Mike Schoen clutched an old movie program from the mid-’60s and pointed at all the signatures scribbled on the yellow-tinted paper.

It was a gift from his uncle, Terry Lewis, who as a teen watched the “Endless Summer” movie in his high school auditorium in Long Beach, where Bruce Brown would come out to personally narrate as the movie played for a room full of salty surfers.

He had signatures from Robert August and Mike Hynson, the two stars of the film who took viewers on a trip around the world as they searched for remote waves, chasing the sun and surf. His collection of autographs was complete Saturday after he was able to get Bruce Brown to scribble his name on the five-decade-old program for the cult-classic film.

“I can finally frame it,” said Schoen.

The cast and crew from “Endless Summer” gathered at the Shorebreak Hotel in Huntington Beach on Saturday night to celebrate the launch of a commemorative book created for the film’s 50th anniversary, an event that drew fans and history buffs.

“We knew how good it was and what a following it had,” Lewis, 69, said of the film. “But we didn’t think it would last this long.”

Filmmaker Bruce Brown, 79, said the night’s gathering was “a bit overwhelming.”

He said the film gave a true insight into the lives of surfers, rather than the hyped up Hollywood movies that were being released at the time.

“It gave the sport the recognition it deserved,” he said. “This was the first time people could see surfing and what surfers were really like.”

He knew he was on to something when night after night, the film would sell out. When Brown had trouble convincing bigger, mainstream theaters to run the film, he rented out theaters on his own – even in snow-covered Kansas.

“That proved to us that it could draw a crowd anywhere,” he said. “We had to beat our heads against the wall to get people to accept it.”

The book idea came to fruition after a college student in Spain, Manuel Serra Saez, did a project for his graphic design course showcasing the behind-the-scenes making of the film.

He sent a copy to Bruce Brown Films, who were so impressed by the book they used it as the seed to create the recently published box set. They hired Saez as the creative director, a 27-year-old who was at Saturday’s event soaking in the scene, before flying back to Spain.

“They were living the dream that all surfers want,” Saez said in a previous article.

Rick “Rockin’ Fig” Fignetti, who helped host the night, called the film “the greatest surf movie ever made.”

Co-host Robert “Wingnut” Weaver, star of Endless Summer II, said it was amazing to be part of the family.

“You changed my life for the better a long time ago,” he told Brown.

For more information, visit endlesssummerbooks.com.

Shania Twain dominated her Stagecoach headlining set, but one of the most memorable moments of the evening was when she brought out Nick Jonas. Yes, Twain brought out Nick Jonas of The Jonas Brothers.

The pair traded compliments for each other, and Jonas even said that Twain is the reason he got into music after they sang Twain’s 2004 hit “Party for Two.”

After the show, both Jonas and Twain posted about the duet on their Twitter accounts.

Thanks for joining me @nickjonas! And thank you for an amazing night @Stagecoach ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ZnbmhJB8uW

— Shania Twain (@ShaniaTwain) April 30, 2017

So much fun! https://t.co/WcroPGY2dI

— Shania Twain (@ShaniaTwain) April 30, 2017

Party For Two! @ShaniaTwain dream come true #stagecoach2017 pic.twitter.com/H9iTRmtyRX

— Nick Jonas (@nickjonas) April 30, 2017

Oh my god! I just performed with Shania Twain. What is life. #stagecoach2017

— Nick Jonas (@nickjonas) April 30, 2017

It really was such a special day https://t.co/0qAWwTTaCG

— Nick Jonas (@nickjonas) April 30, 2017

Audience members were also excited about Nick Jonas crashing Stagecoach (in the best way):

@ShaniaTwain @nickjonas @Stagecoach where’s @mark_mcgrath ???

