Get the latest updates on your favorite sports, from thrilling matches and championship events to player transfers and team rivalries. Dive into insightful analysis, expert opinions, and behind-the-scenes stories that bring you closer to the world of sports.
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner says his side showed great “character” and believes they are a group that “never gives up” despite falling to a 3-1 loss against Chelsea at Selhurst Park.
MATCH REPORT: Crystal Palace (3-1) Chelsea
Available to UK users only.
The last time I hosted my out-of-town family at Disneyland was in 2023.
That year, two young cousins and their parents were excited to visit Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, which had opened a couple of years earlier.
My cousins grew up on Star Wars films (their parents had some familiarity) and knew who they wanted to see: Darth Vader, Yoda, Chewbacca and Luke Skywalker.
So they were surprised to notice that the two biggest rides, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, centered around what they considered to be lesser Star Wars characters.
Instead of Darth Vader, universally regarded as one of the most famous villains in film, Kylo Ren was much more visible, as was Episode One bad guy Darth Maul walking around for photos throughout the Black Spire Outpost. There was more Rey, the heroine, from recent Star Wars films and less Han Solo.
My relatives snapped their photos, rode the attractions and still enjoyed their time. But to them, the trip is one remembered as being slightly incomplete.
Apparently, someone at Disneyland agrees that more Vader is better.
The park recently confirmed a shift in philosophy, and the land will no longer “be primarily set in the time period of the recent ‘Star Wars’ sequels,” according to my colleague Todd Martens.
Martens noted the park soon will include more of Darth Vader and the other classic characters on which the franchise was built.
Let’s take a look at some of his reporting.
Modern villain Ren, played in the movies by Adam Driver, will be out, at least as a walk-around character, while so-called “classic” characters such as Vader, Solo, Luke Skywalker, Solo and Princess Leia Organa will head into the fictional galactic town of Black Spire Outpost.
The changes, for now, are specific to Disneyland and not planned for the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
The adjustment also marks a significant tweak from the intent of the land, which was designed as an active, play-focused area that broke free from traditional theme park trappings — character meet-and-greets, passive rides and Mickey-shaped balloons.
Instead of music, guests heard radio broadcasts and chatter, as the goal was to make Black Spire Outpost feel rugged and lived-in.
It was to be a place of living theater, where events unfolded in real time. That tone will now shift, and while the in-land radio broadcasts won’t go away, Disneyland will soon pipe in composer John Williams’ “Star Wars” orchestrations throughout the area as well.
The changes are set to fully take effect April 29, although Disney has stated some tweaks may roll out earlier.
A reworking of the land to incorporate the franchise’s classic (and arguably more popular) characters feels in some part an acknowledgment that park visitors likely crave familiarity over ongoing narratives designed to play make-believe. Or at least it’s an acknowledgment that such a direction is easier to maintain.
“Since the very inception of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, we really always imagined it as a platform for storytelling,” said Asa Kalama, a creative executive with Walt Disney Imagineering, the company’s arm devoted to theme park experiences, at the media briefing. “That’s part of the reason we designed this neutral Wild West space town because it allowed it to be a framework in which we could project different stories.”
Kalama pointed to next year being the 50th anniversary of the initial “Star Wars” movie, since renamed “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope,” and this May’s theatrical release “The Mandalorian & Grogu” as to why this is an opportune time to shift the direction of the land. To coincide with the release of the latter, the Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run attraction will receive a new mission May 22, meaning the land’s two rides will soon be set in different “Star Wars” time frames.
There’s much more to absorb from Martens’ article. Check out the full version here.
(Brandon Bell / Getty Images)
(Illustrations by Lindsey Made This; photograph by Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage.
Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.
American Patrick Reed shot a level-par 72 in his final round to ease to a four-shot victory in the Dubai Desert Classic.
The 35-year-old LIV golfer finished the tournament at 14 under par to claim what was his first Rolex Series victory on the DP World Tour.
Reed, the Masters champion in 2018, started the final round with a four-shot lead over Spaniard and fellow LIV player David Puig, an advantage he maintained in the early going despite not making a birdie across the front nine.
Puig birdied the eighth and ninth to briefly cut into his playing partner’s lead, before both birdied the 10th and bogeyed the 11th.
When the Spaniard bogeyed the 13th, and Reed made his second birdie of the day on the same hole, it was a straightforward finish to the tournament for the former world number six.
“I couldn’t really get anything going on the front nine, it was a bit of a grind today,” Reed told Sky Sports.
