Sport

Wawrinka, who turned pro in 2002, has won 16 tour-level trophies during his career, including a Masters 1000 title at Monte Carlo in 2014.

He also secured gold for Switzerland in doubles at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing partnering Roger Federer.

Known for his one-handed backhand, Wawrinka beat the world number one player in all three of his Grand Slam finals.

Wawrinka, who will turn 41 in March, has struggled with injuries in recent years and is currently ranked outside the top 150.

“I still want to push my limits and finish this journey on the best note possible,” Wawrinka added.

“I still have dreams in this sport. I’ve enjoyed every part of what tennis has given me, especially the emotions I feel playing in front of you.

“I’m looking forward to seeing you one more time, all around the world.”

Wawrinka’s first outing of 2026 will come at the United Cup team competition in Perth from 2 January.

It was a game to remember for Londynn Jones. She played with confidence and showed her dribbling skills and displaying her all-around skills as she finished the game with a career-high 28 points in the USC women’s basketball team’s 86-39 win over Cal Poly on Thursday night at Galen Center.

In the first part of the game, Jones was perfect on offense while aggressively defending every time the Mustangs had the ball. When Cal Poly attacked, she came up with steals and completed the play with a field goal, sometimes even adding one more point on a foul.

“I’m just happy we’re figuring it out, starting to finally put the pieces together,” she said. “I know that’s something we’ve been emphasizing in practice, just watching films and putting the pieces together.”

Jones finished the game making 11 out of 16 field goals, and Jazzy Davidson scored 17 points and had nine rebounds.

The Trojans (8-3) looked sluggish in the first half, with Davidson making only three of 11 field goals, and the Mustangs (2-9) grabbing 15 rebounds. But as the game progressed, the USC defense forced Cal Poly to run out the shot clock on multiple occasions and caused 27 turnovers while scoring 39 points off of them.

“We sort of played the way we wanted to, for a majority of the game, and that’s encouraging,” coach Lindsay Gottlieb said.

After losing to Connecticut 79-51 on Saturday, Gottlieb wanted to see her team play with intention while defending, she wanted them to pressure on the ball, and she wanted to see participation from all the players on the court, at once.

Offensively, she wanted her team to do the simple things better. Gottlieb wanted them to create space and have better movement.

“I saw that in practice and I think we saw a lot of it in the game tonight, too,” she said. “But, it’ll continue to be a work in progress.

The Trojans started the third quarter with 10 unanswered points. Cal Poly scored only five points in the quarter, allowing the Trojans to extend their advantage, closing out the third quarter with a 43-point lead, 71-28.

The Trojans finished the game with 15 steals and the bench scoring 45 points. As a whole, the team finished the game with 44 rebounds, with the majority of them coming from the offense.

“I thought our defensive intensity created more open looks for us,” Gottlieb said.

Yakiya Milton was a big part of that with her eight rebounds with four blocks in 10 minutes of play. One of the four blocks came when she stopped a Mustang drive to the basket and protected the rim. Something that Gottlieb preached during practice, she said.

“I try to capitalize on any opportunity I’m given,” Milton said. “I’m trying to play with as much energy and intensity as I can.”

As the Trojans look ahead to a stretch of Big 10 games against Nebraska and UCLA, Gottlieb doesn’t see a starting five. She sees the strengths of her team to be how deep their roster is.

“No one played 30 minutes at all and maybe that’s a little bit atypical, but we do believe that we can play different kinds of lineups, different people who have different skill sets, different looks,” she said.

And with the help of Jones, who has been to the Final Four with UCLA and has played in big conference games, she knows the team will feed off her energy and play with confidence

“I mean, she was wearing the wrong colors or the other colors,” Gottlieb quipped. “But you know, she’s been in situations and that experience is premium.”

“She’s going to bring that confidence and swagger no matter what,” she added.

Frank has endured a difficult start to life at Tottenham since joining them in June after seven years at Brentford, who he guided from the Championship to the Premier League in 2021.

The Dane’s performance had come under increasing internal scrutiny following a home defeat by Fulham on 29 November which came as part of a run of one win in eight, while sections of Spurs supporters have also voiced frustrations with Frank.

However, the manager insists he retains the backing from the club hierarchy.

“I feel supported. I’ve done that the whole time,” said the 52-year-old.

“This is not a quick fix. This will take time. That’s not to say that we’re not going to do everything we can to beat Liverpool.

“I’m very comfortable and confident that I will, how can I say, fix it, but just to make sure it’s not me. When this club comes out on top, there will be a lot of good people working together, aligned at the same time through the years.

“I just know one thing I’m pretty good at – I’m good at analysing things. I know what good looks like and I know where we should get [to], and… I’m 1,000% sure we haven’t seen any club be successful unless they had key people in the right positions for a long time.

“And I’ll back myself to be one of those key people to be in that position.”

SEATTLE — Puka Nacua promised he would learn from his mistakes, but his pledge was unconvincing.

His speech was rushed. What he said barely made any sense.

And there was this: On Thursday night, two days after criticizing referees on a livestream, Nacua posted a sarcastic message about the officials following the Rams’ 38-37 overtime defeat by the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field.

“Can you say I was wrong,” he wrote on X. “Appreciate you stripes for your contribution. Lol”

The post was quickly deleted. The questions about Nacua’s judgment remained.

Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua criticized referees immediately after the Rams’ overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night before deleting the post on X.

Nacua, 24, is in line for a monster contract extension in the upcoming offseason, as the Rams view their record-breaking receiver as a cornerstone. But here he was basically repeating a mistake he made only two days earlier, which can’t be what any team wants from its most popular player.

Are the Rams really about to entrust him with the responsibility of projecting their virtues?

Ironically, the most controversial aspect of his recent livestream appearance could be the most defensible. Hours before the Rams played the Seahawks, Nacua offered an explanation for the antisemitic gesture he made on Adin Ross’ and N3on’s show.

“At the time,” Nacua posted on Instagram, “I had no idea this act was antisemitic in nature and perpetuated harmful stereotypes against Jewish people.”

The story was believable. The offensive hand movements were part of a touchdown celebration Ross encouraged Nacua to perform if he scored against the Seahawks.

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Gary Klein breaks down what went wrong for the Rams in their 38-37 loss to the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field on Thursday night.

Ross is Jewish. Earlier in the livestream he wished his viewers a Happy Hanukkah, which prompted Nacua to share that he accepted a friend’s invitation to attend Shabbat last week.

When Nacua was informed of the undertone of the celebration he practiced with Ross, he apologized. He reached the end zone twice on Thursday and didn’t perform the dance either time.

“I know this guy’s heart and for anybody that was offended, terribly sorry about that,”Rams coach Sean McVay said. “I know he feels that same exact way.”

The guess here is that he won’t ever make the gesture again.

Less certain is whether Nacua will be able to continue building his personal brand without becoming a distraction to his team.

The Rams should be concerned.

In a short week, the Rams were forced to bar Ross and N3on from entering their building.

Later that afternoon, their most visible player joined the streamers in their vehicle and traveled to a club, where he claimed that referees purposely made egregious calls because they wanted TV airtime.

This is a brave new world for athletes and the teams that employ them. Younger audiences want their heroes to be open, whether they are athletes or entertainers. For stars such as Nacua, the challenge is to strike a balance between being accessible and protective of their teams.

Nacua failed to do that this week.

