coach

He wasn’t under the watchful eye of Chargers executive director of player performance Ben Herbert this offseason. He didn’t train in the team’s El Segundo practice facility. But it doesn’t mean Rashawn Slater wasn’t working this offseason.

Making his first offseason appearance at the Chargers’ facility this week as the team started mandatory minicamp, Slater immediately passed the team’s conditioning test. In fact, Jim Harbaugh said, Slater reported the test was too easy.

“Too easy,” the coach said, “because he trains.”

Slater’s return highlighted the Chargers’ perfect attendance on the first day of three-day minicamp Tuesday. The star left tackle had missed all of voluntary organized team activities while in discussions for a contract extension.

Since the Chargers took him 13th overall in 2021, Slater has earned two Pro Bowl appearances and was named second-team All-Pro in 2021. After the team picked up his fifth-year option last season, Slater reestablished himself as one of the top tackles in the league with the second-best overall grade and third-best pass blocking grade among his position, according to Pro Football Focus. In the final year of his contract, he is due to make about $19 million in 2025, which ranks sixth-most among left tackles, according to overthecap.com.

“Speaking on behalf of everyone in the organization, fully support Rashawn and what he’s trying to accomplish for himself and his family,” said Harbaugh, who added he chooses not to worry about discussions as they continue between general manager Joe Hortiz and Slater’s representatives. “We’re all in support.”

Slater has maintained his standing in the organization because of his respected work ethic that earned him the distinction of being a team captain last season. Harbaugh counts Slater as part of an exclusive club made up of the team’s nine hardest workers. The coach’s so-called “Elite Nine” also includes Derwin James Jr., Khalil Mack, Joe Alt, Ladd McConkey, Daiyan Henley, Tuli Tuipulotu, Zion Johnson and Justin Herbert.

Now in his second year at the helm, Harbaugh expects confidence and polish during training camp from experienced players. The coach has already found a standard bearer in Herbert, who is still searching for his first NFL playoff win after having four passes intercepted in last year’s wild-card loss to Houston,

“I wouldn’t change a thing about Justin Herbert,” Harbaugh said. “I think the important thing is everyone else, especially the guys he’s counting on, on the offensive side of the ball, just look at his example, how he goes about his business, how he trains and they attempt to get to that level.”

The quarterback’s training was so relentless that he missed his planned media availability Tuesday. He was lifting instead.

J.K. Dobbins signs with Denver Broncos

Former Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins signed a reported one-year, $5.25-million deal with the Denver Broncos on Tuesday after the Chargers placed a rarely used unrestricted free-agent tender on the 25-year-old. The Chargers would have had Dobbins’ exclusive negotiating rights if he hadn’t signed with another team by July 23.

Dobbins is coming off a career-high 905 yards rushing last season when he finished as the runner-up for the NFL’s comeback player of the year in his first full season since 2020. But his return to the Chargers has been in question since the team picked running back Omarion Hampton 22nd overall in April’s draft.

Hampton, who rushed for 1,660 yards and 15 touchdowns as a junior at North Carolina, has joined with free-agent addition Najee Harris to form an impressive one-two backfield punch.

“I like Omarion, how he’s hitting the hole,” James Jr., said when asked which rookies are standing out to him. “Can’t really tell right now, but I like Omarion a lot.”

Hampton leads a rookie class that Harbaugh lauded as being “as good of a rookie class as I’ve ever been around in terms of being about their business.”

“Being where they’re supposed to be when they’re supposed to be there,” Harbaugh said. “We have to kick them out of the building.”

But even the staff’s best attempts sometimes aren’t enough. Harbaugh said he often notices the rookies looking for safe harbor in other rooms.

Etc.

The Chargers brought in receiver Willie Snead IV for a veteran tryout. The 32-year-old last played in an NFL game in 2023, appearing in four games for the San Francisco 49ers, catching two passes for 14 yards.

The City Section held its annual football coaches meeting Monday in the Rams’ locker room at SoFi Stadium, and the newest head coach was introduced. It’s 33-year-old James Boyd, who was a star quarterback and four-sport athlete at L.A. Jordan during his high school days, signed with USC as a defensive end and is returning to take over his alma mater.

His high school coach at Jordan, Elijah Asante, is now head coach at Hamilton and said he expects Boyd to do a good job inspiring Jordan players because of his own success story.

A lot of news came out of the meeting.

View Park Prep dropped its football program for the 2025 season. That might help nearby Crenshaw, which has struggled to fill its football roster.

Terrence Williams has replaced Monty Gilbreath as the football coach at Gardena, which means the Marine League will have new coaches at Gardena, Banning, Carson and Narbonne. The only returning coach is Corey Walsh at San Pedro.

After 13 years of trying, the Los Angeles Unified School District has approved schools to use student body funds to pay for HUDL, which helps coaches handle videos of players and games. Previously, coaches had to write checks, use personal credit cards or seek help from booster clubs.

