Vaibhav Sooryavanshi told to be patient after playing back up to Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson in Sri Lanka series.
Published On 18 Sep 202618 Sep 2026
India coach Gautam Gambhir said Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will have to wait for his chance to break into the side after he left the 15-year-old prodigy on the sidelines of their three-match Twenty20 series sweep against Afghanistan.
Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson opened for India in the series, with Abhishek scoring the third-fastest century in T20 internationals in Thursday’s 127-run victory in New Delhi.
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Sooryavanshi, who was the highest scorer in this year’s Indian Premier League, made his international debut against England in July, but the top-order batter failed to make an impact as the hosts dominated India in the T20 series.
“Whether you’re a 15-year-old or a 30-year-old, when you have to wait for your opportunity, you have to wait for your opportunity,” Gambhir told reporters after the match.
“We know the kind of talent he has and what he can do, but someone who has been performing for the last two to three years will always be ahead of someone who has just entered the team.”
Sooryavanshi will travel to Nagoya for India’s Asian Games campaign, with a one-off T20 against hosts Japan set for Tuesday before the Asiad quarterfinal on September 28.
“Whenever he gets his run, he will get a longer run as well … We want competition and talent in the dressing room,” Gambhir added.
Fenerbahce president refuses Ismail Kartal’s resignation after fans threw bottles at coach in Roma Champions League tie.
Published On 11 Sep 202611 Sep 2026
Fenerbahce coach Ismail Kartal quit his role with the Turkish club after he was targeted by a bottle thrown from the crowd during hit side’s 1-1 Champions League draw with Roma on Thursday, only for his president to reject the resignation minutes later.
The 65-year-old Kartal told a press conference he was leaving “never to return”, adding that he had taken the decision “to clear the way for the club”.
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Immediately after the press conference, Fenerbahce president Aziz Yildirim told reporters that Kartal “continues in his role”.
“Some fans threw a bottle at the coach’s head this evening during the game. He is upset about it,” Yildirim said.
“I just spoke to Ismail Kartal. He mentioned the bottle incident and he also complained about being under pressure.”
Asked if Kartal had told him that he would stay, Yildirim said: “There’s no need for him to say (openly) that he’d continue. I am his senior, I told him to continue and that’s it. We are a family.”
Kartal, who spent a decade at Fenerbahce as a player, coached the club in 2014-15, then on an interim basis in 2021-22 before returning for a full campaign in 2023-24. He was assistant manager at Fenerbahce the last two times the club won the Super Lig and returned for a fourth managerial spell in June.
Fenerbahce have finished second in the Turkish top flight in the last five seasons and reached the league phase of the Champions League this season for the first time in 18 years.
GENEVA: A road accident involving a tourist coach in eastern Switzerland has left several people dead and others injured, police said on Thursday.
The accident happened between the communes of Susch and Zernez in the far-eastern canton of Graubunden.
“Several people died in the coach crash in Susch. Several others were also injured,” the cantonal police said on X, without giving details on the circumstances of the accident or the victims’ identities.
Footage broadcast by Swiss media showed many rescue workers rushing about around the coach, which has overturned onto its side below the road, and helicopters stationed nearby.
According to the Swiss press, the bus belonged to the Dutch Oad tour operator, which offers trips across Europe.
Zernez is the entry point for visitors to the Swiss national park, a vast Alpine reserve stretching more than 100 square kilometers (40 square miles) across the mountainous Engadine valley.
RIYADH: After more than 20 years in the legal and investment sectors, Khadija Grabinski transitioned into executive coaching, where she helps leaders navigate change through meaningful conversations.
Having lived in Saudi Arabia for the past year, she also shares her experience of the Kingdom on social media, offering an authentic perspective on its culture, people, and transformation.
Grabinski and her husband moved to the Kingdom from the US and she felt this new period of her life was an opportunity to make some changes.
The daily routine she and her husband experienced during their time in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic inspired them to explore opportunities and make changes.
