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Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina beat Karolina Muchova in straight sets to clinch victory at the indoor clay-court tournament in Stuttgart.
World number two Rybakina came through a close first set against her Czech opponent and raced through the second to wrap up a 7-5 6-1 victory in one hour and 18 minutes.
It is the 26-year-old’s second title of 2026, following her Australian Open success in January.
It is also the second time she has won the event in Stuttgart, which has a Porsche car as part of the winner’s prize.
When she previously won the title in 2024, she was initially unable to drive that year’s prize as she did not have a driving licence at the time.
“I want to say a big thanks to my team, without you guys it wouldn’t be possible,” said Rybakina. “Thank you for always pushing me to do better and improve every day.”
Muchova’s run to the final followed her victory at February’s Qatar Open and will leave her just outside the top 10 in the world rankings.
Raducanu had a very promising debut clay court season in 2022 – the year after she won the US Open in New York as a teenager – but hurt her back in Madrid and had to retire from her first match in Rome a week later.
Much of 2023 was lost to the operations she had on her hands and left ankle. In 2024, Raducanu played very promisingly on indoor clay, winning two matches for Great Britain against France in the Billie Jean King Cup before reaching the quarter-finals in Stuttgart.
But that was followed by a heavy first-round defeat by qualifier Maria Lourdes Carle in Madrid.
Raducanu said she was “mentally and emotionally exhausted” and did not play on clay again that year, choosing to skip the French Open to prioritise a training block that she thought would benefit her fitness in the second half of the year.
She played four clay court events last year, with the highlight a run to the fourth round in Rome, but experienced further back issues in Strasbourg and after competing at Roland Garros.
Her next opportunity to play on clay will be at the Italian Open in Rome from 5 May. There are also two tournaments – in Strasbourg and Rabat – the week before the French Open, which rounds off the clay court swing.
It’s time to reveal memories, laughs and crazy times from Randy Rosenbloom’s 55 years as a TV/radio broadcaster in Los Angeles. He’s hopping in a car next Sunday with his wife, saying goodbye to a North Hollywood house that’s been in his family since 1952 and driving 3,300 miles to his new home in Greenville, S.C.
“When I walk out, I’ll probably break down,” he said.
He graduated from North Hollywood High in 1969. He got his first paid job in 1971 calling Hart basketball games for NBC Cable Newhall for $10 a game. It began an adventure of a lifetime.
“I never knew if I overachieved or underachieved. I just did what I loved,” he said.
Randy Rosenbloom (left) used to work with former UCLA coach John Wooden for TV games.
(Randy Rosenbloom)
John Wooden, Jerry Tarkanian and Jim Harrick were among his expert commentators when he did play by play for college basketball games. He called volleyball at the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games for NBC and rowing in 2004. He’s worked more than 100 championship high school events. He did play by play for the first and only Reebok Bowl at Angel Stadium in 1994 won by Bishop Amat over Sylmar, 35-14.
“There were about 5,000, 6,000 people there and I remember thinking nobody watched the game. We ended up with a 5.7 TV rating on Channel 13 in Los Angeles, which is higher than most Lakers games.”
He conducted interviews with NFL Hall of Famers Gale Sayers and Johnny Unitas and boxing greats Robert Duran, Thomas Hearn and Sugar Ray Leonard. He’s worked with baseball greats Steve Garvey and Doug DeCinces. He called games with former USC coach Rod Dedeaux. He was in the radio booth for Bret Saberhagen’s 1982 no-hitter in the City Section championship game at Dodger Stadium. He was a nightly sportscaster for KADY in Ventura.
Randy Rosenbloom, left, with his volleyball broadcast partners, Kirk Kilgour and Bill Walton.
(Randy Rosenbloom)
He was the voice of Fresno State football and basketball. He also did Nevada Las Vegas football and basketball games. He called bowl games and Little League games. He was a public address announcer for basketball at the 1984 Olympic Games with Michael Jordan the star and did the P.A. for Toluca Little League.
Nothing was too small or too big for him.
“I loved everything,” he said.
He called at least 10 East L.A. Classic football games between Garfield and Roosevelt. He was there when Narbonne and San Pedro tied 21-21 in the 2008 City championship game at the Coliseum on a San Pedro touchdown with one second left.
Probably his most notable tale came when he was doing radio play-by-play at a 1998 college bowl game in Montgomery, Ala.
“I look down and a giant tarantula is crawling up my pants,” he said. “My color man took all the press notes, wadded them up and hit the tarantula like swinging a bat.”
Did Rosenbloom tell the audience what was happening?
“I stayed calm,” he said.
Then there was the time he was in the press box at Sam Boyd Stadium and a bat flew in and attached itself to the wooden press box right next to him before flying away after he said, “UNLV wins.”
Recently, he’s been putting together high school TV packages for LA36 and calling travel ball basketball games. He’ll still keep doing a radio gambling show from his new home, but he’s cutting ties to Los Angeles to move closer to grandchildren.
“I’m retiring from Los Angeles. I’m leaving the market,” he said.
Hopefully he’ll continue via Zoom to do a weekly podcast with me for The Times.
He’s a true professional who’s versatility and work ethic made him a reliable hire from the age of 18 through his current age of 74.
He’s a member of the City Section Hall of Fame and the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. He once threw the shot put 51 feet, 7 1/2 inches, which is his claim to fame at North Hollywood High.
One time an ESPN graphic before a show spelled his name “Rosenbloom” then changed it to “Rosenblum” for postgame. It was worth a good laugh.
