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SALT LAKE CITY — Luka Doncic raised three fingers toward the Utah crowd. Fans were left counting more than just his points.

Doncic hit three clutch three-pointers late in the fourth quarter and took a momentum-swinging charge to lead the Lakers to a nail-biting 132-123 victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday at Delta Center. Doncic led the Lakers (3-0) with 52 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds as the team fought back from an 18-point second-quarter deficit.

Guard Austin Reaves hit a dagger three with 34 seconds remaining to give the Lakers a seven-point lead. As Doncic salted the game away from the free-throw line, he was serenaded with chants of “MVP!” Reaves finished with 29 points.

“Getting MVP chants in someone else’s arena is crazy,” center Walker Kessler said. “But, you know, obviously deserving.”

Kessler knows this arena well. It’s where he spent the first four years of his career. But the center was quiet in his return to Salt Lake City. After he joined the Lakers in a massive sign-and-trade deal that cost the Lakers two first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps and a four-year, $130-million contract, Kessler was held to just two points on one-of-two shooting with seven rebounds.

Kessler received a mixed reception from the crowd, which included a large number of fans in Lakers colors. The Jazz didn’t play a highlight reel during the game to welcome the center back, as many teams often do for a player who returns on an opposing team.

Kessler had averaged 24 points and 8.5 rebounds per game during the Lakers’ first two games and shot a blazing 84.6% from the field while feasting off lob passes from Doncic and Reaves.

When asked whether Kessler’s return would spark extra motivation for the Jazz, Utah coach Will Hardy dispelled any suggestions of revenge.

“In no way is tonight about Walker,” Hardy said. “Like it’s not a, ‘Oh wow Walker’s here so we better play harder.’ We’re gonna demand the same standard that we did in our last game. Some of the story lines I don’t quite understand. Like we have a lot of love for Walker. He’s somebody that we have a great relationship with and a lot of shared experience.”

Kessler admitted he “let my emotions get the best of me” in his return Utah, which he described as “a special place.”

“Kind of got too amped and then just couldn’t find the ball,” Kessler said. “Couldn’t find the rhythm, just kind of was off a couple fouls that were tough, a couple blocks I usually [make]. It’s one of those nights. But fortunately basketball is not a one-man sport.”

The Lakers showed they have one of the best duos in the league.

Reaves was held scoreless during the first quarter, but awoke for 15 points in the second. The undrafted guard has so far lived up to the massive contract extension he signed in June, averaging 26.7 points per game on 63.9% shooting with 6.2 assists per game.

“AR so far in these three games has just been Mr. Consistency,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.

Reaves started the comeback. Doncic completed it. In less than 30 seconds, Doncic watched a fadeaway jumper circle the rim before dropping through for a three-point play, then ripped the ball out of Ace Bailey’s arms for a steal before hitting a three at the buzzer to put the Lakers up by three at halftime.

The Slovenian superstar was coming off an admittedly “terrible” game in which he had 23 points, seven assists and 11 turnovers in the Lakers’ home win over the Clippers. Redick said Doncic is still finding his rhythm after not playing with the Slovenian national team over the summer as he typically does.

Doncic made just two of his first eight three-point attempts Sunday. He looked right back in rhythm when he splashed the tying three with 4:06 remaining in the fourth quarter and pushed his palms toward the ground to quiet the crowd.

The final shot before halftime showed Redick that Doncic has his groove back.

“When he’s in the flow state, he gets into, like, showman mode,” Redick said. “He’s on stage performing … it’s always really fun to watch.”

Doncic gave the friendly road crowd his best moves. Lying on his back watching one his shots roll through the net, he shimmied his shoulders before teammates pulled him to his feet. When he splashed the tying three with 4:06 remaining in the fourth, he wagged his finger. On the next possession, he let out a scream when he stepped in front of Keyonte George to take a charge. After putting the Lakers up by six with 1:40 remaining with one of his signature step-back threes, Doncic held three up three fingers to the crowd.

Doncic went nearly seven months without hearing that roar. Not playing with the national team left him out of competition for one of the longest stretches of his career. He doesn’t think he’s back to full form yet.

“I’m still getting there honestly,” Doncic said. “This is the first time I didn’t play basketball in six or seven months, which is a long time. So I’m not used to it.”

He still looked right at home hearing “MVP” chants from a road crowd.

Two former teammates sized each other up. Luka Doncic waved off the screen. He wanted the matchup with Rui Hachimura. The crowd at Crypto.com Arena buzzed in anticipation.

Doncic smiled wide.

After four years in which he became a staple in the Lakers’ lineup, Hachimura returned to face his former team for the first time as a Clipper on Friday at Crypto.com Arena. The forward got a warm greeting from the fans, who welcomed him in the starting lineup with a loud roar. The Lakers played a video tribute during the first timeout to honor Hachimura’s four years with the franchise.

But as he started piling up his 16 points in the Lakers’ 125-117 win over their crosstown rival, the crowd started to turn on the sharp-shooting Hachimura.

“Traitor!” one fan yelled when he hit a shot during a tight first half before the Lakers pulled away by outscoring the Clippers 39-26 in the third quarter.

Hachimura, who left the Lakers in free agency, made his love for the team clear. He signed a relatively conservative two-year, $28-million deal with the Clippers, turning down other offers in part because he wanted to stay in L.A.

“It was amazing,” Hachimura said of his time with the Lakers. “I had a great time with them. The organization, yeah, of course I miss them, but it was time to move on. It was special, my four years, four seasons with them. I’m happy with the Clippers right now, and I gotta keep growing my career.”

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said playing the first game back in an old arena can be disorienting. He experienced it after leaving the Lakers, who drafted him in 1998, and returning with the Washington Wizards in 2002. He had never seen the other locker room in his former home arena.

“Just being on the other side, the other bench, in the other locker room, it was just really weird,” Lue said. “And then playing against guys that kind of taught you the game, kind of molded you as a player, and just sitting across from it, it was really weird for me.”

Hachimura jokingly walked toward the Lakers locker room before the game. Before beginning his pregame shooting routine, Hachimura hugged Lakers assistant Beau Levesque, who was Hachimura’s player development coach, and Lakers guard Austin Reaves, one of his closest friends.

Clippers forward Rui Hachimura, right, guards Lakers guard Luka Doncic in the first half Friday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

When Hachimura was traded to the Lakers in January 2023, Reaves was in his second season with the Lakers. While they became close, Reaves initially spent weeks thinking Hachimura didn’t speak English.

“I’d sit by him on the plane and he didn’t speak to me,” Reaves said this week. “After that, I couldn’t get him to shut up. Great guy, great player and I miss him.”

Hachimura developed into one of the Lakers’ most dependable shooters. A 35.6% three-point shooter while with Washington, where he was drafted ninth overall in 2019, Hachimura shot 44.3% from three during his last season with the Lakers. Lakers coach JJ Redick marveled at Hachimura’s reliable mid-range game that he once compared to “prime Michael Jordan.”

