Sports Desk

On a holiday celebrating love and affection, thousands of enthusiastic basketball fans showed up at Intuit Dome to cheer for their favorite NBA players in a trifecta of skills competitions on the eve of the league’s 75th annual All-Star Game.

Getting Saturday off to a scintillating start was the three-point contest — one of All-Star Weekend’s most coveted prizes since Larry Bird won the initial contest in 1986 as well as the next two.

Portland’s Damian Lillard joined Bird and Craig Hodges (1990-92) as the only three-time winners with a stunning exhibition in the final round, ending up with a score of 29 — two better than runner-up and 2018 champion Devin Booker of Phoenix. Lillard equaled the best final-round score, set by Karl-Anthony Towns in 2022.

“I came out here excited to do it,” said Lillard, a nine-time All-Star who is sitting out this season after surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon last May. “I can’t say I knew I’d win but I came in confident. This is my sixth time doing it … this felt like a game to me.”

Lillard went second in the finals and watched anxiously from the bench as it looked like Booker would overtake him before missing his last three shots from the corner.

“At the end I was at his mercy but it worked out,” said Lillard, who won with 24 points in 2023 and 26 in 2024. “I was once a fan too — as a kid I went to the All-Star Game in Oakland— and fans want to see their guys. That’s what made me want to be a part of it.”

In the first round, eight players had 70 seconds to shoot 27 balls from five designated spots on the court. Booker posted the highest score (30, one shy of the record) and also making the finals with 27 points each were Lillard and Charlotte rookie Kon Knueppel. Donovan Mitchell (24), Norman Powell (23), Jamal Murray (18), Tyrese Maxey (17) and Bobby Portis Jr. (15) were eliminated.

Next up was the shooting stars competition, which returned to All-Star Weekend after a 10-year hiatus and featured four teams, each consisting of two current NBA players and one retired “legend.”

Jalen Brunson, Towns and Allan Houston led Team Knicks to a 47-38 triumph over Team Cameron, made up of Duke alums Jalen Johnson, Knueppel and Corey Maggette, a former Clipper.

“This was cool and the game’s become more and more international,” said Brunson, who got passes from his dad, Rick, a New York assistant coach. “Basketball is a universal language. Winning’s always fun, not just beating a team from Duke.”

In the semifinals, Team Knicks beat Team Harper (Dylan Harper of San Antonio, Ron Harper Jr. of Boston and their father, five-time NBA champion Ron Harper) while Team Cameron beat Team All-Star (Scottie Barnes of Toronto, Chet Holmgren of Oklahoma City and three-time All-Star Richard Hamilton).

From left, Rick Brunson, Allan Houston, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns hold the winners’ trophies after the shooting stars competition.

(Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)

Was it a case of the old guy carrying the young guys?

“He did his job,” Towns joked about Houston, who played for the Knicks from 1996 to 2005 and serves as general manager of their G League team.

Shooting stars was a regular feature from 2004 to 2015 and originally featured an NBA player, a WNBA player and a retired player on each team shooting from four locations. This year, each team had 70 seconds to score points by shooting from seven areas worth anywhere from two to four points.

Rounding out the Valentine’s Day festivities was the crowd-pleasing slam-dunk contest, showcasing the individuality and athleticism of its four first-time participants: Lakers center Jaxson Hayes, San Antonio forward Carter Bryant, Miami forward Keshad Johnson and Orlando rookie guard Jase Richardson.

The 6-foot-6 Johnson, who measured a 42-inch vertical leap at the 2024 draft combine, ultimately raised the gold trophy following a final round total of 97.4. He made a side-to-side move at the rim on his penultimate attempt, then sprinted the length of the court and soared for a windmill jam on his last effort.

“Everyone make some noise,” the jubilant Johnson told the roomful of reporters afterward. “It’s a dream. I beat the odds. Every year I watched the dunk contest and I learned from all the people before me.”

Slam dunk winner Keshad Johnson goes between the legs while dunking.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

Bryant settled for second with 93 despite a perfect score of 50 after he bounced the ball off the floor, under his leg for a one-handed stuff that drew thunderous applause on his first try before making a less-difficult 360-degree dunk with time running out on his second attempt.

“I really wanted him to finish that last one,” Johnson said. “Both of us are from U of A [Arizona], so we wanted to put on a show and we did.”

In the opening round all four players attempted two dunks, receiving a score between 40 and 50 per try. Bryant (94.8) and Johnson (92.8) qualified for the final dunk-off, in which both got two more attempts.

“Dunking is an art and it’s kind of hard to come up with new stuff,” said Johnson, an Oakland native who leaped over Bay Area rapper E-40 on his first dunk. “My goal is to just be myself and put my own flavor in it.”

Spurred on by the hometown crowd, Hayes was third at 91.8 while Richardson, the son of two-time winner Jason Richardson, was last at 88.8.

Judging were former champions Nate Robinson, Dominique Wilkins, Brent Barry, former Lakers center Dwight Howard and fans on the NBA app.

Lakers center Jaxson Hayes rises for a tomahawk dunk.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Julius Irving won the first dunk contest in 1976, the year before the ABA-NBA merger. Robinson (2006, 2009, 2010) and Mac McClung are the only three-time winners. McClung, the previous champion and only player to win three years in a row, announced in January he would not defend his title.

That opened the door for a new winner in Johnson.

“Being undrafted and in the G League and being the underdogs at San Diego State… I’ve learned how to dream dreams,” said Johnson, who keyed the Aztecs’ surprising run to the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16 in 2023 before transferring to Arizona. “I’m so grateful to be here. I’m from Oakland, the West Coast is home to me and I felt like the fans were with me.”

Akshay Bhatia holds a two-shot lead after the third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am as fellow American Collin Morikawa’s round of 62 moved him into contention for his first victory in almost two and a half years.

Bhatia had been tied for top spot on 15 under with Ryo Hisatsune going into the day’s play, but six birdies in his first seven holes helped him on his way to a lead that was as many as five shots at one point.

Battling blustery conditions in California, a bogey at 17 saw his advantage cut to two.

Gusts then slowed play down considerably on the final green and a missed putt for birdie saw Bhatia card 68 to stand at 19 under.

Morikawa’s round, 10-under-par, saw him climb the leaderboard into second at 17 under.

An eagle at the last hole – having managed the same at the first – moved another American, Jake Knapp, into joint-second with his round totalling 66.

Austrian Sepp Straka made it a three-way tie with a 67.

Defending champion Rory McIlroy, six back at the start of the day, fell further behind the lead despite starting with two birdies in the opening three holes.

A three-over-par seven at the fourth and a double bogey at the last saw him shoot an even par 72 and trailing by 10.

With heavy rain and strong winds forecast for Sunday, start times for the tournament’s final round have been moved forward and will now run from 07:22-09:45 local time, with threesomes off split tees.

ANN ARBOR, MICH. — Yaxel Lendeborg had 17 points and eight rebounds to lead No. 2 Michigan to an 86-56 victory over UCLA on Saturday that puts the program in position to be ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2013.

No. 1 Arizona lost its first game Monday night on the road against No. 9 Kansas, giving the Wolverines (24-1, 14-1 Big Ten) a path to the top spot in the poll with their 10th straight win.

The Bruins (17-8, 9-5) had won five of six games.

Michigan made nine straight shots — including Lendeborg’s two three-pointers — early in the second half to turn what was a closely contested game into a rout.

