Manhattan Beach

MANHATTAN BEACH — Newport Harbor High product Misty May-Treanor teamed with Kerri Walsh to defeat Elaine Youngs and Nancy Mason, 21-13, 21-17, in the women's title match of the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Manhattan Beach Open beach tournament on Saturday. May-Treanor and Walsh split $25,000 for defending their Manhattan Beach Open title. They have now won nine of 11 AVP events this season. Costa Mesa resident Mike Lambert and partner Stein Metzger were defeated, 22-20, 21-23, 15-11, by Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers in the men's final Sunday.

Standing 6-foot-7, Jake Gibb used to be a force on the basketball court. These days, the Costa Mesa resident is quite a force at the volleyball net. Gibb looks to defend his 2005 Assn. of Volleyball Professionals Manhattan Beach Open championship this weekend, starting in the main draw on Friday with partner Sean Rosenthal. "It's the granddaddy of them all, but we've got some pretty gnarly teams out there this year," Gibb said. "We'll have to play well." It has been quite a rise to the top for Gibb, last year's AVP Tour Most Valuable Player.

Jay gees. That's how we all referred to the junior lifeguard program way back in the late '70s and early '80s when I was a JG. I think maybe the only time I ever heard it called junior lifeguards was when I went for my swim test in what must have been the spring of 1978. I was 8. That age might be catching a few readers' eyes, and it should. Age 8 isn't quite old enough to start JGs. So here's a confession: My mom and I lied about my age to get me into the program.

Yang-Betz Ya-Lei Yang of Temple City and Andy Betz of Newport Beach exchanged vows at the Catalina Room in Rancho Palos Verdes on Oct. 15, 2004. The bride is the daughter of Andy and Charlene Yang of Temple City. The maid of honor was Kelly Simpson of Newport Beach. The bridesmaids were Anita Yang of Los Angeles, Melissa Gutierrez of San Francisco, Amy Hudson of Temple City and Nicole DeGraaf of Arcadia. The bridegroom is the son of Les Betz and the late Linda Betz of Newport Beach.

"I like the feeling that you accomplished something that's hard to learn. You have to have a lot of balance." CAMILLE DELBROOK, 11 Newport Beach "Well, it's very fun. I just ride the little waves, but it's still fun because you accomplish something that's hard." REMINGTON NELSON, 10 Newport Beach "Standing up on the board and feeling like you can get good." WESLEY BULLOCK, 10 Manhattan Beach "I feel good when I stand up, because I know I can do it. That's the main part about surfing."

MICHAEL VILLANI It's getting hard to move from place to place in the venue now without the proper credentials. Yes, security is tightening as the volunteers, hundreds of them, move in to complement the hundreds of paid staff members tending to business in this venue alone. Several women's teams came to the main court today to practice on the field of play on which they hope to earn gold. They were big, strong and fast. This is going to be some competition.

Alicia Robinson Happy birthday, Mr. Governor. He didn't have time to eat an elephant ear or ride the Ferris wheel, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger did get a heaping dose of adoration and birthday greetings from Orange County fairgoers on Friday. The governor stopped by the Orange County Fair to thank voters for urging their legislators to approve his budget, which they finally did this week, a month into the new fiscal year. The sweaty and enthusiastic crowd of several hundred was full of applause, took plenty of pictures and even sang "Happy Birthday" to Schwarzenegger, who turned 57 on Friday.

Alicia Robinson NEWPORT BEACH -- As much of the East Coast froze, locals set out to the beach for a normal day of surfing despite a relatively chilly day while tourists soaked in much-welcome rays on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Skies were sunny, but a breeze in the afternoon made for cooler temperatures, at around 59 degrees, Lifeguard Capt. Jim Turner said. The wind may have deterred some people from visiting the beach, a typical holiday destination, but the parking lot by the Newport Pier was still relatively full, despite some Sunday night rain.

S.J. CAHN It was talked about this summer. It was lambasted. Criticized. But for producers of the Fox TV show "The O.C.," what mattered was that it was watched. That show started back up last week, and it seems sure to enrage Newport Beach residents anew with its take on life in Orange County. During the summer, as people -- including quite a few in the Pilot newsroom -- watched "The O.C.," I wrestled with a similar fictionalizing of my hometown: Manhattan Beach.

Patrick Laverty On the Association of Volleyball Professionals Pro Beach Volleyball Tour Web site, the current poll question asks whether Misty May and Kerri Walsh will go undefeated this season. The three multiple choice answers are rather simple: Yes, no and no, but they will win every title. But in answering the question herself, May wasn't as straightforward. "I would like to say yes, but I don't want to jinx anything," May said. The fact that something might be jinxed after five tournaments is quite unbelievable in itself.