Djokovic takes next step at U.S. Open with dramatic win over Murray

Two tennis pit bulls sank their teeth into each other on a warm and windless night at the U.S. Open on Wednesday.

It was Novak Djokovic versus Andy Murray. Talk about strong teeth.

Right now, with Rafael Nadal out with an injury, all they needed to make this a showcase of the game's best of the best was Roger Federer in the umpire's chair.

When a couple of Murray's molars started to give way just a bit in the third set — and his back stiffened in the fourth — it opened the door for Djokovic to pull away to a 7-6 (1), 6-7 (1), 6-2, 6-4 victory.

Even with the anticlimactic ending, the tennis stayed on a high level throughout and it would be hard to find a person in the 23,000-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium who felt deprived of their money's worth. If you had a ticket to this one, it was a golden one.

At 12:30 a.m. Eastern time, on a school night, there were still about 15,000 people in the stands. From the start, the fancy suites had been overflowing with people, as well as expensive liquids.

The match ended at 1:15, and took 3 1/2 hours.

It was a perfect night for this. And expectations were off the charts. In the end, expectations were met.

At one point, after an especially competitive baseline exchange — huge backhands and forehands, slice to slice, topspin angles and changed pace from both players that went on for perhaps 30 strokes — Djokovic gestured to the fans to whoop it up, show some appreciation. He didn't need to. They had all night, on just about every point.

There are four unbelievably great men's players in the tennis world right now, the aforementioned, and it doesn't get much better than a matchup at night in the U.S Open of two of them. Coming in, Djokovic and Murray had played 20 times and Djokovic had won 12.

More significant, Murray's last two wins over the slashing Serb were in Grand Slam finals — the never-to-be-forgotten Wimbledon win last year by Scotland's favorite son that ended the Brits' 77-year drought in men's singles at its most cherished sports event. Then there was the 2012 final here.

Those are Murray's two Grand Slam victories. Djokovic has seven, including the most recent Wimbledon title.

Murray's victory over Djokovic in the 2012 U.S. Open final went five sets. This one felt like it would too. As a matter of fact, after the first two sets, it looked as if the John Isner-Nicolas Mahut long-match record at Wimbledon, where they don't play tiebreakers in the deciding set, might be in danger.

First set. Tiebreaker. Djokovic dominates and wins when Murray can't return a 121-mph serve.

Second set. Tiebreaker. Murray dominates and wins when Djokovic keeps hitting shots into the net, including the last one on set point.

When Murray floated a backhand long for a service break and a 3-1 Djokovic lead in the third set, the match was 2:30 old and British sportswriters were pondering a pool on whether the match would end before the sun came up in London.

An unusual aspect about the match was that it was a quarterfinal. In their 20 previous matches, they had played that early in a tournament only three times. This time, it happened because Murray has struggled of late, recovered slowly from back surgery late last year, and slipped to No.10 in the rankings for a while. He was seeded No. 8 here and on the side of the bracket with No. 1 Djokovic.

Late in the final set, Murray asked for a heat pack for his back. Soon, Djokovic had administered the final treatment — getting him off the court.

On match point, a now-hobbling Murray netted a shot and Djokovic had made his eighth consecutive U.S. Open semifinal.

In the semifinals, he will play Japan's Kei Nishikori, who followed his 4 1/2-hour match Monday night that went into Tuesday with another five-set marathon victory Wednesday, this one over No. 3 Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland.

And then, on the other side of the bracket, barring upsets, awaits Federer.

A Federer-Djokovic Monday night final?

A rematch of the Wimbledon final that was a classic?

Looks like we may have more great expectations at the U.S. Open.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

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Djokovic takes next step at U.S. Open with dramatic win over Murray

Two tennis pit bulls sank their teeth into each other on a warm and windless night at the U.S. Open on Wednesday.

It was Novak Djokovic versus Andy Murray. Talk about strong teeth.

Right now, with Rafael Nadal out with an injury, all they needed to make this a showcase of the game's best of the best was Roger Federer in the umpire's chair.

