SPORT

It was billed as the battle of the two teenage wonderkids – and for once it was Lamine Yamal who found himself overshadowed, cast aside from the spotlight.

This was Estevao Willian’s night.

With Chelsea already 1-0 up and Barcelona down to 10 men, the 18-year-old produced a truly memorable moment to light up an already raucous Stamford Bridge.

Collecting a pass from Reece James, Estevao cut inside, turned Alejandro Balde inside out and then sent a rasping drive into the roof of the net past goalkeeper Joan Garcia.

As former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin put it: “Start believing the hype.”

“The goal’s the bit everyone will see, and it was wonderful in a number of ways,” Nevin said on BBC Radio 5 Live after the 3-0 victory. “It was just so tight, the footwork, and it’s a brilliant, brilliant finish.

“But all the other parts of his game, the intelligence, the movement, the picking up of position… he’s a natural. Because usually footballers are called natural and they’re not – but it just looks so effortless for him. Some players just move differently to other players, a grace and elegance. It’s beautiful to see.”

Speaking on Amazon Prime, ex-Chelsea forward Daniel Sturridge added: “The anticipation and expectation was that it was going to be Yamal’s night and it would be all about him. But you see Estavao tonight and it was absolutely brilliant.”

Yamal’s evening came to an end in the 80th minute, substituted to jeers with the match already lost.

Just two minutes and 40 seconds later, Estevao departed to a standing ovation.

Subscribers of sports streaming service Fubo TV have lost access to channels owned by NBCUniversal in the latest TV distribution dust-up.

Fubo blasted NBCUniversal for its stance during collapsed contract negotiations, resulting in a blackout of NBCUniversal channels just days before Thanksgiving when scores of viewers hunker down for turkey and football. NBC is set to broadcast the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the National Dog Show and Thursday night’s NFL game featuring the Cincinnati Bengals battling the Baltimore Ravens. The events also will stream on Peacock.

The blackout, which also includes Bravo, CNBC and Spanish-language Telemundo, affects Fubo’s nearly 1.6 million customers.

The dispute comes a month after NBCUniversal’s rival, Walt Disney Co., acquired the controlling stake of Fubo and folded the smaller sports-centric offering into Disney’s Hulu + Live TV. (Hulu + subscribers still have NBCUniversal channels available because they are covered by a separate distribution contract.)

Fubo customers could also miss NBC’s broadcast of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

(Eduardo Munoz Avarez / Associated Press)

In its Tuesday statement, Fubo alleged that NBCUniversal had refused to give Fubo leeway to offer just a few of its channels — rather than its entire portfolio. Fubo is looking to control costs and designed its product to be a slimmed-down version of a bulky bundle — but one with a heavy complement of sports networks.

Fubo also took issue with NBCUniversal negotiating on behalf of the cable channels that NBCUniversal plans to cast off in January as part of a corporate split.

Legacy cable channels including MS Now (formerly MSNBC), Syfy, CNBC, USA Network and Golf Channel will be form the new publicly traded company, Versant.

“Fubo offered to distribute Versant channels for one year,” Fubo said in its statement, adding that it views most of those networks as “not being worth the cost.”

“NBCU wants Fubo to sign a multi-year deal – well past the time the Versant channels will be owned by a separate company,” Fubo said. “NBCU wants Fubo subscribers to subsidize these channels.”

NBCUniversal, owned by cable and broadband giant Comcast, countered that it had offered Fubo similar terms to those contained in deals struck with other pay-TV distributors — but Fubo balked.

“Unfortunately, this is par for the course for Fubo,” NBCUniversal said. “They’ve dropped numerous networks in recent years at the expense of their customers, who continue to lose content.”

The Nov. 21 blackout came one week after Disney resolved a separate, high-profile dispute with Google’s YouTube TV. That dispute, which resulted in a two-week blackout of Disney-owned channels, including ESPN, for about 10 million YouTube TV customers, hinged on fee increases sought by Disney.

The two companies also tussled over YouTube TV’s desire to offer the ESPN streaming app to its customers at no extra cost.

They reached a compromise, and YouTube came away with authorization to provide some ESPN streaming content.

In September, YouTube TV avoided a similar blackout of NBC channels by making a deal just hours before the deadline.

Disney acquired 70% of Fubo TV in October 2025.

(Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

Fubo pointed to NBCUniversal’s recent deals with YouTube TV and Amazon Prime Video, which allows those companies to offer NBC’s streaming app Peacock as part of their channel stores. Fubo alleged that NBC refused to give Fubo the same rights.

“Fubo is committed to bringing its subscribers a premium, competitively-priced live TV streaming experience with the content they love,” Fubo said. “That includes multiple content options, including a sports-focused service, that can be accessed directly from the Fubo app. We hope NBCU reconsiders their stance, or we’ll be forced to move forward without them.”

“Had we been aware, or had this been declared at any point before or during the competition, this athlete would not have been permitted to compete in the Woman’s Open category,” the statement added.

“It is our responsibility to ensure fairness and ensure athletes are assigned to men or women’s categories based on whether they are recorded as male or female at birth.”

Thompson, first crowned world’s strongest woman in 2018, said the manner she had won the title had taken the gloss off it, but praised Strongman for “investigating and rectifying the situation so quickly”.

“What should be a momentous occasion has sadly been overshadowed by scandal and dishonesty from someone who was welcomed into our crazy sport,” she said in a post on her Instagram, external account.

“I am not only frustrated with not being able to celebrate a win, but also for the ladies who had their time to shine on the podium or reach the final day, taken away from them.”

Thompson, from Suffolk, said she and fellow competitors were “mentally drained” having “received backlash and insults” since the decision, which “needs to stop”.

“This has been the most exhausting experience of my career,” she added.

“We, as a community are taking a stand. Protecting women’s sport as we have fought so hard for.”

A Virginia high school football coach who went missing last week as his team prepared for a playoff game is now considered a fugitive.

Virginia State Police has issued 10 warrants for the arrest of Appalachia resident Travis Lee Turner, head football coach at Union High School in Big Stone Gap, Va. Turner, 46, is wanted on five counts of possession of child pornography and five counts of using a computer to solicit a minor.

The investigation is ongoing, police said in a statement, and additional charges are pending.

“Police are actively searching for Turner,” the department also said. “Since his disappearance, VSP has utilized a number of assets, including search and rescue teams, drones and k9s, to assist in the search. VSP’s main priority is locating Turner safely; he is now considered a fugitive.”

On Nov. 20, special agents from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation Wytheville Field Office were sent to Turner’s home “as part of the early stages of an investigation,” Virginia State Police said in its statement.

“This was part of the investigation, and not to arrest him,” the department added. “While in transit, the agents were informed that Turner was no longer at the location.”

Turner was last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt, sweatpants and glasses. He has coached Union since 2011. Two days after Turner’s disappearance, the Bears improved to 12-0 with a victory in a regional semifinal game.

“Wise County Public Schools is aware that law enforcement has filed charges against a staff member who has been on administrative leave,” Mike Goforth, division superintendent for Wise County Public Schools, said in a statement emailed to The Times.

“The individual remains on leave and is not permitted on school property or to have contact with students. The division will continue to cooperate with law enforcement as this process moves forward. Because this is an active legal matter involving personnel, the division cannot comment further.”

