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Going into Week 8 of the high school football season, there are still 23 teams unbeaten in the Southern Section and City Section.
The three City teams are Cleveland, Granada Hills Kennedy and Marshall.
There are 20 in the Southern Section: Santa Margarita, Sierra Canyon, San Clemente, Corona del Mar, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, San Jacinto, Huntington Beach, Orange, Charter Oak, Mary Star, Bonita, Desert Christian, Los Altos, Nordhoff, San Marino, Nogales, Viewpoint, Royal, St. Bernard and Rancho Alamitos.
There are tough league games ahead, starting on Friday with Santa Margarita at St. John Bosco and Bishop Amat at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.
Sierra Canyon (7-0) remains the most likely to go 10-0, with Mission League games still remaining against Chaminade, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and Bishop Amat.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
MILWAUKEE — The Dodgers executed their game plan and lost. The Milwaukee Brewers executed their game plan and won.
Back in California, Dodgers fans screamed at their television sets. This is postseason baseball, where the best pitchers take center stage and runs are at a premium.
Why don’t the Dodgers at least try to mimic the Brewers? Would a stolen base or a sacrifice bunt every so often kill the Dodgers?
“I think we should play Dodger baseball,” shortstop Mookie Betts said. “So, whatever Dodger baseball is, that’s what we should do. We should not try and play Milwaukee Brewers baseball.”
And what is Dodger baseball?
“It’s a very complex thing,” Betts said. “We pitch. We play defense. We hit. We’ve got to figure out a way to get some timely hits. If we’ve got to steal a base, we’ll steal a base. But we don’t need to change our identity.”
In the big picture, no need to overreact to the Dodgers’ 2-1 loss in the National League Championship Series opener.
But take a close look at the bottom of the fifth inning, when the Brewers scored the decisive run. With the score tied 1-1, Garrett Mitchell walked to start the inning, and Cooper Pratt sacrificed him to second. Luis Lara singled him home, scoring a runner in scoring position.
Joey Ortiz then grounded into what would have been a double play, had the Brewers not started Lara from first base. That was huge: Ortiz was out at first but, by staying out of the double play, the Brewers forced Dodgers starter Tarik Skubal to throw an additional 15 pitches to secure that third out.
That forced the Dodgers to remove Skubal from the game after he made 26 pitches in the fifth inning, and 81 overall.
“They’re willing to give up an out to get a guy in scoring position to get a hit,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
The Dodgers have not dropped a sacrifice bunt this postseason. In their World Series championship run last year, they dropped five sacrifice bunts: two by outfielder Andy Pages, who wasn’t hitting; two by light-hitting backup catcher Ben Rortvedt; and one by infielder Miguel Rojas.
This is Dodger baseball: The Dodgers hit 50 more home runs this season than the Brewers, who finished last in the NL in homers.
The Brewers had more than twice as many stolen bases as the Dodgers and more than twice as many sacrifice bunts. The Dodgers’ NLCS roster accounted for six sacrifices this season, including three by infielder-outfielder Tommy Edman.
Brice Turang, who bats second for Milwaukee, homered off Skubal in the fourth inning Sunday and sacrificed in the eighth.
If you want to say the Dodgers should slug away and play for the big inning, fine. If you want to say the Dodgers should be reluctant to bunt in October with players not asked to bunt during the regular season, Edman isn’t buying that.
“It’s definitely tough,” Edman said. “But it’s definitely something that we should all be able to do. If you’re a big leaguer, you should be able to do everything on the field that you’re asked to do. If that’s what the situation of the game calls for, we should be able to do it.”
The Brewers have played five postseason games, scoring 15 runs. They have won four games, three of them by one run. If the Dodgers can take a few big swings, they could get mighty comfortable.
The Dodgers also have played five postseason games, scoring 15 runs. But here’s a defining difference: In each of their five games, the Brewers have two hits with runners in scoring position.
In their five games, the Dodgers have a total of two hits with runners in scoring position.
This is the place where you, gentle reader, remind me that I said the Dodgers executed their game plan. What the heck?
They did, actually: They thought their best chance to win was to run up the pitch count on Milwaukee ace Jacob Misiorowski and get him out of the game early.
