Anaheim news

• Aaron Pico ‘starving to show’ what he can do in the UFC

  09-04-2025 21:54 via ocregister.com
  
  Before he was even a teenager, Aaron Pico would sit with his father in the backyard of their Whittier home and regale him with his dreams.
  “I’d just tell him that I want to be in the UFC one day and a UFC champion. I want to be boxing. Like, I can do it, you know?” Pico remembered in a phone interview Tuesday night. “And my dad would be like, ‘Of course, son, you can do it. You just keep working hard.”
  But first came combat sports reality, with its set of peak
  
  Read more

• Mater Dei girls water polo holds off Newport Harbor in Holiday Cup final

  21-12-2025 09:04 via ocregister.com
  
  Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe nowNEWPORT BEACH — Mater Dei’s girls water polo team displayed a trait Saturday at the Bill Barnett Holiday Cup that could help it win bigger matches later in the season.
  Perseverance.
  The Monarchs overcame a second-half surge by Newport Harbor and the absence of three players due to injury to beat the Sailors 11-10 in the tournament final at Corona del Mar High.
  Junior Delaney Hook scored a slic
  
  Read more

• Clippers beat depleted Lakers to end 5-game skid, home-court drought

  21-12-2025 07:30 via ocregister.com
  
  INGLEWOOD — Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said the team’s goal is to go 35-20 the rest of the season. After thinking about it, he changed it to 36-19, to give the team a winning record.
  The idea seemed far-fetched before the Clippers faced the Lakers on Saturday night at the Intuit Dome. Winning even 10 games seemed undoable as the team slowly sunk to near the bottom of the Western Conference standings with just six victories through 27 games.
  But then the unthinkable happened.
  The Clipp
  
  Read more

• Ducks edge Blue Jackets for a bounce-back win

  21-12-2025 06:55 via ocregister.com
  
  ANAHEIM — The Ducks rebounded from Friday’s trampling with a 4-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night at Honda Center.
  Twenty-four hours after they were roughed up by the Dallas Stars, 8-3, the Ducks never trailed. They collected two points to gain sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division after the Vegas Golden Knights lost in Calgary on Saturday.
  The Ducks came into the clash as losers of four of their previous five games, including a 4-3 overtime d
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Luka Doncic leaves Lakers’ game against Clippers with leg injury

  21-12-2025 06:24 via ocregister.com
  
  INGLEWOOD — Lakers star Luka Doncic made an early exit from Saturday night’s game against the Clippers because of a leg injury.
  The Lakers ruled Doncic out of the game at halftime because of a left leg contusion.
  It wasn’t immediately clear how Doncic suffered the injury.
  Second-year wing Dalton Knecht started the second half in place of Doncic, who struggled in the first half. He finished with 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting (1 for 6 from 3-point range) and four turnovers to go
  
  Read more

• Luka Doncic leaves Lakers’ game against Clippers with leg contusion

  21-12-2025 06:24 via ocregister.com
  
  INGLEWOOD — Lakers star Luka Doncic made an early exit from Saturday night’s game against the Clippers because of a leg injury.
  The Lakers ruled Doncic out of the game at halftime because of a left leg contusion.
  It wasn’t immediately clear how Doncic suffered the injury.
  Second-year wing Dalton Knecht started the second half in place of Doncic, who struggled in the first half. He finished with 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting (1 for 6 from 3-point range) and four turnovers to go
  
  Read more

• CFP: Dante Moore, Oregon light up James Madison in opener

  21-12-2025 06:15 via ocregister.com
  
  By ANDREW DESTIN AP Sports Writer
  EUGENE, Ore. — Dante Moore threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score and No. 5 Oregon beat No. 19 James Madison, 51-34, on Saturday night in a College Football Playoff opener.
  The Ducks (12-1) advanced to face Texas Tech in a quarterfinal game at the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1. Oregon won a playoff game for the first time since 2014, when the Ducks hammered Florida State in the Rose Bowl semifinal before losing to Ohio State in the national champion
  
  Read more

• Caleb Williams, Bears stun Packers for improbable OT win

  21-12-2025 06:05 via ocregister.com
  
  By ANDREW SELIGMAN AP Sports Writer
  CHICAGO — Caleb Williams threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore in overtime, and the Chicago Bears overcame a 10-point deficit late in the fourth quarter Saturday night for a 22-16 win over the Green Bay Packers, who lost quarterback Jordan Love to a concussion.
  The Bears (11-4) extended their lead in the NFC North to 1½ games over the Packers (9-5-1) with two left to play and got some payback for a loss at Lambeau Field two weeks earlier. It
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Lakers hope to get Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton back soon

