Sports Desk

Price says her focus is simply on Kotaskova, who took Cameron the distance in London in April.

Her loss on the scorecards at light-middleweight is her only defeat in a 15-fight career and will present a tough challenge for Price in her 11th fight since giving up her amateur status.

At one stage it had seemed as though all roads led to a showdown with Shields, with the two facing off after Price’s win over Pineiro earlier this year.

Shields called out Price as recently as August having reclaimed titles at middleweight.

A two-fight deal had been speculated but, when pressed on what happened, Price told BBC Sport Wales: “There was nothing on my side. The money wasn’t great, I wanted to fight in America and in Wales, but she wouldn’t come here, and there was no rematch clause.

“Everything basically was stacked against me and it just didn’t make sense.

“I have to stand on my own two feet and think: ‘I’m Lauren Price, I’m unified champion, Olympic gold medallist.’

“If I was towards the end of my career or if I had a few losses, absolutely you jump on it.

“But there’s no rush and there’s equally exciting fights out there.

“That fight will definitely happen, but only when it’s the right time and it makes sense.”

San Francisco 49ers receiver Mike Evans may have earned a spot in the trash-talking hall of fame on Sunday without even trying.

Or so he says.

Late in the second quarter of the 49ers’ 32-29 victory in Seattle, Fox Sports cameras showed Evans and Seahawks cornerback Trevon Diggs jawing after a play. In one of the season’s most meme-able moments so far, Evans put his hands on Diggs’ shoulder pads and turned the two-time Pro Bowl selection around to look at his name, as if to say, “Who are you?”

Diggs, a seven-year veteran who led the league with 11 interceptions in 2021 as a member of the Dallas Cowboys, appeared to be offended and shoved Evans in the facemask.

Retired cornerback and renowned trash-talker Richard Sherman, who played for both the Seahawks and 49ers during his 11-year career, gave Evans some high praise on X.

“Mike Evans Checking to see the name on the back of the Jersey is an all-time Gif and trash talk moment that I wish I would have thought of,” Sherman wrote.

Evans’ move was very similar to one from a 2019 viral clip in which Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews checked the back of then-career minor leaguer Scott Sabourin of the Ottawa Senators during a preseason game. (Sabourin would go on to play in 74 NHL games for four teams over seven seasons.)

But Evans, a five-time Pro Bowler in his first season with San Francisco after 12 years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, told reporters after the game that he was just trying to figure out his vocal opponent‘s identity.

“I was blocking him until the whistle, and then he said something, like I’m doing extra, something like that,” said Evans, who finished with seven catches for 113 yards and one touchdown. “I didn’t know that was him at first, because I played against him a few times and we always been cool, you know? He was a good player. I honestly didn’t know it was him, because in the helmet, it’s hard to tell sometimes.

“And we were just talking trash, and I think I like pushed him and then I was like, ‘Who are you?’ And I looked to make sure. ‘Oh, it’s f— Diggs.’”

Hmmmm, Diggs was a good player? Maybe Evans is a trash-talking master after all.

Magic Johnson is relentlessly positive, a quality that has served him well as a player, a businessman and even while living with HIV since 1991.

The former Lakers great generally keeps his social media comments upbeat. Yet, a last-second mental lapse Sunday by one of the five professional sports franchises Johnson co-owns prompted him to tweet the equivalent of a distress signal.

“I’m in total disbelief my Commanders had such poor clock management in today’s overtime game against the Giants. All we had to do was kick the field goal and we would have won the game!”

The tweet ended with an emoji of a man facepalming, conveying Johnson’s exasperation over the last play of Washington’s 27-27 tie with the New York Giants.

The Commanders were at the Giants 24-yard line with 12 seconds to play, no timeouts and the clock running. What needed to be done was obvious: Quarterback Jayden Daniels takes a snap, spikes the ball and the field-goal team trots out.

Nope. Daniels took a snap, danced around, was tackled and the clock expired.

Head coach Dan Quinn ripped off his headset and slammed it to the ground. Daniels stood on the field looking stunned. Johnson, who acquired 4% of the team when his pal Josh Harris bought it for $6.05 billion in 2023, vented on social media.

Johnson’s public comments are usually motivational gems such as “When you face a crisis, you know who your true friends are.” Or “Life doesn’t stop because something happens to you.” Or “I’m the one who will take chances, not worry about the backlash.”

When the Commanders lost their first two games this season, Johnson stayed silent. When they upset the Seattle Seahawks two weeks ago, Johnson took to his keyboard to congratulate the team, tweeting a photo of himself in a luxury box.

The last time he had expressed frustration about the Commanders on social media was three years ago, shortly after Harris became majority owner and Johnson had chipped in $240 million as a limited partner. On Oct. 5, 2023, he tweeted “Tonight the Commanders played with no intensity or fire. We didn’t compete in the first half and got down 27-3 heading into halftime. It was too big of a hole to climb out of and that is why we ended up losing 40-20.”

This time, he didn’t need nearly as many words. Quinn and Daniels both took responsibility for the lapse.

“The right call is honestly, we can go clock it early and don’t put ourselves in that spot,” Quinn said. “That’s my responsibility.”

Added Daniels, whose nonchalance after getting tackled seemed to indicate he thought his team had a timeout: “We’ve got to stop the clock. We’ve got to know the situation. We’ve got to relay that as an offense. It starts from everybody, from the top down. Ultimately, you know, it’s on me.”

For his part, Johnson could turn his attention to another of the teams in which he has a financial interest: the Dodgers, who lost Game 1 of the National League Championship Series to the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday. He remained mum about that game, having last posted several congratulatory tweets when the Dodgers sailed through the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves last week.

As well as announcing player deals, England also confirmed new-look backroom teams underneath Test head coach Stephen Fleming and white-ball counterpart Brendon McCullum.

Fleming has brought in Richard Dawson, who leaves his position as Glamorgan head coach, alongside former England wicketkeeper James Foster and South African Eric Simons. Fleming worked with both Foster and Simons at Indian Premier League side Chennai Super Kings.

Marcus Trescothick, who took interim charge of the Test team for the home series against Pakistan, remains with the red-ball team.

McCullum keeps the bulk of the staff who worked with him across formats: Sarah Taylor, Jeetan Patel and Tim Southee. Kevin Pietersen will also work with the white-ball teams in the run-up to the 50-over World Cup in southern Africa next year.

Of the 39 players handed England deals, 30 have full central contracts and nine are on development contracts.

The large number of players on England deals is a result of high-earners like Ben Stokes and Mark Wood retiring from international cricket and freeing up space in the budget.

Eleven players, including Test captain Joe Root and white-ball captain Harry Brook, are given two-year contracts.

In an unprecedented move for an uncapped player, pace bowler Henry Crocombe is also given a two-year contract.

———————————————————

England’s centrally contracted players: Joe Root* (Yorkshire), Harry Brook* (Yorkshire), Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire), Jofra Archer* (Sussex), Gus Atkinson* (Surrey), Sonny Baker* (Hampshire), Tom Banton (Somerset), Shoaib Bashir (Derbyshire), Jacob Bethell* (Warwickshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Brydon Carse (Durham), Sam Cook (Essex), Jordan Cox* (Essex), Henry Crocombe* (Sussex/Surrey), Sam Curran* (Surrey), Liam Dawson (Hampshire), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Emilio Gay (Durham), Matthew Fisher (Surrey), Will Jacks* (Surrey), Dan Lawrence (Surrey), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Jamie Overton (Surrey), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Matthew Potts (Durham), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Phil Salt (Lancashire), Jamie Smith (Surrey), Josh Tongue* (Nottinghamshire)

*Denotes two-year deal through until 30 September 2028.

