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San Francisco 49ers owner and CEO Jed York has been suspended for six games and fined $500,000 for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, the league announced Friday.

York was arrested Aug. 23 as part of an Ohio prostitution sting after he responded to an online ad that was actually set up by Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force officers.

The 45-year-old executive pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and possessing criminal tools (in this case, the phone he used to set up the encounter). He was sentenced to one day in jail and fined $1,150. The $160 seized in the sting was given to the task force as part of his plea.

Since York has not attended any games or league meetings so far this season, he was credited with having served three games of his suspension. He is eligible to return Oct. 20, the day after the 49ers’ Week 6 game against the Washington Commanders and the day the league’s fall meetings begin in New York.

“To my family, to the players, coaches, and employees of the San Francisco 49ers, to our fans and partners, I am deeply sorry,” York said in a statement released by the team. “This was an inexcusable mistake and I take full responsibility. What I did does not reflect my values or the man I strive to be for my family.”

York filed for divorce from his wife, Danielle Belluomini York, in May. They have two sons together. York has been the 49ers’ CEO since 2008 and became the principal owner in 2024. His family has owned the 49ers since 1977.

“While I fell short of the model I want to set for my sons, I now hope to show them the importance of owning up to one’s failures, and that even our worst moments teach us to be better,” York said. “Leading the 49ers is a privilege, and one I don’t take lightly. Your trust will have to be earned back over time, and I look forward to that work ahead.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was upset.

His coach, Mike McCarthy, was annoyed.

Both men used NSFW language toward each other that was picked up by Prime Video’s “Thursday Night Football” cameras and/or microphones.

The exchange took during the Steelers’ first drive in their eventual 27-24 road loss to the Cleveland Browns. Before a first down play from the Cleveland 20-yard line, Rodgers could be seen staring at the Pittsburgh sideline with his arms spread out, apparently waiting to receive the play from McCarthy.

Then the four-time league MVP exploded.

“What the f—?” Rodgers screamed toward the sideline. “Call it!”

The broadcast then cut to a shot of McCarthy, who could be seen saying the words, “f— a—hole,” in apparent reference to his quarterback.

Asked about that moment during his postgame news conference, McCarthy expressed regret for the language he used.

“I think what’s said on the field, the way I grew up in this game, usually stays on the field,” McCarthy said. “That’s not the case today, I understand that. But any negative communication on my part, I wish I wouldn’t use those words.”

Later in the same drive, Rodgers appeared to shake his head and roll his eyes while waiting for a play to be called. Speaking to reporters after the game, he indicated that the crowd noise affected the communication between the sideline and field.

“It was loud,” Rodgers said, “so some of the calls, it was hard to hear, for sure.”

The “TNF” cameras did catch a much more pleasant interaction between the two men, after the 42-year-old veteran kept the ball on a 1-yard sneak for a successful 2-point conversion to tie the game at 24-24 late in the fourth quarter.

McCarthy coached the Green Bay Packers from 2006 to 2018 and Rodgers was his starting quarterback for 11 of those seasons. During that stretch, they led the team to one Super Bowl victory (against the Steelers) and four NFC championship game appearances. Rodgers also earned two of his four NFL MVP awards during McCarthy’s tenure.

There was some well-documented tension between the two men during that time as well. But Rodgers has cited the Steelers’ hiring of McCarthy this offseason as a reason he decided to put off retirement for one more year.

“I’d gone into the offseason thinking it was probably going to be it, and I’d be totally fine with it — I feel good about my career,” Rodgers told The Athletic in August. “But once he got hired, then my mindset changed a little bit.”

He added: “Absence makes the heart grow much fonder, in this case.”

McCarthy said in the same article: “Just to be able to take this final lap with him, it’s awesome. You always want to do a great job, but now to do it with him in his last chapter, it’s special.”

The deciding game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves played silently on the Dodger Stadium scoreboard Thursday as Dodgers players practiced below.

The Dodgers were less than 48 hours away from the first pitch of the National League Division Series. The “2026 Postseason” decals had been freshly painted up the baselines that afternoon. All that was left to be decided was their opponent — the winner of the game serving as the backdrop of their intrasquad scrimmage.

About a half an hour after the Dodgers cleared the field, the Braves advanced to the NLDS with a 6-2 win over the Phillies. The Dodgers and Braves will open the best-of-five series at Dodger Stadium on Saturday at 1 p.m. PDT.

“We are the team to beat,” veteran utility player Kiké Hernández said. “We are the team that you have to go through. And that’s all nice words and everything, but we got to take care of business on the field. But I feel great about my team.”

The Dodgers are the reigning back-to-back champions and are aiming to become the first National League team to win three World Series in a row.

“Obviously it’s there, but it’s not something we’re really focused on,” veteran third baseman Max Muncy said of the three-peat chase. “We’re trying to focus on ourselves getting ready this week, paying attention to whoever we might be playing and just trying to get ready for a postseason series the same way we’ve always gotten ready for it.

“We don’t need to be adding any extra pressure onto ourselves. We’ve been saying that for a long time. When you talk about three-peating, you’re putting that extra pressure on it that doesn’t need to be there. Winning a World Series is already hard enough as it is. So for us, we’re just trying to focus on what we have ahead of us and without the added noise to it.”

So, how did the Dodgers get ready for the postseason? Their bye week consisted of wild-card watch parties, batting practice, live pitching — from a long list of arms on Wednesday, especially — and an open workout Thursday that culminated in a scrimmage. Right-hander Tyler Glasnow, who’s penciled in to start Game 4 of the NLDS if necessary, started for the home team Thursday.

“Instead of showing up, checking a box to work out, then eject, I think that sacrifice from friends, family, it’s important,” manager Dave Roberts said. “We’re at the home stretch. We’re in the playoffs, and so I think that the more guys spend time with one another, it just lends itself to just more togetherness.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, left, talks with third baseman Max Muncy during practice Thursday.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

The Dodgers have figured that out over five postseasons in this format. This is their fourth with a bye — after going through the wild card last year. And they introduced the watch parties in 2024.

“You’ve earned the bye and you should take that time to rest and recover,” Muncy said. “But you don’t want to give guys too much time to be at home and get that taste of what it might be like. That really worked for us back in 2024. You get guys here to the field. You’re not forcing anyone to do anything but you’re making all the guys hang out together for extended periods of time when they could be at home enjoying family time — which is great for everybody but not when you know what’s coming for us ahead.

“You’re going to be facing a team that’s already been through the fire. They’ve already been through the emotions. They’ve already been through the roller coaster which is the postseason. It’s hard to go from an at-home setting to trying to find a way to flip the switch.”

The Braves have, indeed, been through the fire. They claimed the No. 3 seed with a 94-68 record and the NL East title. They took Game 1 of the wild-card series against the Phillies but lost Game 2 in extra innings, forcing a winner-take-all Game 3.

Left-hander Martín Pérez (9-9, 3.04) is on the injured list with back inflammation and isn’t expected to be activated for the National League Division Series but right-hander Bryce Elder (8-8, 4.11), who underwent knee surgery in early September, could be available, which would strengthen a rotation that’s missing four starters.

Fortunately, the Braves have a Cy Young candidate in Sale (14-9, 2.16 ERA in the regular season). The left-hander gave Atlanta a solid 6 1/3 innings in the Game 1 win over Philadelphia in the wild-card series this week. Journeyman Tyler Mahle, who went 4-1 with a 1.99 ERA after coming over from the Giants in August, allowed just a run in 6 2/3 strong innings in Game 2 in his postseason debut.

