The Grammy Awards 2020 expected to celebrate music and musicians, but the day’s tragic news — that Los Angeles basketball legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter were killed in a helicopter crash — cast a long shadow over the event at Staples Center, the place where Kobe worked his magic as a Laker.

The show, however, did go on, and there were many winners, as well as many of the performers offered praise to Bryant during the course of the show.

There was also one big winner — Billie Eilish, the talented L.A. teen picked up 4 big trophies, sweeping the major categories — but that meant that these categories went to the same artist, which is a disappointment if the goal is to honor the wide range of talent on hand at the event. We bet Eilish would agree.

These are the most memorable notes from what is dubbed “Music’s Biggest Night.”

1. Kobe Bryant tributes: The basketball legend’s death inspired tributes from Lizzo and Alicia Keys at the start of the show, and the surprising loss of such an iconic Los Angeles figure inspired feedback from viewers about the performances and subtle shoutouts to him throughout the show.

2. The fashions: The outfits were eye-catching — there was so much pink! — and one of the most talked-about ones belonged to Ariana Grande.

3. The performances: While some of the artists went big like Lil Nas X, who brought in K-pop stars BTS and rap legend Nas, and Tyler, the Creator, who brought out Boyz II Men, Charlie Wilson and dozens of Tyler clones to dance and shake their wigs, a few other artists, like Billie Eilish, who stunned with a low-key performance, and Demi Lovato, who shed a tear while singing, offered much more low-key but equally powerful performances. Oh, and H.E.R. and Gary Clark Jr. with the Roots were both on fire in their performances, as was the Nipsey Hussle tribute with John Legend, DJ Khaled, Meek Mill, YG and probably a few more.

4. OK, not every single performance was a winner: Jonas Brothers performed — you probably forgot though, huh? —and Aerosmith aimed to resurrect its earlier resurrection by Run-DMC and it did not walk the way it might have had both these legends just done something else.

5. Diversity disappointment: While we have all kinds of respect for hometown hero Eilish, the 18-year-old took home a huge handful of awards that could have been spread around to other equally deserving artists such as Lizzo, Lil Nas X, H.E.R., Lana Del Rey, Vampire Weekend and Ariana Grande.

Kobe Bryant represented different things to millions of people around the world.

To Orange County’s small and close-knit girls basketball community, he symbolized inspiration, friendship, mentorship, hope and pure wonder that they could literally touch.

The Lakers’ legend was one of them.

So it was with heavy hearts and after shedding tears that players and coaches remembered Bryant after he and his daughter Gianna were among nine people who died Sunday in a helicopter crash in Calabasas.

“Kobe Bryant was an inspiration and someone who I looked up to,” Tustin High junior guard Alyssa Norada said. “Growing up, I used to watch his highlights before bed or watch them before games, trying to learn how to perfect a signature move.”

Like so many in Orange County girls basketball, Norada also spent time with Bryant, 41, in person. He coached Gianna, 13, on the Orange County-based Mambas, an elite travel basketball team consisting of eighth graders.

The team also included Alyssa Altobelli, another 13-year-old who died in the crash along with her parents, longtime Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli and Keri.

Christina Mauser, Bryant’s top assistant on the Mambas and a former standout at Edison, also died in the crash along with Sarah and Payton Chester and the pilot.

The Mambas featured a player with the last name Chester.

“It’s tragic,” said a shaken Dave White, who coached Mauser in basketball at Edison under her maiden last name, Chistina Patterson. “I’m devastated.”

The Mambas played throughout Orange County, which meant there were numerous Kobe sightings.

From American Sports Center in Anaheim to Santiago High School to Vanguard University to Mater Dei, Bryant attracted crowds to games that usually didn’t garner much attention. He posed for photos with young players, some of whom just rushed him for a hug.

“He was so generous with his time,” Mater Dei girls basketball coach Kevin Kiernan said. “He was just amazing.”

Prayers & Condolences to the Bryant Family & the family of all the passengers involved in this tragic accident!

RIP @kobebryant pic.twitter.com/zyHnvZYVus

— Mater Dei Girls Basketball (@MaterDeiGBB) January 26, 2020

But Kiernan said the wonder extended beyond the photos. He gave young players from other teams pep talks and pats on the back.

Bryant did just that in January 2019 when he brought the Mambas to watch Mater Dei play and spoke to the Monarchs afterward. He gave the players a few tips but more than anything, encouragement.

“It’s the words behind the pictures,” Kiernan said. “That’s huge.”

Esperanza girls basketball coach Jimmy Valverde struck up a friendship with Bryant after interacting with him about two years while coaching with the O.C. Rhythm travel team.

Bryant shared with Valverde that he had a scheduling conflict at a tournament and asked if Valverde’s team could play the Mambas earlier than expected and without rest. Valverde agreed and the coaches shared a laugh.

The next time Valverde saw Bryant, the legendary player called the him over for a chat, much to amazement of Valverde’s parents in the gym.

“I feel like a lost a friend,” Valverde said. “He was just a nice guy. … There was no ego. He was just there for his daughter and the kids.”

But Bryant’s Mambas weren’t entirely like other teams.

Rhythm coach Vernon Henderson said the Mambas were not strong when they initially formed but followed Bryant’s tenacity to develop into a powerhouse. The trained seven days a week, played against older teams and expertly ran the triangle offense, which the opposition often had no answer for.

“They were seasoned,” Henderson said of a squad that included the daughter of former NBA all-star Zach Randolph.

Henderson also noticed Bryant doing something different than many coaches. He hardly yelled at his players.

“He was always teaching,” Henderson said.

Henderson said Bryant’s example and a discussion with the five-time NBA champion made him a better coach.

“I can’t stop crying,” Henderson said Sunday.

Bryant enjoyed coaching so much, he planned to coach Gianna and other players off the Mambas at Sage Hill, Henderson said.

Sage Hill coach Kerwin Walters was too upset Sunday to talk.

