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From Steve Henson: The PGA Tour has decided to relocate next month’s Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades because of the wildfires in the Los Angeles area.
“The PGA TOUR’s focus continues to be on the safety and well-being of those affected by the unprecedented natural disaster in Greater Los Angeles,” the PGA Tour said Thursday in a statement. “We are grateful for the life-saving efforts of first responders and the tireless work being done to put an end to the tragic wildfires.”
The PGA Tour said the Genesis Invitational will be played at an alternate location Feb. 10-16, and it plans to announce the venue in the coming days.
“The PGA TOUR is identifying the most impactful ways the tournament can support the Los Angeles community and the ongoing relief efforts,” said the PGA Tour, which encouraged fans to show support at pgatour.com/supportla.
Riviera, scheduled to play host to men’s and women’s golf at the 2028 Olympic Games in L.A., was part of the Jan. 7 evacuation order. In an earlier memo to players, the tour said the course was not directly affected by the Palisades fire.
Options for the PGA Tour included postponing the tournament, holding it at a different location or proceeding with it as planned. Considerations included getting players and fans into Pacific Palisades as recovery efforts are underway, a dearth of nearby lodging and the optics of playing a golf tournament amid one of the most horrific natural disasters in the history of the region.
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FIRE RECOVERY
From Bill Plaschke: I lost nothing. I lost everything.
I am lucky beyond all imagination. I am haunted beyond all reason.
I am spared. Nobody is spared.
I am rounding the sharp turn that enters my leafy Altadena cul-de-sac, my home for the last dozen years, and I am loudly pleading.
“Hail Mary, full of grace …”
It is a Wednesday morning, several hours after the Eaton fire began tearing apart thousands of lives, there are still flames shooting up from burning destruction. On every block, the air is still dark with smoke and the streets are still clogged with trees, but my fiancée, Roxana, and I had just endured a night of sleepless terror. We had to come here. We had to see.
Did we lose this most evil of lotteries? Did we take a direct hit from the hand of hell?
I’m shouting and shaking as the bravely determined Roxana spins the car through flames and foliage onto a scarred and sooted street where we see a bit of fence, and a bit of white, and, then, there it is, standing strong amid the ruins of my beloved neighborhood.
CLIPPERS
Norman Powell scored 23 points, James Harden had 19 points and the Clippers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 118-89 on Thursday night.
The Clippers (23-17) routed Portland (13-27) a night after beating Brooklyn at home by a franchise-record 59 points.
Dalano Banton led the Trail Blazers with 23 points. Scoot Henderson had 16 points.
Kobe Brown‘s dunk in the fourth pushed the Clippers to their biggest lead at 34.
Powell formed a special relationship with Blazers coach Chauncey Billups during Billups’ first season as Portland’s coach. With Powell averaging a career-high 23.7 points, Billups is loving what he’s seen from his former protege.
“(I’m) really proud,” Billups said. “I didn’t get to coach him for that long, but we got very, very close in that short time. And he always shared with me that this is the player he could be.”
RAMS
From Gary Klein: Jared Verse spent three years of high school in Pennsylvania.
So the Rams rookie edge rusher knows all about the Philadelphia Eagles, his team’s opponent Sunday in an NFC divisional-round playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field.
Was Verse an Eagles fan?
“I hate Eagles fans,” Verse told The Times on Thursday. “They’re so annoying. I hate Eagles fans.”
Verse repeated the phrase multiple times. And the front-runner for NFL rookie defensive player of the year did so with passion evident in his pass rushing.
“When I see that green and white I hate it. I actually get upset. Like I actually genuinely get hot.”— Rams linebacker Jared Verse, on how he hates the Philadelphia Eagles
Verse noted that when the Rams played the Eagles in November at SoFi Stadium, Eagles fans in attendance gave him an earful of obscenities that he could make out despite wearing headphones.
“I didn’t even do nothing to ‘em,” he said, “It was my first time playing. Oh, I hate Eagles fans.”
NFL divisional playoff picks: Rams among road teams seeking upsets, except Ravens favored
NFL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE
Divisional round
Saturday
AFC
No. 4 Houston Texans at No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs, 1:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN
NFC
No. 6 Washington Commanders at No. 1 Detroit Lions, 5 p.m., Fox
Sunday
NFC
No. 4 Rams at No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles, noon, NBC/Peacock
AFC
No. 3 Baltimore Ravens at No. 2 Buffalo Bills, 3:30 p.m., CBS/Paramount +
Conference championships: Jan. 26
Super Bowl 59: Feb. 9 at New Orleans (Fox)
REMEMBERING KOBE BRYANT
Jan. 26 will mark five years since Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri, and his daughter Alyssa; Sarah Chester and her daughter Payton; basketball coach Christina Mauser; and the pilot, Ara Zobayan were killed in a helicopter crash.
We’d like to hear from you. Where were you when you heard about the crash, and what effect did Bryant’s death have on your life? Selected memories will be published at a future date. Please send them to me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com.
From Ryan Kartje: After transforming USC’s struggling defense in a single season, rising star defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn has signed a contract extension to remain at USC, the university announced Thursday.
