Sun. Dec 22nd, 2024
Occasional Digest - a story for you

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

From Bill Plaschke: Dan Hurley is considered one of the best basketball minds on the planet.

He doesn’t want to work for the Lakers.

Dan Hurley was offered more than double his current salary as the current Connecticut coach — $70 million — to leave Storrs for Hollywood.

He told the Lakers to keep their money.

Dan Hurley, a former high school coach, was given a chance to lead basketball’s highest-profile team in its most glamorous city for a Lakers head coaching job that would offer him generational wealth and change his career arc forever.

He blew them off.

This says the Lakers must have one of the worst head coaching jobs in the history of organized basketball.

This says the Lakers’ front office must be viewed as an unadulterated mess.

This says LeBron James must be considered such a coach killer that even the most secure coach in the game wants no part of him.

This is embarrassing.

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Dan Hurley turns down Lakers coaching offer, will stay at Connecticut

Former Lakers coach Darvin Ham joining Milwaukee Bucks staff

Threat of a Boston NBA title brings out the pettiness in Lakers and Celtics fans

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DODGERS

From Jack Harris: The silence on the broadcast was deafening.

In a season already full of frustration and inconsistency, Kiké Hernández suffered another exasperating low Friday night.

During a choppy in-game interview between Hernández and the Apple TV broadcast duo of Wayne Randazzo and Dontrelle Willis on Friday — a second-inning chat in which the mic’d up Hernández struggled to hear the broadcasters through an on-field earpiece — a ball was hit to the third baseman right as Willis asked him a question.

“You guys are a close-knit ballclub,” Willis said, just as Gleyber Torres sent a two-hopper Hernández’s way. “Where does that come from?”

Hernández didn’t have time to answer.

The ball took a big hop, hit him in the midsection, and resulted in his second error of the year. As Torres pulled into first, neither Hernández nor the broadcasters said anything.

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MLB scores

MLB standings

NBA FINALS

Schedule and results
All times Pacific
Boston Celtics vs. Dallas Mavericks

at Boston 107, Dallas 89 (box score)
at Boston 105, Dallas 98 (box score)
Wednesday at Dallas, 5:30 p.m., ABC
Friday at Dallas, 5:30 p.m., ABC
*Monday at Boston, 5:30 p.m., ABC
*Thursday, June 20 at Dallas, 5:30 p.m., ABC
*Sunday, June 23, at Boston, 5 p.m., ABC

*-if necessary

USC

From Ryan Kartje: Former USC football player Abdul-Malik McClain has agreed to a plea bargain for his role in allegedly orchestrating a scheme from July 2020 to September 2020 that sought to claim more than $1 million in fraudulent COVID-related unemployment benefits from California’s Employment Development Department.

McClain, according to a copy of the plea agreement obtained by The Times, will plead guilty to one count of felony mail fraud.

McClain, who played at USC from 2018-2020, was arrested in December 2021 and charged with 10 counts of mail fraud and two counts of identity theft for allegedly filing fraudulent claims on behalf of USC football players under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which was established during the pandemic to provide aid to those who didn’t qualify for standard unemployment benefits.

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NHL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE

Evan Rodrigues had two goals in the third period, Niko Mikkola and Aaron Ekblad also scored and the Florida Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-1 on Monday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Final.

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 18 shots for Florida, which was 1-8 all-time in Cup final games before this series started — and now is two wins away from capturing its first championship.

But the win came with a price for Florida as the Panthers lost captain Aleksander Barkov when Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl launched toward him midway through the third period and hit him in the head. Barkov remained down for some time, needed help getting to the bench and went down the tunnel for the Florida locker room for further evaluation.

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Stanley Cup Final
All times Pacific
Florida Panthers vs. Edmonton Oilers

at Florida 3, Edmonton 0 (box score)
at Florida 4, Edmonton 1 (box score)
Thursday at Edmonton, 5 p.m., ESPN,
Saturday at Edmonton, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Tuesday, June 18 at Florida, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Friday, June 21 at Edmonton, 5 p.m., ESPN
*Monday, June 24 at Florida, TB5 p.m.D, ESPN

*-if necessary

THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1898 — Willie Simms becomes the only Black jockey to win the Preakness Stakes when he rides Sly Fox to victory and the only one to have won all three Triple Crown races. Simms’ other Triple Crown wins: Kentucky Derby (1896, 1898), Belmont Stakes (1893, 1894).

1919 — Walter Hagen wins the U.S. Open with a one-stroke playoff victory over Michael Brady.

1919 — Sir Barton, ridden by Johnny Loftus, captures the Belmont Stakes to become thoroughbred racing’s first Triple Crown winner.

1938 — Ralph Guldahl wins golf’s U.S. Open for the second straight year by beating Dick Metz.

1949 — Cary Middlecoff wins the U.S. Open by beating Sam Snead and Clayton Heafner.

1977 — Seattle Slew, ridden by Jean Cruguet, runs wire to wire in the Belmont for a four-length victory over Run Dusty Run and the Triple Crown.

1978 — Nancy Lopez shoots a record 13-under par to win the LPGA Championship by six strokes over Amy Alcott.

1982 — Larry Holmes stops Gerry Cooney in the 13th round for the WBC heavyweight title at Las Vegas.

1984 — The Boston Celtics beat the Lakers 111-102 in Game 7 to win their 15th NBA title.

1990 — Nolan Ryan, 43, pitches the sixth no-hitter of his career as the Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics 5-0. Ryan becomes the first to pitch no-hitters for three teams and the oldest to throw one.

1994 — For the first time in 11 years, the United States loses in the women’s world basketball championships. Guards Hortencia and Paula combine for 61 points, and Brazil stuns the defending champions 110-107 in the semifinals.

2006 — Se Ri Pak beats Karrie Webb on the first playoff hole to win the LPGA Championship. Pak atones for a three-putt bogey on the 18th hole in regulation that set up the playoff.

2012 — Rafael Nadal wins his record seventh French Open title, returning to Roland Garros to defeat Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5. It’s Nadal’s 11th Grand Slam title, tying him on the all-time list with Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg, who won six French Open titles.

2012 — The Kings win their first NHL championship, defeating the New Jersey Devils 6-1 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.

2017 — Rafael Nadal wins his record 10th French Open title by dominating 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 in the final. No other man or woman has won 10 championships at the same major in the Open era, which began in 1968.

2017 — Stanley Cup Final, Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN: Pittsburgh Penguins defeat Nashville Predators, 2-0 for 4-2 series win; Penguins back-to-back champions.

2023 — French Open Men’s Tennis: Novak Đoković beats Casper Ruud of Norway 7-6, 6-3, 7-5 for his men’s record 23rd Grand Slam singles title.

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.



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