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From Jeff Miller: The Chargers traded their longest-tenured player Thursday night, moving Keenan Allen to Chicago in exchange for a fourth-round pick.
Trying to free salary-cap space, the team approached the wide receiver about taking a pay cut, according to a person familiar with the situation not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. When Allen refused, the Chargers decided to deal him, with the Bears benefiting.
In 11 seasons, Allen, who turns 32 in April, caught 904 passes for 10,530 yards and 59 touchdowns.
His departure means quarterback Justin Herbert loses his favorite, most reliable target.
The Chargers also cut wide receiver Mike Williams this week and allowed running back Austin Ekeler to depart via free agency. So Herbert will enter next season with a vastly different looking supporting cast.
The team entered this week some $25 million over the salary cap, the release of Williams necessary to reach compliance by a 1 p.m. PDT deadline Wednesday.
The Chargers then reworked the contracts of edge rushers Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa to open more space, both players agreeing to take pay cuts, according to multiple reports.
Allen was unwilling to do so, and new Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz made among the boldest of moves possible.
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RAMS
From Gary Klein: The remaking of the Rams secondary continues.
On Thursday night, the Rams agreed to terms with former Washington Commanders safety Kamren Curl, a person with knowledge of the situation. The person requested anonymity because the deal has not been signed.
Curl, 25, is the second free agent defensive back to join the Rams this week. Cornerback Darious Williams, who played for the Rams from 2018 to 2021, returned to the Rams after playing two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Curl joins a safety group that includes Quentin Lake, Russ Yeast and Jason Taylor II. Jordan Fuller, a team captain last season, and John Johnson III are free agents.
New Ram teamed with ‘The Wizard’ before; Colby Parkinson feels at home at tight end
CLIPPERS
Paul George made six three-pointers and scored 28 points, Kawhi Leonard added 27 and the Clippers beat the Chicago Bulls 126-111 on Thursday night.
The Clippers regrouped after a 20-point lead late in the third quarter dwindled to eight in the fourth and stopped a two-game skid, beating Chicago for the second time in six days. Both teams were missing key players with the Clippers’ James Harden (strained left shoulder) and the Bulls’ Coby White (sore right hip) sidelined.
George was 11 of 12 from the field. He made six of seven threes — one shy of a season high — and the Clippers were 20 of 40 from beyond the arc.
Leonard, who exited Tuesday’s loss to Minnesota because of back spasms, made 12 of 17 shots.
DODGERS
From Jack Harris: As most of his teammates trickled back into the clubhouse after a morning practice at Camelback Ranch last week, Mookie Betts remained planted on the infield dirt of Field 2 at the Dodgers’ spring training facility.
Then, for several minutes, he took grounder after grounder after grounder from the left side of the diamond — the latest step in his rigorous process to transition to a new defensive position.
It had only been a couple of days since the former Gold Glove right fielder, who was already preparing to play second base full time this season, was informed that he would instead be taking over as the Dodgers’ starting shortstop to begin the upcoming campaign.
“I believe in myself,” Betts said this week, before the team’s Thursday flight to South Korea for its season-opening series against the San Diego Padres. “That’s the most important thing.”
Dodgers renew Andrew Toles’ contract again. He hasn’t played since 2018 due to mental health issues
Column: Can Dodgers strengthen bond between Shohei Ohtani and Hokkaido?
USC BASKETBALL
From Ben Bolch: For a few minutes, the dream looked plausible.
Five days after beating Arizona on its home court, USC was outplaying the Wildcats again with sticky defense and a snail’s pace that favored the Trojans.
A second consecutive upset would clear the biggest remaining hurdle toward USC’s hopes of winning the Pac-12 tournament and the resulting automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Unleashing a shrewd plan to counter an offensive juggernaut, the Trojans forced steals and grabbed offensive rebounds, irritating the Wildcats and their restless fans. Ten minutes in, Arizona — averaging a conference-best 89.5 points per game — had scored 12.
