SPORT

Another winnable game was slipping away, another frustrating performance by USC unraveling in painfully familiar fashion, when Jaden Brownell lifted up from the corner for a wide-open three-pointer, offering a split-second of hope in an otherwise hopeless second half.

But the shot clanked away. A collective sigh from the cardinal-and-gold faithful rippled through Galen Center, only to be swallowed up seconds later when Nebraska’s Pryce Sandfort, who finished with 32 points, knocked down a three-pointer of his own. That’s when USC’s own arena exploded with a deafening Big Red roar, loud enough to make you forget you were in Los Angeles — or that these lifeless Trojans had once looked like a real NCAA tournament team.

There were still more than nine minutes remaining after that in Saturday’s brutal 82-67 loss, though that roar from the Nebraska faithful might as well have been the exclamation point. Whether it becomes the punctuation mark on a frustrating second season for USC under coach Eric Musselman was still to be determined.

The Trojans have lost five consecutive games as of Saturday and sit in a tie for 11th in the Big Ten. They still have two regular-season games remaining to bolster their middling tournament resume, both of which they can ill afford to lose.

A midweek matchup at Washington looms especially large. A loss to the Huskies, who are 14-15, would make climbing back from the bubble brink especially harrowing. A rivalry rematch awaits after that against UCLA.

“I still think we could have a successful season,” forward Terrance Williams II said Saturday . “I had that positive mindset coming into the season. I still have that positive mindset. The season’s not over. … We can change the trajectory of the season very quickly.”

Nebraska forward Pryce Sandfort (21) drives past USC forward Terrance Williams II (5) during the first half Saturday.

(William Liang / Associated Press)

Nothing, though, about Saturday’s second half suggested USC was poised for positive change.

The Trojans positioned themselves in the first half to make a very different statement Saturday. They took advantage of foul trouble from Nebraska point guard Sam Hoiberg and led by five points at halftime. Chad Baker-Mazara had already poured in 14 points, and they barely needed freshman Alijah Arenas, who was left out of the starting lineup and played only nine minutes.
“They had belief,” Musselman said.

Yet after shooting 52% from the field in the first half, the Trojans were suddenly unable to find the target in the second. For the first five minutes of the half, a dunk from Jacob Cofie was USC’s only basket. During another five-minute stretch in the second half, USC couldn’t even manage a dunk.

Its issues only got worse when Baker-Mazara fell hard trying to block a lay-in. He didn’t play the rest of the game, as Musselman said Baker-Mazara told the staff he was unable to go.

“They played great in the second half,” Musselman said, “and we did not play very good.”

The Trojans didn’t fare much better on the glass, either, as Nebraska more than doubled USC’s total rebounds (22 to 10) after halftime.

The defense followed suit, with Nebraska piling up points in the paint at will. Sixteen of the Huskers’ first 20 points in the second half came on either dunks or lay-ins as USC’s defense lacked any semblance of urgency.

“I feel like they came out with more energy to be honest,” Williams said. “The first couple possessions, you could see it. They wanted it more than we did.”

How that’s still the case, after several similarly frustrating second halves this season, is still unclear.

“Second halves, they’re hard,” Brownell said. “We have to accept that and get ready quicker in the locker room, get our mental right and then come in and be ready.”

But with the Trojans on the very brink of the tournament bubble, time is quickly running out on that possibility.

There’s a new team with plenty of quality young players to get excited about in high school basketball.

Bishop Amat (28-5), led by sophomore Aiden Shaw and freshman Omar Cox-Labomme, put together a near-perfect performance on Saturday at Toyota Arena in a 71-48 victory over Hesperia to win the Southern Section Division 2 championship for coach Brandon Ertle, the team’s first title since 2002.

Shaw made nine of 11 shots, had four assists, three blocks and five steals while finishing with 20 points. Cox-Labomme made three three-pointers and had 16 points. For players 16 and 15 years old, respectively, to deliver with poise and confidence on such a big stage speaks to a bright future.

“They didn’t seem like they are a freshman and sophomore since the first game of the season,” Ertle said. “Not nervous or afraid of the moment. I think these are pretty good players.”

The Lancers also did a good job containing Hesperia’s 6-foot-7 Nolan Newman-Gomez, who finished with 17 points.

Murrieta Mesa 65, Aliso Niguel 58: Jagger Saul scored 18 points to help Murrieta Mesa win the Southern Section Division 3 title. Jayden Mysin had 18 points for Aliso Niguel.

Verdugo Hills 62, RFK 40: The Dons won the City Section Division III championship. Alex Kasumyan scored 13 points and Jordan Vargas added 12 points.

Rialto 59, Salesian 31: Lionel Madrid scored 16 points and Wayne Johnson had 14 points for Rialto in the Division 7 final.

Colton 55, San Bernardino Pacific 42: Andres Elenes scored 23 points for Colton in the Division 9 final.

Girls’ basketball

Sierra Vista 52, Desert Hot Springs 42: Cailei Buna finished with 19 points, making nine of 10 free throws, in the Southern Section Division 9 final.