After that, however, Weiss will have to lean heavily on his bullpen and fortunately he has a good one: Atlanta relievers were second in the National League in ERA (3.44) and saves (49) during the regular season. Cuban closer Raisel Iglesias had 34 of those saves (in 37 regular-season opportunities), blowing just one save chance since July 26.

Set-up man Robert Suárez missed more than three months with elbow inflammation but made two appearances in the final week of the regular season to finish the year 4-0 with a 1.06 ERA in 33 games. Ahead of him, Didier Fuentes (7-2, 2.45), Dylan Lee (6-1. 3.09), Dylan Dodd (4-1, 2.54) and Brent Suter (2-0, 1.63 with the Braves) give Atlanta perhaps the deepest bullpen in the playoffs.

In the same news conference, Jesus said he did not expect to start Ronaldo against Denmark.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the game,” Jesus said. “If we need him to play, he’ll play. If not, he won’t.”

This time, the player did make the decision for the coach.

“Following the national team coach’s news conference, and after a conversation with the president of the Portuguese football federation, I decided to leave the national team’s training camp,” Ronaldo posted on social media hours after Jesus spoke.

“In due time, I will tell all the Portuguese about the reasons that motivated my departure from the national team, which I always dedicated myself to. Now it’s time to wish good luck to Portugal and all my teammates, without exception.”

Mike Tomlin’s YouTube video detailing his labor of love of more than a decade is well on its way to a million views in less than 24 hours. His tweet about it has accumulated more than 20 million views.

No, it’s not a deep dive into Tomlin’s 19 years as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, a reign that produced a Super Bowl title, zero losing seasons and a 193-114-2 overall record.

It’s about his obsession with “Minecraft,” the immensely popular video sandbox game that takes place in a world of 3D cubes representing raw materials such as wood, ores, stone and dirt. Players craft elaborate structures and — certainly in Tomlin’s case — full-blown cities.

At least one of Tomlin’s former players is astonished that he was able to construct a sprawling “Minecraft” community in the limited spare time enjoyed by an NFL head coach.

“we were tryna to win super bowls and coach T was on minecraft building cities,” former Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell wrote on X, adding a crying emoji.

Countless adults were introduced to the game by taking their kids to “A Minecraft Movie,” the 2025 film starring Jack Black, Jason Mamoa, Sebastian Hansen and Emma Myers that brought in a worldwide box office total of nearly $1 billion.

Tomlin got an earlier start, watching his middle school-age sons spending weekends playing the game in 2014, the same year the Steelers went 11-5 to begin a four-year streak of double-figure wins. His sons, Dino and Mayce, eventually outgrew the game, but Tomlin’s interest increased.

“At different times over the course of a 12-month calendar, I would have different levels of fixation on this, but it’s been a project that’s been ongoing for 12-plus years,” he said on the 19-minute video titled “Rooftops, Penthouses, and Urban Living.”

Tomlin said he preferred playing in creative mode, as opposed to survival, hardcore or adventure modes. He also said getting his mind off of football was good for his mental health.

“I kind of remember when I was building communities, neighborhoods, buildings, etc.,” he said. “But more than anything, it was therapeutic for me, some mindless entertainment. I’m not a big TV watcher. [“Minecraft”] allowed me to detach from the realities and pressures of life.”

The realities and pressures of coaching in the NFL include a 24/7 work mentality. Watching film and diagramming plays deep into the night. Sleeping on a cot in the team facility.

The attention to detail he brought to his day job was evident in his “Minecraft” creations.

“I was always really conscious of appropriate amenities,” Tomlin said. “You’ll find, you know, an appropriate number of public restrooms and stuff throughout all my public facilities. Not anything over the top in terms of detail: sink areas, stalls, etc. It was important that I represented that.”

Tomlin’s younger son, Mayce, a 24-year-old Columbia graduate, is having a kick on social media posting reactions to his father’s “Minecraft” reveal.

“Bro I used to come home sometimes and my PlayStation would just be gone. And I wasn’t in trouble😭😭😭” Mayce wrote on X.

Tomlin retired from coaching after the 2025 season and now works as an NFL studio analyst for NBC Sports on the pregame show “Football Night in America.” Presumably he has more time to devote to “Minecraft.”

“I like to build, I’ve always had an interest in architecture and so forth,” he said. “So I started doing this creative city. It was a means of spending time with [my children]. They participated. All over this city, all my kids have got buildings.

“Over the course of time, they got disinterested in the game. They were going to high school and off to college, and their participation became less and less over the years. My participation probably at times increased.”

The Dodgers did not need Tarik Skubal to win the National League West. They traded for him to help them win a third consecutive World Series.

Their legacy is at stake. So is his.

That could be hyperbole. Skubal turns 30 next month, already the winner of two Cy Young awards, one of them unanimously. He could sign the largest contract of any pitcher in major league history this fall. His career might be only at its halfway point, and already we can say he’ll be remembered as a star.

So I asked him if his career would feel somehow empty if he did not win a World Series. No one in Anaheim thinks any less of Mike Trout, and no one in San Diego thinks any less of Tony Gwynn, because neither Hall of Famer won a World Series.

Skubal thought about it. Yes, he said, his career would feel diminished without a championship.

“I think winning is the most important thing, so I think that’s fair to say,” Skubal told me.

“If I retire and I don’t have one, that will definitely be something that I don’t know when I will live it down.”

The Dodgers imported him for five or six starts in October, the first of them this weekend. I wasn’t sure of the right noun to use to capture his feelings: Excitement? Pressure? Responsibility?

“I think all of those things,” he said.

How so?

“I’ve grown to appreciate expectations from teammates, from fans, from organizations,” he said. “I’ve come to appreciate pressure. Early on in my career, there wasn’t much of that. It was more just kind of finding my footing, which I’m grateful for. It helped me learn a lot about myself.

“Having the expectation of being a team that is going to win the World Series, and me being a part of that, is something that I’ve come to really appreciate. I’ve come to appreciate all that stuff. As much as they can be looked at as negative things, or stress-inducing things, I’ve come to really appreciate those things, because I haven’t had that for my entire career.”

As soon as the Dodgers traded for Skubal two months ago, he was delighted to receive a text message from a pitcher who wore the weight of expectations throughout his career.

When his Detroit Tigers opened last season at Dodger Stadium, Skubal asked teammate Jack Flaherty to arrange a meeting with Clayton Kershaw.

“Honestly,” Skubal said, “I wanted to get a jersey from him.”

The Dodgers’ Tarik Skubal pitched seven scoreless innings in his final start of the regular season last week against the San Francisco Giants.

(Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)

They talked pitching too, of course, and stayed in touch. When the Dodgers landed Skubal, Kershaw’s welcome text led to him sharing advice not just about the team itself but about navigating the notorious L.A. roads to Dodger Stadium, and various neighborhoods that Skubal, his wife and two young boys might enjoy.

For Kershaw, the postseason was a widely publicized menace throughout the previous decade. In 2019, after he inherited a two-run lead in the deciding game of the division series, Kewshaw gave up home runs to Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto.

After the game, Kershaw said, “Everything people say is true right now about the postseason.”

In 2024, the Tigers were five innings from the American League Championship Series, leading 1-0 in the deciding game of the division series, with Skubal on the mound. Three singles, a hit batter and a grand slam later, the Tigers trailed for good.

“I felt pretty responsible for the season ending,” Skubal said.