Just two years after losing a school-record 24 games in Juwan Howard’s final season, coach Dusty May took advantage of the transfer portal to build a deep and talented roster that has won 24 of 25 games for the first time in school history.

The Wolverines are aiming to be No. 1 for the first time since Jan. 28, 2013, a season that ended with AP national player of the year Trey Burke and coach John Beilein losing to Rick Pitino-led Louisville in the national championship game.

In their latest lopsided win, Morez Johnson finished with 15 points, LJ Cason scored 13, Nimari Burnett added 12 and Aday Mara had nine points, eight rebounds and three blocks against his former team.

UCLA’s Trent Perry scored 11 of his 14 points in the first half and Tyler Bilodeau had 10 of his points in the opening 20 minutes, when the visitors trailed by just two points.

PHOENIX — Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz has been settling in with his new team at Camelback Ranch, but in his first comments to the media since camp opened, he faced questions about his old team.

In an interview with Mets broadcaster Howie Rose on Friday, team owner Steve Cohen called Díaz’s decision to a sign a three-year, $69-million contract with the Dodgers “perplexing.” Though Díaz was caught off guard by Cohen’s comments, he said Saturday he had no bad feelings towards the Mets or their fans.

“It’s a market and I was a free agent, so I got the chance to talk with everyone,” Díaz said. “I think the Dodgers did a great job of recruiting me, so at the end of the day, I chose to be here. I have a lot of respect for the Mets organization — players, staff, ownership — they treated me pretty good. I don’t have anything bad to say about them. But at the end of the day, I’m here, so this is a new journey for me. I’m happy to be with the Dodgers, so let’s see how it goes.”

Díaz participated in the Dodgers’ first day of official workouts Friday, throwing a clean bullpen session without any hiccups. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has liked what he has seen thus far from the three-time MLB reliever of the year.

“I’m very excited to get to know him more,” Roberts said. “[He’s] just a great teammate, really good person, loves baseball, a good heartbeat. You can tell he knows what he needs to do to get ready. [He’s] likable, and at the end of the day, he chose to be here, so that’s something that is of a lot of value for us. High character. I’m really looking forward to getting to know him.”

One thing that attracted Díaz to the Dodgers was the team’s culture.

“That’s how they’ve been so good,” Díaz said. “They have a really good clubhouse… They’ve got different personalities in the clubhouse. They’ve got different players from different countries, and they all get together and have fun, so that’s something good.”

Part of having a melting pot of a clubhouse means missing some key ingredients for an extended period of spring training. The Dodgers will have several players participating in the World Baseball Classic, including Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Will Smith and Díaz.

Each Major League player competing in the event runs the risk of injury, something Díaz knows all too well. Moments after striking out the side to send Puerto Rico to the WBC quarterfinals in 2023, Díaz sustained a season-ending knee injury.

Despite suffering the trauma of the last WBC, Díaz told reporters it was a no-brainer, when he was asked to compete for his country again in 2026.

“It wasn’t in my mind,” Díaz said. “I have the chance to play in front of my family in Puerto Rico. It was an easy decision.”

Díaz’s fearlessness is one trait that Roberts admires about his new closer. Díaz met Roberts’ squad in the 2024 National League Championship Series, where the Dodgers managed only two hits off him across 5.1 IP, scoring no runs.

“He’s not scared,” Roberts said. “When he’s in the game, it’s an uncomfortable at bat for lefties and righties, and when we did see him in the postseason, [we were] really trying to keep him out of the game, knowing that he can go one, two [or] even three innings. That, he’s done against us in the postseason; [he’s] just a great competitor.”

The addition of Díaz should stabilize the back end of the Dodgers rotation. Since bidding farewell to Kenley Jansen after the 2021 season, the Dodgers haven’t had a closer tally more than 25 saves in a season. Over his nine-year career, Díaz has 253 saves.

With Díaz expected to be the regular ninth-inning guy, Roberts looks forward to having more flexibility when managing his bullpen.

“It’s huge,” Roberts said. “I don’t think that there’s one way to manage a pen, but when you have a guy like Edwin Díaz as your closer, I do think it frees up other guys, myself included. Not having to worry about matchups for the ninth, I think that’s freeing for me and allows for getting the matchups we need in the prior innings.”

Dodgers staying cautious with Graterol

One key relief weapon Roberts hopes to have in his armory is Brusdar Graterol.

The hard-throwing right-hander underwent labrum surgery shortly after the 2024 World Series, and hasn’t pitched in a game since.

Roberts provided an update on Graterol’s recovery Saturday.

“He’s in the picture, but I do think that coming back from the shoulder, it’s going to take some time,” Roberts said. “He’s in the bucket of, ‘We’re going to slow-play him’. I think yesterday he threw off the mound, and the velocity is not near where it’s going to be, so I think that it’s a slow progression. I just don’t know where that puts us, but it’s a slow process for Brusdar.”

Staff writer Anthony Solorzano contributed to this report.

Scotland delivered a magnificent Calcutta Cup triumph for under-pressure head coach Gregor Townsend after a week of “guilt”, says captain Sione Tuipulotu.

Off the back of an opening Six Nations defeat by Italy in torrential Rome rain which triggered a sharpened focus on Townsend’s tenure, Scotland’s title chances were on the line as they welcomed in-form England to Murrayfield.

And they delivered a spectacular opening burst, racing into a 17-0 lead inside 15 minutes, one which they never looked like surrendering.

Townsend’s side played with pace and verve as Finn Russell stamped his mark on this famous old fixture.

The Scotland fly-half set up Huw Jones’ first try with a gorgeous tap-on pass before spreading the play right and then left for Jamie Ritchie to go over.

Even when England hit back through Henry Arundell – who was subsequently sent off for a second yellow card offence – Scotland continued to play with freedom and confidence and they added a third after Ellis Genge failed to gather Russell’s chip over the top and Ben White capitalised.

The visitors, having won their past 12 Tests, came back into the contest after half-time but Scotland stood strong in defence and scored a bonus-point try through Jones after George Ford’s drop-goal attempt was charged down.

“I’m extremely proud,” Tuipulotu said.

“To go through what we went through last week really hurt and we understood because we deserved it. Ultimately Italy were better than us.

“We really felt like our backs were against the wall and we showed up today.

“I felt guilty. Head coaching is a hard job because when it is going well you get all the positives but when it is not going well you get all of the criticism.

“We got behind our coach this week. I’m proud of the boys for getting behind our coach and delivering a performance.”

Bradford have been through much since their last try in Super League, Manese Manuokafoa scoring in a win over London Broncos in September 2014 with liquidation and reconstruction from the rubble.

But it was like they had never been away in the first exchanges, pushing back last year’s Super League seventh placed side and scoring the first try through Waqa Blake, as the Fijian international burst through flimsy defence on six minutes.

The excellent Pryce produced a moment of magic to break through defensive lines and grubber kick as he was bring tackled for Joe Batchelor to level things up 10 minutes later but back came Bradford through ex-Hull FC back Connor Wynne.

Harvey Barron responded once again for the hosts who went 12-10 up with the help of Pryce’s unerring boot before Davy Litten broke through some weak tackles on the left wing to make it 18-10 at half time.

If John Cartwright’s side were hoping the Bulls would run out of steam in the second period they were swiftly disabused just six minutes into the second half, Rowan Milnes added the extras to give the visitors the lead.

