LeBron James downplayed any suggestion of a rift between him and Lakers governor Jeanie Buss on Thursday following an ESPN report that detailed how the now-minority owner of the team had started to turn on the Lakers superstar.
“Quite frankly, I don’t really get involved in that, or the reports, or whatever the case may be,” James said after the Lakers lost 112-104 to the Clippers at Intuit Dome.
The report detailed how years of in-fighting between the Buss siblings led to the family selling a majority stake of the team to Dodgers owner Mark Walter last year. As the franchise struggled to recapture the magic established under Jerry Buss, Jeanie had grown distant and resentful, the report said, that James didn’t take accountability for involvement with the decision to acquire Russell Westbrook in 2021. She reportedly floated the possibility of trading James to the Clippers in 2022 and didn’t believe James was grateful when the Lakers drafted Bronny James in 2024.
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Lakers star LeBron James responds to a report stating there is a rift between him and Lakers governor Jeanie Buss.
But LeBron James brushed it off.
“At the end of the day, when I came to this organization, my whole mindset was about restoring excellence,” James said. “The things that I seen growing up with the Lakers — obviously, I didn’t get an opportunity to watch Showtime [era], but I know the history. Then the early 2000s with Shaq [O’Neal] and [Kobe Bryant], and then what Kob did and those couple runs with him and Pau [Gasol]. So my whole mindset was like, ‘How can I get that feeling back to the Lakers organization?’ … And then I was able to do that along with, you know, 14, 16, other guys winning the championship, bringing the championship here.”
The Lakers’ 2020 championship — in James’ second season with the team — helped the franchise tie rival Boston for the most championships in league history. But the Celtics have since pulled ahead with an 18th NBA title.
The Lakers have won two playoff series in the five seasons since their last championship and have been eliminated in the first round in back-to-back seasons. They stunned the NBA by acquiring Luka Doncic in a midseason trade last season but are struggling to hang on in the competitive Western Conference. They have lost six of their last nine games.
James scored 11 points in the fourth quarter to help the Lakers (26-17) cut a 26-point third-quarter deficit to three points with 1:28 remaining when James converted a three-point play. But the Clippers, who have won 14 of their last 17 games starting with their last win over the Lakers on Dec. 20, answered with a reverse dunk by Ivica Zubac and a dagger three-pointer from John Collins.
“LeBron, for what seems like the 20th straight game, just gave us — he emptied the tank and gave us everything he had,” coach JJ Redick said.
After he missed the first 14 games of the season because of sciatica, James is averaging 22.5 points, six rebounds and 6.9 assists per game. Since guard Austin Reaves re-injured his calf on Christmas Day, James has averaged 24.9 points and played more than 31 minutes in each of the 12 games, including playing two back-to-backs in a week.
The 41-year-old James has achieved some of the most significant milestones of his career with the Lakers. He became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in purple and gold. He is the first player to play 23 NBA seasons. Now in his eighth season with the Lakers, L.A. has been his continuous NBA home for longer than any other city, not counting the separate seven- and four-year stints he had in Cleveland.
When he came to the Lakers, James told Buss that he wanted to return the Lakers to glory, he recalled while accepting the NBA Finals most valuable player award in 2020. Buss, standing nearby in the socially distant trophy ceremony, smiled and clutched her hands to her chest when James brought up her father.
Lakers star LeBron James dunks over Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis on Jan. 9 at Crypto.com Arena.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
When asked Thursday of how he thought the partnership with Jeanie Buss has been, James said he thought “it was good, but somebody could see it another way.
“So it’s always two sides of the coin,” James continued.
The two have not talked since the report was published Wednesday, but that’s not out of the ordinary, James attested.
“We never talked,” James said. “I don’t understand. It’s not like me and Jeanie be on the phone talking, guys. I never heard a report about that. Don’t make something out of it that it’s not. It’s always been mutual, it’s always been respect, it’s always been a great partnership.”
LeBron James hugs Jeanie Buss after the Lakers’ NBA championship win on Oct. 11, 2020.