— Hutch (@HutchWouldKnow) April 30, 2017

Here’s what we finna do: stop sleeping on @nickjonas‘s vocals pic.twitter.com/a4d41SXzCI

— ㅤ (@jicksnonas) April 30, 2017

After seeing @nickjonas sing party for the two, the crush is real 😍😭🙈😜

— Randi Griner (@randigriner) April 30, 2017

I love how excited @nickjonas was to sing with Shania last night. pic.twitter.com/kvMeQTlkQI

— Ross Rodham (@OnceUponARoss) April 30, 2017

Nick Jonas came out with Shania Twain at Stagecoach last night and that’s like 12 year old me’s fantasy. I’m gonna cry.

— Amanda 🐦 (@AmandaCardinal) April 30, 2017

Slay me with your vocals @nickjonas https://t.co/cvhhrkFs6e

— DL✨ (@ShadeOfLovato) April 30, 2017

I can’t believe I saw Nick Jonas sing with Shania Twain last night 😂😂

— Tiff ✨ (@_TiffanyyMariee) April 30, 2017

when two of my favorite singers sing together and you feel like life couldn’t be better @nickjonas @ShaniaTwain https://t.co/svrNIo4W1D

— Bárbara (@barbaramayi) April 30, 2017

saw Nick Jonas sing with Shania Twain last nite and I could only think “If my mom let me be in Lizzie McGuire that could me my music career”

— dad (@torcasm) April 30, 2017

MATERIAL GIRL: Vanessa Schindler scooped the Première Vision Grand Prize at the 32nd edition of the Hyères International Festival of Fashion and Photography.
The 29-year-old Swiss designer, who recently completed a master’s degree in fashion at the Geneva University of Art and Design, impressed a jury headed by Maison Schiaparelli style director Bertrand Guyon with her innovative textile research.
The designer also won the event’s Public and City of Hyères award.
Schindler on her neo-chic silhouettes combined synthetic, interiors-inspired materials with urethane, a chemical resin that joins fabrics together when it dries, which she used to replace hems on garments and for ornamentation based on wavy, abstract patterns and plant-like motifs.
Key silhouettes in her women’s wear collection — “Urethane Pool, Chapitre 2” — included a synthetic fur coat edged with urethane trims, a lilac dress in fake velour with cape sleeves, and a cotton sweatshirt with organic urethane inserts. The collection’s showpiece was an Elsa Schiaparelli-worthy brown urethane gown worked with 3-D molded shell and garter snake motifs.
Among inspirations, the designer cited the interiors of the recently demolished, spiral-shaped Bavinger House — completed by architect Bruce Goff in Norman, Okla., in the U.S. in 1955, and considered one of the earliest examples of modernist biomimicry — as

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You can get one of numerous free titles of comic books at the annual Free Comic Book Day, the first Saturday in May (this year May 6). Stop by a participating store to pick up your freebie–you don’t have to buy anything. Some stores have special events like the chance to meet comic creators. Learn more at freecomicbookday.com. Some local participants (not a complete list): Comics Toons N Toys, 13542 Newport Ave.,Tustin, 714-730-2117; Big Red Comics, 162 N Glassell,Orange, 714-650-0813; JNJ Comics, 11765 Edinger Ave. Fountain Valley, 714-839-5424; POP! 203 W. Center St. Promenada, Anaheim, 800- 521-9975; Comics Unlimited, 16344 Beach Blvd. Westminster, 714-841-6646.

Why sit home because you don’t want to spend any money? Here are five things you can do that cost nothing at all!

Today, April 30

Enjoy Fiesta Days from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in San Juan Capistrano, including crafts, live performances, exhibits and more, including tortilla making, piñatas, shell bracelets, whaling memorabilia, 1890 chore table, and 19th-century games. Ballet Folklorico will perform at noon in colorful costumes. Throughout the day Frances Rios will play 19th century music in the Leck House. At 12:30 p.m. local mariachis will perform at the Historical Society. The Montanez Adobe will be open and docents will be available to answer questions.  At 1 p.m. a docent will talk about the Rios Adobe in front of the building. Location: Historical Society, 31831 Los Rios Street. Los Rios Street is the oldest residential street in California.

