SPORT

Welcome back to The Times’ Lakers newsletter, where it’s been a, uh, busy week.

Over a short seven days, the Lakers confronted their past, welcomed their present and got a glimpse at their future. Starting with LeBron James officially filing for divorce last Tuesday, the Lakers transformed into almost a completely new team overnight.

But did they turn into a better team?

Hello to a new era

The relationship was characterized by passive aggression, cryptic tweets and small slights that added up to a big, if not inevitable, breakup. After such a complicated tenure, at least LeBron James’ Lakers career ended with clarity.

By informing the team before free agency started that he would not be returning next season, James offered a clean break when both sides needed it. The 41-year-old, who is still the best unrestricted free agent on the market, will keep the rest of the league hostage. The Lakers can move forward in peace.

They didn’t take long to find their rebound star.

The Lakers went all-in to get center Walker Kessler. Not just with the four-year, $130-million contract — which is longer than many of the other deals signed this month — but with the draft capital. When a simple offer sheet wouldn’t have been enough to pry the restricted free agent away from Utah, the Lakers threw in two first-round picks (2031, 2033) and two first-round swaps (2028, 2030). They don’t control their own first-round pick until 2032, meaning there aren’t many exit ramps if things go wrong.

But, on the other hand, what if they go right?

Kessler, 24, is seen as a “perfect” fit for the Luka Doncic-Austin Reaves Lakers, a league source told my colleague Broderick Turner. He’s an elite rim protector, averaging 2.4 blocks per game in his four-year NBA career. He led the NBA in offensive rebounds in 2024-25 and ranked fourth in rebounding rate, according to Basketball Reference.

He’s what Doncic asked for.

The concern might be more about an unproven track record. He only played five games last season because of a shoulder injury. He finished third in rookie of the year voting in 2023 but has only one full-time starting season. Even then, he played only 58 games in 2024-25.

It’s a big bet for a player who hasn’t even approached an All-Star conversation.

(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)

Six of the Lakers’ top nine players from last season are gone. The Lakers started reloading their draft assets by trading Deandre Ayton on Friday, shipping the big man to Washington for Jaden Hardy and second-round draft picks in 2031 and 2032. Hardy, like new free agent addition Quentin Grimes, is another Doncic teammate from Dallas.

With Ayton’s departure, the Lakers are on the hunt for a backup center. They have two remaining roster spots and are still in the mix to add a two-way wing defender. Rookie Cameron Carr is showing in summer league that he could be an immediate three-point threat. He has some work to do in the weight room and needs more reps to be ready on the defensive end to fill the three-and-D responsibility Rui Hachimura held.

Hachimura was the last of the Lakers’ unrestricted free agents to settle on a new home. The 6-foot-8 forward was a valuable asset to the Lakers and maybe wasn’t appreciated enough for his willingness to accept different roles, even moving to the bench briefly during an important contract year.

Hachimura, who made about $18 million last season, got looks from across the league but agreed to a two-year, $28-million deal with the Clippers on Monday.

Even for some NBA players, moving is prohibitively inconvenient.

Goodbye to the old

Outsiders looked at James’ initial move to the Lakers as something that went beyond basketball reasons. Perhaps the breakup was the same way.

Doncic, Reaves and James could have been as competitive as any trio in the league, evidenced by the short, successful glimpses we saw last season. The basketball could have been beautiful.

But if James would have played out his career with the Lakers, there always would have been an awkward pall over the final years. This relationship wasn’t serving either party anymore. He was right that it was simply time to move on.

On paper, he leaves behind a historic chapter of an unparalleled career. Already a Hall of Famer before he came to L.A., James won the Lakers’ 17th NBA championship, ending a 10-year title drought for the franchise. He broke the NBA’s all-time scoring record while wearing a Lakers jersey in front of a sold-out Lakers crowd.

In the hearts of Lakers fans, the legacy is complicated. Fans never got to create the everlasting joyful memories we saw at the Knicks championship parade or, if you’ve been watching soccer, in this month’s FIFA World Cup. Perhaps the Lakers faithful will never forgive him for his role in the disastrous Russell Westbrook trade that set the organization back for years. James, for all his personal accolades and cultural influence, still stands no chance against the spirit of Kobe Bryant, especially after Bryant’s shocking death in 2020.

The comparisons were unrelenting. But James never shied away from them.

“Truly a honor to wear the [purple and gold],” James wrote on Twitter with purple and yellow heart emojis, responding to a kind statement from Lakers governor Jeanie Buss. “… Hope I made a few proud during my stint.”

Most breakups are hard. The end of this relationship, at least, is a rare instance when you can smile both because it’s over and because it happened.

Poll results

Last week, we asked which unrestricted free agent would you most like to keep. Ultimately, no one gets their wish; all have signed elsewhere. There were 39 total votes, with several submitting two names, but for the sake of this count, I only took each ballot’s first choice.

Here are the results:

Rui Hachimura: 23

Marcus Smart: 9

Luke Kennard: 5

Jaxson Hayes: 1

“Marcus Hachimura”: 1

New question

Last week’s poll didn’t have a particularly long shelf life. The first wave of free agency swept up almost all the available Lakers players within hours. This new question could fuel debate to outlast all of our natural lives: Would you like to see the Lakers retire LeBron James’ jersey? Slide into my inbox (thucnhi.nguyen@latimes.com) to vote!

—Yes

—No

Favorite thing I ate this week

The special combination bánh mì (bánh mì đặc biệt) from San Francisco’s L&G Vietnamese Sandwich.

(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)

When I was young(er), my parents went grocery shopping at the Vietnamese store Saturday mornings, and on his way out the door, my dad would poke his head into my room and ask simply, “One or two?” He was asking how many Vietnamese sandwiches I wanted for lunch.

Bánh mì remains my ultimate comfort food, and I liked the special combination bánh mì (bánh mì đặc biệt) from San Francisco’s L&G Vietnamese Sandwich so much that I went twice in three days. It had all the right Vietnamese cold cuts with the perfect pate and mayo ratio, and for an $11.50 deal, I even risk the caffeine-fueled heart palpitations to add a Vietnamese iced coffee.