“I spent 20 years in my field (as a litigator), so I guess it was enough … it was the right moment for me to change and to be more connected to people. This is why I chose to transition,” she said.
Grabinski added that her new work life allows her to have meaningful conversations with people, providing them the space to talk about how they want to grow in professionally.
“I mean, for me, meaningful conversation gives more clarity. You think better. I mean, when you talk to people, even friends, and when you are in the deep conversation, it becomes like something more clear. You know where you are going. So this is why.”
When Saudi Arabia launched Vision 2030 in 2016, much of the world’s attention focused on its bold plans for economic diversification and landmark development projects.
Yet, nearly a decade later, the social transformation unfolding across Saudi Arabia has proven every bit as significant. Anchored in Vision 2030’s vibrant society pillar, this transformation is reshaping daily life in the Kingdom.
“As a coach, what I see is the other side of the transformation. It’s like people are excited for the future, but at the same time, they feel the pressure. So, they are wondering if their job will be the same in five or 10 years.”
Grabinski added that leaders in today’s environment leaders have to acquire more skills, reinvent themselves, or simply adapt because there is both excitement and uncertainty.
“For a country that grew that fast, which is totally normal to be honest, there is what I call growing pains. You know, like (when a) teenager (grows) too fast, it’s the same for a company. For people and for countries. So, there were some growing pains,” she said.
She added that today’s successful leaders need to possess interpersonal communication skills, which machines and artificial intelligence cannot easily replicate.
“Leaders will need to communicate better. Listen more. And help their teams to navigate uncertainty and lead by example. Always and where do you see emotional intelligence being basically a huge factor of that, like, how is that going to turn into a valuable skill set for a leader?
“I mean, by learning, the need to learn, it’s like a muscle, leadership,” she said.
Grabinski shares her experiences and opinions about living in Saudi Arabia through her accounts titled Simone Executive Coach|Common Ground on TikTok and Instagram.
Dambrauskas says he had known since the age of 12 he would not make it as a player, but coaching would keep him close to football.
He arrived in London in August 2002 aged 25 on a student visa with limited English.
What followed would be eight years of hard work where he would coach for community projects, at a semi-professional club, within professional youth programmes – and hold down multiple jobs while raising two children.
In 2004 he enrolled on a course in sports science and coaching at London Metropolitan University, the first real step in his career.
Then he started out coaching by volunteering with the Access to Sports Project for deprived children in Finsbury Park.
He went on to work with London Tigers, a charitable community organisation which runs teams from junior level right through to semi-professional.
Starting out as a volunteer, across five years he progressed to manage the first team in non-league football in the Spartan South Midlands League, FA Cup and FA Vase.
Dambrauskas became the first Lithuanian to achieve a Uefa coaching licence through the London Football Association.
“I went on every possible course, every possible conference, London Football Coaches Association meetings,” Dambrauskas said.
“Everywhere I could go just to gain some information, some knowledge, some extra diploma, extra course.
“That was very important for me and I took my chances.”
He got his first break at a professional club when Manchester United Soccer Schools took a chance on him in 2004.
Dambrauskas spent five years coaching on residential courses in the UK and in Europe.
“That was the best thing that could happen in my life,” Dambrauskas said.
“I went through three or four interviews. I will be forever grateful to [Foundation chief executive] John Shiels, the way he gave me this chance, because I didn’t have experience.
“I’d never been in a place with so many great personalities as I got in the Manchester United Soccer Schools.”
After a short spell with Fulham, Dambrauskas moved to Brentford. He credits academy director Ose Aibangee as one of the biggest influences on his career, pushing his limits.
All the while he was juggling home life and working multiple jobs to make ends meet.
“I was a gardener, a handyman, doing newspaper rounds at the beginning, also polishing floors in a pub,” Dambrauskas said.
“So many jobs. Working in retail, and then as a sports development officer, then a sports development manager, and the central YMCA.
“I was doing two, three, sometimes four jobs.”
As well as the trip to Manchester United this week, Sabah will complete their Champions League group games at Arsenal in January.