Milnes added two converted penalty goals, the second of which came after a high tackle from Aidan Sezer on Joe Mellor on 61 minutes, which put Bradford into a slim 20-18 lead.

Eight minutes later, a penalty for Hull in front of the sticks was taken without hesitation, as Pryce levelled once again with 10 minutes to go.

Bradford had great field position from a goal-line dropout after a drop goal attempt from Milnes was charged down but a knock-on as they were rebuilding their attack took the wind from their sails.

Hull charged up the other end and, with three left on the clock, grabbed a point themselves; a pass back to Sezer shifted cleverly back again to Pryce and his kick sailed over from 30 metres out.

A lead of 21-20 with one minute to play looked fair but Cust added gloss to the scoreline in the final seconds.

MILAN — When she skated, Tara Lipinski was always nervous. But it was different before the free skate of the 1998 Olympics. The teenager cried that morning. She called her parents after the six-minute warmup and said she couldn’t do it. Her legs were physically shaking in her beginning pose. She didn’t know what to do.

“When you go to the Olympics, there’s no training for that,” said Lipinski, now an analyst for NBC. “You don’t know what it’s going to feel like ‘til you’re actually feeling it.”

The awe-inspiring dream that often starts as a child can quickly turn into a nightmare for athletes who get blinded by the bright Olympic spotlight. While Lipinski realized her dream, becoming Olympic champion in Nagano, she knows the suffocating feeling of competing under the Olympic rings.

She knows the stress that devoured Ilia Malinin on Friday in Milan.

Malinin’s meltdown from favorite to eighth place underscored the unpredictability of the Olympic stage. The 21-year-old dubbed “the Quad God” was supposed to unleash the first quadruple axel in Olympic history. The four-and-a-half twisting jump he successfully executed when he was 17 has been the talk of the Olympic cycle.

Battling nerves and the conditioning needed for a long Olympic competition, he didn’t use it during the team competition or his individual short program. The free skate would be the last opportunity. It felt like the perfect coronation for the soon-to-be Olympic champion.

Then he bailed midair.

“I think that, for me, I would be like, ‘Oh, man, I just missed what everyone was waiting for,’” Lipinski said. “You go through that minute of being rattled and you have to come back to [the program]. … The next jump [he] wasn’t able to completely reset and shake it off. And then once that next mistake happened — and for Ilia, who doesn’t make mistakes — I think that was probably very difficult for him.”

The standing-room-only crowd gasped when Malinin gave up on the quad axel. Fans grew more uneasy when he fell two jumps later. They tried to urge him on as the mistakes piled up. Instead of joyful encouragement, the clapping felt like desperation in the arena.

Ilia Malinin falls during his free skate at the Milan-Cortina Games on Friday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Eight years ago, when Nathan Chen bent under the Olympic pressure in Pyeongchang, the crowd’s gasps each time he stumbled through his short program only made one of the hardest moments of his career even more difficult.

“That just hurts you to your gut,” Chen said in a video for Yahoo Sports. “You get up and mentally you have to refresh … but also the energy just changes in the arena. You can tell there’s tension now.”

Chen, then 18 years old in his Olympic debut, bounced back in a fearless free skate that moved him into fifth overall. He became almost unbeatable for the next Olympic cycle. At the Beijing Games, he set the world record for the short program, exorcised the demons from 2018 and became the United States’ first Olympic gold medalist in men’s singles in 12 years.

Malinin was a contender to be at those Games four years ago. He finished second in the 2022 U.S. championships, but was left off the Olympic team in a controversial decision. Then just 17, he was only in his first full season of senior competition.

But Malinin was already poised to be the future of the sport. Simply going to the Games as an understudy to Chen’s leading role would have been valuable experience.

Instead, U.S. Figure Skating selected third-place finisher Vincent Zhou and fourth-place Jason Brown.

Sitting with his coaches while waiting for his score Friday, a frustrated Malinin said if he had been sent to Beijing, he “wouldn’t have skated like that.”

“It’s not easy,” he said as cameras zoomed into his face.

He shrugged. He reset.

“It’s done,” he said.

“I think if I went to ’22 then I would have had more experience and know how to handle this Olympic environment,” a composed Malinin said in the mixed zone interview area. “But also, I don’t know what the next stages of my life would look like if I went there. So now all I can do is just regroup from this and really just take in the information that happened and just figure out how to manage in the future.”

Malinin has said he wants to skate for three Olympic cycles. The first attempt ended in shattering disappointment. That could only make the comeback sweeter.

“He will dominate the sport for years to come,” Lipinski said. “This was a huge, obviously, heartbreak for him, but we will see him rise again.”

MILAN — Before the final competitors hit the last turn, Jordan Stolz’s coach was already unfolding a U.S. flag.

The 21-year-old speedskating star won his second Olympic medal of the Milan-Cortina Games, setting an Olympic record in the 500 meters on Saturday at 33.77 seconds. He edged out the Nedtherlands’ Jenning de Boo, who was paired with Stolz and finished 0.11 seconds behind the U.S. star. Canada’s Laurent Debreuril took bronze at 34.26 seconds, which also stood as the Olympic record for three pairs before Stolz blazed through Milano Speed Skating Stadium.

Stolz is attempting an ambitious four-event program at the Milan-Cortina Games and already won the 1,000-meter gold medal this week. He will also compete in the 1,500 meters and the team pursuit.

Stolz is the first U.S. man to win the 500 meter at the Olympics since Joey Cheek in 2006. He is the first U.S. man to win gold in the 500 and 1,000 at the same Olympics since Eric Heiden in 1980.

He took a victory lap around the arena as red, white and blue-clad fans chanted “U-S-A!” Even the Dutch fans, forming a wall of bright orange all around the racing oval, clapped in admiration as Stolz held the U.S. flag above his head.

Gold medalist Jordan Stolz of the United States, center, celebrates on the podium with silver medalist Jenning de Boo of the Netherlands, left, and bronze medalist Laurent Dubreuil of Canada after the men’s 500 meters in speedskating at Winter Games on Saturday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Black Caps openers Finn Allen and Tim Seifert had come out swinging after their side batted first.

Allen hit four fours and two sixes for his 17-ball 31 before Marco Jansen (4-40) crucially took three wickets in quick succession to bring South Africa back into the game.

The seamer sent back Seifert for 13 in his first over before dismissing Rachin Ravindra and Allen in the space of four balls in the final over of the powerplay.

Mark Chapman and Daryl Mitchell rebuilt the innings and New Zealand were scoring at around 10-an-over for more than half the innings.

They were 138-5 when Chapman fell to the last ball of the 14th over, having made 48 from 26 balls, with their opponents able to drag it back from there and restrict New Zealand to 175-7.

It appeared short at the halfway stage and within a few balls of the reply, that was confirmed.

Markram and De Kock got after opening bowlers Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson from the off, then gave Jacob Duffy the same treatment when he came on.

Ferguson bowled De Kock with a slower ball but there was no slowing the Proteas as Markram continued his charge, first alongside Rickelton then Dewald Brevis, who both made 21.

Markram was able to watch from the non-striker’s end as David Miller finished the job in style – launching Ferguson into the stands for a monstrous six.

South Africa will official qualify for the Super 8s if the United Arab Emirates fail to beat Afghanistan on Monday.

Welcome to your daily review and preview of this year’s Milan-Cortina Olympics. My name is John Cherwa and I’m your tour director for the Games as we learn how thin the line is between greatness and failure.

