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Eckerlin was a professional footballer in Germany before transitioning to MMA, and says he taught Brighton players “wrestling, head control, hip control, and how to push back against opponents”.
Days before this interview with Eckerlin took place, the Seagulls moved up to third in the Premier League after beating champions and set-piece kings Arsenal 3-0.
Eckerlin is quick to play down the impact of his advice for the Brighton players, but admits his training “opened doors” for them.
“The Premier League is more physical, more aggressive, and they don’t know how to use their body,” Eckerlin told BBC Sport.
“Brighton sent me videos of how they defend, and they did nothing with their hips and arms.
“I taught them first in the weightlifting room, then the pitch, and it worked. This is what I did, I opened doors for them.”
Eckerlin was a professional footballer from 2005 to 2009, playing for SV Darmstadt in the third tier of German football at the peak of his career.
As a youngster, Eckerlin always wanted to play for the team he supports, Eintracht Frankfurt, but believed his dream was over when he left the sport.
Little did he know that MMA, and specifically European promotion Oktagon, would help make his dream of performing there come true.
In 2024, Eckerlin beat fellow German Christian Jungwirth at Frankfurt’s Deutsche Bank Park in front of nearly 60,000 fans in the most-attended MMA event of the year.
On Saturday, Eckerlin returns to the stadium also known as the Waldstadion for a second time to face the Czech Republic’s David Kozma at Oktagon 94 with nearly 60,000 expected once again.
“It was my first dream, when I was in the Waldstadion when I was six or seven with my uncle. It was the dream for me to play there but I thought the fire went out,” says Eckerlin.
“I cannot tell you in words what this means to me. The biggest thing in my career. And now for the second time… crazy.
“I’m at the end of my career, I’m 39, so this is maybe my last fight. There’s no better way to stop fighting in my backyard, you know.”
The dominant rushing attack that earned them four lopsided wins to start the season was more methodical than punishing, but Cleveland High still ground out a 24-18 nonleague victory Friday over host Crenshaw.
The Cavaliers improved to 5-0 with the win, while the Cougars fell to 4-2.
Cleveland, which entered the game averaging 258 yards rushing per game, were held to barely more than 200 on Friday, most of them scored by senior running back Moyosoreoluwa Odebunmi, who rushed for two scores.
The loss spoiled the season debut of Crenshaw’s Ethan Grant. The transfer from Los Angeles High threw two touchdowns in his first game for the Cougars, but a fumble in the end zone erased one potential score, and three consecutive dropped passes on Crenshaw’s final drive of the game prevented a comeback.
Crenshaw dominated early, Caden Baker stripping the ball from Odebunmi near midfield on Cleveland’s first possession and scoring on the 50-yard fumble return. On the Cougars’ next possession, Grant threaded a pass through two Cavalier defenders, finding Kyion Rattler for an apparent 55-yard score. But Rattler fumbled right before crossing the goal line, turning the ball over That’s when Odebunmi reeled off his best run of the night, a 58-yarder down the right sideline, to tie the score 6-6.
After Grant’s 60-yard score to Rattler put the Cougars up 12-6, Cleveland drove 80 yards in 12 plays, keyed by three completions by quarterback Domenik Fuentes and punctuated by Joseph Hurtado’s one-yard touchdown run. After the two-point conversion, Cleveland led 14-12.
Three plays later, Crenshaw took the lead again on a 21-yard strike from Grant to Joshua Jones. But the Cougars failed on their third two-point conversion of the first half, which ended with them leading 18-14.
Neither offense did much in the second half after Cleveland scored on its first play from scrimmage, a 32-yard touchdown by Odebunmi. Crenshaw was limited to two first downs in the second half while Cleveland added a safety by Cobe Green early in the fourth quarter to make the score 24-18.
“First half we shot ourselves in the foot a good number of times” Cleveland coach Mario Guzman said. “Our biggest thing is we want to play disciplined and we were a little undisciplined in that first half. So we challenged ourselves at halftime to get back to our roots, to be disciplined, physical and fast. And we really rose to the occasion in the second.”
“I’ve not whinged or complained the whole time I’ve been here. I’m extremely proud of our team and our club and players.
“I don’t know what more we could have really done. We got a couple of bits and pieces wrong but so did they. It just would have been really nice if the game was decided by an individual or a piece of skill.
“We’re talking about a field goal or something like that rather than a soft penalty to decide such a big game. It is a soft penalty.
“Ned got escorted four or five times tonight on kicks and I wasn’t expecting penalties for them. But that’s a soft penalty to decide such a big game.”
Warrington Wolves captain George Williams told BBC Radio Merseyside:
“Nerve-wracking, mad game, just pleased we’ve came through the other side.
“Credit to Leeds, they gave it a good crack. They’ve been a great team all year but we rode the waves and the main thing is we’re through to the big dance next week.
“They were probably dominant for the first 20 [minutes], we came home strong in the back end [of the first half]. It’s no good for the nerves but sometimes it’s better when you’re out there, you can do something about it.”
[On earning the match-winning penalty] “People think it might be a bit controversial but I was chasing the ball and I got a little nudge. I was off balance and nowadays, with the escorts, they give them. Luckily, it went to us and that was the game.”
Leeds: F. McCormack; Lumb, N. McCormack, Newman, Hall; Croft, Connor; Oledzki, O’Connor, Lodge, Watkins, McDonnell, Palasia.
SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry has agreed to a two-year contract extension worth $116 million that would take him through the 2028-29 season, a person with direct knowledge of the deal told the Associated Press on Friday night.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the terms of Curry’s contract. Curry was eligible to command up to $136 million, so he is giving his team a discount as he backs up his longstanding commitment to finish his career with the Warriors.
Golden State general manager Mike Dunleavy said last month he was optimistic of getting something done with the two-time MVP and NBA career leader in three-pointers.
The 38-year-old Curry will complete a $62.6 million extension he signed for the 2026-27 season in August 2024 before the new contract takes him through 2029 — which would be his 20th season.
Curry averaged 26.6 points, 4.7 assists and 3.6 rebounds but was limited to 43 games last season because of injuries. He has won four NBA titles with Golden State, most recently in 2022.
Northampton Saints’ Tommy Freeman told BBC Radio Northampton:
“Good start and lots of points on the board which good to see but I think there is loads more in us which is what we said at half-time, but overall a good result.
“Our set piece we need to tighten up a bit on that first phase. Defensively we were caught a bit tight, but credit to Newcastle for stressing us in those areas but we would like to see better movement.
“It is always a challenge and going back-to-back [titles] is not done by many teams. There is a reason for that but we will be looking to take each week as it comes and keep putting our DNA on the pitch.”
