game

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell.

As we await the postseason and wonder if the Dodgers will get a first-round bye, here are some random thoughts.

—It was very disappointing to get swept by the Braves. If someone forced me right now to bet on the World Series winner, I’d bet on the Brewers. But none of that means the Dodgers aren’t going to win.

—However, there is no doubt they are playing poorly right now. Defensive miscues that don’t always show up in the box score. Poor situational hitting. A couple of bad games by Tanner Scott.

—E-mails I have received:

“You need to stop going easy on this team. They will not win the World Series this year.”

“This team is a disgrace and plays with no heart.”

“Knowledgeable fans know that this team is going nowhere.”

“They can’t beat the good teams, so what chance do they have in the postseason?”

“There won’t be any World Series dramatics this year. They are toast.”

When did I get these emails? Last season in late August/early September, when they had lost seven of eight to Arizona, Pittsburgh and Baltimore.

I got another flurry of them after each of the losses to Atlanta. Some people never learn. What happens in the regular season has no bearing on what happens in the postseason. Two of the Atlanta games were started by a blister-hampered Roki Sasaki and and a first-game-back-in-weeks Tyler Glasnow. That won’t be the case in the postseason. So, yes, be disappointed, but don’t throw in the towel.

—Clayton Kershaw did an excellent job in the broadcast booth with Joe Davis on Tuesday. It would behoove the Dodgers to bring him back as often as he wants. (Editor’s note: Behoove? Was the author of this newsletter born in the 1800s?)

—OK, I’ve said this before, but when you can’t have a conversation with the person you are sitting next to at Dodger Stadium, then the in-game entertainment is too loud.

—You know what the best in-game entertainment is? The actual game. Never has a sport had such a lack of faith in its own product that they feel the need to fill every moment with something so the actual game doesn’t bore you.

—And again, where are my Cool-A-Coos?

—One of the big problems Kyle Tucker has faced with fans this season is that he gives the appearance of not caring. He does care, but he looks like he doesn’t.

—The Dodgers have played 13 one-run games this month. They are 6-7 in those games. They are 26-21 during the season in one-run games.

—Teoscar Hernández is actually getting worse as a fielder.

—The Dodgers schedule the rest of the season:

at Detroit (3)
vs. St. Louis (3)
vs. Washington (3)
vs. Cincinnati (3)
at Miami (3)
at Cincinnati (4)
vs. San Francisco (3)
vs. San Diego (3)
at San Francisco (3)

—The Dodgers are 40-26 at home, 40-28 on the road.

—The Dodgers are 11-13 in August. Last August they were 15-13.

—Hunter Feduccia has become this season’s Ben Rortvedt. He’s hitting .282/.364/.410 since joining the Dodgers and has had a few crucial hits.

—How does ESPN manage to find the worst baseball announcers every season? The network is very good at it. It must be difficult to wade through all the candidates and pick the very worst ones.

—One of the problems with the gondola that one day might take fans to Dodger Stadium: Do you really want to be in a gondola a couple of hundred feet over the sidewalk with a bunch of drunk Dodgers and Giants fans?

—Kiké Hernández was four for four before going on the IL. He is four for 33 since coming back.

—If the season ended today, Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Cubs would win the NL MVP award, with Shohei Ohtani finishing second.

—Does anyone else still cringe a little when Ohtani slides, thinking of his injury in the 2024 World Series? Just me? OK.

—It’s still a shame the Dodgers never put a patch on their uniforms for Davey Lopes.

—With Sasaki going on the IL because of a blister, Eric Lauer goes back into the starting rotation and reliever Seth Halvorsen comes back from the minors.

—Mookie Betts has made only five errors at shortstop this season in 96 games. Hyeseong Kim made four in 24 games. Miguel Rojas has made no errors in 58 games in the infield.

—When Will Smith last played, the Dodgers were 41-23, a winning percentage of .640, on pace to win 104 games. Since then, they have gone 39-31, a winning percentage of .557, which would put them on pace to win 90 games. Coincidence? I think not. Smith stabilizes the lineup and the pitching staff.

—Key Dodgers’ batters with two out and runners in scoring position this season:

Alek Thomas, .667, 2 for 3
Hunter Feduccia, .500, 3 for 6
Kiké Hernández, .333, 1 for 3
Hyeseong Kim, .316, 6 for 19
Dalton Rushing, .304, 7 for 23
Alex Call, .304, 7 for 23
Andy Pages, .294, 15 for 51
Kyle Tucker, .283, 15 for 53
Freddie Freeman, .282, 11 for 39
Shohei Ohtani, .263, 10 for 38
Ben Rortvedt, .250, 1 for 4
Tommy Edman, .250, 6 for 24
Miguel Rojas, .200, 3 for 15
Mookie Betts, .178, 8 for 45
Teoscar Hernández, .171, 7 for 41
Max Muncy, .170, 9 for 53
Will Smith, .118, 2 for 17
Team, .242
MLB average, .230

That’s not good

How the Dodgers have fared against teams with winning and losing records:

.500 or better: 33-36
Below .500: 47-18

Forgotten Dodger: Dazzy Vance

Vance pitched for the Dodgers so long ago (1922-32) that he has been forgotten by many. The best comparison to Vance is Don Drysdale.

Consider where he ranks among starting pitchers in Dodgers history: Second in WAR, eighth in ERA+, fourth in wins, fifth in strikeouts. If you were picking the all-time Dodgers rotation, he would have to be given strong consideration for a spot.

Charles Arthur Vance was born March 4, 1891, in Orient, Iowa. His family moved to Pleasant Hill Township, Neb., when Vance was little. When he reached high school, he started pitching for a semipro team in the area and had what was described as a dazzling fastball. That’s where he got his nickname, Dazzy.

Vance started playing professionally in 1912 in the class D Nebraska State League and quickly moved up the ranks, winning 26 games for St. Joseph (Mo.) of the class A Western League in 1914. Near the end of the season, he started four games in six days and hurt his arm. There were no MRIs then to determine his injury, but, because of how he described the way his arm felt, it is believed he suffered a torn UCL. Back then, the solution for these things was to rest your arm for a couple of weeks and try again.

Before the 1915 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates purchased his contract from St. Joseph. It is not known if they knew about his arm injury. Vance started one game for the Pirates and gave up three runs in 2 2/3 innings. The Pirates then traded him to the New York Yankees and he pitched better, with a 3.54 ERA in 28 innings. But he went 0-3, and wins and losses were all that mattered back then, so the Yankees sent him back to St. Joseph.

His arm still was hurting, and he bounced around that decade’s version of the minors for a few years. He returned to the Yankees in 1918 and had a 15.43 ERA. They got rid of him quickly and he ended up pitching in New Orleans.

And that’s when fate stepped in. Vance was playing poker and after winning a hand, he banged his elbow against the edge of the table while celebrating. The result was immediate excruciating pain. He couldn’t straighten his arm and couldn’t stand the pain. The only option was exploratory surgery. What the surgeon did has been lost to the annals of time, but after he was done and Vance recovered, his arm was 100% again. No pain when he threw. “It was an odd thing,” Vance said. “My arm came back just as quickly as it went sore on me in 1915. I awoke one morning and learned I could throw without pain again.”

Vance won 21 games for New Orleans in 1921.

After the 1921 season, the Brooklyn Dodgers were interested in a New Orleans player, but it wasn’t Vance. They wanted catcher Hank DeBerry. The Dodgers sent scout Larry Sutton to attempt to get DeBerry from the Pelicans, who told Sutton they had to take Vance too in order to get DeBerry.

According to the book “The Brooklyn Dodgers: An Informal History” by Frank Graham, this is what happened: “When he found out that the pitcher in question was Vance, Dodgers owner Charles Ebbets rebelled. ‘Oh, no. I could have drafted him long ago if I wanted him. You go back and tell them if we have to take Vance, the deal is off.’ Soon Sutton called his boss back. ‘They say, no Vance, no DeBerry.’ ‘In that case,’ Ebbets replied, ‘tell them they can …’ Sutton interrupted: ‘Wait a minute, Mr. Ebbets. I just talked to DeBerry. He wants to go to Brooklyn, naturally, but he says he don’t want to go without Vance. He says to tell you that if he looks good down here, it’s because Vance makes him look good. And, really, Daz is hot. He’s knocked around a long time and he’s learned how to pitch. And he has a fastball. A real good fastball. He’s the best pitcher in the league.’”

Ebbets acquiesced and agreed to take Vance too. And with that, the Dodgers acquired one of their best pitchers ever, a pitcher who didn’t really star in the majors until he was 31. Starting in 1922, Vance led the NL in strikeouts for seven straight seasons. He led in wins twice and ERA three times. He went 28-6 with a 2.16 ERA and 30 complete games in 34 starts in 1924 and was named NL MVP. If the Cy Young had existed back then, he would have won at least three. With Brooklyn from 1922-32, he completed 213 of 328 starts, with a 190-131 record and a 3.17 ERA. He also had eight saves.

Vance also used a secret weapon: He wore the same sweatshirt for every game and had cut the sleeves into several strips lengthwise, so when he released the ball, the batter often lost sight of it briefly as the tattered sleeves flapped with the pitch. Vance, of course, denied doing this on purpose. When opponents demanded he buy a new shirt, as Graham recounts in his book, Vance responded, “Oh, no! This is my lucky shirt. I’ve had it since I was in New Orleans, and I ain’t even washed it.”

The Dodgers traded Vance to St. Louis before the 1933 season. He was 42 and his best pitching days were behind him. He went 6-2 with a 3.55 ERA but pitched only 99 innings. He was released after the season and signed with Cincinnati, which released him after he had a 7.50 ERA in six games. The Cardinals re-signed him and he finished the season with them. His final season was in 1935, when he returned to Brooklyn, going 4-2 with a 4.41 ERA in 20 games, all in relief. He was 44. He retired after the season.

Before he retired, Vance moved himself and his family (wife Edythe, son Donald and daughter Dorothy) to Homosassa Springs, Fla., where he opened a hunting and fishing camp and a hotel. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1955. He learned he was elected when a highway patrolman pulled him over while he was driving near his home. The policeman told him people were waiting at his house to tell him the news.

Vance died of a heart attack on Feb. 16, 1961 and is buried at Stage Stand Cemetery just outside Homosassa Springs.

Dodgers poll

Let’s take the temperature of the readers. How do you think the Dodgers will do in the postseason this year?

They will lose in the wild-card series
They will lose in the NLDS
They will lose in the NLCS
They will lose in the World Series
They will win the World Series
They won’t make the postseason

Click here to vote in our survey.

Up next

Friday: Dodgers (*Tarik Skubal, 8-7, 2.91 ERA [1-2, 3.38 ERA with Dodgers]) at Detroit (Drew Anderson, 4-5, 4.09 ERA), 3:40 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Saturday: Dodgers (*Blake Snell, 2-1, 2.57 ERA) at Detroit (Keider Montero, 9-8, 3.30 ERA), 4:15 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Sunday: Dodgers (Tyler Glasnow, 3-0, 3.02 ERA) at Detroit (*Framber Valdez, 8-9, 4.35 ERA), 10:40 a.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

All times Pacific

*-left-handed

In case you missed it

Tarik Skubal returns to Detroit to face the Tigers. His focus is on the task at hand

Mark Walter’s company TWG Global defends Dodgers financing and Lakers sale

How two decades of friendship have shaped Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward

And finally

Rare footage of Dazzy Vance, demonstrating his pitches. Watch and listen here.

Until next time …

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

ATLANTA — Lefty Tarik Skubal hasn’t had time to fully reflect on his time in Detroit. When he learned at the beginning of the month that he was being traded to the Dodgers, he had one night of emotional goodbyes, before shifting his focus the next morning to preparing to face the Cubs in a few days.

Friday won’t be the right time either. He’s scheduled to take the mound against the Tigers, the only organization he’d played for up until three and a half weeks ago, in the series opener.

“I play baseball, and I don’t really want to let any noise or anything outside change or take away from my ability to go play baseball and put our team in a position to win,” he said in a recent conversation with The Times. “So that’s where my focus is always at. It doesn’t matter if it’s opening day of the season, it doesn’t matter if it’s spring training, it doesn’t matter if it’s the dog days of July, it doesn’t matter if it’s the postseason. For me, the game is always the same game, and that’s something that I take a ton of pride in.”

Even in his short time with the Dodgers, Skubal has thrown himself into the task at hand, from the way he’s pitched, to his commitment to connecting with his new teammates, to how he’s handled questions about his impending free agency.

Oddly enough, after the World Series favorites traded for the best pitcher available, they lost the next six games as part of a seven-game losing streak.

“Everyone around here was like, ‘Hey, we win games here,’” Skubal said. “And I go, ‘I don’t know, maybe it’s me.’”

Eventually, the Dodgers did win a game with Skubal on the roster. They even swept two series straight — before running into the Braves this week. And as Skubal has settled in, he’s enjoyed the sheer abundance of baseball conversations going on around him all the time, whether it be a pitcher chatting with the pitching coaches about sequencing, or hitters breaking down how an opposing pitcher attacked him.

“No one’s ego is too big to ask a question and try to learn from anybody,” Skubal said. “So I think that’s what makes this team so good. I think that’s why they tick, and I think that’s why they’re so good, especially in September, is they’re just not afraid to fail. They’re going to try and learn as much from each other as possible. I just love being a part of that.”

Likewise, his new teammates have loved him embracing them right away.

“You can’t tell whether he’s pitching or not because his personality never changes,” Kiké Hernández said. “And I appreciate how talkative he is, like even during his starts, like in the middle of the game, which is kind of refreshing.”

Already, Skubal’s joining in on pregame handshake lines and slapping the dugout railing in time to Roki Sasaki’s warm-up music. After Miguel Rojas nicknamed him “Scooby Doo Pa Pa,” Skubal used the song that inspired the name on an Instagram post.

“At the end of my career, if the one thing [all my ex-teammates] say about me is, ‘Yeah, he was talented on the field, but he was an even better teammate,’ that’s what I want to be remembered as,” Skubal said.

Skubal is only under club control for the rest of the season, but he’s consistently said he doesn’t want to address free agency.

“I really am probably not going to get to that until this season’s done,” he said. “Until, hopefully, I’m holding up a trophy and I’m celebrating with these guys for two weeks, and I’m going to [have a headache] for a month after.”

A video clip from Skubal’s appearance on the podcast “Pardon My Take” caused a stir on social media, when he said, “I would love to play my whole career in Detroit” and expresses hope that the Tigers are involved in negotiations in November. But Skubal points out the missing context in that clip.

His response was to a question that described the Tigers trading him as an “unfortunate part of where baseball is.” He understood the premise as, smaller markets can’t retain their stars.

Pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) hugs Jack Flaherty in the dugout after getting pulled from his last start with the Tigers on July 29.

