For Seattle, Awa Fam carved out a slice of history for herself, becoming the youngest player ever at the age of 20 to hit four three-point shots in a single quarter.
Dominique Malonga scored 28 points, the second most in her career, and 14 rebounds – but it wasn’t enough for Seattle, who set a team record for points scored in a normal-time loss.
Clark’s record-breaking night came a day after she was labelled a “political football” by NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
The star point-guard has become one of the biggest draws in the WNBA since being drafted by the Fever in 2024, and there has been a lot of attention paid to the way she is treated by opposing teams and the tactics they employ to try to limit her impact during games.
Last month, Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas received a retrospective one-game ban and a $1,000 (£743) fine for appearing to knee Clark in the groin and push her fist into her neck during a tussle for possession.
A group of 11 Republican lawmakers then sent a letter to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert asking the league to take “accountability”, and expressed concern that “attacks against Clark may be racially motivated”.
Political commentators on the right have also weighed in, suggesting the treatment of Clark is rooted in racism and jealousy.
Speaking as part of a panel at an event in New York on Thursday, Silver said the debates surrounding Clark had become about broader political and cultural issues in the United States rather than basketball alone.
“That particular incident is not about whether a foul should have been called at the time of the game or whether that was ultimately a flagrant non-review,” said Silver.
“I’ve come to know Caitlin really well. She’s an incredible player and also an incredible person.
“And she wants to focus on being the best player she can. And she’s become a bit of a political football in this country, and I think it’s incredibly unfair to her.”
For the first time in more than two weeks, the Sparks won a game.
Nneka Ogwumike scored 24 points with eight rebounds, Rae Burrell added 22 points and Dearica Hamby had 21 in what felt like a near must-win game against Indiana on Wednesday night to snap a three-game losing streak, 106-92.
“I think people were tired of how we were losing,” Ogwumike said. “Not just losing, but how we were losing, and we knew that there was more that we could give. … I think we all individually held ourselves accountable to be able to do more, to pour more into what we got going on. I took it upon myself to try my best to like, you know, play harder in possessions.”
The Fever committed 17 turnovers, which the Sparks (9-11) converted into 22 points, and All-Star Caitlin Clark scored her second-fewest points this season with just nine in limited minutes while returning from injury. Kelsey Mitchell scored 29 points for the Fever, but the Sparks seemed to have an offensive answer each time.
Indiana (12-9) was without star center Aliyah Boston (lower right leg), who Fever coach Stephanie White said would play in the second game of a back-to-back set Thursday in Phoenix. Clark, in and out of the lineup because of a back injury all season, never got going and was an abysmal minus-16.
Coming off an 18-point loss to Seattle at home on Monday, Ogwumike said that injured All-Star guard Kelsey Plum gave the team an inspired speech Tuesday.
“Everyone had a little bit of feedback that she gave, both encouragement and also points of improvement for each person, and I think it was received,” Ogwumike said. “It was received in a way that not only did we want to change how we, you know, approach today, but also to familiarize ourselves with sustaining the way that this feels moving forward.”
“KP lit a fire under our ass,” Burrell added.
All five Sparks starters scored in double digits, and the 106 points were the most the franchise has scored in a home game.
Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever talks with teammates during the second quarter.
(Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)
“I’m happy we won, obviously, but I’m more happy with how we played,” coach Lynne Roberts said. “The response that we showed from just laying an egg on Monday to coming back and, you know, we talked about playing more connected, having a little more smarts out there, defensively emptying the tank, getting out and running and playing with pace.”
The Sparks rode a 16-2 run midway through the second quarter to lead by as many as eight before the half.
They didn’t slow down going into the third frame, opening with 18 points in the first five minutes to take a 13-point lead. Burrell and Kiana Williams hit consecutive threes late in the third after the Fever cut the lead to eight points, and it was never close again.
Plum (lower left leg) and center Cameron Brink (left ankle) remained out of the lineup, and the Sparks extended their bench to give significant minutes to Alissa Pili, Jihyun Park and Williams.
