Jamie Smith, with a majestic 166, has now scored a century in each of Surrey’s opening two County Championship matches as he bids to hold on to his England Test place this summer.
And Ollie Pope, dropped during the winter Ashes series defeat in Australia, also hit 103 as Surrey piled up 412-6 against Leicestershire in front of a 5,000-plus day one crowd at the Kia Oval.
Smith and Pope put on exactly 200 for the third wicket, after Leicestershire had decided to bowl first on a green-looking pitch and initially reduced Surrey to 42-2.
Pope’s hundred, the 25th of his first-class career, was more of a workmanlike affair as he looked to spend time at the crease following two low scores in Surrey’s high-scoring draw at Warwickshire in the season’s opener last week.
Smith, however, looked in prime touch throughout his high-class innings after making a six-hour 132 on the final day against Warwickshire on Monday. Overall, he faced 240 balls and struck 19 fours and two sixes before edging seamer Ben Green to slip seven overs before stumps.
Intriguingly, Smith has been handed the number three specialist batter role by Surrey despite playing his 20 Tests to date as a wicketkeeper batting in the lower middle order.
In those Tests he averages a credible 41.48 with the bat, with two hundreds, but in Australia he managed only a disappointing 211 runs at 23.44, passing fifty just once and drawing criticism for the manner of several of his dismissals.
Surrey, who have Ben Foakes as their long-established number one keeper, clearly see Smith’s powerful stroke-making as a key asset in their top order – particularly when he can concentrate solely on his batting – as they start a quest to reclaim the championship after being pipped to a fourth successive title by Nottinghamshire last September.
Dan Lawrence briefly enjoyed himself with a 36-ball cameo of 31, smashing New Zealand Test spinner Ajaz Patel straight for six from the second ball he faced, and also swinging Green over the deep mid-wicket ropes before chopping on against Rehan Ahmed’s leg-spin.
Foakes, meanwhile, also showed he is in fine form with the bat, unfurling some lovely strokes in a poised unbeaten 62 to follow up scores of 128 and 36 not out against Warwickshire and add a further 105 with Smith.
Leicestershire, who won promotion from Division Two last year, struggled to contain the commanding Smith and a busy Pope once they came together in the 15th over.
That followed Dom Sibley’s second-over departure, leg-before for four to an inswinger from left-arm paceman Josh Hull, and Rory Burns chipping Tom Scriven’s medium pace to mid on after a largely untroubled cruise to 24.
Pope finally fell in the 60th over, caught behind pushing at one tossed up by slow left-armer Patel, and by the end of a long day in the field Leicestershire – who lost by 222 runs to Sussex last week on their return to the top flight – are up against it once more.
Report by ECB Reporters’ Network, supported by Rothesay.
From Maddie Lee: The teams were the same. The venues were the same. But the clash between the Dodgers and Blue Jays on Monday at Rogers Centre was far from the roller coaster of Game 7 of the World Series.
And the Dodgers’ most notable performance came from a young catcher who wasn’t on the World Series roster last year.
“These fans, sadly, didn’t want to see us come to town,” catcher Dalton Rushing said after hitting two home runs in the Dodgers’ 14-2 win. “And rightfully so, after what we did tonight. But yeah, I think we all just look forward to carrying it over to tomorrow and leave our mark in Toronto once again.”
Rushing, giving Game 7 hero Will Smith a day off, recorded the first multi-homer, four-hit game of his major league career.
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It was Rushing’s third start of the season and first time playing on consecutive days. The 25-year-old also homered Sunday in Washington.
“I learned a lot from last year,” Rushing said. “Last year, mentally, I was in a tough spot playing the role that I was, and just kind of trying to figure out how you play that role. And this year, I have a little better understanding.
“You’re not going to show up and have a game like that tonight. You’re not going to show up and get two hits every game, whether you’re playing every day or you’re playing every three days. And that was maybe it was just a pill I had to swallow a little bit. I’m just glad I could see results tonight.”
Kyle Tucker singles in the seventh inning of the Dodgers’ win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night.
(Mark Blinch / Getty Images)
From Bill Shaikin: Fans lined up before the game, waiting patiently for the chance to take a selfie with trophies that commemorated the back-to-back World Series championships.