“Coach (McVay) has just echoed that he’s always in continuous support of me, disappointed in some of the actions that just distracted my teammates and that’s something that I know I’ll learn from and I don’t want to be a distraction in any week, especially in a short week, so we had talked about that and he’s right there behind me,” Nacua said.

Nacua nonetheless voiced his displeasure with referees again on Thursday, posting to X minutes after the Seahawks won the game by scoring a two-point conversion in overtime.

What inspired the message, Nacua said, was “just a moment of frustration after a tough, intense game like that, just thinking of the opportunities that I could have done better to take it out of their hands.”

Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua, right, celebrates next to teammate Jordan Whittington after making a touchdown catch in the fourth quarter against the Seahawks on Thursday.

(Soobum Im / Getty Images)

Whatever that meant.

McVay declined to comment about Nacua’s post, saying he was first informed of its existence when he was asked about it in his postgame news conference.

“I have to have more information before I answer any of those kinds of questions,” McVay said.

However, McVay said of Nacua’s comments about referees on the livestream, “Yeah, we don’t want to do that.”

Being asked about an unpleasant subject in the wake of a crushing defeat made McVay testy. Asked if the fallout from Nacua’s livestream was a distraction, McVay snapped, “Did you think his play showed that he was distracted?”

Nacua caught 12 passes for 225 yards.

But McVay caught himself and apologized.

“I love this team,” he said. “And, man, when you put out as much as our group does and you care so much about something and you come up short, it’s incredibly disappointing.”

Such presence of mind explains why McVay is the voice of the Rams. As competitive as he is, as intense as he can be, he knows how to keep his impulses from compromising his team’s long-term objectives.

Nacua has to figure out how to do that. By next season, he won’t be an underpaid star on his original rookie contract. He will have a deal that reflects his stature as a player, and with that comes responsibility. Recent days raised questions about whether he is capable.

Four players have been banned from ⁠all ⁠football-related activity for several years for their part in match-fixing offences in Australia’s A-League.

Kearyn Baccus and ex-New Zealand international Clayton Lewis were paid A$10,000 (£4,940) each to get themselves booked during Macarthur FC’s game against Sydney FC in December 2023.

Both were sentenced to a two-year conditional release order, external in September and have now been banned for five years by Football Australia, effective from May 2024.

They also accepted the offer of completing 200 hours of unpaid football-related community service ‌to reduce their bans by 12 months.

Meanwhile, Riku Danzaki and Japanese compatriot ‌Yuta Hirayama have been banned for seven years from June 2025.

Former Western United midfielder Danzaki pleaded guilty in August, external to deliberately earning yellow ‍cards in multiple A-League games in April and May.

He received A$16,000 (£7,900) from bets placed by his friend Hirayama, an amateur player.

All four ‌have decided not to exercise their ‍right to appeal and accepted the sanctions.

From Gary Klein: Short week, strange and bad trip.

It started with Rams star receiver Puka Nacua ripping NFL referees and making an antisemetic gesture on a livestream.

It ended with an epic fourth-quarter collapse.

And a potentially catastrophic fall from the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

The Rams were on the verge of enduring a quick turnaround, a distracting controversy, and a flight delay but they could not hold on to the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

The Rams’ 38-37 overtime defeat by the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night at Lumen Field continued a cascade of ill-timed news for coach Sean McVay and a team regarded as a Super Bowl contender.

The Rams’ record fell to 11-4. The Seahawks displaced them atop the NFC West. And the road to home-field advantage for the playoffs now includes some major roadblocks.

Thank the Rams defense: It forced three turnovers but blew a 16-point fourth-quarter lead.

“This one’s a tough one right there,” coach Sean McVay said of the loss. “Never seen anything like some of the things that occurred.”

McVay was referencing a two-point conversion attempt by the Seahawks in the fourth quarter, which was initially ruled an incomplete pass that left the Rams with a 30-28 lead.

Continue reading here

Rams summary

NFL standings

————

From Gary Klein: As the Rams prepared for their game on Thursday night against the Seattle Seahawks, star receiver Puka Nacua, the Rams and the NFL issued statements related to Nacua performing a gesture “antisemitic in nature” during a livestream.

In a post on Instagram, Nacua apologized for the gesture he made while appearing on a livestream with Adin Ross and N3on. The livestreamers, with Nacua out of earshot, discussed whether Nacua would get in trouble if he performed a move that references an offensive stereotype about Jewish people. Ross is Jewish, but he often performs the move and teaches others how to do it in his livestreams.

They suggested Nacua perform the gesture the next time he celebrated after scoring a touchdown.

“At the time, I had no idea this act was antisemetic in nature and perpetuated hateful stereotypes against Jewish people,” Nacua wrote in his post. “I deeply apologize to anyone who was offended by my actions as I do not stand for any form of racism, bigotry or hate of another group of people.”

Continue reading here

NFL Week 16 picks: Rams defeat Seahawks; Broncos edge Jaguars

Lakers win high-scoring game

From Broderick Turner: When Brice Sensabaugh drilled a wide-open three pointer in the third quarter, Lakers coach JJ Redick quickly called a timeout and began to gesture with both hands toward his players, clearly showing his displeasure with their defense.

The Lakers responded.

They especially picked up their defensive intensity for an important spurt in the fourth quarter, slowing down the Utah Jazz and in the process the Lakers’ offense took off, the two converging at the right time to push them to a 143-135 win Thursday night at the Delta Center.

“Obviously we know this Utah team can score points at a very high rate, but it was very imperative that we got stops,” said LeBron James, who had another productive night with 28 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. “We had to get stops to start that fourth and then it allowed our offense to click.”

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Lakers box score

NBA standings

Clippers lose again

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points before resting in the fourth quarter, and the Oklahoma City Thunder bounced back from a rare loss to beat the Clippers 122-101 on Thursday night.

The Thunder lost to the San Antonio Spurs last Saturday for just their second defeat of the season, ending their team-record, 16-game win streak. They recovered on Thursday after some much-needed rest and improved to 25-2 overall and 13-0 at home.

Gilgeous-Alexander made 13 of 24 shots and had seven rebounds and six assists. It was his 98th consecutive game with at least 20 points, adding to the second-longest streak in NBA history.

Continue reading here

Clippers box score

NBA standings

Londynn Jones has career game for USC

From Antony Solorzano: It was a game to remember for Londynn Jones. She played with confidence and showed her dribbling skills and displaying her all-around skills as she finished the game with a career-high 28 points in the USC women’s basketball team’s 86-39 win over Cal Poly on Thursday night at Galen Center.

In the first part of the game, Jones was perfect on offense while aggressively defending every time the Mustangs had the ball. When Cal Poly attacked, she came up with steals and completed the play with a field goal, sometimes even adding one more point on a foul.

“I’m just happy we’re figuring it out, starting to finally put the pieces together,” she said. “I know that’s something we’ve been emphasizing in practice, just watching films and putting the pieces together.”

Continue reading here

USC box score

Big Ten standings

————

From Ryan Kartje: With three key players out because of injury and USC in desperate need of depth, the Trojans are taking the rare step of adding reinforcements at the midseason mark.

Point guard Kam Woods, who last played at Robert Morris, was added to the Trojans’ roster and cleared to play on Thursday, despite the fact that USC is already a dozen games into the basketball season.

