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From Dan Woike: LeBron James shrugged. He rolled his eyes. He complained to the refs. He hung his head.
There was no discretion Monday in Minnesota — everything you needed to know about the Lakers and their leading scorer was on display in big, bold letters.
“It’s everything,” James said. “It’s the rhythm. I just feel off rhythm these last three, four games.”
Playing on the second night of back-to-back games, James looked as uncomfortable as ever in a Lakers uniform as he and his team failed over and over at the game’s simplest task — putting the ball in the basket.
Minnesota beat the Lakers 109-80 on Monday, their fifth loss in their last seven games. James has now gone four straight games without a made three-pointer, and the Lakers’ offense has failed to score 110 points or more in five of its last six games.
The 80 points is the Lakers’ worst offensive game in James’ time with the team and the worst for the organization since Jan. 22, 2017.
Anthony Davis called the game “disgusting.”
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RAMS
From Gary Klein: Quarterback Matthew Stafford suffered a “little” lateral ankle sprain in the Rams’ victory over the New Orleans Saints, but the injury is not expected to affect his preparation for Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills, coach Sean McVay said Monday.
“Nothing that’s going to change his weekly rhythm as far as practice,” McVay said during a video conference, adding that Stafford ran Monday as part of the team’s day-after lifting program. “Got it banged up a little bit. He’s tough. He pushes through and he should be good to go.”
Stafford was injured during the second quarter of Sunday’s 21-14 victory in New Orleans when he was taken to the ground while throwing an incomplete pass. Stafford limped immediately after the play but stayed in the game and passed for two second-half touchdowns.
SURVEY: WHO IS BETTER, STAFFORD or HERBERT
Do the Rams or the Chargers have the better quarterback right now? If you had to pick one to win a game for you, who would you pick? Click here to vote.
From Ryan Kartje: Ever since he was a boy, Miller Moss dreamed of being USC’s starting quarterback. He followed that dream as a touted prospect into a crowded quarterback room at USC. And he waited three years as a backup, biding his time as many others in his class bolted for the transfer portal instead.
Moss’ chance to lead USC’s offense lasted through one outstanding bowl performance and nine games of an up-and-down season before Moss was replaced by his own backup, and the window at his dream school had closed suddenly.
By Monday morning, three weeks after he was replaced, Moss made it official that he plans to enter the transfer portal, leaving USC after four seasons.
From Ben Bolch: Once UCLA lost to USC, erasing the possibility of a winning season and a bowl game, the most important date on the Bruins’ calendar shifted to Dec. 9.
That’s the day the transfer portal opens.
More than anything else, DeShaun Foster’s success as the coach at his alma mater will hinge on his ability to fill holes on the roster and upgrade talent.
UCLA is losing 26 seniors, at least 14 starters — including nine on defense — and maybe a handful of other players via the NFL draft or the transfer portal from a team that finished 5-7 in Foster’s first season. Starting running back T.J. Harden and top backup quarterback Justyn Martin were among those who reportedly entered the transfer portal Monday.
Among other things, the Bruins need a new starting quarterback, a disruptive edge rusher, several offensive linemen, another go-to tight end and an entirely new starting secondary. Will they have the name, image and likeness funds and persuasive recruiting pitch needed to restock their roster?
Here are five questions facing Foster and the Bruins going into the most critical offseason of his coaching career:
SURVEY: WHO WILL WIN MORE GAMES NEXT SEASON, UCLA or USC
Which football team will win more games next year, UCLA or USC? Click here to vote in our survey.
ROSE BOWL IMPROVEMENTS
From Sam Farmer: College football has undergone monumental changes in recent years, from conference realignments, to annual transfer-portal roster reshufflings, to lucrative deals for use of an athlete’s name, image and likeness.
The Rose Bowl, college football’s answer to Augusta National, has largely stayed the same.
But in the next five years, the 102-year-old stadium is going to undergo some significant alterations intended to improve fan experience for sports and entertainment events, while maintaining the iconic elements that make the Rose Bowl a National Historic Landmark.
“It all goes back to, how do we take the Rose Bowl as it is and revitalize it in a way that enhances it for the next generation of fans?” said Dedan Brozino, president of the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation and chief development officer.
The improvement plan for the stadium comes in two phases, the first scheduled to be completed before the 2028 Olympic Games — when the Rose Bowl will host soccer — and the second after.
UCLA BASKETBALL
From Ben Bolch: With every jump shot that fell through the net, a flurry of nine points in less than 2½ minutes last week, Dylan Andrews provided a reminder of the player he’s been and the one he’d like to be again.
You remember the UCLA point guard from late last season, right? Driving past anyone who dared to try and stand between him and the basket. Pulling up for feathery jumpers. Almost single-handedly lugging his team on a six-game winning streak.
There’s only been glimpses of that player over the season’s first month. A groin injury that sidelined the junior for two games certainly didn’t help, but it seems as if he hasn’t been nearly as much on the attack as he was last February and March.
SPARKS
The Los Angeles Sparks will open the 2025 season in San Francisco on May 16 against the expansion Golden State Valkyries in the first WNBA game to be played at Chase Center.