He always adjusts, improvises and ad-libs. He expects to enjoy his time in South Carolina, but he better watch out for tarantulas. They seem to like him.
Imagine getting a scholarship to attend college by learning how to caddy?
It’s happened to five Los Angeles-area high school students awarded the Evans Scholarship, a full housing and tuition grant offered to golf caddies.
This year’s recipients include Amaia Diaz and Marley Gomez from St. Mary’s Academy, Joel Arriaga Lopez and Sara Mejia from Compton Early College High and Cesar Sierra from Salesian.
The Western Golf Assn. Caddie Academy trains the students and supports the scholarship program.
A record 1,260 caddies in the program are enrolled at 27 universities. More than 12,000 caddies have graduated as Evans Scholars since the program began in 1930.
To qualify for the Evans Scholarship, students must meet the program’s four selection criteria demonstrating a strong caddie record, outstanding academics, financial need and exceptional character.
“Caddying taught me discipline, patience and responsibility,” Sierra said.
All five students caddied in Illinois during summer training. The Evans Scholarship is valued at more than $125,000 over four years.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
The first goal allowed under the experimental “daylight” offside rule was scored in Canada on Saturday, with Pacific FC forward Alejandro Diaz on target in a 2-2 draw with Halifax Wanderers., external
The strike would have been ruled out elsewhere under the standard International Football Association Board (Ifab) Laws of the Game, but stood under the Canadian Premier League’s ongoing trial conducted in cooperation with Fifa.
The daylight interpretation of offside means there should be a complete gap between the attacker and the second-to-last opposition player – effectively the last defender, given the goalkeeper’s usual positioning.
The CPL is testing the rule this season as part of efforts to reduce marginal offside decisions and encourage attacking play.
The concept, long advocated by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger in his role as Fifa’s head of global football development, is being assessed in Canada as a potential change to the offside law.
But critics have suggested that daylight offside will give too much advantage to the attacking team.
The CPL – which does not have video assistant referees (VAR) – is the first top-flight league to try out this new offside rule, with low-level trials held in Italy’s Under-18 Championship in 2023 and in youth competitions in the Netherlands.
Results of the trials will be presented to Ifab at the end of year. If successful, there is the potential for the law to change across the world for the 2027-28 European season.
Yet if you ask Palou, he’ll tell you he’s going into Saturday’s qualifying for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Long Beach needing to prove himself all over again.
“Who cares about what we did last year?” he said. “It’s cool to have four championships, but the only important year is 2026. Everybody started with zero points on the board and we need to do it all over again.”
That’s far easier said than done, although Palou is off to a fast start in his quest for a fifth championship having won two of the first four races on the IndyCar schedule to stand second in the driver standings, two points behind defending Long Beach champion Kyle Kirkwood.
“Last year was magical,” said Palou, who has captured 10 of the last 21 checkered flags, dating to 2024. “As an athlete you always want to keep on improving, but I need to be realistic and understand that to win eight races in IndyCar in the same year, it’s pretty tough to beat.
“So although I want to achieve that, we just need to take 2026 separately and just try our best, try to win as many races as possible and then obviously fight for the [Indy] 500 and the championship.”
Winning Long Beach, one of the few prizes on the IndyCar circuit that has eluded him, would be a big step in that drive for five. But that won’t be easy since passing on the tight 1.968-mile street course, with its 11 turns, is difficult. That makes track position important, putting a premium on Saturday’s qualifying and on pit stops in Sunday’s race.
“It’s always super tough to be competitive there,” Palou said of Long Beach, where he finished second last April, giving him three straight podium finishes. “One of the only bad things about street racing [is] that it’s really tough for us to overtake with how tight the tracks are and all the bumps.
“It just makes it super challenging.”
Alex Palou competes during the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in Florida on March 1.
(David Jensen / Getty Images)
Not as challenging as the race Palou, the most successful Spanish driver in IndyCar history, had to run just to get into a race car.
As a boy growing up in the tiny Catalan village of Sant Antoni de Vilamajor, Palou started kart racing about the same time he started grade school. He was 15 when he finished second in the 2012 European karting championship yet he didn’t see much of a future beyond that.
Lewis Hamilton had finished in the same spot 13 years earlier, then went on to become the most successful Formula One driver in history. But England has a long-established history with open-wheel racing and Spain did not.
“He came from nothing, showing up at a carting track and then having these big dreams and aspirations. And here he is,” said Barry Wanser, the senior manager of IndyCar operations for Chip Ganassi Racing.
“I know he’s very proud he’s the first Spaniard to win the Indianapolis 500. That’s just absolutely incredible.”
But that was never the goal.
“Honestly,” Palou said, “my goal was just to have fun. When we started, I never wanted to be a race car driver for a living. I never thought that it would be possible.”
Before Palou, Fernando Alonso, a two-time F1 champion, was Spain’s most successful open-wheel driver. After Alonso is Carlos Sainz Jr., who has won four F1 races; Pedro de la Rosa, who made more than 100 F1 starts but climbed the podium just once; and Oriol Servià, who ran 79 IndyCar races in nine years but never placed higher than fourth before retiring in 2019, one year before Palou made his debut in the series.
Aside from Alonso, those drivers were good but not great, leaving the road from Spain to success in open-wheel racing a narrow one. That’s a path Palou is now widening.
“I would say that for sure it’s helping future generations that I’m here and that I had success,” he said, “just because they can know that with a normal European background you can come to the U.S. and fight for wins and championships.”