Enjoy Family Science Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.in the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve. Free activities in the Muth Interpretive Center classroom are presented once a month, each with a different educational theme to explore. The activities are self guided and may include hands-on exhibits, outside hikes, crafts and more. Recommended for ages 2-10. Phone 949-923-2290.  Location: 2301 University Drive, Newport Beach. Website: ocparks.com/parks/newport/

Saturday, May 6

Enjoy a free Latin Music Festival from 1 to 7 p.m. at MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana. This is to celebrate the mall’s 30th anniversary, and they say it’s the “biggest music festival in OC.” Tickets are free but you must order them in advance. Learn more here: shopmainplacemall.com/event

Want to learn how to grow a giant pumpkin? Yeah, c’mon. Sure you do. There will be a free growers’ forum at Irvine Park Railroad from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. where you can learn to grow a giant pumpkin from seed to harvest, including how to start the seeds, take care of the plants and then get your massive pumpkin to the official weigh-off in September.  And the first 30 families to sign in will get free giant pumpkin seedlings, too.  Last year’s winner, Chris Dunn, whose pumpkin weighed 1,452 pounds, will also talk about how to grow giant tomatoes. The event, in Irvine Park Railroad’s Miner’s Meadow, is free but it costs $5 to get into the park. Learn more: IrvineParkRailroad.com. Location: Irvine Regional Pk, 1 Irvine Park Rd, Orange.

Saturday, May 6 and Sunday, May 7

Head over to the annual Railroad Days in Fullerton. It’s lots of fun for the family, including trains such as the Disneyland C.K. Holliday Locomotive #1, other vintage locomotives and cabooses, model train layouts and more. Location: Fullerton Train Station. Learn more at FullertonTrainMuseum.org

Hi, it’s me, Marla Jo, your columnist and deals maven.  If you know a great deal, let me know at mfisher@scng.com. You can also find me at Deals Diva on Facebook and Twitter. And don’t forget to read my humor columns on Wednesdays in the Register.

GET FLEAS

If you like the Sunday flea market at Long Beach City College, sign up for the event’s emails and you’ll receive coupons good for 50 cents off the regular admission of $6. Or, you can download the 50-cent-off coupon from the website. These markets run most third Sundays from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and also on fifth Sundays, when they occur. Location: Veterans Stadium parking lot, 4901 E Conant Street Long Beach. Learn more at Longbeachantiquemarket.com/

FREE CLASS

Want to learn more about your family? Take a free beginning genealogy class taught by the Orange County Genealogical Society at 7 p.m. on Monday, May 1. Learn how to research your family history, use census records to trace ancestors, use genealogy software and more. Meets in the Balboa Room at the Huntington Beach Central Library. Class is held most first Mondays of the month. Location: 7111 Talbert Ave. Huntington Beach Learn more: occgs.com

LAST DAYS

There’s still plenty of snow up at Mammoth Mountain, but Sunday, April 30, is the last day you can shop for great deals this season at Ski and Snowboard Outlet, until 5 p.m. Then, the store will be closed until October. If you want to find marked-down and clearance apparel and equipment, stop by the store, just off the freeway in Santa Ana.There’s also a location in San Gabriel. Location: 1406 S. Village Way, (off the McFadden exit of the 55) Santa Ana. 714-647-9400. These are the same folks who used to be on Harbor Boulevard in Costa Mesa. Learn more: skiandsnowlc.com

RUBIO’S DEAL

If you like to eat at Rubio’s Coastal Grill, you can download two coupons right now, one that will give you $4 off any two entrees, good until May 14. Another will give you a free kid’s meal with adult paid meal, good until May 16. If you like learning about these kinds of deals, sign up for the loyalty club and get a free taco, too. Learn more here: rubios.com/coupons/share-love-offers

