The track is built on former marshland and that has made it difficult for organisers to keep it in good condition, but the four-time champion rejected that as a reason not to try to solve the issue.
“You can use the excuse that the soil is the problem but then you should have known that and you need to make sure that you reinforce it more,” Verstappen said.
“Last year, for example, you pull around 5-6G in a corner, but I had some impacts, vertical load, which was over 9G on my spine, which I can tell you is really not fun, and especially the older you get, you think about that more and more.”
Verstappen said the problem was likely to be exacerbated this year because although the cars from 2022-25 had lower ride-heights overall, the way the cars are run under the latest regulations means they are running lower in corners than last season.
That’s because of the switch between having the front and rear wings open in drag-reduction mode on the straights and closing in corners means the cars drop down towards the ground when they brake.
“You bottom out way harder, because when the wings close and the ride-height comes down, under braking is actually a very stressful moment, and I know around here in some places, it’s very bumpy under braking,” he said.
“Especially when it’s like these kind of awkward bumps, not just bumps from the track getting older, but the surface underneath the soil just moving up and down, sometimes (it’s) very hard to expect, or if you’re like a tiny bit offline, you don’t know what is there, because no-one really drives here sometimes.
“I can tell you from the checks that I’ve done from my spine, the bottom end doesn’t look that great.
“I know that’s part of racing. I know that can be part of sport, but it’s also further damage from the cars that we had the last few years.
“And now if we continue with finding this acceptable to drive on, then you are going to suffer with that much more.”
And the DRC’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Therese Kayikwamba Wagner said in a statement last week that “giving (Rwanda President) Paul Kagame this platform would help polish the image of an authoritarian leader whose government has helped fuel a devastating war in our country”.
She pointed out that the US had sanctioned the Rwandan army and four senior officers for their role in destabilising the region, conducting military operations inside the DRC and supporting, training and fighting alongside the M23 rebel group.
She added that F1 “should require credible, independent guarantees that no money used to host the race comes from conflict-linked minerals or the exploitation of Congolese resources”.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton said: “Africa is a place that deserves to have a grand prix. It’s about more than just one country. It’s about the continent itself, and there are so many beautiful countries within it.
“The people are so lovely. The culture is so rich, and I think it’s important that we get to show that to the world. We get to do that with our sport. We get to go to all these different countries, and people see some of these countries they didn’t really know too much about.
“All of a sudden, it becomes something that’s on the screen, and kids are talking about it. They go to school talking about it. So, I’m really, really hopeful for that grand prix.”
However, the Ferrari driver added: “Going there doesn’t mean that you neglect the things that are happening there.
“So hopefully many people start to educate themselves a little bit more about what is happening there and what has happened there for hundreds of years. I hope that does spark the conversation.
“And then I guess I’ll finish it off with this: I think we need to make sure we’re pushing to free Congo, free Sudan, free Syria, free Palestine. I think there’s a lot of peace that I’m hoping we get to at some stage.”
The Rams’ injury woes continued Thursday when star receiver Puka Nacua left practice because of a calf injury, a team official said.
Nacua was sidelined for two games this season because of a hip injury, but he has played the last three games for a Rams team that opened the season as the Super Bowl favorite but is 2-4 heading into Sunday’s game against the Raiders in Las Vegas.
The Rams are already thin at receiver in the wake of a hamstring injury suffered by Davante Adams during the Rams’ 18-16 defeat by the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday. Adams, 33, will be sidelined for six to 10 weeks, coach Sean McVay said.
It remains to be seen if Nacua, who led the NFL in receptions last season, will play against the Raiders.
Jordan Whittington, Konata Mumpfield, Tutu Atwell and rookie CJ Daniels are other Rams receivers.
Ron Duguay, a longtime New York Rangers star who finished his NHL career with the Kings, has died of cancer. He was 69.
The Rangers announced the loss of “one of the most popular players in franchise history” on Thursday morning after being informed by Duguay’s family.
“Ron’s signature skating style — with his hair flowing as he moved down the ice — captivated The Garden Faithful, and his skill, tenacity, and charisma earned him the admiration of all New Yorkers,” the team said in a statement. “We join the hockey community in sending our condolences to Ron’s friends, family, and loved ones during this difficult time.”
Former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican U.S. vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, who dated Duguay over the last several years, posted on social media that the one-time NHL All-Star “passed away peacefully” Thursday “after a hard-fought battle with cancer.”
“It’s with a shattered heart, but also deep peace knowing Ron is with Jesus now,” Palin wrote. “He fought so hard. Love never ends.”
On Sunday, Palin posted photos that appeared to show her holding Duguay’s hand while he was in a hospital bed. “Prayers for Ron Duguay are felt & appreciated,” she wrote.
Born in Sudbury, Ontario, Duguay was selected by the Rangers at No. 13 overall in the 1977 draft. Known for his long, curly hair and flashy lifestyle — “why, he even danced with Cher at one of Manhattan’s best-known discos,” the New York Times wrote in 1983 — Duguay became a star during the six seasons of his initial stint in New York. He helped the Rangers make the 1979 Stanley Cup Final and earned his only All-Star nod in 1982.
Ron Duguay, front left, blocks out New York Rangers’ Carey Wilson as Kings teammate Marty McSorley winds up to shoot Feb. 27, 1989, at Madison Square Garden.
(Ron Frehm / Associated Press)
Duguay was traded to the Detroit Red Wings in the summer of 1983 and had the two best seasons of his career, including career highs of 89 points on 38 goals and 51 assists during the 1984-1985 season. He also played for the Pittsburgh Penguins and a second time for the Rangers before wrapping up his career with the Kings from 1988 to 1989.
Overall, Duguay had 673 points (305 goals, 368 assists) in the NHL regular season and playoffs. He went on to play in the minor leagues, including two seasons with the IHL’s San Diego Gulls, and spent 12 years calling Rangers games as an MSG Network analyst.
“Ron greeted each day with the biggest smile, an incredible zest for life, and a positive outlook that shone through everything he saw, everything he did, and every life he touched,” the NHL Alumni Assn. wrote on X. “He will be remembered not only for the player he was, but for the extraordinary person he was. His warmth, his laughter, his kindness, and his beautiful spirit will forever remain in the hearts of his family, friends, teammates, and the entire NHL Alumni community.”
The Kings reposted the alumni association’s statement and added: “Our hearts are with Ron’s family & loved ones and we join them in mourning his passing.”
In 2024, Duguay was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer, which had started in his colon before spreading to his liver and other parts of his body, according to a post on the GoFundMe page set up by his three adult children to help pay for his medical and travel costs. He lived in Florida but had to make regular trips to Orange County for treatment.
