When the Olympic gymnast put on her “Dancing with the Stars” routine in November during an otherwise humdrum matchup against Pepperdine at Pauley Pavilion, the Bruins drew 9,103 fans. It remains, by far, their largest crowd of the season.
Unfortunately, Chiles isn’t available for every game. That leaves her school in need of more realistic solutions for another season of lagging attendance for what’s supposed to be its marquee sport.
UCLA’s home average of 5,211 fans entering its game against Maryland on Saturday evening at Pauley Pavilion is ranked third to last among the 18 Big Ten teams, topping only Northwestern (4,886) and USC (4,280).
Among a litany of explanations, there are the usual (tickets are too expensive, students have been on winter break) and relatively new (the team is disappointing, the best nonconference games are being held as neutral-site fundraisers for name, image and likeness endeavors).
While it’s almost certain that attendance will rise as the Bruins (10-5 overall, 2-2 Big Ten) enter the heart of conference play — more than 10,000 fans are expected for a showdown against No. 5 Purdue later this month, and the crosstown rivalry game against USC isn’t until February — the team could use some additional solutions for a problem that has plagued it in recent years.
What can be done to get more people in the building?
“That’s a Martin Jarmond question,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said Friday, referring to the school’s athletic director. “You know, there’s only so many things I can worry about. I’ve been getting that [question] since my days at Murray State. Donors, fans, friends of mine come with ideas — marketing, tickets. They have whole divisions of the athletic department to worry about that.
“Imagine having to raise $10 million to pay your team and you have to do it because the athletic department fundraisers raise money for the athletic department. So I think I’ll leave the marketing up to the marketing department.”
UCLA coach Mick Cronin cheers on his team against Oregon at Pauley Pavilion on Dec. 6.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
As part of its new ticketing partnership with Elevate, UCLA continues to tweak its pricing strategy. The entities have begun implementing dynamic pricing that can be adjusted based on demand, though they remain constrained by a new process that will be improved into a more nimble operation in the future.
Some fans might simply be unwilling to pay the asking price to see a team that has fallen short of expectations.
Tickets on UCLA’s website for the Maryland game range from $24 for a corner seat in the upper deck to $310 for a seat at midcourt in the lower level. (Each seat also comes with an additional ticketing fee ranging from $7 to $35.50, depending on location.)
One could buy a midrange smartphone for what it costs to see the Bruins play Purdue in a prime seat. Those tickets range from $44.50 for a corner seat in the upper deck to $449.50 at midcourt in the lower level. A comparable lower-level midcourt seat to see the Lakers face Milwaukee on Friday at Crypto.com Arena could be found on StubHub for $505.
UCLA has mitigated the pricing issue with promotions such as “Fours Up Fridays,” which offered fans $4 tickets for three Friday nonconference games; $10 tickets for the Arizona State, Northwestern and Rutgers games; and mini-plans offering bundled tickets at a discounted rate. Students were offered free entry for nonconference games in addition to free food during games while school is in session and a student attendance challenge providing prizes based on attendance.
Part of the attendance problem in recent seasons has been a lack of exciting nonconference opponents. The Bruins’ most attractive nonconference games this season — against Arizona, Gonzaga and California — were held at neutral sites to raise NIL money for each team.
“Everybody in the country is doing what we’re doing, would you agree with that?” Cronin asked a reporter inquiring about bringing more enticing nonconference opponents to Pauley Pavilion.
Well, yes and no.
While neutral-site NIL games have indeed become a major trend, some schools have continued to play big-name nonconference opponents on their home court. Arizona played Auburn. Duke played Florida. Michigan played Villanova. Kansas played Connecticut.
UCLA’s most attractive nonconference home game was against Arizona State, which isn’t exactly a national brand. The game drew only 5,553.
“They’re a high-major team in the Big 12 and everybody said we’ve got to keep Pac 12 rivalries,” Cronin said of the Sun Devils. “But everybody else, everybody in the country has got to raise money and is playing neutral-site games — everybody. Unless you know some donors that want to give me $5 million to pay players, we’ve got no choice.”
Some additional promotions could entice fans in the weeks to come. UCLA is offering 7,500 fans a free John Wooden bobblehead for the Purdue game. There will be a white-out theme, including a free rally towel for all fans, against Indiana.
Ultimately, the easiest answer won’t cost a thing. As always, winning is the best promotion.
Etc.
Cronin said guard Skyy Clark, who has been sidelined since suffering a hamstring injury in the second half against Iowa last week, was considered doubtful to play against Maryland. … Cronin said everything was on the table to improve the team’s lackluster defense, including lineup changes, schematic changes and the possibility “we don’t practice offense the rest of the year.” … UCLA will honor Dodgers manager and former Bruins outfielder Dave Roberts as the honorary captain Saturday. A limited edition “Westwood Brothers” T-shirt featuring Roberts and Cronin together in a playful twist on the movie “Step Brothers” can be purchased with a $25 donation to Men of Westwood. Fans must email their receipt to menofwestwoodtickets@gmail.com before picking up the shirts on the north concourse during the game. Asked if he had seen his likeness on the shirt, Cronin said, with a chuckle: “Somebody told me it was awful.”
Al Michaels has been making play-by-play calls for prime time NFL games for 40 years.
His next game will be Saturday, when the Chicago Bears host the Green Bay Packers in an NFC wild-card game on Amazon Prime Video.
It won’t be his last.
Michaels will return to call games for Prime Video’s NFL coverage next season, the streaming service confirmed Friday. The 81-year-old Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer has been the play-by-play announcer for “Thursday Night Football,” with color commentator Kirk Herbstreit, since Prime Video acquired the rights to those games starting in the 2022 season.
After initially receiving a three-year deal from Amazon, which expired after 2024, Michaels reportedly worked this season under a one-year deal. Michaels told Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina in November that he would be happy to return in 2026 if Amazon would have him.
“It’s a two-way street here,” Michaels said. “They could tell me, ‘We got to move on, it’s time to make a transition,’ all that. I don’t know, that could happen. But as of the moment as we sit here on this mid-November afternoon, I feel really good, still love what I do and, again, work with a tremendous crew. So, yeah, I think at this moment in time, I would like to continue, yes.”
One of Michaels’ first jobs out of college was a very brief stint with the legendary Chick Hearn on Lakers radio broadcasts in 1967. Since then, he has gone on to announce some of the biggest moments in sports history, including his signature “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” call of the 1980 U.S. Olympic team’s upset of the Soviet Union.
Calabasas pulled off a huge win in high school basketball on Tuesday night, handing Thousand Oaks its first defeat after 16 victories in a Marmonte League opener.
The Coyotes (13-5) have quietly turned around their season after a 2-4 start, winning 11 of their last 12 games.