WAREHOUSE SALE

Drive on up to Vernon for the Classic Home warehouse sale Friday, May 5, and Saturday, May 6. You can score 70 percent off quality, upscale furnishings, bedroom décor, rugs and more. 4505 Bandini Blvd. (near the Citadel Outlets). Cash and credit. All sales final. Hours: Noon-7 p.m. May 5, 8 a.m-3 p.m. May 6. Learn more: ClassicHomeOutlet.com

FREE VISIT

Interested in seeing the famous Huntington Library and Gardens in San Marino? It’s free to visit every first Thursday of the month 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., but you must order tickets a month in advance, at 9 a.m. on the first day of each month preceding the month you wish to visit. Be online right at 9 a.m. on Monday, May 1 to snatch tickets for the June 1 free day  – they go fast. See a Gutenberg Bible, Pinky and Blue Boy paintings and gorgeous gardens. Regular admission is $25. Location: 1151 Oxford Road San Marino. Learn more here: Huntington.org/freeday

CAMPING DEAL

For Mother’s Day weekend, if you pay for one night, Friday, May 12, at a participating KOA campground, you get the Saturday night of May 13 for only $10. You’ll also get the chance to donate to KOA Care Camps, which sends kids with cancer and their siblings to camp. The Avila Beach, Santa Margarita, Palm Springs KOA are among those participating, and lots of other California campgrounds, too. Reserve now. Learn more at KOA.com/national-events/care-camps-big-weekend/.

GO TO YELLOWSTONE

Did you know that you can make reservations for Yellowstone National Park’s historic lodges for 2018, starting on Monday, May 1? This means you can score the most affordable rooms in the Old Faithful Inn or the basic Roughrider Cabins at the Roosevelt Lodge, for example, before they get quickly booked up. The park says it expects high call volumes and website usage that morning, so it’s suggested you  try n the afternoon, or calling 866-439-7375. You have to put down a first night’s deposit, and there’s a $15 fee if you cancel. If you’re willing to share a bathroom, you can stay at one of the historic lodges for only around $100 a night, compared to $200-300 for other types of accommodations. The Roughrider Cabins are a good choice for families with active kids. yellowstonenationalparklodges.com

BASEBALL DEAL

Like blue? Save up to 30 percent on select Dodgers game tickets courtesy of Denny’s restaurants. Learn more here: m.mlb.com/dodgers/tickets/special-events/dennys

FREE TOURS

Got a science geek in your family? Did you know that you can sign up for free public tours of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena? Yes, this is cool. You’ll learn about space. Public tours are generally conducted on a Monday or Wednesday and you must sign up far in advance. Maybe a good thing to do with out-of-town guests this summer? I just signed up for a day tour in July. You can register as many as 10 people in advance, and they’ll be thoroughly vetted in advance. JPL also has occasional public open houses, but the upcoming one is sold out. On May 1, they’ll open up dates for October tours. Learn more: jpl.nasa.gov/events/tours/views

With most California students failing to meet the state’s own English and math standards, the state consistently ranking near the bottom on nationwide tests and many students graduating ill prepared for either college or the life ahead of them, the education system has long been in need of reform.

Though special interest groups, especially the teachers unions, have long dominated discussions over education policy, it is important to understand the perspective of ordinary, less-ideologically-tethered Californians.

According to a recent survey from the Public Policy Institute of California, while most Californians give high marks to their local public schools, majorities also support tax-funded vouchers for use at the school of their choice, be it a public, private or parochial school. The PPIC survey assessed support for school vouchers at 60 percent, consistent with the 58 percent level of support found among Californians in 1998.

While voters in the state rejected ballot measures promoting school vouchers in 1993 and 2000, in campaigns featuring heavy spending by the California Teachers Association and other public employee unions, the fundamental idea apparently remains popular.

The PPIC poll notes that while 60 percent of adults polled supported vouchers, 66 percent of public school parents supported them as well. Self-described conservatives (70 percent) and moderates (58 percent) were most supportive of vouchers, though 50 percent of liberals expressed support for vouchers as well.