“Early this morning, our beloved father took his final breath after fighting a long and courageous battle. He fought with everything he had, right until the very end,” daughter Shay Thomas wrote on Thursday in a separate GoFundMe post. “Our hearts are shattered, and the world feels a little less bright without him in it. He will be missed by so many, but we find peace in knowing that he is finally free from pain and suffering.
“He fought the good fight until his very last breath, and today, Heaven gained a truly special angel.”
Mohammed Annour spent much of his youth living in a flimsy shelter in a dusty, overcrowded refugee camp in east Africa, where the days were long, the food was poor and the future nonexistent.
“Go to the army and fight. That’s one option,” said Annour, who fled war in Sudan for the refugee camp in Chad when he was 9. “The other one is you stay there. But you don’t have a future.”
If he had stayed, Annour, now 33, has little doubt how his story would have ended.
“Probably,” he said, “I’m dead.”
Mohammed Annour, a refugee soccer player who became a coach, and Alan Barker, chairman of the Mighty Cosmos, look across a field in Sweden.
(Courtesy of Darren Hamlin)
Instead, he’s in Sweden, raising two boys, working as a quality control inspector for a textile company and playing amateur soccer for a team in the country’s fifth division. And the only thing that separates his experience from the tens of thousands of desperate people he left behind in the camp is the fact someone believed in him enough to give him a chance.
“Everybody needs a chance,” Annour said. “Don’t throw people out. People just need a chance in life.”
“And we got that chance,” he continued, “because of Katie-Jay and Gabriel.”
Scott and Stauring founded the humanitarian group iACT largely to respond to the crisis in Darfur, a semi-desert plateau in western Sudan that has known nothing but war this century. But unlike many of the dozens of other similarly minded people and groups working in Africa, Scott and Stauring came not to preach, but to listen. They came with questions, not answers.
And what they were told was that the children in the camps needed more than food and shelter. They needed a routine, they needed recreation, they needed joy and they needed hope.
Founders of iACT Gabriel Stauring, left, and Katie-Jay Scott hold up gifts they received after a training session in the Central African Republic. Stauring and Scott were killed in a car crash in 2021, but their nonprofit continues to support refugees.
(Courtesy of iACT)
In other words, they needed soccer.
“Many organizations came into the camps. They just came around and took some pictures and then they leave,” said Annour, a slight man with a serious countenance. “I think [Scott and Stauring] understood us as humans, not just these kids or these people who need food or shelter.
“They saw another side. They saw these people that can make something in life.”
“They were so kind, careful,” Annour said. “Listening to everyone. It didn’t matter where you came from, which color you are. They were open and gave time to everyone they met.”
“Honestly, I didn’t know they were going to change my life or anything,” added Moubarak Abdallah, another refugee introduced to soccer by Scott and Stauring. “I saw them as other people who just come and go. But they were quite special people.
Grace Tanda, of the Mighty Cosmos, strikes the ball during a match. The soccer team in Sweden is comprised of refugees.
(Courtesy of Darren Hamlin)
“They wanted to help our ideas shine, to [give] other people hope. They were listening to what I needed.”
Today, there are more than 5,000 children participating in iACT soccer academies in Chad, the Central African Republic, Cameroon and Mexico. Another 1,800 children are enrolled in the group’s Little Ripples preschool program, which also served 475,000 meals to students and staff last year.
But the organization, like many similarly focused humanitarian groups, is fighting for its survival amid a global backlash against refugees and migrants.
The hostility has been especially strong in the U.S., where the second Trump administration has sharply restricted immigration and asylum access and drastically cut congressionally approved spending for life-sustaining programs previously funded through USAID. Many European countries have followed that lead, adopting a stauncher approach to border enforcement and deportations and slashing support for development assistance by 13.8% in 2025, the largest cut in a decade.
This summer, violent anti-immigrant protests in South Africa forced more than 178,000 people to flee to Zimbabwe, Malawi, Nigeria and other countries, reversing a trend that has seen the region’s richest country welcome migrants to work on farms, in construction and other low-paid jobs. Public sentiment toward refugees and migrants has also hardened elsewhere, creating a crisis for nonprofit aid groups.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, this month warned the gap between humanitarian needs and donor contributions is widening, leading to deep cuts and forcing aid groups to fight one another for the shrinking dollars that remain — all at a time when conflicts in Syria, Gaza and Ukraine have swelled the number of refugees worldwide to nearly 42 million; another 69 million people are displaced.
That’s more than 1 out of every 70 people on Earth, according to the UNHCR.
Annour and his family were once part of that wave, fleeing their home in Sudan in 2003, stepping around dead bodies and witnessing unimaginable horror, to escape one in a series of continuing civil wars that have given way to genocide. More than 15 million people have been displaced in the 23 years of fighting, with more than 1.3 million still stranded in teeming refugee camps in eastern Chad.
Annour said he would have perished there if not for Stauring and Scott, who introduced soccer to their camp. Three years after the pair arrived, an international tournament for stateless players, the CONIFA World Football Cup, was held and iACT entered a 20-man team comprised of players from 12 camps. Annour, a left back, made the cut as did Abdallah, a physical midfielder with a perpetual smile who would become the team captain.
“No one is thinking this [is] going to be life-changing,” Abdallah remembers thinking. “You know, there was like a small chance but it became big dreams for us.”
The team, Darfur United, was outscored 39-0 in its two games in Ostersund, Sweden, but most of the players chose to stay in Ostersund rather than return to their camps and were welcomed by the Swedish government. They received asylum and eventually formed an integration team, the Mighty Cosmos, that advanced as high as the fifth division of Swedish soccer.
Abdallah is a natural leader, said Alan Barker, chairman of the Mighty Cosmos, and the kind of person who receives total respect from the other players.
Mugenyi Ngabu, left, cheers during the Mighty Cosmos’ match in Sweden. The team is comprised entirely of refugees.
(Courtesy of Darren Hamlin)
“He is a sort of guy you can rely on 100%,” Barker said. “Personally, I would trust him with my life. He is a doer, not a talker. A problem solver not a problem creator. And he always wants the best for everybody.”
Annour, he added, has been troubled by knee injuries on the field but remains “a strong and quiet yet forceful personality of the group.”
“He is a passionate believer in fair play and honesty and has no room for dishonesty or deception in any aspect of life,” Barker continued. “Maybe that’s a reflection of his childhood in the refugee camps and Chad, where there was no time for such things. He’s a sort of guy whose name would be first on the team sheet. The team sheet of football and life.”
More important is the fact that the players, teenagers or young adults when they arrived in Sweden, have married, had children of their own, become citizens and integrated into the local community, where their civic work was this year recognized with one of Sweden’s most prestigious awards.
“I never dreamed to be in this position when I was a kid. I was trying to survive, to live day by day,” said Annour, who is working three jobs to support his sons, aged 1 ½ and 4.
“I’m here. I can provide for my family. Moubarak provides for his family. It’s like saving a generation, not just me and Moubarak.”