Arsenal keeping tabs on Elche midfielder Rodrigo Mendoza, Manchester City to enter race to sign Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo, Sunderland and Brentford interested in AC Milan striker Santiago Gimenez.

Arsenal are tracking Elche’s Spanish midfielder Rodrigo Mendoza, 20, who has a £17.5m release clause in his contract. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

Manchester United want to sign a new centre-back next summer but would still like experienced England defender Harry Maguire, 32, to sign a contract extension at Old Trafford. (Teamtalk), external

Roma are interested in taking Netherlands striker Joshua Zirkzee, 24, on loan from Manchester United in January. (Il Messaggero – in Italian), external

Bournemouth and Ghana forward Antoine Semenyo’s release clause with the Cherries will drop slightly from £65m in January, to a smaller figure next summer, but will not fall below £50m. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is concerned about an over-reliance on Norway striker Erling Haaland, 25, so will consider rivalling Liverpool for Bournemouth’s 25-year-old Semenyo. (Talksport), external

Nottingham Forest have identified Brighton’s 20-year-old English midfielder Jack Hinshelwood among a number of possible January transfer targets. (Mail), external

West Ham are pushing for Germany striker Niclas Fullkrug to leave permanently in January and want to reinvest any funds from the 32-year-old’s sale in one or two new forwards. (Florian Plettenberg), external

One option for West Ham is 6ft 5ins (1.96m) Union Saint-Gilloise striker Promise David and they could sign the 24-year-old Canada international for just £17m. (GiveMeSport), external

Sunderland and Brentford are interested in AC Milan’s 24-year-old Mexico striker Santiago Gimenez. (Calciomercato – in Italian), external

Real Madrid are planning to exercise the buyback clause in 21-year-old Argentina midfielder Nico Paz’s Como contract next summer as it it is not valid in January. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Everton boss David Moyes wants to hang on to English midfielder James Garner amid interest from Manchester United, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest in the 24-year-old, who is out of contract at the end of the season. (Talksport), external

AC Milan want to reopen talks with France goalkeeper Mike Maignan over a new contract amid interest in the 30-year-old from Juventus and several Premier League clubs. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external

Quarterbacks Drew Brees and Philip Rivers, along with wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, tight end Jason Witten and running back Frank Gore made it to the semifinal stage in their first year of eligibility for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The five newcomers are among the 26 modern era candidates who advanced to this stage in voting conducted by the full 50-member selection committee for the class of 2026.

The selection committee will next reduce the list to 15 finalists, who will be voted on before the Super Bowl in February.

Four players have already guaranteed themselves spots in the final 15 after making it down to the final seven players in the 2025 class, with Willie Anderson, Torry Holt, Luke Kuechly and Adam Vinatieri taking those spots.

The other returning finalists are Eli Manning, Fred Taylor, Steve Smith Sr., Reggie Wayne, Jahri Evans, Marshall Yanda, Terrell Suggs and Darren Woodson.

Offensive lineman Lomas Brown and defensive lineman Kevin Williams were the other two candidates who reached the semifinal stage for the first time. The other semifinalists are Hines Ward, Richmond Webb, Steve Wisniewski, Rodney Harrison, Earl Thomas, Vince Wilfork and Robert Mathis.

In addition to the 15 modern era finalists, the selection committee will consider three seniors, one coach and one contributor for the class of 2026. Between four and eight new members will be elected in the second year of this current format.

Only four people got in last year for the smallest class in 20 years.

Brees and Fitzgerald are the top new candidates this year.

Brees is second all time to Tom Brady with 80,358 yards passing and 571 touchdown passes. He spent the first five seasons of his career with the San Diego Chargers before signing as a free agent with the Saints in 2006, where his career took off as he helped lift a city still recovering from Hurricane Katrina.

Brees delivered to New Orleans its first Super Bowl title following the 2009 season, when he won MVP of the game after beating Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts. Brees made the Pro Bowl 13 times in his career, won AP Offensive Player of the Year in 2008 and 2011, was an All-Pro in 2006 and was a second-team All-Pro four times.

Fitzgerald spent his entire career with the Arizona Cardinals after being drafted third overall in 2004. His 1,432 catches and 17,492 yards receiving in 17 seasons rank second all time to Jerry Rice.

Fitzgerald topped 1,000 yards receiving nine times — tied for the fourth most ever — and helped the Cardinals reach their only Super Bowl following the 2008 season. Fitzgerald set single-season records that postseason with 546 yards receiving and seven touchdown catches, including a go-ahead 64-yard score with 2:37 to play in the Super Bowl before Pittsburgh rallied for a 27-23 win over Arizona.

Rivers ranks seventh all time with 63,440 yards passing in a career spent mostly with the Chargers. He made eight Pro Bowls and won the 2013 AP Comeback Player of the Year.

Witten was one of the most prolific tight ends ever with his 1,228 catches and 13,046 yards ranking second best all time. Witten was a two-time All-Pro for Dallas and was a second-team All-Pro two other times.

Gore ranks third all time with 16,000 yards rushing with nine 1,000-yard seasons and five Pro Bowl honors.

Kuechly’s career was brief but impactful. The first-round pick by Carolina in 2012 was an All-Pro five times, with seven Pro Bowl nods and a Defensive Rookie of the Year award.

Over his eight-year career, Kuechly led all linebackers in the NFL in tackles (1,090), takeaways (26), interceptions (18) and passes defensed (66).

Vinatieri was one of the most clutch kickers in NFL history, making the game-winning field goals in the first two Super Bowl victories during New England’s dynasty.

He helped launch the run with one of the game’s greatest kicks — a 45-yarder in the snow to force overtime in the “Tuck Rule” game against the Raiders in the 2001 divisional round. He made the game-winning kick in overtime to win that game and then hit a 48-yarder on the final play of a 20-17 win in the Super Bowl against the Rams.

Vinatieri is the NFL’s career leader in points (2,673) and made field goals (599) over a 24-year career with New England and Indianapolis. He also leads all players with 56 field goals and 238 points in the postseason.

Holt was a key part of the Rams’ “Greatest Show on Turf,” helping the team win the Super Bowl in his rookie season in 1999 and getting back there two years later. Holt led the NFL in yards receiving in 2000 and in catches and yards in 2003 when he made his only All-Pro team.

Holt finished his career with 920 catches for 13,382 yards and 74 touchdowns.

Anderson was considered one of the top right tackles in his era after being a first-round pick by Cincinnati in 1996. He spent nearly his entire career with the Bengals and made three straight All-Pro teams from 2004-06.

Dubow writes for the Associated Press.

During a distinguished playing career, former Ireland, Munster and British and Irish Lions scrum-half Conor Murray played alongside some legendary figures in the world of rugby union.

In a special edition of the BBC’s Ireland Rugby Social podcast, Murray selects the best XV from all the players he lined up with during 15 years participating in the sport at the highest level.

The 36-year-old racked up 125 caps for Ireland, made 207 appearances for Munster and played eight Tests for the Lions across three tours in 2013, 2017 and 2021.

In his own position of scrum-half, Murray selected former Wales number nine Mike Phillips, one of three Welsh players in his XV.