England development contracted players: James Coles (Sussex), Mason Crane (Glamorgan), Josh Hull (Leicestershire), Eddie Jack (Hampshire), Ben McKinney (Durham), Liam Patterson-White (Nottinghamshire), Thomas Rew (Somerset). Matthew Revis (Yorkshire), Mitch Stanley (Lancashire).

———————————————————

Crocombe is one of five specialist fast bowlers to be given a multi-year deal, joining Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker and Josh Tongue.

Before the Derby incident, Carse had not played for England since the Ashes in January because of a wrist injury.

Prior to the injury, the Durham man was an international regular across formats and was the only England seamer to play in all five Tests in Australia.

With inexperienced bowlers like Baker and Crocombe receiving longer contracts, Key was asked if a lack of extension for Carse revealed England’s feelings on his international future.

“No,” replied the former Kent batter. “I think it means if he gets a chance to come back and play for England he’s got to try to maximise his career and be the best bowler he possibly can be.

“That investigation is going on with the Regulator. I don’t know a lot about what happens in that investigation, because that is with them and we deal with that afterwards. There’s nothing really I can say about that. We haven’t had those conversations. We’ll find out more in due course. We’ll find out more when that investigation comes to a head.”

Along with Crocombe, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Dan Lawrence, Tom Banton, Sam Cook and Matt Fisher are given full central contracts for the first time.

Ollie Robinson returns to the contract list after missing out for the past two years, rewarded following his superb return to the Test team in the home summer.

Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir keeps his deal and is the only specialist red-ball spinner on the list. However, Mason Crane and Liam Patterson-White are given developmental deals as an indication of how England could grow their Test spin-bowling options.

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. Another year, another NLCS. What happens this time? Let’s find out together.

Game 1 thoughts

—As always, this is written as the game is going on, and I don’t go back and change my opinions to match the outcome of the game, so I might write something in the second inning that looks dumb considering how the game ended. Baseball!

—I’m predicting Dodgers in six. They lose today. Win tomorrow. Win two of three at home, win Game 6 in Milwaukee.

—Dodgers won the past two World Series. Brewers were last in the World Series in 1982, when they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals.

—I’m not a big fan of the Fox pregame show.

—Jacob Misiorowski can throw the ball 104 mph. I once threw a baseball 104 … feet.

—His nickname is “The Miz,” but we all know there is only one Miz.

First inning

—Good to see Joe Davis back.

—There’s something about Ken Rosenthal that I find disquieting. Of course, I’m sure some people say the same about me.

—Nice play by Jake Bauers to open the game.

—Freddie Freeman seems like he says “don’t like that two-strike pitch, so I’ll foul it off.”

—And Will Smith‘s struggles continue. But, the Dodgers are making contact.

—The Dodgers seem to have a lot of PitchCom problems.

—Two strikeouts for Skubal, 15 pitches. No strikeouts for Misiorowski, 12 pitches.

Second inning

—Opponents are still pitching to Shohei Ohtani as if he is full-strength Ohtani.

—Andy Pages does it again. He does not look intimidated by any situation. Dodgers 1, Brewers 0.

—Great at-bat by Kyle Tucker. He has really been what they expected for the past six weeks. Already 40 pitches for Misiorowski.

—It would be really nice to get at least one more run here. Bases loaded, one out.

—Kiké grounds into a double play. More Clark Kent than Superman there. That could come back to haunt the Dodgers later.

—Tarik Skubal looks really good so far.

—As soon as I wrote that, he gives up a double. Sorry.

—Skubal has very wide open eyes. He looks perpetually astonished. Skubal: 29 pitches. Misiorowski: 47.

Third inning

—Dodgers waste a leadoff single by Mookie Betts. This could be important later.

—I got a lot of emails during this game disagreeing with me about John Smoltz, saying he talks way too much. I agree (I wrote that), but what he says is often insightful. He just needs to edit things down in his brain before it reaches his mouth.

Fourth inning

—A leadoff single by Teoscar. Will they waste this one? Insurance runs would be nice.

—No one has ever successfully explained a balk call. I think the umpiring crew decides before a game, “We need to call a balk today.”

—And the Dodgers can’t cash in. This could be important later.

—Misiorowski has made 85 pitches through four, so he probably has one more inning left in him.

—And now it’s tied. Dodgers 1, Brewers 1. By the way, in tribute to my old boss, Mike James: The game is not tied, the score is tied.

—It’s hard to see from the center-field camera. Stupid fireworks. What about those of us with asthma? First-world problems.

—Dodgers are down to their last challenge! For some reason I don’t find that as stressful as many others do.

—Don’t Brice Turang and Jake Bauers realize they aren’t supposed to hit left-handers well? Come on guys, get with the program.

—And a double play ends the inning.

—You know that swing Ohtani has in the New Balance commercial? That’s the swing he is missing. Maybe study that ad.

—Things I don’t need to see during a game while watching with my grandchildren: Ads for horror movies (like “Other Mommy.”) And that Sydney Sweeney ad.

—By the way, I need all you kids to get off my lawn. Darn neighborhood rapscallions.

Fifth inning

—That will be it for Misiorowski. 4 1/3 innings, five hits, three walks. Didn’t have his best stuff, but he battled. Seems like you should have more than one run when you get eight batters on base in 4 1/3.

—It is funny, though, to hear everyone praise the ace after he just went 4 1/3. I always think back to Fernando Valenzuela in Game 3 of the 1981 World Series. He pitched a complete game despite not having his best stuff, throwing 147 pitches, giving up nine hits and walking seven while defeating the Yankees, 5-4. Now that was battling without your best stuff.

—Another double play. Dodgers don’t get a left on base that inning, but really they did.

—Hey, a bunt! I thought those weren’t allowed anymore because they were a waste of an out.

—And the Brewers immediately cash in, something the Dodgers haven’t been able to do. Brewers 2, Dodgers 1.

—Skubal won’t last much longer.

—Gift hit for Jackson Chourio.

—Turang walked to load the bases. I can’t believe Skubal is still in the game.

—And Skubal escaped the jam. Dodgers are lucky to be trailing by only one.

Sixth inning

—Ohtani has become Bill Russell as a hitter.

—One thing the Dodgers do that is bothersome: When they fall behind, they seem to abandon their plan to make the pitcher work.

—Max Muncy with a hard single. The most underrated player on the team this season.

—And Pages strikes out. Another chance wasted.

—Alex Vesia is great.

Seventh inning

—It didn’t work out, but the Dodgers were less swing happy that inning.

—I find Brewers fans far less annoying than Braves fans.

—The five franchises to never win a World Series: Brewers, Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays.

—I wrote that before Fox put up the graphic with the same info. Really.

—Evan Phillips strikes out the side.

Eighth inning

—And the Dodgers strand another runner.

—Another bunt! Anarchy!

—First and second, one out. Can the Brewers cash in against Tanner Scott?

