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From Dylan Hernández: Cooper Kupp walked to the middle of an empty Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday morning.
He looked around, as if he was taking in the scene.
Hours later, Kupp trudged through the snow-covered field with his teammates, retreating to the stadium’s visiting locker room in the wake of the Rams’ 28-22 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC divisional round of the playoffs.
The Rams’ season was over.
Kupp’s time with the team could be too.
Once the most dominant receiver in football, the 31-year-old Kupp could soon be a salary-cap casualty.
The Rams have major decisions to make in the winter, starting with what they do with Kupp and quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Do they take another shot at a Super Bowl with the two most important offensive players on their most recent championship team?
Or do they move on?
“I’m not really interested in talking about anything as it relates to next year,” coach Sean McVay said. “I’m just appreciative of this team.”
Rams reach red zone on final drive but can’t overcome Eagles as Saquon Barkley shines
Saquon Barkley continues to make history with one of the greatest seasons ever
Rams’ Jared Verse wasn’t just talk in Philadelphia, but his impactful day wasn’t enough
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NFL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE
Championship Sunday first look: Will Josh Allen and Bills finally beat Chiefs?
Divisional round
Saturday
AFC
No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs 23, No. 4 Houston Texans 14
NFC
No. 6 Washington Commanders 45, No. 1 Detroit Lions, 31
Sunday
NFC
No. 2 Philadelphia Eagles 28, No. 4 Rams 22
AFC
No. 2 Buffalo Bills 27, No. 3 Baltimore Ravens 25
Conference championships
Sunday
NFC
No. 6 Washington at No. 2 Philadelphia, noon, Fox
AFC
No. 2 Buffalo at No. 1 Kansas City, 3:30 p.m., CBS/Paramount+
Super Bowl 59: Feb. 9 at New Orleans (Fox)
LAKERS-CLIPPERS
From Dan Woike: JJ Redick, on multiple occasions this season, has spoken about his belief in being process-oriented. It’s a necessary tool for any athlete, and especially one who earned his NBA fortune as a shooter while missing more threes than he made. If, Redick has said, he knew he was putting in the right kind of work, he could be at peace with the result after the ball left his hand.
He reiterated it before the Lakers played the Clippers on Sunday, and in the aftermath of their lopsided 116-102 loss at the Intuit Dome, he mentioned it again.
“Every time we made a mistake they made us pay. But our guys competed. We fought. We stayed together,” the Lakers coach said after the loss. “This is for us, this was a good process for us. We didn’t get the result we wanted.”
But that message isn’t resonating inside a locker room that had grown frustrated with the Lakers’ inconsistencies, with LeBron James saying the team’s roster construction is the reason for its razor thin margin for error.
Asked if there were ways for the Lakers to increase those margins, internally, James was blunt.
“Nah,” he said. “That’s how our team is constructed. We don’t have room for error — for much error.”
Clippers show Lakers all the things they aren’t in first Intuit Dome rivalry game
Kawhi Leonard closer to being the game-changer he once was for Clippers
DODGERS
From Jack Harris: Roki Sasaki might have been the exclamation point on yet another big Dodgers offseason.
But the team isn’t done adding to its 2025 roster yet.
In another splashy offseason signing Sunday morning, the Dodgers agreed to a four-year, $72-million deal with lockdown left-handed reliever Tanner Scott, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly, bolstering an already stout bullpen with another veteran late-inning weapon.
The deal includes a $20-million signing bonus and $21 million in deferred salary, one of the people confirmed, marking yet another high-bonus/high-deferral contract structure that has become a favorite of the Dodgers’ front office in recent years.
Jeff Torborg, Dodger who caught Sandy Koufax’s perfect game before managerial career, dies at 83
Before Roki Sasaki’s posting, MLB found no evidence of handshake deal with Dodgers
USC BASKETBALL
JuJu Watkins scored 22 points and Rayah Marshall added 13 points and 10 rebounds to help No. 4 USC overcome an 11-point deficit and hold on for a 73-66 victory at Indiana on Sunday.