Murray says he learned much from watching Phillips, “taking in as much information as he could” as part of the Lions squad in 2013.

A couple of Englishmen are also included in the selection, with the remainder of the team made up of his former Ireland team-mates.

Murray explains on the podcast that he believes Sam Warburton is worthy of his place in the side at open-side flanker because of both his performances and his leadership abilities.

Warburton led the Lions to a series victory over Australia in 2013 and a drawn series with New Zealand four years later.

The Welsh forward had natural leaders like Brian O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell in the Lions ranks when he took up the reins for the 2013 tour at just 24 years old.

“To be honest, I’d say it was hard for him [to win everyone over at first],” said Murray.

“You had Paulie [O’Connell] and Drico [O’Driscoll] and players who had been on Lions tours before and people naturally looked up to them. They didn’t have to earn people’s respect.

“They looked up to Sam too but he was a new young captain, young to be captain of a British and Irish Lions team.”

Fans of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs might want to hold their ears when the wrongful death trial brought by his widow and parents against the Angels resumes Monday.

The Angels are about to present their defense and, according to people with knowledge of the Angels’ strategy, their attorneys plan to portray Skaggs as a selfish, secretive opioid addict who for years manipulated teammates and team communications director Eric Kay into obtaining illicit pills for him to chop up and snort.

Skaggs, a first-round draft pick of the Angels in 2009 out of Santa Monica High, was one year away from free agency when he died of an overdose July 1, 2019. He died after snorting a counterfeit opioid pill laced with fentanyl in his hotel room during an Angels trip to play the Texas Rangers in Arlington.

The left-handed starter was 27 and in the midst of his best season of seven in the big leagues when he died. His performance has been pointed to by Skaggs family lawyers as evidence he wasn’t a drug addict, but instead an athlete who took pain pills to stay on the field.

So far, testimony in a small, spare courtroom on the ninth floor of the Orange County Superior Court has favored the plaintiffs — Skaggs’ widow, Carli, and parents, Debbie Hetman and Darrell Skaggs.

Their lawyers called 21 witnesses over 24 days in court, attempting to establish that the pitcher’s fatal overdose was the result of the Angels’ negligent supervision of Kay, an admitted longtime opioid addict who is serving 22 years in prison for providing Skaggs with the pill.

The plaintiffs are asking for about $120 million in future earnings as well as additional millions for pain and suffering and punitive damages. Neither side is optimistic that a settlement can be reached ahead of a verdict.

Transcripts of trial testimony and interviews with people on both sides not authorized to speak publicly about the case provided a glimpse of the Angels’ defense strategy and what the plaintiffs have accomplished so far.

The Angels pared down their witness list at the request of Judge H. Shaina Colover, who has insisted the case go to the jury by Dec. 15. The Angels complained that two weeks might not be long enough to present their case, giving the plaintiffs an unfair advantage, even suggesting the issue could lead to a mistrial.

Skaggs’ lawyers, however, pointed out that the defense has taken longer to cross-examine witnesses than it took them to conduct the direct examinations. And Colover said a reason for the difference in the number of witnesses is that 12 people called by Skaggs’ lawyers were on the witness lists of both sides.

Like an MLB manager constructing a lineup, Skaggs lawyers led by Rusty Hardin were purposeful in the order they presented witnesses. They began their case by calling a string of Angels executives to poke holes in the team’s contention that they knew nothing about Kay’s addiction. Key witnesses refuting those denials included Kay’s wife, Camela, and Hetman.

Skaggs’ lawyers also presented text messages that indicated Kay’s supervisor, Tim Mead, and Angels traveling secretary Tom Taylor not only were aware of Kay’s addiction, but did not act decisively to isolate him, get him into inpatient rehab or terminate his employment.

The plaintiffs called witnesses to establish that not only were the Angels negligent on how they dealt with Kay’s addiction, they put his interest ahead of other employees and the organization by allowing him to continue working despite his bizarre behavior on the job.

The last witness before the court went into recess until Dec. 1 was human resources expert Ramona Powell, who testified that the Angels did not follow their own policies in evaluating and responding to Kay’s behavior. She said that had the team done so, Kay could have been terminated well before 2019.

Expect Angels lead attorney Todd Theodora to counter that Skaggs violated his contract and was guilty of fraud by concealing his drug problem for years. Furthermore, Skaggs allegedly continued to pressure Kay to procure opioids for him even after Kay completed drug rehab shortly before the fateful trip to Texas.

During opening arguments, Theodora stated that the Angels “know right from wrong,” but he is expected to assert that the case is more about what the team didn’t know. Kay and Skaggs have been described as masters at concealing their drug use. The Angels contend that had the team known of their addiction, officials could have provided them with treatment and perhaps Skaggs would be alive.

Testimony has already established that the Angels immediately informed MLB that Kay told co-worker Adam Chodzko that he was in Skaggs’ hotel room the night the pitcher died. Expect the Angels attorneys to take it a step further and assert that Kay might not have been prosecuted if the Angels hadn’t acted so swiftly.

Witnesses expected to be called by the defense include Angels president John Carpino and former MLB general manager Dan Duquette. The jury will view video of depositions given by former Angels players C.J. Cron, Matt Harvey, Cam Bedrosian and Blake Parker if they cannot testify in person.

The testimony of players can cut both ways, as evidenced by statements made by two players who testified for the plaintiffs — current Angels outfielder and three-time most valuable player Mike Trout and former relief pitcher Mike Morin.

Trout testified that Skaggs was “like a brother” to him, that he cried when told he’d died and that he had no clue about drug use. But Trout also hedged when asked whether he had offered to pay for Kay’s rehab, saying he just told him he’d help any way he could.

Morin, who pitched for the Angels from 2014 to 2017, said Kay sold him opioids “five to eight times” after an arm injury made him desperate to overcome pain and return to the mound. Yet under cross examination, Morin conceded that Skaggs was responsible for his own actions.

Carpino is responsible for the Angels’ day-to-day operations and his office is adjacent to those of Mead, Taylor and formerly Kay. Duquette, former general manager of the Montreal Expos, Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles, is expected to testify that Skaggs’ future career earnings would have been no more than $30 million because of his drug use and history of injuries.

Skaggs’ lawyers called earnings expert Jeff Fannell, a former labor lawyer for the MLB Players Assn., who testified that Skaggs would have earned between $109 million and $120 million and could still be pitching.

The top four seeded countries will not be able to meet each other until the semi-finals of next year’s World Cup for the first time in the tournament’s history.

Fifa has announced that Spain (1st seed) and Argentina (2) will be ‘paired’ and placed into groups in opposite halves of the draw.

France (3) and England (4) will also be paired, which means England will not be able to come up against Spain or Argentina until the semi-finals, and France until the final.

This only applies if the four countries win their groups.

When two teams are paired, they are placed in opposite halves of the knockout bracket and cannot meet each other until the final. This happens at Wimbledon, and in the new Champions League format, where seeds are kept apart in pairs.

Fifa wants to ensure the top-ranked countries do not meet earlier in the knockout rounds, thus potentially creating blockbuster games later in the tournament. The same ranking system was used for the Club World Cup in the summer.