After a historic 2024 season in which the WNBA had its most-watched regular season in 24 years and playoffs in 25 years while drawing the most spectators in two decades, the league will expand the schedule to 44 games. WNBA teams played 40 games each of the last two seasons and 36 before then.
The Sparks with first-year coach Lynne Roberts will play their home opener on May 18 against the WNBA runner-up Minnesota Lynx. They face the defending champion New York Liberty at home on Aug. 12 and in Brooklyn on July 3 and July 26.
A game-by-game list of the Los Angeles Sparks’ 2025 schedule:
MAY
16; at Golden State; 7 p.m.
18; vs. Minnesota; 3 p.m.
21; at Las Vegas; 7 p.m.
23; vs. Golden State; 7 p.m.
25; vs. Chicago; 3 p.m.
27; vs. Atlanta; 7 p.m.
30; at Las Vegas; 7 p.m.
JUNE
1; vs. Phoenix; 3 p.m.
6; vs. Dallas; 6:30 p.m.
9; vs. Golden State; 7 p.m.
11; at Las Vegas; 7 p.m.
14; at Minnesota; 10 a.m.
17; vs. Seattle; 7 p.m.
21; at Minnesota; 5 p.m.
24; at Chicago; 5 p.m.
26; at Indianas; 4 p.m.
29; vs. Chicago; 3 p.m.
JULY
3; at New York; 4 p.m.
5; at Indiana; 4 p.m.
10; vs. Minnesota; Noon
13; vs. Connecticut; 3 p.m.
15; vs. Washington; 7 p.m.
22; at Washington; 4:30 p.m.
24; at Connecticut; 4 p.m.
26; at New York; 4 p.m.
29; vs. Las Vegas; 7 p.m.
AUGUST
1; at Seattle; 7 p.m.
5; vs. Indiana; 7 p.m.
7; vs. Connecticut; 7 p.m.
9; at Golden State; Noon
10; vs. Seattle; 3 p.m.
12; vs. New York; 7 p.m.
15; at Dallas; 4:30 p.m.
17; at Washington; Noon
20; vs. Dallas; 7 p.m.
26; Phoenix; 7 p.m.
29; vs. Indiana; 7 p.m.
31; vs. Washington; 5 p.m.
SEPTEMBER
1; at Seattle; 7 p.m.
3; at Atlanta; 4:30 p.m.
5; at Atlanta; 4:30 p.m.
7; vs. Dallas; 3 p.m.
9; at Atlanta; 7 p.m.
11; vs. Las Vegas; 7 p.m.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1943 — Notre Dame quarterback Angelo Bertelli wins the Heisman Trophy.
1946 — Army halfback Glenn Davis is named the Heisman Trophy winner.
1950 — Tom Fears of the Rams has 18 receptions against Green Bay.
1950 — Cloyce Box of the Detroit Lions has 302 yards receiving and scores four touchdowns against the Baltimore Colts.
1956 — Wilt Chamberlain scores 52 points in his collegiate debut with Kansas.
1957 — Texas A&M halfback John David Crow is named the Heisman Trophy winner.
1973 — Dick Anderson of the Miami Dolphins intercepts four passes, returning two for touchdowns, against Pittsburgh.
1979 — USC halfback Charles White is named the Heisman Trophy winner.
1982 — Tommy Hearns wins the WBC welterweight title with a 15-round decision over Wilfred Benitez in New Orleans.
1994 — Sixth-ranked Florida beats undefeated and third-ranked Alabama 24-23 in the first SEC Championship game played in Atlanta.
1999 — Marshall beats Western Michigan 34-30 on the last play of the MAC Championship game. Down 30-27 with four seconds left in the game, Chad Pennington throws his 100th career touchdown pass to Eric Pinkerton as time expires to give the Thundedring Herd their third consecutive MAC title.
2000 — The 200-yard rushing games by Mike Anderson, Corey Dillon, Warrick Dunn and Curtis Martin mark the first time in NFL history that four runners have 200 yards on the same day. Its never happened three times in a single day. Anderson rushes for an NFL rookie record 251 yards and four touchdowns in Denver’s 38-23 victory over New Orleans.
2004 — Bode Miller wins his fourth race of the season in the downhill at Beaver Creek, Colo., and Daron Rahlves is second to give the United States its first 1-2 finish on the World Cup circuit. The last time U.S. men went 1-2 in any elite international race was 1984, when Phil Mahre won the Olympic slalom in Sarajevo and twin brother Steve took the silver medal.
2005 — USC wins its 34th consecutive game and 16th straight against a ranked opponent, beating No. 11 UCLA 66-19. The 16 victories against Associated Press ranked teams is one better than Oklahoma, which won 15 from 1973-76.
2014 — The Philadelphia 76ers avoid tying the record for the worst start to a season in NBA history, ending their 0-17 skid with an 85-77 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
2017 — Tom Brady continues his career-long dominance of the Buffalo Bills completing 21 of 30 for 258 yards and an interception in New England’s 23-3 victory. He improves to 27-3 against Buffalo and breaks Brett Favre’s record for wins by a quarterback against any one opponent.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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