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Mark Walter is not selling the Dodgers, his people say. Stan Kasten, the Dodgers’ president, said it again Friday. The team, as a Los Angeles Times headline put it, is the “crown jewel” of Walter’s sporting empire.
Walter was not selling the Lakers, either, until he suddenly did last week. And, amid a cash crunch triggered by a federal investigation into insurance firms his companies control, potential bidders for the Dodgers are monitoring the situation closely.
If Walter were to sell the Dodgers, a long line of interested parties could include the runner-up when he bought the team in 2012: Patrick Soon-Shiong, the owner of the Los Angeles Times.
On Friday, Soon-Shiong said through a representative that he would be interested in leading an investment group should Walter decide to sell the team.
“We respect Mr. Walter, and we want to make it clear we have not spoken with him,” said Chuck Kenworthy, the family attorney for Soon-Shiong. “If at some point he would like to discuss the Dodgers, we would be very open to talking.”
Walter’s TWG Global did not immediately return a request for comment.
The Dodgers could command between $10 billion and $13 billion — at the higher end, three times as much as the record sale price for a major league team — a high-ranking industry source told The Times on the condition of anonymity.
In 2012, Soon-Shiong joined hedge-fund titan Steve Cohen in trying to buy the Dodgers, with Cohen as the controlling partner. Walter and his partners won the bidding at $2.15 billion, well above the $1.6 billion runner-up bid of Soon-Shiong and Cohen.
In 2020, Cohen bought the New York Mets for $2.4 billion. The record price tag for a major league team: $3.9 billion for the San Diego Padres, officially sold this week to an investment group led by a married couple: Jose E. Feliciano, the founder of Clearlake Capital in Santa Monica, and Kwanza Jones, an artist and enterpreneur.
The record price tag for any North American sports team: $12.5 billion, the valuation of the Lakers in the deal announced last week in which Walter agreed to sell to a group fronted by former Disney chief Bob Iger and venture capitalist Joshua Kushner.
Insurance regulators and federal investigators are looking into whether certain financial transactions between various entities controlled by Walter were properly disclosed to investors and compiled with regulations designed to protect them.
The cash — from the sale of the Lakers and other assets — can help pay off loans under scrutiny by regulators. It is uncertain whether that would satisfy the federal agencies probing potential wrongdoing. No charges have been filed and investigations often conclude without charges.
In 2012, Soon-Shiong explored buying AEG, the sports and entertainment company that owns the Kings, the Galaxy and Crypto.com Arena. AEG owner Phil Anschutz ultimately decided not to sell.
Soon-Shiong considered buying the Angels in 2022, in the window between owner Arte Moreno announcing he would explore selling the team and deciding the following year that he would not sell.
Soon-Shiong is bringing the Global Esports Games to Los Angeles in December. He also has bought a Major League Volleyball expansion franchise that is scheduled to start play in Los Angeles next year.
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx co-owner Marc Lore has agreed to sell his controlling stake in the franchises to limited partner Marc Stad at a $4.5 billion value barely a year after his purchase was finalized, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.
The person spoke Friday to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details of the agreement — the second sale in the NBA this month — were not being publicized.
Lore, a New York e-commerce entrepreneur, and partner Alex Rodriguez, the former Major League Baseball star, bought the NBA and WNBA clubs from Minnesota businessman Glen Taylor. That complicated and contentious process lasted more than four years until the $1.5 billion sale got league approval in June 2025.
Lore will retain a limited share and essentially swap roles with Stad, who is the founder of Dragoneer Investment group, a California-based firm focused on technology companies. Rodriguez will remain as a co-owner and continue as the most publicly visible owner of the pro basketball franchises.
Lore’s decision to sell his majority stake stems from his focus on his food delivery startup Wonder, according to a second person with knowledge of the situation, speaking on condition of anonymity to the AP because those details were not being made public. Lore has started the process of taking Wonder public.
Lore, Rodriguez and Stad issued a joint statement Friday expressing their commitment to the current leadership in the organization including chief executive officer Matt Caldwell, Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly, Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch, and Lynx president of basketball operations and head coach Cheryl Reeve.
“We have been working together for years with a shared goal of building the Timberwolves and Lynx into the best organization in basketball on and off the floor. Our priority is and always will be championships,” the owners said. “Our new agreement, pending league approval, is an evolution of the partnership we have built together and strengthening of our commitment to our team and our culture.”
One of the great joys I’ve had in my career is spending the last few years helping build the Timberwolves and Lynx with my friend and partner Marc Lore. I’m very excited to announce that this incredible journey reaches a new level today. Marc and Elisa Stad, who have been our…
The two teams currently play at Target Center, which opened in 1990 for the second season of the Timberwolves after they were granted an expansion franchise. Lore and Rodriguez have previously pledged a desire to keeping the teams in downtown Minneapolis, eventually in a new arena.
The Lynx were added to the WNBA as an expansion club in 1999 and have won four championships, with a healthy lead on the rest of the league this season behind star Napheesa Collier and rookie Olivia Miles.
The Timberwolves have never won a title or reached the NBA Finals, with an eight-year run of making the playoffs behind star forward Kevin Garnett their only period of sustained success until recently.
Since drafting Anthony Edwards with the first overall pick in the 2020 draft, hiring Finch in 2021 and Connelly in 2022, the Timberwolves have grown into one of the league’s best teams. They reached the Western Conference finals in 2024 and 2025 and were ousted in the second round by the San Antonio Spurs last season. They acquired point guard LaMelo Ball in one of the NBA’s biggest summer trades.
How the table looks could change drastically by the end of the weekend, with Leeds able to reclaim top spot if they beat York Knights on Sunday, while a third successive Trinity loss has them in danger of dropping to fifth on Saturday if defending champions Hull KR beat Toulouse Olympique.
Both sides had early chances to take the lead, but French was the reason that neither of them managed to open the scoring in the first 10 minutes.
First the Australian wasted a golden opportunity to send Zach Eckersley over with a forward pass, but within two minutes he came up with a stunning try-saving intervention at the other end by holding Max Jowitt up over the line before the full-back was controversially judged to lose the ball in his attempt to touchdown.
Eventually, it was French himself who broke the deadlock, pouncing on a stray Wakefield pass inside his own half before sprinting 65 metres untouched to go in near to the posts.
Two tries in five minutes from Marshall out wide put Warriors in a commanding position before the half-hour mark.