“Instead of putting the foot on the gas early, I was just trying to protect that four-shot lead. I didn’t think I hit it that badly, I just couldn’t get anything close.
“When you’re trying to protect, sometimes instead of looking at flags, you’re looking away and then you misjudge the wind and all of a sudden you’re 50 feet away. That’s kind of what happened.”
Australian Jay Vine won the Tour Down Under – despite being knocked off his bike in a crash caused by a kangaroo.
Britain’s Matthew Brennan took the fifth and final stage of the race in Australia, on a day dominated by drama in the peloton.
The kangaroo ran across the road with under 100km of the race to go and launched itself into the peloton, knocking several riders to the ground before tumbling into more who were trying to avoid it.
Vine, having been knocked down, used a team-mate’s bike to claim the overall winner’s ochre jersey by one minute three seconds for UAE Team Emirates-XRG.
Visma-Lease A Bike rider Brennan beat New Zealand’s Finn Fisher-Black of Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe to the line for the stage victory after a powerful acceleration on the uphill sprint finish.
Brennan’s team-mate Menno Huising of the Netherlands was one of the riders forced to abandon the race, having been injured in the kangaroo incident.
Tobias Lund Andresen of Decathlon-CMA CGM took third on the 169.8km stage around the Stirling near Adelaide.
Switzerland’s Mauro Schmid of Jayco-AlUla was second overall and Australia’s Harry Sweeney third for EF Education-EasyPost.
Lund Andresen took the blue points jersey, with Norway’s Martin Urianstad Bugge winning the mint-green king of the mountains jersey for Uno X Mobility.
Brennan ranks highly among several young talented British riders competing on the UCI World Tour this year.
He won 12 races in his debut elite-level season in 2025.
The win caps a good week for British riders at the first World Tour race of the year following Ethan Vernon’s sprint victory on Saturday’s stage four for NSN – the new team co-owned by World Cup winner Andres Iniesta.
That stage had been shortened to account for temperatures of up to 43C.
UK road champion Sam Watson won the opening prologue of the race for Ineos Grenadiers.
Many of the riders will now take on the one-day Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in Melbourne, with Brennan a strong favourite for victory.
Brennan is particularly powerful on rolling one-day courses, and is set to compete in several of the sport’s biggest races this year, including the one-day Milan-San Remo in March, as well as the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix in April.
It was alumni day on Saturday at Harvard-Westlake’s O’Malley Family Field, and the Wolverines unveiled a new way to honor their nine former players who made it to the major leagues. They have posted jerseys of the players on the outfield walls. Let’s just say they might run out of room the way things are going.
“That’s a good problem,” coach Jared Halpert said.
Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and Detroit Tigers pitcher Jack Flaherty joined former major leaguers Nik Turley and Josh Satin in being honored before a winter baseball game.
Youth players were there seeking autographs, and lots of former Harvard-Westlake players showed up.
Jack Flaherty with his mother at O’Malley Family Field on Saturday.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
Halpert said two more former Harvard-Westlake players are close to reaching the majors and first-round draft pick Bryce Rainer of the Tigers will surely see his jersey on the wall one day.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
A straight-set win over American seed Tommy Paul takes world number one Carlos Alcaraz into a 14th Grand Slam quarter-final, surpassing the record for the most of any player in the Open era before turning 23.
READ MORE: Altered serve an ‘important weapon’ for Alcaraz
Available to UK users only. There is no commentary on this video.
Sisters Alyssa and Gisele Thompson have played soccer together their entire lives, teammates throughout their amateur and professional careers. Alyssa turned pro in 2023 at age 18 when she signed with Angel City FC, and Gisele followed.
Now, Alyssa is continuing her career in Europe with Chelsea FC, having transferred in September on a $1.3-million deal, while Gisele is preparing for her third season with Angel City. At just 20 years old, Gisele will face her first full season without her sister, on a professional — and personal — path that has been far from conventional.
Instead of taking a break in January, as many young women her age do before entering college, Gisele was at training camp with the U.S. senior team and played in a 6-0 win over Paraguay on Saturday in a friendly at Dignity Health Sports Park. Gisele, a defender known for her speed on the wings, next will join preseason training with Angel City; she signed a four-year contract extension in September.
Alyssa and Gisele played together the last two NWSL seasons and competed for the national team, becoming the third pair of sisters to play together for the U.S. They handled constant public scrutiny, the expectations to perform at a high level, the pressure to produce better results for Angel City, and the challenging competition at the national team level.
Now they have to work independently.
