Bay Area Mercury News Sports

OAKLAND — It was another day of the grind for Tyler Nevin, further validating what he heard from his father the day he was drafted nine years ago.

The good news was Nevin hit his fourth homer in a month since joining the Athletics and later had an infield single to extend his hitting streak to nine games in a 4-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday at the Coliseum.

The bad news was Nevin had a pair of throwing errors from third base, neither of which cost the A’s.

Yet there’s no denying that Nevin, son of former 12-year major leaguer and manager Phil Nevin, has given the A’s a spark since he was claimed off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles on March 31.

Nevin will be in the lineup Friday when the surging Athletics (15-17) begin a three-game series against the Miami Marlins (8-24). Where Nevin will play is an open question, with consistency and versatility the key to remaining a factor in the A’s lineup.

In 25 games, Nevin has started at five different positions (six in right field, four in left field, four at first base, four at third base, and three at designated hitter). He’s hitting .325 with four homers, 10 RBIs, and an OPS of .875 on a team that has won seven of 10 games despite some struggles on offense.

At the recently concluded NFL draft, 49ers general manager John Lynch — a San Diego area native like the Nevin family — opined that he believed in bloodlines. Any player who was the son of a former player, especially if he were with the 49ers, would get a long look.

Nevin, who turns 27 this month, has bloodlines of which A’s manager Mark Kotsay is acutely aware. Phil Nevin starred at Fullerton State before Kotsay arrived, hitting 39 home runs and driving in 184 in three college seasons. In 1992, Nevin won the Golden Spikes Award as the nation’s top college player.

Three years later, Kotsay, who also starred at Fullerton, also won the equivalent of the college baseball MVP.

Tyler Nevin of the Athletics is congratulated by teammates after hitting a home run Wednesday in a 3-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at the Coliseum. A.P. Photo

They didn’t play together at Fullerton, but both were Southern California prep baseball legends who were acquainted and became close friends on the San Diego Padres from 2001 through 2003. Both were molded by college baseball coaching legend Augie Garrido, a firebrand who finished his career at Texas and passed away in 2018.

“I knew Augie a bit in his late years,” Tyler Nevin said. “I think he had toned it down a little bit, but I think my dad and Kots are cut from the same cloth and that was probably because they played for Augie. They played hard every inning.”

Given that connection, it’s hardly a surprise that the A’s claimed Nevin off waivers, a move questioned by some fans on social media. When Nevin arrived, Esteury Ruiz, who had a league-leading 67 steals as a rookie last season, was sent to Triple-A.

Ruiz is back and playing part-time. Nevin, for the time being, is making himself indispensable.

Nevin and Kotsay rightly play down their connection because baseball is a hard business, and there’s no guarantee it will have much to do with the future. But Kotsay doesn’t deny there are similarities between Phil and Tyler Nevin.

Tyler Nevin’s penchant for seeing pitches and grinding out at-bats is a familiar look.

“Phil was a really good professional hitter as well, and you see a lot of the same traits in Tyler,” Kotsay said. “The thing about bloodlines and genes, when you grow up around the game, you understand the intricacies, the detail it takes to be a big leaguer.

“When they’ve been around it, there’s an innate ability to walk in and know where they’re supposed to be, what they’re supposed to be doing, and how it’s supposed to be done.”

Kotsay has a 16-year-old ballplaying son in the San Diego area who aspires to be a big leaguer. He’s had a “talk” with his son about the long odds of making it that far if only to warn him of what was ahead in terms of competition.

Tyler Nevin received a similar talk from his own father the night the Colorado Rockies drafted him in 2015.

“Everybody was celebrating with a bunch of close friends,” Tyler Nevin said. “I hugged him goodnight, told him I was going to go to bed, and he said, `All right, tomorrow the real work starts. It’s going to be harder than it ever has been before.’ ”

True enough, it hasn’t been easy. Nevin was traded to Baltimore in 2020 and has been designated for assignment by Detroit and Baltimore. Given that Baltimore’s roster is loaded with home grown prospects, Nevin was surprised to get the latest call from the Orioles for spring training.

He was sent packing despite a solid spring training during which he hit .333 and had two homers and seven RBIs in 23 games, yet he was grateful for the chance to compete.

“They were honest with me when I first got there that they’d give me an opportunity but it was also for 20 other teams,” Nevin said.

Tyler said he texts or talks with his father daily. Phil Nevin managed the Los Angeles Angels in 2022 and 2023 and is currently out of baseball, but can watch his sons Tyler and Kyle (a single-A player for the Dodgers).

Having a famous baseball father has been a blessing rather than a criticism-filled curse.

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“I embraced it,” Nevin said. “I thought it was fun. I played confident as a kid and basically thought, I am Phil Nevin’s kid.’ In pro ball, you hear, `You’re never going to be as good as your dad.’ But I always thought it was something to be proud of and not something to fear.”

Nevin’s future with the A’s is off to a promising start. His multi-position ability is a plus, and his hot streak has included some good fortune — bloop hits and seeing-eye grounders to go along with the occasional power.

“The at-bats have been great,” Kotsay said. “He’s really just starting to come into his own, and you can see that in his level of confidence.”

BOSTON — There are not many figures in baseball that take the breath away from Bob Melvin, a 40-year veteran of the game who has seen it all and can consider most anyone from the modern era a peer, having shared the field with them in some capacity, either as a player or a manager, on his side or against them.

Then, a couple hours before the first pitch of their series finale against the Red Sox on Thursday, one of them walked into his office.

It was Carl Yastrzemski, the first-ballot Hall of Famer, 3,000-hit club member, 18-time All-Star — and grandfather of the Giants’ right fielder, Mike Yastrzemski.

“I really didn’t have much to say,” Melvin said from his perch in the third-base dugout a little while later, “because I was in awe.”

The eldest living member of the Yastrzemski clan, 84, doesn’t make many visits anymore to Fenway Park, the stadium he called home for 23 seasons, from 1961 to 1983, where he collected 1,822 of his 3,419 career hits, the ninth-most all-time. Even as a player, he preferred to stay out of the spotlight.

But this week provided a special occasion: only the second time in his grandson’s career that Mike would toe the same turf at the 112-year-old ballpark. The last time the Yastrzemski lineage was at Fenway, Mike was only a rookie; he caught a ceremonial first pitch from Carl.

Now in his fifth season — and a father of two, himself — the active Yastrzemski was at his locker in the cramped quarters the visitors call a clubhouse when a Red Sox staffer approached him at about 10:45 a.m. local time. A special visitor was en route, about 15 minutes away. Would Mike prefer to host him in the clubhouse or the batting cages?

“I was hoping he would come out here,” Melvin said.

Even the manager pesters his right fielder for stories of his famous grandfather, he admitted.