Alex Palou celebrates after winning the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 1.
(David Jensen / Getty Images)
Wanser said what makes Palou so good is his feel for both the car and the track and his ability to communicate with his team.
“He has a very unique ability to understand what he needs the car to do to maximize performance on the tires,” said Wanser, the race strategist for Ganassi’s No. 10 car who has sometimes been called Palou’s indispensable partner. “You’re talking about road courses, street courses, for the primary [tires] — the hards and the softs — and understanding what he needs for qualifying and also what the car needs for reducing tire deg[redation] during the race.”
For now Palou, who turned 29 earlier this month, appears content with mastering those skills in IndyCar rather that following the natural progression into an F1 ride.
He said he went “all in” to win an F1 seat following his first IndyCar title in 2021, but doubts about whether he’d be given a competitive car led him to back out. Rumors linking him to Red Bull’s F1 team surfaced after last year’s Indy 500, but Palou shot those down too, saying he was staying with Ganassi.
Wanser, obviously, is happy with that decision and hopes it will pay off Sunday in Long Beach.
“Alex is very young, right?” he said. “IndyCar is so competitive that we could never, ever think about being complacent. If we start heading down that road, we will get beat and get beat often.
“It’s nonstop trying to constantly improve, knowing every weekend we show up to the racetrack it’s going to be difficult to win.”
Even if they were missing their starting backcourt, the Lakers were committed to being resilient against the rugged and physical Houston Rockets, who were playing without Kevin Durant after the star suffered a bruised knee in practice.
And as a group the Lakers were resilient, following the lead of LeBron James and a career-best outing from Luke Kennard to pull out a gritty 107-98 win over the Rockets Saturday at Crypto.com Arena.
James was magnificent, collecting a near triple-double with 19 points on nine-for-15 shooting, 13 assists and eight rebounds.
Kennard was outstanding in his new role as facilitator and a main hub of the offense, scoring a playoff career-high 27 points. His three three-pointers in the fourth quarter gave the Lakers the separation they needed to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. He was nine-for-13 shooting from the field and five for five from three-point range.
But James tied Hall of Famers Karl Malone and John Stockton by appearing in his 19th postseason, and Kennard had plenty of help from the rest of their starting mates.
Deande Ayton had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, Marcus Smart had 15 points and eight assists and Rui Hachimura scored 14.
Game 2 is Tuesday night here.
James had eight assists in the first quarter, his career-high for assists in any quarter of a playoff game.
The Lakers followed his lead.
They started the game with a purpose, making their first four shots, missing the next and then making their next four in a row to finish the first quarter shooting 15 of 19 from the field— 78.9%.
Kennard was the best in the group, shooting five for six in the first quarter and scoring 11 points to help the Lakers open a 33-29 lead by the end of the first 12 minutes.
Injured Rockets star Kevin Durant, third from left on bench, watches Lakers star LeBron James inbound the basketball during Game 1.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
But the game slowed down in the second quarter when the Lakers scored just 17 points while the Rockets could muster 19.
Forty minutes before the Lakers tipped off against the Rockets, Luka Doncic was seen walking down the hallway with his bodyguard toward L.A.’s locker room. Doncic was not playing because of a Grade 2 left hamstring strain, joining teammate Austin Reaves (Grade 2 left oblique muscle train) on the bench dressed in street clothes.
The Rockets announced that Durant was out for the first game because of a right knee contusion that occurred during practice Wednesday. Durant, the Rockets’ leading scorer (26.0 points per game), worked about before the game but was unable to play because of “soreness and tenderness.” The Rockets hope he’ll be available for Game 2.
“Bumped a knee in practice one of our days, on Wednesday,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “Hopefully it’s a one-game thing, but [he] tried it out just shortly ago and didn’t feel good enough.”
For the Lakers, there was an element of shock they had to deal with when Doncic and Reaves were injured at Oklahoma City on April 2.
They eventually got past that, winning their last three games to end the regular season.
“Ten days ago, when our guys get hurt, I think it’s easy to look at adversity and the ups and downs of an NBA season as like some form of the basketball gods punishing you,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “The reality is it’s opportunities to build resilience. … Smart said it after our last regular-season game: ‘We’re right where we’re supposed to be.’ I think the whole season for the staff, our players, our team, our group, it’s been about building resiliency, and that’s what you need in the playoffs.”
Ramón Laureano and Fernando Tatis Jr. each drove in two runs apiece, Germán Márquez threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings in a strong start and the San Diego Padres beat the Angels 4-1 on Saturday night.
Adrian Morejon (2-0) struck out two in 1 1/3 scoreless relief innings for the win and Mason Miller earned his seventh save despite giving up a single and a walk in the ninth.
Miller, who has allowed two hits, walked two and struck out 25 in 10 1/3 innings this season, extended his scoreless streak to 31 2/3 innings dating to last Aug. 6.
The teams were in a scoreless tie when Freddy Fermin and Jake Cronenworth opened the eighth with four-pitch walks off Ryan Zeferjahn (1-1). Laureano chopped an RBI single through the middle for a 1-0 lead, snapping San Diego’s 16-inning scoreless streak. Tatis followed with an RBI hit-and-run dribbler through a vacated second-base spot for a 2-0 lead.
The Angels trimmed the deficit to 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth when Logan O’Hoppe and Adam Frazier singled off Jason Adam and Nolan Schanuel hit a two-out RBI single. But Jo Adell grounded out to end the inning.
San Diego pushed the lead to 4-1 in the ninth on Laureano’s sacrifice fly and Tatis’ RBI single.