In case you missed it

Lakers lose Rui Hachimura, who signs two-year deal with the Clippers

Lakers’ Adou Thiero hoping to learn and lead with Cameron Carr this summer

Cameron Carr makes a strong first impression in Lakers’ summer league opener

Lakers trading Deandre Ayton to the Wizards for Jaden Hardy, draft picks

Lakers announce summer league schedule, roster

Lakers get their new center. How Walker Kessler, three free agents fit with Luka Doncic

Lakers’ top defender Marcus Smart agrees to deal with Rockets

News Analysis: LeBron James won’t return to the Lakers. Now what?

Luke Kennard leaves Lakers for two-year deal with Phoenix Suns

Plaschke: LeBron James got out before Lakers could throw him out

Until next time…

As always, pass along your thoughts to me at thucnhi.nguyen@latimes.com, and please consider subscribing if you like our work!

Continuing my summer observations looking back at memorable moments in covering high school sports since 1976, you can’t find a better, more beloved action-packed night than Feb. 24, 2017, at USC’s Galen Center when you got to see two great high school basketball games for the price of one in the Southern Section Open Division semifinals.

Anyone who was there remembers the long lines to get in, the sold-out crowd and drama involving Sierra Canyon against Bishop Montgomery and Mater Dei against Chino Hills.

Enjoy the memories from the video looking back.

World Cup: U.S. loses to Belgium

From Kevin Baxter: For three weeks, it was the best World Cup ever for the U.S.

The Americans scored more goals, won more games and generated more interest than any U.S. team in history. But all that glory gave way to grief Monday when a 4-1 loss to Belgium brought the U.S. crashing back to Earth.

Belgium never trailed, getting two first-half goals from Charles De Ketelaere and two in the second half from Hans Vanaken and Romelu Lukaku to clinch a spot in the tournament quarterfinals, where it will face Spain on Friday at SoFi Stadium. For the U.S., whose lone goal came from Malik Tillman, its World Cup ended in the round of 16 for a fourth straight time.

“Today,” midfielder Tyler Adams said, “wasn’t a good day.”

The U.S. did win a knockout round game in the tournament for just the second time, but that came in a round of 32 necessitated by the World Cup’s expansion to 48 teams. All three tournament hosts, the U.S., Canada and Mexico, were eliminated in the round of 16.

“You get knocked out of a tournament, it doesn’t feel great,” Adams continued. “You start to think about what you could have done better. The best players in the world go through it. You put yourself in those situations to try to break through at this moment.

“It sucks.”

Continue reading here

Kylian Mbappé calls out Paraguayan senator for ‘brazen racism’ after France’s World Cup knockout win

Monday’s World Cup results

Round of 16
Spain 1, Portugal 0
Belgium 4, U.S. 1

Today’s World Cup TV schedule

All times Pacific
9 a.m., Argentina vs. Egypt, Fox, Telemundo
1 p.m., Switzerland vs. Colombia, Fox, Telemundo

World Cup round of 16 schedule, results

Round of 16 results
Morocco 3, Canada 0
France 1, Paraguay 0
Norway 2, Brazil 1
England 3, Mexico 2
Spain 1, Portugal 0
Belgium 4, U.S. 1

All times Pacific
All games on Fox and Telemundo

Tuesday
Argentina vs. Egypt, 9 a.m.
Switzerland vs. Colombia, 1 p.m.

Quarterfinals schedule

All times Pacific
All games on Fox and Telemundo

Thursday
France vs. Morocco, 1 p.m.

Friday
Belgium vs. Spain, noon

Saturday
Norway vs. England, 2 p.m.
Switzerland or Colombia vs. Argentina or Egypt, 6 p.m.

From Maddie Lee: Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing spun to face home plate umpire Dan Iassogna, holding up his mitt with the ball secure inside.

When that didn’t change the safe call, he immediately pointed to the Dodgers dugout, mask in hand urging manager Dave Roberts to challenge the call.

Roberts’ hands flew up to his ears, asking for a replay review.

The tension in Dodger Stadium broke with the announcement: “The catcher touched the runner’s hand before he reached the plate…”

The crowd’s applause drowned out the rest.

The go-ahead run had been on the line with that ninth-inning review, in the Dodgers’ eventual 8-7 win against the Rockies in 11 innings. And the sequence started a wild end to the Dodgers’ first extra-innings game of the season.

Continue reading here

Dodgers box score

MLB standings

Are the Angels ready for change?

From Bill Shaikin: In 2012, when Mark Walter and his partners bought the Dodgers, team president Stan Kasten declared mediocrity would no longer be acceptable.

Would the Dodgers improve their minor league system? Yes. Would the Dodgers improve their major league roster? Also yes. Would spending in one area preclude spending in another? Absolutely not.

“These fans expect and deserve a team that can win,” Kasten said then.

So do Angels fans. For the first time this decade, with the arrival of John Mozeliak as interim general manager, they have legitimate hope.

Mozeliak, whose St. Louis Cardinals teams reached the playoffs more often than not in his 18 years running baseball operations there, is here to end baseball’s longest postseason drought, or at least steer the Angels in that direction.

Continue reading here

Rui Hachimura signs with Clippers

From Broderick Turner: Rui Hachimura became the latest Lakers player to move on, agreeing to a two-year, $28-million deal with the Clippers on Monday, people familiar with the deal but not authorized to speak publicly on the matter confirmed to The Times.

Hachimura played at a high level for the Lakers in the playoffs, averaging 17.5 points per game in 10 postseason games, the third-highest average on the team.

He was a lights-out shooter, making 54.9% of his field goals and a sizzling 56.9% of his three-pointers, which ranked him fifth in three-point shooting during the NBA playoffs.

Continue reading here

Adou Thiero sidelined by wrist injury before Lakers win summer league game with Spurs

Sparks are routed by the Storm

From Liana Handler: Forty-nine seconds. That’s all it took for the Seattle Storm’s Flau’jae Johnson to fire off a 27-foot three-point jumper to take the lead. In less than a minute, she sank the Sparks’ hopes of beating one of the worst teams in the WNBA, leaving 39 more minutes for the Sparks to consider just how the team got there.

Johnson, already the main act in Seattle, bolstered her WNBA Rookie of the Year case by scoring 23 points as the Storm defeated the Sparks 82-64 Monday night at Crypto.com Arena.

Each time the Storm drove down the court, there was Johnson, her ponytail fluttering as she skirted around the arc before driving into the paint, nonchalantly tossing up layups as if it was still shootaround. Not even the relentless defense chants summoned from the Sparks’ MCs stopped her.