Seven of the first nine batters did not swing at the first pitch. More than half the at-bats off Misiorowski took at least four pitches.
They fouled off 20 pitches and got him out of the game after 4⅓ innings, so the Milwaukee bullpen would have to cover more innings than he would.
“We lost, so it didn’t really work,” Betts said. “But we did a good job with some good at-bats and fouled off some pitches and made him work. That’s really all you can do.”
The Brewers have scored five of their 15 runs via the home run, the Dodgers 11 of 15. Do the Dodgers need to mix in some small ball and change their approach at bat?
“I don’t think guys are going up there trying to hit home runs,” Betts said. “Guys are going up there just trying to have good at-bats. Sometimes, you get ‘em. Sometimes you don’t. But we are playing against a really good team. We just have to put it behind us and just come out and play Dodger baseball.”
It’s time for Dodger baseball. Lose Game 2, and the Dodgers will be two defeats from a bitter winter.
While the DP World Tour agreed to grant conditional releases with nine players this season, it is understood the change for 2027 is predominantly down to LIV offering players equity in future and a feeling this is incompatible with the European tour being a members organisation.
However, it also comes at a time when the DP World Tour’s strategic alliance with the PGA Tour is being negotiated, so the move likely reflects a desire to put itself in the best position possible in those discussions.
Players will have until 16 November to sign up to the DP World Tour for next year.
Under the terms of its court-supervised restructuring process, LIV Golf needs to sign players up by 25 October.
Ted Goldthorpe, head of BC Partners Credit, told BBC Sport last week he was “confident” LIV would have a “critical mass” of players.
But since then two-time major winner Rahm has said he will not continue playing on the LIV tour.
Lawyers representing a number of other players, including fellow major winners Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith, sought clarification from the court that rejection of contracts would equate to “termination”, enabling players to hold discussions with third parties about their futures.
Richard Bland is currently the only player to have stated publicly a desire to play on LIV 2.0.
However, Perez indicated last month he hoped there would be a future for the league.
Carlo Holse scored three goals in the first 21 minutes and had the second hat trick in club history to help St. Louis City beat the Galaxy 6-2 on Sunday night to extend their unbeaten streak across all competitions to 20 games and tie the MLS record.
St. Louis, which is 13-0-5 in its past 18 regular-season games, tied the mark set when the New York Red Bulls went unbeaten in an MLS-record 20 consecutive games across all competitions in 2016.
Rafael Navarro converted from the penalty spot in the 45th minute, scored again in the 53rd and added two assists for St. Louis (14-6-8). Lukas MacNaughton scored on a diving header in the seventh minute of first-half stoppage time and Roman Burki had five saves.
Holse opened the scoring in the second minute, added a goal in the seventh and skipped a shot inside the right post from the center of the area to make it 3-0 in the 21st minute to record the second-fastest hat trick in MLS history. Hany Mukhtar scored three goals for Nashville in the first 16 minutes of 5-1 win over Chicago on July 17, 2021.
The Galaxy’s Kyogo Furuhashi went off because of an apparent hamstring injury and was replaced in the 10th minute by João Klauss, whose goal in the 71st minute capped the scoring. Klauss, a 29-year-old midfielder in his first season with the Galaxy, had St. Louis City’s first hat trick in a 3-3 tie with the Galaxy on June 14, 2025.
Robert Taylor scored in the 31st minute for the Galaxy (9-11-9).
St. Louis beat the Galaxy 3-1 on July 22 at Dignity Health Sports Park.
MILWAUKEE — The Dodgers have a big hole in the middle of their batting order, and it’s not Shohei Ohtani.
If anything, Ohtani has reemerged as an offensive force in the cleanup spot, singling, walking and scoring the Dodgers’ only run Sunday in a 2-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series.
The problem is with the guy hitting in front of Ohtani.
Will Smith walked in four plate appearances, marking just the second time he’s reached base in the postseason. In the four division series games against the Atlanta Braves, he had a single in 16 at-bats, striking out seven times. He’s hitting .053 in the playoffs — only Cleveland’s Ángel Martínez has a lower average among players with at least nine at-bats.
But there’s not much the Dodgers can do about it. They are built to win with pitching and Smith, the catcher, is the guy they rely on to guide those pitchers through games.