Márquez gave up two hits, struck out five — all in the fourth and fifth innings — and walked two.
Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi allowed four hits, struck out eight and walked one in six innings.
Jackson Merrill robbed Yoán Moncada of a solo homer with a leaping catch at the right-center-field wall in the second, holding onto the ball as he collided with Tatis.
The game was twice delayed for several minutes. In the second, O’Hoppe, the Angels’ catcher, took a foul tip off his neck. In the fifth a 96-mph fastball from Kikuchi grazed Cronenworth’s chin. Both players remained in the game.
Up next
Padres RHP Michael King (2-1, 2.78 ERA) will face Angels LHP Reid Detmers (1-1, 3.57 ERA) in Sunday’s series finale.
FRISCO, Texas — Lucas Sanabria and Joseph Paintsil scored late in the first half after Petar Musa scored twice to give Dallas the lead, helping the Galaxy rally for a 2-2 draw on Saturday night.
Musa scored unassisted in the seventh minute to give Dallas a quick lead and then used assists from Christian Cappis and Logan Farrington to give Dallas a two-goal advantage in the 38th minute with his league-leading ninth of the season.
It was the first assist for Cappis after collecting two in 11 appearances last season as a rookie. Farrington’s third assist gives him 15 in 69 career matches.
Sanabria used assists from Paintsil and Justin Haak to cut it to 2-1 in the 43rd minute and Paintsil used assists from Gabriel Pec and defender Mauricio Cuevas to tie it three minutes into stoppage time.
Sanabria netted his second goal after scoring twice in 21 matches as a rookie last season. A hamstring injury sidelined Paintsil, who has a goal and two assists in four matches. Pec has four assists but has yet to score.
Michael Collodi turned away three shots in goal for Dallas (3-1-4).
JT Marcinkowski had three saves for the Galaxy (2-3-3).
The Galaxy lead the all-time series 37-35-13 and are 9-26-8 in Frisco.
That was the mindset Calabasas’ foursome that took to the track at Hilmer Lodge Stadium for the Invitational girls’ 4×100 race Saturday at the 66th annual Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut.
In one of the meet’s marquee matchups, the Coyotes ran their fastest time yet — 44.48 seconds — to set a new meet record and avenge their loss to Fullerton Rosary one week earlier at the Arcadia Invitational.
“Taking that ‘L’ last week gave us motivation,” senior captain Marley Scoggins said after getting her team off to a good start with a blazing first leg. “We didn’t like that feeling.”
Speed ultimately wins races, but Coyotes coach Jeff Clanagan helped the cause by changing the order of his runners in hopes of building an early lead. He flipped Scoggins and Olivia Kirk (who led off seven days earlier) while Malia Rainey and Devyn Sproles ran the second and third legs. Adding an element of surprise proved to be an effective strategy.
“You always look at matchups and in a relay you want to get out first and force a mistake by another team,” Clanagan said. “Marley is our best starter off the blocks and I felt doing that might give us a mental edge. We kept it a secret right up until race time. I told my girls not to show our new order until you get on the track so Rosary won’t have time to talk to their coach.”
Scoggins, a Tennessee commit, was edged at the finish by Rosary’s Maliyah Collins at Arcadia, where Calabasas settled for second at 44.54 effort while the Royals circled the oval in 44.23, shattering the state record of 44.50 set by Long Beach Poly in 2004.
“I’ve run every leg at one time or another but I liked starting today — it felt more powerful putting us in front,” Scoggins said. “We’re trying to go 43 [seconds]. We can definitely drop time. For the first time this week we tried different hand-offs.”
Her teammates did the rest. Rosary was second in 44.94 and Steele Canyon took third place in 46.62.
“This is the first time I’ve anchored in a while and the girls gave me a lead like they always do,” said Kirk, a senior headed to Oklahoma. “I think the key was our determination. We knew we didn’t run our best last week and we wanted to come here and take our win.”
Calabasas has won two of three head-to-head relays with Rosary this spring, having clocked 44.95 to take the teams’ first encounter at the Mt. Carmel Invitational on March 28 in San Diego.
Next up for the Coyotes is a trip across country for the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, an international meet where they will compete in prelims Thursday for a chance to make the finals Friday on the world stage.
“No U.S. team has beaten a Jamaican team in 20 years,” Clanagan said. “We’re hoping to change that.”
Two hours later, Rainey and Sproles were among the nine sprinters in the Invitational 100-meter dash, which also featured a pair of Rosary’s 4×100 runners, Justine Wilson and Tra’via Flournoy. Wilson prevailed by three hundredths of a second over Rainey in 11.65.
Collins demonstrated why she is one of the Southland’s top sprinters, taking first in the 200 meters in 23.25 — 30 hundredths of a second off the meet record set in 2002 by L.A. Baptist’s Allyson Felix.
Having clocked 39.70 to better its own state record at Arcadia seven days earlier, Servite broke the boys’ 4×100 relay Mt. SAC record for a second straight year Saturday as Jace Wells, Benjamin Harris, Jorden Wells and Kamil Pelovello ran the one-lap sprint in 39.98 after Jorden Wells, Harris, Jaelen Hunter and Robert Gardner got the baton around in 40.15 last year. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame came in second for the second straight year in 41 flat.
Torrance senior Nicolas Obimgba won the Invitational 100 meters in 10.24, three hundredths of a second off the meet record set last year by Mt. Miguel’s Brandon Arrington. Newbury Park senior Jaden Griffin (10.30) finished second, Jorden Wells (10.44) was third and Pelovello (10.64) was seventh.
