Sports Desk

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

FRIDAY’S RESULTS

BOYS

CITY SECTION

Huntington Park 27, Harbor Teacher 26

SOUTHERN SECTION

Adelanto 62, Lawndale 33

AGBU 60, HMSA 31

Alemany 61, San Marcos 45

Alta Loma 86, Apple Valley 52

Arcadia 66, St. Monica 52

Barstow 63, Arroyo Valley 45

Beckman 70, Cerritos 51

Bishop Diego 57, Agoura 28

Brentwood 98, Oxnard Pacifica 54

Buckley 78, South Hills 62

Burbank 65, South Torrance 53

Camarillo 70, Hart 63

Chaminade 71, Shalhevet 49

Downey 38, Saugus 32

Eastside 86, Santa Ynez 51

Elsinore 78, Chino Hills 76

Flintridge Prep 46, Estancia 44

Fountain Valley 67, Canyon Hills 32

Gardena Serra 46, Highland 38

Glendale 57, Paloma Valley 53

Knight 70, Valencia 48

La Canada 71, Calvary Baptist 44

La Palma Kennedy 58, Westminster La Quinta 54

Legacy Christian Academy 51, Calabasas 49

Liberty 51, San Jacinto 46

Milken 78, San Fernando Valley Academy 44

Montebello 55, Rosemead 37

Newbury Park 49, Burbank Burroughs 45

North Torrance 66, La Serna 48

Northwood 79, Placentia Valencia 69

Oaks Christian 70, Golden Valley 54

Oxnard 66, North Torrance 46

Patriot 56, Bloomington 38

Pilibos 50, Simi Valley 36

Ramona 63, Alhambra 62

San Marino 52, Canyon Country Canyon 47

Santa Ana Calvary Chapel 39, Segerstrom 36

Santa Monica 48, Colony 46

St. Bonaventure 58, Ventura 32

Whitney 50, Rancho Alamitos 45

INTERSECTIONAL

Chadwick 73, Triumph Charter 55

Crean Lutheran 92, Cleveland 55

Dos Pueblos 62, Point Loma 48

Gabrielino 71, New West Charter 41

Grant 55, West Ranch 48

Harvard-Westlake 74, Bishop Gorman (NV) 39

Mater Dei 69, O’Fallon (IL) 64

Oceanside El Camino 53, Linfield Christian 45

Pasadena 61, Mt. Bethel Christian (GA) 58

Pasadena Poly 68, Franklin 35

Rancho Christian 65, San Diego 36

San Francisco Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep 70, La Salle 55