France knocked England out of the 2022 World Cup with a 2-1 victory in the quarter-finals, while Spain beat the Three Lions in the Euro 2024 final.

The four pots for the final draw, which takes place on Friday, 5 December (17:00 GMT), have also been confirmed.

Scotland will be in pot three, with the six play-off paths – which includes Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Italy – all in pot four.

Debutants Uzbekistan are in pot three, with fellow first-timers Jordan, Cape Verde and Curacao in pot four.

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

MONDAY’S RESULTS

BOYS

CITY SECTION

Maywood CES 52, Annenberg 23

Orthopaedic 53, Hawkins 34

Valor Academy 47, Stella 43

Wilmington Banning 58, Angelou 38

SOUTHERN SECTION

Aliso Niguel 70, Lakewood 50

Alta Loma 63, Adelanto 55

Apple Valley 84, Bloomington 50

Arlington 75 Norco 62

Arrowhead Christian 70, Murrieta Mesa 66

Ayala 72, Los Amigos 58

Baldwin Park 59, EF Academy 29

Bassett 59, United Christian Academy 21

Bell Gardens 65, Southlands Christian 19

Beverly Hills 66, Mary Star of the Sea 40

Bonita 56, Paloma Valley 43

Brea Olinda 80, Santa Ana Calvary Chapel 47

Buckley 74, Rowland 51

Buena Park 42, Anaheim 31

Camarillo 41, West Ranch 29

Canyon Country Canyon 74, Victor Valley 49

Charter Oak 71, Bolsa Grande 44

Chaparral 86, Riverside Prep 53

Chino Hills 65, Lawndale 49

Citrus Valley 62, Kaiser 40

Corona 81, Riverside North 49

Corona Santiago 84, Rialto 70

Crescenta Valley 78, Vasquez 70

Desert Chapel 65, Joshua Springs Christian 19

Downey 64, Pasadena Poly 40

Elsinore 73, Arroyo Valley 53

Estancia 65, El Monte 19

Flintridge Prep 57, El Rancho 39

Fontana 56, Indian Springs 31

Foothill Tech 55, Channel Islands 53

Glendale 69, Garey 25

Godinez 74, St. Margaret’s 63

Heritage 73, Woodcrest Christian 56

Holy Martyrs Armenian 76, Hoover 63

Huntington Beach 67, Costa Mesa 22

Irvine 55, Rancho Alamitos 32

La Canada 54, Northview 35

Laguna Beach 71, Workman 34

Long Beach Jordan 101, Eisenhower 58

Long Beach Wilson 58, Santa Ana Foothill 53

Montebello 56. Duarte 50

Moorpark 85, Lancaster 52

Newport Beach Pacifica Christian 68, Verbum Dei Jesuit 47

Nordhoff 63, SLOCA 31

Oakwood 97, de Toledo 30

Palmdale 74, Sherman Oaks CES 58

Palm Desert 80, Cajon 49

Patriot 66, Barstow 37

Placentia Valencia 66, Westminster La Quinta 44

Rancho Verde 76, Grand Terrace 18

Rolling Hills Prep 60, West Torrance 48

Rosamond 45, Antelope Valley 41

Royal 78, Del Sol 28

San Marino 58, Salesian 57

Santa Fe 78, Mountain View 33

Silverado 93, Jurupa Hills 54

South Hills 65, Bosco Tech 57

St. Bonaventure 67, Del Oro 38

Temecula Valley 74, Vista Murrieta 61

Valencia 62, Pilibos 60

Villa Park 72, Artesia 47

Winchester Liberty 70, Banning 24

INTERSECTIONAL

Birmingham 60, St. Genevieve 56

Chatsworth 63, Burbank Burroughs 32

Cleveland 82, Cathedral 46

Compton Centennial 59, Lincoln 50

Corona Centennial 60, Torrey Pines 58

Edison 80, LACES 47

El Camino Real 66, La Salle 60

Fountain Valley 60, Poway 52

Francis Parker 83, Rancho Christian 71

Granada Hills 61, Garden Serra 52

Loyola 69, Palisades 58

Newbury Park 58, Granada Hills Kennedy 37

Palmdale 74, Sherman Oaks CES 58

San Pedro 69, Palos Verdes 61

Santa Margarita 76, Mission Bay 53

Shalhevet 69, San Fernando Valley Academy 43

Triumph Charter 59, AGBU 56

West Covina 88, Franklin 54

Wiseburn-Da Vinci 71, Carson 65

GIRLS

SOUTHERN SECTION

Ayala 38, San Bernardino 32

Barstow 54, Alhambra 23

Beckman 66, Rancho Cucamonga 54

Bishop Amat 52, Golden Valley 44

Bolsa Grande 41, Glenn 5

Bonita 57, Northview 38

Brea Olinda 42, Montclair 24

Chaparral 62, Corona Santiago 47

Chino 59, Silverado 8

Chino Hills 49, Canyon Springs 41

Crean Lutheran 47, Aliso Niguel 41

Desert Chapel 43, Joshua Springs Christian 9

El Dorado 49, Downey 45

Fullerton 52, La Habra 26

Hacienda Heights Wilson 58, St. Paul 41

Hesperia 61, Silver Valley 49

Indian Springs 42, Eisenhower 22

Irvine 44, Mission Viejo 30

La Canada 65, Crescenta Valley 53

Lakewood St. Joseph 64, Cerritos 21

Lancaster 41, Long Beach Cabrillo 8

Lawndale 40, West Ranch 39

Leuzinger 55, Village Christian 48

Los Alamitos 62, West Covina 22

Los Altos 50, Chaffey 46

Mary Star of the Sea 42, Ramona Convent 25

Murrieta Valley 67, Linfield Christin 25

Norwalk 47, Montebello 27

Notre Dame Academy 39, Santa Monica Pacifica Christian 31

Pioneer 55, Arroyo 32

Redondo Union 65, Lynwood 57

Riverside King 57, South Pasadena 28

Riverside Poly 69, El Rancho 63

Rosamond 69, Palmdale 15

Rosemead 31, Saddleback 19

Sacred Heart of Jesus 48, Burbank 40

San Juan Hills 49, Newport Beach Pacifica Christian 33

Saugus 60, Knight 29

Segerstrom 67, Elsinore 33

Sonora 53, University Prep 10

St. Anthony 52, Oak Hills 46

St. Genevieve 46, AGBU 37

St. Margaret’s 69, Cypress 55

Sunny Hills 58, South El Monte 12

Temecula Prep 37, Banning 17

Temecula Valley 61, Banning 5

Tesoro 52, Great Oak 16

Traduce Hills 65, Anaheim Canyon 60

Whitney 54, Santa Ana Foothill 33

YULA 70, Burbank Providence 15

INTERSECTIONAL

Bakersfield Liberty 52, Palisades 48

Birmingham 82, Alta Loma 41

Canyon Country Canyon 50, Verdugo Hills 40

Carondelet 43, Mira Costa 33

Cleveland 44, Calabasas 38

Etiwanda 98, Santa Maria St. Joseph 31

Gardena Serra 61, LA Hamilton 50

Holy Martyrs Armenian 37, Grant 30

King/Drew 50, Wiseburn Da-Vinci 28

La Jolla Country Day 54, Corona Santiago 19

North County San Marcos 70, El Toro 69

Sage Hill 64, Harvard-Westlake 29

Shadow Hills 50, Montgomery 32

Westchester 67, Rolling Hills Prep 63

“With memories still fresh of an unforgettable occasion for the Ashes Test, we’re delighted to be able to confirm a return to Hill Dickinson Stadium for the 2026 Super League Magic Weekend,” Rhodri Jones, Rugby League Commercial managing director, said.