Newcastle head coach Dan McFarland told BBC Radio Newcastle:
“We put a lot of good stuff out there but we were tested today by a really, really good team. We know where we stand now and where we’ve got to work. We have a long jounrey ahead of us and that was the first step.
“It was a fantastic score when we had a length of the field try and that was really us and we also had a lot of defensive sets where we had showed really good scramble and stopped them from scoring.
“But the game is up and down. We had that yellow card and then we had three tries which were scored during that yellow, and the try just before half-time was a real killer.
“Maybe we left a couple of tries out there but there is plenty in that that we will take away and see as a real positive.”
The International team produced a brilliant fightback in the foursomes on day two of the Presidents Cup to take a 7-3 lead over the United States.
The US had been 3-2 up after the fourballs on Thursday but in a stunning turnaround were beaten in all five matches in the alternate-shot format in Medinah on Friday.
It boosted their hopes of a first victory in the event since 1998 and only a second since the competition began in 1994.
Geoff Ogilvy’s side secured their first point of the day as Sungjae Im and Hideki Matsuyama saw off Russell Henley and Jacob Bridgeman 3&2.
Canadian duo Corey Conners and Nick Taylor then produced a stunning result as they held on to beat world number one Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns by one hole.
Burns almost snatched a half when his 20-foot putt at the last lipped out.
Open champion Ryan Fox and Min Woo Lee also edged a see-saw contest with Collin Morikawa and Wyndham Clark by one hole, before Adam Scott and Christiaan Bezuidenhout defeated Justin Thomas and Cameron Young 3&2.
Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim wrapped up the day with a dominant 4&3 victory over Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele.
There will be four further foursomes matches and four more fourballs on Saturday, with 12 singles games taking place on Sunday.
The Sparks fired head coach Lynne Roberts, ending her tenure Friday after two seasons as the franchise continues its search for a return to championship contention.
The move comes after the Sparks finished 16-28 in 2026, missing the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. Roberts compiled a 36-49 record with Los Angeles after being hired ahead of the 2025 season after nearly a decade leading the women’s basketball program at Utah.
The team has not announced an interim head coach but will conduct a search this offseason.
“We are grateful to Lynne for the commitment and determination she brought to the role, which was evident all the way through our last game last night,” said Sparks special advisor Farhan Zaidi. “Lynne has cared deeply about our organization and for our players and their development. We sincerely thank her for everything she has invested in the Sparks and wish her and her family the best moving forward.”
Roberts arrived in Los Angeles with a reputation as one of college basketball’s top offensive minds after leading Utah to three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and back-to-back Sweet 16 berths. The Sparks hoped she could oversee a rebuild around a young core led by Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson while making one of the league’s flagship franchises a contender again.
Instead, the turnaround never materialized.
Los Angeles struggled to find consistency on both ends of the court during Roberts’ tenure, dealing with injuries, roster turnover and uneven play while remaining outside the WNBA playoff picture. Despite flashes from its young talent, the Sparks were unable to build sustained momentum, even after acquiring All-Star guard Kelsey Plum, whom they eventually traded before the deadline in July.
The Sparks fired general manager Raegan Pebley midseason after her offseason trade of Jackson to Chicago for Ariel Atkins, a two-time All-Star who is now on a three-year deal.
Before Thursday’s loss to Golden State, Roberts said she believed she should stay the team’s head coach.
“I think what this org needs is some stability, and a vision and a direction, like a plan,” she said. “Not that we haven’t had one, but I think now that we’ve got people in place, just give us a goalpost, and we’ll march down the field in that way.”
Roberts became the latest coaching change for a franchise that has been searching for stability since its last championship in 2016 under coach Brian Agler. Since then, the Sparks have cycled through four head coaches while missing the postseason every year since 2021.
The decision raises questions about the direction of the franchise entering the offseason with several long-term deals for veterans such as Atkins and Dearica Hamby, but also one of the best young players in the league in Brink.
The pass looked doomed the moment it left Jayden Maiava’s hands.
It was third-and-long, midway through the second quarter last November in Eugene, Ore. USC was down just a score, and Maiava, the Trojans’ big-armed quarterback, was trying to make something happen. But the receiver he’d locked in on was unavailable and an Oregon edge rusher was charging at him unchecked. So Maiava let one fly down the middle of the field, and the pass sailed into a crowd of Duck defensive backs.
That regrettable interception, one of two for Maiava that day, ended up being one of the turning points in that game — and in a 2025 season that fell one win short of the College Football Playoff. The loss to Oregon last season served as a rude awakening for USC and Maiava, a reminder of how far both still had to go before reaching their potential.
A year later, as the two Big Ten powers meet again on Saturday, Maiava and the No. 12 Trojans (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) find themselves at another critical mile marker. A win over No. 20 Oregon (2-1, 0-0) would put USC firmly in the conversation for the College Football Playoff. A loss would have folks taking serious stock of where the Trojans stand in their fifth season under coach Lincoln Riley. And at the center of it all is a quarterback who so far seems entirely unfazed by that outside pressure.
USC quarterback Jayden Maiava looks down field to pass against San José State on Aug. 29 at the Coliseum.
(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
“He’s playing with great confidence,” running back Waymond Jordan said of Maiava. “We’re going to keep seeing him getting better and better and better.”
Ask anyone at USC about Maiava at the moment, and they will invariably say something similar.
“It’s the most confident Jayden I’ve seen in the three years I’ve been around him,” left tackle Elijah Paige said.
Through four games, the numbers certainly suggest he’s on the cusp of a big season. Maiava leads all of college football with 12 touchdown passes and ranks seventh in completion percentage (75.7%). His name is already being floated in early Heisman Trophy conversations.
But Maiava also hasn’t been tested much through four games this season. His protection has been near-perfect, with just a single sack allowed. According to Pro Football Focus, Maiava has been under pressure on a mere 16 dropbacks — or 13% of the time — and, more often than not, that’s because he held the ball too long. Maiava’s average time to throw while under pressure so far this season is nearly four seconds, which, by Big Ten standards, is an eternity.
All of that’s likely to change this week against Oregon. The Ducks are loaded with talent along the defensive line and in the defensive backfield. While they’ve tallied just five sacks through three games, they’ve forced five interceptions, most of any team in the Big Ten. That’s after finishing second in the conference in that category a year ago.
Maiava hasn’t been quite as sharp the last two games after a dynamite start in which he had as many touchdowns (6) as incomplete passes through two weeks. But he knows Oregon will make him pay for any mistakes he makes Saturday, just as it did last season.