Venice 62, El Segundo 38

West Covina 47, Gardena 42

GIRLS

SOUTHERN SECTION

Anaheim Canyon 48, Whitney 44

Arcadia 42, Riverside King 39

Beckman 58, Rialto 44

Bishop Amat 68, Pioneer 34

Burbank 52, Lawndale 43

Chino Hills 51, Temescal Canyon 39

Crean Lutheran 40, Lakewood 29

El Dorado 50, Long Beach Poly 31

El Toro 68, Irvine 49

Etiwanda 44, Redondo Union 40

Golden Valley 50, Riverside North 21

Hacienda Heights Wilson 54, Sunny Hills 50

JSerra 66, Lynwood 64

Mater Dei 81, Moreno Valley 63

Mira Costa 42, Harvard-Westlake 36

Montclair 43, University Prep 37

Muir 43, San Gabriel 42

Newport Harbor 46, Estancia 29

North Torrance 67, Leuzinger 54

Oak Park 63, Windward 51

Ontario Christian 86, Lancaster 63

Paloma Valley 50, Elsinore 36

Rancho Alamitos 43, Ocean View 16

Rancho Cucamonga 60, Eastvale Roosevelt 21

Rolling Hills Prep 55, Gardena Serra 54

Rosary Academy 49, Corona del Mar 27

San Bernardino 69, Royal 26

San Juan Hills 69, Great Oak 34

Sierra Vista 48, Schurr 45

Sonora 54, Colony 32

South Hills 63, Brea Olinda 43

South Pasadena 56, Riverside Poly 33

St. Anthony 68, Esperanza 48

Trabuco Hills 51, Marina 32

Upland 50, El Rancho 48

Warren 54, Arroyo 16

West Ranch 55, Sacred Heart of Jesus 41

Whittier Christian 56, Montebello 12

INTERSECTIONAL

Birmingham 79, Ontario 42

Downey 64, Bakersfield Frontier 62

Garfield 46, Alta Loma 39

Las Vegas Centennial 80, Brentwood 76

Mary Star of the Sea 38, Bravo 18

North County San Marcos 81, Northwood 22

Portola Valley Priory 63, Canyon Country Canyon 41

Ramona Convent 42, Rise Kohyang 2

Rancho Christian 102, Liberty (NV) 62

Red Mountain (AZ) 48, Edison 41

Shadow Hills 46, Oceanside 27

Sierra Pacific 68, Bishop Montgomery 53

Village Christian 55, Palisades 39

Westchester 59, South Torrance 37

On a cool Saturday morning at Fresno’s Woodward Park, Oliver Hunter of Dana Hills became his school’s fifth consecutive state cross-country champion by winning the Division 3 championship with a time of 14 minutes 55.3 seconds.

“He trusted the process. He was all smiles,” coach Craig Dunn said.

Evan Noonan won three titles and Jai Dawson won the other. Hunter was a little concerned early in the season about being pushed and being fit, but Dunn told him again and again, “Trust the process,” and he was ready for his best effort after winning last week’s Southern Section Division 3 championship.

In Division 1 boys, Redondo Union won the team title and Conor Lott of Clovis North held off Maximo Zavaleta of King to win the individual title. Lott ran 14:43.2 and Zavaleta finished in 14:49.7. In Division 1 girls, Jaelyn Williams of San Diego Eastlake won in 16:28.1.

Summer Wilson of Irvine won the Division 2 girls’ title with a course-record time of 16:20. Aelo Curtis of Ventura was second in 16:35.6. Sacramento Jesuit won its 11th boys’ title.

El Toro won the Division 3 girls’ title. Carol Dye of Santa Margarita placed third in 17:22.2.

JSerra won the Division 4 boys’ and girls’ titles. Vin Krueger of Oaks Christian was third in 15:10.5 in the boys’ race.

In Division 5 boys, Olly O’Connor of Viewpoint won the title in 14:52.7.

There are few strategy options as well, because of a unique aspect of this race.

Lusail’s plethora of long-duration, medium- and high-speed corners place heavy demands on the tyres, and the sharp kerbs make matters worse.

Tyre supplier Pirelli, fearing punctures, has imposed a mandatory maximum of 25 laps usage on any set of tyres, which makes the race a two pit-stop strategy at least.

There is plenty of jeopardy, though. Both Piastri and Mercedes’ George Russell – who was second in the sprint and has qualified fourth for the grand prix – suffered tears in their front tyres before the end of the 19-lap sprint.

For Piastri, this race marked a timely return to form after a difficult run of races through the autumn.

He looked like a champion elect when his victory in the Dutch Grand Prix, in addition to Norris’ retirement with a fuel-line failure, gave Piastri a 34-point lead in the championship. He had until then been the more convincing McLaren driver this season.

But Piastri has been on the podium only once since then, at the very next race, and a run of grands prix in which he has made mistakes and lacked pace have seen Norris wrest control of the title race from him.

For Piastri – as for Verstappen – really only a win will do tomorrow. Or at the very least they need to beat Norris.

Piastri said: “I’ve been kind of in that same situation the whole weekend and it’s gone well so far.

“So I think I’ve gained you know a lot of confidence back that when things are in the right place and when I’m in the rhythm that things can happen without needing to do anything special.

“So I’m confident we can try and do the same tomorrow. And (I’m) ready for the fight.”

As all three pointed out, though, a lot can happen in the 200 miles of a grand prix.

Other cars can cause problems. There can be safety cars, incidents, retirements.

The tyre restrictions mean the race will likely be flat out from start to finish, or as close as it gets. So mistakes are more likely.

For all that the occasional grand prix can be soporific, and for all many drivers expect this one to be, a race can go awry in many more ways than it can go well.