“They had a plan,” Henderson said. “They were going to be 1-2 in the county by their freshmen year.”

But the hope wasn’t limited to one school. The Bryants’ anticipated arrival on the county girls basketball scene was going to be bring a new-level of exposure that would benefit the sport, coaches said.

And more players would be inspired.

“Kobe was the definition of someone who was born ready,” Norada said. “He prepared, he worked and went after his goals and didn’t stop until he achieved them. He will always be one of my biggest inspirations and role models.”

Though John and Keri Altobelli practically raised their kids on Orange Coast College’s baseball diamond, friends said the couple wasn’t disappointed when their two girls didn’t follow in their dad’s dusty footsteps.

Longtime OCC head baseball coach Altobelli, 56, his wife, Keri, 46, and their daughter Alyssa, 13, were killed Sunday, Jan. 26, in a Calabasas helicopter crash that also claimed the lives of six others, including legendary Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, 13. The crash, which is under investigation by federal transportation officials, occurred while the group of parents and children were headed to Bryant’s youth basketball academy northwest of Los Angeles

The Altobellis were “the First Family of OCC,” said Nate Johnson, the school’s acting head baseball coach. “All three of his kids grew up here.”

J.J. Altobelli, John’s son from a previous marriage, played and coached baseball in Orange County before becoming a scout for the Boston Red Sox, Orange Coast College Foundation Executive Director Douglas Bennett said. John and Keri’s daughters, Alyssa and 16-year-old Alexis, were batgirls for their dad’s team, Johnson said.

Keri Altobelli and the girls regularly came out to watch the Pirates play, sitting in their designated spot on the first base line. But baseball wasn’t the family’s only athletic interest.

Alyssa, a friend and teammate on the Orange County-based Mambas with Gianna Bryant, was a standout basketball player who won praise from Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy. She was an eighth grader at Ensign Intermediate School. Alexis has played several sports including tennis, Johnson said, also recalling that when one of the girls tried softball and hated it, John Altobelli “just laughed and said all right.”

John Altobelli was a driven fundraiser for OCC’s baseball program and strove to help his players mature, find scholarships and transfer to four-year universities, Bennett said. “He was a perfectionist and he demanded a lot of his kids, but also he really cared about them. He worked to build them up as young men.”

Next-door neighbors Debra and Guy Biagiotti, who live in the Newport Coast community where the Altobellis moved in 2018, said some people have responded to their shock over the tragedy by leaving flowers and cards outside the Altobellis’ door.

Guy Biagiotti described John Altobelli as a genuinely nice person who’d stop to chat while washing his car in front of the house, and he recalled that soon after the family moved in, Keri gave them a plant to apologize for any annoyance her barking dog, Freckles, may have caused.

The Pirates decided to play their season-opening game on Tuesday, Jan. 28, but will first pay tribute to their coach of nearly three decades. The OCC Foundation has set up a memorial fund to benefit J.J. and Alexis Altobelli, and Johnson said the college and its athletic community will put its arms around the coach’s surviving children.

“Your family has taken care of us over the years and we’re going to take care of you,” he said. “We’re going to be their family.”

The Santa Ana water tower was illuminated Monday night in purple and gold in remembrance of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.

Bryant and eight other people died in a helicopter crash on Sunday — a crash that hit Orange County hard.

“I’m Not Ready but here I go.”

LeBron James brought himself to express his thoughts publicly for the first time since Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were among nine killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday morning. James used Instagram to do it.

Along with a photo of Bryant greeting him courtside at a November game at Staples Center, James continued, writing: “Man I sitting here trying to write something for this post but every time I try I begin crying again just thinking about you, niece Gigi and the friendship/bond/brotherhood we had! I literally just heard your voice Sunday morning before I left Philly to head back to LA. Didn’t think for one bit in a million years that would be the last conversation we’d have. WTF!! I’m heartbroken and devastated my brother!!

“Man I love you big bro. My heart goes to Vanessa and the kids. I promise you I’ll continue your legacy man! You mean so much to us all here especially #LakerNation and it’s my responsibility to put this (expletive) on my back and keep it going!! Please give me the strength from the heavens above and watch over me! I got US here! There’s so much more I want to say but just can’t right now because I can’t get through it! Until we meet again my brother!! #Mamba4Life #Gigi4Life”

On Saturday night in Philadelphia, Bryant’s hometown, and just hours before his death, James surpassed the retired Laker great’s career total of 33,643 points to move into third place on the NBA’s career scoring list.

“He had zero flaws offensively. Zero,” James said Saturday of Bryant, who played the entirety of his 20-year NBA career with the Lakers, bringing five NBA titles to L.A. “You backed off of him, he could shoot the three. You body him up a little bit, he can go around you. He shoot from midrange. He can post. He can make free throws. He has zero flaws offensively. That’s something that I admired as well, just being at a point where the defense will always be at bay, where they can’t guard you at all offensively.”

Bryant tweeted his congratulations Saturday night: “Continuing to move the game forward @KingJames. Much respect my brother. #33644” and then spoke with James via phone the next morning, according to the post.

Bryant, 41, was killed in the crash in Calabasas along with eight others. The cause is being investigated.

Bryant, who played on the U.S. Olympic team with James in 2008 and 2012, became an L.A. icon and international inspiration to many, including James, who followed him as a player who jumped directly from high school to the NBA.

With Kobe and Gianna sitting courtside during that November blowout victory over the Hawks when the photo posted was taken, James put on a show. He finished with 33 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds and then admitted he’d been well aware of Bryant’s presence.

“Absolutely, how could you not be?” James said. “That’s one of the greatest players who played this game taking time out of his day on a Sunday. … I’m just trying to put on a show for him and give him a reason: ‘OK, we might come to another game.’”