Woods could make an immediate impact for coach Eric Musselman, having averaged 14.9 points, 5.2 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game last year at Robert Morris, where he played alongside current Trojan, Amarion Dickerson. Woods is expected to step into the rotation right away with USC, after the Trojans lost starting point guard Rodney Rice for the season.

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Greg Biffle dies

A business jet crashed Thursday while trying to return to a North Carolina airport shortly after takeoff, killing all seven people aboard, including retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and his family, authorities said.

The Cessna C550 erupted into a large fire when it hit the ground. It had departed Statesville Regional Airport, about 45 miles north of Charlotte, but soon crashed while trying to return and land, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said.

The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately known, nor was the reason for the plane’s return to the airport in drizzle and cloudy conditions.

Biffle was on the plane with his wife, Cristina, and children Ryder, 5, and Emma, 14, according to the highway patrol and a family statement. Others on the plane were identified as Dennis Dutton, his son Jack, and Craig Wadsworth.

Biffle, 55, won more than 50 races across NASCAR’s three circuits, including 19 at the Cup Series level. He also won the Trucks Series championship in 2000 and the Xfinity Series title in 2002.

Continue reading here

Snowboarding in Australia?

From Kevin Baxter: Growing up just outside Melbourne, Australia, Scotty James was more likely to spot the Loch Ness Monster or Big Foot as he was to spot snow. For him, the Winter Olympics seemed about as accessible as Mars.

“It is very unique, being an Australian in winter sports,” he said. “We’re very few and far between.”

Unique, but not impossible. Because if he qualifies for February’s Milano-Cortina Olympics, as expected, James will become the first Australian man to represent the country in five separate Winter Olympics. If he reaches the podium in the men’s halfpipe, his specialty, he will become the most decorated winter Olympian in Australian history with three medals.

Yet it almost didn’t happen. If his father Phil, a passionate snowboarder, hadn’t talked a Vancouver ski-shop worker into selling 3-year-old Scotty a miniature display board during a family vacation to Canada decades ago, James still might be watching the Winter Olympics on TV.

Continue reading here

Kings end winless streak

Adrian Kempe scored twice in the second period, and the Kings beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 on Thursday night.

Anton Forsberg stopped 31 shots to help the Kings snap a four-game skid (0-2-2) and get just their third win in nine games (3-4-2).

Oliver Bjorkstrand scored for the Lightning and Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 18 saves. Tampa Bay has lost three straight (0-2-1) and seven of its last nine (2-6-1).

Continue reading here

Kings summary

NHL standings

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1913 — Heavyweight champion Jack Johnson fights to a 10-round draw with Battling Jim Johnson in Paris.

1917 — The NHL begins play. Joe Malone of the Montreal Canadiens scores five goals in a 9-4 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Harry Hyland of the Montreal Wanderers scores five goals in a 10-9 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

1943 — Harry Lumley, at 17 years and 38 days old, becomes the youngest goaltender in NHL history when he plays for the Detroit Red Wings in a 6-2 loss to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

1948 — The Cleveland Browns complete an undefeated season beating the Buffalo Bills 49-7 in AAFC championship game.

1948 — The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Chicago Cardinals 7-0 in a major snowstorm for the NFL title. Philadelphia’s Bucko Kilroy recovers a fumble on the 17-yard line in the fourth period, and Steve Van Buren later scores from the 5.

1976 — The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Colts 40-14 in an AFC playoff game. Ten minutes after the game, Donald Kroner, a former charter pilot, crashes a rented, low-wing, Piper Cherokee into the upper deck of Memorial Stadium. No one is seriously hurt as most of the capacity crowd of 60,020 left the one-sided contest early or were heading down the exit ramps.

1987 — Boston and St. Louis combine for the fastest two goals in NHL history. Ken Linseman puts the Bruins ahead 6-5 with 10 seconds left in the third period. Doug Gilmour of Boston wins the faceoff and shoots the puck into an empty net two seconds later to wrap up a 7-5 win over the Blues at Boston Garden.

1990 — Los Angeles Raiders running back Bo Jackson is named to the AFC team, as a reserve, becoming the first athlete chosen for All-Star games in two sports.

2001 — Marshall, led by Byron Leftwich, comes back from a 38-8 halftime deficit to beat East Carolina 64-61 in double-overtime in the GMAC Bowl for the highest scoring bowl game in history.

2007 — New York Islanders forward Chris Simon is banned for 30 games, drawing the longest suspension in NHL history again. Simon’s latest infraction was stepping on Pittsburgh’s Jarkko Ruutu with his skate during a Dec. 15 game. This is the seventh suspension of Simon’s career.

2009 — Michael Phelps helps his American team trounce a group of European all-stars in the Duel in the Pool, anchoring a relay to one of the eight world records the U.S. sets over the two-day meet in Manchester, England.

2010 — Philadelphia’s DeSean Jackson returns a punt 65 yards for a touchdown as time expires in the Eagles’ 38-31 comeback win at the New York Giants. It’s the only game-winning punt-return touchdown in NFL history as the Eagles come back from a 31-10 fourth-quarter deficit. It marks the ninth time in NFL history in which a team trailed by at least 21 points in the fourth quarter and wins the game.

2010 — The Detroit Lions stop their record road skid at 26 games with a 23-20 overtime win at Tampa Bay. It’s the first road win since Oct. 28, 2007, when they beat the Bears 16-7 at Chicago.

2017 — Freshman Trae Young has 26 points and ties an NCAA Division I record with 22 assists as No. 17 Oklahoma rolls past Northwestern State 105-68.

2017 — North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell becomes the third women’s Division I coach to register her 1,000th career victory after the Tar Heels beat Grambling State 79-63.

2017 — Geno Auriemma wins his 1000th game as top-ranked UConn beat Oklahoma 88-64 in the Hall of Fame women’s Holiday Showcase. Auriemma becomes the fourth women’s coach to reach the 1,000-win mark, joining Pat Summitt, Tara VanDerveer and Sylvia Hatchell, who earned her milestone victory earlier in the day.

2018 — Houston Rockets set NBA single-game record with 26 three-pointers in 136-118 victory over Washington Wizards;

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

SEATTLE — In a matter of minutes, the home of the Seattle Seahawks went from a painfully quiet Lumen “Library” to a rollicking madhouse that sent seismologists scrambling for their ground-motion sensors.

Call it the Sheesh-Quake Game.

In a historic comeback, the Seahawks dug their way out of a 16-point, fourth-quarter ditch to beat the Rams in overtime, 38-37.

Oh, the visitors will agonize over some of the bizarre calls, some deserving of further explanation from the NFL. An ineligible-man-downfield call that wiped out a Rams touchdown when they were a yard away from the end zone? That had people scratching their heads. Then there was that do-or-die two-point conversion that seemingly fell incomplete… but later was reversed. More on that in a moment.

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Gary Klein breaks down what went wrong for the Rams in their 38-37 loss to the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field on Thursday night.

When the Rams wincingly rewind the video of the collapse, they’ll be peering through the cracks in their fingers.

You’ve heard of a no-look pass? This was a no-look finish.

As soothing wins go, this was a warm bubble bath for the Seahawks, who secured a playoff berth and assumed the driver’s seat in the race for the NFC’s No. 1 seed.

“You hear people late in the year have losses, and you hear people come up here and say, like, ‘Man, this is going to be a good thing for us,’” said Seahawks receiver Cooper Kupp, a onetime Rams hero. “It’s much better to be up here right now saying this is going to be a good thing for us.”