—Intentionally walking the bases loaded is a gutsy move.

—But it pays off.

Ninth inning

—Muncy, Pages and Tucker against Trevor Megill.

—Muncy pops out.

—Pages flies out.

—Tucker walks. Good at-bat.

—Can Josue De Paula, at 21 years old, be a Game 1 hero? (As former colleague Bob Cuomo would say, “Hero? How many lives did he save?”)

—De Paula walks. He feels no pressure ever. What a batting eye for one so young.

—Betts flied out. One final blown chance by the Dodgers.

—I should point out that the Dodgers were seventh in the majors this season in batting average with runners in scoring position at .262. The Brewers were second, .276. The Dodgers were seventh with two out and runners in scoring position at .241. The Brewers were ninth at .239.

Final score: Brewers 2, Dodgers 1.

Nothing to worry about. The Dodgers have trailed 1-0 before and won, and led 1-0 and lost. This is why they play seven games. We’ll be back tomorrow.

Poll results

We asked, “Who will win the NLCS?”

After 11,784 votes, the results”

Dodgers in six, 51.3%
Dodgers in five, 18.4%
Dodgers in seven, 15.8%
Brewers in six, 7.5%
Brewers in seven, 3.2%
Dodgers in four, 2.2%
Brewers in five, 1.4%
Brewers in four, 0.2%

Up next

Monday: Dodgers (Yoshinobu Yamamoto) at Milwaukee (Logan Henderson), 2 p.m., Fox/FS1/Fox Deportes/Fox One

Wednesday at Dodgers, 5 p.m., Fox/FS1/Fox Deportes/Fox One

Thursday at Dodgers, 6 p.m., Fox/FS1/Fox Deportes/Fox One

*Friday at Dodgers, 6 p.m., Fox/FS1/Fox Deportes/Fox One

*Sunday at Milwaukee, 5 p.m., Fox/FS1/Fox Deportes/Fox One

*Monday, Oct. 19 at Milwaukee, 5 p.m., Fox/FS1/Fox Deportes/Fox One

All times Pacific

*-if necessary

In case you missed it

Plaschke: Dodgers could be in big trouble if Brewers steal their October swagger

Brewers get just enough off Tarik Skubal, draw first blood in NLCS Game 1 win

Dodgers Debate NLCS Game 1: Great pitching but no offense

Dodgers add Justin Wrobleski to NLCS roster, keep Miguel Rojas and drop Hyeseong Kim

Shaikin: ‘We responded to the moment’: Fred Claire’s lasting lesson for a former young assistant

Dodgers confident Shohei Ohtani will break out of his slump against Brewers

Shaikin: Here’s why the Dodgers-Brewers NLCS might have been decided in August

By not overextending itself vs. Braves, Dodgers’ rotation primed for success vs. Brewers

‘I just want chaos.’ Don’t expect Dodgers to sweep Brewers again in NLCS

And finally

Shohei Ohtani hits three home runs, strikes out 10 in Game 4 of the 2025 NLCS against the Brewers. Watch and listen here.

Until next time …

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Alexander Zverev is guaranteed to finish the 2026 season as the world number one after Carlos Alcaraz’s surprise defeat in the Shanghai Masters.

German Zverev was on course to climb above current world number one Jannik Sinner, who has been ruled out for the rest of the year with a knee injury.

Alcaraz still had a mathematical chance of stopping Zverev until he was beaten 7-5 7-6 (7-4) by Belgium’s Zizou Bergs in the third round on Monday.

“It’s been a fantastic season for me. Knowing that I will finish the year on top of the rankings is just a dream come true,” said Zverev.

After losing three major finals, Zverev landed the first Grand Slam title of his career by winning the French Open in June, and followed that with victory at the US Open last month.

The 29-year-old has taken advantage of the injury problems suffered by Spaniard Alcaraz and Italian Sinner – the dominant pair on the ATP Tour in the previous two seasons – to become the world’s leading player.

Zverev cannot overtake Sinner until 2 November at the earliest.

He will become the first German to end the year as number one, and the oldest player to achieve the feat for the first time.

After suffering a serious ankle injury in the 2022 French Open semi-finals which kept him out for seven months, Zverev regained his place in the upper echelons of the sport and been ranked inside the top four continuously since March 2024.

“So much work and effort have been put into achieving this goal, especially after coming back from the ankle injury. I look forward to finishing the season in style,” he said.

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. It’s looking like the game of the year this week in high school football: No. 1 Santa Margarita at No. 2 St. John Bosco.

Assistants in spotlight

Kuika Moaalii, a 6-foot-5 sophomore, makes tough catch for St. John Bosco. He had four catches for 119 yards and one touchdown in 28-14 win over Orange Lutheran.

(Craig Weston / For The Times)

Santa Margarita (7-0) at St. John Bosco (6-1) on Friday night has all the makings of your typical Trinity League title decider. Great coaching, great players, great atmosphere.

While many will focus on the head coaching matchup of Santa Margarita’s Carson Palmer vs. St. John Bosco’s Jason Negro, the real spotlight should fall on the highly respected coordinators who will need to be smart, creative and be ready to improvise and adjust.

For Santa Margarita, that will be offensive coordinator Lenny Vandermade and defensive coordinator Steve Fififa. For St. John Bosco, offensive coordinator Steve Lo and defensive coordinator Chris King have lots of respect for their counterparts. Don’t expect any to be dismissed in the middle of the game.

All need to figure ways to get the ball to their star athletes on offense and prevent big plays on defense.

It’s the defensive chess match that will be most interesting. Santa Margarita has been getting excellent production from a group of freshmen and recorded three shutouts. This will be their biggest game yet. St. John Bosco has fixed some secondary issues with the addition of Kingston Fatu, who has two interceptions in two games. This will come down to which defensive line can apply enough quarterback pressure without having to blitz.

The winner should be in good position to be the Trinity League champion.

Cleveland’s offensive line has been a strength, including right tackle Carlos Gomez (left), right guard Carter Fitzgerald, center Pedro Castaneda, center Adam Garbisch, left guard Jovanni Orellana and left tackle Josue Fonseca.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times )

In case you haven’t noticed, history is being made at Cleveland High, which is 7-0 and has the inside track to win the West Valley League title under 34-year-old third-year head coach Mario Guzman. It has been decades since a young coach at not one of the City Section power schools has guided his team to contention at the highest level in City football.

Here’s a look at what’s been happening at the Reseda campus to accumulate seven consecutive wins to start the season, including victories over Crenshaw and Birmingham.

Franklin and Eagle Rock had their Northern League game postponed Friday because of continuing fallout dealing with the death of a Franklin student. The game will be played Monday night at L.A. Wilson.

There’s a season-long competition to be the best running back in the City Section among Brandon Hernandez of Panorama, Ceasar Reyes of Garfield and Tru Warrior Casas of Fairfax. All are well past 1,000 yards rushing and closing in on 2,000.

Elisha Mueller of St. John Bosco shows off his blocking skills against Orange Lutheran.

(Craig Weston / For The Times)

St. John Bosco set up its showdown with Santa Margarita with a hard-fought 28-14 win over Orange Lutheran. Here’s the report.

Inglewood rallied to defeat Palos Verdes and move to win the Bay League title. Here’s the report.

