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From Jack Harris: The 2025 Dodgers looked a lot like the 2024 Dodgers on Thursday.
Just with gold lettering adorning their World Series championship jerseys.
In a 5-4 win over the Detroit Tigers in their home opener, this year’s Dodgers produced all the same hallmarks of last season’s title-winning club.
Timely offense, epitomized by Teoscar Hernández’s go-ahead, three-run home run in the fifth inning off reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal, and Shohei Ohtani’s solo blast in the seventh for a key insurance run.
Starting pitching that was just good enough, with two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell limiting damage in a five-inning, two-run debut with the team.
“You never know how the outcomes are going to be until you play,” manager Dave Roberts said, acknowledging the potential distractions that have come with all the pomp and circumstance surrounding the Dodgers’ bid to repeat as champions this season. “But we still found a way to win a ballgame. That’s a good thing.”
Plaschke: Honoring past, dominating present, unbeaten Dodgers shine in home opener
As Dodgers look ahead in home opener, plenty of reminders of 2024 World Series title
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WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU
Do you have a thought or opinion on one of our local sports teams or one of our sports stories? Email us at [email protected]. Selected letters will be run here and in our Sunday print section. You must include your first and last name and city of residence to be included.
LAKERS
From Dan Woike: One night after he tipped in a winning shot to beat the Indiana Pacers, LeBron James sat at his locker and tried his best to say the Lakers needed to put what happened Thursday behind them.
The joy he felt in Indiana, walking off the court beating his chest in triumph and shooting his wristbands into the crowd, violently swung toward disappointment after the Lakers’ 119-117 loss on Josh Giddey’s half-court buzzer-beater in Chicago.
“This is the NBA,” he said.
No way. Not this. This isn’t normal. A win like that followed by a loss like this? Never happens.
James’ postgame words were mostly unimportant, save for taking responsibility for a defensive miscommunication that led to a three and a disastrous inbounds pass he threw after that led to another. It was his actions that said the most.
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ANGELS
Sean Burke pitched six sparkling innings and Will Venable got his first win as a big league manager Thursday, directing the Chicago White Sox to an 8-1 victory over the Angels on opening day.
Andrew Benintendi, Lenyn Sosa and Austin Slater homered as Chicago began what it hopes will be a more promising season than a year ago, when it went 41-121 to break the post-1900 major league record for losses.
Venable, 42, stepped into a challenging rebuilding project when he was hired in October. The former big league outfielder was an associate manager for Texas the last two years.
Yusei Kikuchi (0-1) pitched six innings of three-run ball in his Angels debut. The Japanese left-hander signed a $63-million, three-year contract with the Angels in free agency.
The Angels lost on opening day for the 11th time in the last 12 years, including four in a row.
UCLA BASKETBALL
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Kiki Rice remembers the feeling. The bitter emotions she felt sitting on the training table in UCLA’s locker room in Albany, N.Y., while processing yet another Sweet 16 loss.
A year later the shock has worn off, but the disappointment has remained. UCLA’s star point guard wants to make her third trip to the NCAA regional semifinal the charm.
“Coming out here the last two times and not having won really is a sour taste in all our mouths,” Rice said. “[We learned] the extra competitiveness and energy that we’ll play with because we don’t want to have that same feeling again.”
UCLA, which will face No. 5 seed Mississippi at 7 p.m. Friday at Spokane Arena, is in the Sweet 16 for the seventh time in the last 10 years. After the Bruins (32-2) blew out Richmond in the second round, their celebration was business-like. They quickly assembled in the handshake line then walked around the court to salute their home fans.
An appearance during the second weekend of the NCAA tournament is now “an expectation” for the program, coach Cori Close said after the second round.
“We’re going to have habits that lead us to those places,” she added, “and now we’ve got to push the envelope.”
CS DOMINGUEZ HILLS BASKETBALL
From Nick Leyva: Jeremy Dent-Smith scored 33 points and Adam Afifi and Jordan Hilstock each added 15 to lead the Cal State Dominguez Hills men’s basketball team to a 94-83 overtime victory over Dallas Baptist on Thursday night in the NCAA Division II semifinal at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.
The Toros will take on Nova Southeastern (Fla.) (35-1) in the nationally televised championship game Saturday at noon PDT on CBS.
The Toros fell behind 35-16 in the first half before rallying in the second half. Alex Garcia made a key three-pointer for the Toros in the final seconds of regulation to tie the score at 76-76 and send the game into overtime.
Cal State Dominguez Hills basketball teams make historic Final Four runs
From Ryan Kartje: Even at 62 years old, Rob Ryan, USC’s new linebackers coach, isn’t one to observe drills from the sidelines.
In the mix with his linebacker corps Thursday during spring practice, he guided even USC’s most senior defender, Eric Gentry, on proper technique — hitting the blocking shield and tackling dummy himself with the agility of a man half his size and age.
“His attitude is contagious,” cornerback Prophet Brown said. “He’s always a positive guy. He’s always out there with a big smile, he’s loud, stuff like that gets you to want to play harder for coaches like that.”