“Definitely a lot to learn from that game coming into the next one,” Maiava said. “Definitely turning the ball over, clean that up. Being stingy with the ball, being able to get the ball in playmakers’ hands and just continue to stay on the same page and move as one.”
He’ll almost certainly be without two of his top playmakers against Oregon, with freshman Trent Mosley unlikely to play and sophomore big-play threat Corey Simms already ruled out. Though, so far this season, Maiava has had no problem overcoming the absence of his two top receivers from a year ago, Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane.
USC still has standout freshmen Kayden Dixon-Wyatt and tight end Mark Bowman to pace the passing attack. The offense has also barely made use of two receivers who were expected to be at the top of the depth chart, Tanook Hines and Terrell Anderson, both of whom should play more of a part Saturday.
USC coach Lincoln Riley talks with quarterback Jayden Maiava on the sideline during a game against San José State on Aug. 29 at the Coliseum.
(Kevin Terrell / Getty Images)
“He’s done a really nice job with all the new faces around him, which is hard to do at this position,” Riley said of Maiava.
That’s a testament to his development since 2024, when Maiava arrived at USC with a howitzer arm but little polish to his game as a passer. He’d never gotten any individual training as a quarterback. His mechanics and footwork were especially raw.
After taking over at the end of that 2024 season, though, Maiava has continued to get progressively better. Now Riley views him as “one of the best quarterbacks in the country.”
“Of all the guys I’ve been fortunate enough to coach, I don’t know that I’ve had any that have improved from Day One to this point as much as Jayden has,” said Riley, who has coached three Heisman-winning quarterbacks. “It’s been fun to see him grow as a player and leader, starting to embrace what it means to be the starting quarterback at USC. I think a guy that’s just going to get better and better in his prime to play his best football.”
USC will need him at his best Saturday if it hopes to knock off Oregon, which has its own star quarterback in need of a big moment. Dante Moore could have been one of the top picks in the NFL draft a year ago, but returned to the Ducks, only for them to suffer a stunning loss to Oklahoma State.
Oklahoma State’s coach later acknowledged that Moore was tipping whether Oregon was running or passing on a given play by his pre-snap stance.
USC quarterback Jayden Maiava looks to throw a pass against Rutgers on Sept. 19 in Piscataway, N.J.
(Adam Hunger/Associated Press)
“That was a game and that was a moment that helped mold us,” Moore has said since. “I learned from that, and I’m glad it happened.”
Moore will have the benefit Saturday of facing a struggling USC secondary. The Trojans have yielded 10 yards per pass attempt this season and now could be without starter Alex Graham, who’s listed as questionable. It has been especially difficult for USC to get off the field on third and fourth down, which Riley said has been a central focus this week.
“As a secondary, we’ve got to be a little bit tighter in those situations,” Riley said. “We’ve got to make those competitive plays. We have a good defensive line. We have a group that can rush the passer. We’ve got to make guys hold onto that ball, make our pass rush work, and make those plays when we get to the point of attack.”
Not to mention the Trojans have got a great quarterback, one that Riley expects to lean on his experience as USC faces its biggest test of the season.
“He’s just mentally in a really, really good place to go do that,” Riley said of Maiava. “He’s the guy I want taking us into this game, for sure.”
While Maryland has not compiled a winning conference record since 2010, UCLA will face one of the most refined pure passers in the Big Ten when the Bruins and Terrapins face off Saturday at SECU Stadium in College Park, Md. If the Bruins prevail, Bob Chesney will be the first UCLA head coach to start his tenure 4-0 since Henry Russell “Red” Sanders in 1949.
Maryland signal-caller Malik Washington is the fourth consecutive returning starting quarterback the Bruins have faced, with five left on the schedule, and his play could pose problems for the UCLA defense.
“You can’t leave any stones unturned because he can make all the throws, and he’s got the ability to extend plays with his feet or make plays with his feet,” Hitschler said.
While Washington tied for third in the conference last season in interceptions with nine, the signal-caller set school records for freshman completions and passing yards, throwing for 2,963 yards and 17 touchdowns.
With new Maryland offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Clint Trickett at the helm, the Terrapins’ quarterback has taken a leap in Year 2 running the offense.
Through three games, Washington has thrown for 892 yards and six touchdowns with no turnovers.
UCLA defenders bring down San Diego State running back Lucky Sutton at Rose Bowl on Sept. 12.
(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
“He’s an entirely different quarterback right now,” Chesney said. “He’s an exciting-to-watch player, and he’s got some legit dudes out at receiver right now that are phenomenal. The offensive line is stout. They’ve been playing together for a little while. There’s a lot of things that they do to protect him, and he has a chance to deliver footballs. He’s getting hit sometimes, and just flicking this ball out there. He has a giant arm, and he’s as accurate as can be.”
Washington has benefited from a revamped receiver group after Maryland ranked among the national leaders in drops last season. Maryland coach Mike Locksley added Chris Durr Jr. and Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding, who have become Washington’s top targets.
“Na’eem can play inside, he can play outside. He’s got the ability to separate,” said Hitschler, who faced Gladding when he played for Old Dominion last season against James Madison. “He’s got the ability to run, great routes, get in and out of breaks, and he’s got great hands. And now he’s making plays in the return game too.”
Hitschler’s secondary will be challenged by Washington, who led the conference in pass attempts last season with 473 and leads the Big Ten thus far with 116.
Maryland’s reliance on the passing game could pose problems for a secondary that was picked apart by Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne last week and is still without free safety Tao Johnson.
“There’s obviously plays you would love to have back, obstacles that you overcame and throughout the game they improved and started to figure it out,” Hitschler said of the UCLA defense. “But at the same time, we can’t put ourselves behind the eight ball in moments and we have to execute at a higher level. This game’s fun because you have the opportunity to lose every week. If it was easy, it wouldn’t be fun.”
Offensively, the Bruins have the chance to build off their most productive game yet, scoring 52 points and accumulating 645 yards against the Boilermakers. But, UCLA will have to work to protect senior quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who was hit often and battled multiple injuries against Purdue.
Maryland edge rushers Zahir Mathis and Sidney Stewart combined for 13 sacks last season. And though Mathis was ruled because of an injury, the Terrapins can turn to five-star edge Zion Elee, the highest ranked recruiting prospect in program history.
Given Iamaleava’s fearlessness with his legs and the Terrapins’ effective pass rush, it may be difficult to keep the signal-caller on his feet.
Tries: Du Preez, Cokanasiga, Carreras, Frost, Richards Cons: Russell 4
A terrific try from full-back Santiago Carreras was the highlight of Bath’s opening night 33-17 bonus-point victory over Harlequins.
