Ducks

The ocean off the pier will be duck soup this weekend, as thousands of yellow, plastic waterfowl turn the surf gold for charity. All proceeds from the 17th annual Duck-A-Thon races will benefit AltaMed’s Huntington Beach Community Clinic, which offers free and low-cost services for locals in need. An all-volunteer committee, the Duck-A-Thon Support Group makes the event the clinic’s biggest fundraiser. Founded by longtime community volunteer Donna Cross and friends, the Duck-A-Thon began as a small effort after an unsuccessful yard sale to raise money for the clinic.

The Ducks picked up a win in Adams Division play by defeating the Maple Leafs, 4-3, at Coast 2 Coast Inline Hockey Center in Huntington Beach. Justin Kao?s first-period goal gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead. Christina Kao scored the final three goals for the Ducks. Geoffrey Campbell had 16 saves. Brandon Washiashi, Tristan Shults and Alexander Hessing scored for the Maple Leafs. Natalie Trujillo recorded 19 saves. In other Adams Division action: Pirates 3, Sharks 3 The Pirates took a 3-1 lead, but the Sharks scored two to tie. Andrew McConnell scored twice, Jagger Kenady had a goal and assist, and Jacob Fisk was in on three assists for the Pirates.

The Ducks used a strong defensive effort and 11 saves by Nick Edwards to post a 6-0 shutout victory over the Spiders in a Norris Division playoff game at Coast 2 Coast Inline Hockey Center in Huntington Beach. The Ducks' offense, meanwhile, was in high gear. Erin Burger and Andrew Corral each scored twice to lead the attack, while Cody Jackson and Toby Costa each scored once. Michael Pigors led the team with three assists and Corral, Hannah Pigors and Logan Favilla each had an assist.

Jenny Marder Four-year-old Johnny Siebel was greatly disappointed when Papa Duck took off his hat to reveal a human head. He thought that the man, who led the parade of end loaders filled to brim with thousands of ducks down the Huntington Beach Pier Saturday, was a real duck. Thousands of rubber ducks were launched off the pier and into the ocean Saturday and Sunday and more than $100,000 was raised at the 11th annual Duck-a-thon, to benefit the Huntington Beach Community Clinic, a medical center that provides care for low-income adults and children.

Gruwell scores three goals in 7-0 Smythe victory.Joshua Gruwell scored three goals and Joshua Gane turned away 26 shot attempts to pace the Thunder Blades in their 7-0 shutout of the Panthers at Coast 2 Coast Inline Hockey Center in Huntington Beach. Gruwell scored three consecutive goals after Evan Hess had opened the scoring in the Smythe Division match. Adam Hess and William Engelke also scored. Evan Hess also collected a pair of assists, and Brandon Albertson and Steven Landis had one assist apiece.

Wayne Ponce netted the game-winning goal with 1:08 to play Friday to lift the Maple Leafs to a 5-4 victory over the Jaguars in Adams Division play at Coast 2 Coast Inline Hockey Center in Huntington Beach. It was the only goal of the game for Ponce as teammate Will Miller led the scoring with three goals and Michael Meers scored once. Maverick Knight recorded 14 saves. Kameron Christi scored three goals to power the Jaguars offensively and Kelsey Cullinane scored once.

Hyper jumped out to a 3-0 lead over the Bandits in their Wales Division weekend match and rode that start to a 4-1 victory at Coast 2 Coast Inline Hockey Center in Huntington Beach. Two goals by Kristian Burkhardt and one by Anthony Tullio allowed Hyper to take a 3-0 lead early into the third period. Drew Sorbom netted a goal with three seconds left to close out the scoring. Blake Miller finished with 31 saves. Trevor Brenden scored, and Connor Culhane had an assist for the Bandits.

Sean McDaniel netted a match-best three goals to lead the Bruins in a 5-2 victory over the Skulls in a Campbell Division contest at Coast 2 Coast Inline Hockey Center in Huntington Beach. Matthew Bennett scored once and had an assist for the winners and Dylan Christiano scored once. Ethan Higbee also had an assist. Kevin Romano recorded 17 saves. The Skulls' scoring consisted of goals by Alexander McCabe and Matthew Gane. David Stone also had 17 saves.

-- Torus Tammer and Kenneth Ma In the last two weeks, 150 mallard ducks have been found dead at Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley. Most of the decaying bodies were discovered in early July, said Richard Huffnagle, the park's supervising ranger. "The ducks died from botulism as a result of people feeding them garbage like rice, pasta, whole rolls of French bread," Huffnagle said. "These foods are made for human consumption, not for ducks." Huffnagle said the ducks pick at food that often has been sitting and decaying for days.

The Rangers jumped out to a 5-0 first-quarter lead against the Jaguars and went on to record a 9-0 victory in a matchup between Adams Division teams at Coast 2 Coast Inline Hockey Center in Huntington Beach. Peter Perez Jr. led the scoring with three goals. Cole Geller and Ryan Simmons each scored twice and Andrew Decarlo and Jeremy Morgan added one goal apiece. Simmons, Decarlo, Owen Barrett and Sam Truxaw each had assists. Shane Geller had 13 saves in the shutout. In other Adams Division action Kings 3, Mighty Pucks 2 The Kings held off a late charge by the Mighty Pucks to secure the victory.