Kershaw earned his redemption in 2020, winning both of his World Series starts as the Dodgers won their first championship since 1988. That title lifted the postseason burden off Kershaw, and I wondered whether Skubal might feel the same way if he leads these Dodgers to a parade.

Skubal rejected the premise.

“I don’t really buy into that narrative with Kersh, the postseason struggles,” Skubal said.

Kershaw’s 41 postseason appearances include four starts on short rest and nine relief outings. In 2013, he pitched a combined 259 innings between the regular season and playoffs. In 2015, that number was 246 innings.

“It takes a superhuman to be held to the standard he was being held to, in the biggest of moments,” Skubal said. “I think he was great. He did everything he could for his team. He wore it out there sometimes. Chasing box scores and stuff is kind of unfair to judge guys on, because I’m sure he was pitching through some stuff and grinding through some stuff.

“But he had to do it, because he was Clayton Kershaw.”

Kershaw’s postseason earned-run average: 4.62. For Skubal, in six postseason appearances, all of them starts: 2.04. In that one five-run inning, he gave up more runs than he has in the other 38-2/3 innings of his postseason career.

After he gave up those five runs, he returned for one more inning and retired the side in order.

“That moment solidified who I thought I am, in terms of how I responded to that failure, how I responded to that adversity,” he said. “It’s weird to say and it’s probably weird to portray, and I don’t know how many people it’s going to resonate with, but that’s what I feel.”

Right time, right place: If Skubal wants to win a World Series, where else would he rather be?

“For him?” pitcher Blake Snell said. “There’s no better time for anybody than right now.”

The Dodgers acquired infielder Tommy Edman from the St. Louis Cardinals at the 2024 trade deadline. For Edman, that’s two Octobers and two parades.

“In St. Louis, I think we were hovering around .500,” Edman said. “I found myself traded here and I was like, ‘OK, all of a sudden I’m on the team with the best record in baseball right now, going for a ring just about every single year.’

“That’s the expectation we have here. There’s definitely a level of excitement.”

Dave Roberts, the Dodgers’ manager, said he could see the joy in Skubal on the day the Dodgers celebrated the division title.

“There’s also a difference between being on a team like the Tigers — and nothing against that organization — where the goal really isn’t to win the World Series. It’s the hope,” Roberts said. “But being here and seeing the standard that we have and it’s like: ‘I’m here to win the World Series. This team has the best chance to win the World Series, and I get to be a part of it.’

“So I fully see him, now that he is completely immersed into our culture, where the first month was trying to feel his way: ‘Where do I fit in? I’m this hired gun.’ And now it’s like he’s one of the guys.”

Skubal insists that he has not really thought about his free agency, that his focus is on the here and now, and on each start as it comes. That means this month could be his last in Dodger blue, and that means this really might be his best chance to win a World Series.

“I don’t really know if I like the verbiage of that, thinking I must win this year,” he said. “I don’t think that’s fair.”

Fans of the other 29 teams didn’t necessarily think it was fair that the Dodgers got Skubal. Owners of the other 29 teams are trying to stop them, or at least slow them down, by demanding a salary cap. No matter. One of the co-owners of Skubal’s current employer has a saying about this here and now: It’s winnin’ time.

LAFC on Thursday named Xavi Tamarit its interim head coach, replacing Marc Dos Santos, who was fired Sunday amid a slump that has seen the team win just two of its last 13 games in all competition.

Tamarit, 44, was named to Dos Santos staff last January. He has more than two decades’ worth of elite coaching experience, including stints in the English Premier League, Spain’s La Liga and Argentina’s top division. A Spanish citizen, he is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

“Xavi brings a wealth of experience at the highest levels of the game and a clear understanding of our players, their strengths and what this group needs now,” John Thorrington, LAFC’s president of soccer operations, said in a statement. “We have full confidence in Xavi and the rest of the staff to get the best out of this team. Our standards and ambitions remain unchanged, and we are committed to giving everything to finish the 2026 season strong.”

LAFC (11-9-8) is sixth in the 15-team Western Conference table with six regular-season games left. That’s good enough for a playoff berth but two places and five points out of home-field advantage for the postsesason. LAFC is 3-6-6 on the road by 8-3–2 at home this season.

Dos Santos, an assistant for both Bob Bradley and Steve Cherundolo at LAFC, was named the third manager in team history last winter and was unbeaten in its first 11 matches in all competition, outscoring opponents 27-3 and advancing to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup, where LAFC lost to Mexico’s Toluca, the eventual winner. But the team has gone 6-9-7 in MLS play since then, including a 1-0 loss to FC Dallas last Saturday in which Dos Santos was without six key players — including leading scorer Denis Bouanga and captain Son Heung-min — who were with their national teams.

Tamarit’s first game as manager will be at home on Oct. 10 against conference-leading Vancouver.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wilson was assessed a technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct.

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

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

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. A good Tommy Lasorda quote: “There are three types of people in the world. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen and those who wonder, ‘What happened?’ ”

Some random questions

While we await the winner of the Braves-Phillies series, it’s time to get a different viewpoint. I reached out to Times columnists Mirjam Swanson and Bill Plaschke to get their answers to a few Dodgers questions.

Q. Which team is the one the Dodgers would rather avoid playing in the NL playoffs?

Swanson: The San Diego Padres, actually. Weird stuff happens with rivalries. Weird stuff has happened against the Padres. Add a rivalry to the high-stakes NLCS? Guaranteed weirdness.

So the Padres concern me more than the Brewers, a talented group headlined by ace Jacob Misiorowski that nonetheless does itself in with its poor-little-us talk. The Padres have swagger — and substance — and they just finished the season on a heater, going 41-18 to close the season.

I still like the Dodgers in that series, and then against whomever comes out of the American League too.

It’s the NLDS that’s of most concern — less for who the opponent will be and more for the fact that it’s a best-of-five series. That squeezes the already small sample size of a playoff series and makes it so there’s less room for error and more room for baseball to happen.

Plaschke: The one team the Dodgers should avoid playing is the Philadelphia Phillies. They have all those left-handed starters who can shut down the best Dodger hitters. They only lost the NLDS to the Dodgers last year because one of their relief pitchers lost his mind. They have a veteran lineup that is long overdue. Play them at your peril.

Q. Does Josue De Paula find a space on the postseason roster, and what do they do with him next year, with the positions he plays seemingly taken?

Swanson: Yes, absolutely, JDP will be on the roster in the postseason. For his incredible energy. For his incredible bat. Both much-needed.

Next year? Are they going to play professional baseball next year?

OK, let’s hope they do play ball. And as long as they do, I can see the Dodgers giving De Paula run in the outfield — so long as he puts in the work in the offseason (however long that is) to train and study and make himself a playable outfielder.

His hitting is so elite, he needs only to be a competent fielder to justify his regular presence in the lineup. He’s a great young athlete and if he understands and tackles the assignment with the gusto that he approaches hitting, I don’t see what could hold him back.

Plaschke: De Paula has to be on the roster this October and in a position to take some high-leverage at-bats. I think he’s potentially good enough that you trade Teo and put him in left.

Q. How would you rank the bullpen in terms of trust (top three)?

Swanson: Roki Sasaki and Edgardo Henriquez are both coming back from injuries and basically jumping right into the postseason fire so … fingers crossed. But let’s assume Sasaki’s blister is a thing of the past, as it appears to be, and that Henriquez’s back isn’t aching, I’ll pick them and make a call for Evan Phillips, who looks great and looks like he’s feeling great; I just saw him hit 100 mph for the first time this season, striking out the San Diego Padres’ Jackson Merrill looking in the Dodgers’ loss Thursday.

