SAN FRANCISCO — Jimmy Butler had 21 points, five rebounds and five assists, Stephen Curry added 19 points and eight assists, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Clippers 98-79 on Tuesday night.
Curry shot 7 for 15 a night after four Warriors players scored 20 or more points to beat Memphis — but it marked just the sixth time in Curry’s 17 seasons he wasn’t one of them.
Butler and Moses Moody each hit three-pointers late in the third quarter as the Warriors used a 10-2 burst over the final 2:07 to go ahead 78-63 starting the fourth.
Brandin Podziemski followed up a 23-point performance against the Grizzlies with 12 points, while Quinten Post had 12 points on four three-pointers and eight rebounds.
James Harden scored all 20 of his points by halftime while Kawhi Leonard added 18 points and five rebounds in a game featuring a 13-point second quarter by Golden State followed by the Clippers’ 14-point third.
Harden’s three with 41 seconds left in the first half gave the Clippers their first lead heading into halftime ahead 49-46 after ending the second quarter on a 24-6 run.
Ivica Zubac contributed 14 points and a season-best 13 rebounds for the cold-shooting Clippers, who went 6 for 33 from long range and 30 of 82 overall (36.6%).
The CLippers had won the last seven in the series and three in a row at Chase Center, where the Warriors improved to 3-0 so far.
Al Horford was back for the Warriors against the tall, physical Clippers team featuring the 7-foot Zubac after sitting out the front end of the back-to-back to manage a left toe injury.
The Clippers began six for 20 and one for eight on threes to fall behind 27-14 on a night they missed Bradley Beal for a second consecutive game because of back soreness.
Shakira is all in for the Bad Bunny Super Bowl halftime performance, despite ongoing public efforts to replace the Puerto Rican singer with another artist.
In an interview with Variety, the Colombian superstar voiced support for Bad Bunny, who is set to perform on Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
“It’s about time!” she said.
In 2020, Bad Bunny joined Shakira and Jennifer Lopez on stage during their halftime performance, which marked the first all-Latine show in Super Bowl history — J Balvin was also featured.
“I remember when we did ours that even having part of our set in Spanish was a bold move… Acceptance of Spanish-language music as part of the mainstream has come so far from when I started,” said Shakira, who during the interview reflected on the recent anniversaries of her critically-acclaimed Spanish album “Pies Descalzos” (released in 1995) as well as “Oral Fixation (Vol 1 and 2)” (both released in 2005).
“I hope and like to think that all the times my music was met with resistance or puzzlement from the English-speaking world before it was embraced helped forge the path to where we are now,” Shakira added.
The news that Bad Bunny would headline the major American sporting event has been met with some pushback from conservative figures, including President Trump, who labeled the decision as “crazy” and “absolutely ridiculous” in an interview with Newsmax earlier this month.
One floating petition on Change.org, which has acquired over 54,000 signatures, called for Bad Bunny to be replaced by Texas singer George Strait as a way to “honor American culture.”
The late Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA also announced an alternative halftime show titled, “The All American Halftime Show,” though the conservative organization has not yet announced artists.
Claims that Bad Bunny is not an American artist are factually incorrect: Puerto Rico is an unincorporated U.S. territory and Puerto Ricans are therefore American citizens. Past Super Bowl halftime shows have also featured non-American acts, including the Rolling Stones, U2, Rihanna, Shania Twain and Coldplay, to name a few.
Despite the anti-Bad Bunny buzz, Shakira doubled down on her support of the singer.
“And I’m so proud that Bad Bunny, who represents not only Latin culture but also how important Spanish-language music has become on a global scale and how universal it has become, is getting to perform on the biggest stage in the world,” she said.
“It’s the perfect moment for a performance like this. I can’t wait to watch it.”
Enough that certain people are still mad nearly two weeks after it was announced that the “Nuevayol” singer — one of the most popular and consequential artists on the planet, someone who can single-handedly boost local economies — will be the halftime performer during Super Bowl LX, to be held Feb. 8, 2026, in Santa Clara, Calif.
You’re reading Latinx Files
Fidel Martinez delves into the latest stories that capture the multitudes within the American Latinx community.
The right-wing backlash was immediate, with much of the criticism focusing on three things: first, that Bad Bunny (real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio) has been vocal about his opposition to the ongoing immigration raids, both in the mainland and in Puerto Rico; secondly, that he sings primarily in Spanish; and thirdly, that he’s “not American.”
This latter point, as conservative media personality Tomi Lahren hilariously learned the hard way and in real time, is not factually correct. (The interjection by Lahren’s guest, Krystal Ball — “He’s Puerto Rican…. That’s part of America, dear” — is still sending me.) And even if it was, it’d be irrelevant. As my colleague LZ Grandersonrecently pointed out, there have been plenty of non-American musical acts who have performed at the Super Bowl — from the Rolling Stones to U2 to Shakira.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was so appalled by Bad Bunny being tapped to perform that she announced that Immigration and Customs Enforcement would be present at the big game.
“I have the responsibility for making sure everybody who goes to the Super Bowl has the opportunity to enjoy it and to leave, and that’s what America’s about,” she said. “So yeah, we’ll be all over that place. We’re going to enforce the law.”
What Noem left out was that federal law enforcement agents have historically been present at such high-profile events as the Copa America and previous Super Bowls — rapper 21 Savage was even arrested by ICE during the 2019 game, held in Atlanta.