This also feels like fate for Dambrauskas – one of the buildings at London Metropolitan University on Holloway Road overlooked Emirates Stadium.
When asked about his time in England, Dambrauskas’ face lights up.
“When I hear this word ‘England’, it for me sounds like opportunities,” Dambrauskas said.
“It was really amazing. England gave me all this and I’ll forever be grateful.”
Two points from three matches is their worst start since the 2007-08 season, when PSG came close to relegation.
Published On 5 Sep 20265 Sep 2026
Paris Saint-Germain have not had as poor a start to a league season for 19 years, with Friday’s home loss to Monaco leaving them winless after three matches in the Ligue 1 season.
Days before they begin the defence of their Champions League title, however, the Parisians have handed coach Luis Enrique a contract extension until 2030.
“There is no reason to be concerned. I say that honestly. How many shots on target did Monaco have? Two. How many goals? Two. We’ll see at the end of the season whether things balance out,” he said after Friday’s 2-1 setback in which they were ahead at halftime but conceded twice after the break.
“What I want to get across is that you shouldn’t look only at the result,” Luis Enrique added.
“We pressed sensationally, much better than in many matches when we did not concede a goal. But luck was not on our side.
“Monaco know that if they play against us like this 10 times, we win eight, there’d be one draw and we’d lose once. This was that one defeat,” Luis Enrique insisted as PSG look ahead to hosting Slovan Bratislava on Wednesday in their first Champions League group game, chasing a third successive European title.
Two points from three matches is their worst start since the 2007-08 season, when PSG came close to relegation, finishing 16th. In that campaign, Paul Le Guen’s side had to wait until their sixth league game to record a victory and ended up only three points above the relegation places.
This time round, the Parisians are already seven points off the pace.
“It is incredible motivation for my players, for the team and for the club. If you want to bet on who will be champions at the end of the season, we can place a bet. Seven points? OK, we will try to make up that deficit as quickly as possible,” the coach added.
Carlos Queiroz has been reappointed as head coach of Ghana’s men’s national team.
The 73-year-old, who had two spells as assistant manager at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson, took charge of the Black Stars in April and led the side to the last 32 at this year’s Fifa World Cup, where they were beaten 1-0 by Colombia.
Queiroz appeared to announce his own departure on social media shortly after that defeat, but the Ghana Football Association (GFA) has decided to re-engage him for another spell in charge following internal discussions.
The GFA has not announced the length of his new deal but said he will prepare the team for “a successful new phase on the international stage”.
“The GFA believes Queiroz’s extensive international experience, technical expertise and knowledge of the Black Stars position him strongly to lead the team into this next chapter,” a statement added.
Queiroz has previously led Iran, Portugal and Egypt at major tournaments and has had stints in charge of South Africa, Colombia and Qatar.
Further details on his mandate will be announced by the GFA in due course.
Queiroz will begin his second spell in charge of the West Africans with qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, which begin later this month.
The Black Stars are yet to announce the dates and venues for their first two fixtures in Group C, where they have been drawn alongside Ivory Coast, The Gambia and Somalia.
UCLA has fired athletic director Martin Jarmond and appointed longtime Lakers executive Tim Harris to replace him as CEO and director of athletics.
UCLA chancellor Julio Frenkannounced the change on Monday, ending Jarmond’s run of more than six years that included a stunning move to the Big Ten Conference, a string of conference championships outside of football and a significant financial deficit.
“UCLA Athletics currently carries a significant financial deficit, and its current path is not sustainable,” Frenk wrote. “Now is the moment to build a model for Athletics that protects the breadth of our program, creates new opportunities for student-athletes and coaches, and supports itself through the revenue it generates. I believe UCLA should help lead the transformation of intercollegiate athletics: our future must be shaped by purpose — not by pressure.”
Frenk cited the rapidly evolving college landscape, including the soaring costs associated with the name, image and likeness athlete compensation era, while announcing the need to shift to Harris’ leadership. Harris is a UCLA alum who spent more than 35 years helping run the Lakers’ business operations.