One of the major contributors has been 6-foot-3 junior guard Johnny Thyfault, who’s averaging 16 points and has become a fan favorite because of his dunking skills. He also leads the team in taking charging fouls.
He transferred to Calabasas after his freshman year at Viewpoint.
As for beating Thousand Oaks, coach Jon Palarz said, “We got to play them at home and had great effort.”
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
The first three episodes of Mr Beast’s Beast Games season two are streaming now on Prime Video
Beast Games season two is streaming on Prime Video(Image: Cory Osborne/Prime Video / Amazon Content Services LLC)
*Warning – contains spoilers for Beast Games season 2*
A brand new season of Mr Beast’s Beast Games has finally landed on Prime Video promising to be bigger, better and more intense than ever.
The first three episodes have dropped on Wednesday (January 7) as 200 contestants all battle it out in the hopes of winning a staggering prize pot of $5,000,000 (which equates to around £3.7 million) making it one of the largest prize winnings in reality competition history.
Straight away, viewers are plunged into chaos as 200 hopefuls are split into 100 of the world’s smartest and 100 of the world’s strongest, but only 100 make it through to Beast City after a brutal first challenge.
Titled Strong Vs Smart, alliances have already been forming, as well as new relationships and bribes – but what may come as a surprise to fans, is a major season 2 twist that no-one was expecting.
Prime Video teases: “After a record-shattering first season, Beast Games is back! Bigger, bolder, and more intense than ever. MrBeast has assembled 100 of the planet’s strongest competitors and 100 of the world ’s smartest minds.
“Strong vs. Smart” will battle for an eye-watering $5,000,000 prize. As players face off in the ultimate collision of brain and biceps; alliances will form and trust will break. Every challenge pushes the limits of human strength, intelligence and strategy. What wouldn’t you do for $5,000,000?”
But what is the huge season 2 twist? We have put together all you need to know as the first three episodes drop.
Beast Games season 2 twist explained
Arguably the first jaw dropping moment of season 2 came during episode 1’s major cliffhanger when MrBeast brought the contestants their first bribe.
The players were asked whether they wanted to take home $100k but they walked from the competition there and then.
But the game would not be down a few, instead, the players that chose to leave would instead be replaced… not just with anyone, but with familiar faces from the first season – including the winner.
Many took to social media to share their views as one person said: “Honestly Beast Games is pretty cool and i LOVED the cast reveal from last season.”
**For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website**
Another wrote: “Damn Jimmy brought back the season 1 contestants. What a great idea.” A third added: “Jeff is back!!! Can he go for back to back wins.”
However, a fourth replied: “People who have already stole hundreds of thousands of dollars being allowed the chance to play again doesn’t sit well with me?!”
Ten previous contestants had the opportunity to return, should anyone decide to go home.
In the end, it was Twana (player 830), Karim (player 406), Akira (player 539) Jeff (player 831), Jeremy (player 991), Deano (player 380), Mia (player 952), JC (Player 566), Gage Gallagher (player 974) and Courtney Ferris (player 424) who returned.
Who won Beast Games season 1?
Jeff Allen was season one’s winner when he took home $10m, beating 999 other competitors and taking home one of the largest cash prizes.
For Jeff, it was his family that spurred him on as he wanted to win the funds to put towards helping with his son’s rare disease. According to People, his eldest son Lucas was diagnosed with Creatine Transporter Deficiency at just 2 years old, which was first picked up on when he was “missing milestones”.
He said: “I need to take care of him. I want to make sure he’s taken care of at home, but also, can we invest into research to help ultimately find a treatment for him and other kids like him?”
The second series of Beast Games lands on Prime Video sooner than you think
Beast Games returns to Prime Video for a second season on January 7(Image: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Prime Video))
YouTuber MrBeast will return to screens with a brand new season of Beast Games in just a matter of days.
Premiering this week, the brand new season will land on Prime Video as contestants battle it out in the hopes of winning a staggering prize pot of $5,000,000 which equates to around £3.7 million – making it one of the largest prize winnings in reality competition history.
It will also include a special edition crossover episode featuring the Emmy-Award Winning series Survivor, and its legendary host Jeff Probst.
The first season, which ran from December 2024 to January 2025, achieved massive success, becoming Prime’s most-watched unscripted show ever with 50 million viewers in just 25 days and it will now be back on screens on January 7.
Promising to be even bigger and better than before, 200 contestants will be split between 100 of the world’s strongest and 100 of the world’s smartest as they go head to head in the hopes of winning a life changing sum.
But fans may be disappointed to learn that not all episodes will be available straight away. Titled ‘Strong vs Smart’, the new season will see a weekly release, ending this month – here’s everything you need to know about the current release schedule.
For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website.
Episode release schedule explained
Episode 1-3 – January 7
Episode 4 – January 14
Episode 5 – January 21
Episode 6 – January 28
Prime Video teases: “After a record-shattering first season, Beast Games is back! Bigger, bolder, and more intense than ever. MrBeast has assembled 100 of the planet’s strongest competitors and 100 of the world ’s smartest minds.
“Strong vs. Smart” will battle for an eye-watering $5,000,000 prize. As players face off in the ultimate collision of brain and biceps; alliances will form and trust will break. Every challenge pushes the limits of human strength, intelligence and strategy. What wouldn’t you do for $5,000,000?”
Beast Games will be blended with Survivor’s ground breaking format in an intense hybrid challenge which will include brutal twists and obstacles as Prime Video adds: “resulting in an episode that seamlessly bridges the worlds of content creators and traditional television.”
Many fans have been quick to share their enthusiasm as one person wrote on YouTube : “1st season was an emotional rollercoaster and a test of human psychology. Hope season 2 will be better than that.”
Another said: “OHHHHH MYYYYYYY GAAAAAAAWDDDD.” A third penned: “Prime video will be cooking in 2026.”
Prime Video also previously announced the show will return for a third series, however an official release date is yet to be announced.
Beast Games season 2 is available to stream on Prime Video on January 7
Two of Sunday’s Championship matches have been postponed because of frozen pitches, with a number of others called off elsewhere in the EFL.
The 12:00 GMT kick-off between Sheffield United and Oxford United and Portsmouth’s game against Ipswich at 15:00 are both off.
In a statement, the Blades said a referee looked at the Bramall Lane pitch before the scheduled start and found parts of the playing surface were frozen.
The game at Fratton Park was postponed following a pitch inspection at 11:00 GMT.
Nine fixtures have also been called off in League Two and two more have fallen to the freezing weather in League One.
In League One, Doncaster’s meeting with Luton and Rotherham v Mansfield were also called off on Sunday.
