San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
LUCIC TAKING AN INDEFINITE LEAVE OF ABSENCE
Boston Bruins left wing Milan Lucic will be missing from the lineup for the foreseeable future.
The Boston Bruins say veteran left wing Milan Lucic is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team after he was involved in an undisclosed incident Friday night.
The Bruins in a statement released Saturday did not provide any details about the incident other than to say the organization is aware of the situation and “takes these matters very seriously.” The team said it would work with Lucic’s family to provide any support and assistance needed.
Boston Police said it could neither confirm nor deny arresting Lucic early Saturday morning. A message sent to Lucic’s agent was not immediately returned.
Lucic, 35, is a veteran of over 1,300 NHL games with the Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames. He won the Stanley Cup with Boston in 2011 and is back with the team after signing a one-year free agent contract last summer worth $1 million with $500,000 in possible additional incentives.
The Vancouver native has not played since Oct. 21 because of injury.
The Bruins, who played Montreal on Saturday night, said they would have no further comment. Coach Jim Montgomery echoed that after the team’s morning skate, saying he had not spoken to Lucic and would refrain from discussing further details out of respect for privacy.
Asked how to keep the situation from affecting the team, Montgomery said: “Our culture here is great, and we care about each other. With that, it’s not a normal day. But we’re professionals, and we have a game to play tonight. We have to get ready for it.”
Soccer
Midfielder Weston Mckennie will miss the United States’ Copa América qualifier at Trinidad and Tobago on Monday because of a knee injury, another blow to a team already missing Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah and Tyler Adams. Mckennie played the entire match in Thursday’s 3-0 win at Austin, Texas, the first leg of the total-goals series. The U.S. Soccer Federation said Saturday the 25-year-old Mckennie left the team to recuperate from aggravated left knee tendinopathy, a condition in which tissue connecting muscle to a bone becomes inflamed.
The Netherlands, Switzerland and Romania all secured places at Euro 2024, and France racked up the biggest-ever win in European Championship qualifying by beating Gibraltar 14-0.
Defending champion Brazil recovered from an opening-game loss at the Under-17 World Cup to set up a second-round match against Ecuador in the Indonesian city of Surakarta on Monday. The four-time title-winner was stunned by Iran in the opening Group C game but recovered against New Caledonia and then beat 2017 champion England 2-1 on Friday to advance. Group winner England will face Uzbekistan while Iran also advanced to meet Morocco on Monday. The United States lost 3-0 to France on Saturday but still finished second in Group E behind the 2001 champion thanks to earlier wins over South Korea and Burkina
Faso. The U.S. will next play Germany on Monday while France will meet Senegal.
Baseball
Johnny Washington has been named the Los Angeles Angels’ hitting coach. Los Angeles already has hired Eric Young Sr. as its third base coach, former Houston manager Bo Porter as its first base coach, veteran manager Jerry Narron as its major league catching coach and Ryan Goins as the infield coach.
Winter sports
World champion Kaori Sakamoto secured her place at figure skating’s Grand Prix Finals with her second series win of the season at Grand Prix Espoo in Finland. Amber Glenn of the United States soared from 11th overnight to finish in the bronze medal position with the second-highestscoring free skate of the day for a total of 185.3 9. World champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates won the ice dance competition for their second Grand Prix win this season, securing a spot at the finals in Beijing next month. There was another one-two finish for Japan in the men’s event as Kao Miura edged past his teammate Shun Sato to win his first figure skating Grand Prix title and book a place in the finals.
Manuel Feller led an Austrian sweep of the podium at a men’s World Cup slalom in a race that was interrupted by climate activists at Gurgl, Austria. However, Feller seemed not affected by the incident and held on to his first-run lead to beat teammate Marco Schwarz by 0.23 seconds, while Michael Matt was 1.05 behind in third to complete the Austrian triple on the Kirchenkar course, a new venue on the circuit.
Strong winds forced the cancellation of a women’s World Cup downhill on the Matterhorn mountain, a week after two men’s races on the same course were wiped out because of snowfalls and gusts.
Local colleges
University of San Diego volleyball (16-10, 12-4 WCC) sent its graduating players off in style, sweeping Gonzaga (3-24, 0-16) in straight sets to earn a dominant Senior Day win in the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
Top-seeded PLNU women’s soccer scored two early goals in the first 15 minutes to beat fourthseeded Concordia, 2-0, in the NCAA West Regional Second Round and advance to the West Region Championship for the second time in program history. Nicki Friedman scored in the fifth minute and Bethany Arabe found the back of the net in the 15th, which was all PLNU needed as goalkeeper Julia Pinnell made four saves in goal to keep the shutout.
The No. 22 Cal State San Marcos women’s basketball team (2-2) ended the weekend with its second consecutive win, recording a 74-44 win over Seattle Pacific (1-3) in Azusa Pacific’s Cougar Shootout in the Felix Event Center.
The San Diego State volleyball team (9-20, 4-14) concluded its 2023 season on a sour note, dropping a narrow four-set decision to UNLV (19-11, 11-7) in a Mountain West clash inside Aztec Court at Peterson Gym.
Mitzi Stone estimates she has attended at least 700 performances at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay since 1988. But that number represents less than a quarter of the 3,000 performances in which she has quietly played a key role as Humphreys’ spotlight-shunning promotions director. ■ Stone’s impending retirement marks the end of an era for the quintessential San Diego venue, which concluded its 69-show 2023 season — Stone’s 36th at the venue — with a Wednesday concert by Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox. ■ “Mitzi is a part of the history of Humphreys and she is one of its foundations,” said John Wojas, senior vice president of talent for Goldenvoice/aeg, who has booked the series since 2007. ■ “She was the ace in Humphreys’ deck of cards,” agreed Lesley Lizcano Russe, director of marketing for Goldenvoice. ■ “We worked side by side for 36 years, and I don’t think anybody could do that job better than Mitzi,” said Humphreys Vice President Bobbi Brieske. “She’s incredibly good with details, extremely organized and a great colleague in so many ways. I hate the fact she’s leaving but love that she’s starting a whole new part of her life. I’m thrilled for her.”