“It’s about the chances,” agreed Abdallah, 35, who also lives in Sweden where he coaches the Mighty Cosmos while raising a 5-year-old son.
“The door has to open. That’s all.”
iACT offered a way to open those doors when it first rolled that battered soccer ball onto a dirt lot. Without that, “these guys wouldn’t be here, wouldn‘t have the lives they have,” said Darren Hamlin, a British filmmaker who has started a Kickstarter campaign to fund a documentary on the refugee players.
By focusing on single players and their game and not the vastness of the sprawling global refugee crisis, Hamlin says the film has the power to redefine these former refugees not as obscure numbers but as flesh-and-blood people with dreams and talents and aspirations. That was what inspired Scott and Stauring when they founded iACT.
“Football has this power to transcend sports. It becomes an emotional thing,” said Hamlin, who is behind on his goal of raising $66,000 by the end of the month to expand work on the documentary. “It doesn’t matter how many stats or things we put in front of people; they don’t really pay attention.
“But football kind of goes deeper sometimes. Football is kind of the vehicle that delivers the message.”
Getting that message out, however, is becoming increasingly difficult. As government funding for refugee programs around the world has dried up, groups like iACT have found themselves fighting for the same slice of a much smaller funding pie.
“Fundraising at all levels has become more difficult with the gutting of USAID, especially with the increase in larger NGOs [non-government organizations] applying for foundation grants,” said Merri Weir, a retired teacher and iACT board member since 2016. “It is becoming harder and harder because we’re competing with larger NGOs. The funding stream has become tighter.”
At the same time, the need has swelled.
“The refugee camps in Chad are still very unstable,” said Weir, who has visited the camps multiple times. “The current war has not ended and shows no sign of ending. Refugees are still coming across the border, which has more than doubled the number of Sudanese refugees.
“It is critical that we are able to sustain our current refugee-led programs.”
In response, Weir’s group, which will hold its annual fundraising event in Manhattan Beach next month, has considered everything short of a corner lemonade stand and selling chocolate door to door to make up for the lost financial backing it needs to continue what Scott and Stauring started.
“In the past, it is our uniqueness and our innovation and our refugee-led action [that] set us apart,” said Weir. “It was very appealing.”
The Trump administration complicated things even further in June 2025 when it instituted a travel ban and entry restriction list on Chad, leading the Chadian government to retaliate by revoking visas for American citizens, including aid workers. That means fewer children playing soccer and attending preschool, fewer meals being served — and fewer success stories like the ones told by Abdallah and Annour.
“I spent 12 years in a refugee camp,” Abdallah said. “People just hope to get a meal for the day. [iACT] brought the footballs and then just brought the idea. A chance to change our lives. Opportunity.
“There’s a lot of people in the refugee camps [that] could be pilots, doctors, better football players. Maybe there is the next Lionel Messi, Cristiano [Ronaldo], Lamine Yamal in the camp. But they don’t have any opportunity to get out.”
“The world is crazy. It’s just war everywhere,” added Annour, who is about to begin a college course on sports science. “Those people who don’t like refugees, who don’t want the United Nations to bring more refugees, they need to put themselves in our shoes.
“People are so naive to think they can just ignore what’s going on. It’s getting bigger every day.“
Abdallah and Annour may have left the camps, but the camps have not left them. The work they have done in Sweden includes the construction of a community sports and culture center, addressing crime prevention and mental health, refugee resettlement, and fundraising efforts that support the work of iACT and other groups working with the people they left behind.
“My mom is still in the same camp, so I’ve been back three times now with a lot of footballs, football boots and football equipment,” Abdallah said.
Scott and Stauring, who lived in Redondo Beach before the fatal car crash, thought they were bringing soccer to the camps in Africa, but what they really brought was hope and proof that if someone just opens the door, you might be surprised what you find on the other side.
Three NFL head coaches were each fined $250,000 Wednesday for their conduct toward game officials. Yet apparently nobody has to whip out a checkbook quite yet.
The fines are on hold and could be rescinded altogether if the coaches behave themselves going forward, according to multiple reports.
The New England Patriots’ Mike Vrabel, the Philadelphia Eagles’ Nick Sirianni and the New York Jets’ Aaron Glenn were hit with the fines, which were put into abeyance pending future interaction with officials.
The NFL did not disclose the specific behavior that prompted the organization to single out those coaches, although all three have had visible sideline beef with officials this season.
Vrabel left the coaching box to confront an official late in the first half of the Patriots’ 29-26 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Oct. 5, losing his cool over a defensive holding call against Patriots’ cornerback Marcus Jones. Vrabel was hit with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Referee Bill Vinovich said afterward that Vrabel was flagged for using profanity toward an official. Vrabel told reporters that Vinovich “was a little sensitive. I told him it was a terrible — I’m not going to say effing call. I’ve said that 87 times since I’ve been a head coach. It was nothing derogatory.”
A week later, Glenn went on a tirade while surrounded by three officials during the Jets’ victory over the Browns. Sirianni has had several sideline temper tantrums, including one Sept. 28 after Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was called for intentional grounding.
Troy Vincent, the NFL executive vice president of football operations, told reporters Wednesday at the owners meetings in New York City that sportsmanship was a discussion item. The fines appear to be sending a message that relationships between coaches, game officials and players need to be more civil.
The NFL suspended game officials Jeff Seeman and Adrian Hill on Oct. 5 following separate incidents of unprofessional conduct toward players. Seeman appeared to curse at Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride, and Hill confronted Minnesota Vikings linebacker Eric Wilson after being inadvertently knocked down.
After six weeks of filling in as lead NFL game analyst for CBS Sports, Watt has reached a multi-year agreement to continue alongside play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz in the network’s top broadcast booth. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
The move assures that Watt will call his first Super Bowl on Feb. 13, 2028, in Atlanta. In a video posted Wednesday on his X account, Watt said it is “humbling” to be in such a position.
From the first meeting in Arizona with David Berson & Ross Molloy, to the brotherhood of the NFL Today desk, an unforgettable year with Ian, Evan, Ken & crew and now alongside legendary Jim Nantz, Tracy Wolfson, Rikhoff and the whole crew.
“It is a true honor and a privilege, and I do not take that responsibility lightly at all,” Watt said. “I appreciate their trust in me, and I have an absolute blast doing it every single week. And I cannot wait to continue to do it.”
The former three-time defensive player of the year wasn’t so sure the news would be that good Monday morning when he saw he had missed a call from parent company Skydance global sports group chairman David Berson.
“I’m thinking to myself, ‘Oh man, missed call from the boss. Am I in trouble for potentially breaking Jim Nance’s hand on the broadcast on Sunday with our with our ball drill?’” Watt joked. “It turns out that it was significantly better news than being called into the principal’s office.”
