career

Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie didn’t expect to ever get a statue outside Crypto.com Arena. After all, it had been 15 years since her jersey retirement and no other Sparks player was featured among the Lakers and Kings heroes outside the area.

After years of hearing from fans that she deserve to be immortalized, Leslie learned she would join Sue Bird in Seattle as the second WNBA player to be honored with a statue at a franchise’s home arena.

“One thing I never had on my bucket list was a statue,” Leslie told The Times on Thursday. “I grew up seeing the statues of some of the amazing Lakers, so I’m just really grateful to be alive and to be one of the first, especially in the WNBA for L.A. Sparks. It means a lot to me, and I’m really hoping that our community will really rally around it.”

The Sparks announced Thursday morning that Leslie will receive a statue to be unveiled during a ceremony on Sept. 20 before a game against the Portland Fire.

During her 12-year career with the Sparks, Leslie won three WNBA titles and league MVP honors. She also won four Olympic gold medals. She was the first player in WNBA history to dunk in a game and her No. 9 jersey was retired in 2010.

She was one of the Sparks’ original players in 1997 and is the franchise’s career leader in points, rebounds, blocks, field goals, free throws, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, minutes and games played, and is third in the WNBA in blocks and double-doubles.

“I’ve known Lisa for nearly three decades and believe that she is beyond deserving of this incredible honor,” fellow statue honoree and Lakers great Magic Johnson said in a news release. “She was the driving force behind bringing back-to-back championships to the Los Angeles Sparks franchise in 2000 and 2001, and Lisa’s hard work and commitment has made her one of the best to ever play the game.”

Johnson, who is part the Sparks ownership group, accepted responsibility for the team’s skid two years ago and promised to do more. The Sparks owners, who also own the Dodgers and Lakers, have responded to losing at a boom time in the WNBA by executing a coaching change, breaking ground on a new practice facility and installing the first Sparks statue outside Crypto.com Arena.

“Lisa’s legacy isn’t just measured by championships and accolades, though; it’s defined by the doors she opened and the standard she set for generations to come,” Johnson said in the news release. “More than an athlete, she is a pioneer, a cultural icon and a force who elevated women’s basketball to new heights. This statue celebrates her excellence, her leadership and the future she helped create, and it ensures her impact will forever be part of the fabric of this city.”

Leslie said that she noticed fans lobbying for her to get a statue beginning in 2019, and the timing for her and the Sparks felt right during the 30th anniversary season.

“It couldn’t be better with the new [practice] facility coming, the new CBA, everything is aligning so properly,” she said. “It’s more perfect than it would have been a few years before.”

The statue was created by sculptors Julie Rotblatt Amrany and Omri Amrany and will join 15 others outside of Crypto.com Arena, including Johnson, Wayne Gretzky, Oscar De La Hoya, Chick Hearn, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Luc Robitaille, Shaquille O’Neal, Bob Miller, Elgin Baylor, Dustin Brown, Kobe Bryant (2), Gigi Bryant and Pat Riley.

“I hope she looks good,” Leslie said of the statue. “People don’t realize how hard it is to make a statue look good. … They helped me to be super specific about every little thing down to my earlobe and fingernail tip. So I’m excited about all the little details that have been added that people can kind of find on their own as well.”

When Steven Gerrard reflects on the 2005 Champions League final, he calls it the best night of his life., external

But just two months later, he announced he was leaving Liverpool – before dramatically changing his mind overnight.

During a Netflix documentary about the Reds’ success in Istanbul, Gerrard acknowledges he was in a “bad place” mentally, with a head like “a box of frogs”.

And he says criticism from then manager Rafael Benitez contributed to his potential departure from his boyhood club.

In May 2005, Gerrard captained Liverpool to perhaps the most famous victory in their storied history as they came from 3-0 down at half-time against AC Milan to win on penalties and clinch the club’s fifth European Cup.

It was a moment fans hoped would convince Gerrard to commit his future to Liverpool amid interest from Spanish giants Real Madrid and Premier League champions Chelsea, who were managed at the time by Jose Mourinho.

Six weeks later, Gerrard announced he was leaving. Then he wasn’t.

“Mourinho was on the phone – the best manager in the world at the time, offering silly contracts, which would naturally turn your head. Chelsea were spending fortunes, he was guaranteed success there,” he says.

“I can’t park my relationship with Liverpool. When they came, I didn’t know which way to go. Mentally, I was in a bad place. My head was like a box of frogs.”

Benitez’s demeanour didn’t help.

“I felt like he didn’t rate me, he didn’t trust me, he didn’t want me,” says Gerrard, 45.

“I’ve always been clear that I want to be a Liverpool player and a Liverpool player only, but with that doubt and with that coldness and being part of a team where you don’t believe that you can compete at the top, that’s when your head gets turned.”

Gerrard’s former team-mate Jamie Carragher feels Gerrard “probably needed an arm round his shoulder”.

“Rafa Benitez was never going to do that,” says the Sky Sports pundit. “He’s very unemotional.”

Throughout the documentary, former players describe how Benitez’s criticism and obsession with granular tactical detail sometimes jarred.

Gerrard, in particular, felt that.

“My game… was about emotion, passion, desire, commitment, for the badge, for the [Liver] bird, for the family,” he says. “It was in me and I felt like he wanted to really remodel me.

“Nothing would ever satisfy him.”

Benitez, 66, defends his approach.

“When I joined Liverpool, there was a culture based on emotion,” he says. “Football requires more than that. If you’re really emotional, you don’t find the way to success.”

Time has been a healer – and Gerrard is now able to appreciate the Spaniard’s methods.

“I look back at Rafa and think he’s the best coach I have worked with,” he says.

Former WNBA MVP Tina Charles has retired after 14 seasons in the league.

“Today, I officially announce my retirement from basketball,” the eight-time All Star wrote in a post shared across her social media accounts Tuesday. “This game gave me everything and I’ll miss it deeply.”