To be clear, I’m not surprised that conservatives were upset about the pick. In fact, I’m willing to bet that they would’ve been mad regardless of whom the National Football League selected. At one point, Taylor Swift was rumored to be the headliner, and we all know how President Trump feels about her — she’s a “woke singer” who “is no longer hot.” Then there’s Kendrick Lamar, who upset many on the right last year when he reclaimed the American flag for Black people during his performance.
I expected the outrage. In fact, when I found out, I lamented that the announcement came while I was still on paternity leave and would therefore be unable to write about it in this space. Because surely, the news cycle would have moved on to something else.
But I was wrong. This story is about to be two weeks old and it still has legs.
“I’ve never heard of him. I don’t know who he is,” Trump said, channeling his inner Mariah Carey during an interview with Newsmax on Monday. “I don’t know why they’re doing it. It’s crazy. And then they blame it on some promoter they hired to pick up entertainment. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous.”
Even the Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.), known pop culture maven, chimed in.
“I didn’t even know who Bad Bunny was. But it sounds like a terrible decision, in my view, from what I’m hearing,” Johnson said during an interview. “It sounds like he’s not someone who appeals to a broader audience. And there are so many eyes on the Super Bowl — a lot of young, impressionable children. And, in my view, you would have Lee Greenwood, or role models, doing that. Not somebody like this.”
Lee Greenwood? Be serious, Mike Johnson.
For the unfamiliar, Greenwood is best known for “God Bless the U.S.A.” and has had nearly as many marriages (five) as he’s had No. 1 hits on Billboard’s U.S. Hot Country Songs chart (seven). He clearly lacks the number of bangers to put together a solid halftime performance.
But wait, there’s more. Turning Point USA — the conservative nonprofit organization founded by the late Charlie Kirk — announced Thursday via social media that it was planning on counter-programming Bad Bunny’s performance and organizing its own Super Bowl halftime show with an artist (or artists) to be determined. The group also published a poll asking people to vote on what kind of act they wanted; with the first option being “Anything in English.” (I saw them at South by Southwest in 2012, and let me tell you — they were meh.)
If it seems like I’m making light of things, it’s because I am. The whole situation is absurd and the outrage feels manufactured. At best, it’s just fodder to feed into the bottomless right wing content machine, and at worst, it feels like a distraction from much bigger issues, like the government shutdown or the ongoing constitutional crisis playing out in cities such as Chicago and Portland, Ore.
And if right-wingers are genuinely about Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl, here’s an idea: Don’t watch. But that wouldn’t be very American, would it?
Consider subscribing to the Los Angeles Times
Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Become a subscriber.
A pair of thank yous
This week’s edition of the Latinx Files is my first one since coming back from paternity leave — a period in which I was fully able to bond with my baby and not think about work. This is in large part because of Suzy Exposito and Carlos de Loera, who handled the day-to-day operations of De Los and who wrote this weekly newsletter, respectively. Thank you both. I am eternally grateful.
Stories we read this week that we think you should read
Unless otherwise noted, stories below were published by the Los Angeles Times.
Turning Point USA director Erika Kirk, widow of organization co-founder Charlie Kirk, and other Turning Point USA officials on Thursday announced they plan to host an alternative Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 8. Photo by Eduardo Barraza/UPI | License Photo
Oct. 9 (UPI) — The Charlie Kirk-co-founded Turning Point USA is planning to host an alternative musical performance called “The All-American Halftime Show” for Super Bowl LX.
Officials for the conservative non-profit announced the planned alternative halftime show on social media but did not say which musical acts and others would perform.
“It’s true, Turning Point USA is thrilled to announce The All-American Halftime Show,” it said in a post on X on Thursday, as reported by Fox News.
The post says the event will celebrate faith, family and freedom.
Turning Point USA has created a website to present the halftime show and asked online visitors to choose which musical genres they would like to see perform.
Survey results so far show support for country, rock, hip hop and “anything in English,” The Hill reported.
The event would air while rapper Benito Antonio Martiniz Ocasio, aka Bad Bunny, performs during the Super Bowl’s halftime show headliner.
The musical artist from Puerto Rico has won three Grammy Awards since his career took off in 2016.
He also is slated to be named Billboard’s Latin Artist of the 21st Century during the 2025 Billboard Latin Music Awards on Oct.23.
Bad Bunny is undertaking a world tour but has refused to perform in the United States, other than during the Super Bowl.
He has cited concerns that Immigration and Customs Enforcement might target his U.S. shows and detain audience members, according to Axios.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt recently dismissed such concerns and said there are no plans in place to raid Bad Bunny concerts.
Despite Leavitt’s denial, DHS adviser Corey Lewandowski recently suggested ICE agents would attend Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance.
Lewandowski made the claim while appearing on “The Benny Show” podcast on Oct. 1.
“There is nowhere that you can provide a safe haven to the people in this country illegally,” he told podcast host Benny Johnson.
The Super Bowl is scheduled for Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
Turning Point USA director Erika Kirk, widow of organization co-founder Charlie Kirk, and other Turning Point USA officials on Thursday announced they plan to host an alternative Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 8. Photo by Eduardo Barraza/UPI | License Photo
Oct. 9 (UPI) — The Charlie Kirk-co-founded Turning Point USA is planning to host an alternative musical performance called “The All-American Halftime Show” for Super Bowl LX.
Officials for the conservative non-profit announced the planned alternative halftime show on social media but did not say which musical acts and others would perform.
“It’s true, Turning Point USA is thrilled to announce The All-American Halftime Show,” it said in a post on X on Thursday, as reported by Fox News.