Geographically, 64 percent of those polled in the Inland Empire favored vouchers, while 58 percent in Los Angeles County and 56 percent in Orange and San Diego counties also backed them. Notably, African Americans (73 percent) and Latinos (69 percent), as well as people aged 18-34 (66 percent) were among the demographics with the highest levels of support.

It is notable that while the poll found such high levels of support, most people polled gave favorable ratings to their local public schools. Approximately 54 percent of Californians gave their local schools an A or B grade, with 62 percent of public school parents giving similar assessments. Still, even 58 percent of those who gave their local schools an A grade expressed support for vouchers.

At the very least, these findings should sustain public debate over the possibility of introducing vouchers, or some other mechanism which empowers parents to make the best choices for their children, into the state education system.

The PPIC survey also assessed public attitudes on matters of funding. Asked what would significantly improve the quality of K-to-12 public schools, 33 percent agreed using funds more wisely would work best, 14 percent supported more state funding and 49 percent supported a combination of spending more and using funds more wisely. The PPIC also found that only a minority of Californians approved of the way Gov. Brown (41 percent) and the Legislature (42 percent) have handled K-to-12 education matters.

With renewed campaigns by CTA and local unions like United Teachers Los Angeles, Anaheim Secondary Teachers Association and the San Bernardino Teachers Association to undermine even charter schools, it is unlikely discussions of vouchers will get far among the political establishment, which prefers spending more to spending smarter.

If our education system is to make strides, Californians will need to go beyond party politics and the agenda of the establishment. The freedom to choose in education should be expanded and efforts to overregulate, restrict and control such choices rejected.

Blame Franklin D. Roosevelt, or the Great Depression, or the herd mentality of media elites still hostile to Donald Trump. But assessing the first 100 days of Trump’s presidency has become a national obsession. Talking heads who wouldn’t know the New Deal from New Guinea have been contrasting the 45th president’s record with FDR’s — and it isn’t going well for The Donald.

Slate magazine, a liberal outlet, compared Trump’s first 100 days, unfavorably, to William Henry Harrison’s. The gag here is that President Harrison died on his 31st day in office. “The Simpsons” pictured President Trump in bed, a la Hugh Heffner, signing legislation that gives tax breaks only to Republicans. The New York Times proffered its predictable verdict: “[T]he least successful first 100 days since the concept existed.”

The “concept” entered America’s political lexicon in 1933, when the country was overwhelmed by an economic crisis that dwarfs current conditions. Faced with thousands of bank failures, crippling slowdowns in agriculture and industry, and massive job loss, President Roosevelt and the 73rd Congress enacted 15 major pieces of legislation between FDR’s March 4 inauguration and Congress’ June 16 adjournment. Some of these programs, including the Securities Act and the Tennessee Valley Authority, remain relevant and on the books.

“What was more, the nation’s spirits had been markedly lifted by this stunning display of political acumen and legislative achievement,” notes Stanford University historian David M. Kennedy. “In comparison, a flopped effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act and a clutch of court-blocked executive orders looks like a pretty paltry record indeed.”

“FDR came out of the starting blocks like an Olympic sprinter,” Kennedy added. “Donald Trump appears still to be doing stretching exercises.”

That view is a near-consensus among educated elites and rank-and-file Democrats: The new occupant of the Oval Office hasn’t grown in office, as Harry Truman famously did, they say. The man with the signature blond mane is still the same old Donald J. Trump. And he has some really lousy poll numbers to prove it.

But when do the normal rules of political engagement even apply to someone who has defied all the conventions of American politics? Viewed traditionally, there’s ample evidence that this White House is incompetent. They can’t even do the little things right. On Day One, Trump and his aides tied themselves into knots over a seemingly innocuous fact: that Barack Obama’s first inauguration drew a larger crowd than Trump’s. That was in January, and things don’t seem to be improving. The staff nearly bollixed the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, and last week it couldn’t run a teacher-of-the-year ceremony smoothly.