Loyola senior Ejam Yohannes won the Invitational 400 meters in 46.29 after placing third in the event while battling sickness at Arcadia. His personal best (46.11) came three weeks ago at the Chandler Rotary in Arizona.
“A lot of these guys I’ve raced and beat before,” Yohannes said. “Early on I was feeling the effects from last week. I usually finish stronger but I’m still not 100 percent. I’m already primed to win CIF. I’m confident I can run 45 [seconds] or even a little lower.”
Tenth-grader Kaahliyah Lacy of San Jacinto Valley Academy, who won the girls’ 300 hurdles in 40.81 at Arcadia, clocked 39.93 to break the Mt. SAC record Saturday and doubled for first in the 100 hurdles in 13.65. JSerra junior Reese Holley was the 800-meter winner in 2:08.10 and Long Beach Wilson’s Clara Adams was first in the 400 meters in 53.13. Her teammates Brooklyn Fowler (54.33) and Brooke Blue (54.47) were third and fourth.
Adams did not race in the Invitational 4×400 relay but the Bruins won anyway in 3:49.55. JSerra was second in 3:52.77. In the boys’ 4×400, Yohannes ran the anchor leg as the Cubs finished second in 3:14.70 behind Fresno Central East (3:13.96).
Defending state high jump champion JJ Harel, who cleared 6-9 to win at Arcadia, was second with a height of 6-10 Saturday. Dean Guzman of Moorpark won at seven feet.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame junior Lillian Wilson won the girls’ shot put with a throw of 43-3.75 and took second in the discus (147-3) behind Lancaster Desert Christian’s Corynn Smith (152-8).
Having won the girls’ long jump and triple jump at Arcadia, senior AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley tripled Saturday, leaping 19-4 to win the long jump, spanning a distance of 41-7.5 for the the triple jump title then clearing 5-10 to win the high jump.
Cassidy Nguyễn from Los Alamitos won the girls’ pole vault at 13 feet and Aliso Niguel’s Dane Malloy won the boys triple jump at 48-5.
Their steamroll hit a speed bump as they squandered opportunities in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.
Even the hottest of Dodgers’ hitters cooled off as the night did. Collectively, they went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners on base, including two in the ninth inning.
Now 15-5, it was their first loss in five games and their first all season to a National League opponent.
Kyle Tucker, the Dodgers’ pricey new right fielder, had three hits, including his third home run this season. And backup catcher Dalton Rushing hit his fifth home run.
But that was all the damage the Dodgers did in support of starter Emmet Sheehan, who left with a one-run lead that reliever Will Klein relinquished in a matter of three batters in the sixth inning.
Shohei Ohtani also saw his career-best on-base streak reach 50 when he singled in the ninth inning to tie Willie Keeler’s 50-game mark established in 1901.
The two-time reining World Series champs threw the proverbial first punch when Tucker launched a 435-foot two-run home run into the second deck, making it 2-0 two batters into the game.
Tucker’s third home run as a Dodger drove home Ohtani, who chopped the first pitch he saw to Troy Johnston and would have been out at first if not for the errant throw by the first baseman.
In the bottom of the first, the Rockies responded when Mickey Moniak doubled and TJ Rumfield drove him in with a single to cut the lead in half, 2-1.
Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing follows the flight of his solo home run off Colorado pitcher Ryan Feltner Saturday in Denver.
(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
The Dodgers came right back in the second inning, when Rushing — in his one expected start behind the plate this series — kept crushing, launching a 1-1 pitch 371 feet over the right field wall to make it 3-1. It was his fifth home run in 18 at-bats until that point.
The Dodgers’ two home runs in the first two innings gave them multiple homers in 10 of their first 20 games this season — and ran their MLB-leading season total to 37 as a team.
But the Rockies returned serve in the bottom of the second, when Johnston scored on a Kyle Karros sacrifice fly to stay within a run, 3-2.
That’s how it stayed for the next three innings, as Sheehan got out of the third and fourth unscathed, despite the Rockies putting runners in scoring position in both the third and fourth. His only 1-2-3 inning was the nine-pitch fifth.
His control wasn’t as sharp as in his prior outing, but he left after five innings with the lead, having thrown 77 pitches, allowed four hits, two runs, struck out four and walked two.
The Dodgers got something going again in the sixth inning when Freddie Freeman hit a one-out triple into the gap in the expansive Colorado outfield, just beyond the grasp of diving center fielder Brenton Doyle.
A batter later, the Rockies’ diving third baseman Karros made a nifty play to throw out Teoscar Hernández after he drilled a ball up the line — holding Freeman at third in the process.
Then left-hander Brennan Bernardino came on in relief and tied up a clearly frustrated Max Muncy with a curveball, striking him out and ending a scoreless inning with Freeman stranded on third.
Klein took the loss after taking over for the Dodgers in the sixth and immediately gave up a double to Hunter Goodman before Ezequiel Tovar’s grounder ricocheted off Klein’s left foot and right knee. Tovar reached before Freeman could corral the ball and get it to Klein at first.
Both runners scored on a no-out double by Johnston and Colorado had a 4-3 lead that would stand.
In the eighth, “Let’s go Dodgers” chants picked up with Andy Pages at bat and Ohtani and Tucker on first and second base. But Pages struck out on a strike that was determined to find the bottom of the zone by baseball’s new ABS system.
