The World Dodgeball Society is taking a nostalgic, carefree approach to the sport.

The World Dodgeball Society (WDS), the premier co-ed sports and social organization based on nostalgia and camp of the ‘80s, will kick off its first summer season with two open-gym practice sessions on Monday, July 18 and Monday, July 25 at Long Beach Futsal, 2953 Obispo Ave.
“Everyone has memories of playing dodgeball as a kid, whether fond or not so fond,” said Michael Costanza, founder of WDS. “We want to remind people of a simpler time– before careers and college– when the only thing you had to worry about was whether to wear your Air Jordans or Converse with your legwarmers.”
No experience or sign-up is necessary. Those interested may just show up to play with WDS’s soft no-sting balls. New-to-dodgeball players can learn the rules and practice their skills at these open-gym sessions for $5 for a two-hour session in an indoor facility from 8pm to 10pm.
The open-gym sessions will eventually lead to an official league season that lasts nine to ten weeks, with each team carrying a roster of 14 to 20 people (with a minimum amount of females).
Full teams are encouraged to sign up in advance, but individuals can sign on at any time as a loner or with friends. The cost for the season is $55 per person, which includes weekly 50-minute games and a league T-shirt.
For more information and to register, visit dodgeball4ever.com/balls/longbeach-home.

The Copa Cabana Beach Soccer Tournament is open to youths ages 9 through 19.

Kellogg’s and Slurpee will sponsor the Copa Cabana Beach Soccer Tournament, free to the public, on Saturday and Sunday, July 16 and 17, beginning at 9am at 1 Granada Ave. in Belmont Shore.
The tournament is open to youths ages 9 through 19 and will host 100 teams, with boys, girls and coed divisions. Each team will have five starters, with a maximum of 12 members per team, and will play at least two games per day. There is no on-site registration required.
The tournament is also part of the Long Beach Sea Festival events.

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The NCAA announced Monday that it would strip the USC Trojans of their 2004 National Title by the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). Reggie Bush, who was a star running back at USC from 2003 to 2005 and now plays for the New Orleans Saints, was accused of taking money and other benefits from a sports marketing company in 2010, which led to an NCAA violation. The stripping of the BCS title was unforeseen by USC and now adds more fuel to their fire.
After being suspended from bowl games for two years and having more than 30 scholarships taken away for three years, USC is back in the negative spotlight with the recent NCAA ruling. The NCAA seems to be more focused on USC than any other college right now, leaving the door open for discussion on if the NCAA is engaging in hypocrisy. Is it now safe to say that the BCS picks and chooses who it wants to go after, or should we just say that it favors the Southeastern Conference (SEC) more than the Pac 12?
There is a lot of wrongdoing going on right now in college sports. Ohio State and Auburn also created a fiasco at their schools and have yet to suffer like USC has. The NCAA did not find their violations to be as severe as USC’s. After finding out that five Ohio State players, including star quarterback Terrelle Pryor, were selling memorabilia that included Big Ten championship rings and gold pants, the NCAA suspended them for the first five games of the 2011 season. They were still granted permission to participate in the 2004 Sugar Bowl against Arkansas on January 4, 2011, despite the violations being discovered early on. Auburn was also under investigation because their star quarterback, Cam Newton, was being shopped around during his college recruitment process, with a very expensive price tag, asking for $180,000 to bring his talents to “a city near you.” The NCAA did confirm, however, that it was Newton’s father who had done “the dirty work,” but Newton was cleared and able to compete and win the National Title for his 2011 season.
This is where the favoritism hits and we really start to wonder if the NCAA has something personal against the Trojans. If we dissect all three scandals, they all have a lot in common. But USC was brutally penalized and had to endure all the pain. All three schools are very prestigious colleges, and their football programs bring in billions of dollars.
In 2004 USC had 20 players that got drafted into the NFL. Those players worked very hard and earned that championship against Oklahoma. Does every player deserve to be punished because of someone else’s actions over which they have no control? You cannot monitor every player on the roster to make sure they are staying clean.
The NCAA needs to come up with a solution to their ongoing problems. Paying college players a salary would most definitely be the first step. There are ways to try and crack down on college misconduct. It should be illegal for boosters and outsiders to approach college players and try to lure them with gifts and money. We can’t blame 18- and 19-year-olds for taking gifts; they’re still growing and learning. But we can point the finger at adults who know this is a greedy, self-centered act. If this could become a felony, I can guarantee you that this disgraceful debacle would decrease by the hour. We have got to do better when it comes to college sports; it’s becoming very distasteful to our society.

Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly (left) gives Matt Kemp a handshake after the center-fielder hits one of his 12 homers of the season.