When a couple of Murray's molars started to give way just a bit in the third set — and his back stiffened in the fourth — it opened the door for Djokovic to pull away to a 7-6 (1), 6-7 (1), 6-2, 6-4 victory.

Even with the anticlimactic ending, the tennis stayed on a high level throughout and it would be hard to find a person in the 23,000-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium who felt deprived of their money's worth. If you had a ticket to this one, it was a golden one.

At 12:30 a.m. Eastern time, on a school night, there were still about 15,000 people in the stands. From the start, the fancy suites had been overflowing with people, as well as expensive liquids.

The match ended at 1:15, and took 3 1/2 hours.

It was a perfect night for this. And expectations were off the charts. In the end, expectations were met.

At one point, after an especially competitive baseline exchange — huge backhands and forehands, slice to slice, topspin angles and changed pace from both players that went on for perhaps 30 strokes — Djokovic gestured to the fans to whoop it up, show some appreciation. He didn't need to. They had all night, on just about every point.

There are four unbelievably great men's players in the tennis world right now, the aforementioned, and it doesn't get much better than a matchup at night in the U.S Open of two of them. Coming in, Djokovic and Murray had played 20 times and Djokovic had won 12.

More significant, Murray's last two wins over the slashing Serb were in Grand Slam finals — the never-to-be-forgotten Wimbledon win last year by Scotland's favorite son that ended the Brits' 77-year drought in men's singles at its most cherished sports event. Then there was the 2012 final here.

Those are Murray's two Grand Slam victories. Djokovic has seven, including the most recent Wimbledon title.

Murray's victory over Djokovic in the 2012 U.S. Open final went five sets. This one felt like it would too. As a matter of fact, after the first two sets, it looked as if the John Isner-Nicolas Mahut long-match record at Wimbledon, where they don't play tiebreakers in the deciding set, might be in danger.

First set. Tiebreaker. Djokovic dominates and wins when Murray can't return a 121-mph serve.

Second set. Tiebreaker. Murray dominates and wins when Djokovic keeps hitting shots into the net, including the last one on set point.

When Murray floated a backhand long for a service break and a 3-1 Djokovic lead in the third set, the match was 2:30 old and British sportswriters were pondering a pool on whether the match would end before the sun came up in London.

An unusual aspect about the match was that it was a quarterfinal. In their 20 previous matches, they had played that early in a tournament only three times. This time, it happened because Murray has struggled of late, recovered slowly from back surgery late last year, and slipped to No.10 in the rankings for a while. He was seeded No. 8 here and on the side of the bracket with No. 1 Djokovic.

Late in the final set, Murray asked for a heat pack for his back. Soon, Djokovic had administered the final treatment — getting him off the court.

On match point, a now-hobbling Murray netted a shot and Djokovic had made his eighth consecutive U.S. Open semifinal.

In the semifinals, he will play Japan's Kei Nishikori, who followed his 4 1/2-hour match Monday night that went into Tuesday with another five-set marathon victory Wednesday, this one over No. 3 Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland.

And then, on the other side of the bracket, barring upsets, awaits Federer.

A Federer-Djokovic Monday night final?

A rematch of the Wimbledon final that was a classic?

Looks like we may have more great expectations at the U.S. Open.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

16.38 | 0 komentar | Read More

Djokovic takes next step at U.S. Open with dramatic win over Murray

Two tennis pit bulls sank their teeth into each other on a warm and windless night at the U.S. Open on Wednesday.

It was Novak Djokovic versus Andy Murray. Talk about strong teeth.

Right now, with Rafael Nadal out with an injury, all they needed to make this a showcase of the game's best of the best was Roger Federer in the umpire's chair.

When a couple of Murray's molars started to give way just a bit in the third set — and his back stiffened in the fourth — it opened the door for Djokovic to pull away to a 7-6 (1), 6-7 (1), 6-2, 6-4 victory.

Even with the anticlimactic ending, the tennis stayed on a high level throughout and it would be hard to find a person in the 23,000-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium who felt deprived of their money's worth. If you had a ticket to this one, it was a golden one.