Wakefield head coach Daryl Powell called on Emre Guler for the first time soon after that, with the prop coming off the bench just two days after his move from NRL side St George Illawarra Dragons was brought forward by Trinity.
It was only five days ago that Guler, who had been due to make his Super League move next season, had started for the Dragons in their win against Wests Tigers.
Wakefield threatened to respond a number of times before Hall plucked a searching high ball from Jake Trueman from the sky to dot down for the visitors in the 53rd minute.
Hall very nearly linked up with Jowitt for another Wakefield four-pointer soon after, but the centre was forced into touch by Eckersley as he dished the ball off for the finish.
The game’s definitive moment came in the 65th minute when Field swooped on a knock-on from Mike McMeeken, who was within barging distance of the tryline, allowing the full-back to race away in the other direction to score his 15th Super League try of the season.
The Ben Stokes show rolled into Derby on a pulsating second day of the County Championship match between Derbyshire and Durham at the OurCoop County Ground.
The former England captain delivered another top all-round performance, scoring 53 with 11 fours and then taking a wicket with his first ball.
He had figures of 2-14 but then pulled up at the start of his fifth over and had to leave the field although he was back on before the close.
Ben Aitchison starred for the hosts, taking 5-70 to bowl the Division Two leaders out for 283 which included half-centuries from Alex Lees and Graham Clark.
That looked an even better score when Derbyshire collapsed to 127-6, 156 behind, with Matthew Potts and Will Rhodes both taking two wickets.
The prospect of seeing Stokes bat put a few on the gate and it was not long before he was striding to the middle.
Aitchison was getting the ball to nip around and he moved one in to trap David Bedingham lbw in the third over of a sunny morning.
Stokes edged his second ball just short of the slips but a lofted drive off Brett Randell suggested he was in the mood to repeat his hundred on this ground in the One-Day Cup last month.
Aitchison had Lees dropped on 58 by Brooke Guest diving across first slip, and he beat Stokes, who responded by glancing the next ball to the fine leg boundary.
Stokes moved into Bazball mode when he dropped to one knee to drive Nick Potts gloriously through the covers before a dismissive pull brought him another boundary.
It was, however, far from a smooth ride, with a clip off Anuj Dal just evading mid-wicket before an edge through the slips took him to a 56-ball fifty, before Dal pouched a leading edge in his follow-through to reduce Durham to 182-5.
Clark mirrored Stokes, hitting two sixes in a 57-ball half-century and with Ollie Robinson, took Durham to 260 before the second new ball gave the game another twist.
Aitchison got the rewards he deserved when he had Clark caught at second slip to end a stand of 78 from 129 balls and then beat Robinson’s drive.
Both Brydon Carse and Potts went cheaply, the latter bowled by a beauty from Aitchison who became the first Derbyshire bowler for 61 years to take five wickets in an innings in four consecutive first-class matches.
Durham had lost their last five wickets for 23 and Derbyshire’s openers soon discovered there was plenty there for the pace bowlers.
Harry Came and Caleb Jewell were beaten numerous times by Potts and Carse but clung on until Stokes inevitably broke through.
His first ball drew Came into a defensive push which flew to third slip and in his fourth over he swung one in to beat Jewell’s drive as he went for 28.
There was concern when Stokes went off feeling his lower left side but was back on after Rhodes removed Wayne Madsen.
Rhodes then tempted Matthew Montgomery (28) into a drive before Potts struck twice late on, removing Martin Andersson for 21 and Guest for one as Durham again demonstrated their promotion ambitions.
Report by ECB Reporters’ Network, supported by Rothesay.
For Root, the innings victory sealed inside three days against Pakistan was the ideal start to his second spell as captain.
It also extended England’s run of wins at Headingley, which began in 2018. Their longest winning streak at another ground is six at Chester-le-Street.
The decision for Headingley and Old Trafford to miss out on the 2027 Ashes roster was announced in 2023.
But the match allocation has once again come into focus after the schedule for next year’s series was confirmed in July.
Nottingham’s Trent Bridge will be the most northerly ground to host a men’s Ashes Test, with Southampton given an England-Australia Test for the first time. Headingley will instead play host to a women’s Ashes Test.
Headingley staged a men’s Ashes Test in 2019 and 2023, both matches England won. The 2019 win, inspired by Ben Stokes, was one of the most legendary contests in Ashes history, ranking alongside Ian Botham’s heroics of 1981 on the same ground.
Overall, England’s record of nine home Ashes wins in Leeds is bettered only by their 17 at The Oval, and The Oval has hosted 36 Ashes Tests compared to Headingley’s 26.
“I would love to play as many games as possible here,” said Root. “It’s a great Test-match venue, a surface that provides brilliant Test cricket, and one we’ve had quite a lot of success on recently.
“It’s a shame we don’t get to play here next year, but I’m sure we will see many, many more brilliant Test matches here.”
Headingley will next host a men’s Ashes Test in 2031, from when the England and Wales Cricket has said it will keep at least one Test in Leeds or Manchester in the allocation for every home Ashes series. Southampton will get a Test in alternate men’s home Ashes.
Since Iraola replaced Arne Slot as Liverpool head coach, the Reds have signed Victor Munoz for £34.5m and Ronald Araujo on loan from Barcelona.
Jeremy Jacquet, the French centre-half, also arrived from Rennes in a deal worth £60m, but that was agreed back in January.
In terms of outgoings, Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate all left the club over the summer while Curtis Jones is in Italy to complete a £30m move to Inter Milan.
Iraola added: “You are asking me what we need – there are certain situations that for me are clear – especially now on the wing because we don’t have enough players specific to play in those positions.
“And then in other positions, I think we have to be open-minded in the market to see situations that honestly can improve our team.
“It’s not about signing because we need a player here. No, it’s about improving the squad. And we have very good players already here, so to improve our very good players, you need like a specific level of player, yes.”
In a separate interview with Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports, he said: “We will definitely sign some players. Some deals you have to wait until the end. But the end is the important picture, the one we will have on September 1. Because it is true that we are still quite thin.”
It’s not the first time that Iraola has said words to that effect, having echoed similar sentiments during Liverpool‘s pre-season tour in the USA when discussing Liverpool‘s defensive options, and internally the belief at Anfield is that it will be a busy end to the window for Liverpool
On Jones’ move to Inter Milan, Iraola said: “With Curtis, you know. I think it’s still not official but there is an ongoing situation. I understood with Curtis. I talked to him. I think in the first or second training session we talked.