“This will be the seventh venue to stage Magic since it was introduced as a new concept for sport in 2007 and our clubs, players and supporters are in for a treat.

“It’s a stunning stadium with outstanding facilities at all levels and also superbly located for summer on the waterfront, and with the many and varied attractions of Liverpool within easy reach.

“We continue to work with the Dragons and Toulouse on the feasibility of delivering a very special event in France too and we hope to be able to announce something in the near future on this.”

Welcome back to the Lakers newsletter, where we got plenty of rest while the team played pickleball.

A rare four-day stretch without a game may have done wonders for the Lakers’ small nagging injuries, but it interrupted the team’s rhythm going into Sunday’s game against the Utah Jazz. It showed in the clunky win in which the Lakers missed 28 three-point tries and let an 11-point fourth-quarter lead dwindle to one.

Despite being quite literally one of the worst shooting teams in the league, the Lakers are still 12-4. Players credited the team’s resiliency and chemistry as reasons the Lakers are still winning, but how long can this team survive on pure vibes?

Don’t stop believing

Luka Doncic’s shot trickled over the front of the rim, bounced high above the basket and swished through the net. When the three-pointer finally fell, Doncic raised both arms in equal parts disbelief and relief.

He’s the NBA’s leading scorer, but Doncic is shooting a career-worst 31.1% from three on a career-high 11 three-point attempts per game. Austin Reaves, also enjoying a career season offensively, is shooting the same poor percentage from three-point range.

Almost every Lakers rotation player is shooting below his career average from three-point range through 16 games this season. Shooting 33.3% from three, the Lakers are 26th out of 30 teams. Their 10.9 makes a game are the fewest in the league.

“We’ve got to shoot the ball better,” coach JJ Redick said after the Lakers survived a comeback attempt against the Jazz on Sunday. “But it’s got to be a belief in each other and a belief in ourselves to knock down shots.”

Nearing the 20-game mark of the season, the Lakers are not fretting about their frigid outside shooting. Redick recalled how the Lakers shot 34.8% from three in the first two months of last season. Then after shooting 46.7% in a two-point loss to the Detroit Pistons on Dec. 23, the Lakers made 37.7% of their threes for the rest of the regular season.

Part of the shift came after the trade that brought Doncic. He shot 37.9% from three while with the Lakers last season, and the team’s overall three-point attempts increased from 33.8 per game to 40.4 in the final two months of the season.

The Lakers are taking 32.4 three-pointers per game this season. Redick anticipated that the number would rise, but with the current shooting struggles, he wanted to focus more on simply maximizing what his players do well.

“We’re going to do the things that put our guys in a position to create advantages and generate good offense,” Redick said before Sunday’s game. “However that looks as it morphs and evolves throughout the year, that’s just going to be what it is, the philosophy behind it. And if it ends up being we shoot 40 threes a game, great.”

Redick celebrated the team’s otherwise effective offense that is second in true shooting percentage (61.5%) and first in points per shot (1.42). The other glaring issue is turnover percentage, where the Lakers rank 28th.

“If we were out there not creating great looks or we were not playing [the right way] and we were playing selfish basketball [it would be different],” said LeBron James, who has made two of seven shots from three in his two games since returning from sciatica. “That’s not our M.O. So you look at over half of the threes that we missed tonight, a lot of them were wide open, but a lot of them were just finding the right player. The ball has so much energy in it that we’re not worried about that.”

Of their 38 three-point attempts against the Jazz, 25 came with the closest defender six or more feet away. The Lakers made just six of those open shots, with Doncic, Reaves and Marcus Smart going four for 17.

“We’re definitely gonna shoot better,” Smart said. “We work too hard not to.”

What’s up with the NBA Cup?

Even Deandre Ayton didn’t know what was going on with the NBA Cup. The Lakers center absorbed a turnover late in a blowout against the New Orleans Pelicans on Nov. 14 instead of taking an easy shot. When he heard his teammates screaming at him to shoot, he admitted later he didn’t realize the potential importance of those two points.

Ayton instead intertwined his middle and ring fingers and held his right hand up toward the bench. The ‘W’ is all that mattered.

Entering the final week of NBA Cup group play, the Lakers need just one more W to clinch their spot in the quarterfinals. The winner of Tuesday’s game between the Lakers and Clippers at Crypto.com Arena officially claims West Group B.

The Lakers and Clippers are 2-0 in group play with two games remaining. The group also includes the Memphis Grizzlies, the Dallas Mavericks and the already eliminated New Orleans Pelicans. The Lakers finish group play with the Dallas Mavericks on Friday in a game that, even if the Lakers clinch the top spot Tuesday, could still matter.

The three group winners advance to the quarterfinals, and the top second-place team from each conference earns a wild card. The two teams with the best group play record in each conference will host the quarterfinal games. The No. 1 seed goes to the team with the best overall record, and if the records are even, then point differential will be the first tiebreaker for seeding.

Oklahoma City is also 2-0 halfway through group play and has a league-best plus-63 point differential, putting the Thunder in position to earn the No. 1 seed in the West quarterfinals.

The Lakers have a plus-19 point differential in group games and are in position to be the second-seeded team in the West, possibly playing against the West Group C winner.

The third group in the West is one of the most competitive in the league as Portland and Denver entered this week tied with 2-1 records. Portland has the first-priority head-to-head tiebreaker against the Nuggets, but Denver has a plus-26 point differential that positions it well as a potential wild-card team.

Top-seeded teams will host the quarterfinal games on Dec. 9 and 10. The losing teams in each conference’s quarterfinals will play each other in a regular season game on one of four dates: Dec. 11, 12, 14 or 15. The semifinals are in Las Vegas on Dec. 13, and the final will be on Dec. 16.

On tap

Records and stats updated entering Monday’s games

Nov. 25 vs. Clippers (5-12), 8 p.m., NBA Cup group play

Kawhi Leonard returned to the lineup on Sunday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, scoring 20 points, but he couldn’t rescue the Clippers, who have just two wins in November,

Nov. 28 vs. Mavericks (5-13), 7 p.m., NBA Cup group play

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Anthony Davis is injured. After missing his return to L.A. last year because of an abdominal strain, the former Lakers’ star has been sidelined for almost a month with a calf injury, potentially delaying his much-anticipated first game in L.A. since the infamous trade.

Nov. 30 vs. Pelicans (2-15), 6:30 p.m.

The Pelicans took a big swing to draft Derik Queen in the first round last April and the former Maryland star is starting to show some signs of promise. Queen averaged 23.3 points and 8.3 rebounds in three games against Atlanta, Dallas and Denver. He added 11 assists in a 118-115 loss to the Mavericks that eliminated New Orleans from NBA Cup contention.

Dec. 1 vs. Suns (11-6), 7 p.m.