(Douglas P. DeFelice / Getty Images)
“I’ve been here two years, everybody in this organization appreciates LeBron and appreciates what he’s done for the Lakers,” Redick said before the game. “He’s carried on the legacy and also truthfully the burden of being a superstar for the Los Angeles Lakers for eight years. And he’s done it with class. And then personally, I can just speak to it: I’ve enjoyed coaching him at the highest level, like 10 out of 10. That’s not to say LeBron and I don’t have our disagreements, but I know with that guy, he’s gonna put everything into this and it’s been awesome to coach.”
James picked up his $52.6 million player option this summer. It’s the first time in his 23-year NBA career that he’s played on the final year of a deal. He will be up for free agency this summer along with several other players, including guard Austin Reaves, forward Rui Hachimura and center Deandre Ayton.
With the trade deadline approaching, James brushed off questions about what steps the Lakers can do to improve their roster. As he turned to walk out of the locker room, James pointed to his hoodie that was printed with the name of his wife Savannah’s podcast.
LOS ANGELES — The NFL is marking the 60th anniversary of the Super Bowl with a hometown opening act.
Green Day will kick off the big game with an opening ceremony Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, the league announced Sunday. The performance will celebrate six decades of the championship’s history, with the band helping usher generations of Super Bowl MVPs onto the field.
The trio, formed in the East Bay and made up of Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool, is expected to perform a selection of their best-known anthems as part of the tribute.
“We are super-hyped to open Super Bowl 60 right in our backyard!” lead singer Armstrong said. “We are honored to welcome the MVPs who’ve shaped the game and open the night for fans all over the world. Let’s have fun! Let’s get loud!”
The ceremony airs live at 3 p.m. Pacific on NBC, Telemundo, Peacock and Universo.
“Celebrating 60 years of Super Bowl history with Green Day as a hometown band, while honoring the NFL legends who’ve helped define this sport, is an incredibly powerful way to kick off Super Bowl LX,” said Tim Tubito, the league’s senior director of event and game presentation. “As we work alongside NBC Sports for this opening ceremony, we look forward to creating a collective celebration for fans in the stadium and around the world.”
The opening ceremony will take place ahead of the pregame entertainment, during which Charlie Puth is to perform the national anthem, Brandi Carlile will sing “America the Beautiful,” and Coco Jones will deliver “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
Jonathan Landrum Jr. writes for the Associated Press.
SEATTLE — Rashid Shaheed returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, Kenneth Walker III rushed for three scores and the Seattle Seahawks advanced to the NFC championship game with a dominant 41-6 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night.
Sam Darnold threw a touchdown pass and got his first career playoff win in his first season with the Seahawks (15-3), who will host either the Chicago Bears or the Rams next Sunday with a trip to the Super Bowl at stake.
The Seahawks led 7-0 13 seconds into the game thanks to Shaheed, who fielded the opening kick and took it 95 yards to the end zone. It was the fourth kickoff return for a touchdown to open a playoff game since 2000 and the longest postseason kick return in franchise history.
Darnold, who had been listed as questionable because of an oblique injury, guided the Seahawks on two more scoring drives before San Francisco got on the board with the first of its two field goals.
After he flopped in his playoff debut last season with the Minnesota Vikings by taking nine sacks in a 27-9 loss to the Rams, Darnold completed 12 of 17 passes for 124 yards and connected with Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a touchdown in the star receiver’s playoff debut.
The 49ers (13-6) were never competitive in the second-most lopsided playoff loss in franchise history. San Francisco lost 49-3 to the New York Giants in the divisional round in the 1986 season.
The Niners were missing three injured All-Pros: tight end George Kittle, linebacker Fred Warner and defensive end Nick Bosa.
San Francisco’s Brock Purdy completed 15 of 27 passes for 140 yards with an interception and a lost fumble against the Seahawks’ “Dark Side” defense. Seattle also recovered a fumble by tight end Jake Tonges.
Walker’s three rushing touchdowns tied him with Shaun Alexander for the most in a playoff game in franchise history.
Dom Taylor has been given a six-month suspension for failing a drugs test during the PDC World Championship in December.
A statement from the Darts Regulation Authority confirmed that the 27-year-old had admitted breaching anti-doping rules.
At a hearing on 7 January, the DRA Disciplinary Committee said it was “satisfied that Taylor’s ingestion of both cocaine and cannabis occurred out of competition and was not following the commencement of the World Championship”.