By Tamara Latta
Sports Writer

Last year was a beastly season for the Los Angeles Dodgers’s Matt Kemp, as he dated a well-known pop diva by the name of Rihanna. After a slow start swinging his bat, media outlets slandered Kemp, blaming his former girlfriend for his performance on the field. He was labeled as “being unfocused and distracted.”
Dating one of the world’s most popular pop stars can become overwhelming. If you are a high-profile athlete dating a well-known pop star, there are going to be ups and downs, which will eventually affect your career. Outlets reported that their romance ended in December 2010.
After being the headline of every entertainment blog, Kemp caught heat from Joe Torre, his former manager, and general manager Ned Colletti. Torre benched Kemp, and Coletti deplored Kemp publicly about his lack of performance on defense.
This year has changed; he’s getting praised for being the leader in the clubhouse and waking up his bat. You can most definitely tell that Kemp hit the “refresh” button and he’s having an outstanding season. He’s on a roll with 12 homers already this season. He finished last year with 28 homeruns. Kemp has also hit a spark, as he reached his 100th career homer against the Astros on Monday.
One thing the Dodgers were missing last season in the clubhouse was leadership. After a rocky season and Torre retiring, the organization was left unsure. But Kemp refreshed over the off-season and came back ready to take control. He felt the heat and the pressure, and he knew he had to carry the team on his back.
So far, we can say that Kemp is improving every day on the field and in the clubhouse. You can see it physically and mentally. He’s in a better place this year. This is the Kemp I was use to seeing two years ago, the smile, the positive energy, and just motivated to play the game. The Dodgers aren’t having a superior season, but they are becoming better. You can see that the players want to win and bring back the fight and hunger they had in 2009.
After a tough loss on Monday against the Astros, Kemp sent out a message via Twitter to all the Dodgers fans. “To all my real Dodger fans stay positive and have faith!!! We [are going to] turn this thing around. [We’ve got a] lot of baseball left to play!!” he tweeted.
Kemp has always had the potential to be one of the best center fielders in baseball. He is in the last season of his contract, and he’s showing that he’s on his way to stardom. The Dodgers will have to find a way to sign Kemp to a long-term deal in order to hold on to his rights. If the Dodgers are unable to sign him and another team snatches him, the new team will be rewarded.

Ron Artest and the Lakers are taking a lot of criticism for their performance in the second round of the playoffs.

By Tamara Latta
Staff Writer

No one would’ve ever believed, even if hearing the news from a psychic, that the two-time defending champs would be swept in a series trying to make it back the Conference finals this year.
The Lakers are still the trending topic of the NBA after losing the series 4-0 to the Dallas Mavericks less than two weeks ago. There is a lot of speculation that the Lakers locker room unraveled between the last two months of the regular season. We still don’t know who to point the finger at, or who to blame for the meltdown.
After the team was demolished by Dallas in game four 122-86, it’s hard for Laker fans to appreciate what they have done for the city the last three years. What everyone failed to realize is that this moment was coming sooner or later. We have to understand that nothing in this world lasts forever, and that includes winning a championship every year. As we would all love to see that happen, it just isn’t reality.
If you followed the Lakers at the beginning of the playoffs, when they played the New Orleans Hornets in the first round, you could see that the focus wasn’t there. Sometimes after being a champion for two years you don’t work as hard as you worked to get where you are now. You kind of want things to come easily and not put in the extra work. From the looks of things, other teams came up with a plan to find ways to beat the champs. They knew it would take dedicated, hard work to put out the two-time defending champs. The champs, being the champs, probably just didn’t expect to get beaten. Now all the underdogs in the Western Conference are still fighting, trying to accomplish what the Lakers have. 
Lakers Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom are being called “sore losers” following game 4. After being down by almost 30 points, Bynum and Odom lost their composure and got very physical with Dallas players. It was a “heat of the moment” situation, and there is no excuse for their actions. But it happens in sports all the time, mainly during the playoffs of any sport.
If you recall when the Lakers played the Dallas Mavericks at the end of March, and were beating the Mavericks by almost 20 points, Terry took a cheap shot at Blake. All players get frustrated and, when that happens, they usually take the emotional reaction out on their opponents.
The Lakers have made their fans and city elated for over a decade. In 63 NBA seasons the Lakers have advanced to the playoffs 58 times. They have won 16 championships, and I’m almost certain that there will be more in the future, as long as Jerry Buss is affiliated with the organization.
There’s no doubt that the Lakers have pampered their fan base, and right now fans are mourning and bashing them for not advancing to the Western Conference Finals. What happened to appreciating and cherishing the happiness they brought to this city for years? They’ve also brought competitiveness just about every season for the last 10 seasons. I know it’s hard to swallow the atrocious loss, but you have to look at the positive to get overcome the negative. It’s not the end of the world, and the Lakers will be back in years to come.