When it came time to ask the old man himself, Melvin was at a loss for words.

“I just asked him how he’s doing, what are his thoughts on the team,” he said. “Stuff like that.”

The visit was a rare occurrence and didn’t last long.

Escorted by a team staffer, Carl Yastrzemski shuffled into the clubhouse without fanfare. Hunched over, he made the short walk across the room to the office of the clubhouse manager, where he holed up with his grandson and a few club employees.

“I think he left the car running while he was in here,” Mike Yastrzemski joked of the meeting which he estimated lasted maybe 10 minutes.

As for the topic of conversation, it was “literally nothing about baseball,” Yastrzemski said. He sees “Papa Yaz” once or twice a year, and their interactions mostly revolve around his two great-grandchildren.

“I think it’s one of the things that he’s done incredibly well as a grandfather and is letting me have my career,” Yastrzemski continued. “He’ll pick up the phone when I call him. If I ask him questions, he’ll answer. But he’s never forcing anything on me or suggesting anything.

“He’s always told me, when in doubt, talk to your hitting coaches.”

Then the living legend made his way to Melvin’s quarters, where he spent another 5 minutes or so.

And just like that, he was gone.

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“To experience that in the clubhouse and so forth, there’s certain guys that get your attention more than others and certainly here at Fenway Park he’s about as good as it gets,” Melvin said. “I appreciate Mike bringing him in.”

Growing up, Carl would grill a young Mike about his batting stance at the dinner table, and he continues to take an active interest in his grandson’s career. The Giants have had 22 players elected to Cooperstown wear their uniform, but they can count at least one more among their fans.

Watching games on television from across the country, Carl Yastrzemski told Melvin he saw the same frustrating things the manager did during the team’s inconsistent start to the season. After Thursday’s 3-1 win at Fenway, the Giants will take a 15-17 record into Friday’s series opener in Philadelphia.

“He thinks that it’s a long season, and it’s probably similar to the sentiment we’ve been talking about here for a little while, too,” Melvin said. “We have good players, and it’s going to work its way out. Don’t get too caught up in the day-to-day, it’s a long season.”

Notable

Randy Rodriguez, a right-handed reliever, was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento and took the roster spot of Daulton Jefferies, who was optioned after allowing four runs over 2⅔ innings in Wednesday’s 6-2 loss. Rodriguez, 24, will be the fifth rookie to make his major-league debut in the Giants bullpen this season. He had a 1.69 ERA with 10 strikeouts and four walks while limiting opponents to a .184 batting average through his first 10 appearances at Sacramento.

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PHOENIX (AP) — WNBA star Brittney Griner said she thought about killing herself during her first few weeks in a Russian jail after her 2022 arrest on drug-related charges.

Griner spoke for the first time about her monthslong detention in Russia during an hourlong interview that aired Wednesday night on ABC. Her memoir, “Coming Home,” is set to be released on May 7.

Griner was detained after arriving at a Moscow airport after Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges allegedly containing oil derived from cannabis.

“I wanted to take my life more than once in the first weeks,” Griner told interviewer Robin Roberts. “I felt like leaving here so badly.”

She decided against it in part because she was afraid the Russian authorities wouldn’t release her body to her family.

Her plight unfolded at the same time Russia invaded Ukraine and further heightened tensions between Russia and the U.S., ending only after she was freed in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Griner said before she was released, she was forced to write a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“They made me write this letter. It was in Russian,” she said. “I had to ask for forgiveness and thanks from their so-called great leader. I didn’t want to do it, but at the same time I wanted to come home.”

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She was disappointed when she got on the plane for the trade and that Paul Whelan, another American who has been detained in Russia, wasn’t with her.

“I walked on and didn’t see him, maybe he’s next. Maybe they will bring him next,” she said. “They closed the door and I was like, are you serious? You’re not going to let this man come home now.”

Griner plays for the Phoenix Mercury. The WNBA season begins on May 14.

Baseball Homestead 3, Los Altos 2

Los Altos doesn’t have Los Gatos’ impressive overall record — 20 wins, three losses — but for weeks has had the better league mark.

Not anymore.

On Wednesday, Homestead scored two runs in the visitor’s half of the first inning and another run in the fifth to edge Los Altos, an outcome that elevated Los Gatos into a first-place tie with the Eagles in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League’s De Anza Division with three games to go.

Los Altos and Los Gatos play a two-game series next week.

Howard Cheng, a sophomore, had two hits and knocked in two runs and Logan Christianson drove in one run to lead Homestead, which improved to 11-8-2, 4-6.

Darrion Wesley had a home run among his two hits and Aaron Baum had two hits, including a double, for Los Altos.

The Eagles fell to 12-10, 9-2.

Los Altos will visit Homestead on Friday before opening a home-and-home series at Los Gatos next Wednesday.

No. 6 Los Gatos 13, Wilcox 1

Donovan Freed homered, doubled and knocked in four runs and Brayden Smith had two doubles and three RBIs to lead Los Gatos to a rout of host Wilcox in an SCVAL De Anza Division game.

Leading 3-1 after two innings, Los Gatos scored five in the third to break the game open.

Ethan Williams pitched five inning for the Wildcats, allowing two hits and an unearned run. He struck out five.

Los Gatos improved to 9-2 in league play. Wilcox is 14-10, 6-5.

No. 12 San Ramon Valley 2, Monte Vista 1

San Ramon Valley scored a run in the top of the third and another in the fourth and then held off Monte Vista’s seventh-inning rally to win this rivalry game in East Bay Athletic League play.

Jake Hensley had two hits, including a homer, and Julian Cambra knocked in a run for SRV, which upped its record to 14-8, 9-3.

Charles Reiland held Monte Vista to a run and six hits in 6 1/3 innings.

Jacob Deguzman had two hits and a seventh-inning RBI for Monte Vista, which fell to 13-10, 4-8.

No. 1 Granada 5, Livermore 0

Four Granada pitchers — Parker Warner, Bryce Berry, A.J. Hattaway, Logan Hahn — combined on a one-hitter and Riley Winchell knocked in three runs to lead the host Matadors past crosstown rival Livermore in EBAL play.

Granada improved to 22-1, 11-1. Livermore dropped 13-10, 5-7.

No. 4 De La Salle 5, California 1

Joe McGee and Jack Harper each had three hits, Hank Tripaldi homered and Graham Schlicht pitched six strong innings to lead De La Salle to a victory at home over California in an EBAL game.

De La Salle is 16-5, 10-2. California slipped to 11-12, 3-9.

Menlo-Atherton 4, The King’s Academy 3

Menlo-Atherton knocked TKA out of first place while keeping its own league title hopes alive with a dramatic victory in a Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division game.

With three league games left, M-A and TKA are one game behind Burlingame in the standings.