Verstappen, who is competing for his fifth world title while the McLaren drivers seek their first, knows this all too well.

“You never know what happens in a race,” he said. “We have a two-stop and also some things are not in your control, right?

“There might be some crazy things that also happen behind you, so you just need to keep everything open.

“We’ll try everything we can, try to have a good start, then try to look after our tyres a little bit better because the understeer that we have in the car is normally also not good on race pace for that, but we’ll try to minimise the damage.”

As for how to wind down before the day on which he achieves his lifetime ambition, Norris said he was going to try to relax in his hotel room on Saturday night.

“Play some basketball in my room. Actual basketball. I’m going to go home, get a spaghetti bolognese in, play some Counter-Strike, probably lose some Elo (ratings) and then go to bed.”

Other than that, he said, he would try to stay away from the media, “go and see my engineers, do some work, prepare the best I can. See what opportunities may arise.”

The biggest prize in motorsport is waiting there for someone. Who will grasp it?

Thank you, Ben Bolch. In your newsletter, an open letter to UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk, you have asked all the right questions. On the surface, the proposed move to SoFi Stadium might make some sense. But in the real world, it sure doesn’t. I was at the game vs. Washington, and the sentiment was pretty strong against a move. Also, the word was that possibly 80% of season-ticket holders will not renew if they play in SoFi Stadium. Even though I have had season tickets for more than 40 years, if they do move, I will be part of that 80%. I wonder if that figure has been factored in?

Bruce Fischer
Huntington Beach

The Rose Bowl is the most storied stadium in college football. Nestled just below the San Gabriel Mountains, it is probably the most beautiful as well. It has hosted five Super Bowls (XI, XIV, XVII, XXI, XXVII), men’s and women’s World Cup finals, the Olympics and its annual namesake bowl game — “the Granddaddy of Them All.” There literally isn’t a bad seat in it. Why would UCLA even consider leaving it, especially for the glorified erector set known as SoFi Stadium?

Stephen A. Silver
San Francisco

Luis Diaz and Nicolas Jackson score two goals in injury time to seal a dramatic 3-1 victory for Bayern Munich against St Pauli and move the Bundesliga holders eight points clear at the top of the table.

MATCH REPORT: Bayern Munich 3-1 St Pauli

Available to UK users only.

A look at the top performers from high school football games across the Southland during the semifinals of the playoffs on Friday.

RUSHING

• Darnell Miller, Santee: Rushed for 190 yards and three touchdowns in City Section Division III win over Hawkins.

• Isaiah Phelps, Oxnard Pacifica: Rushed for 123 yards and one touchdown in Southern Section Division 3 win over Palos Verdes.

• Dominik Hernando, Palos Verdes: Rushed for 102 yards in loss to Oxnard Pacifica.

• Melvin Pineda, San Fernando: Ran for two touchdowns in City Section Division II win over Cleveland.

• Waylon Stone, Woodbridge: The freshman rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns in Southern Section Division 13 win over Montebello.

• Makhi Czaykowski, Beckman: Rushed for 112 yards and three touchdowns in Southern Section Division 8 win over Brea Olinda.

• Donovan Murillo, Montebello: Rushed for 136 yards and two touchdowns in loss to Woodbridge.

PASSING

• Trace Johnson, Santa Margarita: Passed for 383 yards and four touchdowns in Southern Section Division 1 win over Corona Centennial.

• Taylor Lee, Oxnard Pacifica: Passed for 211 yards and two touchdowns in Southern Section Division 3 win over Palos Verdes.

RECEIVING

• Trent Mosley, Santa Margarita: Caught 10 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns, ran for two touchdowns in win over Corona Centennial.

DEFENSE

• Isaia Vandermade, Santa Margarita: Recorded three of his team’s six sacks in win over Corona Centennial.

• Dash Fifita, Santa Margarita: Had 11 tackles in defeat of Corona Centennial.

• Jaden Walk-Green, Corona Centennial: Had four unassisted tackles in loss to Santa Margarita.

• Ivan Lopez, South El Monte: Had a sack on final play to preserve win over Pioneer.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• Colin Chen, Woodbridge: Blocked a field-goal attempt in defeat of Montebello.