During the playoffs, when the injury-riddled Lakers stunned the Houston Rockets in the first round before losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals, Hachimura shot a sizzling 56.9% (15 for 31) from three. His career 51.6% postseason three-point shooting percentage is the highest in NBA history.

Hachimura filled a supporting role with the Lakers, where he was overshadowed by Reaves, Doncic and LeBron James. But with the Clippers, he has a leading opportunity. Hachimura had the second-most shot attempts among Clippers players Friday, going five for 14 from the field and three for six from three.

Facing different defenses than he saw while being the Lakers’ fourth offensive option, Hachimura’s efficiency has dipped. He is shooting 29.6% from the field and 38.5% from three while averaging 13 points and seven rebounds for the Clippers (0-2).

“I think understanding some of the actions we’re trying to run from him, like being quicker, being faster, not allowing guys to get back to his body so he can come off open, and just timing things,” Lue said of how Hachimura can adjust to being a focal point of an opposing team’s scouting report. “Little timing things here and there. We know when it’s post up, teams are doubling. So he has to find a way in transition, playing faster, attacking early, attacking faster in transition, but we’ll get him shots.”

During pregame warmups, Doncic sprinted out of the Lakers tunnel and straight to Hachimura, who was warming up in the corner. Doncic wrapped his former teammate in a hug. They laughed and joked all the way to midcourt before Hachimura resumed his shooting.

When the game started, Hachimura hit his first three over Doncic, who was late to close out. The Lakers star waved his hand in mock disgust toward Hachimura.

“I don’t like Rui,” Doncic said after the game.

A wide smile spread across his face.

“Nah, it was just great to see him. He’s my guy.”

MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee is going absolutely nuts. The Brewers have sold out Game 3 and Game 4 of the World Series.

The Tampa Bay Rays will host those games, but the Brewers invited fans to come to their stadium and watch on the big screen. The Brewers sold more than 31,000 tickets to each of their watch parties at $15 apiece. On Friday morning, StubHub offered them for resale, starting at $168.

There is nothing quite like a city uniting behind a team that never has won a World Series. Ask Logan Henderson.

Henderson, the Brewers’ starting pitcher Saturday in Milwaukee, grew up a huge fan of the Houston Astros. He was 15 when he saw his first World Series game.

“My parents had always said, if we were fortunate enough to be able to watch them go to the World Series, we’re going to do everything we can to get there,” Henderson said. “I was blessed that my parents got tickets to go to the games.

“There’s nothing like it. I’m on the other side of it now. I was a spectator and a fan, now I’m a player. It’s definitely surreal.”

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Logan Henderson follows through on a pitch during Game 2 of the NLCS against the Dodgers in Milwaukee on Oct. 12.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

His first World Series game as a spectator and fan? Game 4 of the 2017 World Series.

“I went to the one before the crazy one,” he said. “L.A. ended up winning that game.”

In the crazy one, the Dodgers blew two four-run leads, tied the score with three runs in the ninth inning and lost in the 10th.

If we knew then what we know now, Game 4 would be the crazy one: Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood constantly changing his signs, suspicious that the Astros might be up to something, whatever that might be.

Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood delivers from the mound during Game 4 of the World Series against the Astros on Oct. 28, 2017, in Houston.

(Pool / Getty Images)

Wood was vindicated three years later, when a league investigation revealed the Astros had been cheating in 2017, stealing signs from a television monitor next to the dugout and relaying them to batters by banging on trash cans. The practice, according to the report issued by commissioner Rob Manfred, was refined during the regular season and extended “throughout the postseason.”

The scandal outraged the Dodgers and their fans. The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to demand Manfred award the 2017 championship to the Dodgers. Their players wanted nothing to do with that. A real championship, after all, would come with champagne and beer in the clubhouse and a parade through the streets.

Still, the players did not turn the other cheek.

“Everyone knows they stole the ring from us,” Cody Bellinger said.

“They cheated,” Kike’ Hernández said. “They got away with it. They got a ring out of it.”

When the Astros’ team buses arrived at Dodger Stadium for games during the pandemic season of 2020, when ballparks were closed to the public, Dodgers fans gathered outside to boo.

Dodgers fans boo Jose Altuve of the Astros after he struck out in a game on Aug. 3, 2001, at Dodger Stadium.

(Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)

Those were Henderson’s guys inside those buses: Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa, George Springer, Lance McCullers Jr. Those were the guys that brought home the Astros’ first World Series championship, as Henderson’s Brewers are trying to do for Milwaukee.

“Personally, as a fan, Hurricane Harvey hit Houston really hard, and the Astros brought a championship to the city,” Henderson said.

“That meant absolutely everything to the city. I hope that means what it did for me to the fans in Milwaukee here.”

The Rays also are trying to bring their first championship home to Tampa Bay. In 2017, hard as this might be to believe today, the mighty Dodgers had not won a championship in 29 years.

And now, as a major leaguer, Henderson has an acute appreciation of the little things that can mean the difference between victory and defeat, between a parade and another plaintive chorus of “wait ‘til next year.”

It could be a pitcher that blows a throw he could make in his sleep, sending his team home for the winter. It could be a defense perfectly executing a seldom-seen play. It could be a ball that clanks off the roof and into play instead of flying into the stands for a home run.

It could be stealing signs and banging on trash cans.

“I would rather face a player that was taking steroids than face a player that knew every pitch that was coming,” Wood tweeted after Manfred’s report on the Astros’ cheating.

Henderson knows how hard this is to do. The Brewers haven’t appeared in the World Series in 44 years, and owner Mark Attanasio said nervous fans already are wondering whether their next appearance will be 44 years away.

So I asked Henderson if, all these years later, the scandal changed how he felt about those Astros.

He paused.

He exhaled.

He paused again.

“Maybe a little bit,” Henderson said. “It’s unfortunate. I try not to think about it or talk on it too much. I think now, being in the game, my perspective on it is a little different.

“I think for the kid in me — and the huge baseball fan I was — that team will always have a special place in my heart.”

Starting over has to start somewhere, and so the Clippers got on with it Wednesday.

While Kawhi Leonard got an NBA Finals hero’s welcome back up north in Toronto, the Clippers did what they could to entice fans back to Intuit Dome.

Not with superstars or championship aspirations. But with the promise of free parking, a jersey trade-in and a basketball team that is, at least, better than the Sacramento Kings, who they beat 121-96 in both teams’ season opener. Coach Tyronn Lue dedicated the win to suspended team owner Steve Ballmer: “Just want to say thank you for everything. We’re still fighting for him.”

Yeah, but the Clippers should focus on fighting for their fans, not the billionaire whose apparent salary cap circumvention has the organization in hot water.

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue directs his players during a win over the Sacramento Kings Wednesday at Intuit Dome.

(Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Associated Press)

Wednesday’s fan appreciation stuff was a swell gesture, as a start. But it wasn’t nearly far-reaching enough.

Not for embattled Clippers supporters who have stuck with the team through thick and thin, sickness and health, in spite of Donald Sterling, the former cheap, racist owner and now Ballmer, the wealthy, over-invested one whose salary cap circumvention cost his team its first-round picks in the 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032, and 2033 NBA drafts.