The post says the event will celebrate faith, family and freedom.
Turning Point USA has created a website to present the halftime show and asked online visitors to choose which musical genres they would like to see perform.
Survey results so far show support for country, rock, hip hop and “anything in English,” The Hill reported.
The event would air while rapper Benito Antonio Martiniz Ocasio, aka Bad Bunny, performs during the Super Bowl’s halftime show headliner.
The musical artist from Puerto Rico has won three Grammy Awards since his career took off in 2016.
He also is slated to be named Billboard’s Latin Artist of the 21st Century during the 2025 Billboard Latin Music Awards on Oct.23.
Bad Bunny is undertaking a world tour but has refused to perform in the United States, other than during the Super Bowl.
He has cited concerns that Immigration and Customs Enforcement might target his U.S. shows and detain audience members, according to Axios.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt recently dismissed such concerns and said there are no plans in place to raid Bad Bunny concerts.
Despite Leavitt’s denial, DHS adviser Corey Lewandowski recently suggested ICE agents would attend Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance.
Lewandowski made the claim while appearing on “The Benny Show” podcast on Oct. 1.
“There is nowhere that you can provide a safe haven to the people in this country illegally,” he told podcast host Benny Johnson.
The Super Bowl is scheduled for Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
After making a cameoduring Shakira and Jennifer Lopez’s2020 halftime show in Miami, Bad Bunny will return to the Super Bowl stage next year — this time, as the headlining act.
The 2026 Super Bowl LX will take place Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. The Puerto Rican hitmaker’s performance is expected to be the first fully Spanish-language performance on the stage, and he’s the first Latino man to headline.
The announcement came after Bad Bunny, full name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, said he would not tour his latest album, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” to the continental U.S. due to the ongoing threat of ICE arresting his concertgoers. “There was the issue of — like, f— ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about,” he told i-D magazine.
Instead, the Grammy-winning artist’s No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí (I Don’t Want to Leave Here) residency — which took place at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan — broughtan estimated $733 million to Puerto Rico as600,000-plus tourists came to the island for his concert.
As an unincorporated territory of the United States, Puerto Rico still has an ICE presence. In June 2025, Benito posted footageon his Instagram stories of an ICE raid in progress in Carolina, showcasing agents arresting alleged undocumented immigrants.
Yet since announcing his Super Bowl halftime show, the singer hasn’t voiced concerns about ICE. His post on X, which strays from his previous remarks on avoiding the States as a stance against ICE, reads: “I’ve been thinking about it these days, and after discussing it with my team, I think I’ll do just one date in the United States.”
As Santa Clara County is a sanctuary jurisdiction, Lina Baroudi, an immigration attorney in San Jose, believes local law enforcement is unlikely to cooperate with ICE. “Federal agents can operate independently. Sanctuary laws don’t prevent them from entering public spaces or executing federal warrants,” she says.
Between January and July in the Bay Area, ICE made 2,640 arrests— a 123% increase compared with 2024. “By June 2025, around 60% of ICE daily arrests in California were of people without criminal charges or convictions,” Baroudi says. The agency has historically had an increased presence in cities hosting the Super Bowl. ICE will likely be prohibited from operating inside the stadium, but ICE can operate in public spaces such as the parking lot, where fans may gather to hear the performance.
And yet, given the Trump administration’s hostility toward immigrants and Spanish speakers in the U.S., it feels especially poignant that the country’s biggest sporting event of the year will showcase a performance sung entirely in Spanish.
“What I’m feeling goes beyond myself,” Bad Bunny said in a statement. “It’s for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown… this is for my people, my culture and our history. Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el HALFTIME SHOW DEL SUPER BOWL.”
The NFL has made a concerted effort over the years to globalize American football, with a special focus on building a fan base in Latin America; it recently enlisted Colombian pop starKarol G to perform at a halftime show in Brazil. Given that the Latine buying power in the U.S. is estimated at $3.6 trillion, tapping Bad Bunny as the headliner is a strategic move toward the league’s international expansion.
Year after year, since 2022, artists have broken the record for the highest viewership during a Super Bowl halftime show. During the 2025 Super Bowl, Kendrick Lamar drew the largest audience ever, with 133.5 million people tuning in for his performance, surpassing the actual game’s viewership.
While the Bad Bunny halftime show has the potential to break viewership records, bring in new audiences and educate viewers on the Puerto Rico he loves — it also poses a potential security risk for his Latine fans in attendance, who deserve solidarity and increased institutional support.
The NFL announced the musical headliner for Super Bowl LX’s halftime show, and — much to MAGA’s chagrin — it’s not Kid Rock.
Music’s most lucrative spot went to a relevant artist who actually sells albums: Bad Bunny. Letting the Puerto Rican rapper and singer turned global megastar perform 2026’s halftime show gifts right-wing influencers with a fresh conduit for the old grievance that woke culture has permeated every crevice of American culture, especially the Super Bowl.
Their proof: The NFL chose a predominantly Spanish-language artist who is known to wear women’s dresses, who endorsed Kamala Harris in 2024, and who has decried this year’s immigration sweeps. Clearly, this decision was designed to irk them rather than serve Bad Bunny’s millions and millions of fans.
“The NFL is self-destructing year after year,” conservative commentator Benny Johnson wrote on X. He said of Bad Bunny: “Massive Trump hater. Anti-ICE activist. No songs in English.”