Dodger Stadium is not the only place you can do this. The trophies were from 1992 and 1993, and they honored the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Dodgers matched that back-to-back feat over the past two years, including a classic Game 7 victory in Toronto in last year’s World Series, and returned here Monday to a noise pit packed with fans primed to boo, and to urge their team to exact vengeance on the evil mercenaries from America.
On this night, the mercenaries prevailed, in a pummeling so relentless and a silencing so rapid that a three-peat appeared all but inevitable: Dodgers 14, Blue Jays 2.
Michigan players celebrate after defeating Connecticut for the NCAA men’s basketball title on Monday night.
(Michael Conroy / Associated Press)
From the Associated Press: This title for Michigan’s newest Fab Five will look better in the trophy case than a time capsule.
Hard to be too picky — this new-age group of ballers in maize and blue showed they can win any which way.
The five fabulous transfers who make up coach Dusty May’s starting lineup got down and dirty with the rest of the Wolverines to dig out the national championship on Monday. Michigan made only two three-pointers all night but still muscled its way to a 69-63 victory over stingy, stubborn Connecticut.
Elliot Cadeau led the Wolverines with 19 points, including the team’s first three, which came 7:04 into the second half. The second, from freshman Trey McKenney, came with 1:50 left and felt like a dagger, giving May’s team — which had scored 90 points in five straight March Madness games leading to the final — a nine-point lead.
Kings forward Scott Laughton celebrates with goaltender Anton Forsberg after the Kings’ 3-2 shootout win over the Nashville Predators at Crypto.com Arena on Monday.
(Scott Strazzante / Associated Press)
From the Associated Press:Adrian Kempe scored the only goal of the shootout in the second round, and the Kings tightened the Western Conference playoff race with a 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators on Monday night.
The Kings have played in overtime in seven of its last 10 games — and 32 this season.
Joel Armia opened the scoring for the Kings and Scott Laughton made it a 2-1 lead in the second period. Jared Wright has an assist in a career-best three straight games for L.A.
Neto launched a leadoff shot on Chris Sale’s first pitch, and Soriano (3-0) struck out 10 as the Angels won their third consecutive game. The right-hander gave up one run and three hits without issuing a walk, throwing 69 of his 96 pitches for strikes.
Soriano gave up a solo homer to Drake Baldwin and a single to Matt Olson in the first, then retired 19 straight batters before Mike Yastrzemski led off the eighth with a single.
Tiger Woods celebrates after winning the Masters in April 2019. Woods was arrested on a DUI charge in Florida last month and will not compete at the Masters this week.
In the wake of last month’s rollover car accident and DUI charge, the five-time Masters winner has stepped away from golf indefinitely and reportedly could be receiving treatment in Switzerland for an addiction to painkillers.
“He’s not immune to it just because he can hit a golf ball really well,” fellow competitor Jason Day said. “He’s had 25 to 30-something surgeries, and when you’re going through that many procedures, it’s painful coming out of those procedures. I’ve had procedures done and I typically try and stay away from all that stuff because I just know that — painkillers, there can potentially be a downfall to it.”
After spending her first two seasons with the Chicago Sky, the two-time All Star has been traded to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for first-round picks in 2027 and 2028, the teams announced Monday morning. Atlanta also receives the option to swap second-round picks with Chicago in 2028.
“An Angel’s DREAM,” Reese posted on X. “ATL WHAT UP?!”
Reese was already a star before coming to the WNBA after helping Louisiana State win the national championship over Caitlin Clark and Iowa in 2023 and leading the Tigers back to the Elite Eight the following year.
1940 — Jimmy Demaret wins the Masters by four strokes over Lloyd Mangrum. Mangrum opens with a 64, a course record by two strokes that stands for 46 years.
1946 — Herman Keiser edges Ben Hogan by one stroke to win the Masters.
1951 — Ben Hogan takes the Masters by two strokes over Robert Riegel.
1956 — Joe Graboski scores 29 points and Paul Arizin 26 as the Philadelphia Warriors beat the Fort Wayne Pistons 99-88 to win the NBA championship in five games.
