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It’s become a holiday tradition rivaling Christmas stockings and letters to Santa.
Transfer portal season is here.
The window for undergraduate college football players to enter the transfer portal opens Dec. 9 and closes Dec. 28, with coaches looking to snag as many stars as their name, image and likeness funds allow.
Here’s a look at the players coming and going from USC and UCLA listed in most recent order of their announcements via social media and media reports, with the caveat that players listed as entering the portal can potentially stay at their current schools if they do not find another landing spot.
Visit our transfer portal tracker here. Bookmark it and check it daily to see the latest transfers.
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RAMS
From Gary Klein: Matthew Stafford has played nearly 16 NFL seasons, absorbing hits that resulted in broken bones, strains, sprains and bruises. Has the Rams quarterback played a full season without an injury?
“No,” Stafford said Wednesday, chuckling.
Stafford, 36, displayed resilience and toughness during 12 seasons in Detroit and three-plus with the Rams. And he will do it again this week as the Rams prepare for Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium.
During the second quarter of last Sunday’s victory over the New Orleans Saints, Stafford suffered a right ankle sprain when he was taken to the ground while throwing a pass. He limped after that play and shook his leg following the next one but remained in the game and passed for two second-half touchdowns in the 21-14 victory that improved the Rams’ record to 6-6.
CHARGERS
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Ladd McConkey has not made a decision whether he will be available Sunday night against the Kansas City Chiefs as he manages knee and shoulder injuries, but the Chargers’ leading receiver is “going to do whatever I need to do” to get on the field for the AFC West showdown.
“Shoot, if I can play, I’m gonna play,” McConkey said Thursday after practice, during which he was a limited participant.
The rookie leads the Chargers with 815 yards receiving on 58 catches with four touchdowns. He torched the Atlanta Falcons for 105 yards receiving in the first half last Sunday, but said he injured his knee on a third-quarter catch when he was sandwiched on a tackle by Dee Alford and Troy Andersen.
It was McConkey’s last catch of the game and he finished with 117 yards with 12 receptions while laboring through most of the fourth quarter.
“Everybody has something going on,” said McConkey, who was limited in practice both Wednesday and Thursday. “Everybody’s playing through something this time of the year. So at the end of the day, it is what it is. I feel good enough.”
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. Results will be announced Monday.
From Ben Bolch: Eric Bieniemy received a hero’s welcome upon his arrival in March, co-workers lining the hallway inside UCLA’s practice facility to serenade him with applause.
The new offensive coordinator removed one of his Super Bowl rings so that DeShaun Foster, his new boss, could inspect it.
“It’s time,” Bienemy said that day, referring to his plans to do big things. “It’s time.”
Nine months later, after a season in which the Bruins’ offense ranked as one of the worst in the nation and several top players regressed from their previous form, Bieniemy’s boss decided it was time to move on.
In a development that showed both an admission of making the wrong hire and a willingness to quickly pivot, Foster severed ties with Bieniemy on Thursday after their one season together produced across-the-board struggles on offense.
Foster secured an intriguing replacement, agreeing to hire Indiana quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri after the end of the Hoosiers’ season, according to one person close to the situation not authorized to publicly divulge the information because the move has not been made official.
Lawmakers, labor group push to protect NIL payouts from NCAA settlement deal
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. Results will be announced Monday.
ANGEL CITY
From Kevin Baxter: Angel City has parted ways with general manager Angela Hucles Mangano after the team missed the playoffs for a second time in three seasons.
The decision is the first significant move under new controlling owner Willow Bay, who joined with her husband, Disney CEO Bob Iger, in investing in the team last July. More changes are expected with coach Becki Tweed now on the hot seat.
Tweed, who took over midway through the 2023 season, narrowly got the team into the playoffs that year. But Angel City went 7-13-6 and scored just 22 goals, second-lowest in the NWSL, in her only full season in charge. The team’s goal differential of -18 was also second-worst.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1939 — Iowa’s Nile Kinnick wins the Heisman Trophy. The back passed for 638 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushed for 374 yards.
1961 — Syracuse running back Ernie Davis becomes the first Black player to win the Heisman Trophy.
1984 — Martina Navratilova loses to Helena Sukova, ending the longest winning streak in history of women’s singles tennis — 74 matches dating to Jan. 15, 1984.
1986 — Miami’s Vinny Testaverde wins the Heisman Trophy in a runaway. The quarterback, who led the nation in passing efficiency, won the by 1,541 points over Temple running back Paul Palmer, the country’s top rusher.
1990 — The Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators receive approval to join the NHL in 1992-93.
1992 — Jerry Rice becomes the NFL’s career leader in touchdown receptions with his 101st scoring pass during the fourth quarter of the San Francisco 49ers’ 27-3 victory over Miami. Rice surpassed Steve Largent’s mark of 100.
1992 — Jim Courier rebounds from a slow start to beat Switzerland’s Jakob Hlasek in four sets as the United States recaptures the Davis Cup.
1998 — Denver with a 35-31 comeback win over Kansas City, becomes the third 13-0 team in NFL history. The Broncos join the 1934 Chicago Bears and 1972 Miami Dolphins.
2000 — Golden State’s Antawn Jamison and the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant each scored 51 points, including trading six straight scores in the final two minutes of overtime. It’s Jamison’s second 51-point performance in four days, and Bryant’s career high. But Jamison earns extra satisfaction as the Warriors prevail 125-122. It’s the first time in 38 years two players score 50 in the same game.
2003 — Army becomes the first team to finish 0-13 in major college history after a 34-6 loss to Navy.
2005 — Philadelphia wins the first scoreless NHL game that is decided by a shootout, beating Calgary 1-0. Philadelphia’s Antero Niittymaki stops 28 shots in regulation and overtime and all three during the shootout.
2008 — USC defeats UCLA 28-7 to win its record seventh straight Pac-10 championship. The Trojans (11-1) also have won 11 or more games in seven straight seasons — another record.
2009 — Switzerland’s Carlo Janka wins the giant slalom to become the first man in more than 2 1/2 years with three consecutive World Cup victories. Janka won the super combined event two days earlier and the downhill yesterday.
2009 — Drew Brees is 35 for 49 for 419 yards with two touchdowns and one interception as New Orleans stays undefeated with a 33-30 overtime win at Washington. New Orleans and Indianapolis both improve to 12-0, marking the first time in NFL history that two teams are unbeaten this late in the season.
2009 — Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre sets an NFL record by playing in his 283rd consecutive game, a 30-17 loss to Arizona. The 40-year-old Favre breaks the record of 282 held by longtime Vikings defensive end Jim Marshall.
2013 — Jennifer O’Neill scores a career-high 43 points, including the go-ahead basket in the fourth overtime, and No. 5 Kentucky beats No. 9 Baylor 133-130 in the highest-scoring Division I women’s game in history. The previous high for a Division I women’s game was 252 points in SMU’s 127-125 win over TCU, also in four overtimes, on Jan. 25, 1997.
2018 — Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry explodes for franchise-record 238 yards and four touchdowns in 30-9 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Nashville; 99-yard TD run ties Dallas Cowboys’ Tony Dorsett’s longest run in NFL history.
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.