Dalton Rushing, who started just five fewer games behind the plate than Smith this season, is injured and not on the roster. Hunter Feduccia, who did make the team, caught just 15 complete games this season and isn’t an option to start in the playoffs.
“I’m not going to put Feduccia in place of Will Smith,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “That’s just not going to happen.”
So Roberts and the Dodgers are left to muddle on with Smith regardless of how much he struggles offensively. That’s because he’s far more valuable crouching behind the plate than standing next to it.
“I don’t even know how he’s performing offensively,” said Tarik Skubal, who took the loss Sunday. “Catchers, I think it’s the most important position on the field. They’re the ones calling pitches, dictating game flow, rhythm, all that type of stuff. I’m going to trust those guys always.”
Smith appears to be executing his catching duties very well, since opponents have scored just 10 runs and are hitting .160 against the Dodgers this postseason. Only Tampa Bay, which has played two fewer games, has done better.
As for what Smith thinks, that’s unknown because the Dodgers did not make him available to the media Sunday. But since he’s not coming out of the lineup, the next-best solution might be moving him to another spot in the order.
That worked with Ohtani, who had as many strikeouts as hits in the first two games of the division series, when he batted second. Since being dropped in the order, he has reached base four times in three games, stolen a base and scored twice.
“There’s always lineup construction. I can think it through. He’s not swinging the bat well,” Roberts said of Smith. “It’s hard because of the body of work, he just has that knack to get a hit, to get a big hit.”
Smith was on the injured list for 86 days this summer because of neck disk inflammation, returning for the final month when he slashed .290/.400/.548. He has cooled off considerably in October, just as he did last year, when he returned from a right hand contusion three games into the playoffs and got just two hits in his first 14 at-bats.
He recovered to bat .400 in last year’s NLCS win over Milwaukee, then broke a 4-4 tie with his winning homer against the Toronto Blue Jays. Just as important, though, Smith caught all but 11 innings in the Dodgers’ final 15 postseason games — including two 11-inning games and another that lasted 18 innings.
Smith rarely has hit well in the postseason, batting just .206 in 18 series, which may explain Roberts’ lack of panic. Plus, Roberts knows his All-Star catcher has helped him win three World Series rings, and if the Dodgers are to get another, it will be on the strength of their pitching, not their hitting.
And that side of Smith’s game is as strong as ever.
“To be honest, that’s not where my focus is with Will,” Skubal said of his catcher’s hitting. “My focus is what he’s doing behind the dish and he’s very important. He’s very important to the entire pitching staff.”
Olympic and defending world champions will be competing at the Shanghai Velodrome for the 2026 Track World Championships this week, and you can watch it on the BBC.
There are 22 titles at stake and this is the first track cycling qualifying event for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
The championships, taking place between 14 and 18 October, will see riders compete for the coveted rainbow jerseys in a range of disciplines, with events split between endurance and sprint.
Great Britain finished second in 2025 with the Netherlands taking top spot with nine gold medals. Harrie Lavreysen was once again the dominant force for the Dutch team, winning an incredible four gold medals in the Keirin, Sprint, 1km Time Trial and the Team Sprint.
What happened to that docile small-town bunch that was once embarrassingly soft? What happened to the team with great stats but none of the swagger, a team that the Dodgers swept last October in a playoff series that wasn’t that close?
The Dodgers entered the National League Championship Series at Milwaukee’s American Family Field on Sunday knowing the Brewers had the best record in baseball, the best batting average in baseball, the best bullpen in baseball, and still…
They had to be convinced this wasn’t the same Brewer team that had famously rolled over one short year ago.
Well, um… duck!
In a first round that portended a lengthy and bloody fight, the Dodgers clutched to a 1-0 lead after three innings with ace Tarik Skubal on the mound and Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski headed for the showers.
Then they lost it.
They lost to a rare Brewer home run. They lost to a trademark Brewer bunt. They lost to four stifling Brewer relievers.
In the end, they lost the series opener 2-1 to a relentless Brewer effort filled with all the muscle and hustle of their football-toting neighbors up in Green Bay.
This time, when they were knocked down, the Brewers didn’t stay down.
This time, the Brewers swung back and swung harder and eventually landed a stunning blow deep into the Dodgers’ psyche.