The veteran center — the No. 1 overall draft pick selected by the Connecticut Sun in 2010 — played for six WNBA franchises over the course of her career, including a lengthy stint with the New York Liberty. Named the league MVP during her 2012 campaign, Charles is the WNBA’s leader in career rebounds (4,262), double-doubles (201) and made field goals (3,364), as well as second on the list for career points (8,396) behind Diana Taurasi.

“I’ve experienced the highest highs and the lowest lows, and I’m thankful for all of it,” Charles wrote, reflecting on her professional career and “lifetime of love for this game.” “Growing up in Queens, New York, basketball wasn’t just a game, it was a language, a rhythm, its survival, its expression. It pulled me in early, and I gave myself fully to it. It shaped me into the woman I am today and for that, I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Charles is an expected future Hall of Famer. While a WNBA championship eluded her, her career includes three Olympic gold medals with Team USA, two NCAA championships with the UConn Huskies and a number of titles in leagues overseas. Her individual accolades also include being named to the All-WNBA team nine times, most recently in 2021, and to the league’s All-Defensive team four times. (Charles did not play in the 2020 and 2023 WNBA seasons.)

In a July episode of Sue Bird’s “Bird’s Eye View” podcast, Charles spoke candidly about her thoughts around retiring.

“I thought I was done in 2023 when I didn’t play,” she said. “Then [I] came back, found the joy, love for the game again. But here, I probably think about it every day. … Going in, playing, at this age, in the 30-minute range. Just how you feel physically, and then it’s more games.”

Charles returned to play with the Sun for the 2025 season, starting 42 of 44 games while averaging 16.3 points and 5.8 rebounds. She received the Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award for the second time during her final season, for her work with Hopey’s Heart Foundation. Charles founded the nonprofit in 2013 in honor of her late aunt, Maureen “Hopey” Vaz, to raise awareness about sudden cardiac arrest and provide automated external defibrillators to schools and recreation centers that need them.

According to the New York Times, Charles is currently pursuing a master’s degree in sports management at UConn and is eyeing the possibility of working in a front office of a WNBA, NBA or college team in the future while continuing her Hopey’s Heart Foundation efforts. She also has plans to get into the beer business.

“There are still dreams in my heart that are waiting to be lived, and I can’t wait to share that journey with you all,” Charles said in her social media post.

Chris Clarke had gone the traditional route, pitching for three years at USC after starring at Newbury Park High, then toiling for six more seasons in the Chicago Cubs’ minor league system after being a fourth-round draft pick in 2019.

But his big-league dream abruptly became a wake-up call last August when the Cubs released him a week before his wife gave birth to their first child. No more paychecks. No more health insurance.

So imagine how jarring it was for Clarke to take the mound in front of a record 102,000 fans in the Texas A&M football stadium Saturday, which had been converted to accommodate (sorry Dodgers) the most popular team in baseball: the Savannah Bananas.

“It was surreal,” Clarke said. “In fact, it was so incredible, I didn’t feel anything. My body went numb. There was a moment in the third inning when everybody was screaming. I couldn’t hear myself talk.”

It was the most people ever crammed into Kyle Field, the nation’s fourth-largest college stadium, trailing only Michigan (107,601), Oregon (106,572) and Ohio State (102,780).

Clarke pitched for the opposing team, the Texas Tailgaters, one of five squads created by Bananas founders Jesse and Emily Cole that serve as touring partners to face the yellow-clad star attraction. All six teams practice at a complex in Savannah, Ga.

The game in College Station attracted the largest crowd in the Bananas’ six-year history, and Clarke shined, striking out five in four innings. He also entertained, as all players in the Banana Ball Championship League are cheerfully required to do.

“The amount of joy it brings to fans and even people online, it’s really something,” Clarke said. “There definitely is a winner and a loser — which holds some weight — but for the most part, fans are there because it’s a really good show.”

Clarke, a 6-foot-7 right-hander, was the third overall pick in the inaugural Banana Ball draft held in November. Tailgater coaches contacted him beforehand to gauge his interest and he told them, “Pick me.”

March 2019 photo of former USC pitcher Chris Clarke during the 2019 Dodger Stadium Classic.

(John McGillen/USC Athletics)

That level of bold fits right in. Banana Ball is fast-paced, hilarious and maximizes fan engagement. It features innovative rules: Fouls caught by fans count as outs, for example, and batters who walk get to run the bases until all nine defensive players have touched the ball. Choreographed dances, acrobatic tricks, a pitcher on stilts and other antics keep the entertainment flowing.

“I like to think of every game as a stepping stone to the next show,” Clarke said. “Whether it goes well or is terrible, we will make it better for next time. Banana Ball is a relaxed culture, so when it comes to the entertainment stuff, there is no fear of failure. We are seeing what works and what doesn’t.”

Guest stars are frequent and on Saturday, the Bananas sent Texas-grown YouTube sensation Tyler Toney, a member of the sports comedy troupe Dude Perfect, to the plate as a pinch-hitter. Clarke struck him out on four pitches: a called strike, a swinging strike, a ball Clarke purposely launched high into the stands for laughs, then strike three swinging on a cut fastball.

It was a rare humbling moment for Toney, who, with fellow Dude Perfect members Cody Jones, Garrett Hilbert, and twins Cory and Coby Cotton, generates more than $20 million annually from YouTube, merchandise and tours.

Clarke had watched Dude Perfect videos religiously when he was at USC and was starstruck to meet them in person.

“Dude Perfect is the reason I failed econ twice,” he said. “I watched every single Dude Perfect video. To meet them and shake their hands was fun. It was the only moment in my life where I was a fanboy.”

He’s also a breadwinner again for his family. The burgeoning popularity of Banana Ball has made the gig more lucrative than playing in the minor leagues.

“I’m making five times as much and playing half the time,” Clarke said. “My contract is also for 12 months of the year. In affiliated baseball, it’s only six months. So, there’s that. I’ve never met anyone in baseball who has had the luxury to spend time with a newborn child. To come to Banana Ball and actually feel like there is respect, a culture and guidelines, that was something I hadn’t experienced.”

It is also giving him notoriety. Twenty-five Banana Ball games this year are being streamed on the ESPN app and Disney+, with select games airing across ESPN networks and ABC. The first Bananas broadcast on ABC will take place at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore., June 27 and 28. The games have been sold out since October.