San Fernando and Sylmar have agreed to play their Valley Mission League game at the Coliseum on Oct. 17. There also will be a girls’ flag football game and JV game.

The City Section has changed its mercy rule. If a team leads by 42 or more points at halftime, a running clock will begin. Also, if a team leads by 35 or more points in the fourth quarter, that leads to a running clock.

Coaches and adults are facing increased penalties if they are ejected from games for unsportsmanlike behavior. Coaches are expected to receive a three-game suspension for being ejected. Parents who are ejected from a game will receive a three-game ban.

The City Section sit-out period for transferring without moving ends on Thursday, Sept. 25. More teams have been playing on Thursdays because of an officials shortage, so this helps teams that would be at a disadvantage if the date was on a Friday.

Official practice begins on July 28.

Schools must exchange rosters before games.

There was a discussion about adding boys’ flag football, but there was no consensus on what part of the school year would be viable and concerns were raised about whether it would further deteriorate 11-man rosters.

Crenshaw coach Robert Garrett will start the season this fall with 290 career victories.

Meanwhile, Tottenham are expected to confirm the departure of chief football officer Scott Munn this week.

The Australian administrator, who joined Spurs in 2023, is understood to have left the north London club amid an internal reshuffle.

Munn was a key figure in the appointment of fellow Australian Postecoglou in June 2023.

Vinai Venkatesham started in his role as new chief executive last Monday, while executive director Donna Cullen left the club.

Munn’s exit is another significant change in what is gearing up to be a crucial summer for Tottenham ahead of next season.

In addition to their search for new men’s and women’s head coaches, Fabio Paratici, the club’s former managing director of football, is in talks over a return to the club once his Fifa ban for alleged financial irregularities linked to his time at Juventus expires in July.

The Italian has been working with Spurs on a consultancy basis during his suspension, with the process towards his permanent reappointment ongoing.

There has been interest from the Middle East in Paratici, but it is understood he is keen to rejoin Tottenham.

Mary Alice Vignola scored the equalizer in the 80th minute and Angel City salvaged a 2-2 draw with the Chicago Stars at BMO Stadium on Saturday night.

Angel City (4-4-3) took a 1-0 lead into halftime on Kennedy Fuller’s goal from inside the box in the 29th minute.

Chicago (1-8-2) made it 1-1 just before the hour mark when an attempted cross from substitute Nadia Gomes took a wild deflection and looped over the head of goalkeeper Angelina Anderson.

The Stars went up 2-1 up when Ally Schlegel scored from 25 yards out in the 66th minute. Anderson got one hand to the shot but could only tip the ball onto the crossbar and into the back of the net.

Vignola rocketed in a rebound from close range to make it 2-2.

The tie was Alex Straus’ first game as Angel City coach. Straus, who has never previously coached in the NWSL, arrived from Bayern Munich last week.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Tyrese Haliburton and the never-say-die Indiana Pacers pulled off yet another last-second comeback, this time on the NBA’s biggest stage.

Haliburton’s 21-foot jumper with 0.3 seconds left gave Indiana its first and only lead of the game, and the Pacers stunned the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-110 on Thursday night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals after a comeback for the ages.

“Man, basketball’s fun,” Haliburton said. “Winning is fun.”

Especially like this.

The Pacers turned the ball over 25 times, trailed by 15 points in the fourth quarter against a team with the best home record in the NBA and had no answers for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — the NBA MVP who led all scorers with 38 points.

But they had the league’s new Mr. Big Shot, who has now had one of these moments in every series the Pacers have played in these playoffs.

— April 29, Indiana trailed Milwaukee 118-111 with 34.6 seconds left in overtime. Haliburton scored with 1.4 seconds remaining and the Pacers won 119-118.

— May 6, Indiana trailed Cleveland 119-112 with 48 seconds left and won 120-119. Haliburton got the winner with 1.1 seconds to play.

— May 21, Indiana trailed New York 121-112 with 51.1 seconds left in regulation. Haliburton sent it to overtime on a jumper with no time on the clock; Indiana won 138-135.

Now, this.

“We’ve had lots of experience in these kinds of games,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.

The Pacers were down by 15 with 9:42 left, their rally the biggest in the fourth quarter of a finals game since Dallas also came from 15 down to beat Miami on June 2, 2011.

Carlisle coached those Mavericks. And, well, here he is again.

“That’s a really good team,” Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said. “Credit them for not only tonight but their run. They’ve had so many games like that that have seemed improbable. And they just play with a great spirit and they keep coming. They keep playing.”

Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 19 points. Obi Toppin scored 17, Myles Turner had 15, and Haliburton and Andrew Nembhard each had 14.

Jalen Williams had 17 and Lu Dort scored 15 for Oklahoma City, which was 36-1 at home with 15-point leads this season.