1963 — Jack Nicklaus becomes the youngest Masters winner at 23, beating Tony Lema by a stroke.
1969 — Ted Williams begins managing the Washington Senators.
1985 — New Jersey’s Herschel Walker rushes for a USFL-record 233 yards in leading the Generals to a 31-25 victory over the Houston Gamblers. Walker breaks his own USFL record for the longest run from scrimmage by going 89 yards on his second carry.
1995 — Baseball exhibition season begins late due to strike.
1996 — Dave Andreychuk scores a goal for his 1,000th career point, and the New Jersey Devils top the New York Rangers 4-2.
1998 — Al MacInnis has a goal and an assist in St. Louis’ 5-3 loss at Detroit to become the sixth NHL defenseman to reach 1,000 points.
2000 — 1st regular season MLB game at Enron Field (now Minute Maid Park) in Houston.
2003 — Syracuse wins the NCAA title with an 81-78 victory over Kansas.
2007 — Michigan State beats Boston College 3-1 for its first NCAA hockey title in 21 years.
2008 — Mario Chalmers hits a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left in regulation to force overtime, and Kansas goes on to defeat Memphis 75-68 for the NCAA title.
2009 — Tina Charles scores 25 points and grabs 19 rebounds and Connecticut routs Louisville 76-54 to capture its sixth women’s basketball title. UConn (39-0) wins every one of its 39 games by double digits, a first in college basketball.
2010 — Don Nelson sets the NBA career record for victories by a coach in the Golden State Warriors’ 116-107 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Nelson’s 1,333 wins surpass Lenny Wilkens’ total.
2014 — Shabazz Napier scores 22 points and Connecticut wins its second NCAA men’s title in four years, beating the freshmen-led Kentucky 60-54 in the championship game.
2015 — UConn’s women down Notre Dame 63-53 for their 10th NCAA championship. Coach Geno Auriemma ties UCLA’s John Wooden for the most titles in college basketball.
2016 — Ernie Els, winner of four major titles, opens with a 10 on the par-4 first hole at the Masters. After his first two shots, Els seven-putts from 2 feet. His sextuple bogey is the worst score on the first hole at the Masters, beating the old mark by two strokes.
2016 — The Golden State Warriors become the second team to win 70 games in a season by beating the San Antonio Spurs 112-101.
2018 — Vegas Golden Knights end regular season with most victories of any expansion team.
2019 — Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki play final NBA games.
2019 — Magic Johnson quits as President of Basketball Operations of the Lakers.
Compiled by the Associated Press.
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
It was dominating. It was overwhelming. It was powder-blue pummeling, eight-clap crushing, Westwood wonderful.
It was the UCLA women’s basketball team needing barely two hours to complete the struggles of 45 years, a stunningly swarming triumph unmatched in even the finest of Bruin athletic traditions.
Break out a new banner. Make room in the Pauley rafters. A new collection of heroes is coming home, and they started the party early.
For the first time since 1978, and the first time in the NCAA era, the UCLA women are national basketball champions after a 79-51 finals blowout victory Sunday over favored powerhouse South Carolina.
“Oh my gosh,” said weeping star Lauren Betts after the final buzzer.
Oh my, Lauren. This was a heartfelt triumph for the towering tournament Most Outstanding Player who overcame mental health issues to become the toughest figure on the floor.
“I do it for my teammates,” she said during the celebration. “I don’t do it for me.”
Oh my, Gabby. This was a legendary triumph for Gabriela Jaquez, who scored 21 points with 10 rebounds in the finals while her brother, former Bruin star Jaime Jaquez Jr., watched from the stands one day after he scored 32 points for the Miami Heat.
UCLA forward Gabriela Jaquez hugs coach Cori Close during the second half of the Bruins’ win over South Carolina in the NCAA women’s national championship Sunday.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
“I imagined this moment, I imagined it so many times,” she said. “Oh my gosh, I’m so happy.”
Oh my, Cori, this being a legacy triumph for Coach Cori Close, a John Wooden disciple who led through thoughtful motivation instead of mindless screaming. This was her 15th season as the Bruins’ boss, which previously made her the longest tenured coach without a national title.