View this post on Instagram

I’m Not Ready but here I go. Man I sitting here trying to write something for this post but every time I try I begin crying again just thinking about you, niece Gigi and the friendship/bond/brotherhood we had! I literally just heard your voice Sunday morning before I left Philly to head back to LA. Didn’t think for one bit in a million years that would be the last conversation we’d have. WTF!! I’m heartbroken and devastated my brother!! . Man I love you big bro. My heart goes to Vanessa and the kids. I promise you I’ll continue your legacy man! You mean so much to us all here especially #LakerNation and it’s my responsibility to put this shit on my back and keep it going!! Please give me the strength from the heavens above and watch over me! I got US here! There’s so much more I want to say but just can’t right now because I can’t get through it! Until we meet again my brother!! #Mamba4Life #Gigi4Life

A post shared by LeBron James (@kingjames) on Jan 27, 2020 at 6:43pm PST

Continuing to move the game forward @KingJames. Much respect my brother #33644

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) January 26, 2020

Tensions stemming from a love triangle led to a shooting in Garden Grove that left one person wounded and one suspect behind bars, police said Monday, Jan. 27.

Oscar Domingo Rodriguez, 23, of Anaheim was taken into custody Friday, Jan. 24, on suspicion of attempted homicide, Garden Grove Police Department officials said in a news release. Investigators believe he shot a man on the the 13400 block of Blackbird Street the prior evening.

The victim was taken to a hospital  in critical condition, police said. Garden Grove Police did not publicly identify him in their release, but said he may have been a part of a “love triangle” involving a woman and the man suspected of shooting him. Updates regarding his condition were not immediately available.

Investigators managed to identify a suspect vehicle, which led them to suspect Rodriguez in the shooting, police said. Detectives and members of the GGPD Crime Impact Team conducted surveillance at a warehouse he worked at in Orange and arrested him without incident Friday.

Rodriguez was in custody at the Theo Lacy Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail as of Monday evening, according to inmate records.

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now

Previews of the top boys basketball games on Tuesday, Jan. 28.

ST. JOHN BOSCO (19-5, 5-1) VS. NO. 2 JSERRA (19-4, 4-2)

Where, when: JSerra, Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Outlook: The top of the Trinity League race is a mixed bag. St. John Bosco beat Mater Dei, which blew out JSerra a few days later, and JSerra beat St. John Bosco on Jan. 10. Bosco and Mater Dei are tied for first place with one league loss and JSerra is in third place with two losses.

JSerra edged Bosco 55-54 in their first meeting of the season. Utah signee Ian Martinez scored a game-high 29 points for the Lions in that game and made four of the team’s five 3-pointers. Martinez did not play in JSerra’s win over Santa Margarita on Friday.

Bosco has a very balanced offense. Isaiah Holm, Josh Camper, Wynton Brown and Lamaj Lewis have all taken turns leading the Braves in scoring this season. JSerra held the Braves to 35 percent shooting in the first meeting and 24 percent from 3-point range.

The Lions will need a similar defensive effort if they want to beat the Braves again and move into second place.

BUENA PARK (18-4, 3-3) VS. SUNNY HILLS (12-12, 1-5)

Where, when: Sunny Hills, Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.

Outlook: It has been a tale of two seasons for Sunny Hills. The Lancers were 11-7 in nonleague play and expected to compete for the third-place spot in the Freeway League. But Sunny Hills has gone 1-5 in league and is in fifth place.

Buena Park has done a good job of extending its nonleague success into league play under first-year coach Josh Beaty. The Coyotes were 15-1 in nonleague play and are in third place in the Freeway League. Junior guards Farris Odeh and Eli Wallace have been carrying the scoring load for Buena Park.

Emmanuel Seddoh is averaging 16.3 points and 11.9 rebounds per game for Sunny Hills. Seddoh had 19 points and 17 rebounds in the first meeting between the two teams, which Buena Park won 48-40.

TUSTIN (16-8, 3-3) VS. CREAN LUTHERAN (14-8, 5-1)

Where, when: Crean Lutheran, Tuesday, 6 p.m.

Outlook: Crean Lutheran has a two-game lead over Tustin and Valencia for second place in the Empire League. The Saints beat Tustin 59-56 on Jan. 10. Drew Yezback and Josh Shin each scored 17 points for Crean Lutheran and Michael Birket added 11.

Tustin had won three consecutive league games before losing to first-place Cypress on Friday.

Ryan Stading had a game-high 21 points when the Tillers hosted Crean and Bradley Burdick had 16 points and eight rebounds.

Kyan Patel has been playing well for Tustin and senior Jason Naranjo is a three-year starter who provides much-needed experience.

FOOTHILL (10-13, 1-2) VS. BREA OLINDA (15-9, 2-1)

Where, when: Brea Olinda, Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Outlook: Yes, the Century Conference is still playing nonleague, crossover games in late January and this is one of them.

Brea Olinda avenged a league loss to Yorba Linda by beating El Dorado 55-53 on Friday to hold onto second place in the North Hills League race.

Tristan Monteran paced the Wildcats with 16 points and sophomore Aiden Stewart added 15.

Garrett Brookman and Ivin Rhaburn have been playing well in the post for Brea,

Foothill lost to El Dorado by six points last week but bounced back with an 11-point win over El Modena in a crossover game. Gavin Walker had 12 points for the Knights in the win and Nic Garcia had 11.

Foothill begins a challenging Crestview League slate after this game, so a win would provide helpful momentum for the Knights.

Southern California Boys Athlete of the Week

Athlete: Brandon Whitney

School: Alemany

Sport: Basketball

Noteworthy: Whitney had a stellar week in terms of scoring and timing. The Montana commit had 18 points, including the game-winning basket, in a 73-71 win over Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks. He followed that with a 42-point performance in an 83-79 overtime win over Crespi. He scored 36 of his 42 points in the second half. Alemany is 18-5 overall and 3-1 in the Mission League.

Southern California Girls Athlete of the Week

Athlete: Ludovica Albanelli

School: St. Paul

Sport: Basketball

Noteworthy: Albanelli turned in an outstanding performance for the Swordsmen in their 65-47 victory over visiting La Salle. The senior led all scorers with 23 points and five rebounds. She made four 3-pointers. Earlier this season, Albanelli was named to the Santa Ana Elks All-Tournament team for leading the team to the tournament title.