Pili, signed to a developmental deal this week, scored four points with five rebounds in her first WNBA action since last September because of a right ankle injury.
Wednesday’s win also snapped a three-game losing streak to the Fever dating to last season.
The Sparks will complete their three-game homestand against Chicago (7-14) on Friday.
“We wanted to play harder,” Ogwumike said. “We wanted to own each possession and to compete at every level for the full 40 minutes of play. It’s really that simple. I think when you put your heart into playing that hard, the schemes, the plays, the execution, it comes to fruition. And tonight, it felt good. It felt good emptying the tank.”
Hello! I’m Mark Olsen. Welcome to another edition of your regular field guide to a world of Only Good Movies.
Recently, I don’t exactly know why, I was overtaken by a concern that because of the impending merger of Paramount and Warner Bros., Olivier Assayas’ 2022 series adaption of his own film “Irma Vep” would be removed from the HBO Max streaming platform. With no official physical release, the series — starring Alicia Vikander as a Hollywood movie star making a project in Paris — could be effectively vanished from existence.
This is sadly inevitable, though some superfans have gone to extra-legal measures to ensure otherwise (not that we would ever endorse this). Most famously it’s happened with the original “Star Wars” trilogy. Billed as the “Grindhouse Edition,” these are discs of the first three “Star Wars” films sourced from scans of original film prints before the digital fixes and polish of the more recent official releases. Reengaging with these works in this way, scratches and all, is (I’m told) a strong reminder of why they hit so hard in the first place, similar to how it might be to reread a text in the original language instead of a more recent translation.
‘Indiana Jones’ marathon
Harrison Ford and Karen Allen on the set of 1981’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
(Lucasfilm Ltd.)
The same deep understanding of genre filmmaking that went into the original “Star Wars” also went into “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” the first adventure of the character of Indiana Jones. Directed by Steven Spielberg from a script by Lawrence Kasdan and story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman, the film is playful, thrilling and self-aware. It is made with such care, attention to detail and sense of fun that I remember how disappointed I was to discover not all movies would be like this.
There have of course been diminishing returns with the more recent run of Indiana Jones sequels, but the first three installments all have a real spark. And so the Secret Movie Club will present “Raiders,” 1984’s “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and 1989’s “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” all on 35mm at the Million Dollar Theater in DTLA on Sunday in celebration of Father’s Day.
In her original review of the first film, Sheila Benson described that while watching it, she felt “a rush of gratitude which almost brought tears of contagious joy and — not to be corny about this — the strength of the film’s positive vision. If this is an era in which the heroic is lacking and the mediocre threatens us from every side, then ‘Raiders,’ which has no pretensions to importance, which is unabashedly wide-eyed and exaggerated and true blue but somehow cherishes the best in life and filmmaking — is a high-water mark.”
Plenty of jokes could be made about the movies having settled into what might be thought of as part of the dadcore canon: action-adventure movies that play well on TV and maybe you can take a short nap and not miss anything. So be it.
From one master to another
Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 thriller “North by Northwest.”
(Sunset Boulevard / Corbis via Getty Images)
Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro has been making waves of late for his strong public stance against the use of AI in feature filmmaking. But it is worth remembering that he is also a deep and incisive thinker about older movies, a true fan, which makes his upcoming appearances at the Academy Museum a special occasion.
Del Toro will present five films by Alfred Hitchcock — 1946’s “Notorious,” 1943’s ‘Shadow of a Doubt,” 1959’s “North by Northwest,” 1953’s “I Confess” and 1972’s “Frenzy” — along with delivering a lecture on each of them. To see one great filmmaker reflect with such depth into the work of another is just remarkable. This is some genuine only-in-L.A. type stuff.
Comedy + politics = good fun
A scene from the 1976 movie “Car Wash.”
(Margaret Herrick Library / Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences)
A raucous comedy set around the location of the title, “Car Wash” is also a sharp, politically minded satire about labor and money. Directed by Michael Schultz from a screenplay by Joel Schumacher, the film has an extended ensemble cast that includes Richard Pryor, Franklyn Ajaye, George Carlin and many others.