Plaschke: In the bullpen I trust, in order, Roki Sasaki, Alex Vesia, and Evan Phillips. I don’t trust Tanner Scott. Would you?

Q. The Dodgers won last year despite not getting a first-round bye. So was it really important for them to get the bye this year?

Swanson: Yes! This team is “old.” They know it, everyone knows it — and they know they’ll benefit from getting off their feet for a few days. To them, it’s a reward for a job well done. As a thankful Freddie Freeman chuckled Thursday night: “Rest for all of us is always nice. We’ve been grinding since February, getting ready for the season. Then you go through a 162-game schedule. It’s a lot. So we played really good baseball for six straight months and we get rewarded for that. So we’ll take it in, rest up and get ourselves ready to go for Saturday.”

Plaschke: The bye is hugely important. This is the oldest team in baseball. This is the most exhausted team in baseball. They desperately need those five days off.

Q. Finally, predictions. Who wins the World Series this year?

Swanson: The club that won the past two World Series.

Plaschke: Milwaukee wins the World Series. Nobody beats the Miz.

Who makes the roster?

We will predict the postseason roster after we know who the Dodgers are playing, but, it appears the final two spots among position players could come down to Josue De Paula, Alex Call, Dalton Rushing and Hyeseong Kim. Which two would you choose to make the team?

Click here to vote.

The last two weeks

Who is hot and not heading into the postseason? Numbers over the last two weeks for the team:

Alex Freeland, .385/.556/.692, 18 plate appearances, 1 double, 1 homer, 1 RBI
Josue De Paula, .385/.529/.692, 34 PA’s, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 1 homers, 7 RBIs
Will Smith, .382/.488/.706, 41 PA’s, 2 doubles, 3 homers, 5 RBIs
Mookie Betts, .340/.431/.640, 58 PA’s, 6 doubles, 3 homers, 8 RBIs
Andy Pages, .333/.458/.722, 24 PA’s, 1 double, 2 homers, 5 RBIs
Kyle Tucker, .292/.393/.521, 56 PA’s, 2 doubles, 3 homers, 5 RBIs
Teoscar Hernández, .286/.352/.490, 54 PA’s, 1 double, 3 homers, 6 RBIs
Kike Hernández, .261/.292/.435, 24 PA’s, 1 double, 1 homer, 3 RBIs
Shohei Ohtani, .238/.273/.286, 22 PA’s. 1 double, 1 RBI
Miguel Rojas, .231/.310/.385, 29 PA’s, 1 double, 1 homers, 3 RBIs
Freddie Freeman, .220/.245/.220, 53 PA’s, 4 RBIs
Max Muncy, .205/.286/.364, 49 PA’s, 4 doubles, 1 homer, 5 RBIs
Tommy Edman, .186/.265/.349, 50 PA’s, 1 double, 2 homers, 8 RBIs
Alex Call, .091/.167/.182, 12 PA’s, 1 double, 1 RBI
Hunter Feduccia, .063/.286/.063, 16 PA’s, 1 RBI
Dalton Rushing, 0 for 3
Team, .265/.356/.455, 25 doubles, 1 triple, 21 homers, 4.57 runs per game

Pitchers

Emmet Sheehan, 0.00 ERA, 11.1 IP, 3 hits, 2 walks, 14 K’s
Alex Vesia, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 6.2 IP, 1 hit, 1 walk, 9 K’s
Edwin Díaz, 0.00 ERA, 5 IP, 1 hit, 1 walk, 9 K’s
Kris Bubic, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 4.2 IP, 4 hits, 5 K’s
Landon Knack, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 4 IP. 4 hits, 2 K’s
Roki Sasaki, 0.00 ERA, 3 IP, 2 hits, 6 K’s
Kyle Hurt, 0.00 ERA, 2 IP, 1 hit, 2 K’s
Justin Wrobleski, 1-0, 1.35 ERA, 6.2 IP. 6 hits, 7 K’s
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 1-1, 1.38 ERA, 13 IP, 6 hits, 3 walks, 11 K’s
Blake Snell, 1.80 ERA, 5 IP, 6 hits, 4 K’s
Tarik Skubal, 3-0, 1.89 ERA, 19 IP, 14 hits, 3 walks, 22 K’s
Evan Phillips, 1-0, 3.60 ERA, 5 IP, 2 hits, 8 K’s
Tyler Glasnow, 1-1, 3.65 ERA, 12.1 IP, 6 hits, 4 walks, 21 K’s
Bobby Miller, 4.15 ERA, 4.1 IP, 4 hits, 2 walks, 6 K’s
Brock Stewart, 4.50 ERA, 4 IP, 4 hits, 1 walk, 5 K’s
Blake Treinen, 4.91 ERA, 3.2 IP, 5 hits, 2 walks, 3 K’s
Tanner Scott, 0-1, 5.06 ERA, 3 saves, 5.1 IP, 5 hits, 2 walks, 10 K’s
Jack Dreyer, 5.68 ERA, 6.1 IP, 6 hits, 3 walks, 5 K’s
Seth Halvorsen, 0-1, 9.00 ERA, 3 IP, 4 hits, 3 K’s
Edgardo Henriquez, 27.00 ERA, 0.2 IP, 3 hits, 1 walk, 1 K
Team, 10-4, 2.38 ERA, 3 saves, 125 IP, 87 hits, 25 walks, 153 K’s

Bracket time

Every year around this time, this newsletter mentions Makenna Martin, who holds an online bracket (much like the NCAA bracket) where people can fill out their choices for the best-looking Dodger. She added a charitable aspect to it, raising money for a charity for women who are the victim of domestic violence.

Martin, now a college graduate, has continued the bracket, and this year is using it to raise money for “Peace Over Violence,” another charity that helps victims of domestic abuse. You do not have to donate to take part in the bracket challenge. Whether you donate or not, it’s a lot of fun to do. There’s also a raffle to raise funds, with a lot of Dodgers prizes to win. A tip of the cap to Martin and to all young people who try to make the world just a little bit better.

You can find the bracket here.

Donate and take part in the raffle here.

Up next

Saturday: Atlanta/Philadelphia at Dodgers, 1 p.m. or 6 p.m., Fox/FS1, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Sunday: Atlanta/Philadelphia at Dodgers, 5 p.m., Fox/FS1, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Tuesday: Dodgers at Atlanta/Philadelphia, TBD, Fox/FS1, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

*Wed., Oct. 7: Dodgers at Atlanta/Philadelphia, TBD, Fox/FS1, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

*Friday, Oct. 9: Atlanta/Philadelphia at Dodgers, TBD, Fox/FS1, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

All times Pacific

*-if necessary

In case you missed it

Who’s hot and who’s not as Dodgers prepare for the postseason

The Dodgers have an old roster. But that isn’t necessarily a drawback in October

Woeful Mets outspend the Dodgers while Rays, Guardians and White Sox win on the cheap

Dodgers Debate: Who do the Dodgers want in the NLDS?

Shaikin: How the playoffs might impact the lockout, and … unfair to the Yankees? What?

And finally

Freddie Freeman hits a walk-off grand slam to win Game 1 of the 2024 World Series. 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.

The Targaryens are looking to conquer the summer box office.

“Game of Thrones: Aegon’s Conquest” will hit theaters June 1, 2029, according to Deadline. The movie, written by “House of Cards” showrunner Beau Willimon, will reportedly be directed by Owen Harris. Harris directed three episodes of the “Game of Thrones” spin-off “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.”