Game 2 is at Oklahoma City on Sunday night.

Oklahoma City led by 15 early in the fourth when Carlisle called time and subbed out all five players, seeking a spark. It worked. The Pacers outscored the Thunder 15-4 over the next 3:26 — getting within 98-94 on a three by Turner with 6:16 left.

They weren’t done. And in the final second, they found a way. Again.

“We had control of the game for the most part,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Now, it’s a 48-minute game. And they teach you that lesson more than anyone else in the league — the hard way.”

Rangers chief executive Patrick Stewart, who led the head coach search along with Thelwell, said Martin was the “standout candidate”.

The Ibrox club spoke to former Real Madrid assistant manager Davide Ancelotti and former Feyenoord manager Brian Priske, while former manager Gerrard and ex-Ajax head coach Francesco Farioli were among those also linked with the post.

“Our criteria were clear: we wanted a coach who will excel in terms of how we want to play, improve our culture, develop our squad, and ultimately win matches,” Stewart said.

“This appointment is about building a winning team and a strong culture. He is no stranger to our club, we expect success and Russell knows that. We are excited for his leadership.”

Thelwell suggested Martin’s time in the Premier League “has sharpened his approach, both tactically and personally”.

Giving an insight into what a Rangers team under Martin will be like, he added: “His teams play dominant football, they control the ball, dictate the tempo and impose themselves physically. They press aggressively and work relentlessly off the ball.

“These are all characteristics that we believe are required to be successful at home, away and abroad.”

Alexander Straus was fewer than two weeks from his first training session as Angel City FC coach. Yet, Angel City CEO and co-founder Julie Uhrman wanted to see her new manager at work.

She flew to Portugal, where Straus was completing his three-season stint as FC Bayern Munich coach — a club the 49-year-old Norwegian led to three consecutive Frauen-Bundesliga titles and a 57-7-2 league record.

As Uhrman watched Straus coach Bayern Munich at the inaugural World Sevens Football tournament, she already was familiar with his technical acumen that was on display en route to a championship victory over Manchester United. That was not a surprise.

But what caught Uhrman’s attention was Straus’ relationships with his players.

Angel City coach Alex Straus speaks to reporters during his first news conference while club president and co-founder Julie Uhrman looks on and laughs Wednesday in Thousand Oaks.

(Al Seib/For The Times)

“What I saw was something that you don’t get in an interview process and you don’t read on the [curriculum vitae,]” Uhrman said. “The connection he had with his teams was palpable. The way that they would celebrate him, the joy that they brought him, and vice versa, was just something you can’t learn in an interview process and it’s something that’s so critical to Angel City.”

So, when Straus, reserved and quiet until he opened his mouth, began to speak during his introductory news conference Wednesday morning as the third Angel City head coach in four seasons since inception — with Uhrman and sporting director Mark Parsons bookending him at the podium — he leaned on his beliefs.

How Straus wants Angel City to play on the pitch, is the same as how he wants to interact with his players in the locker room — and the state-of-the-art performance center on Cal Lutheran University’s campus.

“My philosophy is centered around people,” said Straus, who asked the media to “bear with” his English after spending four years in Germany. “I’m here to facilitate for our players to be able to go out on a pitch, have a clear plan and know how to execute it.”

Straus continued: “I need to know people, and I need to know what makes them tick. So how can I get the best out of Sarah Gorden or Christen Press or Riley Tiernan or Alyssa Thompson? How can I get the best out of them?”

Earlier in his career, Straus said he overly cared about trophies, medals and success. In 2018, he said his worldview shifted. Straus — who said he considered previous coaching opportunities in America, but didn’t feel the timing was right — realized he needed to craft bonds and relationships with his players to cultivate a positive team culture, one that could lead to championships.

Uhrman saw the bonds on display in Portugal while Straus was still with Bayern Munich and Parsons has watched the baby steps Straus is taking with Angel City in his first few days as official coach.

“Through this process, Meeting 1 to Meeting 3, I just didn’t think this person existed,” Parsons said, adding that during the coaching search he spoke to Straus’ former players and staff. “I really mean that I didn’t believe this type of quality existed, and I couldn’t be happier that we’ve got him here.”

What stood out to Parsons, he said, was that even players who didn’t play much under Straus — who may have left for better opportunities — would still speak positively about the clarity, confidence that Angel City’s new coach provided them.

Straus — and the Angel City backroom staff — are well aware that winning isn’t an overnight process. The club sits in seventh place in NWSL standings with a 4-4-2 record. In some matches, Angel City has exerted control and played the style Parsons said he wants to see asserted. But in other matches, such as recent defeats to Bay FC and Racing Louisville, Angel City has faltered — often losing despite controlling possession. Uhrman stressed she wanted a coach who could help the team bounce back from defeat, or setbacks. She and Parsons believe Straus can do that.