Kupp atoned for his first-half fumble with a successful two-point conversion in the fourth quarter — the first of three in a row for the Seahawks — and a 21-yard reception on the winning drive in overtime.

“If you find a way to get a win when you do turn the ball over three times, you do end up down 16 points, or whatever it was, in the fourth quarter, just finding ways to win games when the odds are against you and things aren’t going right — finding a way to fight back — it’s going to be a good thing for us,” Kupp said. “A good thing for us to draw on.”

The Rams are sifting through the debris of a different lesson. It was a reminder that this charmed season, with Matthew Stafford in line to win his first Most Valuable Player honor, can come crashing down at any moment. There’s no more smooth glide path to Santa Clara for the Super Bowl.

As good as it was for most of the game, picking off Sam Darnold twice and sacking him four times, the Rams defense failed to hold up when it counted most. Shades of the three-point loss at Carolina.

Darnold will have a story to tell. He exorcised a lot of demons. The Rams sacked him nine times in the playoffs last season when Darnold was playing for Minnesota, and intercepted six of his passes in two games this season.

“It’s not great when you have interceptions and turnovers, you want to limit that,” said Darnold, the former USC star. “But all you can do is fight back. For us, I was just going to continue to plug away.”

Darnold came through when it counted, completing five passes on the winning drive, then finding the obscure tight end Eric Saubert — his fourth option — wide open in the end zone on the triumphant conversion.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold looks to pass against the Rams in the first half Thursday.

(Lindsey Wasson / Associated Press)

The second of the three conversions was the game’s most controversial moment. The Seahawks needed it to forge a 30-30 tie with a little more than six minutes remaining in regulation.

Darnold fired a quick screen pass to his left, trying to get the ball to Zach Charbonnet. Rams defender Jared Verse jumped the route and knocked down the pass. Everyone thought the play was dead, including Charbonnet, who casually jogged across the goal line and picked up the ball as it lay in the end zone.

That proved critical because officials — after what seemed like an eternity — ruled that Darnold had thrown a backward pass and the ball was live when Charbonnet picked it up. Therefore, a fumble recovery and successful conversion, tying the game.

Asked later if it felt like a backward pass, Darnold had a half-smile and said, “Um, yeah. It felt like I threw it kind of right on the side. I’m glad Charbs picked it up, and that turned out to be a game-changing play.”

Was that designed to be a backward pass?

“It just happened to be backwards,” he said. “It wasn’t necessarily talked about. We were just trying to get it in down there on the goal line.”

The Seahawks were lined up to kick off when officials announced that, upon review, the previous play was successful. Suddenly, the most improbable of come-from-victories was within reach.

Earlier in the fourth quarter, when the home team was trailing, 30-14, the Amazon Prime crew had to do some vamping to keep viewers engaged. Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit told some Kurt Warner stories from the “Greatest Show on Turf” days. Hey, it had to be more interesting than this game.

Michaels delivered an obscure stat: When leading by 15 points or more in the fourth quarter, the Rams were 323-1.

Informed of that, Seahawks running back Cam Akers — once shown the door by the Rams — had a wry response.

“Now, they’ve lost two,” he said.

Celebration in one locker room. Silence in another.

Do you believe in meltdowns?

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca says reports describing him as a potential successor to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola are “100% speculation”.

The 45-year-old is the former assistant to Guardiola at City and there have been multiple reports that his mentor could step down at the end of this season.

The Italian was appointed Chelsea manager in June 2024 and has a contract running until 2029, with an option to extend by a further season.

When asked whether there was any truth to the City reports, Maresca said: “It doesn’t affect me at all because I know that is 100% speculation. And at this moment, there is no time for these kind of things.

“First of all, because I have a contract here until 2029 probably. And my focus, I said many times, is just about this club and I’m very proud to be here. But again, it’s speculation. One week ago I was in Italy, the same with Juventus. So I don’t pay attention because I know that is not true.”

Fourth-placed Chelsea play Newcastle in the Premier League on Saturday at 12:30 GMT.

SALT LAKE CITY — When Brice Sensabaugh drilled a wide-open three pointer in the third quarter, Lakers coach JJ Redick quickly called a timeout and began to gesture with both hands toward his players, clearly showing his displeasure with their defense.

The Lakers responded.

They especially picked up their defensive intensity for an important spurt in the fourth quarter, slowing down the Utah Jazz and in the process the Lakers’ offense took off, the two converging at the right time to push them to a 143-135 win Thursday night at the Delta Center.

The Lakers gave up 41 points in the first quarter and a season-high 78 at the half. They allowed 57 points in the second half and put the Jazz away by scoring 41 points in the fourth quarter.

“Obviously we know this Utah team can score points at a very high rate, but it was very imperative that we got stops,” said LeBron James, who had another productive night with 28 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. “We had to get stops to start that fourth and then it allowed our offense to click.”

But even with the Lakers building a 12-point lead in the fourth, the Jazz continued to put stress on L.A.’s defense, getting within four points late in the game.

The Lakers’ Lebron James dunks over the Jazz’s Kyle Filipowski at Delta Center Thursday night in Salt Lake City, Utah.

(Alex Goodlett / Getty Images)

The Lakers had answers every time, keeping the game in their hands behind Luka Doncic’s triple-double — 45 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds.

His 45-point triple-double and five steals made Doncic just the second player in NBA history to accomplish that feat since steals became official in 1973-74. Detroit Cade Cunningham (46 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists, five steals) is the other player to do so, producing that against the Wizards on Nov. 2025 in overtime.

Doncic was 14-for-28 from the field, four-for-12 from three-point range and had just one turnover in 39 minutes and 33 seconds of play.

Doncic also was the first Laker to have a 40-point triple-double since Magic Johnson in 1981.

“I think, honestly, I could do so much more,” Doncic said. “But I think that one turnover is the best stat-wise on this stat sheet. So, we had seven turnovers, which is impressive for us and we won the game. And again, that’s what matters. But I think we locked in a lot in the second half. We did a great job.”

The Lakers got a scare when James went down holding his left knee after a collision with Utah’s Walter Clayton Jr.

James was dribbling the basketball near the three-point arc when Clayton went for a steal, but instead his knee hit the inside of James’ knee, knocking the Laker to the floor with 7:52 left in the second quarter.

James eventually got up and continued to play, taking a rest with 4:53 left in the half.

James described what happened on the play.

“Just a little bolt to the knee, like a sharp pain to the knee,” James said. “Got kneed on the the inside, like the medial side of the knee. And just kind of wanted to take my time a little bit as it calmed down or whatever the case may be. Or hoping it calmed down. Told Mike (Mancias) my trainer, I said, ‘We dodged a bullet there.’ ”

The Lakers were already without starters Austin Reaves (left calf strain) and Deandre Ayton (left elbow soreness), but then they added key role player Gabe Vincent (lower back tightness) to the injury list, leaving them without three main players entering the game at Utah. Vincent will be reevaluated in a week.

Lakers guard Luka Doncic celebrates after making a play during the second half of a win over the Jazz Thursday night at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

(Alex Goodlett / Getty Images)

Jaxson Hayes started at center in place of Ayton and Smart started at guard for Reaves.

Injuries also hit the Jazz, as star forward Lauri Markkanen, the ninth-highest scorer (27.8) in the NBA this season, was out because of a right groin injury.