El Modena knocked off Laguna Beach in the Delta League. Here’s the report.

Crespi junior quarterback Chase Curren became the school’s all-time leader in touchdown passes with 54 by passing for three touchdowns in a 49-0 win over Harvard-Westlake. The old record was 53 held by his offensive coordinator, Bryan Bennett. His standout receiver Bru McFarland, called the record-breaking TD.

There are still 23 unbeaten teams left in the Southern Section and City Section. Here’s the report.

Here’s a look at this week’s top 25 rankings by The Times.

Here’s top individual performances.

Here’s week eight schedule.

The week ahead

Week eight in high school football has the chance to be one of the dramatic in the regular season with many big games.

Besides Santa Margarita at St. John Bosco, there’s Mission Viejo at San Clemente, Bishop Amat at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, King/Drew at Crenshaw, Hamilton at Palisades, Bellflower at Paramount and Mater Dei vs. Servite at Cerritos College,

Pualani Olotoa-Le’au, a sophomore, has been contributing to Carson in flag football and softball.

(Courtesy Olotoa-Le’au family)

Last week’s heat wave caused lots of postponed flag football games in the City Section. The powerful Northern League needs to catch up. Wilson is 2-0 and Eagle Rock 1-0.

Carson and Narbonne are 4-1 in the Marine League with San Pedro at 3-1. Here’s a look at a two-sport contributor for Carson.

JSerra is 23-0 and few teams are giving the Lions much competition. Here’s this week’s top 10 flag football rankings by The Times.

A big Monday showdown has Huntington Beach facing Newport Harbor.

Roommates at UCLA

Linebacker Scott Taylor (left) and receiver Shane Rosenthal, graduates of Loyola and Newbury Park, have become roommates and contributors for UCLA’s football team.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Former Loyola High star Scott Taylor and former Newbury Park star Shane Rosenthal are roommates and teammates on UCLA’s football team.

They explain how important it is going off to college to explore and find someone with similar ideas and principles.

Here’s a look at why things are working out.

Water polo

Harvard-Westlake made a big move in the water polo rankings this week with consecutive wins over JSerra and Santa Margarita.

Harry Siafaris was a key player with his scoring skills.

Newport Harbor had a big league win over rival Corona del Mar. Here’s the report.

Notes

Junior pitcher Carlos Acuna of Birmingham, the City Section player of the year, has committed to UC San Diego….

Dezi Delgado from Sherman Oaks Notre Dame has committed to CSUN baseball….

King Rachal of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame has committed to Utah State for basketball….

Standout guard Gene Roebuck of La Mirada has committed to Cal….

Former Monroe High and Cal State Northridge pitcher Lew Lerner has died. He was 74. He was a first-round draft pick of the Twins and led CSUN to a national championship in 1970….

JSerra cross-country star Reese Holley has committed to North Carolina….

Bob Hitchcock, who built the Temple City High football program into a powerhouse, has died. He was 97. He won seven Southern Section championships in the 1970s….

Guard Omar Cuffie from Loyola has committed to play basketball at Navy….

Michael Scarince of South Pasadena won the cross-country invitational race at the Clovis Invitational in 15:01….

Track and field athlete Aidan Antonio of Woodbridge has committed to Georgetown….

Guard Pierce Thompson of Harvard-Westlake has committed to Utah….

The JSerra girls volleyball team claimed the Division 1&2 Diamond Bracket at the Southern California Volleyball Invitational at Alliant University in San Diego….

Here are the latest Southern Section girls volleyball rankings.

From the archives: Cooper Barkate

Cooper Barkate playing for Mater Dei in 2021. He’s now at Miami.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

In Cooper Barkate’s senior season in 2022 at Mater Dei, the team went 12-1 and he was a vey good receiver who chose academics and the Ivy League, attending Harvard for three years and graduating with a degree in economics. Then he transferred to Duke for one season and is now at Miami, where entered the national discussion after catching five passes for 98 yards and one touchdown against Clemson.

His father, Harold, was a punter for UCLA who grew up in the high desert.

Here’s a story from 2023 from Harvard’s school newspaper.

Here’s a story from 2021 from the New York Times explaining Barkate’s decision to go to Harvard.

Recommendations

From Indianapreps, a story on the changing landscape in covering high school sports.

From KGET in Bakersfield, a story on a private eye uncovering ineligible players.

From Oregonlive, a story on former Crenshaw running back De’Anthony Thomas turning to disc golf.

From Axios, a story on how youth sports is affecting Sunday worship.

Tweets you might have missed

Until next time….

Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.

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Times of Troy writer Ryan Kartje is out sick this week, but we didn’t want USC fans to miss extended coverage of the Trojans’ win at Penn State. Times sports editor Iliana Limón Romero is filling until Kartje returns.

USC coach Lincoln Riley lingered at Beaver Stadium on Saturday night, soaking up a hard-fought moment of vindication.

Riley celebrated out-coaching Penn State’s Matt Campbell like he won a national championship, offered gleeful remarks to NBC and reporters at his postgame news conference and shook the hands of USC fans who ventured to Happy Valley to catch the Trojans’ first road win over Penn State.

“It’s one of my favorite wins as a head coach no question, for so many reasons,” Riley said after the Trojans’ 31-23 victory. “Obviously phenomenal atmosphere, as good as it gets there in college football, so give credit to Penn State, their fans, but really proud of our team, man.”

And even Riley’s harshest critics had trouble arguing this wasn’t a meaningful win. A serious test his team passed. The kind of beast Riley and the Trojans have struggled to slay.

Yes, the Nittany Lions now sit 3-3 overall and 0-3 in Big Ten play, but White Out games are their super power. When an announced crowd of 114,419 fans commits to wearing white and roaring in unison, it’s hard for any visiting team to pull off a victory. USC had never won in State College, Pa., and Riley noted seemingly no one outside of his team believed the streak would end Saturday.

How did USC do it?

The Trojans figured out how to overachieve in every area that was considered a weakness entering the matchup.

Maiava lights up Nittany Lions

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava delivers an option pitch under pressure from Penn State’s Caleb Bacon on a play that scored a touchdown Saturday at Beaver Stadium.

(Isaiah Vazquez / Getty Images)

Last week’s Times of Troy highlighted in great detail the dropoff USC quarterback Jayden Maiava experienced since a shutout of Fresno State on Sept. 4.

Riley was asked this past week whether Maiava was playing through an injury and the head coach insisted no.

It now seems the real injury problem was the one that sidelined freshman receiver Trent Mosley for two games.

With big-play threats Mosley and Tanook Hines on the field, Maiava looked like an elite Big Ten quarterback dealing the ball in locations only his two ace receivers could catch.

Maiava completed 21 of 33 passes for 301 yards, three touchdowns and no turnovers.

Mosley had nine catches for 111 yards and one touchdown. Hines had four catches for 82 yards and another score. The passing attack opened up enough space for King Miller to earn 102 yards and a touchdown in 19 carries.

Of course fans have come to expect big highlight plays from a Riley offense, but Maiava was unquestionably tentative the past few weeks and the offense wasn’t clicking. It hit top gear at Penn State.

USC’s Christian Pierce punches the ball out of the hands of Penn State’s Brett Eskildsen, forcing a fumble in the fourth quarter at Beaver Stadium on Saturday.

