Latest news with #CarlinStiehl
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
UCLA crushes San Diego State for second win in NCAA regional tournament
UCLA third baseman Jordan Woolery, fielding the ball during a game Friday, had a home run, triple and five RBIs in a victory over San Diego State on Saturday. (Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times) The crack of the ball off Jordan Woolery's bat in the first inning sent a sharp, resounding message — the Bruins weren't going to let their opponent dictate the tone this time. Woolery, UCLA's RBI leader, went two for three with a three-run homer, a triple and five RBIs to lead the Bruins to a 10-0, six-inning shutout over San Diego State in Game 2 of the Los Angeles Regional on Saturday afternoon. Advertisement The No. 9 Bruins (51-10) cruised into Game 6 of the regional, where they'll have a chance to clinch a spot in the Super Regionals with one more win. Their opponent has yet to be determined for Sunday's 4:30 p.m. PDT first pitch. It was a complete role reversal. Just a day after UCLA's bats stayed quiet through the first four innings in an eventual victory over UC Santa Barbara, the Bruins opened their second regional matchup with intent. On the first pitch, Jessica Clements ripped a leadoff double. One pitch later, Savannah Pola dropped down a bunt and, spotting an uncovered second base, the speedy second baseman turned it into a heads-up double. With runners in scoring position, Jordan Woolery did what's become second nature — she brought them home, and did so with a bang. Advertisement Read more: UCLA softball opens NCAA regional with dominant win over UC Santa Barbara Staying patient in the box, Woolery worked the count full, waiting for a pitch she could drive. She then clobbered a high fly ball that just cleared the glove of San Diego State center fielder Julie Holcomb, sailing over the wall for a three-run homer. A candidate for national player of the year, Woolery is one of UCLA's most consistent threats near the top of the lineup. She entered the regional ranked fifth in the nation with 75 RBIs — the second-highest single-season mark in program history. Woolery added another RBI later, legging out a triple after a diving attempt by the Aztecs' right fielder missed and the ball skipped past, allowing Clements to score. The hit brought her total to six RBIs for the weekend. Advertisement In an encore to her heroics at the plate and dominance in relief the night before, Kaitlyn Terry took the mound with poise and command. The left-hander turned in a smooth outing, giving up only two hits and one walk while striking out five. Her only trouble came in the bottom of the third. A walk, an infield single and a fielding error loaded the bases, giving San Diego State a prime chance to take the lead. But Terry stayed composed. After recording two outs, Terry dug in for a seven-pitch battle with Angie Yellen — and won, inducing a routine groundout to end the inning and preserve the Bruins' lead. From there, she settled in and found her rhythm, retiring nine straight batters and striking out three, earning the complete-game shutout victory. Advertisement A six-run rally in the sixth inning sealed the game via the run rule. Kaniya Bragg opened the onslaught with a two-run double, followed by an RBI single to right field from Terry. Then, just like the night before, Megan Grant delivered the finishing blow — a two-run triple that slammed high off the center-field wall, narrowly missing a three-run homer. With the win, the Bruins notched back-to-back mercy-rule victories — their 27th of the season, extending a program record. Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Meet the Chargers content team winning the schedule release 'Super Bowl'
Megan Julian, Chargers senior director of digital and social media, has played an integral part in helping the team become the undisputed champions of NFL schedule release day. (Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times) Reposts flood in. Likes climb faster than administrators can count. Each spring, the Chargers know how to run up this score. When it comes to what senior director of production Tyler Pino calls the 'content Super Bowl,' the Chargers are multi-time season NFL schedule release champions. They broke the internet with popular anime videos in 2022 and 2023. A Sims 2 theme in 2024 kept online sleuths laughing for weeks at inside jokes. Advertisement The schedule reveal video posted Wednesday in the pixelated style of Minecraft surpassed one million views on X, formerly known as Twitter, in 45 minutes, and four million in three hours, confirming the Chargers' social media dynasty. The next closest NFL team schedule video was viewed roughly 1.5 million times during that same span. The Chargers set the bar among a throwback action figure commercial , a Mario Kart parody and an ad for a prescription drug . They had some brief competition when the Indianapolis Colts also dropped a Minecraft-themed video only to delete it roughly an hour later. The Jets even poked fun at the unexpected twin videos. Each year's creative videos have suddenly become more notable than the schedules they promote. But the Chargers' content team tries to stay focused on the process of winning fans over one like, lower-case letter and laugh at a time. Advertisement 'I don't think our goal is to be the best on the internet,' said Megan Julian, Chargers senior director of digital and social media, 'but our goal is to build generational fandom on the internet.' Read more: Chargers will travel more miles than any other team in the NFL this season Known for their creativity and casual humor, the Chargers were named the NFL's best Twitter account by Complex in 2019, 2022 and 2023. When Julian joined the Chargers in 2018, she was the only person behind the social media accounts. The franchise had just returned to L.A., where a whole generation had grown up without the NFL. Fans were already invested in different teams. Instead of trying to change an established fan's mind, the content team aimed to cultivate new ones by reaching different, younger audiences that will fill SoFi Stadium for generations. Allie Raymond, left, and Megan Julian of the Chargers' social media team, walk on the practice field during rookie minicamp at the team's headquarters in El Segundo. (Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times) Julian made the Chargers' social media accounts feel like entering a group chat. The team, which includes director of organic social media Allie Raymond; Jaemin Cho, the senior vertical video coordinator; Lorren Walker, programming manager for organic social media; and coordinator Hannah Johnson, post in lower-case text in short, sharp bursts. They never overexplain the joke. Advertisement Here, among friends, it's already known. "You're talking with the fans,' Julian said. 'Not at them.' Occasionally commenters complain about the lower case letters or can't keep up with the newest slang. The schedule release videos often include pointed jokes toward opposing players or teams. Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson, who controversially sat out for one play last year because he was tired, ran out of gas in a go-kart race in this year's video. But the unique tone has built a distinct brand for an organization that is fighting for any way to stand out in a crowded L.A. market. "We're creative, and we think a little bit off kilter,' said David Bretto, the director of creative video. 'But we do that because we're allowed to do that, and the organization sees the success." A member of the Chargers' content team films players taking part in rookie minicamp at the team's headquarters in El Segundo on May 9. (Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times) The content team's reputation precedes them. When videographers checked bags at the NFL combine, security guards asked what they were cooking for the schedule release. Incoming rookies asked who is behind the keys of the social media accounts that go viral with the latest TikTok trends. Advertisement Inspired by the energy of young, charismatic stars on the 2018 team including Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Derwin James Jr., Julian started to craft a social media persona that matched the on-field personnel. For the franchise's current era, showing the players' personalities remains at the forefront. Some players welcome the sight of the social media team holding a tiny microphone tethered to their phones. Linebacker Daiyan Henley is as ubiquitous on the Chargers' TikTok account as the team's logo. A more reserved personality such as Justin Herbert still shines through in videos that showcase the star quarterback's humble charm. Highlight videos of Herbert avoiding their cameras still turn into internet gold because while this is a football team, football is only a fraction of the franchise's digital brand. 'There are only 20 days a year that we actually play the sport,' said Jason Levine, Chargers senior vice president of brand, creative and content. 'Then the other 345, we're just entertaining people.' Allie Raymond records players and coaches taking part in Chargers rookie minicamp on May 9. (Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times) The biggest internet stage is the schedule release. The Seattle Seahawks sparked a revolution in 2016 with a cupcake-themed video in which special ingredients representing each city of their opponents were stirred into a batter. Some teams hire production companies and outside contractors to prepare for the big reveal. This season, NBA legend Allen Iverson and actress Brenda Song made cameos for the Buffalo Bills and the Rams, respectively. Advertisement But Julian proudly notes that all of the Chargers' videos have been produced in-house. The Chargers' first major schedule release video came in 2019 when they represented each opponent with stock footage. A dog dressed in a lion's mane. A person in a bear suit on a picnic. Both games against the AFC West rivals Kansas City Chiefs were represented by awkward chefs. The 73-second collection of clips was so weird it somehow worked. Read more: Inside the 2025 NFL schedule: 13 things to know about this season's games The day before it dropped, Julian and Bretto nearly scrapped the project all together. Advertisement 'To me, schedule release kind of feels like you're on a cliff,' Bretto said. 'You put all this work to get to the top of this mountain, and at the very end, there's nothing to do but just jump. You don't know how the audience is going to react.' Just count the tens of thousands of likes. The reception is clear. Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
