Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.
Newsletter
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.’s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
From Jack Harris: For nine innings on Tuesday night, the Dodgers played with their food at Angel Stadium.
Only in extras, thanks to a four-run rally keyed by Mookie Betts’ three-run homer, did they finally assert their dominance over the last-place Angels.
In the first of this week’s two-game Freeway Series, the Dodgers won 6-2 in front of a sold-out crowd of 44,731 in Anaheim, one split between Angels fans and a rowdy contingent of visiting Dodgers fans all there to witness Shohei Ohtani’s return to his old home stadium.
“Most importantly, it’s about winning the game and I’m glad we won,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton afterward. “The biggest part of all this is really being able to play in this stadium and in front of these fans. That’s the part that was special for me.”
Ohtani provided some fireworks in the third inning, lining an RBI triple into the right-field corner and scoring on a Betts RBI single.
After that, however, the Dodgers went quiet, striking out 16 total times (including 10 against Reid Detmers, the Angels starter who entered with an ERA over 6.00) before finally breaking a 2-2 tie in the top of the 10th inning.
Could Angels have kept Shohei Ohtani? Their non-offer lingers ahead of his Anaheim return
Enjoying this newsletter? Consider subscribing to the Los Angeles Times
Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Become a subscriber.
From Ryan Kartje: D’Anton Lynn walked along the perimeter of Allegiant Stadium hours before his anticipated USC debut, headphones on, shutting out the noise around him for one lap, then another … then another. In a loud stadium, on a crowded sideline, Lynn walked as if totally alone, talking to no one, entranced in a silent, steely focus.
The Trojans’ new defensive coordinator had earned a few moments of calm before the chaos of a new college football season, his most critical yet as a coach. He’d carried on the last nine months amid constant noise and persistent questions about how quickly he’d turn around a dismal defense after doing the same in a single year at UCLA. All along he’d kept an even keel, making no promises other than to assure everyone that his team would come prepared Sunday.
“He’s actually a lot more relaxed” of a coach, safety Akili Arnold said. “Because he knows we’re going to play good ball. He trusts in us.”
USC quarterback Miller Moss part of 2022 dispute that triggered university investigation
AP TOP 25
1. Georgia, (57), 1-0, 15,45
2. Ohio State, (5), 1-0, 1,478
3. Texas, 1-0 1,418
4. Alabama, 1-0, 1,309
5. Notre Dame, 1-0, 1,240
6. Ole Miss, 1-0, 1,212
7. Oregon, 1-0, 1,197
8. Penn State, 1-0, 1,146
9. Missouri, 1-0, 968
10. Michigan, 1-0, 935
11. Utah, 1-0, 897
12. Miami, 1-0, 893
13. USC, 1-0, 811
14. Tennessee, 1-0, 784
15. Oklahoma, 1-0, 703
16. Oklahoma State, 1-0, 610
17. Kansas State, 1-0, 607
18. LSU, 0-1, 410
19. Kansas, 1-0, 349
20. Arizona, 1-0, 339
21. Iowa, 1-0, 294
22. Louisville, 1-0, 188
23. Georgia Tech, 2-0, 161
24. NC State, 1-0, 142
25. Clemson, 0-1, 134
Others receiving votes: Texas A&M 97, Boston College 49, Boise State 47, Iowa State 32, Memphis 27, Nebraska 27, SMU 23, Washington 20, Liberty 12, Wisconsin 8, Vanderbilt 8, Auburn 8, Tulane 4, North Carolina 4, UTSA 3, App State 3, West Virginia 2, Kentucky 2, Arkansas 2, UNLV 1, Colorado 1
Dropped from rankings: Florida State 10, Texas A&M 20
RAMS
From Gary Klein: Ford Field in Detroit, site of the Rams’ NFC wild-card playoff loss to the Lions last season, would not rank as the friendliest place for an opposing team’s rookie kicker to make his NFL debut.
The Rams’ Joshua Karty embraces the challenge.
The sixth-round draft pick from Stanford is looking forward to the Sept. 8 opener against the Lions.