(Isaiah Vazquez / Getty Images)

While Riley has caught considerable heat this season, the USC defense directed by Gary Patterson wasn’t far behind.

The Trojans have shown marked improvement with Patterson shifting from the sideline to the press box the last two games.

Patterson had always worked from the sideline, but he also was always surrounded by staff members who knew his system well. Riley said the goal of the move was to speed up communication.

Desman Stephens II returned from his one-game suspension and led USC in tackles with nine. Luke Wafle and Kennedy Urlacher earned sacks. Jahkeem Stewart played after being listed as a game-time decision on the injury report and recorded a quarterback hurry.

Jontez Williams, Prophet Brown and Elijah Newby were credited with breaking up one pass apiece.

Riley can deliver in crunch time

USc coach Lincoln Riley talks with quarterback Jayden Maiava during the Trojans’ win over Penn State Saturday at Beaver Stadium.

(Barry Reeger / Ap Photo/barry Reeger)

During an NBC interview minutes after the game ended and during his postgame news conference, Riley made it clear he heard those chants calling for him to be fired.

And he was well aware few expected USC to win at Penn State, with betting odds favoring a rebuilding Nittany Lions squad by 1 1/2 points.

Riley’s clock management and use of timeouts, along with his play-calling, unquestionably got the best of Penn State’s Campbell and helped seal the USC win.

Opening the second half with an onside kick set the tone that everything was on the table for USC.

When Riley kept his offense on the field on fourth and four at the USC 13 late in the fourth quarter. Campbell said he called timeout with 4:15 remaining to be sure he put his team position to go get the ball.

Riley was delighted Campbell burned his final timeout and sent on his punt team.

After his defense forced a turnover, Riley’s offense burned time off the clock and lined up for fourth down when Penn State jumped offside.

For once, the Trojans didn’t flinch when it mattered most. USC finished with three penalties for a loss of 25 yards, a remarkable improvement for a team that has racked up a lot of ill-timed penalties during Riley’s tenure.

USC was awarded the first down and took a knee to run out the clock on a victory.

USC’s Kameryn Crawford and Luke Wafle celebrate with fans after their win over Penn State Saturday at Beaver Stadium.

(Barry Reeger / Associated Press)

The Trojans celebrated in the rain before starting a bye week.

“I was not surprised at all that we played well,” Riley said. “I felt like we really had one of the best weeks of prep that we’ve had since I’ve been here. I thought team had a great mindset coming in.

”… I’ve only been a head coach at two schools. They’ve both been blue bloods. … Blue bloods are unbelievable. The advantages far, far outweigh the disadvantages, but the disadvantages at blue bloods are the outside noise is always going to be way over the top, no matter what’s happening. And your ability to deal with that as a coach and then your team is critical if you want to have success in these jobs.

“And I thought our team blocked out everything. Our team knows how good of a team we have in that locker room and didn’t flinch.”

House of Troy ‘Chapter 4: Higher Power’ episode drops this week

Lane Kiffin was stunned when he was fired on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport at about 3 a.m. on Sept. 29, 2013.

He called his wife, who was equally surprised by the abrupt end to his tenure leading the Trojans.

“And I remember saying, I do not want to wake up tomorrow,” Kiffin recounts in the latest episode. “My life’s over.”

Kiffin helps provide an inside look back at the highs and lows of his USC era during Episode 4 of “House of Troy” available Tuesday morning at latimes.com/sports and everywhere you get your podcasts.

Olympic sports spotlight

The USC women’s volleyball team has been through some big changes, with coach Brad Keller missing matches Oct. 2 and Oct 4 because of an illness. USC announced on Oct. 5 Keller is taking personal leave and assistant Megan Moenoa is the Trojans’ interim head coach.

The Trojans (8-8, 2-4 Big Ten) earned a 26-24, 25-19, 25-22 road win over No. 15 Indiana (10-5, 3-3) in Bloomington on Sunday. It was Moenoa’s first win since stepping in for Keller.

Sophomore Abigail Mullen led USC with 11 kills, four blocks and nine digs. Freshman Milly McGee earned 31 assists, six digs and one kill.

Polling the people

Please note the following poll included voting before USC’s win over Penn State. The results do help illustrate the stress level Riley faced entering the game.

We asked “Will Lincoln Riley be USC’s coach in 2027?”

After 1,976 votes:

Yes, 42.9%

No, 57.1%

In case you missed it

Listen now: Podcast ‘House of Troy’ features inside look at highs, lows of USC Athletics

Lincoln Riley tunes out the criticism, makes bold calls in USC’s win over Penn State

No. 19 USC runs out clock on road win over Penn State

Trojans aim to prove they can stay poised amid constant pressure at packed Penn State

USC, UCLA push to extend West Coast dominance of Big Ten women’s basketball

USC coach Lincoln Riley says Jayden Maiava isn’t hurt despite dip in performance

Times of Troy: What’s going on with USC QB Jayden Maiava?

Until next time …

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email Ryan at ryan.kartje@latimes.com, and follow me on X at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Going into Week 8 of the high school football season, there are still 23 teams unbeaten in the Southern Section and City Section.

The three City teams are Cleveland, Granada Hills Kennedy and Marshall.

There are 20 in the Southern Section: Santa Margarita, Sierra Canyon, San Clemente, Corona del Mar, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, San Jacinto, Huntington Beach, Orange, Charter Oak, Mary Star, Bonita, Desert Christian, Los Altos, Nordhoff, San Marino, Nogales, Viewpoint, Royal, St. Bernard and Rancho Alamitos.

There are tough league games ahead, starting on Friday with Santa Margarita at St. John Bosco and Bishop Amat at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

Sierra Canyon (7-0) remains the most likely to go 10-0, with Mission League games still remaining against Chaminade, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and Bishop Amat.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

MILWAUKEE — The Dodgers executed their game plan and lost. The Milwaukee Brewers executed their game plan and won.

Back in California, Dodgers fans screamed at their television sets. This is postseason baseball, where the best pitchers take center stage and runs are at a premium.

Why don’t the Dodgers at least try to mimic the Brewers? Would a stolen base or a sacrifice bunt every so often kill the Dodgers?

“I think we should play Dodger baseball,” shortstop Mookie Betts said. “So, whatever Dodger baseball is, that’s what we should do. We should not try and play Milwaukee Brewers baseball.”

And what is Dodger baseball?

“It’s a very complex thing,” Betts said. “We pitch. We play defense. We hit. We’ve got to figure out a way to get some timely hits. If we’ve got to steal a base, we’ll steal a base. But we don’t need to change our identity.”

In the big picture, no need to overreact to the Dodgers’ 2-1 loss in the National League Championship Series opener.

But take a close look at the bottom of the fifth inning, when the Brewers scored the decisive run. With the score tied 1-1, Garrett Mitchell walked to start the inning, and Cooper Pratt sacrificed him to second. Luis Lara singled him home, scoring a runner in scoring position.

Joey Ortiz then grounded into what would have been a double play, had the Brewers not started Lara from first base. That was huge: Ortiz was out at first but, by staying out of the double play, the Brewers forced Dodgers starter Tarik Skubal to throw an additional 15 pitches to secure that third out.

That forced the Dodgers to remove Skubal from the game after he made 26 pitches in the fifth inning, and 81 overall.