• Aiden Wimberly, Beckman: Made a tying 35-yard field goal to send game into overtime in win over Brea Olinda.

Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola says that the referee lost control of the game, with the Cherries losing three players for their next match to suspension in a 3-2 loss at Sunderland.

MATCH REPORT: Sunderland 3-2 Bournemouth

Available to UK users only.

It’s Raiders week.

Resist the urge to yawn.

What used to be an intense AFC West rivalry is now a bit muted with the Chargers limping into the fourth quarter of the season and the Raiders fumbling around in the dark, having lost nine of their last 10 games.

The Chargers, who began the season with three consecutive divisional victories, have a chance to pull off their first sweep of the season. The Raiders are looking to bounce back from a humiliating loss at home by two touchdowns to Cleveland.

Meanwhile, the Chargers are coming off their worst loss of the season — by 29 points to Jacksonville on the road.

Despite the Raiders’ record, the home team can’t get too comfortable.

“Raiders, it’s a rivalry,” Coach Jim Harbaugh said. “And we know they’re going to bring it.”

How the Raiders can win: Get in an offensive rhythm with interim play-caller Greg Olson, cleaning up the communication issues that were a problem in Chip Kelly’s system. Establish a ground game with Ashton Jeanty and mix in more Brock Bowers at tight end. Protect Geno Smith, who has been sacked 18 times in the past three games, including 10 times by Cleveland last week. Get after Justin Herbert, especially off the edges with Maxx Crosby, Malcolm Koonce and Tyree Wilson.

How the Chargers can win: As usual, protect Herbert behind a cobbled-together and constantly-changing offensive line and get some traction with the ground game. The Raiders can bring pressure off the edge, but their linebackers struggle in coverage and they are vulnerable at corner opposite Eric Stokes. The Chargers have the receivers to get open, particularly Ladd McConkey and Oronde Gadsden II. The Raiders have some of the same offensive line problems as the Chargers. Smith could be in trouble.

World number one Judd Trump secured a hard-fought first-round win over Scotland’s Stephen Maguire on the opening day of the 2025 UK Championship at York Barbican.

Trump, who won this event in 2024 and 2011, defeated the Scot 6-4 in an entertaining clash to move into the last 16 where he will play China’s Si Jiahui.

Maguire, the 2004 winner, made breaks of 86, 111, 82 and 86 but also made costly errors, with Trump stealing the eighth frame on a respotted black having trailed 26-61.

Trump has not won a tournament since his success at the same venue 12 months ago. He lost in the final of the Players Championship, the Northern Ireland Open and the Champion of Champions.

Earlier on Saturday, Si became the first man through to the last 16 after making easy work of Wales’ Ryan Day with a 6-0 victory in just over two hours.

The Welshman failed to register a single point in four of those six frames, scoring only 55 points in total compared to 521 from Si, who made breaks of 61, 80 and 68.

Sixteenth seed Si also potted 151 balls, with only 16 from Day, whose highest break of the afternoon was only 22.

More to follow

The Lakers’ new big man went to the free throw line. The team’s former big man was on the mind of fans.

“I miss you, AD!” a Lakers fan shouted into the silence as Deandre Ayton prepared to shoot a free throw in the first quarter Friday.

Former Lakers star Anthony Davis played his first game in L.A. since being traded to the Mavericks last season, finishing with 12 points, five assists, five rebounds and three blocks in the Lakers’ 129-119 win at Crypto.com Arena.

The Lakers (14-4) won their sixth consecutive game and clinched West Group B in the NBA Cup, securing homecourt advantage for the tournament quarterfinals. The Lakers will host the San Antonio Spurs, who won West Group C, on Dec. 10 at 7 p.m.

The Mavericks (5-15) lost their third straight as the blockbuster trade that sent Luka Doncic to L.A. has only become more lopsided in the 10 months since it shocked the NBA.

Doncic had 35 points and 11 assists for the Lakers. Former Laker guard Max Christie, who was also involved in the trade, had 13 points and has become a regular starter for the Mavericks.