On Wednesday, M-A trailed 1-0 after five innings. But the Bears rallied for two runs in the visitor’s half of the sixth and two more in the seventh. TKA scored two in the bottom of the seventh before the final out was recorded.

Ronan Cutright had two hits and two RBIs for M-A, which improved to 13-11, 7-4.

Nate Plata had three hits, including a double, and two RBIs for TKA, which fell to 12-10-1, 7-4.

Softball No. 16 Bishop O’Dowd 1, No. 6 Alameda 0

Freshman Zoe Bolick pitched a complete game and Riley Veenstra’s fourth-inning RBI accounted for the only run as O’Dowd prevailed at home over Alameda in West Alameda County Conference Foothill Division play.

The victory moved O’Dowd into a first-place tie with Alameda.

The Dragons improved to 16-6, 7-2. Alameda is 15-3, 7-2.

No. 1 St. Francis 13, Valley Christian 3 (6 innings)

Shannon Keighran had three hits, including two doubles, and drove in three runs and Maya Yumiba and Isabella Sandoval each had two hits to lead St. Francis to a victory at home in a West Catholic Athletic League game.

Savannah Hernandez knocked in two runs for Valley Christian.

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St. Francis is 21-0, 6-0. Valley Christian fell to 14-10, 4-3.

No. 2 Archbishop Mitty 13, Sacred Heart Cathedral 3 (5 innings)

Megan Sutton had two doubles among her three hits and drove in three runs and Cara Edwards and Corri Hicks each had two RBIs to lead Mitty to a win over visiting SHC in WCAL play.

Mitty is 17-3, 5-2. SHC is 10-11, 1-5.

Sobrato 8, Leigh 1

Trailing 1-0 going to the bottom of the sixth, Sobrato erupted for eight runs to turn back Leigh in a Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division game.

Brooklyn Amato and Zoe Rodriguez each knocked in two runs and Sam Zimmerman pitched a complete game to lead Sobrato, which improved to 15-6, 10-4.

Leigh is 8-11, 4-9.

SCOTTSDALE — Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark “certainly wasn’t happy” with the College Football Playoff’s revenue distribution plan starting in 2026 — a plan that leaves his conference and the ACC at a significant disadvantage to the SEC and Big Ten — but wasn’t in a position to complain.

His competitive streak, honed over the decades, wouldn’t allow it.

“I’m a believer that if you create value, you need to be rewarded — that’s just how I look at life,” Yormark said  Wednesday following the Big 12’s spring meetings at a Scottsdale resort.

Yormark addressed a series of issues at the forefront of college athletics during two public sessions: the first with a small group of reporters; the second as a panelist on college football during an event at the annual Fiesta Summit.

On CFP revenue

The conferences agreed earlier this spring to a revenue-sharing plan for the next contract cycle with ESPN, which begins in 2026.

It allocates about 60 percent of the reported $1.3 billion in annual revenue to Big Ten and SEC, with the ACC and Big 12 accounting for approximately 30 percent. The breakdown was based, in part, on CFP participation over the past decade.

Teams in the new Big 12 have accounted for just two of the 40 semifinal berths, with Cincinnati and TCU earning bids. The SEC and Big Ten combined for 29 spots.

“When you look at the first 10 years of the CFP,” Yormark said, “we didn’t perform probably as well as we would have liked. That’s OK. History might not repeat itself.”

On the CFP “opener”

The Big 12 and ACC had little leverage with the Big Ten and SEC, which feature most of the biggest brands in the sport. But during the negotiations, Yormark pushed for what’s called a “look-in” (or “opener”) in the contract midway through the six-year term.

It gives the commissioners a chance to reconfigure the economic piece if participation trends shift from the benchmarks used to create the initial distribution plan.

“Having that look-in made sense for a lot of different reasons,” Yormark said.

“I certainly wasn’t happy with the distribution … And I don’t think our (athletic directors) or our coaches are either, but we’re going to continue to invest for the right reasons.

“We’re going to continue to build football. It’s at the core of what we do, and I’m excited about the future.”

On CFP expansion

While the revenue model for the next edition of the CFP was established earlier this spring, many specifics are unresolved, including the number of teams.

The event is expanding to 12 teams for the 2024-25 seasons. But starting in the fall of 2026, it could grow to 14.

“If we end up going to 14 and we can further enhance the championship experience for more teams and more student-athletes, that’s great,” Yormark said.

“More is good, but the proof is in the details, and I’m excited to see how this year plays out at 12.”

On college football separating

Many in college sports believe football should be declared a separate entity from all other NCAA sports, including basketball.

A group of sports executives even pitched the “super league” concept to conferences in recent months.

“I think that’s noise,” Yormark said. “I don’t see that happening for the foreseeable future.”

On NCAA Tournament expansion

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SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has been perhaps the greatest proponent of exploring an expansion of March Madness, which has featured 64 or 68 teams since 1985. The expanded field size often cited is 78 teams.

The Big 12 is one of the top basketball conferences in the country and will get bigger and stronger next season with the addition of Arizona, ASU, Utah and Colorado.

Yormark said the coaches are in favor of expansion “in theory.”

“But what does that number look like?” he added. “The devil is in the details.”

Critics of expansion worry that the power conferences will gobble all the newly created spots and marginalize the mid-majors and smaller schools that give the tournament its captivating chaos and upsets.

“You don’t want to mess with something that’s great,” Yormark said, “but if there are chances and opportunities to modify a little bit, to maybe provide more access, to amplify the experience, to look at it slightly differently, we owe it to ourselves to do that.”

“I’m a firm believer that from time to time, you’ve got to put things through an audit.”

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The Red Sox used three pitchers compared to five for the Giants, but the story was the hitting.

A night after getting shut out, San Francisco mustered one hit after the fourth inning and five overall in a 6-2 loss. Many of the Giants’ at-bats were competitive and produced hard-hit balls, but not enough found grass. San Francisco registered the three best exit velocities of the night, but didn’t get much to show for it.

The Giants (14-17) are 5-10 on the road this year and could get swept at Fenway Park on Thursday.

“There was some good swings today, really the past couple of games,” manager Bob Melvin told reporters postgame. “It’s frustrating — it’s about results, and we’re not getting the results yet.”

“We’re just not stringing enough together to put pressure on teams,” Melvin added. “We either go down quickly, or we’re behind in counts, and we’re just not getting in good counts to hit.”

For his first home run as a Giant, Tom Murphy scaled the Green Monster with a lined shot off a hanging slider. Murphy’s 407-foot solo shot left his bat at 106.4 mph.

The Giants signed the veteran catcher as an offense-first complement to starter Patrick Bailey. But before Wednesday, he was hitting .074 in 10 games — one of many Giants who had a slow April.