The Argentina international intercepted a Tyrone Green pass with his boot, kicking the ball into the air before collecting it one-handed before it went out of play and smoothly accelerating away to score under the posts in a real moment of magic.
Dan du Preez, Joe Cokanasiga and Dan Frost added first-half tries for Bath who led 28-10 at the break, with Will Porter and Chandler Cunningham-South replying for Quins.
Pedro Delgado reduced the gap to 11 points early in the second half but Ewan Richards’ late try ensured it would be Bath who started the new season with a win.
Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft dropped two passes during an ugly 35-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night at Lambeau Field.
He kind of dropped the ball again after the game.
The injury-ridden Packers did not look particularly good in their first two games of the season, needing an overtime win over the New York Jets last week to bring a 1-1 record into their home opener on “Thursday Night Football.”
Getting their first live look at the team this season, Green Bay fans did not like what they were seeing. So they let their feelings be known. The boos started late in the first half, with the Packers trailing 17-7, and got louder and more frequent as the game — and the team’s woes — continued.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Kraft expressed his frustration — with the home fans.
“That’s pretty tough. Like, everyone pictures Lambeau Field — and not boos. I don’t picture boos. I picture my home stadium,” Kraft said. “That’s tough. It’s pretty disappointing.”
Two Green Bay Packers fans can barely watch during the second half against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday at Lambeau Field.
(Abbie Parr / Associated Press)
One reporter interjected, “Especially for a home opener.”
“Especially for a home opener,” Kraft agreed. “It’s pretty disappointing. It’s not going to help us win. Like, I don’t know what people think, that’s going to rally us or something like that.
“But we’re grown men. We’re mentally strong enough, capable enough to get back on the field and play ball. But it’d probably be much easier with the 70,000 people behind us rather than opposing us.”
Naturally, folks on social media aren’t thrilled with Kraft’s take.
“Try catching a pass once in a while, then the boos may stop,” one person wrote on Kraft’s Instagram page. “Also, grow up.”
Another commenter said: “The response you were looking for was ‘we HAVE TO PLAY BETTER’ … We love the team and the players and always support…if you can hear when you win…you can hear it when yall look god awful.”
Others are simply booing him in the comment sections of his posts.
Green Bay Packers fans had little to cheer about Thursday night against the Atlanta Falcons.
(Mike Roemer / Associated Press)
Kraft finished the game with four catches for 26 yards on eight targets. He has 122 receptions for 1,657 yards and 15 touchdowns in his four-year career, but only nine of those catches and 106 of the yards have come in the first three games this season, and he has yet to find the end zone.
The absence of star players like defensive lineman Micah Parsons (knee injury) and running back Josh Jacobs (commissioner’s exempt list) certainly has played a role in the Packers’ struggles, but it’s tough to blame fans for expressing their frustrations.
Speaking to reporters after the game, coach Matt LaFleur called it “a humbling night.”
Rookie cornerback Brandon Cisse told reporters he understands the emotions behind the boos.
“We love the fans, and any time we’re not putting a [good] product on the field, it’s very disappointing to them as well,” Cisse said. “So I understand their frustrations … These fans, they pay a lot of money to come watch us play, so we need to make sure we play better.”
Wide receiver Christian Watson told reporters “it’s tough” to hear the home fans react in such a manner, but he gets it.
“At the end of the day, it’s an entertainment business, so we have to put a better product out on the field if we want to have the fans have our back,” said Watson, who had seven catches for 96 yards and a touchdown. “I mean, obviously, we’d like to think that the fans will be there through the ups and downs, but we’ve got to put out a better performance than that.”
Championship titles are constructed on a bedrock of solid sessions interspersed with the occasional spectacular one – and Hain and Barnard’s efforts were the epitome of solid.
Resuming on 130-4, already five runs in front, they added 51 without loss in a morning session truncated by bad light.
Hain and Barnard did exactly what their team required, advancing steadily to lay the platform for a big lead and potential innings victory.
The Bears’ fifth-wicket pair continued to concentrate hard after lunch until, with the lead already 126, Barnard departed livid with himself at edging a big drive at a wide ball from Ben Green – just 12 shy of a century.
Chris Woakes chipped his second ball to mid-on, but Kai Smith and Manny Suthar enjoyed useful cameos before also falling to the persevering Hull.
They had accompanied the excellent Hain towards his century which was greeted by a standing ovation from the big audience, then Bamber added further useful runs before being bowled by a beauty from Patel.
Even then the Foxes’ frustration went on as last pair Hain and Olly Hannon-Dalby added 35.
Leicestershire opener Sol Budinger then came out firing, hitting 43 not out off 36 balls, But Bamber struck twice in three balls, trapping Sheridon Gumbs and then flattening Rishi Patel’s off-stump two balls late.
After a bad-light interruption, Woakes then pinned Steve Eskinazi lbw in the gloom to leave Warwickshire maybe only one strong session away from the title.
Russell also pointed out that this was the first significant mistake Antonelli had made in a competitive session all year.
Asked if he believed Antonelli’s mistake was a result of “title jitters”, Russell said: “When you look at every championship campaign, even for the winners, there are mistakes along the way.
“So, I still keep on believing and keep on fighting until it isn’t possible any more. But I don’t feel any pressure.
“I feel excitement every time I jump in the car now, purely because I feel more confident in myself.
“When that confidence starts to build, it’s just like this upward cycle.
“On the flip side, when you’re on the back foot, you start losing that confidence and then you start pushing the limits more, and that’s when mistakes happen.
“But he’s been flawless this season. It’s the first mistake he’s made in a qualifying or race this whole year.”
Russell’s pole margin was a massive 0.837secs, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc second and Piastri third.
The Baku street circuit has a long straight that affords good overtaking possibilities and has a reputation for producing incident-packed races.
Coach DJ Gay started 120 games during his playing days at San Diego State, so when his star guard at Windward High, Davey Harris, announced he had committed to San Diego State, Gay couldn’t have been more pleased.
“That’s the least I could do for everything the school has done for me,” Gay said. “I think San Diego State is going to be a great place playing in the new Pac-12.”
Harris has grown to 6 feet 6 and is only scratching the surface of his ability because he missed his first two years of high school with an injury.
“I truly believe the sky is the limit,” Gay said.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
From Bill Plaschke: They mentioned “The Odyssey,” they talked about “Lord of the Rings,” they referenced “The Hobbit,” they cited the hero’s journey, they predicted a season filled with mythological tales of triumph.
What they didn’t promise was that their Lakers’ team would contend for a championship.
