backup

Under coach Sean McVay, the Rams’ final preseason games routinely are showcases for players vying for spots on the practice squad, not the roster.

But Thursday night’s game against the Chargers at SoFi Stadium will offer another look at perhaps one of the most important players for the Rams’ future:

Rookie quarterback Ty Simpson.

Simpson, the 13th pick in the NFL draft, has been competing with fourth-year pro Stetson Bennett to back up Matthew Stafford, though Bennett took the vast majority of second-team reps during training camp and preseason workouts.

“I’ve seen good stuff,” McVay said this week of Bennett and Simpson. “I think the hard part is there have been up and down days. I think our defense does a good job of being able to give a lot of challenging looks.”

Simpson will play against the Chargers, McVay said, and also aimed to provide Matthew Caldwell, an undrafted free agent from Texas, his first opportunity. McVay said he had not made a determination about Bennett.

Bennett started against the Kansas City Chiefs but played only two series, one that resulted in a field goal. Simpson came on and completed 21 of 25 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns.

Against the New Orleans Saints, Bennett played the first half and completed 19 of 31 passes for 181 yards. He also rushed for two touchdowns. Simpson completed eight of 12 passes for 73 yards in the second half.

“What I have seen in both the games is the guys have good command,” McVay said, adding, “We feel fortunate that you got two guys that we believe in, feel really good about. One of those guys will be the backup in Australia.”

Other things to watch Thursday:

Who is not on the field

The season opener against the San Francisco 49ers in Australia is looming, so McVay will hold out nearly all players assured of a roster spot, other than perhaps kicking-game specialists.

If they are not in uniform on the sideline, they will be on the 53-man roster.

Receiver Tyler Scott trying to catch on

With Puka Nacua, Davante Adams, Jordan Whittington, Konata Mumpfield, Xavier Smith and rookie CJ Daniels, the Rams are set at receiver.

But Scott, who played for the Chicago Bears in 2023 and 2024, has made an impression that could land him on the practice squad if he is cut and clears waivers.

Against the Saints, Scott caught a key fourth-down pass from Bennett and just missed coming down with a deep pass.

Will Wesley Bailey stand out again?

Bailey, an undrafted free-agent outside linebacker, played very well in the first two games, but is trying to find a spot in a position group that includes Myles Garrett, Byron Young, Josaiah Stewart and Desjuan Johnson.

Bailey had a sack, three quarterback hits and also forced a fumble against the Saints.

If Bailey, at 6 feet 5 inches and 265 pounds, shines against the Chargers and does not make the roster, he seems like a longshot to clear waivers.

Special teams

Kicker Harrison Mevis has made all four of his preseason field-goal attempts.

Punter Ethan Evans appears ready for a standout performance in a contract year.

SHAKIRA’S performance at the Super Bowl 2020 halftime show was plagued by backstage tensions with her Latina co-star Jennifer Lopez.

But today, the South American She Wolf singer is howling with delight as she dominates music charts around the world following a show-stopping performance at the World Cup Final.

Colombian beauty Shakira, 49, pulled off the ultimate performance, wowing 1.5billion global viewers at Sunday’s mega gig.

The mum-of-two, who is worth £224million, celebrated her success by sharing snaps of herself with Beyonce, Jay Z, David Beckham, BTS, Tom Cruise and Anya Taylor-Joy.

Elsewhere, her rival J-Lo was left washing away her woes after she was pictured in a bathtub on a day out with her sister.

It came after she sang at an intimate gig for Dolce and Gabbana in Sicily last week — a much less extravagant showcase than Shakira’s.

Insiders say J-Lo was licking her wounds after being desperate to land the World Cup gig herself, 12 years on from her stellar performance at the 2014 tournament in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

To add insult to injury, her latest movie, Kiss Of The Spider Woman, was branded a box office flop.

As one music insider said: “J-Lo practically dismissed Shakira as some sort of backup singer at the Super Bowl, but how the tables have turned.

“Naturally J-Lo would have loved her chance to shine on the world stage again.”

Rumblings of a feud between the pair first began in February 2020.

The American football body, the NFL, had booked Shakira and J-Lo to co-headline the prestigious Super Bowl half-time show, a slot that has attracted the likes of Michael Jackson, Prince and Beyonce.

Fans went wild for Shakira as she sang hits including Whenever, Wherever and Hips Don’t Lie, and J-Lo belted out her bangers On The Floor and Love Don’t Cost A Thing.

The critics lapped it up, calling the concert “electric” and the “sexiest half-time show in memory”.

But behind closed doors, Jennifer, 56, was said to be unhappy that she had to share the stage.

In her 2022 Netflix documentary Halftime, a furious J-Lo raged behind the scenes. She blasted the joint ­performance as “the worst idea in the world”, with her manager Benny Medina adding: “It was an insult to say you needed two Latinas to do the job that one artist historically has done.”

J-Lo made it very clear she felt she had deserved the 12-minute slot to herself.

Fans also spotted a difference in how the artists shared promotional photos on Facebook in the weeks before the event.

While Shakira’s snaps featured both Latina artists, J-Lo’s were of herself.

Despite J-Lo’s very public comments, her rival has been more ­discreet, though she has hinted at tensions. Shakira, who released her first album aged 14, confessed: “It wasn’t an easy show to put together.