Continue reading here

Sparks box score

WNBA standings

This day in sports history

1911 — Dorothea Lambert Chambers sets the record for the shortest championship match at Wimbledon — 25 minutes — by disposing of Dora Boothby 6-0, 6-0 in the women’s finals.

1912 — American athlete Jim Thorpe wins 4 of 5 events to win the Pentathlon gold medal at the Stockholm Olympics, medal stripped 1913 (played pro baseball), reinstated 1982.

1934 — Elizabeth Ryan teams with Simone Mathiau and wins her record 12th women’s doubles title at Wimbledon, defeating Dorothy Andrus and Sylvia Henrotin 6-3, 6-3.

1953 — Walter Burkemo beats Felice Torza to win the PGA Championship at Birmingham (Mich.) Country Club.

1973 — In the first all-U.S. women’s Wimbledon final, Billie Jean King beats Chris Evert, 6-0, 7-5.

1974 — In Munich, West Germany beats the Netherlands 2-1 to win soccer’s World Cup.

1978 — NBA approves franchise swap; Buffalo Braves owner John Y. Brown and Harry Mangurian acquire Boston Celtics, while the Celtics owner Irv Levin gets Braves, later moved to San Diego to become the Clippers.

1980 — Larry Holmes retains his WBC heavyweight title with a seventh-round TKO of Scott LeDoux in Bloomington, Minn.

1982 — Steve Scott of the Sub 4 Club sets a United States record in the mile with a time of 3:47.69 in a track meet at Oslo, Norway.

1985 — West Germany’s Boris Becker, 17, becomes the youngest champion and first unseeded player in the history of the men’s singles at Wimbledon with a 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory over Kevin Curren.

1986 — American athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee sets world heptathlon record of 7,148 points in the inaugural Goodwill Games at Moscow.

1990 — Martina Navratilova wins her ninth Wimbledon women’s singles championship, beating Zina Garrison 6-4, 6-1, to break the record she shared with Helen Wills Moody.

1991 — Steffi Graf beats Gabriela Sabatini 6-4, 3-6, 8-6 to capture her third Wimbledon women’s title.

1992 — South Africa beats Cameroon 1-0 in Durban in first FIFA sanctioned match after nearly 20 years international isolation, apartheid.

1993 — Tom Burgess tosses three touchdown passes, and Wayne Walker scores twice as Ottawa spoils the debut of the CFL’s first American-based team by beating Sacramento 32-23.

2002 — Juli Inkster matches the lowest final-round score by an Open champion with a 4-under 66 for a two-stroke victory over Annika Sorenstam in the U.S. Women’s Open. It’s her seventh major.

2007 — Venus Williams claims her fourth Wimbledon title with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Marion Bartoli.

2007 — Wladimir Klitschko beats Raymond Brewster with a technical knockout after six rounds, to successfully defend his IBF and IBO heavyweight titles in Cologne, Germany.

2012 — Serena Williams dominates from start to finish, beating Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 to win a fifth championship at the All England Club and 14th major title overall.

2013 — Andy Murray becomes the first British man in 77 years to win the Wimbledon title, beating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 in the final. The last British man to win the Wimbledon title before was Fred Perry in 1936.

2018 — Kristi Toliver scores 18 points to help the Washington Mystics beat the Sparks 83-74 for coach Mike Thibault’s 300th career regular-season win. Thibault becomes the first WNBA coach to reach that milestone.

2019 — U.S. Women’s National Team win their record 4th FIFA Women’s World Cup title with a 2-0 win over the Netherlands.

2021 — The Tampa Bay Lightning defeat the Montreal Canadiens 1-0 in game five of the Stanley Cup Finals to win their second consecutive Stanley Cup and third overall. Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy is named Finals MVP.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1923 — Lefty O’Doul, pitching for the Boston Red Sox, gave up 13 runs in the sixth inning to the Cleveland Indians, who won 27-3. In 1928, he was to return to the majors as a great hitting outfielder.

1936 — The NL won its first All-Star game 4-3 at Braves Field in Boston.

1937 — Lou Gehrig drove in four runs with a home run and a double to pace the AL to an 8-3 victory over the NL in the All-Star game at Washington’s Griffith Stadium. In attendance was President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

1959 — At Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, the first of two All-Star games played that season went to the NL, 5-4. The NL scored the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the eighth when Hank Aaron singled in a run and scored on a triple by Willie Mays.

1964 — The NL beat the AL 7-4 in the All-Star game on Johnny Callison’s two-out, three-run homer off Dick Radatz in the bottom of the ninth inning at New York’s Shea Stadium. The win pulled the NL even with its rivals (17-17-1) for the first time since the series began.

1998 — Coors Field lived up to its billing as a hitter’s haven as the American League beat the Nationals 13-8 at Coors Field in the highest-scoring All-Star game in major league history. The 21 runs broke the record set in the AL’s 11-9 win in 1954.

2006 — Cleveland Indians designated hitter Travis Hafner became the first player in major league history to hit five grand slams before the All-Star break when he connected in the second inning of a 9-0 win over Baltimore.

2009 — Alan Embree earned the win in Colorado’s 5-4 victory over Washington without throwing a pitch. He entered with two out in the eighth and picked off Austin Kearns, who had singled off Joel Peralta. It was the first time a major leaguer had gotten a win without throwing a pitch since B.J Ryan for Baltimore at Detroit on May 1, 2003.

2011 — Dustin Pedroia hit a three-run shot and Boston added three consecutive home runs in the seventh in a 10-4 win over Baltimore. Six Boston players homered, including the three straight by David Ortiz, Josh Reddick and Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

2011 — A Texas Rangers fan died after falling about 20 feet onto concrete reaching out for a baseball tossed his way by All-Star outfielder Josh Hamilton during a game. Shannon Stone, 39, was at the game with his young son, who watched as his dad tumbled over the outfield railing after catching the ball. The accident happened in the second inning after Oakland’s Conor Jackson hit a foul ball. Hamilton retrieved the ball and tossed it into the stands as players routinely do.

2016 — Colorado’s Trevor Story tied an NL rookie record for most home runs before the All-Star break, homering twice and boosting his total to 21 as the Rockies beat Philadelphia 11-2.