Additional details, including the movie’s story, have yet to be revealed. The title hints that the film will follow Aegon the Conqueror, who, along with his sister-wives Visenya and Rhaenys, invaded Westeros and conquered most of the Seven Kingdoms with the help of their dragons, Balerion, Vhagar and Meraxes.

Following his victory, King Aegon I became the first monarch to rule Westeros from the Iron Throne and the founder of the Targaryen dynasty. The conquest took place around 300 years before the events of “Game of Thrones” and is detailed in George R.R. Martin’s book “Fire & Blood.”

“Aegon’s Conquest” would mark the first time the original Aegon is depicted on screen, but the “Game of Thrones” franchise has featured multiple Aegon Targaryens over the years.

Aegon’s descendants revere the Conqueror so highly that he has numerous prominent namesakes. The Targaryen war of succession at the center of “Game of Thrones” prequel series “House of the Dragon” was sparked by the coronation of King Aegon II (portrayed by Tom Glynn-Carney), the younger half brother of the actual heir, Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy). Rhaenyra also named one of her children Aegon.

Young Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), one of the central characters in “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” is eventually revealed to be the missing prince Aegon Targaryen. Even “Game of Thrones’” beloved Jon Snow (Kit Harrington), believed to be a bastard of House Stark, turned out to actually be a Targaryen named Aegon.

Sept. 29, 2026 9:13 PM PT

NEW YORK — The New York Liberty are peaking at the right time and were able to complete a historic sweep of the Minnesota Lynx to advance to the semifinals of the WNBA playoffs.

Jonquel Jones had 21 points and 13 rebounds and the No. 8 seed Liberty beat the top-seeded Lynx 87-71 in Game 2 of their WNBA playoff series Tuesday night. New York became the first No. 8 seed to eliminate a No. 1 seed in the league’s 30-year history.

The WNBA has undergone a number of different playoff formats. And in many of the formats, it wasn’t possible for those seeds to match up. However, in 2022, the league changed to the current format in which the top eight teams play in the quarterfinals.

“It feels good, we understand who we are as a team,” Jones said. “We’re not listening to outside noise, we understand that we can do a lot of great things. We feel like we can play with anybody and beat anybody. That’s the mindset we have moving forward. It feels good to make history. It had to be done for us to advance. It’s nice to say it’s been accomplished, but we have a lot of work to do.”

Breanna Stewart added 21 points and Sabrina Ionescu had 18 for the Liberty, who await the winner of the Atlanta-Washington series. The Dream are up 1-0 and play at Washington on Wednesday night. The semifinals begin Sunday.

A year after losing in the first round to Phoenix after going up 1-0 in that series, New York was determined not to have that happen again.

The Liberty were up five points after one quarter and led 40-35 with 2:39 left in the half. New York scored nine of the final 11 points in the second quarter to go up 49-37 at the break.

New York was up 52-39 with 6:26 left in the third when Stewart drove to the basket and was hit in the face by Olivia Miles as she tried to block the shot. Stewart was down for a minute as the officials reviewed the play and upgraded the play to a Flagrant-1 foul.

As Stewart walked off the court, she raised her hands to the sellout crowd of 17,593, who serenaded her with “MVP!” chants. Stewart hit both free throws.

Minnesota couldn’t get closer than seven points the rest of the way.

“New York is a great basketball team,” said Courtney Williams, who led Minnesota with 18 points. “You dig a hole for yourself and try to get out of it. We wanted to go on a run, but they had answers for everything.”

The Lynx’s season ended in disappointment again. The Lynx had the best regular-season record, but just couldn’t put it together against New York. On Monday, Cheryl Reeve won the league’s coach of the year and Miles was a unanimous choice for rookie of the year.

Miles struggled in both games against New York. She had five points, missing seven of her eight shots in 17 minutes, on Tuesday night. The Liberty’s size and ability to protect the rim bothered the stellar first-year player.

Reeve said she offered encouragement to her star rookie after the game.

“As I told her. When was the last time a rookie led the first-place team? Never happened before,” Reeve said. “That’s what we shared with her. This hurts for her.”

Napheesa Collier and Kayla McBride each added 14 to for the Lynx.

Feinberg writes for the Associated Press.

Dodgers right fielder Kyle Tucker has never shied away from just how bad his performance at the plate was for much of his first season in Los Angeles.

For the first five months of the season, when he’d show brief glimpses of progress before sinking back into an extended slump, Tucker’s .683 OPS was the third-worst among Dodgers hitters with at least 100 plate appearances, better than only Hyeseong Kim and Kyle Freeland, who both spent time in triple A.

In September, however, he found a sustainable adjustment. He fixed his bat path, extending through the ball more consistently instead of pulling off of it. He posted a .889 OPS in September, on par with his four straight All-Star seasons before signing with the Dodgers.

Now, all of a sudden, he looks like a potential difference-maker in the postseason.

“The last month or so is more or less what I expect out of myself,” Tucker said in a recent conversation with The Times. “The biggest thing is we have an opportunity now being in the playoffs to win another World Series. Once the playoffs start, you can forget about any stats or personal numbers. The only one that really matters is the win column. So that’s just what I’m gonna try and contribute towards.”

The Dodgers offense had a lot of success stories like Tucker’s in the final month of the regular season. He helped carry the offense, along with Teoscar Hernández and Mookie Betts, who turned around their seasons down the stretch, and Will Smith, who returned from the IL and quickly found his home run swing.

The Dodgers’ starting rotation is their biggest strength going into the postseason. But the offense’s performance against elite pitching, and the bullpen’s execution in tight games, could make or break a series.

Here’s how some other key players are trending going into the postseason:

Designated hitter Shohei Ohtani: Fortunate to have the bye

Shohei Ohtani appears on the right track for a successful postseason.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Ohtani returned from the IL with five games left in the season, and he went five for 21 with one extra-base hit.

All indications from general manager Brandon Gomes and manager Dave Roberts in video conference calls before the Dodgers’ closed workout Tuesday were that Ohtani was feeling good physically.

“I feel confident that you’re going to see the best version of Shohei of the last two months,” Roberts said. “I know that’s sort of a low bar given his injury, but I do think that he’s as healthy as he’s been in quite some time, and every day from the training staff, it keeps getting better. So, number one, he’ll be a threat being in the lineup, but I do think that the performance piece will be what we’re hoping for.”

First baseman Freddie Freeman: Ice cold

Freddie Freeman did not hit well in September.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

Freeman, who pushed through a bout with tendinitis in his right knee earlier this month, hit just .184 in September and went 0-for-7 in his last two games.

On Tuesday, Freeman said he had no pain in his knee. But finally acknowledged that the injury could have affected his swing mechanics, while again emphasizing that he wouldn’t use that as an excuse.

Freeman has a plan for the bye week that he hopes will set him in the right direction for the playoffs.

“I’m going to hit on the field every day,” he said Sunday. “I already know how my Tuesday is going to go. There’s going to be a lot of blocked balls to left [field], a lot of flares into left. I’m hoping as Tuesday goes Wednesday, I’ll come back and those will be put down a little more. Thursday they’ll be moved over to shortstop and by Friday I will be feeling good. That is how my head is thinking right now.”

Center fielder Andy Pages: Out of the gate running

It was hard to predict how the center fielder would look at the plate when he returned from a fracture in his left hand. He recorded a 1.181 OPS in six games and homered twice in the final regular-season series against the San Francisco Giants.