Smart had 17 points, which included him going three-for-four from three-point range in the fourth quarter.

Hayes had 16 points, making all seven of his field goals.

Redick talked to his team at halftime about their poor defensive effort and he did again in the third quarter during that timeout.

His message was simple.

“The players gotta go out and do it,”: Redick said. “So it’s not, I don’t know if it sparked ‘em or not, and I just know that after that they were better.”

In front of his home crowd, Travis Head finishes unbeaten on 142 at the close on day three to help put Australia firmly in control of the third Test against England in Adelaide.

READ MORE: Head century drives England closer to Ashes defeat

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Favourite Anthony Joshua tips the scales more than 12 kilos heavier than YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul at weigh-in.

Former heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua easily made weight ahead of his fight against social media boxing disruptor Jake Paul at Thursday’s official weigh-in in Miami.

Joshua, who under the rules of the fight, couldn’t weigh more than 245 pounds (111kg), tipped the scales at 243.4 pounds (110kg).

Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs), who usually fights in the heavyweight classification at about 250 pounds (11kg), was the lightest he has been since he dropped to 240 pounds (109kg) for his first heavyweight title fight against Oleksandr Usyk on September 25, 2021.

Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) weighed in at a bulky 216 pounds (98kg) – but still more than two stones, or 12.7 kilogrammes, less than the Briton, who is 13 centimetres taller at 1.98m (Six feet, six inches).

It was just the second time in his professional career that the American weighed in above his usual cruiserweight limit of 91kg, or 200 pounds.

After the weigh-in, Paul, who excitedly took to the stage first and jeered up the crowd, claimed Joshua was nervous heading into the fight and said he would “shock the world” on Friday.

“I smell fear. I see something in his eyes, I truly do,” Paul said.

“The pressure is on him. I’m fighting free. I’ve already won. This is a lose-lose situation for him. I’ve got him right where I want him.”

Joshua, who remained composed throughout the weigh-in, other than when he pushed Paul’s fist away from his face and exclaimed “don’t touch me” during the promotional stare off, said his talent would prevail against the smaller, less experienced boxer.

“I’ll just outclass this kid. I’m a serious fighter. That’s the difference. I’m a serious, serious fighter,” the 2012 Olympic champion said.

The fight will take place at Miami’s Kaseya Center at 10:30pm on Friday (03:30 GMT Saturday).

The contest is an eight-round sanctioned bout with 10-ounce gloves to be used.

Joshua is returning to the ring for the first time since his knockout defeat to fellow Briton Daniel Dubois in September 2024.

In the weigh-in for the co-main event, holder Alycia Baumgardner came in at 129.2 pounds (58.6kg) while challenger Leila Beaudoin came in at 130 pounds (58.9kg) ahead of their unified junior lightweight title bout.

Baumgardner hasn’t been beaten since 2018 and is the strong favourite to retain her titles.

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
THURSDAY’S RESULTS

BOYS
CITY SECTION
AHSA 53, Neuwirth Leadership 35
Alliance Levine 43, Alliance Bloomfield 32
Bernstein 74, Arleta 46
Bravo 62, LA Marshall 61
Downtown 80, Animo Bunche 21
LA Hamilton 64, LA University 55
LA Wilson 77, Franklin 61
Manual Arts 48, Diego Rivera 47
Panorama 76, Reseda 23
San Fernando 69, Canoga Park 57
Sylmar 74, Van Nuys 58
Torres 68, Umiversity Prep Value 53
West Adams 66, Santee 53
Westchester 52, Venice 47
WISH Academy 74, Gertz-Ressler 25
USC-MAE 39, Annenberg 34

SOUTHERN SECTION
AAE 68, NSLA 30
Animo Leadership 76, Compton Early College 36
Banning 73, Twentynine Palms 66
Bishop Diego 82, Orcutt Academy 37
Burbank 67, Muir 47
Burbank Burroughs 61, Hoover 56
Calvary Baptist 70, Crossroads Christian 25
Carter 56, Kaiser 54
Cerritos Valley Christian 70, Paramount 64
Chaminade 75, Santa Monica 57
Citrus Hill 67, Paloma Valley 55
Desert Christian Academy 38, San Jacinto Leadership 34
El Dorado 92, Placentia Valencia 84
Elsinore 82, West Valley 35
Esperanza 59, Yorba Linda 47
Flintridge Prep 83, Rio Hondo Prep 60
Fullerton 52, Sunny Hills 45
Gahr 74, Cerritos 46
Gardena Serra 77, Firebaugh 65
Garden Grove 47, Oxford Academy 44
Garden Grove Pacifica 49, Western 28
Indian Springs 62, Beaumont 42
Jurupa Hills 88, Grand Terrace 40
Legacy Christian Academy 77, Norco 38
Long Beach Cabrillo 72, Compton 63
Los Altos 80, Hacienda Heights Wilson 61
Mayfair 74, Long Beach Jordan 72
Millikan 73, Long Beach Wilson 62
Palmdale Aerospace Academy 84, Lancaster Baptist 35
Palm Springs 71, La Quinta 22
Quartz Hill 77, Palmdale 62
Redlands East Valley 89, Indio 36
Rubidoux 61, Nogales 31
Santa Barbara 59, San Marcos 50
Segerstrom 60, Westminster La Quinta 53
Shadow Hills 47, Xavier Prep 19
Silverado 54, Hesperia 47
South Hills 61, Keppel 48
St. Monica Academy 66, Mesrobian 42
Tahquitz 67, San Jacinto 41
Temecula Prep 68, San Jacinto Valley Academy 31
Thousand Oaks 54, Oxnard 34
United Christian Academy 46, Anza Hamilton 42
Upland 58, Western Christian 33
Vasquez 79, Santa Clarita Christian 37
Webb 59, Bassett 32

INTERSECTIONAL
Austin (TX) Prep Academy 70, SoCal Academy 69
Beverly Hills 55, Rancho Dominguez 42
Brentwood 60, Punahou (HI) 58
Clovis East 53, King/Drew 42
Crenshaw 52, Capistrano Valley 51
Harvard-Westlake 84, Lexington Catholic (KY) 37
Heritage Christian 71, ANTHS (AZ) 21
Palos Verdes 63, San Pedro 61

GIRLS
CITY SECTION
Animo Bunche 31, Downtown Magnets 5
Diego Rivera 40, Manual Arts 22
Eagle Rock 49, Lincoln 27
Fulton 21, East Valley 14
Gertz-Ressler 46, WISH Academy 17
LA Wilson 39, Franklin 26
Northridge Academy 65, Vaughn 16
Palisades 69, LACES 45
Panorama 42, Reseda 36
San Pedro 79, Legacy 6
Santee 46, West Adams 32
Smidt Tech 33, Animo De La Hoya 10
Torres 38, University Prep Value 19
USC-MAE 48, Annenberg 31
Westchester 59, Venice 48