2018 — Mark Reynolds homered twice and drove in a career-high 10 runs and the Washington Nationals beat the Miami Marlins 18-4. Reynolds (5 for 5) tied his career high for hits and equaled the Nationals’ RBI record.

2021 — In what has clearly been the “Year of the No-Hitter,″ five Rays pitchers combine to pitch one against the Indians in the second game of a doubleheader that goes seven innings.

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.

Zimbabwean footballer Divine Lunga has survived a gun attack in Johannesburg, South African police have said.

The football star, 31, was driving in the inner city suburb of Hillbrow on Sunday when his car was shot at by an unknown gunman, according to local reports.

Lunga, who plays for both Zimbabwe’s national football team and top South African club Mamelodi Sundowns, escaped unharmed.

Crime is a major problem in South Africa and the country has one of the highest murder rates in the world.

Police spokesperson Captain Tintswalo Sibeko said they were investigating a case of attempted murder but that no arrests had been made.

She did not provide further details, but South African publication The Citizen said that Lunga was on his way to church with his younger brother when they came under attack.

The duo were driving through Hillbrow when the suspect opened fire on their car, apparently mistaking him for an undercover police officer.

Forty-nine seconds. That’s all it took for the Seattle Storm’s Flau’jae Johnson to fire off a 27-foot three-point jumper to take the lead. In less than a minute, she sank the Sparks’ hopes of beating one of the worst teams in the WNBA, leaving 39 more minutes for the Sparks to consider just how the team got there.

Johnson, already the main act in Seattle, bolstered her WNBA Rookie of the Year case by scoring 23 points as the Storm defeated the Sparks 82-64 Monday night at Crypto.com Arena.

Each time the Storm drove down the court, there was Johnson, her ponytail fluttering as she skirted around the arc before driving into the paint, nonchalantly tossing up layups as if it was still shootaround. Not even the relentless defense chants summoned from the Sparks’ MCs stopped her.

“I don’t know,” coach Lynne Roberts said after the game. “We just weren’t good offensively.”

And while her teammates supplied Johnson with enough passes to at one point secure a 13-point lead, the Sparks (8-11) lost because the team couldn’t build enough momentum.

In the end, Seattle outmaneuvered and outbodied the Sparks, snatching steals and flipping the ball around the perimeter until the Storm fired off a shot. Even when the ball bounced off the rim or backboard, Johnson or Storm center Dominique Malonga, who had nine rebounds, was there, hoisting the basketball away from the closest white jersey.

When asked how the team could’ve compensated defensively, Dearica Hamby kept it short: “Stop them from scoring.”

In comparison, the Sparks, without an offensive rebound until the end of the third quarter, were forced to make perfect shots, though that was far from the team’s grasp. Hamby, who went six for nine, led the team with 17 points, but even she couldn’t go toe-to-toe with Johnson alone. Worse, the Sparks’ abysmal 17.2 three-point percentage all but abandoned that avenue of attack, leaving the team to face Malonga in the paint.

“I’m not trying to let us off the hook at all, but sometimes you just have nights like that, and we all had them at the same time,” Roberts said. “Shooting 17% from three doesn’t help.”

The Sparks struggled to transition to the basket, giving up 19 turnovers resulting in 25 free baskets.

“I don’t think that there is a strong line of playing in transition,” Nneka Ogwumike said. “Sometimes we attribute taking an early shot to transition when in reality, if you’re taking an early, contested shot in transition, it’s probably not the most ideal shot.”

So as the Sparks fell further behind, the holes left by the injured Cameron Brink and Kelsey Plum widened.

In the Sparks’ previous matchup against the Storm a month ago, the two had totaled 34 points in the nail-biting 88-83 win. But in Monday’s game, the Sparks could only cling to the game with clenched fists as the gap widened.

“Credit them,” Roberts said. “They played hard and made shots. We missed them.”

By the end, the Sparks spent the game playing catch-up, never regaining the lead after surrendering it in the first 49 seconds to Johnson.

Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing spun to face home plate umpire Dan Iassogna, holding up his mitt with the ball inside.

When that didn’t change the safe call, Dalton immediately pointed to the Dodgers dugout, mask in hand urging manager Dave Roberts to challenge.

Robert’s hands flew up to his ears, asking for a replay review.

The tension in Dodger Stadium broke with the announcement: “The catcher touched the runner’s hand before he reached the plate…”

The crowd’s applause drowned out the rest.

The go-ahead run had been on the line with that challenge in the Dodgers’ eventual 8-7 win over the Rockies in 11 innings. And it started a wild sequence to the Dodgers’ first extra-innings game of the season that ended with Rushing hitting a walk-off single to center field to score Teoscar Hernández.

That brawl with the Rockies — figuratively and almost literally — finished with the Dodgers becoming the first team to win 60 games this season.

“That’s a lot of wins,” Roberts said.

It looked as if the Dodgers would coast to the mark. Dodgers closer Tanner Scott took the mound in the ninth with a three-run lead. But after giving up an RBI double to Kyle Karros and a two-run double to Cole Carrigg the score was tied. Only a strong relay throw home by second baseman Miguel Rojas and a successful challenge prevented Hunter Goodman from scoring a go-ahead run.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Dodgers got runners on first and second with two outs. That brought up Andy Pages with two outs, but a successful Rockies ABS challenge confirmed a strikeout, sending the game into the 10th.

That ended the Dodgers’ streak of 91 games without extra innings, the second-longest a team has gone without playing an extra-inning game in the modern era, behind only the 2005 Red Sox (99).

The drama wasn’t over. Two batters into the 10th, the benches cleared.

With one out and Carrigg on third, Jake McCarthy hit a sharp ground ball to Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, who stepped on the bag and fired home.

Rushing flung his body into the tag, but Carrigg was called safe.

Carrigg said something as began to walk away, and Rushing spun around.

As the two exchanged words, Dodgers reliever Edgardo Henriquez pulled his catcher away. But players from both dugouts and bullpens already began to spill onto the field.

Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy holds back Dalton Rushing after the Dodgers catcher got into a confrontation with Colorado’s Cole Carrigg in the 10th inning Monday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

“I think that what happened is Carrigg said something aloud, not directed at Dalton,” Roberts said. “Dalton thought something was directed at him. We cleared the air. Basically a big misunderstanding.”