Highlights from Saturday’s game flooded social media and traditional outlets alike. Family friends and former teammates reached out to Clarke. What was it like pitching in front of 100,000 people? Are you improving your dance moves?

“The entertainment side of it takes pressure off performance,” he said. “Performing well is still very much there, but there is a level of relaxation that makes it easier.”

Clarke admits he thinks back to USC and the 2019 season, when he posted a stellar earned-run average of 1.03. He also occasionally misses the heightened competition and quest to make the major leagues of affiliated baseball.

He pitched two seasons in triple A and is only 27. Would he leave Banana Ball next year if an MLB team offered him an invite to spring training?

“I’m not in a situation to close any doors,” he said. “That’s the mindset that got me here. I wanted to investigate Banana Ball and I told them I’d give them a full year for us both to evaluate it. Either way, I think it’s a win. Just comes down to what’s best for my family.”

Meanwhile, more games in packed stadiums await. In addition to a handful in football stadiums against the Bananas, the Tailgaters will play three games a week against other Banana Ball League teams throughout the summer, mostly in minor league baseball stadiums from Tulsa, Okla., to El Paso, Texas, to Nashville, Tenn., to Charlotte, N.C.

Exponentially larger crowds than those venues are accustomed to are a given.

Carol Kirkwood’s career away from the cameras took her BBC co-star by surprise, following her recent exit from the corporation after 28 years

Carol Kirkwood has left her BBC co-star stunned by her career away from television. The former BBC Breakfast weather presenter bid farewell to the programme in April after 28 years at the corporation.

In a lengthy on-air statement at the time, the 63-year-old said: “Thank you for trusting me, be it telling you about heatwaves or snow, to the everyday question of, ‘Do I need to take a brolly?’. To my colleagues past and present, both in front and behind the camera, I owe you all so much. You’ve been my team, my safety net, and, very often, my family.

“We’ve shared breaking news, long shifts, plenty of laughter, bad hair days, and the occasional moment of pure chaos. And do you know what? I wouldn’t change a second of it.”

While she is best known for presenting the weather, Carol has also turned her hand to writing in recent years – much to the surprise of Carol Klein.

The Gardeners’ World host appeared taken aback when learning about Carol’s other career during an appearance on the Pottering with Tom Allen podcast.

After discussing the changing weather during the recording, she said: “That Carol Kirkwood, she’s lovely isn’t she, she’s a keen gardener.”

“She’s a great writer as well,” Tom chimed in, to which she appeared stun and questioned: “Is she?”. Tom went on to say: “She’s got a lot of novels out.”

“I haven’t read anything, I’ll have to,” the BBC star replied. Praising the books, Tom insisted they are a good read and “always set in lovely places”.

Recently speaking about her future after leaving the show, the weather presenter said she is looking forward to more freedom with her husband Steve Randall, who she married in 2023.

“The freedom of being able to get in the car, drive and go anywhere we want for as long as we want is really appealing,” she told the BBC.

She also revealed there was a more personal reason behind her decision. “I’m not getting any younger, I’m newly married and we’ve had some losses in our lives recently,” Carol added.

She went on to say those experiences had helped her realise that she needed to “get on with my retirement and that’s what I’m going to do”.

However, retirement doesn’t mean she’s stopped working altogether. Her sixth romance novel is set to be published in October, and she has reportedly already committed to writing at least two more books afterwards.

The television star has also said she would love to learn the guitar and adopt a couple of cats.

BBC Breakfast airs daily from around 6am on BBC One and the BBC News channel.

WASHINGTON — President Trump says he’s nominating Fox News Channel contributor Nicole Saphier for surgeon general after Casey Means’ path forward stalled in the Senate over questions about her experience and her stance on vaccines.

In a social media post Thursday, the Republican president said Saphier is “a STAR physician who has spent her career guiding women facing breast cancer through their diagnosis and treatment.”

Senators of both major political parties grilled Means on her vaccine stance and other health topics during a tense confirmation hearing, deepening doubts about her ability to secure the votes she needs for the role.

Earlier Thursday, Trump on social media commended Means as “a strong MAHA Warrior,” also criticizing the “intransigence and political games” from GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who interrogated Means about vaccines during the hearing.

The withdrawal of Means’ nomination to be the next U.S. surgeon general is a blow to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his movement, which championed Means for the role as the country’s top doctor despite her nontraditional path in medicine and some controversial past remarks on vaccines and other health topics.

The withdrawal comes after tense exchanges between Means and lawmakers of both parties threw into question whether she could secure enough votes to advance out of the Senate health committee. Her nomination had languished since her confirmation hearing in late February, even as activists from Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again movement orchestrated a push to support her bid by surging phone calls to Republican senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, who had both indicated reservations with the pick.

In nominating Means last May, Trump sought to hire a close ally of Kennedy as the nation’s doctor. Means, a Stanford-education physician whose disillusionment with the healthcare system led to her career as an author and entrepreneur, promotes ideas popular with the MAHA movement, including that Americans are overmedicalized and that diet and lifestyle changes should be at the center of efforts to end widespread chronic disease.

Brian Kahn was a teenager living in the San Fernando Valley in the 1970s, which meant at 5:30 p.m. every weekday he did what any true sports fan did at that time.

He listened to the radio.

“Is it true? … I am the king … Aw, blow it out! … The dreaded 6 o’clock tone …”

“I had a buddy and his dad used to listen to Jim Healy a lot,” Kahn recalled, “and I caught onto it and loved it and just religiously listened to it every day. He’d talk about horse racing all the time and I knew nothing about it.

“It caught my interest somehow.”

Little did 15-year-old Brian Kahn know that enjoying odd sound effects and rants from Tommy Lasorda and Lee Elia would someday lead him to breeding one of the 20 horses that will start in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs (3:57 p.m. PDT, NBC). The Puma, who is 10-1 on the morning line, is a son of Eve of War, a mare Kahn owns with Hidden Brook Farm in Paris, Ky.