He doesn’t take falling short lightly. When pushed on his UEFA Women’s Champions League record since 2022 on Wednesday during a side media session, Straus spent six-and-a-half minutes breaking down why Bayern Munich fell short in the quarterfinals or group stages, adding what he learned from each losing experience.

Straus said he’s always open to talking. Angel City players, however, will have only a few more days to get to know the new coach before Straus takes the touchline Saturday at BMO Stadium against the Chicago Stars.

“One thing is to win one year, one game,” Straus said. “But it needs to be consistent, and it needs to be built on a foundation where you are always the ones that have been spoken about when it comes to challenging for winning the championship.

“That’s why we are here, and that’s what we want to do.”

Carrick started his coaching career with Manchester United, with whom he won five Premier League titles in his playing days, after retiring in 2018.

He had a spell in caretaker charge of the team in November 2021 after the departure of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but left when Ralf Rangnick was appointed in December.

Boro turned to him in October the following year after a disastrous start to the season saw them sack Chris Wilder with the club in the relegation zone.

Carrick immediately turned their fortunes around as they flew up the table and into promotion contention.

They ultimately finished fourth for a first play-off campaign in five years but were beaten by Coventry in the semi-finals.

They fell just short of another Premier League push in the following season, as they finished eighth, four points off sixth.

Last season was similar as they headed into the final six games in the play-off spots but came up short in the end.

NEW YORK — The New York Knicks fired coach Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday just days after their first trip to the Eastern Conference finals in 25 years, a person with knowledge of the decision told the Associated Press.

The Knicks were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers with a loss in Game 6 on Saturday night. They then decided to move on from Thibodeau, who led them to the postseason in four of his five seasons in New York.

The decision was made by team president Leon Rose with approval from owner Jim Dolan, the person told the AP on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made. The firing was first reported by ESPN.

It’s a strange decision by the Knicks, who had been one of the league’s worst franchises for most of the 2000s until Thibodeau was hired in 2020. He promptly led the Knicks to the playoffs in his first season, winning his second NBA Coach of the Year award, and they have been a solid contender in the East in recent seasons.

Their big breakthrough came in 2024-25, when they knocked off defending champion Boston in the second round to reach the conference finals for the first time since 2000 — when Thibodeau was an assistant under Jeff Van Gundy.

After they were eliminated Saturday, captain Jalen Brunson expressed his support for Thibodeau, bristling at a question about whether he believed the coach was right for the team.

Three days later, Thibodeau was gone with a 226-174 record in New York. He has the fourth-most wins by a Knicks coach.

West Brom have appointed Ryan Mason as their head coach.

The Championship side, who dismissed Tony Mowbray on 21 April, opened talks with Mason, 33, last week and he arrives at the Hawthorns on a three-year deal.

It brings a seven-year coaching career at Tottenham to an end for Mason, who progressed through the club’s academy to also play 70 times for his boyhood team.

“This is a huge club with a fantastic infrastructure and an incredible fanbase, and I am excited about what we can achieve together,” said Mason.

“Having spoken at length to the board and those at the club I am convinced that Albion is the perfect place for me to be and I can’t wait to get started.

“I will bring with me a huge amount of enthusiasm, dedication and ambition, and look forward to a positive future together at such a fantastic club.”

Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes said:, external “With Erik ten Hag, we have brought in an experienced coach with impressive success on the pitch.

“With three league titles and two domestic cup wins, he and Ajax dominated Dutch football from 2018 to 2022.

“And Erik demonstrated his quality as a coach with the ensuing success at Manchester United under difficult circumstances at times.”

Under former Liverpool midfielder Alonso, Leverkusen won a league and cup double in 2023-24.

They finished second in the Bundesliga this season, 13 points behind champions Bayern Munich.

Ten Hag, who will officially start his new role on 1 July, said Leverkusen are “one of the best clubs in Germany and also among the top clubs in Europe”.

He added: “I’ve come to Leverkusen to continue with the ambition shown in recent years. It’s an attractive challenge to set up something together in this period of change and develop an ambitious team.”

When Charles Dickens began his 1859 novel “A Tale of Two Cities” with the legendary line, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” who knew that it would aptly describe the state of amateur football in 2025?

From college athletics to high school athletics, if you’re a parent, coach, athlete or fan, you have plenty of stories to tell. Take notes, because there’s so much material you’ll be able to write a book, launch a podcast or participate in court cases still to be decided.

“It’s all crazy,” said future Hall of Fame football coach Matt Logan of Corona Centennial.

Football isn’t in a crisis but it is in a black hole with stakeholders seeking an escape path.