SAN JOSE — All seemed right in the Ducks’ world when they dropped the puck Monday night after a nine-day layoff for the bye week and the All-Star break. They had looked sharp during their morning skate at SAP Center, just as they had when they practiced one day earlier at Great Park Ice.

It all went haywire in a matter of minutes once they resumed play, though. The San Jose Sharks built a two-goal lead in the opening minutes of the first period, weathered an all-too-brief Ducks surge midway through the second and then secured a 4-2 victory early in the third.

This was not what Coach Dallas Eakins or any of the Ducks had in mind after feel-good victories over the Nashville Predators and Carolina Hurricanes heading into the break. Momentum can be a tricky thing, as Eakins acknowledged, but it was nowhere to be found Monday for the Ducks.

There would be no three-game winning streak.

“We can’t give up that many chances in a game,” Eakins said. “(Sunday), in practice, we were breaking the puck out. (Monday morning), in practice, we were breaking the puck out. We were getting as many touches as we could. But our execution coming out of our zone was terrible (Monday night).

“I haven’t looked at it (on video) yet, but I think if I go through all of their shots, I bet you 65 to 70 percent of their shots came off us having the puck and giving it to them out of bad execution. That’s obviously something we’ll be addressing tomorrow.”

Patrick Marleau and former Ducks prospect Stefan Noesen each scored twice for the Sharks, who dictated the terms of the game from the opening minutes. Ondrej Kase (short-handed) and Nick Ritchie (power play) scored for the Ducks, and John Gibson made 27 saves.

If not for Gibson, the Ducks might have faced a larger deficit in the first period. He made several excellent saves to keep them within striking distance, giving them a chance after Kase’s goal pulled them within 2-1 at 9:04 of the second period.

“He was our best player,” Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler said of Gibson. “We left him out to dry a couple of times. You’ve come to expect that (standout play) with ‘Gibby’ because he’s a world-class goaltender, but we’ve got to do a better job in front of him.”

Silfverberg has been sidelined for five games this season and the Ducks have lost all five.

Ritchie returned to the Ducks’ lineup after sitting out for 19 games because of a sprained knee suffered during a Dec. 6 game against the Washington Capitals. Troy Terry also rejoined the Ducks’ lineup after he fractured his leg Dec. 17 against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Terry got a head start on his comeback by playing seven games during a conditioning loan to the San Diego Gulls, the Ducks’ AHL team. Ritchie jumped back into the lineup cold and he said it took more than a few shifts before he began to feel comfortable again.

“I felt OK as far as the leg and everything, but obviously there was a lot of rust,” said Ritchie, who scored on his only credited shot on goal in 17:53 of ice time. “I had some decent shifts and kind of got into it a little bit, and I think nothing but better from now on.”

Nick Ritchie speaks on the @AnaheimDucks loss and his goal in his return from injury.#LetsGoDucks pic.twitter.com/pusRbnt3KS

— FOX Sports West (@FoxSportsWest) January 28, 2020

That combo of speed and finish, though.

Some beautiful shorthanded work from @ondrej_kase here. pic.twitter.com/MTFZsAeygT

— NHL (@NHL) January 28, 2020

What a wrister from Ritchie! @AnaheimDucks trail by two!#LetsGODucks pic.twitter.com/Gd0jr5nYYx

— FOX Sports West (@FoxSportsWest) January 28, 2020

Happy Birthday, Flora Jakob and Clara Silfverberg welcome their second child into the world today! Congrats @jsilfverberg33!@AnaheimDucks | #LetsGoDucks pic.twitter.com/4oGkPhDktE

— FOX Sports West (@FoxSportsWest) January 28, 2020

ONTARIO — If you’re going to talk to a goalie before an All-Star Game, best to do it beforehand. He might not be in such a great frame of mind afterward.

Then again, Cal Petersen ought to be used to it by now.

Petersen, one of three hometown players to represent the Pacific Division in Monday night’s AHL All-Star Game at Ontario’s Toyota Arena, is in his third season with the Ontario Reign, which means his third season of apprenticeship behind Jonathan Quick and Jack Campbell in the Kings organization.

It has been a season of transition in this organization for the AHL team as well as the NHL team. Reign coach Mike Stothers is implementing the faster and more aggressive system Todd McLellan has introduced to the big club. And a new system and younger players in front of Petersen means he faces a lot of pucks on a nightly basis.

His 16-15-4 record and 3.45 goals-against average during regular AHL play are deceptive, because he has faced more shots than any other goalie in the league – and it isn’t close: 1,234 in 36 games, or 34.3 per game.

The No. 3 goalie in that category (944 shots in 27 games, 33.7 per game) is San Diego’s Anthony Stolarz, a Ducks prospect who is basically in the same boat: Organization in transition, new coach, new system. He, too, was a Pacific Division All-Star in Monday night’s 3-on-3 cavalcade of 10-minute mini-games that was eventually won by the Atlantic Division, which went undefeated in the round-robin and defeated the Central 3-1 in the six-minute final game.

The skaters had a blast. Reign defenseman Kale Clague had a goal and five assists, plus a shootout goal in a win over the Central Division. Ontario’s Martin Frk had two assists and San Diego’s Chris Wideman added a goal, in an environment where there was less contact in the regular game than there was in the mascots’ game during intermission.

(No, seriously. Two of the mascots got in a pretend fight at center ice. None of the real players even pretended to hit each other.)

The goalies? They had to take their fun where they could find it.

“I was kind of joking that I should be pretty used to it or at least maybe have an advantage,” Petersen said before the game. “The goalies sometimes get a little bit exposed, or kind of on the butt-end of things, but it’s a fun chance for us to make some kind of big desperation saves, too.”