In the most shocking moment of the Games so far, U.S. figure skater Ilia Malinin had the gold at his doorstep but instead had a dreadful performance, falling twice and giving the gold to Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan. The feeling in the arena was that there with no way Malinin could lose with his big lead after the short program. Then his main competitor, Yuma Yagiyama of Japan, had a subpar skate just before Malinin took the ice as the last skater of the night.

But Malinin missed his first combo and could never regain his composure in what was likely his worst performance in a major competition in quite some time. He finished eighth but at age 21, we could see him in a future Olympics. It was Malinin’s first loss since Nov. 2023.

In honor of Valentine’s Day, we thought we should look at some of the athlete couples at the Games. We compiled the list from People, so we take no responsibility for last-minute fights or splits (other than time splits, of course).

• Madison Chock and Evan Bates: U.S. ice dancers. Won the silver with a gold-medal performance.
• Brittany Bowe and Hilary Knight: U.S. speedskater Bowe finished fourth in the women’s 1,000 meters and has the 1,500 and team pursuit to go. Knight plays for the U.S. women’s hockey team, which is in the semifinals.
• Nicole Silveira and Kim Meylemans: Both are in the women’s skeleton with Silveira competing for Brazil and Meylemans for Belgium. After two of four heats, Meylemans is eighth and Silveira is 12th.
• Marie-Philip Poulin and Laura Stacey: Both are members of the Canadian women’s hockey team, who, despite losing to the U.S. in pool play, is expected to contend for a medal.
• Magnus Nedregotten and Kristin Skaslien: This pair’s love is on the rocks … or stones if your prefer. They are curlers for Norway. They finished sixth in the mixed competition.
• Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant: It’s another curling pair swept to each other’s brooms. The Canadians finished fifth in the mixed competition.
• Ronja Savolainen and Anna Kjellbin: These hockey players play for two different countries, Savolainen for Finland and Kjellbin for Sweden. Both countries made the quarterfinals with Sweden already advancing to the semifinals.
• Hunter Powell and Kaysha Love: This U.S. bobsledding couple will see competition soon, Powell in the four-man and Love in both singles and doubles.
• Emily and Dominik Fischnaller. This luge couple will bring back some hardware. Dominik, who sleds for Italy, took bronze in singles and team relay. Emily, who competes for the U.S., was 12th in singles.

There are certainly others, and some in the making as we speak, but this is a sampling.

Elsewhere on Friday

• Italy is on fire at these Games but were not hot enough to beat the U.S. in women’s hockey. The U.S. won 6-0 and will move to the semifinals.
• France, followed by two from Norway, won the biathlon men’s 10-kilometer sprint. The best U.S. finisher was Campbell Wright in 12th.
• Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, the GOAT of cross-country skiing, won his eighth lifetime gold for Norway by winning the men’s 10-kilometer interval start free. He is tied for most lifetime gold medals in the Winter Games and has three more events. John Steel Hagenbuch of the U.S. was 14th.
• The U.S. and Canada played each other in both men’s and women’s curling. The women won, 9-8, (now 2-1) and the men lost, 6-3, (1-2).
• The U.S. was shut out on snowboard with Australia winning gold in women’s snowboard cross and Japan getting gold and bronze in men’s halfpipe.
• Matt Weston, the world champion from Britain, won men’s skeleton. Germans won silver and bronze. Austin Florian of the U.S. was 12th.
• A 19-year-old from Czechia won the men’s 10,000 meters in speedskating. The U.S. did not compete.

Best Thing to Watch on TV today

Today is the day to take a breath from figure skating. It also seems to be a good time for your tour guide to admit something: I have absolutely no idea if the skaters are doing three, three and a half, four or four and a half rotations when they are in air in real time. OK, I said it. Are you nodding your head in affirmation right now? Thought so. OK, let’s go to something different for today.

The best bet will be the men’s 500 meters in speed skating. Jordan Stolz, the winner of the 1,000 for the U.S., will be in the 12th pair in the event which starts at 8 a.m PST. This isn’t his best event but he should have confidence and momentum going his way. If you need your hockey fix, the U.S. men play Denmark around 12:10 p.m.

Favorite photo of the day

France’s Adam Siao Him Fa performs a backflip while competing in the figure skating men’s free skate Friday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Times photographer Robert Gauthier is at the Winter Olympics. Each day Times newsletter editor Houston Mitchell will select a favorite photo from the many he has taken.

Saturday’s Olympic TV and streaming schedule

Saturday’s live TV and streaming broadcasts for the Milan-Cortina Olympics unless noted (subject to change). All events stream live on Peacock or NBCOlympics.com with a streaming or cable login. All times Pacific. 🏅 — medal event for live broadcasts.

MULTIPLE SPORTS

8 p.m. — “Primetime in Milan” (delay): Alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, speedskating and more. | NBC

ALPINE SKIING
1 a.m. — Men’s giant slalom, Run 1 | USA
4:30 a.m. 🏅Men’s giant slalom, Run 2 | NBC

BIATHLON
5:45 a.m. — 🏅Women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint | NBC

CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING
3 a.m. — 🏅Women’s 4×7.5-kilometer relay | USA
4 a.m. — Women’s 4×7.5-kilometer relay (delay) | NBC

CURLING
Women (round robin)
12:05 a.m. — Britain vs. Canada | Peacock
12:05 a.m. — Italy vs. China | Peacock
12:05 a.m. — Switzerland vs. Japan | Peacock
4:30 a.m. — Britain vs. Canada (delay) | USA
Men (round robin)
5:05 a.m. — Germany vs. U.S. | Peacock
5:05 a.m. — Czechia vs. Britain | Peacock
5:05 a.m. — Sweden vs. China | Peacock
5:05 a.m. — Switzerland vs. Canada | Peacock
Women (round robin)
5:30 a.m. — Italy vs. China (delay) | CNBC
Men (round robin)
10 a.m. — Germany vs. U.S. (delay) | CNBC
Women (round robin)
10:05 a.m. — Japan vs. U.S. | Peacock
10:05 a.m. — Canada vs. Switzerland | Peacock
10:05 a.m. — Italy vs. Sweden | Peacock
10:05 a.m. — South Korea vs. Denmark | Peacock
2:30 p.m. — Japan vs. U.S. (delay) | CNBC

FREESTYLE SKIING
1:30 a.m. — 🏅Women’s dual moguls, finals | Peacock
1:40 a.m. — 🏅Women’s dual moguls, finals (in progress) | USA
7 a.m. — Women’s dual moguls, finals (delay) | NBC
10:30 a.m. — Women’s big air, qualifying | Peacock

HOCKEY
Men (group play)
3 a.m. — Germany vs. Latvia | CNBC
3:10 a.m. — Sweden vs. Slovakia | Peacock
7:40 a.m. — Finland vs. Italy | USA
Women (quarterfinals)
7:40 a.m. — Canada vs. Germany | CNBC
12:10 p.m. — Finland vs. Switzerland | CNBC
Men (group play)
12:10 p.m. — U.S. vs. Denmark | USA

SKELETON
9 a.m. — Women, Run 3 | NBC
10:35 a.m. — Women, final run | Peacock
2:30 p.m. — Women, runs 3-4 (delay) | USA

SHORT TRACK SPEEDSKATING
11:15 a.m. — 🏅Men’s 1,500 meters final and more | Peacock
3:15 p.m. — 🏅Men’s 1,500 meters final and more | USA