At 12:30 a.m. Eastern time, on a school night, there were still about 15,000 people in the stands. From the start, the fancy suites had been overflowing with people, as well as expensive liquids.

The match ended at 1:15, and took 3 1/2 hours.

It was a perfect night for this. And expectations were off the charts. In the end, expectations were met.

At one point, after an especially competitive baseline exchange — huge backhands and forehands, slice to slice, topspin angles and changed pace from both players that went on for perhaps 30 strokes — Djokovic gestured to the fans to whoop it up, show some appreciation. He didn't need to. They had all night, on just about every point.

There are four unbelievably great men's players in the tennis world right now, the aforementioned, and it doesn't get much better than a matchup at night in the U.S Open of two of them. Coming in, Djokovic and Murray had played 20 times and Djokovic had won 12.

More significant, Murray's last two wins over the slashing Serb were in Grand Slam finals — the never-to-be-forgotten Wimbledon win last year by Scotland's favorite son that ended the Brits' 77-year drought in men's singles at its most cherished sports event. Then there was the 2012 final here.

Those are Murray's two Grand Slam victories. Djokovic has seven, including the most recent Wimbledon title.

Murray's victory over Djokovic in the 2012 U.S. Open final went five sets. This one felt like it would too. As a matter of fact, after the first two sets, it looked as if the John Isner-Nicolas Mahut long-match record at Wimbledon, where they don't play tiebreakers in the deciding set, might be in danger.

First set. Tiebreaker. Djokovic dominates and wins when Murray can't return a 121-mph serve.

Second set. Tiebreaker. Murray dominates and wins when Djokovic keeps hitting shots into the net, including the last one on set point.

When Murray floated a backhand long for a service break and a 3-1 Djokovic lead in the third set, the match was 2:30 old and British sportswriters were pondering a pool on whether the match would end before the sun came up in London.

An unusual aspect about the match was that it was a quarterfinal. In their 20 previous matches, they had played that early in a tournament only three times. This time, it happened because Murray has struggled of late, recovered slowly from back surgery late last year, and slipped to No.10 in the rankings for a while. He was seeded No. 8 here and on the side of the bracket with No. 1 Djokovic.

Late in the final set, Murray asked for a heat pack for his back. Soon, Djokovic had administered the final treatment — getting him off the court.

On match point, a now-hobbling Murray netted a shot and Djokovic had made his eighth consecutive U.S. Open semifinal.

In the semifinals, he will play Japan's Kei Nishikori, who followed his 4 1/2-hour match Monday night that went into Tuesday with another five-set marathon victory Wednesday, this one over No. 3 Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland.

And then, on the other side of the bracket, barring upsets, awaits Federer.

A Federer-Djokovic Monday night final?

A rematch of the Wimbledon final that was a classic?

Looks like we may have more great expectations at the U.S. Open.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

16.38 | 0 komentar | Read More

Joc Pederson just might be what the Dodgers need for final push

The Dodgers' future swaggered into the starting lineup at Chavez Ravine on Tuesday night, just in time to push aside ... the Dodgers' future?

Joc Pederson was in, Yasiel Puig was out. And if you think you're confused, how about poor Queen Latifah, who showed up behind the batting cage before the game wearing a Puig jersey and posing for photos with her hero, just in time to watch him spend the next two hours and 40 minutes on the bench.

Welcome to the pennant race, Hollywood style.

With the cuddly little San Francisco Giants' garlic-fry breath suddenly on the Dodgers' necks — only two games separate them with 23 remaining — Don Mattingly decided it's time to start pulling out all the stops.

That meant pulling out the struggling Puig and putting the shiny Pederson in center field for his first major league start, which made for some pregame fun before the Dodgers' 4-1 victory over the Washington Nationals.

While Pederson, 22, swaggered to the batting practice like he owned the joint, Puig raced to the stadium like he had once again gotten lost.