After hearing Healy talk about the horses, Kahn began watching the race replays each night on TV. His cousin started taking him to Santa Anita, where he saw Spectacular Bid win the 1980 Strub Stakes in world record time for 1¼ miles and later followed such stars as John Henry.

“It was just so dynamic back then, being at Santa Anita for the big days and there would be 60,000 or 70,000 people there,” he said. “It was amazing.”

Brian Kahn stands alongside a 2026 foal, the daugher of Maximus Mischief, at Hidden Brook Farm in Paris, Ky.

(Courtesy of Brian Kahn)

Kahn, 61, went to Birmingham High School and USC, and decided he wanted to have a career in horse racing. He worked as a hot walker for some trainers, including Gary Jones, read everything about the sport and business he could and learned that unless he wanted to get up at 4 a.m. and be a trainer, he needed to move to Kentucky.

Duncan Taylor from Taylor Made Farm offered him a job, and Kahn got in his car and drove more than 2,100 miles to Nicholasville, Ky., just outside Lexington.

He started working with horses but eventually Taylor thought Kahn was more suited to client relations, or “hustling business” for the farm by convincing owners to board their mares at Taylor Made or sell them.

It was a good beginning, but after three years, Kahn missed California.

“I really should have stayed in Lexington and made a life there for myself, but I ended up coming back,” he said. “But I was able to do business for them from out here.”

Kahn, who lives by the beach in Venice, enjoyed his first major success with Miatuschka, a mare he bought with Taylor Made in the mid-1990s and later sold for $380,000, making “a nice profit.”

“I’ve been doing that ever since,” Kahn said.

Brian Kahn, left; Bryan Cross, center; and Dan Hall are his partners owning Eve at War, the mother of The Puma. They gathered at Hidden Brook Farm in Paris, Ky.

Not every sale works out like that, but Kahn has done well enough to make this his career. He looks to buy fillies and mares that are good broodmare prospects, then either resells them or breeds them and sells the foal.

For the colt that turned out to be The Puma, Kahn thought Eve of War — a daughter of Declaration of War, who was a multiple Grade 1-winner in Europe — had great promise after winning a maiden race. Her career never really took off like he thought, but Kahn believed she would be a good broodmare. When she was consigned to a sale in the summer of 2021, he bought her with Hidden Brook for $135,000.

Kahn’s idea was to breed her to Charlatan, who won the Arkansas Derby and Malibu Stakes for Bob Baffert in 2020. But Sergio de Sousa, managing partner at Hidden Brook, suggested Essential Quality, a champion colt at 2 and 3 at the start of this decade.

As a yearling, the colt didn’t meet his reserve price of $95,000, so Kahn and Hidden Brook pointed him to a 2-year-old in training sale last year at Ocala. He brought a price of $150,000, still less than Kahn hoped. But they still own Eve of War, whose value has increased with the progress of The Puma, and she has a yearling colt by Nyquist, a weanling colt by Practical Joke and this year was bred to Sierra Leone.

Under the care of trainer Gustavo Delgado, who won the Derby two years ago with Mage, The Puma has won only once in four starts, but that victory came in the Tampa Bay Derby. He also was second in the Florida Derby, losing to Commandment by a nose.

And now he’s in the Kentucky Derby. Kahn, who spends three to four months a year in Lexington, was there last week but will be home Saturday, watching by himself.

“To have a Derby horse … it’s very significant for me and very exciting,” he said. “Off the charts exciting.”

Silent Tactic scratched

Silent Tactic, second in the Rebel and Arkansas Derby, has been scratched from the Derby with a bruised foot. That moves Great White from the also-eligible list into the field of 20, breaking from the outside post position. Horses who were drawn from 14-20 will move inside by one spot.

Great White, a son of Violence, won the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes in February over the synthetic surface at Turfway Park, but in his first (and only) career start on dirt, he was a distant fifth in the Blue Grass at Keeneland.

When the late and great Times sports columnist Mike Downey decided years ago to write about jockey Billy Shoemaker, he did so perfectly. His lead sentence:

“Billy Shoemaker was born 2 pounds 6 ounces and it was the only edge he ever needed in life.”

That remains noteworthy now, because when they run this year’s thoroughbred classic at Churchill Downs on May 2, it will mark 40 years since “Billy The Shoe,” still the third-winningest rider in the sport’s North American history and perhaps its most memorable, won his fourth and last Derby aboard a 17-1 longshot named Ferdinand.

In 1986, Snow Chief was the 3-1 Derby favorite. He was trained by colorful and often grumpy Mel Stute, who was, like Shoemaker, a fixture at Santa Anita. His jockey was a young Alex Solis, who came from Panama, was still struggling with the English language then and had quickly dazzled the Southern California racing world with his talent.

Jockey Bill Shoemaker smiles as he holds a large plaque presented to him at Santa Anita on Jan. 1, 1953, in recognition of winning 484 races. He promptly added to the total by winning the first race of the day.

(David F. Smith / Associated Press)

It was an era in sports somewhat less contentious, more inclined to celebrate its history and its moments and less inclined to look for more. A few weeks earlier, Jack Nicklaus had won the Masters, at age 46. It was a hugely popular outcome, just as Shoemaker’s would be. It was quite the time for legend building, those few months in 1986.

The Derby network telecast brought the comfort of an easy chair. Jim McKay, who had done it for years, took viewers through the likely race scenarios. Al Michaels, whose racing chops were notable well before he asked the world if it believed in miracles and well before the NFL hustled him away to greater fame and fortune, pitched in on the telecast with thoughts on the pageantry and some race angles. A young Michaels, with thick black curly hair and the same distinctive voice, broadcast from the track and touched on the interesting elements of Shoemaker’s presence.

“Ferdinand is at 17-1,” Michaels told the audience. “A few years back, you couldn’t get 17-1 with Shoemaker if he was riding Mr. Ed.”

Shoemaker was already a legend and had already won the Derby three times by then. But any mention of his Derby expertise was, and always would be, sprinkled with a disclaimer about his 1975 ride on Gallant Man, when he misjudged the finish line while leading on the home stretch, pulled up his horse and lost a race he had pretty much won.