With final rules still not adopted in how name, image and likeness is supposed to work and college programs not only paying their own athletes but high school recruits, too, everyone is adjusting on the fly. Parents trying to navigate the changes are hiring agents, who are showing up to high school camps trying to find clients. There’s the college transfer portal and something similar in high school that saw more than 17,000 students switch schools in California last year.

Until NIL rules are figured out, it’s roll your eyes and don’t be surprised at anything.

Some elite high school players have been reclassifying their graduation years to take advantage of money opportunities. And that’s after parents held them back entering high school to be bigger, stronger and faster as a 16-year-old freshman.

It’s all legal and even logical but the changing landscape is riddled with pros and cons and bad actors.

One big concern in high school sports is that parents might be too focused on scholarships for their kids and earning NIL money while forgetting the real reason people play sports — for the love of the game.

“For me, the whole value in sports has been degenerated,” Logan said. “You don’t play sports to get a scholarship. You play to learn how to lead, how to take orders, how to be a good teammate, how to work together. This could be the only chance to have fun, play with their friends, have a great experience.”

There have been football scandals in recent years — twice at Narbonne High, which had City Section championships taken away in 2019 and 2024 for using ineligible players. Now the football community is focused on what the Southern Section intends to do this fall about Bishop Montgomery, which supposedly has numerous transfer students (some from Narbonne) and is so confident it’ll ‘ll be declared eligible that a trip to Hawaii and a nonleague game against powerful Mater Dei have been scheduled.

Every week, coaches have to decide how to deal with players and parents who have little patience and many options. It’s a balancing act, and for the elite of the elite, coaches can’t even count on juniors returning as seniors because of opportunities to skip ahead to college.

“I understand why they are doing it. They have my full support,” said Sierra Canyon coach Jon Ellinghouse, who’s losing star defensive lineman Richard Wesley to Oregon a year early after he reclassified to the class of 2026.

Ellinghouse is embracing the idea his job is to “put them into positions to have life-changing opportunities.”

There are many different paths to success and failure. Remember how LaVar Ball didn’t care that his youngest son, LaMelo, was 13 years old playing summer basketball as a freshman for Chino Hills. He threw him in against older players and the rest is history. He averaged 25.2 points this season for the Charlotte Hornets as a 23-year-old in his fifth NBA season.

There are others who were 19-year-old seniors in high school, stopped developing, kept switching schools and will probably blame their coaches for not making the pros when the truth is it’s difficult to become a professional athlete.

It is the best of times with all kinds of money to be given out for being a good athlete. It is the worst of times because many of the treasured lessons from playing amateur sports no longer receive priority treatment. What happened to the importance of getting a college degree?

It will take someone with magical ideas to return a balance to the amateur sports world.

Jelena Dokic says her grief is “difficult and complicated” after announcing the death of her estranged father and former coach, Damir.

Former world number four Dokic, who retired in 2014, revealed in 2017 she had suffered years of mental and physical abuse from her father.

Damir was banned from all WTA Tour events for six months in 2000 after he became abusive in the players’ lounge during the US Open.

He was also jailed in 2009 for threatening the Australian ambassador in Serbia with a hand grenade

Dokic, who reached the Wimbledon semi-finals as a 17-year-old in 2000, had been estranged from her father for 10 years.

Underneath an Instagram post of her father and herself as a small child, Australia’s Dokic wrote: “As you know my relationship with my father has been difficult and painful with a lot of history.

“Despite everything and no matter how hard, difficult and in the last 10 years even non-existent our relationship and communication was, it is never easy losing a parent and a father, even one you are estranged from.

“The loss of an estranged parent comes with a difficult and complicated grief.”

Mike Gillespie had a premonition about Ben Orloff.

The USC and UC Irvine coaching legend guided Orloff for two years as an Anteater, watching Orloff become the baseball program’s all-time hits leader with his peak bat-to-ball abilities. But it wasn’t Orloff’s eye-popping swing or swift speed on the basepaths that captivated Gillespie the most. It was the future he imagined for his star infielder, the then-Big West Conference player of the year.

“I don’t know how else to say it: His instincts, his clue, his feel for the game, his baseball IQ, is like nothing else,” Gillespie said as Orloff’s collegiate career wrapped up in 2009. “He should be a major league manager. He might be wasted as a major league manager, because they can do so little, in terms of all these little things.”

The American Baseball Coaches Assn. Hall of Famer, who died in 2020, continued: “He probably should be a college coach, a college head coach.”

It’s mid-May and Orloff sits in the office Gillespie once occupied. Orloff is bald with a bright smile. He’s just 38, and yet this is his 12th season on the UC Irvine coaching staff — and his seventh as the Anteaters’ head coach.

Orloff settles down at a table, crosses his legs and is ready to reminisce, talk shop — and praise the mish-mosh ballclub that’s set the Big West aflame for the second consecutive season in which it won its second regular-season conference championship under the coach.