What they couldn’t mention was what will happen to them if they don’t.
In their annual pre-training camp news conference at their practice facility Thursday, Pelinka and Redick talked about fictional characters perhaps because the reality is too grim for words.
Their jobs are on the line with a rebuilding team that might not be good enough to save them, and no amount of cute Gandalf references can change that.
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Dodgers lose to Padres
From Kevin Baxter: The Dodgers didn’t win Thursday. But they got something far more valuable before they even took the field for their 4-2 loss to the San Diego Padres.
With the Atlanta Braves’ loss to the Cincinnati Reds earlier in the day, the Dodgers clinched the second seed in the National League playoffs and the first-round bye that goes with it. That means the Dodgers will get five days off next week to prepare for their playoff opener, a godsend for a bruised and bloodied team that has stumbled to the finish of the regular season.
“I think we all know why it’s important,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said of the break. “There’s a lot of us kind of limping toward the end here, a lot of aches and pains this year.”
For the Padres (89-70), the victory was important because it clinched a wild-card berth and a franchise-record third consecutive trip to the postseason.
In addition to Freeman, who has been hobbled all month by a sore right knee, the Dodgers are rushing to get designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, starting pitcher Blake Snell and closer Edwin Díaz healthy.
Christian Moore hit a two-run double and had three RBIs, Bryce Teodosio drove in two runs, and the Angels beat the Seattle Mariners 6-4 on Thursday night.
Moore’s RBI single in the second gave the Angels a 1-0 lead, and Teodosio’s one-run groundout pulled the Angels within 3-2 in the fifth before Zach Neto drove in the tying run.
Moore plated two more runs in the sixth with a double to put the Angels back on top for good, 5-4. Teodosio capped the scoring with an RBI single in the eighth.
From Marisa Ingemi: The Sparks’ season was mere seconds away from ending on a high note. Then, the Golden State Valkyries scored 13 consecutive points late in the fourth quarter to dissolve a double-digits Sparks lead.
Sparks star Nneka Ogwumike concluded her WNBA career with 17 points and 15 rebounds in the 76-75 loss to the Valkyries. Her double-double was her 19th this season, which set a Sparks single-season record.
Immediately after the game, the Sparks announced that they would name their new practice facility in El Segundo after Ogwumike, who retires as the Sparks’ all-time leading scorer.
The loss itself mattered little. The Sparks were eliminated from postseason contention nearly a month ago after beginning with championship aspirations. In one of their most disappointing seasons to date because of the expectations attached, the Sparks go into the offseason trying to put the pieces together again
During defensive line drills, the Future Hall of Famer continues to go third — even when groups are split — rather than lead.
“Earning my keep right now,” Donald said after Rams practice Thursday. “I’m a guy that likes to work and earn everything I get.”
Donald, 35, has one game under his belt after returning from a two-year retirement to rejoin the team that selected the three-time NFL defensive player of the year in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft.
Donald played 33 snaps in the Rams’ 28-6 victory over the New York Giants on Monday. He made three tackles, including one for a loss.
1866 — Jerome Park, named for its founder Leonard Jerome, opens in the Bronx in New York. Jerome, seeking to emulate the British racing system, also establishes the American Jockey Club, precursor to the present Jockey Club, formed in 1894.
1920 — Molly Bjurstedt Mallory wins her fifth title in six years with a two-set victory over Marion Zinderstein in the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assn. championships.
1926 — Walter Hagen wins his third straight and fourth overall PGA Championship. Hagen beats Leo Diegel 4 and 3 in the championship match at Salisbury Golf Links in Westbury, N.Y.
1949 — Louise Suggs wins the U.S. Women’s Open by 14 strokes over Babe Didrikson Zaharias.
1962 — Sonny Liston knocks out Floyd Patterson at 2:06 of the first round at Comiskey Park in Chicago to win the world heavyweight title.
1966 — Gloria Ehret wins the LPGA Championship by three strokes over four-time champion Micke Wright.
1982 — Ricky Edwards rushes for 177 yards and four touchdowns to help Northwestern end its 34-game losing streak in a 31-6 victory over Northern Illinois.
1988 — Americans sweep the medals in the long jump at the Seoul Olympics; Carl Lewis wins his second gold of the Games with leap of 8.72m ahead of teammates Mike Powell & Larry Myricks.
1988 — Super swimmer Matt Biondi wins his fifth gold medal of the Seoul Olympics anchoring the victorious American 4 x 100m medley relay team.
1994 — Oliver McCall scores a major upset by stopping Lennox Lewis 31 seconds into the second round to capture the WBC heavyweight title in London.
1995 — Jerry Rice has 181 yards receiving in San Francisco’s 27-24 loss to Detroit. It’s his 51st 100-yard game, which breaks Don Maynard’s NFL record.
1997 — WNBA announces it will add Detroit & Washington, D.C. franchises.
2000 — American basketball player Vince Carter jumps over 7 foot 2 Frédéric Weis in 2000 Summer Olympics, known in France as “le dunk de la mort” (the dunk of death).
2004 — Bobby Seck of Hofstra throws eight touchdown passes to tie an Atlantic 10 mark and set a school record in the Pride’s 62-43 victory over Rhode Island.
2005 — Fernando Alonso becomes Formula One’s youngest champion by finishing third in the Brazilian Grand Prix. Alonso, 24, a six-time winner in his third full season in Formula One, ends Michael Schumacher’s five-year hold on the title.
2010 — Collingwood and St. Kilda plays to a 68-68 tie, the first in an Australian Rules football grand final since 1977, setting up a rematch to decide the league title.
2011 — The Detroit Lions snap a 13-game losing streak with a 26-23 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. The Lions, who won in the Metrodome for the first time since 1997, are 3-0 for the first time since 1980.
2013 — Skipper Jimmy Spithill and Oracle Team USA win the America’s Cup with one of the greatest comebacks in sports history to keep the oldest trophy in international sports in the United States. Spithill steers Oracle’s space-age, 72-foot catamaran to its eighth straight victory, speeding past Dean Barker and Emirates Team New Zealand in the winner-take-all Race 19 on San Francisco Bay. All but defeated a week ago, the 34-year-old Australian and his international crew twice rallies from seven-point deficits to win 9-8.
2016 — Rory McIlroy rallies to enter a three-man playoff and win the FedEx Cup. After trailing by three shots with three holes to play in the Tour Championship, McIlroy holes a 15-foot birdie putt on the fourth extra hole to win the playoff and claim the $10 million FedEx Cup bonus.