(Paul Sancya / Associated Press)

“Which I don’t agree with,” said Skubal, who has thought a lot about the larger picture as a member of the MLB Players Assn. Executive Subcommittee. “You can retain whoever. Now, the longer you wait, the harder it is to get guys to give away the years to hit free agency. I think that’s just the business of baseball, and that’s not any different than any other sport.”

He backed his point with counterexamples on each side: the Royals signing homegrown star Bobby Witt Jr. to an 11-year extension worth $288.8 million guaranteed, and the Yankees’ Aaron Judge still hitting free agency in 2022 (before ultimately re-signing).

“There’s narratives around the sport that I don’t agree with, and that’s one of them,” Skubal said.

Though Skubal excels at focusing on the present, he also seems to sense how much weight his words carry. Wanting to avoid out-of-context reading between the lines as he praised the Dodgers, Skubal made sure to note that he wasn’t comparing his new situation with his old one.

He’s made clear over and over how special his time in Detroit was to him.

Skubal’s resolve hasn’t been tested in exactly the way it will be on Friday. But he’s performed on that same mound under unique circumstances.

When Skubal took the mound in his last start for the Tigers on July 29, he knew it could be a turning point for him and the club. The Tigers lost in extra innings, but he made a quality start and recorded his 1,000th career strikeout before leaving the game to a standing ovation at Comerica Park.

“You really appreciate that stuff,” Skubal said. “And I went down the tunnel and had some conversations with coaches that were pretty emotional too.

“You appreciate everything because without fans, this game is nothing. If no one showed up, we wouldn’t be able to play baseball for a living.”

He’s sure to have quite the reception on Friday, too. And even though Skubal excels at compartmentalizing, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had one request for the Tigers.

“I hope they do the festivities the night after we win on Friday,” Roberts said, “so the emotion doesn’t get to him and he can just kind of enjoy the welcome back.”

The Dodgers have struggled at times since the All-Star break, but Will Smith’s return from injury and Shohei Ohtani’s return to pitching should help.

It’s decision-making time.

With a 53-man roster needing to be finalized by Sunday, the Chargers wrap up the preseason against the Rams at SoFi Stadium on Thursday night.

The Chargers looked sloppy in their 41-17 home loss to the San Francisco 49ers last week, following an inspiring 27-7 road win over the Houston Texans, and now aim for a better on-field product in their final tuneup.

“Just want it to be crisp [and] clean,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said. “Want to see improvement. … Everybody doing what they’re supposed to do.”

Here are four things to watch for — from the Chargers’ perspective — during Thursday’s game at 7 p.m. PDT (CBS, KCAL).

Who rises or falls as roster cuts loom?

The pressure is on for players on the bubble of earning a roster spot.

“From a player standpoint, how you feel, it’s so important it’s like life or death,” Harbaugh said. “Your football life is at stake; your lifestyle’s at stake, your job. That’s how important it is to the individual player. And then, to the team — I use the analogy [of] a deck of cards [and] the shuffle — you’re trying to create your best hand.”

How many offensive linemen will the Chargers keep in the wake of starting center Tyler Biadasz’ season-ending left knee injury? Which linebacker will turn heads enough to earn a spot? Which wideout or defensive back will literally and figuratively drop the ball?

Left guard competition

Chargers guard Kayode Awosika speaks during a news conference on June 8.

(William Liang / Associated Press)

It appears the starting left guard spot is all but Kayode Awosika’s.

“Kayode has kind of taken the lead,” offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel said. “It’s almost his job to lose, just because of his growth in the last two weeks.”

Awosika wants to seal his top spot on the depth chart, so keep an eye on him. With Jake Slaughter becoming the Chargers’ starting center, their depth at left guard after Awosika is slim.

McDaniel mentioned that Trey Pipkins is still in the mix for the starting left guard spot. But Awosika probably would have to play terribly for that debate to pick up steam.

Trey Lance vs. DJ Uiagalelei

Chargers quarterback Trey Lance passes against the 49ers on Aug. 20.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

The competition is fierce for the role of Justin Herbert’s backup.

Lance and Uiagalelei have each seen similar amounts of action throughout training camp, and neither seems to have an advantage so far.

Whoever looks better against the Rams could secure QB2 on the depth chart, while the other will likely receive a practice-squad opportunity, if not a shot elsewhere.

“I feel like I’ve made strides,” Uiagalelei said. “Each and every day I go out there, I try to get better [and] attack a certain thing.”

Although each signal-caller is still in the hunt for No. 2, Lance does have experience in McDaniel’s offense from their shared time with the 49ers. A decent showing from Lance could be enough to keep him in the same position he held last season.

“I’m talking to [McDaniel] more than I did when I was in San Francisco,” Lance said. “He hasn’t changed — same energy, same guy.”

Real glimpse of starters?

Most of the Chargers’ starters didn’t play against the Texans. And against the 49ers, they called it a game after one series.

Harbaugh said starters will be in for six to nine plays against the Rams.

“It’s been a good camp so far,” special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken said. “Ups and downs; some things we’ve been learning [and] going through; some good plays, some bad, obviously; coming off last week’s game, obviously wasn’t the expectations we were hoping for … but again, it’s a learning process.”

Dodgers lose Roki Sasaki

From Maddie Lee: The gathering on the Truist Park mound kept growing. At first, Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki was visited by pitching coach Mark Prior and catcher Hunter Feduccia, with the help of interpreter Will Ireton. Then, Prior summoned head athletic trainer Thomas Albert. Then, they called out manager Dave Roberts, who eventually made the pitching change.

The group had been examining the middle finger on Sasaki’s right hand. Sasaki exited the Dodgers’ 6-5 loss to the Braves in the fourth inning with a blister on that finger, which will land him on the 15-day injured list, Roberts said after the game.

“There’s just no way we can avoid it given the severity of the blister,” Roberts said. “So we’ll give him some time. But we can cover it up actually to keep his arm moving.”

Still, it’s unclear how long it will sideline him. In the meantime, Roberts said, left-hander Eric Lauer will return to the rotation, and the Dodgers will add a reliever as the corresponding move.

“It’s more disappointing with Roki because he has been so consistently good,” Roberts said. “And I don’t think he’s dealt with any blister issues. So for it to kind of come out of nowhere was a surprise to all of us. He was on a good run. So now unfortunately, it’s going to be minimum two weeks.”

Continue reading here

Mark Walter’s company TWG Global defends Dodgers financing and Lakers sale

Dodgers box score

MLB standings

Angels swept by Guardians

Steven Kwan hit a tying double in the ninth inning, Travis Bazzana followed with a sacrifice fly and the Cleveland Guardians rallied past the Angels 4-3 on Wednesday for their seventh straight victory.

Hunter Gaddis (2-3) retired the final two batters in the eighth to earn the win. Erik Sabrowski worked a scoreless ninth for his second major league save and first since 2024.

With a runner on second, Sabrowski struck out pinch-hitter Travis d’Arnaud and got pinch-hitter Oswald Peraza to pop up to second as Cleveland completed a three-game sweep.

Continue reading here

Angels box score

MLB standings

Jeanie Buss takes siblings to court again

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Jeanie Buss is taking her siblings to court. Again.

Attorneys representing the Lakers’ controlling governor filed a petition in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday to block her five siblings from trying to sell the family’s remaining 17.82% of the NBA franchise the Buss family has owned since 1979.

Jeanie contends that her siblings should abide by a 2017 court order that mandated the family’s co-trustees to “take all actions reasonably available to ensure that Jeanie is appointed and remains as the NBA controlling owner of the Lakers.” The 2017 legal battle installed Jeanie’s younger siblings, Janie and Joey, as her fellow co-trustees, two roles that were previously held by her older brothers Jim and Johnny, who were ousted after a failed attempt to wrestle control away from Jeanie.

The 97-page petition accuses Janie, Joey and the other siblings Jim, Johnny and Jesse of “devious behavior” for not including Jeanie in discussions to sell the family’s last stakes in the team earlier this month. While the other siblings elected to sell soon after Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner agreed to a record-breaking transaction with Mark Walter and released a statement attributed to the Buss family, Jeanie “never agreed to any sale, was never consulted and was never even informed,” the petition states.

Continue reading here

What to watch for in Rams preseason game against Chargers

From Gary Klein: Under coach Sean McVay, the Rams’ final preseason games routinely are showcases for players vying for spots on the practice squad, not the roster.

But Thursday night’s game against the Chargers at SoFi Stadium will offer another look at perhaps one of the most important players for the Rams’ future:

Rookie quarterback Ty Simpson.

Simpson, the 13th pick in the NFL draft, has been competing with fourth-year pro Stetson Bennett to back up Matthew Stafford, though Bennett took the vast majority of second-team reps during training camp and preseason workouts.

Other things to watch Thursday:

Continue reading here

Jim Harbaugh wants to see improvement from Chargers

From Joaquin Ruiz: It’s decision-making time.

With a 53-man roster needing to be finalized by Sunday, the Chargers wrap up the preseason against the Rams at SoFi Stadium on Thursday night.

The Chargers looked sloppy in their 41-17 home loss to the San Francisco 49ers last week, following an inspiring 27-7 road win over the Houston Texans, and now aim for a better on-field product in their final tuneup.

“Just want it to be crisp [and] clean,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said. “Want to see improvement. … Everybody doing what they’re supposed to do.”

Continue reading here

Angel City loses to North Carolina

Ashley Sanchez scored twice to break the single-season goals record for the North Carolina Courage in a 2-0 victory over Angel City on Wednesday night.

The former All-American at UCLA leads the National Women’s Soccer League in scoring this season with 15 goals.

Sanchez scored her 14th goal in the 41st minute, tying Lynn Biyendolo’s record for the North Carolina set in 2019. Evelyn Ijeh’s backheel flick found a charging Sanchez, who blasted it into the far corner.

Continue reading here

Angel City summary

NWSL standings

This day in sports history

1884 — Richard Sears beats Howard Taylor 6-0, 1-6, 6-0, 6-2 to win his fourth straight U.S. national tennis championship.

1903 — Britain’s Hugh Doherty is the first non-American to win the men’s singles title in the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assn. championships with a 6-0, 6-3, 10-8 victory over the William Larned.

1909 — William Larned wins his fifth U.S. singles tennis title with a five-set victory over William Clothier in Newport, R.I.

1928 — Helen Wills beats Helen Hull Jacobs to take the fifth women’s singles title in the U.S. Lawn Tennis Assn. championships. Wills needs only 33 minutes, defeating Jacobs 6-2, 6-1.

1957 — Hickory Smoke, driven by John Simpson, Jr., wins the Hambletonian Stakes after capturing the fifth and deciding heat.

1969 — Lindy’s Pride, driven by Howard Beissinger, wins the Hambletonian Stakes in straight heats.

1975 — Onny Parun of New Zealand defeats Stan Smith 6-4, 6-2 in the first night match at the U.S. Open before a crowd of 4,949 at the West Side Tennis Club.

1976 — Transsexual Renee Richards, formerly Richard Raskind, is barred from competing at the U.S. Open tennis championships after refusing to submit to a chromosome qualification test.

1978 — The Cosmos defeat the Tampa Bay Rowdies 3-1 to win the NASL Championship.

1985 — Mary Joe Fernandez, 14, becomes the youngest player to win a match at the U.S. Open. Fernandez beats Sara Gomer 6-1, 6-4.

1996 — Stefan Edberg stuns Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek at the U.S. Open, winning 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 in his record 54th straight and final Grand Slam event.

1999 — Maurice Greene and Inger Miller win at 200 meters at the world championships, giving the U.S. a sprint sweep. Greene is the first to win the 100 and 200 at a major global meet since Carl Lewis at the 1984 Olympics.

2006 — Marco Andretti, 19, becomes the youngest winner of a major open-wheel event, beating Dario Franchitti by 0.66 seconds to take the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma.

2015 — Usain Bolt wins his fourth straight 200-meter title at the world championships, finishing in 19.55 seconds in Beijing.

2018 — Simona Halep becomes the first No. 1-seeded woman to lose her opening match at the U.S. Open in the half-century of the pro era. Halep is overwhelmed by 44th-ranked Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-2, 6-4.

2023 — Gymnast Simone Biles (26) wins her record eighth U.S. championship.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1897 — Roger Bresnahan, later a Hall of Fame catcher, made his major-league debut as a pitcher for the Washington Senators by shutting out the St. Louis Browns 3-0.

1911 — Ed Walsh of the Chicago White Sox pitched a 5-0 no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox. Walsh struck out eight and walked one.

1937 — Brooklyn’s Fred Frankhouse pitched a rain-shortened no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds. The game was stopped with two out in the eighth inning with the Dodgers leading 5-0.

1977 — Toby Harrah and Bump Wills of the Texas Rangers hit back-to-back inside-the-park home runs on consecutive pitches in the seventh inning in an 8-2 victory over New York at Yankee Stadium.

1978 — Joe Morgan of the Cincinnati Reds hit his 200th home run to become the first player in major league history to have 200 homers and 500 stolen bases.

1982 — Rickey Henderson of Oakland broke Lou Brock’s 1974 record of 118 stolen bases in a season and stole three more bases in the Athletics’ 5-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. It gave Henderson 122 thefts in 127 games.

1999 — Vladimir Guerrero’s hitting streak was halted at 31 games by Cincinnati’s Ron Villone in the Reds’ 4-1 win over Montreal. Guerrero went 0-for-2 with an intentional walk against Villone, ending the majors’ longest hitting streak since 1987.

2005 — Jeff Kent became the first player to hit 300 home runs as a second baseman in the Dodgers’ 8-3 win over Houston. The homer was the 325th of his career.

2010 — Florida led off a game with back-to-back homers for the first time in franchise history in a 7-1 victory over Atlanta. Cameron Maybin hit the first pitch of the game into the left-field seats. Logan Morrison then connected off Tommy Hanson for his first major league home run.

2011 — Justin Verlander became the majors’ first 20-game winner, grinding through six innings in the Detroit Tigers’ 6-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins. Verlander (20-5) became the first pitcher to win 20 games before the end of August since Arizona’s Curt Schilling in 2002.

2017 — Giancarlo Stanton hit his 50th home run to break an eighth-inning tie, helping the Miami Marlins sweep the San Diego Padres with a 6-2 victory. Stanton became the first NL player to reach 50 homers since Prince Fielder hit 50 for Milwaukee in 2007.

2017 — Rookie Rhys Hoskins homered for the fifth straight game and made a diving catch to start a game-changing triple play in the fifth inning, leading Philadelphia to a 6-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Hoskins led off the eighth with a drive to left-center to give him 11 home runs in his first 18 games, becoming the fastest in major league history to reach 11 homers. Hoskins was called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Aug. 10.