Said Rushing: “I didn’t mean any harm by the tag or the way I reacted to the ball. Made sure he knew that. Told him I was just reacting to the baseball. I don’t expect it to go any further.”

After a brief stoppage, Henriquez escaped without further damage. And the Dodgers got another shot, with Pages on second to start the inning.

Freeman’s groundout moved him to third. Then Mookie Betts drove him in with a comebacker over the mound and past flailing second baseman Edouard Julien.

Tucker then looped a single into no-man’s land. But the rally ended when Hernández’s liner up the middle landed in the glove of Rockies right-hander Jimmy Herget, who just entered the game, catching Kyle Tucker off first base for a double play.

In the 11th, Henriquez got out of the inning unscathed. He got Julien to pop out on a sacrifice bunt attempt and then started a double play himself. He punched the air as he walked off the mound.

“He’s calm in big spots, you’re starting to see it,” Roberts said. “He’s throwing strikes, throwing the breaking ball when he needs to and he’s now unfazed by certain moments and higher leverage. He’s a guy, certainly, we trust.”

In the end, Rushing — who already hit a pair of doubles and scored on Shohei Ohtani’s third-inning home run and fourth-inning two-run single — was the hero.

After Hernández made it to third on a sacrifice bunt by Tommy Edman, Dalton got the end of his bat on a changeup and sent it up the middle, just out of reach of a diving Julien.

“Infield’s in, they’re kind of doing you a favor,” Rushing said. “So move the ball forward, good things happen. And it wasn’t pretty, but it worked.”

Rushing’s helmet twirled in the dirt behind him as he jogged from first toward the center of the field, ready for the celebration that would meet him there.

“He plays with a lot of moxie,” said Dodgers starting pitcher Eric Lauer, who held the Rockies to three runs in six innings. “And he definitely doesn’t back down to anybody, and we love him for that. He’s a great guy that you want on your team.”

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run in the third inning against the Rockies on Monday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

Roster moves

Dodgers right-hander Evan Phillips is in line to make his first major-league appearance since May 2025. Phillips only made seven appearances last season, starting on the injured list with a strained rotator cuff before undergoing Tommy John surgery in June.

“It’s going to be a lot different tonight getting back out there in a competitive game, the full atmosphere,” Phillips said. “Really excited about that. I feel like probably the past two weeks or so I really took a good turn in my rehab, started bouncing back even better, pitching more like myself, feeling more like myself. So really just happy to carry that over to these games and see how the second half treats us.”

In a pair of corresponding moves, the Dodgers optioned right-handed reliever Paul Gervase to triple-A Oklahoma City and released left-hander Jake Eder.

The Dodgers also designated catcher Chuckie Robinson for assignment and added right-hander Carlos Duran to the 40-man roster. Both players are set to stay in Oklahoma City, with Robinson accepting his outright assignment.

Charles Leclerc added a second win for Ferrari in three races at a dramatic British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Mercedes’ George Russell finished second and Leclerc’s team-mate Lewis Hamilton third in their home race.

Kimi Antonelli, who won his first sprint on Saturday, ended the race in 16th after car problems, reducing his lead over Russell to 25 points.

BBC F1 correspondent Andrew Benson answers your latest questions after a race which finished under the safety car after Max Verstappen crashed out.

Did Formula 1 miss a trick with the ending of the British GP? Should they be looking at what happened in a similar situation at this year’s Indy 500? To avoid finishing behind the safety car, they red-flagged the race to enable recovery before then restarting the race and finishing under green-flag conditions – Matthew

This is one of those situations where everyone has their own opinion, each view has its validity, but F1 as a sport has agreed a certain approach based on the lessons of the past.

In an ideal world, it would be better in terms of entertainment if races did not finish under a safety car. It can be argued that it is anti-climactic.

At the same time, it’s hard to argue that the British Grand Prix lacked drama and excitement, notwithstanding the fact that it ended under caution.

Take a step back, and the issue here is the regulations around the safety car and its operation.

These have been built up over many years and developed to the point that the FIA, Formula 1 and the teams are satisfied with them, while always being open to improvements.

F1 has learned the lessons of Abu Dhabi 2021. The context there was that it had been agreed that it was, in ideal circumstances, preferable for races not to end under a safety car.

The problem in that race was that the race director at the time set about trying to ensure the race ended under a green flag, thinking that was the right thing to do, but he made a series of mistakes in doing so, including ignoring the rules.

I’ve seen people say that the race director is free to operate the safety car as they wish. That’s a misinterpretation – they are free to operate it as they wish under the rules as they stand.

That’s what Michael Masi got wrong in Abu Dhabi. The race director can’t just make up the rules. Otherwise, why have them?

Now, yes, the race director on Sunday at Silverstone could have chosen to red-flag the race when Verstappen crashed at Stowe. Some may well have preferred him to.

But if Verstappen’s incident had happened on, say, lap 25 rather than lap 48, would it have been a red flag? Almost certainly not.

So, why should it be a red flag with four laps to go just because the race might end under the safety car?

There is a question of sporting integrity here. Any choice by a race director in this situation has the potential to change the result.

In this case, George Russell did not stop for tyres, and he gained a place as a result of it. Had the race been red-flagged, everyone would have been free to change tyres, there would have been a re-start. Positions could well have changed again.

Who is to say which of these situations is right or wrong, preferable or not? And even the drivers can be conflicted on this, depending on their own personal situation.

Race-winner Charles Leclerc said: ‘It’s not great for the fans that are here around the track. In the helmet, I was kind of happy that there was not a restart to keep that win.”

Russell said: “Of course it’s a shame for any race to finish under the safety car. But then you go back to Abu Dhabi ’21, and that is just how racing goes.

“Nobody can plan for somebody to have an incident, and the way F1 deal with it and FIA deal with it shouldn’t be any different at the end of the race compared to the start of the race.

“Obviously, there was a lot of chat post-Abu Dhabi ’21. If you actually look at the number of races that have finished under the safety car over the past 20 years, it’s not actually a lot. So, it is a shame, but what can you do? I don’t think it should be different.”

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said: “Sometimes it doesn’t give for the most exciting finale. Certainly from a spectacle standpoint, everybody would have loved to see Lewis (Hamilton) on a soft (tyre) against us and maybe fighting with Leclerc. But this is a sport. Show follows sport and not the other way around.”