“I value him a lot as a player. He loved this club – it was very clear since the beginning for me – but I understood that probably the outcome was going to be what it has been at the end.
“I’ve never hid it – for me Curtis is a very good player. A very, very good player, but I understood straight away when he talked to me about his situation. It was a situation that could happen and it looks like it is going to happen.”
Not because of his five-star, blue-chip status, leaving Warren High as the second-ranked prospect in the 2023 class and top-ranked recruit out of California.
Not for leading Tennessee to its first-ever College Football Playoff appearance and a 10-3 record — tying for the Volunteers’ second-best finish since 2001.
Instead, Iamaleava is remembered for his tumultuous exit from Knoxville, a parting characterized by head coach Josh Heupel that the program would move on without its starting signal-caller, leading the Long Beach product to UCLA.
More than one year removed after his departure, Iamaleava reflected at preseason media day on his time with the Volunteers, the effect last season had on his mental health and his mindset heading into 2026.
“In Tennessee, I was in a rough mental state as far as being far from home, but that’s what came with me growing and maturing,” Iamaleava said Wednesday. “So coming back home has been a great transition, and I can’t wait to play this year.”
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Can Mark Walter keep the Dodgers?
When the news broke last week that Mark Walter was selling the Lakers just one year after buying the storied basketball franchise, executives working for another crown jewel in his sports empire — the Dodgers — were quick to say the billionaire had no plans to sell the team.
The Dodgers have won three of the last six World Series and 12 division titles since an ownership group led by Walter bought the then-bankrupt team in 2012, and the Dodgers now are considered the most successful — and lucrative — franchise in Major League Baseball.
Yet, amid Walter’s financial difficulties, including a federal inquiry into his insurance empire regarding $16 billion to $21 billion in undisclosed loans to his own companies, questions remain over whether the blowback will hit the Dodgers.
Walter has denied wrongdoing, and sports business experts say it’s far too soon to know whether the Dodgers will be in play. No charges have been filed against Walter or anyone associated with his businesses.
“If you’re judging on that — winning and revenue created — he’s been at the helm of all of that. … He does truly look like a white knight as it relates to his ownership of the Dodgers,” said Patrick Rishe, executive director of the Sports Business Program at Washington University in St. Louis. Still, “we don’t know what the issues are, and we don’t know the severity and the magnitude.”
On Thursday, coach Sean McVay was asked if Donald, a three-tine NFL defensive player of the year, would do more workouts before deciding whether or not he will come out of retirement to join the Super Bowl-favorite Rams.
Donald worked out at Loyola Marymount when the Rams were in training camp, and last week at the Rams facility in Woodland Hills.
“We’ll see,” McVay said. “I would love to be able to have all this stuff figured out but … I know he’s feeling good, and I think he will continue to work out, and I’m hopeful that we’ll have some answers on that sooner than later.”
Zach Neto was five for six with his 21st homer and a career-high seven RBIs and the Angels scored their most runs in three years to rout the Houston Astros 18-3 on Thursday night.
The Angels (51-77) had a season-high 18 hits and scored their most runs since a 25-1 victory over Colorado on June 24, 2023.
Angels starter Grayson Rodriguez (4-5) gave up just two unearned runs across seven innings while striking out six.
From Sam Farmer: Jake Slaughter could be the first Chargers player to touch the ball on every offensive snap. He has never done so in an NFL game that counts.
Slaughter, the rookie second-round pick from the University of Florida, is the leading candidate to start at center after Tyler Biadasz went down with a knee injury at practice this week. There is no timetable for the return of Biadasz, who signed a three-year, $30-million contract in March.
Although Slaughter played some guard in college, center is his natural position. He played just nine snaps Thursday in a 41-17 preseason loss to the San Francisco 49ers at SoFi Stadium.
It’s understandable that the Chargers (1-1) only wanted light duty from him, considering they slogged through a brutal 2025 season when they lost their two outstanding tackles and endured a revolving door along the offensive line throughout the season.
As is common throughout the NFL, lots of Chargers starters were merely spectators for the second of three preseason games.
Here are some more observations from the Chargers’ preseason loss to the 49ers:
From Jordan Puente: After 15 years in the WNBA, the Sparks’ Nneka Ogwumike is content with her decision to call this her final season.
“I think that ended up being a blessing in disguise,” Ogwumike said of returning to the Sparks during the offseason. “Once training camp hit, I realized, you know what? I think what I have left is one more season, and I was OK with that.”
Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said before tipoff she wanted her team to get off to a better start, but the team could not deliver Thursday and extended its losing streak to six games. The defeat officially eliminated the spiraling Sparks (12-24) from playoff contention.
1901 — William Larned wins the first of seven men’s singles titles in the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assn. championship.
1914 — Walter Hagen captures the U.S. Open golf title by edging Chick Evans.
1920 — Jock Hutchinson wins the PGA golf tournament with a 1-up victory over J. Douglass Edgar.
1932 — Helen Hull Jacobs beats Carolyn Babcock to win the women’s singles title in the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assn.
1982 — Mystic Park becomes the first 3-year-old trotter to win the American Trotting Championship.
1985 — Mary Decker sets the world record in the mile run with a time of 4:16.71 in Zurich.
2003 — Paul Hamm puts together a near-perfect routine on the high bar to become the first American man to win the all-around gold medal at World Gymnastics Championships. Needing a 9.712 or better to beat China’s Yang Wei, Hamm strings together four straight release moves during his 60-second routine — one of the toughest feats in gymnastics — for a 9.975 and the gold.
2004 — American super-swimmer Michael Phelps wins his sixth gold medal of the Athens Olympics even though he doesn’t swim the final of men’s 4 x 100m medley relay; US wins in world record 3:30.68.
2008 — At the Summer Olympics in Beijing, Yukiko Ueno pitches 28 innings in two days, including seven to shut down the U.S. softball team, 3-1, and give Japan the gold medal. It was the first loss for the Americans since Sept. 21, 2000 — 22 straight games. LaShawn Merritt upsets defending champion Jeremy Wariner to lead a U.S. sweep of the 400 meters track event. David Neville gets the bronze. The U.S. men and women both drop the baton in the Olympic 400-meter relays and fail to advance out of the first round. Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell-Brown easily wins the 200 meters to cap the first sweep of all four men’s and women’s Olympic sprints in 20 years.