This time, it’s clearly going to be different.
This time they tied the game in the fourth inning on a Brice Turang home run, then took the lead an inning later on a perfect example of the manufactured attack that is pure Brewerball.
Garrett Mitchell walked, rookie Cooper Pratt laid down a sacrifice bunt and light-hitting Luis Lara banged the next pitch up the middle to score Mitchell from second for the 2-1 lead.
From there, the league’s best bullpen held the Dodgers to two singles in the last four innings, with the Dodgers stranding two runners on base in two of them. On a night they ended three innings with double plays and have still not focused their postseason hitting efforts, the final inning epitomized the frustration.
With two outs against closer Trevor Megill, Kyle Tucker drew a seven-pitch walk and kid pinch-hitter Josue De Paula drew a walk, and the sort of heroics the Dodgers have displayed for the previous two postseasons were all set up for Mookie Betts.
And he promptly lofted the second pitch to center fielder Mitchell, who made the catch and screamed and flexed with the sort of hearty celebration that usually comes from the Dodgers.
A different day indeed.
Last season in the NLCS, the Dodgers won the opener by this exact same score and the series was never really close. Don’t expect the Brewers to follow the same path, but also don’t expect this to be easy.
Milwaukee’s Brice Turang celebrates with third base coach Matt Erickson after hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning against the Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
The Dodgers should get the equalizer in this best-of-seven series Monday afternoon with October superstar Yoshinobu Yamamoto facing relatively untested Logan Henderson.
But who knows? If the Brewers are going to act like this for a week, the Dodgers could be in big trouble.
The two-time defending champs aren’t panicking. But they’re not happy either. And if you listen closely, perhaps you can pick up a scent of worry.
“Yeah, you can’t go into a long series against a team that has the best record in baseball and expect to just win four,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It’s going to be a long series. We knew it coming in. We had our chances, but they made plays, pitches when they needed to.”
And the Dodgers, particularly one man in the middle of their order and behind the plate, failed to do the same.
Will Smith grounded into a double play and went hitless in three at-bats and is now one for 19 in the postseason.
“Yeah, he’s not swinging the bat well,” said Roberts, who remains hopeful. “He just has that knack to get a hit, a big hit.”
More of a lost cause is Shohei Ohtani, who banged out a single in three at-bats and is three for 16 in the postseason.
The Brewers seem better able to handle slumps from their stars because they’re all about the business of creating runs from what unselfish soul finds himself in the spotlight.
When asked about the key to this culture, Turang said, “I think the buy-in factor with everyone buying into what we’re trying to accomplish and kind of our style of play. Then not only that, like guys are getting more experience, they’re learning the game — even for me, still learning, getting experience. That’s a big factor in this.”
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski celebrates after striking out Kyle Tucker in the fourth inning Sunday in Game 1 of the NLCS.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Spoken like a guy who believes his team is on the verge of taking the next step. Turang said the key is what happens when they are faced with adversity — like Sunday night.
“Then not giving up when we are behind in the game and knowing that we can do it, we can make up runs,” he said. “This group is really, really good with that.”
As for the Dodgers, they know they’re really, really good at just about everything. But they know that time could be quickly running out on their chance to once again show it.
“We’ve just got to reset,” Roberts said. “We’ve got our guy going tomorrow, who we trust undoubtedly, and we’ve got to win a baseball game.”
This October, against this newly rumpled and roughneck version of the Milwaukee Brewers, that’s apparently going to be easier said than done.
England are set to add the first name to Stephen Fleming’s backroom team, with Eric Simons joining as Test bowling coach.
Former South Africa head coach Simons is a long-time ally of Fleming, having worked alongside him in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with Chennai Super Kings.
Simons’ new role will be confirmed on Monday, when England announce the latest round of central contracts.
New Zealander Fleming is assembling a backroom team for his first series in charge, against South Africa in December.
The shake-up in the staff comes as England once again split head-coaching responsibilities across formats. Fleming is in charge of the Test side and Brendon McCullum leads the white-ball teams.
When McCullum was Test coach, England used a number of fast-bowling consultants, including James Anderson, David Saker and Tim Southee.
Saker will be part of the England staff for the one-day tri-series in Pakistan this month, alongside long-term McCullum assistant Jeetan Patel, Mike Yardy and Carl Hopkinson.