According to one bystander, Puig was seen racing his Rolls-Royce through the mostly empty Dodger Stadium parking lot 10 minutes before the position players were supposed to take the field for stretching. He showed up in the Dodgers' clubhouse five minutes before the deadline, and rushed out to the diamond.

Mattingly said he was benching Puig to allow him to fight out of his slump with some extra work. One can only wonder about the difficulty of obtaining such extra work when showing up late.

"It's kind of like a kid that's sinking a little bit swimming, and you leave him in the water and he learns how to swim and maybe he drowns," said Mattingly of Puig. "Or you pull him out and help him a little bit and then give him a chance to get back in the water."

Puig indeed has been thrashing about, with just two homers since May 28, batting just .216 in August with four runs batted in, and seems to be losing energy and focus like he did last season, which ended in embarrassment in right field in St. Louis.

Pederson, meanwhile, has been riding a wave of confidence instilled by an organization that refused to deal him at the trading deadline even for the sort of strong arm that they could be missing in October. Pederson arrived here from triple-A Albuquerque on Monday after spending a season there hitting 33 homers with 30 stolen bases and a .435 on-base percentage.

"I was told just be ready to play, I'm just going to show up," said Pederson late Tuesday night. "It's a good feeling. We got a good win. It's all about winning now."

No, no, Pederson isn't going to take Puig's place in the starting lineup. A more likely scenario would be Pederson moving Puig back to right field and Matt Kemp over to left field. But Mattingly is already calling Pederson the club's best-fielding outfielder, and during the next month he could provide the kind of youthful energy and sense of competition that has been missing around the clubhouse this season. The Dodgers are hoping he will push his older teammates into a greater sense of urgency, if

not become a viable playoff piece himself.

"We all like the way Joc kind of carries himself," said Mattingly. "We've seen him since he was really young and you could tell right away he had that little swagger and that confidence that he was a player. ... He carries himself with an air."

That air was evident during the game, when Pederson reached base twice in four times with two patient and smart plate appearances. He swings so effortlessly that even when he strikes out, he looks good doing it.

In the second inning, Pederson fisted Doug Fister's fifth pitch into center field for a single. In the fourth inning, he worked Fister for six pitches before striking out on a looping 78-mph changeup. In the sixth inning, he drew a five-pitch walk. In the eighth, against reliever Xavier Cedeno, he grounded out on the first pitch.

"He looked good," said Mattingly. "I watch his at-bats, he reminds me of Cargo [Carlos Gonzalez], I watched that same swing, that [George] Brett look ... he's got that rhythm to it ... almost like you're hitting a bullwhip instead of a bat."

He's a great story, a mass of youthful contradictions, signing four years ago as an 11th-round pick out of Palo Alto High, seemingly both gifted and grounded.

Joc is his real first name. It's not a nickname. He has brothers named Tyger and Champ. Those are also not nicknames.

He has the partial dark mohawk haircut of a rebellious teen, but it flops over the bright face of a kid. When he stepped up for his first place appearance in the second inning, the speakers bared his chosen song, the bold "Man of the Year" by Schoolboy Q. Yet his story is filled with moments of great humility. His older brother Champ has Down syndrome, and he was proud to coach his basketball team in the Special Olympics. And the last thing he did before leaving triple-A Albuquerque last weekend was to allow the Isotopes to raffle off his 1994 Buick with 166,000 miles and one operable window, two air fresheners included.

"I'm excited, it's a dream come true," said Pederson upon his arrival here as the next big thing, a new kind of energy, a different type of air freshener.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

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Joc Pederson just might be what the Dodgers need for final push

The Dodgers' future swaggered into the starting lineup at Chavez Ravine on Tuesday night, just in time to push aside ... the Dodgers' future?

Joc Pederson was in, Yasiel Puig was out. And if you think you're confused, how about poor Queen Latifah, who showed up behind the batting cage before the game wearing a Puig jersey and posing for photos with her hero, just in time to watch him spend the next two hours and 40 minutes on the bench.

Welcome to the pennant race, Hollywood style.