SOUTHERN SECTION
AAE 56, NSLA 14
Apple Valley 61, Granite Hills 19
Bolsa Grande 31, Garden Grove 29
Burbank Providence 39, Le Lycée 15
California Military Institute 50, Nuview Bridge 25
Chaffey 36, Tustin 31
Coachella Valley 61, Desert Mirage 6
Compton 59, Long Beach Cabrillo 11
Crescenta Valley 64, Glendale 39
Flintridge Prep 54, Keppel 36
Godinez 47, Corona del Mar 45
Hacienda Heights Wilson 61, Los Altos 56
Holy Martyrs Armenian 61, Milken 44
Indian Springs 55, Bloomington 15
Laguna Blanca 24, Santa Clara 17
La Habra 51, Irvine 43
Long Beach Jordan 67, Irvine University 14
Long Beach Wilson 38, Millikan 19
Norwalk 49, Western 25
Oxnard Pacifica 47, Foothill Tech 45
Pioneer 49, Maranatha 42
Redlands 38, Indio 19
Riverside King 50, Warren 35
Riverside Notre Dame 28, Colton 19
Sage Hill 57, Marlborough 35
Santa Margarita 62, Xavier College Prep 53
Savanna 44, La Palma Kennedy 39
Segerstrom 51, Cerritos Valley Christian 45
Shadow Hills 57, Xavier Prep 39
South El Monte 57, Pomona Catholic 4
Southlands Christian 50, Legacy College Prep 11
South Torrance 43, Queen Creek (AZ) Casteel 40
Twentynine Palms 24, Banning 10
West Covina 71, Edgewood 21
Woodbridge 42, Westminster La Quinta 26

INTERSECTIONAL
Bartlett (TN) 59, Mater Dei 56
Clovis 66, Moreno Valley 45
Lakewood St. Joseph 66, Gilbert (AZ) Highland 30
Long Island Lutheran (NY) 61, Fairmont Prep
Rolling Hills Prep 62, Denver (CO) Mullen 28
St. Anthony 62, Chandler Hamilton (AZ) 49
Villa Park 72, Scottsdale (AZ) Notre Dame Prep 56
Waddell (AZ) Canyon View 42, Lynwood 31

Harry Brook drops a tough chance to remove Travis Head, with the Australian opener on 99 with the home side on 202-4 and a lead of 287 on day three of the third Test in Adelaide.

FOLLOW LIVE: The Ashes third Test – day three

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SEATTLE — Short week, strange and bad trip.

The Rams were on the verge of enduring a quick turnaround, a distracting Puka Nacua controversy, and a flight delay but they could not hold onto the No. 1 seed in the NFC.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold’s two-point conversion pass to tight end Eric Saubert sent the Rams to a 38-37 overtime defeat on Thursday night before 68,853 at Lumen Field.

After Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford connected with Nacua for a 41-yard touchdown pass, Darnold’s four-yard touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba pulled the Seahawks to within two points.

Darnold finished the Rams with the pass to Saubert.

The loss dropped the Rams record to 11-4, knocked them out of first place in the NFC West and put a major roadblock in their pursuit of home-field advantage for the playoffs.

The division race remains tight, with the Seahawks (12-3) now in first place and the San Francisco 49ers (10-4) still in the mix.

The Rams conclude the season with a Monday night game against the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta and a home game against the Arizona Cardinals.

The Seahawks finish with road games at Carolina and San Francisco.

The 49ers play the Colts at Indianapolis and then home games against the Chicago Bears and the Seahawks.

Stafford completed 29 of 49 passes for 457 yards and three touchdowns. Nacua caught 12 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns. Kam Curl, Josh Wallace and Kobie Turner forced turnovers for the Rams, but it wasn’t enough

The Rams, who clinched a playoff spot last Sunday with a victory over the Detroit Lions, played Thursday without injured star receiver Davante Adams.

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford passes during the second half against the Seahawks on Thursday night.

(Lindsey Wasson / Associated Press)

Nacua, rookie Konata Mumpfield and Xavier Smith tried to make up the difference.

Nacua entered the game mired in controversy after making critical comments about referees and performing an antisemetic gesture during a livestream. The third-year receiver apologized in an Instagram post Thursday, and the Rams and NFL released statements denouncing the gesture.

“Coach has just echoed that he’s always in continuous support of me, disappointed in some of the actions that just distracted my teammates and that’s something that I know I’ll learn from,” said Nacua, who eclipsed 180 yards receiving for the third game in a row. “And I don’t want to be a distraction in any week, especially in a short week, so we had talked about that and he’s right there behind me.”

Turner, linebacker Nate Landman and defensive tackle Poona Ford had sacks for the Rams.

The Rams led 13-7 at halftime on Stafford’s short touchdown pass to rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson and the first two of Harrison Mevis’ three field goals.

Near the end of the second quarter, Curl forced former Rams receiver Cooper Kupp to fumble the ball out of the end zone for a touchback, preserving the lead.

Early in the third quarter, Kenneth Walker III scored on a long touchdown run for the Seahawks, but Mevis’ third field goal put the Rams back in front, 16-14.

On the ensuing possession, Wallace picked off a pass for his first career interception and returned it 56 yards to set up Blake Corum’s one-yard touchdown run for a 23-14 lead.

The Rams scored early in the fourth quarter when Nacua broke free for a 58-yard reception, and Nacua then scored on a short pass for a 30-14 lead. Turner’s first career interception on Seattle’s ensuing possession seemingly sealed the victory.

But Rashid Shaheed returned a punt 58 yards for a touchdown and Kupp caught a two-point conversion pass to pull the Seahawks to within eight points with about eight minutes left.

Darnold’s 26-yard touchdown pass to tight end A.J. Barner pulled the Seahawks even, and after it appeared that a two-point conversion pass failed, officials ruled that Darnold’s pass was behind the line of scrimmage when it tipped off Jared Verse and was recovered in the end zone by Zach Charbonnet for two points, tying the score.

The Rams had a chance to take the lead with just over two minutes left, but Mevis missed a 48-yard, field-goal attempt, his first miss of the season.

Mitchell Starc bowls a “furious” Ben Stokes for 83, as his partnership with Jofra Archer is finally broken on 106 to leave England on 274-9 on day three of the third Ashes Test in Adelaide.

FOLLOW LIVE: The Ashes third Test – day three

Available to UK users only.

TAMPA, Fla. — Adrian Kempe scored twice in the second period, and the Kings beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 on Thursday night.

Anton Forsberg stopped 31 shots to help the Kings snap a four-game skid (0-2-2) and get just their third win in nine games (3-4-2).

Oliver Bjorkstrand scored for the Lightning and Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 18 saves. Tampa Bay has lost three straight (0-2-1) and seven of its last nine (2-6-1).

The Lightning outshot the Kings 13-3 in the third period, but couldn’t get the tying goal past Forsberg.

Bjorkstrand gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead with 7:06 remaining in the first period with a power-play goal, knocking in the rebound through Forsberg’s pads after the goalie stopped his initial attempt.

Kempe then scored twice 10½ minutes apart in the second to put the Kings ahead. First, he beat Vasilevskiy from between the circles at 5:21 to tie it. Then, he put a backhander past the goalie from the right side on a breakaway with 4:02 remaining in the period with his team-leading 13th for a 2-1 lead with 4:02 left in the period.

England’s Brydon Carse dismisses Jake Weatherald lbw for one, but replays show the decision should have been overturned as Australia are made to regret their decision not to review, leaving the home side on 8-1, with a lead of 93, on day three of the third Ashes Test in Adelaide.

FOLLOW LIVE: The Ashes third Test – day three

Available to UK users only.

STATESVILLE, N.C. — A business jet crashed Thursday while trying to return to a North Carolina airport shortly after takeoff, killing all seven people aboard, including retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and his family, authorities said.