Ryan is a character. Coming from a family of coaching personalities — his father, Buddy Ryan, and twin brother, Rex Ryan — the gene has certainly been passed down.
“I love him, he’s a fireball,” Brown added. “That’s how you got to be at linebacker — you got to have some fiery linebackers. I think he embodies that personality well.”
SPARKS
From Iliana Limón Romero: The Sparks are retiring franchise star Candace Parker‘s No. 3 jersey at Crypto.com Arena during halftime of a game against the Chicago Sky on June 29, the team announced Thursday.
The forward won three WNBA championships, including the Sparks’ third title in 2016. During her 13-year Sparks tenure, Parker was named WNBA MVP (2008, 2013), WNBA Finals MVP (2016) and WNBA Defensive Player of the Year (2020). She earned All-Star honors five times.
“To see my jersey hanging in the rafters amongst other legends is truly an honor. This moment is not just about me — it’s about my family, my teammates, and the incredible support from the L.A. Sparks organization and fans,” Parker said in a news release. “I’m grateful to my parents, who believed in me every step of the way, to my brothers, who still are my heroes, and to my wife and kids, who inspire me every day.”
KINGS
Martin Necas had two goals and an assist, Jonathan Drouin and Logan O’Connor also scored, and the streaking Colorado Avalanche beat the Kings 4-0 on Thursday night for their fourth straight win.
Mackenzie Blackwood made 23 saves for his third shutout with Colorado and fourth overall this season. Cale Makar had two assists.
O’Connor and Necas scored goals 1:32 apart early in the second, Necas added a power-play goal later in the period, and Drouin had another on a man-advantage in the third.
David Rittich had 20 saves for the Kings, who had their four-game winning streak stopped.
THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1939 — The barnstorming Renaissance Five beat the NBL champion Oshkosh All-Stars, 34-25, to win the first annual World Professional Basketball Tournament in Chicago. Sports reporters of the day make no mention of the fact that all the Rens are Black and the All-Stars are all white.
1942 — Stanford beats Dartmouth 53-38 for the NCAA basketball championship.
1944 — Arnold Ferrin’s 22 points leads Utah to a 42-40 victory over Dartmouth for the NCAA basket championship.
1950 — CCNY beats Bradley 71-68 in the NCAA basketball final to become the only team to win the NIT and NCAA titles in the same year. CCNY beat Bradley 69-61 in the NIT on March 18.
1971 — Gail Goodrich of the Lakers sets an NBA playoff record for most free throws (17) without a miss in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals. Goodrich leads all scorers with 39 points in the 106-98 loss at Chicago.
1972 — Wilt Chamberlain plays his last pro basketball game.
1977 — Marquette beats North Carolina 67-59 for the NCAA basketball title.
1982 — Louisiana Tech beats Cheyney State 76-62 in the NCAA’s first women’s basketball championship. The tournament replaces the AIAW championship which had been held since 1972.
1989 — Southwestern Louisiana pitchers Cathy McAllister and Stefni Whitton pitch back-to-back perfect games against Southeastern Louisiana, a first in NCAA Division I softball history. McAllister strikes out 10 in a 5-0 victory and Whitton has 14 strikeouts in a 7-0 triumph.
1990 — Michael Jordan scores 69 points to help Chicago beat Cleveland 117-113 in overtime and clinch a playoff spot. Fourth time he scores 60 or more points in a game.
1992 — Christian Laettner hits a 15-foot turnaround jumper at the buzzer to give defending champion Duke a 104-103 overtime victory over Kentucky and a fifth consecutive trip to the Final Four.
1992 — Eric Forkel posts a 217-133 victory over Bob Vespi in the title match of the $300,000 PBA National Championship. Vespi’s 133 sets a record for the lowest in tournament final history.
1993 — Teemu Selanne of the Winnipeg Jets scores his 69th and 70th goals of the season in a 3-3 tie with Kings. Selanne is the eighth player, and first rookie, to have a 70-goal NHL season.
1995 — Michael Jordan, playing in his fifth game in 22 months, scores 55 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 113-111 victory over the New York Knicks.
2006 — Oklahoma center Courtney Paris is the first freshman selected for The Associated Press All-America team in women’s basketball. Paris averaged 21.4 points and led the nation in rebounding (15.1). She is the first NCAA women’s player with 700 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks in a season.
2012 — The NFL’s new rule for postseason overtime is expanded to cover the regular season on a 30-2 vote by the NFL owners. All games that go into overtime cannot end on a field goal on the first possession.
2015 — Breanna Stewart has 31 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists to help UConn rout Texas 105-54, earning coach Geno Auriemma his 100th NCAA tournament win. Auriemma is the second coach to reach the century mark, joining Pat Summitt, who finished with 112 victories in her career.
2015 — Kentucky escapes with a 68-66 win against Notre Dame to go to 38-0 and advance to the Final Four. Wisconsin tops Arizona 85-78 to reach consecutive Final Fours for the first time.
2016 — Rodney Hood scores 30 points and the Jazz turn Kobe Bryant’s last visit to Utah into the worst loss of his career with a 123-75 victory that matches the Lakers’ largest defeat in franchise history.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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