“It’s truly indescribable,” she said from the celebration stage afterward. “The loyalty, the steadfast spirit, the character that they’ve chosen day in and day out. … I am just so humbled that they’ve chosen to commit to our mission.”
One of Close’ mantras is, “Sometimes you, sometimes me, always us.”
This was UCLA’s first finals appearance in the NCAA era, and they were trying to win their first title since Anne Meyers-Drysdale led the Bruins to an AIAW championship in 1978.
Yet they never blinked.
“This was a business trip for us,” said Dugalic. “We had the mentality that the job’s not finished. Now the job is finished.”
Jaquez set the tone in the first quarter by following a Dugalic miss with a flying layup as she was sent sprawling to the floor. She was fouled, converted a three-point play, and the Bruins were quickly sending a message.
They would not be intimidated. They would not be pushed around. And they would play every second, as evidenced by the first-quarter, buzzer-beating trey by Rice as she tumbled backward to give them a 21-10 lead.
The Bruins didn’t even panic when their leader seemed to panic, as Betts spent nearly half of the first quarter on the bench complaining that, “I’ve got something stuck in my throat.”
UCLA coach Cori Close, center, celebrates with her players after guiding the Bruins to the NCAA women’s basketball national championship on Sunday.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
Trainers checked her throat, gave her an inhaler and eventually nursed her back on to the court, where she told an ESPN interviewer that her throat was just dry from the desert air.
The Bruins kept the heat on during a second quarter in which they made mistakes, seemed to lose momentum, then collected themselves to maintain their huge edge. At one point UCLA committed four consecutive turnovers and the Gamecocks closed the gap to 11, but then UCLA’s defense got tough again and layups by Rice and Kneepkens helped them regain their advantage.
At halftime UCLA led 36-23 and the game was essentially over.
Jaquez put the bow on it when she hit a late three-pointer that made it 79-45, her shot followed by a smile and a scream to the heavens.
Highlights from UCLA’s win over South Carolina in the NCAA women’s basketball national championship game.
“Gabs is incredible,” said Leger-Walker. “She is that person that you never doubt is going to give her all. She impacts the game in so many ways.”
Leger-Walker ended the afternoon dancing with her teammates just as they have danced all season.
“I’m still processing the fact that we are national champions,” she said.
Believe it. These Bruins will be dancing forever.
UCLA players celebrate after defeating South Carolina for the NCAA women’s basketball championship.
Led by James’s 125th regular-season triple-double, the LA Lakers destroyed the Washington Wizards for their 49th regular season victory.
Published On 31 Mar 202631 Mar 2026
LeBron James had 21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, Austin Reaves added 19 points and nine assists, and the Los Angeles Lakers rolled to a 120-101 win over the Washington Wizards on Monday night.
It was James’s 1,228th career victory, including the playoffs, to tie Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most in NBA history.
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With star guard Luka Doncic serving a one-game suspension after getting called for his 16th technical foul of the season against Brooklyn on Friday, an energised James led the Lakers to their 12th win in the past 13 games, attacking the rim from the start, including throwing down two emphatic two-handed dunks set up by Reaves in the first quarter.
Luke Kennard and Jaxson Hayes each had 19 points off the bench, Deandre Ayton chipped in with 12, and the Lakers improved to 7-6 without Doncic in the lineup this season.
Los Angeles would have clinched a playoff berth and the Pacific Division title with the win and a Phoenix loss, but the Suns’ 131-105 victory over Memphis delayed the formality of securing a fourth straight trip to the postseason.
Will Riley led the Wizards with 20 points, and Justin Champagnie had 18 as they lost for the 19th time in 20 games.
Washington was actually ahead by one point after the first quarter, but Hayes had the final five in an 11-0 flurry early that gave Los Angeles a lead they would not relinquish again. The Lakers closed the half on a 38-13 run and took a 21-point lead back to the locker room.
James helped quiet the Wizards for good after they cut the deficit to 10 late in the third, finishing with his third triple-double of the season and 125th in the regular season of his 23-year career.
James (#23) dunks the ball during the game against the Washington Wizards [Adam Pantozzi/Getty Images via AFP]