With the cuddly little San Francisco Giants' garlic-fry breath suddenly on the Dodgers' necks — only two games separate them with 23 remaining — Don Mattingly decided it's time to start pulling out all the stops.

That meant pulling out the struggling Puig and putting the shiny Pederson in center field for his first major league start, which made for some pregame fun before the Dodgers' 4-1 victory over the Washington Nationals.

While Pederson, 22, swaggered to the batting practice like he owned the joint, Puig raced to the stadium like he had once again gotten lost.

According to one bystander, Puig was seen racing his Rolls-Royce through the mostly empty Dodger Stadium parking lot 10 minutes before the position players were supposed to take the field for stretching. He showed up in the Dodgers' clubhouse five minutes before the deadline, and rushed out to the diamond.

Mattingly said he was benching Puig to allow him to fight out of his slump with some extra work. One can only wonder about the difficulty of obtaining such extra work when showing up late.

"It's kind of like a kid that's sinking a little bit swimming, and you leave him in the water and he learns how to swim and maybe he drowns," said Mattingly of Puig. "Or you pull him out and help him a little bit and then give him a chance to get back in the water."

Puig indeed has been thrashing about, with just two homers since May 28, batting just .216 in August with four runs batted in, and seems to be losing energy and focus like he did last season, which ended in embarrassment in right field in St. Louis.

Pederson, meanwhile, has been riding a wave of confidence instilled by an organization that refused to deal him at the trading deadline even for the sort of strong arm that they could be missing in October. Pederson arrived here from triple-A Albuquerque on Monday after spending a season there hitting 33 homers with 30 stolen bases and a .435 on-base percentage.

"I was told just be ready to play, I'm just going to show up," said Pederson late Tuesday night. "It's a good feeling. We got a good win. It's all about winning now."

No, no, Pederson isn't going to take Puig's place in the starting lineup. A more likely scenario would be Pederson moving Puig back to right field and Matt Kemp over to left field. But Mattingly is already calling Pederson the club's best-fielding outfielder, and during the next month he could provide the kind of youthful energy and sense of competition that has been missing around the clubhouse this season. The Dodgers are hoping he will push his older teammates into a greater sense of urgency, if

not become a viable playoff piece himself.

"We all like the way Joc kind of carries himself," said Mattingly. "We've seen him since he was really young and you could tell right away he had that little swagger and that confidence that he was a player. ... He carries himself with an air."

That air was evident during the game, when Pederson reached base twice in four times with two patient and smart plate appearances. He swings so effortlessly that even when he strikes out, he looks good doing it.

In the second inning, Pederson fisted Doug Fister's fifth pitch into center field for a single. In the fourth inning, he worked Fister for six pitches before striking out on a looping 78-mph changeup. In the sixth inning, he drew a five-pitch walk. In the eighth, against reliever Xavier Cedeno, he grounded out on the first pitch.

"He looked good," said Mattingly. "I watch his at-bats, he reminds me of Cargo [Carlos Gonzalez], I watched that same swing, that [George] Brett look ... he's got that rhythm to it ... almost like you're hitting a bullwhip instead of a bat."

He's a great story, a mass of youthful contradictions, signing four years ago as an 11th-round pick out of Palo Alto High, seemingly both gifted and grounded.

Joc is his real first name. It's not a nickname. He has brothers named Tyger and Champ. Those are also not nicknames.

He has the partial dark mohawk haircut of a rebellious teen, but it flops over the bright face of a kid. When he stepped up for his first place appearance in the second inning, the speakers bared his chosen song, the bold "Man of the Year" by Schoolboy Q. Yet his story is filled with moments of great humility. His older brother Champ has Down syndrome, and he was proud to coach his basketball team in the Special Olympics. And the last thing he did before leaving triple-A Albuquerque last weekend was to allow the Isotopes to raffle off his 1994 Buick with 166,000 miles and one operable window, two air fresheners included.

