Howdy, I’m your host, Austin Knoblauch, filling in for Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.
From Dan Woike: Speaking as a 40-year-old NBA player for the first time, LeBron James said Monday that, should he desire, he could still play at a high level in the NBA for several seasons.
“To be honest, if I really wanted to, I could probably play this game at a high level probably for about another — it’s weird that I might say this — but probably about another five to seven years, if I wanted to,” James said. “But I’m not going to do that.”
James said he has a “very good” relationship with his eventual retirement from the NBA, though he said he won’t be walking away because his skill demands it.
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Talking to reporters on his 40th birthday Monday, James directly addressed his eventual retirement and said he envisions that happening at some point with the Lakers.
“That would be the plan,” he said of staying with the Lakers. “I came here to play the last stage of my career and to finish it off here. But I’m also not silly or too jaded to know the business of the game as well, to know the business of basketball. But I think my relationship with this organization speaks for itself. And hopefully I don’t got to go nowhere before my career is over.”
He’s been subject to some mild trade rumors at times over the last two years, and he currently has a no-trade clause in his contract. He has a player option at the end of this season, and he could opt out and sign a new deal with the team in free agency as well.
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DODGERS
Japan’s Roki Sasaki delivers a pitch against Mexico in the World Baseball Classic in March.
(Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press)
From Mike DiGiovanna: Neither Shohei Ohtani nor Yoshinobu Yamamoto were part of the Dodgers’ initial in-person pitch to Japanese pitching star Roki Sasaki, a meeting that took place at the Westwood offices of the Wasserman Media Group before the holidays, according to people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly about it.
The reason for their absence? They weren’t invited.
“One of the criteria for the meetings is that Roki asked that no players were to attend,” Joel Wolfe, the agent representing the 23-year-old right-hander, said in a 20-minute video call with reporters to update Sasaki negotiations on Monday.
“There were a couple of teams that had a video from one or two players, but for the most part, it was the general manager, possibly an assistant GM, the manager, the pitching coach and people from the bio-mechanics performance and training staff.”
LAKERS
Brooklyn Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith, left, defends against Lakers forward Anthony Davis during a game in January 2024.
(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)
From Dan Woike: The things that the Lakers and LeBron James are going to like best about Dorian Finney-Smith are the things that have kept Finney-Smith from appreciating his battles against the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
“This is probably the most I ever said something to him. I’ve been guarding him for nine years, but I’m just not too friendly on the court,” Finney-Smith said Monday in Los Angeles.
Just because Finney-Smith is known for his toughness, his willingness to take on brutal defensive assignments, that doesn’t mean his first chat with James would be about the battles the Lakers would fight now that they’re teammates.
Instead, Finney-Smith saw an opportunity.
NFL
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff passes against the Buffalo Bills on Dec. 15.
(Duane Burleson / Associated Press)
From Sam Farmer: This NFL season is not lacking drama, but it’s running a little short on intrigue.
Sometimes, three-quarters of the 32 teams still have at least a flicker of hope heading into the final weekend of the season. This year, 15 teams already have been mathematically eliminated.
Still, there’s drama to be had, and the league has scheduled Week 18 accordingly.
ALSO: Pro athletes’ homes are being targeted by South American organized theft rings, FBI says
RAMS
Rams defensive end Kobie Turner celebrates a sack against the Green Bay Packers in October.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
From Gary Klein: Now that the Rams have clinched a playoff spot, coach Sean McVay has a decision to make.
Does he play starters to ensure the best chance of beating the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at SoFi Stadium and retaining the No. 3 seed? Or does he rest quarterback Matthew Stafford and others and take his chances that the Rams might fall to No. 4?
Final seedings and playoff matchups will not be determined until after Sunday’s games, but the Rams are positioned to play a wild-card game against either the Washington Commanders, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings or Detroit Lions.
The Rams (10-6) earned their postseason opportunity by coming back from a 1-4 start, including last Saturday’s 13-9 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. That win set up McVay’s team for a wait to possibly determine the NFC West champion and playoff scenarios.
CHARGERS
Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh smiles next to quarterback Justin Herbert before a game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Nov. 17.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Jim Harbaugh doesn’t care for complicated playoff scenarios. With teams still vying for divisional titles and playoff seeding, the Chargers coach, whose team clinched its first postseason berth since 2022 on Saturday, maintains a simple goal for a Week 18 game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
“My plan is to win,” Harbaugh said Monday. “That’s been our mindset from the very beginning: win the next game.”
A road win in the Chargers’ regular-season finale against the Raiders (4-12) is necessary for the Chargers (10-6) to move up in the AFC playoff picture. They can claim the No. 5 seed — setting up a favorable matchup against the No. 4 Houston Texans in the wild-card round — with a win over the Raiders and a Pittsburgh Steelers loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka speaks to reporters during a news conference on Monday.
(Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)
From Andrés Soto: Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, the Rose Bowl was something Ohio State senior receiver Emeka Egbuka dreamed of. It’s the game he and his childhood friends would imagine themselves in whenever they would play in the backyard.
“There’s just something about it,” Egbuka said. “Something in the air down there in Pasadena. It’s just a beautiful venue, especially that time of the year. … So just having the chance to play in it, it’s definitely very surreal. And this is gonna be my second time, so I’m gonna do my best to take it all in.”
But Egbuka, a native of Steilacoom, Wash., always pictured himself donning the uniform of the team that will be on the sideline across from him on Wednesday.
ALSO: The next Bo Jackson? Oregon’s Bryce Boettcher is a two-sport star in the making
CLIPPERS
Clippers guard James Harden controls the ball in front of New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray in the first half of the Clippers’ 116-113 win Monday night.
(Peter Forest / Associated Press)
From the Associated Press: Norman Powell scored 35 points, James Harden hit go-ahead free throws with 17.9 seconds left and the Clippers held on to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans 116-113 on Monday night.
With the Pelicans — losers of 10 straight and 19 of 20 — trying to tie the score, Harden adroitly fouled rookie center Yves Missi, whose 12-point, nine-rebound and five-block performance was tarnished by his missed free throw that could have tied it at 114 with 4.3 seconds left.
Officials prematurely blew the whistle because they thought Missi’s foul shot missed the rim. They called for a jump ball at center court after video review.
NHL
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1961 — Paul Hornung, on leave from the Army, scores 19 points to lead the Green Bay Packers to a 37-0 win over the New York Giants for their seventh NFL championship. Green Bay’s Bart Starr throws three touchdown passes in the first title game ever played in Green Bay.
1962 — The American Basketball League folds. The ABL played one full season, 1961-1962, and part of this season. The ABL is the first basketball league to have a three point shot for baskets scored far away from the goal. The league also had a 30-second shooting clock and a wider free throw lane, 18 feet instead of the standard 12.
1973 — Third-ranked Notre Dame edges top-ranked Alabama 24-23 in the Sugar Bowl. Notre Dame’s Bob Thomas kicks a 19-yard field goal with 4:26 left to give the Irish a one-point lead. With two minutes left, the Irish clinch the victory when on third-and-8 from the their own 3, Tom Clements completes a 35-yard pass from his own end zone to Robin Weber, and Notre Dame runs out the clock.
1982 — Jockey Pat Day edges Angel Cordero Jr. by two races to capture leading rider honors. Day rides Dana’s Woof and Miltons Magic to victory during the evening program at Delta Downs for 399 wins for the year.
1988 — A blinding fog rolls in during the second quarter of the Chicago Bears’ 20-12 NFC semifinal victory over the Philadelphia Eagles at Soldier Field in Chicago. The fog obscures the game from most of the 65,534 fans present and a national television audience that could watch only ground-level shots.
1989 — Jockey Kent Desormeaux sets the world record for most number of wins in a single season. His 598th win is aboard 2-year-old East Royalty in the Inner Harbor Stakes at Laurel Racecourse.
2005 — Harness drivers Catello Manzi and Brian Spears each set single-season records. Manzi, 55, becomes the oldest harness driver to lead North America in victories (727), even without a win on the last day. Sears becomes the first driver to surpass $15 million ($15,085,991) in pursue earnings.
2013 — Johnny Manziel lives up to his nickname “Johnny Football,” leading 20 Texas A&M to another comeback win, 52-48 over No. 22 Duke in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. The Aggies are down 38-17 at halftime but with Manziel at the helm they came back in the highest-scoring game in the bowl’s history. The 2012 Heisman trophy winner throws four touchdown passes, completes 30 of 38 passes for 382 yards and runs for 73 yards and a touchdown.
2016 — Top-ranked Alabama relies on a stifling defense and the bruising runs of Bo Scarbrough to wear down Washington for a 24-7 victory in the Peach Bowl semifinal game.
2016 — Deshaun Watson runs for two touchdowns and throws another and No. 3 Clemson crushes No. 2 Ohio State 31-0 on in the Fiesta Bowl to set up a rematch with Alabama for the College Football Playoff national championship.
2017 — The Cleveland Browns complete the second 0-16 season in NFL history with a 28-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
2017 — The Buffalo Bills snap the longest current non-playoff streak in North American pro sports with a 22-16 victory at Miami and Cincinnati’s victory at Baltimore. The Bills hadn’t made the postseason since 1999.
2018 — Houston guard James Harden scores 43 points in Rockets’ 113-101 win over Memphis Grizzlies; 4th straight NBA game with 40+ points and 8th straight with 35+; joins Oscar Robertson as only player with at least 35 points & 5 assists in 8 straight games.
Compiled by the Associated Press
And finally
It’s every college football fan’s favorite time of the year — transfer portal season! Keep track of the players joining and leaving UCLA and USC in our handy NCAA portal tracker here.
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.