“They’re willing to give up an out to get a guy in scoring position to get a hit,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

The Dodgers have not dropped a sacrifice bunt this postseason. In their World Series championship run last year, they dropped five sacrifice bunts: two by outfielder Andy Pages, who wasn’t hitting; two by light-hitting backup catcher Ben Rortvedt; and one by infielder Miguel Rojas.

This is Dodger baseball: The Dodgers hit 50 more home runs this season than the Brewers, who finished last in the NL in homers.

The Brewers had more than twice as many stolen bases as the Dodgers and more than twice as many sacrifice bunts. The Dodgers’ NLCS roster accounted for six sacrifices this season, including three by infielder-outfielder Tommy Edman.

Brice Turang, who bats second for Milwaukee, homered off Skubal in the fourth inning Sunday and sacrificed in the eighth.

If you want to say the Dodgers should slug away and play for the big inning, fine. If you want to say the Dodgers should be reluctant to bunt in October with players not asked to bunt during the regular season, Edman isn’t buying that.

“It’s definitely tough,” Edman said. “But it’s definitely something that we should all be able to do. If you’re a big leaguer, you should be able to do everything on the field that you’re asked to do. If that’s what the situation of the game calls for, we should be able to do it.”

The Brewers have played five postseason games, scoring 15 runs. They have won four games, three of them by one run. If the Dodgers can take a few big swings, they could get mighty comfortable.

The Dodgers also have played five postseason games, scoring 15 runs. But here’s a defining difference: In each of their five games, the Brewers have two hits with runners in scoring position.

In their five games, the Dodgers have a total of two hits with runners in scoring position.

This is the place where you, gentle reader, remind me that I said the Dodgers executed their game plan. What the heck?

They did, actually: They thought their best chance to win was to run up the pitch count on Milwaukee ace Jacob Misiorowski and get him out of the game early.

Seven of the first nine batters did not swing at the first pitch. More than half the at-bats off Misiorowski took at least four pitches.

They fouled off 20 pitches and got him out of the game after 4⅓ innings, so the Milwaukee bullpen would have to cover more innings than he would.

“We lost, so it didn’t really work,” Betts said. “But we did a good job with some good at-bats and fouled off some pitches and made him work. That’s really all you can do.”

The Brewers have scored five of their 15 runs via the home run, the Dodgers 11 of 15. Do the Dodgers need to mix in some small ball and change their approach at bat?

“I don’t think guys are going up there trying to hit home runs,” Betts said. “Guys are going up there just trying to have good at-bats. Sometimes, you get ‘em. Sometimes you don’t. But we are playing against a really good team. We just have to put it behind us and just come out and play Dodger baseball.”

It’s time for Dodger baseball. Lose Game 2, and the Dodgers will be two defeats from a bitter winter.

While the DP World Tour agreed to grant conditional releases with nine players this season, it is understood the change for 2027 is predominantly down to LIV offering players equity in future and a feeling this is incompatible with the European tour being a members organisation.

However, it also comes at a time when the DP World Tour’s strategic alliance with the PGA Tour is being negotiated, so the move likely reflects a desire to put itself in the best position possible in those discussions.

Players will have until 16 November to sign up to the DP World Tour for next year.

Under the terms of its court-supervised restructuring process, LIV Golf needs to sign players up by 25 October.

Ted Goldthorpe, head of BC Partners Credit, told BBC Sport last week he was “confident” LIV would have a “critical mass” of players.

But since then two-time major winner Rahm has said he will not continue playing on the LIV tour.

Lawyers representing a number of other players, including fellow major winners Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith, sought clarification from the court that rejection of contracts would equate to “termination”, enabling players to hold discussions with third parties about their futures.

Richard Bland is currently the only player to have stated publicly a desire to play on LIV 2.0.

However, Perez indicated last month he hoped there would be a future for the league.

Carlo Holse scored three goals in the first 21 minutes and had the second hat trick in club history to help St. Louis City beat the Galaxy 6-2 on Sunday night to extend their unbeaten streak across all competitions to 20 games and tie the MLS record.

St. Louis, which is 13-0-5 in its past 18 regular-season games, tied the mark set when the New York Red Bulls went unbeaten in an MLS-record 20 consecutive games across all competitions in 2016.

Rafael Navarro converted from the penalty spot in the 45th minute, scored again in the 53rd and added two assists for St. Louis (14-6-8). Lukas MacNaughton scored on a diving header in the seventh minute of first-half stoppage time and Roman Burki had five saves.

Holse opened the scoring in the second minute, added a goal in the seventh and skipped a shot inside the right post from the center of the area to make it 3-0 in the 21st minute to record the second-fastest hat trick in MLS history. Hany Mukhtar scored three goals for Nashville in the first 16 minutes of 5-1 win over Chicago on July 17, 2021.

The Galaxy’s Kyogo Furuhashi went off because of an apparent hamstring injury and was replaced in the 10th minute by João Klauss, whose goal in the 71st minute capped the scoring. Klauss, a 29-year-old midfielder in his first season with the Galaxy, had St. Louis City’s first hat trick in a 3-3 tie with the Galaxy on June 14, 2025.

Robert Taylor scored in the 31st minute for the Galaxy (9-11-9).

St. Louis beat the Galaxy 3-1 on July 22 at Dignity Health Sports Park.

MILWAUKEE — The Dodgers have a big hole in the middle of their batting order, and it’s not Shohei Ohtani.

If anything, Ohtani has reemerged as an offensive force in the cleanup spot, singling, walking and scoring the Dodgers’ only run Sunday in a 2-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series.

The problem is with the guy hitting in front of Ohtani.

Will Smith walked in four plate appearances, marking just the second time he’s reached base in the postseason. In the four division series games against the Atlanta Braves, he had a single in 16 at-bats, striking out seven times. He’s hitting .053 in the playoffs — only Cleveland’s Ángel Martínez has a lower average among players with at least nine at-bats.

But there’s not much the Dodgers can do about it. They are built to win with pitching and Smith, the catcher, is the guy they rely on to guide those pitchers through games.

Dalton Rushing, who started just five fewer games behind the plate than Smith this season, is injured and not on the roster. Hunter Feduccia, who did make the team, caught just 15 complete games this season and isn’t an option to start in the playoffs.

“I’m not going to put Feduccia in place of Will Smith,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “That’s just not going to happen.”

So Roberts and the Dodgers are left to muddle on with Smith regardless of how much he struggles offensively. That’s because he’s far more valuable crouching behind the plate than standing next to it.

“I don’t even know how he’s performing offensively,” said Tarik Skubal, who took the loss Sunday. “Catchers, I think it’s the most important position on the field. They’re the ones calling pitches, dictating game flow, rhythm, all that type of stuff. I’m going to trust those guys always.”

Smith appears to be executing his catching duties very well, since opponents have scored just 10 runs and are hitting .160 against the Dodgers this postseason. Only Tampa Bay, which has played two fewer games, has done better.

As for what Smith thinks, that’s unknown because the Dodgers did not make him available to the media Sunday. But since he’s not coming out of the lineup, the next-best solution might be moving him to another spot in the order.

That worked with Ohtani, who had as many strikeouts as hits in the first two games of the division series, when he batted second. Since being dropped in the order, he has reached base four times in three games, stolen a base and scored twice.