Parks, who had originally given himself a year to see if wheelchair tennis was feasible, is proud but modest about his own role 50 years on.

“I was the head of the organisation, I was the first player to really play the game but it’s hard for me to say Brad, you invented wheelchair tennis, but you know I was part of it,” he said, pointing to others like Minnebraker.

Today’s players, though, do not hold back.

“I think I’m in awe. Absolute awe,” said Britain’s 34-time Grand Slam champion Alfie Hewett.

“It [wheelchair tennis] is not about accolades and the external things. It’s actually just the life it’s given me and the purpose that it’s given me.”

And Gordon Reid, who has won 30 Grand Slam titles, added: “It’s an incredible story and that little idea that he had 50 years ago has turned into a huge worldwide sport now. So yeah, [I’m] very thankful that he had that idea back in the day.”

So much has changed since the early days, not least the chairs which are much lighter and often feature a moulded seat that is more energy efficient for turning.

And the sport continues to grow – the wheelchair event at Wimbledon, which begins on Tuesday, offers a prize pot of more than £1m, with the winners of the men’s and women’s singles earning £82,000.

Its profile is also rising and the finals are now played on the 12,345-capacity Court One, compared to the 276-seat Court 17 that hosted the first wheelchair singles final 10 years ago.

Parks says he is “very happy to see where we’re at”.

“I’m jealous in a way but in a good way because I would have loved to have been able to play in [tournaments like Wimbledon],” he said.

But that was never what his dream was about when he set out.

“I just loved to hit tennis balls, and I wanted to share the feeling of hitting a tennis ball from a wheelchair,” he said.

“The thing that I feel really, really good about is that I really wanted other people to be tennis players.

“I used to get disappointed when I thought that everybody was wheelchair basketball players. Tennis was not their main thing. And today I feel like tennis really stands on its own and they’re tennis players. They just happen to be in a wheelchair.”

Belgium midfielder Nicolas Raskin said his team felt a “sense of injustice” over United States striker Folarin Balogun’s one-match ban being suspended by Fifa shortly before their World Cup last-16 match.

Balogun, 25, appeared certain to miss the tie in Seattle after being shown a straight red card for a foul on Bosnia-Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic in the previous round.

But on Sunday Fifa suspended the automatic one-match ban for 12 months, leading to widespread criticism, with Uefa, Belgium and England boss Thomas Tuchel among those speaking out against the ruling.

On Monday US President Donald Trump said he asked Fifa to review Balogun’s ban, which he said would have left a “big stain” on the tournament.

But, despite the American’s star striker being cleared to play and starting the match, Belgium convincingly beat the tournament co-hosts 4-1.

“A lot has happened off the pitch over the last two days,”said Belgium and Rangers midfielder Raskin.

“There was a sense of injustice within the squad, and we were determined to respond on the field.”

Belgium captain Youri Tielemans insisted the affair had boosted his side.

“We told ourselves we had to respond on the pitch. That’s what we did,” he said.

After Belgium scored their fourth goal several of their players were pictured dancing in a style similar to the ‘Trump dance’ – where he rocks his hips and slowly pumps his arms – which gained notoriety during the 2024 US presidential campaign.

The official Instagram account for the Belgium national team also appeared to mock the debacle, posting a picture of striker Romelu Lukaku cupping his ear with the caption “overturn this”.

Argentina 9-5 Wales, Buenos Aires, 14 September 1968

Argentina 9-9, Wales, Buenos Aires, 28 September 1968

Wales 16-7 Argentina, Cardiff, 9 October, 1991

Wales 43-30 Argentina, Llanelli, 21 November, 1998

Argentina 26-36 Wales, Buenos Aires, 5 June, 1999

Argentina 16-23 Wales, Buenos Aires, 12 June, 1999

Wales 23-18 Argentina, Cardiff, 1 October, 1999

Wales 16-30 Argentina, Cardiff, 10 Nov, 2001

Argentina 50-44 Wales, Tucuman, 12 June, 2004

Argentina 20-35 Wales, Buenos Aires, 19 June, 2004

Argentina 27-25 Wales, Puerto Madryn, 11 June, 2006

Argentina 45-27 Wales, Buenos Aires, 17 June, 2006

Wales 27-20 Argentina, Cardiff, 18 August, 2007

Wales 33-16 Argentina, Cardiff, 21 November, 2009

Wales 28-13 Argentina, Cardiff, 20 August, 2011

Wales 12-26 Argentina, Cardiff, 10 November 2012

Wales 40-6 Argentina, Cardiff, 16 November 2013

Wales 24-20 Argentina, Cardiff, 12 November 2016

Argentina 10-23 Wales, San Juan, 9 June 2018

Argentina 12-30 Wales, Santa Fe, 16 June 2018

Wales 20-20 Argentina, Cardiff, 10 July 2021

Wales 11-33 Argentina, Cardiff, 17 July 2021

Wales 20-13 Argentina, Cardiff, 12 November 2022

Argentina 29-17 Wales, Marseille, 14 October 2023

Wales 28-52 Argentina, Cardiff, 9 November 2025.

Belgium ease past a defensively sloppy United States in a match shrouded in controversy surrounding the delayed suspension of co-hosts’ striker Folarin Balogun.

MATCH REPORT: US limp out of World Cup as Belgium reach quarter-finals

Available to UK users only.

United States goalkeeper Matt Freese makes a huge error in judgement when he gifts Belgium’s Hans Vanaken the ball, leaving him with an easy finish. Errors all around as Belgium take control of the last-16 tie.

REPORT: US 1-4 Belgium

Available to UK users only.

Former NFL defensive end and Los Angeles sports radio personality Marcellus Wiley was arrested Saturday in Florida after allegedly threatening to kill his wife and poking her in the face with his finger.

Wiley faces a possible charge of misdemeanor domestic battery. According to the Orange County (Fla.) Corrections Department, he was released on a $1,000 cash bond Sunday at 8:43 p.m. An arraignment hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 4.

“I completely and unequivocally deny these allegations, and I’m certain the truth will prevail,” Wiley wrote Monday on X. “As you know, I’m usually the first to break down the truth and separate facts from fiction. But because this is now a legal matter — and because my greatest responsibility is protecting my babies, who have already been impacted — I have to handle this differently.