In his original review Charles Champlin compared “Car Wash” to films such as “American Graffiti” and “Nashville” and called it “light but not foolish. … The experience is exhilarating.”
A 50th anniversary screening at the Academy Museum on Saturday of a new 4K restoration will include a panel with Schultz and actors Bill Duke, Antonio Fargas, Melanie Mayron, Garrett Morris and Pepe Serna.
Collision report
James Spader in the 1996 movie “Crash,” directed by David Cronenberg.
(Jonathan Wenk / Fine Line Features)
The controversy that surrounded David Cronenberg’s “Crash” when it premiered at Cannes in 1996 and received a U.S. release in 1997 tended to overwhelm the actual movie. Shockingly explicit, the film is about a secret underground world of people who create a sexual fetish out of car crashes. An adaptation of the novel by J.G. Ballard, Cronenberg’s movie explores the cinematic obsession with sex and violence.
Over time, “Crash” has been evolving from a seemingly cursed object dogged by scandal into something that audiences can come to appreciate and admire — even if it is not a movie you can ever exactly fully understand. Part of Cronenberg’s brilliance is how enigmatic and unknowable his work can be: strange, inviting and enveloping while refusing easy or direct analysis.
The movie is playing twice locally this week, on Saturday at Vidiots in partnership with the Cinegogue, with special giveaways and exclusive merch, and again on Monday at the Academy Museum in 4K. Who will be brave (or perverse) enough to go twice?
A different view of Rio
Milton Gonçalves, center, in the 1974 movie “The Devil Queen.”
(Kino Lorber)
A drag queen (Milton Gonçalves) rules the criminal underworld of Rio de Janeiro in Antonio Carlos da Fontoura’s 1974 gangster drama “The Devil Queen,” an unlikely mix of camp aesthetics and gritty violence. Among the film’s many fans is Kleber Mendonça Filho, the filmmaker behind the recent Brazilian hit “The Secret Agent,” who referred to “The Devil Queen” as “bloody, nasty and full of personality.”
The movie is playing in a new 4K restoration at the Lumiere Cinema in Beverly Hills.
A musical melodrama returns
Raul Julia, left, and Teri Garr in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1981 movie “One From the Heart.”
(Rialto Pictures / American Zoetrope)
We have talked before about Francis Ford Coppola’s “One From the Heart,” a movie of such delirious audacity that it nearly ruined the filmmaker‘s career. A throwback musical about two lovers who break up in search of more excitement, the film stars Teri Garr, Frederic Forrest, Nastassja Kinski and Raul Julia.
On Saturday the film will screen at the American Cinematheque’s Aero Theater in a 70mm print for the first time in L.A. since 1990. The event is being dedicated to Dean Tavoularis, Coppola’s longtime production designer, who died in April. For “One From the Heart,” Tavoularis re-created the Las Vegas Strip on a studio back lot.
New this week
Amy Nicholson is not a fan of the new “Toy Story 5,” writing in her review, “Pixar has continued adding shades to the same plot outline like a child with a box of 128 crayons (or a company clinging to its billion-dollar idea).”
Glenn Whipp cast back into the “Toy Story” universe for a highly personal ranking of his 10 favorite “Toy Story” toys.
Two gay teenage boys attempt to survive a supernatural entity and conversion therapy in Adrian Chiarella’s debut feature “Leviticus.” Jen Yamato spoke to the filmmaking team.
I spoke to writer-director Michael Sarnoski about his new “The Death of Robin Hood,” starring Hugh Jackman in a subversively revisionist telling of the last days of the medieval bandit.
WASHINGTON — President Trump has issued a pardon to Stephen Buyer, a Republican former congressman from Indiana who served nearly two years in prison for making illegal stock trades based on inside information after he left office.
