Noah Perkins

3 days ago | sandiegouniontribune.com | Noah Perkins

Nearly six decades after the fact, Point Loma resident John Block still shakes his head in disbelief when he tells the story. It was the night he, a second-year NBA player with the first-year expansion team San Diego Rockets, dunked on 11-time NBA champion and Hall of Famer Bill Russell, the centerpiece of the Boston Celtics’ dynasty in the late 1950s and 1960s. “Oh my gosh,” Block, 81, remembers saying to himself as he jogged back down the floor. “I just dunked on Bill Russell.

3 days ago | thecoastnews.com | Noah Perkins

ENCINITAS — In the runup to the CIF San Diego Section Division II boys lacrosse championship on May 17, San Dieguito Academy understood the assignment. Cut down on forced passes, back up their shots and move the ball more freely to break through the Westview defense that had stifled them in an earlier regular-season overtime loss. Repetitious film study and team-wide self-assessment were key.

4 days ago | thecoastnews.com | Noah Perkins

When Ben Cortez’s son was playing youth baseball in North County, he became alarmed by the statistics he saw regarding the growing number of arm injuries among younger players. “My son played at La Costa Canyon, a great program, but I kept seeing data from 2008 and ’09 showing kids getting Tommy John surgery way too early,” Cortez said.

5 days ago | thecoastnews.com | Noah Perkins

Carlsbad senior track and field athletes and twin sisters Morgan and Makenna Herbst may look alike, but on the track, they run very differently. “Even though they’re twins and people often have a hard time telling them apart, I never do — I can recognize them from the back, the front, their stride patterns, everything,” said Matt Large, head coach of the Lancers track and field team.

1 week ago | sandiegouniontribune.com | Noah Perkins

Jake Entrekin remembers himself as an eighth-grader: 5-foot-2, a little doughy and slow of foot —not exactly built like a future baseball star. The San Diego native liked watching YouTube videos of then-St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina throwing runners out. Heading into high school at Steele Canyon in Spring Valley, his goal was simple — have a shot at making the varsity team.