After a 12-season NFL career (10 with the Houston Texans, two with the Arizona Cardinals) that included five Pro Bowl selections, Watt joined CBS Sports as a studio analyst in 2023, then moved to the broadcast booth to call games with play-by-play announcer Ian Eagle last season.
Watt got bumped up to the top booth this season after Tony Romo, who had been the network’s lead game analyst since 2017, was placed on indefinite leave following his July arrest on suspicion of operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Earlier this month, CBS announced it had “mutually agreed to part ways” with Romo.
“I’ve had a front-row seat to JJ’s growth as a top-tier broadcaster, watching him tackle this role just like he did his hall-of-fame playing career,” Berson said in a statement. “He’s insightful, entertaining, passionate, meticulous in his preparation, and the ultimate teammate. He has a unique ability to see things and communicate to fans of all levels. We are thrilled to have him leading our NFL coverage.”
Harry Brook’s first double century by an England batter in a one-day international was not enough to prevent his team being stunned by Sri Lanka, who pulled off a remarkable chase of 430 in Rawalpindi.
Brook passed Ben Stokes’ previous England best score of 182 and posted the fastest ODI double hundred, off 114 balls, in his astonishing 202.
In clobbering the 14th double-hundred in a men’s one-day international and the 12th highest individual score, Brook lifted England to 429-4 – at halfway the highest total made in a one-day international in Pakistan.
But Sri Lanka, who chose to bat second, were not deterred, even when they were reduced to 24-2. They set about completing the second-highest successful chase in ODI history.
Pavan Rathnayake made a sublime 130, while Aviksha Fernando and Dasun Shanaka both added 97.
With Jofra Archer rested for the tri-series and leg-spinner Adil Rashid left out of this match for tactical reasons, England’s bowling was woeful. Sam Curran conceded 103 runs from his nine overs.
Up with the required rate throughout their innings, Sri Lanka needed 109 from the final 10 overs and were able to absorb the losses of Rathnayake and Shanaka.
Sri Lanka needed eight off the final over, sent down by Josh Tongue, who was pinpoint with his accuracy to bowl Dinuth Wellalage and Eshan Malinga with successive deliveries.
But in a sensational finish, Janith Liyanage, the man bowling when Brook reached 200, would not be denied.
With six needed from two balls, Liyanage pummelled Tongue’s penultimate delivery of the match down the ground for a match-winning maximum, sparking joyous Sri Lankan celebrations.
One of the most incredible one-day internationals ever played ended with an aggregate of 847 runs, behind only a match total of 872 when South Africa chased 435 to beat Australia in 2006.
The total of 123 boundaries across both innings – 93 fours and 30 sixes – is also a record in ODIs.
From Broderick Turner: As soon as Luka Doncic took the microphone to share some words with the Lakers’ faithful before their first game of the regular season Wednesday night, it was official that this was his team.
“Um, Laker nation. Thank you for supporting us,” Doncic said. “It’s the start of something new. It’s going to be a special season. So, thank you for your support.”
Then the game started and Doncic went right to work, throwing a lob pass to Walker Kessler for a dunk against Golden State at Crypto.com Arena.
Indeed it was the start of the Luka Doncic Show that included him finding an antagonist to direct his ire during the Lakers’ 127-105 win over the Warriors.
“I mean, obviously it’s the Lakers. It’s one of the biggest organizations in the world, if not the biggest,” Doncic said. “Some it’s a very…a lot of honor just to be the face of the franchise, and I hope I can stay here long. And it doesn’t feel…It’s very much an honor and just enjoy this moment.
Doncic and Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg got into a little beef in the second quarter, leading to the Lakers All-Star guard to put in a little more effort while producing 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists with six turnovers.
Doncic got help from Kessler, who was a force with 26 points on 12-for-12 shooting, nine rebounds and two blocked shot in his debut. Ten of his field goals were on dunks, and in the middle of it all, Kessler had several Lakers and NBA milestones.
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Clippers win their season opener
From Joaquin Ruiz: Darius Garland, microphone in hand, waited patiently at midcourt to speak before the Clippers tipped off their 2026-27 NBA season against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night at Intuit Dome.
“Clipper Nation, Clipper Nation,” the eighth-year guard said to raucous cheers in Inglewood. “We’ve been working hard all summer, ready to really turn up this year. [We’ll] try to play at the highest level. [I] really appreciate the support from my teammates, coaching staff [and] organization — really appreciate everybody that comes out and … continues to support. We’re gonna be here all year.
“Clipper Nation, let’s go.”
Garland wasted no time giving Clippers fans something to smile about after an offseason of torment and transformation. He started the game shooting five-for-five from the field and three-for-three from deep, scoring 16 points in nine minutes and fueling the Clippers’ 121-96 blowout win over the Kings.
From Bill Plaschke: As they head into an offseason of overdue rest and roster reshaping, the Dodgers really only face one obstacle.
But it’s a $700-million obstacle. It’s a 5,400-mile obstacle. It’s an obstacle whose gravitas can be found in everything from international sponsorships to stadium tours, an obstacle with expansive implications and crushing consequences.
He is insanely charming… and unrelentingly stubborn.
He has derived his worldwide popularity from his ability to hit and pitch with equal prowess, a deft duality unmatched in the history of baseball. This ability has helped earn him four MVP awards and status as the unofficial greatest player ever.
But, he’s changing. His body is changing. His skills are changing. He’s 32, with 13 seasons of pro baseball burdening his lumbering 6-foot-4 frame, and part of his game is slowly disintegrating under the weight.
The Angels have fired manager Kurt Suzuki after he lost 100 games in his only season in charge of the long-struggling club.
Baseball operations consultant John Mozeliak announced Wednesday that the Angels declined the option on Suzuki’s contract and would open a search for a new manager in 2027. Suzuki has been offered the opportunity to stay with the organization as a special assistant.
“Kurt has earned tremendous respect in our clubhouse, and I’ve seen firsthand how much he cares about our players,” Mozeliak said in a statement. “I do not believe our record this year was a true reflection of his true abilities as a manager.”
World Series All games at 5 p.m. PT All game on FOX/FOX Deportes/FOX One
No. 1 Milwaukee vs. No. 1 Tampa Bay Friday at Milwaukee Saturday at Milwaukee Monday at Tampa Bay Tuesday at Tampa Bay *Wednesday at Tampa Bay *Friday, Oct. 30 at Milwaukee *Sat., Oct. 31 at Milwaukee
* if necessary
This day in sports history
1933 — Primo Carnera retains the world heavyweight title with a 15-round decision over Paolino Uzcudun in Rome.
1950 — The Rams beat the Baltimore Colts 70-27.
1961 — Erich Barnes of the New York Giants ties an NFL record by returning an interception 102 yards for a touchdown in a 17-16 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
1966 — Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins scores his first goal.
1975 — The 10-team World Football League, citing lack of television and season ticket support, disbands before the 12th week of a 20-week season.