It’s pretty much the consensus that Petersen will be an NHL goalie at some point, the only question being when. The Kings signed him in 2017 at the end of his junior year at Notre Dame, where he’d played three seasons and was team captain in his junior year, with a 2.22 goals-against average in 40 games for a team that reached the semifinals of the NCAA Frozen Four.

He split time with Campbell as an AHL rookie in 2017-18, earning a trip to the All-Star festivities in Utica, N.Y., with a 23-14-2 record and 2.54 goals-against. Last season his stats in 11 games with the Kings (5-4-1, 2.61) were better than those in 38 games with Ontario (13-22-1, 4.02).

The path to the NHL is still clogged by Quick, the veteran, and Campbell, who preceded Petersen at Ontario. But this should be an indication of how highly Petersen is thought of by his organization: The Kings signed him to a three-year contract extension last July. It’s a two-way contract this year ($200,000 in the AHL, the pro-rated portion of $700,000 for any time he spends in the NHL), but converts to a one-way deal at $875,000 next season and $1 million in 2021-22 regardless of whether he’s in the AHL or NHL.

In the meantime, patience isn’t just a virtue. It’s a necessity, starting with the challenges of this year.

“Being with a young team, there’s a lot of up and down,” said Petersen, 25. “And I think we’re kind of starting to get a little bit more level; our highs aren’t as high and our lows aren’t as low. … We’re starting to get some habits drilled in and things that we’ve been preaching all year I think are starting to take hold.

“… We’re definitely trying to get more scoring and be more aggressive. And I think sometimes you run the risk of odd-man rushes the other way, and there’s been a little bit of that. The way we do our forecheck, it kind of sets up for teams to dump the puck in, so it gives me a lot of chances to handle pucks and kind of be a sixth man back there and make some plays with it. So that part of it has been fun.”

“You know, there’s only so many nets,” he said. “And sometimes you just have to wait your turn. So the most important thing is that I try not to worry about what goes on up there, and just make sure I’m in the best possible position whenever the time comes to be ready to make that jump.”

In the meantime, for what it’s worth, he’s a two-time AHL All-Star. This time, he pulled on the pads at his regular locker in his regular dressing room. He gave up six goals on 20 shots in his 14:41, including one to former Ontario teammate Matt Moulson, but made some nice saves while dealing with frequent outnumbered attacks.

And just to show that he’d captured the spirit of the thing, Petersen drew an assist, too.

A pedestrian was struck by a vehicle and died near an intersection in Stanton on Monday night.

Lt. Fred Thompson with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said the crash happened at around 9:40 p.m. near the intersection of Beach Boulevard and Cerritos Avenue.

Thompson said the driver did not leave the area after the crash, and the intersection was closed while investigators worked the scene of the crash.

Information on the identity of the person who died was not immediately available.

Each week, publications from the The Southern California News Group’s 11 properties (Orange County Register, L.A. Daily News, Press-Enterprise, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Long Beach Press-Telegram, The Daily Breeze, San Bernardino Sun, Daily Bulletin, Redlands Daily Facts, Whittier Daily News and Pasadena-Star News) nominate Athletes of the Week for their respective region.

Each nominee is entered into the overall Southern California Athlete of the Week county-wide vote.

Click on the newspaper links below the athlete’s name to read about their performance from last week, and then vote for who you think is the best athlete this week.

Readers are allowed to vote multiple times. Voting ends at midnight, but final totals aren’t always immediately reflected due to processing.

BOYS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK VOTING

The overall winner will be announced on Friday, Jan. 31

Voting poll at bottom of the page.

Valerie Huerta, St. Paul: Huerta had one of her best games of the year as she scored a game-high 22 points and grabbed five rebounds in St. Paul’s 64-51 home victory against St. Mary’s Academy in a key Camino Real League game. Huerta scored 16 of her points in the first half. Her performance came on the heels of a big performance two weeks ago, when she scored 14 points in a key victory over La Salle.

Stevilyn Griffin, St. Lucy’s: Griffin scored three goals and excelled at the defensive end as well in a 15-8 victory over Los Osos. St. Lucy’s is 5-0 in the Baseline League and ranked seventh in CIF-SS Division 3.

Taylor Donaldson, Oaks Christian: Donaldson, a McDonald’s All-American nominee, poured in 43 points, 16 rebounds and six assists in Oaks Christian’s 78-72 Marmonte League victory over Thousand Oaks. The Lions are 13-4 overall and in first place in league at 3-0.

Ari Long, Valley View: Long averaged 22.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and eight steals last week as the Eagles beat Rancho Verde and Canyon Springs to remain unbeaten in the Ivy League. She had 16 points, five rebounds and six steals in a 55-36 win over Rancho Verde. Long then registered her second triple-double of the season (29 points, 10 rebounds, 10 steals) in an 85-19 victory over Canyon Springs. She is averaging 17.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.5 steals per game this season.

Asia Jordan, Lakewood: The 6-foot senior powered the Lancers to wins over Carson and Compton. Jordan scored 40 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and added five assists against Carson, the No. 6 team in CIF L.A. City Section Division 1. She scored 30 points with 15 rebounds and five assists in just two quarters in a 71-33 Moore League rout of Compton. The post player is averaging about 25 points per game. She has interest from more than a dozen colleges, including Long Beach State, UC Irvine, Pepperdine and West Point.

Maribel Flores, Troy: The forward scored five goals — all in the first half — and added two assists to help the Warriors defeat Fullerton 9-0 in a Freeway League match. Troy takes a 7-0 record in league into this week.

Cyan Dyke, Bishop Montgomery: Dyke had 14 points in a 79-63 win over Bishop Amat and 12 points and 27 rebounds in a 53-33 win over Serra. The Knights are 5-0 in the Del Rey League.

Each week, publications from the The Southern California News Group’s 11 properties (Orange County Register, L.A. Daily News, Press-Enterprise, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Long Beach Press-Telegram, The Daily Breeze, San Bernardino Sun, Daily Bulletin, Redlands Daily Facts, Whittier Daily News and Pasadena-Star News) nominate Athletes of the Week for their respective region.