Taylor had previously served a one-month ban following a failed drugs test towards the end of 2024 and the sanction for his second offence is in line with UK Anti-Doping’s (Ukad) rules.
Englishman Taylor had won his first-round match against Oskar Lukasiak but news of his failed drugs test and suspension was released before his scheduled second-round match against Jonny Clayton.
Welshman Clayton, who was the fifth seed at Alexandra Palace, received a bye through to round three as a result.
Taylor later posted on Facebook to say he was “sincerely sorry” for his actions, that his mental health had been affected by a number of personal traumas and that he would be “getting the help” he needed.
As a result of the findings, Taylor forfeited his £25,000 prize money for reaching the second round of the World Championship.
That meant he dropped just outside the top 64 in the PDC’s world rankings and has therefore lost his PDC tour card for 2026.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Carson Beck scrambled for a three-yard touchdown with 18 seconds left, and Miami will head back home for a shot at its first national championship since 2001 after beating Mississippi 31-27 in an exhilarating College Football Playoff semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday night.
The 10th-ranked Hurricanes (13-2) had their vaunted defense picked apart by the sixth-ranked Rebels (13-2) in a wild fourth quarter, falling into a 27-24 hole after Trinidad Chambliss threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Dae’Quan Wright with 3:13 left.
Beck, who won a national title as a backup at Georgia, kept the Hurricanes calm amid the storm, leading them down the field for the winning score — and a shot at a national title on their home field at Hard Rock Stadium on Jan. 19. Beck is 37-5 as a starter, including two seasons at Georgia.
The sixth-seeded Rebels lost their coach before the playoff, but not their cool.
If anything, Lane Kiffin’s decision to bolt for LSU seemed to harden Mississippi’s resolve, pushing the Rebels to the best season in school history — and within a game of their first national championship game.
Ole Miss kept Miami within reach when its offense labored and took a 19-17 lead on Lucas Carneiro’s fourth field goal, from 21 yards.
Malachi Toney, the hero of Miami’s opening CFP win over Texas A&M, turned a screen pass into a 36-yard touchdown that put Miami up 24-19.
Chambliss’ TD pass to Wright put the Rebels back on top, but the improbable run came to an end when the defense couldn’t hold the Hurricanes.
But what a run it was.
With Pete Golding calling the shots after being promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach, and most of the assistants sticking around, the Rebels blew out Tulane to open the playoff and took down mighty Georgia in the CFP quarterfinals.
They faced a different kind of storm in the Hurricanes.
Miami has rekindled memories of its 2001 national championship team behind a defense that went from porous to nearly impenetrable in its first season under coordinator Corey Hetherman.
The Hurricanes walled up early in the Fiesta Bowl, holding Mississippi to minus-one yard.
One play revved up the Rebels and their rowdy fans.
Kewan Lacy, the nation’s third-leading rusher, burst through a hole up the middle for a 73-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter — the longest run allowed by Miami’s defense since 2018.
The Hurricanes seemed content to grind away at the Rebels in small chunks offensively, setting up CharMar Brown’s four-yard touchdown run and a field goal.
Miami unlocked the deep game just before halftime, taking advantage of a busted coverage for a 52-yard touchdown pass from Beck to Keelan Marion.
Two of Sunday’s Championship matches have been postponed because of frozen pitches, with a number of others called off elsewhere in the EFL.
The 12:00 GMT kick-off between Sheffield United and Oxford United and Portsmouth’s game against Ipswich at 15:00 are both off.
In a statement, the Blades said a referee looked at the Bramall Lane pitch before the scheduled start and found parts of the playing surface were frozen.
The game at Fratton Park was postponed following a pitch inspection at 11:00 GMT.
Nine fixtures have also been called off in League Two and two more have fallen to the freezing weather in League One.
In League One, Doncaster’s meeting with Luton and Rotherham v Mansfield were also called off on Sunday.
In addition to five of Sunday’s League Two fixtures which had already been postponed on Saturday, Barnet v Crewe, Barrow v Bristol Rovers, Colchester v Accrington and Newport v Tranmere failed pitch inspections.
