Huntington Beach Pier

When it comes to sports in the summer, there's two ways to experience them ? watching or doing. Fortunately, there are plenty of options for those who want to do either along the coast. For the participant, several leagues are offered in Huntington Beach at the City Gym and Pool and Edison and Murdy Community Centers in adult and youth volleyball; slo-pitch softball; boys' summer baseball; girls' summer softball; pee wee T-ball; and junior and flag football. Newport Beach and Costa Mesa offer leagues in softball, volleyball, lawn bowling, indoor volleyball, basketball and flag football.

When covering breaking news, landmarks help to tell readers where the event occurred. In many cases, the environment around the police tape is hard to distinguish from any other place in a city. In photographer Kent Treptow's picture of the scene of a car chase that ended with a suicide near the foot of the Huntington Beach Pier, at the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street, fewer landmarks would be better known. The Ruby's restaurant at the end of the pier and the lifeguard headquarters at its foot give readers a sense of exactly where the events took place.

An unidentified man shot and killed himself near the Huntington Beach Pier late Wednesday morning after leading police on a low-speed chase from Newport Beach, where he had shot another man, police said. The man who was shot in Newport Beach survived and was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana. Police did not name either man, but witnesses said the man shot in Newport was in his early 20s and was visiting from Lake Tahoe. The motive for the shooting was unknown Wednesday, but witnesses said the dispute was about a woman, possibly the estranged wife of the shooter.

As the OC Marathon draws nearer, runs are getting longer, but there's joy in the morning and in the company.EDITOR'S NOTE: This is part of a series following Newport Beach's Grant Dunning as he trains for his first marathon -- the Orange County Marathon on Jan. 8, 2006. Only two months to go before I cross the starting line of the Orange County Marathon with my daughter, Paige. Even though the training started more than three months ago, the time is flying by fast. During the past couple of weeks, I have completed several training runs while pushing my daughter in her adaptive stroller.

Brian Lewis has made a career out of doing what he loves most. Now, he is nearing the end of it. Lewis, a former Corona del Mar High and Orange Coast College standout, is currently in his 16th year on the Association of Volleyball Professionals tour, and, at 37, is one of the circuit's older players. But as the beach volleyball scene has evolved, catering to a different style of play, Lewis has found a way to change along with it. "As long as I'm still competitive, I'll continue to play," said Lewis, who has accumulated more than $1 million in winnings during his AVP run. "I don't like mediocrity."

Misty May-Treanor, a Newport Harbor High product, and partner Kerri Walsh continued their torrid pace in the Association of Volleyball Professionals tour, sweeping both of their matches in the women's main draw of the Huntington Beach Open Friday on the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier. Other Newport-Mesa area players competed Friday as well. Top-seeded May-Treanor and Walsh, the 2004 Olympic gold medalists in beach volleyball, swept their first-round match against Christine Pack and Kamila Pavlaskova, 21-13, 21-9, in 32 minutes.

If I'm going to ever become a professional surfer, I need some waves ... Bro. I concluded my last lesson in the Saturday Surf Class with Scott Morlan a week ago just north of Newport Beach Pier, and I realized that one thing has been constant during all four weeks of my instructions: Old Mr. Pacific is afraid to challenge me. Well, I say, bring it. Of course, it's too late now. Saturday's lesson concluded with...

Chris Yemma With AC/DC blasting on the loudspeakers, the groms, as the surfing world calls them, took center stage. And as the sun blazed above the Huntington Beach Pier area late Wednesday afternoon, Andrew Doheny electrified the spectators: He caught the perfect wave. Competing in the first round of the boys under-14 division of the Surfing America USA championships, the 12-year-old Newport Beach resident scored a perfect 10 on his second wave en route to winning Heat 4 with 14.25 points -- the highest score in the division.

Deirdre Newman A Costa Mesa group wants coastal cities like Newport Beach to ban smoking on beaches to crack down on cigarette butts littering the sands. Earth Resource Foundation wants cities to create laws against smoking at the beach. Its main concern is litter, but foundation officials are also concerned about the effects of second-hand smoke. While Newport Beach officials laud the efforts, they say it will be extremely difficult to enforce.

Jenny Marder In Huntington Beach, not everything revolves around the beach -- just most things. Any full weekend in Surf City will naturally leave sand in the shoes, but the beach is just the beginning to what the city has to offer. 6 p.m. Friday: Sit back, relax and sip on cocktails while taking in the ocean view from Duke's barefoot bar, at the foot of the Huntington Beach Pier. 7:30 p.m. Friday: Romantic sunset stroll along the surf. 8 p.m. Friday: Head to Chimayo at the Beach for a seafood dinner, where voodoo shrimp, grilled seafood and wood oven steaks are all popular favorites.