Buyer was sentenced to 22 months in prison in 2023 for trades made while working as a consultant and lobbyist. He was ordered to forfeit more than $350,000, representing the amount of the illegal gains, and pay a $10,000 fine. He was released in 2025.
The Supreme Court in May rejected Buyer’s appeal without comment or noted dissent.
In granting “a full, complete, and unconditional pardon,” Trump cited Buyer’s career as a judge advocate general in the Army and in the House that was “distinguished and highly productive.” The pardon was dated Thursday and released by the White House late Friday.
Buyer asserted that the pardon “corrects a politically motivated prosecution” and that it was “horrific to be imprisoned for a crime that I did not commit.”
Trump used his social media platform May 31 to share a pair of letters requesting a presidential pardon for Buyer, a lawyer and Persian Gulf War veteran who left office in 2011. He was a House prosecutor at President Clinton’s 1999 impeachment trial and in 2016 he served on Trump’s transition team focusing on veterans issues.
A letter signed by more than 40 Republican former members of Congress said Buyer was “targeted by the deep state” because of his involvement in Clinton’s trial a generation ago.
A second letter, from five current House Republicans, including Ken Calvert of Corona, said pardoning Buyer would bring justice to his case. The June 2025 letter was also signed by Tom Cole of Oklahoma, Marlin Stutzman of Indiana, Jack Bergman of Michigan and Pete Sessions of Texas.
Buyer, 67, was convicted in connection with insider trading involving the $26.5-billion merger of T-Mobile and Sprint, announced in April 2018, and illegal trades in the management consulting company Navigant when his client Guidehouse was set to acquire it in a deal publicly disclosed weeks later.
The Constitution gives a president broad power to grant pardons for federal crimes. The pardons do not erase a recipient’s criminal record but can be seen as an act of mercy or justice.
Latest votes set up key Senate race, underscore Trump’s continued influence over Republican Party.
Published On 6 May 20266 May 2026
Primary elections in Indiana and Ohio have drawn the latest battle lines for the United States midterm elections in November, while underscoring Trump’s continued sway over Republican voters.
In Ohio, voters on Tuesday picked the candidates who will face off in the consequential election, with Democrats picking former Senator Sherrod Brown to take on Republican Jon Husted. Husted replaced Vice President JD Vance when he left his Senate seat for the White House.
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The race is considered one of the most consequential, as Democrats face an uphill battle to retake control of the Senate, which currently has a 53-47 Republican majority. Brown has long styled himself as an economic populist, able to cut across party lines, while Republican groups have pledged to spend heavily to defend Husted.
Also in the “Buckeye State”, Trump ally Vivek Ramaswamy won the Republican gubernatorial nomination. Ramaswamy, who had a short tenure co-running Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) panel, will face off with Democrat Amy Acton, who led the state’s Department of Health during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Indiana, meanwhile, Trump’s continued influence over the Republican Party was apparent, even as polls have seen his overall approval rating tank in recent weeks amid economic uncertainty and the US-Israeli war in Iran.
The US president had promised to target Republicans who pushed back on his calls for Indiana to redraw its congressional districts in advance of the midterms. Indiana was one of the few Republican-controlled state legislatures to reject the president’s pressure amid a wider flurry of state redistricting.
Five of the state-level candidates Trump targeted subsequently lost their primary elections on Tuesday. One candidate won, and one race remained too close to call.
State Senator Linda Rogers, one of the ousted Republicans, said Trump’s successful attempt to scuttle her race sent a clear message to others in the party considering opposing the president.
“If someone is going to ask you to take a tough vote, you may think twice about your conscience and what’s best for your community and instead what’s best for you and your career,” she said.
The primary comes shortly before US Representative Thomas Massie in Kentucky and US Senator Bill Cassidy in Louisiana, both Republicans, face punishing primary challenges. Trump is opposing both incumbents.
Massie has been one of the most outspoken critics of the administration, particularly when it comes to the US-Israeli war in Iran and the Department of Justice’s handling of documents related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Cassidy had voted to impeach Trump in 2021 for his role in the January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol and remained a critic throughout Trump’s 2024 re-election campaign.