Other critics accused the reggaeton artist of flip-flopping, particularly following Bad Bunny’s statements earlier this month that he would not include any mainland U.S. dates on his Debí Tirar Más Fotos world tour out of concern that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents might target and detain his fans.
“There were many reasons why I didn’t show up in the U.S., and none of them were out of hate — I’ve performed there many times,” he said to I-D magazine. “But there was the issue of — like, f—ing ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”
The artist, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, explained his decision to join the long list of Super Bowl halftime notables in a short statement following the NFL’s announcement Sunday.
“What I’m feeling goes beyond myself,” he said. “It’s for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown … this is for my people, my culture and our history. Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el HALFTIME SHOW DEL SUPER BOWL.”
Bad Bunny in glasses, not a dress.
(Jordan Strauss / Invision / AP)
The year-after-year decision to cast top-ranking pop artists and music legends in the featured Super Bowl halftime spot is hardly a mystery. They are stars that sell or performers that appeal to millions. But that dull reality hasn’t stopped the characterizations that the Bad Bunny decision is a deep state conspiracy, designed to rot American households from the inside out.
“Barack Obama’s best friend Jay-Z runs the Super Bowl selection process through his company Roc Nation which has an exclusive contract with the NFL. This is who chooses the halftime show, the most-watched musical performance in America,” wrote alt-right figure Jack Posobiec.
The NFL in 2019 partnered with rapper Jay Z’s entertainment and sports company, Roc Nation, to produce its Super Bowl halftime shows. The first show under the new partnership featured 2020’s Latin music in performances by Jennifer Lopez and Shakira. Since then the institution’s halftime performances have largely featured hip-hop artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna and the OG trio of Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Eminem.
Lamar’s 2025 politically charged performance was the source of condemnation from the right. Clad in red, white and blue, his predominantly Black dance crew assembled in an American flag formation. And guest star Samuel L. Jackson, dressed as Uncle Sam, called out the nation’s systemic racism. Lamar had already rankled the right with 2017’s “The Heart Part 4,” where he referred to Trump as a “chump.”
Kendrick Lamar performs during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 59.
(Frank Franklin II / AP)
It’s one of many moments over the last decade that have galvanized conservative factions around calls to boycott the Super Bowl, or at least publicly bash the event. Beyoncé’s 2016 Super Bowl halftime show was once such flash point, where she performed “Formation” featuring dancers in Black Panther-inspired outfits and paid tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement.
At least those complaints were rooted in a performance that actually happened, as opposed to claims that the NFL was manipulating games for the Kansas City Chiefs to enable tight end Travis Kelce and his then-girlfriend (now fiancée) Taylor Swift to endorse Joe Biden. Sure, totally feasible.
Yet there should be no secret around why the Super Bowl hasn’t featured wildly popular, globally celebrated MAGA-promoting performers: There aren’t any. It’s no wonder Kid Rock and Lee Greenwood always seem to be the entertainment of choice for Trump rallies.
Bad Bunny is the most-streamed male artist on Spotify, running just behind the platform’s most-streamed artist of all time, Swift. As of Sunday, his release “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” became the first album of 2025 to surpass 7 billion streams on Spotify. And the 31-year-old artist just finished a sold-out, month-long residency at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Though the Super Bowl is still five months away, those who aren’t among the haters can enjoy an early kick off: Bad Bunny is scheduled to host the new season opener of “SNL” this weekend.
Puerto Rican pop star Bad Bunny has confirmed he will headline next year’s Super Bowl half-time show in Santa Clara, California.
The 31-year-old, who has topped Spotify’s most-streamed artist list three times in the last five years, said in a football-themed statement: “What I’m feeling goes beyond myself.
“It’s for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown… this is for my people, my culture, and our history.”
It comes after the Chambea singer and rapper recently said in an interview with i-D magazine that he is avoiding the US on his current world tour out of concerns that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents might conduct raids on fans at his concerts.
Switching into his native Spanish in his statement, Bad Bunny – whose real name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio – added: “Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el halftime show del Super Bowl,” – which roughly translates as: “Go tell your grandma we’re going to be the Super Bowl half-time show.”
The star, who this year released the album Debí Tirar Más Fotos (I Should Have Taken More Photos), was the third most-streamed artist in the world last year, behind Taylor Swift and The Weeknd.
The Grammy winner is the leading nominee once again at November’s Latin Grammy Awards.
In 2022, his Un Verano Sin Ti [A Summer Without You], became the first all-Spanish language US number one album.
Earlier this month, he concluded a residency in his native Puerto Rico instead, which drew more than 500,000 fans.
Puerto Rico is a US territory but which exercises substantial internal self-govenance.
His Super Bowl performance will take place at the Levi’s Stadium on 8 February in Santa Clara, in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Other recent Super Bowl half-time show performers have included Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd and Rihanna, as well as Shakira and Jennifer Lopez.
Bad Bunny will headline the halftime show at next year’s Super Bowl LX, organizers announced Sunday.
This will be the Puerto Rican musician’s second time at the Super Bowl following his appearance with Shakira and Jennifer Lopez during halftime of 2020’s game.
“What I’m feeling goes beyond myself. It’s for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown,” Bad Bunny — whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio — said in a statement, noting that “this is for my people, my culture and our history.
“Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el halftime show del Super Bowl,” he added in Spanish, which translates to a request to tell your grandma that he’s playing the Super Bowl.
Share via
Roc Nation, the sprawling entertainment company founded by Jay-Z, will again produce the event. The company partnered with the NFL in 2019 to consult on live music events and social justice initiatives, including producing and selecting performers for the Super Bowl halftime show.