To fans, that was the most consequential part of the historic punishment dealt by the NBA, which commissioned a year-long investigation that determined the Clippers committed audacious levels of salary cap circumvention.

The league also fined the team $30 million, suspended team owner Ballmer and president of business operations Gillian Zucker for a year and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank for six months.

And Leonard? He got a $700,000 slap on the wrist and got traded back to Toronto, where he signed a two-year, $115 million contract extension and on Wednesday, had Raptors coach Darko Rajaković saying he was “super excited for the chance to bring a Hall of Famer back home.”

“That’s one of the most insulting parts of it all, the way [Leonard] was able to walk away scot-free and the fans are left sort of holding the bag,” said Torrance’s Justin Ratterree, while he tried to dodge raindrops as he waited in line, four hours before tipoff, to trade in his No. 2 Leonard jersey.

Young Clippers fans watch the team play the the Sacramento Kings Wednesday at the Intuit Dome.

(Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Associated Press)

“It’s rough right now. Defending the team this past couple months has been really rough … and I’ve kind of just given up defending. How can you defend it?”

Even Ballmer stopped doing that, releasing a statement on Sept. 13 that read, in part: “This has been a very difficult time for everybody associated with the Clippers, and for that, I have sincere regrets.

“I want to apologize to our fans, employees, and my fellow NBA team owners for the distraction and distress this matter has caused, for which I accept responsibility as principal owner.

“We are,” he added, “committing to put this chapter behind us.”

Yes, let them try to scrub the memory of Leonard, the intensely skilled and private player who demanded so much of the Clippers when he signed with them as a free agent in 2019. Who made no efforts to popularize the team, missed almost as much time as he worked, and who failed to lead the Clippers to their first championship or anywhere close to it in his seven seasons.

After his trade to Toronto went through on Sept. 23, the Clippers resisted posting the “Thank You, Kawhi” graphic that pro sports teams do when they part ways with a player.

Let them also forget to play a tribute video when Leonard’s Raptors visit Intuit Dome for the only time this season on Nov. 2.

And let the Clippers expand the jersey swap beyond the first 4,000 paying customers at Game 1; there was no official figure available Wednesday night for exactly how many jerseys were traded and how many of them belonged to he-who-must-not-be-named.

The Clippers should keep it going, offer the option all season. Set it up at the Intuit Dome’s Lost and Found — invite fans to exchange the No. 2 jersey of the player whom they lost all respect for a guy they’ve found themselves newly enamored with, likely rookie Keaton Wagler if Wednesday’s exchange was any indication.

Clippers fans also deserve more than having their parking picked up until an hour before gametime, on one rainy workday, on late notice.

They should have their parking at games covered all season — or at least substantially reduced from the typical $70 price that’s already too steep. (The Dodgers didn’t start charging $65 until the National League Division Series!)

They should do more if they want to continue to draw a crowd to watch a team whose best player is now Darius Garland, whose future is compromised, whose current best-cast scenario — the play-in! — only Clippers fans could love.

Clippers forward Rui Hachimura drives past Kings guard De’andre Hunter and center Domantas Sabonis Wednesday at the Intuit Dome.

(Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Associated Press)

Several fans Wednesday also said they would appreciate improved transparency, including in terms of player injury and availability news.

It’s the least the team can do for these patient people, who will have the type of team that they usually fall hard for, actually — a group of gamers, devoid of divas, punching above their weight.

“All this stuff that’s going on,” Lue said, “you can’t take that out on our players … that’s not their fault, you know?”

It’s not fans’ fault, either. Let’s see the Clippers go above and beyond for them.

The New York Knicks celebrated their NBA championship Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, yet hardly anything went according to plan. And LeBron James found himself smack dab in the swirl of the fierce and funny festivities.

James made his Philadelphia 76ers debut memorable, helping his new team defeat the Knicks, 106-100. Asked by NBC sideline reporter Zora Stephenson if he was enjoying spoiling the Knicks’ ring night, James grinned and said, “Yeah, I do. It’s pretty special.”

Last seen in Los Angeles bidding a hasty farewell after eight seasons with the Lakers — Times columnist Bill Plaschke wrote that “He left before the door could hit him in the butt” — James, 41, began his 24th NBA season by contributing 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in the 76ers’ victory.

LeBron James of the 76ers exchanges words with fans during a regular-season opener against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

(Sarah Stier / Getty Images)

And James did so even while jawing with courtside Knicks fans about using a helicopter to commute from his new home in New York to Philadelphia. Of course, famed director and Knicks fan fixture Spike Lee couldn’t stay out of it.

“Hey, LeBron, just because you have a helicopter and you live in New York doesn’t mean we’re gonna cheer for you,” one fan yelled, according to NBC broadcaster Mike Tirico. Another fan dinged James for being soft simply because he lived in L.A. for so long.

James couldn’t let that one go, yelling back, “Ain’t nothing soft in the Midwest. I don’t know what the f—- you talking about. I’m not from the West Coast, I’m from Ohio, baby.”

Lee, resplendent in a bright orange and blue pinstriped suit with matching hat, stood from his front-row seat, seemingly serving as conciliator. Much of the exchange was caught on camera by NBC, with Tirico and fellow broadcaster Reggie Miller providing commentary.

“[James] said hello to somebody over here,” Tirico said. “Spike Lee is over for a look and a chat. … LeBron is taking the helicopter rides back and forth from Philadelphia to New York and engaged here in some front-row convo.”

Miller chimed in, “That’s the last thing you wanna do is get LeBron going here in this building…. And guess who’s playing peacemaker? Spike Lee! He’s over here playing peacemaker. Boy, I have seen everything.”

Fanatics is supplying James with the helicopter as part of a multiyear, exclusive trading card and collectibles contract signed in 2024. Although the deal raised the antenna of investigative reporter Pablo Torre — who won a Pulitzer Prize for uncovering the Clippers’ salary-cap circumvention with Kawhi Leonard — NBA commissioner Adam Silver called the helicopter arrangement “perfectly appropriate.”

LeBron James performs a pregame ritual before the game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

(Caleb Bowlin / Getty Images)

Silver was at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night. The Knicks celebrated their first NBA championship in 53 years with a ring ceremony and raising a banner to the rafters. They did their best to laugh off a typo on the T-shirts fans received that proclaimed the team as the 2026-2027 champions.

Despite the testy exchange with fans and enduring their “We don’t want you” chant while he shot free throws, James softened what he had said to Stephenson, sidestepping a suggestion by a reporter that the 76ers ruined the Knicks’ celebration.

“I wouldn’t say that,” James said. “It was a great night for New York fans. Fifty-plus years. I was a part of that at one point where we hadn’t won a major championship in Cleveland in over 50 years. The fans will never forget this moment.”

UCLA football fans are accustomed to watching the Bruins struggle, so it took some time to believe new coach Bob Chesney really could back up his inspirational messages.

After a big road win against longtime nemesis Oregon, video posted online showed Chesney delivering a fiery speech to his team in the tunnel before facing the Ducks. He relayed the story of Hernán Cortes telling his crew to burn boats behind them so that there was no way out but forward. The Bruins, he said, had to burn the boats and fight through the Ducks.