While Trump’s influence remained strong in the Indiana primary, it does not necessarily spell Republican success in the general elections.
Recent polls have shown tanking support for Trump among independents, who are unaffiliated with either party and often serve as key deciding factors in close races.
For example, a recent NPR/PBS News/Marist Poll found that 63 percent of US residents nationally place a “great deal or good amount of blame” on Trump for high petrol prices. That rate was the same – 63 percent – for independents.
Five months ago, President Trump was stinging from one of the first political defeats of his second term as Republican state senators defied him on redistricting in Indiana. Now he has proved he can still punish wayward party members after he endorsed a slate of challengers who defeated almost every one of those lawmakers he wanted to dislodge.
The results will likely bolster Trump’s confidence heading into upcoming Republican primaries where he wants to help oust more incumbents, including U.S Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky.
Indiana’s primary also ratchets up the pressure on Republican lawmakers in other states to move aggressively to redraw congressional district boundaries before the November elections. Alabama and Tennessee have already begun special sessions that could limit Black voters’ strength in Democratic-leaning districts, and some of Trump’s allies in South Carolina want to follow suit.
State Sen. Linda Rogers, one of the Indiana lawmakers who voted against redistricting and lost her seat Tuesday, said the outcome “will probably discourage others in other states.”
“If someone is going to ask you to take a tough vote, you may think twice about your conscience and what’s best for your community and instead what’s best for you and your career,” she said.
Redistricting efforts began last year, when Trump saw an opportunity to give Republicans an additional edge, but they were supercharged last week when the U.S. Supreme Court gutted a provision of the Voting Rights Act that influenced how political lines are drawn.
Trump’s success in Indiana, aided by more than $8.3 million in campaign cash in races that usually see very little spending, reaffirmed the president’s continued strength within a Republican Party that he has dominated for a decade, despite his inevitable slide toward lame-duck status and his sagging poll numbers.
“Historic night for Indiana as Republicans stood with me and President Trump to nominate some great America First conservatives,” Gov. Mike Braun, R-Ind., posted on social media. “I look forward to winning big in November and serving Hoosiers with this team in the statehouse!”
Trump backed primary challenges against seven Republican state senators who rejected his redistricting plan in December. Five of the president’s candidates won, and another race remained too close to call.
Trump was relatively restrained on social media about the voting. He shared a series of photos celebrating the victories of candidates he endorsed in Indiana and Ohio, which also held primaries Tuesday. But he otherwise passed on boasting or renewing his attacks on Massie or Cassidy.
Massie has been among the members of Congress who frustrated the president by pressing for release of the Jeffrey Epstein case files. Cassidy was among the Republican senators who voted to convict Trump on 2021 impeachment charges after the Jan. 6 riot.
James Blair, one of Trump’s top political advisers, was more direct, posting an image from the movie “Gladiator” depicting Russell Crowe’s ancient Roman character Maximus exulting after a combat victory.
Rogers, the Indiana state senator, faced almost $670,000 in television advertising against her, funded by political action committees associated with Braun and U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind.
She said she did not regret her vote against redistricting.
“It would have been easy for me to hit that ‘yes’ button,” she said. “To hear the number of people who asked me not to, then the number of people who thanked me, would mean I wasn’t representing them.”
Louisiana’s primary, in which Trump has endorsed U.S. Rep. Julie Letlow over Cassidy, is set for May 16. Kentucky, where Trump has endorsed Massie’s challenger, retired Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, will hold its primary May 19.
Beaumont and Barrow write for the Associated Press.
May 6 (UPI) — Republican voters in Indiana and Ohio largely backed Trump-aligned candidates Tuesday in primaries seen as tests of President Donald Trump‘s influence within the GOP.
Both states held their party primaries on Tuesday to decide candidates for hundreds of races for November’s midterm elections, but most eyes were on contests for the Indiana state Senate, where incumbent Republicans had rejected Trump’s redistricting push.