Murphy’s sudden strike broke an early scoreless stalemate, as Red Sox starter Kutter Crawford entered the evening with an American League-leading 1.35 ERA and looked the part. Former Giants pitching coach Andrew Bailey has done tremendous work with Crawford and the rest of Boston’s staff.

The Giants have struggled in Blake Snell’s spot in the rotation — either with the reigning National League Cy Young winner on the mound or with an alternative in place.

“On this particular turn, it hasn’t been good,” Melvin said. “If we win half those games, it’s a little different at this point. But the fact of the matter is, this turn in the rotation has been a tough one.”

In Fenway Park, San Francisco deployed the opener strategy, starting left-hander Erik Miller against the lefty-heavy top of Boston’s lineup. The Giants considered calling up Mason Black, who has a minuscule ERA in Triple-A but instead recalled Daulton Jeffries to be the bulk arm.

Miller worked around consecutive walks for a scoreless first inning. Jeffries walked the leadoff man in the second but also escaped with a scoreless frame.

But when Jeffries allowed an infield single to start the third inning, the Red Sox had their third leadoff man on in as many innings. They were due to cash in.

Jeffries was victimized by the Monster on a Rafael Devers double that was lofted off the wall with a .010 expected batting average. But Devers’ moonball scored one of two Boston runs in the third, putting San Francisco behind 2-1.

A cheeky two-out bunt from Mike Yastrzemski with runners on second and third knotted the score in the fourth. Playing at Fenway Park, where his grandfather became an inner-circle Hall of Famer, is always special for the outfielder, as is his baseball I.Q.

But Boston answered immediately, again putting the leadoff man on against Jeffries and again using the Monster to drive him in. Then a stand-up triple from Jarren Duran made it 4-2.

The Giants offense needs all the help it can get, and it got little in Boston. Jung Hoo Lee’s lineout in the fifth would have left 14 of 30 ballparks. Right after that loud out, Jorge Soler snapped his bat over his leg in frustration because his 110.7 mph drive landed right in Devers’ glove.

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Boston added to its lead with a run off Taylor Rogers and Luke Jackson as the Giants’ bullpen started to run out of middle-inning options. The recently acquired Mitch White also served up a run in the seventh on a two-out double to catcher Connor Wong.

The Red Sox could’ve scored more, too; they went 4-for-16 with runners in scoring position.

Meanwhile, Crawford held the Giants hitless in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. San Francisco also went down in order in the eighth, despite another hard-hit ball from Lee, extending its hitless streak.

Up four runs, the Red Sox didn’t need to use their closer. Matt Chapman singled for San Francisco’s first hit since the fourth inning, but Thairo Estrada grounded into a double play to end it. The Giants will need more hits and more breaks to avoid a sweep in Boston.

LAFAYETTE — Taryn Veronda and Cale Hanson spent all season preparing for this weekend’s North Coast Section swimming championships. Countless hours in the pool helped the Acalanes seniors qualify for the big meet.

But Veronda and Hanson are among 13 Dons, including six other seniors, denied from competing on Friday at the Concord Community Pool because the electronic entry form the coach said he submitted to the section office was not received.

Coach Brett Usinger blamed the misstep on a glitch in the system. The Lafayette school is believed to be the only team that was unable to register its qualified swimmers.

The section made clear that the responsibility lies with the school and stands by its decision to move forward without the 13 boys and girls swimmers from Acalanes.

“Acalanes High School did not submit their NCS swim team entries for this weekend’s championships before the mandatory deadline of April 28, 2024, at 1:15 pm,” NCS commissioner Pat Cruickshank said in a statement to the Bay Area News Group on Wednesday.

“This occurred after a reminder was sent out to all NCS member schools by the section office that the deadline was mandatory and no exceptions for late entries would be made,” Cruickshank added. “The procedures and consequences for failing to follow these championship procedures were agreed to by NCS member schools.”

The fallout from the misstep and the section’s unwillingness to budge have left the swimmers devastated, especially the eight seniors who didn’t have an NCS meet their freshman season because of the pandemic.

Now, not only will they miss out on competing at NCS but they also can’t move on to the state championships the following weekend.

“I’ve been working my entire high school career to get to this point,” Hanson said. “Qualifying for individual events is not an easy task to do. It’s super important to all of us. The only way we can qualify for state is by swimming in this NCS meet.”

For swimmers who qualify for the NCS championships, coaches must manually enter their athletes into a computer program that helps organize swim meets called Club Assistant.

According to Usinger, he entered the names of his qualified swimmers and divers periodically last weekend. He said he finished on Sunday morning, before the 1:15 p.m. deadline.

But when Usinger checked on the submission page later that night to make sure his swimmers were on the list, he said none of them were recorded.

The only names to appear from Acalanes were its three divers.

Usinger said he frantically sent emails to NCS meet directors on Sunday night and early Monday morning but didn’t get a response.

The fifth-year head coach said Club Assistant does not send out email confirmations for submissions nor does it have the option to timestamp any entries. He described the submission process as a “big Excel sheet.”

Acalanes and Usinger were notified by NCS at 10 a.m. Monday that the section office did not receive any entries for Acalanes swimmers and that they would not be able to compete this weekend.

Immediately after the section’s ruling, Acalanes athletic community members voiced their displeasure on social media and created the hashtag #letdonsswim.

On Tuesday night, the 13 Acalanes swimmers posted a video to YouTube, asking for the NCS to reverse its decision.

“We all worked really hard this season to earn the opportunity to swim at NCS,” one swimmer said. “We deserve the chance to compete.”

While the efforts from the swimmers and the community have been valiant, the chances that the NCS’s decision will be reversed are slim, according to Acalanes athletic director Randy Takahashi.

“We believe we exhausted every possible avenue with the North Coast Section,” Takahashi said. “We’re going back to what NCS has determined in that we did not meet the deadline, and so our swimmers will not be in the championships this Friday or Saturday. As of right now, we’re moving forward (with the idea) that we won’t be able to compete.”

If Acalanes were to press the issue, there is a recent precedent for overturning a ruling similar to this one.

Three months ago on the East Coast, Longmeadow High School swimmer Benjamin Lyons won a case against the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association to allow him to swim in the state championships after a technical error made by his coach when entering his name into the meet caused Lyons to be temporarily disqualified.

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Lyons and his family took the matter to court and a judge ruled in favor of the swimmer after the family claimed that not competing would cause “irreparable harm.”

Usinger said he has not been involved in any talks to take the Acalanes issue to court.

If nothing changes, the eight seniors will end their high school careers much like they started – with no section championships.

“We already had a missed opportunity our freshman year because of COVID,” Veronda said. “We’re the ones at the end of the day that are being impacted. We’re not in control of this, and just because of a technical issue, we’re the ones being left out of the opportunity to compete.”