Bishop Diego 42, Burbank Burroughs 41: Eden Synne finished with 16 points for Bishop Diego in the Division 5 final. Burroughs had a chance to tie in the final second but a free throw was missed.

PHOENIX — By Game 7 of last year’s World Series, the Dodgers’ faulty bullpen issues were apparent even in the midst of dramatic triumph.

Not only did the Dodgers use all four starters in their postseason rotation — Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto — they also tapped Justin Wrobleski and Emmet Sheehan, who combined to start 14 games in the regular season, to navigate the 5-4, 11-inning win that secured the team’s second consecutive championship.

The Dodgers shored up the bullpen over the winter, signing three-time all-star Edwin Díaz to a three-year, $69-million contract. With the closer role firmly defined for the first time since Kenley Jansen was on the team in 2021, how the rest of the bullpen falls into place remains a work in progress during spring training.

“Obviously, adding Díaz to the back end is huge for us and getting Alex Vesia [back] is going to be good, and also Blake [Treinen],” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Blake wasn’t right last year, clearly. He’s throwing the baseball really well. Having guys that you trust is everything for the pen. … You’ve got to count on those veteran guys for sure.”

Now included in that veteran group is left-hander Tanner Scott, who joined the Dodgers before last season on a four-year, $72-million deal. Scott struggled to find his footing, primarily as a closer, before a left elbow injury placed him on injured list in mid-July, causing him to miss a month of action. He returned the final week of August, and never looked quite right. Scott posted a 4.74 ERA across 61 appearances and 57.0 IP in his first year with the Dodgers.

On Saturday against the Chicago Cubs in a split-squad game at Camelback Ranch, Scott made his Cactus League debut and pitched a scoreless inning, recording a strikeout and giving up one hit on 17 pitches. With the ninth inning spoken for, Roberts believes this will allow for Scott to bounce back this season.

“I think being able to use Tanner in any inning of leverage, is going to be good for him,” Roberts said. “And it’s going to be good for us.”

Díaz, for his part, has settled in, making his second appearance of the spring on Saturday. He worked around two walks to pitch a scoreless inning, striking out one. Vesia, who missed the World Series due to the death of his newborn daughter, has pitched two scoreless innings while Treinen pitched a perfect inning on Thursday against the Chicago White Sox in his first Cactus League outing.

The 37-year-old Treinen, who’s been on all three of the Dodgers’ recent World Series teams and was a stalwart in the 2024 postseason, struggled last season, going 1-5 with a 9.64 ERA in September.

“You never know what the body throttles back,” Treinen said earlier in camp. “I had a UCL injury, so I don’t know if that’s part of the problem, but something was different. I mean, velocity was there, movements were there, execution wasn’t, and when pitches were in the zone, it was a harder-hit rate. So, that tells me something was different, how to handle hitters. So, just trying to go back and cleaning things up to where the ball does more of what it has done most of my career.”

On the flip side, right-hander Brusdar Graterol — who has not pitched since the 2024 World Series — remains in a holding pattern during spring training as he works his way back from right labrum surgery. And right-hander Evan Phillips is not expected back for several months after Tommy John surgery ended his season last June. But for the most part, the relievers who are healthy have shown glimpses of what it could look like this season.

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

Munster secured a much-needed 21-7 win over Zebre in the United Rugby Championship, being made to work hard before pulling clear in the second half at a drenched Thomond Park on Saturday.

With three defeats in their last four URC outings – against Leinster, Ulster and Glasgow Warriors – and having made 10 changes from the side that lost to Glasgow Warriors last month, this result will steady the ship somewhat for the Irish province.

After going in level at half-time at seven points apiece, Munster edged ahead in the second period with a late brace of tries from Alex Kendellen and Lee Barron, those scores securing Clayton McMillan’s side their first win in Limerick since October.

Munster had the majority of early territory and pressure, with a beautifully judged kick from Tom Farrell handing the hosts a line-out just seven metres from the Zebre line.

That pressure intensified when Giulio Bertaccini was shown a yellow card two minutes in for a deliberate knock-on, as Munster threatened to score under the posts.

Despite being reduced to 14 men, Zebre initially stood firm, but winger Shane Daly demonstrated his explosive pace and stormed over in the left corner after six minutes, getting Munster off the mark, JJ Hanrahan adding the conversion.

A sudden downpour swept across Thomond Park, making handling increasingly treacherous, yet Munster continued to probe.

The hosts generated quick ruck ball and a clever grubber from Mike Haley almost put captain Jack O’Donoghue in under the posts, but the ball slipped forward at the crucial moment.

Munster controlled territory for much of the opening quarter, working patiently through phases as Zebre were forced into heavy defensive shifts.

Gradually the Italian visitors found a foothold and just after the half-hour mark, Samuele Locatelli broke Munster’s defensive line, with flanker Bautista Stavile scoring under the posts. Giacomo Da Re added the extras.

Munster had one final opportunity before the interval, but another spilt ball in the wet conditions allowed Zebre to clear.