SKI JUMPING
8:30 a.m. — Men’s large hill, trial round| Peacock
10 a.m. — 🏅Men’s large hill, final round | USA

SPEEDSKATING
7 a.m. — Women’s team pursuit, qualifying | USA
8 a.m. — 🏅Men’s 500 meters | NBC

In case you missed it …

Check out the following Milan-Cortina Olympics dispatches from the L.A. Times team on the ground in Italy:

2026 Olympics Day 8 live updates: South America earns first Winter Games medal ever

Inside the terrifying and efficient world of Olympic ski airlifts

Ilia Malinin describes crippling anxiety that cost the favorite a Winter Olympics medal

Power couple Brittany Bowe and Hilary Knight eager to cap their Olympic careers with gold

Puerto Rico’s lone Winter Olympian hopes to inspire others to represent the island

Mikaela Shiffrin hopes to end her Olympic slump, but winning gold won’t be easy

Caribbean sprinters are hoping to transform Winter Olympic bobsledding

Winter Olympics TV schedule: Sunday’s listings

Visualizing success: Why Olympic skiers mentally rehearse before every run

Caribbean sprinters are hoping to transform Winter Olympic bobsledding

2026 Winter Olympics Day 7 recap: Results, medal count, schedule

Until next time…

That concludes today’s Sports Report Olympic Edition newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email newsletter editor Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here and select the Sports Report.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Axel Brown, the pilot of Trinidad and Tobago’s bobsled team, came to the Milan-Cortina Winter Games with a simple goal.

“Just don’t come last,” he said. “We know that there is a 0% chance of us contending for medals. It doesn’t matter if we have the absolute best day we’ve ever had.

“That’s just the reality of it. It’s not defeatist, it’s not negative. It’s just being realistic.”

But it’s also realistic to believe that Trinidad, just by being in the competition, is furthering something of a revolution in the Winter Olympics in general, and in bobsledding in particular.

When Jamaica debuted in the event in 1988, it was so novel it inspired the 1993 Disney movie “Cool Runnings.” Now, it’s no longer unusual to see a team from a tropical climate competing in the Winter Games; there are 11 Caribbean and South American countries, plus Puerto Rico, competing in the Milan-Cortina Olympics.

When the bobsled competition in Cortina begins Sunday, Trinidad will have teams in the two- and four-man events for the first time, while Jamaica will compete in both those events as well as the monobob. Brazil will also be there.

And Brown says it’s only a matter of time — and money — before others join and start contending for medals.

“There’s a very deep talent pool in Caribbean bobsled, one that could make a world-class bobsled program without a doubt,” he said.

That’s because bobsled races are often won or lost at the start, where speed, explosive power and acceleration are vital in getting the 400-pound sled moving. Sprinters have all those traits.

“Even more specific, it’s usually big sprinters,” said Curtis Tomasevicz, a former football player at Nebraska who won Olympic gold and silver medals in the bobsled before becoming a coach with the U.S. team. “They’ve got just an athleticism that is very applicable to pushing sleds.”

Jamaica takes part in a training run at the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games on Friday.

(Al Bello / Getty Images)

And the best sprinters in the world come from the Caribbean — so many, in fact, that trying to make a national team for the Summer Olympics can seem like trying to win the lottery. The Winter Games offer another path.

“In Trinidad and Tobago, there’s a wealth of sprinting talent. So an athlete that in another nation may be the best in the country doesn’t necessarily get a look in Trinidad,” Brown said. “What we’ve been able to do is kind of give those athletes that were maybe on the fringe an option at achieving all of their sporting goals, just doing it in a different way.

“They’ve been training for bobsled their entire lives. They just didn’t know it.”

The transition can be difficult just the same. The first time Trinidad’s Micah Moore, a former sprinter, rode a sled, he said he thought he was going to die.

“I was scared out of my mind,” he said. “I was legitimately feeling, ‘I just want this to be over.’

“After that feeling came off, I was like, ‘Let’s go again.’ It’s an adrenaline rush. There’s no amount of words I could put to say how it felt in that moment.”

If Caribbean bobsledders are deep in talent, what they lack are world-class facilities and funding. In the former they’re hardly alone, said Tomasevicz.

“There are a lot of other nations that obviously don’t have a home track to practice on,” he said. “Even Great Britain, they don’t have a track in their country. So they have to spend time in other nations actually training for the sport.”

Trying to find the money is an even bigger problem — especially for Trinidad, which Brown said was the only team in Cortina that didn’t receive government funding.

“Bobsled is an expensive sport,” Trinidad’s Xaverri Williams said. “We’ve been trying to negotiate with our [national Olympic committee], our Ministry of Sport, reaching out to individuals who are willing to help us.”

Trinidad doesn’t even have a decent sled; it will be racing Sunday with an old secondhand one the team owes money on. Getting a new one that would be competitive with the best in the world could easily cost $250,000 or more.

“You need the funds to further develop the broader program, the recruitment, the [research and development] of the equipment. Everything that there is involved in bobsled,” said Brown, was born in England to a Trinidadian mother, which allows him to compete for the island in the Olympics. “And you need to be able to sustain that.”

You also need the belief that it’s possible to succeed in an icy winter sport even though you’re from a sun-washed country where the average annual temperature is 80 degrees. Jamaica provided that.

“We do in fact look up to them,” Williams said. “When those guys initially slided, it was an eye-opener for the rest of the world, that a Caribbean nation could actually compete. They inspired us.”

“I’m very proud of that,” said Chris Stokes, a four-time Olympian and member of the “Cool Runnings” team who is now president of the country’s bobsled federation.

The next step is to outgrow the novelty and become medal contenders, something Stokes says Jamaica can do by the 2034 Games in Salt Lake City. A top-12 finish in Cortina would keep them on pace to do that, he said.

As for Trinidad and Tobago, Brown said they faced so many challenges just getting to Italy that they considered it a victory when they checked into the Olympic village.

“Our gold medal,” he said “was qualifying.”

It’s time to pay tribute to Birmingham High senior Henry Aslikyan, who makes his bid for a fourth consecutive City Section wrestling championship on Saturday night at Roybal. No Birmingham athlete has won four individual titles.

He has continued to get stronger, bigger and better from the time he arrived as a freshman. He’s been dominating the City lower weight classes while becoming a two-time state champion.

He’ll be competing in perhaps the toughest weight class in the state — 120 pounds. He’s a Michigan commit. There’s likely to be three state champions in that weight class in two weeks in Bakersfield.

Birmingham has already won City titles in boys’ and girls’ duals competition. This time he is qualifying for the state championships in Bakersfield and individual titles.

Adelaida Fernandez of Birmingham is trying for her third straight City title in girls’ wrestling. Greg Torosian and Arno Vardanyan are also seeking third titles for the Patriots in boys.

In the heavyweight division, Monroe’s Abraham Datte is a two-time City champion.

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

Pat Haden, Vince Evans, Sean Salisbury, Rodney Peete, Matt Cassel, Todd Marinovich, Rob Johnson, Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, Mark Sanchez, Caleb Williams. Just a few of the great USC quarterbacks who went on to have NFL careers, yet never won a Super Bowl. Congratulations to Sam Darnold, the first USC quarterback to win the Super Bowl. I will always remember Sam’s amazing performance in the 2017 Rose Bowl game against Penn State. Sam was a redshirt freshman that year. He had the heart of a champion then and still does now.