“His speech before the Oregon game — where he talked about burning boats — that just fires you up. It makes me want to run through a wall,” said Brian Jacobsen, a 1987 UCLA graduate.

Jacobsen, 62, brought his family to Eugene to watch UCLA defeat Oregon for the first time since 2004 because he felt this team was special.

A fan with a UCLA themed Star Wars storm trooper mask dances during the Bruins’ win over Wisconsin at Rose Bowl on Saturday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

UCLA fan Luis Flores, 54, grew up watching the Bruins and said he can’t recall feeling this excited about the team.

“It’s the culture and the way the coaches have these kids going the right direction. Where they are disciplined, they believe in [Bob] and they believe in the Bruins,” Flores said.

Jacobsen and Flores were among the 36,045 fans at the Rose Bowl Saturday during UCLA’s 17-7 win over Wisconsin. The Chesney train is picking up steam, but the Rose Bowl was still far from sold out Saturday.

Joel Fierberg, music director of the UCLA Alumni Band, has seen the football program’s highs and lows during his 30 years leading the band.

“There have been some up-and-down years, but I am excited for what’s been happening,” Fierberg said.

Fierberg values fans who have stayed with the Bruins through thick and thin, especially now that the program has given them wins to celebrate.

“There are a lot of fans, including a lot of my band [members], who are here every week regardless,” Fierberg said. “It’s always exciting for them, having lived through the difficult times, to have something to be excited about.”

UCLA fans haven’t seen this kind of dominance since the Bruins opened the 2022 season 6-0.

Jeremiah Calvillo, 15, said he remembers the Chip Kelly era, but he couldn’t be more excited about what this UCLA team has done for him.

“[Chesney] is a very good coach who is leading this program to better things,” Calvillo said.

UCLA running back Anthony Woods and quarterback Ty Dieffenbach celebrate after scoring a touchdown in the fourth quarter against Wisconsin at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

UCLA alum Garry Sakson enjoys seeing all the praise the Bruins have received on social media after beating Oregon in Eugene. Sakson attended as many games as possible during the Kelly era at UCLA.

“The mindset this team has is different,” Sakson said. “With Chesney, it’s the way he acts and carries himself.”

Fans are cautious about discussing UCLA’s chances of making the College Football Playoff, despite the Bruins becoming the last undefeated team in the Big Ten and SEC. That superstitious approach shows how quickly Chesney has raised expectations.

“I’m very optimistic about Chesney in his first year, but talking about the playoffs already is wild. Still, it’s amazing that we’re even in this position,” said 2009 UCLA alum Tim Dawson.

Dawson was a freshman when the Bruins started the 2005 season 8-0 and finished 10-2, during coach Karl Dorrell’s third year.

That season, the Bruins were known for their high-scoring offense and their ability to pull wins out, until they fell to Arizona in Week 9.

This season, the Bruins have a potent rushing game, a dynamic new starting quarterback and defense that has delivered explosive plays. Dawson said this feels different than the 2005 team because the defense is strong.

The players are proud of how quickly they shifted from going 3-9 last season to a 6-0 start.

Fans watch UCLA face Wisconsin at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

“Think the progress that we made from January, when we all arrived, till now is just out of this world,“ UCLA wide receiver Landon Ellis said. “It’ll be hard to look back into history and find teams that have turned it around this fast. So if you’re not all the way in, I don’t know what you are doing,”

Chesney said a bruising win over Wisconsin that shows UCLA can hold its own against brawny Big Ten terms should win over more fans unaccustomed to success.

“I think this win changes things a little bit,” Chesney said. “We won games in different ways, whether it be the offense or defense, but I think [Saturday] was a tough, physical game of football that you got to have a lot of pride in. And I think this should be the one that gives them a lot of confidence to understand just exactly what we are doing.”

Cameron Winter had one last knife to twist for the Dodger faithful in the audience at Hollywood Forever on Thursday night.

“My husband lost everything but the kitchen sink, because he spent it all on DraftKings,” Winter deadpanned during the band’s closing hit “Trinidad,” where he typically sneers ad-libs about domestic nihilism. “He bet everything on the Dodgers, and they f—ing lost.”

The crowd cracked up in grim commiseration (as a Mets fan, Winter could probably sympathize). It felt cathartic when he hit that song’s freaked-out chorus — “There’s a bomb in my car!” — in a hail of guitar noise.

Geese had an atypical, if kind of old-fashioned, run on the hype train for a young rock band. Structured around Winter’s twitchy, stentorian vocals with contortions of feedback and meditative jams, the New York City quartet is, to paraphrase something Brian Eno said about My Bloody Valentine, “The vaguest music ever to have been a hit.” A group rooted both in Sonic Youth’s avant-garde pedal squalling and haunted, pre-Beatles rock ’n’ roll, they can still play “Saturday Night Live” and get its frontman a luscious prestige concert doc filmed at Carnegie Hall directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

That sudden ascent, for a band spiritually in league with the Velvet Underground and Suicide, led some to wonder what exactly happened behind the social media scenes to get them there (one conspiratorial phrase got thrown around in particular). Geese were always an odd band to pin to anxieties about fabricated culture — if a label had resources and abilities to manufacture stars, why not do it for a 100x-hyperscaling pop act instead? But if they didn’t have the goods after three LPs so far, they’d fade out soon enough.

At Hollywood Forever, Geese showed they did indeed have the mettle to run their scabrous noise into arenas. Much has been made of Winter’s idiosyncratic star power, and as an extremely tall, wet-dog-handsome instrumental virtuoso with a one-of-a-kind voice and just enough self-aware wit and lacerating lyricism to keep it relatable, that’s indisputable.

Geese perform at Hollywood Forever on Oct. 15.

(Lewis Evans)

But Geese is also a band, in the sense that every musician matters to a distinct aesthetic. I was just as compelled by guitarist Emily Green’s swells of reversed reverbs and sad-eyed, contrapuntal melodies, or drummer Max Bassin’s patience in building moods before firing off a relentless, redlining backbeat halfway between outlaw country and krautrock. Bassist Dominic DiGesu brought gnarled ballast to everything, and even touring keyboardist Sam Revaz added texture and levity (what was up with that twenty-second, heavily filtered sample of Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.” halfway through “2122”?)

Last year’s LP “Getting Killed” raised the stakes formidably, both for the band’s fame and their songwriting prowess. From “Long Island City Here I Come” onward, the band were merciless but measured in their attack. The slinky, lurching “Husbands,” “Islands of Men” and frantic “Bow Down” sounded meaner and more electric than on the record. “Au Pays du Cocaine” hit even more mournful and lonesome in an actual cemetery — “You can stay with me, and just pretend I’m not there” never felt so apropos.