“He went into last October really scuffling, and it sort of bled into October,” Roberts said over the weekend. “Where, I think right now he feels really confident, swinging the bat well, and the hope is that this one bleeds into October as well.”

Reliever Edgardo Henriquez: Healthy

Henriquez is “trending really well” after throwing live batting practice, Gomes said. If this week continues to go smoothly, the flame-throwing right-hander is expected to be on the NLDS roster.

“Given the body of work, what he’s done, the unique skill set,” Roberts said, “could be huge for us — will be huge for us.”

Reliever Edwin Díaz: Strong finish

Díaz made five appearances after his latest return from the IL (neck). He gave up just one hit in those games, with a 52.9% strikeout rate.

“I don’t know if we could have asked much more out of Edwin,” Gomes said. “Felt like each outing was more and more sharp and looking more like himself. So feel that he’s in a great place right now. Stuff out of hand is as good as it’s been all year. And we know that he has pitched in the hottest of hot games in the past and in any role, especially in the postseason. So he’s looked great, and glad that he’s in the position that he’s in and was able to bounce back after the IL stint.”

NLDS weather: Sweltering

Los Angeles’ weather forecast for this weekend, when the Dodgers are set to host the first two games of the NLDS, shows temperatures reaching the high 90s. The Dodgers are scheduled to play Game 2 at 5 p.m. on Sunday. But Saturday’s game time will depend on the results of the wild-card round. First pitch for Game 1 could be at 1 p.m. or 6 p.m.

Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni was livid.

Chicago Bears linebacker D’Marco Jackson had just delivered a hard hit on Jalen Hurts as the Eagles star quarterback was running out of bounds. Hurts had to leave the game under the NFL’s concussion protocol.

So Sirianni decided to let Jackson know exactly how he felt about him. ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” cameras showed the sixth-year coach screaming an extremely NSFW word apparently at the opposing player — twice — while Eagles backup quarterback Andy Dalton prepared to enter the game.

Hours later, following the Eagles’ 27-7 loss to the Bears, Sirianni expressed regret for how he behaved.

“I always come away when I have a moment like that with remorse,” Sirianni told reporters during his postgame news conference. “I shouldn’t have let my emotions get the best of me. Those guys are out there trying to make a play. It was close on the sideline, ended up being a penalty. Obviously you never want to see your quarterback get hit like that, but it’s in the heat of the moment. I know nobody’s trying to hurt anybody out there, and I always have remorse when I act that way.”

He added: “The emotion of the game probably got the better of me today and I have to learn from that in that particular moment. I have to be more steady in that situation and be able to — like I say to the guys all the time, be able to move on and go to the next play. I didn’t like how I handled that.”

Trailing 7-0 midway through the second quarter, Hurts was forced to scramble out of the pocket on second down for a short gain to the Bears’ 13-yard line. As he was stepping out of bounds, Hurts was hit hard in the shoulder area by Jackson and knocked backward onto the ground. Jackson was flagged for unnecessary roughness, but the penalty was offset by an offensive holding call on Philadelphia’s Lane Johnson.

After the game, Jackson joked that he received “some feedback” over that hit but said that he thought he was making the appropriate play at the time.

“I’m seeing him, I see the first down right there and in my head I’m trying to stop him from [getting] the first down and reaching the ball out,” Jackson told Marquee Sports Network. “I thought it was a clean hit. In the second of the game, I thought it was clean.”

Hurts was able to jog back to the Eagles huddle but was then called to the sideline for concussion testing. Out on the field, Dalton handed the ball off to star running back Saquon Barkley three times to get the Eagles to the Bears’ 2-yard line. But on third and goal, Dalton’s pass intended for Dontayvion Wicks was intercepted by Chicago’s Dillon Thieneman in the end zone to stop the drive.

In his postgame news conference, Hurts didn’t address the hit by Jackson but did express frustration about not being able to clear the concussion protocol and re-enter the game sooner.

“I wish they could have expedited things,” Hurts said. “I felt fine.”

The Bears — led by third-string quarterback Case Keenum, who started in place of injured starter Caleb Williams and backup Tyson Bagent, who was recovering from a conncussion — then drove the ball down the field for a field goal. Hurts returned to the game on the next drive and led the Eagles to their only touchdown of the game.

Ulster will be without backs Michael Lowry, Aitzol Arenzana-King and Robert Baloucoune for Saturday’s United Rugby Championship game against Glasgow at Scotstoun (17:30 BST).

Full-back Lowry and wing Baloucoune suffered concussions in the Irish province’s 34-29 defeat by Edinburgh in their opening URC game of the 2026-27 campaign.

Winger Arenzana-King picked up a knee injury during the game in Belfast, from which Ulster emerged with two bonus points.

All three players started last weekend’s fixture, with Lowry captaining the side and scoring the first of Ulster’s four tries in a match which Richie Murphy’s side’s comeback fall short after they bounced back from a 34-5 deficit.

Glasgow began their season with an impressive 26-20 victory on the road at Munster.

When Dodgers rookie Josue De Paula debuted a little over two weeks ago, he was the youngest player in the lineup by four years. And when veteran infielder Miguel Rojas pinch-hit for Alex Freeland in the eighth inning, the 21-year-old De Paula and 29-year-old Kyle Tucker were the only Dodgers under 30 remaining in the batting order.

“You’ve got to have both,” veteran shortstop Mookie Betts, who turns 34 next month, said in a recent conversation with the Times. “You need experience, but you also do need youth. I don’t know what the balance is, to be honest.”

The age of the Dodgers’ stars is the most persistent knock on a group that just finished a 100-win regular season and has the second-best odds to win the World Series (16.7%), according to Baseball Prospectus.

It’s the threat looming beyond every new accomplishment. Yes, the Dodgers are in the midst of a historic run. Only one other organization has strung together so many consecutive postseason berths, and that Braves team of the 1990s and early 2000s won only one World Series.

The Dodgers are aiming to become the first National League team to claim three straight championships.

But how long can this last?

The Dodgers’ lineup is the oldest in the majors, according to Baseball Reference, with an average age of 30.9 years old when weighted by at-bats and games played. Their star corner infielders, Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy, are the oldest of the everyday starters, at 37 and 36, respectively. Even two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani turned 32 in July.

“That’s a fact, we’re an older team,” manager Dave Roberts said. “With age, there’s experience. I know we’re not going to fall off a cliff, our team.”

Plenty of young players in the Dodgers’ system have been blocked by older stars over the years. But in addition to a sky-high payroll, the Dodgers are known for their player development.

Even after the trade deadline — when the Dodgers sent two MLB Top-100 prospects, outfielder Zyhir Hope (No. 25) and right-hander River Ryan (No. 68), to the Tigers as part of the trade package for left-hander Tarik Skubal — the organization’s farm system ranked No. 1 on MLB Pipeline’s rankings.

Serving as a reminder of that strength, when the Dodgers called up De Paula straight from double A, he immediately showed his bat belonged in the big-leagues.

At the same time, injuries stoked the flames of the age discussion. De Paula got his shot because Ohtani finally went on the injured list, after managing problems with his left knee and right biceps for much of the season.

Freeman pushed through knee tendinitis in September. Teoscar Hernández (left hamstring strain) and Betts (right oblique strain) both had monthlong IL stints earlier in the season but have helped carry the offense lately.

“As I’ve gotten older, I’m definitely taking a lot more care of my body,” Betts said. “I know I had an oblique [injury] earlier, but as far as just showing up every day and whatnot, I feel like we do a good job in taking care of our bodies and staying healthy for the most part.