Indiana
Though too late to influence Indiana’s congressional map before the midterms, Trump endorsed challengers to incumbents who had opposed his effort to redraw the map to add Republican seats.
Trump’s influence within the GOP in the Hoosier State appeared strong: Of his seven endorsed challengers against Indiana Republican state senators who opposed his gerrymandering push, five appeared poised to win outright, one seemed to have lost and another was in a tight race.
“Big night for MAGA in Indiana,” Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., said in a social media statement, referring to the acronym for Trump’s far-right nationalist Make American Great Again movement.
“Proud to have helped elect more conservative Republicans to the Indiana State Senate.”
Nearly 90% of all Indiana precincts were reporting as of early Wednesday, according to the Indiana Election Division, but five of the seven Trump-backed candidates had already declared victory.
Those five are Trevor De Vries, Brian Schmutzler, Blake Fiechter, Tracey Powell and Michelle Davis.
“Thank you to every Hoosier who came out to vote today,” De Vries said in a social media post late Tuesday.
“And special thanks to President @DonaldTrump for his endorsement that helped seal the deal and showed Indianapolis what real Hoosiers wanted.
“We did it, Indiana! Time to get to work.”
De Vries beat incumbent Daniel Dernulc, state senator for District 1, in a landslide. According to the unofficial results, De Vries secured 75.1% of the vote to Dernulc’s 23.3%.
Schmutzler was poised to beat state Sen. Linda Rogers in a 55.8% to 44.2% split, Fiechter over state Sen. Travis Holdman 61.5% to 38.5%, Powell’s 64.7% led state Sen. Jim Buck’s 35.3% and Davis led state Sen. Greg Walker 58.8% to 41.2%.
Trump-endorsed Paula Copenhaver also declared victory in her race against Sen. Spencer Deery despite being in a virtual tie. According to unofficial state results, she was trailing Deery by three ballots.
“After all provisional ballots are counted, we will prevail and be declared the winner of this race,” she said on X.
“I want to thank President Donald Trump for his unwavering support and endorsement. President Trump is the leader of our party, and it showed clearly tonight in his victories across the state.”
The only Trump-endorsed candidate to lose was Brenda Wilson. State Sen. Greg Goode was poised to win with 53.6% of the vote to Wilson’s 36%, according to the unofficial results.
A sixth incumbent who stood against redistricting, Sen. Rich Niemeyer, also appeared poised to lose his seat to challenger Jay Starkey, who was not endorsed by Trump.
Ohio
In Ohio, the race to watch was on the GOP gubernatorial primary.
With incumbent Republican Gov. Mike DeWine barred by term limits from running again, Ohio’s governor’s mansion will have a new occupant.
Amy Acton and her running mate David Pepper ran unopposed in the Democratic primary for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively.
Republican voters in the state nominated Trump ally Vivek Ramaswamy for governor and Robert McColley for lieutenant governor in a landslide.
According to unofficial results from the Office of Ohio Secretary of State, the Ramaswamy-McColley ticket secured 82.47% of the vote compared to the 17.53% that Casey Putsch and Kimberly Georgeton received.
“I speak for Rob and myself here: We are in this because we believe that together — with the complementary skills that we bring to the table — we are the two people in this state who can work together as a team to lead Ohio back to our true potential,” he said Tuesday night during his victory speech.
“To our greatest heights to put more money in your pocket, to bring down those costs and to give your kids the world-class education that is the birthright of every Ohioan.”
Trump had endorsed Ramaswamy for governor.
“I know Vivek well, competed against him and he is something SPECIAL,” Trump said earlier Tuesday.
“Vivek Ramaswamy will be a GREAT Governor of Ohio.”
Ramaswamy gained national attention during the 2024 GOP presidential primary, running against Trump. Instead of attacking the former New York real estate mogul, Ramaswamy aligned himself with Trump’s America First movement, often praising him.
“Thank you, Mr. President!” Ramaswamy said in response to Trump’s endorsement.