  21-12-2025 05:52 via ocregister.com
  
  INGLEWOOD — The Lakers were without three of their normal starters for Saturday night’s road game against the Clippers, but they hope to have two of them back in the lineup as soon as Tuesday’s matchup against the Phoenix Suns in Arizona.
  Starting guard Austin Reaves (left calf strain), center Deandre Ayton (left elbow soreness) and forward Rui Hachimura (right groin soreness) were all unavailable on Saturday night.
  Reserve guard Gabe Vincent also missed his second game because
  
  Read more

• Eagles run away from Commanders to clinch NFC East title

  21-12-2025 02:33 via ocregister.com
  
  By HOWARD FENDRICH AP National Writer
  LANDOVER, Md. — This was not a terrific performance by the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, from a fumble on the opening kickoff to a pair of penalties on the tush push to three wide-left field-goal tries to a halftime deficit.
  Still, Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and company eventually got going in the right direction and clinched a second consecutive NFC East title by beating the Washington Commanders, 29-18, on Saturday night. The ga
  
  Read more

• Santa Ana Zoo unveils River’s Edge, a new immersive multi-species exhibit

  21-12-2025 02:28 via ocregister.com
  
  The Santa Ana Zoo celebrated on Saturday, Dec. 20, the opening of River’s Edge, a new multi-species exhibit that officials called the largest and most complex project in the zoo’s more than 70-year history.
  The celebration continues Sunday, Dec. 21, with a second day of free admission for Santa Ana residents.
  Construction on the roughly $8.6 million habitat began in 2022, replacing an aging exhibit with a modern space designed to prioritize animal comfort and well-being.
  Guest feedba
  
  Read more

• Man killed, another wounded in Santa Ana shooting

  21-12-2025 01:35 via ocregister.com
  
  A 20-year-old man was killed and another was wounded in a shooting late Friday night, Dec. 19, in a residential neighborhood in Santa Ana, police said.
  Officers were dispatched around 11:25 p.m. to the 500 block of South Marine Street after receiving a report from a man who said he had been shot, a Santa Ana Police Department statement said. When officers arrived, they found two men suffering from gunshot wounds.
  Orange County Fire Authority personnel pronounced one of the victims, identified as
  
  Read more

• CFP: Mississippi crushes Tulane, gets rematch with Georgia in Sugar Bowl

  21-12-2025 01:33 via ocregister.com
  
  By BRETT MARTEL AP Sports Writer
  OXFORD, Miss. — Trinidad Chambliss ran for two touchdowns and passed for another, and No. 6 Mississippi looked unfazed by the defection of Coach Lane Kiffin, beating No. 17 Tulane, 41-10, on Saturday in a first-round game of the College Football Playoff.
  Scoring runs of 20 yards by Kewan Lacy and 4 yards by Chambliss gave Ole Miss (12-1) a 14-0 lead before eight minutes had elapsed in the coaching debut of Pete Golding, who was promoted from defensive coord
  
  Read more

• Orange County scores and player stats for Saturday, Dec. 20

  21-12-2025 01:27 via ocregister.com
  
  Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe nowScores and stats from Orange County games on Saturday, Dec. 20.
  Click here for details about sending your team’s scores and stats to the Register.
  The deadline for submitting information is 10:45 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 p.m. Saturday.
  SATURDAY’S SCORES
  GIRLS BASKETBALL
  NIKE TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
  Sage Hill 68, Mission Hills 66
  Sage: Holguin 22 pts. Uphoff 20 pts. Klamberg
  
  Read more

• No. 4 UCLA women rout Long Beach State to cap nonconference slate

  21-12-2025 01:02 via ocregister.com
  
  UCLA guard Kiki Rice drives as Long Beach State guard Khylee Pepe, right, defends during the second half on Saturday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
  Long Beach State guard Brynna Pukis, left, drives against UCLA guard Lena Bilić, right, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)
  UCLA center Lauren Betts (51) shields the ball from Long Beach State guard Khylee Pepe (13) during the first ha
  