“Not many people get their first job ever in college with no coaching experience [and become a] paid assistant coach at a place like UC Irvine,” Orloff said. “I’m aware that I was given opportunities that a lot of guys work a long time to get. I’m trying not to ruin it.”

UC Irvine baseball coach Ben Orloff walks on the field during a game against USC on Feb. 18.

(Matt Brown / UC Irvine Athletics)

Gillespie eventually gave Orloff the call back in 2013. The former All-American, who had been playing in the minors since 2009, was hitting just below .300 and had a .379 on-base percentage with double-A Corpus Christi when he decided it was time to return to UC Irvine.

Orloff said he always knew he was going to be a college coach. Whether it was after playing Major League Baseball for 15 years or directly after earning his bachelor’s degree, it was a goal he strived to achieve. But there was only one way he would “quit,” as he put it, and hang up his cleats for a new career: coaching at his alma mater for Gillespie.

Hired in 2013, the then-assistant was fully aware that he knew nothing about the ins and outs of coaching. Sure, he could practice the fundamentals — the basics of fielding and throwing strikes that Orloff still preaches — but much of the job was foreign. All he wanted to do, Orloff said, was to live up to his coach’s expectations.

“I was just extremely motivated to not let coach Gillespie down,” Orloff said. “Now being in this seat, to hire a guy for professional baseball that’s never coached at any level before, you don’t do that.”

He had to learn to recruit — he nabbed outfielder Jacob McCombs (.363 batting average/.448 on-base percentage/.627 slugging percentage) out of the transfer portal from San Diego State, signed junior college infielder Colin Yeaman (hitting .352 with 13 home runs) from College of the Canyons, and has developed Southern California talent such as sophomore starting pitcher Trevor Hansen (8-2 with a 3.14 earned-run average) from Royal High. Orloff said he is willing to sign any player from any level, knowing UC Irvine’s reach is different from blue blood programs, such as UCLA or Vanderbilt.

UC Irvine baseball coach Ben Orloff greets outfielder Jacob McCombs during a game.

(Robert Huskey / UC Irvine Athletics)

Orloff remarked that most articles written about the program highlight him. But he is also first to praise his coaching staff, such as pitching coach Daniel Bibona in his 13th year with the Anteaters or hitting coach J.T. Bloodworth, who helped the Anteaters notch their fourth-best batting average in program history a year ago.

“We played together for three years,” he said of Bibona. “Coach Gillespie hired him directly at a pro ball to be the pitching coach. … He does a really good job with these guys.”

“I think we broke every school offensive record last year,” Orloff remarked about Bloodworth’s impact. “This year, the numbers are like the same with a completely brand new group.”

Orloff and his staff brought in 20 new players before the season, restocking a roster that produced a 45-14 record and an NCAA regional appearance in 2024. And the Anteaters haven’t missed a beat. Irvine is ranked 20th in the nation, according to D1Baseball, and is pegged as the top West Coast program in the country — above UCLA — by the National College Baseball Writers Assn., with a No. 11 ranking.

“Winning matters to these guys,” Orloff said of his 39-13 squad. “I think our team has placed what’s best for the team above what’s best for them and I think that’s uncommon, probably in 2025, and so I think it’s why we’ve won.”

Heading into the inaugural Big West Conference tournament, Orloff said UC Irvine can compete with any team in the nation. He points to early-season battles against Nebraska, New Mexico and Vanderbilt — coming up just short of a three-game sweep at the MLB Desert Invitational in February.

When it comes to showing resolve against opponents, Orloff embraces football coach Bill Belichick’s inverse theory of winning — often credited to businessman Charlie Munger’s inversion technique. As Orloff puts it, the technique focuses on how “before you can win, you can’t do the things that make you lose.”

UC Irvine baseball coach Ben Orloff speaks to his players before a game against San Diego on April 1.

(Matt Brown / UC Irvine Athletics)

“You can look and just see how competitive they’ve been and how complete they’ve been,” said UCLA baseball coach John Savage, a disciple of coach Gillespie as a USC assistant and former Irvine head coach from 2002 to 2004.

“He’s clearly, I think, the best up-and-coming young coach in America. I truly believe that.”

With Irvine on the hunt for its first trip to Omaha since 2014 — and Orloff leading the way — the Anteaters might have the right recipe brewing at Cicerone Field.

Gillespie, long before Orloff took the reins, certainly thought so.

“I’m not kidding, he’s a better coach than I am,” Gillespie said in 2009.

Under McCullum and captain Ben Stokes, England have delivered often thrilling cricket and secured landmark series wins away in Pakistan and New Zealand.

However, they failed to regain the Ashes in 2023, having gone 2-0 behind against Australia before surging back to draw the series, while they were also heavily beaten in India and lost in Pakistan last year.

After securing the series win in New Zealand in December, they lost the third and final Test in feeble fashion.

