She helped the eight defeat Leander Club and Gloucester Rowing Club by 1 ¾ lengths and finish in 6 minutes, 38 seconds, which tied the event record.

Lofgren’s original boat, a U.S. quad, was also victorious. They beat an Australian quad by 1 ¼ lengths in 7:02.

Hogan and the Harvard rowers, plus a cox, won the Prince Albert Challenge cup in dramatic fashion. They came from behind in the semifinals, surpassing Newcastle University, and in the final, overwhelming Oxford Brookes University in front of a large crowd.

In the final, Harvard won by 1 ¾ lengths. Its time of 6:58 was just one second off its event-record mark from July 2.

Kids Tennis Play Day in Newport Beach

From 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday The Tennis Club Newport Beach will be reserved for kids.

The Newport Beach Breakers will play host to Kids Tennis Play Day at Breakers Stadium. The youth tennis event is a product of a USTA and World Team Tennis partnership in an effort to promote tennis to children 10 and under.

The Breakers plan to have the youth, “enjoy tennis in a fun, non-threatening competitive environment,” according to a press release.

Kids Tennis Play Day will kick off the featured match against the Sacramento Capitals.

The tennis for children 10 and under will have equipment and courts scaled to kids’ size. Racquets are shorter and lighter, and the courts are smaller.

To learn more about the Kids Tennis Play Day and 10-and-under tennis, visit www.10andundertennis.com.

World Team Tennis, founded in 1974, features a unique format and includes multi-colored courts and on-court coaching.

Pete Sampras’ life much different now

My column on Pete Sampras and his life as a father featured references to a 60 Minutes interview, as well as other videos found on YouTube.

Sampras’ interview on 60 Minutes [click here].

This was a compelling interview with Sampras done by Mary Carillo [click here].

Bridgette Wilson-Sampras had a funny interview on the Craig Kilborn Show [click here].

Bridgette was Miss Teen USA in 1990 [click here].

Bridgette starred in the movie “Love Stinks [click here].

Continue reading: Sampras still boring? No

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.