2010 — Kyle Busch makes NASCAR history with an unprecedented sweep of three national races in one week, completing the trifecta with a victory in the Sprint Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Busch, winner of the Nationwide race a day earlier and the Trucks race on Aug. 18, becomes the first driver to complete the sweep since NASCAR expanded to three national series in 1995.
2011 — The Sparks run off 16 straight points to overcome a 15-point, second-half deficit and hand the Tulsa Shock their WNBA-record 18th consecutive loss with a 73-67 victory. The Atlanta Dream lost 17 in a row in their inaugural season of 2008.
2016 — Kevin Durant scores 30 points and helps the Americans rout Serbia 96-66 for their third straight gold medal. That caps an Olympics in which the U.S. dominated the medal tables, both the gold (46) and overall totals (121). The 51-total-medal margin over second-place China is the largest in a non-boycotted Olympics in nearly a century.
2018 — Liu Xiang of China sets a world record time of 26.98 seconds to win the women’s 50-meter backstroke gold medal at the Asian Games. Liu becomes the first woman to swim under 27 seconds in the event, breaking the mark of 27.06 set by fellow Chinese swimmer Zhao Jing at the 2009 world championships in Rome.
Compiled by the Associated Press
This day in baseball history
1926 — Ted Lyons of the Chicago White Sox pitched a no-hitter over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. The 6-0 victory was achieved in 1 hour, 7 minutes.
1930 — Chick Hafey of the St. Louis Cardinals hit for the cycle and drove in five runs in a 16-6 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies.
1931 — Babe Ruth hit his 600th home run as the Yankees beat the St. Louis Browns 11-7.
1947 — The first Little League World Series was at Williamsport, Pa.
1972 — Steve Carlton of Philadelphia had his 15-game winning streak snapped when Phil Niekro and the Atlanta Braves beat the Phillies 2-1 in 11 innings.
1975 — Pitching brothers Rick and Paul Reuschel of the Chicago Cubs combined to throw a 7-0 shutout against the Dodgers. Rick went 6 1-3 innings and Paul finished the shutout for the first ever by two brothers.
1982 — Milwaukee pitcher Rollie Fingers became the first player to achieve 300 saves as the Brewers beat the Seattle Mariners 3-2.
1986 — Spike Owen had four hits and became the first major league player in 40 years to score six runs in a game as the Boston Red Sox routed the Cleveland Indians 24-5 with a 24-hit attack.
2007 — Garret Anderson of the Angels drove in a team-record 10 runs in an 18-9 rout of the New York Yankees. Anderson hit a grand slam, a three-run homer, a two-run double and an RBI double to become the 12th player in major league history to have 10 RBIs in a game.
2007 — Arizona’s Mark Reynolds tied the major league record for consecutive strikeouts by a non-pitcher when he fanned in his ninth straight plate appearance in a 7-4 loss to Milwaukee. Reynolds struck out in his first two at-bats against Dave Bush to match the record. Bush hit Reynolds with a pitch in the sixth, ending the streak.
2011 — Johnny Damon lost a grand slam to a video review in the seventh inning, then hit a game-ending home run in the ninth that lifted the Tampa Bay Rays over the Seattle Mariners 8-7. Damon connected for a leadoff shot in the ninth on the first pitch from Dan Cortes. The Rays trailed 5-4 in the seventh when Damon launched a drive to right-center field. First ruled a home run, the umpires changed the call to a three-run double after a video review.
2015 — Mike Fiers pitched the second no-hitter in the major leagues in nine days, leading the Houston Astros to a 3-0 victory over the Dodgers. Having never thrown a complete game in his five-year career, Fiers was dominant. He struck out 10 and walked three, retiring the final 21 batters. Fiers struck out Justin Turner on his 134th pitch to end it.
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.
Past the halfway mark of the Olympic quadrennial, LA28 has passed its own halfway point for ticket sales.
LA28 announced Friday it sold more than 6 million tickets during its first two drops, accounting for more than half of the expected Olympic ticket availability.
The remainder of an estimated 10.5 million Olympic tickets will move to first-come, first-served sales beginning in 2027. Additional inventory across every sport will be added during the next stage and ticket limits will be lifted, but LA28 did not announce the opening date.
“Overall the level of enthusiasm, the interest in the Games, the excitement to commit this far out from the Games has all been really affirming for how LA28 is coming together and the excitement everyone’s feeling about it,” said Allison Katz-Mayfield, LA28’s senior vice president of Games delivery revenue.
More than 700,000 of one million $28 tickets were sold during the first two drops. While fans have clamored for tickets, many were disappointed and frustrated with high prices and limited availability that seemed to sell out almost instantaneously. Each LA28 ticket drop came with the fine-print condition of “subject to availability.”
LA28 wanted to be “conservative” with the initial inventory available during the first two drops, Katz-Mayfield said, because organizers didn’t want to sell tickets only to discover later that fans might be stuck with limited visibility of an event. For example, Crypto.com Arena’s footprint will be changed to accommodate artistic gymnastics, with up to six apparatuses on the floor along with areas for judges, broadcast positions and media. The seating plan, which will be different than ones used for Lakers games or concerts, is still being developed. The same goes for the planning of temporary venues.
“It’s a fan-focused approach from my perspective,” Katz-Mayfield said. “We don’t want to be in a position where we sell something that doesn’t equate to the experience that someone is expecting to have.”
LA28 said more tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis for every sport next year as organizers refine venue layouts. Tickets that appear unavailable one day could go on the market weeks later as organizers gain a clearer picture of setups. With first-come, first-serve purchasing, the ticketing platform will remain open continuously through the Games.
“If you’re one of those people that has a very, very specific idea of what they want and they don’t want to move off that at all … then continue to check back because we’ll have tickets on sale through Games time,” Katz-Mayfield said. “So you can check on that first day. But you could also check two months later, and it could be different.”
New sports remained a hit for fans, who scooped up all available tickets to softball, lacrosse, flag football and squash during the second drop, LA28 reported. All tickets available for Oklahoma City’s softball and canoe slalom events were sold through for both drops. More tickets for those events will be added in 2027.
Although many fans have their hearts set on a single, high-demand Olympic event, others might be open to discovering different sports during the Paralympics. Tickets for the Paralympics will also go on sale in 2027, beginning with a lottery for assigned time slots, similar to the first Olympic ticket drops. About 25% of the total 14 million tickets between the Games are earmarked for the Paralympics, which will be in L.A. for the first time.