In addition to five of Sunday’s League Two fixtures which had already been postponed on Saturday, Barnet v Crewe, Barrow v Bristol Rovers, Colchester v Accrington and Newport v Tranmere failed pitch inspections.
Amid growing political tension, a Bangladeshi official voices concerns over safety of players in India during the upcoming tournament.
Bangladesh will request the International Cricket Council (ICC) to shift its team’s T20 World Cup fixtures from India to Sri Lanka over concerns about its players’ safety, following the removal of a top Bangladeshi player from the Indian Premier League (IPL), a government official has said.
Amid growing political tension between the South Asian neighbours, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has been asked by its government to write to the ICC, requesting a change of venue for its games and seeking clarity on fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman’s abrupt removal from the IPL, youth and sports adviser Asif Nazrul said in a statement on Saturday.
“As the adviser in charge of the Sports Ministry, I have asked the BCB to explain the entire matter to ICC. The board should inform that where a Bangladeshi cricketer cannot play in India despite being contracted, the entire Bangladeshi cricket team cannot feel safe going to play in the World Cup,” Asif wrote in a social media post.
“I have also instructed the board to request that Bangladesh’s World Cup matches should be held in Sri Lanka,” he added.
“We will not accept any insult to Bangladeshi cricket, cricketers and Bangladesh under any circumstances. The days of slavery are over.”
BCB President Aminul Islam Bulbul said the board will hold an emergency meeting later on Sunday.
“The dignity and security of our cricketers are our top priorities, and we will take a decision at the appropriate time, keeping these in mind,” he told reporters late on Saturday.
Defending champions India and 2014 winners Sri Lanka will cohost the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 from February 7 to March 8.
Bangladesh are scheduled to play all their group-stage matches in India, with three fixtures allocated to Eden Gardens in Kolkata and one to the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Should the ICC – headed by former BCCI chief Jay Shah – consider the BCB’s request, Bangladesh will become the second country to have its games moved out of India.
Sri Lanka will host all of Pakistan’s matches as the 2009 champions will not travel to India in an ICC-brokered agreement that allows the bitter rivals to avoid travelling across their mutual border.
Earlier on Saturday, the team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) confirmed that Mustafizur had been released from the franchise’s squad for IPL 2026 after the BCCI advised it to do so, and the move was confirmed by the Indian cricket board’s secretary, Devajit Saikia.
“Due to the recent developments which are going on all across, BCCI has instructed the franchise KKR to release one of their players, Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh, from their squad, and BCCI has also said that if they ask for any replacement, BCCI is going to allow that replacement,” Saikia told Indian news agency ANI.
Political tension spills over into sport
The ongoing tensions between India and Bangladesh have flared in recent weeks after a 25-year-old Hindu man was lynched and burned publicly in Bangladesh following allegations of blasphemy.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs last month condemned what it called “unremitting hostility against minorities”.
A few days later, Hindutva activists tried to storm the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi as they rallied against the neighbouring nation for failing to protect its Hindu minorities.
Diplomatic relations between the once-close allies have been sharply tested since August last year, when former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to New Delhi from Dhaka after an uprising against her rule.
Bangladesh blames India for some of its troubles, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s support for Hasina when she was in power.
Political tensions have spilled over into sport in recent months, with the Bangladeshi women’s cricket team’s recent tour of India postponed indefinitely, and the Indian men’s team’s tour of Bangladesh meeting the same fate in August.
The BCCI’s move to have Mustafizur removed from the IPL has met with backlash in Bangladesh, where the popular franchise league may face a blackout.
Bangladeshi government official Nazrul said he had requested the national broadcasting body to “stop broadcasting of IPL tournament in Bangladesh”.
Danila Yurov scored twice, Quinn Hughes had four assists and the Minnesota Wild beat the Ducks 5-2 on Friday night.
Kirill Kaprizov, Yakov Trenin and Nico Sturm also scored for the Wild, who earned a point for the fifth straight game (3-0-2). Filip Gustavsson stopped 26 shots.
Minnesota is 22-4-4 in its last 30 games, and 8-1-2 since acquiring Hughes, the 2024 Norris Trophy winner, in a blockbuster with Vancouver on Dec. 12.
Yurov put the game out of reach when he redirected Hughes’ shot past Dostal for a 4-1 lead 3:21 into the third. Sturm’s shot from the left circle made it 5-1 with 4:58 left.
Dostal made eight saves during a pair of penalty kills in the first seven minutes of the second, but he caught an unlucky break when the Wild scored on a double-deflection to take a 2-0 lead at the 8:10 mark.
Hughes, one of eight Minnesota players named to Winter Olympic teams Friday, sent a shot from the blue line that hit Trenin’s stick and Yurov’s right skate before trickling into the net.
The Ducks grabbed some momentum when Mason McTavish’s faceoff swipe from the left circle landed on the stick of Sennecke, whose snap shot beat Gustavsson stick-side to cut the lead to 2-1. Sennecke leads NHL rookies with 13 goals.
But Minnesota pushed it to 3-1 with 5:15 left in the second when Trenin took a pass from Hughes in the right circle and rifled a shot past Dostal.
Minnesota took advantage of Alex Killorn’s tripping penalty, needing only nine seconds to score on the power play for a 1-0 lead 5:39 into the first. Dostal blocked Hughes’ slap shot from the point, but Kaprizov banged a shot past Dostal after a scramble in front of the net for his 24th goal.
Up next for the Ducks: at Washington on Monday night.
China has held two-day military drills – Justice Mission 2025 – around Taiwan, marking the sixth round of large-scale war games since 2022, when then-Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visited the island.
The exercise included 10 hours of live fire drills on Tuesday as Chinese forces practised encircling Taiwan and blockading its major ports.
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What happened during the Justice Mission 2025?
The war games began on Monday in the waters and airspace to the north, southwest, southeast and east of Taiwan’s main island, according to China’s Eastern Theatre Command spokesperson Shi Yi.
The exercises saw China deploy its naval destroyers, frigates, fighter planes, bombers, drones, and long-range missiles to simulate seizing control of Taiwan’s airspace, blockading its ports, and striking critical infrastructure, “mobile ground targets” and maritime targets, Shi said.
The exercises also simulated a blockade of Taiwan and its main ports, Keelung and Kaohsiung.
Tuesday’s live-fire drills were held in five zones around Taiwan between 8am and 6pm local time (00:00 GMT and 10:00 GMT), according to the Eastern Theatre Command. Chinese forces fired long-range rockets into the waters around the island, according to a video released by the military on social media.
Taiwan’s coastguard said seven rockets were fired into two drill zones around the main island.