Gisele Thompson, controlling the ball for the U.S. against Ireland during a friendly last June, is an offensive-minded defender.
(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
“They’ve played together their whole lives and have always been each other’s emotional support,” their mother, Karen Thompson, said.
As the older sister, Alyssa was important in supporting Gisele during her first NWSL season in 2024. Thanks to that support, Gisele developed into one of the best offensive-minded defenders in the league.
“Gisele was also able to see firsthand how Alyssa responded in a professional environment, without having to be in that environment herself,” Karen said. “She was prepared in a way that Alyssa may not have been. I think that was very helpful for Gisele. I think it was a huge advantage.”
Both are very young and still defining their identities, not only as players but also as adults.
“We are two different people and we are both incredible players but we each have a different path,” Gisele said.
Off the pitch, Gisele is known for her jokes, but also for her composure and professionalism.
“She tries to control her feelings very well, and I think that’s also one of her strengths,” her mother said.
Alyssa Thompson, left, and Gisele Thompson had been teammates their whole lives.
(Anne M. Peterson / Associated Press)
Alyssa is a little more expressive and emotional, which is reflected in her goal celebrations.
During the U.S. camp, Gisele is looking to stay healthy and focus on her own path.
“It’s her time to discover who she is, as a player, as a person, individually,” Karen said. “Gisele is a very impactful player, and I feel that, in general, defenders don’t always get the same attention as others, and I just hope she takes advantage of this opportunity to show what she’s worth.”
Alyssa and Gisele share not only their speed and aggression when entering the opponent’s area, but also the same work ethic. In May they became the first sisters to combine to score a goal in the NWSL: Gisele ran down the wing and crossed to Alyssa, who slotted home the shot against Washington. It was a goal celebrated by the entire Thompson family and a reward for all the hard work the sisters put in on the field.
“In my opinion she is one of the most promising players in the world,” Angel City coach Alexander Straus said of Gisele.
When Gisele just wants to just be a 20-year-old, she focuses on her favorite hobbies, such as cooking and spending time with friends from her old school, Harvard-Westlake.
Angel City coach Alexander Straus says of Gisele Thompson: “We have to keep her fit so she can stay on the field and play even more minutes than last year.”
(Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)
“I have friends outside of soccer, so I love going to the beach. I have different hobbies, such as cooking and baking. That separates my soccer mindset from my everyday life and allows me to connect with my family,” Gisele explained. “I think it’s very important to maintain a balance between soccer and normal life.”
Straus said Angel City is working to help Gisele grow steadily. She played 15 games in 2024 and 23 games last year.
“We have to keep her fit so she can stay on the field and play even more minutes than last year,” said Straus, who took over as coach last season. “Developing all those physical parameters is also very important, but she’s still very young, so we would never pressure her to do so.”
Gisele also received support from retired New Zealand defender Ali Riley, whom she considers part of her family, and Angel City hopes to foster a culture of developing players that will eliminate the need for them to emigrate to European soccer, as Alyssa and others have done.
“Gisele can do whatever she wants. She has the potential to be whatever she wants to be, one of the best in the world. I think she’s the best in her position, and of course, I’ll always put her very high, because she’s my player,” Straus said. “I hope she stays in Los Angeles for a long time to come.”
For now, Gisele hopes to make more appearances with the U.S. team, seeking the consistency needed to qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“It’s good for her to come and be exposed to that level and that quality, but it’s also very good for us that she brings that level to our environment,” Straus said.
Gisele, who played for Southern California teams such as Total Futbol Academy, Real So Cal, and Santa Clarita Blue Heat, also issued a warning: Keep an eye on her 14-year-old sister, Zoe.
“Honestly, I think she’s going to be better than us,” Gisele said of her sister, a midfielder who plays for the Tudela team and already represented the U.S. in the younger divisions.
“It’s clear that she admires us both, and I hope she can be better than us and that we can motivate her to be the best.”
In a highly competitive selection process, making the team for the World Cup or Olympics will not be easy for Gisele and Alyssa, but as these sisters have shown, there are no limits to achieving their dreams.
This article first appeared in Spanish via L.A. Times en Español.
CIF City Section and Southern Section high school boys’ and girls’ basketball scores for Saturday’s games.
Source link
The Lakers trailed by 15 points with seven minutes and 41 seconds remaining, but overturned the deficit to secure a third win in four games.
LeBron James scored 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, while Max Christie top scored for Dallas with 24 points.