1975 — The Cincinnati Reds beat the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park to win the World Series in seven games.
1976 — Twin brothers Tom and Dick Van Arsdale play together in a game for the Phoenix Suns, becoming the first and only pair of brothers to play for the same NBA club.
1984 — Future Pro Football HOF quarterback Ken Stabler retires after 17 seasons in the NFL with Oakland Raiders, Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints.
1994 — Alcorn State’s Steve McNair becomes the NCAA’s career yardage leader with 15,049, surpassing the old mark set by Brigham Young’s Ty Detmer, who had 14,665. McNair’s 649 yards also breaks his own Division I-AA single-game record as he leads the Braves to a 41-37 win over Southern.
2000 — Bengals running back Corey Dillon rushes for an NFL single-game record 278 yards in a 31-21 victory over the Denver Broncos. Dillon betters Walter Payton’s 27-year-old mark by three yards.
2001 — New York routs Seattle 12-3 in Game 5 to win the AL pennant for the 38th time. The Yankees become the first team since their predecessors in 1960-64 to win four straight pennants.
2005 — Mount Union drops a regular-season game for the first time since 1994, losing 21-14 to Ohio Northern in a Division III matchup. The Purple Raiders, winners of 110 straight regular-season games, had not lost a regular-season game since they were beaten 23-10 by Baldwin-Wallace on Oct. 15, 1994.
2012 — Lance Armstrong is stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life by cycling’s governing body after a report from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that accuses him of leading a massive doping program on his teams.
2014 — Serena Williams is routed 6-0, 6-2 by Simona Halep in the WTA Finals round-robin, one of the most one-sided losses in the 18-time Grand Slam champion’s career. The last time Williams managed to win just two games in a WTA Tour or Grand Slam match was in 1998 when she was 16.
2016 — Kyle Hendricks outpitches Clayton Kershaw, Anthony Rizzo and Willson Contreras homers early and the Chicago Cubs won their first pennant since 1945, beating the Dodgers 5-0 in Game 6 of the NL Championship Series.
2016 — Baker Mayfield has seven touchdown passes and 545 yards to help No. 16 Oklahoma beat Texas Tech 66-59 in the game that breaks the NCAA record for combined offensive yards with 1,708 yards.
2016 — Leonard Fournette breaks LSU’s single-game rushing record in just his first eight carries as the No. 25 Tigers beat No. 23 Mississippi 38-21. Fournette finishes with 284 yards rushing in his first action since aggravating a left ankle injury on Sept. 24. He averages 17.8 yards in 16 carries and his touchdowns go for 78, 76 and 59 yards.
2017 — The Phoenix Suns fire coach Earl Watson just three games in to the NBA season.
2020 — The NHL announced its annual All-Star Game and Skills Competition would be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2024 — LeBron and Bronny James become the first father-son duo in NBA history to appear in a game together as Lakers beat Minnesota Timberwolves 110-103.
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. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Kim Huybrechts will come in as a replacement as the Belgian is the highest-ranked player from the 2026 European Tour rankings who had not qualified.
Huybrechts will face Ryan Searle when the European Championship starts in Dortmund on Thursday, while Gerwyn Price will play Rob Cross and defending champion Gian van Veen will take on Andrew Gilding among the night’s eight matches.
World number one and PDC world champion Luke Littler will start his challenge on Friday with a match against William O’Connor.
Not with superstars or championship aspirations. But with the promise of free parking, a jersey trade-in and a basketball team that is, at least, better than the Sacramento Kings, who they beat 121-96 in both teams’ season opener. Coach Tyronn Lue dedicated the win to suspended team owner Steve Ballmer: “Just want to say thank you for everything. We’re still fighting for him.”
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue directs his players during a win over the Sacramento Kings Wednesday at Intuit Dome.
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Associated Press)
Wednesday’s fan appreciation stuff was a swell gesture, as a start. But it wasn’t nearly far-reaching enough.
Not for embattled Clippers supporters who have stuck with the team through thick and thin, sickness and health, in spite of Donald Sterling, the former cheap, racist owner and now Ballmer, the wealthy, over-invested one whose salary cap circumvention cost his team its first-round picks in the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, and 2033 NBA drafts.
To fans, that was the most consequential part of the historic punishment dealt by the NBA, which commissioned a year-long investigation that determined the Clippers committed audacious levels of salary cap circumvention.
The league also fined the team $30 million, suspended team owner Ballmer and president of business operations Gillian Zucker for a year and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank for six months.
And Leonard? He got a $700,000 slap on the wrist and got traded back to Toronto, where he signed a two-year, $115 million contract extension and on Wednesday, had Raptors coach Darko Rajaković saying he was “super excited for the chance to bring a Hall of Famer back home.”
“That’s one of the most insulting parts of it all, the way [Leonard] was able to walk away scot-free and the fans are left sort of holding the bag,” said Torrance’s Justin Ratterree, while he tried to dodge raindrops as he waited in line, four hours before tipoff, to trade in his No. 2 Leonard jersey.
Young Clippers fans watch the team play the the Sacramento Kings Wednesday at the Intuit Dome.
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Associated Press)
“It’s rough right now. Defending the team this past couple months has been really rough … and I’ve kind of just given up defending. How can you defend it?”
Even Ballmer stopped doing that, releasing a statement on Sept. 13 that read, in part: “This has been a very difficult time for everybody associated with the Clippers, and for that, I have sincere regrets.
“I want to apologize to our fans, employees, and my fellow NBA team owners for the distraction and distress this matter has caused, for which I accept responsibility as principal owner.
“We are,” he added, “committing to put this chapter behind us.”
Yes, let them try to scrub the memory of Leonard, the intensely skilled and private player who demanded so much of the Clippers when he signed with them as a free agent in 2019. Who made no efforts to popularize the team, missed almost as much time as he worked, and who failed to lead the Clippers to their first championship or anywhere close to it in his seven seasons.
After his trade to Toronto went through on Sept. 23, the Clippers resisted posting the “Thank You, Kawhi” graphic that pro sports teams do when they part ways with a player.
Let them also forget to play a tribute video when Leonard’s Raptors visit Intuit Dome for the only time this season on Nov. 2.
And let the Clippers expand the jersey swap beyond the first 4,000 paying customers at Game 1; there was no official figure available Wednesday night for exactly how many jerseys were traded and how many of them belonged to he-who-must-not-be-named.
The Clippers should keep it going, offer the option all season. Set it up at the Intuit Dome’s Lost and Found — invite fans to exchange the No. 2 jersey of the player whom they lost all respect for a guy they’ve found themselves newly enamored with, likely rookie Keaton Wagler if Wednesday’s exchange was any indication.
Clippers fans also deserve more than having their parking picked up until an hour before gametime, on one rainy workday, on late notice.