  Read more

• No. 4 UCLA women rout Long Beach State to cap nonconference slate

  21-12-2025 01:02 via ocregister.com
  
  LOS ANGELES — The UCLA women’s basketball team finished the nonconference portion of its schedule much the way it began.
  Another lopsided win.
  The No. 4 Bruins hosted Long Beach State on Saturday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion and ran away with a 106-44 victory.
  UCLA (11-1) began the season with a 77-53 win against visiting San Diego State on Nov. 3 and every victory since has come by 14 points or more, including back-to-back wins over No. 8 Oklahoma and No. 18 North Carolina.
  The only
  
  Read more

• Analysis: Kings did right to trade Phillip Danault, but issues loom

  21-12-2025 00:33 via ocregister.com
  
  With half an hour remaining before the holiday roster freeze, the Kings dealt Phillip Danault back from whence he came, to the Montreal Canadiens.
  In isolation, Kings general manager Ken Holland got what should be a draft pick somewhere in the 30s amid a deep prospect crop in return, while shedding $11 million in cap space across this season and next. He also did right by Danault, relocating him back to his home province, and on an unconventional timeline, per his request.
  But more broadly, the
  
  Read more

• At Chain Reaction’s final show fans mourned, ‘Feels like losing a piece of history’

  20-12-2025 23:56 via ocregister.com
  
  Lines of fans spanning generations gathered at Chain Reaction’s tiny strip mall parking lot for the venue’s final show.
  Chain Reaction hosted its last event on Friday, Dec. 19, featuring Rancho Santa Margarita-based band Movements, Militarie Gun, and Cherdomingo. The show was part of a three-day goodbye stint that followed two previous performances: one on Thursday, Dec. 18, which also included Movements, Militarie Gun, and Underbrook; and one on Wednesday, Dec. 17, which included St
  
  Read more

• Sources: Rams fire special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn

  20-12-2025 23:06 via ocregister.com
  
  After a punt return for a touchdown played a pivotal role in the Rams’ 38-37 overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday, head coach Sean McVay fired special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn on Saturday, two sources confirmed.
  It marks the first time in McVay’s nine-year tenure with the Rams that he has dismissed a coach in the middle of the season. Blackburn was in his third season with the Rams. An interim had yet to be determined, per one source, but the Rams still have Ben
  
  Read more

• After Eaton fire ignited, her out-of-print Altadena history book was in high demand. A year later, it’s back

  20-12-2025 22:51 via ocregister.com
  
  Copies of Michele Zack’s book for sale at the Altadena Heritage Holiday Gathering on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (Photo by Jarret Liotta)
  Copies of Michele Zack’s book for sale at the Altadena Heritage Holiday Gathering on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (Photo by Jarret Liotta)
  Author Michele Zack and her friend Phillip Arroyo of Altadena at the Altadena Heritage Holiday Gathering on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (Photo by Jarret Liotta)
  An autograph from author Michele Zack in a copy of her book. (Phot
  
  Read more

• CFP: Malachi Toney recovers to lead Miami past Texas A&M

  20-12-2025 22:38 via ocregister.com
  
  COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Malachi Toney’s tiebreaking 11-yard touchdown reception with less than two minutes left lifted No. 10 seed Miami to a 10-3 win over No. 7 Texas A&M on Saturday in the College Football Playoff.
  Mark Fletcher Jr. had a career-high 172 yards rushing to help the Hurricanes (11-2) advance to the Cotton Bowl to face No. 2 seed Ohio State on Dec. 31.
  Toney’s big play came a series after what looked a devastating mistake for the freshman. Toney made a recep
  
  Read more

• California’s wealth tax proposal pits fiscal fantasy against economic reality

  20-12-2025 21:24 via ocregister.com
  
  Last week, the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office released its initial description of the “2026 Billionaire Tax Act,” a one-time, 5 percent tax on these individuals’ net wealth. Its conclusions should concern every California voter. The LAO confirms what we’ve been documenting at Stanford’s Hoover Institution: a proposal that exchanges an uncertain, short-term revenue windfall for a predictable and disastrous long-term erosion to California’s tax
  
  Read more

• Air quality alert issued for Orange County until early Monday

  20-12-2025 21:13 via ocregister.com
  
  Orange County Coast, Orange County, San Bernardino and Riverside County Valleys, Riverside County Mountains and San Gorgonio Pass Near Banning are the focus of an air quality alert reported at 12:11 p.m. on Saturday by the National Weather Service. The alert is in effect until Monday Dec. 22, at midnight.
  The NWS San Diego CA states to be ready for, “The South Coast AQMD has extended a mandatory wood-burning ban for residents in the South Coast Air Basin. The No-Burn rule bans burning wood
  
