Go beyond the scoreboard
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From Bill Plaschke: The Lakers are steaming to the NBA Finals.
The Lakers are spiraling to a play-in disaster.
The Lakers are inspired. The Lakers are insipid.
The Lakers are majestic. The Lakers are mediocre.
The Lakers are … who knows what they are?
With 16 games left in the regular season, they are the NBA’s most confused team, on the brink of either glory or gory, it changes every day, sometimes every hour, sometimes every minute, witness a cuckoo Sunday night that could have won an Oscar for cinematography.
For three quarters at Crypto.com Arena, against a Minnesota Timberwolves team missing its two big men and four rotational players, the Lakers strikingly stunk.
They were trailing by a point. They had committed 18 turnovers. They had allowed nearly 50% shooting. They were a dozen scoreboard minutes from one of the worst losses of the season.
In less than half that time, they turned it into one of their best wins.
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DODGERS
From Jack Harris: The Dodgers acquired Tyler Glasnow this winter confident he could become the next ace of their starting rotation.
When the team’s regular season begins in South Korea next week, Glasnow won’t have to wait long for his first opportunity to start proving it.
Glasnow will be the Dodgers’ opening day starter, the team announced Monday, for its March 20 game against the San Diego Padres at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.
He will face veteran Padres right-hander Yu Darvish in the opener. Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start the other game of the series against Joe Musgrove.
RAMS
From Gary Klein: The Rams did not begin the NFL free agent negotiating period with a major splash but general manager Les Snead methodically began addressing several needs.
On Monday, the Rams agreed to terms with offensive lineman Jonah Jackson and tight end Colby Parkinson, people with knowledge of the situation said. The people requested anonymity because the deals cannot become official until the NFL’s new league year begins Wednesday.
The acquisition of Jackson, who played four seasons for the Detroit Lions, comes a week after the Rams re-signed Kevin Dotson, a guard the Rams traded for on the eve of last season. Dotson received a three-year contract that includes $32 million in guarantees, according to overthecap.com.
The deal with Jackson almost certainly means Steve Avila, the Rams’ second-round pick last year, will move to center after starting every game last season at left guard.
Analysis: Falcons go all in on Kirk Cousins and Saquon Barkley gets the ‘dead to me’ treatment
Les Snead and Sean McVay break down how Rams are approaching free agency
CHARGERS
From Jeff Miller: After remaining quiet for the first 4½ hours of free agency Monday, the Chargers agreed to terms with former Baltimore running back Gus Edwards.
The deal will reunite the veteran with Greg Roman, who is the Chargers’ new offensive coordinator after serving in the same role with the Ravens from 2019-22.
A short time later, the Chargers added a run-blocking tight end in Will Dissly, who was cut by Seattle after six seasons.
Edwards’ addition came just before free agent Austin Ekeler reached a new deal with Washington, ending his seven-year run with the Chargers. In another notable exit, former first-round pick Kenneth Murray Jr. agreed to a two-year deal with the Tennessee Titans, NFL Media reported.
Chargers’ starting safeties intact after giving Alohi Gilman new deal
SOCCER
From Kevin Baxter: The U.S. made its earliest-ever exit from a women’s World Cup last summer when it was eliminated by Sweden in the round of 16. And while the shadow of that loss wasn’t necessarily hanging over the Americans on Sunday when they played in their first tournament final since then, it hasn’t exactly gone away either.
“We have all together owned our World Cup experience,” said interim coach Twila Kilgore, who was an assistant on that team. “We’ve regrouped, we’ve set new goals, we’ve set a new solid plan. We’re working towards something together, and it’s a very public process. And that’s just not easy.”
What they’re working toward is a gold medal this summer in Paris, where they will face the strongest field in Olympic history just 50 weeks after the World Cup disappointment. And they took a big step toward that goal Sunday, beating Brazil 1-0 to win the first CONCACAF W Gold Cup.
But winning the tournament wasn’t nearly as important as how the U.S. won it. After losing to Mexico in group play, the Americans had to out-physical a feisty Colombia, then beat Canada in a monsoon — twice blowing one-goal leads before winning on penalty kicks — just to reach the final against Brazil.
“It’s not always pretty,” defender Naomi Girma said. “Just find a way to win.”
————
From Kevin Baxter: Galaxy assistant coach Nick Theslof was arrested on suspicion of public intoxication Saturday morning, a day before the team’s game in Nashville, according to Davidson County booking records. He was released later that day on $100 bond.