After two emotional matchups against his former team last year, Doncic said some of the feelings have subsided, but games against Dallas will always have special meaning for him.

Friday’s game was a well-timed return for Davis, who played in his first game after missing a month with a calf strain. The injury stretched for weeks as the Mavericks fell into the basement of the Western Conference.

LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 28, 2025: Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) scores two of his 38 points against Dallas Mavericks guard Klay Thompson (31) in the second half at Crypto.con Arena on November 28, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Meanwhile, the Lakers have the second-best record in the West. Doncic leads the league in scoring with 35.1 points per game.

Doncic’s continued ascent to superstardom and Davis’ growing injury list has only made the trade more bitter for Mavericks fans. They got their form of revenge when former general manager Nico Harrison was fired on Nov. 11, but the change only signaled a new low for the franchise that went to the NBA Finals two short seasons ago.

Now the player who was supposed to help fill the void left by Doncic has been included in trade rumors. The Mavericks went 3-11 without Davis.

To ensure Davis stayed in a positive mental state during the time of turmoil for the franchise, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd encouraged him to simply stay focused on getting healthy.

“The train keeps moving,” Kidd said. “No matter of a trade or a dismissal, you got to keep moving. And so for AD, [it] was to focus on his body, come back healthy. … Can’t get everything solved in 24 minutes tonight, but as we go forward, we feel like we have a chance to win when he’s in uniform.”

Davis was on a 24- to 27-minute limit Friday. To adhere to the restriction, he had to leave the game with 6:56 left in the fourth quarter with the Mavericks down by just three points.

Leaving the court hurt, Davis said. He had gotten two blocks, an assist and a basket during the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, then the Lakers went on a 9-1 run after Davis went to the bench.

To Kidd, Davis is still one of the best in the world when he is healthy. The coach pointed to Davis’ impressive play in the Paris Olympics when he averaged 8.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks while shooting 62.5% from the field.

The Lakers didn’t need to be reminded of Davis’ talent. Coach JJ Redick said Davis would get the respect that all star players deserve because of his versatile skillset. But more than the shots he blocked or baskets he scored with the Lakers, Redick valued Davis for his support during Redick’s first year as a head coach.

“Very grateful that I had buy-in from him coming in Day 1 never had coached before,” Redick said. “So, it’s one of those things like you’re rooting for certain guys. … There are certain teammates you had, there’s always going to be guys that I coached [who] I either root for them after they are not your teammate and they are not one of your players. Just not when they play against us. Not tonight.”

The Lakers played a tribute video last year when Davis was sidelined with an abdominal injury for his first game back after the trade. Fans were showered him with cheers when he was introduced in the starting lineup Friday. LeBron James playfully bumped Davis at the center of the court before the game then they did the same intricate handshake they performed before games as teammates.

Lakers guard Luka Doncic puts up a jumper between Dallas Mavericks forward P.J. Washington and guard Max Christie on Friday at Crypto.com Arena.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

After the game, Lakers players lined up to hug Davis. Austin Reaves, who dominated with 38 points on 12 for 15 shooting with eight rebounds and three assists, gave him a two-armed bear hug. Davis grabbed the strap of his jersey and pointed toward Reaves.

“I always liked his game, what he was able to do,” Davis said. “Just now he’s doing it on a more consistent basis, putting up elite numbers. … He’s a player who I always knew could play to this level.”

Reaves left the Lakers locker room with Davis’ blue No. 3 jersey signed by his former teammate.

“He’s one of the best players to ever touch a basketball. I don’t know why he wanted my jersey,” Reaves said. “But for me to get his, it’s pretty fun. … From Day 1, he was telling me to be myself, don’t be anybody else. Continue to work and really be myself on the court. So I owe him a lot.”

Former champion hurdler Constitution Hill fell once again as Golden Ace came through to win the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle.

Constitution Hill won his first 10 races but has now fallen three times in four outings.

Newcastle’s largest attendance for jump racing in 20 years was shocked after barely a minute as the horse came down at the second hurdle, before previously unbeaten The New Lion also fell when in the lead.

Anzadam – also previousy unbeaten – was second, with Nemean Lion the third and final finisher.