While Littler cruised through, there was no such luck for Van Veen as he beat his idol Anderson in a remarkable match.
It began with the Scot winning the first set against the darts with a 104 average, but any thoughts that Van Veen, 23, might be overawed in his first world semi-final were quickly forgotten as he hit a 10-darter to start the second set.
A stunning average of 113.35 saw him level it at 1-1 with a 117 checkout and was a taster of what was to come in the sets that followed.
Anderson started the next with a 144 checkout but Van Veen hit back once more, hitting six perfect darts to start the deciding leg on his way to an 11-darter.
Somehow, the fifth set took the match to another level again. First, Anderson broke with a 10-darter and hit a 170 checkout to go 2-0 in legs, and a leg from making it 3-2.
Instead, Van Veen made it 4-1 after a 170 checkout of his own forced a deciding leg. He won it and averaged 111.46, while Anderson was left wondering how he had lost a set in which he averaged 117.44.
The 55-year-old’s resilience shone through, though, and with the crowd behind him, he won the next two sets to make it 4-3 and pile the pressure on his younger opponent – who had missed four darts to make it 5-2.
But while both players showed signs that the unrelenting nature of the contest was taking its toll, Van Veen held firm, got himself 5-3 up and then finished strongly with a 13-darter to clinch his place in the final.
“To be in the World Championship final is not even a dream coming true because I wasn’t able to dream about this,” Van Veen, who had not won a match at the World Championship prior to this event, told Sky Sports.
Searle had won 14 consecutive sets without reply to reach his first World Championship quarter-final.
The 38-year-old extended that run to 17 with some clinical finishing in the first three sets against Clayton and a 111 finish in the deciding leg of the fifth, one of his three ton-plus checkouts in the match, helped to secure a spot in the last four.
Clayton scored better for long spells of the quarter-final but too many missed attempts on the outer ring proved costly for the Welsh fifth seed, who landed just 10 of his 40 attempts at doubles (25%).
Searle, in contrast, hit 17 of his 30 attempts (56.7%).
Searle lives with dominant optic atrophy, a genetic eye condition which affects his vision and for which he wears contact lenses.
Speaking to Sky Sports on stage after his win, he said: “I can’t see particularly well.
“Other people who try to play darts, if they can’t see particularly well, try not to let that hold you back.
Nathan Aspinall became the latest seed to fall at the PDC World Championship, but 20-year-old Charlie Manby continued his dream run by reaching the last 16.
Aspinall, who reached the semi-finals in 2019 and 2020, lost 4-3 in a final-set thriller against the Netherlands’ Kevin Doets.
The 15th seed won the first and third sets, but was pegged back on both occasions, only to seize control again with a stunning 170 checkout to claim the fifth set.
However, from there, Doets took over, reeling off sixth consecutive legs to seal a sixth straight win over Aspinall and set up a last-16 tie against world number two Luke Humphries on Tuesday.
Manby, who is playing in the tournament for the first time, overcame Ricky Evans 4-2.
The bricklayer from Huddersfield struggled on his doubles early on, taking out just four of 30 attempts in the first three sets as he went 2-1 down.
Scoring was never an issue though and his accuracy on the checkouts improved, alongside a drop-off from Evans, as he sealed a place in round four and a minimum £60,000 in prize money.
He will face the Netherlands’ Gian van Veen in the next round in what will be his toughest test so far, with the 10th seed having the tournament-high match average of 108.28 in his second-round win.
After the match, Evans posted on Facebook that he had received death threats as well as hate and fat jokes.
Another debutant also progressed with Somerset’s Justin Hood beating Ryan Meikle 4-1.
He raced into a 3-0 lead before Meikle pulled a set back but Hood sealed his place and said afterwards that he would not have to work in 2026 after also confirming at least £60,000 in prize money.
He has climbed to a provisional 63rd in the world rankings already and said post-match he still has aspirations to open a Chinese restaurant one day.
He will face 11th seed Josh Rock in the last 16, after the Northern Irishman overcame Callan Rydz 4-2 in the final third-round tie.
Rydz was emotional throughout following the death of his grandfather since his previous match.
Stephen Bunting said he has been left “hurt” after his son was the victim of online abuse.