Theslof, who arrived in Nashville with the Galaxy on Friday, was listed in the MLS game report as being present on the sideline for the Galaxy’s 2-2 draw with Nashville on Sunday afternoon.
“The LA Galaxy were made aware of the situation regarding assistant coach Nick Theslof this morning,” general manager Will Kuntz said in a statement released late Monday. “The club is still gathering facts and reviewing the matter. We will have no further comment at this time.”
TENNIS
Luca Nardi used a combination of poise and power to stun his boyhood idol and top-seeded Novak Djokovic with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win on Monday night in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
Nardi, who’s ranked No. 123, closed out his huge upset over the No. 1 player in the rankings with an ace. The 20-year-old from Italy dropped his racket and brought his hands to his face almost in disbelief before greeting Djokovic at the net.
“This is a miracle,” Nardi said in an interview after the match on the Tennis Channel. “I’m a 20-years-old guy, 100 in the world, and beating Novak. So, crazy. Crazy.”
Earlier in the day, Coco Gauff gave herself an early birthday present by beating Lucia Bronzetti 6-2, 7-6 (5) in the third round. Gauff, who turns 20 on Wednesday, struggled early but found a way to hold her serve by saving 10 of 11 break points. She closed out the match with a serve into the body that Bronzetti couldn’t return. It extended Gauff’s winning streak in the United States to 18 matches, a run that includes winning the title at last year’s U.S. Open.
KINGS
David Rittich stopped 26 shots for his sixth career shutout, Adrian Kempe reached the 20-goal mark for the third straight season and the Kings beat New York 3-0 on Monday night to snap the Islanders’ six-game winning streak.
It was the Kings’ fifth shutout this season and the second for Rittich. The Czech-born goalie made 26 saves in a 4-0 victory over Edmonton on Feb. 10, which was Jim Hiller’s first game as interim coach.
Trevor Moore had a goal and an assist and Phillip Danault also scored for the Kings, who went 3-1-1 during their five-game homestand. Los Angeles is third in the Pacific Division with 77 points.
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1937 — The first National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) men’s basketball tournament is won by Central Missouri State. Central Missouri wins the eight-team, single-elimination tournament by defeating Morningside College (Iowa) 35-24.
1966 — In the last race of his 40-year career, John Longden wins the San Juan Capistrano Handicap at Santa Anita, aboard George Royal. He retires with a then-record number of victories, 6,032.
1984 — Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean of Britain become the first ice dancing team to record nine perfect marks of 6.0 during the world championships.
1985 — Larry Bird scores 60 points, including Boston’s last 16, to set a Celtics record and lead them to a 126-115 victory over Atlanta.
2002 — Siena (17-18), with an 81-77 victory over Alcorn State in the play-in game, becomes first team in 47 years to win an NCAA men’s basketball tournament game with a losing record.
2003 — Damian Costantino’s NCAA-record hitting streak ends at 60 games, one day after he broke Robin Ventura’s 16-year-old mark. Costantino, an outfielder for Division III Salve Regina of Newport, R.I., fails to get a hit in the first game of a doubleheader against Baldwin-Wallace. It’s the first time he finishes a game hitless since March 25, 2001.
2005 — Bode Miller becomes the first American in 22 years to win skiing’s overall World Cup title. He finishes ahead of his only remaining challenger, Benjamin Raich of Austria, in the season’s final giant slalom to capture the crown.
2009 — Syracuse outlasts Connecticut in the second-longest Division I game ever played, capping a Big East tournament quarterfinal doubleheader in which the second- and third-ranked teams in the nation both lose. Andy Rautins hits a 3-pointer 10 seconds into the sixth overtime, to give the Orange their first lead since regulation and they go on to a 127-117 victory over the third-ranked Huskies. Much earlier in the evening, West Virginia beats No. 2 Pittsburgh 74-60.
2017 — Joakim Jensen finally ends what is believed to be the longest game in hockey history, scoring in the eighth overtime in the Norwegian League playoffs. More than 8 1/2 hours after the game started — and after 217 minutes, 14 seconds of play — Jensen breaks through to give the Storhamar Dragons a 2-1 victory over the Sparta Warriors. Storhamar leads the best-of-seven quarterfinal series 3-2.
2020 — 2020 NCAA men’s basketball tournament is cancelled over concerns of the spread of COVID-19; first time ‘March Madness’ not held since it began in 1939; women’s tournament also cancelled.
2020 — NHL announces the pausing of the 2019-20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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