In ‘86, that was all soft peddled by the media, which mentioned it more out of duty than reportorial necessity. Ferdinand was, after all, a 17-1 longshot, easier to downplay or ignore. Also, Shoemaker was 54, not exactly an age to be looked upon as a contender. No jockey that age had ever won the Derby — and still hasn’t. There was respect for his seniority, but mostly an assumption that he was the past, not likely the present. He had led North American racing in victories for 29 years, finally totaling 8,833. But much of that happened prior to 1986.

Worst for Shoemaker, he had drawn the No. 1 hole, the starting spot closest to the infield that is usually a death knell for Derby horses. The gate opens and the entire field dashes for the rail, all coming down on top of the 1-hole starter. Shoemaker and Ferdinand held ground for a while, but by the time they got to the back stretch, they were dead last. They were still there as the field got to the top of the home stretch.

Then the cavalry charge to the finish began and Shoemaker went with the crowd, to the outside. At one point in the home stretch run, he was six horses wide.

Then, he made one of those moves that made William Lee Shoemaker “Billy The Shoe.” He saw an opening to his left, squeezed through it and soon had Ferdinand almost to the rail — and in full gallop. Before anybody could analyze what had happened, Ferdinand, carrying a jockey who probably never weighed 100 pounds in his career — thanks to the birth advantage Downey so aptly pointed out years later — was cruising past the leaders and sailing home a winner.

Ferdinand, ridden by Billy Shoemaker, heads down the homestretch to win the Kentucky Derby on May 5, 1986, in Louisville, Ky.

(John Swart / Associated Press)

The victory made legendary trainer Charlie Whittingham a Kentucky Derby winner for the first time. He was 73 and had disliked running young horses in a pressure race such as the Derby. The Triple Crown races are only for three-year-old thoroughbreds. Whittingham won another Derby three years later with Sunday Silence. He trained into his 80s.

Shoemaker’s career rightfully was topped off by that Derby victory, as well as his win in the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 1987.

The aftermath of that 1986 race was less kind, although nobody could take away what Shoemaker had accomplished. The jockey who finished last in the ’86 Derby was Laffit Pincay Jr., who later passed Shoemaker’s North American victory total with 9,530 wins. Pincay’s total was topped by Russell Baze, who took 12,842 wins, but in a riding career that featured wins at lesser tracks against lesser competition. When Baze broke his record, however, Pincay was there to offer his congratulations.

By the time Shoemaker won the 1986 Derby, he had little left to achieve. He not only won 11 Triple Crown races, but he also had won, to mention a few prestigious races, the Hollywood Derby, the Hollywood Gold Cup, the Oak Tree Stakes, the San Luis Obispo and the Santa Anita Derby.

Jockey Billy Shoemaker smiles as he rides Ferdinand, the 1986 Kentucky Derby winner, at Hollywood Park after winning the Breeder’s Cup.

(Bettmann Archive via Getty Images)

Each one eight times.

Shoemaker moved into thoroughbred training after he stopped riding. He was a fixture around Santa Anita, as he had been as a jockey. His success was mixed, certainly less than he had as a jockey.

On April 8, 1991, after a day of golf in the Inland Empire, Shoemaker was headed west on the 210 freeway in San Dimas. The road at that point includes an exit to the right for the 57 freeway south and under the 210. Shoemaker swerved right off the 210 and rolled his Ford Bronco down the embankment, about three stories high, and onto the 57 freeway. Police confirmed he was intoxicated during the crash. Shoemaker suffered a broken neck and spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair, from which he continued as a trainer for several years.

Billly Shoemaker is in the winner’s circle at Santa Anita in March 1976 after winning his 7,000th race.

(Associated Press)

Shoemaker eventually sued the state of California because there was no guard rail at the site, the Ford Motor Co., to whom he alleged that the Bronco was a rollover risk, and Glendora Community Hospital for alleged incorrect treatment when he was bought in. Ford paid him at least $1 million, after agreeing to do so if he received no money from the hospital. There is no record of him getting any money from the state of California.

Shoemaker died in October 2013. He remains third on the North American jockey career win list with his 8,833.

Ferdinand was sent to stud in 1989 and sold to a breeding farm in Japan in 1994. In 2002, reports surfaced that Ferdinand had been sent to a slaughter house in Japan, where he became food for either humans or pets, or both. Racing’s indignation over that, as well as that of anger in the general public, prompted the formation by Congress of a bill that would ban the slaughter of horses in the United States.

It never passed.

Ohio State tight end Max Klare speaks during a new conference at the NFL scouting combine in February.

(Eric Gay / Associated Press)

6 feet 4, 246 pounds | Ohio State | Round 2, Pick 61

Notable: Klare began his career at Purdue and played three seasons for the Boilermakers before transferring to Ohio State.

Last season: Klare caught 43 passes for 448 yards and two touchdowns for the Buckeyes, who finished 12-2.

Why the Rams drafted him: McVay at times used a tight-end heavy offense during the latter part of last season, so the Rams need reinforcements for a position group that includes veteran Tyler Higbee, Colby Parkinson, Davis Allen and Terrance Ferguson. Higbee is at the far end of his career and Parkinson is in the final year of his contract, and none of his salary is guaranteed, according to Overthecap.com.

It was no secret the Chargers were searching for a pass rusher in the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday night — and they found one.

The Chargers selected former Miami edge rusher Akheem Mesidor at No. 22 overall, making him the heir apparent for Khalil Mack in a pass-rushing unit that was hit hard by Odafe Oweh leaving in free agency.

“He has a relentless motor, a highly productive pass rusher, physical player versus the run,” said Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz, who added he was convinced Mesidor would not be available at No. 22. “Just a guy whose motor never turns off when you put the film on.

“He was on a heater all year and played some of his best ball down the stretch in the playoffs. Just really fired up to get him.”