“What Benito has done and continues to do for Puerto Rico is truly inspiring,” Jay-Z said in the statement. “We are honored to have him on the world’s biggest stage.”
While the big game is an anticipated event for football fans, the halftime spectacle is just as much of an eagerly awaited cultural affair, drawing considerable speculation annually about which star will take what’s widely regarded as music’s biggest stage.
Names that made the rounds this year included Adele and Taylor Swift, with the latter hitting overdrive earlier this month when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made an appearance on “Today” and said, “We would always love to have Taylor play. She is a special, special talent, and obviously she would be welcome at any time.” When asked if talks were in the works with the singer, who is engaged to Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce, Goodell tried to sidestep the question before responding, “It’s a maybe.”
Bad Bunny’s headlining gig — announced during halftime of Sunday’s Packers-Cowboys match-up at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex. — follows Kendrick Lamar’s performance at this past February’s Super Bowl LIX. Ratings for the Compton-born MC’s halftime show, in which he famously dissed the Canadian rapper Drake and launched a TikTok craze over his flared Celine jeans and “Not Like Us” shuffle, were the highest of all time, according to Nielsen, which said the telecast drew more than 127.7 million viewers. It also earned him an Emmy for music direction, an award he shared with co-music director Tony Russell.
Super Bowl LX will take place Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., and will air on NBC.
Trailing at halftime for the first time all season, Palisades faced its toughest test so far and passed with flying colors to stay unbeaten Friday night in San Pedro.
Seeing his potent passing attack sputtering, coach Dylen Smith switched to the ground game in the second half and the Dolphins overcame a 13-point deficit to pull out a 35-28 intersectional victory over host Mary Star of the Sea.
“My message at halftime was we need to run the ball and we don’t need to win the game on one pass,” said Smith, who piloted Palisades to the City Section Division I final last fall. “We finally had a collective effort in the fourth quarter, Harrison Carter ran hard and the defense made stops when it needed to.”
Carter caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Jack Thomas for the first points of the second half and later took a pitch around left end for a 50-yard score that cut the Dolphins’ deficit to 28-21 with 5:47 left in the third quarter.
After drawing double coverage and being held to one catch through three and a half quarters, star receiver Demare Dezeurn caught two touchdown passes with less than six minutes left, the second a juggling 46-yarder for the go-ahead score with 1:21 remaining.
On its ensuing drive Mary Star marched to Palisades’ 20, but Carter broke up a pass in the flat on fourth and 10 with 12 seconds left to seal the win.
Johnny Rivera scores the first of his four touchdowns runs for Mary Star of the Sea against Palisades.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Thomas, who entered the game having thrown for 1,304 yards and 17 touchdowns without an interception, was held to 17 yards passing in the first half but finished nine of 16 for 123 yards and four touchdowns.
Carter rushed for 123 yards and caught three passes for 40 yards for the Dolphins (5-0), who are third in The Times’ City Section rankings behind Birmingham and Carson,
Johnny Rivera rushed 40 times for 217 yards and four touchdowns for the Stars (3-2), who led 20-7 at halftime and 28-21 entering the fourth quarter.
Palisades begins Western League action next Friday at Westchester while the Stars host St. Genevieve in their Camino Real League opener the same night.
The Chargers didn’t forget. They were the most generous tippers in town Monday night, with eight different players swatting away a total of 15 passes and intercepting three more in a 20-9 victory over their AFC West rivals.
It was a defensive masterpiece, one accomplished without star edge rusher Khalil Mack, whose arm was crunched on a tackle, and with linebacker Daiyan Henley — who at times appeared launched from a Circus Circus cannon — on the mend from a nasty stomach bug.
“At times it felt like there were more than 11 out there, especially in the secondary,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said.
Sometimes, a number is more than a number. For example, the Chargers are 2-0, but they’re even better than that because those two wins came against division opponents, counting the season-opening victory over Kansas City. The Chargers play their home opener Sunday against Denver with a chance to run the table on their first three of six division games.
Whereas quarterback Justin Herbert was in the spotlight in the win over the Chiefs, Monday’s game belonged to the defense — starting with Henley’s interception on the first play from scrimmage. He plucked a carom after teammate Alohi Gilman broke up Geno Smith’s first pass.
It was as if the supercharged stadium sprung a hissing leak.
“That’s deflating, bro,” Chargers safety Derwin James said. “It’s deflating to their coordinator — you’ve got your first 15 [plays] drawn up and the first play’s a pick? Very deflating.”
The play had the opposite effect on Henley, who felt so bad before the game his status was downgraded to questionable. He finished with a game-high 10 tackles and a sack.
“Saying I felt like crap is an understatement,” he said. “It was definitely a long game out there, but I got so much motivation just being part of this team, being with a group of guys that got my back no matter what.”
Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley celebrates after sacking Raiders quarterback Geno Smith in the fourth quarter on Monday night.
(Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
Tony Jefferson had an interception for the Chargers at the end of the first half, and Donte Jackson had one in the end zone near game’s end.
Raiders quarterback Geno Smith was 0 for 11 on passes thrown 10 or more yards downfield, the second-most attempts without a completion since ESPN began tracking the statistic in 2006.
Harbaugh heaped praise on James, calling him “the best safety I’ve ever seen in the history of the National Football League” and “Superman.”