“There’s always lineup construction. I can think it through. He’s not swinging the bat well,” Roberts said of Smith. “It’s hard because of the body of work, he just has that knack to get a hit, to get a big hit.”

That’s exactly what happened last fall when Smith’s two-out, 11th-inning home run in Game 7 of the World Series helped the Dodgers win a second straight title.

Smith was on the injured list for 86 days this summer because of neck disk inflammation, returning for the final month when he slashed .290/.400/.548. He has cooled off considerably in October, just as he did last year, when he returned from a right hand contusion three games into the playoffs and got just two hits in his first 14 at-bats.

He recovered to bat .400 in last year’s NLCS win over Milwaukee, then broke a 4-4 tie with his winning homer against the Toronto Blue Jays. Just as important, though, Smith caught all but 11 innings in the Dodgers’ final 15 postseason games — including two 11-inning games and another that lasted 18 innings.

Smith rarely has hit well in the postseason, batting just .206 in 18 series, which may explain Roberts’ lack of panic. Plus, Roberts knows his All-Star catcher has helped him win three World Series rings, and if the Dodgers are to get another, it will be on the strength of their pitching, not their hitting.

And that side of Smith’s game is as strong as ever.

“To be honest, that’s not where my focus is with Will,” Skubal said of his catcher’s hitting. “My focus is what he’s doing behind the dish and he’s very important. He’s very important to the entire pitching staff.”

Olympic and defending world champions will be competing at the Shanghai Velodrome for the 2026 Track World Championships this week, and you can watch it on the BBC.

There are 22 titles at stake and this is the first track cycling qualifying event for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

The championships, taking place between 14 and 18 October, will see riders compete for the coveted rainbow jerseys in a range of disciplines, with events split between endurance and sprint.

Great Britain finished second in 2025 with the Netherlands taking top spot with nine gold medals. Harrie Lavreysen was once again the dominant force for the Dutch team, winning an incredible four gold medals in the Keirin, Sprint, 1km Time Trial and the Team Sprint.

GB will be without one of their most decorated track cyclists, as reigning Madison world champion Katie Archibald hung up her cleats in May this year to pursue a career in nursing. Olympic team sprint champion Katy Marchant also announced her retirement last month.

They do, however, boast a strong team including eight riders who have won world titles and eight Olympic medallists.

It wasn’t a baseball game, it was a sucker punch.

Ouch! Ooof! What?

Who are these Milwaukee Brewers?

What happened to that docile small-town bunch that was once embarrassingly soft? What happened to the team with great stats but none of the swagger, a team that the Dodgers swept last October in a playoff series that wasn’t that close?

The Dodgers entered the National League Championship Series at Milwaukee’s American Family Field on Sunday knowing the Brewers had the best record in baseball, the best batting average in baseball, the best bullpen in baseball, and still…

They had to be convinced this wasn’t the same Brewer team that had famously rolled over one short year ago.

Well, um… duck!

In a first round that portended a lengthy and bloody fight, the Dodgers clutched to a 1-0 lead after three innings with ace Tarik Skubal on the mound and Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski headed for the showers.

Then they lost it.

They lost to a rare Brewer home run. They lost to a trademark Brewer bunt. They lost to four stifling Brewer relievers.

In the end, they lost the series opener 2-1 to a relentless Brewer effort filled with all the muscle and hustle of their football-toting neighbors up in Green Bay.

This time, when they were knocked down, the Brewers didn’t stay down.

This time, the Brewers swung back and swung harder and eventually landed a stunning blow deep into the Dodgers’ psyche.

This time, it’s clearly going to be different.

This time they tied the game in the fourth inning on a Brice Turang home run, then took the lead an inning later on a perfect example of the manufactured attack that is pure Brewerball.

Garrett Mitchell walked, rookie Cooper Pratt laid down a sacrifice bunt and light-hitting Luis Lara banged the next pitch up the middle to score Mitchell from second for the 2-1 lead.

From there, the league’s best bullpen held the Dodgers to two singles in the last four innings, with the Dodgers stranding two runners on base in two of them. On a night they ended three innings with double plays and have still not focused their postseason hitting efforts, the final inning epitomized the frustration.

With two outs against closer Trevor Megill, Kyle Tucker drew a seven-pitch walk and kid pinch-hitter Josue De Paula drew a walk, and the sort of heroics the Dodgers have displayed for the previous two postseasons were all set up for Mookie Betts.

And he promptly lofted the second pitch to center fielder Mitchell, who made the catch and screamed and flexed with the sort of hearty celebration that usually comes from the Dodgers.

A different day indeed.

Last season in the NLCS, the Dodgers won the opener by this exact same score and the series was never really close. Don’t expect the Brewers to follow the same path, but also don’t expect this to be easy.

Milwaukee’s Brice Turang celebrates with third base coach Matt Erickson after hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning against the Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The Dodgers should get the equalizer in this best-of-seven series Monday afternoon with October superstar Yoshinobu Yamamoto facing relatively untested Logan Henderson.

But who knows? If the Brewers are going to act like this for a week, the Dodgers could be in big trouble.

The two-time defending champs aren’t panicking. But they’re not happy either. And if you listen closely, perhaps you can pick up a scent of worry.

“Yeah, you can’t go into a long series against a team that has the best record in baseball and expect to just win four,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s going to be a long series. We knew it coming in. We had our chances, but they made plays, pitches when they needed to.”

And the Dodgers, particularly one man in the middle of their order and behind the plate, failed to do the same.

Will Smith grounded into a double play and went hitless in three at-bats and is now one for 19 in the postseason.

“Yeah, he’s not swinging the bat well,” said Roberts, who remains hopeful. “He just has that knack to get a hit, a big hit.”

More of a lost cause is Shohei Ohtani, who banged out a single in three at-bats and is three for 16 in the postseason.

The Brewers seem better able to handle slumps from their stars because they’re all about the business of creating runs from what unselfish soul finds himself in the spotlight.

When asked about the key to this culture, Turang said, “I think the buy-in factor with everyone buying into what we’re trying to accomplish and kind of our style of play. Then not only that, like guys are getting more experience, they’re learning the game — even for me, still learning, getting experience. That’s a big factor in this.”

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski celebrates after striking out Kyle Tucker in the fourth inning Sunday in Game 1 of the NLCS.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Spoken like a guy who believes his team is on the verge of taking the next step. Turang said the key is what happens when they are faced with adversity — like Sunday night.

“Then not giving up when we are behind in the game and knowing that we can do it, we can make up runs,” he said. “This group is really, really good with that.”

As for the Dodgers, they know they’re really, really good at just about everything. But they know that time could be quickly running out on their chance to once again show it.

“We’ve just got to reset,” Roberts said. “We’ve got our guy going tomorrow, who we trust undoubtedly, and we’ve got to win a baseball game.”

This October, against this newly rumpled and roughneck version of the Milwaukee Brewers, that’s apparently going to be easier said than done.

England are set to add the first name to Stephen Fleming’s backroom team, with Eric Simons joining as Test bowling coach.

Former South Africa head coach Simons is a long-time ally of Fleming, having worked alongside him in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with Chennai Super Kings.

Simons’ new role will be confirmed on Monday, when England announce the latest round of central contracts.

New Zealander Fleming is assembling a backroom team for his first series in charge, against South Africa in December.