“I think the biggest thing this year, he’s just more comfortable,” said James about Doncic., external
“Understanding the system, understanding the city, the city embracing him. Understanding it’s his team, and we’re all rallying around him.
“Obviously we know it’s emotional, a big game, to come back and play your former team. He showed who he is tonight.”
The result leaves the Lakers fifth in the Western Conference, while the Mavericks are 12th.
Elsewhere, Kevin Huerter made a three-pointer just before the buzzer to help the Chicago Bulls beat the Boston Celtics 114-111, while Bam Adebayo scored 26 points as the Miami Heat thrashed the Utah Jazz 147-116.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ home game against the Golden State Warriors was postponed until Sunday following federal immigration officers shooting and killing a man in Minneapolis.
“The decision was made to prioritise the safety and security of the Minneapolis community,” said an NBA statement.
ST. LOUIS — Trevor Moore scored the deciding goal in the shootout and had a goal in regulation in his first game since being activated off injured reserve to help the Kings beat the St. Louis Blues 5-4 on Saturday night.
Alex Laferriere, Taylor Ward and Brian Dumoulin also scored, and Darcy Kuemper made 25 saves for the Kings, who have not lost in regulation in five games.
Jordan Kyrou scored twice, Brayden Schenn and Dalibor Dvorsky added one goal each, and Joel Hofer made 24 saves for St. Louis, which has lost four consecutive games for the first time since the opening month of the season.
Moore, who missed 11 games because of an upper-body injury, scored in the fourth round of the shootout. Then Kuemper denied Blues forward Jimmy Snuggerud to help the Kings improve to 8-13 in overtime games and shootouts.
Kyrou scored his second goal of the game with Hofer pulled to tie the score 4-4 with 2:10 remaining in regulation.
Brandt Clarke fired a shot from the point and Moore swatted the rebound past Hofer for his sixth goal of the season with 8:26 remaining in the third period. The Blues challenged the goal for offside, but a video review determined the Kings remained onside.
Laferriere scored with 9:42 remaining in the second period to tie the score 3-3 just 1:32 after Kyrou beat Kuemper on a wraparound shot to give St. Louis a 3-2 lead.
Schenn scored on a power play 6:30 into the second period to tie the score 2-2.
Dvorsky scored just 1:03 after Dumoulin logged his first goal of the season 1:11 into the second period.
The Blues announced that 6,848 fans attended the game even though St. Louis was under a winter storm warning.
Up next for the Kings: at Columbus on Monday night.
Like Jovic, Belarusian Sabalenka is yet to drop a set at this year’s Australian Open.
She has now reached at least the quarter-finals in 13 consecutive Grand Slam appearances and is two wins away from a fourth successive final in Melbourne.
The champion in 2023 and 2024, she lost last year’s final to American Madison Keys.
The 27-year-old appeared to be cruising towards a comfortable victory against 17th seed Mboko, leading by a set and a double break.
However, she almost let a 4-1 lead slip in the second set and eventually clinched victory in a tie-break.
“She’s an amazing player, it was quite a fight and I’m super happy that I was able to close this match in straight sets,” said Sabalenka.
“The second set was a bit tricky but I’m happy with the level I played and happy to be through.”
Match of the Day pundits Alan Shearer and Ashley Williams analyse Liverpool’s poor defending in their 3-2 loss to Bournemouth.
Source link
Christen Press welcomed herself to the U.S. women’s soccer team by scoring twice in her debut in the first game of 2013. The team said goodbye Saturday at Dignity Health Sports Park, honoring Press before its first game of 2026, a 6-0 win over Paraguay.
In between, Press played 154 more times for the U.S., winning two World Cups, an Olympic bronze medal and scoring 62 more goals, retiring as the ninth-leading scorer in team history.
But those are just numbers because as good as Press was, she wants to be remembered for the legacy she left behind, for the barriers she broke, for the inspiration she continues to provide for players who followed her to the national team.
“Well, it’s sort of the point, right?” she said ahead of Saturday’s farewell ceremony before a crowd of 19,397. “I feel really lucky that I had the opportunity to play long enough to overlap with some of these young players and be able to see the growth of the game, how far it’s come, and be able to see what the next generation of player feels like.
“It’s different, and it’s going to take different things for people to have success.”
Talk about following in Press’ footsteps: The first score Saturday came from Reilyn Turner of the Portland Thorns, like Press a Southern California native who scored her first U.S. goal on a left-footed shot in the first half of her international debut. The second goal, less than two minutes into the second half, came from Kansas City’s Ally Sentnor.