“He was playing at the line of scrimmage, intermediate, deep half, blitzing off the edge,” the coach said. “He can play nickel, dime backer, corner — he’s a five-tool, maybe six-tool player. You’d have to compare him to Willie Mays.”
The Raiders generated 218 yards of offense, 171 fewer than their performance at New England the week before.
“What that really feels like is a real missed opportunity just in general,” Raiders coach Pete Carroll said.
“We didn’t play well enough on the offensive side with the turnovers that add up. … They covered us up pretty good. I’m anxious to see the film.”
That won’t be the feel-good movie of the summer.
The Chargers, meanwhile, spiraled in all the right ways. Herbert threw a laser to Keenan Allen in the back of the end zone, and a pristine rainbow to Quentin Johnston for a 60-yard touchdown. He spun his passes with mechanical precision.
“The guy is exactly what we thought he was for a long time now,” Henley said of Herbert. “He’s been out there controlling and commanding the game, not just the offense, but commanding the game. When we give him the ball, we understand that we can rest knowing that [he] is going to get the job done.”
If this was a yardstick game, the visitors measured up and the Raiders took a ruler-rap across the knuckles, losing to the Chargers for the fourth time in the past five meetings.
Allegiant Stadium crackled with energy for this opener, with Raiders minority owner Tom Brady wearing headphones in the coaches’ box, Lil Jon performing at halftime, and two football rockstars roaming the sidelines — Harbaugh and Carroll — longstanding rivals since their days at Stanford and USC, and San Francisco and Seattle.
Carroll became the first person to coach an NFL game at age 74, and youthful as he is, the game had to sap his spirit a bit. The Chargers were in control throughout.
Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh and Raiders coach Pete Carroll shake hands after the Chargers’ win Monday.
(Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
Both teams are breaking in first-round running backs, rookies Omarion Hampton of the Chargers and Ashton Jeanty of the Raiders. Each made some impressive plays, yet neither was a true game-changer. Hampton absorbed a hit from Maxx Crosby and lost the ball on an exchange when the Chargers were trying to put the game on ice.
In the second half, the Raiders had a 19-play, 11-minute drive that resulted in a field goal, the crowd booing in frustration as the kicking unit ran onto the field. Like winning $5 on a $100 bet.
Two NFL teams have not allowed a first-half touchdown this young season: Green Bay and the Chargers.
Brady, a Fox NFL analyst on Sundays, was able to catch his team after working the Philadelphia-Kansas City game the night before.
He came a fairly long way, and his franchise has a fairly long way to go.
Being out of postseason contention didn’t make the Sparks’ season finale meaningless.
It was a chance to avoid finishing with a losing record for the first time since 2020. An opportunity to foil the Las Vegas Aces’ push for the No. 2 seed in the playoffs while derailing a 15-game winning streak. And, above all, a matter of pride.
But just as with their season-long goal of reaching the playoffs, the Sparks fell short of their goal, as A’ja Wilson and the Aces dominated in a 103-75 victory at Crypto.com Arena.
The talent gap was stark in the first half, with Las Vegas building a lead that swelled to 22 behind a three-point barrage led by Jewell Loyd and Chelsea Gray. One of the league’s best three-point shooting teams (34.6% per game entering Thursday), the Aces (30-14) hit 11 threes in the first half to take a 19-point lead by halftime.
The Aces finished with 22 three-pointers — the most ever in a WNBA regular-season game. The Aces already hold the outright record of 23 three-pointers, which they set in the playoffs in 2022.
The trio of Loyd, Gray and Wilson proved too much for a short-handed Sparks squad to handle.
Loyd and Gray reached double figures in scoring by halftime — Loyd with 21 and Gray with 13. Wilson, a front-runner for league MVP, delivered yet another dominant stat line: 23 points, 19 rebounds, four blocks and two steals.
Sparks forward Emma Cannon, left, knocks the ball out of the hands of Las Vegas guard Chelsea Gray during the first half Thursday.
(Harry How / Getty Images)
Former Aces Dearica Hamby and Kelsey Plum tried to will the Sparks (21-23) to one more victory, but it was all for naught. Plum had her hands full with the opposing backcourt, and Hamby drew the unenviable assignment of battling the league’s best in Wilson.
Hamby opened strong, scoring all seven Sparks’ points in the first six minutes as the team tried to feed her in the post. She finished with 15 points, six rebounds and three steals.
Plum also finished with 15 points in a physical game that featured several players arguing with referees over foul calls.
In the second quarter, Cameron Brink caught a left elbow to the nose from Aces forward NaLyssa Smith under the basket. Blood trickled from Brink’s face onto the hardwood as Brink shouted at the referees after no foul was called.
The training staff escorted her to the locker room with a towel pressed to her face, and she did not return.
Trailing 77-58 at the end of the third quarter, Sparks coach Lynne Roberts put in rookies Sarah Ashlee Barker, Alissa Pili and Sania Feagin.
Barker scored 15 points in 38 minutes. Pilli scored a career-high seven points in six minutes. Feagin finished with four points.
Almost hidden in a mocha pair of sweatpants and sweatshirt, and wearing those same fire-red Air Jordans from his Aug. 4 return to Los Angeles, Clippers royalty Chris Paul adorned the Sparks’ bench.
And though the 20-year veteran barely lifted a palm — leaving the cheering to his wife and daughter — Paul’s court savvy still seemed to seep across the hardwood, finding its way to the Sparks’ Kelsey Plum.