Hernández then walked to load the bases but Muncy grounded out to second base, leaving more runners stranded.
Football can teach many life lessons and no one knows that better than Jazmin Gamble, the new varsity head coach at Hawthorne High.
As a woman in a male-dominated profession, one could define her as a trailblazer — and that would be accurate — but while she acknowledges the historical significance of what she is doing, Gamble is not letting it distract her from the task at hand — turning around a program that has fallen on hard times.
“It’s less about proving a point and more about giving all these boys a better experience,” Gamble said. “I’m not downplaying the impact of it, rather I want to leverage the attention in a way that benefits the players and opens doors for them. I’m elated and honored that the district saw my vision and said ‘this girl can do that.’ I have to ask myself how I can use this opportunity to spotlight our team.”
Gamble, who turns 36 in June, is a running back and linebacker for the Los Angeles Legends in the Women’s National Football Conference, a full-contact professional league consisting of 16 franchises across the United States.
Gamble was selected defensive player of the year in 2024 and offensive player of the year in 2025 when she gained a league-leading 549 yards rushing (averaging 11.9 yards per carry) while scoring three touchdowns.
“I tore my ACL my first season and was on injured reserve, but I came back in 2022 and have been playing ever since,” she said. “We made the playoffs last season but lost in the first round. We’re 2-1 right now with three games left. We played our first home game at Long Beach Poly, so the boys got to see their coach in action. We won 23-0 and I scored a touchdown, but it got called back due to holding.”
Hawthorne High football coach Jazmin Gamble calls for her players to huddle during a recent practice.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
The Legends’ next home game is April 25 against the Utah Falconz at St. Anthony Sports Complex in Lakewood.
“This is my last year playing, but I’ve been wanting to transition more into coaching,” said Gamble, a certified personal trainer and fitness instructor who started a business 10 years ago called the Jazz Standard. “I first heard about the job through my coaching network and it sounded very appealing. I applied, I interviewed and I got it. Football takes up so much of your time and energy. I’ve done enough in this sport. This is a good time for me to stop, and although this is my first crack as a football head coach I’ve been coaching athletes for six or seven years, including some of my teammates, and they got better.”
A Bakersfield native, Gamble was an exceptional all-around athlete. Growing up she was a gymnast and a cheerleader. She played club volleyball, ran track and played basketball while attending four high schools, two in Bakersfield and two in the Bay Area, and graduated from Mt. Diablo High in Concord.
Upon moving to Los Angeles 13 years ago, she was in survival mode.
“I was homeless and slept in the back seat of my car for a couple of months until I got a job in human resources,” she recalled. “I started training and working in the fitness field and after struggling to make it for a few years I decided I wanted to be a business owner and things took off from there. Now I have 33 active clients that I see two to four times a week and even train the No. 2 rusher in the WNFC.”
Gamble lives in Inglewood but her business is in Gardena near Serra High, where she got involved behind the scenes with the flag football team before the sport was officially sanctioned by the CIF in 2023.
“A few of those girls trained with me and I learned to adopt a different schematic approach. Boys are playing football as early as 5 or 6 years old, whereas women are starting at 20 or even their early 30s and their bodies aren’t prepared for it. I didn’t start playing tackle until I was 31.”
Gamble is still assembling a staff but one of her assistants will be her brother, Kenneth Davis, a former receiver at Liberty High in Bakersfield.
Hawthorne does not have a junior varsity team. There were 29 players on the roster last year and nine graduated.
“On Day 1, I had 22 come to the weight room,” Gamble said. “Some players are in track right now, but in May I’ll have ‘em all. My strong suit is development so I’m ready for this. Right now, we’re at ground zero. We’ve only had a handful of practices, mainly conditioning. The boys have been super receptive. I’m just going to be me!”
Hawthorne went 2-8 last season, finishing fourth in the Ocean League and being outscored by 281 points. The Cougars were shut out three times.
“Jazmin’s a breath of fresh air,” said athletic director Mario Romero, who was involved in the hiring process. “She’s brought enthusiasm across the entire school community and I’m excited about where her leadership is going to take us.”
Hawthorne High football coach Jazmin Gamble shows her players how to run a drill during practice.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Fifteen players showed up for a one-hour workout Wednesday at HalCap Field. One of them was quarterback Anthony Green, who played in the last two games as a sophomore last year after transferring from King/Drew and is the projected starter next season.
“She made a good impression,” he said. “I like the workouts — they’re very intense — and I like the competition. Coach expects a lot and she pushes us.”
Gamble put her players through a series of drills to test their stamina, quickness and technique. The penalty for walking was push-ups.
“Everything out here is earned … may the best man win!’ she shouted.
“Her practices are intense — she knows what she’s doing,” added junior linebacker Adrian Lopez, who was an All-League first teamer last fall. “She has a home game coming up and I think I’ll go out and watch. My goal for us is to have at least a .500 season and make the playoffs.”
Gamble is not the first female to coach varsity football at Hawthorne. Monique Boone was the varsity defensive line and assistant offensive line coach in 2021 under previous head coach Corey Thedford. However, overseeing the entire program puts Gamble in rarefied air.
What convinced Romero that Gamble was the right person for the job?
“Her background, her skill set and also the fact that she plays the sport herself at a high level,” he said.
Match of the Day pundit Ashley Williams praises Pedro Porro’s attacking play but thinks he needs to do more defensively with his team in a relegation battle.
There is anger directed at Rosenior, but many Chelsea supporters also point the finger at Eghbali, Boehly and the rest of the BlueCo ownership.