"I'm excited, it's a dream come true," said Pederson upon his arrival here as the next big thing, a new kind of energy, a different type of air freshener.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

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Ukraine president says cease-fire deal reached

The office of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says he and Russian President Vladimir Putin have reached agreement on a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine.

The brief statement on Wednesday gave no details and there was no immediate reaction from the Russia-backed separatists whom Ukrainian forces have been fighting since April.

Russian markets jumped on the news. The MICEX benchmark was 3 percent higher while the ruble rose 1.2 percent against the U.S. dollar.

Putin's spokesman said earlier that the Russian president and Poroshenko had found in a recent discussion that they "largely share views" on ways out of the crisis.

Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of sending its troops and weapons to support pro-Russian insurgents who have been fighting government troops in eastern Ukraine since mid-April. Moscow has vehemently denied this charge.

Over the weekend, the European Union leaders agreed to prepare a new round of sanctions that could be enacted in a week, after NATO accused Russia of sending tanks and troops into southeastern Ukraine. A NATO summit in Wales on Thursday is also expected to approve measures designed to counter Russia's aggressive actions in Ukraine.

U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in Estonia Wednesday morning in a show of solidarity with NATO allies who fear they could be the next target of Russia's aggression.

Fighting in eastern Ukraine has killed nearly 2,600 people and forced over 340,000 to flee their homes, according to the U.N.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

Sept. 3, 2014 1:45 a.m.: More information added throughout.

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Dodgers can't make a move, on or off field, and lose to Nationals

When the calendar switched from August to September early Monday morning, whatever intrigue was still swirling around the Dodgers roster vanished.

The deadline had passed to acquire players who would be eligible for the playoffs. No relief help, no power bat and no fifth starter had been added for the stretch run. And that meant the players who filed into the clubhouse Monday afternoon — a group swelled by four minor league call-ups — most likely will be the ones who determine whether or not the Dodgers reach the postseason.

"This is our club," Manager Don Mattingly said. "This is our team."

Monday that team was overwhelmed by left-hander Gio Gonzalez and the Washington Nationals, 6-4, to open a three-game series that could prove to be a preview of the National League Championship Series.

The teams started the day leading their divisions and tied for the NL lead in wins with 77. But once the game started those similarities faded with Washington pounding starter Roberto Hernandez (8-10) for five runs and five hits, including four home runs, in 4 1/3 innings, sending the Dodgers to their third loss in four days and cutting their NL West lead over the San Francisco Giants two games, the narrowest it's been since Aug. 4.

Gonzalez (7-9) was dominant for six innings, holding the Dodgers to one hit — Matt Kemp's first-inning homer — in ending a personal five-game losing streak with his first victory since early July, and helping the Nationals push their lead over Atlanta in the NL East to seven games, the second-largest cushion in baseball.

The Dodgers tried to rally in the ninth and got the tying run on base, but pinch-hitter Joc Pederson, in his first major league at-bat, took a called third strike from Washington closer Rafael Soriano.

For Mattingly, the fact both teams lead their divisions doesn't bring any additional emphasis to the series.

"If your pitcher's good, you look good. If your pitcher's bad, then you don't look as good," he said. "We're not establishing anything for later. We need to win games. We need to get there. There's too much baseball to be played to worry about something like that."

There are a few other things to worry about, though. For instance:

Is a team that is four games under .500 against the rest of the NL's playoff contenders good enough to go deep into October?

Is a bullpen that ranks second-to-last in the majors in wins and in the bottom half of the league in ERA deep enough?

And is a lineup that ranks 13th among 15 National League teams in home runs — with just one from a pinch-hitter – powerful enough?

"Better be," Mattingly said.

Before July's nonwaiver trade deadline General Manager Ned Colletti tried to upgrade, trading for infielder Darwin Barney (career average: .244). And last month he added two 34-year-old starters in Hernandez and Kevin Correia (combined career record at the time: 139-180).

"It's not the same team we had at the All-Star break," Colletti said.

But it's still a team with weaknesses, ones management couldn't plug before midnight Sunday.