Plum, who can very well be the tale of any Sparks game, but “chooses to win,” as coach Lynne Roberts says, seemed to be scoring and assisting at will through a coast-to-coast battle against the New York Liberty, a tug-of-war that stayed taut until the rope finally slipped from the Sparks’ grasp, 105-97.
The Sparks’ stalwart finished with 26 points alongside five rebounds and five assists.
“It came down to them scoring 105 points,” Plum said, “like, 97 is a lot of points.”
Across the court, with veteran Breanna Stewart sidelined with a a right knee bone bruise, the internationally seasoned presence of Emma Meesseman assumed control to keep the Liberty’s offense in rhythm, its poise intact and restart its win streak.
Emma Meesseman, who made her Liberty debut soon after Stewart’s exit, looked nothing like someone fresh off a lengthy league layoff on Thursday. The 2019 Finals MVP returned Aug. 3 after a three-year hiatus from the WNBA — time she spent competing for Belgium — and scored a season-high 24 points with nine rebounds.
“She’s one of the best players in the world,” Roberts said, “so, there’s a lot of problems one of the best players in the world can bring you. She’s got great hands, … she’s just good. She’s so smart, skilled, big, she changes their team.”
Stewart took the hit to her knee during the last edition of the East-West rivalry on July 26. And that was also a game before Sparks sophomore star Cameron Brink returned from a 13-month-long left knee injury.
About three minutes before halftime, Brink sat on the bench while trainers wrapped her left ankle during a Sparks timeout. She never joined the team’s halftime huddle as play resumed after the break, and when she finally emerged at the 6:17 mark in the third quarter, she watched the rest of the game from her seat.
“I have not talked to the medical team yet,” Roberts said, “but yeah, she tweaked her ankle. She’s still on a minutes restriction, so the decision was made not to put her back in.”
In absence of the Sparks’ most threatening defensive presence, though, Dearica Hamby and Azurá Stevens policed the key and cleaned up under the rim to ensure the Sparks stayed close. The two combined for 38 points and 12 rebounds, but couldn’t produce the same pressure defensively.
“We’ve got to do a better job defensively,” Roberts said in reference to the Liberty’s 50% shooting from three and 55.9% from the field. “I have not lost an ounce of faith or confidence in them [the Sparks], just a tough night for us tonight.
The loudest battle, however, seemed to be the fans versus the officials.
Fans groaned and barked over whistles — and the no-calls in between — as the night wore on. Roberts shared the mood, zeroing in on referee Tyler Mirkovich during a defensive sequence late in the second quarter. She sustained dialogue through the ensuing timeout, punctuating her point with a seemingly sarcastic double thumbs-up in Mirkovich’s direction.
“I mean, I would appreciate being communicated to from an official,” Roberts said. “Nothing will piss a coach off more than not being communicated to.”
Whether the whistles were with merit, no call was going to bail the Sparks out of a 10-point ditch with 22 seconds left to play.
IPSWICH TOWN were unbelievably forced to hold their half-time team-talk on their team BUS due to a plumbing issue during their Carabao Cup clash with Bromley.
Championship outfit Ipswich travelled to Hayes Lane to take on League Two side Bromley in the first round of the competition.
6
Ipswich Town were forced to hold their half-time team talk on their team due to a plumbing issue during their Carabao Cup clash with BromleyCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
6
League Two Bromley had gone 1-0 up against the Championship side on the stroke of half-timeCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
Kieran McKenna‘s side had been playing in the Premier League last season, lining up in stadiums like Old Trafford and the Emirates in front of tens of thousands of fans.
But the Tractor Boys were slapped in the face by the reality of the football pyramid when they found themselves taking on Bromley in their 1,300-seat Hayes Lane ground.
That reality hit even harder when they went in trailing 1-0 at half-time, only to be told they had to hold their team talk on their team bus due to plumbing problems in the changing rooms.
Their squad, which featured the likes of Ashley Young and Ben Johnson, had to cram onto the bus just so that they could use the toilet.
However, the unusual circumstances didn’t seem to immediately bother the travelling team as they came out swinging in the second half.
Former West Ham man Johnson netted an equaliser just nine minutes after the break.
That was only enough to force penalties as Bromley held firm to keep the game tied at a goal a piece.
Incredibly, Bromley seemingly pulled off the impossible as they came out on top in the test of nerves from 12 yards – knocking out their heavyweight opposition on a historic night for the club.
6
Ben Johnson equalised for Ipswich just nine minutes after the restartCredit: PA
6
Bromley won the game on penaltiesCredit: PA
6
Ed Sheeran was watching on from the standsCredit: Getty
The result will have been a frustration for pop superstar Ed Sheeran, a minority owner of Ipswich, who had made the journey to watch the game from the stands.
The first round of the Carabao Cup had already thrown up some madness throughout the evening.
Carabao Cup introduces popular new feature on 24 teams’ shirts as Arsenal are brutally trolled
The clash was called off just 26 minutes before kick-off after a Scottish Power outage had left Tranmere unable to operate any tills, floodlights and some of the turnstiles.
SAN FRANCISCO — Veronica Burton scored 16 points, Cecilia Zandalasini scored 14 before halftime and the Golden State Valkyries moved a game ahead of the Sparks in the Western Conference beating them 72-59 on Saturday night.
Janelle Salaun scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Golden State (15-15). Zandalasini scored 14 points in the first half on five-for-six shooting, including four for five from three-point range and missed her only shot attempt after halftime.
Golden State built a 19-14 lead after one quarter, and the Valkyries took advantage of a nine-point quarter by the Sparks for a 33-23 lead at halftime.