“Constitution Hill did the same thing as he has twice before, stood off a mile and hit the middle of the hurdle,” former champion jockey AP McCoy told ITV Sport.

The previously unbeaten 2023 Champion Hurdle hero also had heavy falls at Cheltenham and Aintree.

If you run cross-country or play soccer at Cathedral High, you‘d better be extra polite and respectful around the head coaches. They also happen to be the school president and principal, respectively.

Martin Farfan and Arturo Lopez continue to hold dual roles, which probably makes Cathedral the only school in the state with such an arrangement.

Despite all the time and responsibilities required to coach and help run Cathedral, they seem to make it work. This past week, while school was closed for the holidays, both held practices Monday. Farfan took his usual jog around the neighborhood after practice and ended up on the field while Lopez held a soccer practice.

Both believe in the importance of academics and the lessons learned in sports to help prepare students for the future.

Their players, however, know with the school’s two big wigs also wearing coaching hats, they always need to be on their best behavior.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

Go Ahead Eagles striker Victor Edvardsen has been fined for mocking the appearance of an opponent born with a cleft lip.

Edvardsen made gestures about Stuttgart midfielder Angelo Stiller’s nose during their Europa League match on Thursday.

A cleft lip, which can also affect the shape of the nose, occurs when parts of the baby’s face do not join together properly during development in the womb.

Edvardsen, who said he went into the Stuttgart dressing room after the game to apologise to Germany international Stiller, has been fined 500 euros (£432) by Go Ahead Eagles, who will donate the money to their social services fund.

“I would like to take this opportunity to apologise for my behaviour,” said 29-year-old Edvardsen, who has one cap for Sweden.

“Things were said and done between us that have no place on a football pitch. I’m a role model and I have to act accordingly.”

Go Ahead Eagles general manager Jan Willem van Dop said: “As a club, we are completely dissatisfied with Victor’s behavior and distance ourselves from it.

“It’s good that he apologised afterwards, but it remains a stain on the evening.”

German side Stuttgart secured a 4-0 win away at Go Ahead Eagles in the Netherlands.

In any given year there are more than 500,000 American boys playing on almost 20,000 high school basketball teams, and fewer than 2% of them will make it to March Madness. Only 60 young men get drafted by an NBA team each summer, and in the most recent draft a third of those spots went to international players.

The numbers suggest the funnel from the Amateur Athletic Union into the NBA is one of the narrowest in all of sports. And we used to talk about the game with the reverence that exclusivity implies. The numbers are how we decide who is an All Star or a Hall of Famer. The numbers are how we determine — or debate — the greatest.

Gambling and cheating scandals are not the only threats to sports. Because of the economic gravity of fantasy sports leagues and legal gambling, the numbers most of us hear about these days have more to do with bettors making money than with players making shots.

Bill James — the godfather of baseball analytics, who coined the phrase sabermetric in the late 1970s — did not revolutionize the way the sports industry looked at data so we could have more prop bets. The first fantasy baseball league was not started in a New York restaurant back in 1980 to beat Las Vegas. The numbers were initially about the love of the game. But ever since sports media personalities decided to embrace faux debates for ratings — at the expense of pure fandom — disingenuous hot takes have set programming agendas, and the numbers that used to tell us something about players are cynically used to win vacuous arguments. And after states began to legalize sports betting, athletes went from being the focus to being props for parlays.

That’s not to say gambling wasn’t there before. In fact, while James and others were revolutionizing the way fans — and front offices — evaluated players, the Boston College point-shaving scandal was unfolding in the shadows. The current gambling scandal surrounding Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, who this week pleaded not guilty to charges alleging a role in a poker-fixing scheme, is not unprecedented. It’s just recent.

What’s new is how we talk about the numbers.

The whole idea of fantasy sports leagues was to enable fans to be their own general managers — not to make money, but because we cared about the game so much. At the risk of sounding more pious than I am: When every game, every half, every quarter and even every shot is attached to gambling odds, good old-fashioned storytelling gets choked out. Instead of learning about players and using numbers to describe them, we hear numbers the way private equity firms see a target’s holdings.

Nothing personal, just the data.