A few tracks from 2023’s “3D Country” like “Cowboy Nudes” and “Gravity Blues” showed their insouciant Americana streak — you can easily imagine Bruce Springsteen getting wind of another grimy New York noise-rock act to champion. To judge from the lines of young, very devoted fans snaking around the cemetery, Geese has already built the requisite subculture to thrive longer-term. In decades past, some greasy label dude would probably tell them to go write a real hit next. These days, what they’re doing now already feels like one.

Winter will have some tough choices about how to balance both Geese and his regal piano-centric solo career (his late 2024 solo LP “Heavy Metal” is fantastic, and captivated no less an authority than PTA himself). You can see why Olivia Rodrigo wanted to get dinner with him. But for the next couple of nights in L.A., a genuinely beguiling and astringent new rock band is at the height of its powers and has captured the zeitgeist. Savor that.

The Savannah Bananas embarked on their first so-called world tour five years ago. It included only one stop — in Mobile, Ala.

As the unique brand of baseball entertainment known as Banana Ball expanded into a six-team league, the tours have grown in size and scope but never actually ventured out of the United States.

That will change next year. The 2027 Banana Ball Championship League tour will visit 79 stadiums across 74 cities, including the first-ever international stops. Four teams will travel to Mexico, with the Bananas playing the Texas Tailgaters in Monterrey on Feb. 5 and 6 and the Party Animals taking on the Loco Beach Coconuts in Tijuana on Feb. 12 and 13.

The tour swings to Canada in late summer, with the Bananas playing the Indiananapolis Clowns in Toronto on Aug. 14 and 15 and the Tailgaters facing the Party Animals in Winnipeg on Aug. 26 and 28.

“We got a lot of criticism over the years. ‘It’s not a world tour, you’re playing in one city! It’s not a world tour, you’re playing in seven cities in the southeast!’” Banana Ball creator and owner Jesse Cole said Thursday on ESPN2. “But we saw where we could go, and we’ve always had a vision to create 1 billion fans, one fan at a time. And over the last two or three years, we’ve heard from a lot of different countries all over the world.”

The Savannah Bananas, featuring Banana Ball creator and owner Jesse Cole in his signature yellow suit and derby hat, perform onstage during the 2026 ESPY Awards in New York.

(Mike Coppola / Getty Images)

Cole said he expects the 2027 tour to draw an estimated 4.3 million fans.

“Everything we do is do one experiment and then see where it can go,” he said. “And this crazy experiment of Banana Ball has gone some places we never imagined.”

Another new stop next year will be Dodger Stadium, where the Bananas will play the Firefighters on April 23 and 24. The same teams also will face off at Angel Stadium on July 2 and 3, marking the third consecutive year the Bananas have played at the venue.

The schedule reveal show included a number of announcements, including the debut of a concept called Banana Ball 360 on June 26 at Notre Dame Stadium. Two baseball fields will be set up on opposite ends of the stadium, with the game taking place on each during alternating innings.

“I do believe that fans at that show are going to be able to see things they’ve never seen before, and also every single seat is a great seat,” Cole said. “And that was the idea.”

Also announced were a new Disney-produced film documenting the growth of Banana Ball, which will premiere June 12 at Atlanta’s Truist Park, and the league’s third cruise, “Bananaland at Sea + Puerto Rico,” in January 2028. The cruise will depart from the Port of Miami and will feature a Banana Ball game at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan.

A man who fell from the upper tier of a stand during a football match and injured fans below has been found not guilty of assault.

Maidstone United supporter John Ryan fell on to Joanne Peters and her partner Aaron Rose at Ipswich Town’s Portman Road ground during an FA Cup clash in January 2024.

Ryan, 62, of Railway Street, Chatham, Kent, denied one count of assault by beating and one count of actual bodily harm and told Ipswich Crown Court he had been unable to stop himself during goal celebrations.

Ryan could be seen crying in the dock as the jury returned verdicts of not guilty to both charges and said afterwards “it’s been very stressful”.

Peters had been in tears when she told the court she initially thought the supporters’ box behind her had collapsed and she thought she “could have died”.

Ryan had been one of thousands of Maidstone United supporters who saw their non-league side win 2-1 over Ipswich, who were heading to promotion from the Championship that season.

He told the court the game had been “the biggest match in the club’s history” and he had been celebrating a “special” goal.

The jury was told he had been in Cobbold Stand upper tier when he fell, slid down the sloping roof that covers the boxes, and landed on the Ipswich supporters below.

Ryan told the jury he had been unsure if he had been pushed or his foot had slipped when he fell.

Nicolas Cage is making it clear — he’s not an “AI-friendly actor.”

The 62-year-old actor spoke out against a tech giant during an appearance at New York Comic Con on Saturday. He alleged that he was asked to sign an artificial intelligence waiver for the television series “Spider Noir.”

“Amazon is a very AI-friendly company, to the tune of $50 billion invested in OpenAI,” Cage said on stage.

“I am not an AI-friendly actor, so it’s like, connect those dots! I’m not a member of their club. I didn’t sign the waiver to let him use AI on ‘Spider-Noir.’ I’m probably not going to be working with that studio again, but that’s OK.”

Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The use of AI continues to be a major sticking point across Hollywood. Industry unions including SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild recently secured protections against technology in new contracts. But as AI evolves and AI actors like Tilly Norwood continue to make headlines, it’s still unclear exactly how the industry will be affected.

“Spider-Noir,” which premiered in May, is a “Spider-Man” project that put a 1930s crime-thriller spin on the web-slinging superhero. The show was produced by both Sony Pictures Television and Amazon MGM Studios.

Cage’s part as “The Spider” marked his first leading role in a series. The Oscar-winning actor, whose home in Malibu was recently affected by a sinkhole, is known best for his roles in movies like “National Treasure,” “Moonstruck” and “The Rock.”

Upon its release, “Spider-Noir” received much praise from fans and critics alike. In its first six weeks of streaming, the series earned 2.6 billion minutes watched, according to Nielsen. It was also Amazon’s most-nominated show at this year’s Emmys, with 11 nominations and five wins.

Last month, Amazon announced that the show was canceled after only one season, leaving much of the industry in shock.

During his Comic Con panel, Cage also said he plans to keep working in TV. He announced that he will be joining the HBO series “True Detective.”

“My agent’s out there somewhere listening,” Cage said. “That’s OK that I’m the first to announce that, right?”

He pounded his chest twice as he left the batter’s box, and all of Dodgers nation rocked to the beat.

Andy Pages did it. He finally did it. He finally broke out of his baffling two-year October slump with a hit so powerful, he didn’t even have to climb over Kiké Hernández to get it.

How powerful? With one smooth swing he broke a tie by scoring two runs while sending two teams packing, the Atlanta Braves trudging home for the winter and the Dodgers charging into the National League Championship Series.

Yeah, it was a blast, both figuratively and literally, Pages’ two-out, two-strike bases-loaded single in the seventh inning Wednesday night silencing the lame tomahawk-chopping fans at Truist Park and giving the Dodgers an eventual clinching 4-1 victory against the Braves in the National League Division Series.

Dodger Andy Pages hits a two-RBI single against the Braves during Game 4 of the NLDS Wednesday in Atlanta.

(Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)

Certainly, it only gets tougher from here. In winning this best-of-five series three games to one, the Dodgers can now prepare for a best-of-seven showdown task against either the mighty Milwaukee Brewers or blazing San Diego Padres.

Yes, they will need to hit better, they will need Blake Snell to find his focus, they will need Shohei Ohtani to show up.

But… Andy Pages! Seriously! If a guy who was seven for 66 in the last two postseasons and was so helpless last year he was benched for the last three games of the World Series… if that guy can drive in the winning run from the bottom of the order? The once-fallible Dodgers may just be unbeatable.

“There’s no more talented team than the Los Angeles Dodgers,” manager Dave Roberts shouted in the postgame clubhouse. “We’re the best organization in sports, top to bottom. We’re smarter, we’re better, and we’re tougher.”

At that point, someone referenced a recent comment from Padres owner José E. Feliciano insinuating that the Dodgers, baseball’s oldest team, was composed of dinosaurs.

“And we’re dinosaurs!” shouted a voice above the clubhouse din.

If they’re dinosaurs, their first initial is “T” and their last name is ‘Rex.”

It’s OK to start seriously thinking about a three-peat now. They’re now just eight wins away but, given how mediocre the American League playoff teams appear, they could realistically be just four wins away.

Here’s guessing that the NLCS will be the real World Series. And here’s guessing the Dodgers will be ready.

Pages, who won the hearts of Dodger fans last October when he made a leaping game-saving catch over the back of Kiké Hernández, was granted his first big October swing thanks to the Braves largess.

In the seventh inning of a 1-all tie, Teoscar Hernández redeemed himself for another fielding blunder with a single that finally drove dizzying Tyler Mahle from the game.

In came Game 2 rookie sensation Didier Fuentes, only this time, he was all rookie and zero sensation, walking Josue De Paula and Kyle Tucker to load the bases. Considering De Paula is just a kid and Tucker has been struggling, the fact that both showed such patience in such a pressure situation was pretty cool. And moments later, it got even cooler.

In came veteran reliever Robert Suarez, and Pages was ready for him, working the count full before lining the two-run single up the middle.

The Dodgers added a run two innings later on a Max Muncy home run — has there ever been a playoff game when he hasn’t homered? — to finalize the score.

Dodger Max Muncy celebrates after hitting a home run in the ninth inning of Game 4 of the NLDS against the Braves in Atlanta Wednesday.

(Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)

When the game ended on an Austin Riley fly out to right field, Pages celebrated in center field by taking off his cap, turning his face to the sky and pounding the cap three times into his glove.

It was a series that was worth the emotion, the Dodgers famous starting rotation giving up just four runs in 21 ⅓ innings, the bullpen solid behind a revived Edwin Díaz, and the offense doing just enough to beat Braves aces Chris Sale and Mahle.

In the fifth inning of a tie game, starter Tyler Glasnow issued walks to Riley and Michael Harris II. With two out, in came Alex Vesia. Up stepped slugger Matt Olson. The fans climbed to their feet. This was the Braves’ big chance.

Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz throws the ball against the Braves in the ninth inning Game 4 of the NLDS Wednesday in Atlanta.

(Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)

But Olson swung at the first pitch and lined it directly to second baseman Kiké Hernández to end the threat and quiet the joint. Díaz threw a hitless ninth for his second save of the series and…who’s going to beat them?

Afterward, Roberts referenced nearly half of his team when talking about his pride. He talked about Pages’ hit, about De Paula’s walk, about reliever Edgardo Henriquez’s 1 ⅔ shutout innings, about Muncy’s bat and Freddie Freeman’s glove.

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“I guess, amazement,” he said. “Our guys just continue to fight, persevere. You never know who the guy’s going to be.”

The only glaring weakness was, once again, the superstar who used to be their strength. Ohtani scored the Dodgers’ first run after drawing a walk but went hitless in three ensuing at-bats. He only got two hits in the four-game series and you have to wonder if his injury-wracked body would be better out of the lineup.

How well are they playing without the full services of their most historic player? On the verge of making history, the Dodgers don’t even miss him.

It was so hot at Dodger Stadium on Saturday…

How hot was it?

It was so hot a team that averaged nearly 50,000 fans for often meaningless regular-season games beat the Atlanta Braves 5-3 in its first postseason game before thousands of empty seats — some of which were literally too hot to sit in.

It was so hot the Dodgers set up pallets of bottled water near the gates and anyone brave enough to enter the stadium was given a plastic 16-ounce Dasini bottle. Gatorade also set up a cooling tent under the right-field pavilion.

It was so hot Nicolas Gonzalez, a fan sitting in the shade of the reserved level, saw a stadium attendant, overcome by heat, stretchered before the game even started. She wasn’t the only one. By the later innings, other fans on the reserved level were reportedly seeking medical attention on the concourse.

The Dodgers declined comment.

So how hot was it?

The game started 45 minutes after the National Weather Service issued an extreme heat warning, cautioning against “extremely dangerous heat conditions” as the temperature reached 100 degrees at first pitch. By the third inning, the temperature reading atop the left-field scoreboard peaked at 103 degrees, matching the highest first-pitch temperature at 64-year-old Dodger Stadium.

“I’ve been coming to games my whole life and this is easily the hottest game I’ve ever been to,” said Gonzalez, 38, of Culver City. “Having a game in these conditions feels like we’re flying too close to the sun, both literally and figuratively.”

A fan tries to stay cool during Game 1 of the NLDS between the Dodgers and Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium on Saturday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Around him, fans tried to cool themselves by waving makeshift fans. It didn’t work.

But the weather didn’t just effect the way the game was watched. It effected the way it was played, too. The cloudless skies made every pop-up an adventure and the warm, dense air reduced drag, allowing batted balls to travel further. As a result, the teams combined for five homers, accounting for all eight runs.

“That’s probably one of the hottest games that we’ve ever had here. And so shout out to the Dodger fans; they were amazing,” said Max Muncy, who hit of those five homers.

“My feet were hot. Really hot.”

The Dodgers wound up with an early afternoon game in the middle of a historic heat wave because MLB and the TV networks — in this case Fox and TBS — set conditional start times for the four Division Series games before the teams and matchups were known. When the San Diego Padres eliminated the Chicago Cubs in the wild-card round, Saturday’s early NL game went to the Dodgers.

Left-hander Tarik Skubal, who gave up just a run on two hits in six innings to get the win in his Dodger postseason debut, said he didn’t really notice the heat until he came out of the game.

“I walked back into the dugout, and I asked — I forget who, I think it was [Blake] Snell — I was like, ‘has it been this hot all game?’ It’s amazing what your brain can do in certain circumstances and moments,” he said.

“I actually didn’t think it was horrible when I was pitching.”

But then Skubal pitched in much hotter conditions as a kid growing up in northern Arizona.

“I played a Little League game in 127 [degrees]. Lake Havasu,” he said. “[Saturday’s] up there with as hot a baseball game that you can play in.

“Every team’s playing in it, right? They’re playing in the same conditions we are. It shouldn’t really impact how you are mentally or how it’s going to impact how you pitch. Just go out there and play baseball and try to drink water. That’s really it.”