Losing Kevin Durant to free agency made it seem like Devin Booker and Phoenix would be in rebuild mode, but they’re in the thick of the West. Booker leads the team with 26.9 points and 7.1 assists per game.

Best thing I ate this week

Thit nuong

(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)

While the Lakers played pickleball, I was soaking up my extended home time with loved ones. One of my easy crowd pleasers is thit nuong, which is Vietnamese grilled pork. Slices of pork shoulder are marinated with garlic, shallots, lemongrass, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar and oyster sauce, threaded onto skewers and grilled. (I, however, don’t have a grill so I bake mine on a rack in the oven.) They’re a great finger food eaten off the skewer or as a meal with rice or, in this case, rice noodles. And it’s not Vietnamese if there aren’t pickled carrots and daikon.

My dad once told me my thit nuong was better than my mom’s. It is my greatest culinary accomplishment.

In case you missed it

‘Legend’: Claire Rothman, Forum president during Lakers’ ‘Showtime’ dynasty, dies at 97

Luka Doncic helps Lakers hold off Jazz for fourth win in a row

LeBron James’ return has Marcus Smart becoming Lakers’ ‘Swiss Army knife’

Dodgers boss Andrew Friedman part of team to advise Lakers in ownership transition

Lakers fire executives Joey and Jesse Buss and members of scouting staff

Hernández: LeBron James’ ‘very unselfish’ play shows he can fit in. Will it continue?

‘The dude’s a machine’: Three takeaways from LeBron James’ return to the Lakers

Until next time…

As always, pass along your thoughts to me at [email protected], and please consider subscribing if you like our work!

Two months ago Liverpool’s huge summer transfer spend looked like it had made the Premier League title a formality.

Arne Slot’s side were five points clear at the top of the table after only five games, having strengthened their squad with £415m worth of talent.

Florian Wirtz was signed from Bayer Leverkusen for an initial £100m, rising to a possible £116m. Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak joined on deadline day for a new record transfer fee of £125m, which could be £130m with add-ons.

Nothing could go wrong, could it?

Both signings have struggled and Liverpool’s form has nosedived, leaving them 12th in the league.

Wirtz has no goals or assists in 11 Premier League outings. Isak has yet to score a goal and has one assist.

It is way too early to write off two of the most expensive Premier League signings of all time.

After all, Thierry Henry scored only two goals in his first 17 appearances for Arsenal. By the end of that season he had netted 17 times in the Premier League, 26 in all competitions and went on to be one of the league’s greatest-ever players.

But curiously, when you look down the list of the Premier League’s biggest incomings, there are not too many ‘huge’ successes.

How do you judge this? I’ve looked at each deal and given my verdict relative to their own achievements and that of their clubs. Fees shown are without add-ons.

Of course this is very subjective and you are free to disagree (or agree) in the comments below!

Steve Cherundolo’s first season at LAFC ended in a penalty-kick shootout that decided one of the most compelling playoff games in MLS history. His final season ended in the same way last Saturday.

Cherundolo and LAFC won that first classic match, beating the Philadelphia Union in the 2022 MLS Cup final. They lost the second one, falling to the shorthanded Vancouver Whitecaps in a Western Conference semifinal that had more plot twists than an Agatha Christie mystery.

In between, Cherundolo proved to be one of the best coaches in league history, winning an MLS Cup, a U.S. Open Cup and more than 100 games in all competition in his short four-year stay. He took LAFC to a CONCACAF Champions League final and to the first round of the FIFA Club World Cup, compiling a resume no coach in MLS history can match.

And while his departure will clearly hurt, the club he leaves is in good shape with the core of its roster signed for next season. Of the 16 players Cherundolo used Saturday, just five — goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, defenders Nkosi Tafari and Ryan Raposo and midfielders Andrew Moran and Frankie Amaya — are out of contract.

General manager John Thorrington is expected to announce the club’s roster decisions later this week.

“Moving forward, we’ll see what it looks like for next season. I wish this club the very, very best,” said Cherundolo, who used 75 players, second-most in the league, during his four years in charge. “I can say with certainty it’s in a great spot for a very successful year again. And that would make me very proud.”

The coach, a Hall of Fame player who made three U.S. World Cup teams, announced last April he would be returning to his wife’s native Germany, where he spent the entirety of his 15-year club career, when LAFC’s season ended. That meant he entered the playoffs knowing his next loss would be his last one.

But he made clear last week he was just saying goodbye, not farewell.

“In four years I can be back here,” he said. “I am definitely not canceling that out.”

In the meantime, Thorrington is looking for a new coach for just the second time in franchise history. The first time he stayed in-house, replacing Bob Bradley with Cherundolo, manager of the club’s USL Championship affiliate.

That’s likely to happen again this time since two members of Cherundolo’s staff — Marc Dos Santos, a former Whitecaps manager, and former Galaxy and Chivas USA forward Ante Razov, an assistant with three MLS teams — are said to be among the favorites to take over and build on what LAFC has already accomplished.

“I think Steve himself would say that if he left and the culture crumbled, then he didn’t do a good enough job at building the culture,” defender Ryan Hollingshead said. “We know things are going to continue to chug along the right way and that’s partly because he’s helped make it that way. He put just the right spin on it and it’s created what has led to a bunch of success over the last four years.”

Results aside, if Cherundolo, 46, had been allowed to choose the explanation point to affix to the end of his MLS coaching career, it’s unlikely he could have selected a better one than Saturday’s game, one dramatic and entertaining enough to become an instant classic.

Playing before an MLS stadium-record crowd of 53,937, the Whitecaps took a 2-0 first-half lead and still led by a goal going into stoppage time. At that point first-year Vancouver coach Jesper Sorensen was so confident of victory, he subbed out captain Thomas Muller.

However, things quickly took a turn when defender Tristan Blackmon drew his second yellow card, leaving Vancouver with just 10 players. Son Heung-min needed little time to make the Whitecaps pay, bending in a spectacular free kick in the dying minutes for his second goal of the half — and his 12th in 13 games for LAFC — to send the game to extra time.

That’s when the game went from classic to epic, with Vancouver losing another player midway through that extra time after center back Belal Halbouni limped off with a leg injury. That allowed LAFC, which outshot the Whitecaps 26-9, to pepper the Vancouver goal, bouncing two shots off the posts and another off the crossbar.

Yet none found the back of the net, leaving the game to be decided on penalties, the cruelest, meanest, most unfair — and most exciting — way to determine a winner.

When Son, who finished the game massaging a muscle cramp, limped to the spot to send his team’s first penalty try off the right post, LAFC was in trouble. When Mark Delgado sent the third try over the net and into the crowd, LAFC was done.

“Sometimes football is crazy like this. That’s why we love football,” Son said before closing with “see you next season.”

That was something Cherundolo couldn’t say. But he left with his head held high just the same.

“If you look at the sum of four years with LAFC,” he said “we have a ton to be proud of.”

⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week’s episode of the “Corner of the Galaxy” podcast.

Dear Chancellor Frenk,

It’s time we talked.

Your predecessor, Gene Block, never granted me that courtesy, and look where UCLA athletics are now.