2022 — Laver Cup Men’s Tennis, London: Team World sweeps final day for 13-8 victory over Team Europe; tournament marks retirement of Roger Federer.
Compiled by the Associated Press
This day in baseball history
1941 — Pete Reiser’s homer and Whitlow Wyatt’s five-hitter helped Brooklyn beat the Boston Braves 6-0 and clinch the Dodgers’ first pennant in 21 years.
1955 — Detroit’s Al Kaline, at the age of 20, became the youngest player to win a batting title, finishing his second season with a .340 average. Ty Cobb was one day older when he won the crown, batting .350 in 1907, also playing for Detroit.
1956 — Sal Maglie of the Brooklyn Dodgers pitched a 5-0 no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies.
1960 — The New York Yankees clinched manager Casey Stengel’s 10th and last American League pennant with a 4-3 victory over Boston.
1965 — Satchel Paige, at 60, became the oldest player in the majors, taking the mound for Kansas City and pitching three scoreless innings over the Boston Red Sox. He gave up one hit, to Carl Yastrzemski.
1965 — Willie Mays, who hit 51 home runs in 1955, joined Ralph Kiner as only the National Leaguers to have more than one 50-home run season.
1974 — Dr. Frank Jobe transplanted a tendon from Tommy John’s right wrist to the Dodger pitcher’s left elbow. The revolutionary ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction allowed John to win an additional 164 games, more than half of his career total of 288 victories.
1980 — Oakland’s Brian Kingman lost his 20th game when the A’s were defeated by the Chicago White Sox 6-4. Kingman was the first pitcher to lose 20 games with a winning team since Dolf Luque went 13-23 for the 1922 Cincinnati Reds.
1984 — Rusty Staub of the Mets became the second player to hit homers as a teenager and past his 40th birthday. Staub’s game-winning home run off Larry Anderson to give the Mets a 6-4 victory over Philadelphia at Shea Stadium. Ty Cobb was the other major leaguer to accomplish the feat.
1987 — San Diego’s Benito Santiago set a modern major league record for rookies by hitting safely in his 27th consecutive game in a 5-3 loss to the Dodgers.
1998 — The New York Yankees set the AL record for wins with their 112th, beating Tampa Bay 6-1 to break the victory mark held by the 1954 Cleveland Indians.
2001 — Richie Sexson and Jeromy Burnitz became the first teammates to hit three home runs apiece in a game as Milwaukee defeated Arizona 9-4.
2003 — Toronto’s Carlos Delgado became the sixth player to homer in four straight at-bats in one game as the Blue Jays beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 10-8 at SkyDome. Delgado tied the game at 8-8 in the eighth with his fourth homer, a solo shot off Lance Carter.
2007 — Prince Fielder, at 23 years, 139 days old, became the youngest major league player to hit 50 home runs in a season, connecting twice in Milwaukee’s 9-1 rout of St. Louis.
2013 — The New York Yankees failed to make the playoffs for only the second time in 19 years, getting mathematically eliminated during their 8-3 loss to Tampa Bay.
2016 — Jose Fernandez, 24, ace right-hander for the Miami Marlins, was killed in a boating accident.
2017 — Aaron Judge broke Mark McGwire’s major league record for home runs by a rookie, hitting a pair for the second straight day to raise his total to 50 and lead the New York Yankees over the Kansas City Royals 11-3.
2018 — Max Scherzer became the 17th pitcher since 1900 to strike out 300 batters in a season, reaching that milestone by fanning 10 in seven innings during Washington’s 9-4 win over Miami.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. I was reading my Bible, and baseball was mentioned almost immediately. “In the big inning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
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The postseason awaits
There are still three games left in the season, but let’s jump ahead and talk about the postseason a bit. We will have more in the run-up to the NLDS next week. The good news is the Dodgers have clinched a first-round bye and will open the postseason on Saturday, Oct. 3. The NLDS is best-of-five on a 2-2-1 format, so the Dodgers will host Games 1 and 2, and if necessary, Game 5.
Who will they play? The winner of the series between the No. 3 seed (Atlanta) and the No. 6 seed, which has yet to be determined. There are four teams vying for the three wild-card spots.
Should the Dodgers fear any one team more than the others this postseason? Let’s see how they have fared against all the other potential postseason teams. In fact, let’s see how all the postseason teams have fared against each other.
Dodgers vs. Arizona, 6-7 (-5 run differential) vs. Atlanta, 1-5 (-11) vs. Chicago, 2-4 (+2) vs. Milwaukee, 3-4 (+2) vs. Philadelphia. 4-2 (+11) vs. San Diego, 8-5 (+19) Total, 23-27, (+18)
Arizona vs. Dodgers, 7-5 (+5) vs. Atlanta, 4-3 (-8) vs. Chicago, 2-4 (-11) vs. Milwaukee, 2-4 (-22) vs. Philadelphia. 3-3 (-5) vs. San Diego, 5-5 (+5) Total, 18-19, (+25)
Atlanta vs. Dodgers, 5-1 (+11) vs. Arizona, 3-4 (+8) vs. Chicago, 3-3 (-1) vs. Milwaukee, 3-3 (-5) vs. Philadelphia. 9-4 (+23) vs. San Diego, 3-4 (-7) Total, 26-19 (+29)
Chicago vs. Dodgers, 4-2 (-2) vs. Arizona, 4-2 (+11) vs. Atlanta, 3-3 (+1) vs. Milwaukee, 4-9 (-9) vs. Philadelphia. 6-1 (+22) vs. San Diego, 5-1 (+27) Total, 26-18, (+50)
Milwaukee vs. Dodgers, 4-3 (-2) vs. Arizona, 4-2 (+22) vs. Atlanta, 3-3 (+5) vs. Chicago, 9-4 (+9) vs. Philadelphia, 4-2 (+14) vs. San Diego, 2-4 (-5) Total, 25-18, (+43)
Philadelphia vs. Dodgers, 2-4 (-11) vs. Arizona, 3-3 (+5) vs. Atlanta, 4-9 (-23) vs. Chicago, 1-6 (-22) vs. Milwaukee, 2-4 (-14) vs. San Diego, 6-0 (+11) Total, 18-26, (-54)
San Diego vs. Dodgers, 5-8 (-19) vs. Arizona, 5-5 (-5) vs. Atlanta, 4-3 (+7) vs. Chicago, 1-5 (-27) vs. Milwaukee, 4-2 (+5) vs. Philadelphia, 0-6 (-11) Total, 19-29, (-50)
This serves as a basic guideline for you. We would really have to dig deep to find hidden meanings here, since a lot depends on who started for each team. Philadelphia started the season poorly, fired their manager, named Don Mattingly manager and turned things around. So, when did these teams face the Phillies? I could do that for every team, but I can just hear people closing the newsletter and deleting it if I get too far into the weeds. Just as an example, San Diego is 0-6 against the Phillies, but were outscored by only 11 runs, while the Dodgers have losing records against Chicago and Milwaukee, but outscored both teams. And every Dodger fan from that era can tell you that the Mets were 10-1 against the Dodgers in the regular season in 1988, but lost to them in the playoffs.