At least Skubal got to drink his water in the relative cool of the dugout between innings. Umpire Roberto Ortiz, wearing 10 pounds of protective gear and a black-and-gray uniform, got no such relief. He had to stand behind the plate for 2 hours 44 minutes and all 290 pitches, one of which smoked him in the seventh inning.

That’s why his five fellow umpires made a point of patting him on the back or shoulder before jogging to their positions for the first pitch.

“He stayed tough,” Dodger catcher Will Smith said of Ortiz. “I’m sure he’ll rehydrate and be ready for tomorrow.”

Speaking of tomorrow, the Dodgers, Braves and the umpires will all get some relief for Game 2. At first pitch Sunday afternoon the Weather Channel is forecasting a temperature of just 97 degrees.

“The dark silver lining,” Gonzalez, the heat-weary fan said in a nod to global warming, “is this might be the coolest October of the rest of our lives.”

As Olivia Rodrigo kicked off the Unraveled Tour in support of her third album, “You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love,” the internet had plenty to talk about—from her dissolving dress and flower-covered stage design to her custom-made, pink heart-shaped guitar.

The guitar was built by Luis Muñoz, a Mexican American guitar technician and luthier who operates out of a tiny repair shop in East L.A.

Originally from El Paso, Muñoz moved to Los Angeles in 2009 and took guitar repair classes in Hollywood, hoping to find his way into the music industry.

Music was always around Muñoz. He remembers discovering Slash after his family got cable television. Mesmerized by the Guns N’ Roses guitarist, who stole the spotlight with his top hat and searing guitar solos in videos for “Welcome to the Jungle” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine” on MTV’s Hot 100 music video countdown, Muñoz knew that was what he wanted to do.

He picked up his father’s old guitar and began learning to play, experimenting with the strings and teaching himself along the way.

His first opportunity came with singer-songwriter LP as a guitar technician. Muñoz admits he exaggerated his skill set to get his foot in the door, but he was determined to make the opportunity count.

“Once you’re in, you’re in,” he said.

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Over the years, Muñoz has toured with artists including Smashing Pumpkins, Deftones, Bush, Anthrax, Fall Out Boy and his most recent touring job was with Rodrigo, after his wife, the pop star’s former bassist, told him she was looking for a new guitar tech.

Rodrigo’s heart-shaped guitar was another opportunity to put his craftsmanship on display.

“I’m sure Olivia has every guitar company in the world in her DMs, and she still trusted a small shop in East L.A.,” Muñoz wrote on Instagram, alongside photos of Rodrigo with the guitar.

“Five prototypes before I got the body right. It had to look cool, play easy, feel comfortable, and most of all, sound good. Built completely by hand, late nights after shop hours.”

Muñoz recalled the moment Rodrigo’s team reached out to request a custom-made guitar. He knew he had one shot to get it right: “In the back of my mind, I’m like, I only got one shot and it has to be made with love.”

The guitar took several months to complete and was built entirely by hand. He later hinted that it is currently one-of-one for now. After Rodrigo shared the guitar with her fans, Muñoz’s one-of-a-kind creation quickly became part of the visual identity of the tour — but for him, the significance went beyond the instrument itself.

Now retired from touring to spend more time with his family, including his 18-month-old daughter, Rosie, Muñoz says moments like seeing young fans in the crowd are what stay with him.

“One of my favorite things being on tour was seeing all the little girls lose their minds. The power of seeing that. Immediately in their head it’s like, ‘I can do that too.’ Imagine if I’m playing a tiny little role in that, yeah … all day.”

Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson said she apologized to her teammates for getting a technical foul late in an eventual 98-89 playoff loss to the Indiana Fever on Tuesday night in Indianapolis.

But the four-time league MVP is not apologizing for her actions that led to the foul being called.

With about 4 minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Aces down by 11, Wilson drew a foul against Indiana’s Sophie Cunningham. As Cunningham protested the call, Wilson walked over to a Fever fan who had been standing in front of his seat in the second row behind the basket and pointing in Wilson’s direction.

Visibly upset, Wilson stood directly in front of the fan, who had been pulled back into his seat by a woman sitting next to him, while yelling at him. She was quickly pulled away by teammate Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, but was still upset as she walked away.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Wilson said that there are “just certain things that I’m not going to allow anymore because it’s just unacceptable.”

“I don’t know if you guys know me, but I don’t really get into the bulls—. I don’t,” Wilson said. “I try to play my game, keep it pushing. But if I’m just walking, because I just got the foul, I’m chilling — and if I see a man come at me, taking steps towards me and pointing at me, I don’t give a damn what you said. I don’t give a damn how you said it, the tone. That is unacceptable.”

Online video footage shot from the stands shows that the man was standing in front of his seat as the play unfolded. He appears to take a step or two while pointing and yelling after the foul was called.

“I didn’t exactly see what happened. I kind of saw the aftermath,” Aces coach Becky Hammon told reporters after the game. “I’ve never seen A’ja Wilson go like that. So whatever was done, I can tell you she felt very disrespected in that moment. I’ve never seen her really react like that ever. So whatever it was, it doesn’t have any place, I don’t think, in an arena.”

The fan eventually was escorted out of the seating area but was allowed to return to his seat. The Fever said in a statement that arena security spoke with the man and witnesses and “determined there was no violation of the Fan Code of Conduct.”

Wilson was assessed a technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct.

“Yeah, I’m apologizing to my team for that,” she told reporters. But, Wilson added, “you don’t have to like me. You don’t have to love me. You can hate me with all your heart. … But I guarantee you will respect me.”

The decisive Game 3 of the series is Thursday in Las Vegas.

A new age of Clippers basketball started on Monday.

It’s about moving on, or attempting to, after the franchise endured a nightmare offseason.

“My entire summer’s been basketball,” guard Darius Garland nonchalantly said during media day at Intuit Dome. “My main thing is to come in here and win games. So, that’s my main focus.”

The Clippers’ offseason was engulfed by the NBA’s salary-cap circumvention investigation into the team’s endorsement deals with Kawhi Leonard. The NBA fined the Clippers $30 million, stripped them of five first-round picks, dealt suspensions to owner Steve Ballmer and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank — and the Clippers ultimately traded Leonard, who was fined merely $700,000, back to Toronto.

Garland represented his teammates in prioritizing hoops.

But for Trent Redden, the Clippers’ interim president of basketball operations, things weren’t that simple. The admittedly nervous executive started Monday’s news conferences by apologizing to the Clippers’ faithful for the aftermath of the Leonard situation.

“Our fans deserve to hear from us before this, and for that we’re sorry,” Redden said. “We’ve been listening to the thoughts, the concerns, and feeling the emotions of our fan base. They mean everything to us. … We hope to fulfill our promises to them, to build their trust and move forward through this time.

“This franchise often has done its best work with its back against the wall … We hope to represent our fans the same way we always have in dark times, by coming out fighting.”

Fighting is all the new-look Clippers can do as they enter the 2026-27 season.