“Why not just jump straight into the deep end?” said Karty, who is charged with remedying the Rams’ woebegone kicking of 2023 . “I definitely like high-energy environments. It’s just a lot of fun.”
CHARGERS
From Sam Farmer: Most people look at the player who initiates the new NFL kickoffs as the kicker.
Not Derius Davis.
“That guy looks like a steak dinner to me,” said Davis, slated to return kicks for the Chargers.
That’s because if a returner can slip through a crease, it could leave him in a one-on-one situation with someone who makes his living with his toe, not his tackles.
The new rules put the majority of opposing players much closer together for kickoffs, reducing the likelihood of car-crash collisions and increasing the chance of substantial returns, as opposed to touchbacks.
ANGEL CITY
From Kevin Baxter: There’s a line every athlete approaches late in their career. It’s a finish line of sorts, one that separates their prime years from their borrowed-time years.
For some, the line is obvious; as bright and unmistakable as the neon signs lighting the Las Vegas Strip. For others, it’s thin and all but imperceptible. But either way, the challenge is to cross the finish line of your career having given everything you can to your sport while retaining enough of your health, vigor and sanity to enjoy the post-playing days.
Ali Riley fears she is approaching that line. A persistent nerve issue in her left leg, the first major injury of her 15-year career, landed her on Angel City FC’s season-ending injury list 12 days ago. It also kept her out of what would have been her fifth Olympics with New Zealand this summer and limited her to five games and 260 minutes this NWSL season.
PARALYMPICS
From David Wharton: It was no secret that Ezra Frech arrived at the 2024 Paralympics intent on exorcising a demon.
The Los Angeles teenager wanted to atone for a disappointing performance at the previous Games in Tokyo, where he finished fifth in the high jump. For months he had been posting on social media, openly vowing to make good with a gold medal in Paris.
“People kept telling me I’m putting too much pressure on myself,” he said. “People were saying, ‘Why don’t you just count down to the Paralympic Games, not count down until you win … what happens if you don’t win?’”
Frech settled that question on Tuesday, setting a Paralympic record and finishing comfortably ahead of the field in the T63 high jump at Stade de France.
It was actually his second gold in as many days, following less than 24 hours after a surprise, come-from-behind win in the 100 meters, a race he had viewed as merely a warmup. But the 19-year-old was so focused on his specialty that he immediately put that victory out of mind.
2024 Paris Paralympics live updates: Games are officially underway
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1920 — Man o War wins the 1 5/8-mile Lawrence Realization Stakes at Belmont Park by 100 lengths, the largest winning margin in modern racing history. His time of 2:40 4/5 shatters the world record by 6 4/5 seconds for his fifth record performance of the year.
1966 — The Houston Oilers holds the Denver Broncos to no first downs in a 45-7 rout.
1992 — Jimmy Connors loses to Ivan Lendl 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 in his record 115th and final U.S. Open singles match.
1993 — New York Yankees pitcher Jim Abbott no-hits Cleveland Indians 4-0 at Yankee Stadium.
1994 — Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins becomes the second quarterback with 300 touchdown passes by throwing for five scores in a 39-35 victory over New England.
2002 — Argentina defeats the U.S. 87-80 in the world basketball championships at Indianapolis. It’s the first loss for a U.S. team in 59 games since the Americans began sending NBA players to international tournaments in 1992.
2005 — 20-year-old Kyle Busch becomes youngest driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race when he out duels Greg Biffle in the Sony HD 500 at California Speedway.
2010 — Andy Dalton becomes TCU’s winningest quarterback, running for two touchdowns and throwing for another in the No. 6 Horned Frogs’ 30-21 victory over Oregon State. His 30th win moves him past Sammy Baugh, who had held the mark since the mid-1930s.
2017 — J.D. Martinez ties a major league record by hitting four home runs and the Arizona Diamondbacks rout the Dodgers 13-0 for their 11th straight victory.
2017 — Madison Keys eliminates Elina Svitolina in three sets to give the U.S. four women in the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the first time in 15 years. Keys joins Americans Venus Williams, CoCo Vandeweghe and Sloane Stephens.
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.