If they can’t do the ceremonial, feel-good stuff, they obviously can’t negotiate the minefields posed by Syria, Iran, Russia and North Korea — right? Well, maybe that’s not right. Even Democrats expressed grudging respect for how quickly and forcefully Trump responded to Syria’s use of chemical weapons. And if this president is somehow under the thumb of Vladimir Putin, he’s got a funny way of showing it. The saber-rattling over North Korea is hardly reassuring, but could it be that Trump knows what he’s doing?

Conservative historian Victor Davis Hanson says that the administration’s foreign policy team, led by Secretary of Defense James Mattis, is “an extraordinarily capable” group that is already strengthening relationships between the U.S. and its traditional allies. Meanwhile, Trump creates an environment of controlled chaos in which the president “bulldozes his way ahead, confusing and enraging his enemies and opposition,” Hanson said, while Mattis and National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster come behind him to clean up the mess.

Although this routine reverses the normal order of things, it also reminds some conservatives that Ronald Reagan’s State Department didn’t want him to deliver the “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall” speech — but he did anyway, and to good effect. There are many differences between Reagan and Trump, not the least is that by then Reagan had won re-election with a huge popular-vote mandate and Electoral College landslide. Trump touts his electoral rout, though it only exists in his mind, and in any event, the question is whether Trump’s act will wear thin within his own party if he can’t improve his poll numbers.

Here again, Trump’s example may be sui generis. Journalists point to Trump’s relatively low job approval rating — the lowest after 100 days in presidential history — as proof of failure. Democratic Party leaders emphasize those surveys while recruiting congressional candidates for 2018. But those poll numbers don’t necessarily mean what his critics think they mean. A job approval rating of 44 percent ain’t great, but the man only got 46 percent in November. He’s had very little slippage.

In other words, because Democrats and the media didn’t grant Trump a traditional “honeymoon,” he has no 100-day bounce to brag about. But that might not prove to be significant. Last November, Trump won 90 percent of Republican voters. His job approval rating among Republicans for the first three months of 2017 in the Gallup Poll is 87 percent, which also represents precious little slippage among his base — and stronger rank-and-file support than received by Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

Trump won just 9 percent of Democrats in 2016. His job approval rating among Democrats today? Only 9 percent, three times lower than any president has ever received from the opposition party after only three months in office. A more relevant way to think about Trump is to consider all he’s achieved in his first 683 days — since June 16, 2015, when this New York real-estate-mogul-turned-reality-television-star rode an escalator down to the lobby of his signature property on Fifth Avenue and declared he was running for president.

During that time, he built a political movement from scratch that defied all expectations and upended the political establishment of both parties. His victory in November was not only a shock to many, it redrew the electoral and demographic maps in this country. His appeal to working-class voters in the Rust Belt delivered Trump a solid 306-electoral-vote win.

Six months later, the dynamics that produced his victory remain in place. Overlooked amid hyperventilating about Trump’s tweets or other offenses, the president has consistently built on his relationship with working-class voters, meeting with union leaders, coal miners, small business owners and signing executive orders that speak directly to his supporters.

Recently, he returned to Wisconsin for the first time since his election, visiting Snap-on Tools in Kenosha. After touring the factory, Trump spoke to hundreds of company employees. He extolled the virtues of manufacturing, celebrated the workers and signed a directive ordering all federal agencies to “buy American” and “hire American.”

The Snap-on employees gave him a standing ovation. There’s no telling whether such infatuation will last. Democrats will never approve of Trump — even if they approve of certain decisions he makes in Syria or getting tough on trade. But Democrats aren’t part of the current equation. It’s all about Republicans and independents. How long will they stick with him? What might cause them to turn away from him? The answers to those questions revolve around whether the economy improves in a tangible way for the voters who put Trump in office.

To know that, we probably have to wait and see what happens in the next 683 days.

Carl M. Cannon is executive editor and Washington Bureau chief of RealClearPolitics. Tom Bevan is the co-founder and publisher of RealClearPolitics.