The deal comes after Lynn rebuffed advances from his alma mater, Penn State, which had pursued him for its coordinator opening, according to a person with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly.
USC had already made Lynn one of the highest-paid coordinators in college football when it hired him away from UCLA last December. That original contract, a person with knowledge of the deal not authorized to speak publicly told The Times at the time, paid Lynn upward of $2 million per year.
UCLA BASKETBALL
From Ben Bolch: Mick Cronin’s brand of basketball — tough, relentless, hard to score a point on — would figure to play well in a conference that values those traits.
So how’s it going for the UCLA coach and his team in their new conference?
“We’re struggling with the adjustment to Big Ten basketball,” Cronin acknowledged Thursday.
The Bruins have lost four consecutive games against conference veterans after winning two games against fellow Big Ten newcomers Washington and Oregon.
UCLA’s issues go well beyond not resembling one of Cronin’s better teams because of spotty guard play and a dip on defense. The coach said his players weren’t holding up against counterparts who embraced a more physical style.
They’ve been pushed around, beaten up and worn down by opponents who have been far tougher in beating the Bruins (11-6 overall, 2-4 Big Ten) by an average of 13 points during their losing streak.
“Big Ten basketball is different,” Cronin said. “It’s a much more physical game.”
BOB UECKER DIES
Bob Uecker, who parlayed a forgettable playing career into a punch line for movie and TV appearances as “Mr. Baseball” and a Hall of Fame broadcasting tenure, has died. He was 90.
The Milwaukee Brewers, whose games Uecker had broadcast for over half a century, announced his death Thursday morning, calling it “one of the most difficult days in Milwaukee Brewers history.” In a statement released by the club, Uecker’s family said he had battled small cell lung cancer since early 2023.
“Even in the face of this challenge, his enthusiasm for life was always present, never allowing his spirit to falter,” the family said.
Uecker was best known as a colorful comedian and broadcaster whose sense of humor and self-deprecating style earned him fame and affection beyond his .200 batting average.
Tommy Brown, youngest MLB home-run hitter and player on 1947 Dodgers, dies at 97
KINGS
Alex Turcotte scored twice and added an assist as the Kings thumped the struggling Vancouver Canucks 5-1 on Thursday night.
Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala each had a goal and an assist. Warren Foegele also scored for the Kings (25-12-5).
Turcotte’s first goal came 51 seconds into the game. And before the first period was over, the 23-year-old winger had helped Kings to a 3-0 lead.
DUCKS
Jake Guentzel scored the only goal in the shootout and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Ducks 4-3 on Thursday night.
Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli and Guentzel scored for Tampa Bay during regulation while Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 34 saves and stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout.
Robby Fabbri, Troy Terry and Leo Carlsson scored for the Ducks, who fell to 1-3-1 on a six-game trip. Lukas Dostal stopped 32 shots for the Ducks.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1961 — The Cincinnati Royals’ 22-year-old rookie sensation, Oscar Robertson, becomes the youngest player to receive NBA All-Star MVP honors. Robertson scores 23 points and hands out 14 assists in a 153-131 victory for the West at Syracuse.
1971 — The first Super Bowl under the NFL-AFL merger ends with Baltimore rookie Jim O’Brien kicking a 32-yard field goal for a 16-13 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
1986 — Tim Witherspoon wins a majority decision over Tony Tubbs at the Omni in Atlanta to win the WBA heavyweight title.
1988 — The Denver Broncos beat the Cleveland Browns for the second straight year in the AFC championship game. Defensive back Jeremiah Castille strips running back Earnest Byner at the Denver 3-yard line with 65 seconds left in the game to preserve a 38-33 victory.
1995 — The NFL Rams announce they’re leaving Southern California after 49 years and moving to St. Louis.
1996 — Detroit’s Steve Yzerman becomes the 22nd player in NHL history to score 500 goals as the Red Wings beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-2.
2003 — Joe Nieuwendyk scores his 500th goal in New Jersey’s 2-1 victory over Carolina.
2004 — New Jersey’s Patrik Elias ties an NHL record by scoring his fourth overtime goal of the season in a 2-1 win over Washington.
2010 — Jeremy Abbott earns a trip to the Olympics by winning his second national men’s figuring skating title. Abbott’s wins in a landslide with a score of 263.66 points, 25 more than Evan Lysacek.
2011 — West Virginia of the Big East moves into the men’s poll for the first time this season to tie the record of nine teams from one conference in the Top 25. There were nine Big East teams ranked for one week in January 2009.
2012 — LeBron James becomes youngest player in NBA history to record 20,000 career points during the Miami Heat’s 92-75 victory over Golden State; James, 28 years, 17 days, passes Kobe Bryant, 29 years, 122 days.
2014 — Five-time champion Serena Williams becomes the winningest woman at the Australian Open, notching career win No. 61 as she advanced to the fourth round with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Daniela Hantuchova.
2016 — The Carolina Panthers builds a 31-0 halftime lead before barely holding off Seattle’s relentless comeback, beating the Seahawks 31-24 to advance to the NFC championship game.
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.