Bay Area News Group’s Joseph Dycus contributed to this report.

SANTA CLARA – A 5-foot-5 Argentinian No. 10 with a penchant for shredding opponents in the attacking third made his first appearance in the South Bay. 

Now Hernán López, the great-nephew of the late Maradona who was famous for such plays, hopes to recreate some of that same magic for the last-place San Jose Earthquakes.

López, the 23-year-old midfielder blessed with the legend’s genes and at least a bit of the late Argentinian’s footballing talent, was at Levi’s Stadium on Wednesday. During his introductory press conference, he didn’t hesitate to talk about Maradona, who died of a heart attack in 2020 at the age of 60.

“I’m very excited to be here in San Jose, and I wish to represent my uncle well,” said López, who was signed from Argentina’s famed club River Plate last week. “That’s what my game is modeled after: breaking lines and getting in behind.”

López isn’t expected to play Saturday when the Quakes host LAFC at Levi’s Stadium. Still, he should be in game shape, considering he played in a Copa de la Superliga Liga Profesional Playoff match on April 21. 

The MLS team that has lost eight of 10 games doesn’t expect their Argentinian signing with an all-time great relative to save the club single-handedly.  But he will work with a 2023 all-star and fellow Argentine in wing Cristian Espinoza to unlock the team’s stuttering attack. 

The Earthquakes (1-8-1), owned by the notoriously frugal John Fisher, dropped a club record $6 million to bring López stateside. 

“There’s things that are there that aren’t coachable, and his talent and creativity is natural,” second-year coach Luchi Gonzalez said. 

López has spent his entire career playing in Argentina, so, before the move, he sought counsel from several other compatriots like Espinoza, who had made the jump from the Primera Division to Major League Soccer. 

“He grew up with a heavy backpack on his shoulders carrying the name of his uncle,” Espinoza said. “But for us, he’s just Hernan López, and we’re going to try to help him adapt to the team.”

SANTA CLARA – Earthquakes soccer player Hernan Lopez (black hoodie) is interviewed by media. The San Jose Earthquakes introduced Lopez, the great-nephew of Diego Maradona, to the media at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara Calif. on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 (Joseph Dycus/Bay Area News Group) 

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López said he couldn’t get ahold of Lionel Messi at Inter Miami, though. 

“It is cool, and it will be exciting the first time,” López said of talking to Messi, who led Argentina to the 2022 World Cup. 

Though River Plate owned his rights, López spent most of his career loaned out to other league sides in Central Cordoba and Godoy Cruz, where he scored 12 goals with seven assists across 84 appearances. 

Gonzalez’s team could use a boost. The Earthquakes entered this week in 14th and last place in the Western Conference, with five of their losses by one goal. Last season, Gonzalez led the Earthquakes to a surprising playoff berth in his first year on the job. 

“We’ve been competitive in 95 percent of our games and have had the lead in six or seven of our games,” Gonzalez said. “This is the kind of game that can spark momentum.”

A playmaker like López will be asked to use his attacking talents to swing games like that back in the Earthquake’s favor. 

The team has surrendered a league-worst 25 goals, four more than second-place Portland, and an attacking midfielder like López won’t be asked to help stop opposing surges. 

But if the Earthquakes are trying to double-down on offense, where the team’s 14 goals rank them a respectable 14th out of 29, then the Quakes could do far worse than the uber-talented wunderkind. 

“He couldn’t have come at a better time for us,” the Earthquakes coach said before he watched his new signing pose with a 49ers jersey. 

López is expected to be far more than just a one-year jolt of energy for the struggling side. He’s signed through 2026, with club options in 2027 and 2028. 

“It’s great to know that he’s in our project for years to come,” Gonzalez said. 

SANTA CLARA – Earthquakes soccer player Hernan Lopez poses with a San Francisco 49ers jersey. The San Jose Earthquakes introduced Lopez, the great-nephew of Diego Maradona, to the media at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara Calif. on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 (Joseph Dycus/Bay Area News Group) 

OAKLAND — There’s something downright cruel about it.

Sadly, such a punishment is not unusual from the Oakland Athletics.

Of course, the A’s developed into a team worth watching just before they head out of The Town.

Yes, there’s something to these 2024 A’s. They’ve won back-to-back straight series, sit in the middle of the American League West standings (above the Astros), and have arguably the best 1-2 end-of-game bullpen punch in baseball right now.

They’re young, homegrown, punchy, and now that they’ve started hitting a bit (10th in baseball in OPS over the last 15 games), they’ve become quite interesting.

Now, I don’t think the A’s are going to close out the Coliseum with a World Series win, or even playoff baseball, but while this organization might not be building a ballpark in Oakland — or Las Vegas, for that matter — early returns suggest that the front office has, against all odds and the will of their owner, built another worthwhile team.

These guys might just be mediocre. And I mean that as a compliment. After all, in the modern game, mediocre pays big — even if the A’s don’t.

What a waste.

Wednesday was a perfect day for baseball — seventy-two degrees and sunny — and the A’s finished off a three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 4-0 win. Starting pitcher Ross Stripling earned his first victory since 2022 by throwing six shutout innings, and Abraham Toro and Tyler Nevin stayed hot with solo home runs each.

There were even a few “Let’s Go Oak-Land” chants as closer Mason Miller blitzed 101 mile-per-hour fastballs to proceed another P.A. rendition of “Celebration.”

I can think of a million worse ways to spend two-and-a-half hours on a May afternoon.

But thanks to years of fan neglect and an ownership strategy that blatantly rips off the 1989 classic movie Major League, the game was only played in front of a crowd of hundreds (laughably announced as 4,679, half of which seemed to be the kids who sang the national anthem).

In all, the paid attendance for the three-game series was 12,083.

Woof.

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Now, I’m in no way advocating giving A’s owner John Fisher — the real-life, far-less-attractive Rachel Phelps (the team has wisely opted against a risqué cutout in the clubhouse) — a cent of your hard-earned money.

But, much like how we often have to separate art from the artist or the politician from the country, we have to ignore the soulless, vapid, and soporific owner of a group of players who might just be the opposite.

The A’s lost 112 games last year. They started this season with a woeful, everyone-saw-it-coming 1-7 start.

It might have been the best thing for them.

“We were all pressing — trying to do too much,” catcher Shea Langeliers told me. “Now we have kind of a looser grip on the steering wheel. We went to Detroit (1-7) and (decided) let’s just go out there, have fun, and relax. It helped us come together as a team. We’re having a good time.”

And anyone who hasn’t been scared away from this organization would be having a good time, too.

It makes sense. Of course, a bunch of young guys — a roster full of players being paid pennies compared to their peers — were pressing to start the season. They were trying to prove they were big league.

But now, the prevailing wisdom is clear: what’s the worst that can happen?