The whole point about loving sports used to be that it was personal. Our favorite players weren’t just about outcomes. They were 1 out of 500,000 guys who made it. Each had a backstory, and the way they got there was a big part of the connection we felt with them.

This is why the Billups saga hits the NBA community emotionally. Drafted in 1997, the Colorado native played for four teams in his first five years before becoming an All Star and a Finals MVP. His numbers aren’t what defined him — even though those numbers were good enough to get him into the Hall of Fame. It was the resilience and character he demonstrated while trying to make it that fans admired. In his early-career struggles, we were reminded that making it in the NBA is hard and that everyone in the league beat the odds. It’s something we all know … but when broadcasters come out of commercial breaks showing the betting lines before the score, it’s easy to forget.

Thanksgiving is a big sports weekend and thus gambling weekend. Go ahead, eat irresponsibly … it’s the other vice that worries me.

YouTube: @LZGrandersonShow

Speaking prior to the news of Wood’s injury, former Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie said he was “concerned about the robustness” of England’s attack.

“Do they have enough work in the bank to be fit and strong enough to bowl consistently high pace across the course of a whole match and then back it up in subsequent matches?” Gillespie told Stumped on BBC World Service.

“That is the big question mark for me.”

Wood’s absence would be keenly felt by England in the day-night conditions at the Gabba – a ground where they have not won since 1986.

England have a poor record in floodlit Tests, having won only two of their previous seven, including three defeats in Australia.

Australia have won 13 of their 14 day-night matches and, in Mitchell Starc, have the best pink-ball bowler in the world.

The pink ball does not behave differently to its red counterpart, but can be harder to see under lights.

Part of Starc’s success in pink-ball matches is the number of deliveries he bowls over 87mph and Wood, England’s fastest option, took nine wickets when he last played a day-night Test against Australia in Hobart in 2022.

Speaking on the For The Love of Cricket podcast, former England seamer Stuart Broad said: “There’s something about the pink ball, you just can’t pick it up quite as well. You get no clues as well, so the seam is black against the pink background, whereas with a red ball and white seam you might see Mitchell Starc’s in-swinger coming back into the stumps or scrambling around.

“It’s just the lights are reflecting off the pink ball so it’s almost like a big planet coming flying towards you.

“It means you’re just judging it from the movement off the surface or reading off the movement of the ball, but at such pace it’s quite difficult to do.”

Junior cornerback Ayden Celis recovered a fumble at San Fernando’s 22-yard line with 1:27 remaining and the second-seeded Tigers held on to beat No. 1-seeded Cleveland 21-14 at Birmingham High.

It was the ninth City title for San Fernando (11-3) and its first since 2017.

Melvin Pineda plowed into the end zone on fourth and goal from the one-yard line to end San Fernando’s first drive and, after teammate Brandan Marshall recovered a fumble at the Tigers’ 46, Pineda capped the ensuing possession with another one-yard touchdown, his sixth of the playoffs, to make it 14-0.

Cleveland marched to San Fernando’s eight-yard line late in the second quarter but a 25-yard field-goal attempt by Samael Cerritos hit the left upright.

Oluwafemi Okeola intercepted an overthrown pass at the San Fernando 46 early in the third quarter and nine plays later quarterback Domenik Fuentes scored on a three-yard keeper to pull the top-seeded Cavaliers within eight.

Three runs by Brandon Maldonado gained 37 yards to set up Fuentes’ one-yard plunge and a two-point conversion run by Joseph Hurtado that tied the score, 14-14, with 9:33 left.

San Fernando responded with a 75-yard drive, regaining the lead on a two-yard run by Andrew Newchurch, his 16th touchdown of the season, and a clutch extra point by Isaac Ortega with 4:36 remaining in the game.

“It was probably my last [high school] football game and we got the win,” Newchurch said. “The play was overload left and it was wide open. We’re proud to add to the school legacy — we hadn’t won City in a long time.”

The Tigers lost to eventual-champion Chatsworth in the first round of the Division II playoffs last season.

Cleveland (5-9) was seeking its first City title.

Spurs have scored seven goals in six home league games this season, while only Burnley have had fewer shots on target than their 18.