They should have their parking at games covered all season — or at least substantially reduced from the typical $70 price that’s already too steep. (The Dodgers didn’t start charging $65 until the National League Division Series!)
They should do more if they want to continue to draw a crowd to watch a team whose best player is now Darius Garland, whose future is compromised, whose current best-cast scenario — the play-in! — only Clippers fans could love.
Clippers forward Rui Hachimura drives past Kings guard De’andre Hunter and center Domantas Sabonis Wednesday at the Intuit Dome.
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Associated Press)
Several fans Wednesday also said they would appreciate improved transparency, including in terms of player injury and availability news.
It’s the least the team can do for these patient people, who will have the type of team that they usually fall hard for, actually — a group of gamers, devoid of divas, punching above their weight.
“All this stuff that’s going on,” Lue said, “you can’t take that out on our players … that’s not their fault, you know?”
It’s not fans’ fault, either. Let’s see the Clippers go above and beyond for them.
Neve Jones will win her 50th Ireland cap as Stacey Flood and Dorothy Wall return for the first of two WXV Global Series Tests against South Africa in Cape Town.
Gloucester-Hartpury’s Jones is named at hooker, while Flood and Wall are reinstalled at full-back and lock for Saturday’s game at Athlone Stadium (14:00 BST).
Wall’s return to partner Jane Clohessy in the second row means Fione Tuite-O’Sullivan switches to blind-side flanker, while Brittany Hogan starts at number eight to deputise for injured star Aoife Wafer.
Jemima Adams Verling, who filled in for Wafer in the 43-19 win over Japan in Cork on 3 October, drops to the bench.
Flood, who replaces Niamh Gallagher in the 15 jersey, is joined by Beibhinn Parsons and Robyn O’Connor in the back three. Anna McGann and Aoife Dalton are again paired in midfield, while Dannah O’Brien and Emily Lane continue their half-back partnership.
Linda Djougang continues at loose-head prop with Eilis Cahill at tight-head either side of Jones, while Erin King captains the team from open-side flanker.
Kate Jordan, who made her debut as a second-half replacement for King in the win over Japan, is one of six forwards on the bench alongside Beth Buttimer, Niamh O’Dowd, Sadhbh McGrath, Grace Moore and Adams Verling.
Aoibheann Reilly and Eve Higgins provide backline cover from the bench.
Ireland’s only previous meeting with South Africa was a 2006 Women’s Rugby World Cup match in Canada, which the Irish won 37-0.
Scott Bemand’s side opened their WXV campaign with defeat by the United States before bouncing back to beat Japan in Galway. They also defeated Japan in Cork in a non-WXV Test match in Cork.
After Saturday’s first meeting, Ireland face South Africa again in Cape Town on 31 October.
Ireland: Stacey Flood; Beibhinn Parsons, Anna McGann, Aoife Dalton, Robyn O’Connor; Dannah O’Brien, Emily Lane; Linda Djougang, Neve Jones, Eilis Cahill, Jane Clohessy, Dorothy Wall, Fiona Tuite-O’Sullivan, Erin King (capt), Brittany Hogan.
Replacements: Beth Buttimer, Niamh O’Dowd, Sadhbh McGrath, Kate Jordan, Grace Moore, Jemima Adams Verling, Aoibheann Reilly, Eve Higgins.
The street-by-street details for the six British-based stages that will start both the men’s and women’s editions of the 2027 Tour de France have been revealed.
The three-week men’s race gets under way with a stage from Edinburgh to Carlisle on 2 July. It is followed by a route between Keswick and Liverpool before Wales hosts a third and final grand depart stage from Welshpool to Cardiff on 4 July.
The women’s event starts on 30 July with a race from Leeds to Manchester, before moving back across the Pennines to Yorkshire with a finish in Sheffield.
A testing team time trial around the streets of central London will complete the opening section of that nine-stage race.
The collaboration is a first for both races in a Super Grand Depart – the finer details of which were announced at a ceremony hosted by the Tour’s organisers ASO on Paris’ Palais de Congres on Thursday.
Men’s race director Christian Prudhomme added: “Just a few weeks apart, the Tour de France and the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift will each take their respective pelotons on a journey through the roads of the United Kingdom.
“Along with what we anticipate will be a warm and massive welcome for the champions, Great Britain also offers us a symbol that further ties the two races together. From the start on 2 July at the foot of Edinburgh Castle, which will be the northernmost in the history of the Tour, to a team time trial in London on 1 August.
“Needless to say, there will be thousands of thrills and emotions.”
Stages of the Tour have been held in the UK before, in 1974, 1994 and 2007 in London and the Yorkshire Grand Depart in 2014.
This will be the first time both men’s and women’s events have come to the same nation outside France in the same year.
Martin – a sometimes polarising personality with fans who have criticised his style and ability following a 17-game spell at Rangers last season – had been the target of anger following two wins in eight which left them 17th in League One and a point above the relegation zone.
Home defeats by Burton, Oxford and Peterborough were a world away from the Champions League quarter-final against Atletico Madrid in 2017.
That has little bearing internally at the club and BBC Sport can reveal the Foxes were working under a transfer embargo for five weeks in the summer.
It related to the EFL’s Salary Cost Management Protocol (SCMP) with an independent Club Financial Review Panel agreeing future Premier League distributions within Leicester’s SCMP calculation could not be used to increase their spending capacity.
It meant the club could not sign players until they brought money in, although it only disrupted the order of summer business.
Jeremy Monga and Abdul Fatawu were not sold until the middle of July and only after Monga left for Manchester City on 11 July were the Foxes able to bring in Conor Chaplin and Alex McCarthy five days later.
Four of the starting XI on Tuesday signed on deadline day and 66% of the players joined after the season started.
Leicester missed out on targets who were not willing to wait but Chaplin, McCarthy and Wes Burns were just three who were prepared to hold on to join Martin.
It is the relationships the head coach has built and something which has started to turn the tide at Seagrave.
Martin inherited a broken, expensive squad, which had lost the faith and connection with supporters and a dressing room which let egos get in the way and lacked work ethic.
In a different financial reality, it needed to be stripped back and, including loans and academy exits, 34 players left the club in the summer and 16 arrived.
Sources have told BBC Sport the atmosphere at the club has now markedly improved.
The £100m training ground is one of the best in the country – with a herb garden and golf course – but has been seen as part of the problem over the decline in standards.
Players have been allowed to become too comfortable but Martin has worked hard to change the culture and behaviours.
There is a blanket ban on mobile phones in the canteen and anyone breaking the rules is not fined, they run.
Players – and staff – have to run the length of the pitch and back in 35 seconds three times, with a 35-second break in between.
The same punishment is handed out for lateness, with Martin and his senior staff also adhering to it to set the standards.
Earlier this season players left tape and drinks at the swimming pool and were shown a picture the next day. The punishment was the same. Run.