"You try to add a little piece here or there. But you're not trying to aggressively change your clubhouse," Colletti said. "This isn't a Rotisserie league, where you just call up anybody you feel like adding to your team."

And that seems just fine with the players in that clubhouse, who see the lack of trade-deadline urgency as a sign of confidence in the guys who are in uniform.

"We were ready from day one in spring training [with] what we had," outfielder Andre Ethier said. "Over the course of the year things happen, you have to add guys. But I think from day one we knew we had enough.

"There's no excuse not to make it to the playoffs. You can sit there and whine, but that creates excuses. It takes the onus and responsibility away from the players, which you don't want to do.

"Be accountable and be confident with the players you have and the skills that you have yourself."

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

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Analysis finds California students attend school more than U.S. peers

California students attend school more consistently than most of their U.S. peers, and such attendance directly relates to better performance on national math and reading tests, a new analysis has found.

The analysis by Attendance Works, a San Francisco nonprofit aimed at combating school absenteeism, found that California fourth- and eighth-graders had better attendance than peers in about 40 other states in 2013.

But nearly 1 in 5 of those students still missed more than three days of class in the month leading up to the National Assessment for Educational Progress, a standardized math and reading test typically given to fourth- and eighth-graders between late January and early March annually.

Nationally, as many as 7.5 million students missed nearly a month of school.

"This lost instructional time exacerbates dropout rates and achievement gaps," said the report, which was written by Alan Ginsburg, Phyllis Jordan and Hedy Chang.

The state-by-state analysis found that students who missed more than three days of class scored lower on the national test — known as "the nation's report card" — across ages, subjects, race, income level, city and state.

California fourth-graders with poor attendance scored 11 points lower in reading and 15 points lower in math, while eighth-graders scored 15 points lower in reading and 16 points lower in math. The same trend held true for Los Angeles.

In recent years, however, state Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris and Los Angeles Unified Supt. John Deasy have focused on combating the problem of poor attendance.

Harris has commissioned statewide studies on elementary student truancy and sponsored a package of four measures aimed at addressing the problem. The bills, which would require the state to collect student attendance data and help school districts better track and prevent truancy, passed the Legislature last week.

In L.A. Unified, the percentage of students with attendance rates of 96% or higher has steadily increased over the last five years to 71% during the 2013-14 school year from 60% in 2009-10. Among other things, the district has launched an incentive program that rewards monthly perfect attendance with drawings for such prizes as movie tickets and iTunes gift cards.

The Attendance Works analysis found that the city of Los Angeles outperformed the national average in keeping low-income students in class. Among L.A. low-income fourth-graders, for instance, 18% were absent three days or more compared with 22% nationally.

Latino students in L.A. attended school more consistently than their national peers. But African Americans recorded more absences: 31% of eighth-graders, for instance, missed three or more days of school compared with 22% of their national peers.

Overall, the analysis found that students in Montana and New Mexico had the worst attendance and those in Texas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana and Massachusetts had the best.

Follow @teresawatanabe for more news about California education

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

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Syrian rebels make demands in exchange for U.N. peacekeepers held hostage

Al-Qaeda-linked Syrian rebels holding 45 Fijian peacekeepers hostage have issued a set of demands for their release, including the extremist group's removal from a U.N. terrorist list and compensation for the killing of three of its fighters in a shootout with international troops, an official said Tuesday.

The Nusra Front seized the Fijians on Thursday in the Golan Heights, where a 1,200-strong U.N. force monitors the buffer zone between Syria and Israel. The rebels also surrounded two Filipino units, but those U.N. troops escaped over the weekend.

Speaking in the Fijian capital of Suva, military commander Brig. Gen. Mosese Tikoitoga said the Nusra Front has made three demands for the peacekeepers' release: to be taken off the U.N. terrorist list; the delivery of humanitarian aid to parts of the Syrian capital of Damascus; and payment for three of its fighters it says were killed in a shootout with U.N. officers.

Tikoitoga did not say whether the rebels' demands would be seriously considered. He said the U.N. had sent hostage negotiators to Syria to take over discussions from military leaders.