The 6-foot-3, 259-pound Mesidor should provide immediate depth to a edge-rushing unit that needs to recoup some of the production Oweh took to Washington. And with Mack’s career being renewed on a year-to-year basis, Mesidor will get the chance to learn from Mack, Tuli Tuipulotu and Bud Dupree before seeing a likely starting role in the seasons ahead.

“I finally know where I’m going and I can’t wait to get there and move all my stuff out to the West Coast,” Mesidor said in a conference call with reporters. “I want people to look at me like, man, this guy came to work.

“I am ready to play right now. I have the motor and relentless effort.”

Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh was excited about Mesidor joining Tuipulotu and Mack on the field: “That’s fire, as the young people would say.”

The Chargers will be hoping Mesidor is a quick learner — at 25 years old, the Canadian-born Mesidor is older than a typical first-round pick.

Hortiz wasn’t concerned about Mesidor’s age being an issue.

“Age is just a number. He is very experienced,” Hortiz told reporters. “We got a guy who is 35 years old [Mack] who is still kicking ass.”

Still, Mesidor has intimidating credentials. He had 35½ career sacks and posted 12½ sacks with Miami last season in its run to the national championship game. He also had 17½ tackles for loss last season. He finished 2025 with the sixth-best defense grade (92.5) by Pro Football Focus and had the third-best run defense grade (88.3) among FBS edge rushers.

The one concern with Mesidor are the injury issues that lengthened his stay in the college ranks to six years. He underwent shoulder surgery in 2021 and in 2022 had surgery to repair ligaments in both feet. In 2025, however, he played in 15 of 16 games for the Hurricanes.

“We thoroughly evaluate everybody medically,” Hortiz said.

The Chargers had plenty of options for a pass rusher at No. 22 — Malachi Lawrence, T.J. Parker, Keldric Faulk and Dillon Thieneman were still available — but Mesidor was the player they wanted. Hortiz said Mesidor’s standout play in the postseason with Miami coupled with how he impressed them at the NFL scouting combine ultimately played big factors in their decision to draft him.

“[People] talked about how much of a worker he is, how great of a person he is, focused,” Hortiz said. “We interviewed him in Indy and you just felt that in the room, he’s a football player.

“Mature, driven, intelligent, wants to work. He’s going to fit right in here.”

Chargers pick Jake Slaughter in second round

Florida center Jake Slaughter gets set during a game against Kentucky in 2024.

(Gary McCullough / Associated Press)

The Chargers bolstered their offensive line by selecting former Florida center Jake Slaughter at No. 63 overall in the second round of the draft on Friday.

Hortiz said the Chargers intend to play the 6-foot-4, 303-pound Slaughter primarily at guard as they look to replace Zion Johnson, who left in free agency. Slaughter, 23, ranked 18th among FBS centers in pass block grade (84.1) and third in run block grade (80.2) in 2025, per Pro Football Focus. Over 748 snaps last season, he allowed four total pressures, one sack and one hit.

A three-year starter at Florida, Slaughter is expected to compete with Trevor Penning for a starting role at left guard. He also could be a backup for right guard Cole Strange and center Tyler Biadasz, Harbaugh said.

“We feel like he fits the bill at both positions,” Hortiz said.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert was sacked 54 times in 2025, third most in the NFL, and finding offensive line depth was among the team’s priorities entering the draft.

The Chargers picked Slaughter after they traded the No. 55 pick to the New England Patriots for the 63rd, 131st and 202nd picks in this year’s draft. They later traded out of the third round, sending their No. 86 pick to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for the 105th (fourth round), 145th (fourth) and 206th (sixth) picks. The Chargers also have the Nos. 123 (fourth) and 204 (sixth) picks, giving them seven selections heading into Day 3.

Quarterback Ty Simpson arrived in Los Angeles on Friday — and the Rams’ first-round draft pick sounded as if he couldn’t wait to start learning from coach Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford.

“The best head coach in the league, the best quarterback in the league, the best … franchise in the league — it’s a perfect situation,” Simpson said during a news conference at the Rams’ draft headquarters in Inglewood.

How the situation plays out — short and long term — remains to be seen.

Stafford, 38, will enter his 18th NFL season as the reigning NFL most valuable player.

With free agent Jimmy Garoppolo mulling retirement, McVay said Thursday night that Simpson would compete with Stetson Bennett to be Stafford’s backup.

The Rams used the 13th pick to select Simpson, 23, who started 15 games for Alabama.

McVay said that he had informed Stafford that the Rams would select Simpson.

“He was great,” McVay said of Stafford’s reaction. “He’s a stud. He’s always first class in every sense of the word.”

But McVay and general manager Les Snead were not their typically ebullient selves when discussing Simpson during their Thursday night news conference. Some observers perceived that as a break in what is regarded as one of the NFL’s best coach-general manager partnerships.

On Friday, Snead said in an interview with ESPN radio that he and McVay work “in lockstep.”

So their muted reactions Thursday might have been out of sensitivity, warranted or not, to not upset Stafford after drafting his heir apparent in the first round. McVay took pains to remind that the Rams are Stafford’s team, seemingly to not offend the Rams’ most important player.

After last year’s draft-day trade with the Atlanta Falcons, the Rams went into the offseason with two first-round picks — their own at No. 29 and the one acquired from the Falcons at 13.

Ty Simpson poses for a photo with his family during a news conference in Inglewood on Friday.

(Caroline Brehman / Associated Press)

In March, the Rams used the 29th pick in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, so perhaps the 13th pick was regarded as a luxury.

They spent it on a player who was at Alabama for four seasons, but started only one.

Snead acknowledged that as Simpson pondered whether to remain at Alabama or make himself available for the draft, Snead spoke with Simpson’s father, Jason, who like Snead played college football in the Southeastern Conference and is now the coach at Tennessee Martin. Snead said it was in the role similar to the NFL’s College Advisory Committee, which evaluates prospects and lets them know in what round, if any, that they might be selected. Snead reportedly told Jason Simpson his son was first-round caliber.

“You try to get across it’s not about where you get drafted,” Snead said Thursday night. “It’s more about where you go and what situation you go and what you do with that opportunity after.”

A few months later, the Rams drafted Simpson, who was upbeat as he met with reporters, while his parents and his brother and sister sat nearby.