A football team adrift, an athletic director less popular than student fees locked up on a long-term contract and more questions facing your athletic department than the 466 yards the Bruins gave up to Washington on Saturday in what might have been their last game at the Rose Bowl.

(As a side note, if you’re contemplating not keeping your word with regards to the Rose Bowl lease, do you have to fulfill the terms of Martin Jarmond’s contract?)

I’ve heard from so many people who care so much about UCLA sports, and I’m wondering if you’re listening to any of them. They’re saddened and angered and want some answers — and deservedly so given the lack of transparency around here.

So let me start with some questions in the event your many public relations advisors and crisis management experts tell you to go the Gene Blockade route and remain mum or offer another statement that doesn’t say much of anything.

How did that Jarmond contract extension come about? It was signed by Block in the spring of 2024 and curiously announced the following November — in the wake of a three-game winning streak by the football team that took considerable heat off Jarmond for his questionable hiring of coach DeShaun Foster.

Why was there a rush to grant an athletic department boss with a shaky track record an extension before you took over and how do you feel about it? And what was the role of interim chancellor Darnell Hunt, if any, in pushing this thing through? Unless you make a bold move to part ways with Jarmond or he leaves for another job, you’re stuck with him through 2029.

Moving on from Jarmond would come with its own cost thanks to the absurd terms of his contract. (A yearly $300,000 retention bonus for an athletic director nobody else wanted? Really?) Unless you can find a way to terminate him for cause or negotiate a settlement, you’ll have to pay every dollar he’s owed through the end of his contract even if you bid him farewell. I can’t imagine you’re happy about that, but maybe there’s something I’m missing.

Let’s move on to your vagrant football team. Who’s driving the proposed move to SoFi Stadium and what do the numbers look like? There’s been lots of chatter about chief financial officer Steven Agostini trying to clean up the financial mess you both inherited within the athletic department. I’m assuming there have been extensive calculations about a Rose Bowl payout and how much more money you’d make playing at SoFi Stadium.

But how much of that is SoFi spin and aren’t you worried that a judge could make you pay so much in damages that the whole thing would be a net negative? Yes, you’d presumably get suite revenue at SoFi Stadium, but would anyone want to buy one given what we’ve seen from this football team over the last decade? Shouldn’t you just go back to the Rose Bowl, football helmet in hand, and ask for a lease renegotiation that satisfies both sides?

Are you sure a big enough chunk of the fan base is on board with a move to Inglewood to justify such a jarring and abrupt abandonment of the school’s longtime home? If you indeed left the Rose Bowl, how would you compensate donors who contributed major gifts to the stadium for capital improvements on the premise that the Bruins would be a tenant through the 2043 season? And why would any business entity ever feel comfortable signing a long-term lease with the school again?

Speaking of contracts, you’re going to be signing another one soon for the next football coach. Since the school has paid out so much money on so many bad deals over the years, here’s a free piece of advice: Do everything — and I mean everything — within your power to hire Bob Chesney.

The guy is a winner. He won big at Salve Regina and Assumption, and I’m wondering if you even knew those were football teams before this very moment. He went on to do the same at Holy Cross and now James Madison, the new cradle of coaches, lest you haven’t seen what’s happening over at Indiana under Curt Cignetti. Chesney has a proven system for success, not to mention the personality to win over recruits, donors and a fan base sadder than Bob Toledo’s final season.

Some of the Plan B options might work out, of course, but can you really take that risk? Chesney has won everywhere he’s been and there’s no reason to think he wouldn’t do the same in resuscitating UCLA football after bringing a decent chunk of his James Madison roster with him.

So if Jimmy Sexton, the superagent reportedly representing Chesney, does his thing and leverages you into a few more million dollars than expected to finalize a deal with his client, pay the man. Chesney will be more than worth it. This hire must go right not only for the football team but also the health of an athletic department that’s facing possibly the most pivotal moment in its history.

But don’t worry, I’m here for you and we can talk more about this soon. Right?

Best,

Ben

And another thing . . .

Any presumption that UCLA attendance will soar at SoFi Stadium might need further consideration.

Just look at what happened when the then-No. 15 men’s basketball team played Arizona at the nearby Intuit Dome earlier this month. Even with a crowd bolstered by a large contingent of Wildcats fans, attendance was a mere 7,554 — less than half of the arena’s 18,000-seat capacity. There were probably fewer than 5,000 UCLA fans in the building for a showdown between nationally ranked rivals.

Here’s wondering how many donors and season ticket holders would really prefer Inglewood for football games and how the actual time it takes to drive southbound on the 405 from Westwood on a Friday night, Saturday afternoon or Saturday night compares to the alternative commute to Pasadena.

It has been a rough season for UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Losing by 34 points in what might have been UCLA’s last game ever at the Rose Bowl generated the sort of grades you want to hide from your parents.

Quarterbacks: B-. Nico Iamaleava has nothing left to gain this season and should protect his health by sitting out the cross-town rivalry game. Meanwhile, Luke Duncan’s work as a backup continues to impress, putting him in line for a possible John Barnes breakthrough against USC.

Running backs: D. Jaivian Thomas didn’t play and those who did probably wish they didn’t considering UCLA rushed for a total of 57 yards.

Wide receivers/tight ends: C-. Mikey Matthews caught a touchdown pass, but all anyone is going to remember is Titus Mokiao-Atimalala’s drop that could have changed the trajectory of the game.

Offensive line: C-. Watching Garrett DiGiorgio walk off the field one last time after another tough day on the job was heartbreaking.

Defensive line: C-. Giving up 212 yards rushing means that there wasn’t enough resistance at the line of scrimmage, but the late sack by freshman Cole Cogshell was encouraging.

Linebackers: B-. Jalen Woods continued to emerge as a playmaker with two tackles for loss.

Defensive backs: B. Held up pretty well considering Rodrick Pleasant was out with an injury. Cole Martin’s interception was among the highlights on an otherwise bleak night.

Special teams: D. Cash Peterman certainly generated some viral social media content with his over-the-shoulder flip gone awry on the fake field goal leading to a Washington touchdown.

Coaching: C-. The initial infusion of energy from this staff seems to have gone missing in recent weeks.

Olympic sport the week: Men’s water polo

Chase Dodd

(Elijah Carr / UCLA)

With the exception of the men’s and women’s basketball teams winning every game as expected, it was a frustrating week for UCLA sports.

The men’s and women’s soccer teams saw their seasons end in the NCAA tournament. The women’s volleyball team lost to Washington in straight sets. The football team got stomped by Washington.

The final indignity came Sunday.

UCLA’s top-ranked men’s water polo team fell behind big early and couldn’t catch up during a 14-11 loss to second-ranked USC in the championship of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament at Stanford’s Avery Aquatic Center.

After trailing 10-4 late in the second quarter, the Bruins closed to within 11-8 late in the third quarter but could come no closer. Ryder Dodd finished with three goals and one assist for UCLA (24-2), which has suffered both of its defeats this season against the Trojans.

UCLA will open play in the NCAA tournament Dec. 5 at Stanford’s Avery Aquatic Center.

Opinion time

In a rivalry oddity, the home team has not won since 2019 when UCLA has faced USC in football. Will that trend continue Saturday when the teams meet at the Coliseum?