You can sense that devil-may-care attitude when the A’s play.

Over their last 25 games, the A’s have won 15, winning a series against the Rangers, Orioles, and Tigers, and splitting a four-game set in the Bronx with the Yankees. (I’m sure that was a sad outcome for Fisher, whose favorite player is Aaron Judge.)

As such, I’ve been A’s curious for a few weeks now. And with the Giants so far trotting out another limp, lifeless product, I, unlike Fisher, am keen to invest in the Oakland Nine.

Because not only is this team playing good ball, but they seem to be scratching the surface.

The A’s offense has been jump-started by the red-hot play of Nevin, Toro, and centerfielder JJ Bleday as of late. They’re classic A’s “misfit toys,” making the most of their opportunities.

Surely, that trio won’t stay hot forever, but it’d be foolish to think they haven’t proven they’re everyday big leaguers.

And what happens when the young players expected to lead the A’s this season — Langeliers, outfielder Lawrence Butler, and currently injured second baseman Zack Gelof — find their swings at the plate?

There are hints that Langeliers, for one, is on the verge of a breakthrough.

The A’s catcher — the only worthwhile piece of the team’s last fire sale of All-Star talent — is barreling the ball as frequently as Juan Soto this season. It’s only a matter of time before those hard-hit balls start avoiding gloves and carrying walls.

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All this to say that there’s a real chance the A’s offense of late might be the A’s offense we should expect for the rest of the season. And seeing as that is rightly perceived as the team’s weakness, it’s an encouraging development.

There’s no question about the bullpen. With the indomitable combination of South Bay flamethrower Lucas Erceg and Miller — there’s no better eighth- and ninth-inning pair in the game — the A’s are playing commissioner Rob Manfred’s ideal form of baseball: a seven-inning game.

And this A’s rotation is underrated, pairing big-time stuff (J.P. Sears, Joe Boyle) with valuable experience (Paul Blackburn, Alex Wood, Stripling).

In all, you have a team that can punch well above its weight. And those are the kind of teams I like to watch.

“We’re definitely focused on continuing in this direction,” manager Mark Kotsay said Wednesday. “(It’s) about the details of the game and the fundamentals. We might have given away free bases today — it was a bit of a rough defensive game — but when we had to make plays, we made plays.

Those types of plays are being made, and we’re getting the pitching from the starters to the bullpen. And when those things start to align, and the offense is scoring enough runs …”

Let me finish for you, Mark: It creates a product worth watching.

But we return to the elephant in the room. And no, I’m not referencing Stomper.

If this is the start of another A’s cycle — if a wave of wins is building, the East Bay won’t be able to ride it.

No, this will be Sacramento’s team next season. (Or will it be? The A’s won’t be claiming the city.)

At some point, maybe, it will be Las Vegas’. We’ll see.

It would be great if there was a Major League-like ending, where the A’s get hot, stay hot, and play so well that they keep the team in the Coliseum for years to come.

Sadly, this movie will have a different ending.

But that doesn’t mean it won’t be worth watching in the interim.

By The Associated Press

Twenty horses stampeding 1 1/4 miles around Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May. The Kentucky Derby turns 150 years old this year, extending its run as America’s longest continuously held sporting event.

The 2-minute race features a dash out of the starting gate, especially for the horses breaking from posts 15-20 whose jockeys want to angle them in to save ground. There’s a scramble for positioning going into the first turn before the field stretches out on the backside. The pace picks up heading into the final turn before the thrilling run through the stretch with 150,000 fans cheering.

When is the Derby post time?

6:57 p.m. Eastern on Saturday.

What’s the forecast?

Saturday’s forecast is for 79 degrees (26 Celsius) with a 52% chance of rain. The last sloppy track for the Derby was in 2019, when Country House was declared the winner after a 22-minute review by the stewards. Maximum Security crossed the line first, but was disqualified for interference. The Churchill dirt strip has been listed as fast for the last four Derbies.

How to watch

Coverage begins Friday at 1 p.m. Eastern with five hours of racing from Churchill Downs, capped by the Kentucky Oaks for 3-year-old fillies (USA Network, streaming on Peacock).

Derby Day coverage on Saturday begins at noon with the undercard races on USA Network and Peacock. At 2:30 p.m., coverage shifts to NBC and Peacock. NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream live coverage to subscribers. NBC Sports Audio (channel 85 on SiriusXM radio and the SiriusXM app) will begin coverage at 10 a.m. Telemundo Deportes will have Derby coverage Saturday starting at 6:30 p.m. on Universo, and streaming on TelemundoDeportes.com and the Telemundo app.

What to watch

A pre-race tradition is the walkover, when the horses are led from the stable area to the paddock where they are saddled for the race. Some are cool and calm, others get fractious and sweaty. Accompanying them are usually the grooms, trainers and owners. The riders emerge from the jockeys’ room and walk to the paddock to meet their mounts.

Besides the horses, check out the crowd decked out in huge hats and fascinators, floral-print dresses and seersucker suits that make the Derby the world’s most fashionable sporting event.

Retired NFL quarterback Tom Brady will be among the celebrities in attendance. He is friends with Mike Repole, who owns Fierceness. Retired Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth co-owns Dornach (say DOOR-nack), a long shot named for a golf club in Scotland.

Who are the favorites?

Fierceness is the 5-2 morning-line favorite. Trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by John Velazquez, the bay colt will break from the No. 17 post, which has never produced a Derby winner. Fierceness won the Florida Derby by 13 1/2 lengths in his last race.

Sierra Leone is the early second choice at 3-1. The dark bay/brown colt cost $2.3 million, making him the highest-priced runner in the full field of 20. He is trained by Chad Brown and ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, who are a combined 0 for 13 in the Derby.

Catching Freedom is the early third choice at 8-1. The bay colt is trained by Louisville native Brad Cox and ridden by Flavien Prat.

The co-fourth choices at 10-1 are Just a Touch and Forever Young. Cox also trains Just a Touch, who is co-owned by Sheikh Fahad Al Thani of Qatar. The bay colt did not race at age 2, and neither did his sire Justify, who won the Triple Crown in 2018.

Forever Young is one of two Japanese horses in the field. The bay colt is undefeated in five career starts, including the UAE Derby, but winners of that race are 0 for 19 in the Derby.

What does the winner get?

Churchill Downs increased the total purse for the 150th Derby to $5 million, with the winning owner earning $1.3 million and a gold trophy. Second place is worth $1 million, with payouts down to fifth place. The winning horse is draped in a hand-sewn blanket of red roses. The winning jockey typically earns 10% of the purse and a smaller trophy.

OAKLAND – The Ballers’ stay at Raimondi Park became official Tuesday when the Oakland City Council unanimously approved an agreement for their use of the field.