Anthony Edwards scored 31 points, Donte DiVincenzo added 18 and the surging Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Clippers 94-88 on Thursday night at Intuit Dome.

Jaden McDaniels and Ayo Dosunmu each scored 12 points and Rudy Gobert had 13 rebounds to help the Timberwolves improve to 5-1 since Feb. 9 and 3-1 since the All-Star break.

Edwards, returning to the site of the All-Star Game, where he was the MVP, shot 12 for 24 from the floor and sealed the victory with a step-back three-pointer over two defenders for a 92-88 lead with 42.9 seconds left.

Minnesota improved to 2-0 on a three-game trip.

Derrick Jones Jr. scored 18 points and Bennedict Mathurin added 14 for the Clippers, who struggled from the outset with a season-low 38 points in the first half. Kris Dunn had 11 points for the Clippers (27-31), who have lost three consecutive games for the first time since December.

The Clippers struggled on offense without star Kawhi Leonard, out because of ankle soreness. The Clippers shot 40.5% from the floor, including 18.2% (four for 22) in the second quarter. Minnesota shot 43.4% in the game.

The Timberwolves (37-23) scored just 15 points in the second quarter and still topped the Clippers, who had 11. Minnesota led 44-38 at halftime behind 12 points from DiVincenzo and 11 from Edwards.

The Clippers led by six in the third quarter and were up 68-63 heading into the fourth. Edwards’ drive and reverse layup put the Timberwolves up for good at 76-74 with 7:40 remaining.

The Clippers pulled within one three times in the last 2½ minutes, but Edwards answered each time. He scored the Timberwolves’ last nine points.

Up next for Clippers: vs. New Orleans on Sunday night.

Former Hearts player Ryan Stevenson was on punditry duty as part of BBC Radio Scotland’s Sportsound commentary and echoed Braga and McInnes’ sentiments.

“The atmosphere is unbelievable,” he said. “What you would give to be a player on that pitch just now,” he said.

And, afterwards, he proclaimed: “I think Hearts will win the league. I genuinely do.

“I cannot see Hearts buckling. I cannot see Hearts losing three or four games.

“I just can’t see Hearts losing the title now.”

Rangers are second, two points above Celtic, who have a game in hand. Those two teams meet at Ibrox on Sunday so, one way or another, Hearts’ seven-point advantage will be reduced by weekends’ end.

And Celtic travel to Aberdeen on Wednesday to play their game in hand.

Studio pundit, former Hearts player Michael Stewart, is similarly minded to Stevenson.

“I do think with every game that’s ticked off, there’s an extra level of pressure but equally I think there’s an extra level of belief. They almost counter each other.

“They’re the ones that are sitting there top of the table and deservedly so.”

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Much has been made of the Dodgers’ exorbitant spending, magnified by a pair of World Series titles for the franchise, as Major League Baseball enters the final year of the current collective bargaining agreement.

The Dodgers open 2026 with a record $381 million payroll, while having over $1 billion in deferrals. As if signing Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernández and Blake Snell, and extending Tyler Glasnow and Will Smith weren’t enough, the club once again opened up its wallet this winter, spending a combined $309 million on four-time All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker and three-time reliever of the year Edwin Díaz.

Relief pitcher Blake Treinen, one of the longest-tenured players on the Dodgers heading into his seventh season with the team, did not mince words when asked about how outsiders view the organization.

“Perception is built from the media and maybe owners that don’t like what the Dodgers are doing because they would have to do something similar,” Treinen said earlier this week. “And I say to that, ‘Maybe you’re in the wrong business.’”

Treinen thinks more teams should spend the way that the Dodgers do.

“Is it a bad thing that the people who pay our checks and our salaries want a winning product?” Treinen said. “If you’re going to complain about a team willing to do what it takes to win, then I think you’re in the wrong business. And, if you win, to say that you lose money by winning is a wild statement, so I think the perception is more or less if you don’t like what the Dodgers are doing, either take a look in the mirror or look at the people who aren’t putting a product on the field.”

Treinen went on to say that teams don’t necessarily need to be lavish spenders in order to compete, pointing to how the Milwaukee Brewers posted baseball’s best record a season ago, with the 22nd-highest payroll. The Brewers bested the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central by five games, despite having a payroll nearly $100 million lower than their rival, and reached the National League Championship Series.

“You don’t always have to spend money to be great, look at the Brewers,” Treinen said. “But to say that you can’t compete — like they did — is a wild thing, because [they had] the best record in baseball last year. Draft and development is a big deal, a lot of teams have leaned into it. So, if you either invest heavily in one or the other, and the Dodgers have done a great job of doing both and that’s why players sign here. If you don’t like it, then maybe find a new business model.”

How the Dodgers operate has garnered some praise — the Padres’ Manny Machado and the Phillies’ Bryce Harper weighed in on the subject early in spring training — but the front office wasn’t really seeking it out.