Yes, UCLA will pull the upset

No, USC will snap the streak

Click here to vote in our survey.

Poll results

We asked, “Which possible football coaching candidate excites you most?”

After 701 votes, the results:

James Madison’s Bob Chesney, 76.8%
Washington’s Jedd Fisch, 11.3%
San Diego State’s Sean Lewis, 4.8%
Tulane’s Jon Sumrall, 4.6%
South Florida’s Alex Golesh, 2.5%

In case you missed it

UCLA loses in blowout to Washington in possible Rose Bowl swan song for Bruins

UCLA fans tailgating at Rose Bowl apprehensive about possible move to SoFi Stadium

No. 19 UCLA surpasses Mick Cronin’s challenge in blowout win over Presbyterian

Should they stay or should they go? UCLA greats weigh in on the Rose Bowl debate

Former head of UCLA’s football NIL collective denies wrongdoing alleged in report

Plaschke: Shame on UCLA for trying to ditch the iconic Rose Bowl for cash grab at SoFi Stadium

Have something Bruin?

Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email me at [email protected], and follow me on X @latbbolch. To order an autographed copy of my book, “100 Things UCLA Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die,” send me an email. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

I find it hard to believe how the driver who had 14 podiums and seven wins in the first 16 races, is now having a real struggle with achieving even fifth place. Is it a case of Oscar Piastri feeling the pressure and leading to a few really costly mistakes, or do the tracks really differ that much throughout the season? – Allegra

Piastri’s slump in form since he won the Dutch Grand Prix to take his seventh victory of the season in 15 races is indeed remarkable.

I actually asked him on media day in Las Vegas whether he knew what had been going on, and this was his answer.

“Austin and Mexico were quite different to the other races that have not gone so successfully,” he said.

“There, there was a clear pace deficit and something pretty fundamental that just wasn’t working.

“The other races have just been a combination of different things going wrong.

“Obviously, Baku (where he crashed three times and jumped the start) was what it was. Singapore from a performance standpoint actually was pretty solid, just the race obviously didn’t pan out exactly how I wanted.

“And even Brazil, the pace was good at points. The sprint crash didn’t have a great impact on the rest of the weekend. There were some things resulting from that that were suboptimal for the rest of the weekend.

“So from a pace and performance point of view, Brazil was actually quite good, it was just that there were a lot of things that happened that meant the results weren’t on the table.

“There was a couple of races where, yes, I needed to do some head scratching and work out what was going on, but the other races that have been tough have just been what some might say is a difficult world of motorsport.”

That’s a pretty good summary of what’s been going on.

But there’s another factor to bear in mind, in that Piastri is not driving in isolation. He is also being compared to his rivals, and in particular his team-mate.

There is absolutely no question that, after a shaky start to the season, Lando Norris has moved up a gear or two since the summer break.

Norris himself says the upward trend started before that – and it seems it began with the introduction of a tweak to the front suspension geometry in Canada aimed at enabling him to better feel the front of the car at the limit.

Up until the Dutch Grand Prix, the head-to-head qualifying stats between the McLaren drivers were weighted in Piastri’s favour – but in terms of pure pace the margin was only 0.099 seconds.

Since Monza, Piastri has out-qualified Norris only once, in Singapore, and the pace gap is 0.226secs in Norris’ favour.

This has come about through hard, focused work from Norris, as he explained in Las Vegas. It’s now up to Piastri to respond.

Davey Harris of Windward finally scored his first points in high school basketball Monday night after waiting two seasons to recover from a knee injury. He scored 21 points in a 66-51 win over Knight at Chaminade.

The 6-foot-4 Harris is no ordinary junior. Coach DJ Gay said Harris picked up 10 scholarship offers just from his summer performances, with recruiters seeing a hint of his potential. He’s the younger brother of former Windward standout JJ Harris, a Loyola Marymount commit.

Harris said he felt well and is looking forward to being 100% later this season. Amare Larane scored 19 points for Knight.

Santa Paula 75, Garden Grove Santiago 35: Andrew Valdovinos made eight three-pointers and finished with 24 points. David Alvarez added 19 points.

Chatsworth 62, Burroughs 32: Aaron Krueger had 24 points for Chatsworth.

Canyon Country Canyon 74, Victor Valley 49: Isaac Yuhico scored 36 points for the Cowboys.

Granada Hills 61, Gardena Serra 52: Jacob Bautista finished with 20 points for Granada Hills.

Rolling Hills Prep 60, West Torrance 48: Kawika Suter had 23 points and 13 rebounds and Nick Welch Jr. added 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Loyola 69, Palisades 58: Mattai Carter led Loyola with 17 points. Freshman Phillip Green had 24 points and 12 rebounds for Palisades.

Girls basketball

Sage Hill 64, Harvard-Westlake 29: Sage Hill showed why it will be an Open Division team, routing the Wolverines in a Redondo Union tournament game. Texas-bound Amalia Holguin was making threes from NBA range. She had 19 points. Kamdyn Klamberg had 21 points.

Etiwanda 98, Santa Maria St. Joseph 31: The Eagles (2-0) received 22 points from Chasity Rice and 21 points from Arynn Finley at Redondo Union.

The autumn internationals always have great drama and storylines but, with the Rugby World Cup draw following hot on the heels of this year’s fixtures, there was an added layer of intrigue in 2025 as the best of the northern and southern hemispheres collided.

Reigning world champions South Africa solidified their number one status with a 100% record so far, albeit with a trip to Cardiff still to come, although few would bet against them rounding out their year with another victory.

Meanwhile, England enjoyed the most profitable autumn of the Six Nations sides, winning all four of their matches to extend their winning run to 11 and rise to third in the world rankings.

They were almost pipped to the post in their final outing by a resurgent Argentina however, who came close to spoiling the party and ending their European tour with a perfect record.

For the rest of the Six Nations and Rugby Championship sides, the autumn was a mixed bag, ‘could do better’ being the key note on the report cards for the majority, particularly Australia – who went winless on their European tour for the first time in 67 years.

That hasn’t stopped the Rugby Championship sides taking the bragging rights though, winning eight of their 14 matches against Six Nations teams so far this month.

Throughout those games there were some incredible individual performances and, using the unique Opta Index – which objectively scores each player’s performances in each game, we can identify which players really shone this autumn, making their way into our XV as a result.

We go through each selection and back up their inclusion with some key statistics.

Brandt Clarke scored a power-play goal with 6:10 to play to lift the Kings to a 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena.

Clarke’s slap shot from just inside the blue line came with just two seconds left on the man advantage and ended the Kings’ losing streak at three games.

Warren Foegele also scored for the Kings and Joel Edmundson assisted on both of the team’s goals. Darcy Kuemper made 27 saves.

Foegele opened the scoring 5:31 into the third period when he tapped in a pass from Joel Armia, who skated the puck down the right wing. Armia has points in three straight games.

Fabian Zetterlund tied it at 1-1 with 9:11 to play in the third with his third goal of the season and second in two games, but the Senators went scoreless on three power-play opportunities.

Leevi Merilainen made 20 saves for Ottawa, which was coming off wins over Anaheim and San José, the first two games of a seven-game road trip.

Up next for the Kings: vs. the Ducks at Honda Center on Friday night.