As part of their due diligence in digging into Eastern Washington wide receiver Cooper Kupp, the Rams requested an official 15-minute sit-down with the record-breaking receiver at the NFL combine in March.

Teams get only 60 such sit-downs spread over three nights in Indianapolis, and considering there are more than 300 prospects on hand it’s imperative for teams and players to make the most of the opportunity.

In Kupp’s case, the experience was, well, enlightening.

As part of the process, Rams coach Sean McVay put Kupp through a series of technical questions designed to get into his head and create a baseline for his cerebral knowledge of the wide receiver position.

McVay may be only 31, but he’s a football lifer who might as well have grown up clutching a playsheet in one hand and a whistle in another.

The pace, cadence and lingo in which he speaks is pure football.

In Kupp, McVay found almost a kindred spirit.

“You felt like you’re almost talking to a receiver coach,” McVay remembered.

Good thing for Rams receivers coach Eric Yarber, then, that Kupp still has a whole bunch of football to play before he starts contemplating a possible coaching career. McVay pointed that out to Yarber, who was barely a month into his new job at the time, as Kupp walked the Rams staff through the ins and outs of playing wide receiver.

“I looked over a (at Yarber) I said, ‘You’re lucky we just hired you man. We might have to hire this guy if he was coaching.’” McVay said.

He was joking, of course. And for now, Yarber’s job is safe. In fact, if Kupp has any say in the matter Yarber might soon be in line for a promotion. But it will be Kupp’s play rather than his words that help elevate Yarber’s profile.

The Rams made Kupp the 116th pick in the NFL draft Friday night and they envision him being a highly productive player in McVay’s offense and a trusted ally of second-year quarterback Jared Goff.

Those 15 minutes in Indianapolis didn’t cinch the deal, but they did shed some light on how a small-school standout who checked in with a 4.6 time in the 40 could put together such a dominant four-year run at FCS-level Eastern Washington.

Including the blowtorch he took to the Pac-12 every time he stepped foot on the field with the big boys.
Kupp finished his career with 428 catches for 6,464 yards and 73 touchdowns, which is a ridiculous level of production on any level.

But he saved a particular slice of savagery for the Pac-12, a conference that deemed him too slow coming out of high school to offer him a scholarship. In four games against Washington State, Washington, Oregon and Oregon State, Kupp served up a hefty spoonful of told-you-so with 40 catches for 716 yards and 11 touchdowns.

That’s an average of 17.9 yards per catch and a touchdown every 3.6 times he caught a ball.

If you don’t know what to look for in breaking down what makes a good wide receiver, the numbers probably make no sense considering Kupp can’t out-sprint some NFL linebackers in a straight-line 100-yard dash.

If you do know what to key on – the elite numbers Cooper posted at the combine in the three-cone and short shuttle drills, his footwork at the line of scrimmage, the precise route-running, the grasp of his assignment and the nuances of whatever coverage he’s working against, and his elite pass-catching ability – it makes all the sense in the world why he’s able to produce record-breaking numbers against whoever he lines up against.

“His above-the-neck approach, in terms of the way that he sees the game, it’s almost through the quarterback’s perspective,” McVay said. “He understands that, he understands route distribution.

“Then, I think he’s wired the right way. You can see he’s always got a plan at the line of scrimmage with how he’s going to work versus different coverages and where the holes are in that coverage, and he’s got great hands.

“I think you see a guy that understands the game. You watch him play, you see he’s got those pre-snap plans that, a lot of times, you don’t see. He is one of the more polished college receivers that I’ve evaluated coming out in a while, and that’s why you feel good about him. We’re excited to see how when we get him in that building, and then he’s able to go compete with our players how that translates.”

The above-the-head aspect is a survival kit Kupp began packing as soon as he figured out he wasn’t able to blow past defenders or physically fight them off to create separation.

