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From Dan Woike: Anthony Davis didn’t need 20/20 vision to see the Hawks were trying to grab the Lakers’ attention.
After the Lakers turned it over on the first play of the game, Hawks forward Jaylen Johnson turned the ensuing fast break into a highlight, jumping almost completely over Austin Reaves — the rare occasion where the story begins with an exclamation point before anything else is written.
The dunk, which for Reaves’ sake, got outdone by Anthony Edwards in Utah, triggered an 11-2 start for Atlanta, a quick, sudden wake-up call.
But with Davis back after suffering a scratched cornea Saturday, the Lakers (37-32) quickly found their rhythm, making sure Johnson’s highlight was an outlier in a game that was otherwise all Lakers.
All five starters finished with at least 12 points, all five had big moments and all five got to spend most of the fourth quarter on the bench during a 136-105 win over Atlanta.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak.
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RAMS
From Gary Klein: With Aaron Donald now retired, call it 2024 A.D. for the Rams.
General manager Les Snead, coach Sean McVay and new defensive coordinator Chris Shula must find an effective way to fill the team’s biggest roster hole since McVay was hired in 2017.
The Rams are expected to address the void through the second and third waves of free agency and through the draft.
The Rams have the No. 19 pick and 11 total picks in the April 25-27 draft, which will be held in Detroit.
There will be no replacing Donald, an eight-time All-Pro who amassed 111 sacks, however. Donald was the focal point for every opposing offensive coordinator, a game-wrecker in the truest sense.
A look at players the Rams have left on the roster and others they could pursue:
Rams’ new safety ‘Kam Bam’ plans to have a literal impact on secondary
DODGERS
From Jack Harris: So far, the Dodgers’ trip to Korea has been a quiet one offensively for Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani.
Despite taking plenty of big hacks in the team’s two exhibition games against Korean opponents this week, the slugger went 0 for five in his final tuneup at-bats before the regular season, which begins Wednesday with the Dodgers’ international series against the San Diego Padres.
In a much more notable development Monday, however, manager Dave Roberts said the two-way talent will begin a throwing program once the club returns from its trans-Pacific trek — the latest significant step in Ohtani’s long road back to the mound following last September’s Tommy John surgery.
The news does not change Ohtani’s chances of pitching in 2024. As Roberts reiterated Monday, ahead of the club’s 5-2 win over the Korean national team, the right-hander won’t return to the mound until the 2025 season.
But, the resumption of throwing does indicate that Ohtani is making strides in his rehab from the Tommy John procedure — which he said hasn’t affected his swing this spring — and could open the door to other positional possibilities during the 2024 campaign.
NCAA MEN’S TOURNAMENT
Men’s schedule
All times Pacific
FIRST FOUR
Today
No. 16 Wagner (16-15) vs. No. 16 Howard (18-16), 3:40 p.m., TruTV
No. 10 Colorado State (24-10) vs. No. 10 Virginia (23-10), 6:10 p.m., TruTV
Wednesday
No. 16 Grambling State (20-14) vs. No. 16 Montana State (17-17), 3:40 p.m., TruTV
No. 10 Colorado (24-10) vs. No. 10 Boise State (22-10), 6:10 p.m., TruTV
FIRST ROUND
EAST REGION
Thursday
No. 6 Brigham Young (23-10) vs. No. 11 Duquesne (24-11), 9:40 a.m., TruTV
No. 3 Illinois (26-8) vs. No. 14 Morehead State (26-8), 12:10 p.m., TruTV
No. 2 Iowa State (27-7) vs. No. 15 South Dakota State (22-12), 4:35 p.m., TruTV
No. 7 Washington State (24-9) vs. No. 10 Drake (28-6), 7:05 p.m., TruTV
Friday
No. 8 Florida Atlantic (25-8) vs. No. 9 Northwestern (21-11), 9:15 a.m., CBS
No. 5 San Diego State (24-10) vs. No. 12 Alabama Birmingham (23-11), 10:45 a.m., TNT
No. 1 Connecticut (31-3) vs. No. 16 Stetson (22-12), 11:45 a.m., CBS
No. 4 Auburn (27-7) vs. No. 13 Yale (22-9), 1:15 p.m., TNT
