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In Los Angeles, Green holed a curling 12-foot birdie putt on the first play-off hole to win this LPGA Tour event for the third time in four years.
It was a stunning victory for Green given she had briefly been six shots adrift of the lead after Kim Sei-young chipped in for an eagle three on the 11th.
Green responded with the first of five birdies in six holes as she reeled in Kim and Im Jin-hee and all three finished on 17 under par.
“I didn’t think I was still in the tournament,” said Green, who won her only major, the Women’s PGA Championship, in 2019.
On her tournament-winning stroke, she added: “I had that putt, similar line in regulation, so I felt somewhat comfortable.”
Kim had already missed a 35-foot birdie attempt while Im – penalised a stroke for slow play during Saturday’s third round – was also unable to get down in three after a wayward tee shot.
The tournament was played at El Caballero for the second year because of course renovations at Wilshire where Green had won this title in 2023 and 2024.
During Saturday’s round, the tournament’s prize money was increased by $1m to $4.75m (£3.5m), lifting the purse to the highest on the tour outside of the major championships and season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.
As a result of that, Green took home $712,500, up from $562,500.
The Chevron Championship, the first women’s major of the year, stars on Thursday in Houston, Texas.
Victor Wembanyama starred on his NBA play-off debut as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Portland Trail Blazers 111-98.
Wembanyama, one of three contenders for the Most Valuable Player award, scored a game-high 35 points, including 21 in the first half, as the Spurs won game one of the best-of-seven series.
“It’s good to get this one out of the way,” the Frenchman said. “We just tried to do the things we’ve been doing all year and stay solid.
“There was pressure on us to win the first game, but it wasn’t that much pressure if we just stayed to the plan.”
Elsewhere, defending champions Oklahoma City Thunder and the Boston Celtics both made dominant starts to the post-season.
The Thunder – the number one seeds in the Western Conference – thrashed the Phoenix Suns 119-84, led by last year’s Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who had 25 points, seven assists and four rebounds.
Jayson Tatum scored 25 points with 11 rebounds and seven assists – and Jaylen Brown added 26 points – as the second-seeded Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 123-91.
Meanwhile, the Orlando Magic stunned Eastern Conference top seeds Detroit Pistons 112-101 to take a 1-0 lead in their seven-game series.
Victory for the eighth-seeded Magic, who qualified for the play-offs via the play-in tournament, extends an unwelcome NBA record for the Pistons, who have not won a post-season game at home for 11 matches dating back to 2008.
Forward Paolo Banchero starred with 23 points, nine rebounds and four assists, to help the Magic overshadow Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham’s play-off best haul of 39 points.
“[We] didn’t come out with the right energy, gave them life early on,” said Cunningham. “Then we had to deal with that for the rest of the game.
“There’s no confidence drop from us. It’s going to be a long, fun series.”
Alex Higgins and baby daughter Lauren in 1982. Dennis Taylor wagging his finger in ’85. Ronnie O’Sullivan’s five-minute maximum. White the exasperated nearly man. The dominant Davis and Stephen Hendry decades.
Rob Maul covers snooker for the Sun and Shane McDermott has been a mainstay of the media room for the Mirror.
As Maul says: “You can’t ignore the history. It’s a pilgrimage I’ve done since 2018 and I feel honoured to do it, but there are people in that building who have done it for decades and decades and decades.
“That’s the unique thing about snooker: they’ve kept the Hendrys in the sport, and they’re still working. John Parrott’s commentating. And that legacy is something you don’t throw away lightly.
“When you walk around the city, you see Steve Davis, and Jimmy White will come by if he’s working. And so much has changed in other sports, but snooker’s fundamentally the same game that these legends were playing.”
McDermott says: “You see the same faces year on year, people who have been coming every year since 1977. Sadly some of them are coming less and less because of age.
“I can remember after matches perhaps nipping out of the press room for a minute and bumping into John Virgo as he left the commentary box. You’d have a little nod and say hello. That’s one thing everyone will miss this year.”
Faces in the crowd, faces in the commentary box, faces at the table. Here one year, gone the next.
In recent times, snooker has lost Virgo,Ray Reardon,Willie Thorne and Terry Griffiths, among others. Broadcaster and journalist Clive Everton and Bafta-nominated former BBC snooker executive producer Nick Hunter have left us too.