Ground forces take part in long-range live-fire drills targeting waters north of Taiwan, from an undisclosed location in this screenshot from a video released by the Eastern Theatre Command of China’s People’s Liberation Army on December 30, 2025 [Handout/Eastern Theatre Command via Reuters]
Taiwan’s Ministry of Defence said it had tracked 130 air sorties by Chinese aircraft, 14 naval ships and eight “official ships” between 6am on Monday and 6am on Tuesday.
Ninety of the air sorties crossed into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone (ADIZ), an area of land and sea monitored by Taipei, during the 24 hours, in the second-largest incursion of its kind since 2022.
How were the exercises different from last time?
Justice Mission 2025 was the largest war game since 2022 in terms of the area covered, according to Jaime Ocon, a research fellow at Taiwan Security Monitor.
“These zones are very, very big, especially the southern and southeast zones around Taiwan, which actually breached territorial waters,” he told Al Jazeera, referring to the region within 12 nautical miles (22km) of Taiwan’s coast. “That’s a big escalation from previous exercises.”
They also focused explicitly on blockading Taiwan, unlike past iterations, sending a strong message to Taipei and its unofficial allies, particularly the US and Japan.
“This is a clear demonstration of China’s capability to conduct A2/AD – anti-access aerial denial – making sure that Taiwan can be cut off from the world and that other actors like Japan, the Philippines, or the United States cannot directly intervene,” Ocon said.
A blockade would impact not only the delivery of weapons systems but also critical imports, such as natural gas and coal, that Taiwan relies on to meet nearly all its energy needs. It would also disrupt vital global shipping routes through the Taiwan Strait.
Alexander Huang, director-general of Taiwan’s Council on Strategic and Wargaming Studies, told Al Jazeera the drills were similar to those held after Pelosi’s visit in August 2022.
“For this drill, it actually interfered with international civil aviation routes and also maritime shipping routes. In previous drills, they tried to avoid that, but this time they actually disrupted the air and maritime traffic,” he said.
The drills also put pressure on Taiwan’s maritime and transport links to Kinmen and Matsu islands, which are closer to the Chinese mainland.
Why did China stage the exercises now?
China has a history of holding military exercises to express its anger with Taiwan and its allies, but large-scale exercises have become more frequent since Pelosi’s Taiwan visit.
Beijing claims Taiwan as a province and has accused the US of interfering in its internal affairs by continuing to sell weapons to Taipei and supporting its “separatist” government led by President William Lai Ching-te.
Washington does not officially recognise Taiwan, whose formal name is the Republic of China, but it has pledged to help Taipei defend itself under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act and the 1982 Six Assurances.
The Justice Mission 2025 came just days after Washington approved a record-breaking $11.1bn arms sale to Taiwan.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday that the drills were a “punitive and deterrent action against separatist forces who seek ‘Taiwan independence’ through military build-up, and a necessary move to safeguard China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity”. Beijing sanctioned 30 US firms and individuals over the arms sale.
Experts also say the exercises were linked to a separate but related diplomatic row between China and Japan.
Beijing was angered in November by remarks from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi that an attack on Taiwan would be a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan. Such a scenario would legally permit Japan to exercise its “right of collective self-defence” and deploy its military, she said.
Several flights were cancelled at the Taipei airport during China’s latest military drills around Taiwan, December 30, 2025 [Ann Wang/Reuters]
How is Taiwan responding to the drills?
Taiwan cancelled more than 80 domestic flights on Tuesday and warned that more than 300 international flights could be delayed due to flight rerouting during the live-fire drills.
Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said the coastguard monitored the exercises near the outlying islands and that an undisclosed number of naval vessels had also been deployed nearby. Taipei also monitored all incursions into its ADIZ, including the Taiwan Strait, sections of coastal China, and waters around Taiwan.
In a statement on Tuesday, Defence Minister Wellington Koo said, “[Beijing’s] highly provocative actions severely undermine regional peace and stability [and] also pose a significant security risk and disruption to transport ships, trade activities, and flight routes.”
Koo described the exercises as a form of “cognitive warfare” that aimed to “deplete Taiwan’s combat capabilities through a combination of military and non-military means, and to create division and conflict within Taiwanese society through a strategy of sowing discord”.
How did the US respond to the drills?
US President Donald Trump has so far remained quiet about the military drills, telling reporters on Monday that he was “not worried”.
“I have a great relationship with President Xi, and he hasn’t told me anything about it,” Trump said when asked about the exercises during a news conference, according to Reuters. “I don’t believe he’s going to be doing it,” he added, seemingly referring to the prospect of actual military action targeting Taiwan.
William Yang, a senior analyst for Northeast Asia at the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera that Trump might avoid saying much about the Justice Mission 2025 exercises as he hopes to meet President Xi Jinping in April to discuss a US-China trade deal. “It’s a diplomatic strategy to make sure the US response is not going to immediately upset the temporary trade truce between the US and China,” Yang said.
“I think it’s quite consistent with how he personally and his administration have been handling the issue of Taiwan by trying to de-prioritise making public statements,” he said.
John Slusher shouldn’t admit this. When the former Nike executive signed on to oversee LA28’s commercial operations last year, he looked at the private organizing committee’s lofty financial goals with some concern. Sales were “incredibly slow.” There was momentum around the first Olympics in L.A. in more than 40 years, but not many results.
Yet.
Weeks after celebrating his one-year anniversary with the group responsible for organizing and delivering the 2028 Games, Slusher and his team delivered a $2-billion present.
After announcing 15 partnerships in 2025, LA28 met its goal of reaching $2 billion in corporate sponsorship by this year, which Slusher said puts the group well on track to meet or exceed its $2.52-billion goal for domestic partnerships that serves as the largest line item funding the 2028 Games.
“Each avenue of commercial, whether it’s sponsorship, licensing, ticketing, hospitality, they’re all just kind of smoking hot, if you will, right now,” Slusher said in a recent interview with The Times. “I think there’s a lot of momentum and a lot of excitement around driving the business. And I think we’re all super focused on delivering an amazing, financially responsible Games.”
Since its bid for the Games began in 2016, LA28 has promised to deliver and operate the event with private funds. The estimated budget is $7.15 billion for L.A.’s first Olympics since 1984. After last year’s Paris Olympics, focus has shifted to the United States as the country begins a major decade of major sports events, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 2028 Olympics and the 2034 Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City.
“There is still much work to do and I can assure you the team is not resting,” U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee Chief Executive Officer Sarah Hirshland said during a media conference call. “But the reality is that this success puts the LA28 Games on track to be very successful while building significant commercial value for Team USA for many years to come. We couldn’t be more pleased with where we sit.”