Alijah Arenas will withdraw his name from the NBA draft and return to USC for his sophomore season, according to a person familiar with the decision not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
The former five-star prospect, whose father is NBA star Gilbert Arenas, was expected to spend just a single season at USC before declaring for the draft. But nothing went as planned during Arenas’ freshman season.
Arenas was involved in a single-car accident in April 2025 and hospitalized for six days after a Tesla Cybertruck he was driving hit a tree and burst into flames. The week that he returned to practice after the accident, Arenas learned he needed knee surgery. He didn’t debut for the Trojans until late January. And when he finally made it into the lineup, Arenas was thrown into a starring role in the middle of a brutal Big Ten slate and struggled to adjust.
Still, there were glimpses of the player that Compton Magic AAU founder Etop Udo-Ema told The Times had the potential to one day “be the face of the NBA.” Over one stretch in early February, Arenas had 29 points in a win over Indiana, scored 24 and hit a winning shot at Penn State and put up 25 points at Ohio State.
“Just the things he can do, the IQ he has, what he can see, the way that he moves, the length, the size,” Udo-Ema said, “he’s the most talented guy I’ve ever seen.”
But Arenas told The Times in late February that he was unhappy with the results of his freshman campaign to that point.
“I know what I’m capable of. And I’m not there yet,” Arenas said. “Simple as that.”
Arenas had submitted his name as an early entrant in the NBA draft, the deadline for which was Monday. But ultimately, he opted to return to USC as a sophomore, in hopes of starting anew.
Arenas returns to a roster that should be even more talented in the 2026-27 season. Guard Rodney Rice and forward Jacob Cofie also announced earlier this month that they would return, while three top-25 prospects are set to join the roster this summer.
USC also already added a trio of players in the portal, including a 7-footer in Connecticut’s Eric Reibe and an experienced starter in Georgetown’s KJ Lewis.
This might be the first time in the NFL’s modern era that Pittsburgh has hosted the draft, but the whole format was actually invented here.
Back in 1935, the league’s founders met at the Fort Pitt Hotel and voted unanimously to put in place a selection process in reverse order of the previous season’s standings. That would promote competitive balance, which has been a hallmark of the NFL ever since.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Las Vegas Raiders. The franchise went 21-41 over the past four seasons and its offense scored a league-worst 241 points last season.
Quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who led Indiana to a national championship, won’t be at the draft but almost certainly will hear his name called first. He’s likely to be the only quarterback selected in the opening round.
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is widely expected to be the No. 1 pick of the NFL draft.
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
The rest of the first round figures to be heavy on edge rushers and receivers — the Rams are in the market for a pass catcher — with a couple of Notre Dame running backs who could also make a splash.
Every franchise is looking for that game-changing find. The goal: Be a Pittsburgh stealer.
A look at how the draft could unfold:
1. Las Vegas Raiders: Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana — Mendoza gets Tom Brady’s stamp of approval, and Raiders begin yet another reboot.
2. New York Jets: Arvell Reese, Edge, Ohio State — Pie in the sky, but the Jets are praying to find a Micah Parsons of their own.
3. Arizona Cardinals: David Bailey, Edge, Texas Tech — Amid rumblings that Cardinals might take a running back, they grab a pass rusher instead.
4. Tennessee Titans: Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame — Cam Ward needs help, and Love bolsters that Titans backfield with big-play burst.
Ohio State’s Caleb Downs is projected to be selected No. 5 by the New York Giants.
(Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
5. New York Giants: Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State — John Harbaugh loves those smart safeties who can play quarterback on the back end of the defense.
6. Cleveland Browns: Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State — The Browns got an up-close look at this guy in college, and they need to score points in the worst way.
7. Washington Commanders: Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State — The Commanders get a versatile leader in the middle who can play all four downs.
8. New Orleans Saints: Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State — Chris Olave has been great for the Saints, but he’s prone to concussions. Tyson is insurance.