“Early on when I wasn’t faster than guys, I wasn’t stronger than guys, I had to have something and that’s what I had – I had creativity in my route-running, knowing how to set guys up and get open,” he said. “And that’s something that I saw that my body may not be where it needs to be but I can still create a ton of separation by understanding how routes are run and understanding coverages.”

And even as a wispy high school freshman with no business of actually believing he’d one day play college football – let alone in the NFL – Kupp was laying the groundwork for the possibility.

“I was 5-4, 119 pounds and I had two-pound ankle weights on both ankles,” he said. “And I believed whole-heartedly that I was going to see this day, that I was going to play in the league and perform at a high level. Had to go through a lot of coaches telling me I needed to change my goals for myself. But that’s the way I set my goals, I set my goals laughably high and I want to pursue those things and my work ethic (paid off)”

As the years progressed, 5-4 and 119 turned into 6-2, 204, and little speed turned into good enough speed. In the meantime, the son and grandson of two former NFL players had established a level of work ethic, preparation and polish that, when combined with his emerging physical traits, allowed him to produce at a high level no matter the competition.

“I had to work for everything I got and I learned that at an early age and it was really a blessing in disguise,” he said. “Because I had those traits, I knew what it took to be great and when my body stared to catch up that stuff stuck with me and really created me into the player I have been.”

Granted, had Kupp thrown down a 4.3 40 time to back up all those gaudy stats we’d be talking right now about a top 10 draft pick. He was available to the Rams in the third round because he isn’t an explosive athlete who can take the top off a defense.

But that doesn’t mean he can’t excel playing a role that suits his physical profile and enhances his nuanced understanding of how to play wide receiver.

“I think he’s shown that he can win on routes from width as well,” McVay said, “I don’t want to exclusively say that he is a slot, but once some of those traits and characteristics, in terms of the ability to recognize coverage, be able to recognize if I’ve got an option route, working one way or the other. I think those are some of his best assets and qualities. He’s a football player and we’ll move guys around.”

By Chris Mooney

WASHINGTON – On what was shaping up as a record-hot day, tens of thousands of climate change demonstrators Saturday were making their way down Pennsylvaia Ave.are expected to assemble in Washington, where they planned to encircle the White House.

Organizers say about 300 other protest marches are expected around the country.  The large-scale climate change protest will mark President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office, which have been punctuated by multiple rollbacks of environmental protections.

The People’s Climate March, which originated with a massive demonstration in New York in September 2014, picked a symbolically striking day for its 2017 installment. Temperatures could exceed 90 degrees and possibly set a record for April 29 in the District of Columbia – which would greatly amplify the movement’s message.

In Augusta, Maine, protesters outside the statehouse said they wanted to draw attention to the damage climate change can cause marginalized communities. A demonstration stretched for several blocks in downtown Tampa, Fla., where marchers said they were concerned about the threat rising seas pose to the city.
The climate event differs from last week’s March for Science in its focus and also its participants – only 1 out of 8 planned contingents of Saturday’s protest will feature scientific researchers. The rest will include labor activists, indigenous peoples already facing severe effects from climate change, and children and young people who will live on Earth the longest as it continues to warm.

The motivation is clear: The young Trump administration already has moved to roll back President Barack Obama’s signature climate initiative, the Clean Power Plan, and it has taken many other actions to weaken environmental protections of air and water, and to enable fossil fuel exploitation on public lands and waters.

The administration is grappling with a major climate policy decision: whether to remain in the Paris climate agreement. Several of Trump’s Cabinet picks are advising against following through on his campaign pledge to “cancel” the accord.

Marchers on Saturday are expected to gather at the Capitol and then move up Pennsylvania Avenue and “surround” the White House. Celebrity attendees will include Leonardo DiCaprio, Al Gore and Richard Branson.

Organizers told the National Park Service that they expect between 50,000 and 100,000 attendees.

The forecast is for temperatures that reach as high as 89 to 93 degrees. The current record for the date is 91 degrees, while this month already is the warmest April on record for the District of Columbia.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report