Dave Ring
Manhattan Beach

Sam Darnold’s odyssey, from first-round bust to Super Bowl champion, is straight out of a Hollywood movie. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Darnold proved success in football, like life, is not always linear. He has now won more Super Bowls than his 2017 draft class colleagues, Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, combined.

Mark S. Roth
Playa Vista

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — The Puerto Rican team at the Milan-Cortina Winter Games isn’t large.

In fact, Kellie Delka stands just 5-foot-3 and weighs about 120 pounds. That’s it; that’s Puerto Rico’s entire team.

Her only event is skeleton, in which athletes travel at about 80 mph down an icy mile-long track with 16 turns. And she won’t be in the hunt for a medal in Saturday’s final rounds after finishing 24th of 25 athletes in Friday’s two heats.

Yet her presence is important just the same because it means Puerto Rico has a team here, even if it was just one person. For most of the century, that wasn’t the case.

“I was approached by the federation. They’re like, ‘hey, they’re trying to grow their winter federation. Maybe that would be something you’d be interested in helping,” she said. “So in 2018, I dropped everything, and I’ve been living on the island ever since.”

That was the first step of what Puerto Rico hopes will be a rebirth of a Winter Olympics program that had been razed to the ground.

In 2002, the island was set to send a bobsled team to the Winter Games in Salt Lake City but one of its sledders couldn’t prove he met Puerto Rico’s residency requirement. Embarrassed, the local Olympic committee didn’t just withdraw its two-man team, it ended recognition for all of the island’s winter sports.

No athlete would represent the territory in the Winter Games for another 16 years, until Charles Flaherty, a teenage American-born skier who moved to Puerto Rico when he was nine, competed in the 2018 Winter Games. A year later an ice hockey federation was established and in 2023 a curling federation.

In between those two things Delka, 38, made her Olympic debut, carrying the Puerto Rican flag with William Flaherty, Charles’ younger brother, in the opening ceremony in Beijing.

She carried it by herself in Italy.

Kellie Delka waves the flag of Puerto Rico during the Winter Olympic opening ceremony on Feb. 6.

(Misper Apawu / Associated Press)

Because Puerto Rico is an unincorporated U.S. territory, its residents are citizens of the U.S., but to represent the island in the Olympics, you must be born in Puerto Rico, have a parent or grandparent who was born there or live there for at least two years.

It was that final requirement that Delka, a native Texas, was seeking to fulfill when she moved to the island.

“I love the island, I love the people,” she said. “I’ll probably live there forever.”

A pole vaulter and cheerleader at the University of North Texas, Delka was introduced to skeleton by Johnny Quinn, a fellow North Texas alum who competed in the bobsled. She made her international debut in 2013 and was competing for the U.S. through the end of 2017, when Puerto Rico’s federation called.

Leaving a team to go it alone was more difficult than she expected.

“That was the hardest part,” she said. “When you go by yourself, like, it’s a pretty lonely journey. And then not having a coach the whole time, because you have to pay for that as well.

“I love the sport. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t love it, because you definitely don’t make money from it.”

Eight years later, Delka speaks no Spanish but says she feels intensely Puerto Rican. She gets some financial support from an International Olympic Committee scholarship fund and small, intermittent assistance from the federation. But mostly she supports herself in the sport, in part by selling bikinis she designed on the beach in Luquillo, the tiny community on the northeast tip of the island where she lives.

Puerto Rico’s Kellie Delka hopes she can inspire other athletes to represent the island in the Winter Olympics.

(Alessandra Tarantino / Associated Press)

“I love to sew, I like to make jewelry. I like to make bikinis, and I like to be involved in the community,” she said. “That’s how you meet people.”

Next she wants to inspire them. Because there’s no use in starting an Olympic team if no one else wants to join.

“I would love a teammate,” she said. “I don’t want it to just be me forever, like right now it is.

“I want to start mentoring younger people because I want kids to know that you don’t have to have everything to make it. I don’t have anything. I’m doing this by myself. I’m going to the gym by myself, I’m going to the track by myself, I’m traveling by myself.

“You can do it too, and I can help you do it.”

Sometimes all you need is one person to get started.

FRIDAY’S RESULTS

BOYS

CITY SECTION
QUARTERFINALS
DIVISION I

#1 Granada Hills 82, #9 LA Marshall 50

#5 LA Jordan at #4 Crenshaw, 1 p.m. Saturday

#3 Venice 58, #6 Sun Valley Poly 40

at #2 Chatsworth 67, #10 Rancho Dominguez 64

DIVISION II

#1 Bravo d. #8 MSCP, forfeit

#4 King/Drew 52, #12 Downtown Magnets 50

#6 Carson at #3 Sylmar

#10 Marquez 57, #2 Eagle Rock 50

DIVISION III

#1 RFK Community 49, #9 Orthopaedic 46

#5 Huntington Park 45, #4 Hollywood 36

#3 SOCES 84, #6 Foshay 64

#10 Verdugo Hills 59, #2 Los Angeles 58

Note: Semifinals Feb. 21-22; Finals Feb. 27-28.

SECOND ROUND

DIVISION IV

#1 East Valley 73, #16 Jefferson 47

#8 Hawkins 73, #9 Mendez 18

#5 San Fernando 71, #12 Animo Robinson 65

#4 Gardena 65, #20 USC-MAE 60

#3 Bell 53, #14 West Adams 41

#6 Angelou 56, #11 Alliance Marine-Innovation 27

#7 Contreras 64, #10 Animo Watts 50

#2 Franklin 74, #15 New West Charter 37

DIVISION V

#17 Central City Value at #1 Van Nuys

#8 Legacy 58, #9 Sotomayor 43

#21 Camino Nuevo 56, #5 Stella 29

#13 Magnolia Science Academy 55, #4 Sun Valley Magnet 47

#19 Santee 78, #3 Vaughn 56

#11 Torres 69, #6 Animo Venice 39

#7 Monroe 61, #10 East College Prep 39

#2 Canoga Park 57, #18 Chavez 45

Note: Quarterfinals Feb. 18; Semifinals Feb. 20; Finals Feb. 27-28.

SOUTHERN SECTION

SECOND ROUND

OPEN DIVISION

Pool A

#9 Crespi 82, #8 Corona del Mar 70

Pool B

#7 Harvard-Westlake 67, #10 Damien 62

Pool C

#6 Corona Centennial 74, #11 Etiwanda 48

Pool D

#12 La Mirada 56, #5 St. John Bosco 53

Note: Third round pool play games Tuesday at higher seeds; Quarterfinals Feb. 20; Semifinals Feb. 24; Finals Feb. 28 at Toyota Arena.