The booming voice and laughter of Thorne, the gentle humour of Griffiths, the wisdom of Everton, the dry wit of Virgo.
They were part of the fixtures and fittings.
And in their own particular ways, they each played a telling role in the Crucible becoming what it was never built to be: snooker’s home.
DENVER — What do you know? The once-stampeding Dodgers have been caged by the Colorado Rockies.
With a 9-6 loss Sunday at Coors Field, the two-time defending World Series champions lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Dodgers again couldn’t hold a lead, letting the Rockies tee off for 15 hits.
Nor could the Dodgers keep up offensively at the hitter-friendly park — though they put some pressure on in the ninth inning, when Shohei Ohtani led off with a ground-rule double and the Dodgers scored twice to cut the lead to three runs. Then the new guy, Ryan Ward, made the final out in his big league debut, robbed of a hit and a chance to keep chipping away by a diving Troy Johnston in right field.
Before that, the Rockies — who beat the Dodgers twice in 13 meetings all of last season — chased starter Roki Sasaki from the game in the fifth inning and then ruffled the Dodgers’ relievers. That included closer Edwin Díaz, who came on in the eighth and promptly gave up three singles, a walk and two runs before being pulled with the Dodgers trailing 8-4.
Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki gave up three runs on seven hits in 4-2/3 innings Sunday against the Rockies in Denver.
(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
He and Blake Treinen combined to face eight batters without getting an out.
“They both weren’t sharp,” said manager Dave Roberts, who had theories but not many answers — though he did have real concern, especially about Díaz, who recently had his right knee checked out by the medical staff.
Roberts said the closer wanted to pitch after nine days off, even though it wasn’t a save situation. But his velocity was slightly down (95.4 mph vs. 95.8) and so, “today was a tough evaluation,” the manager said.
“It really was,” Roberts said. “Because, you know, I know what it’s supposed to look like, and when it doesn’t look like that, it gets a little concerning, really.”
And losing for the second time to the Rockies, who are now 9-13? Being in danger of losing their four-game series, after arriving in Denver without having lost to a National League opponent, against a club that hasn’t made the postseason since 2018?
It’s well below the bar the Dodgers have set, and it added a bitter note to Ward’s otherwise sweet debut.
Ward punched a big league clock for the first time wearing No. 67 and cranked his first hit off Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen in the fourth inning, lining a changeup to right field for a single that scored Andy Pages, made it 3-0 and got the 20-some members of Ward’s party up, jumping in place, hugging and high-fiving.
“When I was on first base, I got to see them all jumping around up there,” Ward said. “That was a pretty special moment.”
He also singled in the sixth and swung on the first pitch in his first at-bat, a fly out in the third inning.
The Dodgers gave Sasaki a 2-0 lead in the third. Alex Freeland drove in Hyeseong Kim, and Shohei Ohtani doubled in Freeland — and extended his career-best on-base streak to 51 games, moving past Willie Keeler into third place in Dodgers history.
Sasaki went 4-2/3 innings, threw 78 pitches and gave up three runs on seven hits, striking out two and walking two. His ERA after his fourth start: 6.11, worst in the six-man rotation.
The Dodgers fell behind 6-4 in the seventh when Treinen — who was cleared Friday after he was struck in the head by a batted ball during batting practice — gave up four consecutive hits, including a two-run home run by Mickey Moniak.
The result likely will be a minor detail when Ward tells the story years from now about getting the call after first baseman Freddie Freeman was placed on the paternity list.
The Dodgers’ No. 19 prospect and reigning Pacific Coast League MVP spent the last seven years in the minors. Last season, he hit 36 home runs and drove in 122 runs with a .937 on-base-plus-slugging percentage for triple-A Oklahoma City, and he has a 1.020 OPS and four homers this year.
Ward made it a point to improve his chase rate, draw more walks and get on base more frequently, everything the Dodgers asked of him. He also passed the broadest patience test.
“The plate discipline, being a better hitter … he’s done all that,” Roberts said. “He’s improved his defense. But honestly, for me, just not to let his lack of opportunity in the big leagues deter him. That’s easy when you get frustrated and let it affect performance, and he hasn’t done that.”