Each nominee is entered into the overall Southern California Athlete of the Week county-wide vote.

Click on the newspaper links below the athlete’s name to read about their performance from last week, and then vote for who you think is the best athlete this week.

Readers are allowed to vote multiple times. Voting ends at midnight, but final totals aren’t always immediately reflected due to processing.

BOYS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK VOTING

The overall winner will be announced on Friday, Jan. 31

Voting poll at bottom of the page.

Adrian Alvarez, Mary Star: Alvarez scored 16 points and made four key free throws in the closing seconds in a 45-42 win over St. Monica and concluded the week with 13 points in a 69-47 win over Bosco Tech.

Atin Wright, Fairmont Prep: He scored 64 points over two wins for the Huskies. Wright, a 6-1 guard, scored 31 points in a 79-59 win over Capistrano Valley Christian in a San Joaquin League game. He scored 33 points in a 66-61 nonleague win over King/Drew of Los Angeles. Wright signed with Cal State Northridge. He was the CIF-Southern Section Division 4AA player of the year last season when the Huskies won the 4AA championship.

George Ochoa, La Mirada: The 6-foot-7 sophomore had a huge week, leading the Matadores past Cleveland and to victories over Bellflower and Norwalk in their first two Suburban League games. Ochoa, who plays as a guard or forward, scored 19 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked two shots against Cleveland. Later in the week he had 21 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks against Bellflower and 24 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and four assists against Norwalk. He is averaging 20 points and eight rebounds per game.

Brian Brown Jr., Citrus Hill: Brown averaged 31 points per game last week as the Hawks grabbed sole possession of first place in Mountain Pass League. Brown had 29 points, seven rebounds and five assists in a 56-53 win over Beaumont. He followed that game with 33 points and 10 rebounds and made eight 3-pointers, one shy of the school record, in a 70-44 win over Hemet. Brown is averaging 20.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game this season.

Andre Henry, St. Francis: Henry made a case to be the Mission League MVP with his performance in wins against Notre Dame 83-59 and Alemany 80-42. The UC Irvine commit scored 28 points against Notre Dame before tallying 33 points and 12 rebounds against Alemany. St. Francis, which plays its final Mission League game against Loyola on Wednesday, is 3-2 in league and tied for second with Chaminade behind Harvard-Westlake (5-0 in league).

Santiago Merlos, Aquinas: The midfielder and team captain has helped the Falcons to first place in the Ambassador League. He scored a goal in a 2-1 win against Woodcrest Christian and added an assist in a 4-1 win against Loma Linda Academy. Aquinas (7-0-3 in league) is ranked seventh in CIF-SS Division 6.

Adrian Ochoa, Bishop Amat: Ochoa scored in the final seconds of double overtime to lift Bishop Amat to a 3-2 victory over Cathedral. The victory ended the Phantoms’ 57-game league winning streak and gave Amat its first win over Cathedral since 2009. Bishop Amat trailed 2-0 at halftime.  The victory kept the Lancers undefeated this season at 10-0-2 and 4-0 in the Del Rey League.

A bicyclist from Minnesota died four days after he was struck by a car and seriously injured while riding in Huntington Beach earlier this month, police said Tuesday, Jan. 28.

Adam Nickelson, 30, of St. Paul, Minnesota, died at UCI Medical Center Thursday, Jan. 23, Orange County Supervising Deputy Coroner Erica Arellano said. He was hit by a 2016 Honda Civic along Beach Boulevard, near Indianapolis Avenue, at about 11:55 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19, Huntington Beach Police Department officials said in a news release.

He was lying unresponsive in the street and suffering from extensive injuries when first responders arrived on the night of the collision, police said.

The 64-year-old Huntington Beach resident behind the wheel of the car involved in the crash waited for police to arrive and cooperated with their investigation, HBPD officials said. The department’s Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team was looking into the matter.

Authorities asked any potential witnesses to the collision to call Accident Investigator D. Kim at 714-536-5666.

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now

YORBA LINDA — Villa Park’s Riley Schroeder got into early foul trouble and was forced to spend part of the first half on the bench in a nonleague game against Yorba Linda on Tuesday.

In the second half, he made up for his early absence.

Schroeder scored 23 of his game-high 27 points in the second half, including 14 in the fourth quarter, to lead the Spartans to a 70-60 victory over the Mustangs at Yorba Linda High School.

“I got two quick fouls and got subbed out really quick,” Schroeder said. “I came back in the second half thinking we’ve got to get our energy up so we can get the tempo, press them up and then get our baskets from fast breaks. That’s when we’re at our best.”

Also making significant contributions for the Spartans (22-3, 2-1) were Garrett Andre, who scored 15 points and had a key block late in the game, and Dominic Parker, who finished with 14 points.

“All three of those guys made a play when we needed to have a play made,” Villa Park coach Kevin Reynolds said. “And those are the three guys who have been leading us all year.”

The Spartans were coming off a 53-52 loss to Canyon in the Crestview League on Friday.

Omair Memon and Cory Knutsen scored 16 and 14 points, respectively, to lead the Mustangs (14-11, 3-0), who are in first place in the North Hills League.

Memon and Luke Ishikawa combined for 15 points in the third quarter and were the main reason the Mustangs were able to keep the contest close heading into the fourth.

But the Mustangs went close to four minutes without a point at the start of the fourth, allowing the Spartans to take a 60-48 lead.

The Mustangs got back to within six points with 2:36 remaining before the Spartans were able to pull away for good.

“I thought we kept our composure,” Reynolds said. “We’ve been in a lot of close games this year.”

The Spartans have also played all but one of their games on the road because Villa Park High School is having a new gym floor installed, the coach said.

“We’re the traveling road show,” Reynolds said.

Villa Park opened the contest with a 9-0 run, thanks to a pair of baskets from Schroeder and baskets from Andre and Dino Sdrales.

Knutson got seven of those points back by himself, hitting a two, a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws.