McCullum said he and his side wants England fans to feel an “attachment” to them, liking them both as players and their style of cricket, while also winning series.

“There’s no greater opportunity than playing in big series against the best opposition on the biggest stage under the brightest lights to be able to test that,” he added.

Stokes said he hated the word “ruthless” when asked about England trying to seal a 3-0 sweep in New Zealand.

But McCullum said the all-rounder is “the most ruthless” sportsperson he has ever met.

“He is unbelievably driven, to push himself, to push his team-mates, to win at all costs,” he said.

“We’re very lucky to have him in the chair because he’s going to be very strong about trying to push this team to the next level.”

Despite the obvious focus on the five-Test series against India and the Ashes down under, McCullum said England will not underestimate Zimbabwe in the four-day Test at Trent Bridge.

“We want to be where our feet are,” he said.

“This game has an amazing ability to bring you back down to earth if you don’t have the respect for the game or the respect for the opposition.

“We go into it as favourites so we need to make sure we’re rock hard fit and ready to go and make good decisions under pressure.”

Derek McInnes has been confirmed as the new head coach of Heart of Midlothian on a four-year contract.

The 53-year-old leaves Scottish Premiership rivals Kilmarnock and succeeds Neil Critchley, who was sacked in late April after just six months in charge.

Coaches Paul Sheerin and Alan Archibald will follow McInnes from Rugby Park to Tynecastle.

McInnes had been in charge at Kilmarnock since 2022 and last season guided the Ayrshire side into Europe by finishing fourth.

His managerial career began when he took St Johnstone into the top flight in 2009 and, after a brief stint at Bristol City, he had eight years in Aberdeen, with whom he never finished lower than fourth and won the League Cup in 2014.

McInnes left Pittodrie in 2021 and took charge of Kilmarnock the following January, leading them to promotion to the Premiership.

His spell in Ayrshire ended with his side finishing in ninth, two places below Hearts.

Kilmarnock lost 1-0 to Hearts at Rugby Park on Sunday, with McInnes absent from the home dugout after a compensation deal was agreed between the clubs.

Mark Delgado has known Greg Vanney since he was 13.

“We’re definitely close,” the LAFC midfielder said of the coach he played for in three MLS Cup finals.

So it’s been difficult for Delgado to watch from afar as Vanney’s Galaxy team, the one Delgado played for last season, has struggled through the worst start in franchise history.

“I definitely hope, personally, things go better for him,” Delgado said of Vanney, who got a multiyear contract extension Friday, one that reportedly makes him the best-paid manager in MLS. “I hope Greg can get things turned around.”

As long as that turnaround starts next weekend since Delgado returns Sunday to Dignity Health Sports Park for the first time since December’s MLS Cup final. Only this time he’ll be wearing the black and gold of LAFC, the Galaxy’s bitter rival.

“Yeah, definitely. I want to come out on top,” he said. “It’s kind of a weird situation. You don’t wish them too well because you want to do well yourself.”

A weird situation is also an apt description of Delgado’s last five months. Six weeks after capping a career-best season by assisting on the winning goal in the Cup final, Delgado was traded 12 miles up the Harbor Freeway to LAFC, a sacrifice to the league’s paltry salary cap.

The Galaxy (0-10-3) haven’t won since but Delgado has thrived. Not only did LAFC (6-4-3) give him a multiyear contract with a raise from the $876,250 he made last season, but he’s tied for the team lead with three assists and is one of just three players to appear in all 13 MLS games for a team that hasn’t lost a league game in six weeks and is fifth in the Western Conference table.

And he’s done that despite playing under a coach not named Greg Vanney for just the second time in 11 seasons.

Galaxy coach Greg Vanney celebrates after a win over Seattle in the Western Conference final on Nov. 30. The defending MLS Cup champion Galaxy is winless through its first 13 games of the season.

(Etienne Laurent / Associated Press)

“Coming to a new team, a different view of things, may take a little time,” said Delgado, who played under Vanney in Toronto and with the Galaxy after breaking in as a teenager with Chivas USA, where Vanney was an assistant coach. “I’m a guy who can take in information and change on the fly as well. I think my ability to do things passing and how I see the field, [my] work rate covering ground, helps.”

His leadership and experience is also important. Although he just turned 30 on May 9, Delgado is in his 14th MLS season and his 340 appearances, including playoffs, ranks ninth among active players, according to Transfermarkt. No other LAFC player is close.

He’s also the only man to have played for all three of Southern California’s MLS teams, Chivas USA, the Galaxy and LAFC. Yet none of that, he said, has prepared him for changing sides in El Tráfico.

“It is definitely a different look,” he said. “But at the end of the day it’s a Derby. Once that whistle blows and we’re on the field, I’m locked in.”

The crosstown rivalry has grown into the most passionate in MLS but most of that bad blood is felt in the stands. On the field, Delgado said, the feeling is more one of mutual admiration regardless of the colors you’re wearing.