Reilyn Turner, second from right, celebrates with teammates after scoring in a 6-0 U.S. win in an international friendly with Paraguay on Saturday.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
And that opened the floodgates, with the U.S. getting an own goal from Paraguay’s Fiorella Martínez followed by scores from Trinity Rodman — who was celebrating the three-year contract, reported to be worth a record $6 million, she signed Thursday with the Washington Spirit — a second goal from Sentnor and another from Emma Sears.
Press scored her final international goal in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Ten months later, playing with Angel City FC in the NWSL, she shredded the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee, an injury that required four surgeries and nearly 25 months to repair. She never played another game for the national team and made just three more starts for Angel City before announcing her retirement last October.
By then Press, 37, had made the transition from soccer star to businesswoman and media personality with Re-Inc, a gender-neutral community-driven fashion brand, and the Re-Cap Show, an award-winning soccer podcast, both of which she runs with wife and former teammate Tobin Heath.
U.S. midfielder Trinity Rodman celebrates after scoring in the second half against Paraguay on Saturday. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
That, Press said, will continue to provide her with a link to the game.
“We’re so integrated into the women’s sports ecosystem, through podcasts, through merchandise and through the women’s soccer community,” she said. “I have spent a lot of time looking at the business of women’s sports and how we need to reimagine it.
“In a dream world, I’d be able to continue to influence the ecosystem as a businessperson.”
Press got her start in soccer in the Palos Verdes Peninsula, about a dozen miles from where her career officially ended Saturday in Carson. As a preschooler she played with older kids in co-ed league because one team was short a girl.
“I didn’t touch the ball once,” she remembered years later. “I picked daisies and waved to my mom.”
U.S. forward Emma Sears, left, scores past Paraguay defender Fiorella Martinez in the second half Saturday.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
She went on to win two CIF Southern Section titles at the Chadwick School and a Hermann Trophy at Stanford before starting a club career that took her to eight teams in three countries. With the national team she went to three Olympics, won World Cups and played a key role in the landmark lawsuit against U.S. Soccer that ended with the women earning equal pay with the men’s team.
It’s a résumé that already is challenging the next generation of national team players.
“I admired her for a long time,” said Seattle Reign winger Maddie Dahlien, 21, who made her national team debut Saturday. “She made a name for herself a little later. You never know when your opportunity will be. So make the most of it when it comes.”
U.S. coach Emma Hayes never had a chance to work directly with Press, though she wanted to bring her overseas to Chelsea FC when Hayes managed there and Press was looking to move to the Women’s Super League.
U.S. defender Gisele Thompson, left, moves the ball past Paraguay midfielder Fatima Acosta in the second half Saturday.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“I’ve always admired her and thought what a fantastic football player she is. Very different to what was a more traditional American forward at the time,” Hayes said. “What she’s achieved, as well-traveled as she is, what an honor to be coaching on the day she gets celebrated in her hometown.”
For Press, it was a celebration that marked the transition from one stage of life to the next. And, she acknowledged, there are a few things she’s going to miss.
“I am so sad that I don’t play soccer anymore,” she said. “I miss training. I miss being on a team, being around young people. I miss being outside every day. I miss the grass. I miss the discipline and ritual that football brings to my life.”
“I like to talk about all the things that I miss, because I think ‘I’m retired. It’s easy now.’ No. I had the best job in the world. And it’s an irreplaceable job.”
Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer is full of praise for referee Farai Hallam on his Premier League debut after he stuck with his original decision not to award Manchester City a penalty against Wolves despite VAR sending him to the monitor.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS: Manchester City 2-0 Wolves
Available to UK users only.
If the UCLA men’s basketball team hopes to make up ground in the Big Ten race, now is the time to do it.
Riding the momentum from a 69-67 upset of No. 4 Purdue four days earlier, UCLA’s first victory over a ranked opponent all season, the Bruins took a must-win approach into Saturday afternoon’s contest against Northwestern and won 71-64 at Pauley Pavilion.
It was the second straight win and fourth in five games for a squad in the middle of a six-game West Coast swing, with five games at home. The next four are against teams below them in the conference standings.
Tyler Bilodeau and Trent Perry each scored 18 points, Donovan Dent had 13 points and Eric Dailey Jr. had 11 points and eight rebounds.
The Bruins (14-6, 6-3) improved to 12-1 when leading at halftime. Bilodeau has scored at least 10 points in 15 of 17 games, totaling 20 or more seven times.