The Sparks started the third quarter with a 7-0 run with a pair of foul shots and a short shot by Kelsey Plum and a three-pointer by Hamby. Golden State extended its lead to 41-32 before the Sparks rallied again to get within 43-40 but never got closer.
Golden State sealed the win outscoring the Sparks 12-5 over the first six minutes of the fourth.
The Valkyries won the regular-season series 3-1 over the Sparks and currently hold the eighth and final playoff spot.
When Julie Vanloo drew her second traveling violation before halftime, the crowd’s disapproval rose in unison.
On the floor, with tempers simmering on the Sparks’ bench, a delay-of-game whistle drew another round of jeers from the Crypto.com Arena crowd.
The calls weren’t the only sources of frustration for the Sparks — the team also was trailing the last-place Connecticut Sun by 10 points.
Still, the flare-up might have been what the Sparks needed to rally to a 102-91 victory over the Sun to earn their eighth win in nine games.
“Since the beginning of the season, I’ve been optimistic about what this team would look like and why I want to be here and why I want to continue to be here,” Dearica Hamby said. “[This team is] one of the fastest teams I’ve been with. … We’re not done yet, we’ve got a lot more to accomplish.”
After their deficit swelled to 13 points late in the second quarter, the Sparks (14-15) went on a 14-0 run, trimming the Sun’s lead to 51-49 by halftime.
In the third quarter, Hamby helped the Sparks keep pace with the Sun (5-24). Hamby racked up six points, an assist and a defensive rebound over four minutes.
A three-pointer by Rae Burrell late in the third quarter gave the Sparks a 66-64 lead. The Sun managed to tie it in the fourth quarter before a Cameron Brink three with 8:06 left gave the Sparks the lead for good.
Sparks teammates (from left) Rickea Jackson, Cameron Brink and Rae Burrell react during the fourth quarter Thursday.
(Luke Hales / Getty Images)
“We’ve hung in there and, as I’ve said, didn’t lose sight of the big picture when we had all those injuries and a lot of adversity,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. “We’ve had a lot of adversity in that sense, and took some tough losses. But it’s a great group. They’re good people and they want this team to do well.”
Julie Allemand was a consistent force throughout the game, finishing with 10 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds to become the 22nd player in WNBA history to record a triple-double.
“She was just dialing today, she was really good,” Roberts said. “It was impossible in the second half to take her out of the game. … She was just unbelievable.”
From the opening quarter — when Allemand flashed her handle with a flurry of steps, an in-and-out dribble and a hard drive before dishing to Rickea Jackson for a three-pointer at the extended elbow — the Allemand Act didn’t let up.
She proved to be an essential floor general for the Sparks, as the Sun held leading scorer Kelsey Plum to just one point in the first half.
“KP didn’t have a great offensive first half,” Allemand said. “I’m trying as a point guard to see what I need to do to help this team — if it’s scoring, if it’s rebounding, playing defense, offense, depending how [to] fuel my teammates on the court, and I think that’s what I did today.”
Hamby finished with 21 points, five rebounds and four assists and Jackson scored 20 points. Plum surged in the second half to finish with 18 points and Burrell had nine points off the bench.
With Brink back proving to be strong on both ends — she finished with 11 points, five blocks and two rebounds — the Sparks turned Crypto.com Arena’s boos into all cheers by the end of the game.
MINNEAPOLIS — Napheesa Collier scored 26 of her 32 points in the first half while Courtney Williams added 17 points and the Minnesota Lynx returned to their winning ways by beating the Los Angeles Sparks 101-78 on Saturday.
Reserves Natisha Hiedeman had 14 points and Maria Kliundikova finished with 11 for the Lynx (10-1), who were handed their first loss of the season on Wednesday by the Seattle Storm, 94-84.
Kelsey Plum scored 20 points, Rickea Jackson added 18, reserve Emma Cannon had 14 and Dearica Hamby finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Sparks (4-8).
It was Collier’s third 30-plus point effort of the season. She started the year with season-high 34 points in a win over Dallas on May 16. Collier followed that with a 33-point effort a week later against Connecticut.
Against the Sparks, however, with the game in hand, Collier sat the fourth quarter after a 13-for-16 shooting performance including three for four from three-point range.
Collier recorded more field goals in the first quarter than Los Angeles as a team. She was seven-for-nine shooting compared to the Sparks who were four for seven. Minnesota led 34-15 at the end of one.
By halftime, Collier was at 10-for-12 shooting while Los Angeles overall still trailed her by shooting only seven for 30. Minnesota led 58-26 at halftime for its highest scoring half of the season.
Mary Alice Vignola scored the equalizer in the 80th minute and Angel City salvaged a 2-2 draw with the Chicago Stars at BMO Stadium on Saturday night.
Angel City (4-4-3) took a 1-0 lead into halftime on Kennedy Fuller’s goal from inside the box in the 29th minute.
Chicago (1-8-2) made it 1-1 just before the hour mark when an attempted cross from substitute Nadia Gomes took a wild deflection and looped over the head of goalkeeper Angelina Anderson.
The Stars went up 2-1 up when Ally Schlegel scored from 25 yards out in the 66th minute. Anderson got one hand to the shot but could only tip the ball onto the crossbar and into the back of the net.
Vignola rocketed in a rebound from close range to make it 2-2.
The tie was Alex Straus’ first game as Angel City coach. Straus, who has never previously coached in the NWSL, arrived from Bayern Munich last week.