The Cessna C550 erupted into a large fire when it hit the ground. It had departed Statesville Regional Airport, about 45 miles north of Charlotte, but soon crashed while trying to return and land, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said.

Flight records show the plane was registered to a company run by Biffle. The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately known, nor was the reason for the plane’s return to the airport in drizzle and cloudy conditions.

Biffle was on the plane with his wife, Cristina, and children Ryder, 5, and Emma, 14, according to the highway patrol and a family statement. Others on the plane were identified as Dennis Dutton, his son Jack, and Craig Wadsworth.

“Each of them meant everything to us, and their absence leaves an immeasurable void in our lives,” the joint family statement said.

Biffle, 55, won more than 50 races across NASCAR’s three circuits, including 19 at the Cup Series level. He also won the Trucks Series championship in 2000 and the Xfinity Series title in 2002.

NASCAR said it was devastated by the news.

“Greg was more than a champion driver; he was a beloved member of the NASCAR community, a fierce competitor, and a friend to so many,” NASCAR said. “His passion for racing, his integrity, and his commitment to fans and fellow competitors alike made a lasting impact on the sport.”

The plane, bound for Florida, took off from the Statesville airport shortly after 10 a.m., according to tracking data posted by FlightAware.com.

Golfers playing next to the airport were shocked as they witnessed the disaster, even dropping to the ground at the Lakewood Golf Club while the plane was overhead. The ninth hole was covered with debris.

“We were like, ‘Oh my gosh! That’s way too low,’” said Joshua Green of Mooresville. “It was scary.”

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were investigating.

The Cessna plane, built in 1981, is a popular mid-sized business jet with an excellent reputation, aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti said. It has two engines and typically seats six to eight passengers.

In 2024, Biffle was honored for his humanitarian efforts after Hurricane Helene struck the U.S., even using his personal helicopter to deliver aid to flooded, remote western North Carolina.

“The last time I spoke with Cristina, just a couple of weeks ago, she reached out to ask how she could help with relief efforts in Jamaica. That’s who the Biffles were,” U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, a Republican from North Carolina, said.

Wadsworth was Biffle’s friend and helped him with odd jobs, including delivering supplies to places hit by Hurricane Helene, roommate Benito Howell said.

“He didn’t know how to say no,” Howell said of Wadsworth, who had worked for several NASCAR teams. “He loved everybody. He always tried to help everybody.”

The joint family statement also spoke about Dutton and his son Jack, saying they were “deeply loved as well, and their loss is felt by all who knew them.”

With 2025 almost over, there have been 1,331 U.S. crashes this year investigated by the NTSB, from two-seat planes to commercial aircraft, compared to a total of 1,482 in 2024.

Major air disasters around the world in 2025 include the plane-helicopter collision that killed 67 in Washington, the Air India crash that killed 260 in India, and a crash in Russia’s Far East that claimed 48 lives. Fourteen people, including 11 on the ground, died in a UPS cargo plane crash in Kentucky.

A low-key, media-only weigh-in took place on Thursday morning at the Fontainebleau hotel, before a ceremonial weigh-in later in the day at the Fillmore Miami Beach.

Heavyweights do not usually have to make weight, but Joshua was required to come in under 17st 7lb (111kg) – reflecting the gulf in experience between the fighters.

He tipped the scales at 17st 5lb (110kg), with Paul weighing 15st 7lb (98kg).

At the official weigh-in earlier, Paul stepped on the scales calmly before breaking into a brief, animated and somewhat confusing tirade.

“Do you know who I am? I am him,” he shouted, eyes wide, as he gestured towards the assembled media.

Paul was the heaviest he has weighed in at – 3lb more than for his fight against Mike Tyson last year.

The weight discrepancy has been a major talking point.

Paul has operated largely at cruiserweight for much of his boxing career.

Joshua was never expected to miss the limit, having posted a video on social media two weeks ago showing himself already on target.

He has comfortably made similar weights before, including for both fights against generational great Oleksandr Usyk. At his heaviest, he was 18st 3lb (118kg) during his professional career.

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS

BOYS
CITY SECTION
AMIT 59, Sun Valley Magnet 38
Bernstein 71, Contreras 26
Crenshaw 55, King/Drew 39
Fulton 50, Vaughn 48
Hollywood 104, Belmont 10
LA Hamilton 71, Downtown Magnets 69
MSAR 67, Valor Academy 56
MSCP 84, Larchmont Charter 25
Northridge Academy 59, VAAS 12
Orthopaedic 69, Animo Bunche 34
RFK Community 73, Jefferson 70
Royal 54, Mendez 52
View Park 55, Bell 48
Wilmington Banning 62, Elizabeth 26

SOUTHERN SECTION
Arroyo 54, South El Monte 50
Chadwick 91, Paramount 63
Damien 66, Aquinas 41
Downey 57, Workman 22
Edgewood 52, West Covina 43
Flintridge Prep 80, ISLA 15
Gabrielino 91, Mountain View 46
Garden Grove 58, Irvine University 56
Hemet 56, Valley View 55
Highland 68, Lancaster 34
Hillcrest 57, Orange Vista 56
Indian Springs 64, Citrus Valley 55
Laguna Beach 70, Costa Mesa 46
Lakeside 54, Canyon Springs 50
La Palma 69, Westminster 18
Maricopa 47, Laton 17
Moreno Valley 52, Arlington 42
North Torrance 75, Bellflower 30
Pasadena Marshal 75, El Monte 51
Peninsula 65, Redondo Union 63
Perris 63, Riverside North 62
Pilgrim 71, Westmark 39
Public Safety Academy 51, River Springs Charter 44
Quartz Hill 76, Antelope Valley 44
Redondo Union 76, Peninsula 18
Riverside King 61, Chaparral 55
Riverside Poly 54, Liberty 43
Samueli Academy 49, Bolsa Grande 48
San Fernando Academy 71, Summit View 19
Segerstrom 66, Loara 38
Sierra Vista 62, Covina 58
Temple City 51, El Rancho 46
Thousand Oaks 65, Shalhevet 38
Torrance 76, El Segundo 37
Vista del Lago 57, Heritage 51

INTERSECTIONAL
Dorsey 60, Lawndale 55
Grace 68, Panorama 34
LA Roosevelt 42, Alhambra 39
San Gabriel 50, Maywood CES 23
Westchester 48, Compton Centennial 36

GIRLS
CITY SECTION
AMIT 25, Sun Valley Magnet 20
Bernstein 56, Contreras 13
Cleveland 64, North Hollywood 24
Hollywood 63, Belmont 13
King/Drew 60, Crenshaw 12
Larchmont Charter 36, MSCP 33
MSAR 42, Valor Academy 29
Orthopaedic 28, Animo Bunche 5
Rancho Dominguez 31, Elizabeth 20
South East 51, Lakeview Charter 23
Washington 65, Fremont 10