Leonard is back north of the border. Other stars, such as Paul George, James Harden and the recently retired Russell Westbrook, are distant memories in L.A. For the first time in years, the Clippers aren’t entering a season with championship aspirations.

“It’s been difficult,” said Ty Lue, who enters his seventh season as the Clippers’ coach. “But I give our players a lot of credit … the leadership is great [and] the morale is great, even in these tough situations. That’s good to see, when you have your players coming in every day, giving everything they have; a lot of teams don’t have that.”

The Clippers’ league-record streak of 15 consecutive winning seasons is in jeopardy. Nonetheless, the team will still feature plenty of intrigue roster-wise, with a mix of youngsters “doing TikToks” and “old heads” trying to keep up, as Garland described it.

“I think we can surprise a lot of people,” he said.

Garland himself, 26, enters his first full season in L.A. as the team’s go-to scorer. A two-time All-Star, he’s primed to lead a promising backcourt alongside 19-year-old rookie Keaton Wagler, the Clippers’ No. 5 pick in the 2026 draft.

Wagler is one of the team’s promising young players, alongside fellow rookie Baba Miller, Kobe Sanders and the rehabbing Jordan Miller and Yanic Konan Niederhauser.

“I’m just going to do my best to stay mentally focused,” Wagler said when asked about the pressure of being the team’s first top-five pick since Blake Griffin in 2009. “Not worry about all the outside noise.”

The Clippers return key role players like Derrick Jones Jr., Kris Dunn, Bradley Beal and Brook Lopez, and sport new ones like Max Strus and Gradey Dick via trades.

However, the team’s ceiling will rest on the influence of new forwards Brandon Ingram and Rui Hachimura. Hachimura is coming off a strong playoff run and four-year stint with the Lakers.

“One thing about here … everybody talks about how they take really good care of their players,” Hachimura said of signing a two-year, $28-million contract with the Clippers this offseason.

Ingram, the centerpiece of the Leonard trade, is a solid three-level scorer and will shoulder much of the offensive load alongside Garland — when healthy.

Redden shockingly shared that Ingram is recovering from a partially torn Achilles tendon in addition to heel surgery.

“I had been dealing with some pain throughout the year with the Raptors, especially coming down crunch time with the Raptors,” Ingram said. “I didn’t quite know what it was. Near the end of the season, we figured out what it was, and surgery was the best thing to do.”

The 29-year-old Ingram, though, should make a full recovery and claims his best days are still ahead of him.

He feels the same way about his new Clippers team.

“I know [there are] little to no expectations for us this year,” Ingram said. “We have enough in the building to compete. This is what we love to do. So, we’ll go out and compete every single night, learn, go on to the next game and get better and better.”

Pro wrestler PAC, whose real name was Benjamin Satterley, died Sunday at 40 less than 24 hours after competing in All Elite Wrestling’s “All Out” pay-per-view event, AEW announced.

“All Elite Wrestling is saddened to announce the passing of Benjamin Satterley, aka Pac,” AEW said in a statement. “A native of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, Satterley began his wrestling career in 2004 and went on to perform for wrestling organizations all over the world, captivating fans with innovative high-flying moves and incredible in-ring ability. Pac signed with All Elite Wrestling in 2019 and held multiple AEW Championships and competed in some of the most memorable matches in AEW history. Our condolences go out to Satterley’s family, friends and fans.”

AEW owner Tony Khan posted a message on X honoring Satterley.

“Benjamin Satterley defined excellence, as a beloved husband & friend to his many loved ones, + in his wrestling knowledge, skill, unprecedented athleticism, professionalism, consistency + dedication to the sport that he loved & traveled the world to pursue,” Khan’s statement read. “May Ben rest in peace.”

Satterley broke into pro wrestling in 2004 and made a name for himself in the U.S. as part of the Pro Wrestling Guerilla promotion in Los Angeles. He signed with World Wrestling Entertainment in 2012 and was given the name Adrian Neville, later shortened to just Neville. He became part of their NXT promotion and won its heavyweight title before he was promoted to the main roster. He won the NXT Championship while in developmental and later made it to the main roster in 2015, winning the WWE cruiserweight title.

Considered one of the best wrestlers in the world, Satterley was was a relatively small 5 feet 8, 194 pounds and was not given a push relative to his ability in WWE. He left the promotion in 2018 and later joined AEW, where he changed his name to PAC and won the International title and the Trios title.

He was currently involved in a feud with Andrade El Idolo and challenged him for the national championship Saturday in Chicago, with El Idolo winning to retain the title.

When AEW launched in 2019, he was announced as one of the first signees, becoming the first All-Atlantic Champion and also won the Trios Championships. Since 2024, he had been a member of the Death Riders group.

Turns out Ed Sheeran, whose Loop tour became embroiled in controversy this month, won’t perform at billionaire Robert Kraft’s Gillette Stadium this weekend, either.

The “Shape of You” pop star’s Friday and Saturday shows at the Foxborough, Mass., venue have been canceled “due to severe weather warnings” in the region, Messina Touring, the Loop tour’s promoter, announced Friday in a statement shared on Instagram. The touring group said it made the “difficult decision” to cancel the upcoming shows after consulting with local officials. A powerful nor’easter is expected to bring strong winds, coastal flooding and heavy rain to much of the East Coast over the weekend, with wind gusts potentially reaching 50 to 55 mph around Boston and 35 to 40 mph farther inland, the Associated Press reported.

“The decision was made with the safety of fans, staff and everyone involved in the show as the top priority,” the statement continued, adding that fans can now receive refunds for their tickets.

Sheeran’s Loop tour hits its latest snag after weeks of turmoil. Earlier this month Sheeran and his touring team faced pressure to remove former opening act Macklemore from future shows. The Grammy-winning “Thrift Shop” rapper drew criticism from a handful of Jewish advocacy groups over his pro-Palestinian messaging during his opening sets at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Within days of the concerts, Messina Touring dismissed Macklemore from the shows. While Sheeran denied having a role in Macklemore’s departure, he confirmed that he spoke with Kraft, who was among the stadium owners expressing concern about Macklemore’s continued involvement in the tour.

Shortly after Macklemore’s dismissal, the remaining supporting acts for Sheeran’s tour, including Grammy winner Finneas and folk band Beoga (Sheeran’s backing band), quit the Loop tour in solidarity. Sheeran proceeded with his tour over the weekend.

News of Sheeran’s canceled shows also comes on the heels of Macklemore’s announcement of his Free Palestine tour. The rapper, who has been a vocal advocate for the Palestinian cause, revealed three concerts set to take place in late October in Dublin, Paris and London. Though additional details have yet to be revealed, Macklemore said he will be joined by artists “who have shown up and used their stages to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people.”

Macklemore also announced that dates for U.S. tour stops will come in a later announcement and that the entirety of proceeds from his tour will go to a handful of charities supporting the Palestinians amid Israel’s war in Gaza. Macklemore announced last week he would donate all $1 million of his earnings from his time on Sheeran’s tour to numerous pro-Palestinian charities.

Sheeran is next expected to perform Oct. 3 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.