“Tim will develop a new strategy to grow revenue through partnerships, licensing and other ventures, while ensuring that our student-athletes and coaches have the required support to compete at the highest level,” Frenk wrote in a letter to UCLA fans while outlining a new direction for the athletics program.
It’s not clear whether Jarmond will receive all or part of the $5.9 million remaining on a recent contract extension that runs through June 30, 2029.
While UCLA enjoyed success in many sports and led the Big Ten in championships during its first season in the league, Jarmond struggled to get the football program on track until he collaborated with a committee on the hire of current coach Bob Chesney.
Fans called for coach Chip Kelly to be fired after bad home losses to Arizona State and California near the end of the 2023 season, but Jarmond said he preferred continuity with the Bruins poised to join the Big Ten. It seemed Kelly’s contract combined with the an athletic department deficit gave the athletic director little room to make a change.
Two months later, after reportedly interviewing for several coaching vacancies, Kelly took the offensive coordinator job at Ohio State.
Self-imposing a 96-hour deadline to find a successor, Jarmond pivoted to Deshaun Foster, a reticent running backs coach who was beloved by players but short on experience. After posting a 5-10 record and going 0-3 to start the 2025 season, Foster was fired. His contract presented fewer hurdles making a quick change when Foster struggled with the demands of the job.
The football program won one bowl game — the L.A. Bowl — during Jarmond’s tenure and set record lows for attendance in multiple seasons.
Jarmond, however, also presided over teams that won nine NCAA championships, including the women’s basketball national title last season.
At the end of the 2024 fiscal year, UCLA athletics carried $51.8 million in debt that required a university bailout. Big Ten revenue has dented the deficit, but the expense of fielding competitive teams in all sports is soaring.
Pakistan have responded to their series defeat by England by taking the extraordinary step of dropping seven players, calling up five uncapped players and releasing their head coach.
After two one-sided defeats in the first two Tests, the tourists have revamped their squad and backroom staff for the third and final match of the series at Edgbaston.
Five of the players dropped – Muhammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Ali Usman and Khurram Shahzad – have featured in the series so far, while Aamir Jamal and Muhammad Awais Jafar have been sent home without playing.
A total of seven players have been called up. Batters Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal have previous Test experience and join the quintet of uncapped newcomers.
Spin-bowling all-rounder Arafat Minhas, left-arm seamer Mohammed Imran Jr, wicketkeeper Said Baig and all-rounders Mohammad Imran and Razaullah have all received call-ups.
In addition, head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and his assistant Umar Gul have been released to be replaced by Pakistan white-ball coach Mike Hesson and former Australia seamer Ashley Noffke.
The third Test in Birmingham begins on 9 September.
Pakistan have been abject in the opening two Tests, losing the first at Headingley by an innings and the second at Lord’s by 194 runs. They have been bowled out for less than 200 in each of their four innings.
The response is remarkable. For a touring team to send home seven players and the head coach mid-series is unprecedented.
Pakistan have a history of making eccentric decisions in the wake of defeats. On England’s last tour of Pakistan in 2024, the hosts responded to losing the first Test, when England made a total in excess of 800, by playing the second Test on the same pitch in Multan.
On that occasion, Pakistan used garden heaters and fans to dry the surface, to assist their spinners. The home side won the next two Tests to win the series 2-1.
Teenager struggled in Barca’s La Liga start at Elche but improves against Athletic Bilbao, according to Hansi Flick.
Published On 30 Aug 202630 Aug 2026
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has indicated that teenage star Lamine Yamal is finding his way back to his “top level” before Monday’s La Liga clash against Rayo Vallecano.
The 19-year-old struggled in Barca’s first match of the season at Elche but improved against Athletic Bilbao in the second, Flick said, although he did not find the net.
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“I know everyone is worried about how is Lamine, how is he doing. And of course, look at his situation – he played a World Cup after a huge injury,” Flick told reporters on Sunday.
Flick said the Spanish World Cup winner is returning to his best, which Yamal has not hit since suffering a hamstring injury in April.