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The Rams drafted Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson with the 13th overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft in Pittsburgh.

Simpson, who passed for 28 touchdowns, with five interceptions last season, was in Southern California last January when Alabama lost to Indiana in the Rose Bowl. The Crimson Tide did a walkthrough at SoFi Stadium.

Now he will begin his NFL career there.

“I’m, I guess, like a redneck in Southern California,” he joked. “So we’ll see how that goes. But I’m super excited to be here. This is a great place, with great people and I can’t wait to get started.”

Simpson said that Rams safety Quentin Lake had texted him. He also received a social media message from Stafford’s wife, Kelly, inviting him and his family to reach out if they need anything.

“Can’t wait to talk to Matthew,” said Simpson, who characterized the veteran as “an assassin” on the field. “I’m super excited because I just want to pick his brain about everything.”

Simpson met with McVay on Friday.

“He’s got the juice, man,” Simpson said, “like that dude … he’s a fireball.”

Simpson said he benefited from the years he spent at Alabama before he got his opportunity to play last season.

“The years that I sat were … probably more important,” he said, “because I had to learn how to practice. I had to learn how to study when I wasn’t playing because I didn’t know when that time was going to come.

“And so whenever that time did come — it was this year — I made the most of it.”

Now he is ready for the next phase of his career.

He said his faith was his foundation, and that he aspires to be “not only be the best football player I can be,” but also a better teammate and person.

“I want people to come into the locker room and smile, knowing that ‘Hey, Ty’s here,’” he said. “I want to lead, influence people and I think at the quarterback position that’s what you need to do.”

His immediate goal is modest.

“My plan is just to get better each and every day,” he said, “so, eventually, I have a long career like Matthew.”

STEFON Diggs’ legal fight with his sex assault accuser took a dramatic twist after bombshell new files were dropped.

In explosive documents obtained by The U.S. Sun, Christopher Griffith appears to blame Stefon’s break-up with Cardi B for ruining his NFL career.

He shot back in their legal war after Stefon sued the social media star for defamation over claims the axed New England Patriots player had sexually assaulted him.

The influencer made several posts alleging Stefon had attacked him after a celebrity basketball game in Maryland in May 2023.

In his suit, Stefon claimed that his reputation and, therefore, his income, had been damaged by Christopher’s allegations.

The influencer shot back and said Stefon ruined his reputation himself in several ways, including through his relationship with his on-again, off-again girlfriend and baby mama, Cardi B.

“There is a significant unresolved question as to whether Mr. Diggs’s claimed emotional distress was caused by sources other than Mr. Griffith’s posts on Instagram,” the influencer wrote in the filing.

The social media star then appeared to blame Stefon’s breakup from Cardi B for ruining his reputation and NFL career.

“During the period in question, Mr. Diggs very publicly started and ended a relationship with the musical artist Cardi B, with Mr. Diggs painted as a villain in the tabloid press,” the eyebrow-raising filing continued – and it didn’t stop there.

He also called out another headline-grabbing incident.

“Mr. Diggs was captured on video distributing an unidentified crystalline substance to women partying with him on a yacht, again widely disseminated by the tabloid press; and his performance as an NFL wide receiver declined materially,” he continued, referring to May 2025 photos of Stefon partying on a yacht with bikini-clad women in Miami.

“Any of these could independently account for reputational harm, emotional distress, or lost business relationships. 

The U.S. Sun has reached out to Cardi B’s team for comment.

Christopher claimed his discovery requests thus far have been met with inadequate responses by Stefon and his legal team. 

He also claimed Stefon, 32, has not been forthcoming with providing information on the loss of brand deals as a result of the allegations against him, specifically with the footwear brand UGG.

Outside of this federal lawsuit, Stefon is connected to another lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by Chistopher against the NFL star’s brother, Darez Diggs.

Christopher claimed that about a week after the alleged sexual assault by Stefon in Maryland in 2023, the NFL star’s brother Darez and associates came to his Los Angeles apartment building, beat him up and robbed him of about $100,000 in jewelry and other property. 

That lawsuit is also ongoing. 

HOLLY Willoughby giggled the afternoon away on a boozy lunch with her star-studded girl squad after it was revealed she’s plotting a major career rebrand.

Former darling of ITV, Holly, 45, took centre stage in a fun video clip from a lunch date with pals Nicole Appleton, Emma Bunton, Christine Lampard and Vice President of Artist Relations at Universal Music, Shiarra Bell.

Mojitos looked to be the favoured drink for most of the girl gang, who appeared in playful mood as they looked into the camera.

Holly chose the Sex and the City theme to soundtrack the clip on Instagram and continued the US drama theme in the caption which referenced lead character Carrie Bradshaw [Sarah Jessica Parker].

She wrote: “As Carrie Bradshaw said… They say nothing lasts forever; dreams change, trends come and go, but friendships never go out of style. Love my girls…”

The post went down a treat.

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CBB legend Kate Lawler wrote: “Love the energy of this girl gang.”

EastEnders icon Sam Womack said: “Jealous!!!! Love you lot.”

One fan added: “Love that they’ve grown up in the industry together and remained friends. Bet their WhatsApp chats are juicy!”

Holly has been lying low since her time on Netflix‘s Celebrity Bear Hunt early last year.

She’s been absent from TV screens for the longest period in her career, having previously been an ever present on This Morning, Celebrity Juice and Dancing on Ice.

But the mum-of-three, who is married to TV producer Dan Baldwin, is now branching out from traditional TV and is preparing a comeback on YouTube.

Her channel will start with a magazine show similar to This Morning – effectively marking the dawn of “Holly TV”.

Our insider explained: “Holly has been slowly shedding her This Morning self for a few years now and has been gradually letting the fans see the real her more and more.

“Once rarely posting on social media, Holly will now happily share her outfits, favourite tipples and days out with her very cool group of pals.

“When she was on This Morning her friendship with the likes of the Appleton sisters was kept on the down-low but now there’s no need for her to live up to a certain image.

“She has always been a party girl at heart, but kept it very well hidden while on the daytime TV show.”