A basket and free throw by Parker gave the Spartans a 10-point lead in the second quarter.

Yorba Linda closed out the quarter with an 11-5 run to get to within four at the half.

Three years into the Trump administration, we see a clear pattern forming.

The Obama administration implemented labor rules that make the labor market less flexible, often at the expense of smaller businesses, but in ways that made unions happy. The Trump administration then takes these rules away. The latest example is the dismantling of the Obama Labor Department’s joint employer rule.

As the new Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia and the Office of Management Director Mick Mulvaney explained recently in The Wall Street Journal, “When joint employment exists, two separate companies are responsible for ensuring that workers receive the federally mandated minimum wage and overtime pay. Two companies are responsible for ensuring the proper records are kept. And two companies can be taken to court if it’s alleged that those responsibilities have not been met.”

The question is: When is there actually joint employment? From 1958 to 2015, joint employment was said to exist when two employers are “not completely disassociated” from each other. This needlessly vague phrasing was only worsened by the Obama administration’s attempted clarification. A 2015 ruling by the National Labor Relations Board, followed by a 2016 legal interpretation adopted by the Labor Department, expanded joint employment to any business with “indirect influence” over another company’s employment terms and conditions.

That was a big deal for a wide range of franchise, subcontract and supplier business models. These diverse business forms were forced into a one-size-fits-all model of “joint employment,” thus opening them up to legal troubles caused by their contractors and franchisees. For instance, under this rule, Subway — the biggest franchise by far in the United States in terms of number of stores at 23,647 — can be sued for the lack of labor compliance at any of its independently owned stores across the country. Even if you have little sympathy for big business, think about all the self-employed contractors and subcontractors affected by the rules.

As Walter Olson of the Cato Institute wrote at the time, “What do advocates of these changes intend to accomplish by destroying the economics of business relationships under which millions of Americans are presently employed? For many, the aim is to force much more of the economy into the mold of large — payroll, unionized employers, a system for which the 1950s are often (wrongly) idealized.”

This classification is also very costly. A study by economist Ronald Bird for the Chamber of Commerce concluded that the expanded rule costs businesses between $17.2 billion and $33.3 billion a year — mostly to protect themselves against legal actions rather than on tighter labor compliance.

Bird also documented how the Obama rule forced many national brands to distance themselves from their franchisees out of fear of being sued and shifted many training and software responsibilities to the franchisees. Unfortunately, franchisees, which are smaller businesses, are often not as well equipped to handle such responsibilities or do so at costs as low as those achieved by larger companies. Thus, their total cost of doing business rises. Despite franchisee efforts to shield themselves from abusive legal actions, there has been a 93% increase in lawsuits against franchise businesses since the rules made such lawsuits more lucrative.

Not surprisingly, after spending millions of dollars fighting for the Obama-era rules, unions are upset by this recent change. The Obama rule had opened up deeper pockets for lawsuits to pick and, more importantly from a financial standpoint, opened the unions up to many more potential members.

But for now, we celebrate. As Olson recently wrote on the Trump rule, “This is an important win for economic freedom, as well as for the legal reality that a supply or contractual relationship between two firms is by no means the same thing as a merger between them.”

Veronique de Rugy is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

California is experimenting with abolishing freedom. This week’s progress toward that progressive goal includes plans for the suffocation of the ride-share industry.

Once upon a time, hailing a ride in California was the stuff of comedy monologues and horror movies about hitchhikers. Then technology and business innovation made it possible for someone who needed a ride to pay someone with a car, and to do it all with an app on their phones.

This was achieved without the permission of the government, which is more or less the definition of freedom.

It’s not all that easy to abolish freedom in the United States, which has a written Constitution that bars the states from arbitrarily revoking life and liberty. California is rising to the challenge with new laws and regulations that effectively require the government’s advance permission for life and liberty, or at least for everything that makes them possible.

The state’s plan to abolish freedom includes the job-destroying legislation known as Assembly Bill 5, signed last year by Gov. Gavin Newsom. This law makes it illegal for most companies to hire independent contractors as part of their workforce. Companies must put workers on the payroll as employees instead, and control their schedule and earnings.

That pretty much terminated the business model of companies such as Uber and Lyft, which enable people to drive their own cars, on their own schedules, using the companies’ apps to connect with customers and get paid.

Much legal and political wrangling is still to come before there is a final resolution on that.

But California isn’t resting for one instant in its effort to smother the ride-share business. This week, the California Air Resources Board announced in Sacramento that it is preparing per-mile greenhouse gas targets and electric-vehicle targets to limit the “emissions” from companies such as Uber and Lyft.

In December, CARB released its “SB 1014 Clean Miles Standard 2018 Base-year Emissions Inventory Report.” According to the executive summary, Senate Bill 1014, enacted in 2018, directs CARB and the California Public Utilities Commission to “develop and implement measures to reduce GHG emissions from transportation network companies (TNC).”

The fearsome CARB staff began the process of guessing, “in units of grams of CO2 per passenger-mile traveled (gCO2/PMT), inventory for the combined TNC industry by January 1, 2020.”

There are more than a few uncertainties involved in trying to calculate the gCO2/PMT of the “fleet” of TNC vehicles, especially if people are free to turn the apps on and off and work whenever they choose. You might think this is an argument for calling off an ill-advised regulatory overreach. Clearly you’re not pulling down one of those six-figure staff salaries at CARB.

“At the present time, GHG emissions from the TNC sector is small compared to the total light duty vehicle sector. Nevertheless, we anticipate growth in VMT attributable to TNCs, which necessitates formulation of immediate policies,” the CARB report states.

“VMT” stands for Vehicle Miles Traveled, which California considers an “impact” on the environment that must be “mitigated” before projects may be allowed to go forward. Now, apparently, it must be “mitigated” before people may be allowed to ride-share.