They have retrieved every rubber duck that's been tossed off the Huntington Beach Pier for the last 20 years. A pair of skip loaders typically dumps around 4,000 bright yellow artificial waterfowls over the railing for the annual Duck-A-Thon, an event that raises funds for the AltaMed Medical and Dental Group in Huntington Beach. This year's event will run May 17 through 19. A group of about 50 volunteers watch over the bright-yellow artificial waterfowls, making sure that the thousands of bathtub toys make it back to shore, Duck-A-Thon co-chairman Warren Conde said.

Next week, we're fortunate to have not one but two special author appearances at Barnes & Noble at Bella Terra. At 7 p.m. Sept. 18, Martin J. Smith, editor-in-chief of Orange Coast magazine, will discuss and sign his new book, "The Wild Duck Chase: Inside the Strange and Wonderful World of the Federal Duck Stamp Contest. " The next day, at 7 p.m. Sept. 19, Ann Meyers Drysdale, one of the greatest stars in the history of basketball, will discuss and sign her book, "You Let Some Girl Beat You?"

"The Great Goddess of darkness, Mother Night, Persephone, brought forth the World Egg in the beginning, mirrored now in the Moon. Then the world was one warm, glowing, single un-split thing. It rocked gently, a crack appeared, and the multifarious world was born. " - "The Truth About Eggs" by Levana Lindentree * Eggs have been a symbol of generation and regeneration since ancient times. Even the Easter bunny's brightly colored gifts are a symbolic way of wishing you children.

For the last two years, Dinneh Estrada has had Baby-Duckness thrust upon her. The 12-year-old Huntington Beach resident volunteered — kind of — to be the mascot at last year's Duck-A-Thon, an annual event that raises funds for AltaMed's Huntington Beach Community Clinic. The organizers already had a Papa Duck mascot who walked the pier during the event and posed for pictures with children, so when they decided to add a Baby Duck, Dinneh quickly got the part. Considering that her mother, brother, sister, aunt and grandparents have all worked on the Duck-A-Thon, she wasn't surprised, but she was happy to chip in. "They were wondering if there could be a Baby Duck," said Dinneh, who is home-schooled.

T he 18th annual Duck-A-Thon in Huntington Beach brought a record number of ducks into the water last weekend, as residents shelled out for 3,504 of the rubber toys. In the annual charity drive, loading vehicles dump thousands of ducks off the Huntington Beach Pier, with the first duck to wash ashore netting a $1,000 prize for its owner. Lisa Dillon of Lakewood turned out to be the lucky winner Saturday, while Ben Franklin Press finished first in the Corporate Duck Race the next day. — Michael Miller

Everyone likes a baby shower, but the Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center is upping the ante by throwing one for small, fuzzy baby animals. Raccoons, ducklings, squirrels and just-hatched snowy clovers, a bird that looks like a cotton ball on a toothpick, will be on view at the second annual baby shower Saturday, said Jamie Pavlat, a director at the Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center. The center cares for and rehabilitates native wildlife in its Huntington Beach facility. Guests will be able to look at the animals through one-way mirrors, so people can view them, but the animals keep their sense of privacy intact, Pavlat said.

The ocean off the pier will be duck soup this weekend, as thousands of yellow, plastic waterfowl turn the surf gold for charity. All proceeds from the 17th annual Duck-A-Thon races will benefit AltaMed’s Huntington Beach Community Clinic, which offers free and low-cost services for locals in need. An all-volunteer committee, the Duck-A-Thon Support Group makes the event the clinic’s biggest fundraiser. Founded by longtime community volunteer Donna Cross and friends, the Duck-A-Thon began as a small effort after an unsuccessful yard sale to raise money for the clinic.

The former Coast 2 Coast Inline Hockey Center, 5555 McFadden Ave., has joined two other Southern California rinks to become part of the Anaheim Ducks’ new the Rinks development program. The facility, now called Huntington Beach Inline, is owned and operated by the Anaheim Ducks Hockey Club. The two other participating rinks are Corona Inline and Anaheim Ice. “This is exciting,” said the Rinks General Manager Ken Murchison. “We really see a big potential for it, and kind of a rebirth.

Two of the Anaheim Ducks paid a visit to a Huntington Beach skate rink Saturday as part of their annual Rink Tour. Hundreds lined up for the opportunity to receive an autograph from — and chat with — players Samuel Pahlsson and Brendan Morrison. “When we got here at 1 p.m., there were already a couple hundred people waiting in line,” Ducks staff member Champ Baginski said. “This is definitely the biggest turnout we’ve had in awhile.” “It’s good to get out in the community and meet fans,” said Morrison, who turned down eight other offers to join the Ducks this summer, after playing for Vancouver.

My daughter-in-law Nicole Murray picked me up the other morning on her way from San Diego to Beverly Hills. Baby Megan is signed up with a modeling agency and has been getting lots of auditions, and even some paid work, most of it in L.A. Last week’s audition was for Old Navy. I often go along to watch the twins while Nicole and Megan are at the photo shoots. It’s a great excuse to see more of my grandbabies while Vic is teaching. As I got into the car, Lauren asked, “Where Papa Vic?