If anything, Ward said, the waiting made him better.
“I used it to keep going. ‘OK, if I’m not there yet, what do I have to do to get there?’” he said. “‘What part of my game do I need to work on to keep getting better?’
“I used it as fire to keep working.”
That will be the Dodgers’ assignment too.
In the finale of the four-game series Monday, the Dodgers are expected to start left-hander Justin Wrobleski (2-0, 2.12) against Colorado left-hander Jose Quintana (0-1, 5.63).
For two thirds of Sunday’s Acura Long Beach Grand Prix, Alex Palou bided his time… waiting for the one break he needed.
It came in the form of a caution on the 58th lap, allowing him to overtake front-runner Felix Rosenqvist exiting pit lane and hold the lead the rest of the way, taking the checkered flag by 3.96 seconds for his third triumph in five IndyCar Series races this season and his first at Long Beach.
Right after being showered with applause and confetti at victory lane, the 29-year-old Spaniard thanked his crew, whose quick work on the last pit stop proved to be the difference.
“Everyone was coming in on that yellow and they did an incredible job,” he said. “We were either going to win it or not win right there.”
Rosenqvist settled for second and Scott Dixon, Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, was third.
It was the 11th win over the last 22 races dating back to 2024 for the Barcelona native and the 22nd win of his career, tying him with Tony Bettenhausen and Emerson Fittipaldi. It also vaulted him to the top of the Series standings as he chases his fourth Series championship in a row and fifth overall. Palou won the opener March 1 in St. Petersburg (also a street course) and the fourth race March 29 in Alabama.
Palou led for only 32 of the 90 laps Sunday and acknowledged it would have been difficult to catch Enqvist if not for the stoppage.
“I wasn’t giving up but it would’ve been tough to get him today,” Palou admitted. “He was already three seconds ahead. I was happy with my car but I was struggling more on the soft tires than the hards so I’d say my chances were low. The feeling was great seeing all the open space coming out of pit lane because when you spend 60 laps behind a car it disturbs you. I tried to match him on soft tires but it wasn’t working.”
Alex Palou speeds through a curve of the track.
(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
In six starts at Long Beach, Palou has never finished lower than fifth.
There is little room to maneuver on the 1.968-mile course with 11 tight turns, but after starting in the third position next to defending champion Kyle Kirkwood, Palou managed to sneak past Pato O’Ward into second place heading into the first turn on Lap 2.
“Making that move on the straightaway was big because I knew it was one of our only chances to get a pass on Pato,” Palou said. “I got that good run on that last corner and he didn’t expect it.”
This year marked the 51st edition of the longest-running major street race in North America, which started in 1975 as part of the Formula 5000 Series, switched to the CART/Champ Car World Series in 1984 and joined the IndyCar Series in 2009.
The top four qualifiers started on softer, high-grip “alternate” tires to establish position while the rest of the grid started on harder, more durable “primaries” to manage degradation on the 110-degree track surface. Of the 25 starters, 24 completed the 177.12 miles.
“We were going to make the two-stop strategy work but didn’t know if it would be doable or not,” Palou added. “As soon as I saw I couldn’t get Felix it was all about patience, fuel and waiting for the right time. I owe this win to my team. Without that pit stop I probably wouldn’t be sitting here now. It only takes one mistake to go from second to seventh but they’re great under pressure.”
Cars make their way down a straightaway during Long Beach Grand Prix.
(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
Past winners Will Power and Josef Newgarden moved into the top two positions after Rosenqvist pitted but the Swede regained the lead when Newgarden pitted for the first time on Lap 37 and dropped back to 14th.
The first 45 laps were caution-free as Rosenqvist, Palou, Kirkwood, David Malukas and O’Ward held the top five spots. Newgarden fell out of contention when a flat spot on his left front tire dropped him back to 14th.
Rosenqvist’s three-second lead was erased when debris on the track exiting the Aquarium Fountain drew the only yellow flag all afternoon and narrowed the gap. Capitalizing on favorable pit position, Palou emerged from the lane just ahead of Rosenqvist.