Southee and fielding coach Sarah Taylor, who have been with England throughout the home summer, might rejoin the team later in the winter.
Kevin Pietersen has been appointed as a batting consultant to the white-ball teams in the run-up to the 50-over World Cup in southern Africa.
Former England batter Pietersen will not be on the tour of Pakistan, but is due to join the squad for the white-ball tour of Australia and then in South Africa for the three one-day internationals in the country of his birth in January.
Marcus Trescothick took interim charge of the Test team for the series against Pakistan. His future in the England set-up has been the subject of speculation and is yet to be confirmed.
Simons, 64, played 23 one-day internationals for South Africa in 1994 and 1995.
He also worked with Fleming at the Joburg Super Kings in the SA20 and the Texas Super Kings in Major League Cricket.
Simons had two years in charge of the South Africa team between 2002 and 2004 and a spell as India’s bowling coach.
Speaking on Match of the Day, Wayne Rooney and Toby Alderweireld discuss whether Ryan Gravenberch should have been sent off, after he received two yellow cards in Liverpool 3-0 defeat to Manchester City in the Premier League.
Speaking on Match of the Day, Wayne Rooney and Toby Alderweireld analyse how Jeremy Doku changed the game in Manchester City’s favour, after coming on as a substitute in his side’s 3-0 win against Liverpool at Anfield.
Speaking on Match of the Day, Toby Alderweireld and Wayne Rooney discuss why Manchester City’s 3-0 victory against Liverpool leaves the Premier League in limbo as the club awaits a potential punishment, which could include a points deduction, after they were found guilty of financial breaches.
Speaking on Match of the Day, Wayne Rooney says VAR made the wrong decision in awarding Crystal Palace their second goal, which saw the home side take the lead as they went on to beat Nottingham Forest 3-1 in the Premier League.
Aston Villa are looking at signing Real Madrid striker Endrick, Liverpool are weighing up a move for Barcelona’s Marc Bernal and Everton are leading the chase for Rennes striker Esteban Lepaul.
Former Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann has been linked with a return to RB Leipzig but Red Bull football chief Roger Schmidt has rejected those rumours and backed current boss Martin Demichelis. (Sky Sports Germany), external
England striker Dominic Solanke, 29, has no plans to look at a move away from Tottenham, even with Spurs planning to add to their attack in January. (Football Insider), external
The Rams quarterback gave another masterclass last Sunday when he led the Rams to victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. It was Stafford’s 40th fourth-quarter comeback victory, leaving the 18th-year pro one shy of tying Ben Roethlisberger for third on the all-time list behind Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
But through four games, this has not otherwise been a prodigious start for the reigning NFL most valuable player and future Hall of Famer.
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Gary Klein breaks down what to watch for when the Rams face the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium on Monday night.
Stafford, 38, has passed for six touchdowns, with six interceptions, for a team that is 2-2 going into its game on Monday night against the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium.
Stafford is tied with the Chargers’ Justin Herbert for second-most interceptions in the NFL, trailing only the New England Patriots’ Drake Maye, who has seven.
And while Stafford’s numbers are more middling than fall-off-a-cliff poor, they rank among his slowest statistical starts.
Only twice in his career has Stafford had six passes intercepted in the first four games.
As a rookie in 2009, the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft had three passes intercepted in his first game, two in the second, none in the third and one in the fourth.
The same pattern repeated in 2022 during the Rams’ infamous Super Bowl hangover that ended with a 5-12 record, and Stafford on injured reserve.
Last season, in the Rams’ first four games, Stafford passed for eight touchdowns, with two interceptions, en route to a 3-1 start and what eventually became his run to a first MVP award.
So Stafford acknowledged that he personally has “room for improvement.”
“Some really bright moments, and some stuff I’m really proud of,” Stafford said, “and stuff that I definitely wish I could take back and help us be in a better position to win games. That comes with the position.”
The Rams’ — and Stafford’s — season began poorly after the team’s misguided decision to arrive in Australia the day before they played the San Francisco 49ers in the season opener. Stafford passed for only 155 yards, with an interception, in a 27-7 defeat.