2018 — Kendrys Morales’ home run streak was ended at seven games by the Baltimore Orioles, who halted an eight-game skid by defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 7-0. Morales went 0 for 3 with a walk and did not hit the ball out of the infield.

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.

The Pro Bowl is no more, the NFL announced Wednesday, ending an exhibition of the league’s top players that was held in some form almost every year since 1951.

The game wasn’t played in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that was the only pause in the postseason event.

The league said 88 players will still be named as Pro Bowl players and honored in Los Angeles after this season. Several flag football events also will take place at that time.

“The Pro Bowl has always been about recognizing the players who distinguish themselves as the very best in the NFL,” league executive vice president Peter O’Reilly said in a statement. “A Pro Bowl selection will return to its original purpose, honoring the best of the best. We want that distinction to carry even greater meaning for the players, their families, their clubs and our fans.”

The Pro Bowl has waned in popularity in recent years. Once a staple in Honolulu, the NFL has moved the event to various cities and even switched from tackle to flag football in 2023.

ATLANTA — The gathering on the Truist Park mound kept growing. At first, Dodgers right-hander Roki Sasaki was visited by pitching coach Mark Prior and catcher Hunter Feduccia, with the help of interpreter Will Ireton. Then, Prior summoned head athletic trainer Thomas Albert. Then, they called out manager Dave Roberts, who eventually made the pitching change.

The group had been examining the middle finger on Sasaki’s right hand. And the team later announced Sasaki had exited with a blister on that finger.

That might explain why Sasaki, who was charged with four runs and six hits in 3 ⅓ innings, didn’t look as sharp Wednesday against the Braves as he had been in the rest of his impressive second-half stretch. Sasaki entered the day with a 2.19 ERA in six starts since the All-Star break.

His efficiency Wednesday wavered, and he exited after 66 pitches. After Sasaki gave up a solo home run to Matt Olson in the first inning, the outing began to devolve in the fourth.

Sasaki walked Ozzie Albies to open the inning. Then he surrendered a single to Mike Yastrzemski, a sacrifice fly to Austin Riley and a double to Sean Murphy. Then Prior came out to check on him.

Right-handed reliever Edgardo Henriquez replaced Sasaki, inheriting two baserunners. Both scored when Dodgers left fielder Teoscar Hernandez overran Drake Baldwin’s deep fly ball down the line, for a double.

Under coach Sean McVay, the Rams’ final preseason games routinely are showcases for players vying for spots on the practice squad, not the roster.

But Thursday night’s game against the Chargers at SoFi Stadium will offer another look at perhaps one of the most important players for the Rams’ future:

Rookie quarterback Ty Simpson.

Simpson, the 13th pick in the NFL draft, has been competing with fourth-year pro Stetson Bennett to back up Matthew Stafford, though Bennett took the vast majority of second-team reps during training camp and preseason workouts.

“I’ve seen good stuff,” McVay said this week of Bennett and Simpson. “I think the hard part is there have been up and down days. I think our defense does a good job of being able to give a lot of challenging looks.”

Simpson will play against the Chargers, McVay said, and also aimed to provide Matthew Caldwell, an undrafted free agent from Texas, his first opportunity. McVay said he had not made a determination about Bennett.

Bennett started against the Kansas City Chiefs but played only two series, one that resulted in a field goal. Simpson came on and completed 21 of 25 passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns.

Against the New Orleans Saints, Bennett played the first half and completed 19 of 31 passes for 181 yards. He also rushed for two touchdowns. Simpson completed eight of 12 passes for 73 yards in the second half.

“What I have seen in both the games is the guys have good command,” McVay said, adding, “We feel fortunate that you got two guys that we believe in, feel really good about. One of those guys will be the backup in Australia.”

Other things to watch Thursday:

Who is not on the field

The season opener against the San Francisco 49ers in Australia is looming, so McVay will hold out nearly all players assured of a roster spot, other than perhaps kicking-game specialists.

If they are not in uniform on the sideline, they will be on the 53-man roster.

Receiver Tyler Scott trying to catch on

With Puka Nacua, Davante Adams, Jordan Whittington, Konata Mumpfield, Xavier Smith and rookie CJ Daniels, the Rams are set at receiver.

But Scott, who played for the Chicago Bears in 2023 and 2024, has made an impression that could land him on the practice squad if he is cut and clears waivers.

Against the Saints, Scott caught a key fourth-down pass from Bennett and just missed coming down with a deep pass.

Will Wesley Bailey stand out again?

Bailey, an undrafted free-agent outside linebacker, played very well in the first two games, but is trying to find a spot in a position group that includes Myles Garrett, Byron Young, Josaiah Stewart and Desjuan Johnson.

Bailey had a sack, three quarterback hits and also forced a fumble against the Saints.

If Bailey, at 6 feet 5 inches and 265 pounds, shines against the Chargers and does not make the roster, he seems like a longshot to clear waivers.

Special teams

Kicker Harrison Mevis has made all four of his preseason field-goal attempts.

Punter Ethan Evans appears ready for a standout performance in a contract year.

USC sophomore defensive lineman Jahkeem Stewart, who was spotted over the weekend sporting crutches and a boot on his injured right foot, is expected to miss the Trojans’ season opener against San Jose State, coach Lincoln Riley said.

Losing Stewart for longer than that would be a bitter pill for USC to swallow at the start of a highly anticipated season. But while reports have suggested that Stewart is likely to miss USC’s entire nonconference slate with the injury, Riley suggested Tuesday that he could debut as soon as the following Friday, when USC takes on Fresno State in its second game of the season.

“What he’s dealing with right now is minor,” Riley said. “The plan is to probably hold him and I think he’ll be able from that point forward. But it’s certainly not long term. A little precautionary right now.”

Stewart played through a stress fracture in his foot throughout his freshman season after suffering the injury in August. He missed the season opener then as well, but elected not to have surgery, in order to keep contributing to the team.

“I could have got surgery, but I wouldn’t have felt comfortable,” Stewart said earlier this month. “I wouldn’t have felt complete as a human, knowing that I still had stuff in the tank that I could have gave to my team.”

Stewart ended up getting surgery on his foot in December. But when Stewart spoke to reporters during camp, he said his foot felt “1,000%”

But the concern now, as Stewart continues to deal with a foot issue, is whether this injury could continue to linger beyond just a game or two of his sophomore season.

Riley was not sounding that alarm Tuesday. But he also didn’t rule out the possibility that USC may be managing the situation throughout this season.

“We just gotta watch it,” Riley said. “Everybody is different in terms of their size, their biomechanics in terms of how they run and especially guys like Jahkeem who are pretty violent in the way they move and transfer energy on the ground — like there’s some force going into the ground. So yeah, I think some of these injuries are freak things that happen from time to time in this game, that’s part of it. And then there are things that as guys go, and as their bodies evolve and get bigger and stronger, you have to make adjustments on and they have to make adjustments on.”

USC was especially cautious with Stewart’s injury during the week last season, which led Stewart to sit out a significant number of practices. He still played in 11 games, missing the opener and the bowl game. But on average, Stewart played just 21 snaps per game as a freshman.

He was still named a freshman All-American, in spite of the difficult circumstances. All signs pointed toward him taking a major leap as a sophomore.

This latest injury could throw a wrench in that. But Riley expressed confidence in the depth of USC’s defensive interior, which was not something he could’ve said even this time last year.

“We’ve had some young guys emerge in that room, especially who are going to command some looks and some opportunities to play and go prove themselves on Saturdays here right away, and then you combine it with the experience we have in that room,” Riley said.

“We’ll have a good healthy rotation and be able to withstand any dings along the way.”

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. How hot is it? It’s no longer microwave popcorn, it’s just popcorn.

Series with Braves is important

Just like the recent series with the Brewers was important as far as postseason positioning goes, so is this series with the Atlanta Braves. Remember, the three division winners automatically qualify for the postseason, but the division winner with the worst record will have to play in the first round, while the other two skip the first round. And, if teams are tied, the first tiebreaker is head-to-head record. The Brewers hold the tiebreaker over the Dodgers after beating them in four of the seven games this season.

Let’s look at those three teams as of Monday night:

1. Milwaukee, 81-50
2. Dodgers, 80-51
3. Atlanta, 76-55

The Braves are struggling right now, having lost seven of 10, but this time last week the Dodgers were struggling before they reeled off six straight wins. Baseball.

The Dodgers are 1-2 against Atlanta. So, they will need to win at least two of three games to go to the second tiebreaker, which is intradivision record (yes, even for teams in different divisions.) As of Monday night, the Dodgers are 26-17 against the NL West and the Braves are 27-13 against the NL East. The Braves have a 2 1/2-game lead there, but there are plenty of intradivision games left to play. It would be great if the Dodgers swept the Braves and didn’t have to worry about that.

Let’s take a look at how the Dodgers and Braves compare this season, through Sunday.

Runs per game
Dodgers, 4.98 (third in the majors)
Atlanta, 4.69 (eighth)
League average, 4.47

Batting average
Dodgers, .258 (second)
Atlanta, .246 (11th)
League average, .244

On-base percentage
Dodgers, .335 (third)
League average, .318
Atlanta, .311 (23rd)

Slugging percentage
Dodgers, .426 (second)
Atlanta, .411 (fifth)
League average, .400

Doubles
Dodgers, 213 (ninth)
Atlanta, 209 (12th)
League average, 202

Triples
League average: 18
Dodgers, 14 (T18th)
Atlanta, 9 (29th)

Home runs
Atlanta, 168 (seventh)
Dodgers, 167 (eighth)
League average, 150

Stolen bases
League average, 88
Atlanta, 65 (T24th)
Dodgers, 52 (28th)

Sacrifice bunts
League average, 18
Dodgers, 12 (22nd)
Atlanta, 7 (T26th)

ERA
Atlanta, 3.60 (fourth)
Dodgers, 3.67 (sixth)
League average, 4.16

Rotation ERA
Dodgers, 3.48 (third)
Atlanta, 3.72 (seventh)
League average 4.22

Bullpen ERA
Atlanta, 3.44 (fourth)
Dodgers, 3.98 (13th)
League average, 4.11

Pitcher strikeouts
Dodgers, 1,193 (fifth)
Atlanta, 1,112 (T12th)
League average, 1,095

Pitcher walks
Dodgers, 409 (10th fewest)
League average, 442
Atlanta, 445 (17th)

Home runs allowed
Atlanta, 146 (15th fewest)
Dodgers, 148 (16th)
League average, 150

Saves
Atlanta, 40 (fourth)
Dodgers, 37 (T9th)
League average, 34

Blown saves
Dodgers, 19 (15th)
League average, 19
Atlanta, 17 (T18th)

Inherited runners who scored%
Atlanta, 22.5%, 32 of 142 (third)
League average, 31.8%, 57 of 179
Dodgers, 35.3%, 53 of 150 (21st)

Keep in mind, it is not imperative to finish in the top two. The Dodgers had to play in the first round last season and that worked out OK. In fact, this season is looking amazingly like last season, with the shaky bullpen and strong starting pitching.

Meet the new Dodger

Alek Thomas gestures toward the dugout after reaching second base on Saturday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

With Andy Pages sidelined by a broken hand, the Dodgers turned to their minor-league system for his replacement: former Arizona Diamondback Alek Thomas.

You may be asking, “Why not James Tibbs III, who is hitting .303/.422/.566 with triple-A Oklahoma City?” Well, Tibbs has not played center in the minors or in college, so that would be a big ask to play center for the first time in the majors in the middle of a postseason run.

Also, teams are not in a rush to get the major league service time running for players. That way they can keep them under team control longer.

Thomas was drafted by Arizona out of Mount Carmel High in Chicago in the second round in 2018. He made the majors in 2022 and hit .231/.275/.344 in 113 games. He hit about the same in 2023 (.230/.273/.374) but hit a key pinch-hit home run in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series against Philadelphia. He missed most of 2024 because of a torn hamstring and hit .249/.289/.370 in 2025, when Arizona began to sour on him.

He doesn’t draw many walks, but plays a good center field. This season, he hit .181 for the Diamondbacks when they designated him for assignment, and the Dodgers sent Arizona minor league outfielder Jose Requena for Thomas. He has been with Oklahoma City since then, where he hit .296/.362/.493 in 55 games.

Thomas played for Mexico in this year’s World Baseball Classic. After his first game as a Dodger, he said, “It’s funny, because they always hated me whenever I came out there in center field. I was, like, ‘Come on, guys, I’m Mexican too. You don’t have to yell at me; like, we’re on the same side here.’

“But, obviously … it doesn’t matter where you’re from. ‘If you’re not a Dodgers guy, you’re not my guy.’”

Thomas is wearing No. 9 with the Dodgers, last worn last season by Eddie Rosario. Gavin Lux wore it before that. It has also been worn by, among others, Yasmani Grandal, Mickey Hatcher, Greg Brock, Wally Moon, Gino Cimoli and Babe Phelps.

Injury update

Edwin Díaz, P, neck: An MRI exam of his neck showed no damage, so he could come off the IL as soon as he is eligible in the first week of September. When he comes back, he won’t be closing and will be used in low-leverage situations until he shows he is 100%.

Tyler Glasnow, P, back: He is ready to go and should start tonight against Atlanta.

Will Klein, P, elbow: He has resumed playing catch, but there’s not much time left in the season for him to come back.

Bobby Miller, P, shoulder: He is on rehab assignment with Oklahoma City.

Shohei Ohtani, P, knee: He pitched a live batting practice session Saturday. He will probably have to throw another session before returning to the rotation.

Andy Pages, CF, broken hand: Had a screw inserted into the bottom bone in the pinkie of his left hand. The Dodgers expect him back for the postseason, but we’ve heard that before. It all depends on how quickly he heals.

Dalton Rushing, C, UCL tear: Could begin a rehab assignment next week, but it’s still unlikely he catches again this season, making his postseason chances very small.

Will Smith, C, neck: He is set to go on a rehab assignment with Oklahoma City on Tuesday. He could be back next week.

Gavin Stone, P, shoulder: Pitched three perfect innings in his most recent rehab start.

Blake Treinen, P, elbow: He is currently on rehab assignment with Oklahoma City and pitched a scoreless inning Sunday for the Comets.

Justin Wrobleski, P, forearm: He could be back in early September, but when he does return, it will be to the bullpen because there is no room in the rotation anymore.

The problem for guys such as Stone and Miller is that there’s not much time left this season, and it seems they have little possibility to have meaningful contributions because they haven’t pitched in so long. Same goes for Ben Casparius, who is injured, and Brusdar Graterol, who hasn’t pitched at all this season.