The shake-up in the staff comes as England once again split head-coaching responsibilities across formats. Fleming is in charge of the Test side and Brendon McCullum leads the white-ball teams.

When McCullum was Test coach, England used a number of fast-bowling consultants, including James Anderson, David Saker and Tim Southee.

Saker will be part of the England staff for the one-day tri-series in Pakistan this month, alongside long-term McCullum assistant Jeetan Patel, Mike Yardy and Carl Hopkinson.

Southee and fielding coach Sarah Taylor, who have been with England throughout the home summer, might rejoin the team later in the winter.

Kevin Pietersen has been appointed as a batting consultant to the white-ball teams in the run-up to the 50-over World Cup in southern Africa.

Former England batter Pietersen will not be on the tour of Pakistan, but is due to join the squad for the white-ball tour of Australia and then in South Africa for the three one-day internationals in the country of his birth in January.

Marcus Trescothick took interim charge of the Test team for the series against Pakistan. His future in the England set-up has been the subject of speculation and is yet to be confirmed.

Simons, 64, played 23 one-day internationals for South Africa in 1994 and 1995.

He also worked with Fleming at the Joburg Super Kings in the SA20 and the Texas Super Kings in Major League Cricket.

Simons had two years in charge of the South Africa team between 2002 and 2004 and a spell as India’s bowling coach.

Speaking on Match of the Day, Wayne Rooney and Toby Alderweireld discuss whether Ryan Gravenberch should have been sent off, after he received two yellow cards in Liverpool 3-0 defeat to Manchester City in the Premier League.

MATCH REPORT: Premier League – Liverpool 0-3 Manchester City

Available to UK users only.

Speaking on Match of the Day, Wayne Rooney and Toby Alderweireld analyse how Jeremy Doku changed the game in Manchester City’s favour, after coming on as a substitute in his side’s 3-0 win against Liverpool at Anfield.

MATCH REPORT: Premier League – Liverpool 0-3 Manchester City

Available to UK users only.

Speaking on Match of the Day, Toby Alderweireld and Wayne Rooney discuss why Manchester City’s 3-0 victory against Liverpool leaves the Premier League in limbo as the club awaits a potential punishment, which could include a points deduction, after they were found guilty of financial breaches.

MATCH REPORT: Man City’s statement win has feeling of irrelevance with season in limbo

Available to UK users only.

Speaking on Match of the Day, Wayne Rooney says VAR made the wrong decision in awarding Crystal Palace their second goal, which saw the home side take the lead as they went on to beat Nottingham Forest 3-1 in the Premier League.

MATCH REPORT: Premier League – Crystal Palace 3-1 Nottingham Forest

Available to UK users only.

Aston Villa are looking at signing Real Madrid striker Endrick, Liverpool are weighing up a move for Barcelona’s Marc Bernal and Everton are leading the chase for Rennes striker Esteban Lepaul.

Aston Villa are planning to make a move to sign 20-year-old Brazil striker Endrick on loan from Real Madrid in January. (Football Insider), external

Former Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann has been linked with a return to RB Leipzig but Red Bull football chief Roger Schmidt has rejected those rumours and backed current boss Martin Demichelis. (Sky Sports Germany), external

Liverpool are considering a move for 19-year-old Barcelona and Spain midfielder Marc Bernal. (Fichajes – in Spanish, external)

Arsenal, Aston Villa and Newcastle United are chasing Norway forward Antonio Nusa, who is valued at £60m by RB Leipzig. (Ekrem Konur), external

England striker Dominic Solanke, 29, has no plans to look at a move away from Tottenham, even with Spurs planning to add to their attack in January. (Football Insider), external

Aston Villa have set aside the money for a possible £18m bid to sign Athletico Paranaense and Colombia striker Kevin Viveros, 26. (RTI Esporte – in Portuguese, external)

Everton hold the strongest interest in Rennes striker Esteban Lepaul, although Aston Villa, Brentford, Brighton and Leeds United have the 26-year-old France international on their radar. (Teamtalk), external

Matthew Stafford knows how to finish.

The Rams quarterback gave another masterclass last Sunday when he led the Rams to victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. It was Stafford’s 40th fourth-quarter comeback victory, leaving the 18th-year pro one shy of tying Ben Roethlisberger for third on the all-time list behind Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

But through four games, this has not otherwise been a prodigious start for the reigning NFL most valuable player and future Hall of Famer.

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Gary Klein breaks down what to watch for when the Rams face the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium on Monday night.

Stafford, 38, has passed for six touchdowns, with six interceptions, for a team that is 2-2 going into its game on Monday night against the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium.

Stafford is tied with the Chargers’ Justin Herbert for second-most interceptions in the NFL, trailing only the New England Patriots’ Drake Maye, who has seven.

And while Stafford’s numbers are more middling than fall-off-a-cliff poor, they rank among his slowest statistical starts.

Only twice in his career has Stafford had six passes intercepted in the first four games.

As a rookie in 2009, the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft had three passes intercepted in his first game, two in the second, none in the third and one in the fourth.

The same pattern repeated in 2022 during the Rams’ infamous Super Bowl hangover that ended with a 5-12 record, and Stafford on injured reserve.

Last season, in the Rams’ first four games, Stafford passed for eight touchdowns, with two interceptions, en route to a 3-1 start and what eventually became his run to a first MVP award.

So Stafford acknowledged that he personally has “room for improvement.”

“Some really bright moments, and some stuff I’m really proud of,” Stafford said, “and stuff that I definitely wish I could take back and help us be in a better position to win games. That comes with the position.”

The Rams’ — and Stafford’s — season began poorly after the team’s misguided decision to arrive in Australia the day before they played the San Francisco 49ers in the season opener. Stafford passed for only 155 yards, with an interception, in a 27-7 defeat.

Stafford rebounded by passing for four touchdowns, with an interception, in a 28-6 victory over the New York Giants at SoFi Stadium.

In the next game at Denver, Stafford completed 30 of 55 passes for 390 yards and two touchdowns. But Broncos safety Talanoa Hufanga intercepted two passes, one he returned for a touchdown and another in the end zone in the final seconds of a 30-26 Rams defeat.

Against the Eagles, Stafford completed 32 of 51 passes for 317 yards, with two interceptions.

“He was at his best in the most important moments,” coach Sean McVay said. “That’s the competitive greatness — to find a way in spite of some different things that maybe didn’t go our way.”

Stafford was asked this week how he managed to stay calm, not feel rattled and still take shots at clutch plays after committing turnovers in a hostile environment.

His answer: Trust his preparation and live with the results.

“The world’s going to have an opinion on how I played every single play of every single day — that’s something I’m used to,” he said. “Are there areas I want to be better that [reporters] don’t even pick up and talk about? Absolutely. Are there the obvious ones? For sure.”

Last season, starting in Week 4, Stafford put together a personal-best streak of eight games without an interception. He passed for 25 touchdowns during that stretch. In 17 games, he passed for a career-best 46 touchdowns, with eight interceptions.

Stafford has endured throughout his career by never getting too high or too low. So that won’t change.

“I want to do everything I can to put our team in the best position to succeed,” he said. “I’ve done that sometimes this year and other times I have not.

“I want to make sure that I do that at a more consistent clip moving forward.”