The Paralympics are typically priced at much lower prices than the Olympics. The Paris Olympics had single tickets as high as $1,065 (980 euros in July 2024) for swimming and track and field and as low as $26 across all sports. Half a million tickets for the Paris Paralympics were $16 and half of all tickets were priced less than $27. There were also Paralympic ticket packages for multiple sports and families. The strategy paid off with approximately 2.5 million tickets sold, the second-most ever for a Paralympic Games, and a record 12 million total tickets sold between the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics.
Despite starting earlier than previous Games, LA28 said it is already on pace to surpass Paris’ sales record after the 2024 Games sold 5.39 million tickets through their second drop in May 2023. Paris sold 9.5 million Olympic tickets total.
Fans who registered for Olympics tickets will already be registered for the Paralympic lotteries and LA28 is working to open registration specifically for the Paralympics.
“[Don’t] forget how great the Paralympics are,” Katz-Mayfield said, “and how much opportunity there’s going to be there to see different sports, new sports, be a part of the Games, and see world-class athletes compete, maybe in a way that you haven’t seen before if you’ve only seen the Olympics.”
Selling millions of tickets before schedules or matchups are even set has “given [LA28] a lot of confidence in where we’re at today,” Katz-Mayfield said. The early ticket sales have given the private organizing committee a strong foundation for one of its largest revenue drivers.
Ticketing and hospitality are expected to cover almost $2.5 billion of LA28’s total $7.1-billion budget for the Games. It is the second-largest source of expected revenue to help cover what LA28 has promised will be a privately funded Games.
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. There are only 34 games left in the regular season for the Dodgers. How is that possible?
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Well, nothing cures a team’s woes more than playing Colorado. But was it a cure or a placebo?
At which positions are the Dodgers excelling or struggling compared with the rest of MLB this season? One way we can tell is by looking at Wins Above Average at each position. WAA measures how many wins a player gives their team compared with an average major league player. A score of zero means the player is average, a positive score means they are better than average, and a negative score means they are below average.
Let’s look at the top five teams at each position, where the Dodgers rank if not in the top five, and at the last-place team. The number includes all players who played at that position this season.
Left field 1. Seattle, 1.9 2. NY Yankees, 0.9 3. Pittsburgh, 0.8 4. Miami, 0.7 5. Milwaukee, 0.6 20. Dodgers, -0.7 30. Arizona, -1.7
This is mostly Teoscar Hernández, with contributions from Alex Call, Tommy Edman and Ryan Ward.
Center field 1. Chicago Cubs, 5.9 2. Dodgers, 3.8 3. Boston, 3.7 4. Atlanta, 2.1 5. Angels, 1.4 30. Detroit, -1.8
If someone had told you after his miserable 2025 postseason that Andy Pages would be the second-best center fielder in baseball this year, would you have believed them? And the Angels make their only appearance here thanks to Mike Trout.
Right field 1. Boston, 3.6 2. Arizona, 2.7 3. St. Louis, 1.7 3. Chicago Cubs, 1.7 5. Washington, 1.3 22. Dodgers, -1.5 30. Cincinnati, -3.1
The corner outfielders are killing the Dodgers.
DH 1. Houston, 3.1 2. Dodgers, 2.2 3. Tampa Bay, 1.2 4. Philadelphia, 1.1 5. Chicago Cubs, 0.6 30. NY Mets, -1.9
Houston’s (no relation) designated hitter is Yordan Alvarez, traded by the Dodgers as a prospect in 2016 for reliever Josh Fields in probably the worst trade of the Andrew Friedman era.
Relief pitchers 1. San Diego, 3.9 2. NY Yankees, 2.6 3. Philadelphia, 1.9 4. Chicago White Sox, 1.6 5. Atlanta, 1.0 5. Toronto, 1.0 23. Dodgers, -2.5 30. Kansas City, -7.9
So, relief pitching and the corner outfielders are the gaping hole in the equation. But keep in mind, because I fall prey to this also: Every team has problems. We tend to focus on the Dodgers and don’t think about it this way. Every team has holes they are trying to solve before the postseason (or next season) begins. Some teams, like the Angels and Rockies, have holes almost everywhere. But even the best team isn’t perfect. And, yes, I will repeat it again, anything can happen in the postseason.
Remember last season? The Dodgers were 29th in relief pitching at -6.4. They were 29th in left field at -2.4. But they pulled it together and won. No reason they can’t do it again this year. And there’s no reason they can’t get swept in the first round.
Dodgers’ record at this point the last three seasons:
“When you start to struggle and you internalize … you find yourself going dark, and that’s a lonely place,” Roberts said Tuesday, before the Dodgers’ 7-6 win against the Rockies. “So I think that for me, trying to proactively pull conversations out of him, talk about life, talk about baseball, it just kind of opens things up, and I think that it’s freeing.
“He’s a cerebral guy by nature, internalizes a lot. But still, for me, he’s with a new ballclub, he’s scuffling, so I want to get that out of him.”
Tucker dropped a relatively easy fly ball during that game, and Roberts said:
“There’s indecision, and catching a baseball at your ankles kind of speaks to where his head is at right now. It’s not from lack of effort, or care. It’s just right now, I think he’s kind of fighting. So we’ve got to keep supporting him.”
Forgotten Dodger: Zack Wheat
Dodgers manager Wilbert Robinson, first baseman Jack Fournier and outfielder Zack Wheat in the dugout in 1921.
(Associated Press)
One of the things the Dodgers don’t do very well is celebrate their rich and diverse history, especially if something happened before 1947. With that in mind, this is the first in an occasional series of items looking at Dodgers that often get overlooked.
Zack Wheat played for the Dodgers from 1909 to 1926 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1959. He is still the all-time Dodgers leader in games played (2,322), hits (2,804), doubles (464), triples (171) and total bases (4,003).
He has yet to make the Dodgers Dugout Dodgers Hall of Fame. Of course, there aren’t a lot of people alive who saw Wheat play, probably hurting him in the voting. Many voters tell me that they can’t judge someone they never saw, but I don’t need to have seen Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Tris Speaker or Al Simmons to know they were all-time greats.