The winger returned at the World Cup but, despite Spain’s success, had limited individual impact at the tournament.
“Now he’s coming back after three weeks holiday, and also the first game maybe was not his best game.
“But I said this, I was very happy that he starts the game and he worked for the team.”
Yamal disappointed in the first half against Athletic on Thursday but stepped up a gear after the break.
“He played 90 minutes against Bilbao. And for him at the moment, it’s also good to [have] 90 minutes on the pitch,” Flick continued.
“We saw him in some situations really on this top level. And now, you couldn’t see this in the training today, but I saw it, and it was excellent.
“Everyone loves Lamine, and he’s in a good way. And we have to support him, and we do that.”
Yamal seemed in a bad mood after the game against Elche but happier in training before the Rayo clash.
“Of course, it’s always good when the players are smiling, but it’s not every day the same way,” Flick added.
“I’m also not smiling every day. It’s like that.”
Barca won both of their opening fixtures with Raphinha playing as a makeshift number nine after the champions were unable to land top target Julian Alvarez from Atletico Madrid.
“Of course, I’m happy with my team. [Sporting director] Deco is working on that to strengthen the team. We don’t have pressure,” Flick said, reiterating he is content with the players available to him if Barca don’t sign a new striker.
What’s more impressive: Dylan O’Leary, the 25-year-old rookie football coach at San Dimas High, or Dylan O’Leary, the math teacher who graduated from UCLA and got his master’s at La Verne?
He’s good in both roles. San Dimas has started 2-0, with wins over Glendora (24-21) and Chaffey (44-8). His father, Tim, was a longtime baseball coach at Covina. Dylan spent four years as an assistant coach at South Hills.
He used to be a three-sport athlete at San Dimas, which has long used the Wing-T offense in football. When O’Leary was interviewed for the job, one of the first questions was, “Are you going to run the same offense?”
He was truthful in saying no.
San Dimas has switched to a spread offense. O’Leary has helped himself by adding lots of experienced assistant coaches and former head coaches.
Even though O’Leary is young, he’s earned respect in the classroom and on the field. He’s a full-time math teacher with a teaching credential. Even when he was 22 and teaching math to 17- and 18-year-olds at Chino Hills, few were skeptical about his youth.
“I’ve never really had an issue with my age,” he said.
In a time when it’s tough getting a full-time teaching job at such a young age and when coaches are mostly walk-ons, O’Leary is in position to make himself very valuable.
And, if the wins keep piling up, San Dimas might need to put a fence around his classroom so no one steals him away.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
Carsley said the 45-year-old Cole, who retired from playing in 2019 before going into coaching, had a “positive, inspirational impact on his players”.
“I want to pay tribute to Ashley who played a major part in our two Euro wins and also had a key role in the current campaign with his tactical and technical knowledge,” he added.
“I am certain he will have even more success in his coaching career whatever the future holds.”
After completing his coaching badges at Derby County under Frank Lampard, Cole worked in Chelsea’s academy before further spells assisting managers at Everton, Birmingham City – under Wayne Rooney – and then England during Carsley’s brief spell as interim boss of the senior side in 2024.
Cole took over as head coach of Serie B club Cesena in March after feeling “discouraged” within the English football pyramid from succeeding in a managerial role.
He left the role in June, external after discussions with the club’s sporting director regarding a “change in the club’s strategy”.
As a player Cole won 107 England caps and secured multiple trophies with Arsenal and Chelsea, including three Premier League titles, the Champions League, the Europa League, seven FA Cups and one League Cup.
Precision and execution on punts and kickoffs can pin teams in their own end zones, stopping drives before they even get started.
Electric returners can flip the field and change the trajectory of a game in one play.
And a big foot can mitigate the pressure of a two-minute drill and create scoring opportunities as far as midfield.
No one may understand that more than UCLA coach Bob Chesney, who served as the special teams coordinator at King’s College from 2003-04 and at Johns Hopkins from 2005-08.