“There was a lot of work behind it, a lot of stress. But it was one of the highlights of my career.”

Fast forward to now and the tables have turned for the stars, who both burst on to the pop scene in the mid-Nineties.

Shakira’s infectious World Cup anthem with Burna Boy, Dai Dai, has taken the world by storm, triggering a chart frenzy the likes of which J-Lo has not experienced since 2011 when On The Floor — her collaboration with Pitbull — went to No1.

Minutes after her hip-shaking performance of the track at the World Cup Final, it was riding high at the top of Spotify’s chart, handing the star her biggest streaming day ever — and the biggest streaming day in US Spotify history to boot.

Shakira has pledged to donate all royalties from Dai Dai to the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund.

A music insider said: “Shakira’s numbers are astronomical. She is dominating every single music chart on Earth. It’s quite the achievement for any artist, never mind one who turns 50 next year.”

What’s more, the singer’s phenomenally successful Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran (Women No Longer Cry) tour was officially 2025’s highest-grossing global trek and the most lucrative tour of all time by a Hispanic artist.

To top off her reign, Shakira is heading back to Europe this autumn for a 12-arena residency across September and October in Madrid.

It will be at a brand new, specially built venue dubbed the Shakira Stadium.

An insider added: “Having a literal stadium built in your name in Spain is one hell of a mic drop. You can’t buy that kind of triumph.”

It has been a different story for J-Lo, who was forced to cancel her This Is Me . . . Live tour in 2024 amid reports of weak ticket sales.

She said in a statement she was “heartsick and devastated”.

What makes this triumph even sweeter for Shakira is it was born from the ashes of heartache. Both stars have endured devastating public splits.

In 2022, Shakira’s 11-year relationship with Spanish football legend Gerard Pique fell apart amid claims he cheated.

Spanish media reported she discovered his infidelity when she returned to their Barcelona mansion and noticed someone had been eating her strawberry jam — a spread that her hubby loathed.

She later dismissed this as “not true”, but split with the former footballer nonetheless.

Instead of moping, Shakira — who has sons Milan, 13, and Sasha, 11, with her ex — marched straight into the recording studio.

She teamed up with Argentine producer Bizarrap to release a ruthless diss track that mercilessly mocked Pique and his new, girlfriend, Clara Chía Marti, who was in her early twenties at the time.

In an obvious dig, she sang: “I’m worth two 22s. You traded a Ferrari for a Twingo. You traded a Rolex for a Casio.”

Shakira also proudly declared in the lyrics: “Women don’t cry any more, they cash in.”

And cash in she did. The song shattered several Guinness World Records, rocketed her career to new heights and proved that hell hath no fury like a Colombian pop ­goddess scorned.

J-Lo, took a different approach. After three failed marriages — to Ojani Noa, Cris Judd and Marc Anthony — with whom she has 18-year-old twins Max and Emme — J-Lo rekindled her early Noughties romance with ex-fiancé Ben Affleck in 2021.

Bennifer 2.0 tied the knot in 2022, and Jen became so hopelessly obsessed with their “fairytale” that she self- funded a cringe-inducing, £15million ­musical film, This Is Me . . . Now: A Love Story.

The film bombed spectacularly, the accompanying album flopped and, just two years later, their marriage ended in another bitter divorce.

J-Lo’s recent cinematic efforts have not fared any better.

While she was once the undisputed queen of the romcom, with movie hits including The Wedding Planner and Maid In Manhattan, her recent films have failed to set the box office alight. In fact, 2024 sci-fi flick Atlas was widely panned, while last year’s Kiss Of The Spider Woman lost millions, leaving ­Hollywood insiders questioning J-Lo’s bankability.

Even a recent return to romcom in Netflix’s Office Romance scored a measly 49 per cent on movie review website Rotten Tomatoes.

While recent professional endeavours may have struggled, J-Lo is the ultimate comeback queen.

And her £300million business empire, including the booming JLo Beauty line, proves she is a ­formidable force.

So while Shakira is enjoying global adoration, it would perhaps be foolish to write J-Lo out of Hollywood quite yet.

The Lakers got their backup big man when Kevon Looney signed a one-year, $3.9-million deal on Tuesday, people not authorized to speak publicly told The Times.

The 6-foot-9 Looney won three championships with the Golden State Warriors, in 2017, 2018 and 2021. He played last season with the New Orleans Pelicans. Looney, 30, is an 11-year veteran who went to UCLA. He’s a strong rebounder, very good defender and sets solid screens for teammates.

Looney will be the backup behind starter Walker Kessler, who was acquired in a trade from the Utah Jazz and agreed to a four-year, $130-million deal. The Lakers traded last season’s starting center, Deandre Ayton, and backup Jaxson Hayes signed with the Jazz.

The Lakers now have a 14-man roster and have room for another player.

Jonathan Kuminga is a player the Lakers are after, according to people with knowledge of the situation who said L.A. is looking at a two-year, $20-million deal for Kuminga, the sort of athletic wing player the Lakers need to start at small forward.

He has the size (6-7) and is young (23). He averaged 12.2 points and 5.6 rebounds and shot 33.3% from three-point range last season while playing for the Warriors and Atlanta Hawks.