In exchange, the B’s will invest $1.6 million to upgrade the park’s facilities – including a new video scoreboard and a repaired playground – so they are suitable for professional baseball games and the crowds of thousands they may draw.

“While this is about sports, it’s also not just about sports – it’s about how working together can uplift a community,” Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan said ahead of Tuesday’s vote.

“It’s been a real team effort between the Ballers and the city of Oakland to make this happen and we couldn’t be more excited,” Paul Freedman, co-founder of the B’s, told the Bay Area News Group on Wednesday.

Raimondi Park had been under construction for the last several months, but prior to Tuesday’s vote, the team was limited to working on the field, itself. Now, the team can build up the infrastructure around the field, a list that includes the scoreboard, bleachers, dugouts, playground and more. Freedman expressed confidence that the infrastructure will be completed prior to the team’s home opener on June 4.

The approval of the Ballers’ plan comes less than a month after the A’s announced that they will play in Sacramento from 2025 to 2027 following the expiration of their lease at the end of this season, ending the team’s 57-year tenure in Oakland.

With Raimondi Park now officially the Ballers’ home, the team outlined some plans for the park ahead of its first season and released stadium renderings Wednesday.

A rendering of the Oakland Ballers’ planned ballpark at Raimondi Park in Oakland. (Courtesy of Oakland Ballers) 

The park will have a capacity of 4,000 seats, not including the grass beyond the outfield fences. Originally, the seated capacity was around 200. The bleachers are temporary, set to be put up in May and taken down after the season. The Ballers are partnering with InProduction, a company that specializes in temporary seating.

Regarding transportation, the team’s goal for its first season is to ensure that 25% of fans arrive using means other than a car. To that end, the Ballers will provide a shuttle from the West Oakland BART station to Raimondi Park. The shuttle will run every 20 minutes, starting three hours prior to first pitch and ending 30 minutes after the game concludes. There are also several AC transit stops within a half mile of the ballpark.

Additionally, the team will provide a free bike and scooter valet near the ballpark. Local bike groups will lead bikers to and from the park. According to Freedman, the team is coordinating a bike caravan in cooperation with fans.

“It will be cool if the experience of going to a baseball game actually begins an hour earlier because you’re biking with a whole bunch of people down Telegraph Ave. ultimately on your way to Raimondi,” Freedman said. “We want to build these things into our culture as well.”

For fans who drive, there will be three attended parking lots, two of which will be under a roof, with more than 1,000 parking spaces, including one lot available for rideshare. Overflow parking will be available at the West Oakland BART station. Parking can be purchased ahead of games on the team’s website. In addition to private security, the team is partnering with the Oakland Police Department.

As far as food and beverages, Raimondi Park will feature a standard ballpark slate of burgers, fries, hot dogs, nachos, vegetarian options, soda, beer, wine and cocktails, among other choices. The Ballers plan to rotate food trucks as well.

On nights when the team is not using Raimondi Park, the field will be available to the community. Access to the field includes use of the video scoreboard, which is 31 feet by 19 feet can be reserved for movie nights. The playground near the ballpark has been repaired and updated.

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Starting Wednesday, the Ballers will pause ticket sales as they migrate to a new ticketing system that the team says will decrease fees. Beginning on May 6, fans can purchase single-game tickets ahead of games for $15 (bargain bleachers), $20 (general admission), $25 (reserved bleachers) or $30 (premium reserved seats) (including fees). For fans who purchase tickets on gameday, prices will be $18 (bargain bleachers), $23 (general admission), $28 (reserved bleachers) and $33 (premium reserved seats) (including fees).

Raimondi Parki will have a pair of gates on 18th Street and 20th Street Both gates will open one hour before first pitch. For those who purchased reserved seats, the 20th Street gate will open an hour and a half before first pitch.

The Ballers begin their inaugural season on May 21, but they open the campaign with a 12-game road trip and will not play their first game at home until June 4 when they host the Yolo High Wheelers, who will also be playing their inaugural season in the Pioneer League.

The Ballers, originally slated to play at Laney College until plans fell through, will play 48 home games this season. They planned to play one game at the Oakland Coliseum in late June, but the A’s blocked the agreement.

Last night, Oakland City Council unanimously voted to approve our $1.6M plan to reactivate our city’s historic Raimondi Park.

We're so grateful to the residents of Prescott and West Oakland, the City of Oakland, the fans of baseball and all who believe in the Town for your… pic.twitter.com/tK4uklZFob

— Oakland Ballers (@OaklandBallers) May 1, 2024

SANTA CLARA — Two years after Brock Purdy wore No. 14 in the 49ers’ rookie camp, Ricky Pearsall will do the same next week.

“That’s what they assigned to me for camp, so we’re going to rock out with it,” Pearsall said Wednesday morning on 95.7 The Game. “We’re going to make it look good.

“They say that number has no aura but I’m going to put some aura in it.”

History lesson: No. 14 did have a positive aura, back in the day.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Y.A. Tittle wore No. 14 from 1952-60, and Ray Wersching donned it as the 49ers’ kicker on their first two Super Bowl-winning teams.

Portrait of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Y.A. Tittle in uniform and holding a football, 1950s. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) 

Purdy wore No. 14 before switching to No. 13 upon making the season-opening roster in 2022, eventually seizing the starting quarterback role. By the way, Purdy’s jersey was the NFL’s 13th-best-selling jersey over the first three months of last season, according to the NFL Players Association.

Sam Darnold wore No. 14 last season as Purdy’s backup. Darnold left in free agency to join the Minnesota Vikings, who drafted J.J. McCarthy at 10th overall in last week’s NFL Draft.

One of the 49ers’ biggest draft busts wore No. 14 in his brief career: quarterback Jim Druckenmiller, their 1997 first-round pick. Among others assigned No. 14 in recent years include Max McCaffrey, Bill Musgrave, J.T. O’Sullivan, Kassim Osgood, Tom Owen, Mohamed Sanu, Jerome Simpson, Vinny Sutherland, and Jeff Wilkins.

Drafted at No. 31 overall in Thursday’s first round, Pearsall wore No. 1 at Florida the past two seasons, and No. 19 at Arizona State from 2019-21. (Sidebar: Deebo Samuel switched from No. 19 to No. 1 for this coming season.)

Pearsall flew into Santa Clara last Friday for a one-day tour of the facility. “I’m antsy. I’m ready to go,” Pearsall added on 95.7 The Game’s “Morning Roast” with Bonta Hill and Joe Shasky.

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Pearsall’s initial locker is near the far corner from the entry doors, and it flanks long snapper Taybor Pepper while offensive mainstays George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey are just to Pearsall’s right.