Wheat’s best season might have been 1918, when he led the league with a .335 batting average. Or it might have been 1916, when he hit 32 doubles and 13 triples and led the league in slugging. Or it might have been 1922, when he hit .335 with 29 doubles, 12 triples, 16 homers and 112 RBIs. Or it might have been any number of other seasons. He finished with a .317 career batting average.
And don’t think he was only a hitting machine. He was a great defensive outfielder.
Baseball Magazine in 1918: “What Napoloen Lajoie was to infielders, Zack Wheat is to outfielders, the finest mechanical craftsman of them all. He is the easiest, most graceful of outfielders with no close rivals.”
Wheat got married during the 1912 season and his new wife, Daisy, became his agent. In the same Baseball Magazine story, she said, “I made him hold out each year for seven years and each time he got a raise.”
Other things of note about Wheat:
—He has an OPS+ of 130. Among Dodgers with 5,000 plate appearances (Wheat had almost 10,000), that is third all time, behind Duke Snider and Jackie Robinson.
—He is fourth in career WAR among batters, behind Snider, Robinson and Pee Wee Reese.
—To make money during the offseason, Wheat raised mules and sold them to the Army, which used them as pack animals during World War I. It was because of the money he made doing this that he was able to hold out for a better contract each offseason. The most money he earned in one season as a player was $16,000.
—Wheat recommended the Dodgers sign his longtime friend, Casey Stengel. It’s unlikely any other team would have signed him, so Wheat is basically responsible for Stengel’s career.
—Wheat and manager Wilbert Robinson never got along. Longtime Dodgers owner and team president Charles Ebbets died in 1925 and was replaced as team president by Ed McKeever, who named Wheat the manager of the team, making Robinson a front-office executive. McKeever died two weeks later, and, with no team president, the Dodgers’ board of directors named Robinson manager again.
—No longer needing Wheat and thinking he was getting too old, the Dodgers released him before the 1927 season so he could negotiate with any club he wanted to, instead of trading him to a team he didn’t wish to play for. Wheat signed with the Philadelphia A’s and hit .324 in 88 games.
—Wheat was listed as 5-10, 170 pounds, but many thought he was smaller than that. He wore a size 5 shoe and suffered from ankle problems throughout his career. A bruised heel brought an end to his career.
—Wheat didn’t stay in baseball when he retired. When asked why years later, he said, “Nobody asked me to.”
—Wheat was 10th all-time in hits when he retired, with 2,884.
—Wheat became a farmer after retiring, then became a police officer in Kansas City after the Depression caused him to sell his farm.
—While on a police call in 1936, Wheat crashed his car and suffered a fractured skull, broken wrist and 15 broken ribs. He spent five months in the hospital and retired as a police officer. He moved with his family to a lakeside house in Sunrise Beach, Mo., and opened a 46-acre hunting and fishing resort.
—Wheat was voted into the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1957. Unfortunately, he wasn’t eligible to be voted in by the Veterans Committee because he hadn’t been retired long enough. So they elected him again in 1959.
—When told he was finally elected for real, Wheat, 70, said, “That makes me feel mighty proud. I feel a little younger, too.”
—In 1971, Wheat was asked if he had any advice for boys who wanted to become major leaguers. “Yes,” he said. “Tell them to learn to chew tobacco.”
—Wheat was once asked his secret for playing so well for so long. He said: “I smoke as much as I want and chew tobacco a good deal of the time. I don’t pay any attention to the rules for keeping in physical condition. I think they are a lot of bunk. The less you worry about the effect of tea and coffee on the lining of your stomach, the longer you will live and the happier you will be.”
—Wheat died of a heart attack in Missouri on March 11, 1972. He was 83 years old.
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.
Former England bowler Kate Cross has announced she will retire from cricket at the end of the summer.
The 34-year-old, who played 102 times for England between 2013 and 2025, has been playing in domestic cricket since losing her England contract last year.
“It is incredibly hard to imagine ever saying goodbye to playing the sport that has been such a huge part of my life and shaped me into the person I am today but the final chapter is in sight,” Cross said.
“I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to play the game I love professionally and get to do it at the highest level.”
Dame Sarah Storey, the chair of Lancashire where Cross made her debut aged 14 and became the first woman on the county’s academy, described Cross as a “true Lancashire legend”, adding she “made an incredible contribution to both Lancashire and England Women”.
Cross, who played in The Hundred final for Sunrisers Leeds last weekend, is due to play the reminder of the season for Lancashire, including against The Blaze on Sunday in Nottingham.
Cross made her England debut aged 22 in a T20 in West Indies and featured in England’s 2013-14 Ashes win – their most recent victory in the Women’s Ashes – that winter.
The seamer fell out of favour after a run across formats, meaning she watched England’s iconic 2017 World Cup win at Lord’s from a hospitality box.
But Cross regained her place and was a regular in the Test and 50-over England side until being left out by new coach Charlotte Edwards last summer.
Her last international was an ODI against India last July.
She finishes her career with 25 Test wickets, 101 in one-day internationals and 14 in T20s.
Carr won seven of his 21 Super League matches in charge and leaves with the Tigers ninth in the 14-team table.
Chester, who has led the team in the past two matches, said last week that they were not “actively looking” for a new head coach.
Owner Martin Jepson said he was “sorry” that Carr had left the club.
“We have had a difficult set of circumstances to deal with and unfortunately not been in a position to provide more information to the fans. However, our actions have been, and always will be, in the best interests of the club,” he said.
Jepson confirmed that Jason Netherton would assist Chester and Luke Robinson for the remaining four games of the campaign.
The Tigers visit St Helens on Saturday, looking to build on last week’s win at Hull FC.
Aston Villa have completed the signing of West Ham defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka on a season-long loan deal.
The deal for the DR Congo right-back includes a “conditional obligation to buy”.
The exact terms are not known, with the Hammers having previously asked interested clubs to pay a £25m fee.
The 28-year-old missed Championship club West Ham’s first two matches of the season during negotiations for a return to the Premier League.
Wan-Bissaka joined West Ham United on a seven‑year contract from Manchester United in 2024. He has made 65 appearances across his two seasons at the club, including 25 last season when the Hammers were relegated to the Championship.
He previously played 190 times for Manchester United, winning the League Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024.
More recently, Wan‑Bissaka started all four of DR Congo’s matches at the 2026 World Cup, helping them progress to the round of 32.