Up next

Tuesday: Dodgers (Tyler Glasnow, 3-0, 2.72 ERA) at Atlanta (Bryce Elder, 8-7, 3.92 ERA), 4:15 p.m., SportsNet LA, TBS, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Wednesday: Dodgers (Roki Sasaki, 5-5, 4.42 ERA) at Atlanta (AJ Smith-Shawver, 0-0, 6.23 ERA), 4:15 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Thursday: Dodgers (Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 12-7, 2.61 ERA) at Atlanta (*Chris Sale, 12-9, 2.20 ERA), 4:15 p.m., FS1, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

All times Pacific

*-left-handed

In case you missed it

Plaschke: Beneath the Dodgers’ latest sweep, the scary rumblings of a team sale persist

Shaikin: Amid Dodgers’ uncertainty, Padres’ new owners promise to ‘win it all!’

‘I haven’t done my job.’ Edwin Díaz accepts low-leverage role with Dodgers — for now

Shohei Ohtani takes ‘really positive’ step in push to return to Dodgers’ rotation

Swanson: Struggling Dodgers outfielder Kyle Tucker simply needs to relax

Dodgers president Stan Kasten reiterates ‘Dodgers are not being sold’

If Dodgers are put up for sale, previous runner-up Patrick Soon-Shiong is interested

And finally

MLB Network honors Vin Scully. Watch and listen here.

Until next time …

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta made it clear Tuesday he holds the power to extract major concessions in the battle over the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. merger.

A day after canceling settlement talks, Bonta said he remains open to meeting with Paramount Skydance executives to find remedies to resolve the antitrust lawsuit stalling David Ellison’s $111-billion takeover, but called on the company to end its “amateur hour” conduct.

“If you want to have an adult, legitimate, serious settlement discussion — no problem,” Bonta said during an appearance in Los Angeles. “But if you want to play games, we’ve got better things to do.”

The attorney general, who is leading the coalition of 12 states that filed an antitrust lawsuit to block the merger, repeated his stance that Paramount must make significant concessions to end the court battle — such as selling cable television channels. However, Ellison has been resistant because his company will need the steady cash-flow from Warner’s basic cable channels, including TBS, TNT and CNN, to make payments on $80-billion in debt Paramount will take on to finance the industry-reshaping deal.

Ellison’s promise to release 30 movies a year, following the merger, won’t cut it, the attorney general said.

Bonta, who was speaking at press conference to highlight public safety, expressed frustration with Paramount afterweeks of drama.

Paramount first threatened to leave California if Bonta continues to wage his court battle. Then, on Friday, Paramount accused actor Mark Ruffalo (a staunch deal critic) of making antisemitic comments, prompting prominent Jewish organizations to join the fray. One Jewish leader suggested Bonta was in cahoots with Ruffalo.

That wasn’t the issue, Bonta said, specifically pointing to leaks about the settlement talks that appeared in various news outlets.

Some reports suggested Bonta’s office sought the negotiations amid withering political pressure. Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Xavier Becerra, the Democratic nominee for governor, have separately urged a settlement to end the antitrust fight.

Bonta set the record straight: “Paramount reached out to us to have settlement discussions,” he said. “They asked for them.”

Bonta’s beef was that the substance of the nascent negotiations appeared in newspaper articles despite both sides agreeing to hold confidential talks, Bonta said, adding that crossed the line. The Wall Street Journal reported that California’s top prosecutor planned to ask Paramount for agreements to keep Warner Bros. and the Paramount Pictures film studios separate units as well as an agreement to sell some cable channels.

“We thought they were reaching out to us in good faith … unfortunately, they violated the rules of engagement,” Bonta said. “They leaked lies to the press while we were in settlement negotiations. That’s not okay … That is amateur hour.”

Paramount declined to comment. On Monday, Paramount denied it was the source of the leaks.

Bonta’s comments appeared as a show of strength after major court wins.

The coalition of attorneys general, who also represent New York, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada and Oregon, last month won a temporary restraining order that blocked Paramount from closing the deal. Rather than lose in a hearing over a more consequential preliminary injunction, Paramount voluntarily agreed that it would not finalize the transaction until after the trial or by June 1, whichever date comes first.

U.S. District Court Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín set a March 2 trial, which was in line with the plaintiff states’ request. Paramount had lobbied for a November date.

“We are winning in this lawsuit,” Bonta said. “They have eight of the biggest law firms in the country, making every imaginable argument under the sun. And they lost, the judge said: ‘You are likely to lose this case’… the states are likely to succeed on the merits.”

For now, no new settlement talks are scheduled.

Bonta expressed an openness to finding a truce.

“If they are willing to clean things up, put a lid on their lying leaks and engage in a way that is sincere and in good faith, we will be where we always are … happy to meet,” Bonta said.

Staff writer Kevin Rector contributed to this report.

Jason Heyward didn’t give Freddie Freeman the heads up that he’d secured a job in the Dodgers’ front office. He hadn’t told any of his former Dodger teammates. But Freeman, who’s known Heyward for two decades, now says he’d heard rumblings. He was just going to let his longtime friend break the news himself.

On May 13, midway through a home series against the Giants, Freeman walked into the food room at Dodger Stadium, and, to his surprise and confusion, there was Heyward.

“What are you doing here?” a slack-jawed Freeman asked.

“Well, I’m working,” Heyward said.

No text. No call.

“He waited to tell me in person,” Freeman said.

Heyward technically started his job as a special assistant at the beginning of May, but he was on site for the first time a couple of weeks later. That game against the Giants, with Heyward looking on as a Dodgers special assistant for the first time, Freeman stole a base — a rarity in recent years.

“I wanted to ask him, what was my grade?” Freeman said. “What do you give me, a 70 on the 20-80 (scouting) scale?”

Freeman chuckled. Though he has long been an adept baserunner, it’s never been because of his speed — not even in high school, when teams were scouting him for the 2007 MLB draft.

Jason Heyward, who joined the Dodgers as a special assistant earlier this season, stands on the field before a game against the Seattle Mariners at Dodger Stadium last month.

(Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Getty Images)

That’s when Freeman and Heyward first met, the summer before their senior year. They had no way of knowing that they’d go on to experience baseball and life milestones together for the next two decades and counting.

They were both drafted by the Braves, Heyward in the first round (No. 14 overall), and Freeman in the second (No.78). They became roommates and teammates, debuting in the same year.

Over the course of two long and decorated MLB careers — which includes Heyward’s five Gold Gloves, Freeman’s 10 All-Star selections, and five World Series rings between the two of them — their paths diverged and reconnected multiple times.

In this most recent chapter, Heyward has ventured into the front office, Freeman is adding to his Hall of Fame candidacy, and they’re once again on the same team.

“To see us now, it’s crazy,” Freeman said. “It really is.”

Strangers

It’s rare for friends of 20 years to be able to pick out the details of their first encounter. Over the decades, fond memories start to jumble and fade.

But not for Freeman and Heyward.

Without hesitation they’ll bring up August 2006, when they were both 16 and played on opposing teams in the Aflac All-American Classic, held that year in San Diego. They really got to know each other during the down time that week, hanging out in the communal game room in the hotel.

When they met, Freeman was playing Pop-A-Shot.

“That’s where he was most of the time,” Heyward said.

The group could gravitate to another part of the room to “trade cards, sign autographs, talk a little shop,” and Freeman would somehow end up back at the Pop-A-Shot.

That, however, didn’t stop Freeman and Heyward from hitting it off.

On the surface, they were an opposites-attract kind of duo, in pretty much every category but height — listed as 6-foot-4 and 6-5 during that showcase. Heyward grew up in the Atlanta metropolitan area, playing on the East team, and Freeman was an Orange County native, representing the West.

Their priorities and aspirations pulled them together.

“You kind of look around and see all the other guys there and see what they’re doing, how they talk, how they act,” Freeman said. “And then you run into Jason, and then, I’m like, ‘That’s who I want to hang out with.’ He had everything figured out at such a young age.”

Heyward was the more hyped prospect, and the star of the East in that game, with four stolen bases, a pair of hits and two RBIs.

The second time Heyward reached first base, Freeman said to him, “You’re not going to steal again.” Heyward’s response: “I’m going again.”

“I looked down, he was kicking dirt on my shoes, all that,” Heyward said. “So, same guy who he is today on first base, that’s who he’s always been.”

Even in practice, Freeman’s competitiveness stood out to his new friend.

“One hundred percent competitive, but it was fun for him to be competitive,” Heyward said. “Not competitive in like, ‘Get off me,’ [stuff] like that. He welcomed me.”

Though they became fast friends, and ran into each other on the showcase circuit throughout their senior year, who knows what would have happened if the 2007 draft had played out differently?

Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman takes his shoes off after batting practice during spring training at Camelback Ranch in Phoenix in February.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Draftees

Freeman was scheduled to take a final exam the day he was drafted.

That year, the draft made its television debut. The first round — including the Braves selecting hometown kid Jason Heyward — was broadcast on ESPN2. Heyward’s selection wasn’t a surprise — “We know the Braves have a history of drafting young players from the area,” he said.

But Freeman would have to be in front of a computer to track the subsequent rounds. He finagled permission to go home until he was selected, and then return to school.

“We were going along, and I had some other teams calling for me as a pitcher,” Freeman said. “And I was like, ‘I don’t want to pitch, let me hit first.’”

Eventually the Braves called, with their second pick of the second round approaching. Freeman, wasting no time, kicked off the conversation with: “I don’t want to pitch.”

“And they’re like, ‘Good, because we don’t want you to,’” Freeman recalled.

Finally. The excitement began to set in.

Even after the Braves drafted Freeman, it wasn’t a done deal on his end.

He’d committed to Cal State Fullerton, the alma mater of his father, Fred Freeman. And Freddie had his sights set on becoming a CPA and taking over his dad’s business.

A couple days after the draft, at 2 or 3 a.m., Freddie knocked on Fred’s bedroom door with a decision.

“Dad, I don’t want to go to college,” he said. “I want to play baseball.”

They talked for a while. And though Fred had wanted his son to pursue an education, he softened his stance, supporting Freddie’s dream. They agreed, Freddie remembers, that if he didn’t make it to the big leagues in four years, he’d quit to follow the original plan.

“Back then, I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s fine,” Freeman said. “And now you think about it — that was crazy to think, right? Four or five years in the minor leagues, that’s what the norm is. … We didn’t know any better.”

That set Freeman and Heyward on course to reunite, this time as teammates.

Heyward, poised to sign for above slot value, had to wait until mid-August to sign his contract ($1.7-million bonus). So, when he finally joined the Gulf Coast League, for all of eight games before finishing the season with rookie-ball Danville, he remembers Freeman greeting him with a disgruntled, “Hey, man, I’ve been waiting on you. I’ve been here, it’s been hot.”

“My bad,” Heyward said. “I couldn’t control it.”

Freeman broke into laughter.

After the instructional league that fall, Freeman and Heyward decided to room together in spring training. And though the accommodations changed throughout the years, they’d remain roommates through 2010, their debut season in the majors.

Roommates

Outfielder Jason Heyward, left, and infielder Freddie Freeman celebrate before the start of a spring training game against the Toronto Blue Jays in March 2010.

(Al Messerschmidt / Getty Images)

There’s no better way to quickly learn a person’s idiosyncrasies than living with them.

In terms of morning routines, Heyward and Freeman were on far ends of the spectrum. If Heyward was going to start getting ready at 12:30, Freeman was waiting until 12:48 — and it was always something that specific too. Extremely structured to this day, if something throws off Freeman’s schedule, his “robot mind,” as he puts it, malfunctions.

While Heyward would marvel at how close Freeman was willing to cut it, Freeman would give Heyward grief for how long he’d take to get ready.

“In the minor leagues, we had to shave, had to keep it low,” Heyward said. “And I’ve been, at that time, shaving since I was 15. So sometimes I had to shave twice a day, otherwise it was just freaking uncomfortable.

“So, yeah, if I may take a long time to get ready, ‘You’re rocking with what you’re rocking with; you can just get out of bed, literally wet your hair, and then go.’”

On the road, Freeman still jokes, Heyward’s BlackBerry phone came into play. The team would put the players up in hotel rooms with two beds, subjecting Freeman to the incessant clicking of Heyward texting.

“Anybody can nitpick something, but if I complain about a BlackBerry texting, that’s not really anything,” Freeman said. “‘Sorry, I had friends,’ he would say.”

Freeman and Heyward were inseparable. They’d hit back-to-back in the lineup, and then get on the bus for a 13-hour ride and sit right next to each other.

They rose quickly through the farm system, one after another, sharing the highs and lows.

“There was some irony in the fact of how he was treated in the South, versus how I’m treated in the South, even though I’m from there,” said Heyward, who is Black. “And that goes back to even in the minor leagues.”

A road trip to Savannah, Ga., in 2008 immediately came to mind for Freeman, who is white. From first base Freeman could hear everything the crowd said to Heyward in right field — including the racial slur a fan yelled in the middle of a game.

“It was the first time I ever heard the N-word,” Freeman said. “It was crazy to me. And I was almost in tears. I wanted to run into the stands.”

In fact, he started walking over there, before Heyward stopped him.

“For me, obviously, that’s been my whole life, especially growing up where I grew up,” Heyward said. “But it’s just a good perspective on him not hearing it before. And I think that’s it.

“But, yeah, if anybody would have tried him on anything, I’m fighting them too. … What’s understood didn’t have to be explained there.”

The fact that Heyward could remain so calm was eye-opening for Freeman. The pair came away from that incident, and more subtle slights (like having to wait 20 minutes to be seated in a mostly empty restaurant), with a better understanding of each other.

“For an 18-year-old to have that be a normal thing is even more saddening,” Freeman said. “To this day, it’s hard to even talk about. That those kids, or young adults [in the stands] grew up thinking that was an OK thing to say, it’s just baffling to me.”

Teammates

Heyward’s highly anticipated MLB debut came on April 5, 2010, opening day at Turner Field. And in his first major league at-bat, he smoked a three-run home run to right field.

Freeman, on the other hand, started the season in triple A. But that didn’t split up the roommates. Freeman made the 35-minute drive northeast to Gwinnett, and Heyward headed south for 15 minutes.

By late August, it was obvious Freeman would be among the Braves’ call-ups when rosters expanded on Sept. 1.

Sure enough, Heyward and Freeman both headed south that day — still driving separately because of their differing morning routines.

Freddie Freeman, left, Jason Heyward, center, and Brian McCann chat during a workout at spring training in Kissimmee, Fla., in 2011.

(Phelan M. Ebenhack / Associated Press)

“I walked into Turner Field, and saw my name in the lineup, hitting sixth, and I almost threw up,” Freeman said.

Seeing familiar faces helped. Freeman knew many of the coaches and his new teammates from major league spring training the past two years. And, of course, there was Heyward.

“Just a special day,” Freeman said. “I didn’t get any hits, but I didn’t care.

“Jason got all the hits for us, he went four for four. He was so happy I was there. He took all my hits.”

As Freeman went through his big-league firsts, he appreciated having Heyward, who’d already checked them off for himself, by his side.