9. Kansas City Chiefs: Rueben Bain Jr., Edge, Miami — If the Chiefs don’t take a receiver, they would be perfectly happy with a do-it-all pass rusher.
LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane is projected to be the Giants’ second pick of the NFL draft.
(Michael DeMocker / Getty Images)
10. New York Giants: Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU — Giants will hold their breath making this pick as they have an illustrious history of drafting busts at corner.
11. Miami Dolphins: Keldric Faulk, Edge, Auburn — Dolphins are a trade-up candidate, but they are sorely in need of pass-rush help. Faulk is a good fit.
12. Dallas Cowboys: Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon — The Cowboys surrendered a league-worst 30.1 points per game last season and need help all over.
13. Rams: Makai Lemon, WR, USC — The Rams have shown a knack for identifying receivers who will become stars. This would be a great landing spot.
USC receiver Makai Lemon, who made many acrobatic catches during his career with the Trojans, could be selected by the Rams.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
14. Baltimore Ravens: Francis Mauigoa, OT, Miami — With the best of the receivers gone, the Ravens look to bolster their offensive line. They need help at guard and tackle.
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Akheem Mesidor, Edge, Miami — The Buccaneers haven’t had anyone with 10 sacks since 2021. Mesidor has that potential.
16. New York Jets: Denzel Boston, WR, Washington — The Jets need a bookend for Garret Wilson, and this gives Geno Smith a big target over the middle.
17. Detroit Lions: Spencer Fano, OT, Utah — Taylor Decker is gone. The Lions get a player who can line up on either side, opposite Penei Sewell.
18. Minnesota Vikings: Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S, Toledo — Harrison Smith is in the sunset of his career, and if there’s a top-notch safety here, the Vikings need to grab him.
19. Carolina Panthers: Kenyon Sadiq, TE, Oregon — The Panthers take an elite safety if there’s still one around, but a target for Bryce Young would be nice too.
20. Dallas Cowboys: Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee — More help for the Cowboys defense. This could be Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez as well.
21. Pittsburgh Steelers: Omar Cooper Jr., WR, Indiana — Steelers receivers coach is the brother of Indiana’s head coach. Pittsburgh knows this player well.
Penn State offensive lineman Olaivavega Ioane could be selected by the Chargers in the first round of the NFL draft.
(Michael Conroy / Associated Press)
22. Chargers: Olaivavega Ioane, G, Penn State — The Chargers have huge draft investments in their tackles, but they still need to fortify that offensive line.
23. Philadelphia Eagles: Kadyn Proctor, OT, Alabama — With Lane Johnson near the end of his career, the Eagles need to start developing a huge young successor.
24. Cleveland Browns: Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia — Thanks to a trade with Jacksonville, the Browns have the draft capital to take a left tackle here.
25. Chicago Bears: Zion Young, Edge, Missouri — Lots of talent on offense, but the Bears need to do everything they can to fortify their defense. Young can get to quarterbacks.
26. Buffalo Bills: Cashius Howell, Edge, Texas A&M — SEC Defensive Player of the Year should be a nice complement to newly-acquired Bradley Chubb off the edge.
27. San Francisco 49ers: KC Concepcion, WR, Texas A&M — This receiver and return specialist fits the mold for Kyle Shanahan. A crisp route runner with speed to get deep.
28. Houston Texans: Kayden McDonald, DT, Ohio State — The Texans need help along the interior of both of their lines. McDonald can make an immediate impact.
29. Kansas City Chiefs: Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee — Chiefs need a corner, and if Jermod McCoy is gone, Hood would be a good alternative.
30. Miami Dolphins: Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech — The reliable Rodriguez could go earlier – maybe to Dallas – but would help stabilize rebuilding Dolphins defense.
31. New England Patriots: T.J. Parker, Edge, Clemson — The Patriots have made no secret about their desire to beef up their rush off the edges.
32. Seattle Seahawks: Jadarian Price, RB, Notre Dame — The Seahawks didn’t re-sign Kenneth Walker III, so there’s opportunity for a young running back to fill the void.