The new signing may feature in Villa’s first game of the Premier League at Brighton on Sunday (14:00 BST) and will also compete in the Champions League after the Villans finished fourth and won the Europa League under Unai Emery last season.
Having just been promoted from the National League South, Bromley finished 14th in the National League in the 2015-16 season.
That same year, Leicester City were upsetting the odds with their famous Premier League title win.
Such has been the rise of Andy Woodman’s Bromley, they can expect plenty more comparisons like that this season and, such has been the Foxes’ fall from grace, they will get similar.
While the Ravens are delighted to be in League One, Leicester are still rubbing the bruised ego which followed their disastrous relegation from the Championship on the back of demotion from the Premier League, amid various financial woes and points deductions.
Now under Russell Martin, rather than opening their home campaign against Arsenal, Liverpool or even Brighton, it is Burton Albion who will make the short trip to the King Power Stadium (15:00 BST) and home fans will find Gary Bowyer’s side have little respect for reputations.
Bromley’s home opener against Cambridge United (15:00 BST) may well be a re-run between two promoted sides from last season, but the hosts have already served notice of their intentions with their 1-0 win at Barnsley last weekend.
Joining Eintracht Frankfurt in May 2023 on a free transfer from Wolfsburg, the then 24-year-old Marmoush found form in his first season with the German side scoring 17 times across all competitions.
He then scored 15 Bundesliga goals from 8.9 expected goals (xG) during the first half of 2024-25, while registering nine assists in 17 league appearances. Across all competitions before leaving Germany, he had 20 goals and 13 assists in 26 games.
Set-pieces were another notable part of his game. Marmoush became the first player in Europe’s top five leagues since Lionel Messi in 2019 to score directly from a free-kick in three consecutive competitive matches. Manchester City then paid £59m for him in January 2025.
The early signs were encouraging. Marmoush scored his first career hat-trick against Newcastle, struck the winner in City’s FA Cup quarter-final at Bournemouth and then scored from long range against the same opponents in the Premier League. It was judged to be the goal of the season.
But there were difficult moments too.
With City trailing Crystal Palace in the 2025 FA Cup final, Erling Haaland handed Marmoush the ball for a penalty. His effort was saved by Dean Henderson as City went on to lose at Wembley.
Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha does not believe that moment should define Marmoush’s spell at the club.
“When I see Marmoush, I don’t see the penalty miss,” Onuoha told BBC Sport. “I see the strength he has with some of the runs he makes in behind.”
For Welsh fans, the arrival of the tour offers a chance to watch a strong contingent of homegrown riders racing alongside some of the sports biggest names, including 2024 winner and two-time world champion, Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx – Protime).
Among the Welsh headliners is British champion Zoe Backstedt who goes into stage 3 in 51st, 2 minutes 48 seconds behind leader, Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx – Protime).
The 21-year-old is competing less than three weeks on from making her highly anticipated Tour de France (TdF) Femmes debut, where she finished 50th overall.
Racing on home roads will offer Backstedt another exciting opportunity to build on what has already been a successful season.
The Canyon-SRAM rider has won British road race and time trial titles plus a sprint stage at the Tour de Suisse Femmes, and retained the 2026 Baloise Ladies Tour title a year after becoming the youngest winner of the race.
And she has her elder sister, Elynor Backstedt who rides for UAE Team L’IMAD, for company, making this year’s race a family affair, with their father Magnus also taking on a sport director role for Human Powered Health.
HOUSTON — Zach Neto was five for six with his 21st homer and a career-high seven RBIs and the Angels scored their most runs in three years to rout the Houston Astros 18-3 on Thursday night.
The Angels (51-77) had a season-high 18 hits and scored their most runs since a 25-1 victory over Colorado on June 24, 2023.
Angels starter Grayson Rodriguez (4-5) gave up just two unearned runs across seven innings while striking out six.
Peter Lambert (8-7) entered as Houston’s most consistent starter but had his worst outing of the season, giving up eight hits and nine runs in 3⅔ innings.
Houston slipped to 64-64 and saw its two-game lead in the AL West drop to one as Texas beat Washington.
In a scary moment in the fifth, Angels left fielder Wade Meckler was hit in the head by a 90-mph sinker from reliever Bryan King. The pitch appeared to hit Meckler on the helmet over his right ear. He was on the ground near home plate for a few minutes and was attended by medical staff before walking to the dugout and exiting the game.
Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel left in the sixth with right side soreness.
Up next: Angels LHP Reid Detmers (4-8, 3.78 ERA) was set to start against Rangers LHP MacKenzie Gore (7-9, 4.45) in Texas on Friday night. Astros RHP Hayden Wesneski (2-1, 5.16) was set to open a home series against Athletics RHP J.T. Ginn (8-7, 3.53).
The San Diego Padres minor league catching coordinator is in the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and will remain so “pending removal proceedings,” a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday in a statement.
Oswaldo Pirela, a former Texas Rangers minor league player, was detained Sunday morning at El Paso International Airport.
Pirela, 34, was flying to Phoenix, where he lives with his wife and two daughters. The Padres’ triple-A affiliate is the El Paso Chihuahuas, and Pirela was with the team during its home game Saturday night against the Salt Lake City Bees, an Angels affiliate.
The Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Pirela came to the United States from his native Venezuela in September 2014 and that his permission to remain expired Feb. 10, 2018.
Homeland Security said Pirela was not carrying his work permit at the time he was detained. Pirela’s brother Juan Pirela presented Phoenix multimedia news organization Arizona’s Family with Oswaldo’s work permit, which indicated it was issued in 2024 and is valid until 2029.
“It’s very hard. He’s authorized to work in the United States,” Juan Pirela said. “So, the same department, Homeland Security, issues a work permit but then somehow it’s not enough.”
The Homeland Security statement addressed the issue: “To be clear, work authorization or a pending application do NOT confer legal status in the United States.”
“In violation of our nation’s laws, [Pirela] overstayed his welcome. When approached by law enforcement officers, he was not in possession of legal documentation granting him status in the country. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings and will receive due process.
As a roving catching instructor, Pirela is based out of the Padres’ spring-training complex in Peoria, Ariz., and travels to the organization’s minor league affiliates in San Antonio, Fort Wayne, Ind., and Lake Elsinore in addition to El Paso. He spent the 2024 season as bench coach for the Class-A Lake Elsinore Storm and became the organization’s catching coordinator in 2025.