“We’re not looking externally for validation,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said earlier this month at Camelback Ranch. “The validation is winning championships and putting out as good a team as we can each and every year, and all we’re trying to do is get a little bit better each and every season, with the goal of winning championships. [Our] coaching staff, our players I think view it as that. Good, bad or indifferent, the external stuff is something we can’t worry about.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, speaking at Cactus League media day earlier this month, said the fixation on the money spent makes people miss the things they do well.

“It does get lost, the things that we do well,” Roberts said. “Scouting and player development, I think we do as well as anybody in baseball … to get superstars to play well every night, to put out a good product every single night, I think we do a good job at that.”

“That’s why the biggest conversation should be that instead of a payroll question,” Roberts added. “Why are we good for baseball? Because our players play the game the right way.”

HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL

Friday’s Results

BASEBALL

CITY SECTION

Bravo 6, Rancho Dominguez 5

Collins Family 19, Reseda 12

Eagle Rock 6, Glendale 0

El Camino Real 8, Sun Valley Poly 5

Garfield 9, LA Marshall 8

Granada Hills 6, Sylmar 1

Hollywood 16, RFK Community 6

LA Wilson 6, Fairfax 2

Port of Los Angeles 12, Westchester 3

Roybal 20, Mendez 1

SOCES 14, Grant 3

South Gate 7, Granada Hills Kennedy 6

Torres 21, Hawkins 2

Washington Prep 32, Alliance Ouchi 15

SOUTHERN SECTION

Alhambra 4, Pasadena 2

Aliso Niguel 6, San Juan Hills 3

Anaheim 8, Garden Grove 5

Anaheim Canyon 4, Woodcrest Christian 2

Apple Valley 15, Desert Hot Springs 1

Aquinas 4, Grand Terrace 0

Beaumont 6, Orange Vista 1

Bishop Amat 19, St. Paul 11

Bolsa Grande 6, Santa Ana 2

Canyon Springs 6, Big Bear 2

Capistrano Valley Christian 4, Santa Fe 3

Chadwick 11, Downey Calvary Chapel 1

Chaffey 8, Jurupa Valley 5

Channel Islands 11, Del Sol 0

Chino 14, Eastside 0

Chino Hills 11, La Palma Kennedy 2

Costa Mesa 7, Orange County Pacifica Christian 4

Crean Lutheran 16, Patriot 4

Dana Hills 5, Corona Del Mar 1

Diamond Bar 4, Baldwin Park 3

Downey 6, Loara 4

El Modena 1, Palm Desert 0

El Toro 9, Katella 7

Fountain Valley 4, Tesoro 1

Gabrielino 13, Workman 6

Gahr 1, El Dorado 0

Golden Valley 11, Vasquez 9

Hart 4, Alemany 2

Heritage Christian 4, Oak Park 1

Hillcrest 7, Tustin 1

Inglewood 16, Animo Leadership 12

Jurupa Hills 6, Shadow Hills 3

La Canada 9, Arcadia 2

La Salle 8, St. Bernard 7

Los Alamitos 8, Yucaipa 1

Los Altos 3, Ontario Christian 2

Lucerne Valley 14, Mojave 2

Mission Viejo 1, Woodbridge 0

Montclair 5, Covina 4

Montebello 4, West Covina 3

Moorpark 7, Rio Mesa 3

Murrieta Mesa 11, Rancho Buena Vista 1

Newbury Park 11, Hueneme 3

Newport Harbor 6, Santa Ana Foothill 1

Northwood 12, Laguna Hills 6

Oaks Christian 10, Calabasas 4

Ontario 10, Nogales 7

Orange 4, Buena Park 2

Orange Lutheran 10, Crespi 0

Palm Springs 7, San Gorgonio 1

Paloma Valley 10, Santa Ana Calvary Chapel 4

Placentia Valencia 13 Esperanza 10

Rancho Cucamonga 3, Don Lugo 2

Redondo Union 3, Millikan 0

Rosemead 5, Pioneer 1

Rubidoux 10, Bethel Christian 3

San Clemente 5, La Habra 1

Santa Ana Valley 12, Whitney 5

Santa Barbara 4, Arroyo Grande 2

Santa Margarita 4, Loyola 3

Savanna 14, Magnolia 4

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 2, Servite 0

Sierra Canyon 3, West Ranch 1

Sonora 6, California 3

South Hills 4, Bonita 0

St. Bonaventure 7, Malibu 0

St. John Bosco 8, La Serna 0

Sultana 9, Palmdale 3

Sunny Hills 3, El Rancho 0

Twentynine Palms 23, Cathedral City 4

United Christian Academy 12, Pacific 12

University Prep 8, CIMSA 3

Valley View 10, Tahquitz 9

Villa Park 6, Corona Santiago 5

Western 4, Lynwood 3

Western Christian 12, Serrano 9

Westlake 6, Highland 1

Westminster La Quinta 16, Westminster 0

Whittier 8, Rowland 2

Yorba Linda 16, Lakewood 0

INTERSECTIONAL

Anza Hamilton 13, Bonsall 4

Bell 10, South El Monte 1

Birmingham 4, San Marcos 2