After earning the pole position with a lap time of 1 minute, 7.4625 seconds in qualifying, the runner-up had mixed emotions after leading for 51 laps with no win to show for it.
“You want to win when you have an opportunity but I’m proud of today,” Rosenqvist said. “We weren’t as good as Alex on the blacks… the last pit cycle was the defining moment. We had to come around 14, he had more of an opening and his crew nailed it. That happens.”
Kirkwood, who was vying for his third win in four years, finished right where he started in fourth.
“I had a good cushion and figured even with a bad stop I’d probably stay ahead but I knew there’d probably be a yellow at some point and there it came,” Rosenqvist lamented. “Considering Alex had primary [tires] also I think we would’ve been able to hold him off. It’s definitely disappointing when you can’t wrap it up.”
Dixon, who started in the position, earned his first podium this season and the 136th of his career.
Fans watch with two laps left in the race.
(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
“The race itself was a bit blah — I sat in the same position for most of it,” Dixon said. “Luckily for us we had it easy out of that last stop.”
Al Unser Jr. holds the record for most wins at Long Beach, chalking up six in eight years, including an unmatched four in a row from 1988 to 1991.
Tom Sargent is becoming a fan of street circuits after two wins this weekend. Driving the Porsche 911 Cup for GMG Racing in the Mobil Pro Class, the 22-year-old Australian led from start to finish in Race 1 of the Carrera Cup North America on Saturday. In Race 2 on Sunday morning, he again started from the pole and claimed a 0.965-second victory over Aaron Jeansonne to complete the double.
In his last bid at Long Beach three years ago, he hit the wall on Lap 2 but still finished second.
“Momentum in sports is critical and the past few weeks have been really cool for me,” Sargent said. “I didn’t do any street circuit racing before I came to the States. Maybe it fits my driving style.”
Ousseni Bouda scored two goals in the second half, ending LAFC goalie Hugo Lloris’ scoreless run to begin the season at 593 minutes, and the San José Earthquakes stunned LAFC 4-1 on Sunday night in an early Western Conference showdown.
San José (7-1-0) moves into a first-place tie with the Vancouver Whitecaps in the Western Conference and Supporters’ Shield races in the Earthquakes’ second season under head coach Bruce Arena.
Daniel De Sousa Britto missed a chance to tie Lloris with a sixth clean sheet on an own goal by Reid Roberts in the 74th minute. He had three saves.
Bouda used assists from newcomer Timo Werner — his third — and Beau Leroux to find the net in the 53rd minute after a scoreless first half.
Werner, sidelined the last two weeks with a lower-body injury, took a pass from Leroux three minutes later and scored his first MLS goal for a 2-0 lead. Leroux’s assists gives him four, matching his total last season in 33 appearances as a rookie.
An own goal on Ryan Porteous in the 59th minute made it 3-0 in a span of six minutes.
Bouda’s fourth goal of the season capped the scoring in the 80th minute. Niko Tsakiris notched his career-high fifth assist.
Lloris finished with two saves in a second straight loss for LAFC (5-2-1), third in the West. Lloris sat out a 2-1 road loss to the Portland Timbers.
San José has won all four of its road matches.
LAFC was 6-0-1 at BMO Stadium in all competitions entering play, outscoring its opponents 17-1.
Xander Bogaerts and Bryce Johnson delivered two-out RBIs as the San Diego Padres defeated the Angels 2-1 on Sunday.
Bogaerts broke a scoreless tie with an RBI single in the fourth inning, and Johnson added a two-out RBI single in the seventh as San Diego took two of three games in the series. Johnson finished with two of San Diego’s five hits for his multihit game of the season.
Michael King (3-1) gave up one hit over five scoreless innings, striking out six and walking four while working through traffic. He combined with Ron Marinaccio, Kyle Hart, Bradgley Rodriguez and Mason Miller to hold Los Angeles to two hits.
Miller struck out two in a perfect ninth for his eighth save. He is one inning shy of the longest scoreless streak in Padres history, set by Cla Meredith with 33 2/3 innings in 2006.
The Angels mounted a late threat but couldn’t tie it. Oswald Peraza doubled in the seventh and scored on a sacrifice fly by Zach Neto. But the Angels went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position and struck out 11 times.
