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From Broderick Turner: When All-Star guard James Harden and PJ Tucker entered the Crypto.com Arena, they were met by Lawrence Frank, the Clippers’ president of basketball operations, and soon Clippers owner Steve Ballmer was embracing both of his two new players.
Harden then eased his way into the Clippers’ locker room Tuesday wearing a white hoodie and white shorts, a smile on his face, shaking hands with reporters he passed by a few hours before the Clippers defeated the Orlando Magic, 118-102.
A reporter asked if Harden was excited to have been traded to the Clippers late Monday night, a trade that actually hasn’t become official yet.
“You don’t understand,” Harden said.
Harden had forced his way out of Philadelphia, and was joined by Tucker, the two of them coming here in exchange for Nicolos Batum, Marcus Morris Sr., Robert Covington, Kenyon Martin Jr. and a slew of future draft picks.
Harden and Tucker are not expected to play against the Lakers on Wednesday night.
Paul gave his new teammates a glimpse of what he is going to offer to the cause by scoring 27 points on eight-for-17 shooting, six-for-nine on three-pointers.
Westbrook showed his former teammates what’s in store with 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
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From Bill Plaschke: So James Harden whined and insulted and pouted and basically quit his way from Philadelphia to the Clippers.
So what’s your point?
He’s a star. He’s a fit. He’s home. He’s happy. This is perfect.
The nearly finalized trade that will bring Harden to the Clippers from the Philadelphia 76ers for four role players and draft picks may offend sensibilities but should also engender applause.
No matter how he arrived here, Harden brings legitimate championship hopes and endless marketing possibilities and, for the Clippers and their long-suffering faithful, this is a good thing.
This works. This makes sense. This is exactly what they need and when they need it.
In this last-chance season for Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, Harden could be the glue that could keep them here.
In this last-Crypto season for owner Steve Ballmer, Harden could be the bridge that carries the franchise into next year’s opening of the Clippers’ new Inglewood arena.
Scouts, executives split on James Harden’s impact on Clippers: ‘They are feeling the pressure’
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From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: USC was letting star receivers run wide open. The Trojans were getting embarrassed by trick plays. They were being dragged all over their home field.
Down 17-0 against Arizona, Calen Bullock had seen enough.
“Lock! The! F—! In!” the junior safety shouted as he pulled the USC defense together on the sideline. His eyes were wide and fiery. His voice boomed. His teammates had never seen him like this.
“You could tell,” safety Jaylin Smith said, “that they were ready to run through a brick wall for him.”
Bullock had a reason to be fired up. Memories were swirling in his mind for days. The black ink on his white towel served as a silent tribute. When he flew across the end zone in the second overtime to break up a critical two-point conversion attempt, Annette McDaniels knew exactly the force behind the play.
“That’s your grandma,” McDaniels said, “watching out for you.”
1. Ohio State, 8-0
2. Georgia, 8-0
3. Michigan, 8-0
4. Florida State, 8-0
5. Washington, 8-0
6. Oregon, 7-1
7. Texas, 7-1
8. Alabama, 7-1
9. Oklahoma, 7-1
10. Ole Miss, 7-1
11. Penn State, 7-1
12. Missouri, 7-1
13. Louisville, 7-1
14. LSU, 6-2
15. Notre Dame, 7-2
16. Oregon State, 6-2
17. Tennessee, 6-1
18. Utah, 6-2
19. UCLA, 6-2
20. USC, 7-2
21. Kansas, 6-2
22. Oklahoma State, 6-2
23. Kansas State, 6-2
24. Tulane, 7-1
25. Air Force, 8-0
WORLD SERIES
Schedule
All times Pacific
All games on Fox
Arizona vs. Texas
at Texas 6, Arizona 5 (11) (recap, box score)
Arizona 9, at Texas 1 (recap, box score)
Texas 3, at Arizona 1 (recap, box score)
Texas 11, at Arizona 7 (recap, box score)
Tonight at Arizona, 5 p.m.
*Friday at Texas, 5 p.m.
*Saturday at Texas, 5 p.m.
*-if necessary
KINGS
Cam Talbot made 30 saves as the Kings beat Toronto 4-1 on Tuesday night in a game in which Maple Leafs winger William Nylander extended his season-opening point streak to a franchise record nine games.