Carson 5, West Torrance 0

Environmental Charter 8, Gardena 8

JSerra 17, Prosper (TX) 9

Legacy 3, Salesian 1

Leuzinger 11, King/Drew 0

Murrieta Valley 7, Wilmington Banning 4

Oakwood 10, North Hollywood 5

Williams Field (AZ) 5, Warren 4

SOFTBALL

CITY SECTION

Maywood Academy 24, Santee 5

Maywood CES 17, Diego Rivera 3

Monroe 21, Grant 18

Narbonne 10, Bell 3

Northridge Academy 8, Cleveland 5

Reseda 16, Bernstein 6

SOCES 20, Hollywood 9

South Gate 14, LA Wilson 13

Torres 22, Hawkins 10

Van Nuys 18, Vaughn 8

SOUTHERN SECTION

AAE 12, Arroyo Valley 9

Antelope Valley 15, Santa Clarita Christian 8

Arroyo Valley 9, Rim of the World 4

Bethel Christian 7, Rubidoux 6

Bishop Montgomery 18, Bellflower 5

Bonita 11, Maui 1

Bolsa Grande 22, Century 8

Calvary Baptist 18, Pomona 7

Citrus Valley 15, Laguna Hills 0

Corona Centennial 13, Dana Hills 1

Costa Mesa 10, Westminster La Quinta 4

Crean Lutheran 18, Artesia 1

Flintridge Sacred Heart 7, San Marino 2

Garey 4, Adelanto 3

Grand Terrace 4, Aquinas 1

Hemet 15, Temecula Valley 5

Heritage 12, Bloomington 6

Hesperia 14, Palm Springs 0

Hesperia Christian 16, Barstow 0

Hesperia Christian 8, Riverside Notre Dame 4

HMSA 18, Compton 6

JSerra 3, El Modena 0

Jurupa Hills 13, Twentynine Palms 2

Jurupa Hills 9, Santa Monica 6

Laguna Hills 10, Palm Springs 5

Lakewood St. Joseph 8, Cerritos 3

La Quinta 14, San Gorgonio 1

Leuzinger 10, Brentwood 0

Los Amigos 22, Estancia 2

Mojave 16, Lucerne Valley 1

Murrieta Mesa 10, Linfield Christian 0

Orange Vista 8, Apple Valley 4

Palm Desert 10, San Bernardino 7

Patriot 17, Ontario 7

Placentia Valencia 16, Santa Ana Calvary Chapel 4

Rialto 22, Public Safety Academy 0

Riverside North 14, Yucca Valley 0

Riverside Prep 22, Rim of the World 0

San Jacinto 16, San Gorgonio 0

Santa Ana Valley 2, Orange 1

Santa Monica 11, Eisenhower 2

Santa Paula 8, Castaic 6

Simi Valley 4, Rio Mesa 4

St. Genevieve 14, Faith Baptist 0

Sultana 2, Canyon Springs 1

University Prep 14, Barstow 0

West Covina 15, Arroyo 13

Western Christian 7, San Jacinto 1

Woodcrest Christian 20, Vista del Lago 0

Yucca Valley 8, San Bernardino 5

INTERSECTIONAL

Animo Venice 13, Lennox Academy 2

Bonita 13, Kauai (HI) 0

Modesto 24, Portola 1

North Torrance 7, San Pedro 2

Rancho Dominguez 16, Long Beach Jordan 0

Sierra Canyon 4, Chatsworth 0

Taft 14, Calabasas 3

Trabuco Hills 20, Modesto 1

Wilmington Banning 6, South Torrance 4

Workman 10, Baldwin Park 9

London Mavericks head coach Tamsin Greenway sent out her players in a range of kits, with shorts, skirts, skorts, leggings and vests all being options this season for the capital side.

They are the only NSL team going all-out to provide their players with such an outfit choice in a sport where dresses have long been the norm.

Greenway says the traditions of women’s sportswear come from “the olden days”, which is why she welcomed news of the change.

Former England player Greenway told BBC Sport: “When it was presented to me, I hadn’t even thought about it because netball is played in dresses, right? I know the dress is iconic for many people.

“But as a 12-year-old kid I wouldn’t have wanted to play [in a dress] – I was a proper tomboy, I wore shorts and T-shirts and loved my football team who wore that, and I wouldn’t have enjoyed [wearing a dress].

“You’re out there putting out your best, so you want to look your best, feel your best, so why should there not be options for that, as long as it all looks like a uniform, which it does.

“Most of these teams won’t train in dresses – in what other sport do you wear a completely different outfit to what you actually perform in?”

Forfeits by high school boys’ soccer teams in the City Section and Southern Section playoffs continued Friday as both sections try to deal with violations of CIF Bylaw 600, which prohibits players from participating in outside leagues during their sports season.

Calabasas pulled out of the Southern Section Division 3 championship because of an ineligible player. Chavez became the sixth City Section school eliminated from the playoffs for using an ineligible player and was replaced by Chatsworth for the City Division I final.