The latest protest saw supporters march from The Wolfpack Inn pub to Stamford Bridge before kick-off, having grown from a turnout of about 200 before the Brentford match to more than 500 before Saturday’s tie.
There were flares, banners and chants directed at the owners, as well as calls in support of former owner Abramovich.
Under the terms of the takeover agreement in 2022, the current ownership group cannot sell the club until at least 2032. However, there are signs they are willing to listen to some of the criticism, including calls to recruit more experienced players.
“We recognise we need balance. You tweak a model, you improve and you learn from mistakes,” Eghbali said. “We have a strong core, but we need to add experience to take the team to the next level and achieve consistency. That is not lost on us.”
However, failure to qualify for the Champions League would undermine any rebuild. Chelsea have already spent about £1.5bn on signings under the current ownership and, despite recouping approximately £750m in sales, they remain under financial scrutiny from Uefa, having faced fines for breaching their regulations.
The club has announced Premier League record pre-tax losses in its latest accounts and – without the additional revenue generated by Europe’s premier competition through broadcasting, sponsorship and ticket sales – questions remain over whether Chelsea can recruit effectively in the summer.
Before kick-off, Cole Palmer told TNT Sports: “If we’re not in the Champions League, everything changes.”
Asked about Palmer’s comments and the potential financial implications, Rosenior replied: “The honest answer is I don’t know. We’re still fighting and we’ll address that situation at the end of the season, whatever the situation is.”
Meanwhile, Enzo Fernandez’s agent, Javier Pastore, has said his client would view missing out on Champions League football as an issue, despite the midfielder’s two-match internal ban – imposed following comments linking him with a move to Real Madrid – coming to an end on Saturday.
While the protest movement has largely been driven by younger supporters, there are signs of apathy among older match-going fans. Boos were heard at full-time, with the atmosphere inside Stamford Bridge growing quieter with each game.
It took a first home defeat to Leeds since 1981 for the real moans to start.
The calmness previously viewed as an asset became a negative. Inaction was seen as conservative. All week the question has been asked, is Carrick up to the job?
Well, there was nothing aesthetically pleasing about this latest triumph.
But given only Ole Gunnar Solskjaer of all the post-Sir Alex Ferguson bosses had experienced the feeling of winning at Stamford Bridge, style was a secondary element.
Chelsea may have hit the woodwork three times. They may have carried the more consistent threat. But Carrick’s team was the one that delivered.
“It was a game for a result,” he said. “And we managed to find it.”
There was more to it though. There was overcoming the adversity of knowing that on top of the three central defenders he knew would be missing (Matthijs de Ligt through injury and Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire due to suspension), Carrick then lost a fourth, Leny Yoro, to a training ground injury.
That came so late in the week his chosen pairing, Noussair Mazraoui and Ayden Heaven, could only prepare with walk-throughs.
“I love when you see players thrive in those moments,” said Carrick.
Heaven, 19, had not started a game under Carrick, having first been given his chance by Ruben Amorim and then his immediate replacement Darren Fletcher.
“Ayden has not played a lot of football recently, and to come into that environment is not something that you can take for granted,” said Carrick.
“We say the same things to young players all the time. Sometimes they look at you as if to say, ‘yeah, good one’ but in terms of training every day and looking after yourself and being ready ‘because you never know when that chance comes’, he probably wouldn’t have thought it would come at that moment.
“But he was there, he was prepared, and he took it in his stride magnificently well.”
Match of the Day pundits Ashely Williams and Joe Hart analyse Ayden Heaven’s performance against Chelsea after the young defender played a key role in Manchester United’s win alongside strong performances from other senior players.
Manchester United manager Michael Carrick says his side “won’t get carried away” in their pursuit of a Champions League place after they beat Chelsea 1-0 at Stamford Bridge to open up a 10-point gap to sixth place.
Hampton’s performance was not a clean one as she fumbled several crosses and was not convincing on set-pieces.
She almost dropped the ball into the path of Sveindis Jonsdottir late on too, but rescued it just in time to spare her blushes.
Hampton’s has been patchy of late for Chelsea, but like all world-class players she delivers when it really matters.
She did it against Spain on Tuesday, as England held on to a significant 1-0 win in part thanks to her acrobatic save, denying Edna Imade late on.
At Wembley, her predecessor Mary Earps was being celebrated for her Lionesses career before kick-off, but Hampton has taken her gloves seamlessly, shining at Euro 2025 and now impressing as England look to seal their spot in next year’s World Cup.
Despite the spotlight, Hampton was humble at full-time in Iceland, joking about the simplicity of the game and her role within it.
“Alessia [Russo] puts the ball in one end and I stop it going in at the other. It’s a simple game when you break it down,” she told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“I am just glad I get to be involved. It means I don’t freeze to death! I’m always willing to put my body on the line.”
But there was no downplaying by England manager Sarina Wiegman, who said Hampton’s saves against Iceland were “crucial” to securing the victory.
“It is always a team effort and a team performance but it’s really nice to have a goalkeeper that stops the ball going in – especially when it’s really hard for the team and they are struggling,” added Wiegman.
“That’s called teamwork. She showed again that she is a world-class goalkeeper.”
Arsenal striker Russo added: “She was amazing. Big moments kept us in it and she showed up three or four times to get us the three points.
“Sometimes you need someone to step up like that.”
Moorpark athletic director Rob Dearborn officially has a new title: president elect of the Southern Section.