“But I mean, people are talking like we’re the only ones in the league that’s getting hurt. You look everywhere around the league, somebody’s hurt.”

That’s true. And it also isn’t just the guys in their mid-to-late 30’s sustaining soft-tissue injuries. Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing, 25, served back-to-back IL stints for a flexor strain in his forearm down the stretch.

The Dodgers’ roster has proven deep enough to withstand injuries, as the team posted the second-best regular-season record in the majors this year.

“We’re not going to win games the same way that Milwaukee or Tampa Bay or these younger teams are winning games,” said Rojas, 37. “We’re going to win games a different way. We’re going to win games with a lot of talent, with experience, and winning moments.”

Over the years, the Dodgers have brought in players with postseason experience. But roster continuity also has meant that 17 players on this year’s projected postseason roster also contributed to both of the Dodgers’ last two World Series-winning seasons.

So, after playing more games than any other team the past couple years, the Dodgers may be a little hobbled going into their first-round bye. Regardless, they just completed their first 100-win season since 2023.

“The experience, how smart these guys are on the field, I think those things help win moments and win battles on the edges in October,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said when the Dodgers clinched the NL West title earlier this month. “It’s not as easy to navigate through a 162-game season with an older roster. But I do think that experience in those moments will definitely help and we’ll see it shine through at different points in October.”

According to documents obtained by The Times via the California Public Records Act, Inglewood High School confirmed to the Southern Section that its football coach, Mil’Von James, played three ineligible players during a game in Austin, Texas, last month.

The reason, according to the letter sent to the Southern Section office, was, “The coach stated that he was not aware CIF eligibility rules applied to a game in Texas.”

That raises the question how many more times Inglewood has used ineligible players for out-of-state football games under James, the head coach since 2019. Last season on Sept. 25, 2025, the team played in Midland, Texas, three days before sit-out transfer players became eligible. Inglewood won 43-42. One of the players on the team who had not been cleared to play was Masyn Harvey, a quarterback transfer and holder on PATs.

Harvey, now playing for a prep school team, declined to return a request for comment if he had played.

If Harvey did play, Inglewood should have forfeited its win last season to Midland. Because Inglewood lost to Westlake of Austin on Aug. 28, a forfeit was moot for this season. Inglewood informed the Southern Section that it imposed a two-game suspension as punishment to James, who returned to coach last week in a win over Downey. The school said it would extend the sit-out period by another week to those players who participated while not cleared.

As for corrective action, the school stated, “Going forward, all ineligible players, across all sports, will be in street clothes on the sideline and must check in with the game administrator prior to the start of each game. We will send all coaches, across all sports, a weekly email listing ineligible players and the reasons for their ineligibility.

“At the start of each season, we will re-train all coaches on eligibility criteria and the clearance process and require them to sign an acknowledgment confirming they understand.”

James has a history of using ineligible players. He was dismissed at Hawkins High in 2016. The Los Angeles Unified School District did not share why James was fired, calling it a confidential personnel matter. LAUSD dismissed James soon after the discovery of ineligible players, resulting in Hawkins forfeiting all of its games to finish 0-13. Since then, the City Section established a rule that teams must exchange rosters before games to verify that players are eligible.

The Southern Section declined comment, but according to a letter response from an assistant commissioner, “Based on your self-report, preventative measures and the corrective actions taken, we will consider this matter closed.”

The bromance between Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves remains strong and it’s a bond the Lakers will lean on with LeBron James no longer on the team.

After eight years of James being the Lakers’ leader, the role now will be shared by Doncic and Reaves.

Doncic already took a step in that direction when he invited his teammates to his home country of Slovenia in August for a bonding trip.

Reaves chided Doncic about losing in rowing, bowling and golf while they were in Slovenia together.

Reminded about it Monday at the Lakers’ media day, Doncic immediately retorted: “I beat him in golf two days ago. … He didn’t say that, huh?”

Doncic paused and smiled.

“The key was I was playing great golf,” Doncic said. “He gave me some strokes, I’m not going to lie — as he should.”

Reaves spoke about the events his group won in Slovenia and how they beat Doncic in the process.

“We won the rowing, we won the golf, we won bowling,” Reaves said. “Luka tried to put on a blue shirt when his rowing team lost, which is crazy. But he did host us, so we let him hold the first-place trophy for once.”

The two friends and teammates have developed a closeness that their teammates have noticed.

“They get along so well that it’s kind of easy for them to co-lead this team — in different ways sometimes,” Jake LaRavia said. “I think sometimes Luka leads by example and we watch him and we watch how he goes about himself. AR can sometimes be a bit more vocal. But I think they both do a great job at what they are good at it when it comes to being leaders for this team.”

Lakers guard Luka Doncic speaks during the team’s media day in El Segundo on Monday.

(Eric Thaye r/ Los Angeles Times)

Doncic led the NBA in scoring last season (33.5 points per game) and was third in assists (8.3). He averaged 7.7 rebounds and shot 47.6%, including 36.6% from three-point range.

The three-year, $165-million contract extension Doncic signed last year kicked in this season.

“Obviously, it’s a new challenge,” he said about his leadership role. “I was in this position in my career a lot of times, so it’s not new to me. But I feel great, I feel excited, and like I said, I’m ready to go. It’s been a long time since I played basketball, so I’m ready.”

Reaves is entering his sixth season with the Lakers, making him the longest-tenured player on the team. In June, he signed a four-year, $180-million deal, the largest contract for an undrafted player in NBA history.

Reaves earned it by averaging career-highs in points (23.2) and rebounds (4.7).

The Lakers have nine new players and Reaves knows he’ll need to provide guidance.

“I think it’s different for everybody,” Reaves said. “I’m not going to lead the same way Bron does. I’m not going to lead the same way Luka does. I like to do things a little different. I was talking about doing more one-on-one conversations. There will be times where I need to speak up in group settings and I’ll do that when the time comes. But I think you just got to be true to yourself and do what’s comfortable for you.”

Doncic played in just 64 games last season. He missed the last five regular-season games and all of the playoffs with a left hamstring strain. After spending time in Europe rehabbing his hamstring over the summer, Doncic said he’s healthy and ready to go with no restrictions when the Lakers begin training camp Tuesday.

“I know I had a lot of time, just taking it slowly, not taking no risks,” Doncic said. “But right now, I’m feeling great. I feel rested. Mentally I feel great, so I can’t wait just to start.”

With Walker Kessler, Quentin Grimes, Jaden Hardy, Kevon Looney, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Collin Sexton, Matisse Thybulle and Ziaire Williams among the newcomers on the Lakers, Doncic and Reaves are looking forward to what comes next.

“I like everybody that we signed,” Doncic said. “I think there’s a lot of underrated guys. … Now training camp is going to help us a lot, focus on basketball, get to know what they like on the court, but I’m very excited to play with all of them.”

A controversial pass-interference call cost the Rams dearly in their defeat by the Denver Broncos, but coach Sean McVay said Monday that neither he nor the team would play the victim card.

With just over a minute left in the game, Rams cornerback Josh Wallace battled with Broncos receiver Pat Bryant before intercepting a Bo Nix pass at the Rams’ seven-yard line. Had the play stood, it would have preserved a second consecutive Rams victory.

But officials cited Wallace for pass interference, giving the Broncos another set of downs. Nix eventually scored a touchdown to give the Broncos a 30-26 lead and an eventual victory that dropped the Rams to 1-2.

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Gary Klein breaks down what went wrong for the Rams in a 30-26 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday night.