SOUTH REGION
Thursday
No. 3 Kentucky (23-9) vs. No. 14 Oakland (23-11), 4:10 p.m., CBS
No. 6 Texas Tech (23-10) vs. No. 11 North Carolina State (22-14), 6:40 p.m., CBS
Friday
No. 2 Marquette (25-9) vs. No. 15 Western Kentucky (22-11), 11 a.m., TBS
No. 7 Florida (24-11) vs. No. 10 Boise State (22-10) / Colorado (24-10), 1:30 p.m., TBS
No. 8 Nebraska (23-10) vs. No. 9 Texas A&M (20-14), 3:50 p.m., TNT
No. 4 Duke (24-8) vs. No. 13 Vermont (28-6), 4:10 p.m., CBS
No. 1 Houston (30-4) vs. No. 16 Longwood (21-13), 6:20 p.m., TNT
No. 5 Wisconsin (22-13) vs. No. 12 James Madison (31-3), 6:40 p.m., CBS
MIDWEST REGION
Thursday
No. 3 Creighton (23-9) vs. No. 14 Akron (24-10), 10:30 a.m., TNT
No. 6 South Carolina (26-7) vs. No. 11 Oregon (23-11), 1 p.m., TNT
No. 7 Texas (20-12) vs. No. 10 Virginia (23-10) / Colorado State (24-10), 3:50 p.m., TNT
No. 5 Gonzaga (25-7) vs. No. 12 McNeese (30-3), 4:25 p.m., TBS
No. 2 Tennessee (24-8) vs. No. 15 Saint Peter’s (19-13), 6:20 p.m., TNT
No. 4 Kansas (22-10) vs. No. 13 Samford (29-5), 6:55 p.m., TBS
Friday
No. 1 Purdue (29-4) vs. No. 16 Montana State (17-17) / Grambling State (20-14), 4:25 p.m., TBS
No. 8 Utah State (27-6) vs. No. 9 Texas Christian (21-12), 6:55 p.m., TBS
WEST REGION
Thursday
No. 8 Mississippi State (21-13), No. 9 Michigan State (19-14), 9:15 a.m., CBS
No. 2 Arizona (25-8) vs. No. 15 Long Beach State (21-14), 11 a.m., TBS
No. 1 North Carolina (27-7) vs. No. 16 Howard (18-16) / Wagner (16-15), 11:45 a.m., CBS
No. 7 Dayton (24-7) vs. No. 10 Nevada (26-7), 1:30 p.m., TBS
Friday
No. 3 Baylor (23-10) vs. No. 14 Colgate (25-9), 9:40 a.m., TruTV
No. 6 Clemson (21-11) vs. No. 11 New Mexico (26-9), 12:10 p.m., TruTV
No. 4 Alabama (21-11) vs. No. 13 Charleston (27-7), 4:35 p.m., TruTV
No. 5 Saint Mary’s (26-7) vs. No. 12 Grand Canyon (29-4), 7:05 p.m., TruTV
Second round: March 23-24
Sweet 16: March 28-29
Elite Eight: March 30-31
Final Four: April 6 (Glendale, Ariz.)
Championship: April 8 (Glendale, Ariz.)
USC BASKETBALL
From Bill Plaschke: The brackets for the two 2024 NCAA basketball tournaments have been announced and already there is one shining moment.
It belongs to the women.
For the first time, their tournament is more compelling than the men’s.
Caitlin Clark. Angel Reese. JuJu Watkins. LSU champs. South Carolina unbeatens. UConn traditions. Old grudges. New rivals. Human drama.
And some of it will be happening in the Southland’s backyard, literally, just call Galen Center or Pauley Pavilion, they’ll tell you.
While the USC and UCLA men had losing records that shut them out of the brackets, the USC and UCLA women are powerful enough to host first-round games and potent enough to propel themselves to the Final Four.
The Trojans are a one seed, the Bruins are a two seed, and both will be home next weekend for the first two rounds of their brackets in an unprecedented one-city display of NCAA hoops domination.
Women’s schedule
All times Pacific
FIRST FOUR
Wednesday
No. 16 Presbyterian (20-14) vs. No. 16 Sacred Heart (24-9), 4 p.m., ESPNU
No. 12 Columbia (23-6) vs. No. 12 Vanderbilt (22-9), Wednesday, 6 p.m., ESPNU
Thursday
No. 11 Arizona (17-15) vs. No. 11 Auburn (20-11), 4 p.m. | ESPN2
No. 16 Tennessee Martin (16-16) vs. No. 16 Holy Cross (20-12), 6 p.m. | ESPN2
REGIONAL 1
Friday
No. 8 North Carolina (19-12) vs. No. 9 Michigan State (22-8), 8:30 a.m., ESPN2
No. 1 South Carolina (32-0) vs. No. 16 Sacred Heart (24-9) / Presbyterian (20-14), 11 a.m., ESPN
No. 3 Oregon State (24-7) vs. No. 14 Eastern Washington (29-5), 5 p.m., ESPNU
No. 6 Nebraska (22-11) vs. No. 11 Texas A&M (19-12), 7:30 p.m., ESPNU
Saturday
No. 4 Indiana (24-5) vs. No. 13 Fairfield (31-1), 10:30 a.m., ESPN2
No. 2 Notre Dame (26-6) vs. No. 15 Kent State (21-10), 11:15 a.m., ESPN
No. 5 Oklahoma (22-9) vs. No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast (29-4), 1 p.m., ESPNews
No. 7 Mississippi (23-8) vs. No. 10 Marquette (23-8), 1:45 p.m., ESPNU
REGIONAL 2
Friday
No. 6 Louisville (24-9) vs. No. 11 Middle Tennessee (29-4), 10:30 a.m., ESPN2
No. 4 Kansas State (25-7) vs. No. 13 Portland (21-12), 1:30 p.m., ESPNews