Chesney’s emphasis on the third phase of the game followed him from his time in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., to Westwood, where he incorporates special team periods throughout every practice.
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While some coaches have specialists practice by themselves or use special teams periods sporadically through practice, Chesney ensures that everyone is involved, using players to distract kickers during field-goal attempts and returns, with the Bruins shouting, spraying water and running at specialists to simulate game-like scenarios.
In a game often decided by thin margins, special teams could be what pushes a team over the edge or what holds it back.
Let’s take a closer look at the changes Chesney and his staff have made to UCLA’s special teams personnel and how the group could fare in 2026.
Before analyzing the personnel, one of the biggest additions to the unit came in special teams coordinator Drew Canan, who followed Chesney from James Madison to UCLA and has led Chesney’s special teams units during the last 13 seasons.
UCLA’s Mateen Bhaghani hits a game-winning field goal with four seconds left against Maryland at Rose Bowl on Oct. 18.
(Harry How / Getty Images)
Kicker Mateen Bhaghani is arguably one of the highest impact Bruins returnees.
He has played 34 games across two years at UCLA and one season at California in 2023. During his three-year career, Bhaghani has hit 44 of 53 of his field-goal attempts and 71 of 71 extra points.
Despite his consistency, Bhaghani was not on the 2026 Lou Groza Award preseason watch list, an honor presented annually to the best college kicker in the country.
“That motivates me, but I don’t focus on it too hard,” Bhaghani said. “Seeing those types of things, I definitely feel like I could be one of those dudes, but I kind of ignore it. And I feel like this season I’ll show why I should be on that list, if not win it.”
The San Diego native has started all 24 of UCLA’s games during his two seasons in Westwood, nailing 36 of his 44 field-goal attempts, including five out his nine attempts from at least 50 yards.
Punter Chase Barry, who spent three seasons at UCLA and one at Oklahoma State, is back in Westwood. He was Bhaghani’s holder in 2024, helping the kicker hit 20 field goals, which led the Big Ten and ranked No. 11 among all kickers nationally.
As the season opener looms, Bhaghani is less focused on the technical side of his game and is placing more emphasis on sharpening the psychological side so that he can thrive under pressure.
“It’s all mental. The tougher I can sharpen my mental game to where it doesn’t matter what’s going on around me, I can go in there and make that kick. That’s what I feel is most important,” Bhaghani said. “Just being in pressure situations, it’s not as much technique and tweaking stuff like that right now. I feel like that’s more for the offseason. Whereas as we get closer to the season, I just focus on hitting a pure ball and working with the operation.”
Bhaghani proved his aptitude in high-pressure situations when he hit a 23-yard game-winning field goal against Maryland on Oct. 18 with two seconds remaining.
In addition to training mental toughness and familiarity with personnel, Chesney’s emphasis on special teams in practice has prepared Bhaghani for a high-impact year heading into his senior season.
UCLA coach Bob Chesney directs players during a preseason workout on Aug. 6.
(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)
“Coach Chesney has been a blessing, special teams-wise. He’s always there for me, and he has a clear line of communication in terms of where we should kick, when we should kick,” Bhaghani said. “The culture that he’s brought to special teams as the heartbeat of the team, it’s important, and every team needs to implement that.”
Bhaghani said that freshman long snapper Giancarlo Cereghino — who was tabbed as the top long snapper in his class by 247Sports — would probably be the starting long snapper on field goals, and that the first-year player had been snapping well throughout preseason.
Fifth-year long snapper Salem Abdul-Wahab will most likely handle long-snapping duties for punts after doing so in all 12 games last year.
The biggest change in the special teams department will undoubtedly come at punter, where the Bruins lost their starter from 2025 in Will Karoll, who transferred to Texas Tech in the offseason.
Karoll punted 44 for times on a 43.5-yard average, with 13 downed inside the 20-yard line and just two touchbacks.
The Bruins added Sam Houston transfer punter Curtis Gerrand, who will probably start against Cal after an impressive spring and preseason camp.