Stafford rebounded by passing for four touchdowns, with an interception, in a 28-6 victory over the New York Giants at SoFi Stadium.
In the next game at Denver, Stafford completed 30 of 55 passes for 390 yards and two touchdowns. But Broncos safety Talanoa Hufanga intercepted two passes, one he returned for a touchdown and another in the end zone in the final seconds of a 30-26 Rams defeat.
Against the Eagles, Stafford completed 32 of 51 passes for 317 yards, with two interceptions.
“He was at his best in the most important moments,” coach Sean McVay said. “That’s the competitive greatness — to find a way in spite of some different things that maybe didn’t go our way.”
Stafford was asked this week how he managed to stay calm, not feel rattled and still take shots at clutch plays after committing turnovers in a hostile environment.
His answer: Trust his preparation and live with the results.
“The world’s going to have an opinion on how I played every single play of every single day — that’s something I’m used to,” he said. “Are there areas I want to be better that [reporters] don’t even pick up and talk about? Absolutely. Are there the obvious ones? For sure.”
Last season, starting in Week 4, Stafford put together a personal-best streak of eight games without an interception. He passed for 25 touchdowns during that stretch. In 17 games, he passed for a career-best 46 touchdowns, with eight interceptions.
Stafford has endured throughout his career by never getting too high or too low. So that won’t change.
“I want to do everything I can to put our team in the best position to succeed,” he said. “I’ve done that sometimes this year and other times I have not.
“I want to make sure that I do that at a more consistent clip moving forward.”
While Liverpool have won twice on their travels this season, they now sit ninth in the league – and their main issue seems fairly clear.
They have scored just seven goals this season – just twice at Anfield – and only seven teams have managed fewer.
It was early on in the first half when the cameras panned to Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai in the Main Stand at Anfield – all three of them were out with injuries.
Among them, the trio have scored six of Liverpool‘s seven league goals this season and on a day when Man City’s attack showed their class, Liverpool didn’t show any quality in the final third.
City (16) have scored more than double the goals Liverpool (7) have scored this season in the top flight.
Across three league games at Anfield this season, Liverpool have failed to score in two of them. That must improve.
In Isak’s absence, Lewis Koumas put in a great shift. However, the 21-year-old lacks that killer edge in front of goal at this level.
The focus must fall on summer signings Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola. It is this kind of game where you need a match-winning moment and neither showed anywhere near the quality that is expected when you have a price tag of over £100m.
There was one moment at 0-0 in the 55th minute when Wirtz had Milos Kerkez and Barcola in acres of space to his left, but chose to shoot and fired wide.
“You learn a lot in games like today,” Iraola said. “I am very proud of my players. They put the work rate and everything in today. It’s a loss and we didn’t get anything from the performance but I liked it a lot.”
But deep down, Iraola will know there is a lot of work to do and getting the big money signings to deliver will be high on his agenda.
NEW YORK — UCLA jumped to No. 12 in the latest Associated Press top 25 poll following its upset of Oregon and USC retained its No. 19 ranking following its win at hostile Penn State.
The poll saw many changes following a Saturday filled with upsets.
Georgia moved up to No. 1 after its win at Alabama, Texas dropped six spots to No. 7 after its loss to rival Oklahoma and Oregon was unranked for the first time in four years after losing for the second time in the past month.
The Bulldogs, who had been No. 2 for five straight polls while rolling off five straight lopsided wins, went on the road and beat Alabama 20-17 with the help of what appeared to be a missed pass interference call in the end zone late in the game.
Georgia received 66 first-place votes from the panel of 70 media members after its first victory in Tuscaloosa since 2014 and ascended to the top of the poll for the first time since Sept. 8, 2024.
Notre Dame, which tuned up for this week’s top-10 matchup at BYU with a 58-7 rout of Stanford, moved up one spot to No. 2. The Fighting Irish got one first-place vote and have their highest ranking since they were No. 2 in the final poll of the 2024 season.
No. 3 Miami, which received two first-place votes, is followed by Ohio State and Indiana. The Hoosiers, who received the remaining first-place vote, got a two-spot promotion after their narrow win at Nebraska.
Alabama remained No. 6, and Texas, BYU, Mississippi and Texas Tech completed the top 10.