“I’m not going to play the victim card,” McVay said during a videoconference with reporters. “Doesn’t really matter. It is what it is. That was the call that was made, and there was a lot of opportunities that we had to be able to close the door on that game. … I wouldn’t have any additional coaching points for how Josh plays through the cycle of the snap.

“But I’m not going to make excuses either and we’re not going to play the victim card.”

Rams cornerback Trent McDuffie reviewed the play “over and over.”

“I told Josh, ‘Hey, nothing you can do. Refs got to call their calls. We can’t control that,’” McDuffie said. “But, I mean, looking back at it, I don’t know what they saw but I thought it was a great play. Got the interception for us.

“But like I said, whatever the refs saw they saw and threw the flag and ain’t much we can do about it, so it’s really just on to the next week.”

The Rams play the Eagles on Sunday in Philadelphia.

They will probably do so without cornerback Jaylen Watson, who left against the Broncos after suffering a dislocated right shoulder.

Watson will not be placed on injured reserve, McVay said, “but will probably be out for this week. We’ll see if we can kind of get him strengthened and harness it. It’s something that he’s dealt with before.”

Tight end Terrance Ferguson sustained an ankle sprain and is probably out against the Eagles. Tight end Colby Parkinson’s (shoulder) status will be evaluated this week.

Receiver Puka Nacua, who has been sidelined the last two games because of a hip injury, went through a lengthy on-field workout before the game against the Broncos.

Will he play against the Eagles?

”I’m hopeful,” McVay said, adding, “We’ll continue to see, but if he is able to progress the way that we hope there’s optimism that he’ll be able to play this week.”

McVay apologized for taking only a few questions during a postgame news conference after the defeat by the Broncos.

“I understand my role and responsibility is to be able to talk whether it’s after a win or whether we don’t get the results that we want,” McVay said, adding that the brevity resulted from a mix-up in timing. “There was a pause in any sort of questions and obviously an emotional game and so that was kind of what led to that.

“But if there was any misinterpretation, do apologize for that.”

Drake Maye was almost the NFL’s MVP last year.

The New England Patriots quarterback finished second in the Associated Press poll of national media members, with 23 first-place votes and 361 total points. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford edged him out with 24 first-place votes and 366 overall points.

Chances are, Maye won’t be receiving any votes this year — at least not if the first three games are any indication of how the rest of the season will go. Months after helping the Patriots to a surprise Super Bowl appearance, the third-year player and two-time Pro Bowl selection is not playing close to the standard he established last year.

Maye has thrown only one touchdown pass so far this season after tossing 31 a year ago. And he has been intercepted six times already in 2026 after getting picked off only eight times total last season.

The Patriots are 1-2 at the moment, the same record they had after the first three games last season. But Maye showed promise in those games a year ago, throwing for five touchdowns and two interceptions.

During a 35-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, Maye was picked off twice and also fumbled two times, losing one. The lost fumble came first, when an untouched Maye lost grip of the ball while reaching back to pass late in the first quarter.

After the game, Maye told reporters that blood from center Jared Wilson’s hand had gotten on the ball and made it slippery. But, he added, “at the same time, I’ve got to hold onto the football.”

Jaguars two-way player Travis Hunter, the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner and second overall draft pick in 2025, got his first NFL interception when he picked off Maye in the end zone late in the second quarter.

Then in the third quarter, on the Patriots’ first play from scrimmage after falling behind 21-3, Maye had a pass intercepted by Jacksonville’s Jarrian Jones. Jones stepped in front of a pass intended for Kyle Williams and returned it to the New England 5-yard line.

The Jaguars scored on the next play to take a 28-3 lead, after which Patriots coach Mike Vrabel could be seen on the sideline with both hands on Maye’s shoulders in an apparent attempt to comfort his quarterback.

“My conversations with each person on that sideline, I have to do my best each and every play, whoever I’m communicating with, to try to get the best out of them,” Vrabel told reporters Monday. “So I’ll have conversations with a lot of people. I’ve got a lot of faith and confidence in everybody that’s here. That’s why they’re here.”

Maye, who completed 14 of 25 passes for 199 yards and was sacked three times, finished with a passer rating of 48.6, the second-lowest of his career.

“It’s disappointing,” Maye told reporters after the game. “I think the ball starts rolling like that, we can’t get out of our own way — can’t get out of my own way, personally. So I gotta look myself in the mirror and take it to the turning point. … I’ve got to start with myself and lead these guys and we’ve got to get back after it.”

After the 2025 season, Maye revealed that he had injured his throwing shoulder during the AFC championship game against the Denver Broncos and received an injection to help with the pain before the Patriots’ 29-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX. Both he and Vrabel have said they don’t feel there have been any lingering effects from that injury.

On Sunday, Maye told reporters that his confidence hasn’t wavered despite the rough start to the season.

“This is an opportunity to band together and realize that the best football that we play is together,” he said, “and realize that’s going to start with me, protecting the football and protecting this team. Because that’s my job and I’ve been failing to do that.”

On Friday night at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, there was a gathering of coaching royalty on the Hart sideline. Mike Herrington (Hart), Jon Mack (St. Bonaventure) and Kevin Rooney (Sherman Oaks Notre Dame) were providing support to Hawks coach Jake Goossen.

Combined, the three head coaches have won 20 Southern Section championships, with Herrington at nine, Mack at seven and Rooney at four. Goossen played for Rooney at Notre Dame, became friends with Mack, who helped him at Hueneme, and is grateful for Herrington and his brother, Rick, former Hart head coaches.

“It’s great to have support of three great coaches,” Goossen said. “I don’t think any other coach has that kind of support.”

Herrington and Rooney are in the California High School Football Hall of Fame with each winning more than 300 games in their career.

When Goossen went upstairs at halftime to the locker room in a game against Saugus on Friday, Mack was running up the stairs with him telling him to use more power rushing plays.

Hart defeated Saugus 34-17. Asked what would have happened if his team had lost, Goossen joked, “They would have claimed they didn’t know me.”

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

SEATTLE — Logan Gilbert struck out eight in four no-hit innings and five Seattle pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts as the Mariners beat the Angels 7-3 in the regular-season finale for both teams.

The Angels finish 2026 with a record of 62-100, the first 100 loss season in franchise history. It was a 10-game slide for the Angels, who had a 72-90 record in 2025.

Gilbert retired the first 12 batters he faced and, after walking Moisés Ballesteros at the start of the fifth inning, was lifted and left to a standing ovation from the Mariners fans.

The Mariners took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Weston Wilson drove in Cole Young with a grounder to third base.

Seattle scored two more runs in the third on Cal Raleigh’s RBI single off Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi, and Dominic Canzone scored on a groundout by Josh Naylor to make it 3-0.

Kikuchi (1-7) gave up three runs and six hits over five innings, with one walk and seven strikeouts.

Bryce Teodosio scored for the Angels on a sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth inning, but the Mariners responded with three in the bottom half when Young scored on an Angels throwing error and Randy Arozarena drove in two with a double to make it 6-1.

Jose Siri hit a two-run homer for the Angels in the eighth, and Leo Rivas scored for the Mariners in the bottom half on a wild pitch.

Cooper Criswell pitched the ninth for the Mariners. Eduard Bazardo (4-4) got the win.

After finishing the 2025 season with a 90-72 record and advancing to the seventh game of the ALCS against Toronto, the Mariners missed the playoffs with a disappointing 76-86 record this season. Despite that mark, the Mariners drew 2,883,798 fans in 2026, the team’s highest total since 2004.