“When I can speak freely, I absolutely will. Until then, thank you for your patience, your prayers, and for continuing to stand with me.”

The former Pro Bowl player is married to Annemarie Wiley, a former cast member of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and the mother of three of his children. The name of the alleged victim is redacted from the arrest affidavit viewed by The Times, but she is identified as a woman who said she has been married to Wiley “for approximately 14 years” and shares three children with him.

A sheriff’s deputy responded to a call at the World Marriott in Orlando around 4:47 p.m., according to the arrest report, and the accuser said she wanted Wiley removed from their hotel room.

“She stated Marcellus told [her] he was going to kill her and she was afraid of his behavior,” the report states. “When asked to elaborate, she stated on the previous morning Marcellus had put his hands on her.”

The report states that the woman told the deputy that on the morning of July 3, Wiley “used one finger to sternly and intentionally poke her in the cheek. [She] stated he did not have permission to do this, and she stated she believed he did this to cause her harm.”

She did not request medical attention after the alleged incident, according to the affidavit, and the deputy said he did not see any visible injury. The woman also told the deputy that Wiley “had an unreported history of violence toward her and she was planning to divorce him when they returned home to California.”

Their 7-year-old daughter, who the woman said had witnessed the incident, told the deputy she did not see her father touch her mother but had heard them arguing that morning.

According to the affidavit, Wiley told the deputy in an oral statement that “he and his wife had not had any physical altercation while at the hotel, and he also stated they have never had any physical violence between them.”

In addition, the report said, “Marcellus stated he believed his wife had called deputies to make a report due to her intention to divorce him. Marcellus stated he had been taking care of the children and no violence had occurred between them.”

The deputy determined probable cause existed for Wiley’s arrest, and he took the 10-year NFL player to the correctional facility “without incident.”

According to court records, Wiley has been appointed a public defender. He is allowed to return to California but must obey a no-contact order that prohibits him from “having any type of contact with the victim(s), either directly or indirectly.”

He can return home one time with law enforcement to collect his belongings.

A Compton native, Wiley played four years at Columbia before a 10-year NFL career from 1997 to 2006. He spent three seasons with the San Diego Chargers, including his only Pro Bowl year in 2001, and also played for the Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys and Jacksonville Jaguars. His post-football broadcast career included several years as a host on KSPN-AM (710) in Los Angeles.

Multiple women accused Wiley in civil lawsuits of sexually assaulting them in the past. One Jane Doe filed in April to turn her lawsuit into a class-action suit against Wiley and Columbia University. The filing included four new accusers and stated that “at this time, without the benefit of discovery, there appears to be at least 10-12 victims. It is anticipated that discovery will reveal more.”

Wiley has denied all the allegations against him in court documents and publicly.

French soccer superstar Kylian Mbappé took to social media Monday to respond to racist remarks a Paraguayan senator made following her country’s 1-0 loss to France in a World Cup knockout round game over the weekend.

Mbappé called Celeste Amarilla, a 61-year-old senator from Paraguay’s Liberal Radical Party, “a despicable woman and unworthy” of her position.

And he was just getting started.

“You do not represent Paraguay, that country which has sweated passion and honor throughout the competition,” Mbappé wrote on X. “Through your recklessness and your brazen racism, the entire world has already forgotten the journey and the historic effort that your players accomplished during this World Cup, making way for an incompetent woman who gives the worst possible image of her country.

“I will never allow people like her the freedom to spread their hatred and racism across the world.”

The 27-year-old French captain scored the only goal of Saturday’s round of 16 game on a penalty kick in the 70th minute. Mbappé is tied with Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Norway’s Erling Haaland with a tournament-high seven goals. He also has 19 overall World Cup goals, one behind Messi for the all-time record.

Amarilla apparently wasn’t impressed, taking to both Instagram and X to make comments about Mbappé ‘s cultural background, appearance, education and more. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Times.

The Paraguayan government said in a statement Monday that it “deplores and rejects” the senator’s remarks.

“These statements are contrary to the values and principles that inspire peaceful coexistence and respect for human dignity, which our country promotes,” it said, adding that Amarilla’s words “in no way represent the position of the Government of the Republic of Paraguay or of the Paraguayan people.”

The French Football Federation said in a statement that Amarilla’s comments were racist, as well as “utterly despicable and unacceptable” and “criminal and reprehensible.”

“These remarks are abhorrent, unworthy, and all the more unacceptable given that they come from a political figure. In the face of racism, we will not remain silent,” France’s sports minister Marina Ferrari wrote on X. “By targeting Kylian Mbappé, the senator is attacking everything our captain embodies and everything our country stands for: liberty, equality, and fraternity.”

France plays Morocco in the World Cup quarterfinals Thursday in Foxborough, Mass.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

That defensive solidity begins with Unai Simon.

The Spain goalkeeper continues to rewrite history as he extended his remarkable run without letting in a goal at the World Cup to a record 609 minutes, keeping Cristiano Ronaldo and company at bay in Dallas.

“Portugal dictated most of the game, but Rafael Leao did not offer that extra spark, neither did the other substitutes,” said Balague.

“Spain defended in numbers and collectively, they tracked back a lot. They individually sorted out problems. So we haven’t needed a miracle save from Simon.”

During this tournament, Simon has surpassed Walter Zenga’s mark of 517 consecutive minutes without conceding for Italy, as well as his compatriot Iker Casillas’ benchmark of 476.

Ahead of Simon, Aymeric Laporte and Pau Cubarsi are at the heart of their defence, while Pedro Porro and Marc Cucurella provide the width from full-back.

That back-four has started three of Spain’s five matches at this World Cup so far, with Marcos Llorente deputising for Porro at right-back in the other two.

Balague added: “It also helps that Rodri is reaching his best version and he has had two extraordinary games – he is the lighthouse of the team.

“The partnership between Laporte and Cubarsi is perfect for the way Spain plays – moving the ball around, driving with it, and defending with a lot of space in behind.”

There’s no time off this summer for Loyola volleyball coach Michael Boehle, who owns the Manhattan Beach Volleyball Club. He was celebrating Monday after his two sons, Davis and Parker, coached the 18U club team to the AAU Open Junior National Championship in Orlando, Fla.

The tournament MVP was Loyola graduate Blake Fahlbusch, a USC commit. Wyatt Davis and Jack Newman, Mira Costa grads, were All-Americans. JP Wardy, another Loyola graduate, was also instrumental in the team’s success.