Here are the newcomers’ jersey numbers and incumbents’ new numbers (*undrafted rookie whose signing has yet to be officially announced by the team):

1: Wide receiver Deebo Samuel

*4: Quarterback Tanner Mordecai

5: Quarterback Josh Dobbs

14: Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall

19: Wide receiver Trent Taylor

22: Cornerback Isaac Yiadom

26: Cornerback Chase Lucas

32: Running back Patrick Taylor

33: Cornerback Rock Ya-Sin

36: Linebacker Curtis Robinson

*38: Running back Cody Schrader

38: Cornerback Kemon Hall

43: Safety Malik Mustapha

47: Linebacker Zeke Taylor

48: Linebacker Tatum Bethune

49: Running back Isaac Guerendo

*49: Safety Jaylen Mahoney

56: Defensive end Leonard Floyd

59: Linebacker De’Vondre Campbell

60: Offensive tackle Sebastian Gutierrez

62: Offensive lineman Jarrett Kingston

64: Defensive end Raymond Johnson

*66: Offensive lineman Drake Nugent

*66: Defensive tackle Evan Anderson

67: Offensive tackle Isaac Alarcon

67: Defensive end Sam Okuayinonu

*69: Offensive lineman Briason Mays

75: Offensive tackle Brandon Parker

77: Offensive lineman Dominick Puni

82: Tight end Eric Saubert

83: Wide receiver Jacob Cowing

*84: Wide receiver Terique Owens

*89: Tight end Mason Pline

91: Defensive end Earnest Brown

92: Defensive tackle Jordan Elliott

94: Defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos

99: Defensive tackle Maliek Collins

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s is facing a new onslaught of  allegations that he’s an ego-driven star who’s difficult to work with, with a report describing how the muscle-bound former pro wrestler is often hours late to movie sets and fan events and needs to exercise “control” over others around him.

The new report in The Wrap describes how Johnson’s chronic tardiness is nothing new in his career. His alleged tendency to keep co-stars and crew members waiting for up to eight hours on his latest film, “Red One,” also has turned the Christmas-themed action-comedy into a “massive budgetary misadventure” with a budget ballooning to more than $250 million, the report also said.

The Wrap said insider accounts of the Hayward native’s tardiness and “odd personal demands” over the years has undercut the positive public persona he has spent two decades nurturing in Hollywood. By the way, The Wrap said that one of those demands, which Johnson himself alluded to in a 2021 Esquire interview, involves expectations that his assistants will dispose of bottles that he urinates in, so that he doesn’t have to interrupt his storied, three-hour workout routines.

The Wrap reported that the movie star and entrepreneur has long advocated for himself as “the hardest worker in the room,” but he actually has “developed a reputation in the industry for his lateness and lack of professionalism on set,” according to multiple insiders.

Said one insider on the set of “Red One”: “The only thing Dwayne was consistent at was being chronically late.”

With regard to “Red One” production, a spokesperson for the studio, Amazon MGM, denied to The Wrap that there were any issues caused by Johnson being late, saying that he’s been an “incredible” partner in the project

But The Wrap also reported that Johnson’s tardiness has created tensions with co-stars, most famously with Vin Diesel when they worked together on the “Fast & Furious” franchise, as People and Page Six also said in reports, going back to 2016.  Regarding the feud between the two action stars, an insider told People: “Vin was having problems with The Rock because The Rock keeps showing up late for production. … Sometimes he doesn’t show up at all, and he’s delaying the production.”

Johnson also clashed with Ryan Reynolds when they worked together on the 2020 Netflix film “Red Notice,” leading to a “big fight” and Johnson storming off set, The Wrap reported. TMZ similarly reported that Johnson’s repeated tardiness aggravated Reynolds but said the two actors were able to patch things up and “the shoot continued without further issue.”

But Johnson was difficult in other ways on the set of “Red Notice,” which was filmed during the pandemic in 2020, according to The Wrap.

Insiders accused Johnson of breaking strict quarantine rules. While the crew had to be sequestered during production, Johnson frequently flew home on his private jet, with The Wrap quoting one crew member who alleged:  “He got to host family and friends for a BBQ, and wound up getting COVID anyway. Most selfish thing I’ve ever seen an actor do.”

The reasons behind Johnson’s perpetual lateness seem to stem from his refusal to work a full shooting day, despite factoring in his three-hour daily workout routine, The Wrap reported. One studio insider said the actor doesn’t want to work more than a four- or five-hour day, while another said, “It’s a control thing.”

The Wrap added that Johnson’s tardiness “has been an issue for a number of years,” also citing his behavior on the HBO football series “Ballers,” which ran from 2015 to 2019.

“They rent a location they can shoot as much as they can of other actors while they wait for him to decide if he’s coming to set,” a producer who visited the set told The Wrap. A former production assistant added: “He was regularly three to four hours late to set. Keeping (more than 100) crew members waiting for no reason.” According to a third insider, in March of 2017 Johnson was six hours late to the “Ballers” set.

On the set of the 2018 film “Rampage,” Johnson was late an average of four to five hours a day, with one costar keeping records of his tardiness, two insiders told The Wrap.

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Johnson’s reported tardiness extends to other commitments as well, The Wrap reported. Earlier this month, he was three hours late arriving ahead of his main event match at WrestleMania 40, two insiders told TheWrap. For WWE World, a WWE fan event in Philadelphia leading up to WrestleMania 40, Johnson showed up two hours behind schedule, drawing boos from the crowd and criticism from the local Philadelphia press, The Wrap also reported.

These accounts of Johnson being “difficult” come after two of the star’s last two blockbusters — “Skyscraper” in 2018 and the DC comic book adaptation, “Black Adam” last year — underperformed critically and commercially.

Meanwhile, Johnson has been dogged by other controversies over the past year, which have drawn social media criticism that he’s arrogant, elitist, hypocritical or engaging in election-year political opportunism.

In August, Johnson and Oprah Winfrey faced massive backlash for the way they begged their fans to contribute to a fund to support Maui residents who lost their homes in deadly wildfires. People were angry that Johnson, who is worth an estimated $800 million, and his even richer friend didn’t seem to be upholding their social responsibilities. In a video shot “poolside,” Johnson acknowledged public anger and said, “I could have been better, and next time, I will be better,” Vanity Fair reported.

Then, early last month, Johnson ignited speculation that he was turning to the right politically when he went on Fox News and employed “right-signaling” language to say that he wouldn’t publicly endorse Joe Biden for president this year, as he had in 2020, Vanity Fair also reported.

Johnson has always “walked a narrow line” when it comes to politics, Vanity Fair said, while he has long been suspected of Republican leanings and has perhaps harbored political ambitions himself. The Rock told Fox News that he regretted endorsing anyone because he thought that he, with his “level of influence,” sowed division in America. He said he’d keep his presidential choice to himself this year, while also complaining that he was “really bugged” about today’s “cancel culture, work culture.”