The Southern Section Council elected him on Thursday. He will serve as president elect under the new president, Alexis Barile, the former principal at Corona Centennial, for 2026-27 and 2027-28 before taking over a two-year term.
Dearborn, 62, a former track and football coach, is in his 40th year participating in high school sports. He started out at Newbury Park before moving to Moorpark. He directs the Southern Section track and field championships at Moorpark. His wife, Denise, ran track at UCLA.
Asked if his wife will now salute him, Dearborn said, “No, I still salute her.”
It’s a two-year term to preside over Southern Section Council meetings.
“I grew up with Southern Section sports that have been a big part of my life,” he said. “It’s exciting.”
His son is football coach at Moorpark.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
PHOENIX — Golden State coach Steve Kerr is contemplating his future, the four-time NBA champion coach suggesting after the Warriors’ season ended Friday night that there is a chance he might not be back with the club next season.
“It might still go on. It may not,” Kerr said after the Warriors lost in Phoenix and were eliminated from the play-in tournament.
He shared an embrace with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, the team’s two constants from the Warriors’ title runs with Kerr, near the team’s bench in the game’s final moments and appeared to mouth the words “thank you.”
Kerr wouldn’t reveal what he said in that moment.
“None of your business,” he said, smiling.
Green and Curry both made clear that they want him back. Kerr’s future has been the subject of speculation for some time, fueled in part by him coaching this year on the final season of his existing contract. The Warriors missed the playoffs this season for the fourth time in the last seven years.
“I want Coach to be happy. I want him to be excited about the job. I want him to believe you know he’s the right guy for the job,” Curry said. “I want him to have an opportunity to again enjoy what he does. So, whatever that means for him, you know, everybody’s plan is their own. And I’m not going to try to tell anybody what to do. He knows how I feel about him. That shouldn’t even need to be said.”
Added Green, when asked if he could even fathom the Warriors without Kerr on the sideline: “I just don’t deal with change well. I don’t love it. So, I don’t want to think about that. I hope that’s not the case, but we’ll see what happens.”
The 60-year-old Kerr just finished his 12th season with the Warriors. He’s 604-353 in that span, led Golden State to the NBA Finals in each of his first five seasons — and once since then as well — plus guided the U.S. to Olympic gold at the Paris Games in 2024.
His playoff record of 104-48 is nearly unmatched; among coaches with at least 100 playoff games in their career, his .684 playoff winning percentage is second only — and barely — to Phil Jackson, who went 229-104 (.688).
Kerr said he’ll meet with Warriors owner Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy to chart a path for what’s next. He suggested that might come in a week or two.
“We’ll talk about what’s next for the Warriors, what the plan is this offseason,” Kerr said. “And we will come to a collaborative decision on what’s next. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I still love coaching. But I get it. These jobs all have an expiration date. There’s a run that happens, and when the run ends, sometimes it’s time for new blood and new ideas and all that.
“And, if that’s the case, then I will be just nothing but grateful for the most amazing opportunity any person could have to coach this franchise, in front of our fans in the Bay and to coach Steph Curry, to coach Dray and the whole group.”
Kerr wouldn’t say what some of the factors are that might sway his decision, calling those private.
There will be talks with Curry as well; the greatest three-point shooter in NBA history, who just finished his 17th season — all with Golden State — said he plans to play for “multiple” seasons after this and would be interested in an extension.
“It’ll be a busy summer for the Warriors,” Curry said, smiling.
The Warriors were 37-45 this season, dealing with injuries the entire way. They rallied Wednesday from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Los Angeles Clippers and move into Friday’s play-in finale, only to fall short against the Suns.
And now, the Warriors wait to see what’s next.
“This was as tough a season as you can have, with the injuries, with all kinds of adversity,” Kerr said. “And they battled, and they battled the entire season. They kept going the other night just to, you know, continue the season, to show that kind of fight. And then tonight, we just didn’t have it. But the competitive desire was there. And I’m proud of the group for finishing the season the right way by continuing to fight and trying to win every game.”
Kerr — who won five championships as a player, to go along with his four rings as a coach — has spoken often of his good fortunes within the game. He played for Lute Olson at Arizona, played with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in Chicago, played with David Robinson and Tim Duncan in San Antonio and played for Jackson and Gregg Popovich as a pro.
And coaching Curry — the greatest face of a franchise he’s ever seen, he said — is another honor, Kerr has insisted.
“The only thing I’ve learned is that I’m the luckiest guy in the NBA’s history,” Kerr said.
So what to make of a day which delivered history for Scottish women’s sport, as well as a 12-try demolition?
It is true, England are not the benchmark for Scotland.
Victory away to Wales last week was a solid start, and now it is all about the response in Italy next week and trying to beat Ireland in the final game, either side of a home game against France.
But all performances are crucial to building momentum and keeping the fans coming back, as Malcolm herself said.
Just ask the Scotland women’s football team, who have seen crowds shrink back at Hampden amid a struggle to qualify for major finals.
The Scotland captain, as ever, got the tone spot on when summing up a strange day.
“Today was about so much more than just the game,” Malcolm said. “For those of us that have been around 10 years plus – we’ve come from back pitches with a couple of people in stands.
“To even arrive today and get the reception we got was phenomenal. It’s a result of the work we’ve done as players on the pitch to put in performances that make people want to come back.
“Today wasn’t one of them. But that doesn’t take away from what we’ve created over the last 10 years to make this happen.
“We’re at the beginning of a new journey. We’re going to keep pushing to get back to that point to put in a performance in that stadium that fans can be proud of.”