But, stuff like this is fun. And remember when stats were sometimes just for fun, and not every stat had to look at launch angles and elevation rates?
The postseason roster?
The final position player spot on the postseason roster will be very interesting. Does it go to Josue De Paula, who hit .323/.500/.581 with three doubles, one triple, one homer and seven RBIs in 42 plate appearances. He also walked an impressive 11 times while striking out only five times.
He is back in the minors now, but the Dodgers can bring him back for the postseason, as long as he is replacing an injured player, such as Dalton Rushing. They would need to petition the Commissioner’s Office to allow it, but that kind of petition has never been denied in the past.
Of course, De Paula is blocked at DH, left field and right field now that Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernández are hitting better. But he did seem to bring a shot of energy to the team, as if he reminded them “Hey, this is supposed to be fun.”
Does the final spot go to Rushing? I don’t see how, because he can’t play in the field right now because of his elbow injury.
Does it go to Hyeseong Kim? His name was brought up this week by Dave Roberts, because Kim brings speed, versatility and good defense. He could be this season’s Justin Dean, appearing in almost every game and never hitting.
And the bullpen? If you have Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell in the rotation, that means Roki Sasaki goes to the bullpen. Does Justin Wrobleski get a bullpen spot? What about Emmet Sheehan, who has pitched great in his return (one earned run in 17 innings, giving up six hits and walking three while striking out 24)? Do you need all three of them in the bullpen in anticipation of the inevitable injury to Snell and Glasnow? We’ll know more about Snell when he starts Saturday.
Can Yamamoto pitch in every postseason game?
A lot of questions, no answers yet.
Forgotten Dodger: Willie Crawford
Willie Crawford, 17, who hit .444 for Fremont High, signs a $100,000 deal with the Dodgers in 1964 as Al Campanis watches.
(Associated Press)
We won’t go quite as far back in time for this one as the previous ones.
Willie Crawford is one of those guys who was good at a lot of things but not great at anything, and those types of players tend to be overlooked. But you need players like that every year in order to win.
Crawford first played for L.A. as a 17-year-old in 1964 and had his best season in 1973, when he hit .295/.396/.453 with 14 homers and 66 RBIs. He was solid defensively, playing more shallow than most right fielders to cut down on bloop singles and relying on his speed to catch any balls hit over him.
“He was big and powerful, and he could hit a ball as far as anybody. Boy, was he something,” Tommy Lasorda once said of Crawford, who the Dodgers signed out of Fremont High. Crawford was signed out of high school for $100,000, and the rules at the time said if you signed for at least that much, you had to stay on the major league roster for a season, which hampered his development. In 1965, the 19-year-old Crawford got a World Series ring for being on the Dodgers roster, but he batted only 27 times in the regular season. He had a pinch-hit single in Game 1 of that series.
In his first four seasons as a Dodger, he played in 72 games.
He was a productive player for many years and retired after the 1977 season. Crawford died of kidney disease at age 57 in 2004. You can read more about him here.
The postseason race
Here are the postseason seedings as of Thursday’s games. The three division winners get the top three seeds, followed by the three teams with the best records. The top two division winners get a first-round bye. Milwaukee and the Dodgers have clinched division titles and first-round byes.
Mikwaukee has clinched the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the postseason. The Dodgers have clinched the No. 2 seed and the Braves the No. 3 seed.
The Padres and Cubs have clinched wild-card spots. If the season ended today, Atlanta would host Philadelphia in one best-of-three wild-card round, with the winner taking on the Dodgers. The Padres would host the Cubs in the other wild-card round, with the winner playing Milwaukee.
In their final three games of the season, the Padres host the Diamondbacks, Philadelphia hosts Tampa Bay and Chicago plays at Boston.
Five of the six teams in the AL have been decided, with Tampa Bay and Cleveland clinching the top two seedings and the first-round bye. The third seed will be the AL West champion, either Texas or Houston (no relation), who are both 79-80. The Astros have the tiebreaker advantage. The three wild-card teams are the Yankees, Boston and the Chicago White Sox, in that order.
The Cat Man is back
Reports of the demise of Tony Gonsolin were greatly exaggerated. He’s back in the majors.
Gonsolin was an All-Star with the Dodgers in 2022, finishing the season 16-1 with a 2.14 ERA. He was having a mediocre 2023 before he was shut down and had Tommy John surgery. After missing the 2024 season, he came back in 2025, made seven starts and had internal brace surgery on his elbow. The Dodgers let him go. He was busy rehabbing his arm for the last year, and finally the Kansas City Royals decided to give him a chance. They sent him to the minors in August, and called him up to the majors this week.
He came in for a relief appearance on Tuesday and, after pitching two scoreless innings, gave up five runs and four hits, with two walks, ending the outing on a sour note.
“Essentially, I’m trying out for next year,” Gonsolin told reporters before the game. “It has been a while since I’ve thrown before this many fans. Just looking forward to the excitement and the adrenaline.”
These names seem familiar
This will be the final time this feature runs this season. It will be back next season. How many names will have joined it then? How notable players who were with the Dodgers the last few seasons are doing with their new teams (through Wednesday). Click on the player’s name to be taken to their full stats page:
Anthony Banda, Twins: 2-0, 4.46 ERA, 2 saves, 34.1 IP, 31 hits, 15 walks, 33 K’s, 95 ERA+, out for the season
Friday: Dodgers (*Tarik Skubal, 11-7, 2.85 ERA [4-2, 2.95 ERA with Dodgers]) at San Francisco (Yunior Marte, 0-1, 4.66 ERA), 7:15 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Saturday: Dodgers (*Blake Snell, 4-1, 1.86 ERA) at San Francisco (*Matt Wilkinson, 1-3, 3.65 ERA), 7:15 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Sunday: Dodgers (TBD) at San Francisco (TBD), 12:05 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Transfer windows, team budget caps and drones replacing convoy vehicles at races are three of the ideas to boost cycling in a new report from the sport’s global governing body.
The Union Cycliste Internationale’s (UCI) report, entitled “Future of Cycling”, examined road cycling and heard from 55 stakeholders including professional teams, national federations, race organisers and some riders.