Oregon came into the season with its highest preseason ranking ever at No. 2. The Ducks’ turnover-fueled 17-15 home loss to UCLA dropped them to 3-2 and knocked them out of the poll for the first time since they went from No. 11 to unranked following a 49-3 loss to Georgia in the 2022 opener.
No. 12 UCLA and No. 15 Kentucky got the biggest promotions. The Bruins moved up nine spots with their win over Oregon, and the Wildcats went from unranked to No. 15 with their 35-34 overtime win over LSU, which dropped from No. 10 to No. 22.
In and out
In: Kentucky, which dropped out last week after beating South Carolina, is back in the poll with its highest ranking since early October 2022.
In: No. 21 Wake Forest is 5-1 and ranked for the first time since late October 2022.
In: No. 25 Northwestern, at 4-1, earned its first ranking under fourth-year coach David Braun.
Out: Oregon hasn’t lost two of its first five games since the 2016 team opened 2-5 and finished 4-8.
Out: Florida has gone from No. 8 to No. 16 to out of the rankings in two weeks following its 38-19 home loss to South Carolina.
Out: Pittsburgh managed just one touchdown on eight second-half possessions in a 21-17 home loss to North Carolina.
Poll points
— This is the second time in three years there have been three or more No. 1 teams in the first six polls. Georgia, Texas and Alabama took turns holding the top spot in the first six polls in 2024. The only other time in the Top 25 era that three teams had been No. 1 at this point of a season was 1990.
— Notre Dame and Miami, dubbed “Catholic vs. Convicts” rivals since their classic game in 1988, haven’t been together in the top three since Nov. 9, 1993.
— Texas’ six-spot fall from No. 1 to No. 7 matched its drop following a season-opening loss to Ohio State last year.
Alisson: Could do nothing to keep out Erling Haaland’s strike then beaten by a beauty from Jeremy Doku and some solid footwork from Rayan Cherki. 5
Ronald Araujo: Got a cheap yellow card early on and will be annoyed that the first two Man City goals came from his side. 5
Virgil van Dijk: Often pushed out of position to help Liverpool deal with getting outnumbered in midfield. Perhaps could have closed Haaland down quicker. 6
Jeremy Jacquet: Wasn’t a bad display from a young talent who is very impressive but this must have been a real eye-opener against a quality City attack. 6
Milos Kerkez: Battled well with Iliman Ndiaye and pushed up regularly but lacked quality in the final third. 5
Alexis Mac Allister: Grew into the game and put in a good shift but struggled once Liverpool went down to 10 men. 5
Ryan Gravenberch: Came in for the injured Dominik Szoboszlai and was Liverpool‘s best player until he got sent off for a second yellow card. Naive on his part. 6
Victor Munoz: Played with such a fearlessness and was an absolute nuisance for Man City, causing Nico O’Reilly all sorts of problems. 7
Florian Wirtz: Simply has got to do better, particularly in games of this magnitude. Was largely ineffective and made some poor decisions. 4
Bradley Barcola: Sharp on the ball and did his defensive duties but, like Wirtz, must to do more in the final third. 5
Lewis Koumas: Making his first Premier League start and the 21-year-old got stuck in from the outset in an energetic display that was loved by the Anfield crowd. 7
Subs:
Nyoni (on 66, Wirtz): 6
Frimpong (on 75, Araujo):5
Ngumoha (on 75, Koumas): 5
Gomez (on 88, Jacquet)
Chiesa (on 88, Barcola)
Subs not used: Mamardashvili, Endo, Tsimikas, McConnell,
MILWAUKEE — The Dodgers added left-handed reliever Justin Wrobleski to the National League Championship Series roster on Sunday, bolstering their bullpen with a pitcher who can cover multiple innings, as they take on the Milwaukee Brewers, the best team in the regular season.
In the Dodgers’ first best-of-seven series of the postseason, they will carry 13 pitchers and 13 position players — one more pitcher and one fewer position player than the previous round.
To even the balance, they left pinch-runner/defensive replacement Hyeseong Kim off the NLCS roster. Kim appeared in just one game in the NLDS, on defense in the ninth inning of Game 4.