Walbert Ureña (0-2) made his first career start for the Angels, striking out eight and giving up two runs over six-plus innings. He became the fourth pitcher in franchise history to record at least eight strikeouts in his debut.
Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy analyses how Liverpool’s performance “got better” from a “creative” and “footballing aspect” as The Reds secured a 2-1 victory at Everton in the Merseyside Derby.
Match of the Day pundits Wayne Rooney and Danny Murphy discuss how “two top players” in Erling Haaland and Gabriel went head-to-head in Manchester City’s 2-1 victory against Arsenal, with the Norwegian striker reaching “unplayable” levels.
In each of the last four seasons, the Kings have opened the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Edmonton Oilers. They lost each time.
So on Sunday the Kings tried a different route, opening against the Colorado Avalanche.
They lost, 2-1.
The goals came from Artturi Lehkonen late in the second period and Logan O’Connor early in the third. The Kings made a game of it late, pulling goaltender Anton Fosberg with 2:57 to play and getting a power-play goal from Artemi Panarin 35 seconds later. But that was as close as they would get.
Maybe the Kings should have been careful what they wished for. Because while the Avalanche aren’t the Oilers, they’re better — much better — than any of the recent Edmonton teams.
This season they won the Presidents’ Trophy, the prize that goes to the team with the best regular-season record in the league, and they earned it by scoring the most goals and giving up the fewest in the NHL. They also had the best home record in the Western Conference and the best road record in the league.
And they started quickly Sunday, putting four shots on goal in the first four minutes. But Forsberg was spectacular, making 28 saves to keep the Kings in the game.
Colorado thought it had beaten him less than seven minutes into the second period when O’Connor found the back of the net from the right circle but the goal was waved off by a goalie interference call on Jack Drury, who tumbled into the crease as O’Connor was releasing his shot. The Avalanche questioned the call, claiming Kings defender Drew Doughty had pushed Drury from behind, but they lost the challenge.
There was no doubt about Colorado’s next goal, which came 4:31 before the second intermission when Lehkonen, defended tightly by Doughty, was able to reach out his stick and sweep in the rebound of Nathan MacKinnon‘s shot from the right boards.
The Avalanche doubled their advantage 5:50 into the third period when Joel Edmundson lost the puck in the Kings’ zone, allowing O’Connor to collect it and race defenseman Cody Ceci to the front of the net before beating Forsberg cleanly. Drury got an assist on the play.
The game, which had been physical all afternoon, turned chippy after that, giving the Kings a power play they took advantage to halve Colorado’s lead. But the Avalanche then closed out the game to a 1-0 lead in the series.
The best-of-seven playoff resumes Tuesday night in Denver before moving to the Crypto.com Arena on Thursday.
Arsenal and Chelsea interested in Tottenham‘s Lucas Bergvall, Paris St-Germain in talks with Gabriel Martinelli, and Manchester United and Real Madrid consider appointing Unai Emery.
Paris St-Germain sporting advisor Luis Campos has held talks with the representatives of Arsenal‘s Brazil forward Gabriel Martinelli, 24, and RB Leipzig’s 19-year-old Ivory Coast winger Yan Diomande. (L’Equipe – in French, subscription), external
Southampton are confident they can keep 27-year-old Brazilian winger Leo Scienza despite interest from Leeds.(Football Insider), external
The agent of Barcelona’s Poland striker Robert Lewandowski, 37, is expected to meet with Juventus this week, while AC Milan are also interested. (La Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says his side had “the best chances in the game” against Manchester City but admits the Gunners’ inability to take their chances was the difference between the two sides in their 2-1 defeat.
The result was Wigan’s third successive Super League defeat and despite a promising showing with Sambou and Eckersley’s scores, it was Castleford who dominated much of the 80 minutes.
Wigan, without Harry Smith and Sam Walters through suspension as well as front rower Ethan Havard because of injury, were stunned when Castleford led early on following a flowing set, with Mapapalangi exchanging passes with Jason Qareqare before running in.
The hosts almost responded through Jai Field soon after but Mikaele Ravalawa showed incredible strength to wrestle him out of bounds before he could get the ball down.