Adrian Kempe, Phillip Danault, Arthur Kaliyev and Andreas Englund scored for the Kings. Quinton Byfield added two assists.
John Tavares scored for Toronto, which was coming off a 3-1-1 road trip that finished with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators on Saturday. Joseph Woll stopped 23 shots.
HORSE RACING
From John Cherwa: The Breeders’ Cup, horse racing’s most prestigious series of races, is finding itself in a public perception nightmare as one of its top horses died on Tuesday and the Belmont and Travers Stakes winner pulled out of the $6-million Classic.
Practical Move, the Santa Anita Derby winner who was considered a favorite for the Kentucky Derby before scratching out with a fever, dropped dead of an apparent cardiac event after finishing a morning gallop at Santa Anita on Tuesday, according to the Breeders’ Cup.
His rider was not hurt and the horse was immediately attended to by veterinarians, but they were unable to save him. Using defibrillators, commonly used on humans after a cardiac event, is not feasible on horses because the amount of voltage needed for a 1,000-pound-plus animal would put the person administering it at serious risk.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1938 — George Woolf, riding for regular jockey Red Pollard, leads Seabiscuit to a four-length victory over the heavily favored U.S. Triple Crown champion, War Admiral, in the Pimlico Special match race at Baltimore. A crowd of 40,000 spectators turn out for the winner-take-all match race with a purse of $15,000.
1946 — The first NBA game (known as the Basketball Association of America), the New York Knickerbocker beat the Toronto Huskies 68-66 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.
1959 — Montreal goaltender Jacques Plante revolutionizes his position — and the sport of hockey — by donning a facemask. Plante is struck in the face with a shot by New York Rangers forward Andy Bathgate at 3:06 of the first period. After receiving stitches to close a gash from the corner of his mouth all the way up through his nostril, Plante returns to the ice wearing a mask. The Canadiens win 3-1.
1964 — Cleveland’s Jim Brown rushes for 149 yards and becomes the first player to rush for more than 10,000 yards in a career as the Browns post a 30-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Brown with 10,135 yards had 47 games of 100-or-more yards rushing.
1966 — The NFL awards a franchise to New Orleans on All Saints Day.
1968 — Detroit pitcher Denny McLain wins the AL Cy Young award after finishing the MLB season 31-6.
1970 — Mercury Morris of the Miami Dolphins gains 302 combined yards (89 rushing, 68 receiving and 145 on kickoff returns) in a 35-0 loss to the Baltimore Colts.
1987 — Ibrahin Hussein of Kenya and Priscilla Welch of Britain win the men’s and women’s divisions of the New York Marathon, finishing the 26.2 miles in 2:11:01 and 2:30:17, respectively.
1996 — Shaquille O’Neal makes his Hollywood debut as Lakers beat the Phoenix Suns, 96-82 at the Forum.
1997 — Tom Osborne reaches 250 wins faster than any coach in college football history as Nebraska beats Oklahoma 69-7, the worst loss in Sooners’ history.
1998 — Steve Young and Jerry Rice hook up for their 80th career touchdown in Niners’ 36-22 loss to GB Packers at Lambeau Field; eclipse previous NFL mark held by Miami Dolphins tandem Dan Marino & Mark Clayton.
2000 — Pat Riley earns his 1,000th career coaching victory as Miami posts its most lopsided win in an opener with a 105-79 rout of Orlando. Riley reaches the plateau in 1,434 games — fewer than any coach or manager in any sport.
2003 — DeCori Birmingham rushes for 196 yards and two touchdowns, including the winning score in the seventh overtime, in Arkansas’ 71-63 victory over Kentucky. The seven overtimes match the longest game in NCAA history. The Razorbacks also won that game in 2001, beating Mississippi 58-56.
2008 — Michigan’s 48-42 loss at Purdue drops the Wolverines to 2-7, ending Michigan’s string of 33 straight bowl appearances. Michigan, assured of its first losing season since 1967, also sets a school record for losses.
2009 — Meb Keflezighi, becomes the first U.S. man in 27 years to win the New York City Marathon. Keflezighi, who moved from his native Eritrea to San Diego when he was in the sixth grade, finishes with a time of 2:09:15 for a personal best.
2015 — Simone Biles picks up gold medals number nine and 10 on balance beam and floor exercise as the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships come to a close. Biles breaks the career record for most World Championships gold medals by a female gymnast.
—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, and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.