At Sam Houston, Gerrand played in all 12 games as a true freshman, punting 64 times for a 43-yard average, including a long of 72 yards, and placed 22 punts inside the opponents 20-yard line.
Rounding out the punter room is sophomore Lennox Miller. The Sydney, Australia, native did not see any game action during his true freshman season at UCLA, but he was ranked as the ninth best punter in his class by Chris Sailer Kicking and a three-star recruit by ESPN. However. Miller will again have a tough time seeing game action in 2026 with the likes of Gerrand and Barry ahead of him.
In the kicking department, following Bhaghani is freshman Mateo Orosco, who probably will not play unless Bhaghani is injured, but was praised by Chesney during preseason camp.
“These two kickers are pretty good. They’re fun to watch and they’re going to battle the whole way through and I’m excited to just watch,” Chesney said. “You know how good Mateen is, but Mateo will be under him and watch this and follow, and just have that to learn from, it’s pretty exciting to watch those two go.”
Bruins on deck
Here are all UCLA games and exhibitions scheduled to be played this week across all sports:
MONDAY, AUG. 24
Men’s soccer vs. CSU Bakersfield, 7 p.m.
THURSDAY, AUG. 27
Women’s soccer at Stanford, 7:30 p.m.
FRIDAY, AUG. 28
Men’s water polo at Cal (exhibition), 5 p.m.
Men’s soccer vs. Denver, 7 p.m.
Women’s volleyball vs. Long Beach State, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY, AUG. 29
Men’s water polo vs. Saint Mary’s in La Jolla (Triton Invitational), 9:20 a.m.
Men’s water polo vs. Bucknell in La Jolla (Triton Invitational), 4 p.m.
Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email newsletters editor Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Carr won seven of his 21 Super League matches in charge and leaves with the Tigers ninth in the 14-team table.
Chester, who has led the team in the past two matches, said last week that they were not “actively looking” for a new head coach.
Owner Martin Jepson said he was “sorry” that Carr had left the club.
“We have had a difficult set of circumstances to deal with and unfortunately not been in a position to provide more information to the fans. However, our actions have been, and always will be, in the best interests of the club,” he said.
Jepson confirmed that Jason Netherton would assist Chester and Luke Robinson for the remaining four games of the campaign.
The Tigers visit St Helens on Saturday, looking to build on last week’s win at Hull FC.
The San Diego Padres minor league catching coordinator is in the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and will remain so “pending removal proceedings,” a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday in a statement.
Oswaldo Pirela, a former Texas Rangers minor league player, was detained Sunday morning at El Paso International Airport.
Pirela, 34, was flying to Phoenix, where he lives with his wife and two daughters. The Padres’ triple-A affiliate is the El Paso Chihuahuas, and Pirela was with the team during its home game Saturday night against the Salt Lake City Bees, an Angels affiliate.
The Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Pirela came to the United States from his native Venezuela in September 2014 and that his permission to remain expired Feb. 10, 2018.
Homeland Security said Pirela was not carrying his work permit at the time he was detained. Pirela’s brother Juan Pirela presented Phoenix multimedia news organization Arizona’s Family with Oswaldo’s work permit, which indicated it was issued in 2024 and is valid until 2029.
“It’s very hard. He’s authorized to work in the United States,” Juan Pirela said. “So, the same department, Homeland Security, issues a work permit but then somehow it’s not enough.”
The Homeland Security statement addressed the issue: “To be clear, work authorization or a pending application do NOT confer legal status in the United States.”
“In violation of our nation’s laws, [Pirela] overstayed his welcome. When approached by law enforcement officers, he was not in possession of legal documentation granting him status in the country. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings and will receive due process.
As a roving catching instructor, Pirela is based out of the Padres’ spring-training complex in Peoria, Ariz., and travels to the organization’s minor league affiliates in San Antonio, Fort Wayne, Ind., and Lake Elsinore in addition to El Paso. He spent the 2024 season as bench coach for the Class-A Lake Elsinore Storm and became the organization’s catching coordinator in 2025.