Frank’s midfield selections have come under fire for being too defensive. Remarkably, Spurs have made four throughballs this season. Leaders Arsenal have made 43.

“When you look at the make-up of their team, the midfield isn’t particularly creative,” Murphy told BBC Sport.

“It feels like none of their frontline are playing with any confidence. They look a bit lightweight in the front area of the pitch.

“Away from home, that doesn’t matter as much, because they can be more pragmatic – look for the set-plays, play on the counter and be hard to beat – and they don’t have the expectation of the 60,000 home supporters to go after teams and really try to win games.

“That makes a difference to players. Away from home, you can kind of do it at your own pace and it is OK for you to be without the ball.

“The games we’ve seen Tottenham do well in away from home have actually been comfortable at times for them – their win at Everton was a good example of that.

“But that lack of cohesion and rhythm in the front three, where things have changed so much – and even that little tweak in midfield where sometimes it’s a 10, sometimes it’s three midfielders – it all looks a little bit higgledy-piggledy.

“It means Spurs can look a bit too safe at home, with no-one playing with any belief or confidence to get on the ball.”

Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 16 of his 24 points in the second half and the Memphis Grizzlies rallied for a 112-107 win over the Clippers in the last game of NBA Cup play for both teams on Friday night.

The Grizzlies, who outscored the Clippers by eight in the fourth quarter to get their fourth win in five games, went 3-1 in West Group B but failed to secure a wild card into the knockout round because the Phoenix Suns had a better point differential.

Vincent Williams Jr. scored 16 points and Santi Aldama added 13 off the bench for the Grizzlies, who have a three-game road winning streak after dropping their previous five away from home. Zach Edey had 21 rebounds and five points.

Kawhi Leonard had 39 points in 29 minutes for the Clippers, who have lost six straight at home, with their last victory at Intuit Dome coming on Oct. 31. James Harden added 23 points.

Memphis struggled to get its offense going in the first half, relying on long-distance shooting from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to provide some pop. They found a groove in the third quarter, rallying from a 16-point deficit to get within 81-78 to close the period, and it carried through as Cedric Coward gave the Grizzlies their first lead early in the fourth.

The Clippers started off strong by making hit three three-pointers to open the game and going six of nine from long range in the first quarter, but they finished 12 of 38 (31.6%) from deep.

Clippers point guard Chris Paul received a video tribute in his first home game since announcing he would retire at the end of the season. Paul finished with five points and two rebounds in 15 minutes.

Up next

Clippers: Host Dallas on Saturday. Grizzlies: At Sacramento on Sunday.

England had given themselves an outstanding opportunity after four sessions of the first Test. At 65-1 in their second innings, the visitors had a lead of 105 runs.

But England lost their last nine wickets for 99 runs, including a calamitous spell of 3-0 when all of Ollie Pope, Harry Brook and Joe Root were dismissed driving at the ball.

The collapse has led to more questions of England’s attacking style. Though Stokes pointed to the aggression of Australia’s Travis Head, who made the second-fastest century in Ashes history to lead the home side to victory, the England skipper accepted his team could have been “a lot better”.

“The important thing we need to do as a team and individuals is learn from it,” said Stokes. “We have identified those moments and spoken about them as a group.

“In terms of execution, could we have been better at executing what we want to do? Definitely.

“Sometimes when you go out there and make a decision, it doesn’t always pay off, or work the way you want it to. That’s the key for the rest of this tour, staying true to the beliefs of how we play our cricket, but also we do know we could have been a lot better in certain ways.”

England had won only one of their 17 previous Tests when Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum took over the in 2022.

The upturn in results and breathtaking style of cricket rebuilt a connection with supporters, a connection that has been tested in the past week. Many of those travelling to Perth spent vast sums of money, only to see England beaten in the first two-day Ashes Test for 104 years.

“We know that there’ll be a lot of disappointed fans after that first defeat,” said Stokes. But it’s a five-game series, we’ve got four games to go.

“We’ve lost the first one – we’re absolutely desperate to come home with that goal from before we started the series, which is to win the Ashes, and doing absolutely everything within our powers and using our time best to allow us to go out there and try and achieve that goal.”