Since stepping back from the box, Holly has posted edgier content on social media, including an out of character F-bomb.

When American hip hop group Salt-N-Pepa announced they would be performing in the UK, a delighted Holly squealed online: “Excuse my language but f**k, I’ve waited my whole life for this.”

The insider continued: “Holly would never have sworn online while she was on This Morning but is deliberately showing a different side to herself. She wants to be seen as cool and edgy.

“She was definitely keeping up appearances while on the show and can now finally be herself fully.”

Though the former kids TV presenter has maintained a clean cut image, her party girl image has long been talked about in media circles.

In 2019 she partied until the early hours at The Streets’ comeback gig afterparty at Brixton Academy with Nicole Appleton, wearing a T-shirt that read: “Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go backstage”.

Her legendary drinking stamina has led to her being labelled a “robot” by pal Keith Lemon.

“Holly is a party animal. I’m a drinker, but I can’t keep up with her,” he told The Sun.

While Piers Morgan said: “Piers Morgan backed up his comments, admitting: “If I go to a party and Holly Willoughby is there, you know your liver is in for a caning, and you could end up in a career-ending situation. She’s a very dangerous lady. Very dangerous.”

Garret Anderson, the often misunderstood and always lethal Angels slugger who starred in the 2002 World Series, has died of a heart attack. He was 53.

Anderson’s most memorable moment was belting a decisive three-run double in Game 7 of the only World Series ever played by the Angels. Yet consistency over 17 seasons — 15 with the Angels and one each with the Dodgers and Atlanta Braves — was the hallmark of the taciturn left fielder.

“The Angels Organization is mourning the loss of one of our franchise’s most beloved icons, Garret Anderson,” owner Arte Moreno said Friday in a statement. “Garret was a cornerstone of our organization throughout his 15 seasons and his stoic presence in the outfield and our clubhouse elevated the Angels into an era of continued success, highlighted by the 2002 World Series Championship.

Garret Anderson, who hit the game-winning three-run double, runs with the World Series championship trophy after the Angels beat the San Francisco Giants in Game 7 of the World Series in Anaheim on Oct. 27, 2002.

(Kevork Djansezian / Associated Press)

“Garret will forever hold a special place in the hearts of Angels fans for his professionalism, class, and loyalty throughout his career and beyond. His admiration and respect for the game was immeasurable.”

Nicknamed “G.A.,” Anderson is the Angels leader in games (2,013), at-bats (7,989), hits (2,368), total bases (3,743), extra-base hits (796), doubles (489) and runs batted in (1,292). And he achieved it all without fanfare.

“Garret didn’t seek the limelight,” said Mike DiGiovanna, The Times’ Angels beat writer throughout most of Anderson’s career. “A classic lunch-pail guy. He was a superstar, he just didn’t act like it.”

Fans occasionally booed Anderson for a perceived lack of hustle. He didn’t dive for fly balls and on rare occasions failed to run hard when he hit a ground ball.

His teammates, however, backed him without hesitation, saying he was one of the smartest players in baseball and made the game look easy through hard work.

“He doesn’t dive for balls because he gets there quicker than most guys,” center fielder Darin Erstad said in 2003.

Fans cheered in shock when Anderson made a diving catch against the Minnesota Twins in 2002.

“But, see, that’s what I’m talking about,” he said. “I never should have had to dive for that ball. I got a bad jump. I study hitters. I have an idea of where the ball is going. I don’t dive because I don’t have to.”

The Angels’ Garret Anderson watches the ball after hitting a two-run homer against the Toronto Blue Jays in the seventh inning of a game in Anaheim on July 4, 2008.

(Mark Avery / Associated Press)

Anderson’s understated demeanor fit well in an Angels clubhouse stocked with young, rowdy personalities.

“We have so many emotional guys on this team, Garret is a calming force,” teammate Tim Salmon said in 2003. “He’s criticized for a lack of emotion, but I think it’s good.”

For his part, Anderson possessed a wry sense of humor and wasn’t above poking fun at himself.

“Interesting,” he told The Times Bill Plaschke with a faint smile. “I used to be called lazy. Now that we win a World Series, I’m called graceful.”

After Anderson retired in 2010, he worked as a television analyst for the Angels.

Garret Joseph Anderson was born June 30, 1972, in Los Angeles. He attended Granada Hills Kennedy High, where he starred in baseball and basketball. He remained close to his baseball coach, Manny Alvarado.

“I’ve lost a handful, some of them at a young age, but this one we had a relationship for a long time,” Alvarado said Friday. “I have a ton of memories, some of them from day one and some just recently. The one thing that comes to mind he was kind of an old soul. A lot of major leaguers have a lot to learn from him.

“He was very humble and always picked up the phone. He made it to a lot of alumni games, was very generous.”

Anderson was drafted in 1990 by the Angels in the fourth round and made his major league debut July 27, 1994 versus Oakland before going on to become one of the most productive players in franchise history.

Anderson had a stretch of eight consecutive seasons appearing in at least 150 games for the Angels and played in at least 140 games in 11 of his 17 major league seasons. He was inducted into the Angels’ Hall of Fame in 2016.

“Teammates and fans came to appreciate him for his consistency,” DiGiovanna said. “He was like a metronome.”

In addition to his World Series Game 7 heroics, Anderson batted .300 with four doubles, two home runs and 13 RBIs during the 2002 postseason. He finished fourth in American League Most Valuable Player voting that year.

In 2003, he became the first player since Cal Ripken Jr. to become both the Home Run Derby champion and MVP of the All-Star Game. Anderson batted .293 with 287 home runs in his career.

His final season came with the Dodgers in 2010. At age 38 he batted only .181 but provided a settling influence on young Dodgers stars Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier.

The Angels will honor Anderson by wearing a memorial patch on their jerseys the rest of the season. There will be a moment of silence and a tribute video before Friday’s game.

Anderson is survived by his wife, Teresa, daughters Brianne and Bailey and son Garret “Trey” Anderson III.

Times staff writers Eric Sondheimer and Bill Shaikin contributed to this story.