It aims to turn a “large but passive audience into active, loyal fandom”, admitting cycling’s under-35 audience was “under-represented” and there was a need to “strengthen its appeal”.
“While the sport today enjoys strong and growing popularity across five continents, its media exposure and the revenue it generates for its stakeholders do not yet fully reflect its potential,” it said.
Among the most frequently referenced recommendations were:
A more coherent race calendar based on geography with fewer overlaps
More predictable rider participation in races alongside transfer windows and fees
Simplifying the ranking and category system
A stronger second division with clearer pathways
Continued growth of women’s cycling
A financial fairness mechanism, such as a budget cap on teams
The combined total budget of professional UCI tour teams in 2025 was £731m (850m euros), but individual team budgets vary.
Long-discussed budget caps, aimed at evening out the peloton and increasing “financial fairness”, would improve the attractiveness of the sport for investors according to the UCI.
But it admitted any such mechanism remains the biggest point of difference for stakeholders and would be at the heart of upcoming discussions.
Meanwhile work on a new transfer system and rider-agent regulation was already under way, it said.
The Premier League has joined three of its top European counterparts in calling for “fundamental” reform of the way that Fifa is run, claiming its president Gianni Infantino has “actively promoted exploitative ideas”.
In a joint statement with Spain’s La Liga, Germany’s Bundesliga, and Italy’s Serie A, the English top flight says it is speaking out “because we understand how Fifa’s relentless expansionism affects everyone”.
The four leagues say the shake-up is needed to make world football’s governing body “transparent, objective, proportionate and inclusive” and claim that “our sport cannot grow globally if its foundations are undermined”.
It comes days after Infantino proposed an external review of how Fifa operates amid the ongoing crisis over his failed plan to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors, which sparked a global outcry.
Referencing “one of the biggest abuses of power in Fifa’s history”, the four leagues say that “while football’s stakeholders ultimately forced the withdrawal of the Fifa Forward Enterprise scheme, the conditions that led to FFE remain”.
The statement added: “The Fifa president has now acknowledged the need for reform, but it is not enough for surface-level, process changes to be explored in the aftermath of FFE – fundamental governance reform is essential to restore clear constitutional boundaries within Fifa, including confidence that individual disciplinary matters remain demonstrably insulated from political interference.”
“Fifa’s governance problem goes far beyond the role of one individual,” the leagues added.
“The wider question is whether Fifa’s president should simultaneously wield such regulatory, commercial and political power without effective checks and balances, including the agreement of affected stakeholders… governance that concentrates unchecked regulatory, commercial and political power in a single office, while relegating affected stakeholders to mere advisory status, is not fit for purpose.”
Pietersen’s eyes roll slightly when he is asked about Ben Stokes’ recent comments comparing Harry Brook’s talents to his.
Pietersen, like Brook, was a maverick – a batter capable of incredible highs. Those highs mean the lows come with a disproportionate level of criticism.
“Where I can help him is playing situations, because there was a lot of method in my madness,” Pietersen says.
“Yes, occasionally, I got out to reckless shots and crazy shots in the ’80s and ’90s but there was a lot of structure to the way that I batted.
“I’ve still got notes on my phone on how I played in T20 cricket, one-day cricket, Test match cricket, and about hitting straight back at the stumps, and the techniques, and how I did it, and don’t play certain shots.
“That all-round structure is something I could potentially help him with because he’s so flipping good.
“It’s actually frightening how good he is and how good he can be.”
And Pietersen says he will not limit himself to working purely on white-ball cricket.
He has already spoken to new Test coach Stephen Fleming about how he can help the Test batters during his time with the white-ball squads.
Though he said he would not have time for a full-time role, he suggested he is open to working with the Test side before next summer’s home Ashes series.
“I have got a pretty mad schedule,” he says. “I wouldn’t say no.
“I don’t think that necessarily means I need to be in a dressing room.
“There is a lot of time in the lead up to an Ashes series and a tour of South Africa, when I will be with the Test batters.
“There are conversations I can have there.”
Who knows how long this will last. England may as well make the most of this second chance.
Pittsburgh Penguins forward Andrei Kuzmenko has returned to Russia before the start of the NHL season after his father was killed by a bear.
Kuzmenko’s father Alexander, who was an ice hockey coach in Russia, was on a fishing trip along the Krasnaya River in Southern Siberia with a group of seven others when a bear attacked from the trees.
The 62-year-old suffered severe facial injuries in the attack.
A member of the fishing party called for an ambulance but the dense forest made it difficult for emergency services to reach the area.
Kuzmenko was taken by river downstream for four hours before then being airlifted to hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Penguins president Kyle Dubas said the team was “deeply saddened” by the death.
“Our deepest thoughts and sympathies are with the Kuzmenko family and their loved ones as they grieve the loss of Alexander. We ask that the privacy of Andrei and the Kuzmenko family be respected at this time,” the team said in a statement.
“Andrei chose to be surrounded by his team-mates and practice with the team this morning before returning to Moscow to be with his family this afternoon. Andrei and the Kuzmenko family have the full support of the Penguins organisation during this time.”
The 30-year-old signed a one-year contract with the Penguins this summer and is about to compete in his fifth season in the NHL, following previous stints with the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings.
Leeds come into the fixture following two losses against Wigan and Hull FC at home.
Looking further back, they closed out their regular campaign with three defeats in five matches.
Asked what it would take to reach the Grand Final, Leeds boss Brad Arthur said he is not worried about his side’s inconsistent run of form.
“[We have to be] the best version of us. We’ve seen that plenty of times this year and we’ve played a lot of good footy,” he told BBC Radio Leeds.
“Our past couple of weeks haven’t been ideal but it doesn’t really count for much right now. It doesn’t mean anything. All those past two games showed was a couple of things that we need to tidy up which we’ve done during the week around execution.
“But like the first 27 rounds, all that’s done is put us in a position where we’re 80 minutes away from Old Trafford so that’s all we got to focus on.”
Leeds last reached a Grand Final in 2022, however that achievement came off the back of Richard Agar’s departure in March of that season, when Leeds had won just once in their opening six games of the campaign.
In stepped Rohan Smith, who eventually strung together 11 wins from 13 matches to take them to Old Trafford where they were defeated by St Helens – however it was an even more impressive achievement given their fifth-placed finish at the end of the season.
This year, Arthur thinks his side are prepared for the rigours of a post-season campaign.
“We’re ready to go. We’re nice and fresh and the best version of us, we know, is good enough,” he added.
“We’ve got to find that and we’ve got to do it for 80 minutes.”