Freeman looks back fondly on their plane rides. He and Heyward would sit together, eating Chick-fil-A.

Raising the level of decadence, the next year, Freeman had his first “show dinner” with Heyward and veterans such as Eric Hinske and Chipper Jones at a steakhouse in Seattle called El Gaucho.

“I was like, this is the coolest thing ever,” Freeman said.

“Those were both of our ‘college years,’” Heyward said. “So seeing the real world a little bit, spending time on flights, clubhouse, dinners, enjoying teammates, becoming young adults.”

Jason Heyward, right, high-fives teammate Freddie Freeman after scoring off a single by Justin Upton in the first inning of a June 2013 game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

(David Goldman / Associated Press)

They were also playing well. Heyward and Freeman finished No. 2 in NL rookie of the year voting in consecutive years. And they started filling up their own individual trophy cases, while the Braves made it to the postseason three times in five years.

“Everyone has fun playing baseball,” Freeman said, “but to experience the big leagues with your best friend, I don’t know if you can get much better than that.”

Rivals

As soon as the Braves were eliminated from the 2014 postseason chase, the team fired general manager Frank Wren. Plunging into a rebuild, new president of baseball operations John Hart’s first big move was to trade Heyward to the Cardinals for pitching.

“That was the first time I saw the business side of baseball,” Freeman said. “Sad day. But it opened my eyes to, this isn’t just fun all the time. The fun has to end at some point.”

Freeman and Heyward kept in touch and celebrated each other’s successes. But it wasn’t the same.

“That was like, ‘Alright, this is becoming more of a job,” Heyward said.

Heyward leveraged that platform season in St. Louis into an eight-year free agent contract with the Cubs worth $184 million, setting a franchise record.

The Braves extended Freeman. Then when he finally hit free agency after the 2021 season, he became the first infielder to sign a $100-plus million deal with the Dodgers, signing a contract for six years and $162 million.

For eight years, Heyward and Freeman played for opposing NL teams. Then, an unexpected turn of events set the ball rolling for a reunion.

In early August 2022, when Heyward had already been on the injured list for over a month with what the Cubs called right knee inflammation, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer announced that the team intended to release the veteran right fielder from the final year of his contract after the season.

Freeman saw an opportunity. And for the rest of the year, he didn’t let Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman or general manager Brandon Gomes walk by without hearing his pitch for Heyward.

“I’ll shoot you straight,” Freeman told them. “I don’t know what you’re going to get from the baseball player Jason Heyward, but I know what you’re going to get from the person Jason Heyward, and what he would mean inside of a clubhouse, and what he can do to young guys and help them. There’s no one better to be in this clubhouse than how you are envisioning clubhouse culture and chemistry than to bring this guy in.”

Friedman doesn’t have an exact count on the number of times Freeman mentioned Heyward to him in those months, “but it was definitely a lot.”

Friedman and Gomes were intrigued enough to have their group dig into the evolution of Heyward’s swing. But they still had questions, like how open was he going to be to diving into adjustments with their staff?

Soon after he was officially released, the Dodgers set up a Zoom.

“He was all-in,” Friedman said, “in terms of open-mindedness, desire to change some of the recent narrative, and he was excited about the prospect of working with our guys and doing what he could to help us win games, both on and off the field.”

Heyward said he heard from the Dodgers three times before he heard from any other team in free agency.

“That was how persistent they were,” he said.

Jason Heyward, left, celebrates a run with Freddie Freeman against the Texas Rangers in June 2024.

(Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)

Heyward signed a minor-league deal with the Dodgers in early December. He spent time in Southern California over the offseason to get a head start on overhauling his swing. And he met Freeman in Newport Beach, to hang out, hit and work out together.

Heyward’s efforts paid off. He made the team out of spring training. And he and Freeman were officially teammates again.

“It was so fun,” Heyward said.

Their reunion on the field was brief — the Dodgers re-signed Heyward for the 2024 season and then, his first half derailed by injuries, released him in August — but it was still sweet.

“You go from sitting together on a bus coming from Rome, Ga., going to Wilmington, Delaware — and like now you’re on a first class flight with the L.A. Dodgers, and traveling from West Coast to East Coast, wearing the jumpsuits, all that stuff,” Heyward said. “That was a very cool experience coming from being 16-years-old, Aflac All-Americans, to now sharing a World Series ring.”

Co-workers

Heyward finished 2024 with the Astros and spent the next season with the Padres. He trained this past offseason to be ready for spring training if a team gave him an offer. But in the final weeks, he also started laying groundwork for a post-playing career in case the phone never rang.

“This year I said, ‘If we get a Super Bowl weekend, that’s it, and I’m content,’” Heyward said. “Not complacent; I’m content. I let it run its course, and now I have clarity to go do whatever else it is.”

He said he reached out to the Cubs first about a non-playing role, and had cursory conversations with the White Sox. He exchanged texts with Friedman, reviving conversations they’d had in his stint with the Dodgers. In many ways, it came down to timing.

Heyward had already been planning on meeting up in spring training with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, a former player, to pick his brain about the transition.

They went to dinner, with both their wives, and stayed for six hours.

“I basically was just honest with him, in telling him that, No. 1, I think it’s great that he wants to stay in the game,” Roberts said. “But No. 2 is that when you’re a player, you look at certain things in a certain lens, but for him to be good at this job in the front office, he’s got to be really open-minded to learn.”

Roberts came away from the conversation excited by how earnestly Heyward embraced that message. And he mentioned to Gomes: “Someone with his character that has his desire to work could be a huge asset for us.”

Two and a half weeks later, Heyward stopped by Dodgers camp at Camelback Ranch to catch up with old friends and teammates.

“I was here for two years, and it felt like I was here for 10,” Heyward said. “And that’s family included — my family, my kids, my wife … So, what I thought was going to be natural, this was even more organic.”

Friends

Dodgers outfielder Jason Heyward, right, congratulates Freddie Freeman after bringing him home on an eighth-inning sacrifice fly against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium in a June 2024 game.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Life changes dramatically between the ages of 16 and 36.

“Single guys trying to make it, to married with many kids,” said Freeman, who turns 37 next month. “And we’re still as close as ever, which is really, really special for me.”

Then, he added: “This is going to be friends forever.”

Their wives, Chelsea Freeman and Vedrana Heyward, are close too. The Freeman’s middle children are just a little over a year older than the Heywards’ eldest. And the families’ newest additions were both born months apart.

Freeman and Heyward are already coordinating family schedules and travel — the Heywards are based in Chicago — to all get together in California this offseason.

They’re no longer those high schoolers bonding between rounds of Pop-A-Shot. In June, Freeman surpassed 2,500 career MLB hits.

“The way Free’s done it, winning is all over it,” Heyward said. “I think that’s one of those unique abilities, to this guy is playing the game first, winning first, and then he’s getting a result, then he’s having the big at-bat, doing it obviously in the postseason. So I’m just happy to see him get the recognition that he’s earned the time he put into it. I’m happy to see his stubbornness pay off.

“It’s not easy to do. It’s much easier said than done.”

Heyward, moving on from a 16-year major-league playing career, would love to be a general manager one day. But he’s keeping an open mind. He took Roberts’ advice to heart and is using his first year as a special assistant to learn and explore the possibilities.

Heyward has been around the major-league team for a handful of series in Los Angeles and Chicago (even giving Freeman advance notice before the White Sox series to make up for his May drop-in).

Trying his hand at player evaluation, he sat in the stands during the Southeastern Conference tournament. And as he pops in on affiliates, the Dodgers also see the time he spends with their outfield prospects — the biggest strength of their farm system — as invaluable.

“Whatever he wants to be in the front office, he’s going to be it, because that’s just who he is,” Freeman said. “Because he is a special man, he works hard, he cares, he wants to be the best.”

Freeman has already seen Heyward manifest his dreams once — and vice versa.

Being drafted, making it to the majors, winning championships, those were just dreams 20 years ago this month, when they both wandered into the communal activities room between All-American Classic obligations.

“That week in San Diego,” Freeman said, “obviously we’ll never forget it.”

In the video game world, it’s one of the biggest releases of 2026.

For years, fans have been eagerly awaiting the sixth installment to the “Grand Theft Auto” franchise.

But the much-anticipated release of the game has been disrupted by a flurry of leaked scenes — such as a plane flying over a metropolis and the interior of a strip club — that has flooded the internet in the last week without the consent of its publisher, Rockstar Games.

Rockstar has not confirmed the videos’ authenticity, but its parent company, Take-Two Interactive, is taking action. The New York-based company late last week issued subpoenas to Microsoft, Discord, X and Google to track down the alleged hackers.

The requests were filed in the Southern District Court in New York under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

The filings involve the unauthorized use of copyrighted material such as “audiovisual content, artwork, images, dialogue, or other creative elements” from proprietary software owned by Take-Two, according to the documents.

Take Two is asking for identifying information associated with the online profiles and activity tied to the leaks, which have generated considerable buzz in the gaming world.

Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar did not respond to a request for comment. Here’s what to know:

Who’s behind this hack?

The online persona Cyberleek appears to be closely associated with the ongoing leaks, according to court documents. The hackers claim to be leaking these gameplays as an act of protest and have a list of demands, which include a physical disc of the game, which Rockstar previously said it would not release. The other demands include no paywalled solo player content and full offline access.

“Publishers sell licenses and call them purchases. They ship unfinished games and call them living services,” Cyberleek wrote on its website. “They lock content on discs and call it DLC. They kill games and keep the money. Every year anti-consumerism tightens its grip, and every year gamers get less for what they pay.”

The group also claims to have obtained a playable build of the game and asks users for cryptocurrency donations.

What does this mean for ‘Grand Theft Auto’?

The first “Grand Theft Auto” was released in 1997 by BMG Interactive. Before it was even released, the action-adventure game was met with a wave of controversy, as the game was centered around illegal activities such as stealing cars and running people over.

The game started to gain real traction in the early 2000s, when Rockstar took over its development. Rockstar is based in New York and maintains California offices in Santa Monica and San Diego. The “Grand Theft Auto” franchise remains its hallmark title and continues to grow a loyal fan base.

The new release of “Grand Theft Auto VI” is slated for Nov. 19 for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. It marks the first major release in the franchise since 2013. The standard version will cost $79.99, while the ultimate version will cost $99.99.

These leaks, which include several maps, video from a gas station and a car wash, come just days before the game is set to have an exclusive preview on Netflix. On Thursday, Rockstar and the media giant are set to share an exclusive extended look at the game on the streaming platform.

So will the leaks hurt sales of the game?

That’s hard to say. Investors appear to be nervous about the potential effect on the company’s business. Since the leaks first started to pop up last week, Take-Two’s stock has continued to plummet. On Monday, the stock closed at $233, down 10% over the last five days.

Although investors appear to be uneasy about the leak, some analysts don’t think it will dampen sales of the game.

“This game is gonna crush every record ever,” said Michael Pachter, a video game industry analyst. “This game could sell 10 million units in the first minute. I think it could do 20 million in the first day and a half.”

Are leaks in the gaming industry common?

Unauthorized leaks aren’t as commons as they are in the music and movie industries, but they do occur. In the last few years, several games and sensitive information have been leaked. One of the largest instances was in 2023 when developer Insomniac Games was targeted for data surrounding the upcoming “Marvel Wolverine” game.

But it’s rare for hackers to get a hold of a playable version of the game, which might have happened in the “Grand Theft Auto” incident, said Sanjay Madhav, a technology professor at USC.

“If you compare it to something like a movie being leaked, that’s a little bit different because presumably if you watch the whole movie, you’re not really compelled to watch it again,” Madhav said. “But I think in this case, unless they release the playable build for other people to download, I don’t think that it’s going to have a noticeable impact on their sales.”

While we might look to other eras, or, you know, epochs (hi, Paleo people) for wellness inspiration, none is quite as dramatic and as “Princess Bride”-esque as LA.’s fencing community. At its center is Swordplay LA. The Burbank-area club is sporty but approachable, leaning into fencing’s cultural impact — and its fantasy — by extending a pointed invitation (see what I did there?) to make friends, be merry and break a sweat.

Alex Blugerman suits up with protective gear before a class at Swordplay LA.

Since the 12th century BC, fencing has been a source of both combat and entertainment. Egyptians in antiquity engaged in sword combat for warfare, but also for competition — Romans utilized swords in gladiator events, rituals and duels. During the Renaissance, Italians refined fencing into its modern form, and soon fencing schools began popping up all over Europe. Fast forward to the 1800s, when fencing’s popularity was so widespread that it became one of the five original games at the 1896 Olympics, where it continues to be a beloved summer event.

And yes, while the Olympics are one point of public familiarity, that’s just one small part of our collective cultural consciousness around the sport.

“Everyone has some kind of relationship to fencing,” said Mary Sola Spohn, the owner of Swordplay LA. “It’s mostly like, my kid saw this movie, or I love this character. It’s the stories around fencing that bring people in.”

Spohn cites “Game of Thrones,” “Lord of the Rings,” “Dungeons & Dragons,” “Star Wars” and even “The Parent Trap” as some of the more popular cultural inspirations for newbies. While clearly rooted in some serious history and tradition, according to Spohn, fencing’s representation in media is its most powerful draw.

Swordplay LA owner Mary Sola Spohn shows off the gym’s fencing gear. Spohn has trained the likes of Academy Award-winning actors and Olympic athletes.

“And ‘Wednesday,’” Spohn adds, of the influx of interest after the Netflix series debuted. “I’m not gonna say that ‘Wednesday,’ you know, saved the day, but, it is very interesting how certain things in pop culture kind of influence the interest level.”

Spohn should know. As a 7-year-old, she was mesmerized by the swordplay in “Hook” and “Peter Pan.” A native Angeleno, she started taking classes at Swordplay LA and soon became a nationally-ranked fencing youth. She participated in the U.S. Olympic trials and was recruited to Northwestern University’s Division 1 fencing team. After college, she worked as a stunt actor, fight choreographer and action designer specializing in European weapons. Spohn was training famous actors, athletes and Olympians (one of her favorite experiences was teaching Charlize Theron rapier for the film “Old Guard 2)” when she was given the opportunity to own the very business where her love of the sport began — and she took it.

Seven years later, Spohn is less interested in high competitive stakes than she is in fostering an all-inclusive, supportive community for her students at Sportsplay L.A. Participants come from all over Los Angeles and range in age from 7 to 85 years old. And she’s succeeded: nearly 170 members and hundreds of classes later, Swordplay LA is now one of the longest established fencing clubs in Los Angeles, with diversified offerings like stunts, pro-wrestling and historical European martial arts (or HEMA, for short) that offer some of the most unique workouts in the city.

Alex Blugerman, left, and Aiden Kelly duel during a class at Swordplay LA.