Saturday’s win coupled with Ohio State’s loss Friday at Michigan moved UCLA into seventh place. The Bruins would climb into a tie for fifth with Wisconsin should USC knock off the Badgers on Sunday in Madison.
UCLA was eight for eight from the floor during its 12-2 run over a three-minute span late in the first half, capped by a pull-up jumper by Perry that gave the Bruins a 14-point lead. They led 41-31 at halftime.
The Bruins will go for three in a row Wednesday at Oregon before returning to Westwood for games against Indiana, Rutgers and Washington. Wins in this stretch are critical since UCLA wraps up the regular season with four games against ranked teams (one against undefeated Nebraska) and two against rival USC. Only three of their remaining 11 are outside of the Pacific time zone.
Bilodeau, who began the day ranked ninth in the Big Ten in scoring (18.2 points per game), had 16 in the first half and was four for four from three-point range. He hit the go-ahead three-pointer Tuesday to give UCLA its first victory over a top-five opponent since the then fifth-ranked Bruins beat No. 3 Arizona 75-59 on January 25, 2022, in their third year under Cronin.
UCLA fans have yet to leave Pauley Pavilion disappointed this winter, as the men’s and women’s teams have combined to win all 21 games played on their home floor—12 of those by Cronin’s squad.
Match of the Day pundit Ashley Williams breaks down Tottenham’s lacklustre defending in their draw against Burnley, with a focus on Spurs’ misshaped defensive line.
Source link
The fury over the Dodgers signing Kyle Tucker makes me wonder who’s shouting the loudest?
Could it be desperate, unfortunate fans whose beloved teams are owned by inheritors, nepo families, or private equity bros who celebrate their glamorous assets?
So how about a new metric in the sports page to accompany the ranking of teams and players: ownership. Not simply by wealth, but wisdom, brains and commitment. And for fun let’s call it the McCourt-Moreno Index.
It’s time we hold the Marge Schotts of pro sports accountable for the franchises they mismanage.
Bob Collector
Santa Barbara
There are some alarming implications to Bill Plaschke’s “If it blows up baseball, so be it.” Perhaps he means that MLB should be reduced to a burning garbage heap with three teams atop — Yankees, Cubs and Dodgers — because they were the only ones who went into the TV business and peddled their services for billions in the three largest TV markets.
Maybe he yearns to transform MLB into the NHL of my childhood, with six teams. That was OK if you lived in a shallow arc extending between New York and Chicago — not so good for everyone else.
“So be it,” as Plaschke would say, but I can guarantee I won’t be the only one who isn’t watching anymore.
Thomas Bailey
Long Beach
Naturally Dodger fans are all excited about the signing of the $60-million-a-year All-Star right fielder, Kyle Tucker. But we’re not going to be happy when Dodger Stadium becomes the first MLB ballpark with a two-drink minimum.
Joe Kevany
Mount Washington
As everyone seems to be raving about the Dodgers’ acquisition of Kyle Tucker, I note the following: There is another player who was recently signed by the Yankees for less money and less signing bonus than Tucker who had higher numbers last year in average, home runs and WAR. He also plays more positions. Hadn’t the Dodgers heard of Cody Bellinger? Bellinger as a Yankee will never feel right to me.
Larry Macedo
West Hills
Ask a Major League Baseball owner like Arte Moreno, who sells out his ballpark whenever the Dodgers come to Anaheim, and sees Angel broadcast ratings surge whenever his team plays the Dodgers, if he thinks the Dodgers are ruining the game.
Marc Gerber
Encino
MELBOURNE, Australia — An even 400 in Grand Slams and 102 in Australia. Novak Djokovic just keeps setting tennis records.
The 24-time major winner became the first player to reach 400 wins in Grand Slam singles when he beat Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on Saturday night in the third round of the Australian Open.
It improved his win-loss record to 102-10 at the Australian Open, too, equaling Roger Federer’s career haul for the most-ever match wins at the season’s first major.
Djokovic has won the Australian Open 10 times, more than anyone else. At 38, he’s in Australia aiming for a 25th career major that would make him the most decorated tennis player of all time.
Djokovic apologized for a moment of frustration in the seventh game of the second set, when he swiped the ball away angrily and it flew just past a ball girl crouching at the net post.
“I apologized for that. That was not necessary and in the heat of the moment,” he said. “I was lucky there and I’m sorry for causing any distress to the ball kid or anybody.”
Jannik Sinner receives treatment from a trainer for cramps in his legs during his match against Eliot Spizzirri.