“We recently became aware of the detainment of minor league catching coordinator Oswaldo Pirela in El Paso, Texas,” the Padres club said in a statement. “We are working to gather additional information and will not have any further comment at this time.”
Pirela was signed by the Rangers at age 17 out of Barquisimeto, Venezuela, and played catcher, first base and the outfield from 2009 to 2011 for the team’s Dominican Republic Summer League affiliate.
With an ever-present smile, infectious spirit and larger-than-life personality, defensive back Cole Martin is always undeniably himself.
And that was evident when he introduced himself — alongside defensive backs Rodrick Pleasant and Scooter Jackson — to Bob Chesney during the head football coach’s first day in the UCLA facility.
“That’s him from Day One,” Chesney said, noting Martin has never changed the high energy he brought to the program on the day they met.
Martin is no stranger to the Bruins.
The Pasadena native grew up around the program and attended UCLA games at the Rose Bowl, where his dad, Demetrice Martin, was the defensive backs coach from 2012-2017.
“Growing up as a kid running around here, I just want to see this university back on top,” Martin said during UCLA spring workouts.
And while Cole Martin spent his first two seasons at Oregon and Arizona State, the defensive back followed his father back to Westwood ahead of the 2025 season.
During his inaugural year as a Bruin, Martin was one of three players to start all 12 games and ranked fourth on the team in total tackles with 65.
But after a 3-9 season, during which former head coach DeShaun Foster, defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe and offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri departed the program, Cole entered the transfer portal.
And while his father left for Arizona State to become a defensive analyst, Martin, alongside Jackson and Pleasant, ultimately decided to stay after meeting Chesney and hearing his vision.
“California boys, we are all here after coaches parted and we were up here, and Chesney came and we had a conversation with him and we all got together after and we were like, ‘He’s different,’” Martin said. “Being able to have that conversation and be genuine with your brothers who you had a hard season with, and you got a coach that is trying to change the whole trajectory. You have got to believe in somebody, and he’s somebody you can believe in.”
UCLA defensive back Cole Martin lines up on the field during the Bruins’ 2025 spring game.
(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)
After his first meeting with Chesney, Martin withdrew his name from the portal and got to work in Westwood.
While 10 transfers Chesney brought with him from James Madison know his system, Martin has demonstrated a natural understanding of the coach’s values.
Chesney selected Martin to be one of his first ambassadors to regional and national media outlets covering Big Ten football media days in Chicago, joining linebacker Sammy Omosigho and quarterback Nico Iamaleava representing the Bruins. Chesney called Martin an unbelievable leader and said that his energy will give people a window into what his program strives to look like.
“You just felt Cole’s personality and his infectious positivity, and I just said, ‘Man, we need this kid to stay. This kid is what I feel like our team should be like on a day-to-day basis,’ and he’s done a really good job of that,” Chesney said Monday while recalling his first impression of Martin.
Martin said Chesney’s focus on a family culture and competition has helped him thrive in a deep, experienced defensive back group.
“It’s a brotherhood. He does a great job of making sure that everybody buys into building that relationship with your brother next to you, the little things, such as more talking in the locker room, or doing things extra,” Martin said of Chesney. “He’s done a great job at doing that and it feels like a full brotherhood here.”
Chesney said that Cole is recovering from a minor injury during preseason camp, but he refuses to let his absence on the turf affect his impact on the squad.
“He’s been out for a little bit here, working through a muscle thing, but he’s still present,” Chesney said. “You watch him move around; he’s really close right now, and he’ll never stop being himself, which is great.”
Nico Iamaleava became a household name among college football fans.
Not because of his five-star, blue-chip status, leaving Warren High as the second-ranked prospect in the 2023 class and top-ranked recruit out of California.
Not for leading Tennessee to its first-ever College Football Playoff appearance and a 10-3 record — tying for the Volunteers’ second-best finish since 2001.
Instead, Iamaleava is remembered for his tumultuous exit from Knoxville, a parting characterized by head coach Josh Heupel that the program would move on without its starting signal-caller, leading the Long Beach product to UCLA.
More than one year removed after his departure, Iamaleava reflected at preseason media day on his time with the Volunteers, the effect last season had on his mental health and his mindset heading into 2026.
“In Tennessee, I was in a rough mental state as far as being far from home, but that’s what came with me growing and maturing,” Iamaleava said Wednesday. “So coming back home has been a great transition, and I can’t wait to play this year.”
While returning to Southern California brought the Bruins’ starting quarterback closer to his roots and family, the social media ridicule chased him cross-country, targeting not just him, but his parents too.
To combat the animosity centered on his family, Iamaleava focused on his support system, leaning on those around him and strengthening relationships with the people that he loved.
“Mental health is huge, and having a great support system with you definitely helps. I’ve had that with my parents, going to them whenever I need something,” Iamaleava said. “I have brothers that I can go and rely on, and coming back home to my family has been easy. I don’t really focus on the outside noise.”
While the majority of Iamaleava’s criticism stemmed from his departure from Knoxville, it reignited after UCLA started out the season 0-4 and finished the 2025 campaign 3-9 — a program worst since 2018.
Iamaleava could have allowed the disparagement to compound, but the starting signal-caller is using it as fuel for a 2026 season where many have the Bruins painted as a potential dark horse.
“Everybody counted us out. Last year wasn’t a great year for us, so we’re not on anybody’s radar,” Iamaleava said. “That fuels us, and really playing for each other is going to be the main thing.”
Being one of the few returning starters, Iamaleava has embraced a “vet” role, and has subsequently taken the mantle and burden of being the team’s leader.
And despite all of the negative sentiment surrounding Iamaleava and his time at Tennessee, it was with the Volunteers when he learned how to effectively lead and cultivate camaraderie.
“I learned a lot of that in Tennessee. I had a great vet in Joe Milton. He was a great quarterback,” Iamaleava said. “He’s at the Cowboys now, so learning under him, and then my whole O-line from Tennessee, I love them boys, and they helped me a lot too.”
Iamaleava is building on everything — the good and the bad — he learned from his time in Knoxville and his first year in Westwood entering the new season.
And as he enters his senior season with professional football aspirations on the horizon, Iamaleava has learned to not let external voices interfere with his internal confidence.
“I like to let people assume. Not a lot of people know me on a personal level, so it’s kind of hard to really focus on what they have to say,” Iamaleava said. “Those who know me in this locker room, those who know me in the building, those are the people I care about.”