Slusher, the chief executive officer responsible for revenue for LA28 and U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Properties, said the group is still selling for major sponsorship categories, including quick service restaurant, retail, tech and finance. Ticket registration begins on Jan. 14 with 14 million tickets available for the Olympics and Paralympics, which would break the record for Games tickets sold. Volunteering opportunities connected to LA28 in the community have already begun and volunteer applications for the Games open in the summer of 2026.
From record commercial growth to launching volunteer and community ticketing programs earlier than ever, our north star continues to be delivering a fiscally responsible Games with meaningful impact for L.A. and beyond,” LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover said in a statement. “We’re working day in and day out to make the Games more accessible than ever to the millions of people who want to get involved in a meaningful way.”
LA28 announced a ticket donation program with hopes of making tickets accessible to local fans through community groups. The Rams were the first participants, donating $5 million. Tickets will begin at $28 and LA28 plans to have one-third of tickets under $100.
Ticketing and hospitality is supposed to cover $2.5 billion of LA28’s total budget, the second-largest source of revenue for the Games.
A study done by the Southern California Assn. of Governments estimated the Games will generate between $13.6 billion and $17.6 billion in additional gross domestic product across a six-county region between 2024-2029. The study considered LA28’s $7.15-billion budget, estimated visitor spending and a portion of Games-related transportation infrastructure investments.
While only four of the Olympic venues are outside of L.A. County, the study estimates that five other Southern California counties — Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura and Imperial — could still enjoy roughly 33% of the economic benefit because of visitor spending and work provided elsewhere in the region. Orange County, which will host the volleyball competition at Honda Center and surfing at nearby Trestles, could draw between $2.88 billion and $2.44 billion in gross domestic product from the Games, the second-most behind L.A.’s range of $8.96 billion and $11.97 billion.
The study was limited to only short-term gains up to five years after the Games, which does not take into account any “legacy effects.” The 2028 Games will have no permanent venue construction, but the planning agency notes that transportation infrastructure built to support the Games could benefit the region for decades in the future.
Transportation updates are largely the responsibility of the city, which is relying on federal grants to expand the Metro rail system and add more buses for the Games. Improvements to Los Angeles International Airport have been plodding: The People Mover train’s opening date has been delayed again to June 2026.
Outside of money used for infrastructure improvements, L.A. is also at risk to foot the first $270 million in potential overruns from LA28. If the private organizing committee’s debt goes further, the next $270 million would go to the state and anything remaining would return back to the city.
January has traditionally been the harshest time of the year for the Kings, who haven’t had a winning record in that month the last three seasons. But winter grew dark and gloomy a little earlier than usual because December has hardly been a walk in the park.
With Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken, the Kings head into the NHL’s three-day Christmas break having lost six of their last seven. And things aren’t getting easier any time soon: when the team returns to the ice Saturday, it will play host to the Ducks, who lead the Pacific Division in wins, before closing out 2025 Monday on the road against the Colorado Avalanche, who lead the NHL in wins.
“It’s not going the way we all want to,” forward Kevin Fiala said. “But you know, that’s going to happen for everybody. So it’s us who have to do something about it. Who can pull us out of it? Nobody else.
“I’m not worried. Like, I’m sure we’re gonna get out of this. But it’s not acceptable right now.”
And if it doesn’t change right now, the rest of the season will be as cold as a winter frost for the Kings.
It’s not just that the team is losing, but how it’s losing that is most concerning. The Kings (15-12-9) are 31st in the 32-team NHL in scoring, 31st on the power play and have scored more than two goals just twice in 11 games this month. That’s negated a defense that is second in the league in goals allowed.
“Sometimes it’s difficult to make sense of things,” coach Jim Hiller said when asked to explain a slide that has dropped the Kings into the middle of the division standings. “We just feel like we haven’t had a good run of games where we felt like, win or lose, we really like how we’re playing.
“That’s something that we’ll keep driving towards. We just haven’t had it yet.”
Last season, Hiller’s Kings tied franchise records for wins and points in the regular season and had the best home mark in team history. This season, they’re 4-8-4 at Crypto.com Arena, the second-worst home record in the Western Conference. And that has general manager Ken Holland answering questions about Hiller’s future behind the bench.
“I expect him to be here the rest of the season,” said Holland last week, not exactly a full-throated vote of confidence.
Yet for all their struggles, December has just been a continuation of the things that have plagued the Kings all season.
“We all have high expectations for ourselves,” Hiller said. “We just haven’t hit our stride yet. That’s the part that we’re chasing. That’s what we have to focus on. We have to hit that stride.
“It’s a difficult time right now, for sure.”
On Tuesday, Hiller tried to shake things up by mixing up his lines, most significantly pairing Fiala and Andrei Kuzmenko with center Alex Turcotte. And while Fiala and Kuzmenko responded with goals, they didn’t come until the Kraken had taken a 3-0 lead.
The first goal came from Jordan Eberle, who was left alone in front of the Kings’ net, giving him plenty of space to settle a pass from Matty Beniers before lifting the puck around goaltender Pheonix Copley and under the crossbar for his 13th goal of the season. It was the fourth power-play goal the Kings had given up in the last two nights and the sixth in four games.
The Kraken doubled their lead on a quirky goal less than eight minutes later, with Copley misjudging a deflected shot from Seattle’s Frederick Gaudreau, allowing the puck to knuckle off his glove then trickle through his legs for the goal.
Ben Meyers extended Seattle’s lead to 3-0 with less than four minutes left in the second before the Kings finally got on the board with an unassisted goal from Fiala, his 13th of the season, 11 seconds later.
Kings coach Jim Hiller watches from the bench during the second period of a 3-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.
(Luke Hales / Getty Images)
Now the Kings will have three days to think about that, although Fiala said he’d gotten over the game by the time he finished showering.
“If you win five in a row or lose five in a row or whatever, it’s forgotten. It’s in the past,” he said. “I think we take the good things with us and the bad things we hopefully analyze and get better at.”
For Hiller, the break couldn’t come at a better time. Or a worse time since the team’s current seven-game slump is its deepest since the winter of 2023-24. That one cost coach Todd McLellan his job.
“I hope the players are able to relax and refresh themselves,” Hiller said. “It’s been from September till now, with the schedule and how busy it is. And 85% of our games, we’ve been playing within one goal.
“It’s taxing physically and mentally. So I’m sure those guys need a break.”
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen:Austin Reaves returned from a left calf strain that sidelined him for three games, but the Lakers’ second-leading scorer did nothing to fix the team’s most glaring weakness.
The Lakers’ defense collapsed in a 132-108 loss to the Suns on Tuesday at Mortgage Matchup Center, giving up a season-high field goal percentage (59%) and tying their mark for most points allowed this season. Led by a combined 17-for-29 shooting from star guard Devin Booker (21 points) and Dillon Brooks (25 points), the Suns easily eclipsed the 56.5% they shot against the Lakers on Dec. 1.