World number four Bunting, 40, was knocked out of the 2026 PDC World Darts Championship on Saturday with a dramatic 4-3 loss to world number 63 James Hurrell.
Bunting’s son, 13, was in attendance at Alexandra Palace and was shown regularly on television cameras passionately supporting his father during his dramatic loss in seven sets.
Posting on X for the first time since Saturday’s exit, Bunting said the abuse his son has received has been “hurtful” for the whole family.
“Hi guys. Sorry I’ve had a few days away from my socials but I just needed a small bit of time after my game to recover and rest,” Bunting posted.
“I love my family so much and they give me massive motivation to continue this journey. I still believe I have a lot to give darts over the rest of my career and I want to make them forever proud.
“They see the negative comments and do their best to make sure I don’t see them – and even [my son] has had some hate from some of the trolls online, which really is hurtful for us as a family.
“[He] is one of the nicest kids you could wish to meet and I’ll be doing a lot more social stuff with him this coming year.”
Stephen’s son regularly appears alongside his father at events on and off the oche, including Bunting’s social media pages.
The Bullet’s defeat to Hurrell could cost him an automatic qualification spot for the 2026 Premier League Darts campaign, with Bunting likely to drop outside the world’s top four following his early tournament exit.
Former winner Rob Cross cruised through at the PDC World Championship and set up a last-16 tie against defending champion Luke Littler.
Cross, who won the event in 2018, brushed aside Australian and 16th seed Damon Heta in a comfortable 4-0 win.
The 17th seed was joined in round four by two-time winner Gary Anderson, who edged a final-set thriller against Dutchman Gary Wattimena.
Scot Anderson went 3-1 up in a game played at a ferocious pace, and was impressive in averaging 121 in set three.
He missed three match darts in the fourth set, hitting double eight with his first dart with 32 required, before missing the same target twice.
Wattimena powered back and forced a final set, despite Anderson missing more match darts at tops in set four.
Anderson went eight darts into the nine-darter in the final set, before going high on the double 12, and eventually claimed the set 5-3 to continue his quest to be the tournament’s oldest winner at 55.
He averaged 102.24 – the eighth-highest average in this year’s tournament – and was at 37.5% on the checkouts.
“It’s no good for my age. It’s hard, especially with Jermaine on you. What a game,” Anderson told Sky Sports.
“The last two games, 4-0, 4-0. I hope that’s made up for it. I’m going to lie down now.
“I bottled the nine-darter, like I bottled a lot of doubles. I was getting excited, I don’t often do that up there. But I got it done.”
Sunday’s action began with 20th seed Ryan Searle reaching the fourth round for the first time since 2021 with a 4-0 demolition of Germany’s Martin Schindler.
Horsemen from across Afghanistan converged for the dramatic final match of the nation’s prestigious annual buzkashi tournament on Kabul’s outskirts, attracting crowds that included high-ranking Taliban officials witnessing this centuries-old sporting tradition.
Buzkashi, Afghanistan’s national equestrian competition, showcases elite riders who must carry a leather-wrapped bundle – historically a goat carcass but now a weighted facsimile – across a designated goal line to earn points.
Amid swirling dust clouds kicked up by galloping horses, a victor ultimately prevailed. The winning team took a celebratory circuit around the field, proudly displaying their flag in triumph.
Afghanistan’s cherished buzkashi tournament maintains its status as a traditional sport characterised by limited formal rules and fierce physical competition.
In its classic format, two teams compete to score using what was traditionally a goat carcass, though contemporary matches utilise a leather-and-rope substitute filled with straw to replicate the weight of an animal.
Competitors – with 12 riders on each side – demonstrate extraordinary horsemanship, stretching dangerously from their mounts to retrieve the bundle from the ground before racing towards the goal while pursued by opposing riders.
Though prohibited during the Taliban’s earlier governance in the 1990s, buzkashi experienced a revival following their removal and has continued since their return to power in 2021, with government officials now attending competitions.
In this week’s championship, northern Sar-e-Pul province overwhelmed northeastern Badakhshan with a commanding 7-0 victory, concluding the 11-day national tournament. Baghlan claimed third place, while Kunduz finished fourth among the 11 provincial teams competing.