No. 3 LSU (28-5) vs. No. 14 Rice (19-14), 1 p.m. | ESPN
No. 5 Colorado (22-9) vs. No. 12 Drake (29-5), 4 p.m., ESPNews
Saturday
No. 1 Iowa (29-4) vs. No. 16 Holy Cross (20-12) / Tennessee Martin (16-16), Noon, ABC
No. 8 West Virginia (24-7) vs. No. 9 Princeton (25-4), 2:30 p.m., ESPN2
No. 7 Creighton (25-5) vs. Nevada Las Vegas (30-2), 4 p.m., ESPNews
No. 2 UCLA (25-6) vs. No. 15 California Baptist (28-3), 6:30 p.m., ESPN2
REGIONAL 3
Friday
No. 2 Ohio State (25-5) vs. No. 15 Maine (24-9), 9 a.m., ESPN
No. 7 Duke (20-11) vs. No. 10 Richmond (29-5), 11:30 a.m., ESPNews
No. 4 Virginia Tech (24-7) vs. No. 13 Marshall (26-6), 12:30 p.m., ESPN2
No. 5 Baylor vs. No. 12 Vanderbilt (22-9) / Columbia (23-6), 6 p.m., ESPNU
Saturday
No. 3 Connecticut (29-5) vs. No. 14 Jackson State (26-6), 10 a.m., ABC
No. 8 Kansas (19-12) vs. No. 9 Michigan (20-13), 11 a.m., ESPNews
No. 6 Syracuse (23-7) vs. No. 11 Auburn (20-11) / Arizona (17-15), 12:30 p.m., ESPN2
No. 1 USC (26-5) vs. No. 16 Texas A&M Corpus Christi (23-8), 1:30 p.m., ESPN
REGIONAL 4
Friday
No. 1 Texas (30-4) vs. No. 16 Drexel (19-14), noon, ESPNU
No. 8 Alabama (23-9) vs. No. 9 Florida State (23-10), 2:30 p.m., ESPN2
No. 7 Iowa State (20-11) vs. No. 10 Maryland (19-13), 4:30 p.m., ESPN2
No. 2 Stanford (28-5) vs. No. 15 Norfolk State (27-5), 7 p.m., ESPN2
Saturday
No. 6 Tennessee (19-12) vs. No. 11 Green Bay (27-6), 9 a.m., ESPN
No. 3 North Carolina State (27-6) vs. No. 14 Chattanooga (28-4), 11:30 a.m., ESPNU
No. 4 Gonzaga (30-3) vs. No. 13 UC Irvine (23-8), 4:30 p.m., ESPN2
No. 5 Utah (22-10) vs. South Dakota State (27-5), 7 p.m., ESPNU
Second round: March 24-25
Sweet 16: March 29-30
Elite Eight: March 31-April 1
Final Four: April 5 (Cleveland)
Championship: April 7 (Cleveland)
NHL
THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1950 — Babe Didrikson Zaharias shoots a record 298 and beats Clair Doran by eight strokes to capture the U.S. Women’s Open.
1955 — San Francisco wins the NCAA basketball championship with a 77-63 victory over La Salle.
1956 — The Minneapolis Lakers defeat the St. Louis Hawks 133-75 for the biggest rout in NBA playoff history.
1960 — Ohio State wins the NCAA basketball title with a 75-55 victory against California.
1966 — Texas Western, starting five black players, wins the NCAA basketball championship with a 72-65 upset of all-white Kentucky.
1972 — The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women holds its first basketball championship and Immaculata beats West Chester State 52-48.
1972 — The Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors 162-99 for the most lopsided victory in NBA history.
1987 — Bonnie Blair skates ladies’ world record 500 m (39.43 sec)
1995 — Chicago’s Michael Jordan returns from his 17-month retirement. Wearing No. 45, he shoots 7-of-28 from the field and scores 19 points in the Bulls’ 103-96 overtime loss at Indiana.
2006 — Tennessee’s Candace Parker is the first woman to dunk in an NCAA tournament game, jamming one-handed on a breakaway 6:12 into the second-seeded Lady Vols’ 102-54 victory against an Army team that was making its NCAA tournament debut.
2014 — Chris Eversley scores 19 points to help Cal Poly become the first team in 59 years with 19 losses to win an NCAA Tournament game, beating Texas Southern 81-69 on in the First Four.
2015 — Lindsey Vonn wins the final super-G of the season and with it her 19th crystal globe trophy — equaling the record of Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark.
2015 — R.J. Hunter’s 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds remaining caps a comeback from a 12-point deficit and lifts 14th-seeded Georgia State over third-seeded Baylor 57-56 in the NCAA Tournament.
2015 — William Lee scores the last four points for 14th-seeded UAB in its 60-59 upset of Iowa State.
2019 — Houston Rockets guard James Harden becomes first player in NBA history to score at least 30 points against all 29 opponents in a single season with 31 in a 121-105 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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