(Dar Yasin / Associated Press)
Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner was saved by extreme heat rules in the third set of his match while limping and desperately trying to stretch out cramps in his arms and legs. Play was suspended for several minutes and the roof was closed on Rod Laver Arena on Saturday afternoon, and the two-time defending Australian Open champion returned a revitalized man.
After seemingly being on the verge of an unlikely exit — one his coach, Darren Cahill, was urging the 24-year-old Italian just to stick it out for a few more games — Sinner won five of the next six games to take the set against No. 85-ranked Eliot Spizzirri.
A 10-minute “cooling break” between the third and fourth sets followed — another allowance under the extreme heat policy — and Sinner returned for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory that highlighted a dramatic contrast of intense light and shade.
“I struggled physically today. I got lucky with the heat rule,” Sinner said, agreeing that the cooler indoor conditions suited him much more than the energy-sapping heat of the first two sets. “As the time passed, I felt better and better.”
In the women’s draw, Naomi Osaka withdrew before her scheduled third-round match against Australian qualifier Maddison Inglis on Saturday, ending a campaign noted for fashion and friction.
The two-time Australian Open champion announced it on social media without divulging her injury, posting on Instagram that she had to withdraw “to address something my body needs attention for after my last match.”
“I was so excited to keep going and this run meant the most to me, so having to stop here breaks my heart,” Osaka posted, “but I can’t risk doing any further damage so I can get back on the court.”
A year ago at Melbourne Park, Osaka retired from her third-round match against Belinda Bencic because of a strained abdominal muscle. Australian Open officials have not commented on Osaka’s withdrawal Saturday.
Osaka’s grand entrance to the tournament earlier this week went viral, when she walked onto the court for her first-round match wearing a wide-brim hat, a veil and holding a white parasol — a design she said her clothing sponsor, Nike, let her create.
Inglis advances to a fourth-round match against No. 2-ranked Iga Świątek, who had a 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 win over Anna Kalinskaya.
No. 4 Amanda Anisimova beat Peyton Stearns 6-1, 6-4 in an all-American encounter and will next face Wang Xinyu, who upset No. 13 Linda Noskova.
No. 5 Elena Rybakina advanced to a fourth-round match against No. 21 Elise Mertens.
In the men’s draw, 40-year-old Stan Wawrinka lost 6-7 (5), 6-2, 4-6, 4-6 to No. 9 Taylor Fritz and then grabbed two beers from a courtside ice box, cracked the cans with the tournament director and bid farewell to the crowd. “Cheers everybody! ” he said as he prepares for retirement at the end of the season.
Fritz will next face No. 5 Lorenzo Musetti, who held off Tomas Machac 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 to become the third Italian man to reach the fourth round.
No. 8 Ben Shelton beat Valentin Vacherot of Monaco, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (5) on Margaret Court Arena and said having the roof closed “just amplified the noise.”
Cardiff: Beetham; Adams, Millard, B Thomas, Stephens; Sheedy, Davies; Barratt, Belcher (capt), Assiratti, McNally, Nott, Mann, Botham, Lawrence.
Replacements: E Lloyd, Domachowski, Sebastian, Thornton, D Thomas, Mulder, I Lloyd, Grady.
Sin-bin: Mann 26
Benetton: Smith; Mendy, Menoncello, Marin, Odogwu; Farias, Uren (capt); Aminu, Maile, Pasquali, Marini, Ruzza, Favretto, Zuliani, Cannone.
Replacements: Bernasconi, Spagnolo, Gallorini, Scrafton, Fa’aso’o, Kingi, Garbisi,
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistants: Ben Connor (Wales), Craig Evans (Wales
TMO: Colin Brett (Scotland)
MINNEAPOLIS — The NBA game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors was postponed on Saturday afternoon following another fatal shooting by federal officers in Minneapolis.
The league announced the decision was made to “prioritize the safety and security of the Minneapolis community” after 37-year-old Alex Pretti was killed in a confrontation with officers on a street in a commercial district less than two miles from Target Center, the downtown arena where the Timberwolves play.
The game was moved back by 24 hours, rescheduled for Sunday afternoon. The Timberwolves and Warriors are also scheduled to play on Monday night.
Her USC team might have dropped five of its last six games, more than it lost all of last season, while the road ahead could be something of an uphill climb, with four of its final 10 games against top-12 teams.
But by no means, at 11-8, is coach Lindsay Gottlieb ready to wave the white flag on USC’s season or its NCAA tournament hopes. Quite the contrary, in fact.