“The theme with our team again is like these young teams that move, we just can’t move,” said coach JJ Redick, whose team is 1-2 against the Suns (16-13). “So it’s like we’re stuck in mud.”
The Lakers (19-9) remain in the top half of the competitive Western Conference, but with blowout losses to Atlanta, Oklahoma City and San Antonio, L.A. is clinging to a plus-1.1 in point differential. They lost consecutive games for the first time Tuesday and limped into a marquee Christmas Day matchup against the Houston Rockets with a multitude of injuries.
Playing without Luka Doncic, who is day to day with a left leg contusion he sustained Saturday against the Clippers, LeBron James led the Lakers with 23 points on seven-for-14 shooting. Deandre Ayton had a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double while Reaves came off the bench for the first time in two seasons and scored 17 points with two assists and three turnovers.
Redick said Reaves was not on an official minutes restriction after his weeklong absence, but that the team would monitor his workload “in real time.”
“It’s hard for me to start, at the rotation that Bron has, for me to stay around that 20-25 minute mark,” said Reaves, who played 21 minutes and 46 seconds. “So [coming off the bench] got brought up in my shooting time. I said I was open to whatever. Definitely felt weird coming off the bench, but it’s basketball at the end of the day.”
Mick Cronin tinkers with UCLA’s lineup ahead of rout
UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau makes a move to the basket against UC Riverside forward Osiris Grady on Tuesday.
(Jan Kim Lim / UCLA Athletics)
From Ben Bolch: Facing an overmatched opponent that allowed him to freely tinker with his lineups, UCLA coach Mick Cronin tried plenty of mixing and matching Tuesday afternoon.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway was that a three-guard lineup might be the way to go after the continued struggles of centers Xavier Booker and Steven Jamerson II.
“We’ve got to find a way to play our best players and win, whoever they are, because it’s not Little League,” Cronin said after his team’s 97-65 victory over UC Riverside at Pauley Pavilion. “You’ve either got to give us some rebounding and defense or somebody else has got to play.”
The leading candidates for a larger role based on what happened against the Highlanders appear to be reserves Trent Perry, Jamar Brown and Brandon Williams.
Kings coach Jim Hiller watches from the bench during a 3-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday night.
(Luke Hales / Getty Images)
From Kevin Baxter: January has traditionally been the harshest time of the year for the Kings, who haven’t had a winning record in that month the last three seasons. But winter grew dark and gloomy a little earlier than usual because December has hardly been a walk in the park.
With Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken, the Kings head into the NHL’s three-day Christmas break having lost six of their last seven. And things aren’t getting easier any time soon: when the team returns to the ice Saturday, it will play host to the Ducks, who lead the Pacific Division in wins, before closing out 2025 Monday on the road against the Colorado Avalanche, who lead the NHL in wins.
“It’s not going the way we all want to,” forward Kevin Fiala said. “But you know, that’s going to happen for everybody. So it’s us who have to do something about it. Who can pull us out of it? Nobody else.
“I’m not worried. Like, I’m sure we’re gonna get out of this. But it’s not acceptable right now.”
Leonard shot 16 for 23 from the field and four for five from long distance as the Clippers won consecutive games for just the second time this season. The Clippers were coming off a 103-88 win over the Lakers on Saturday that broke a five-game skid. The Clippers also won consecutive games Oct. 24-26, against Phoenix and Portland.
Harden, who shot seven for 14 from the field and three for eight from long distance, was helped by 12-for-13 shooting from the line.
John Collins and Kobe Sanders added 13 points apiece and Kris Dunn scored 11 for the Clippers (8-21), who shot 54% (20 for 37) from three-point range.
Stafford, 37, has passed for a league leading 4,179 yards and 40 touchdowns, with five interceptions, for a Rams team that is 11-4 and currently seeded sixth for the NFC playoffs. The Rams play at the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night in the second-to-last game of the regular season. Stafford also made the Pro Bowl in 2014 and 2023.
Quarterbacks Sam Darnold of the Seattle Seahawks and Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys also made the NFC roster.
Herbert, receiving Pro Bowl recognition for the second time, is the third player in NFL history to begin a career with six consecutive seasons with at least 3,000 yards passing and 20 touchdowns.
Lindsey Vonn qualifies for the Winter Olympics at 41
U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn competes in a World Cup super-G race in Val d’Isere, France, on Sunday.
(Pier Marco Tacca / Associated Press)
From Steve Henson: It’s been one surprise after another lately from Lindsey Vonn. And the announcement that the 41-year-old slopes queen has qualified for the Milano Cortina Olympics in February isn’t the last of it.
It might have been her post on Instagram that stated unequivocally that this will be the end.
“I am honored to be able to represent my country one more time, in my 5th and final Olympics!” Vonn said.
Vonn’s remarkable and inspiring comeback from injuries and a seven-year hiatus from top-level competitive skiing has injected the U.S. team narrative with an irresistible story line. That her quest will culminate in the mountains of northern Italy just two months from now will make it must-watch television and social media video.
Venus Williams competes in a quarterfinal doubles match at the U.S. Open in September.
(Heather Khalifa / Associated Press)
From Andrew J. Campa: Tennis legend Venus Williams wed Danish model and actor Andrea Preti over the weekend in Florida, the new bride announced in a shared post.
An Instagram post from Vogue Magazine’s Weddings section announced the nuptials, with the message garnering more than 30,000 likes as of Tuesday afternoon.
“We all love each other so much,” Williams, 45, said in the Vogue post. “It was just the happiest, most beautiful, sweetest day.”
The post was scant on details other than the event took place over five days in and around the couple’s home in Palm Beach Gardens.
An aerial view of the Centenario Stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay, shown during 1930 World Cup tournament.
(Associated Press)
From Kevin Baxter: Next summer’s World Cup will be the largest, most complex and most lucrative sporting event in history, with 48 teams playing 104 games in three countries. The tournament is expected to draw a global TV audience of nearly 5 billion and FIFA, the event’s organizer, is hoping for revenues of between $10 billion-$14 billion — which is why lower-bowl tickets for Iran-New Zealand at SoFi Stadium cost nearly $700.
All that seemed unlikely after the first tournament in 1930, when the idea of a soccer World Cup was nearly killed in the cradle, the victim from lack of planning, lack of money and lack of interest. That the competition survived, much less thrived, is nothing short of a miracle, says English writer and podcaster Jonathan Wilson, author of the deeply researched “The Power and Glory: The History of the World Cup.”
“1930, it’s incredibly amateurish in many ways,” Wilson said. “It’s got that sort of almost like a school sports day feel to it.”