  Read more

• USC men enter Sunday with new opponent, new point guard

  20-12-2025 19:41 via ocregister.com
  
  The changes keep on coming for the USC men’s basketball team.
  On Sunday afternoon, the Trojans will be playing an unexpected opponent with an unexpected point guard now that UC Santa Cruz is on the schedule and transfer point guard Kam Woods is in the lineup.
  USC was originally slated to play Brown University on Sunday until the teams mutually agreed to cancel the game after the school shooting that took place on Brown’s campus.
  Head coach Eric Musselman didn’t want to go into
  
  Read more

• Chargers focused on beating Cowboys, not playoff-clinching scenarios

  20-12-2025 18:31 via ocregister.com
  
  If the Chargers defeat the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday in Arlington, Texas, and if a set of dominoes falls in their favor, including a loss by an old friend on “Monday Night Football,” then they will have clinched an AFC playoff berth for the second time in Jim Harbaugh’s two seasons as their coach.
  Big deal, you say.
  Actually, it would be a very big deal for the Chargers.
  You see, the Chargers haven’t advanced to the playoffs in consecutive seasons since qualifying four str
  
  Read more

• Larry Wilson: A year on from catastrophe, cheers for the ‘good fight,’ but ‘still in the wilderness about it all’

  20-12-2025 18:29 via ocregister.com
  
  When I was growing up there, almost unimaginably long ago, in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, it was almost impossible to both live and work in Altadena.And now that the equivalent of an atom bomb a year ago leveled the darling place, which lives mostly in memory, and in forlorn hope? It’s rather harder.
  Because everything is gone.
  Nineteen dead in the Eaton fire. Every neighborhood from Pinecrest Drive west to the edge of the Meadows burned to the ground.
  I know, I know. The courage
  
  Read more

• Shepherd-mastiff mix Moxie is a big, beautiful, brindle girl

  20-12-2025 18:14 via ocregister.com
  
  Breed: German shepherd/Neopolitan mastiff mix
  Age: 3 years
  Sex: Spayed female
  Size: 85 pounds
  Moxie’s story: She came into a shelter unexpectedly pregnant and surprised everyone by giving birth to a single puppy. She needed immediate rescue, and thanks to a wonderful foster, mom and baby received the care they needed. Now that Moxie has finished her mama duties, she’s ready to find a loving home of her own. She is affectionate and people-loving. She’ll offer her paw for pets an
  
  Read more

• Meet kittens Tom and Jerry, a couple of charmers

  20-12-2025 17:55 via ocregister.com
  
  Breed: Domestic shorthairs
  Age: 6 months
  Sex: Neutered males
  Tom and Jerry’s story: These sweet, cuddly brothers are gentle and loving with everyone they meet. They have grown up with teenagers, dogs, cats and daily household life, so they are well-adjusted and easygoing. Nothing rattles these two — they just roll with life and charm everyone they meet. They adore playing with each other, and when their zoomies are over, they’ll snuggle together or relax quietly, soaking up the
  
  Read more

• Chargers at Dallas Cowboys: Who has the edge?

  20-12-2025 17:30 via ocregister.com
  
  CHARGERS (10-4) at COWBOYS (6-7-1)
  When: 10 a.m. PT Sunday
  Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
  TV/Radio: Ch. 11; 640 AM/94.3 FM (Spanish)
  Line: Cowboys by 1.5
  Notable injury designations
  Chargers: OUT: WR Derius Davis (ankle), S RJ Mickens (shoulder); QUESTIONABLE: OLB Bud Dupree (back), WR Quentin Johnston (groin), S Elijah Molden (hamstring), RT Trey Pipkins III (ankle), DL Teair Tart (shin).
  Cowboys: OUT: CB DaRon Bland (foot), T Tyler Guyton (ankle); QUESTIONABLE: CB Josh Butler (knee)
  
  Read more

• California homebuying runs 22% below average

  20-12-2025 17:08 via ocregister.com
  
  California house hunters aren’t in a buying mood, pushing statewide sales to their fourth-slowest October in 21 years.
  Across California, there were 29,379 closed sales of houses and condos, both existing residences and newly constructed, in October, according to real estate tracker Attom. That homebuying activity was off 2.2% in a year and 22% below the month’s average since 2005.
  House hunters may be modestly encouraged by mortgage rates dropping off their recent peaks. However, th
  
  Read more

Follow @Anaheim_NewsUS on Twitter!