En garde! Inside the sword-fighting gym

Entering Swordplay LA’s large Burbank headquarters, I was worried I was in over my head. Like many beginners, I had no idea about the reality of fencing: the rigorousness, the gear, the clientele. Would I be the only woman there? Would I injure myself, or someone else? Should I have dressed preppier, like the quick-reflexed, collegiate fencing villains in the movies?

Immediately, my worries were assuaged — there were, in fact, women there. There was also a weapons wall, “Game of Thrones”-style wood accents and a prominently placed map of Middle-earth. While it’s definitely sporty, Spohn has carefully curated Swordplay LA’s atmosphere to be about storytelling — acknowledging the books, TV and films that inspire the club’s clientele.

“I put a lot of thought into the way this place looks and feels. I wanted it to still feel like an athletic facility, but with a creative, artistic side to it. Leaning into what brings people here,” she said.

Everyone was extremely friendly and on the fashion front, no popped collars in sight — only gym clothes and cool-looking fencing gear: mask, chest protector and underarm protector.

Swordplay LA participants Jonathan Proft, left, and Traviss Nguyen strike their weapons.

I did, in fact, feel cool when I put on said gear. I felt even cooler holding my sword, knees bent, feet wide, ready and waiting in my “advance” stance.

While we see lots of depictions of fencing, the rules are, in fact, fairly intuitive: Staying in the narrow playing area, or “piste,” two athletes wield their swords, trying to be the first to make contact with the other while avoiding being hit (and yes, you do get to shout “en garde,” before you advance). Like yoga or dance, the experience is a workout that feels in alignment with the body’s natural movements, at an intensity appropriate to wielding an ancient weapon.

“There are so many natural elements to it,” Spohn assured me during our lesson. “You know, in a very basic sense, how to hold it, what to do with the sword. Everyone has a vision of what that looks and feels like, and people get it.”

At the end of our 30-minute intro class, we actually engaged in combat. Empowered, I leaned in, like a sweaty extra in Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” feeling none of the danger but all of the drama.

Vibe: Boxing gym meets “Game of Thrones.”

Effort: It’s an hourlong full-body workout that, for beginners, can be a bit more intense on the hands and wrists; the gear can be hot and take some getting used to. But the combat happens in short spurts, allowing a fair amount of downtime for recuperation, conversation and enjoyment of the sport.

X factor: It’s uniquely cool to be wielding weapons with so much history, whose use has been perfected over thousands of years. There’s also an immense amount of drama to the sport; leaning into that truly transports the student away from a club experience and into a kind of delicious, LARP-y fugue state.

Swordplay LA

Where: 130 W. Isabel St., Burbank

Cost: $40 for a single drop-in class, memberships range from $50-$450 per month

Info: splafencing.com

Edwin Díaz said he understands the decision of the Dodgers to use him in lower-stake situations rather than immediately relying on him as a closer. The rationale is that strategy will help him rediscover his confidence.

“I know I haven’t done my job,” said Díaz, speaking to reporters at his locker before Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. “If I had done my job, I would be in the ninth inning.”

He praised Tanner Scott, who has thrived in that role.

“He’s doing a great job,” Díaz said. “I’m really happy for him.”

Díaz, the team’s biggest offseason acquisition, had elbow surgery early in the season and was out from April to late July. His return wasn’t triumphant, as he had three blown saves and two more shaky outings in non-save situations.

After a game against the Colorado Rockies last week, he complained of a neck problem and was placed on the injured list. He has more than a week remaining before he returns.

Díaz said he underwent an MRI scan on his neck and nothing unusual was revealed. He’s working with coaches on making a small adjustment to his delivery.

“They showed me a couple videos from last year — my arm slot’s always a little low,” he said. “We’re working now to get it higher and more consistent in that position.”

The goal, naturally, is to make good on the expectations the Dodgers had for him when they signed him to a three-year, $69-million deal.

“That’s why they signed me here,” he said. “To be the closer.”

This is my 50th year covering high school sports in Southern California. Here are my most memorable moments since 1976.

Former Crespi quarterback Captain Randy Redell (left) and sportswriter Eric Sondheimer (right) prepare to board an F–16 fighter jet for their 82-minute flight at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, S.C., in 1998.

(Freelance)

1: It’s 1998. I’m in Sumter, S.C., invited to fly in an F-16 with former Crespi quarterback Randy Redell, an Air Force graduate, captain and pilot. To get cleared, I have to pass a pre-flight instruction class how to use a parachute and an explanation what to do with the barf bag. Randy, apparently at the egging on by his father, Bill, the football coach at St. Francis, takes the F-16 straight up. The G force is like a roller-coaster ride on steroids. Later he tells me to take control of the plane with the stick as I wear my helmet and oxygen mask and hear his instructions on the radio. Yes, it’s like riding a magic carpet. How can anything top an F-16 ride?

Bret Saberhagen pitched a no-hitter for Cleveland High School during a 13-0 win over Palisades for the City Section championship at Dodger Stadium in 1982.

(Courtesy of Linda Saberhagen)

2: It’s June 14,1982. The City Section championship baseball game is at Dodger Stadium, where Bret Saberhagen of Cleveland High pitches the first and only no-hitter in championship game history. He retired 21 of 22 batters in a 13-0 win over a Palisades team that included an infielder named Steve Kerr. Saberhagen would go on to win two Cy Young Awards.

Associated Press Sports Editors award in 1988 for Eric Sondheimer story on Kentucky basketball recruit.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

3.: The lead story on ESPN’s 11:30 p.m. SportsCenter on April 13, 1988, was a report from the Los Angeles Daily News detailing a package that accidentally opened at an air freight service containing 20 $50 bills addressed to a high school basketball star at Fairfax and sent from the University of Kentucky. It led to NCAA sanctions against Kentucky and lots of resignations. My work gave me a lesson on the impact dedicated local journalism can have with a single story.

In 2001, Marcedes Lewis tries to get past De La Salle defenders.

(David Kawashima)

4: The game of the century that changed high school football forever was Long Beach Poly vs. Concord De La Salle in 2001 before 17,321 fans at Veterans Stadium and a national TV audience. It was 11 days after the 9/11 terrorist attack. It was No. 1 De La Salle, coached by Bob Ladouceur, with a 116-game winning streak and running back Maurice Drew. No. 2 Poly had coach Raul Lara, tight end Marcedes Lewis and many other future college players. De La Salle won 29-15. From that game on, TV games featuring high school football multiplied and schools began to travel around the country for marquee matchups.

Dorsey coach Paul Knox celebrates miracle win in 2001 City championship game at Coliseum.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

5: Never has there been an ending quite like the 2001 City Section football final at the Coliseum. Taft leads Dorsey 14-13 with seven seconds left. A fourth-down punt from the 32-yard line will run out the clock. But Dorsey’s Jesus Jimenez blocks the punt and Henry Badge picks up the bouncing ball in the end zone with no time left for a 19-14 win. “The ending was the craziest I’ve ever had,” Dorsey Hall of Fame coach Paul Knox said.

.The Northridge Little League All-Star team from 1994 was honored with a ticker-tape parade down Disneyland’s Main Street.

(Kari Rene Hall/The Los Angeles Times)

6.: The Earthquake Kids from Northridge Little League made it to the championship game of the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa., after the destructive 1994 Northridge Earthquake. Some of these 11- and 12-year-olds had unbelievable personalities, like a player named Matt Cassel. I got to see what a Northeast thunderstorm was like and see the big hill that kids slide down.

Former Granada Hills quarterback John Elway from the 1979 yearbook.

(Los Angeles Times)

7: It’s a 1977 City Section football playoff game that has gone into overtime. John Elway is the quarterback for Granada Hills. Jay Schroeder is the quarterback for Palisades. Both would become Super Bowl quarterbacks. But on this day, they had to try to deliver victory in a California tiebreaker, with the ball placed on the 50-yard and the team that advanced the ball farthest after alternating plays wins. On the seventh of eight plays, Elway completed a 28-yard pass to Scott Marshall to clinch victory.

Crespi’s Russell White carries the ball during a game against St. John Bosco on Nov. 7, 1986.

(John McCoy / Los Angeles Times)

8: In 1986, a sophomore running back with stunning skills, Russell White, leads Crespi to the San Fernando Valley’s first and only Southern Section Division 1 football championship with a 49-14 win over St. John Bosco. He goes on to star at Cal and gets drafted by the Rams. He becomes the commissioner of the Oakland Section, then football coach at Flintridge Prep. Forty years later, his son, Zachary, was a star basketball player at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

9: I rarely go to City Section Division III championship basketball games — unless my alma mater, Sun Valley Poly, is involved. It was 2019, and right before the start, I learned that Roybal coach Danny O’Fallon was dying of cancer. As the buzzer sounded and Roybal won, 51-47, O’Fallon collasped onto the gym floor in tears. Players came back to form a huddle around him and comfort him. It’s the most emotional, gut-wrenching scene. I get tears each and every time I watch video of the moment. He’d die a year later in 2020 at the age of 49. Bill Plaschke wrote a heart-warming column.

Anaheim Canyon players celebrate after winning the 2015 Division 2AA championship with a 28-point comeback win over Lawndale.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

10: The 2015 Southern Section Division 2AA championship basketball game at Honda Center produced the greatest comeback I’ve witnessed, with Anaheim Canyon rallying from a 28-point deficit in the third quarter and 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat Lawndale 103-98 in double overtime. Nick Anderson scored 37 points. Canyon coach Nate Harrison was exhausted and exhilarated afterward.

Harry Welch, the only football coach to win three state titles at three different schools _ Canyon Country Canyon, Santa Margarita and St. Margaret’s.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

11: When it comes to upsets, few were bigger than Canyon Country Canyon beating the nation’s No. 1-ranked football team, De La Salle, 27-13, in the inaugural CIF Division I state championship bowl game in Carson in 2006. Coach Harry Welch, on his way to a Hall of Fame career, orchestrated everything with a little help and belief from his players.

Brisket, ribs and mac and cheese at Pecan Lodge in Dallas.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

12: I always wanted to see what Texas high school football was like after reading the book, “Friday Night Lights,” and experience Texas barbecue. It happened in 2021 when Mater Dei played Duncanville. I spent two days traveling around, seeing Allen High’s $62-million stadium, watching a game at AT&T Stadium and tasting BBQ. All the reports were true _ Texas is one of a kind.

13: One of my first experiences with writing a story about transfers happened in 1981, when a tiny guard, Zach Lieberman, went from Montclair Prep to Taft to Granada Hills Kennedy. Then two 6-10 players suddenly showed up at Kennedy, provoking a City Section investigation. Twenty-one years later, Lieberman revealed the truth in what proved to be an early peek at the current state of affairs in high school basketball.

Harvard-Westlake’s twin towers Jarron (left) and Jason Collins in 1994.

(For the Times)

14: In the 1990s, the Collins twins, 7-foot Jason and 6-11 Jarron, arrived at Harvard-Westlake, and the rest is history. They’d win state championships, star at Stanford and play in the NBA. In 1999, while they were at Stanford, I wrote a story about their special bond. Former UCLA coach John Wooden said of their progress, “I think they’ve improved. I’m sorry [UCLA] didn’t get them. It’s nice to get twins who are talented and good students.” Jarron’s two daughters are playing for Harvard-Westlake and a son is in eighth grade. Jason died May 12, 2026, of brain cancer. He was 47.

Masaki Matsumoto coaching at Bernstein High in 2013.

(Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)

15: People were telling me in 2013 about an innovative, creative football coach named Masaki Matsumoto at Bernstein High in Hollywood. I found out the coach sent home letters to parents asking them to write a letter to their son and say something positive while expressing their love. Reading the letters myself and seeing players read out loud with tears in their eyes provided a powerful example what can happen when parents express their true feelings. It led to a story that became an ESPN documentary. Matsumoto now coaches at Lincoln High in Tacoma, Wash.

In 2014, Caleb Wilson of Gardena Serra tries to make a catch in a playoff game won by Corona Centennial 68-64.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

16: Trying to keep statistics when Corona Centennial is using its no-huddle offense is challenging, but doing it in a wild 2014 playoff game against another no-huddle offense run by Gardena Serra was mind-boggling. Centennial won 68-64 in a game that had 15 lead changes and 12 touchdown passes.

Birmingham’s Peyton Waters, center, tries to outjump Del Norte defenders for a Hail Mary pass in the final seconds of the Division 3-AA regional bowl game. It went off his hands and was caught by teammate Devyn Taylor with no time left for the win.

(Craig Weston)

17: It’s not every night you get to see a miracle play work. In a 2023 regional playoff game in San Diego, Birmingham trailed Del Norte 28-24. Birmingham had one final play from its 48-yard line. Quarterback Kingston Tisdell avoided the rush and threw the ball down the middle. It went off the hands of Peyton Waters and landed in the hands of Devyn Jackson for a game-winning touchdown.

18: The pandemic was about to shut down high school sports in 2020. The final high school basketball game turned out to be a memorable Open Division regional final between Sierra Canyon and Etiwanda at Cal State Northridge. Sierra Canyon rallied from 11 points down in the fourth quarter to win 63-61 on a shot at the buzzer by future NBA player Ziaire Williams. The state championships were canceled.

Former Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School basketball teammates, from left, LeBron James, Dru Joyce III, and Willie McGee, appear in their high school gym on Friday, Aug. 21, 2009.

(Amy Sancetta / Associated Press)

19: On Jan. 4, 2003, Los Angeles got its first look at a teenage basketball player everyone said was destined for greatness. The hype was so big he sold out Pauley Pavilion. LeBron James scored 21 points to help St. Vincent-St. Mary’s defeat Mater Dei 64-58. I was not impressed with his three-point shooting, but his work ethic changed that. He’d be drafted No. 1 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He’s entering his 24th NBA season and is the all-time NBA scoring leader. But my biggest memory was the family sending someone to get him food from Burger King instead of Lawry’s at a media event that week.

Chino Hills guard LaMelo Ball pulls up for a shot over Mater Dei’s Michael Wang and Matthew Weyand (21).

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

20: In 2017, a sold-out crowd of more than 10,000 showed up at USC’s Galen Center to witness an astounding basketball doubleheader featuring a playoff semifinal matching Chino Hills against Mater Dei and Bishop Montgomery against Sierra Canyon. It was an electric atmosphere and the games lived up to expectations. Mater Dei, led by future NBA player Bol Bol, beat Chino Hills and LaMelo Ball in overtime. Bishop Montgomery upset No. 1-seeded Sierra Canyon and future NBA first-round draft pick Marvin Bagley Jr. Anyone who attended will say it was the best two games of high school playoff basketball they’ve seen.

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Jered Weaver throws to the plate during the second inning of his no-hitter against the Twins in 2012.