There’s also an allegation about another Southern Section team that could result in another forfeit in the final.

Some high schools thought they had found a solution by not allowing players to play until after their club seasons ended in early December. Cathedral had several players miss its first three games because of several big club tournaments in November and early December.

“You communicate to students and parents,” Cathedral coach Arturo Lopez said. “Unfortunately, there’s more and more academies now.”

Ron Nocetti, the executive director of the CIF, said, “I think we have to have conversations with our sections.”

CIF membership repeatedly has rejected the proposal of getting rid of Bylaw 600. Schools don’t want to have their coaches battling it out weekly with club coaches, which also would place additional pressure on athletes dealing with school work and then having to do double workouts.

The balancing act for students already is tough enough, with the amount of club teams growing in a lot of sports because it’s a lucrative business. The CIF briefly suspended the rule during the pandemic in 2020 but quickly reinstated it.

The problem is club soccer programs are holding competitions in the middle of the high school season, and players, knowing the rule that you can’t play high school and club at the same time, apparently have decided to try to do both with the hope of not getting caught.

This year, they are getting caught. Emails alleging violations started arriving to City Section commissioner Vicky Lagos before the semifinals. If a player is found to have played club, the high school team has to forfeit, and if it happens during the playoffs, the team is eliminated.

Usually the pressure is on schools to make sure rules are not violated, but for Bylaw 600, schools can do everything right and still be punished for a player violating the rule on their own.

Several leagues are expected to present proposals to get rid of Bylaw 600. Nocetti said membership might be open to adopting changes.

“Maybe this is a tipping point for schools saying maybe it’s time to make a big change with the rule,” he said.

Led by another standout performance from Jordan Chiles, the No. 5 UCLA women’s gymnastics team clinched the Big Ten regular-season championship for the second consecutive year Friday night by winning its Big Four meet at Pauley Pavilion.

Chiles, who had the top all-around score of 39.625, helped UCLA defeat No. 18 Iowa, No. 19 Ohio State and No. 25 Maryland with an overall score of 196.950. Her 9.950 on the vault in the final rotation sealed the win.

“The thing I’m taking away from today is that they really are fighters,” UCLA coach Janelle McDonald said. “They really didn’t give up [at] any moment, and they really were just resilient through it all.”

Ciena Alipio opened with a 9.850 on the uneven bars. Tiana Sumanasekera followed it with a 9.750 before Nola Matthews, Sydney Barros and Chiles each scored a 9.900.

Alipio was impressed by how well Matthews performed on short notice.

“She is one to always kind of just put her head down and work, and I’m really proud of her to see her step up today,” Alipio said.

On the balance beam, Katelyn Rosen started with a 9.750 and Barros posted a 9.850. Flexing UCLA’s depth, Mika Webster-Longin received a 9.825 in her top routine. Chiles had a 9.825. In an almost-perfect routine, Alipio posted a 9.950. The mark helped UCLA extend its lead.

It wasn’t all good news for the Bruins on the first rotation — Rosen sustained a foot injury and was held out for the remainder of the meet.

“I’m hoping it’s not no big deal, but we’ll get her checked out and just want to take the precaution and pull her out of those lineups,” McDonald said.

UCLA’s Jordan Chiles competes on the balance beam Friday during a Big Ten quad meet at Pauley Pavilion.

(Etienne Laurent / For The Times)

Matthews started the floor exercise in Rosen’s place, opening with a 9.675. Alipio followed with a 9.825, and Sumanasekera and Ashlee Sullivan posted scores of 9.875 and 9.900, respectively. Needing a big performance to keep their lead, Chiles did not disappoint, scoring a 9.950.

Matthews demonstrated the level of depth UCLA has leaned on throughout the season.

“I definitely can say that is a huge leadership role as a freshman,” Chiles said. “Being able to step in at a time like that … we trusted the fact that she was gonna go out there and do her job.”

UCLA’s Katelyn Rosen competes on balance beam during the Bruins’ quad meet win at Pauley Pavilion on Friday.

(Etienne Laurent / For The Times)

Going into the last rotation, UCLA led Ohio State by just .150. The Bruins needed a strong performance on vault to claim the conference title.

Sumanasekera set the tone with a 9.850. Madisyn Anyimi followed with a 9.775. After replacing Rosen, Webster-Longin earned a 9.800 in her season debut on vault, and Sullivan posted a 9.850 before Chiles clinched the win.

But the Bruins want more.

“This is a regular season, we still have Big Ten championship, we have regionals and we have NCAA,” Chiles said.

The quad-meet experience was a learning curve, Alipio said. UCLA had to perform at a high level through the final routine to secure victory.

UCLA gymnast Ashlee Sullivan performs her floor routine during the Bruins’ quad meet win Friday at Pauley Pavilion.

(Etienne Laurent / For The Times)

McDonald said adjusting to tough competition levels up UCLA. The Bruins hope the experience will pay dividends for the young team in the postseason.

“We just kept reminding them to just take a breath, stay present and just really trust their training and their preparation that they’ve had leading into today,” McDonald said.