The competition featured eight international participants from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, according to Atal Mashwani, spokesman for Afghanistan’s General Directorate of Physical Education and Sports.
Corporate sponsorship from a petrol company funded the tournament, providing automobiles as prizes for the top four teams, alongside trophies, medals, and certificates.
Thousands of male spectators filled the stands at the central Kabul venue, with enthusiastic fans even climbing nearby trees and electricity pylons to gain better vantage points of the action.
Three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen says Peter Wright should retire following his emphatic defeat in the second round of the PDC World Darts Championship.
Van Gerwen said he was “not surprised by his performance” given the Scotsman’s inconsistent recent record and added that “it’s time for him to retire anyway”.
The 36-year-old Dutchman beat William O’Connor to reach the third round at Alexandra Palace.
Wright, who became world champion in 2020 and 2022, has not made it past the quarter-finals of any televised ranking tournament in the past two years.
The 55-year-old last won a European Tour event in 2024 and a Players Championship in 2022.
Wright was not selected for the 2025 Premier League Darts season and failed to qualify for the Grand Slam of Darts for the first time since 2012.
World number 86 Justin Hood beat sixth seed Danny Noppert in an Alexandra Palace classic as three more seeds exited the PDC World Championship on the final day of competition before the Christmas break.
Hood won a sudden-death leg of a high-quality match to progress to the last 32, having missed a dart at the bull to win in straight sets.
Noppert fought back to force a decider and, helped by some clutch ton-plus finishes throughout, created a victory chance for himself in a dramatic final set.
But Hood, the 32-year-old debutant, held his nerve in the final leg to land a 78 finish, setting up a third-round tie with fellow English left-hander Ryan Meikle.
Both players averaged more than 102 and hit more than 40% of their attempts at doubles.
Hood told Sky Sports: “It was a good game and I knew it would be because Danny is a class player.
“I don’t worry about the pressure, I just throw the darts and if it’s good enough, it’s good enough. Tonight it was.”
Seventeen of the 32 seeds have been knocked out in the opening two rounds of the tournament, with Noppert the highest-ranked player to fall so far.
Also beaten on Tuesday were two-time former champion Peter Wright, who lost in straight sets to German debutant Arno Merk, and Northern Ireland’s Daryl Gurney, who came out on the wrong side of a deciding set with England’s Callan Rydz.
Seventh seed James Wade suffered a fourth successive second-round exit at the PDC World Championship, losing a thrilling tie to fellow Englishman Ricky Evans.
Both players missed match darts in the deciding set, with world number 43 Evans eventually taking it 6-4 in the fifth.
Wade is the highest-ranked seed to be eliminated so far and his defeat, along with Wessel Nijman’s loss earlier on Monday, means 14 of the 32 seeded players have been knocked out.
Dutch 31st seed Nijman lost in straight sets to Germany’s Gabriel Clemens, who reached the semi-finals in 2023.
Elsewhere, Kenyan debutant David Munyua was unable to follow up his shock win over Mike de Decker in round one, winning just two legs in a 3-0 defeat by world number 40 Kevin Doets.
Scotland’s Darren Beveridge was beaten 3-1 by Latvia’s Madars Razma in Monday’s opening match.
Lim met Englishman Humphries in the first round of the 2021 World Championship and, on that occasion, Lim was a 3-2 winner.
The odds of a repeat are unlikely, given Humphries – who is 41 years younger than Lim – has gone on to have a spell of nearly two years as world number one and won multiple major titles, including the world crown in January 2024.
“If anything, I’m thankful for Paul winning that game because it changed me as a player and it changed me as a person,” Humphries said after beating Ted Evetts in round one.
“Three months later, I’d lost about four stones and I was in a major final [at the 2021 UK Open]. It helped my career.”
On those comments, Lim said: “To come across a champion who is as humble as him – when he said that, it was really a compliment to me. I’ve got nothing ever bad to say about Luke.
“With every defeat or every win, there is a spark somewhere – you’ve got to find it to spark you in the right direction. I can’t say that loss made him a world champion, but maybe it created that spark within himself to look at something differently and it turned out well for him.
“He is definitely a different Luke Humphries. He was good then, now he is great. It’s an honour to hear him calling me a legend.”