To do this, CARB demanded trip-level data from transportation network companies for all vehicles using their services. The staff mapped the location of drivers to see where there were too many and where there were too few. They fretted over research suggesting “TNC’s may cause a net increase in VMT and a reduced use of other travel modes such as mass transit and active transport (i.e., walk, bike, and scooter).” They counted the hybrid vehicles, charted the age of the cars and made colorful charts of a “stick painting algorithm.” Regulations will follow. Compliance will be mandatory.

This story is a microcosm of how central planning destroys an economy. All it needs is a pretext and the government can quickly set up a regime that eventually requires everyone to obtain the government’s advance permission to do anything. That’s how free countries become the other kind.

Susan Shelley is an editorial writer and columnist for the Southern California News Group. Susan@SusanShelley.com. Twitter: @Susan_Shelley

Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now

A roundup of the Orange County boys basketball highlights on Tuesday:

Jake Duthoy’s 26-point performance propelled El Dorado to a 75-61 victory against El Modena on Tuesday in a North Hills League game at El Modena High.

It was the first league win of the season for El Dorado (15-10, 1-2).

El Dorado’s 6-foot-8 Oliver Penn and 6-7 John Bakke scored 15 and 14 points, respectively.

El Dorado will host second-place Brea Olinda on Friday.

El Modena (14-9, 0-3) will play at first-place Yorba Linda on Friday. The Vanguards are on a six-game losing streak.

In other games Tuesday:

Ocean View 69, Western 66: Ocean View held off a late rally from Western to snap a two-game losing streak.

The Seahawks led by as many as 13 points in the fourth quarter. Ocean View (15-10, 5-2) scored its last 10 points via free throws.

Luke Washington scored 11 points in the fourth quarter for Ocean View and Slater Miller added five.

Brian Gil scored 10 points in the fourth quarter for Western (7-18, 2-5) and Marcus Johnson scored five.

Brea Olinda 44, Foothill 43: Brea Olinda edged Foothill in a Century Conference crossover game at Brea Olinda High.

Junior Ivin Rhaburn was the only Wildcat to score in double-figures (13 points). Sophomore Garrett Brookman added nine points.

Brea (16-9, 2-1) will resume North Hills League play Friday against El Dorado. The Wildcats are in second place in the league standings behind Yorba Linda.

Foothill (10-14, 1-2) will finish the regular season with three Crestview League games.

No. 7 Canyon 86, Esperanza 48: Jake Martin made six 3-pointers and had 24 points for Canyon in a win over Esperanza in a Crestview League game.

Martin has made 90 3-pointers this season and has made at least five 3-pointers in 10 games.

Nathan Williams and Liam Woodrum scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Comanches (16-9, 3-0).

Crean Lutheran 43, Tustin 29: Crean Lutheran clinched at least a second-place finish in the Empire League by beating Tustin in a defensive battle at Crean Lutheran High.

The Saints have a three-game lead over Tustin (16-9, 3-4) and Valencia in the league standings and are one game behind Cypress.

Josh Shin led Crean Lutheran (15-8, 6-1) with 15 points and Michael Birket added 13.

Both teams were held under 20 points in the first half.

Capistrano Valley Christian 75, Orangewood Academy 49: Capistrano Valley Christian dominated the glass in a blowout win over Orangewood Academy in a San Joaquin League game at Capo Valley Christian School.

The Eagles grabbed 46 rebounds, 19 of them offensive rebounds. Freshman Athian Athian led the effort with 10 rebounds and Adam Garza grabbed nine.

Sophomore Mac West scored 20 points for Capo Valley Christian (13-12, 3-3). Three other Eagles scored in double figures: Luke Powell (17), Bence Duka (12) and Addyson Gbye (10).

The Legislative Analyst’s Office, which advises state lawmakers on budgetary matters, prides itself on taking an independent, nonpartisan and even nonpolitical approach to important policy issues.

That well-established tradition continues in a new LAO report on a pilot program that allows a few community college districts to offer four-year degrees in a few obscure subjects.

However, by divorcing itself from the program’s political aspects in this case, it’s also separating itself from reality.

The reality is that California’s economy needs more well-trained and well-educated workers, but obtaining a four-year college degree these days is very difficult given the inability of the state’s public universities to handle the demand.

That’s especially true for low-income students from the state’s less-populated regions because they must also cope with high living costs as they are forced to leave home to attend college.

Community colleges, which offer close-to-home, low-cost educations, do provide lower-division courses, but students still must transfer to four-year universities to complete their degrees.

Other states, facing the same dilemma, have responded by broadly authorizing community colleges to offer baccalaureate programs and California’s pilot program has been an effort to replicate that rational approach.

However, political reality has made that expansion difficult. The state university system guards its place in the academic pecking order jealously and as a result, the pilot program was very limited, allowing the community colleges to offer degrees just in a few relatively obscure subjects that the universities ignored.

Ironically, the state universities’ resistance to what it regarded as competition for money and students mirrors the resistance that the University of California displayed when the state universities wanted to begin offering some doctorate programs.

The LAO report ignored these three-way turf struggles, which have bubbled up for decades, in its lukewarm report on the community college pilot program.

“We found little evidence that graduates from these pilot programs were better prepared to fill these positions compared to those with other bachelor’s degrees or that pilot program graduates were helping employers fill hard-to-staff positions,” the LAO said. “The most common benefit of the pilot cited by students was the relatively low cost of attending the community college bachelor’s degree programs.”

Having four-year programs in the community colleges would be unnecessary, the report suggests, if the two- and four-year systems would simply cooperate more on developing targeted training programs and better aligning course offerings to make transfers from community colleges to four-year schools easier.

We have three separate, often competitive systems and as long as we do, we should embrace allowing community colleges to offer as many baccalaureate programs as they are financially and institutionally capable of doing, thereby giving students more options and the state more of the well-educated workers it needs.

California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley said it well in a statement responding to the LAO report:

“These programs are serving many students who might not otherwise have a path to a bachelor’s degree. The programs are of high quality and lead to meaningful jobs for graduates.”

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary