Monthly Archives: August 2017

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts text messaged Clayton Kershaw on Thursday asking for an update on the left-handers rehabilitation from a lower back strain.

Roberts was waiting to hear back when he met with the media before his team faced the Atlanta Braves in a series finale at SunTrust Park. Even so, Roberts reported only progress for Kershaw, who he said was pushing to throw off a mound soon.

Hes more on the aggressive side, which is no surprise to any of us, Roberts said. Were trying to temper that, a little bit.

When you hear Clayton wanting to do more, and be more aggressive, thats a good thing.

Kershaw injured his back during a game at Dodger Stadium on July 23. The team has not announced a timetable for his return, although the initial prognosis was a four-to-six week absence. An examination of his back showed no damage to the disk he herniated last summer, the team has said.

The Dodgers do not want Kershaw to rush back and risk re-injury, as he did while trying to come back in 2016. Roberts said the team had not set a date for Kershaw to pitch off a mound again. Kershaw started to play catch only five days after the initial injury. He is expected to meet the team on Tuesday in Phoenix.

Im sure Ill know more in the next day or two, Roberts said. But the good thing is he feels physically that he can do more.

Cingrani arrives

After the Dodgers acquired left-handed reliever Tony Cingrani from Cincinnati on Monday, general manager Farhan Zaidi mentioned how Cingrani would benefit from altering his approach. Cingrani had posted a 5.40 earned-run average for the Reds, despite striking out 24.2% of the batters he faced.

In informal conversations before Thursday, when Cingrani was activated, Dodgers officials relayed their hope that Cingrani would use his slider more. He had thrown his fastball 88.4% of the time this season, according to FanGraphs. The slider clocked in at 2.4%.

Im very open to most things, Cingrani said. Im not, like, set in my ways by any means. I definitely am hardheaded, but when the point is smart and brought up to you in a convincing way, and youre like Yep, that works, and it sounds right, you cant disregard that. Youve got to take it.

McCarthy slowed

Brandon McCarthy has not pitched for the Dodgers since July 20. On the 10-day disabled list because of blisters on his right hand, McCarthy will try to synchronize the upper and lower halves of his delivery, Roberts said.

McCarthy experienced mechanical glitches during his last four starts and struggled to command his pitches.

In talking to our medical staff, physically hes not synced up, Roberts said. And he feels that theres still some things mechanically, and physically, that he needs to work through to give himself the best chance to have success in a major-league game.

There is no timetable for his return, Roberts said.

Short hops

To make room on the 40-man roster for Cingrani, the Dodgers optioned pitcher Brock Stewart to triple-A Oklahoma City. Adrian Gonzalez was expected to begin a rehab assignment with Oklahoma City on either Thursday or Friday. Roberts was not interested in discussing President Donald Trumps nomination of former Dodgers co-owner Jamie McCourt as the ambassador to France. Yu Darvish took a flight to New York on Thursday afternoon. He will make his Dodgers debut there on Friday against the Mets.

andy.mccullough@latimes.com

Twitter: @McCulloughTimes

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Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw making progress, pushing to pitch again soon - Los Angeles Times

The FC crew discuss Riyad Mahrez's performance at Leicester last season and weigh in on a potential move to Roma.

Roma sporting director Monchi has said there has been no further movement in the club's attempts to sign Leicester playmaker Riyad Mahrez.

The Giallorossi are the only club to have made a bid for Algeria international Mahrez, who submitted a transfer request earlier this summer.

Leicester manager Craig Shakespeare has said the 26-year-old would prefer to stay in England, and Monchi told a news conference: "The situation with Mahrez has not changed.

"I would like to say a couple of things, though. A club like Roma, who can boast the calibre of players like [Lorenzo] Pellegrini, [Kevin] Strootman, [Radja] Nainggolan, [Edin] Dzeko, [Federico] Fazio or [Aleksandar] Kolarov, cannot think that their overall performance is going to depend on the arrival of just one specific right-winger.

"The guarantee comes from the route you are on and the group you have.

"The second message I wanted to give is that I don't know if Mahrez or somebody else will come but, whoever arrives, he will be a big player who is able to add quality to an already magnificent squad."

He said Roma would "prefer a left-footer, but it is the player's profile which counts," adding: "For the way the team play -- where the wide players tend to come inside -- a left-footer would be better, but it could also be a right-footer with natural tendencies to come inside.

"All the names that have been mentioned are interesting players and potential Roma targets, but the important thing is that I keep a certain degree of discretion in my work so I don't create confusion."

The sporting director also gave details of the players he expected to leave before the close of the window, saying: "We are looking for solutions for [Norbert] Gyomber, [William] Vainqueur, [Leandro] Castan and [Juan] Iturbe.

"We are close to a solution in some cases, whereas we are quite far away in others -- but there is still a month left."

Ben Gladwell reports on Serie A, the Italian national team and the Bundesliga for ESPN FC, UEFA and the Press Association. @UEFAcomBenG.

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No Roma progress in bid to sign Leicester City's Riyad Mahrez - Monchi - ESPN FC

With about a month left in the traditional summer season, road construction crews have completed or made significant progress on a number of projects throughout Emmet and Charlevoix counties. The following is a look at where those long-term projects stand and what is yet to come.

Michigan Department of Transportation

The Michigan Department of Transportation has already completed a few significant projects in repaving a section of M-119 east of Harbor Springs and overhaul work on Memorial Bridge in Charlevoix this past spring. However, there is one bigger project that still has several weeks to go, and one more that will be starting just after Labor Day.

U.S. 31 north of Pellston: Since early April, crews have been working on a major reconstruction project on a 4.2-mile stretch of U.S. 31 between Douglas Lake Road on the north side of Pellston to Levering Road. The $5 million project includes realigning a curve south of Ball Road, excavating several feet of unstable subsurface soils, other roadbed stabilization work and culvert replacement.

Portions of the project have required a detour around the affected area.

Michigan Department of Transportation spokesman James Lake said this week that the project remains on track for its originally estimated completion date in late October.

Were still on schedule, having wrapped up the northern and southern sections of this project, and moving on to the middle section where were replacing some culverts. We just started work on the last large box culvert, then well move on to some remaining road base work and then initial paving. By the end of the month we plan to lift the detour and maintain traffic with a single-lane closure under flag control for the remainder of the project, scheduled to be complete by the end of October, Lake said.

U.S. 131 in southern Emmet County: An earlier announced project to resurface a 4.2-mile section of U.S. 131 from Lears Road to Bear River Road is still expected to begin shortly after Labor Day.

Lake said the $970,000 project will involve grinding off and replacing the top layer of asphalt. The project will require single-lane closures and is expected to be completed by Oct. 20.

M-75 North in Charlevoix County: Earlier this summer Michigan Department of Transportation crews spent about two weeks doing maintenance work on M-75 North between Boyne City and the village of Walloon Lake. The work left some area motorists puzzled about the project and concerned about the plan for the road section going forward.

Lake explained that the maintenance work done is known as durapatching which is a hybrid of crack sealing and chip sealing. He said the process is primarily aimed at sealing the roadway and filling in some cracking and potholes.

Lake further explained: Its more durable than cold asphalt patching, but it is built up slightly higher than the surrounding roadway, as we need to taper it to the sound pavement. Thats the reason it feels somewhat bumpy to drivers. This is work done by an MDOT maintenance crew that performs this type of work all over Northern Michigan. Its just intended to keep the road held together for a few more years when we return with a resurfacing project on this stretch currently slated for 2019.

Petoskey

Emmet Street: The most significant street and infrastructure project in the city of Petoskey this year has been taking place for about the past two months on a three-block section of Emmet Street between Washington and State streets. The project involves complete replacement of water, sewer and storm sewer, infrastructure, placing electrical and cable lines underground, street and sidewalk reconstruction, and streetscaping. Around the Fourth of July crews finished work on most of the southern portion of the project and began work on the northern half.

On Wednesday, city public works director Mike Robbins said as of today, Friday, crews are expected to wrap up the majority of the underground infrastructure work involved. He said next week crews will start placing gravel and bringing the street up to grade. After that concrete crews will move in and begin pouring curbs and sidewalks.

He said weather permitting, crews could begin paving the first course on the north section by the end of the month. He said the project is still on track to be completely wrapped up by mid-September.

Gas line work: Although not a city project, Robbins also highlighted an ongoing a DTE Energy natural gas pipeline extension project that will have some impact on neighborhood traffic in the coming weeks.

Robbins said on Wednesday crews began working on Kalamazoo Avenue. They will then move down Grove Street to Waukazoo, and then eventually from Waukazoo to Beach Street. Robbins said the city has asked the crews to limit traffic restrictions related to the work to one block at a time to keep traffic impacts to a minimum.

Emmet County

Emmet County Road Commission Engineer-Manager Brian Gutowski said the road commission is having a record year for township-funded road projects with more than $3 million in work taking place.

Ongoing Emmet County Road Commission projects include:

Atkins Road from Cedar Valley Road eastward for approximately 0.65 mile in Bear Creek Township. This is a reconstruction of the road. The road has temporary closures. The project is expected to be completed sometime next week. This is a township-funded project.

Mackinaw Highway from U.S. 31 to Trails End Road for 2.2 miles in Wawatam Township. This is a total reconstruction and also has temporary closures. This project just started on Monday of this week. The work is expected to be completed by Sept. 15. This project is funded through the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians with Federal Highway Administration - Bureau of Indian Affairs funds.

Osborne Road from State Road westward for 1 mile in Readmond Township. The road is a gravel road and is being widened in preparation for future paving. This is a township-funded project and is expected to be completed toward the end of September.

Asphalt wedging on various roads in Carp Lake Township, Bliss Township, Cross Village Township, Center Township and McKinley Township. These are township-funded projects.

Projects still to be started this year are as follows:

Townline Road from Middle Village Road then south for 0.91 mile in Friendship Township. This is an asphalt overlay project and funded by the township.

Beacon Hill Road from Stutsmanville Road then south for 0.09 mile in Friendship Township. This is an asphalt overlay project and funded by the township.

Channel Road from Pickerel Lake Road to the Minnehaha Creek for 1 mile in Springvale Township. This is a reconstruction project and funded by the township. There will be lane closures during the project. The work is expected to begin before the end of August and be completed by the end of September.

Maxwell Road over Minnehaha Creek for culvert replacement. Crews will be replacing 2 3-foot culverts and installing a 14-foot culvert. This project is slated to begin the week of Aug. 14 and be completed by Aug. 24. This section of road will be closed during the project which is being funded through the Tip of the Mitt watershed with U.S. Fish and Wildlife and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation funds to improve fish passage in the creek.

Charlevoix County

The most notable project for the Charlevoix County Road Commission is one that wasnt planned. On May 6 a many-decades-old culvert on Shadow Trail collapsed as a vehicle drove over it and that road has been closed ever since. Last week, after many weeks of delays, crews began work to replace the culvert.

Road commission engineer Jim Vanek said work is progressing with crews driving sheet piling in to prepare for putting the new culvert in place. He said if the weather cooperates, crews are hoping to have the road back open before Labor Day. He said the weather can have a significant impact on the work because even a small amount of rain can raise the level of Fineout Creek. He noted that the rain that fell on the area early Wednesday raised the water level about a foot when crews arrived later in the morning.

Anderson Road: Vanek said work is expected to begin in the next two to three weeks on a project along boundary between Boyne City and Wilson Township. The project will involve reconstructing a 0.53-mile section of Anderson Road from Marshall Road nearly to Day Road.

The work will include reconstructing the road using a process known as crush and shape, in which the existing pavement is pulverized and used as the roadbed for the new pavement, removal of some poor subgrade soils and installing about 1,200 feet of storm sewer lines on each side of the road.

The contract calls for the project to be completed by Sept. 22.

Vanes said a few other smaller projects are also still on the schedule for yet this construction season. Perhaps the most notable will be a project to replace a culvert on Horton Bay Road in Bay Township right at the Lavender Hill Farm location.

The project is expected to start in mid-September and take about two weeks to complete. The road will be closed and traffic will be detoured to Pincherry and Church roads while the work is taking place.

Other upcoming project include repaving the Sumner Road entrance to Villa De Charlevoix, which is expected to start Sept. 8; a small paving job in the Springbrook Hill subdivision in Melrose Township; and some paving work on residential streets on the north side of U.S. 31 in Bay Shore, expected to take place in the next few weeks.

Charlevoix

Just this week The Charlevoix City Council approved a street resurfacing contract.

All of the work will involve pulverizing the existing asphalt, regrading the road and compacting that material, and then laying two, 1.5-inch layers of asphalt for a total of 3 inches of asphalt.

The work will take place on portions of Stover, Lake, Newman, Auld, Oak, Elm, Prospect, Burns, West Dixon, Coast Guard Drive, and two small sections of May Street.

These roads and/or sections of city roads were chosen due to their degraded condition and the amount of time and money the city has spent spent filling potholes and other repairs, city manager Mark Heydlauff said.

Boyne City

Boyne City officials took care of several road resurfacing projects earlier this summer. Those projects have all been completed and no other significant street projects are planned this year, city street superintendent Andy Kovolski said.

East Jordan

East Jordan City Administrator Tom Cannon said the city had no major street projects on the docket this year. He said a few minor projects will probably take place yet this year on some residential streets.

Harbor Springs

Harbor Springs City Manager Tom Richards said the city had no street projects planned this year. The only work taking place yet this year is some guard rail replacement on Pennsylvania Avenue and replacing a failing retaining wall near the intersection of Third and Judd streets. Work on the retaining wall project is expected to begin in September.

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Work in progress - Petoskey News-Review

The Pilgrim Progress will take place on Fridays through August and on Thanksgiving Day.

The Pilgrim Progress will take place at 6 p.m. on Fridays, Aug. 4, 11, 18 and 25 and at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 23.

This reenactment of the Pilgrims Sabbath procession to worship begins at the Mayflower Society House. Costumed participants, many of whom are from Plymouth and the surrounding communities, as well as visitors to the area, represent the 51 survivors of the first harsh winter of 1621. They will assemble to the beat of a drum. The Progress will proceed along the waterfront, up Leyden Street to the site of the first fort meetinghouse on Burial Hill, where the Pilgrims met for worship. The Psalms sung are taken from The Book of Psalms by Henry Ainsworth, which was used by the Pilgrims in Holland and in Plymouth.

The passages read by Elder Brewster are usually from Governor Bradfords Of Plymouth Plantation or other Pilgrim sources. After the brief worship service, the march will continue through town on Main Street, ending at the Mayflower Society House on North Street.

Plymouth Rock Foundation and The General Society of Mayflower Descendants sponsor Pilgrim Progress. The event is also funded in part by the Town of Plymouth Promotions Fund.

For more information contact pilgrimprogress1620@gmail.com.

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Pilgrim Progress, Fridays in August - Wicked Local Plymouth

As a casualty of extreme weather conditions, dead fish began to appear on the surface of Lake Elsinore and wash up on shore Thursday, Aug. 3, city officials said.

City employees deployed to beaches and on the water to collect and dispose of the carcasses as quickly as possible, City Manager Grant Yates said.

He described the dying fish as 98 percent shad minnows and carp. The cleanup activity is expected to continue Friday.

Yates said the fish kill was relatively minor compared to some of the episodes in previous years when large numbers of bass and other sport fish were affected.

The incident in progress now is similar to what happened in August 2015 when a die-off occurred during a series of days when temperatures reached well over 100 degrees.

Officials say the health of Southern Californias largest natural, freshwater lake remains fragile because of ongoing high heat and algae blooms. Lake overseers believe a sudden drop this week in the lakes oxygen levels resulting from heat, overcast skies and a thunder storm sparked the die-off.

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Fish die-off in progress at Lake Elsinore - Press-Enterprise