After donning hats and shirts that commemorated their championship, the Bruins celebrated on the floor with cheers and pictures. But come next week, the work begins again.

“We fought, for sure, until the end,” Alipio said. “But we also know we’re going into the gym on Monday, and we’re putting our heads down and working because this wasn’t our best, but we have more to show everybody.”

The office of Los Angeles City Councilmember Imelda Padilla has begun working with agencies to find a solution to repair infrastructure damage caused by a fire last month that went through a tunnel at Encino Franklin Fields and has limited access to three softball fields used by youth organizations and the high school teams at Harvard-Westlake, Louisville and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

The fire on Jan. 22, believed to have been set by a homeless person, took out wooden framing below an asphalt bridge connecting access to a parking lot, making it unusable for safety reasons. Parents have since paid for a temporary scaffold bridge that allows people to traverse the condemned bridge. The parking lot remains out of commission along with handicap access. Notre Dame has not practiced or played games there since, moving to Valley College. Harvard-Westlake and Louisville have resumed practices and games.

The land is owned by the Army Corps of Engineers. The bridge spans a culvert, maintained by the city. The fields are leased.

A spokeswoman for Padilla said in a statement: “Our team has taken the lead in convening City departments and have engaged the Mayor’s Office to help accelerate coordination and solutions. While agencies work through jurisdictional and cost responsibilities, our priority is preventing unnecessary delays and advancing immediate solutions. As damage and improvement needs are evaluated, we are focused on restoring safe access, including exploring a secondary access point to improve parking safety and ADA accessibility for families and field users. Student athletes and families should not bear the burden of administrative complexity, and we are pushing for a coordinated path forward that prioritizes timely repairs and safe access.”

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

Mercedes’ rivals have succeeded in securing a rule change following a pre-season technical row over engine performance.

Audi, Ferrari, Red Bull and Honda had been pushing for a change in the regulation governing compression ratios on the basis they believed Mercedes had secured an advantage through clever use of materials technology.

Formula 1’s governing body the FIA said on Saturday that a change to the way the compression ratio was measured would be introduced on 1 June, with a further revision for the 2027 season.

A statement said the rule change had been approved unanimously by all power-unit manufacturers.

The compression ratio is a measurement of the cylinder displacement between the two extremes of the piston stroke. Typically, an increase will lead to more power.

Some estimates of the gain Mercedes could be achieving have been as much as 0.3 seconds a lap, but Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff has said it amounts to “a few horsepower – in England you would say a couple, which is more like two and three”.

The original rule stated the ratio would be limited to 16:1 in the new engine rules introduced this year – a change from 18:1 under the previous regulations – and this was measured at ambient temperature.

Mercedes’ rivals were pushing for the compression ratio to be measured at operating temperature.

The Mercedes engine has been measured by the FIA at both ambient and operating temperature and complied with the limit of 16:1 at all times, senior F1 insiders have told BBC Sport.

Compression ratios tend to decrease as an engine rises in temperature because of thermal expansion of the materials involved. The belief was Mercedes had found a more effective way to limit this loss than other manufacturers.

From 1 June, the compression ratio will be measured at 130C as well as ambient temperature, and from next year only at 130C.

That means that from next year, manufacturers will be able to have engines that exceed a compression ratio of 16:1 at ambient temperature, even though this reduction from the previous limit was introduced into the 2026 regulations to make the rules more appealing to new manufacturers.

Audi and Ford both entered F1 because they were attracted by the new power-unit rules, which introduce a near 50-50 split between internal combustion and electrical power, and Honda reversed a decision to quit.

A statement from the FIA said: “A significant effort has been invested in finding a solution to the topic of compression ratio.

“The regulations introduced for 2026 represent one of the biggest changes in recent memory.

“All parties acknowledge that with the introduction of such significant regulatory changes, there are collective learnings to be taken from pre-season testing and the initial rounds of the 2026 championship.

“Further evaluation and technical checks on energy management matters are ongoing.”

This last sentence is a reference to discussions over energy deployment and recovery.

Drivers have complained that because cars are energy starved this has led to unusual and counter-intuitive driving techniques – and there are various proposals to change the rules to make energy management easier.

Chris Kreider beat Connor Hellebuyck off a rebound at 4:47 of overtime to give the Ducks a 5-4 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night.

Beckett Sennecke kept the puck and shot on a two-on-one break, with Kreider backhanding the loose puck in at the side of the net.

After Leo Carlsson, Pavel Mintyukov and Ryan Poehling scored third-period goals to give the Ducks a 4-3 lead, Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor tied it with 1:22 left and Hellebuyck off for an extra attacker.

Hellebuyck made 35 saves in his first game since backstopping the United States to Olympic gold.

Jacob Trouba also scored for the Ducks, Sennecke had three assists and Lukas Dostal made 29 saves. The Ducks have won seven in a row at home and 11 of 13 overall.

It marked the ninth multi-goal comeback this season for the Ducks, who became the second team since the 1987-88 season to achieve such a feat through 58 games. No other team has had more than five multi-goal comeback wins this season.