1950 — Cleveland’s Otto Graham throws four touchdown passes, despite icy footing in Municipal Stadium, and Lou Groza kicks a 16-yard field goal with 28 seconds left to give the Browns a 30-28 victory over the Los Angeles Rams and the NFL title in their first year in the league.
1961 — George Blanda’s 35-yard touchdown pass to Billy Cannon gives the Houston Oilers a 10-3 victory over the San Diego Chargers for their second AFL title.
1967 — New York’s Joe Namath becomes the first player to throw for 4,000 yards in a season. Namath passes for 343 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Jets to a 42-31 win at San Diego. Namath finishes the year with 4,007 yards.
1997 — In one of the biggest upsets in college basketball, Division II American-Puerto defeats the No. 12 Arkansas Razorbacks 64-59 in the Puerto Rico Holiday Classic.
2000 — Marshall Faulk breaks Emmitt Smith’s NFL record for touchdowns, scoring three times to give him 26 for the St. Louis Rams. Faulk’s three touchdowns and 220 yards fuels a 26-21 victory over the New Orleans Saints.
2003 — Steven Jackson ties a bowl game record with five touchdowns, and Oregon State’s defense overwhelms mistake-plagued New Mexico in a 55-14 win at the Las Vegas Bowl.
2006 — Colt Brennan sets the NCAA single-season record for touchdown passes at 58, throwing five in the second half to lead Hawaii to a 41-24 victory over Arizona State in the Hawaii Bowl. Brennan, 33-of-42 for 559 yards, breaks the previous mark of 54 set by Houston’s David Klingler in 1990.
2011 — David Akers kicks his way into the NFL record book and the San Francisco 49ers hold off Seattle for a 19-17 win. Akers makes four field goals to give him 42 this season, breaking the NFL mark of 40 set by Neil Rackers in 2005 with Arizona.
2014 — Western Kentucky holds on to defeat Central Michigan 49-48 in a wild inaugural Bahamas Bowl. Central Michigan trails 49-14 entering the fourth quarter before Cooper Rush engineers a comeback. He throws four touchdown passes in the final minutes, and the Chippewas get the ball back at their own 25 with one second remaining. Rush completes a pass to Jesse Kroll, and the ball is lateraled three times before Titus Davis dove into the pylon for a touchdown with no time remaining. CMU elects to go for two, only to have the pass drop incomplete.
2016 — With a 41-3 rout of the New York Jets, Bill Belichick earns his 200th regular-season victory in New England, making him the fifth coach in NFL history to reach the milestone with one team.
2016 — Cleveland survives a last-second field-goal attempt and gets its first victory after 14 losses by beating the San Diego Chargers 20-17. When San Diego’s Josh Lambo misses a 45-yard field-goal attempt as time expires, the Browns (1-14) win for the first time in 377 days.
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
It’s been one surprise after another lately from Lindsey Vonn. And the announcement that the 41-year-old slopes queen has qualified for the Milano Cortina Olympics in February isn’t the last of it.
It might have been her post on Instagram that stated unequivocally that this will be the end.
“I am honored to be able to represent my country one more time, in my 5th and final Olympics!” Vonn said.
Vonn’s remarkable and inspiring comeback from injuries and a seven-year hiatus from top-level competitive skiing has injected the U.S. team narrative with an irresistible story line. That her quest will culminate in the mountains of northern Italy just two months from now will make it must-watch television and social media video.
The last two weeks have thrust Vonn back onto the international stage as well as the podium, which she climbed in four of her first five races this season. That includes a spectacular win in the downhill in St. Moritz, Switzerland, on Dec. 12.
That marked her first World Cup victory since 2018. And now it’s official that Vonn will compete in her fifth Olympics where she won gold in the downhill and bronze in the super-G at the 2010 Games in Vancouver and bronze in the downhill in the 2018 Games in PyeongChang.
Much of the astonishment circles back to her age. Vonn’s win in St. Moritz made her the oldest woman to win a World Cup race — by seven years. Federica Brignone of Italy set a record a year ago when she won 10 races at age 34.
She also is the first World Cup winner with titanium implants in her right knee. And she’ll become the first quadragenerian to lead the U.S. Alpine skiiing squad seven years after she had all but retired.
In a moving column on Feb. 10, 2019, at the World Championships, The Times’ Helene Elliott wrote what essentially was a sendoff for Vonn: “She went all out to the very end, because that’s the only way Lindsey Vonn knew how to ski. She was bruised and battered as she went to the start gate on Sunday for the final race of her career, sore all over and her right eye blackened by the impact of a crash she suffered during a super-giant slalom race earlier in the week at the World Championships. Her ligaments tore and her bones sometimes broke but her competitiveness was never dimmed, never dented, never compromised.”
Well, 2026 is around the bend and Vonn is back and intact, her competitiveness never compromised still. She has not officially qualified for the Olympics in the super-G, but she’s the fastest American and No. 3 in the world, so count on that as her next headline.
“Lindsey qualifying for the 2026 Olympic team is a testament to her resilience and dedication, and the remarkable results she’s delivered on the World Cup this season,” Sophie Goldschmidt, U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “She’s proven once again that elite performance isn’t just about past success, it’s about rising to the moment, race after race.
The Chargers will be without starting linebacker Denzel Perryman for the remainder of the regular season.
The NFL on Monday suspended Perryman without pay for two games for repeated violations of playing rules designed to protect player health and safety, including an incident during Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys.
In the second quarter, Perryman was penalized for unnecessary roughness after delivering a forcible blow to the helmet of Ryan Flournoy while the Dallas Cowboys’ receiver was on the ground following a catch. The play violated an NFL rule prohibiting the use of any part of the helmet or facemask to initiate forcible contact to an opponent’s head or neck area.
Perryman will be eligible to return to the Chargers’ active roster on Monday, Jan. 5, following the team’s Week 17 game against the Houston Texans and Week 18 game against the Denver Broncos.
Under the collective bargaining agreement, Perryman may appeal the suspension. Any appeal would be heard and decided by one of three jointly appointed and compensated hearing officers: Derrick Brooks, Ramon Foster or Jordy Nelson.
DENVER — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis accused President Trump of playing “political games” Sunday after the federal government denied disaster declaration requests after wildfires and flooding in the state earlier this year.
Polis’ office said he received two denial letters from the Federal Emergency Management Agency late Saturday. The letters are in response to requests for major disaster declarations following wildfires and mudslides in August and what Polis had described as “historic flooding” across southwestern Colorado in October.
Polis and Colorado’s U.S. senators, fellow Democrats Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, decried the denials. Polis said the state would appeal.
“Coloradans impacted by the Elk and Lee fires and the flooding in Southwestern Colorado deserve better than the political games President Trump is playing,” he said in a statement.
Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, said Trump responds to each request for federal disaster assistance “with great care and consideration, ensuring American tax dollars are used appropriately and efficiently by the states to supplement — not substitute — their obligation to respond to and recover from disasters.”
Jackson said there is “no politicization” in Trump’s decisions on disaster aid.
The Trump administration has also yet to act on California’s request for $33.9 million in long-term disaster assistance nearly a year after the Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles. Gov. Gavin Newsom said FEMA officials refused his request for a meeting when he visited Washington a few weeks ago.
Trump has raised the idea of “phasing out” FEMA, saying he wants states to take more responsibility. States already take the lead in disasters, but federal assistance comes into play when the needs exceed what they can manage on their own.
Glasgow last hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2014
TNT Sports has been confirmed as live UK broadcast partner for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.
The subscription channel takes over from the BBC which had been the main partner since 1954 and provided free-to-air coverage for 18 games in a row.
TNT Sports is part of Warner Bros Discovery and is best known for screening Uefa Champions League matches as well as selected English Premier League fixtures.
The Glasgow Commonwealth Games will take place from 23 July to 2 August and feature 10 sports and six para sports.
TNT Sports said it would provide more than 600 hours of live coverage in a “re-imagining” of the games.
The broadcaster said every sport and event would be streamed on HBO Max, which is due to launch in the UK and Ireland in March.
Getty Images
Eight-time Olympic champion Usian Bolt, who competed in the 4x100m at Hampden, was the star attraction at Glasgow 2014
Scott Young, executive vice president at Warner Bros Discovery Sports Europe, said its coverage would be “comprehensive, immersive and accessible”.
He added: “We are confident our approach will celebrate the history of the Commonwealth Games while telling new stories of its competitors with unmatched energy and excitement.”
Phil Batty, chief executive of Glasgow 2026 said the deal would bring more hours of sports coverage for the games “than ever before”.
He added: “This broadcast partnership, secured by Commonwealth Sport, reflects our shared ambition to take coverage of the Games to new and growing audiences.”
Getty Images
The games were previously held in Glasgow in 2014
Glasgow was confirmed as host in September last year after a deal was backed by the Scottish government.
A scaled-down version of the event, featuring fewer sports and athletes, will return to the city 12 years after it last hosted the Games in 2014.
The Australian state of Victoria was originally chosen to stage the multi-sport event but withdrew as host due to rising costs.
Australian authorities promised “a multi-million pound investment” to help finalise the deal.
The 23rd edition of the Games will welcome 3,000 athletes from 74 nations and territories between 23 July and 2 August.
They will compete for 215 gold medals up for grabs over 10 days and 133 sessions of sport.
The BBC will be disappointed that it will not be showing full live TV coverage of the Commonwealth Games.
But the bigger issue is not about the fact BBC Television won’t have live coverage.
It is about the fact the games will not be shown live in full on any major free-to-air TV channel
A major sporting event on a free tv channel – such as the BBC, ITV or Channel 4 – can bring huge numbers of viewers from disparate backgrounds together.
Next year’s World Cup games involving Scotland and England are bound to attract large ratings, even late at night.
The BBC has shown wall-to-wall live coverage of every Commonwealth Games hosted in the UK since 1970.
But it has also helped to make recent games in the UK – Manchester in 2002, Glasgow in 2014 and Birmingham in 2022 – feel like special times for the host cities.
In 2014, the BBC organised a wide range of cultural events outside BBC Scotland’s Glasgow headquarters during the games.
Several network programmes were broadcast from Glasgow, not just the coverage of the Games.
These are scaled-down Commonwealth Games. Glasgow is hosting them at short notice with no public funding and the organisers will want to raise as much revenue as possible.
Despite the organisers’ attempts to drum up excitement, the event feels very different this time.
There is no talk of a lasting legacy to the city – from new buildings or major sports facilities to public health benefits.
There will still be highlights on a major free TV channel and some live coverage on a major channel may still be possible.
But without the full live coverage on a channel which everyone can watch for free, will there be the same sense of wider public engagement or feeling that the Games are a special time for Glasgow and Scotland?
When it comes to the greatest Premier League game ever, where do you even start?
Manchester United and Bournemouth served up an eight-goal thriller on Monday, which former Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher described as the “best game” so far this season in the English top flight.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Carragher said: “That’s what makes the Premier League the greatest product in the world.
“For the majority of that Manchester United were absolutely fantastic. Bournemouth were not at the races at all in the first half but they were fantastic in the second half. What a game. Brilliant.
“I think we have just seen the best game of the Premier League season so far.”
The Red Devils famously played out a 5-5 draw at West Brom in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final match in charge of the club in 2013.
And United’s 4-4 draw against the Cherries was the 17th time the scoreline has occurred in the Premier League era.
But where does Monday’s match rank among some of the other remarkable contests we have seen down the years?
LA28 announced the next step in its ticketing plan for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games on Monday as ticket registration will open on Jan. 14.
Fans can start registering for tickets on Jan. 14 at la28.org, and the registration will remain open until March 18. All who sign up will be entered into a random draw to receive a time slot to purchase tickets. While registering, fans will enter their zip codes, and those who live in the Los Angeles and Oklahoma City areas near venues will be eligible to access the first time slots reserved for locals.
“The goal there is to make sure that we’re getting tickets into the hands, not just the fans, but of the local fans,” said Allison Katz-Mayfield, LA28’s senior vice president of Games delivery revenue. “Those that are going to be closest to the Games, really helping us host these Games in some ways.”
The 2028 Olympics will feature the largest Games schedule in history, with 36 sports and 11,198 athletes. The majority of the Games will be held in L.A., including major sports zones in downtown, Exposition Park and the Sepulveda Basin, but cities including Carson, Inglewood and Long Beach will also have multiple venues. Oklahoma City will host the softball and canoe slalom events at existing facilities.
LA28 is still finalizing the duration of each purchasing window, although the plan is to have multiple opportunities per day, so fans would be assigned time slots that are open for several hours. Tickets for a variety of events will be available during each drop in 2026, with single-event tickets beginning at $28. When tickets for the Paralympics go on sale in 2027, the system will be similar and fans will not have to re-register their interest.
While the Olympics will be back in L.A. for the third time in 2028, it will be the first time the city is hosting the Paralympics.
LA28 plans to release 14 million tickets for the Olympics and Paralympics. The total would be a Games record, eclipsing the 12 million sold in Paris, where ticket sales began almost a year after the timeline LA28 is currently using. The Paris Games that opened in July 2024 did not begin ticket registration until November 2022, 20 months before the event.
Fans will have two-and-a-half years to register and purchase tickets before L.A. opens the Olympics on July 14, 2028.