The Metcalfe sisters played for Wales together for the first time when lock Branwen came off the bench for her first cap against Canada at the 2025 World Cup.
They started the uncapped fixture against the Baa-Baas but join forces in the XV for the first time at Test level against Japan.
Branwen, 20, starts her sixth successive Test and has a new second-row partner in fellow bright prospect Aiono.
Nel, 21, returns on the wing rather than full-back for her first cap since the World Cup after a knee injury that forced her to sit out the Six Nations.
“She was a shining light at the World Cup, which was tough for us,” said Lynn.
“Every time that she gets the ball, something will happen. She has got fitter, stronger and faster, and she’s excited to go out there on Saturday.”
Wales are 11th in World Rugby’s rankings, a spot above Japan.
Last month the Sakura Fifteen lost 55-21 to Italy and were beaten twice by Ireland, 31-24 in the WXV Global Series and 43-19 in an extra Test.
“Japan ran Ireland close in the first Test and they are very efficient in what they do, very regimented,” said Lynn, who opts for six forwards on his bench.
“They’ve got a very good maul and we are not going to be taking them lightly at all.”
So much has happened over the past seven days, including wondergoals in the Premier League, Cristiano Ronaldo receiving a fine from the Portuguese FA and a boxing heavyweight title clash.
About 11% of quizzers got full marks in last week’s edition. Will you make the grade this week?
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SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS First Round
DIVISION 1 Pool A #1 Mater Dei d. #8 Harvard-Westlake, 25-13, 25-14, 25-22 #5 Santa Margarita d. #4 Oaks Christian, 25-21, 29-27, 24-26, 25-22
Pool B #7 Marymount at #2 Sierra Canyon, postponed #3 Mira Costa d. #6 Los Alamitos, 3-1
DIVISION 3 Sunny Hills d. Cerritos, 3-2 Santa Ana Foothill d. Oak Park, 20-25, 25-23, 25-17, 22-25, 15-10 Cerritos Valley Christian d. Chaminade, 16-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-23 Beckman d. Alemany, 3-0 Newbury Park d. Corona Santiago, 26-24, 25-19, 18-25, 25-13 Redlands d. Rosary, 21-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-16 Etiwanda d. Murrieta Mesa, 3-0 Thousand Oaks d. Saugus, 23-25, 21-25, 25-20, 25-14, 15-12 Corona del Mar d. Claremont, 3-0 Flintridge Prep d. Millikan, 25-17, 28-26, 25-20 St. Margaret’s d. Bishop Amat, 3-0 La Salle d. Huntington Beach, 3-1 Crescenta Valley d. Chaparral, 25-16, 22-25, 27-25, 25-21 La Canada d. Crossroads, 25-13, 25-15, 25-21 Lakewood St. Joseph at Marina Windward d. Aliso Niguel, 3-0
DIVISION 5 Marlborough d. West Torrance, 3-0 Liberty d. Academy for Academic Excellence, 3-1 Hesperia Christian d. Peninsula, 3-0 Canyon Country Canyon d. Moorpark, 3-0 El Toro d. Troy, 3-0 Valencia d. Western Christian, 3-1 San Jacinto d. Culver City, 3-1 St. Anthony d. Santa Monica Pacifica Christian, 23-25, 25-9, 25-19, 25-21 Viewpoint d. Southlands Christian, 3-1 Westridge d. Arrowhead Christian, 3-1 Irvine d. Beaumont, 3-2 Paraclete d. Gahr, 21-25, 27-25, 25-21, 26-28, 15-13 Maranatha d. Sultana, 3-1 La Serna d. Burbank Providence, 3-1 Quartz Hill d. Temple City, 3-0 Capistrano Valley d. Palm Desert, 19-25, 25-16, 25-14, 25-9
DIVISION 7 Pasadena d. CAMS, 3-2 Tustin d. Immaculate Heart, 3-0 Laguna Blanca d. Brea Olinda, 3-0 Sacred Heart of Jesus d. Chino, 3-1 Placentia Valencia d. South Hills, 25-16, 25-17, 23-25, 25-20 Nordhoff d. Trinity Classical Academy, 3-0 Barstow d. Highland, 25-20, 25-16, 25-21 Webb d. Mary Star of the Sea, 3-0 Pasadena Marshall d. Eisenhower, 25-23, 25-19, 25-22 Beverly Hills d. Whittier, 3-0 Vistamar d. Rialto, 3-1 Northview at Calvary Baptist Fullerton d. Indio, 3-0 Buckley d. Tahquitz, 3-0 Rio Hondo Prep d. Arlington, 20-25, 16-25, 25-23, 25-21, 16-14 Foothill Tech d. St. Genevieve, 3-2
DIVISION 9 Rancho Mirage d. Santa Paula, 3-0 Canoga Park AGBU d. Saddleback, 3-2 San Jacinto Valley Academy d. Cobalt, 3-0 St. Monica Academy d. Anaheim, 25-20, 27-25, 25-19 Nogales d. Carter, 3-2 Santa Rosa Academy d. Carpinteria, 3-0 Westminster d. Vasquez, 3-2 Azusa d. Moreno Valley, 3-2 St. Jeane de Lestonnac d. Santa Clarita Christian, 3-2 Jurupa Hills d. Sierra Vista, 3-2 Desert Christian Academy d. Victor Valley, 3-0 Wildwood d. Hillcrest, 3-2 Buena Park d. Excelsior Charter, 25-17, 22-25, 25-8, 25-10 Milken Community d. Eastside, 25-17, 22-25, 25-8, 25-10 California d. Garden Grove, 3-0 Twentynine Palms d. Shadow Hills, 3-2
DIVISION 11 Compton Early College d. Grove, 3-0 El Monte Arroyo d. Ambassador Christian, 3-0 Mesrobian d. Rubidoux, 3-2 Ramona d. Animo Leadership, 3-1 La Sierra Academy 3, Long Beach First Baptist 0 Pacific Lutheran d. Thacher, 3-0 Grace d. Shalhevet, 3-1 Newport Christian d. New Covenant, 3-0 Tarbut V’ Torah d. Oak Grove, 3-0 Workman d. California Lutheran, 3-2 Santa Clara d. EF Academy, 3-0 Lynwood d. Desert Chapel, 25-17, 25-9, 25-22 Norton Science Academy d. Newbury Park Adventist, 25-21, 25-22, 5-25, 25-22 Joshua Springs d. Liberty Christian, 3-0 Downey Calvary Chapel d. River Springs, 3-1 Silver Valley d. Riverside Bethel Christian, 3-0
THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE (Matches at 6 p.m. unless noted) Second Round
DIVISION 4 Portola at Burbank Burroughs Yorba Linda at North Torrance Notre Dame Academy at Arcadia Vista Murrieta at Ventura Ayala at Santa Barbara, 5 p.m. Rancho Cucamonga at Hemet Royal at Glendora Bonita at Linfield Christian
DIVISION 6 Alta Loma at Villa Park Temescal Canyon at Dos Pueblos St. Bonaventure at Temecula Prep Capistrano Valley Christian at Ridgecrest Burroughs Castaic at Santa Fe Rim of the World at Santa Ana Calvary Chapel Mayfair at Schurr Yucaipa at Lakewood
DIVISION 8 Samueli Academy at Bellflower San Gabriel Academy vs. San Gorgonio at Indian Springs Fairmont Prep at San Jacinto Valley Burbank at Riverside Prep Lighthouse Christian at Garden Grove Pacifica Rio Mesa at Jurupa Valley Big Bear vs. Geffen Academy at UCLA SAC gym, 5 p.m. Bell Gardens at Artesia
DIVISION 10 Leuzinger at Glendale Canyon Springs at Orange Adelanto at Orange County Classical Academy, 4:30 p.m. Chaffey vs. New Roads at Park Century School, 5 p.m. La Quinta at Miller Redlands Adventist at Loara Ganesha at Lancaster Cornerstone Christian
Note: Second round (Divisions 3, 5, 7, 9, 11) Sat., Oct. 24; Quarterfinals (Divisions 2, 4, 6, 8, 10) Tues., Oct. 27; Second Round pool play (Division 1) Tues., Oct. 27; Quarterfinals (Divisions 3, 5, 7, 9) Wed., Oct. 28; Semifinals (Divisions 2-11) Sat., Oct. 31; Third Round pool Play (Division 1) Sat., Oct. 31; Finals (all divisions) Sat., Nov. 7 at TBA.