The Ducks won two nights after returning from the break to beat Edmonton at home for coach Joel Quenneville’s 1,000th NHL victory. The Ducks have five games left on a nine-game homestand.

Winnipeg rookie defenseman Elias Salomonsson had his first NHL goal and Alex Iafallo and Gabriel Vilardi also scored. Well back in the race for a playoff spot, Winnipeg has a game left on three-game trip before an eight-game homestand.

Up next for the Ducks: vs. Calgary at Honda Center on Sunday.

When the horn sounded to end Friday night’s City Section Open Division boys’ basketball final, the first person OJ and EJ Popoola wanted to hug was their father, Chris.

Thirty years ago, he transferred from Westchester to Palisades to help the Dolphins reach the 4A semifinals. In June, his twin sons transferred to his alma mater from a Detroit prep school with hopes of making their papa proud and lifting the town’s spirit.

Mission accomplished.

OJ scored 19 and EJ added 17 as the Dolphins used tenacious defense, a three-point barrage and a relentless transition attack to overwhelm Cleveland, 75-56, at L.A. Southwest College.

Jack Levey made five three-pointers, raising his season total to 108, and Phil Reed had 13 points.

“This means everything,” OJ Popoola said. “Since the first day we came here this is what we wanted to do, bring joy back to the community.”

“We’re coming back next year to defend the title,” EJ Popoola added. “My dad’s team came up short but we finished the job.”

Playing the final at a neutral site was nothing new for a squad that did not play in its own gym for 42 straight games — a span of 388 days — in the aftermath of the Palisades fire last year.

“We accomplished two goals, winning league and City,” second-year coach Jeff Bryant said. “Now state is the third goal.”

Palisades (20-11) was in command from the start. OJ Popoola swished a three-pointer from the corner, Reed got a steal and scored on a layup, and Levey passed to OJ Popoola for a dunk, making it 7-0 after only 55 seconds. The Dolphins stretched the lead to 25-8 by the end of the first quarter and the margin was 19 by halftime.

Both teams lost in the Open Division semifinals last winter and were the preseason favorites to play for the title. They were awarded the top seeds in the eight-team bracket after each finished first in its league.

The Dolphins staked their claim as the best team in the City for the first time since 1969, when Palisades routed Reseda 85-57 in the final at Pauley Pavilion under the program’s first coach, Jerry Marvin, to finish the season 21-1 when there was only one playoff division. Leading that team was forward Chris Marlowe, who was named MVP after netting 29 points in the title game. He went on to captain the U.S. Olympic volleyball team that won the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics.

Since it opened in 1961, Palisades has been the crown jewel of the City Section, claiming more than 260 titles across all sports (more than twice as many as the next-closest school), but this is only the third in boys’ basketball.

Palisades captured the Division I crown six years ago under former coach Donzell Hayes, who was a teammate of Chris Popoola on the Dolphins’ 1995-96 team that fell in overtime to Crenshaw (coached by the legendary Willie West) in the 4A semifinals.

“My team was one game away but these kids completed the circle,” Chris Popoola said, then referenced a famous Dolphins alum. “I hope Steve Kerr was watching.”

Sophomore guard Charlie Adams, who scored 24 points in the Cavaliers’ 68-64 overtime win against Fairfax in the semifinals, was limited to 13 — part of Bryant’s pregame plan.

Sergine Deme scored 19 points and had five dunks, and TJ Wansa added 11 points for No. 2 Cleveland (20-10), which was seeking its first championship since back-to-back 3A titles under Greg Herrick in 1981 and 1982.

No City opponent came closer than 15 points against Palisades, which now waits to see what division it will play in for the state playoffs.

“We’re not done,” OJ Popoola said.

“We can compete with anyone,” EJ added.

Britain’s Katie Boulter was unable to build on a superb start as she lost to Italian top seed Jasmine Paolini in the last eight of the Merida Open.

Against the world number seven in Mexico, Boulter won the first set in 28 minutes without dropping a game.

But errors started to creep in as Paolini went on to win 0-6 6-3 6-3.

Having won only three points on her serve in the opening set, Paolini started the second set strongly, holding for the first time and then breaking to go 3-1 up.

Boulter, who came into the contest on the back of a seven-match winning run, including claiming the Ostrava Open title, broke straight back to love but neither player could hold serve in the next three games.

It was Paolini who held her nerve to take the second set and level the contest.

The 2024 Wimbledon and French Open finalist raced into a 2-0 lead in the decider and, although Boulter broke back and held serve to lead 3-2, the Italian’s confidence grew as she won four games in a row to claim a semi-final spot.

“It was a really tough one – Katie, the first set she was smashing every ball and hitting a winner everywhere,” Paolini told Sky Sports.

“I was telling myself to play more deep in the court and hit the ball harder because I had to raise the level to try and win the match and in the end it worked out.

“I was trying to be calm, to think what I had to do. I think when you’re nervous you can’t find the solutions.”