“I don’t know what goes on between the two fans bases, but I know as players there’s a level of respect. Everyone has their own journey of getting here. Everyone has their own battles,” he said.

And his fight Sunday will be for LAFC. So while he feels for his former teammates, he’d like nothing better than to see them suffer for at least one more week.

“I have an emotional attachment with the club over there. But I’m over here, right?” he said. “I have duties over here and I’m working on doing my part and finding success for this club.”

Jim Hiller will return next season as the Kings’ coach, new general manager Ken Holland says.

Holland praised Hiller and looked ahead to their new partnership Thursday during the Hall of Fame hockey executive’s introductory news conference at the Kings’ training complex. Holland is returning to the NHL after a one-year absence, taking over as the replacement for Rob Blake.

The 69-year-old former GM of the Detroit Red Wings and the Edmonton Oilers immediately made it clear he isn’t in Los Angeles to blow up a team that has made four straight playoff appearances, only to lose to the Oilers in the first round every spring. Holland won’t make an immediate change behind the Kings’ bench — or even in the front office, where he plans to retain the assistant GMs and hockey executives who worked for Blake.

“Jim is going to be the coach,” Holland said. “Jim Hiller did a fabulous job in leading the team to 105 points. They were good defensively. They were good on special teams. The team played hard. I thought three weeks ago that this was a team that had the potential, the ability to go on a long playoff run. He’ll be a better coach next year for the experience that he went through this year.”

Holland and Hiller spent two hours in discussion Wednesday, the GM said. Hiller, who replaced the fired Todd McLellan in February 2024, was an assistant coach to Mike Babcock in Detroit a decade ago while Holland was the Wings’ general manager.

The Kings tied the franchise records for victories (48) and points (105) this season under Hiller, only to lose four straight playoff games to Edmonton after going up 2-0. Los Angeles is a consistent playoff team with star power and solid depth, but Holland knows his job is to get the Kings off this franchise plateau.

“I’m hoping to add something to it, maybe a little different idea,” Holland said. “I’m looking forward to getting going. … I understand that this is a marketplace that’s really competitive. You talk about all the competition for the entertainment dollar, so it’s important that you win and you compete. Got to find a way to make the team a little bit different, a little bit better. I think the experiences they’ve been through here will benefit us down the road.”

Blake left the team less than two weeks ago, according to Kings president Luc Robitaille. Holland called the Kings “a legitimate Stanley Cup contender” this season, and he praised Blake for his rebuilding job.

The Kings’ search quickly zeroed in on Holland, who spent the past year working in the NHL’s hockey operations division after he left the Oilers by mutual consent. Robitaille said the Kings are “very fortunate” to hire Holland.

“He knows the path of what it takes to get to the championship,” Robitaille said. “That’s a hard thing to do, and that’s a hard thing to learn. His experience, what he’s done over the course of his career, is very important for this franchise to get to that next level.”

Holland won one Stanley Cup as an assistant GM in Detroit and three more during his 22 years as the Wings’ general manager. In 2019 he moved on to Edmonton, which made the playoffs in all five years of his tenure and even advanced to Game 7 of last year’s Stanley Cup Final before falling to Florida.

Holland said he wasn’t sure whether he would return to a front office after he left Edmonton, but he’s ready. He spent the winter watching games every night at home in British Columbia when he wasn’t working alongside NHL director of hockey operations Colin Campbell.

“I’m excited to be back in the saddle,” Holland said. “I’ve got a lot of energy. I had an opportunity this past winter to get my batteries re-juiced.”

Holland called Los Angeles “one of the great sports cities in all the world,” and he is already getting to know the breadth of the city in a way he never did as a visitor: He spent the past two nights in a hotel in Manhattan Beach, the beautiful seaside enclave where most of the Kings’ players and executives live.

“My wife is excited, and my grandkids are really excited,” Holland said. “Let me tell you, they’re looking forward to coming to L.A., watching some Kings games and going to Disneyland.”

Beacham writes for the Associated Press.

Leicester Tigers have named former England and British and Irish Lions lock Geoff Parling as their new head coach from next season.

The 41-year-old has signed a long-term deal and replaces former Australia coach Michael Cheika, who leaves after just one season at Welford Road.

Parling, who won two Premiership titles as a Tigers player, is currently an assistant coach with Australia and will take over in August after working with the Wallabies for the series against British and Irish Lions.

“I was lucky enough to have some incredible moments in the Leicester Tigers jersey, made through hard work by good people, and so I am extremely proud to be coming back to lead the club,” Parling told the club’s website., external

“There are not many opportunities that would make myself and my family think about leaving Australia, the place we’ve called home for the past seven years, but coming back to Leicester Tigers is one that we are really looking forward to.”

More to follow.