Wrobleski was an All-Star for his first-half performance (2.69 ERA). But an up and down second half included a short stint in the injured list, as the team kept an eye on his workload, and a move to the bullpen. He finished the season strong, allowing just one run in his last eight appearances (8 ⅔ innings).
“Length, having a guy that can go two or three, is something where you essentially protect downside on the pitching,” manager Dave Roberts said Saturday when asked what traits the Dodgers would prioritize when considering which pitcher to add. “As far as handedness, they’re pretty balanced, so that really doesn’t come into play. For us, it’s more of who can take down a couple innings.”
High school sports programs are filled with dozens of volunteers — manning the snack bar, taking tickets, helping provide security, cleaning floors, carrying equipment and taking statistics.
On and on it goes.
One of the most entrusted volunteers in football is the cameraman. That person must film the entire game, whether from the press box or the sideline.
Bennett Rogers is in his first year as Palos Verdes High’s cameraman. He sits in the end zone and has a camera that goes up so high on a tripod that it could be waving a flag. His son coaches for Palos Verdes, so he volunteered to shoot the games.
His most important equipment is a portable, comfortable chair that lasts through four quarters.
“That’s the key for my age,” he said.
To all the moms and dads volunteering, you’re the unsung heroes. Just make sure you have a sturdy chair when taking video.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
Hamilton had started on the medium tyres while Verstappen and Leclerc chose the softs. Despite his theoretically more durable tyres, the Briton pitted on lap 18 to switch to the softs, while Leclerc waited until lap 24 to swap his softs for mediums.
Leclerc came out of the pits from his stop just ahead of Hamilton, who had stronger pace on his softer tyres.
Yet Ferrari chose not to order Leclerc to let Hamilton through to maximise his pace, a decision that was questioned by Hamilton from the car.
A virtual safety car was called on lap 39 and Leclerc and Antonelli, who had chased the Ferraris closely from the start from his fourth place on the grid, took the opportunity for a cheap pit stop – it takes 10 seconds less to stop under a safety car than under racing conditions.
Yet Hamilton, despite having older tyres, did not stop, a decision that promoted him to second behind Verstappen.
As Leclerc was catching Hamilton, the Briton was told he needed to stop again; he pushed back to suggest he try to go to the end, but was told they were six laps short to make it in terms of tyre life.
Leclerc soon caught Hamilton and passed him on lap 46 and set off after Verstappen, but could get no closer than 7.3 seconds to the Red Bull.
Hamilton never did stop, but as his tyres lost grip he fell back into the clutches of Norris and Antonelli.
A passing attempt by Norris on lap 54 with eight to go saw Hamilton run off track and take to the escape road at Turn One, but as he did, Antonelli grabbed the chance to pass the McLaren, and then Hamilton later on the same lap.
Norris followed him through, and now Hamilton fell back towards the second McLaren of Oscar Piastri, who passed him on the final lap after a resolute attempted defence from Hamilton.
It was Hamilton’s call not to stop and he apologised for it on the slowing down lap – but there remain a number of questions as to the choices made.
Russell’s fight back through the field took him up to seventh as he delayed his pit stop as long as possible.
But after dropping back to 10th behind Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, he passed Gasly after trailing him for 10 laps or so, but could not make it past Hulkenberg, who was himself chasing Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson.
Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar took the final point in 10th after starting from the back.
Duffy scored both goals in Derry’s win at Eamonn Deacy Park to send his side into the final and was understandably emotional at the final whistle, aware that ” it was so importnat we got to the final this year”.
“It’s been a tough year all round,” he continued.
“Now we can get a real buzz around the town this month, build it up and get that good feeling back between us all. We’ve a brilliant day to look for ward to.”
Derry City’s form has imporved since Connolly’s appointment in August as they have removed any fears of relegation while reaching the cup final.
Duffy praised the impact of the former defender who he feels has liberated the team to express themselves on the pitch.
“He’s letting us play free-flowing football, encouraging all the defenders to try and play football as we’re all good players,” Duffy said.
“He wants us to take risks and we’re constantly doing that every day in training. Before matches he’s saying that if we lose the ball, that’s on him.
“He’s enclouraging us so much and it’s so enjoyable to play in. I think you can see that in these last few weeks were we are dominant and playing some nice football, but the main thing is players are digging in massively.
“You can see on the pitch it means everything to every player.”