Sambou’s sensational score was the pick of the first half, as he worked onto Eckersley’s offload, absorbed Qareqare’s tackle and outstretched his arm to ground the ball in mid-air before he went into touch.
Sambou and Eckersley linked up again shortly after, this time as Sambou beat Qareqare in an aerial battle. He tipped Jack Farrimond’s kick to the corner into the path of Eckersley, who touched down for his fourth try in as many meetings with the Tigers.
Castleford’s response after the break came via a clever pass from Tom Weaver as he sent Ashworth through to spin to the line under pressure from the hosts’ defence.
The visitors were not done there and Mapapalangi raced down the wing as Castleford kept up the pressure, eventually receiving the ball again and chasing his own kick to ground his second try of the afternoon.
Cas asserted themselves further when Lawler powered over the line and could have put the gloss on a thumping win when Weaver went in, but his score was chalked off for obstruction in the build-up.
With star guard Luka Doncic back on the Lakers sideline but still out indefinitely, Luke Kennard did his best impression of the NBA’s leading scorer Saturday, catapulting the Lakers to a 107-98 win over the Houston Rockets to give the Lakers a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven first-round playoff series.
Kennard drained all five of his three-point attempts, including three in the fourth quarter. Threes while curling off screens or taking hand-offs from teammates are routine for the NBA’s leading three-point shooter. But Kennard may have surprised even himself when he drove against Houston’s Jabari Smith, U-turned, scampered back outside the three-point line and drained a three from the wing.
The Crypto.com Arena crowd that was buzzing from the opening tip to the final horn erupted. Kennard screamed.
“My word is speechless, to be honest,” center Deandre Ayton said of Kennard’s performance. “Seeing him five-for-five in a playoff game as a Laker. Yeah, it hits different.”
Lakers center Deandre Ayton, left, celebrates with guard Luke Kennard after hit a three-pointer against the Rockets during Game 1 of their first-round playoff series on Saturday at Crypto.com Arena.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
“To do it especially at a place like this, playing for the Lakers on the biggest stage in basketball, it means a lot to me,” Kennard said, “and what I’ve done and just credit to the work I’ve put in and how I prepared leading up to this.”
Since Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) were injured on April 2, Kennard has had to adjust his role to include more ball handling. He typified the Lakers’ adaptability with 32 assists in the last five games of the regular season after averaging 1.7 assists per game since joining the team. But he lamented that he wasn’t shooting to his standard.
Compared to his league-best 47.8%, his 30.8% shooting from three during the past five games felt like a slump.
Each shot, whether a make or miss, still helped Kennard develop a rhythm entering the playoffs, he said. Now if he sees even a sliver of daylight, he’ll be ready to shoot. It’s exactly what the Lakers want to see.
“I just liked that he was aggressive shooting threes,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “I mean, he played a fantastic basketball game.”
Kennard, who also had three assists and four rebounds, was nine for 13 from the field as the Lakers, who shot 60.6% as a team, shot 60% or better in a playoff game for the first time since the first round of the 2009 playoffs. Led by Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, the Lakers won their first of back-to-back titles that year.
All five of the Lakers starters scored in double figures. LeBron James had 19 points and 13 assists, and Ayton had 19 points and 11 rebounds while helping keep two-time All-Star Alperen Sengun to 19 points on inefficient six-for-19 shooting. The Rockets, who were without Kevin Durant because of a minor knee injury, shot 37.6% from the floor.
“Everybody played a big role tonight and I feel that just speaks to what we’ve been the last few weeks with guys out,” Kennard said. “It’s going to take everybody. We know that. We got to continue to elevate each other and push each other and continue to be a team.”
Doncic reunited with the team Saturday after he spent the past two weeks in Europe getting specialized treatment on his Grade 2 left hamstring strain. Dressed in a crisp white button up shirt and khaki pants, Doncic sat next to Reaves on the bench. They rose to their feet every time Kennard set up for a three. They handed out high fives at every time out.
The injuries to Doncic and Reaves turned the Lakers into the perceived sitting duck of the competitive Western Conference playoffs. Critics felt the team couldn’t survive one playoff round with the 41-year-old James as its sole offensive catalyst.
A welcoming cheer from Lakers fans during starting lineups serves as a reminder that James still has backup.
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.