“There’s a ton of season left,” Gottlieb said confidently Friday, two days before USC was set to face off with No. 7 Michigan in Ann Arbor. The Trojans had just fallen short against Michigan State 74-68, the night before.
“We know we’re right there,” the coach continued. “But right there isn’t good enough. We’re not satisfied with that. But for this team, if we continue to figure the things out that are keeping us from getting over the hump, you know, then we think that we can do some damage.”
It certainly seemed that way at the start of January, when the Trojans were 10-3 and appeared to have found some sort of stride without injured superstar JuJu Watkins. But the void she’d left in USC’s lineup became particularly noticeable in the new year, as a blowout loss to UCLA, the largest defeat of Gottlieb’s tenure, left USC reeling. Sophomore wing Kennedy Smith went down with an injury after that, and USC blew a fourth-quarter lead to Oregon a few nights later. In three of their next four games — against Minnesota, Maryland and Michigan State — USC failed in some fashion to deliver down the stretch.
Yet none of those losses, Gottlieb points out, has been all that detrimental to the Trojans’ tournament resume. Not yet, at least. USC still sits at No. 25 in the NET rankings, thanks to its grueling nonconference schedule to start the season. The Trojans are 9-1 in games against Quad 2, 3 and 4 opponents, although they are 2-7 against top-tier opponents currently ranked as Quad 1.
That trend can’t hold if USC hopes to make the NCAA tournament for the fourth consecutive season under Gottlieb, a streak that USC’s women’s basketball program hasn’t matched since Cheryl Miller walked the sideline. But following Sunday’s matchup with Michigan, USC will have to contend with another top-10 team when Iowa comes to Galen Center.
The schedule should get easier after that, with matchups through February against Rutgers (9-10), Northwestern (8-11), Indiana (11-9) and Penn State (7-13), all of which rank in the bottom third of the conference. Yet the margin for error through that stretch, considering USC’s eight losses, is razor thin.
“Our whole mindset is only looking forward,” guard Kara Dunn said. “We have so many opportunities ahead to turn things around.”
Most of those opportunities of late have been on account of Dunn, who has been dynamic since the start of the new year. She’s averaging more than 24 points over USC’s last five.
It was precisely the role she’d envisioned when she committed to Gottlieb and USC, in search of a more free-flowing, pro-style offense. But it would take some adjusting, similar to how it took time for transfer forward Kiki Iriafen to settle into the offense last season.
“I was just trying to find where I fit,” Dunn said.
USC guard Kara Dunn has found her stride during the new year, averaging more than 24 points over their last five games.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
She found it just in time, with freshman Jazzy Davidson mired in a multi-game slump. Davidson has still been one of the best freshmen in college basketball this season, but she’s shooting only 38% from the field this season. Smith, the Trojans’ third-leading scorer, has been even streakier at 35%. Both have struggled especially from the three-point line in recent games, shooting a combined four of 26 over their last three games.
Fortunately for USC, Dunn has stepped up from deep in their absence, hitting 44% of her three-point attempts over the last four to keep the Trojans afloat on offense. Against Purdue, in USC’s only win in January, Dunn dropped a season-high 29.
“I’m really just remembering who I am and who I was previously,” Dunn said. “I’m used to scoring in high numbers.”
USC will need her contributions to continue if it hopes to make any noise come March. There’s little Gottlieb can do now about the limitations in USC’s frontcourt, which has relied all season on a four-way rotation at center. But Davidson continues to make progress in her first season, while Dunn’s emergence has helped take pressure off the Trojans’ impressive freshman.
As Gottlieb gathered her team for a meeting on Friday, she urged her players to learn from the hard lessons of the last three weeks. Now was no time to sound any alarm bells, she assured, with hopes that they stick together from here.
“The only way through a storm is not to pull off of the road,” Gottlieb said, “but to keep going through it.”
Harlequins: Green, David, Northmore, Bradley, Murley, Smith, Friday; Kerrod, Walker, Delgado, Treadwell, Petti, Cunningham-South, Kenningham, Dombrandt
Replacements: Riley, Hobson, E Williams, T Williams, Driscoll, Lawday, Green, Evans
Sin bin: David (42 mins)
Leicester: Steward, Hamer-Webb, Wand, Bailey, Hassell-Collins, Searle, van Poortvliet; Smith, Clare, Heyes, Henderson, Chessum, Liebenberg, Reffell, Ilione
Replacements: Blamire, van der Flier, Hurd, Moro, Cracknell, Allan, O’Connor, Perese
Referee: Adam Leal