(Uncredited/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

21: Major League Baseball beat writers need occasional breaks during the season, so on May 2, 2012, I was recruited to fill in for Mike DiGiovanna to report on the Angels-Twins game from Angel Stadium. I was excited to get to see former Simi Valley pitcher Jered Weaver on the mound. I’m also the good-luck writer. Whenever I cover a pro game, strange things happen. Sure enough, Weaver threw a no-hitter in my only Angel game of the year. Maybe Shohei Ohtani should invite me to his next start for the Dodgers.

: Right–hand pitcher Lucas Giolito (right) and left–hander Max Fried (left) of Harvard–Westlake in 2012.

(Los Angeles Times)

22: I’m sitting in the Harvard-Westlake dugout in January 2012 interviewing Max Fried and Lucas Giolito, two future first-round draft picks. Fried arrived after Montclair Prep canceled its sports program. They’d go on to be major league pitchers after each endured arm surgeries. Somehow, they got placed in the same classes, starting a friendship that will last a lifetime. Here’s video of that moment.

Crenshaw football coach Robert Garrett.

(Robert S. Helfman)

23: Covering the City Section is about telling stories of overcoming road blocks, dealing with adversity and rising up to lead. In 2012, I told the story of three lifers as football coaches — Robert Garrett of Crenshaw, Paul Knox of Dorsey and Mike Walsh of San Pedro.

Former Granada Hills football and baseball coach Darryl Stroh (right) with his former co-football coach Tom Harp.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

24: The legend of coach Darryl Stroh was proven in 1987 when Granada Hills upset unbeaten Carson in the City Section championship football game. He and co-coach Tom Harp would win more City titles in baseball and volleyball, respectively.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame baseball coach Tom Dill with his former pupil, Giancarlo Stanton.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

25: I never thought I’d run into a better all-around athlete than John Elway. Then Mike Stanton, now known as Giancarlo Stanton, showed up at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and by his senior year in 2007, he was All-CIF in football, basketball and baseball. As baseball coach Tom Dill said, “He’s a highlight reel every three or four games.” The only thing he couldn’t do was make free throws. He would lose a contest to Shaquille O’Neal.

Jon Garland pitching for Kennedy High.

(Los Angeles Times)

26: The reason I like baseball best among all the sports in Southern California is because it produces the most pro prospects every year, and it’s not even close. There’s so many top pitchers I’ve seen before they were household names. Paul Skenes. Gerrit Cole. Jack McDowell. Bret Saberhagen. Max Fried. It goes on and on. Here’s a story from 2024 looking at the best pitchers through the years.

Brentwood coach Ryan Bailey.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

27: In 2018, the basketball championships in the City Section and Southern Section became a breakthrough season for Black coaches. It was time to offer thanks to the likes of Willie West at Crenshaw and Reggie Morris of Manual Arts for paving the way for the next generation of Black head coaches.

Hall of Fame basketball player Gail Goodrich returned to Sun Valley Poly High for a ceremony to name the gym after him in 2025.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Anges Times)

28: In 1999, I got to talk to two of my favorite people all-time — John Wooden and Gail Goodrich. Wooden told the story of how he spotted Goodrich at a high school basketball game. I spoke to Wooden numerous times calling him at his Encino condo. Every time he picked up, he was friendly and made me feel so lucky speaking with a living legend. Goodrich became a Hall of Famer out of my alma mater, Poly High in Sun Valley, where the gym was named in his honor last year.

Nine months after brain surgery for a football injury, Nathan Santa Cruz of Venice ran the anchor leg in the 4×400 relay and helped the Gondoliers finish second at the City Section championships and earn spot in state championships.

(Craig Weston)

29: On the opening night of the 2022 high school football season, 15-year-old sophomore Nathan Santa Cruz of Venice suffered a head injury that resulted in emergency brain surgery to save his life. Thanks to the fast action of medical personnel at the game and at the hospital, he was back running track nine months later. It took months of being patient waiting for people to be willing to talk about the emotional scene to explain how his life was saved. He returned to play football in 2023 and 2024.

Long Beach Poly coach Sharrief Metoyer throws his hands up in an act of exasperation along the sidline.

(Los Angeles Times)

30: The frustration with CIF transfer rules reached an unprecedented moment in a 2013 state basketball playoff game between Long Beach Poly and Mater Dei. Poly coach Sharrief Metoyer chose to put into the game an ineligible player in protest. I watched in horror knowing the consequences. He’d never coach another game for Poly. It was sad that a young, promising coach had made a terrible mistake. He was suspended for a year and then resigned.

31: In 2015, I learned a valuable lesson: Don’t tweet that a game is over until it’s really over. With San Marino down 21 points in the fourth quarter to Sierra Canyon in a state football playoff game I tweeted, “Start warming up the bus to Sacramento for Sierra Canyon.” Well, San Marino rallied for a 36-35 victory. I don’t think Sierra Canyon coach Jon Ellinghouse will ever forgive me for the jinx.

Servite coach Troy Thomas, in 2009, is congratulated by assistant coach Ken Foersch, now the president of Crespi.

(Christine Cotter/Los Angeles Times)

32: I still think Edison had the best football team in 2009. Unfortunately, it rained and rained and Angel Stadium became a soggy field more suitable for ducks. The surfer team couldn’t handle it, with Servite beating the Chargers 16-6 in the Pac-5 championship game. It was Edison’s only loss of the season and the Chargers had beaten Servite in the regular season. I remember walking on the field afterward and ruining my shoes and seeing Servite players love every moment of playing in the rain.

With downtown Los Angeles in the background, Contreras football coach Manuel Guevara prepares for another obstacle this season — ICE raids that strike fear among his players and their parents.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

33: In the summer of 2025, immigration agents, dressed in tactical gear and riding on horses and in armored vehicles, made a show of force through MacArthur Park trying to strike fear into the immigrant community. And they did. More than 20 players skipped football practice at Contreras in downtown Los Angeles. I went there and saw the fear on the faces of players wondering if their parents would even show up to games in the fall. It resulted in an important story how teenagers were being affected by ICE.

34: The Wolf brothers, Jim and Randy, from El Camino Real, were destined to do what they loved best — umpire and pitch, respectively, in the major leagues. Their dreams came true. In 1997, as each was doing the hard preparation work to fulfill their goals, I wrote a story, “Brothers of Summer.” “It’s like trying to get on the Supreme Court,” Randy said of his brother’s umpire journey. “It’s just sticking it out and not giving up,” Jimmy said.

Quarterback Josh Rosen, in a 2013 photo, celebrating St. John Bosco going 16-0.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

35: St. John Bosco finished 16-0 in 2013 with a 20-14 win over De La Salle before a record crowd of 16,791 in Carson to win the Open Division state championship bowl game. The game had drama and excitement but what really stayed in my memory was quarterback Josh Rosen jumping into the stands and getting his photo taken with St. John Bosco fans and students.

In 1992, Eric Sondheimer presents Taft High grad Quincy Watts a gift from winning the 400 meters at the Olympic Games.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

36: It’s 1992, and Taft High graduate Quincy Watts won the 400 meters at the Olympic Games in Barcelona. He came home with two gold medals and his alma mater honored him. I got to present him a framed newspaper copy of his achievement. Twenty years later, I wrote a story with the headline: Quincy Watts is a role model for what is possible.

Former Taft standout Steve Smith had his No. 2 jersey number retired in 2023 and brought his three sons, Jordan (left), Theo and Carter.

(Craig Weston)

37: Steve Smith was a prodigy at Taft High in football and basketball. He made amazing receptions and dunked against anybody. He had his football jersey retired in 2023. He joined the City Section Hall of Fame in 2025. He became a standout receiver for USC and a Super Bowl champion with the New York Giants. He and his brother, Malcolm, a linebacker and another Super Bowl winner, were examples of all the good that can happen when raised by parents to be respectful and humble.

Serra High School receiver Robert Woods in 2008.

(Los Angeles Times)

38: In 2008, I met a promising receiver at Gardena Serra, Robert Woods, and learned what his motivation would be for years — make his older sister, Olivia, proud after she had died of cancer in the spring at the age 17. He’d become an All-American at USC and Super Bowl winner with the Rams.

39: Rodrick Pleasant of Gardena Serra was fast. He was so fast that in 2022, I was there at Moorpark High to see him run the fastest wind-legal 100 meters time in state history, 10.14 seconds, as he let out a primal scream.

Windward freshman Juju Watkins could be a trendsetter in women’s basketball. She’s averaging 21 points as a 14-year-old.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

40: First there was Cheryl Miller, then Lisa Leslie. They were the faces of high school girls’ basketball in Southern California. Along came JuJu Watkins, a 14-year-old freshman at Windward who her coach, Vanessa Nygaard, told me in 2020, “Her potential is unknown.” She became The Times’ player of the year as a freshman. Her skills were off the charts, as was her personality. Her great-grandfather, Ted Watkins, was a revered leader in Watts in the 1960s. In the era of NIL, she got an agent, signed a shoe deal, transferred to Sierra Canyon and became the No. 1 player in the country before signing with USC and becoming a national figure.

Jim Toring, then a Harvard-Westlake High School senior, is photographed in the campus pool in Studio City on May 25, 1993.

(Brian Vander Brug/For The Times)

41: It’s May 3, 1998, and I have tears at the celebration of life for Jim Toring, one of America’s greatest athletes in the sport of water polo. I met him when he was a freshman at Harvard-Westlake. His coach, Rich Corso, told me how great he’d become. He led UCLA to two NCAA titles and was destined to be a star for the U.S. Olympic water polo team in 2000. He was killed at the age of 23 in a bus accident in Paris.
`

Former Campbell Hall and Northridge Little Leaguer Michael Frost.

(Los Angeles Times)

42: In 2000, Michael Frost was a senior at Campbell Hall and asked to look back at what happened to him as a 12-year-old. He struck out to end Northridge Little League’s 4-3 loss to Venezuela in the 1994 Little League World Series. I wrote: “He was only 12, too young to think his life was ruined but old enough to understand he had gone through a life-changing experience.” Six years later: “It was very hard to get over that. I learned how to deal with it and it became one of the best life experiences I’ve ever had, to come back from a failure and strive to be better.” The power of moving forward. He ended up pitching in college.

Carson coach Elijah Asante addressing players in the locker room in 2010 before 14-10 upset of Mater Dei.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

43: It was the first football game of the 2010 season, and Carson coach Elijah Asante invited me to be a passenger on the bus to and from Santa Ana Stadium for a game against Mater Dei. He wore a microphone in the locker room and allowed me to give readers a behind-the-scenes look. Incredibly, Carson defeated Mater Dei 14-10 and it was my favorite video ever shot.

Riding in a jeep on a muddy road in Kenya, sportswriter Eric Sondheimer and former North Hollywood basketball coach Steve Miller do a podcast in 2018.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

44: Before Zoom, before podcasts became big, I was taping a weekly show for YouTube with former North Hollywood basketball coach Steve Miller entitled, “Sondy and the Coach.” In 2018, one episode was taped in a jeep while driving on a muddy road in Kenya and shaking back and forth. It was safari time.

Brothers, Jrue and Justin Holiday of the Campbell Hall basketball team in 2005.

(Robert Lachman / Los Angeles Times)

45: In 2014, Jrue Holiday of Campbell Hall acted like he was a most normal high school student even though everyone predicted NBA stardom was ahead. The lead of a column was: “Standing at the entrance to the gymnasium at North Hollywood Campbell Hall and wearing a Disneyland hat with the name ‘Grumpy’ emblazoned on its front, a smiling and playful Jrue Holiday hardly fit the profile of an All-American high school basketball player who, in a couple of years, could be playing with or against Kobe Bryant.” He was the manager for the girls’ tennis team and did the dishes at home.

Jack McDowell sent a signed plaque of his 1993 Cy Young Award to Eric Sondheimer, who covered him in 1984 at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

46: Jack McDowell was one of the best and most competitive high school athletes ever. In 1984, he helped pitch Sherman Oaks Notre Dame to a 27-1 record. He became an All-American at Stanford and Cy Young Award winner with the Chicago White Sox. His battle with umpires was legendary. “There were umpires in the Valley who trembled at the thought of being behind home plate with McDowell on the mound,” I wrote. “He might have been only a teenager, but he wasn’t afraid to bark out an expletive if he didn’t like a pitch call.” He sent me a framed and autographed plaque of his 1993 Cy Young Award. It showed me that a journalist can be fair and critical at the same time and earn an athlete’s respect.

47: Sherman Oaks Notre Dame opened its new $3-million baseball field in 2014, and the highlight besides unveiling the field was Neil Diamond showing up to sing, “Sweet Caroline,” with Larry King and Pete Rose watching.

Pablo Suarez, a former Chaminade athlete, owned 30 thoroughbreds in 2006.

(Myung J Chun / Los Angeles Times)

48: It was one of the strangest stories told in 1986. Chaminade student Pablo Suarez pulled off the charade of the year. His mother refused to sign a permission slip for him to play football. His father agreed to sign, and for nine months they kept the secret he was playing quarterback. One time his mother went to clean his closet. “We had a long hallway, and I sprinted down the hallway and opened the window,” he said. “I think I busted the screen to throw the [football] stuff out.” The secret was discovered when a courtesy phone call was made telling his mom about an injury. “My dad spent a couple days sleeping on the couch,” Suarez said.

Pete Crow-Armstrong, formerly of Harvard-Westlake, is now a star player for the Chicago Cubs.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

49: It’s the spring of 2020. The pandemic has shut down all high school sports. I’m sitting at home frustrated and bored. Then-sports editor Chris Stone suggests doing a video series using the new Zoom technology to interview seniors about how they are dealing with the pandemic. It was entitled, “Season Interrupted.” Suddenly, I’m fired up and interviewing athletes every day. The first was future major leaguer Pete Crow-Armstong. It helped save my sanity and re-charge my enthusiasm while keeping high school sports going at a time of uncertainty.

50: It’s late into the night at Dodger Stadium in the 1985 City Section final. Neither Kennedy nor Banning is budging. It’s the bottom of the seventh inning with the score tied at 9-9. Up comes sophomore Kevin Farlow of Kennedy with two outs. He hits a game-winning home run down the left-field line. It’s bedlam for the fans who stayed. It’s stunning to see a high school kid hit a walk-off home run in a major league park.

Eric Sondheimer interviews Dominic Dent during his days at Corona Centennial.

(/Nick Koza)

It’s been a great run. Thank you to the many photographers, some of them freelancers who worked for no pay, just wanting to be part of the high school sports experience. And thank you to those who still read newspapers. They may one day go away unless community members, young and old, provide support. There’s many more stories to tell. And I’m not retiring anytime soon.

Eric Sondheimer plays golf in the 1990s with Simi Valley and UCLA star Don MacLean and legendary sportswriter Pete Kokon, who gave Eric his first job at $15 a story for the San Fernando Sun.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Rae Burrell scored 20 points and the Sparks ended a six-game losing streak with a 77-68 win over the Connecticut Sun on Saturday night.