“I’m so proud,” Boehle said of his sons coaching the team.

The Football Association is considering whether to appeal against England defender Jarell Quansah’s red card during the World Cup victory over Mexico.

Quansah was sent off in the 54th minute of Sunday’s 3-2 win following a high challenge on Jesus Gallardo.

As it was classed as serious foul play, the Bayer Leverkusen defender could face a two-game ban.

The FA is considering its options after United States star striker Folarin Balogun had a red card overturned following intervention from US President Donald Trump.

Trump asked Fifa to review Balogun’s one-match suspension after he was sent off for a foul on Bosnia-Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic in the last 32.

The 25-year-old was set to miss his side’s last-16 tie against Belgium on Tuesday, but Fifa made the shock decision to suspend the automatic one-match ban for 12 months.

That led to widespread criticism within the game, including from European football’s governing body, Belgium and England boss Thomas Tuchel.

The World Cup does not allow appeals for red cards but Fifa officials invoked the article 27 clause in their rules to suspend Balogun’s ban.

That clause had never been used before at the World Cup.

It effectively allows Fifa to make whatever decision it wants without having to meet any other criteria.

It could spark a host of appeals, with the Athletic reporting, external France are challenging Michael Olise’s yellow card during their victory over Paraguay.

BBC Sport has approached the French Football Federation for comment.

The US authorities claimed Balogun’s red card was unfair because there was no intent.

But intent was taken out of football’s laws many years ago, and only the result of a challenge is meant to be considered.

Balogun’s red card itself was not rescinded – Fifa rules do not allow that. Effectively, the US striker, who has scored three goals for the co-hosts this tournament, received a sin-bin against Bosnia.

While the red card could be viewed as harsh as it was clearly accidentally, usually that type of studs-down-the-back-of-the-ankle challenge would result in a sending off.

Quansah’s was different as he was sliding in, but similar in that the aspect for which he was sent off was an accidental studs-up challenge.

After winning their third league title in four years, Larne kick-start their European campaign with a trip to San Marino to face Tre Fiori in the first round of the Champions League qualifying matches on 7 July, before the home game the following week.

The San Marino Champions, who won the Campionato Sammarinese by one point last campaign, have had a busy off season with 11 players leaving the club and eight new signings.

Larne will take confidence that, in 2020, Linfield faced Tre Fiori with the Blues progressing to the next round of Champions League qualifiers with a 2-0 win in Nyon.

The Inver Reds have now competed in Europe for the last six years and, two seasons ago, made history by beating Lincoln Red Imps to qualify into the Conference League.

“The players want to get back there and experience it again, as the six individual games are a fantastic experience,” Gary Haveron said.

“When you are in the knockout stages, the next game could be your last one and there is a lot at stake but, once you make group stages, you could plan your schedule around the individual games. Every single one of the games was a huge event and a big moment in the club’s history.

“Every time you step foot on the pitch in Europe, you are trying to create history for the club and the country and I think Larne have done that really well.”

If they lose this tie, Larne’s European adventure will not be over as they will drop into the third round of the Uefa Conference League.

Eala made a nervous start as she returned to Centre Court following her statement win over Swiatek, but managed to make it through her first service game unharmed – despite some wayward forehands and a double fault.

While Eala seemed tense, Paolini looked lively, and she landed a series of fiery winners two games later to strike the first blow.

At 5-3 down, Eala broke back after a handful of unforced errors by the Italian, but slow serves clocking in at around 70mph did her no favours as she was serving to stay in the set, and Paolini took advantage to wrap up the opener.

The pair traded breaks at the start of the second before Eala nudged ahead and, after going 0-40 down on serve, delighted fans on Centre Court by forcing a deciding set.

Having grown increasingly frustrated during the second set, Paolini composed herself for third and held serve easily, while Eala clung on.

But a double fault in the eighth game by the Filipina gifted Paolini a break point, which Eala conceded with an overhit forehand to fall 5-3 behind.

Despite the nerves of being watched by her “idol” Roger Federer, who was in the Royal Box, Paolini served out the win after two hours and 22 minutes.

“I want to thank Roger. In the match I was trying to stay focused, don’t think about him being here,” Paolini said as Federer applauded her.

“I watched all the finals and tournaments that he played here.”

Once again, Walker Kessler sat hunched forward, ears and eyes intently locked onto the person whose words would change his life.

This wasn’t his bewildering 2022 NBA draft day experience captured on video that began with him hearing commissioner Adam Silver announce he had been chosen by the Memphis Grizzlies only to learn moments later that he had been traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, only to learn two weeks after that he’d been dealt to the Utah Jazz.

No, this time it was about the love of his life, Abbie Stockard. Glued to a screen, Kessler reacted to the words, “Your new Miss America is … Alabama!” as if he’d been electrocuted. He jumped from his chair and put his hands over his mouth, speechless as Stockard was crowned.

Nineteen months later, Kessler — now the Lakers center — found his voice while on a Fourth of July outing at Lake Martin, Ala., and asked Stockard to marry him. She said yes.

The Lakers obtained the 7-foot-2 Kessler from the Jazz on July 1 in exchange for 2031 and 2033 first-round picks and 2028 and 2030 pick swaps, bringing to L.A. a strong defensive presence to accompany offensive-first star guards Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

Kessler, 24, agreed to a four-year, $130 million contract, not a bad nest egg for newlyweds. The Instagram story of the two sharing their engagement was captioned: “The future Kessler’s. Let’s get y’all married!!!”

Kessler’s mother, Andrea, played matchmaker two years ago, taking a photo of Stockard during an Auburn basketball game and sending it to her son. He messaged her on Instagram.

Stockard was on the dance team at Auburn, where she studied pediatric nursing. Now she is a former Miss America engaged to the Lakers’ newest star.

“I get to marry Walker Kessler — my best friend!,” she wrote on social media. “Our story is truly one that only the Lord could have written. So many things I once thought were coincidences were really His perfect plan unfolding, and our story is greater than anything I could have imagined.

“There’s no one else I’d rather spend the rest of my life with, doing life together and cheering each other on!”

In 201 games with the Jazz, Kessler averaged 9.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocks across 25.3 minutes. He played only five games last season while recovering from a shoulder injury.