Slowly, the formidable climb for a team with a losing record to keep playing deeper into March became too steep. The Trojans started getting sloppy with the ball. They couldn’t stop fouling. They were done.
Ninth-seeded USC’s ambitions — and its season — ended with a 70-49 clobbering by top-seeded Arizona in a quarterfinal Thursday at T-Mobile Arena that left the Trojans with their lowest scoring output of the season and their first losing record since 2019.
UCLA BASKETBALL
From Ben Bolch: Nearly 30 years after Tyus Edney made 4.8 seconds part of the UCLA basketball lexicon, the Bruins needed some 4.4 magic.
That’s how many seconds remained in a bonkers Pac-12 tournament quarterfinal that saw UCLA seemingly beaten only for its point guard to drag his team back to the verge of an improbable comeback.
Dylan Andrews had trumpeted his status as a rising star by his strong play in recent weeks. Now, with those handful of seconds left, he could join Edney in Bruins lore.
His team trailing Oregon by two points Thursday inside T-Mobile Arena, Andrews took an inbounds pass deep in the backcourt. He zipped ahead, keeping coach Mick Cronin’s instructions in mind.
“Coach told me four seconds left, that I just have four dribbles,” Andrews said. “And to make a play.”
Andrews drove just inside the free throw line. He unleashed a floater that cleared the outstretched hand of N’Faly Dante but bounced off the back of the rim.
Game over. Season over. Magic denied.
DUCKS
Marc-Andre Fleury made 16 saves in his 75th career shutout, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Ducks 2-0 on Thursday night.
Fleury is 11th on the NHL shutouts list, one behind Ed Belfour and Tony Esposito. The 39-year-old goaltender got plenty of help from his teammates, who were credited with 16 blocked shots.
Kirill Kaprizov and Zach Bogosian scored for the Wild, who improved to 5-0-1 in their last six games. Minnesota entered the night six points behind Vegas for the final wild card in the Western Conference.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1869 — The Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first pro baseball team, is organized by George Ellard and Harry Wright.
1958 — Cincinnati’s Oscar Robertson scores a NCAA Midwest region-record 56 points in a 97-62 rout of Arkansas.
1962 — Wilt Chamberlain is 1st to score 4,000 points in an NBA season.
1985 — Larry Holmes scores a 10th-round knockout of David Bey in Las Vegas to retain the world heavyweight title.
1997 — North Carolina’s Dean Smith becomes the career victory leader when the Tar Heels beat Colorado 73-56. Smith, with 877 victories, passes Kentucky coaching legend Adolph Rupp.
2001 — The NCAA men’s basketball tournament opens with a series of close calls and upsets, with 15th-seeded Hampton beating second-seeded Iowa State 58-57 in the biggest surprise of the day.
2004 — Alexander Mogilny has three assists in Toronto’s 6-5 overtime victory at Buffalo, becoming the second Russian to reach the NHL’s 1,000-point plateau.
2008 — Georgia Southern sets an NCAA record for all Divisions, hitting 14 home runs in a 26-8 win over Columbia. In all, 12 different Eagles hit a home run.
2009 — Detroit beats Columbus 4-0 to become the first team in NHL history to top 100 points in nine straight seasons. The Stanley Cup champion Red Wings, the NHL leader with 101 points, break a tie with Montreal (1974-75 through 1981-82).
2012 — Syracuse avoids becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose to a 16 when it rallies for a 72-65 victory over North Carolina-Asheville in the East Regional. The Bulldogs were up 34-30 at halftime — the seventh 16 seed to lead at the break.
2016 — Stephen Curry has 27 points, five rebounds and five assists on his 28th birthday, and the Golden State Warriors beat the New Orleans Pelicans 125-107 for their record 49th straight regular-season home victory. The Warriors (60-6), who are 31-0 at Oracle Arena this season, become the fastest team to 60 wins in NBA history.
2016 — Dallas Seavey wins his third straight Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and his fourth overall title in the last five years. Seavey completes the nearly 1,000-mile race in a record time of 8 days, 11 hours, 20 minutes, 16 seconds.
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.