"Negotiations have moved up to another level with the professional negotiators now in place," he said.

Tikoitoga also released the names of the 45 detained soldiers, who he said are led by Captain Savenaca Siwatibau Rabuka. He asked Fiji's community and church leaders to help look after the families of the captive troops and asked the public to also offer support.

"I appeal to all Fijians that while we pray for our soldiers in Syria that we be sensitive to the families," he said, adding "the U.N. has assured us they will use all of their available resources for the safe return of our soldiers."

Syrian rebels, including Nusra Front militants, seized a border crossing with Israel on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights on Wednesday. The area has been engulfed in heavy fighting between the opposition fighters and President Bashar Assad's forces since then.

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

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Cory Rasmus answers the call for Angels

It was like a conga line from the Angels bullpen to the mound Saturday night. One by one, pitchers trotted into the game, beginning with reliever-turned-starter Cory Rasmus and ending with closer Huston Street.

By the time the Angels completed a 2-0 victory over Oakland, which extended their American League West lead over the Athletics to four games and Oakland's consecutive scoreless innings streak to 22, the Angels had used eight pitchers in a nine-inning game. It was the third eight-pitcher shutout in major league history.

"Is that all we used, eight?" Manager Mike Scioscia said, jokingly. "You know, it wasn't quite mapped out like that, but the way the little twists and turns of the game took us, and especially getting the lead, we were lined up to use a lot of pitchers and go to our bullpen earlier."

The Angels knew they wouldn't get much length from Rasmus, who hadn't started a game since May 2011, when he was pitching at Class-A Lynchburg, and had not thrown more than 51 pitches in any of his big league relief outings.

But the 26-year-old right-hander, starting in the spot vacated by injured right-hander Garrett Richards, gave them three superb innings, giving up one hit and striking out six, including five in a row.

"We've seen him come out of the bullpen and throw two or three innings, put up two or three zeros, so many times, so it wasn't a surprise to see him make pitches," Street said of Rasmus. "But the way he did it, striking out the side in the second, it really did set a tone."

Left-hander Michael Roth, called up from double-A Arkansas on Saturday, replaced Rasmus to start the fourth inning, and the A's loaded the bases with one out on a walk, a throwing error by catcher Hank Conger and an intentional walk to Derek Norris.

But Yoslan Herrera, a hard-throwing right-hander who was called up from triple-A Salt Lake on Tuesday, got pinch-hitter Jonny Gomes to bounce into an inning-ending double play, second baseman Howie Kendrick fielding the grounder, stepping on the bag and throwing to first base.

Fernando Salas retired the side in order in the fifth inning, and Jason Grilli threw a one-two-three sixth. Kevin Jepsen and Joe Smith retired the side in order in the seventh and eighth innings.

Street, pitching four days in a row for the first time since July 2010, gave up a leadoff single to Sam Fuld, who stole second and third. But the right-hander got Stephen Vogt to fly to left field, Josh Donaldson to ground out to third base, and struck out Brandon Moss on three pitches for his 11th save with the Angels.

The Angels have won the first three games of a crucial four-game series against the A's, and improved 14-4 in their last 18 games to move from four games behind Oakland to four games ahead. A vastly improved bullpen has keyed the club's surge.

"As this season has progressed, our bullpen has evolved from, I think, a question mark to an exclamation point," Scioscia said. "As we've acquired Huston Street and Jason Grilli, you've seen that depth mount to where we can bring in good arms that can shorten games and will be fresh on a given day to hold leads."

There was some question as to whether Street would be fresh enough to pitch.

"But after he threw off flat ground, he was adamant that he felt great, even better today than he did the last couple days," Scioscia said. "We were very comfortable with that decision."

Said Street: "They gave me the choice. With the off day Monday, I felt like it was the time to push it."

Asked if he's usually honest when coaches ask if he's OK to pitch, Street said, "Never. Players want to play. You respect the fact they ask you and trust you, but it's always hard to pull yourself out of that game."

Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times

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