DIVISION 1

#1 Crean Lutheran 87, Corona Santiago 80

#9 Village Christian 67, #8 Mira Costa 66

#12 Millikan 79, Windward 75

Rancho Christian 94, Cypress 82

#3 Inglewood 103, St. Bernard 92

Fairmont Prep 60, #6 Brentwood 57

#7 Rolling Hills Prep 63, Orange Lutheran 52

#2 JSerra 75, Loyola 46

DIVISION 2

#1 Bishop Amat 81, Chino Hills 74

#8 Anaheim Canyon 70, Oxnard 67

#12 Servite at #5 Eastvale Roosevelt, Saturday

Edison 58, Valencia 56

#3 Mater Dei 85, #14 Westlake 59

#11 El Dorado 66, Leuzinger 61

#7 Rancho Verde 84, #10 San Marcos 69

#2 Hesperia 77, #15 Elsinore 62

DIVISION 3

#16 Ontario Christian 54, San Marino 52

#8 Murrieta Mesa 88, #9 Temecula Valley 67

Warren 64, Long Beach Wilson 61

Golden Valley 61, Los Altos 54

#3 Alta Loma 65, Ayala 56

Aliso Niguel 87, #11 Glendora 73

#10 Gahr 56, #7 Aquinas 42

#15 Woodbridge 44, Eastside 39

DIVISION 4

#16 Blair 79, #1 Bonita 71

#9 Trabuco Hills 60, #8 Saugus 54

#12 Norte Vista 71, #5 Moorpark 69

Cathedral 56, #4 Summit 51

#3 Shalhevet 42, #14 Palm Springs 41

Long Beach Jordan 71, #6 Torrance 66

#7 Colony 57, #10 South Torrance 48

#2 Walnut 71, #15 Corona 70

DIVISION 5

#1 Gardena Serra 55, #16 Northwood 47

Rancho Mirage 87, #9 California 73

Oakwood 77, Beaumont 52

Vasquez 45, Adelanto 41

Pilibos 53, #14 Quartz Hill 47

Temple City 56, #6 Brea Olinda 50

#10 Verbum Dei 42, Rio Mesa 35

#15 San Juan Hills 75, Irvine 63

DIVISION 6

Placentia Valencia 65, #1 Hemet 63

#9 St. Bonaventure 54, Highland 43

#12 Ramona 52, #5 Pasadena Poly 35

#4 Montclair 64, #13 Fontana 63

Laguna Hills 88, #14 Carter 50

#11 Orange Vista 67, Valley View 63

#10 Buckley 72, Eisenhower 57

#15 Moreno Valley 49, #2 Troy 42

DIVISION 7

#16 Vista del Lago 50, #1 Tahquitz 45

#8 Canyon Country Canyon 60, Anaheim 52

#5 Salesian 58, Westminster La Quinta 51

Webb 74, #13 YULA 71

Riverside Notre Dame 59, Faith Baptist 48

#6 Rowland 45, #11 Norwalk 44

Rosemead 65, Santa Rosa Academy 47

#2 Rialto 67, #15 Segerstrom 53

DIVISION 8

#1 Excelsior Charter at Redlands Adventist, 6:30 p.m. Saturday

Twentynine Palms 51, #9 Bolsa Grande 45

#5 Victor Valley 88, #12 Trinity Classical Academy 54

#14 South El Monte 45, #3 Desert Christian Academy 41

#4 Barstow 58, Loara 55

#6 Coastal Christian 69, #11 Silver Valley 63

#10 Edgewood 63, #7 Big Bear 48

Dunn 64, #2 San Gabriel 56

DIVISION 9

Sherman Indian 48, #1 Bassett 36

#8 Colton 63, #9 Newbury Park Adventist 29

#5 Santa Maria Valley Christian 76, #12 Long Beach First Baptist 56

#13 Loma Linda Academy 65, #4 San Jacinto Valley 63

Samueli Academy 84, Grove School 49

#6 Santa Barbara Providence 49, #11 Santa Ana Valley 48

Pacific 58, #7 California Lutheran 50

#15 Mesrobian 80, #2 ACE 62

(Quarterfinals Feb. 17; Semifinals Feb. 20; Finals Feb. 27 or 28)

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE

(All games at 7 p.m. unless noted)

GIRLS

CITY SECTION
QUARTERFINALS
DIVISION I

#9 Garfield at #1 El Camino Real, 2 p.m.

#5 Arleta at #4 Eagle Rock

#6 Grant at #3 San Pedro

#7 Verdugo Hills at #2 Granada Hills Kennedy

DIVISION II

#8 Larchmont Charter at #1 Harbor Teacher

#5 West Adams at #4 Triumph Charter

#11 South East at #3 Santee, 1 p.m.

#7 New West Charter at #2 North Hollywood

DIVISION III

#8 Diego Rivera at #1 Washington Prep

#5 Sun Valley Poly at #4 LA Marshall

#11 Animo Robinson at #3 San Fernando

#7 Crenshaw at #2 Gardena

Note: Semifinals Feb. 21; Finals Feb. 27-28.

SECOND ROUND

DIVISION IV

#16 Huntington Park at #1 Maywood CES

#9 Smidt Tech at #8 Magnolia Science Academy

#12 Wilmington Banning at #5 Foshay

#13 Lincoln at #4 LA Wilson

#19 Franklin at #3 WISH Academy

#11 Bravo at #6 Marquez

#10 Panorama at #7 Contreras

#18 South Gate vs. #2 Sun Valley Magnet at East Valley

DIVISION V

#17 Horace Mann UCLA at #1 LA Roosevelt

#9 Los Angeles at #8 Camino Nuevo

#12 Discovery at #5 Torres

#20 Sotomayor at #4 Chavez

#14 Animo Bunche at #3 Vaughn

#11 Monroe at #6 Lake Balboa College Prep

#23 Alliance Bloomfield / #10 Port of LA at #7 Aspire Ollin

#18 East College Prep at #2 Legacy

Note: Quarterfinals Feb. 19; Semifinals Feb. 21; Finals Feb. 27-28.

SOUTHERN SECTION

SECOND ROUND

OPEN DIVISION

Pool A

#9 Rancho Christian at #8 JSerra

Pool B

#10 Fairmont Prep at #7 Lakewood St. Joseph

Pool C

#11 Oak Park at #6 Corona Centennial

Pool D

#12 Redondo Union at #4 Mater Dei

Note: Third round pool play games Wednesday at higher seeds; Quarterfinals Feb. 21; Semifinals Feb. 24; Finals Feb. 28 at Toyota Arena.