Nneka Ogwumike, who announced Wednesday she will retire at the end of the season, had 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Sparks (13-24), her 131st career double-double. Erica Wheeler also had 11 points and Dearica Hamby had 10.

Saniya Rivers scored 14 points off the bench to lead the Sun (9-27), who were without Brittney Griner (knee) and Aaliyah Edwards (ankle). Leila Lacan added 13 points and Kennedy Burke 10.

The Sparks, which has given up an average of 93.6 points a game, held the league’s worst offense to 11 points below its average after surrendering 124 points to Atlanta on Thursday. The Sparks did that despite giving up 30 points on 25 turnovers.

A three-pointer from Wheeler at 6:12 of the fourth quarter produced a 77-55 lead but the Sun reeled off 13 straight for a single-digit deficit with less than two minutes to go but missed their last five shots.

The Sparks led 44-36 at halftime.

Connecticut hit four of 16 shots while the Sparks rebounded to make nine of 12 shots in the third quarter to boost their lead to 66-46.

Hamby was ejected early in the fourth quarter when she flung her right hand back while boxing out Raegan Beers, smacking her in the jaw. No foul was called as Beers went down, but as she went to the locker room the play was reviewed. Beers was given a loose ball foul while Hamby received a flagrant 2 foul for unnecessary and excessive contact.

Up next for the Sparks: Game three in a four-game home stand Monday against Atlanta.

Alek Thomas is used to playing center field at Dodger Stadium.

Over parts of five seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, the 26-year-old grew accustomed to being booed in L.A., all while watching baseball’s latest dynasty take shape.

“It’s funny, because they always hated me whenever I came out there in center field,” Thomas said before Saturday’s 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. “I was, like, ‘Come on, guys, I’m Mexican too. You don’t have to yell at me; like, we’re on the same side here.’

“But, obviously … it doesn’t matter where you’re from. ‘If you’re not a Dodgers guy, you’re not my guy.’”

Thomas, whom Arizona designated for assignment 28 games into the season before trading him to the Dodgers in May, is, well, a Dodgers guy now.

He was called up from triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday after center fielder Andy Pages sustained a hand fracture after being hit by a pitch Friday.

“Great buy-in [and] great teammate,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Thomas before the game. “Really good defender. Had a good chat with him earlier. … he’s happy to be back in the big leagues.”

One could imagine how nice it felt for Thomas to hit an RBI single in the fourth inning, in his first game with the Dodgers and the team’s 12th sellout of the season.

“It’s been a little while,” said Thomas, who has spent 55 games in Oklahoma City this year. “So, I’m super glad to be back, and happy to help the team in any way, shape or form.”

Thomas looked solid in his primary role as a defender.

Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal delivers against the Pirates at Dodger Stadium on Saturday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

He also showed some hustle, turning a should-be groundout into a two-bagger in the eighth after an error by Pirates first baseman Rafael Flores Jr.

“Andy’s a great player, and speedy recovery for him,” Thomas said. “But I’m gonna try and play my brand of baseball; that’s why the Dodgers got me. So, yeah, I’m just gonna go out there and be myself.”

Tarik Skubal and the Dodgers were themselves, too, after a rough start.

The left-hander gave up three runs and three hits in the first. But Skubal recovered to earn his first win with the Dodgers (79-51), giving up five hits and striking out 11 over seven innings to earn a standing ovation upon his exit.

Teoscar Hernández, who entered with two RBIs over his past 16 games, put the Dodgers on the board with a run-scoring single in the fourth. Six pitches later, Thomas earned his RBI, shrinking the Pirates’ lead to 3-2.

Starter Jared Jones, a Whittier native, lasted four innings for the Pirates (63-68). He gave up two runs on three hits with five strikeouts. Pirates reliever Yohan Ramirez struggled in his place.

Kyle Tucker ended his 0-for-26 drought at home with a go-ahead, two-run single off Ramirez in the fifth.

Relievers Evan Phillips, Jack Dreyer and Tanner Scott combined for two shutout innings. Dreyer struck out Oneil Cruz looking to end the top of the eighth with a runner on third, fighting off the Pirates’ final gasp.

The Dodgers have now taken the three-game series against Pittsburgh and are victors of five straight games for the first time since late May.

Those who were at Dodger Stadium on a gorgeous Friday night seemed to be in for an all-nighter.

They have Tommy Edman to thank for getting home a bit earlier.

With two outs in the 10th, Kiké Hernández on third and Kyle Tucker on first, the second baseman hit a walk-off single against Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Gregory Soto, earning the Dodgers a 5-4 win.

“Yeah, it feels great,” Edman said. “We’ve kind of been struggling a little bit in those clutch situations, myself included, so it felt really good to come through.”

Edman entered the at-bat 0 for 3 and was seemingly on the verge of keeping the 200-minute game alive in an unfavorable way.

Soto, however, threw the same low-middle sweeper that Edman fouled off one pitch earlier, and the second baseman jumped on it the second time around, propelling the Dodgers (78-51) to four consecutive wins for the first time since late July.

“That’s something I really try to take pride in — leaving past at-bats behind me — and I think I’ve done a good job of that this year,” Edman said. “I think that’s something we do really well overall as a group, and that leads to coming through in big situations like that, putting past at-bats behind you.

“One of the best feelings after grinding for 10 innings,” he added. “We had a bunch of pitchers do a really good job today.”

However, the victory was tempered by the loss of center fielder Andy Pages, who was struck in the left hand with a Bubba Chandler pitch in the third inning. Manager Dave Roberts said X-rays showed a fracture and Pages is expected to be out at least four weeks.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto helped make sure the loss of Pages was not in vain.

The right-hander brought the urgency to the mound that the Dodgers were missing during an abysmal 5-11 stretch that ended with a sweep against the Colorado Rockies this week.

“I personally felt like today’s game is very important,” Yamamoto said. “We’re gonna have [Tarik] Skubal starting [Saturday], and I just wanted to maintain the momentum, which started in Colorado.”

Yamamoto surrendered two runs — both via singles from Pirates designated hitter Nick Gonzales — on five hits over 6⅓ innings, striking out nine and walking one.

“My stuff was pretty good today,” Yamamoto said. “I was feeling pretty good out there. So even after letting runners on the bases, I just tried to focus and then take it one hitter at a time.”

Chandler, meanwhile, exited after four innings. Max Muncy hit a two-run homer in the first, and Mookie Betts contributed a two-run single in the third.

The Dodgers, with a 4-2 lead, cruised into the eighth. But Kyle Hurt gave up a tying two-run homer to Oneil Cruz.

Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivers against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the second inning Friday night.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Matters looked grim for the Dodgers in the 10th when Evan Phillips found himself in a one-out, bases-loaded jam.

All was well, though, once Phillips got Henry Davis to ground into an inning-ending, 6-4-3 double play.

“That was great,” Roberts said of Phillips. “I know that he’s trying to kind of build as we’re going through this, and [it] hasn’t been smooth sailing for him and the success that he’s used to. But this is a big one. Big confidence builder for him … to strand those two runners was a big outing for him.”

Edman took care of the rest.

And for maybe the first time in weeks, the Dodgers appear to be inching back to their champion ways.

“I think our guys are kind of reinterested, you know, collectively,” Roberts said before the game. “So, that’s a good thing.”

Andy Pages sustains hand fracture

Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages gets hit by a pitch during the third inning against the Pirates on Friday night.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Roberts said Pages sustained a fracture on the back of his left hand when he was hit by the 100-mph pitch It’s unclear if he will need surgery.

“Well, it’s just really unfortunate, obviously,” Roberts said. “It’s not season-ending. … So, I would expect him back, knowing him, on the earlier side. … I feel for him because he’s having such a good year.”

Roberts said Edman is an option to fill in for Pages in center field.

In a more positive development, Will Smith faced live pitching for the first time since June, and Roberts said that the plan is to activate the catcher during the first week of September.

“Today was a good day for Will,” Roberts said. “Taking at-bats. He’ll catch a couple bullpens today. He’ll do a couple more lives. … He still needs to get his legs back under him before we feel confident that he can take down a major league game and feel good coming out of it.”

Roberts added that Smith is “gonna play in the postseason” and that there is enough time for him to reach 100% strength.

Tyler Glasnow will likely be activated during the Dodgers’ upcoming trip to Atlanta.

“I just saw him. He had a great outing — his last rehab outing,” Roberts said. “I’m not sure which day we’re gonna pencil him in against the Braves, but if all of the things check out, it’ll be that [series].”

Ohtani will return to the mound at some point this season.

“It’s gonna happen,” Roberts said. “[Ohtani] threw another bullpen. … I think that there’s going to be a live or two, and then he’ll be on the mound. I just don’t know when we’re going to do that with the scheduling.”

Dalton Rushing is “pain-free” and close to facing live pitching, according to Roberts, but the catcher is “unlikely” to return to catching this season.

“I hope I’m wrong,” Roberts said. “But he’s determined to go through the process, the progression, the build-up and get back. And we’ll see where we’re at.”

Roberts didn’t rule out the possibility of Rushing being activated as a designated hitter down the line.

The Dodgers just can’t have some peace and calm, can they? Now, an owner is getting in on the fun with some controversy.

I can’t help but recognize the irony that Edwin Díaz is on the IL with neck inflammation. It was very likely caused by the whiplash he’s endured by tracking all of those line drives whizzing past his ear.

Ron Yukelson
San Luis Obispo

Regardless of whether Edwin Díaz ever excels again in his closer role, I wonder if anyone else feels like I do about the trumpets and light show hoopla announcing his entrance from the bullpen? I think not only does it add fuel to an already fired-up visiting team, it also is a slap in the face of the other Dodger relievers, who by the way, all currently have performed far better.

Gary Sohl
Fountain Valley

Edwin Díaz is auditioning for a spot on the postseason roster and the audition is not going well.

Richard Sherman
Margate, Fla.

Kyle Tucker’s sub-.240 batting average and the oft-injured Edwin Díaz cost the Dodgers $83 million this year — more than the entire payrolls of the Marlins and Guardians. No wonder so many fans believe the Dodgers are ruining MLB.

Barry P. Resnick
Orange

If Dodgers’ ownership is found to have circumvented the rules, there should be serious consequences. Voiding the fat contracts of Kyle Tucker and Edwin Díaz — and making them immediate free agents — would send a strong message from the commissioner’s office that such conduct will not be tolerated.

Steve Ross
Carmel

It’s as though Kyle Tucker accidentally became important at work and it ruined his life.

He just so happened to be the best available right fielder on the free agent market at the moment in time that the Dodgers were craving an uptick in right field and another functional bat to further fortify their lineup.

Basically, they wanted just another cog in the machine to help clear a path to a third consecutive World Series championship.

And because money is no object — to the objection of the rest of baseball — instead of offering Tucker a long-term deal with annual pay more in line with his talents, the Dodgers slapped a four-year, $240-million deal on the table.

Dodger Kyle Tucker talks with manager Dave Roberts in the dugout on Aug. 15.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Said, essentially: Hey, guy, how would you like a Major League Baseball record for average annual value — about $57.1 million per year — not to be the man, but to be a guy?

Not to outshine Shohei Ohtani and his starry pals, not to move merch off the field or do huge numbers on it. Just to quietly do what he did the previous season as a Chicago Cub, when he slashed .266/.377/.464 with 22 home runs, 73 RBIs and 25 stolen bases in 136 games.

It must have felt like winning the lottery. All the introverted Tucker had to do was be his normal self with the understanding that no one expected him to live up to that Ohtani-type contract, that Juan Soto-esque dough, that Aaron Judge-level cheddar.

It wasn’t that too much was expected of Tucker, it was that only so much was.

That was a weird place to start. And it obviously didn’t help him find his footing as a Dodger, because he still hasn’t gained traction.

“I mean, it’s been a struggle in the sense that I’d like to help our team win and perform better for the guys in the clubhouse and the fans that come to the games,” Tucker said Friday. “In that aspect, I wish I would’ve done better this year. But like I said, we’ve still got a month and a half left and the playoffs coming up, so it’s not over yet.”

We can’t, of course, say “poor Kyle Tucker” as he strains — less stoically now — to figure it out with the postseason closing in.

But we can wonder if it was a poor decision by the Dodgers, with all of their top-flight minor league outfield prospects, to splurge so steeply?

We can ask whether they should have taken into account the mental makeup of a man who they were asking to carry the weight of a contract so unwieldy he should be embarrassed by it — which is how Tucker looks when he does his inhibited version of the hip-lock, arm wiggle-and-wave dance moves all the Dodgers do when they reach base.

Tucker just hasn’t looked like a true blue Dodger yet; he hasn’t been able to cut loose — especially not here in L.A.

Brandon Gomes, Dodgers executive president and general manager, helps new signee Kyle Tucker put on a Dodgers jersey during a news conference at Dodger Stadium on Jan. 21.

(Ronaldo Bolaños/Los Angeles Times)

After going 0-for-4 in Friday’s 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, Tucker is hitting .186 with a .552 OPS at Dodger Stadium. He went 0-for-19 in the Dodgers’ last homestand, when even a game off did nothing to unscramble his mind.

Overall, he’s had it rough in the outfield too, where Statcast’s Fielding Run Value (FRV) measuring a player’s overall defensive value has him rated 96th of 97 right fielders this season.

At present, it doesn’t help that Tucker is one of two high-profile Dodger free-agent busts-so-far.

All-Star closer Edwin Díaz has blown four saves while saving just seven games this season in between stints on the injured list — Tucker and Díaz, insult to injury. For the high-high price of a combined $309 million.

Still, the Dodgers are 78-51. They have the second-best record in baseball, with two fewer wins than the Milwaukee Brewers.

And on the road, Tucker has given the Dodgers more of their money’s worth, hitting.272 with a .820 OPS.

So after Wednesday’s two-hit game to close out a sweep in Colorado on Wednesday, Tucker came home and tried the slump-busting tactic of taking batting practice outside on the field Friday for the first as a Dodger.

“Just trying to put up good swings tonight, good at-bats,” he said. “Just trying to move guys over, get guys in, do my part to try to win.”

The crowd participated too Friday, giving Tucker ovations more befitting a hitter on a heater than one on ice each time he stepped to the plate, where he put up a fight all night.

He saw 31 pitches, walked and hit into a 10th-inning fielder’s choice that moved Kiké Hernández to third base before he scored on Tommy Edman’s walk-off single.

Moral victories for $240 million, Alex? That’s not what the Dodgers bargained for.

But they’ll take it.

“I loved his at-bats,” said Roberts after Friday’s victory, picking up where the Dodgers’ crowd left off. “That’s one of the things I’m going to make sure I do, is encourage him.”

Because one magic moment in October will make it all worth it.