The Trojans (17-1, 7-0 Big Ten) won their 13th straight game. Watkins made sure of it with her late flourish — a buzzer-beating three-pointer to end the third quarter to give the Trojans a 51-50 lead and seven points in a 12-0 fourth-quarter run.
Sydney Parrish led the Hoosiers with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Chloe Moore-McNeil scored 13 points and Yarden Garzon had 10 points and nine rebounds as Indiana (12-6, 4-3) lost its second straight home game.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1891 — The International YMCA in Springfield, Mass. is the site of the first official basketball game. Peach baskets were used, but it wasn’t until 1905 that someone removed the baskets’ bottoms.
1937 — Nels Stewart of the New York Americans becomes the NHL’s all-time scorer with his 270th goal in a 4-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.
1952 — George Mikan scores 61 points, a career-high, to lead the Minneapolis Lakers to a 91-81 double-overtime victory over the Rochester Royals.
1966 — Ted Williams, longtime star of the Boston Red Sox, is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Williams was a two time triple crown winner, a two time MVP and the last player to hit over .400 — despite losing five prime years to service in the Marine Corps.
1968 — Elvin Hayes scores 39 points to lead Houston to a 71-69 victory and end UCLA’s 47-game winning streak. A regular-season record 52,693 fans attend the game at the Houston Astrodome.
1970 — Cincinnati’s Tom Van Arsdale and Phoenix’s Dick Van Arsdale are the first brothers to play in the same NBA All-Star game. Dick scores eight points for the West team, while Tom scores five for the East, which wins the game 142-135 at Philadelphia.
1980 — President Carter announces the U.S. Olympic team will not participate in the Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan the previous month.
1980 — Terry Bradshaw passes for 309 yards and sets two passing records to help the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Rams 31-19 and become the first team to win four Super Bowls.
1985 — Joe Montana passes for a Super Bowl record 331 yards and three touchdowns to lead the San Francisco 49ers to a 38-16 victory over the Miami Dolphins. Roger Craig scores a record three touchdowns.
1996 — Rudy Galindo, in the biggest upset in decades, wins the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, earning two perfect marks along the way.
2001 — Alan Webb of South Lakes High School in Reston, Va., becomes the first American prep runner to break four minutes for the indoor mile, with a time of 3:59.86 at the New Balance Games in New York.
2002 — Steve Yzerman becomes the ninth player in NHL history to notch 1,000 assists, which he earns on Mathieu Dandenault’s game-winning goal when Detroit beats Ottawa 3-2 in overtime.
2007 — Utah coach Jerry Sloan passes Larry Brown for 4th on the NBA’s all-time win list (1,010) after the Jazz beat the Chicago Bulls, 95-85 at the United Center.
2008 — Despite a shaky Tom Brady, New England Patriots are too much for the banged-up San Diego Chargers in the AFC championship game, pulling out a 21-12 victory that sends them back to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in seven seasons.
2008 — Lawrence Tynes, who missed a 36-yard field goal at the end of regulation following a bad snap, nails a 47-yarder in overtime to give the New York Giants a 23-20 win over Green Bay in the NFC championship at Lambeau Field. The Giants win their 10th straight on the road in the third-coldest championship game ever.
2013 — San Francisco’s Frank Gore runs for a pair of second-half touchdowns and the 49ers rebounds from a 17-0 deficit to beat the Atlanta Falcons 28-24 in the NFC championship game.
2013 — Joe Flacco outduels Tom Brady, throwing three touchdown passes in the second half and leading the Baltimore Ravens to their first Super Bowl in 12 years with a 28-13 victory over the New England Patriots for the AFC championship.
2016 — Kathryn Smith is promoted by the Buffalo Bills to take over as special teams quality control coach, making her the first full-time female coach in the NFL.
2017 — Henrik Sedin scores a goal for his 1,000th career point to help Vancouver beat Florida 2-1. Sedin becomes the 85th player in NHL history to reach 1,000 points, and the 38th to accomplish the feat with one franchise.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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