DIVISION 1

#1 Ventura at Bishop Montgomery

#8 Flintridge Prep at Windward

#5 Valencia at Mira Costa

#4 Brentwood at Troy

#3 Moreno Valley at St. Bonaventure

#6 Orange Lutheran at Marlborough

#7 Villa Park at Santa Margarita

#2 La Salle at St. Anthony

DIVISION 2

#1 Glendora at Portola

#9 Saugus at Heritage

312 Summit at #5 Yucaipa

Camarillo at #13 South Torrance

#4 Rancho Cucamonga at Camarillo

#3 Crescenta Valley at #14 Chino Hills

Rolling Hills Prep vs. #11 San Clemente

#7 San Juan Hills at Dos Pueblos

#2 Rosary Academy at Riverside King

DIVISION 3

#1 Lynwood at Murrieta Valley

#8 St. Monica at Arcadia

#12 Trabuco Hills at #5 Segerstrom

#4 Oxnard at #13 Aliso Niguel

#14 Mark Keppel at El Modena

#6 Leuzinger at #11 Shadow Hills

#10 Riverside Poly at #7 St. Margaret’s

#2 Wiseburn-Da Vinci at Canyon Country Canyon

DIVISION 4

#1 Long Beach Jordan at Lancaster

#9 La Canada at #8 Yorba Linda

#5 Eastside at Gabrielino

Knight at Anaheim Canyon

#14 Ontario at #3 El Dorado

#6 Long Beach Wilson at Westlake

#7 Pasadena Poly at Shalhevet

#2 Marina at #15 Holy Martyrs

DIVISION 5

#1 Tesoro at #16 Sunny Hills

#9 Bishop Diego at Fullerton

#5 Fountain Valley at Torrance

#13 Godinez at Heritage Christian

#3 Santa Ana Foothill at Whitney

Oakwood at YULA

#10 Culver City at #7 Burbank Burroughs

#2 Western Christian at Carter

DIVISION 6

#16 San Jacinto at #1 Carpinteria

#9 Costa Mesa at Immaculate Heart

#5 Redlands at Savanna

#4 Palm Desert at #13 Santa Monica

#14 Notre Dame Academy at Hillcrest

#11 Liberty at Rowland

#7 Hart at #10 Sante Fe

Warren at Silver Valley

DIVISION 7

#16 Foothill Tech at #1 Fillmore

Capistrano Valley Christian vs. Laguna Hills

Desert Christian Academy at #5 Dominguez

#12 Rosemead at Desert Christian

Villanova Prep at Patriot

#14 Nogales at #3 Canoga Park AGBU

#6 Barstow at Ridgecrest Burroughs

La Palma Kennedy at Long Beach Poly

Garden Grove at Cajon

DIVISION 8

#1 Cobalt at Yucca Valley

University Prep vs. #8 Norwalk

#12 Coachella Valley at Orange

#4 Santa Ana Valley at #13 Riverside Notre Dame

Mesa Grande vs. #14 Schurr

#6 CAMS at #11 South El Monte

#7 Victor Valley vs. #10 Chadwick

#2 Riverside North at #15 Santa Monica Pacifica Christian

DIVISION 9

#1 NOVA Academy Early College at #16 Vista del Lago

#8 Santa Clarita Christian at #9 Victor Valley Christian

#12 Jurupa Hills at #5 Channel Islands

Desert Hot Springs vs. #4 Temple City

La Sierra at Faith Baptist

#6 Redlands Adventist at #11 Newport Christian

#10 Sierra Vista at #7 San Gabriel

Western at Santa Maria Valley Christian

(Quarterfinals Feb. 18; Semifinals Feb. 21; Finals Feb. 27 or 28)

After the January return of Douglas Luiz – signed from Manchester City in 2019 – Villa are just one away, a left-back, from being able to field a team of Smith players.

Add Lucas Digne, who joined under Steven Gerrard, and it will be a side without the initial input of Unai Emery, even if the Spaniard has re-signed Luiz and Ross Barkley.

Smith was sacked in November 2021 after three years in charge but his influence remains.

In January 2019 he signed Tyrone Mings on loan from Bournemouth, the longest serving player of his reign, who played his 200th game for Villa in the win over Brighton.

Ezri Konsa and Luiz arrived in the summer, after Villa were promoted to the Premier League, while Matty Cash, Emi Martinez, Lamare Bogarde, Barkley, Leon Bailey, Emi Buendia and Ollie Watkins also joined under the former Brentford boss.

The backbone of the squad are players – Mings, Konsa, Watkins, Cash and John McGinn – signed from a lower level [the Championship and Scottish Premiership] with a risk element attached.

McGinn signed for £3.5m from Hibernian under Steve Bruce while Konsa – now an England international – joined from Brentford for £12m and Cash cost £16m from Nottingham Forest.

Emery has lifted the squad to unexpected levels but unless they unearth a gem, Villa cannot replace Konsa for £12m in the current market and certainly not for the relatively low fees previously spent.

There lies the biggest problem, succession planning with limited funds.

The average age of Villa’s starting XI is 28 years and 84 days – the second oldest in the Premier League – and there is internal recognition it needs to be dealt with.

Brazilian winger Alysson, 19, joined from Gremio for £10m last month with 17-year-old Brian Madjo arriving from Metz for a similar fee to start that process.

Villa signed them earlier than they would have liked but moved to get the pair for a smaller fee, reducing the risk.

Neither are expected to make an immediate impact, although Alysson made his debut in midweek, but the January window was viewed as striking a balance – addressing the age issue and solving the first-team problems.

Striker Tammy Abraham arrived to back up Watkins while Luiz returned on loan from Juventus out of necessity following Boubacar Kamara’s season-ending knee injury.

With Villa committed to spending £18.25m on Abraham they had no money left to cover Kamara, so Luiz was ideal.

He was cheap, available, with his loan at Nottingham Forest being cancelled, and knew what Emery demands.

Available for over a year

In the 1970s and 80s the sport of darts was booming in the UK. It was on TV almost every week and the sport’s stars were household names.

But by 1989 the sport was in decline, and the world championship was the only event that was still televised.

The sport’s top players blamed the British Darts Organisation for failing to keep the game on TV and broke away to form their own competitions in 1993.

This rival tour became the Players Darts Council in 1997, which is now responsible for the sport’s biggest tournaments.

John Lowe MBE is a three-time world darts champion and was one of the rebel players. He’s been speaking to Tim O’Callaghan.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive and testimony. Sporting Witness is for those fascinated by sporting history. We take you to the events that have shaped the sports world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes, you become a fan in the stands as we take you back in time to examine memorable victories and agonising defeats from all over the world. You’ll hear from people who have achieved sporting immortality, or those who were there as incredible sporting moments unfolded.

Recent episodes explore the forgotten football Women’s World Cup, the plasterer who fought a boxing legend, international football’s biggest ever beating and the man who swam the Amazon river. We look at the lives of some of the most famous F1 drivers, tennis players and athletes as well as people who’ve had ground-breaking impact in their chosen sporting field, including: the most decorated Paralympian, the woman who was the number 1 squash player in the world for nine years, and the first figure skater to wear a hijab. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the tennis player who escaped the Nazis, how a man finally beat a horse in a race, and how the FIFA computer game was created.

(Photo: John Lowe at the 1993 Darts World Championship. Credit:Mark Leech/Offside via Getty Images)

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La Mirada finally got its breakthrough win in the Southern Section Open Division basketball playoffs on Friday night, going on the road to defeat St. John Bosco 56-53.

The Matadores (23-7) wanted to be in the Open Division playoffs last season and went 1-3, failing to make the state playoffs. They lost to Sherman Oaks Notre Dame on Wednesday, in a pool-play opener, ending their 14-game winning streak, then came back to inflict a rare home defeat on St. John Bosco in a pool play game. St. John Bosco had a chance to tie the score at the end but a three-point attempt failed.

Jordyn Houston led La Mirada with 22 points. St. John Bosco faces Notre Dame on Tuesday. La Mirada is in good position to claim second place in the pool and advance to the quarterfinals.

Harvard-Westlake 67, Damien 62: Joe Sterling finished with 22 points to help the Wolverines get back into the win column in an Open Division pool play game.

Corona Centennial 74, Etiwanda 48: The Huskies rolled to a win in their Open Division opener.

Crespi 82, Corona del Mar 70: The Celts faced a large, enthusiastic road crowd and won their first Open Division game. Isaiah Barnes scored 24 points and Jasiah Williams 23. Maxwell Scott scored 35 points for Corona del Mar.

JSerra 75, Loyola 46: Jaden Bailes scored 22 points in the Division 1 playoff victory.

Mater Dei 85, Westlake 59: It was another dominating win for the Monarchs in Division 2.

Rolling Hills Prep 63, Orange Lutheran 52: Josahn Webster, the son of King/Drew coach Lloyd Webster, contributed 23 points for Rolling Hills Prep.

Shalhevet 42, Palm Springs 41: Sam Jacobsen had the game-winning basket for Shalhevet in a Division 4-A game.

Venice 58, Sun Valley Poly 40: The Gondoliers advanced in the City Section Division I playoffs.