Darius Garland, microphone in hand, waited patiently at midcourt to speak before the Clippers tipped off their 2026-27 NBA season against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night at Intuit Dome.
“Clipper Nation, Clipper Nation,” the eighth-year guard said to raucous cheers in Inglewood. “We’ve been working hard all summer, ready to really turn up this year. [We’ll] try to play at the highest level. [I] really appreciate the support from my teammates, coaching staff [and] organization — really appreciate everybody that comes out and … continues to support. We’re gonna be here all year.
“Clipper Nation, let’s go.”
Garland wasted no time giving Clippers fans something to smile about after an offseason of torment and transformation. He started the game shooting five-for-five from the field and three-for-three from deep, scoring 16 points in nine minutes and fueling the Clippers’ 121-96 blowout win over the Kings.
Beginning his first full season in Los Angeles after being acquired from Cleveland in a trade for James Harden in February, Garland led the Clippers with 30 points on 11-for-19 shooting and four assists.
Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis, meanwhile, did the heavy lifting for Sacramento, with the shooting guard scoring 28 points and the center facilitating the offense with 14 points, eight assists and 18 rebounds.
Key Kings forward Keegan Murray was scoreless through the first three quarters and was held to just two points. And rookie guard Darius Acuff Jr., whom Sacramento selected No. 7 in the draft out of Arkansas, posted 12 points on an abysmal five-for-24 shooting in his debut.
The Clippers, however, had fun to start the post-Kawhi Leonard era.
Following Garland’s lead, L.A.’s returners, including forward Derrick Jones Jr., guard Kris Dunn and centers Isaiah Jackson and Brook Lopez, were efficient and productive. Jones finished with eight points, five assists, six rebounds and an electric alley-oop slam; Dunn had seven points, seven assists and five rebounds with his usual hard-nosed defense; Jackson had 13 points and five rebounds; and Lopez had 17 points and 11 rebounds.
But Clippers fans were plenty focused on the new guys.
Former Lakers forward Rui Hachimura, who signed a three-year deal with the crosstown rival in the offseason, struggled in his Clippers debut and finished with 10 points on three-for-13 shooting. Guard Gradey Dick, a piece of the offseason trade that sent Leonard back to Toronto, was far more productive with 12 points.
Then there’s the rookie out of Illinois.
Keaton Wagler, the Clippers’ No. 5 pick in the draft, posted 15 points with five assists and five rebounds off the bench. The team’s highest draft pick since Blake Griffin (No. 1 in 2009) was clearly comfortable from the jump and gave his new fan base plenty to be hopeful for.
“He’s already shown that he’s mature,” coach Tyronn Lue said pregame. “I think he doesn’t get rattled, and just being around him for the last few months, whether he’s making shots [or] missing shots [and] not playing well, he’s always the same. He has the confidence to just keep shooting the balls, even when he’s missing.”
Wagler had an assist on his first touch and converted a savvy layup for his first career points.
Fellow rookie Baba Miller, a forward the Clippers drafted with the No. 36 pick, finished with four points and three rebounds.
Lue — whose first starting lineup featured Garland, Dunn, Jones Jr., Hachimura and Jackson — and the Clippers are in unfamiliar territory without a superstar on the roster and with most outsiders expecting the team’s streak of 15 consecutive plus-.500 campaigns to end.
But as Clippers interim president of basketball operations Trent Redden nervously said on media day, the team works well with its back against the wall.
Injury updates
The Clippers said guard Bradley Beal (knee), center Yanic Konan Niederhauser (foot) and forwards Brandon Ingram (heel) and Max Strus (foot) are all making progress in their rehab journeys but won’t travel for the team’s first road game on Sunday against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Real Madrid maintain their 100 per cent start in the Champions League as they comfortably beat Leipzig 4-1, with Bernardo Silva scoring his first goal for Madrid since moving from Manchester City in the summer.
Rhyne Howard added 16 points and Naz Hillmon had 15 for the Dream, who host Game 4 on Saturday.
It was the second straight strong game for Reese, who had 30 points and 16 rebounds in Game 2, which the Dream also won for their first victory ever in the Finals. She now has a double-double in each game of the Finals.
“It feels good when you’re in the Finals. It’s a long season and you play against everybody and go through and push through, but when you can do it at the highest level, this is what you live for, this is what the offseason is for,” Reese said. “I put the work in for this moment and I’m just happy I could lead the team to a win. We’re feeling good going into Saturday.”
With the score tied at 49 in the third quarter, Atlanta scored eight straight, including four by Reese. Golden State got within 59-55 on Tiffany Hayes’ layup, but could get no closer as Atlanta closed the quarter scoring 12 of the final 14 points.
Atlanta has dominated the third quarter so far in the series, outscoring Golden State 63-35 in the three games.
This game was originally scheduled to be played on Thursday at the Gateway Center Arena, where the Dream play most of their home games. The league was able to work with the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena to play the next two games of the championship series there so that they could have a much bigger crowd. Gateway seats 3,500 fans while State Farm Arena can seat more than 17,000.
Wednesday night’s game was sold out, as is Game 4 on Saturday, which will also be played at State Farm Arena.