“We recently became aware of the detainment of minor league catching coordinator Oswaldo Pirela in El Paso, Texas,” the Padres club said in a statement. “We are working to gather additional information and will not have any further comment at this time.”
Pirela was signed by the Rangers at age 17 out of Barquisimeto, Venezuela, and played catcher, first base and the outfield from 2009 to 2011 for the team’s Dominican Republic Summer League affiliate.
With an ever-present smile, infectious spirit and larger-than-life personality, defensive back Cole Martin is always undeniably himself.
And that was evident when he introduced himself — alongside defensive backs Rodrick Pleasant and Scooter Jackson — to Bob Chesney during the head football coach’s first day in the UCLA facility.
“That’s him from Day One,” Chesney said, noting Martin has never changed the high energy he brought to the program on the day they met.
Martin is no stranger to the Bruins.
The Pasadena native grew up around the program and attended UCLA games at the Rose Bowl, where his dad, Demetrice Martin, was the defensive backs coach from 2012-2017.
“Growing up as a kid running around here, I just want to see this university back on top,” Martin said during UCLA spring workouts.
And while Cole Martin spent his first two seasons at Oregon and Arizona State, the defensive back followed his father back to Westwood ahead of the 2025 season.
During his inaugural year as a Bruin, Martin was one of three players to start all 12 games and ranked fourth on the team in total tackles with 65.
But after a 3-9 season, during which former head coach DeShaun Foster, defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe and offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri departed the program, Cole entered the transfer portal.
And while his father left for Arizona State to become a defensive analyst, Martin, alongside Jackson and Pleasant, ultimately decided to stay after meeting Chesney and hearing his vision.
“California boys, we are all here after coaches parted and we were up here, and Chesney came and we had a conversation with him and we all got together after and we were like, ‘He’s different,’” Martin said. “Being able to have that conversation and be genuine with your brothers who you had a hard season with, and you got a coach that is trying to change the whole trajectory. You have got to believe in somebody, and he’s somebody you can believe in.”
UCLA defensive back Cole Martin lines up on the field during the Bruins’ 2025 spring game.
(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)
After his first meeting with Chesney, Martin withdrew his name from the portal and got to work in Westwood.
While 10 transfers Chesney brought with him from James Madison know his system, Martin has demonstrated a natural understanding of the coach’s values.
Chesney selected Martin to be one of his first ambassadors to regional and national media outlets covering Big Ten football media days in Chicago, joining linebacker Sammy Omosigho and quarterback Nico Iamaleava representing the Bruins. Chesney called Martin an unbelievable leader and said that his energy will give people a window into what his program strives to look like.
“You just felt Cole’s personality and his infectious positivity, and I just said, ‘Man, we need this kid to stay. This kid is what I feel like our team should be like on a day-to-day basis,’ and he’s done a really good job of that,” Chesney said Monday while recalling his first impression of Martin.
Martin said Chesney’s focus on a family culture and competition has helped him thrive in a deep, experienced defensive back group.
“It’s a brotherhood. He does a great job of making sure that everybody buys into building that relationship with your brother next to you, the little things, such as more talking in the locker room, or doing things extra,” Martin said of Chesney. “He’s done a great job at doing that and it feels like a full brotherhood here.”
Chesney said that Cole is recovering from a minor injury during preseason camp, but he refuses to let his absence on the turf affect his impact on the squad.
“He’s been out for a little bit here, working through a muscle thing, but he’s still present,” Chesney said. “You watch him move around; he’s really close right now, and he’ll never stop being himself, which is great.”
Video obtained by The Times shows Royal High football coach Adam Brubaker kicking a football toward a student and hitting him in the groin area, which has resulted in the school beginning an investigation on the eve of the team opening its season on Friday.
Brubaker is no longer coaching the team, with the existing coaching staff taking over and the team still planning to play Monroe on Friday, according to a Simi Valley Unified School District official.
Brubaker, a former Panorama coach, took over as head coach at Royal in the middle of the 2025 season.