SOUTHERN SECTION
Agoura 65, Simi Valley 38
Buena Park 78, Westminster 29
Citrus Valley 43, Indio 24
Covina 56, Garey 25
CSDR 71, Victor Valley 33
El Modena 37, Edison 29
Flintridge Prep 85, Westridge 9
Gabrielino 81, Mountain View 4
Hemet 51, Valley View 24
Jurupa Valley 29, Indian Springs 20
Knight 81, Littlerock 8
Lancaster 60, Highland 40
Laton 29, Maricopa 8
Liberty 59, Citrus Hill 28
Los Altos 59, Anaheim 42
Los Amigos 39, Saddleback 19
Mira Costa 54, West Torrance 50
Newbury Park 53, Oxnard Pacifica 34
Oxnard 50, Santa Paula 42
Quartz Hill 57, Antelope Valley 18
Rancho Verde 46, Perris 19
Ramona 56, Gahr 29
Rancho Christian 100, Heritage 41
Riverside North 47, Vista del Lago 34
Riverside King 63, Xaxier Prep 38
Riverside Poly 73, Paloma Valley 38
River Springs Charter 35, Public Safety Academy 15
San Gabriel 46, Edgewood 26
San Gabriel Academy 63, Compton Centennial 62
Savanna 52, Costa Mesa 38
South El Monte 24, Arroyo 21
Thousand Oaks 69, Shalhevet 39
Torrance 74, El Segundo 36
Upland 44, Rosemead 27
Woodbridge 48, Century 6
Yorba Linda 64, Placentia Valencia 44

Who: Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool
What: English Premier League
Where: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, United Kingdom
When: Saturday December 20, at 5:30pm (17:30 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 17:00 GMT in advance of our text commentary stream. Click here to follow our live coverage.

Defending champions Liverpool will seek back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since September when they visit Tottenham on Saturday, but the Reds’ woes are far from a distant memory.

The pressure building on manager Arne Slot, who last year won the title in his first season in charge, was mounting after a run of nine defeats in 12.

The public fallout between the Anfield club and their star forward, Mohamed Salah, has overshadowed the Slot situation – but it has not gone away. Spurs similarly had a sticky run of six defeats in 10 games during October and November and it has hardly improved since.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at a game that sees both managers concerned for their immediate futures.

What is the latest on Mohamed Salah’s Liverpool future?

Salah has now departed for Egypt duty at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, but it has not changed his situation at Anfield.

Ever since the 33-year-old claimed he had been “thrown under the bus” by the Reds for their woeful season – after he was dropped to the bench for three consecutive games – rumours had been rife that his time on Merseyside was coming to an end.

The Saudi Pro League have made no secret of their desire to make a move for Salah, who was dropped from Liverpool’s squad for their Champions League match in Milan following his outburst.

The forward did return to the bench for the visit of Brighton in the Premier League last week but his time away at AFCON is likely to be surrounded by speculation that the January transfer window will see a switch to Saudi Arabia.

What happened in Tottenham’s last game?

Tottenham were soundly beaten 3-0 at Nottingham Forest last Sunday, in a game that saw rumours of Thomas Frank’s demise as Spurs manager increase.

Callum Hudson-Odoi scored the first two goals for the home side before Ibrahim Sangare ended any hopes of a Spurs comeback in the 79th minute.

What happened in Liverpool’s last game?

Liverpool put aside the Salah saga and the speculation about Slot’s future with a 2-0 win against Brighton at Anfield last Saturday.

Hugo Ekitike scored both goals, the opener in the first minute of the match, while Salah was an early first-half substitute and assisted for the second from a corner kick.

Whether that was Salah’s last game as a Red remains to be seen.

How have Tottenham fared in the Premier League this season?

Tottenham began their Premier League campaign, Frank’s first in charge, with a run of only one defeat in their opening seven games. The North Londoners have since lost five of their last nine in the league.

The run of six defeats in 10, in all competitions, has been followed by two wins, and the defeat by Forest, in their last four in all competitions. It is just one win in seven, however, in the league – a run that has seen Spurs slip into the bottom half of the table.

How have Liverpool fared in the Premier League this season?

Liverpool won their opening seven games of the season in all competitions, excluding the preseason Community Shield defeat on penalties against Crystal Palace.

Four straight defeats followed, which began the run of nine defeats in 12. In Premier League terms, the Reds have only won three of 11 games – losing six. On the back of winning their first five league games of the season, the Anfield club have been able to hold onto a top-half position in the league, and they start the latest round of matches in seventh position – 10 points of leaders Arsenal, who travel to Everton Saturday evening.

How much pressure is on Tottenham manager Thomas Frank?

Tottenham lifted the UEFA Europa League last season, but that was not enough to stop Ange Postecoglou from being axed at the end of the campaign. The recent run of matches has resulted in huge pressure being placed on Frank.

The biggest rumour to mount has been that former Spain and Barcelona midfielder, Xavi, is being lined up to replace Frank.

Spurs have been renowned for being a sacking club, with Frank being the fifth permanent manager since Mauricio Pochettino was sacked in 2019.

Should Frank be shown the door, his would not be the shortest tenure of a Spurs manager in recent times – Nuno Espirito Santo lasted only four months and two days during his 2021 stint in charge.

What happened the last time Tottenham played Liverpool?

Liverpool thumped Tottenham 5-1 in the Premier League at Anfield in April when the sides last met.

Dominic Solanke gave Spurs a 12th-minute lead before Luis Diaz, Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo responded for the Reds by the break.

Mohamed Salah and a Destiny Udogie own goal completed the rout in the second period.

What happened in the corresponding fixture between Tottenham and Liverpool last year?

It was a Premier League double for Liverpool last season as they won the first meeting of the last campaign with a nine-goal thriller at Tottenham on December 22.

The 6-3 win for the Reds saw Diaz and Salah both hit braces in a game where the away side led 3-1 at the break, and 5-1 by the 61st minute.

When did Tottenham last beat Liverpool?

Tottenham did actually manage to beat Liverpool last season in the first leg of their League Cup semifinal. The 1-0 home win wasn’t enough for Spurs, however, as the Reds had the last laugh, winning 4-0 in the return fixture at Anfield.

Lucas Bergvall scored the only goal in London, while the aggregate score was level at the break in the second leg after Gakpo’s first-half strike. Salah, Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk settled matters in the second period.

When did Tottenham last beat Liverpool in the Premier League?

Tottenham’s last league win against Liverpool came in September 2023, courtesy of a 2-1 home.

Curtis Jones saw red in the 26nd minute with Son Hueng-min netting Spurs’ first 10 minutes later.

Gakpo levelled for the Reds on the stroke of half-time but the second half went from bad to worse as Diogo Jota was given his marching orders in 69th minute before Joel Matip put through his own net in the final minute of the game.

Head-to-head

This is the 186th meeting between the sides, with Liverpool winning 90 times and Tottenham emerging victorious on 50 occasions.

The first match was in November 1909 on the old Division One (now the Premier League) with Spurs winning 1-0 in London. Liverpool won the return match that season 2-0 in March 1910.

Tottenham team news

James Maddison, Destiny Udogie, Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski are all injured, while Kota Takai and Radu Dragusin are still deemed short of match fitness as they make their returns from knocks.

Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr are both at the Africa Cup of Nations, meaning Frank is set to be without eight players for Liverpool’s visit.

Liverpool team news

Salah is the number one absentee for Liverpool, although the Egyptian did start the last four league games on the bench.

Cody Gakpo, Giovanni Leoni and Wataru Endo are all injured while Conor Bradley is suspended.

Dominik Szoboszlai and Joe Gomez both picked up knocks in the Brighton game and are a doubt, but Jeremie Frimpong is close to a return following a hamstring injury.

Predicted Tottenham starting lineup

Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence; Palhinha, Bergvall; Kudus, Simons, Kolo Muani; Richarlison

Predicted Liverpool starting lineup

Alisson; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Chiesa, Jones, Wirtz; Ekitike